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Abstract A major goal in evolutionary biology is to elucidate common principles that drive human and other animal societies to adopt either a warlike or peaceful nature. One proposed explanation for the variation in aggression between human societies is the democratic peace hypothesis. According to this theory, autocracies are more warlike than democracies because autocratic leaders can pursue fights for private gain. However, autocratic and democratic decision-making processes are not unique to humans and are widely observed across a diverse range of non-human animal societies. We use evolutionary game theory to evaluate whether the logic of democratic peace may apply across taxa; specifically adapting the classic Hawk-Dove model to consider conflict decisions made by groups rather than individuals. We find support for the democratic peace hypothesis without mechanisms involving complex human institutions and discuss how these findings might be relevant to non-human animal societies. We suggest that the degree to which collective decisions are shared may explain variation in the intensity of intergroup conflict in nature.

Portable chest radiography is a valuable tool in the intensive care unit. However, the supine position causes superposition of anatomical structures resulting in less reliable detection of certain abnormalities. Recently, a portable digital tomosynthesis (pDTS) prototype with a modified motorized X-ray device was developed. We aimed to compare the diagnostic value of pDTS to standard bedside chest radiography in the diagnosis of a posterior pneumothorax. A modified motorized X-ray device was developed to perform 15 radiographic projections while translating the X-ray tube 25 cm (10 cm ramp up and 15 cm during X-ray exposure) with a total radiation dose of 0.54 mSv. This new technique of pDTS was performed in addition to standard bedside chest X-ray in a patient with a confirmed posterior hydropneumothorax. The images were compared with the standard bedside chest X-ray and computed tomography (CT) images by two experienced radiologists. The posterior hydropneumothorax previously identified with CT was visible on tomosynthesis images but not with standard bedside imaging. Combining the digital tomosynthesis technique with the portable X-ray machine could increase the diagnostic value of bedside chest radiography for the diagnosis of posterior pneumothoraces while avoiding intrahospital transport and limiting radiation exposure compared to CT.

ABSTRACT: Although postruminal glucose infusion into dairy cows has increased milk protein yield in some past experiments, the same trend has not been observed in others. A meta-regression of 64 sets of observations from 29 previously published glucose and propionate infusion studies in dairy cattle, treating study and experiment (study) as random effects, was performed to establish the general effects of glucose equivalent (GlcE) infusion rate on milk true protein (MTP) yield and content, if any, and to identify independent, fixed-effect variables that accounted for the changes in MTP yield and content that were observed. Candidate explanatory variables included rate and site of infusion, diet composition and intake, body weight and lactation stage of the cows, and the change in nutrient intake between GlcE and control treatments. Across all studies, according to a model containing only the random effects of study and experiment, GlcE infusion at an average of 954 g/d increased MTP yield by 26 g/d, on average, whereas mean MTP content was not affected. Backward stepwise elimination of potential explanatory variables from a full mixed model produced a final, reduced model for MTP yield that retained a positive, second-order quadratic effect of infusion rate of GlcE and a positive, linear effect of the change in crude protein intake (CPI) between GlcE treatment and control. This change in CPI due to GlcE infusion ranged from −0.546 to 0.173 kg/d in the dataset. The model fit indicated that when CPI was allowed to drop during GlcE infusion, the effect of GlcE on MTP yield was smaller than when CPI was maintained or increased, in a manifestation of the classic protein:energy interaction. The final reduced model for MTP content contained the same explanatory variables as for MTP yield, plus a negative effect of intravenous compared with gastrointestinal infusion. Overall, the meta-analysis revealed that both MTP yield, and content were positively related to GlcE infusion rate and to the change in CPI between glucose treatment and control.

