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This article presents a critical examination of Igor Soikhedbrod's Revisiting Marx's Critique of Liberalism: Rethinking Justice, Legality, and Rights. We argue that the book presents an important criticism of antinomian forms of critical theory, which underplay the extent to which Marx engaged in an imminent critique of liberal societies, including the rule of law, and upheld that progressive advances enshrined in this rule should be carried over or sublated in a communist dispensation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In‐person physiotherapy services are not readily available to all individuals with musculoskeletal conditions, especially those in rural regions or with time‐intensive responsibilities. The COVID‐19 pandemic highlighted that telehealth may facilitate access to, and continuity of care, yet many physiotherapists lack telehealth confidence and training. This project co‐developed and evaluated a web‐based professional development toolkit supporting physiotherapists to provide telehealth services for musculoskeletal conditions. Methods: A mixed‐methods exploratory sequential design applied modified experience‐based co‐design methods (physiotherapists [n = 13], clinic administrators [n = 2], and people with musculoskeletal conditions [n = 7]) to develop an evidence‐informed toolkit. Semi‐structured workshops were conducted, recorded, transcribed, and thematically analysed, refining the toolkit prototype. Subsequently, the toolkit was promoted via webinars and social media. The usability of the toolkit was examined with pre‐post surveys examining changes in confidence, knowledge, and perceived telehealth competence (19 statements modelled from the theoretical domains framework) between toolkit users (>30 min) and non‐users (0 min) using chi‐squared tests for independence. Website analytics were summarised. Results: Twenty‐two participants engaged in co‐design workshops. Feedback led to the inclusion of more patient‐facing resources, increased assessment‐related visual content, streamlined toolkit organisation, and simplified, downloadable infographics. Three hundred and twenty‐nine physiotherapists from 21 countries completed the baseline survey, with 172 (52%) completing the 3‐month survey. Toolkit users had greater improvement in knowledge, confidence, and competence than non‐users in 42% of statements. Seventy‐two percentage of toolkit users said it changed their practice, and 95% would recommend the toolkit to colleagues. During the evaluation period, the toolkit received 5486 total views. Discussion: The co‐designed web‐based Musculoskeletal Telehealth Toolkit is a professional development resource that may increase physiotherapist's confidence, knowledge, and competence in telehealth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypocoristics have received considerable interest from phonologists in recent decades, particularly within the Optimality-theoretic literature. While most of these analyses have been situated in parallelist OT, I claim that this architectural choice entails hidden complexities. It is cross-linguistically common for multiple hypocoristics to be formed from a single proper noun, e.g., Matthew → Matt/Matty. In this case, parallelist OT must resort to co-phonologies to avoid ranking paradoxes, which results in significant analytical complexity. By contrast, I argue in this paper that a stratal analysis is crucial for capturing multiple patterns of Hypocoristic Formation (HF) within a single architecture. I present here data of disyllabic hypocoristics from Standard Chilean Spanish. These hypocoristics are derived from the proper nouns by means of two separate anchoring sites: to the left edge of the full name, or to prominence in the full name, i.e., the tonic syllable. In addition, hypocoristics may be prosodically- or morphologically-driven: they may solely be formed by truncating the material of the proper noun, or, in the latter case, there may also be additional suffixal material provided. These data, therefore, lend themselves to a four-way categorisation. I show that this categorisation can be fully accounted for within a stratal architecture, and without the need for additional co-phonologies. Within the analysis, I locate each of the anchoring sites within the lexical phonology: edge-anchoring occurs at the stem level, along with syllabification and stress assignment, while prominence-anchoring occurs at the word level. In this way, the input to edge-anchoring at the stem level comprises a string of segments, while the input to prominence-anchoring at the word-level contains prosodic units up to the foot, which permits word-level HF to anchor to prominence. I further posit that prosodic- and morphologically-driven HF are caused through the passing of hypocoristic morphemes from the morpho-syntax to the phonology. Purely prosodic HF is triggered through a null or covert morpheme, while morphological HF triggered by an overt one. The hypocoristic morphemes themselves are stored as diacritics in the proper nouns' lexical entries. Furthermore, the constraints that select the hypocoristic forms as optimal are sensitive to the presence of this hypocoristic morpheme, which is reflected in tableaux through indexing. When a hypocoristic morpheme is present in the input of a proper noun to a particular stratum, these highly-ranked indexed constraints select a corresponding hypocoristic form as optimal. If the hypocoristic morpheme is absent, these constraints do not assign violations, and the proper noun is instead (vacuously) found optimal. This analysis thus unifies two distinct patterns of HF in one phonological grammar through the inclusion of indexed-constraints and the serial derivation in a constraint-based architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanisms underlying a tendency among individuals with depression to report personal episodic memories with low specificity remain to be understood. We assessed a sample of undergraduate students with dysphoria to determine whether depression relates to a broader dysregulation of balancing accuracy and informativeness during memory reports. Specifically, we investigated metamnemonic processes using a quantity-accuracy profile approach. Recall involved three phases with increasing allowance for more general, or coarse-grained, responses: (a) forced-precise responding, requiring high precision; (b) free-choice report with high and low penalty incentives on accuracy; (c) a lexical description phase. Individuals with and without dysphoria were largely indistinguishable across indices of retrieval, monitoring, and control aspects of metamemory. The results indicate intact metacognitive processing in young individuals with dysphoria and provide no support for the view that impaired metacognitive control underlies either memory deficits or bias in memory reports that accompany dysphoria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A core cognitive attribute of depression is lower specificity in the expression of autobiographical memories. Despite interventions targeting memory specificity in depression, its underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Depression also relates to poorer memory for episodic details; here we examine whether reduced specificity might simply reflect broader episodic memory deficits and weakened memory traces with the passage of time. Undergraduate students with and without symptoms of depression completed the Autobiographical Interview and prose-reading episodic memory tasks to assess both same-day and delayed memory. Dysphoria and nondysphoria groups