Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Defence and Security Forces in Northern Benin (2023)

Introduction: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is defined as “actual exposure to death or the threat of death, serious injury or sexual violence”, either directly or indirectly, resulting in a symptomatic procession of repetition, avoidance, neurovegetative hyperactivity and individualized symptoms, with or without negative cognitive and mood changes. It therefore goes without saying that the defence and security forces constitute a high-risk population in need of attention. Objective: To study post-traumatic stress disorder in defence and security forces in the city of Parakou in 2023. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study conducted from December 2022 to July 2023. The study population consisted of active military, republican police and firefighters in the city of Parakou in 2023. Non-proportional stratified sampling was used, given the inaccessibility of the source population size for national security reasons. Post-traumatic stress disorder was assessed using the “post-traumatic stress disorder checklist-5 (PCLS-5) scale. Results: A total of 305 subjects participated in the survey. Males dominated 90.2%. The most represented corps was the Republican Police (41.6%), most of whom were non-commissioned officers (46.6%). The majority count between 11 and 20 years of service (48.9%), with 2 to 5 missions completed (67.5%). The calculated prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder was 11.8%, based on the post-traumatic stress disorder checklist-5 (PCL-5). Of the 36 respondents with post-traumatic stress disorder, 20 (55.6%) had experienced an armed attack, 25 (69.4%) had witnessed a violent death, 18 (50.0%) had witnessed the agony of a colleague, 15 (41.7%) had been exposed to a fire or explosion, while 26 (72.2%) had been traumatized by physical and/or verbal aggression. 5 (13.9%) had consulted a specialist psychiatrist, while 6 (16.7%) were on medication and 26 (72.2%) used sport as a means of maintaining physical and mental health. Respectively 22 (61.1%) and 21 (58.3%) had definite symptoms of anxiety and depression. Multivariate analysis revealed a significant association between post-traumatic stress disorder and the following variables: total number of children ≤ 2 (p = 0.015), comorbidities such as arterial hypertension (p = 0.007), history of hepatitis (p = 0.017), work accidents (p = 0.016), alcohol dependence (p = 0.004), domestic violence (p = 0.004), psychological violence (p = 0.017) and anxiety disorders (p Conclusion: Defence and security personnel can also be prey to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which needs to be systematically taken into account when they are subjected to trauma in the course of their duties. Mental health should be an integral part of the periodic medical check-up objectives for defence and security forces throughout the country.

A review on lightweight materials for defence applications:Present and future developments

The defence sector is now at an advanced level,catering to the global scenario,and countries also invest heavily in research and development.Countries around the world have spent a lot of money on research and development over the years in order to stay ahead of their competitors.Lightweight materials are critical in defence applications because they allow components to be lighter without sacrificing strength.This review provides an overview of the research related to defence applications.The book provides comprehensive details on current trends in the application of lightweight materials in defence.This review also includes historical and current perspectives on defence technologies.It discusses uses of lightweight materials such as metal matrix composites,polymer composites,ceramic matrix composites,fiber composites in defence sectors Finally,the review paper also emphasizes future military applications of lightweight materials.

Implication of Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Defence Systems in Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Infection among Children Aged 1 to 15 Years in the Mount Cameroon Area

