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On the origin of the reward function: Exploring the role of conditioned reinforcement and social learning
Full text linkInfluential cognitive science theories postulate that decision-making is based on treating expected outcomes as incentives according to a reward function. Yet a systematic analysis of the learning processes that determine the reward function remains to be carried out. The paper fills this gap by examining the contribution of two fundamental learning processes: conditioned reinforcement, occurring either via direct or via vicarious experience, and imitative incentive learning, at play when an agent appropriates the incentives sought by another individual. From an evolutionary perspective, the two processes appear to be adaptive insofar as conditioned reinforcement might have evolved to simplify decision-making, while imitative incentive learning might have arisen to harness the full potential of social learning and to facilitate cooperation. The paper contributes to research on decision-making by offering a detailed analysis of the learning mechanisms that drive acquisition of the reward function
Improving food system outcomes with beans, peas and pulses: A prospective mapping review of research in the UK
Full text linkObjective: To map the spread of research on legumes, including beans, peas, and other pulses; to identify research gaps and opportunities relating to the use of legumes for improved human nutrition, health and environmental outcomes; and to develop a novel method for clarifying research priorities.
Design: Prospective mapping review, identifying and mapping ongoing research (2019-2023) across the value chain.
Setting: UK
Participants/sample: Academic research studies in three databases
Results: 50 ongoing research projects were identified, revealing a focus on the two ends of the value chain: production (21 projects) and consumption (21 projects). Only four projects encompassed the entire value chain from producer to consumer. Research on production includes the role of legumes in crop rotations for soil health and reduced fertiliser use, productivity interventions, and improved breeds. Research on consumption includes dietary and health outcomes, predominantly cardiometabolic impacts, and legumes as an alternative protein source. Few projects focused on the middle of the value chain (four projects on product development) with none focused on processing, food service or retail.
Conclusions: Further interdisciplinary projects, linking producers to consumers and with a greater focus on middle chain actors, are needed. The food processing/ manufacturing, food service and retail sectors hold significant power in food systems practice and governance. They play a crucial role in transitioning to a healthier and more sustainable food system. Understanding the drivers and barriers for these food systems actors in increasing production and consumption of beans, peas and pulses is required to inform future food policy and practic
Reconfigurando la hegemonía regional: China, Estados Unidos y la nueva geopolítica espacial en América Latina
Full text linkIntroduction: the article examines how outer space has become a new arena for strategic rivalry between China and the U.S., with China seeking to expand its influence through technological, economic, and diplomatic cooperation with Latin American countries, challenging Washington’s historic power in the region. Objective: the study aims to analyze
how China’s space diplomacy is transforming power dynamics in Latin America and generating strategic implications for U.S. security, while promoting an alternative model of international governance based on soft power and technological projection. Methodology: the research adopts a qualitative approach that combines process tracing and documentary
analysis, allowing for the identification of the causal mechanisms linking Sino-US rivalry with China’s foreign policy decisions. Primary and secondary sources are used to ensure triangulation and analytical validity. Conclusions: the study concludes that space cooperation is a key instrument of China’s strategy in Latin America, consolidating its influence and
contributing to the configuration of a more multipolar intern ational order
Optimal timing of induction of labour to improve maternal and perinatal outcomes: protocol for an individual participant data and network meta-analysis
Full text linkIntroduction
Despite advances in maternity care, stillbirth remains a major burden. It disproportionately affects black and Asian mothers, those with obesity and women over the age of 35 years. Induction of labour may benefit these women, but there is no clear evidence to guide recommendations on optimal timing of induction because of variations in the intervention and insufficient power in primary trials for rare outcomes such as stillbirth and perinatal mortality, or to assess whether effects differ by maternal characteristics. We will conduct an individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis of randomised trials to assess the overall and differential effect of induction of labour, according to timing of induction and maternal characteristics, on adverse perinatal and maternal outcomes. We will also rank induction of labour timing strategies by their effectiveness to inform clinical and policy decision-making.
Methods and analysis
We will identify randomised trials on induction of labour by searching MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, BIOSIS, LILACS, Pascal, SCI, CDSR, ClinicalTrials.gov, ICTRP, ISRCTN registry, CENTRAL, DARE and Health Technology Assessment Database, without language restrictions, from inception to June 2025. Primary researchers of identified trials will be invited to join the OPTIMAL Collaboration and share the original trial data. Data integrity and trustworthiness assessment will be performed on all eligible trials. We will check each study’s IPD for consistency with the original authors before standardising and harmonising the data. Study quality of included trials will be assessed by the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. We will perform a series of one-and-two-stage random-effects meta-analyses to obtain the summary intervention effect on composite adverse perinatal outcome (stillbirth, neonatal death or severe morbidity requiring admission to neonatal unit) with 95% CIs and summary treatment–covariate interactions (maternal age, ethnicity, parity, socioeconomic status, body mass index and method of conception). Heterogeneity will be summarised using tau and 95% prediction intervals for effect in a new study. Sensitivity analysis to explore robustness of statistical and clinical assumptions will be carried out. Small study effects (potential publication bias) will be investigated using funnel plots.