performed similarly on the tasks of immediate episodic and autobiographical memory; notably, the dysphoria group did not display evidence of lower specificity at this time point. After a delay, however, both groups demonstrated less specific memory responses on both memory tasks, and these declines were more pronounced in the group with dysphoria. That is, after a delay, individuals high in dysphoria showed a greater decrease in the quantity of specific event details reported on both the episodic and the autobiographical memory task. Additional analyses incorporating other clinical and cognitive measures indicated that these relations are largely unique to symptoms of depression. The sample comprised mostly female students; the study should be replicated with more diverse samples. These findings support the claim that lower memory specificity is not peculiar to autobiographical memory, but rather, reflects impoverished memory more generally. This is an important consideration for theories and remedial strategies targeting memory specificity. • Depression is associated with less specific reporting of autobiographical memories. • We demonstrate that this tendency holds only after a delay, not for same-day recall. • Moreover, we observed a similar pattern in memory for fictional prose. • Thus, this phenomenon may be more broadly explained by weakened memory traces. • This is an important consideration for theories and remedial strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the ruins of the Qing Empire, monastic writers of the previously favored Géluk tradition produced all manner of literary genres and deployed all manner of interpretative operations to set the postimperial ruins into time and place. One particular and quite peculiar strategy among Géluk scholastics in Yeke-yin Küriy-e, presented and examined in this article, was to deploy an extensive polemical attack against the Nyingma tradition. The Nyingma tradition, however, was nowhere present in the contested field of revolutionary nationalism and socialism that increasingly threatened the social and political status of the Buddhist monastery. Nor was it obvious in any way how Nyingma and Bön philosophical views and ethical standards had any bearing on the future of Géluk institutionalism in Asia's first experiment in state socialism. Turning to resources from the social theory of knowledge and historical anthropology, this article asks what historical arguments were being made by polemicists without opponents, and by this, what was the intersection between "right view" and writing in late and postimperial scholastic cultures from the Tibeto-Mongolian frontier? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the Marxian theories of fascism in the ideology critique by philosophers Gyorgy Lukács, Herbert Marcuse and Ernst Bloch. Topics discussed include Marcuse's critique of heroic-folkish realism of Nazi thought in "The Struggle Against Liberalism in the Totalitarian Theory of State," fascism as irrationalism in "The Destruction of Reason" by Lukács," and features of fascist ideology and socioeconomic conditions in Bloch's analysis in "The Heritage of Our Times."

Plan view scanning transmission electron microscopy was used to investigate the microstructural connections to device resistance in inline phase change switch devices. It was revealed that massive structural changes occur in GeTe during switching, most notably the formation of an assembly of voids along the device centerline and large GeTe grains on either side of an "active region." Restructuring of this variety was tied to changes in ON-state resistance with increasing pulse number, where initially porous and fine-grained (10-20 nm) GeTe was converted to large crystalline domains comprising the majority of the RF gap (400-700 nm). A phenomenological model for this microstructure is presented in which the OFF pulse melts a given width of GeTe, and upon cooling crystalline material outside the melt region acts as a template for an inward-propagating crystalline growth front. The voids observed along the device centerline were correlated to increasing OFF state resistance and a relatively stable ON state with increasing pulse number via a series resistance model. As a result of this analysis, OFF state resistance was suggested as an early indicator of device reliability. An improved GeTe deposition process was implemented to limit void formation, which is shown to have a more stable OFF-state resistance with increasing pulse number. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hip pain is associated with impairments in postural control and balance. The Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) is a reliable and valid method for measuring dynamic postural control. To examine changes in dynamic postural control after hip arthroscopy and subsequent rehabilitation from baseline to 3 and 6 months postsurgery. Case series. Physiotherapy department. Sixty-seven individuals (47 men, 20 women; age = 31 ± 8 years, height = 1.78 ± 0.09 m, mass = 83 ± 15 kg) scheduled for hip arthroscopy to address chondrolabral conditions were matched with 67 healthy individuals serving as controls (47 men, 20 women; age = 31 ± 8 years, height = 1.77 ± 0.09 m, mass = 80 ± 16 kg). The hip arthroscopy group underwent postoperative rehabilitation including SEBT training. The SEBT reach normalized to limb length was collected before surgery (baseline) and at 3 and 6 months after arthroscopy and compared with that of the healthy matched control group. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to evaluate whether SEBT reach differed among the 3 time points, and t tests were used to evaluate between-limbs and between-groups differences. The SEBT reach in the hip arthroscopy group at baseline was less than that of the control group in all directions (P values <.001). At 3 months after arthroscopy, SEBT reach increased in the posteromedial (PM; P =.007), posterolateral (PL; P <.001), and anterolateral (AL; P <.001) directions from baseline. At 6 months after arthroscopy, all directions of reach had increased (P values <.001) from baseline. The anteromedial (mean difference [MD] = −2.9%, P =.02), PM (MD = −5.2%, P =.002), and AL (MD = −2.5%, P =.04) reach distances remained shorter at 6 months after surgery in the hip arthroscopy group than in the control group. No difference existed between the control and hip arthroscopy groups for reach in the PL direction (MD = −3.6%; P =.06). Dynamic balance control in the hip arthroscopy group at baseline was poorer than in a matched control group as measured using the SEBT. At 3 months after hip arthroscopy, we observed improvements in dynamic balance in the PM, PL, and AL SEBT directions. By 6 months after arthroscopy, all directions of SEBT reach had improved, but only the PL reach improved to the level of healthy control individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nucleoli are multicomponent condensates defined by coexisting sub-phases. We identified distinct intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), including acidic (D/E) tracts and K-blocks interspersed by E-rich regions, as defining features of nucleolar proteins. We show that the localization preferences of nucleolar proteins are determined by their IDRs and the types of RNA or DNA binding domains they encompass. In vitro reconstitutions and studies in cells showed how condensation, which combines binding and complex coacervation of nucleolar components, contributes to nucleolar organization. D/E tracts of nucleolar proteins contribute to lowering the pH of co-condensates formed with nucleolar RNAs in vitro. In cells, this