Abstract Long-term demographic studies at biogeographic transition zones can elucidate how body size mediates disturbance responses. Focusing on subtropical reefs in eastern Australia, we examine trends in the size-structure of corals with contrasting life-histories and zoogeographies surrounding the 2016 coral bleaching event (2010–2019) to determine their resilience and recovery capacity. We document demographic shifts, with disproportionate declines in the number of small corals and long-term persistence of larger corals. The incidence of bleaching (Pocillopora, Turbinaria) and partial mortality (Acropora, Pocillopora) increased with coral size, and bleached corals had greater risk of partial mortality. While endemic Pocillopora experienced marked declines, decadal stability of Turbinaria despite bleaching, coupled with abundance increase and bleaching resistance in Acropora indicate remarkable resilience of these taxa in the subtropics. Declines in the number of small corals and variable associations with environmental drivers indicate bottlenecks to recovery mediated by inhibitory effects of thermal extremes for Pocillopora (heat stress) and Acropora (heat and cold stress), and stimulatory effects of chlorophyll-a for Turbinaria. Although our study reveals signs of resilience, it foreshadows the vulnerability of subtropical corals to changing disturbance regimes that include marine heatwaves. Disparity in population dynamics suggest that subtropical reefs are ecologically distinct from tropical coral reefs.

Background Neurodisability describes a broad set of conditions affecting the brain and nervous system which result in functional limitations. Children with neurodisability have more hospital admissions than their peers without neurodisability and higher rates of school absence. However, longitudinal evidence comparing rates of hospital admission and school absence in children with neurodisability to peers without neurodisability throughout school is limited, as is understanding about whether differences are greatest for planned care (e.g., scheduled appointments) or unplanned care. This study will describe rates of planned and unplanned hospital admissions and school absence due to illness and medical reasons throughout primary school (Reception to Year 6, ages 4 to 11 in England) for children with neurodisability and all other children, using linked individual-level health and education data. Methods We will use the ECHILD (Education and Child Insights from Linked Data) database, which links educational and health records across England. We will define a primary school cohort of children who were born in National Health Service-funded hospitals in England between 1st September 2003 and 31st August 2008, and who were enrolled in Reception (age 4/5) at state-funded schools. We will use hospital admissions records to identify children who have recorded indicators of neurodisability from birth up to the end of primary school (Year 6, age 10/11). Results We will describe rates of planned and unplanned hospital admissions and health-related school absence for three groups of children: those with a neurodisability indicator first recorded before beginning primary school, those with neurodisability first recorded during primary school, and those without a record of neurodisability before end of primary school. Conclusions We will further explore whether differences between these group vary across primary school years and by socioeconomic and demographic characteristics.

ABSTRACT: A 305-d lactation followed by a 60-d dry period has traditionally been considered economically optimal, yet dairy cows in modern intensive dairy systems are frequently dried off while still producing significant quantities of milk. Managing cows for an extended lactation has reported production, welfare, and economic benefits, but not all cows are suitable for an extended lactation. Implementation of an extended lactation strategy on-farm could benefit from use of a decision support system, based on a mathematical lactation model, that can identify suitable cows during early lactation that have a high likelihood of producing above a target milk yield (MY) at 305 d in milk (DIM). Therefore, our objectives were (1) to compare the suitability of 3 commonly used lactation models for modeling extended lactations (Dijkstra, Wood, and Wilmink) in primiparous and multiparous cows under a variety of lactation lengths, and (2) to determine the amount of early-lactation daily MY data needed to accurately forecast MY at d 305 by using the most suitable model and determine whether this is sufficient for identifying cows suitable for an extended lactation before the end of a typical voluntary waiting period (50–90 d). Daily MY data from 467 individual Holstein-Friesian lactations (DIM >305 d; 379 ± 65-d lactation length [mean ± SD]) were fitted by the 3 lactation models using a nonlinear regression procedure. The parameter estimates of these models, lactation characteristics (peak yield, time to peak yield, and persistency), and goodness-of-fit were compared between parity and different lactation lengths. The models had similar performance, and differences between parity groups were consistent with previous literature. Then, data from only the first i DIM for each individual lactation, where i was incremented by 30 d from 30 to 150 DIM and by 50 d from 150 to 300 DIM, were fitted by each model to forecast MY at d 305. The Dijkstra model was selected for further analysis, as it had superior goodness-of-fit statistics for i= 30 and 60. The data set was fit twice by the Dijkstra model, with parameter bounds either unconstrained or constrained. The quality of predictions of MY at d 305 improved with increasing data availability for both models and assisting the model fitting procedure with more biologically relevant constraints on parameters improved the predictions, but neither was reliable enough for practical use on-farm due to the high uncertainty of forecasted predictions. Using 90 d of data, the constrained model correctly classified 66% of lactations as being above or below a target MY at d 305 of 25 kg/d, with a probability threshold of 0.95. The proportion of correct classifications became smaller at lower targets of MY at d 305 and became greater when using more lactation days. Overall, further work is required to develop a model that can forecast late-lactation MY with sufficient accuracy for practical use. We envisage that a hybridized machine learning and mechanistic model that incorporates additional historical and genetic information with early-lactation MY could produce meaningful lactation curve forecasts.

