A game theoretic model of kleptoparasitism with strategic arrivals and departures of beetles at dung pats

Dung beetles Onthophagus taurus lay their eggs in brood balls within dung pats. The dung that is used must be sufficiently fresh, and so beetles must keep moving from pat to pat to find fresh dung. If another beetle finds a brood ball it will usually eat the egg inside and lay its own egg in the brood ball instead of constructing its own ball. Thus, beetles will often stay near their eggs to guard them. We model a population of beetles where the times of arrival and departure from pats are strategic choices, and investigate optimal strategies depending upon environmental conditions, which can be reduced to two key parameters, the cost of brood ball construction and the ease of finding balls to parasitise. We predict that beetles should follow one of three distinct behaviors; stay in patches for only short periods, arrive late and be purely parasitic, remain in pats for longer periods in order to guard their brood balls. Under different conditions populations can consist of the first of these types only, a combination of the first and second types, or a combination of all three types

The effect of very low-calorie diets on renal and hepatic outcomes : a systematic review

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Entanglement and Dynamic Stability of Nash Equilibria in a Symmetric Quantum Game

We study the evolutionary stability of Nash equilibria (NE) in a symmetric quantum game played by the recently proposed scheme of applying `identity' and `Pauli spin flip' operators on the initial state with classical probabilities. We show that in this symmetric game dynamic stability of a NE can be changed when the game changes its form, for example, from classical to quantum. It happens even when the NE remains intact in both forms.Comment: Latex,no figure,submitted to Physics Letters

Understanding Social Studies: Student and Teacher Voices in Relation to Theoretical Orientations

Social Studies can be understood, or theorized, in a number of different ways as a consequence of its history (Evans, 2004).  This paper presents the findings of a research study of high school students’ and teachers’ conceptions of Social Studies in relation to four philosophical orientations, labeled the Classicist/Traditionalist, Essentialist, Progressivist and Reconstructionist frames.  These four frames are developed from literature in the field.  After describing these frames, the research methods of the British Columbia (BC), Canada survey study with teachers and students are summarized.  Participants included close to 200 students and teachers in three separate grades.  Findings and conclusions are presented next.  These findings illustrate that Social Studies is variously understood by participants and that connections exist between participants’ views of the subject and perceptions of its usefulness.  The paper also describes students’ knowledge of the Social Sciences and students’ and teachers’ comments on the subject.  The paper ends with recommendations, developed from the findings, which aim to improve teaching practice and student learning and engagement in the subject

Rethinking Belonging in Western Nations: Theorizing the Public Commons as a Shared Pluralistic Community

Western nations are becoming increasingly socially and ethnically diverse. National policies aim to address this diversity through policies such as multiculturalism in Canada, which promotes appreciation for cultural pluralism. However, policy rhetoric can hide social issues related to increasing diversity. Using Canada as a case study discussion, this paper begins by reviewing some of the issues associated with increasing social and ethnic diversity, including racism and conflict over values, and then discusses these issues in relation to contemporary political concepts which aim to build social harmony. It argues that we need to rethink how we understand diversity within a communitarian conception of community—theorized as that of the public commons. The paper concludes with recommendations that aim to improve citizenship education, with a focus on increasing youth’s knowledge of civic life, particularly their understanding of this concept of the public commons

Supervised exercise training and increased physical activity to reduce cardiovascular disease risk in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: Study protocol for a randomized controlled feasibility trial

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects up to 20% of women and is characterised by higher amounts of visceral fat, obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and reproductive and cardiometabolic complications. Increased oxidised low-density lipoprotein (LDL) concentrations have been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related events. Oxidised LDL is rarely used as a marker for CVD risk in PCOS-related studies despite its widely accepted role in atherogenesis and the increased risk factors associated with PCOS. Additionally, prolonged periods of sedentary behaviour can negatively affect metabolic health. No studies have specifically examined the effects of reducing sedentary behaviour on CVD risk in PCOS with a lifestyle physical activity intervention. The aim of the current study is to measure the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) examining the effects of supervised exercise and reducing sedentary behaviour in women with PCOS on CVD risk. Methods/design: A feasibility, exploratory RCT will be conducted. Fifty-one pre-menopausal females will be randomly allocated between an exercise group (EG), a lifestyle physical activity group (LPAG) and a control group. Participants in the EG will undertake a 12-week supervised aerobic exercise programme. The LPAG will aim to increase daily physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour for 12 weeks. The control group will not take part in any intervention. Primary outcomes are feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and procedures. Secondary outcomes are oxidised LDL, aerobic fitness, blood lipid profile, fasting glucose and insulin, testosterone and inflammatory markers. Discussion: PCOS is associated with various increased risk factors for CVD, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, and inflammation. Whether oxidised LDL has a role in this increased risk is not yet known. The present study aims to measure the feasibility of implementing structured exercise training and/or increased lifestyle physical activity in women with PCOS, so that a subsequent adequately powered RCT can be designed. The results from the study will be used to refine the interventions and determine the acceptability of the study design. A limitation is that some self-monitoring in the lifestyle physical activity group may not be reliable or replicable, for example inputting information about time spent cleaning/gardening

