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Background Tail biting in pigs is a global welfare issue that has resulted in docking tails in many countries. However, tail docking by itself does not reduce the incitements for tail biting. Therefore, this study aimed to reduce tail biting in a high performing non-tail-docking pig herd with increasing incidences of tail biting. Methods The feed to all pigs was supplemented with amino acids, trace elements, vitamins and fibres. All pigs were also offered fibres in terms of hay silage. Thereafter four fattening stables were allotted into experimental groups as follows; I illuminated with standard fluorescent tubes with an invisible flickering of 30-40% for 14 hours per day; II illuminated with non-flickering led light for 14 hours per day; III illuminated with fluorescent tubes for 2 hours per day (this corresponded to the previous standard illumination and III served as a control group); IV similar illumination as III, but with increased access to hay silage. Tail injuries were registered at slaughter during a period of four years prior to the trial, which was compared with the incidence of tail injuries during an adaptation period of six months and during the trial that lasted for a period of one year. Results The incidence of tail injuries during the four years that preceded the adaption period was 9.2%, and the incidence of tail injuries differed significantly between the buildings as well as with season. During the adaption period, the incidence of tail injuries decreased significantly in all buildings and corresponded to 5.4%. The largest decrease was obtained in IV with extra access to hay silage where the incidence decreased from 11.4 to 4.3 %. During the trial, the mean incidence of tail injuries continued to decrease to 3.0%. There were no significant differences between the stables. Conclusions The incidence of tail biting in fast growing non-tail-docked pigs was successfully reduced by supplementation of the feed with amino acids, trace elements, vitamins and fibres. Additional manipulative material in terms of hay silage accelerated that process and non-flickering illumination may have an impact in preventing tail biting. The results obtained argue for the un-necessity of tail docking pigs, provided that the needs of the pigs in terms of feed ingredients, stocking density and access to manipulative materials are fulfilled.

Online Appendix for Qualitative software engineering research – reflections and guidelines

Objectives aimed at increasing higher education productivity, for instance, measured by credits per student, have stimulated the use of performance-based funding (PBF) by higher education institutions (HEIs). On theoretical grounds, PBF is expected to speed-up study program capacity adjustments through (re)allocations of study places. We conclude from analyses of Norwegian data that study places are adjusted efficiently if there are binding capacity restrictions at the institution level, or competition for students. Strengthened PBF does not affect long-run adjustments. Instead, admissions seem to adjust to secure full enrollment. The results provide an explanation of why very few positive effects of PBF in higher education are found in the literature. Given continued use of PBF to enhance productivity, a likely policy implication is to impose tighter restrictions on the total number of study places allocated to HEIs, or to change the price structure of the PBF model.

Additional file 1.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka om individens grundläggande värderingar påverkade individens begränsningar i yttrandefriheten. För att redovisa grundläggande värderingar utgår studien från Schwartz teoretiska ramverk. De värderingar som undersöktes var konservativ och öppenhet till förändring. Författarna undersökte även om det fanns någon skillnad i begränsad yttrandefrihet hos de människor som förlikade sig mer eller mindre med de olika värderingarna, i en svensk kontext. Tidigare forskning menar att politiskt konservativa upplever sig mer begränsade än människor som är öppna till förändring. Urvalet i studien bestod av individer över 18 år som hade röstat i det senaste riksdagsvalet 2022, det blev totalt 155 respondenter som besvarade enkäten. Enkäten publicerades på plattformen Facebook. Datanalysmetoden som utfördes var en enkel linjär regressionsanalys för att undersöka hur grundläggande värderingar påverkar begränsningar i yttrandefriheten. Studiens resultat visar att konservativa upplever sig begränsade i sin yttrandefrihet i samtliga miljöer vilket också stämde överens med tidigare forskning. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the individual's basic values affected the individual´s limitations in freedom of expression. In order to present basic values, the study is bases on Schwart´s theory. The values examined were conservativeand openness to change. The authors also investigated whether there was any difference in limited freedom of expression in the people who reconciled more or less with the different values, in a Swedish context. Previous research announced that politically conservative people feel more restricted than people who are open to change. The sample in the study consisted of individuals over the age of 18 who had voted in the last parliamentary election in 2022, there were a total of 155 respondents who answered the survey. The survey was published on the Facebook platform. The data analysis method that was performed was a simple linear regression analysis to examine how fundamental values affect restrictions on freedom of expression. The study's results show that conservatives feel limited in their freedom of expression in all environments, which also agreed with previous research.