It is known that the pathogenicity of Plasmodium induces the breakdown of haemoglobin, which leads to the induction of oxidative stress. This study aimed to identify the possible effects of oxidative stress and antioxidant defence systems in symptomatic and asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum malaria infection in children (1 - 15 years old) in the Mount Cameroon vicinity. This cross-sectional study involved blood samples collected from 473 children and examined for malaria parasitaemia. Full blood counts were performed using an automated haemoanalyser. Serum oxidative stress status (malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and vitamin C (Vit C)) were each determined by colorimetric enzymatic assays. The prevalence of malaria parasite infection was 32.1% among the participants. Out of that, 62.5% of patients with parasitaemia were symptomatic. Anaemia prevalence increased significantly with parasite density. MDA levels were significantly higher in patients with malaria symptoms than in those without symptoms. A significant and positive correlation was detected between MDA (r = 0.831, P < 0.05), NO (r = 0.779, P < 0.05), and malaria parasite density while, a significant and negative relationship occurred between parasite density and GSH (r = ?0.763, P < 0.05) and Vit C (r = ?0.826, P < 0.05) levels, SOD (r = ?0.621, P < 0.05) and CAT (r = ?0.817, P < 0.05) activities. The SOD activity and GSH level significantly decreased (P < 0.05) with an increase in the MDA levels. These findings showed that MDA and nitric oxide levels increased both in malaria participants with or without symptoms. A similar decrease in the antioxidant defence system was observed in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Therefore, there is a need to develop public health policies that encourage routine diagnosis and treatment of malaria in seemingly healthy people (asymptomatic cases), and this will play an essential role in controlling malaria in tropical countries.

Recent applications of carbon-based composites in defence industry: A review

Carbon-based composites, including carbon reinforced composites and carbon-matrix composites, in defence technologies have raised a lot of attention due to its significant physical capabilities, superior thermal and mechanical stability, and its eco-friendly nature. Carbon-based composite which incorporating with various carbonaceous materials such as coke, char, black carbon, activated carbon, carbon fibre and other carbon nanomaterials (carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibres, graphene and graphite) are the greatest viable option for the development of advanced defence technologies. In this review article the characteristics of carbon-based materials and its composites are discussed for their distinct application in defence sectors;aeronautics, maritime, automotive, electronics, energy storage, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and structures. The origin of carbonaceous materials and its production techniques were discussed. Carbon-based composites have a promising future in defence technology, particularly in chemical sensors, drug delivery agents, radar technologies, and nanocomposites due to their low cost, easy availability, flexibility in design and processing.

The Arabidopsis homologs of CCR4-associated factor 1 show mRNA deadenylation activity and play a role in plant defence responses

Messenger RNA （mRNA） turnover in eukaryotic cells begins with shortening of the poly （A） tail at the 3＇ end, a process called deadenylation. In yeast, the deadenylation reaction is predominantly mediated by CCR4 and CCR4- associated factor 1 （CAF1）, two components of the well-characterised protein complex named CCR4-NOT. We report here that AtCAF1a and AtCAF1b, putative Arabidopsis homologs of the yeast CAF1 gene, partially complement the growth defect of the yeast call mutant in the presence of caffeine or at high temperatures. The expression of At-CAF1a and AtCAFlb is induced by multiple stress-related hormones and stimuli. Both AtCAF1a and AtCAFlb show deadenylation activity in vitro and point mutations in the predicted active sites disrupt this activity. T-DNA insertion mutants disrupting the expression of AtCAF1a and/or AtCAF1b are defective in deadenylation of stress-related mRNAs, indicating that the two AtCAF1 proteins are involved in regulated mRNA deadenylation in vivo. Interestingly, the single and double mutants of AtCAF1a and AtCAFlb show reduced expression of pathogenesis-related （PR） genes PR1 and PR2 and are more susceptible to Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato DC3000 （Pst DC3000） infection, whereas transgenic plants over-expressing AtCAFla show elevated expression of PR1 and PR2 and increased resis-tance to the same pathogen. Our results suggest roles of the AtCAF1 proteins in regulated mRNA deadenylation and defence responses to pathogen infections.