sets up a pH gradient between nucleoli and the nucleoplasm. By contrast, juxta-nucleolar bodies, which have different macromolecular compositions, featuring protein IDRs with very different charge profiles, have pH values that are equivalent to or higher than the nucleoplasm. Our findings show that distinct compositional specificities generate distinct physicochemical properties for condensates. [Display omitted] • Nucleolar IDRs are enriched in D/E tracts and K-blocks interspersed by E-rich regions • Specificity of complex coacervation and hydrophobicity organize nucleolar layers • Binding of protons to D/E tracts sets up pH gradients between nucleoli and nucleoplasm • Condensate-specific pH values in the nucleus correlate with mean net charge of IDRs Proteins containing blocks of charged amino acids in intrinsically disordered regions contribute to the layered organization of nucleoli and establish distinct pH environments in nuclear condensates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to the well-worn observation that rituals do not simply enact but produce social realities, and moving beyond the exhausted note that rituals produce visions of history, Quijada attends to the complex narrative content of the historical knowledge made by Buryats in original and remarkably effective ways. In different ritual genres, or in different narrative frames connected to a single ritual, Quijada's Buryat informants link models of time to place. Justine Buck Quijada's I Buddhists, Shamans, and Soviets: Rituals of History in Post-Soviet Buryatia i explores this fascinating question. [Extracted from the article]

The microtubule-based mitotic spindle is responsible for equally partitioning the genome during each cell division, and its assembly is executed via several microtubule nucleation pathways. Targeting Protein for XKlp2 (TPX2) stimulates the branching microtubule nucleation pathway, where new microtubules are nucleated from preexisting ones within mitotic or meiotic spindles. TPX2, like other spindle assembly factors, is sequestered by binding to nuclear importins-α/β until the onset of mitosis, yet the molecular nature of this regulation remains unclear. Here we demonstrate that TPX2 interacts with importins-α/β with nanomolar affinity in a 1:1:1 monodispersed trimer. We also identify a new nuclear localization sequence in TPX2 that contributes to its high-affinity interaction with importin-α. In addition, we establish that TPX2 interacts with importin-β via dispersed, weak interactions. We show that interactions of both importin-α and -β with TPX2 inhibit its ability to undergo phase separation, which was recently shown to enhance the kinetics of branching microtubule nucleation. In summary, our study informs how importins regulate TPX2 to facilitate spindle assembly, and provides novel insight into the functional regulation of protein phase separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The International Hip Outcome Tool–33 (iHOT-33) was developed to evaluate patients seeking surgery for hip and/or groin (hip/groin) pain and may not be appropriate for those seeking nonsurgical treatment. Purpose: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the iHOT-33 total (iHOT-Total) score and all subscale scores in adults with hip/groin pain who were not seeking surgery. Study Design: Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Patients with hip/groin pain who were not seeking surgery were recruited from 2 ongoing studies in Australia. Semistructured one-on-one interviews assessed content validity. Construct validity was assessed by testing hypothesized correlations between iHOT-33 and Copenhagen Hip and Groin Outcome Score (HAGOS) subscale scores. Test-retest reliability was assessed in patients not undertaking treatment and who reported "no change" in their Global Rating of Change (GROC) score at 6-month follow-up. Scores were reliable at group and individual levels if intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were ≥0.80 and ≥0.90, respectively. Scores were responsive if Spearman rank correlations (ρ) between the change in the iHOT-33 score and the GROC score were ≥0.40. Results: In total, 278 patients with hip/groin pain (93 women; mean age, 31 years) and 55 pain-free control participants (14 women; mean age, 29 years) were recruited. The iHOT-33 demonstrated acceptable content validity. Construct validity was acceptable, with all hypothesized strong positive correlations between iHOT-33 and HAGOS subscale scores confirmed (r range, 0.60-0.76; P <.001), except for one correlation between the iHOT-Sport and HAGOS-Sport (r =.058; P <.001). All scores were reliable at the group level, except for the iHOT-33 job subscale (iHOT-Job) (ICC range, 0.78-0.88 [95% CI, 0.60-0.93]). None of the subscales met the criteria for adequate reliability for use at the individual level (all ICCs <0.90). Minimal detectable change values (group level) ranged from 2.3 to 3.7 (95% CI, 1.7-5.0). All iHOT-33 subscale scores were responsive (ρ range, 0.40-0.58; P ≤.001), except for the iHOT-Job in patients not undertaking treatment (ρ = 0.27; P =.001). Conclusion: All iHOT-33 subscale scores were valid for use in patients with hip/groin pain who were not seeking surgery. Acceptable test-retest reliability was found for all subscale scores at the group level, except the iHOT-Job. All subscale scores, excluding the iHOT-Job, were responsive, regardless of undertaking physical therapist–led treatment or no treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystallization and amorphization phenomena in indirectly heated phase change material-based devices were investigated. Scanning transmission electron microscopy was utilized to explore GeTe phase transition processes in the context of the unique inline phase change switch (IPCS) architecture. A monolithically integrated thin film heating element successfully converted GeTe to ON and OFF states. Device cycling prompted the formation of an active area which sustains the majority of structural changes during pulsing. A transition region on both sides of the active area consisting of polycrystalline GeTe and small nuclei (<15 nm) in an amorphous matrix was also observed. The switching mechanism, determined by variations in pulsing parameters, was shown to be predominantly growth-driven. A preliminary model for crystallization and amorphization in IPCS devices is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Numerous studies on seasonality of birth for mood disorders and schizophrenia have been published but findings are inconsistent 1. We aim to test the hypothesis of lack of seasonal birth differences in hospitalized Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia patients.Methods: 15969 inpatient records in UTHealth Harris County Psychiatric Center between 2012-2014 were enrolled (HSC-MS-14-0274). Patients birth months that were diagnosed as Schizophrenia (n=4178) and Bipolar Disorder (n=5303) according to the DSM IV Criteria were tabulated including admitting diagnosis. Texas Birth statistics between 1903-1997 were obtained as control group (n= 17096471).Results: There was no significant difference for winter births between schizophrenia patients and control group (P=0.738) and there was no significant difference for winter births between bipolar patients and control group either (P= 0.862). Mann Kendall Trend Analysis showed no significant trends of birth months for schizophrenia, bipolar and control groups.Limitations: The study limitations include being a retrospective study, inability to control for environmental factors, and recruiting from a single location.Conclusions: Our large sample