Abstract Bayesian approaches to the modelling of ecological systems are increasingly popular, but there are competing methods for formal model comparisons. Here, we focus on the task of performing multimodel inference through estimating posterior model weights, which encompasses uncertainties in the choice of competing model structure into the inference outputs. Model‐based approaches such as reversible‐jump Markov chain Monte Carlo (RJ‐MCMC) are flexible and allow multimodel inference, but can be complex to implement and optimise, and so we translate a model‐based approach for ecological applications using Importance Sampling to estimate the marginal likelihood of the data given a particular model. This approach allows for model comparison through the estimation of Bayes' Factors or interpretable posterior model probabilities, yielding model weights that facilitate multimodel inference through Bayesian model averaging. We demonstrate Importance Sampling with two case study investigations in animal demography: censused analysis of banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) survival where missing data are uncommon, and capture–mark–recapture analysis of European badger (Meles meles) survival where data are commonly missing. We compare outcomes of the model comparison using the Importance Sampling approach to those obtained through single‐model inference approaches using Deviance information criteria and the Watanabe–Akaike information criteria. The results of the Importance Sampling method aligns with RJ‐MCMC model comparisons while often being more straightforward to fit and optimise, particularly if the competing models are non‐nested.

Reproductive activity is costly in terms of future reproduction and survival. Oxidative stress has been identified as a likely mechanism underlying this cost of reproduction. However, empirical studies have yielded the paradoxical observation that breeders often sustain lower levels of oxidative damage than non-breeders. The oxidative shielding hypothesis attempts to explain such data, and posits that breeders pre-emptively reduce levels of oxidative damage in order to protect their germ cells, and any resultant offspring, from harm caused by exposure to oxidative damage. While there is some empirical evidence of oxidative shielding in females, there have been no explicit tests of this hypothesis in males, despite evidence of the oxidative costs to the male reproductive effort and the vulnerability of sperm cells to oxidative damage. In this study, we assess lipid oxidative damage (malondialdehyde, MDA) in the ejaculates of reproducing and non-reproducing wild banded mongooses. We found that, among breeding males, ejaculate MDA levels were lower during mate competition compared to 2 months later, when individuals were not mating, which is consistent with the oxidative shielding hypothesis, and similar to findings in females. However, ejaculate MDA levels did not differ significantly between breeding and non-breeding individuals at the time of mating, contrary to expectation. The finding that ejaculate MDA was not higher in non-breeders may reflect individual differences in quality and hence oxidative stress. In particular, breeders were significantly older than non-breeders, which may obscure differences in oxidative damage due to reproductive investment. Further research is needed to establish the causal relationship between reproductive investment and oxidative damage in ejaculates, and the consequences for offspring development in banded mongooses and other species.

This article provides a new typology for understanding human labour integrated into the production of artificial intelligence systems through data preparation and model evaluation. We call these forms of labour ‘AI data work’ and show how they are an important and necessary element of the artificial intelligence production process. We draw on fieldwork with an artificial intelligence data business process outsourcing centre specialising in computer vision data, alongside a decade of fieldwork with microwork platforms, business process outsourcing, and artificial intelligence companies to help dispel confusion around the multiple concepts and frames that encompass artificial intelligence data work including ‘ghost work’, ‘microwork’, ‘crowdwork’ and ‘cloudwork’. We argue that these different frames of reference obscure important differences between how this labour is organised in different contexts. The article provides a conceptual division between the different types of artificial intelligence data work institutions and the different stages of what we call the artificial intelligence data pipeline. This article thus contributes to our understanding of how the practices of workers become a valuable commodity integrated into global artificial intelligence production networks.