Induction of defence gene expression by oligogalacturonic acid requires in-creases in both cytosolic calcium and hydrogen peroxide in Arabidopsis thaliana

Responses to oligogalacturonic acid (OGA) were determined in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings expressing the calcium reporter protein aequorin. OGA stimulated a rapid, substantial and transient increase in the concentration of cytosolic calcium ([Ca2+]cyt) that peaked after ca. 15 s. This increase was dose-dependent, saturating at ca. 50 μg Gal equiv/ml of OGA. OGA also stimulated a rapid generation of H2O2. A small, rapid increase in H2O2 content was followed by a much larger oxidative burst, with H2O2 content peaking after ca. 60 min and declining thereafter. Induction of the oxidative burst by OGA was also dose-dependent, with a maximum response again being achieved at ca. 50 μg Gal equiv/mL. Inhibitors of calcium fluxes inhibited both increases in [Ca2+]cyt and [H2O2], whereas inhibitors of NADPH oxidase blocked only the oxidative burst. OGA increased strongly the expression of the defence-related genes CHS,GST, PAL and PR-1. This induction was suppressed by inhibitors of calcium flux or NADPH oxidase, indicating that increases in both cytosolic calcium and H2O2 are required for OGA-induced gene expression.

Optimal Active Defence Using Dynamic Multi-Stage Signalling Game

Nowadays, security defence of network uses the game theory, which mostly applies complete information game model or even the static game model. To get closer to the actual network and defend actively, we propose a network attack-defence game model by using signalling game, which is modelled in the way of dynamic and incomplete information. We improve the traditional attack-defence strategies quantization method to meet the needs of the network signalling game model. Moreover, we give the calculation of the game equilibrium and analyse the optimal defence scheme. Finally, we analyse and verify effectiveness of the model and method through a simulation experiment.

Security Defence Policy Selection Method Using the Incomplete Information Game Model

Nowadays, the network defence policy selection using game model of incomplete information ignores the type of the defender, which quantifies cost simply, resulting in unreasonable defence policies selection. Aiming at the problem, we use Bayesian game theory to model the active defence policy selection. We take the types of both the attacker and the defender into consideration. Besides, the traditional quantization method is enhanced. Then, we calculate the equilibrium of static Bayesian game. Based on the analysis of the equilibrium, we select the optimal defence policy through the prediction for attackers' actions. The paper calculates the defence effectiveness of defence policies and provides a defence policies selection algorithm. Ultimately, we present an example to verify the effectiveness of the method and model proposed in the paper.

Sex differences and effects of oestrogen in rat gastric mucosal defence

AIM To evaluate sex differences and the effects of oestrogen administration in rat gastric mucosal defence.METHODS Sex differences in gastric mucus thickness and accumulation rate, absolute gastric mucosal blood flow using microspheres, the integrity of the gastric mucosal epithelium in response to a chemical irritant and the effects of oestrogen administration on relative gastric mucosal blood flow in an acute setting was assessed in an in vivo rat experimental model. Subsequently, sex differences in the distribution of oestrogen receptors and calcitonin gene related peptide in the gastric mucosa of animals exposed to oestrogen in the above experiments was evaluated using immunohistochemistry.RESULTS The absolute blood flow in the GI-tract was generally higher in males, but only significantly different in the corpus part of the stomach (1.12 ± 0.12 m L/min·g in males and 0.51 ± 0.03 m L/min·g in females) (P = 0.002). After removal of the loosely adherent mucus layer the thickness of the firmly adherent mucus layer in males and females was 79 ± 1 μm and 80 ± 3 μm respectively. After 60 min the mucus thickness increased to 113 ± 3 μm in males and 121 ± 3 μm in females with no statistically significant difference seen between the sexes. Following oestrogen administration(0.1 followed by 1 μg/kg·min), mean blood flow in the gastric mucosa decreased by 31% [68 ± 13 perfusion units (PFU)] in males which was significantly different compared to baseline(P = 0.02). In females however, mean blood flow remained largely unchanged with a 4% (5 ± 33 PFU) reduction. The permeability of the gastric mucosa increased to a higher level in females than in males (P = 0.01) after taurocholate challenge. However, the calculated mean clearance increase did not significantly differ between the sexes [0.1 ± 0.04 to 1.1 ± 0.1 m L/min·100 g in males and 0.4 ± 0.3 to 2.1 ± 0.3 m L/min·100 g in females(P = 0.065)]. There were no significant differences between 17β-Estradiol treated males (mean ratio of positive staining ± SEM)(0.06 ± 0.07) and females(0.11 ± 0.11) in the staining of ERα (P = 0.24). Also, there were no significant differences between 17β-Estradiol treated males (0.18 ± 0.21) and females (0.06 ± 0.12) in the staining of ERβ (P = 0.11). Finally, there were no significant differences between 17β-Estradiol treated males (0.04 ± 0.05) and females (0.11 ± 0.10) in the staining of CGRP(P = 0.14).CONCLUSION Gastric mucosal blood flow is higher in male than in female rats and is reduced in male rats by oestrogen administration.

