The dynamics of dominance: open questions, challenges and solutions

Although social hierarchies are recognized as dynamic systems, they are typically treated as static entities for practical reasons. Here, we ask what we can learn from a dynamical view of dominance, and provide a research agenda for the next decades. We identify five broad questions at the individual, dyadic and group levels, exploring the causes and consequences of individual changes in rank, the dynamics underlying dyadic dominance relationships, and the origins and impacts of social instability. Although challenges remain, we propose avenues for overcoming them. We suggest distinguishing between different types of social mobility to provide conceptual clarity about hierarchy dynamics at the individual level, and emphasize the need to explore how these dynamic processes produce dominance trajectories over individual lifespans and impact selection on status-seeking behaviour. At the dyadic level, there is scope for deeper exploration of decision-making processes leading to observed interactions, and how stable but malleable relationships emerge from these interactions. Across scales, model systems where rank is manipulable will be extremely useful for testing hypotheses about dominance dynamics. Long-term individual-based studies will also be critical for understanding the impact of rare events, and for interrogating dynamics that unfold over lifetimes and generations. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies’.

Rothe–Legendre pseudospectral method for a semilinear pseudoparabolic equation with nonclassical boundary condition

A semilinear pseudoparabolic equation with nonlocal integral boundary conditions is studied in the present paper. Using Rothe method, which is based on backward Euler finitedifference schema, we designed a suitable semidiscretization in time to approximate the original problem by a sequence of standard elliptic problems. The questions of convergence of the approximation scheme as well as the existence and uniqueness of the solution are investigated. Moreover, the Legendre pseudospectral method is employed to discretize the time-discrete approximation scheme in the space direction. The main advantage of the proposed approach lies in the fact that the full-discretization schema leads to a symmetric linear algebraic system, which may be useful for theoretical and practical reasons. Finally, numerical experiments are included to illustrate the effectiveness and robustness of the presented algorithm.

Pisco: An endless conflict for its geographical indication or an opportunity for international collaboration?

Pisco is a brandy produced from the distillation of wine, which is indissolubly linked to the history and national identity of Chile and Peru. The rivalry over the pisco’s geographical indication (GI) has a long history, mainly grounded on political claims rather than practical reasons. The article examines the historical background of the animosity, the arguments of each party to support their position and the impacts of the current international GI protection of the product (both from a financial and legal perspective). We conclude that a cross-border protection, allowing a joint binational exploitation of the spirit’s GI, is the best commercial strategy to increase the recognition and value of pisco in the international markets, which in turn, would benefit local economies and producers and notably encourage the cultural integration of both nations.

A Thermal Model for Processing Data from Undergarment Sensors in Automatic Control of Actively Heated Clothing

Despite its recent growth in popularity, actively heated clothing still lacks the ability to cope with demanding user scenarios. As many of these deficiencies stem from an absence of automatic control, the authors propose a novel approach using a set of sensors embedded in the clothing to provide data about thermal comfort. Available sensors suffer from a lack of accuracy, as for practical reasons, they cannot be attached to the skin, whose temperature is usually used as a comfort indicator. To determine the magnitude of the problem, the authors conducted experiments, and a thermal model was proposed based on experimental findings; the output from the model was compared with the experimental reference data for three different upper body undergarments. The overall accuracy was found to be good: in most cases, the difference between the computed and reference skin temperatures did not exceed 0.5 °C. Furthermore, the model does not rely on unrealistic assumptions regarding the availability of parameters or measurement data. Our findings demonstrate that it is possible to create a thermal model that, when used for input data processing, allows undergarment temperature to be converted to skin temperature, allowing for automatic control of heating insets.

The Wattled-Wall House of Salar People and Its Conservation and Development

Salar people are Turkic-speaking Islamic people and an ethnic group with a small population in China. Wattled-wall house of Salar people is a type of traditional house threatened by extinction. In 2008, the wattled-wall house construction skills were selected for the national intangible cultural heritage list. It is mainly distributed in Xunhua Salar Autonomous County, Qinghai Province of China. So far, Salar people′s traditional wattled-wall house knowledge has been poorly documented. Therefore, a study supporting cultural preservation efforts is needed, including preserving plants used in its construction. This study mainly applied ethnobotanical methods based on data collection through observation, interviews, and documentation. Additionally, ArcGIS data analysis is also used to supplement the evaluation of the traditional wattled-wall house. This study aimed to (1) document traditional knowledge about the wattled-wall house construction, (2) and evaluate the current status of the wattled-wall house from different angles like the environmental adaptability and internal advantages and disadvantages. The result showed that the local people still apply the knowledge about the wattled-wall house from generation to generation. However, due to some practical reasons, the wattled-wall house is on the verge of extinction. There are 11 plant taxa used as construction materials in wattled-wall house. Conservation efforts for species involved in the wattled-wall house are needed, especially the ones with limited availability. Re-use of wattled-wall house is needed in order to maximize the economic benefits and to safeguard its historical and architectural values. It is recommended that the conservation of this cultural heritage needs more attention and effort from the local government or the society.

Are the Performances Broadcast Online Theatrical Performances? (Once Again on the Structural Differences Between the Stage and the Screen)

This article is an attempt to bring principled clarity to the recent disputes over the nature of theatrical art on the occasion of the general closure of the theatres after March 2020 (as an anti-epidemic measure in the COVID-19 crisis) and the alternative broadcasts of online performances. For a number of theoretical and practical reasons, and based on various examples, we maintain the understanding that with each shooting and broadcasting of a theatrical production a process of approaching the cinema begins – the erasure of its own theatrical quality occurs at the beginning of the process.