Ethics and dissemination
The study is registered on PROSPERO (CRD420251066346) and ethics approval is not required. We will disseminate findings widely to women, healthcare professionals and policymakers through academic, professional bodies and social media channels, and in peer-reviewed journals to achieve impact
Magnet4Europe Intervention to Improve Clinician and Patient Well-Being
Full text linkBackground:
Descriptive studies have documented high hospital nurse burnout and turnover but there are few, if any, large-scale evaluations of organizational interventions to improve clinician retention. The Magnet model is an organizational hospital intervention associated with better clinician and patient outcomes but there is insufficient evidence as to whether the Magnet model based on structural empowerment of clinicians results in better outcomes or rewards hospitals with good work environments, and whether the Magnet model can be implemented at scale outside the United States.
Objective:
To evaluate whether Magnet4Europe—a multiyear organizational intervention of European hospitals—could be implemented and would result in improvements in nurse well-being, care quality, and patient safety.
Design:
Quasi-experimental longitudinal evaluation of 56 European intervention hospitals in 6 countries. Hospital-level implementation of the intervention measured by changes (from baseline to follow-up) in 77 Magnet model intervention targets. Outcome measures (eg, nurse burnout, intent to leave, quality of care, patient safety) were derived from surveys of nurses (4546 nurses at baseline; 3171 at follow-up).
Findings:
Hospitals that implemented intervention targets during the study period observed reductions in nurse burnout, nurses’ intentions to leave their jobs, and unfavorable care quality. Each 10-percentage-point increase in intervention target implementation was associated with 2.7%-point reduction in nurses who intend to leave (β −2.66; 95% CI: −4.74, −0.58, P0.05). Hospitals which implemented more than 25% of intervention targets observed 6.3%-point reduction in nurse burnout, 7.6%-point reduction in intent to leave, 6.4%-point reduction in unfavorable care quality, and 3.7%-point reduction in unfavorable patient safety. Improvements in hospital percentages of nurses reporting staffing adequacy were associated with reductions in burnout, intentions to leave, unfavorable care quality, and patient safety.
Conclusion:
Successful implementation of Magnet4Europe demonstrates promise for international adoption at scale of Magnet as an organizational intervention for improving clinician well-being, care quality, and patient safety
Definitions of non-intimate partner and family-related femicide/feminicide: A scoping review
Full text linkThe killing of women and girls outside of intimate or domestic relationships – or non-intimate partner and family-related (non-IPF) femicide/feminicide – often triggers significant public and media attention. However, there has been comparatively little attention to non-IPF femicide/feminicide in research and policy, including how it is defined. To address this, we conducted a scoping review to identify current definitions of non-IPF femicide/feminicide and the types of evidence that exist in relation to these killings. The search strategy included electronic database searches (MEDLINE Complete, Social Policy and Practice, APA PsychInfo, Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text; Sociology Source Ultimate; Web of Science), citation-tracking, and hand searching non-governmental organisation websites (e.g., EIGE, UNODC, Femicide Watch). Sources were eligible for inclusion if they reported on women or girls aged 10 or above killed by non-intimate or non-domestic relations. Restrictions were not placed on study context, design or publication language. In total, 126 studies (140 reports) met the inclusion criteria. After describing the types of evidence, we present key definitions and summarise characteristics of victims, perpetrators and incidents of non-IPF femicide/feminicide reported in existing literature. Our findings demonstrate that non-IPF femicide/feminicide encompasses a wide range of types (e.g., sexual femicides, work-related homicides) as well as relationships (e.g., strangers, acquaintances, clients, and employers). However, we also found that a large proportion of studies did not substantively engage with the gendered contexts and motivations of killings. Our findings highlight the need for improved reporting of definitions and deeper engagement with the structural contexts surrounding non-IPF femicides/feminicides
Efficient Detection of XSS and DDoS Attacks with Bent Functions
Full text linkIn this paper, we investigate the use of Bent functions, particularly the Maiorana–McFarland (M–M) construction, as a nonlinear preprocessing method to enhance machine learning-based detection systems for Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. Experimental results demonstrated consistent improvements in classification performance following the M–M Bent transformation. In labeled DDoS data, classification performance was maintained at 100% accuracy, with improved Kappa statistics and lower misclassification rates. In labeled XSS data, classification accuracy was reduced from 100% to 87.19% to reduce overfitting. The transformed classifier also mitigated overfitting by increasing feature diversity. In DDoS and XSS unlabeled data, accuracy improved from 99.85% to 99.92% in unsupervised learning cases for DDoS, and accuracy improved from 98.94% to 100% in unsupervised learning cases for XSS, with improved cluster separation also being noted. In summary, the results suggest that Bent functions significantly improve DDoS and XSS detection by enhancing the separation of benign and malicious traffic. All of these aspects, along with increased dataset quality, increase our confidence in resilience detection in a cyber detection pipeline
Call to action on social cognition measures in clinical research
Full text linkObjective
To describe current practices and key barriers in social cognition (SC) assessment, given its central role in psychiatric and neurological disorders and the limitations of existing measures.