Effects of Motivation and Demography on the Quantitative Plausibility of the Trojan Horse Defence Against Possession of Child Pornography

The Enhanced Complexity Model( ECM) developed previously has been further extended to produce a Motivationally Enhanced Complexity Model( MECM) which enables the degree of motivation,capability and opportunity of a hypothetical Trojan Horse author to be included in quantifying the relative plausibility of competing explanations for the existence of uncontested digital evidence.This new model has been applied to the case of the Trojan Horse defence( THD) against the possession of child pornography.Our results demonstrate that the THD in this case cannot be plausibly sustained unless it can be shown that an ‘off-theshelf'( OTS) Trojan Horse for this task is available and it is not detectable by the target computer,at the material time.

Defence force activities in marine protected areas:environmental management of Shoalwater Bay Training Area,Queensland,Australia

Environmental management of military activities is of growing global concern by defence forces. As one of the largest landholders in Australia, the Australian Defence Force （ADF） is increasingly concerned with sustainable environmental management. This paper focuses on how the ADF is maintaining effective environmental management, especially in environmentally sensitive marine protected areas. It uses Shoalwater Bay Training Area （SWBTA） as a research example to examine environmental management strategies conducted by the ADF. SWBTA is one of the most significant Defence training areas in Australia, with a large number of single, joint and combined military exercises conducted in the area. With its maritime component contained in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park （GBRMP）, the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area （GBRWHA）, and abutting Queensland＇s State Marine Parks, it has high protection values. It is therefore vital for the ADF to adopt environmentally responsible management while they are conducting military activities. As to various tools employed to manage environmental performance, the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System （EMS） is widely used by the ADE This paper exanlines military activities and marine environmental management within SWBTA, using the Talisman Saber （TS） exercise series as an example. These are extensive joint exercises conducted by the ADF and the United States defence forces. The paper outlines relevant legislative framework and environmental policies, analyses how the EMS operates in environmental management of military activities, and how military activities comply with these regulations. It discusses the implementation of the ADF EMS, including risk reduction measures, environmental awareness training, consultation and communication with stakeholders. A number of environmental management actions used in the TS exercises are presented to demonstrate the EMS application. Our investigations to this point indicate that the ADF is complying with all relevant legislation and policies. Further research is required to confirm compliance and conclude that military activities have good accord with environmental management objectives.

Temporal Dynamics of Antioxidant Defence System in Relation to Polyamine Catabolism in Rice under Direct-Seeded and Transplanted Conditions

Six rice cultivars viz. PR120, PR116, Feng Ai Zan, PR115, PAU201 and Punjab Mehak 1 under the direct-seeded and transplanted conditions were used to investigate the involvement of antioxidative defence system in relation to polyamine catabolism in temporal regulation of developing grains. Activities of ascorbate peroxidase （APx）, guaiacol peroxidase （GPx）, catalase （CAT）, superoxide dismutase （SOD）, polyamine oxidases （PAO） and contents of ascorbate, a-tocopherol, proline and polyamines increased gradually until mid-milky stage and then declined towards maturity stage under both planting conditions. The transplanted condition led to higher activities of antioxidative enzymes （APx, GPx and CAT） and contents of ascorbate, a-tocopherol and proline whereas the direct-seeded condition had elevated levels of PAO and SOD activities and contents of polyamines, lipid peroxide and hydrogen peroxide. Cultivars Feng Ai Zan and PR120 exhibited superior tolerance over other cultivars by accumulating higher contents of ascorbate, a-tocopherol and proline with increasing level of PAO and SOD activities under the direct-seeded condition. However, under the transplanted condition PR116 and PAU201 showed higher activities of antioxidative enzymes with decreasing content of lipid peroxide. Therefore, we concluded that under the direct-seeded condition, enhancements of polyamines content and PAO activity enabled rice cultivars more tolerant to oxidative stress, while under the transplanted condition, antioxidative defence with decreasing of lipid peroxide content was closely associated with the protection of grains by maintaining membrane integrity during rice grain filling. The results indicated that temporal dynamics of H2O2 metabolic machinery was strongly up-regulated especially at the mid-milky stage.