showed no association between birth season or months with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Severe schizophrenia that requires admission may not be related with birth seasonality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has examined the independent effects of demographic and military characteristics, trauma history, and coping resources on military veterans' health. However, there is limited knowledge of how these factors intersect with one another and with veterans' health to impact their broader well‐being as they readjust to civilian life. Data for this study were drawn from a longitudinal investigation of the health and broader well‐being of U.S. veterans (N = 7150) who had recently left military service. Machine learning analyses (random forests of regression trees) were used to examine how factors assessed shortly after military separation were associated with veterans' well‐being approximately a year later. Veterans who endorsed the combination of low depression, high social support, and high psychological resilience were most likely to report high well‐being a year later. Neither demographic and military characteristics nor trauma history emerged as strong predictors of veterans' well‐being when considered in the context of other factors. Although most predictors were similar for women and men, depression was a stronger predictor of women's well‐being. Results highlight the importance of screening for and intervening with veterans who report high depression, low social support, and low psychological resilience when leaving military service. These findings can inform efforts to promote veterans' post‐military well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Levamisole-adulterated cocaine may cause levamisole-induced vasculitis, a systemic vasculitis that features midline destruction. One patient had multiple biopsies with features including fibrinoid necrosis, geographic necrosis and minimal increase in IgG4-positive plasma cells requiring clinical exclusion of IgG4 disease. Importantly, no patients exhibited evidence of ANCA-associated vasculitides, such as GPA, or evidence of infection or malignancy. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Hip-related pain (HRP) is described as a movement-related disorder. However, little attention is given to the way people with HRP move, especially in populations still participating in sport. Thus, limiting our understanding of movementbased impairments in HRP and their potential relationships with pain/symptoms.Research Question: (1) What are the differences in absolute and relative amounts of positive and negative lower-limb joint work during walking and the single-leg drop jump (SLDJ) in football players with and without HRP? (2) What are the relationships between lower-limb joint work and HRP burden?Methods: 88 football players with HRP and 30 control football players were recruited. Positive and negative work done by the hip, knee, and ankle (and each joint's relative contribution to total work done) were calculated. The effect of sex on the relationship between HRP and work done, as well as the association between work done and International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT33) scores, were assessed using linear and beta regressions models.Results: Walking: No joint work variables were significantly different between groups, nor were any relationships with iHOT33 scores evident. SLDJ: The knee's relative contribution to total lower-limb negative work done was 37.7 % and 42.4 % for women with and without HRP, respectively (P = 0.04). The iHOT33 was significantly associated with positive (P = 0.03 to <0.01) and negative (P = 0.02 to <0.01) work done by the hip as well as negative work done by the ankle (P = 0.03 to 0.01), independent of sex.Significance: Only one significant between-group comparison was revealed, involving the knee in female football players. In addition, football players with a greater selfreported burden of HRP tended to display lower hip joint work during the SLDJ. Rehabilitation programs could be targeted to address these impairments and normalize work done during high impact tasks in the management of HRP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patterns in contemporary conflict highlight the failures of traditional views of the relationship between humanity and technology. This paper proposes that modern conflict is characterized by something called "dissimulation," referring to numerous phenomena together emphasizing the inadequacies of conceiving man as the overseeing creator of technological advancement. It shows rather that man, particularly man in conflict, is always already implicated and concealed within complex technological networks and mediums, wherein humanity is just another player amongst others. This paper diagnoses and defines the condition of "dissimulation" in drone warfare, modern partisanship and terrorism, raising further the question of the conceptualization of a technological object in doing so. It highlights the danger of an observed technological tendency too, particularly in terms of its shaping of contemporary conflict as well as our relationship to space and time. Having considered dissimulation's characteristic phenomena and effects, a strategy for dealing with it is then suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplemental digital content is available in the text. Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the differences in lower-limb biomechanics between adult subelite competitive football players with and without hip-related pain during two contrasting tasks—walking and single-leg drop jump (SLDJ)—and to determine whether potential differences, if present, are sex dependent. Methods: Eighty-eight football players with hip-related pain (23 women, 65 men) and 30 asymptomatic control football players (13 women, 17 men) who were currently participating in competitive sport were recruited. Biomechanical data were collected for the stance phase of walking and SLDJ. Pelvis, hip, knee, and ankle angles, as well as the impulse of the external joint moments, were calculated. Differences between groups and sex-specific effects were calculated using linear regression models. Results: Compared with their asymptomatic counterparts, football players with hip-related pain displayed a lower average pelvic drop angle during walking (P = 0.03) and a greater average pelvic hike angle during SLDJ (P < 0.05). Men with hip-related pain displayed a smaller total range of motion (excursion) for the transverse plane pelvis angle (P = 0.03) and a smaller impulse of the hip external rotation moment (P < 0.01) during walking compared with asymptomatic men. Women with hip-related pain displayed a greater total range of motion (excursion) for the sagittal plane knee angle (P = 0.01) during walking compared with asymptomatic women. Conclusion: Overall, few differences were observed in lower-limb biomechanics between football players with and without hip-related pain, irrespective of the task. This outcome suggests that, despite the presence of symptoms, impairments in lower-limb biomechanics during function do not appear to be a prominent feature of people with hip-related pain who are still participating in sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) which struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992 on states' rights grounds. It mentions legalization of sports betting in states and Indian Country and Tenth Amendment jurisprudence and the origins and interpretation of the anti-commandeering principle. It also mentions iconography in professional and amateur sports.