ESTIMACIÓN DE UNA DOSIS DE MARBOFLOXACINA PARA CABRAS DE TRES SEMANAS DE EDAD MEDIANTE ANÁLISIS POBLACIONAL

A dose of marbofloxacin (MFX) to treat gastrointestinal infections caused by E. coli in 3-week-old goats was estimated. The pharmacodynamics of MFX against E. coli was evaluated in vitro by estimation of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericide concentration (MBC) and mutant prevention concentration (MPC). Marbofloxacin was administered to six 3-week-old goats by subcutaneous route at the dose of 2 mg/kg. The pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated by non-compartmental analysis. The dose of MFX capable to protect the 95% of population was calculated considering the population distribution of pharmacokinetic parameters. The efficacy of MFX was evaluated by the relationship between the area under curve and MPC (AUC/MPC) with a cut-off value of 22 h. The results showed that the estimated dose of MFX to reach the clinical outcome of gastrointestinal infections caused by E. coli and to prevent the bacterial resistance at the 95% of the population of 3-week-old goats was 3,179 mg/kg, which for practical reasons was fixed at 3,5 mg/kg. The in vivo efficacy of dose estimated will be tested in future studies.

The Grammatica da Lingua Italiana para os Portuguezes by Antonio Prefumo: between the traditional and the conversational method

Within the Italian FL grammatical tradition, the 19th century is a very fruitful period. In other contributions, we have highlighted how several Portuguese and Italian figures connected to the circle of the S. Carlos Theatre in Lisbon act as preceptors and compose some grammars, which contain a strong normative part and, at the same time, connect themselves to the conversational tradition: among these works, the Grammatica da Lingua Italiana para os Portuguezes by Antonio Prefumo (Lisbon, 1829) plays a central role, as it goes through four editions over almost forty years. The paper analyses the social and intellectual context of production of this text, besides outlining the author’s profile and providing a philological reconstruction of the sources and models adopted. Furthermore, the paper attempts an analysis of the Grammatica that, on the one hand, highlights both the heritage of the vernacular and Enlightenment grammatical traditions and its innovative aspects and, on the other hand, compares the various editions through the study of their macro-textual areas. The methodology underlying our description follows that proposed by Swiggers (2006, 168) being based on four aspects: the analysis of the author, the audience, the subject described and its form. This approach places the author at the centre of a historical conjuncture in which the traditional grammatical method was associated with that of conversation, responding to the demand of an audience that increasingly approached the study of FL for practical reasons, rather than to meet the traditional educational demands of the upper classes.

Policing harmful content on social media platforms

Social media content moderation is an important area to explore, as the number of users and the amount of content are rapidly increasing every year. As an effect of the COVID19 pandemic, people of all ages around the world spend proportionately more time online. While the internet undeniably brings many benefits, the need for effective online policing is even greater now, as the risk of exposure to harmful content grows. In this paper, the aim is to understand the context of how harmful content - such as posts containing child sexual abuse material, terrorist propaganda or explicit violence - is policed online on social media platforms, and how it could be improved. It is intended in this assessment to outline the difficulties in defining and regulating the growing amount of harmful content online, which includes looking at relevant current legal frameworks at development. It is noted that the subjectivity and complexity in moderating content online will remain by the very nature of the subject. It is discussed and critically analysed whose responsibility managing toxic online content should be. It is argued that an environment in which all stakeholders (including supranational organisations, states, law enforcement agencies, companies and users) maximise their participation, and cooperation should be created in order to effectively ensure online safety. Acknowledging the critical role human content moderators play in keeping social media platforms safe online spaces, consideration about their working conditions are raised. They are essential stakeholders in policing (legal and illegal) harmful content; therefore, they have to be treated better for humanistic and practical reasons. Recommendations are outlined such as trying to prevent harmful content from entering social media platforms in the first place, providing moderators better access to mental health support, and using more available technological tools.

Polypharmacy Management in the Older Adults: A Scoping Review of Available Interventions

Background: Polypharmacy paves the way for non-adherence, adverse drug reactions, negative health outcomes, increased use of healthcare services and rising costs. Since it is most prevalent in the older adults, there is an urgent need for introducing effective strategies to prevent and manage the problem in this age group.Purpose: To perform a scoping review critically analysing the available literature referring to the issue of polypharmacy management in the older adults and provide narrative summary.Data sources: Articles published between January 2010–March 2018 indexed in CINHAL, EMBASE and PubMed addressing polypharmacy management in the older adults.Results: Our search identified 49 papers. Among the identified interventions, the most often recommended ones involved various types of drug reviews based on either implicit or explicit criteria. Implicit criteria-based approaches are used infrequently due to their subjectivity, and limited implementability. Most of the publications advocate the use of explicit criteria, such as e.g. STOPP/START, Beers and Medication Appropriateness Index (MAI). However, their applicability is also limited due to long lists of potentially inappropriate medications covered. To overcome this obstacle, such instruments are often embedded in computerised clinical decision support systems.Conclusion: Multiple approaches towards polypharmacy management are advised in current literature. They vary in terms of their complexity, applicability and usability, and no “gold standard” is identifiable. For practical reasons, explicit criteria-based drug reviews seem to be advisable. Having in mind that in general, polypharmacy management in the older adults is underused, both individual stakeholders, as well as policymakers should strengthen their efforts to promote these activities more strongly.