Extra-pair paternity and antiparasitic defence

Background:Extra-pair paternity(EPP)in birds provides benefits in terms of more offspring,and characteristics for maintenance of this behaviour have been the subject of investigation.Microorganisms are known to be transmitted during mating,especially when mating with multiple partners,and factors reducing this cost of multiple mating are expected.Further,plumage brightness and colour intensity have been shown to be important traits to benefits from multiple mating as predicted by sexual selection.The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the rate of extra-pair paternity and the relative size of the uropygial gland at the interspecific level,as the uropygial gland is an exocrine gland hypothesized to produce antiparasitic substances and further identified to affect plumage brightness.Because of the expected benefits of large uropygial gland in scenarios of sexual selection,we predicted a positive correlation with EPP.Methods:We collected information from the literature of uropygial gland size and frequency of extra-pair paternity of 60 avian species of different families and explored the predicted positive correlation between them.We did so with means of comparative analyses that considered phylogenetic relationship as random factor and included body mass as covariate.We used Markov chain Monte Carlo generalized linear mixed models that were weighted by number of nests used to estimate extra-pair paternity.Results:We detected a positive relationship between level of extra-pair paternity and uropygial gland size at an interspecific level.This finding is consistent with the prediction.Conclusions:We discuss the importance of this result in scenarios of sexual selection and argue that the detected relationship may have arisen by utilizing antiparasitic secretions through secondary sexual characters indicating parasite resistance.

Hypoxia and oxidative stress:The role of the anaerobic gut,the hepatic arterial buffer response and other defence mechanisms of the liver

The liver is considered a vital organ and is the hub for multiple chemical functions,such as intermediary metabolism and the detoxification of ingested toxins,which are essential for the preservation of life,hence,the origin or the word“liver”.The liver has enormous,highly diversified catalytic potential.This enormous catalytic potential generates massive oxidative stress,which is important for the functions of the liver but is detrimental to the viability of the liver.The liver receives approximately 80%of its blood supply from the portal vein,which brings less saturated blood from the gastrointestinal tract.Hepatocytes operate in a relatively hypoxic microenvironment due to this portal inflow.The development of this hypoxic microenvironment of the liver is an important evolutionary adaptation for its detoxification function that is not recognized in the literature as a defence mechanism against the oxidative stress generated during the detoxification process.This review describes liver function in relation to its oxidative catalytic potential and the oxidative stress generated by it as well as the evolutionary defence mechanisms present in the liver against this oxidative stress to provide new insights into liver function.