Governments and organizations, especially governments in developing countries, have witnessed project failures in their project implementation, although there might be some differences in the causes, effects and consequences of such failures among governments. This study aimed at investigating the causes, effects and consequences of project failures in developing countries with particular reference to Nigeria, through literature review. Information on project failures in Africa, Asia and little in Europe were sourced through journals, books and newspapers. It was apparent that project failure is very frequent in developing countries and in particular, Nigeria, with several causes, effects and consequences. Some of the causes established were poor financial capacity; inaccurate costing and corruption; incompetence and lack of knowledge; poor planning and estimation; poor communication; poor contracting and contractor practices; frequent design scope changes and errors; socio-cultural and political interference; poor leadership and corruption. The effects of project failure were found to be loss of revenue to the state; project cost overruns; loss of revenue by citizens; substandard infrastructure and low empowerment to community. The resultant consequences were slow economic growth; sector-centric underdevelopment; loss of foreign aid/grants; tougher donor regulations; loss of elections to incumbent leadership and lack of confidence in state from financial institutions. It is recommended that Nigerian government should overhaul its policy architecture to mitigating the causes of project failure, and in particular, stemming down corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Core IdeasSoil morphology in highly calcareous wetlands does not reflect current hydrology.Despite anaerobic conditions, redox features do not form in carbonatic soils.Problematic hydric soils in the arid west need to be investigated.Alternative indicators must be used to identify problematic hydric soils.Given the correct conditions, redox features will form in carbonatic soils. Wetlands in arid climates are particularly important to understand and conserve given, their low spatial extent and high rate of delivering ecosystem services. Hydromorphic soils formed in calcareous geologic materials in western Wyoming present challenges related to wetland delineation. Despite the presence of hydrophytic vegetation and wetland hydrology, these soils have not developed the traditional redoximorphic features required to identify hydric soils. To determine the limiting factor responsible for the lack of redoximorphic feature expression, a mesocosm study was conducted with cores extracted from the field. Fifteen intact soil cores were treated with Fe, organic C (OC), a combination of Fe + OC, or no amendment and inundated for 18 wk. Oxidation–reduction potential and pH were measured weekly and after 18 wk, the barrels were drained, the soil cores were dissected, and the redoximorphic features were described. The mesocosms treated with Fe and Fe + OC generated the greatest amount of redoximorphic features (21.9 and 23.0%, respectively). In contrast, the OC‐treated and control mesocosms produced minimal redoximorphic features (0.16 and 0.08%, respectively). According to the results of this study, the addition of Fe and the accompanying acidifying conditions allowed for the development of redoximorphic features and therefore is responsible for their absence in situ. The field identification of carbonatic hydric soils will require the use of an alternative field indicator beyond soil morphological indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses that an introduction of desire has much to contribute to the study of religion, capital, and capitalism. Topics include this is particularly evident as one moves from more widely studied liberal, post-Protestant, and secular social ecologies to capital's new homelands in Asia, and the concentration of global capital in the previously colonial, slave-based, and industrialized economies of Western Europe and America has been moving for decades towards urban centers in Asia.

Recovery Colleges aim to assist people with mental health difficulties in the journey to recovery through education. They bring together professional and lived experience of mental health challenges in a non‐stigmatising college environment and operate on college principles. All courses are designed to contribute towards well‐being and recovery. Despite the ever‐growing number of Recovery Colleges (both in the UK and internationally), the evaluative evidence is limited; comprising mostly non‐peer‐reviewed evaluations, audits and case studies. The present article comprises a mixed‐methods evaluation of a newly established Recovery College in South East Essex, UK. The evaluation comprised questionnaires of mental well‐being and social inclusion at baseline and 3 and 6 month follow‐up, in addition to three focus groups. There were significant improvements in both mental well‐being and social inclusion from baseline to 6 month follow‐up (25 participants completed the measure of well‐being at both time points and 19 completed the measure of social inclusion). This was supported by additional free‐text questionnaire comments and focus group findings (17 participants participated across the focus groups), with reports of increased confidence, reduced anxiety and increased social inclusion/reduced social isolation. Additionally, at 6 month follow‐up a majority of respondents were planning on attending courses external to the Recovery College, volunteering and/or gaining paid employment. Challenges and recommendations identified through the focus groups indicate the importance for standardisation of processes (which is particularly important when multiple organisations are involved in the running of a Recovery College), as well as consideration of longer‐running courses. Funders should continue to invest in the Recovery College movement as the growing evidence‐base is demonstrating how these colleges can help address the high prevalence of mental health difficulties, by promoting mental well‐being and social inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of pain on lower limb biomechanics during walking has been found to be sex specific for certain joint diseases. However, it is not known if sex is an effect-modifier in people with hip pain. Therefore, the aim of the study was to determine the differences in lower limb biomechanics between men and women with hip-related groin pain during functional tasks. 65 male and 23 female football players with hip-related groin pain were recruited. Biomechanical data were recorded during walking and the single-leg drop jump. Hip, knee and ankle joint kinematics and kinetics were calculated. Differences between men and women were assessed using statistical parametric mapping. Walking: Men with hip-related groin pain walked with lower hip flexion and internal rotation angles during stance compared to women. During different sections of stance, men also displayed a lower hip adduction angle and 'external' adduction moment, a lower knee flexion angle and 'external' flexion moment, as well as greater 'external' dorsi-flexion moment and impulse. Single-leg drop jump: Men with hip-related groin pain displayed a lower hip flexion angle during early stance, and greater 'external' knee flexion and ankle dorsi-flexion moments. The impulse of the 'external' dorsi-flexion moment was also greater for men compared to women. Men and women with hip-related groin pain display differing lower limb biomechanics in both low and high impact tasks. Sex may therefore be a potential effect modifier in people with hip-related groin pain. Future research in this area should incorporate sex-specific analyses. NA. • Men and women with hip-related groin pain have differing lower limb biomechanics. • Ankle joint biomechanics were consistently different between groups across tasks. • Sex may be an effect modifier in hip-related groin pain biomechanics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Altered hip and thigh muscle activity have been observed across a spectrum of articular hip pathologies, including hip osteoarthritis, femoroacetabular impingement syndrome, and labral pathology. No systematic reviews have examined muscle activity associated with hip pathology and hip-related pain across the life span. A greater understanding of impairments in hip and thigh muscle activity during functional tasks may assist in the development of targeted treatment strategies. We conducted a systematic review using the PRISMA guidelines. A literature search was performed in five databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Sports Discuss, and PsychINFO). Studies