Articles: female.
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High occupational stress is generally associated with poorer mental health and reduced performance in military personnel, whereas access to support resources is associated with positive outcomes. However, little research has examined the unique stressors and supports experienced by sailors on ships while underway at sea. The objectives of this study were to (1) identify sailors' underway stressors and supports and (2) examine how these differ as a function of demographic and operational factors. ⋯ Sailors experience many stressors while underway. Increasing the resources available to underway sailors may be warranted, especially for female and enlisted personnel. Additional research is necessary to develop targeted interventions and resources. Possible recommendations include noise mitigation, berthing area improvements, sleep and/or scheduling interventions, improved access to mental and physical health care, and interventions to reduce the stigma associated with seeking mental health care.
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The dearth of research investigating the efficacy of virtual Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) training programs among female populations necessitates further exploration. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a 12-week ACFT virtual exercise program among female participants. ⋯ Following the intervention, female participants experienced a significant increase of approximately 7% in their overall ACFT scores, with upward trends observed across all 6 individual ACFT events. These findings suggest that 12-week virtual suspension training can be a valuable tool for enhancing physical fitness and performance among female participants, particularly within the context of military readiness.
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Hyperalgesic priming is a model system that has been widely used to understand plasticity in painful stimulus-detecting sensory neurons, called nociceptors. A key feature of this model system is that following priming, stimuli that do not normally cause hyperalgesia now readily provoke this state. We hypothesized that hyperalgesic priming occurs because of reorganization of translation of mRNA in nociceptors. ⋯ A GPR88 agonist injection into the paw had no effect in naive mice but caused mechanical hypersensitivity and grimacing responses in female primed mice. Systemic Meteorin treatment in primed mice completely reversed established hyperalgesic priming mechanical hypersensitivity and grimacing responses to prostaglandin E2 in female mice. Our work demonstrates that altered nociceptor translatomes are causative in producing hyperalgesic priming in multiple models in female mice.
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Active duty service members (ADSMs) may be at heightened risk for eating disorders (EDs) and sub-clinical disordered eating (DE). ADSMs are also at a high risk for musculoskeletal injury (MSK-I). Given the risk for EDs/DE among ADSMs as well as robust physical requirements of military training, additional research is needed to elucidate links between DE and risk for MSK-I among ADSMs. The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of DE and associations with MSK-I among Marine Corps officers entering a 6 month leadership course. ⋯ In this sample of Marine officers, DE was associated with greater odds of a recent MSK-I among women only. Results align with previously reported relationships between DE and skeletal health in female athletes. Prospective research is needed to elucidate the temporal nature of these relationships.