Ethics and the Financial and Budgetary Discipline in the Ministry of Defence

This article deals with the relation between ethics and financial and budgetary discipline during economic and social recession in the Czech Republic. We find causes of economic and social recession in the Czech Republic in the loss of democratic and human values. Czech Republic was ranked the 57th place in the Corruption Perceptions index 2013 out of the 177 countries assessed, which is the same result achieved by Bahrain, Croatia, and Namibia. Among the 31 European Union （EU） member states and Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland, the Czech Republic is on the 25th site. Market as well as public sector and public finances should follow unwritten rules of ethics and ethical behavior. Such rules should be followed especially by politicians, officials, soldiers, and businessmen. Do we need ethics in present time？ How is the role of the code of ethics in increasing financial and budgetary discipline in the defence sector？ Is it possible to measure efficiency of the code of ethics for financial and budgetary discipline？ We explain the importance of codes of ethics and formulate essential elements that each code of ethics must contain. Next, we deal with the main rules of both financial and budgetary disciplines. Furthermore, this article offers a comparison of several codes of ethics and describes the main problems in our implementation. In the end, we introduce our draft of Code of Ethics for Economic Service Officer in the Ministry of Defence and talk about possible influences of these codes on the quality of employee＇s performance.

Need for Policy Revision： In Context of the United States Defence Strategy Towards South Asia

The twenty-first century globalization in international affairs has created an integration which appears unpreventable. This global integration had an impact on South Asia. This paper examines the significance of the United States defence strategy of combating terrorism and its policy of development. It intends to rethink of the United States defence strategy towards South Asia after September 2001 terrorist attack; whether it is to combat terrorism as stipulated in US national documents or whether it has other intentions. The latter part of this research presents the relevant interventions and defence actions that followed the US policy declarations. The intentions of long-term objectives are implicit in the chain of defence activities that followed to date. In this regard, the significance of this research is to understand how a peaceful atmosphere could be created in South Asia where global development automatically follows. The findings of this research have opened up a relevant and timely topic to inquire into. Specifically, this research encourages Sri Lanka to understand and rethink its foreign policy as a country in a post war period.

Immune System and Body Defence Enhancement Effects of Oral Dihydroartemisinin in Wistar Albino Rats

Some drugs like clozapine, interferons and cyclosporine affect the number and function of white blood cells. This study examined the effect of oral dihydroartemisinin on the white blood cells; the lymph and intestinal glands of the intestinal wall and the open circulation of the spleen of Wistar albino rats. Five dosages of oral DHA （dihydroartemisinin）, 1, 2, 60 and 80 ms/ks were administered for 5 days or 7 days to 10 sets of 5 test rats weighing 104-106 grams. Equivalent doses of distilled water were given to 4 rats of similar weight and age to serve as controls in each of these tests. A group of five test and four control young adult albino rats which weighed 75-90 grams were given a repeated dose of the 1 ms/ks oral DHA with a rest period of 1 week between the two dosage regimens. The results of the study showed that oral dihydroartemisinin treatment produced highly statistically significant increases in the percentage neutrophil count （P 〈 0.01 ）; the percentage lymphocyte count （P 〈 0.01, P 〈 0.03）; the percentage monocyte count; the population of the cells of the intestinal glands and intestinal solitary and aggregated lymph glands; the number of the cells of the slow and open circulation of the spleen of the dihyrdroartemisinin-treated rats in comparism with the controls. These increases were dose, dose repetition and time dependent. The results suggest that oral dihydroartemisinin treatment had immune defence enhancement effects in the treated rats.

Pursuing Beauty in Utopia: A Defence of The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde's only novel, has created a great sensation after its publication. This article tries to justify the righteousness of Wilde's declamation—art for art's sake rather than for morality. Facing the dilemma of the coexistent Realism and Romanticism and restricted by the prevailed Puritan doctrine, Wilde chose to evade into the shelter of Utopia. In his Utopian world, there's no morality or immorality, there's only beauty. With his self-fashioning aestheticism, Oscar Wilde pursues beauty in his own Utopian world.

Defence Against Adversarial Attacks Using Clustering Algorithm

Deep learning model is vulnerable to adversarial examples in the task of image classification. In this paper, a cluster-based method for defending against adversarial examples is proposed. Each adversarial example before attacking a classifier is reconstructed by a clustering algorithm according to the pixel values. The MNIST database of handwritten digits was used to assess the defence performance of the method under the fast gradient sign method (FGSM) and the DeepFool algorithm. The defence model proposed is simple and the trained classifier does not need to be retrained.