were included that (i) investigated people with hip-related pain (femoroacetabular impingement syndrome, labral tears) or hip osteoarthritis; and (ii) reported on muscle activity using electromyography of hip and thigh muscles during functional tasks such as walking, stepping, squatting, or lunging. Two independent reviewers performed data extraction and assessed risk of bias using a modified version of the Downs and Black checklist. Non-pooled data demonstrated a limited level of evidence. Overall, differences in muscle activity appeared to be more prevalent in people with more advanced hip pathology. We found that impairments in muscle activity in those with intra-articular hip pathology measured using electromyography were variable but appeared to be greater in severe hip pathology (e.g., hip OA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • CSF allopregnanolone and pregnanolone levels are related to PTSD severity in men. • CSF allopregnanolone + pregnanolone to DHEA is related to dysphoria symptoms. • Allopregnanolone synthesis is blocked at 5α-reductase in men with PTSD. • The enzyme blocks in allopregnanolone synthesis in PTSD appear to be sex specific. Abstract Allopregnanolone and pregnanolone (together termed allo + pregnan) are neurosteroid metabolites of progesterone that equipotently facilitate the action of gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA) at GABA A receptors. The adrenal steroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) allosterically antagonizes GABA A receptors and facilitates N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor function. In prior research, premenopausal women with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) displayed low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of allo + pregnan [undifferentiated by the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method used] that correlated strongly and negatively with PTSD reexperiencing and negative mood symptoms. A PTSD-related decrease in the ratio of allo + pregnan to 5α-dihydroprogesterone (5α-DHP: immediate precursor for allopregnanolone) suggested a block in synthesis of these neurosteroids at 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3α-HSD). In the current study, CSF was collected from unmedicated, tobacco-free men with PTSD (n = 13) and trauma-exposed healthy controls (n = 17) after an overnight fast. Individual CSF steroids were quantified separately by GC–MS. In the men with PTSD, allo + pregnan correlated negatively with Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-IV) total (ρ=-0.74, p = 0.006) and CAPS-IV derived Simms dysphoria cluster (ρ=-0.71, p = 0.01) scores. The allo+pregnan to DHEA ratio also was negatively correlated with total CAPS (ρ=-0.74, p = 0.006) and dysphoria cluster (ρ=-0.79, p = 0.002) scores. A PTSD-related decrease in the 5α-DHP to progesterone ratio indicated a block in allopregnanolone synthesis at 5α-reductase. This study suggests that CSF allo + pregnan levels correlate negatively with PTSD and negative mood symptoms in both men and women, but that the enzyme blocks in synthesis of these neurosteroids may be sex-specific. Consideration of sex, PTSD severity, and function of 5α-reductase and 3α-HSD thus may enable better targeting of neurosteroid-based PTSD treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people with intellectual or developmental disabilities are over-represented in the juvenile justice system. Unlike young people without disabilities, young offenders with intellectual or developmental disabilities may have assigned probation officers (i.e., advocacy unit probation officers) who understand the contextual risk factors among these young offenders. For this study, we conducted interviews with eight advocacy unit probation officers about the risk factors for young offenders with intellectual or developmental disabilities as well as ways to reduce court involvement. Risk factors for being involved with the juvenile justice system included peer victimisation, inability of the court to explain its procedures, inappropriate school discipline, experiences of living in poverty, and neighbourhood violence. Suggested strategies to reduce the risk for offending included: improving family-school partnerships, increasing special education knowledge among juvenile justice officials, and having schools appropriately address behaviours of students. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microtubules (MTs) must be generated from precise locations to form the structural frameworks required for cell shape and function. MTs are nucleated by the γ-tubulin ring complex (γ-TuRC), but it remains unclear how γ-TuRC gets to the right location. Augmin has been suggested to be a γ-TuRC targeting factor and is required for MT nucleation from preexisting MTs. To determine augmin's architecture and function, we purified Xenopus laevis augmin from insect cells. We demonstrate that augmin is sufficient to target γ-TuRC to MTs by in vitro reconstitution. Augmin is composed of two functional parts. One module (tetramer-II) is necessary for MT binding, whereas the other (tetramer-III) interacts with γ-TuRC. Negative-stain electron microscopy reveals that both tetramers fit into the Y-shape of augmin, and MT branching assays reveal that both are necessary for MT nucleation. The finding that augmin can directly bridge MTs with γ-TuRC via these two tetramers adds to our mechanistic understanding of how MTs can be nucleated from preexisting MTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Conventional de novo drug design is costly and time consuming, making it accessible to only the best resourced research organizations. An emergent approach to new drug development is drug repurposing, in which compounds that have already gone through some level of clinical testing are examined for efficacy against diseases divergent than their original application. Repurposing of existing drugs circumvents the time and considerable cost of early stages of drug development, and can be accelerated by using software to screen existing chemical databases to identify suitable drug candidates. Results: Small-molecule Peptide-Influenced Drug Repurposing (SPIDR) was developed to identify small molecule drugs that target a specific receptor by exploring the conformational binding space of peptide ligands. SPIDR was tested using the potent and selective 16-amino acid peptide α-conotoxin MII ligand and the α3β2-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) isoform. SPIDR incorporates a genetic algorithm-based, heuristic search procedure, which was used to explore the ligand binding domain of the α3β2-nAChR isoform using a library consisting of 640,000 α-conotoxin MII peptide analogs. The peptides that exhibited the highest affinity for α3β2-nAChR were used as models for a small-molecule structure similarity search of the PubChem Compound database. SPIDR incorporates the SimSearcher utility, which generates shape distribution signatures of molecules and employs multi-level K-means clustering to insure fast database queries. SPIDR identified non-peptide drugs with estimated binding affinities nearly double that of the native α-conotoxin MII peptide. Conclusions: SPIDR has been generalized and integrated into DockoMatic v 2.1. This software contains an intuitive graphical interface for peptide mutant screening workflow and facilitates mapping, clustering, and searching of local molecular databases, making DockoMatic a valuable tool for researchers in drug design and repurposing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The women Veteran population accessing Veterans Health Administration (VA) care has grown rapidly. Women Veterans exhibit high rates of mental health conditions that increase coronary artery disease (CAD) risk; however, the relationship between specific conditions and increasing mental health burden to CAD in this population is unknown. Materials and Methods: Using VA National Patient Care Data for 2009, we identified women Veterans over 45 (N = 157,195). Logistic regression models examined different mental health diagnoses and increasing mental health burden (number of diagnostic clusters) as predictors of CAD. Results: CAD prevalence was 4.16%, and 36% of women Veterans were current smokers. Depression exhibited the strongest association with CAD (odds ratio [OR] 1.