Abstract Aims To review the contemporary international literature on nurse preceptor competencies and map the components and their descriptors. Review Methods A mapping review. Data Sources Articles reporting evidence‐based and validated Registered Nurse (RN) preceptor competencies published between 2013 and 2022 were identified. Open access databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar and the library healthcare databases Scopus and CINAHL were searched. The authors collaborated at each review stage that included screening, article selection, tabulation, mapping and preparation of findings. Results Seven quantitative studies were included. Three were based on existing nurse preceptor competency data sets and four were purposely developed using collaborative research methods. Each study validated findings through a survey of nurse stakeholders. Three key competencies shared across all studies were ‘facilitating teaching’, ‘being a role model’ and ‘evaluating student's performance’. The number of competency categories ranged from three to 10 and the accompanying item descriptors from 9 to 83. Although terminology describing data sets was inconsistent, similarity was seen across competency domains. Conclusion The contemporary nursing preceptor role is considered an emerging specialist education role. The results offer a set of validated preceptor competency descriptors, applicable to practice, that provide insight into ways employers may recruit, support and retain nurse preceptors. Implications for the Profession The mapped results provide a concise summary of nurse preceptor competency research internationally that can inform further development of RN preceptors. Impact This review addresses the lack of consensus around nursing preceptor competencies for clinical supervision of undergraduate nursing students. Seven competency domains were identified describing key preceptor role capabilities. The domains Facilitator’, ‘Role model’ and ‘Evaluator’ featured across the included studies: ‘More than 300 competency descriptors were reported’. Our review results could better prepare RN preceptors for their important role. Employers of RN preceptors could use the results to design performance competencies that may enhance nursing preceptorship. Reporting Method This review adheres to the PRISMA‐ScR EQUATOR guidelines as the recommended reporting method for mapping reviews.

Abstract Studies across diverse taxa have revealed the importance of early life environment and parenting on characteristics later in life. While some have shown how early life experiences can impact cognitive abilities, very few have turned this around and looked at how the cognitive skills of parents or other carers during early life affect the fitness of young. In this study, we investigate how the characteristics of carers may affect proxies of fitness of pups in the cooperatively breeding banded mongoose (Mungos mungo). We gave adult mongooses a spatial memory test and compared the results to the success of the pups those individuals cared for. Our results show a tradeoff between speed and accuracy in the spatial memory task, with those individuals which were faster to move between cups in the test arena making more erroneous re-visits to cups that they had already checked for food. Furthermore, the accuracy of their carer predicted future survival, but not weight gain of the pups and the effect was contrary to expected, with pups that were cared for by less accurate individuals being more likely to survive to adulthood. Our research also provides evidence that while younger carers were less accurate during the test, the age of the carer did not have an impact on the chance of raising young that live to sexual maturity. Our findings suggest that banded mongoose carers’ cognitive traits have fitness consequences for the young they care for, affecting the chance that these young live to maturity.

Branding is a crucial resource for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The aim was to explore SME owners’ perceptions of branding, and to determine whether these perceptions had an impact on the marketing focus of the enterprise. Theoretical framework: The theoretical discussion in the first place in the covers SMEs in the South African setting. Secondly it addresses the value and importance of branding. The latter was used in modeling the effect of perceived value of brand on the enterprise marketing orientation. This study uses a quantitative approach with data sources derived from the distribution of self-administered questionnaires which were hand-delivered to SMEs. A total of 265 useful responses were received back, the data was analyzed using SPSS version 28. Findings: SME owners are aware of the value of branding and opine that marketing efforts are geared to establish a branded enterprise. The findings revealed that SME owners’ perceptions of branding had no statistically significant effect on the marketing focus of the establishment, yet a positive correlation was identified amongst their perceptions of branding constructs and their marketing focus. It appears that South African SME’s owners and managers lacked the skills and knowledge to establish a branded enterprise. SME owners and managers are schooled in branding strategies and that business schools develop tutorial matter in this regard as part of their social corporate responsibility initiatives. Original/value: The study provides some solutions and recommendation for SME’s in terms of brand building. Furthermore, it contributes to the conceptualization of branding theory in a SME setting.

