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BACKGROUND Advances in mobile technology over the last 10 years have expanded its usage in scientific research. However, there are challenges in creating a reliable system for intervention content delivery and/or data collection in an environment with limited internet connectivity and limited staffing capacity. The Sexual Communication and Consent (SCC) study utilized tablets to provide individualized Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) training in a classroom environment that was both technologically and support staff limited. OBJECTIVE We developed the SCC Basic Military Training (BMT) app and a separate Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) app to support individualized training within the new SCC program. This paper presents the functionality, protocols, challenges, and feasibility of deploying mobile technology into a military educational environment with limited resources. METHODS We developed both mobile apps targeting the Apple iOS ecosystem using the Personal Health Informatics and Intervention Toolkit (PHIT), a cross-platform software development kit that facilitates research-oriented mobile application development. The BMT app provided a screening instrument that routed the trainee into one of five specific intervention programs. During the 2nd and 4th weeks of basic military training, trainees received program specific tailored tablet training, combined with universal, interactive classroom training, led by qualified instructors. The SARC app, used to deliver supplemental content to a subgroup of trainees, was made available for voluntary and private use at the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator’s office on base. All anonymous data were manually transferred onto laptops where the data were aggregated into files, and securely transferred to project staff for analysis. The study was conducted at Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio with 10,140 trainees participating. RESULTS 8,537 trainees completed both sessions of the SCC program and a series of evaluative assessments. Of the 190 SCC classes taught, only one class was unable to complete tablet training due to an Apple licensing-related technology failure. The 360 study tablets were distributed across 3 classrooms (120/classroom) and were handled over 20,000 times with no reports of breakage or requiring replacement. Wi-Fi access limitations exacerbated the complexity of Apple licensing re-validation and the secure transfer of data from the classroom to project personnel. Instructor staff’s limited technical knowledge to perform certain technical tasks was challenging. CONCLUSIONS The results demonstrate the feasibility of deploying a mobile app for tablet-based training in a military educational environment. While successful, the study was not without technical challenges. This paper gives examples of technical lessons learned and recommendations for doing the study differently, with the aim that the knowledge gained may be helpful to other researchers encountering similar requirements.

Changes in the regulatory landscape of chemical safety assessment call for the use of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) including read-across to fill data gaps. One critical aspect of analogue evaluation is the extent to which target and source analogues are metabolically similar. In this study, a set of 37 structurally diverse chemicals were compiled from the EPA ToxCast inventory to compare and contrast a selection of metabolism in silico tools, in terms of their coverage and performance relative to metabolism information reported in the literature. The aim was to build understanding of the scope and capabilities of these tools and how they could be utilised in a read-across assessment. The tools were Systematic Generation of Metabolites (SyGMa), Meteor Nexus, BioTransformer, Tissue Metabolism Simulator (TIMES), OECD Toolbox, and Chemical Transformation Simulator (CTS). Performance was characterised by sensitivity and precision determined by comparing predictions against literature reported metabolites (from 44 publications). A coverage score was derived to provide a relative quantitative comparison between the tools. Meteor, TIMES, Toolbox, and CTS predictions were run in batch mode, using default settings. SyGMa and BioTransformer were run with user-defined settings, (two passes of phase I and one pass of phase II). Hierarchical clustering revealed high similarity between TIMES and Toolbox. SyGMa had the highest coverage, matching an average of 38.63% of predictions generated by the other tools though was prone to significant overprediction. It generated 5,125 metabolites, which represented 54.67% of all predictions. Precision and sensitivity values ranged from 1.1–29% and 14.7–28.3% respectively. The Toolbox had the highest performance overall. A case study was presented for 3,4-Toluenediamine (3,4-TDA), assessed for the derivation of screening-level Provisional Peer Reviewed Toxicity Values (PPRTVs), was used to demonstrate the practical role in silico metabolism information can play in analogue evaluation as part of a read-across approach.

BACKGROUND Psychological resilience is critical to minimize the health effects of traumatic events. Trauma may induce a chronic state of hyperarousal, resulting in problems such as anxiety, insomnia, or posttraumatic stress disorder. Mind-body practices, such as relaxation breathing and mindfulness meditation, help to reduce arousal and may reduce the likelihood of such psychological distress. To better understand resilience-building practices, we are conducting the Biofeedback-Assisted Resilience Training (BART) study to evaluate whether the practice of slow, paced breathing with or without heart rate variability biofeedback can be effectively learned via a smartphone app to enhance psychological resilience. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to conduct a limited, interim review of user interactions and study data on use of the BART resilience training app and demonstrate analyses of real-time sensor-streaming data. METHODS We developed the BART app to provide paced breathing resilience training, with or without heart rate variability biofeedback, via a self-managed 6-week protocol. The app receives streaming data from a Bluetooth-linked heart rate sensor and displays heart rate variability biofeedback to indicate movement between calmer and stressful states. To evaluate the app, a population of military personnel, veterans, and civilian first responders used the app for 6 weeks of resilience training. We analyzed app usage and heart rate variability measures during rest, cognitive stress, and paced breathing. Currently released for the BART research study, the BART app is being used to collect self-reported survey and heart rate sensor data for comparative evaluation of paced breathing relaxation training with and without heart rate variability biofeedback. RESULTS To date, we have analyzed the results of 328 participants who began using the BART app for 6 weeks of stress relaxation training via a self-managed protocol. Of these, 207 (63.1%) followed the app-directed procedures and completed the training regimen. Our review of adherence to protocol and app-calculated heart rate variability measures indicated that the BART app acquired high-quality data for evaluating self-managed stress relaxation training programs. CONCLUSIONS The BART app acquired high-quality data for studying changes in psychophysiological stress according to mind-body activity states, including conditions of rest, cognitive stress, and slow, paced breathing.

Playing action video games enhances visual motion perception. However, there is psychophysical evidence that action video games do not improve motion sensitivity for translational global moving patterns presented in fovea. This study investigates global motion perception in action video game players and compares their performance to that of non-action video game players and non-video game players. Stimuli were random dot kinematograms presented in the parafovea. Observers discriminated the motion direction of a target random dot kinematogram presented in one of the four visual quadrants. Action video game players showed lower motion coherence thresholds than the other groups. However, when the task was performed at threshold, we did not find differences between groups in terms of distributions of reaction times. These results suggest that action video games improve visual motion sensitivity in the near periphery of the visual field, rather than speed response.