The increasing effects of climate and global change oblige ecosystem-based management to adapt forestry practices to deal with uncertainties. Here we provide an overview to identify the challenges facing the boreal forest under projected future change, including altered natural disturbance regimes, biodiversity loss, increased forest fragmentation, the rapid loss of old-growth forests, and the need to develop novel silvicultural approaches. We specifically address subjects previously lacking from the ecosystem-based management framework, e.g., Indigenous communities, social concerns, ecological restoration, and impacts on aquatic ecosystems. We conclude by providing recommendations for ensuring the successful long-term management of the boreal biome facing climate change.

Fire regimes and herbivore densities have in parts of the boreal been heavily impacted by human activities with consequences for vegetation, forage supply and ungulate use. In this study, we evaluate the effects of natural wildfires and prescribed burning on moose forage availability, use, and browsing in northern Sweden. We studied three wildfire locations, adjacent controls, and five prescribed burns 12 years after fire. To compare forage availability and browsing levels we combined related variables with Principal Component Analyses and used the first axis in a regression analysis. The wildfire locations had a different composition of forage compared with the controls with less forage in the field layer and more woody browse and deciduous saplings. Forage availability was best explained by the occurrence of fire and differed between wildfire and the unburned control areas. Browsing levels were higher in wildfire locations compared with unburned controls. Prescribed burns varied substantially and could resemble both unburnt control and wildfire in terms of forage availability and browsing. We conclude that prescribed burning as a restoration action potentially can improve forage availability, particularly of deciduous species, if they mimic the impact of wildfires in terms of larger area burned and high fire severity.

Objective It is challenging to identify sepsis in the emergency department, in part due to the non-specific presentation of septic patients. Current clinical sepsis screening tools rely on vital signs but many patients present with near normal vital signs and are therefore not identified as septic. This suggests that variables, e.g. signs and symptoms, need to be included to improve sepsis detection in the emergency department. Our hypothesis was that the presentation of sepsis differs based age and sex. The potential differences in presentation could be used to apply to future sepsis screening tools. The aim was to analyze the prevalence of keywords reflecting the presentation of septic patients in the emergency department in relation to age and sex. Method Retrospective cross-sectional study. Keywords reflecting sepsis presentation to the emergency department were quantified and compared between age categories and the sex. 479 patients admitted to the emergency department of Södersjukhuset, Stockholm during 2013 and discharged with an ICD-10 code consistent with sepsis were included. We adjusted for multiple comparisons by applying Bonferroni-adjusted significance levels for all comparisons. Result “Pain” and “risk factors for sepsis” were significantly more common among patients younger than 65 years as compared with those 75 years and older: (n = 87/137; 63.5% vs n = 99/240; 41.3%, P-value n = 74/137; 54.0% vs 55/240; 22.9%, P-value n = 43/102; 42.2% vs 55/240; 22.9%, P-value n = 128/224; 57.1% vs n = 102/255; 40.0%, P-value n = 82/244; 36.6% vs n = 55/255; 21.6%, P-value Conclusion The keywords “pain” and “risk factors for sepsis” were more common among younger patients and “pain” and “gastrointestinal symptoms” were more common among women. However, most keywords had a similar prevalence irrespective of age and sex. The results could potentially be used to augment sepsis screening tools or clinical decision tools.