The study followed a consumer-centred approach in investigating the subject of visual merchandising in the South African fashion retail industry holistically. Inspired by the vision of 'Fashionomics' as a potential driver of economic growth, the primary research objective was to synthesise key visual merchandising elements to drive retail strategies in-store design and planning in the broader South African fashion retail market. This research study adopted a mixed-methods approach, analysing the data through directed content and factor analysis. This research study aims to reinvigorate South African fashion retail by targeting key visual merchandising elements, which South African fashion retailers can use as strategic tools. The key elements were determined from the consumer's perspective; hence, fashion retailers’ strategies may become more effective. Fashion retailers can differentiate themselves through the in-store environment created through unique visual merchandising strategy based on the identified critical elements and using them to gain a competitive advantage. The specified visual merchandising elements represent functions, activities, and business practices consumers value and demand. They reveal what consumers could see as a benefit to their relationship with the retailer. It was found that fashion retailers should implement good housekeeping – cleanliness and neatness, train customer-centric staff, and pay attention to fitting rooms, amongst a range of other visual merchandising elements in their retail strategies. As these three elements appear significant according to consumers, retailers will likely benefit the most by focusing on them.

IntroductionStructured medication reviews (SMRs), introduced in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2020, aim to enhance shared decision-making in medication optimisation, particularly for patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. Despite its potential, there is limited empirical evidence on the implementation of SMRs, and the challenges faced in the process. This study is part of a larger DynAIRx (Artificial Intelligence for dynamic prescribing optimisation and care integration in multimorbidity) project which aims to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) to SMRs and develop machine learning models and visualisation tools for patients with multimorbidity. Here, we explore how SMRs are currently undertaken and what barriers are experienced by those involved in them.MethodsQualitative focus groups and semi-structured interviews took place between 2022-2023. Six focus groups were conducted with doctors, pharmacists and clinical pharmacologists (n = 21), and three patient focus groups with patients with multimorbidity (n = 13). Five semi-structured interviews were held with 2 pharmacists, 1 trainee doctor, 1 policy-maker and 1 psychiatrist. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsTwo key themes limiting the effectiveness of SMRs in clinical practice were identified: 'Medication Reviews in Practice' and 'Medication-related Challenges'. Participants noted limitations to the efficient and effectiveness of SMRs in practice including the scarcity of digital tools for identifying and prioritising patients for SMRs; organisational and patient-related challenges in inviting patients for SMRs and ensuring they attend; the time-intensive nature of SMRs, the need for multiple appointments and shared decision-making; the impact of the healthcare context on SMR delivery; poor communication and data sharing issues between primary and secondary care; difficulties in managing mental health medications and specific challenges associated with anticholinergic medication.ConclusionSMRs are complex, time consuming and medication optimisation may require multiple follow-up appointments to enable a comprehensive review. There is a need for a prescribing support system to identify, prioritise and reduce the time needed to understand the patient journey when dealing with large volumes of disparate clinical information in electronic health records. However, monitoring the effects of medication optimisation changes with a feedback loop can be challenging to establish and maintain using current electronic health record systems.

Polymer powder bed fusion (PBF) is becoming increasingly popular for the fabrication of lightweight, high-performance parts, particularly for medical and aerospace applications. This study investigates the effect of powder re-use and material aging on the coalescence behaviour, melt flowability, and isothermal crystallisation kinetics of polyamide-12 (PA-12) powder. With increased powder re-use, a progressive reduction in melt flowability and material coalescence is observed; at 200 °C, the particle consolidation time increases from 15 s in virgin powder to 180 s in powder recovered from build 6. The observed changes in the behaviour of PA-12 were attributed to polycondensation and cross-linking; these aging phenomena also create structural defects, which hinder the rate and extent of primary crystallisation. At an isothermal crystallisation temperature of 165 °C, the crystallisation half-time increased from 12.78 min in virgin powder to 23.95 min in powder re-used across six build cycles. As a result, the commonly used Avrami model was found to be unsuitable for modelling the crystallisation behaviour of aged PA-12 powder, with the co-efficient of determination (R2) reducing from >0.995 for virgin powder to as low as 0.795 for re-used powder. On the other hand, an alternative method, the Hay model, is able to successfully track full phase transformation within re-used powder (R2 > 0.99). These results highlight the importance of selecting the most appropriate model for analysing the crystallisation kinetics of PA-12 powder re-used across multiple build cycles. This understanding is crucial for obtaining the strong mechanical properties and dimensional precision required for the fabrication of functional, end-use parts within PBF.