Methods
Fifty-two SC experts from 20 countries completed an online survey regarding SC tests and questions about their usage frequency and perceived obstacles.
Results
Only facial emotion recognition tasks were used frequently, while the Hinting task and Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) were used by over half of participants. However, 10 experts also urged discontinuation of RMET, mostly due to validity concerns. Major obstacles included lack of culture-appropriate norms and poor psychometric properties.
Conclusions
SC assessment is limited by cultural bias and weak psychometrics. Developing and validating culturally sensitive tools, harmonizing protocols, and securing funding are essential to advance research, enable international trials, and improve clinical outcomes
Implementation of centering-based antenatal group care in flanders (Belgium): experiences of women and health care providers; modalities for sustainable integration into the health care system
Full text linkBackground: In Belgium, antenatal care is characterized by one-to-one care; with limited integration of community-based approaches. Centering-Based Group Care (CBGC), derived from the CenteringPregnancy® model, offers an alternative by combining clinical follow-up, health education, and peer support in group sessions. This study focuses on the experiences of participants and facilitators with the implementation of CBGC in three Flemish cities (Aalst, Gent, Leuven) as part of the European Union GC_1000 project. We explored the experience regarding the implementation process along with factors influencing sustainable integration into the health care system.
Methods: A total of 193 women participated in 30 CBGC trajectories between 2021 and 2023. A realist evaluation design was applied, using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to guide thematic analysis. Data were collected through interviews, focus groups, and observations(n = 8) involving participants (n = 6), facilitators (n = 13), and stakeholders (n = 13).
Results: Women reported high satisfaction with CBGC, highlighting four key benefits: (1) social support and connection, (2) active involvement in care, (3) enhanced learning and empowerment, and (4) continuity and trust in care relationships. Facilitators emphasized the model’s potential to improve quality of care, promote professional growth, and foster interprofessional collaboration. Challenges addressed included language barriers, recruitment difficulties, time constraints, and limited system-level support. Structural barriers such as fragmented care pathways and lack of reimbursement mechanisms hindered full integration in the health care system. Successful implementation was supported by trained facilitators, engaged coordinators, and local partnerships.
Conclusions: CBGC is a feasible and valued model of antenatal care in Belgium. It enhances participant engagement, peer learning, and relational care. Sustainable integration requires policy-level support, structural alignment between primary and hospital care, and appropriate funding mechanisms. Expanding CBGC as a potential option to the broad population and embedding it within integrated care pathways could strengthen its impact and sustainability. This study contributes to the growing evidence base supporting group antenatal care as a promising model for improving care experiences, integrated care and preventive community health
Non-communicable diseases, COVID-19 and labour market outcomes
Full text linkThe COVID-19 pandemic affected people with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in multiple ways. However, limited attention has been paid to its impact on labour outcomes for individuals with pre-existing NCDs. Given the heightened vulnerability of individuals with NCDs to COVID-19, the pandemic and related lockdown measures may have disproportionately influenced their employment prospects. Our study investigates the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the employment status and work hours of individuals with NCDs. We use data from the Understanding Society COVID-19 study in the UK, supplemented with main-stage Understanding Society surveys. We apply a difference-in-difference approach to estimate the pandemic’s impact on labour market outcomes over time. Our results indicate that COVID-19 significantly reduced both the likelihood of employment and working hours among individuals with NCDs relative to those without. These effects varied by age, gender, sector of employment (key workers vs. non-key workers), and type of NCDs. We further examine potential causes for the reduction in employment and working hours, and find that while the pandemic did not exacerbate existing health conditions among people with NCDs, their reduced labour market participation was largely driven by increased vulnerability to infection, the impact of long COVID, and the effects of public health interventions. Our study provides deeper insights into the post-pandemic contraction of the UK labour market, suggesting that the combined effects of NCDs and COVID-19 have contributed to a decline in workforce participation
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