A qualitative study of hospital pharmacists and antibiotic governance: Negotiating interprofessional responsibilities, expertise and resource constraints Organization, structure and delivery of healthcare

© 2016 Broom et al. Background: Antibiotic treatment options for common infections are diminishing due to the proliferation of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The impact of Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) programs seeking to preserve viable antibiotic drugs by governing their use in hospitals has hitherto been limited. Pharmacists have been delegated a critical role in antibiotic governance in AMS teams within hospitals but the experience of pharmacists in influencing antibiotic use has received limited attention. In this study we explore the experiences of pharmacists in antibiotic decision-making in two Australian hospitals. Methods: We conducted 19 semi-structured interviews to explore hospital-based pharmacists' perceptions and experiences of antibiotic use and governance. The analysis was conducted with NVivo10 software, utilising the framework approach. Results: Three major themes emerged in the pharmacist interviews including (1) the responsibilities of pharmacy in optimising antibiotic use and the interprofessional challenges therein; (2) the importance of antibiotic streamlining and the constraints placed on pharmacists in achieving this; and (3) the potential, but often under-utilised expertise, pharmacists bring to antibiotic optimisation. Conclusions: Pharmacists have a critical role in AMS teams but their capacity to enact change is limited by entrenched interprofessional dynamics. Identifying how hospital pharmacy's antibiotic gatekeeping is embedded in the interprofessional nature of clinical decision-making and limited by organisational environment has important implications for the implementation of hospital policies seeking to streamline antibiotic use. Resource constraints (i.e. time limitation and task prioritisation) in particular limit the capacity of pharmacists to overcome the interprofessional barriers through development of stronger collaborative relationships. The results of this study suggest that to enact change in antibiotic use in hospitals, pharmacists must be supported in their negotiations with doctors, have increased presence on hospital wards, and must be given opportunities to pass on specialist knowledge within multidisciplinary clinical teams

Addressing Ethical Issues in Studying Men’s Traumatic Stress

Like many human experiences, traumatic stress is highly gendered. Over the past several decades, a sub-stantial number of empirical studies have explored ethical issues in traumatic stress research. However, these studies have typically reported female samples or failed to account for the influence of gender in their analyses of mixed-sex samples. By extension, ethical issues that are relevant to male participants in traumatic stress research are poorly understood. After briefly exploring why the vulnerabilities of male participants are under-explored in traumatic stress research, this article highlights many ethical issues that are important to address when men participate in traumatic stress research, concluding with some sugges-tions for how these might be taken up to advance the field

Kleptoparasitic melees--modelling food stealing featuring contests with multiple individuals

Kleptoparasitism is the stealing of food by one animal from another. This has been modelled in various ways before, but all previous models have only allowed contests between two individuals. We investigate a model of kleptoparasitism where individuals are allowed to fight in groups of more than two, as often occurs in real populations. We find the equilibrium distribution of the population amongst various behavioural states, conditional upon the strategies played and environmental parameters, and then find evolutionarily stable challenging strategies. We find that there is always at least one ESS, but sometimes there are two or more, and discuss the circumstances when particular ESSs occur, and when there are likely to be multiple ESSs

What role do pharmacists play in mediating antibiotic use in hospitals? A qualitative study

Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/ OBJECTIVE: To understand Australian hospital pharmacists' accounts of antibiotic use, and the potential role of pharmacy in antibiotic optimisation within a tertiary hospital setting.DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Qualitative study, utilising semistructured interviews with 19 pharmacists in two hospitals in Queensland, Australia in 2014. Data was analysed using the framework approach and supported by NVivo10 qualitative data analysis software.RESULTS: The results demonstrate that (1) pharmacists' attitudes are ambivalent towards the significance of antibiotic resistance with optimising antibiotic use perceived as low priority; (2) pharmacists' current capacity to influence antibiotic decision-making is limited by the prescribing power of doctors and the perception of antibiotic use as a medical responsibility; and, (3) interprofessional and organisational barriers exist that prevent change in the hospital setting including medical hierarchies, limited contact with senior doctors and resource constraints resulting in insufficient pharmacy staffing to foster collaborative relationships and facilitate the uptake of their advice.DISCUSSION: While pharmacy is playing an increasingly important role in enhanced antibiotic governance and is a vital component of antimicrobial stewardship in Australia, role-based limitations, interprofessional dynamics and organisational/resource constraints in hospitals, if not urgently addressed, will continue to significantly limit the ability of pharmacy to influence antibiotic prescribing