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Centuries of compounding human influence on Amazonian forests
No full textRecent evidence suggests that the ecological footprints of pre-Columbian Indigenous peoples in Amazonia persist in modern forests. Ecological impacts resulting from European colonization c. 1550 CE and the Amazonian Rubber Boom c. 1850 to 1920 CE are largely unexplored but could be important additive influences on forest structure and tree species composition. Using environmental niche models, we show the highest probabilities of pre-Columbian and colonial occupation sites, and hence human-induced ecological influences, occurred in forests along rivers. In many areas, the predicted pre-Columbian and colonial distributions overlap spatially with the potential for superimposed ecological influences. Environmental gradients are known to structure Amazonian vegetation composition, but they are also strong predictors of past human influence, both spatially and temporally. Our comparisons of model outputs with relative abundances of Amazonian tree species suggest that pre-Columbian and colonial-period ecological legacies are associated with modern forest composition
Improving access to postpartum contraception – a review of global guidelines with ESCRH consensus recommendations for Europe
No full textContraceptive counselling should be an integral component of pregnancy care. The antenatal period represents a critical window of opportunity to discuss postpartum contraceptive options, enabling women to make informed reproductive health decisions. The evidence clearly demonstrates the importance of timely counselling and provision of effective postpartum contraception to optimise interpregnancy intervals and prevent unintended pregnancies and abortions. Routine antenatal counselling has been shown to be a feasible and effective alternative to traditional postnatal follow-up − which typically occurs several weeks after childbirth, often within the primary care setting −, and the woman’s preferred contraceptive method should be provided before hospital discharge following delivery whenever possible. This study provides a narrative review and comparison of the most recent global guidelines on postpartum contraception and proposes recommendations for Europe based on a European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health (ESCRH) consensus
Scraped? How Database Rights Can Protect Academic Repositories
No full textInstitutional repositories are a cornerstone of the open science ecosystem, enabling global access to scholarly work and supporting long-term preservation. Yet in an era of automated data extraction and rapidly advancing AI technologies, these repositories face a new and largely unaddressed threat: large-scale, covert scraping of academic content by commercial entities, often for training proprietary AI models. This practice bypasses scholarly norms, offers no transparency or attribution, and exploits institutional infrastructure without consent. Despite the ethos of openness, such unchecked reuse risks distorting scholarly communication, undermining author rights, and compromising the trust that underpins open research infrastructure.This paper proposes a pragmatic, legally grounded response to this emerging risk. While copyright law has limited utility in protecting open access materials, UK and EU database rights provide an underused but powerful mechanism. These rights recognise the institutional investment involved in maintaining repositories and can be used to enforce contractual restrictions on content reuse. When coupled with technical measures - rate limiting, bot detection, and machine-readable licences - universities can protect their repositories without impeding access for legitimate research or non-commercial users.Based on implementation planning at the University of Edinburgh, this model includes a layered approach: asserting database rights, requiring end-user licence agreements, and enabling responsible access through APIs. The proposed strategy aligns with open science principles by encouraging transparency, accountability, and stewardship, rather than secrecy or restriction. It offers a scalable response to an infrastructural blind spot in the current scholarly communication ecosystem.Repairing this gap is not about closing doors but reinforcing them against unethical exploitation. If repositories are to remain open and credible, they must also be governed. This proposal offers a forward-looking model that protects academic infrastructure while upholding the values of openness, equity, and responsible innovation in the age of AI
Childhood food insecurity trajectories and adolescent eating disorder symptoms:A UK cohort study
No full textPurpose: Food insecurity is increasingly linked with disordered eating. However, studies have not yet explored impacts of childhood food insecurity on disordered eating in adolescence. This study examined the links between patterns of childhood food insecurity and adolescent disordered eating. Methods: Data were from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort in the UK (6,723 participants; 55.7% girls). Food insecurity was reported by mothers from pregnancy to age 7. Disordered eating was reported by adolescents at ages 14, 16, and 18. Results: Most participants experienced no food insecurity throughout childhood (n = 5,801, 77.9%), followed by low food insecurity (n = 416, 12.4%), time-limited food insecurity (n = 292, 6.0%), and persistent food insecurity (n = 214, 3.7%). At age 14 adolescents in the time-limited food insecurity group had higher odds of binge eating (OR = 1.63, p = .040), and those in the persistent food insecurity group had higher odds of compensatory behaviours compared those in the no food insecurity group (OR = 1.72, p = .025). No significant associations were observed with disordered eating at age 16. At age 18 adolescents in the time-limited food insecurity group compared to the no food insecurity group had higher odds of compensatory behaviours (OR = 1.68, p = .041). Conclusions: Findings showed that childhood food insecurity was linked with higher odds of disordered eating in adolescence. Interestingly, associations were observed for those experiencing either time-limited or persistent food insecurity, highlighting the potential impact of early childhood experiences
On-Chip Spike Sorting: Developments, challenges, and future directions
No full textSpike sorting facilitates neuroscientific research by isolating single-unit activity from extracellular recordings, enabling the study of individual neuron behavior. On-chip spike sorting systems address the data deluge challenge in high-channel-count neural probes by performing near-sensor processing directly on implanted hardware. Through hardware miniaturization, this approach reduces the need for bulky cabling and facilitates wireless data transmission, enabling chronic recordings in freely moving subjects. As neural probes scale to hundreds or thousands of channels, on-chip implementations pave the way for large-scale real-time analysis of neuronal ensembles and thus facilitate translating the technology from lab to more real-world applications
The demographic landscape of Spanish language teaching research:A cross-national study
