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Background: Low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability worldwide. A recent realist review identified the behavioural mechanisms of trust, motivation, and confidence as key to optimising exercise prescription for persistent LBP. Objectives: Our objectives were to (1) design and develop an online training programme, and (2) gain end‐user feedback on the useability, usefulness, informativeness and confidence in using the online training programme using a mixed‐methods, pre‐post study design. Participants and Intervention: The online training programme was designed and developed using the results from a realist review, and input from a multi‐disciplinary stakeholder group. A five‐module online training programme was piloted by the first 10 respondents who provided feedback on the course. Further modifications were made prior to additional piloting. The satisfaction, usefulness, ease of use, and confidence of clinicians in applying the learned principles were assessed on completion. Results: The online programme was advertised to clinicians using social media. Forty‐four respondents expressed initial interest, of which 22 enrolled and 18 completed the course. Of the participants, most were physiotherapists (n = 16/18, 88.9%), aged between 30 and 49 (n = 11/18, 61.1%). All participants were satisfied with the course content, rated the course platform as easy to use and useful, and reported that they were very confident to apply the learning. Most (n = 10/14, 71.4%) reported that their manner of prescribing exercise had changed after completion of the course. Conclusions: An online training programme to optimise exercise prescription for persistent LBP appears to be easy to use, informative and improves confidence to apply the learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the use of popular culture, such as books, films, and video games, as a tool for teaching students about ancient history. It acknowledges that popular media may not always accurately depict ancient cultures, but argues that they can still be valuable for student learning. By analyzing and comparing popular interpretations with ancient sources, students can develop historical literacy and critical thinking skills. The article also highlights the concept of Classical Reception, which examines how ancient Greek and Roman cultures have been interpreted in modern times. It provides teaching strategies and resources, including online databases and open-access websites, to enhance student learning and critical thinking skills. Timelines Past offers educational programs in Ancient and Modern History, incorporating object-based learning and demonstrations to help students gain a deeper understanding of the past. Interested individuals can contact Karl Van Dyke for more information. [Extracted from the article]

The neurobiology of typical moral cognition involves the interaction of frontal, limbic, and temporoparietal networks. There is still much to be understood mechanistically about how moral processing is disrupted; such understanding is key to combating antisociality. Neuroscientific models suggest a key role for attention mechanisms in atypical moral processing. We hypothesized that attention-bias toward alcohol cues in alcohol use disorder (AUD) leads to a failure to properly engage with morally relevant stimuli, reducing moral processing. We recruited patients with AUD (n = 30) and controls (n = 30). During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants viewed pairs of images consisting of a moral or neutral cue and an alcohol or neutral distractor. When viewing moral cues paired with alcohol distractors, individuals with AUD had lower medial prefrontal cortex engagement; this pattern was also seen for left amygdala in younger iAUDs. Across groups, individuals had less engagement of middle/superior temporal gyri. These findings provide initial support for AUD-related attention bias interference in sociomoral processing. If supported in future longitudinal and causal study designs, this finding carries potential societal and clinical benefits by suggesting a novel, leverageable mechanism and in providing a cognitive explanation that may help combat persistent stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the optimal control problem known as the linear quadratic regulator in the case when the dynamics are unknown. We propose a multistage procedure, called Coarse-ID control, that estimates a model from a few experimental trials, estimates the error in that model with respect to the truth, and then designs a controller using both the model and uncertainty estimate. Our technique uses contemporary tools from random matrix theory to bound the error in the estimation procedure. We also employ a recently developed approach to control synthesis called System Level Synthesis that enables robust control design by solving a quasi-convex optimization problem. We provide end-to-end bounds on the relative error in control cost that are optimal in the number of parameters and that highlight salient properties of the system to be controlled such as closed-loop sensitivity and optimal control magnitude. We show experimentally that the Coarse-ID approach enables efficient computation of a stabilizing controller in regimes where simple control schemes that do not take the model uncertainty into account fail to stabilize the true system., Author(s): Sarah Dean [sup.1], Horia Mania [sup.1], Nikolai Matni [sup.2], Benjamin Recht [sup.1], Stephen Tu [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.47840.3f, 0000 0001 2181 7878, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer [...]

Introduction: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) negatively impacts the health outcomes and equity, social and employment participation, and socio‐economic wellbeing of those affected. Little community‐based support is offered to people with knee OA in Aotearoa New Zealand. Identifying Māori and non‐Māori with knee OA in community pharmacy and providing co‐ordinated, evidence‐ and community‐based care may be a scalable, sustainable, equitable, effective and cost‐effective approach to improve health and wellbeing. Aim: Assess whether the Knee Care for Arthritis through Pharmacy Service (KneeCAPS) intervention improves knee‐related physical function and pain (co‐primary outcomes). Secondary aims assess impacts on health‐related quality of life, employment participation, medication use, secondary health care utilisation, and relative effectiveness for Māori. Methods and analysis: A pragmatic randomised controlled trial will compare the KneeCAPS intervention to the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand Arthritis Fact Sheet and usual care (active control) at 12 months for Māori and non‐Māori who have knee OA. Participants will be recruited in community pharmacies. Knee‐related physical function will be measured using the function subscale of the Short Form of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index. Knee‐related pain will be measured using an 11‐point numeric pain rating scale. Primary outcome analyses will be conducted on an intention‐to‐treat basis using linear mixed models. Parallel within‐trial health economic analysis and process evaluation will also be conducted. Ethics and trial dissemination: Ethical approval was obtained from the Central Health and Ethics Committee (2022‐EXP‐11725). The trial is registered with ANZCTR (ACTRN12622000469718). Findings will be submitted for publication and shared with participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real‐time fMRI neurofeedback (rt‐fMRI‐NF) is a technique in which information about an individual's neural state is given back to them, typically to enable and reinforce neuromodulation. Its clinical potential has been demonstrated in several applications, but lack of evidence on optimal parameters limits clinical utility of the technique. This study aimed to identify optimal parameters for rt‐fMRI‐NF‐aided craving regulation training in alcohol use disorder (AUD). Adults with AUD (n = 30) participated in a single‐session study of four runs of rt‐fMRI‐NF where they downregulated "craving‐related" brain activity. They received one of three types of neurofeedback: multi‐region of interest (ROI), support vector machine with continuous feedback (cSVM), and support vector machine with intermittent feedback (iSVM). Performance was assessed on the success rate, change in neural downregulation, and change in self‐reported craving for alcohol. Participants had more successful trials in run 4 versus 1, as well as improved downregulation of the insula, anterior cingulate, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Greater downregulation of the latter two regions predicted greater reduction in craving. iSVM performed significantly worse than the other two methods. Downregulation of the striatum and dlPFC, enabled by ROI but not cSVM neurofeedback, was correlated with a greater reduction in craving. rt‐fMRI‐NF training for downregulation of alcohol craving in individuals with AUD shows potential for clinical use, though this pilot study should be followed with a larger randomized‐control trial before clinical meaningfulness can be established. Preliminary results suggest an advantage of multi‐ROI over SVM and intermittent feedback approaches. Our study finds preliminary evidence for the utility of neurofeedback in regulating alcohol craving. Real‐time fMRI neurofeedback enabled downregulation of craving‐related brain activity in individuals with alcohol use disorder. We also identified better‐performing feedback delivery/calculation parameters. Importantly, neural downregulation predicted changes in self‐reported alcohol craving, laying the groundwork for future clinical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]