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.50-1.71]), similar to that of current smoking (OR 1.68 [1.58-1.78]). Controlling for demographic variables, smoking, diabetes, and obesity, each additional mental health diagnosis increased the odds of CAD by 44%. Conclusions: Women Veterans over age 45 accessing VA care exhibited a high degree of mental health burden, which is associated with elevated odds of CAD; those with depression alone had 60% higher odds of CAD. For women Veterans using VA, mental health diagnoses may act as CAD risk factors that are potentially modi- fiable. Novel interventions in primary care and mental health are needed to address heart disease in this growing and aging population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research about students with disabilities and students identifying as LGBQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning) reveals that both populations report more suicidality and peer victimization and less school connectedness than do their peers. No study has previously examined the intersection of these identities with regard to peer victimization, school connectedness, and suicidality. Using a sample of 11,364 high school students, we examined the relationships among these identities, peer victimization, and school connectedness with suicidal ideation. Compared with their peers without either identity, students identifying with one of these identities reported higher levels of suicidal ideation. School connectedness and peer victimization each moderated the association between identity and suicidal ideation. In addition, students who were victimized more than their peers and who identified both with a disability and as LGBQ (n = 250) reported the highest levels of suicidal ideation. School-based victimization and suicide prevention programs should consider students' multiple identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide rates among recent veterans have led to interest in risk identification. Evidence of gender-and trauma-specific predictors of suicidal ideation necessitates the use of advanced computational methods capable of elucidating these important and complex associations. In this study, we used machine learning to examine gender-specific associations between predeployment and military factors, traumatic deployment experiences, and psychopathology and suicidal ideation (SI) in a national sample of veterans deployed during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts (n = 2,244). Classification, regression tree analyses, and random forests were used to identify associations with SI and determine their classification accuracy. Findings converged on several associations for men that included depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and somatic complaints. Sexual harassment during deployment emerged as a key factor that interacted with PTSD and depression and demonstrated a stronger association with SI among women. Classification accuracy for SI presence or absence was good based on the receiver operating characteristic area under the curve, men = .91, women = .92. The risk for SI was classifiable with good accuracy, with associations that varied by gender. The use of machine learning analyses allowed for the discovery of rich, nuanced results that should be replicated in other samples and may eventually be a basis for the development of gender-specific actuarial tools to assess SI risk among veterans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: and purpose of the study: The frequency of lung nodules in the head and neck cancer population is unknown, currently the only guidance available recommends following local policy. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of pulmonary nodules in our head and neck cancer group and interpret the recently updated British Thoracic Society (BTS) Lung Nodule Guidelines in a head and neck cancer setting.Methods: 100 patients were diagnosed with head and neck cancer between July 2013-March 2014, clinico-pathological, demographic and radiological data was extracted from the electronic records. Images with lung findings were re-reviewed by a single consultant radiologist for patients with lung pathology on the initial staging CT report.Results: Twenty patients (20%) had discreet pulmonary findings on CT. Eleven (11%) had lung nodules, 6 (6%) had lesions suspicious for metastasis and 3 (3%) had co-incidental bronchogenic primary cancers. These patients were re-imaged between 6 and 18 months and in 1 patient the previously identified 7 mm nodule had progressed to 16 mm at 1 year. There was no set follow up imaging protocol used.Conclusion: The MDT in NHS Lothian has reviewed the BTS guidance and now has a local policy for the management of lung nodules in head and neck cancer patients. Lung Nodules in the head and neck cancer population are common >10%. Higher risk patients with larger nodules should be risk assessed with validated assessment tools. PET-CT has a place in the assessment of lung nodules when risk of malignancy is high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitotic spindles are composed of microtubules (MTs) that must nucleate at the right place and time. Ran regulates this process by directly controlling the release of spindle assembly factors (SAFs) from nucleocytoplasmic shuttle proteins importin-aß and subsequently forms a biochemical gradient of SAFs localized around chromosomes. The majority of spindle MTs are generated by branching MT nucleation, which has been shown to require an eight-subunit protein complex known as augmin. In Xenopus laevis, Ran can control branching through a canonical SAF, TPX2, which is nonessential in Drosophila melanogaster embryos and HeLa cells. Thus, how Ran regulates branching MT nucleation when TPX2 is not required remains unknown. Here, we use in vitro pulldowns and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy to show that augmin is a Ran-regulated SAF. We demonstrate that augmin directly interacts with both importin-a and importin-ß through two nuclear localization sequences on the Haus8 subunit, which overlap with the MT-binding site. Moreover, we show that Ran controls localization of augmin to MTs in both Xenopus egg extract and in vitro. Our results demonstrate that RanGTP directly regulates augmin, which establishes a new way by which Ran controls branching MT nucleation and spindle assembly both in the absence and presence of TPX2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The study objective was to compare the mental health and risk-taking behaviour of Canadian youth in military-connected families to those not in militaryconnected families in a contemporary sample. We hypothesized that youth in militaryconnected families have worse mental health, lower life satisfaction and greater engagement in risk-taking behaviours than those not in military-connected families. Methods: This cross-sectional study used 2017/18 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children in Canada survey data, a representative sample of youth attending Grades 6 to 10. Questionnaires collected information on parental service and six indicators of mental health, life satisfaction and risk-taking behaviour. Multivariable Poisson regression models with robust error variance were implemented, applying survey weights and accounting for clustering by school. Results: This sample included 16 737 students; 9.5% reported that a parent and/or guardian served in the Canadian military. After adjusting for grade, sex and family affluence, youth with a family connection to the military were 28% more likely to report low well-being (95% CI: 1.17-1.40), 32% more likely to report persistent feelings of hopelessness (1.22-1.43), 22% more likely to report emotional problems (1.13-1.32), 42% more likely to report low life satisfaction (1.27-1.59) and 37% more likely to report frequent engagement in overt risk-taking (1.21-1.55). Conclusion: Youth in military-connected families reported worse mental health and more risk-taking behaviours than youth not in military-connected families. The results suggest a need for additional mental health and well-being supports for youth in Canadian military-connected families and longitudinal research to understand underlying determinants that contribute to these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The late-nineteenth century was a time of Protestant missionary enthusiasm for the “great closed land” of Tibet. Their prodigious, oftentimes proto-ethnographic, writings continue to provide scholars with archives that document missionary perspectives on Inner Asian society and religion, but few sources have yet emerged that allow for these to be read alongside Tibetan accounts of Christian-Buddhist encounters. This article undertakes such a parallel reading of four accounts of an unsuccessful attempt by the British missionary Cecil Polhill to convert an eastern Tibetan Buddhist abbot, Māyang Paṇḍita, in late 1889. Understanding these texts as conflicting sacred historiographies, we note that these Christian and Buddhist writers shared a commitment to writing and to particular modes of emotional, material, and logical mediation as the “correct” path to religious certainty. Differences in genre, however, lead more to mockery and misunderstanding than to each side’s desired transformation of the other.