This study investigated if straw racks, which enable larger straw rations, induced a more straw-directed behaviour in pigs, as a mean to facilitate the provision of manipulable material and natural behaviour. It was conducted on a commercial farm (459 pigs, 42 pens, 30–120 kg) where half of the pens received 25 L of straw on the floor (CONTROL) and the other half of the pens received straw in a rack holding 44 L of straw (RACK). The pig behaviour in five randomly assigned pens per treatment were recorded for 24 h, during three periods of production. Pig activity levels, exploratory behaviour, pen utilization and available clean straw were scan sampled. During period 1, no pigs were observed interacting with the straw racks. During this period, CONTROL pigs conducted more straw-directed behaviour and less pen-directed behaviour compared to pigs in the pens with a rack during period 1. The lack of rack interactions may imply an underdeveloped spatial cognition in the pigs. Apart from period 1, there were no significant difference in behaviour between RACK and CONTROL pigs. The racks did not disturb the use of the pen. The absent treatment effect in periods 2 and 3 may reflect that there was a too small difference in straw ration between the treatments. In order to design and implement straw racks that promote straw interaction, future studies should focus on understanding pigs’ spatial cognition.

Background Internal parasites are common in pigs worldwide and may induce clinical disease or subclinical infections with negative effects such as poor weight gain and reduced welfare, which in turn affect productivity. Effective parasite control to reduce the negative impact of parasitic infections demands a combination of antiparasitic drugs as well as various hygiene and biosecurity practices. The aim of this study was to obtain information on current management practices and parasite control routines used on Swedish pig farms using an online questionnaire. Results Antiparasitic drugs were used on 69% of the farms routinely and were mainly administered to sows just prior to farrowing. Less than 5% of the herds conducted faecal analysis for parasites. Batchwise, age segregated rearing was common and overall, it was practiced for piglets, growers, and fatteners on 88, 80 and 75% of the farms, respectively. Large and medium sized farms appeared to apply stricter hygiene and biosecurity measures to the growing pigs compared to small farms. Dry sows were mainly housed in groups on deep litter straw beds and cleaning, as well as disinfection, between each group was less common compared to what was practiced for growing pigs. Outdoor access was rare and only occurred on organic and small farms. Most of the farms, 54, 74 and 82% of small, medium, and large sized herds respectively, reported to have less than 5% white spot lesions, caused by migrating A. suum larvae, registered at slaughter. Conclusion Several risk factors for parasite infections, such as bedding material, group housing and solid floors, are mandatory requirements by national law. However, it was evident from this study that although strategic hygiene and biosecurity practices appeared common, they were not practiced in all herds and less so for dry sows. Antiparasitic drugs were used frequently and mainly through routine prophylactic treatments without prior testing for parasites. A holistic approach is necessary when designing efficient parasite control programs, and it is essential that management factors and routine monitoring of parasites are given attention. This to achieve efficient parasite control and reduce the risk of unnecessary use of antiparasitic drugs.

The small sample sizes inherent in rare and pediatric disease settings offer significant challenges for clinical trial design. In such settings, Bayesian adaptive trial methods can often pay dividends, allowing the sensible incorporation of auxiliary data and other relevant information to bolster that collected by the trial itself. Previous work has also included the use of one-arm trials augmented by the participants’ own natural history data, from which the future course of the disease in the absence of intervention can be predicted. Patient response can then be defined by the degree to which post-intervention observations are inconsistent with the predicted “natural” trajectory. While such trials offer obvious advantages in efficiency and ethical hazard (since they expose no new patients to a placebo, anathema to patients or their parents and caregivers), they can offer no protection against bias arising from the presence of any “placebo effect,” the tendency of patients to improve merely by being in the trial. In this paper, we investigate the impact of both static and transient placebo effects on one-arm responder studies of this type, as well as two-arm versions that incorporate a small concurrent placebo group but still borrow strength from the natural history data. We also propose more traditional Bayesian changepoint models that specify a parametric functional form for the patient’s post-intervention trajectory, which in turn allow quantification of the treatment benefit in terms of the model parameters, rather than semi-parametrically in terms of a response relative to some “null” model. We compare the operating characteristics of our designs in the context of an ongoing investigation of centronuclear myopathies (CNMs), a group of congenital neuromuscular diseases whose most common and severe form is X-linked, affecting approximately 1 in 50,000 newborn boys. Our results indicate our two-arm responder and changepoint methods can offer protection against placebo effects, improving power while protecting the trial’s Type I error rate. However, further research into innovative trial designs as well as ongoing dialog with regulatory authorities remain critically important in rare disease research.