No full textEngagement with research has long been recognized as a key driver of improved language teaching practices and teachers’ professional growth. Yet, language teaching practitioners often remain distanced from research activities, thus perpetuating a well-documented gap between research and practice. While much of the existing scholarship has centered on English language teaching, this study shifts the focus on the rapidly growing field of Spanish language teaching (SLT). Drawing on data from 738 SLT professionals in Spain and the United States, we explore their research engagement and demographic profiles through the lens of communities of practice. Furthermore, we argue that combining these demographic insights with the concept of life capital—the accumulated wealth of one's personal and professional experiences—may uncover the human dimensions that shape a community of practice, thereby opening new avenues for promoting deeper research engagement. Finally, and equally important, by broadening the conversation to include languages other than English and adopting a comparative perspective, this study reveals overlooked factors that shape the research–practice divide, ultimately offering fresh insights and targeted initiatives to reconcile this longstanding research–practice gap.</p
A study protocol for assessing the effects of intangible cultural heritage experiences on human well-being
No full textBACKGROUND: While interventions have been designed which use extended reality (XR) technology in promoting physical, mental and social well-being through cultural heritage experiences, well-defined methodologies for the assessment of such interventions is lacking.OBJECTIVES: We present a protocol for evaluating the usability and effectiveness of an XR system that mediates and facilitates access to intangible cultural heritage experiences. We aim to assess the effects of these experiences on user well-being and attitudes across four case studies: ageing societies, sustainable tourism, disappearing communities, and immigration and multiculturalism.METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Participants will be randomly assigned to control or intervention groups. The effects of the XR intervention on well-being will be assessed through statistical analysis of the participants' salivary cortisol and cortisone levels, physiological signals, and subjective ratings, both pre- and post-intervention and between control and intervention groups. Usability will be measured through a system usability scale. Speech will be recorded for qualitative and natural language processing analysis. Machine learning models will be developed for prediction of affect and well-being on multimodal data.DISCUSSION: This is one of the first international and multidisciplinary studies to explore the effects of XR-mediated intangible cultural heritage experiences on well-being and attitudes towards issues of societal importance. One of the main strengths of this study is the range of data modalities it collects, and the range of methods it employs to analyse these data in a complementary manner, including qualitative, statistical and advanced machine learning methods.CONCLUSION: This protocol offers a method and four case studies to assess the potential of immersive XR experiences and interventions of intangible cultural heritage as contributors to increased well-being and as actors of societal change. It stands as a reference model for further similar interventions in the field.</p
Woman-not-woman:Abjection and gender transformation in Las Fiestas de Santiago
No full textDuring the yearly patronal festival las fiestas en honor a Santiago Apóstol (las fiestas), men from Loíza, Puerto Rico, transform themselves to become madwomen whose ribald and bawdy behaviour transgresses personal and religious boundaries of decency. In Christian colonial contexts, ‘decency’ is a racialised way of prescribing gender and sexual norms that posit the white Christian, heterosexual, male as ideal personhood. Known as la loca, this festal personage disrupts this idealised notion of personhood through gender transformations and engagement with repressed human and social behaviour. Historically understood figuratively and affirmatively, this article draws from ethnographic fieldwork with one loca, Carlito, and the work of philosopher and sociologist of religion Georges Bataille to examine the literal and negative aspects of this festival character. I argue that her vulgarity and gender-bending performances are a manifestation of the negative sacred, which has the potential to destabilise Christian colonial notions of personhood.</p
Avian-origin influenza A viruses tolerate elevated pyrexic temperatures in mammals
No full textHost body temperature can define a virus's replicative profile-influenza A viruses (IAVs) adapted to 40° to 42°C in birds are less temperature sensitive in vitro compared with human isolates adapted to 33° to 37°C. In this work, we show that avian-origin PB1 polymerase subunits enable IAV replication at elevated temperatures, including avian-origin PB1s from the 1918, 1957, and 1968 pandemic viruses. Using a model system to ensure biosafety, we show that a small increase in body temperature protects against severe disease in mice and that this protection is overcome by a febrile temperature-resistant PB1. These findings indicate that although elevated temperature itself can be a potent antiviral defense, it may not be effective against all influenza strains. These data inform both the clinical use of antipyretics and IAV surveillance efforts.</p
Spatial myopia, financial hubs and the “Golden Triangle”:Tracing the uneven landscape of exogenous equity investments in the UK
Get PDFThe entrepreneurial finance literature has hitherto largely neglected the role of non-indigenous equity finance across different territorial jurisdictions. Invoking the concept of spatial myopia, this paper examines the role played by this specialist form of finance within different locations and how a firm’s relative geographic location within a national economy plays a fundamental determinant shaping their ability to obtain this form of specialist equity funding. In particular, this study explores the spatial dynamics of international equity investments, with a specific focus on the UK’s six major financial EE hubs. By integrating firm-level data from Crunchbase with city-level economic indicators, the analysis employs a multilevel mixed-effects probit regression model to assess the probability of firms attracting international investors. Our findings reveal that the famous "Golden Triangle" of London, Cambridge, and Oxford remain dominant in terms of attracting international equity investments. Spatial myopia significantly influences investment patterns, with increased distance from the Golden Triangle correlating with reduced probabilities of securing international equity finance. However, no distinct advantages are observable for early and late-stage ventures within the triumvirate compared to the other financial hubs. We conclude that overcoming myopic decision making in international equity investors is a non-trivial policy objective to address
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