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the Convention on Biological Diversity was agreed upon at the Rio Earth Summit, global Protected Area (PA) coverage has increased whereas commensurable financial commitments to manage PAs have not. Here, we question whether biodiversity offsets should act as a complementary funding mechanism where funding for PAs is inadequate. Based on the additionality concept that underpins offsetting, biodiversity offsets set in PAs could be considered as not additional since PAs are already protected by legal or other means, and in theory should be adequately financed and managed. In practice however, many PAs are under increasing threat due to a lack of sufficient funding for staffing, infrastructure and other basic operational necessities, which renders their management ineffective, resulting in further loss of biodiversity. In such cases, we argue that additionality from a financial perspective can be demonstrated, opening up the opportunity for offset financing to provide enhanced protection of PAs. Even so, the use of offsets for PA financing is not straightforward due to the introduction of new risks to existing challenges that offsets face in general. We address four key challenges and highlight three advantages of using offset finance for improving PA management. We end by questioning whether the use of offset finance can deliver high quality biodiversity offsets through existing PAs, and what this might mean for biodiversity conservation more broadly. We infer that this mechanism has the potential to boost financing for conservation and help governments meet some of their national and international biodiversity conservation commitments, including realisation of Aichi Target 11. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiuser museum interactives are computer systems installed in museums or galleries which allow several visitors to interact together with digital representations of artefacts and information from the museum׳s collection. In this paper, we describe WeCurate, a socio-technical system that supports co-browsing across multiple devices and enables groups of users to collaboratively curate a collection of images, through negotiation, collective decision making and voting. The engineering of such a system is challenging since it requires to address several problems such as: distributed workflow control, collective decision making and multiuser synchronous interactions. The system uses a peer-to-peer Electronic Institution (EI) to manage and execute a distributed curation workflow and models community interactions into scenes, where users engage in different social activities. Social interactions are enacted by intelligent agents that interface the users participating in the curation workflow with the EI infrastructure. The multiagent system supports collective decision making, representing the actions of the users within the EI, where the agents advocate and support the desires of their users e.g. aggregating opinions for deciding which images are interesting enough to be discussed, and proposing interactions and resolutions between disagreeing group members. Throughout the paper, we describe the enabling technologies of WeCurate, the peer-to-peer EI infrastructure, the agent collective decision making capabilities and the multi-modal interface. We present a system evaluation based on data collected from cultural exhibitions in which WeCurate was used as supporting multiuser interactive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined whether cognitive distortions (i.e., assimilated and overaccommodated thoughts) and realistic (i.e., accommodated) thoughts assessed from impact statements written 5–10 years after completing cognitive processing therapy (CPT) accurately predicted posttreatment maintenance or decline in treatment gains during the same period. The sample included 50 women diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) secondary to rape who participated in a randomized clinical trial of CPT for PTSD. Cognitions were assessed via coding and analyses of participants' written impact statements at three time points: beginning of treatment, end of treatment, and at 5–10 years follow-up. Primary mental health outcomes were symptoms of PTSD (Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale) and depression (Beck Depression Inventory). Changes in trauma-related beliefs between the end of treatment and long-term follow-up were associated with concomitant changes in PTSD and depression symptoms (effect sizes ranging from r = .35–.54). Declines in accommodated thinking and increases in overaccommodated thinking were associated with elevations in symptomatology. Improvement in accommodated thinking and declines in overaccommodated thinking were associated with lower PTSD and depression symptoms during this same time period. Findings provided support for the role of changes in accommodated and overaccommodated thinking being associated with level of PTSD and depression many years after participating in CPT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 4-item Hurt/Insult/Threaten/Scream (HITS) tool accurately detects past-year intimate partner violence (IPV) among female Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients; however, it lacks a sexual IPV item. This study evaluated the accuracy of an extended HITS (E-HITS), which adds a sexual IPV item, in female VHA patients. A sample of 80 female U.S. veteran VHA patients in New England completed a mail survey (50.0% response rate) that included the 5-item E-HITS and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS-2). Women were included if they were in an intimate relationship in the past year. The women averaged 49 years of age and 86.0% of the sample was White. Accuracy of the 4-item HITS was compared to the 5-item E-HITS, using the CTS-2 as the reference. There were 20 women (25.0%) who reported past-year IPV on the CTS-2. The receiver operator characteristic curves demonstrated that the HITS and E-HITS performed nearly identically at their optimal cutoff scores of 6 and 7, respectively. At these cutoff scores, the sensitivity of both tools was .75, 95% CI [.55, .95]. The specificities were similar; .83 for the HITS, 95% CI [.73, .92], and .82 for the E-HITS, 95% CI [.72, .90]. Including a sexual IPV item may be clinically beneficial; it also attains the same accuracy of case identification as the HITS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: The majority of women Veterans using VA (Veterans Administration) care fall in the 45-65 year-old age range. Understanding how menopause is managed in this group is of importance to optimizing their health. OBJECTIVE: National population estimates showed a prevalence of hormone therapy (HT) use by women over 45 years of 4.7 % (2009-2010). Our study described the frequency of HT use among women Veterans in VA, and examined whether mental health (MH) was predictive of HT use. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional analysis of national VA administrative data for fiscal year 2009. PARTICIPANTS: Women Veterans over the age of 45 ( N = 157,195) accessing VA outpatient care were included in the analysis. MAIN MEASURES: Logistic regression analyses using HT use as the dependent variable. KEY RESULTS: Mean age was 59.4 years (SD =12.2, range =46-110), and 16,227 (10.3 %) of all women used HT. Hysterectomy (OR 3.99 [3.53, 4.49]) and osteoporosis (1.34 [1.27, 1.42]) were the strongest medical indicators of HT use. A total of 49,557 (31.5 %) women in the sample received at least one primary diagnosis of a MH disorder and were more likely to use HT than women with no MH diagnoses (unadjusted OR 1.56, 95 % CI [1.50, 1.61]). Women Veterans with a mood disorder (depression/bipolar) or anxiety disorder [post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other anxiety diagnoses] were more likely to use HT after controlling for demographics and medical comorbidity. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of HT use among women Veterans using VA is more than twice that of the general population. Prior work suggested that women Veterans were discontinuing HT at comparable rates, but these data demonstrate that decline in VA HT use has not kept pace with that of civilian medical care. The association of MH diagnosis with HT use suggests that MH plays an important role in VA rates. Further study is needed to understand contributing patient and provider factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]