Introduction This project applies a Learning Healthcare System (LHS) approach to antibiotic prescribing for common infections in primary care. The approach involves iterations of data analysis, feedback to clinicians and implementation of quality improvement activities by the clinicians. The main research question is, can a knowledge support system (KSS) intervention within an LHS implementation improve antibiotic prescribing without increasing the risk of complications?Methods and analysis A pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial will be conducted, with randomisation of at least 112 general practices in North-West England. General practices participating in the trial will be randomised to the following interventions: periodic practice-level and individual prescriber feedback using dashboards; or the same dashboards plus a KSS. Data from large databases of healthcare records are used to characterise heterogeneity in antibiotic uses, and to calculate risk scores for clinical outcomes and for the effectiveness of different treatment strategies. The results provide the baseline content for the dashboards and KSS. The KSS comprises a display within the electronic health record used during the consultation; the prescriber (general practitioner or allied health professional) will answer standard questions about the patient’s presentation and will then be presented with information (eg, patient’s risk of complications from the infection) to guide decision making. The KSS can generate information sheets for patients, conveyed by the clinicians during consultations. The primary outcome is the practice-level rate of antibiotic prescribing (per 1000 patients) with secondary safety outcomes. The data from practices participating in the trial and the dashboard infrastructure will be held within regional shared care record systems of the National Health Service in the UK.Ethics and dissemination Approved by National Health Service Ethics Committee IRAS 290050. The research results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and also disseminated to participating clinical staff and policy and guideline developers.Trial registration number ISRCTN16230629.

During heat stress, dairy cows spend less time lying down to dissipate heat. Heat stress abatement strategies generally target cows outside of their resting areas. However, cooling cows while in their stalls could help alleviate heat stress without compromising lying behavior. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of an inspired-air supplemental cooling system (SCS) on respiration rate, rectal temperatures, lying behavior, rumination time, and milk production (energy-corrected milk, ECM) of lactating dairy cows. A free-stall pen was retrofitted with custom stall partitions to deliver cooled air and mist. The pen, including the stall platform, was divided into two separate sides. Twenty-eight lactating Holstein cows were randomly sorted into two groups, each housed on one side of the experimental pen. Cows experienced four treatments (control, CTRL; cooled air, AIR; mist, MIST; cooled air and mist, AIR + MIST) in a four-treatment, four-period, two-sequence crossover design, with each period lasting seven days. Cooled air was provided continuously, and mist was cycled 3 min on, 12 min off from 0900 to 2100 h. Respiration rates were observed hourly between 0900 and 1500 h, and only measurements recorded while cows were lying down were used in the analysis. Rectal temperatures of 16 focal cows were recorded at 1545 h once per day. Lying behavior and rumination were recorded continuously, and milk yields recorded twice daily were used to calculate ECM. Throughout the experimental period, the average temperature-humidity index was 66.4 ± 6.07. During the MIST treatment, the respiration rate was lower than the CTRL (45.7 vs 49.0 ± 1.92 breaths/min) and AIR (45.7 vs 48.7 ± 1.92 breaths/min). CTRL and AIR did not differ (48.7 vs 49.0 ± 1.92 breaths/min), and MIST and AIR + MIST (45.7 vs 47.1 ± 1.92 breaths/min) did not differ. All other variables were not significantly different between treatments. In conclusion, the SCS appeared to be tolerated by cows and shows the potential to assist in alleviating heat stress. The cooling capacity needs to be evaluated under more extreme environmental conditions causing heat stress than those experienced during this study. Further testing is required to determine the cooled air temperature specifications and mist delivery frequency.