Mammals in Late Neolithic Orkney (with reference to mammal bone recovered from Links of Noltland, Westray)

Excavation of thirty skulls, twenty-eight cattle and two sheep from the foundation course of a Late Neolithic structure at Links of Noltland (LON), Structure 9, is the starting point for this thesis, which investigates the economic and socio-cultural relationships of cattle and other mammals on Orkney communities between 3000 and 2500 BC. The LON settlement was located on a machair plain in Westray, the most N-W island within the Orkney archipelago (HY 428 493). Male and female cattle skulls were inter-mixed within the LON foundation course so a “bull cult” is not represented. The sequence from living skulls to skulls “animating the building is (i) breed/acquire (ii) nurture (iii) cull/butcher (iv) consume (v) transform to object (vi) curate (vii) deposit. A skull deposit infilling an internal passageway from another LON, Structure 18, is compared and contrasted with the Structure 9 foundation deposit. Special treatment of cattle skulls from a wide range of European and Near-East sites is also reviewed to emphasise the widespread use of this symbol during the Neolithic period. Orkney was separated from mainland Scotland prior to the establishment of the LON settlement so consideration is given to modes of arrival for mammals and their impact on this depauperate archipelago. Cattle and sheep dominated the domestic mammal remains examined, pig and dog were rare and goat and horse absent. The most abundant non-domestic mammals were red deer and Orkney voles, but otters and sea mammals were also present in low numbers. Genetic studies indicate that one cattle skull carried genetic material from aurochs, wild cattle. To date there is sparse evidence of interbreeding between wild aurochs and Neolithic domesticated cattle in Europe and none in Britain. The alterative explanation that aurochs were already present on Orkney during the Neolithic is explored. Articulated red deer deposits from LON were also examined. Although previous publications explored the possibility that these deposits are “ritual” other possible explanations for these deposits are outlined. No parallels were noted between the cattle skull and articulated red deer deposits, but the importance of antler for practical and symbolic use in Neolithic Orkney may be under-estimated. Stature of cattle remained relatively stable during the Mid to Late Neolithic in Orkney but underwent diminution by the Iron Age. A similar, but less marked reduction was also noted for sheep, but red deer already had small stature compared with early Holocene mainland Scotland red deer. The thesis concludes that cattle, sheep and red deer were of fundamental importance to the Neolithic society of Orkney, providing surplus food, tools and possibly traction, to support an increasingly sophisticated Neolithic society undertaking construction of complex structures and monuments. In addition, cattle fulfilled an important role in their cultural and spiritual life

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI <18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For schoolaged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI <2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI >2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesit

Worldwide evidence of a unimodal relationship between productivity and plant species richness

The search for predictions of species diversity across environmental gradients haschallenged ecologists for decades. The humped-back model (HBM) suggests that plantdiversity peaks at intermediate productivity; at low productivity few species can toleratethe environmental stresses, and at high productivity a few highly competitive speciesdominate. Over time the HBM has become increasingly controversial, and recent studiesclaim to have refuted it. Here, by using data from coordinated surveys conductedthroughout grasslands worldwide and comprising a wide range of site productivities, weprovide evidence in support of the HBM pattern at both global and regional extents. Therelationships described here provide a foundation for further research into the local,landscape, and historical factors that maintain biodiversity.Fil: Fraser, Lauchlan H.. Thompson Rivers University; Estados UnidosFil: Pither, Jason. University of British Columbia; CanadáFil: Jentsch, Anke. University Of Bayreuth; AlemaniaFil: Sternberg, Marcelo. Tel Aviv University; IsraelFil: Zobel, Martín. University Of Tartu.; EstoniaFil: Cabido, Marcelo Ruben. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Díaz, Sandra Myrna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Enrico, Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Nabinger, Carlos. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Naseri, Kamal. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad; IránFil: Overbeck, Gerhard E.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Palmer, Todd M.. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Parsons, Sheena. University of Kansas; Estados UnidosFil: Pesek, Mary. University of Kansas; Estados UnidosFil: Pillar, Valério D.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Pringle, Robert M.. Princeton University; Estados UnidosFil: Roccaforte, Kathy. University of Kansas; Estados UnidosFil: Schmidt, Amanda. Thompson Rivers University; CanadáFil: Shang, Zhanhuan. Lanzhou University; ChinaFil: Stahlmann, Reinhold. University Of Bayreuth; AlemaniaFil: Stotz, Gisela C.. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: Sugiyama, Shu-ichi. Hirosaki University; JapónFil: Szentes, Szilárd. Szent István University; HungríaFil: Thompson, Don. Lethbridge Research Centre; CanadáFil: Tungalag, Radnaakhand. National University of Mongolia; MongoliaFil: Undrakhbold, Sainbileg. National University of Mongolia; MongoliaFil: van Rooyen, Margaretha. University of Pretoria; SudáfricaFil: Wellstein, Camilla. Free University of Bozen Bolzano; ItaliaFil: Wilson, J. Bastow. University Of Otago; Canadá. Crown Research Institutes. Landcare Research; Nueva ZelandaFil: Zupo, Talita. Universidad Estadual Paulista; Brasi

Sexuality and succession law: beyond formal equality

This article endeavours to open up a dialogue between succession law and the field of gender, sexuality and the law. It presents a detailed analysis of five cases concerning inheritance disputes relating to lesbians or gay men. The sexuality of the parties in the cases is ‘doctrinally irrelevant’ but the analysis demonstrates the significance of sexuality in the resolution of the legal disputes. In doing so it identifies how legal discourse remains a critical site for the production of societal norms and in particular how lesbian and gay perspectives reveal the gendered assumptions underlying a number of key succession law doctrines. It emphasises the importance of taking difference seriously and the limits to formal legal equality

The revised Approved Instructional Resources score:An improved quality evaluation tool for online educational resources

BACKGROUND: Free Open-Access Medical education (FOAM) use among residents continues to rise. However, it often lacks quality assurance processes and residents receive little guidance on quality assessment. The Academic Life in Emergency Medicine Approved Instructional Resources tool (AAT) was created for FOAM appraisal by and for expert educators and has demonstrated validity in this context. It has yet to be evaluated in other populations.OBJECTIVES: We assessed the AAT's usability in a diverse population of practicing emergency medicine (EM) physicians, residents, and medical students; solicited feedback; and developed a revised tool.METHODS: As part of the Medical Education Translational Resources: Impact and Quality (METRIQ) study, we recruited medical students, EM residents, and EM attendings to evaluate five FOAM posts with the AAT and provide quantitative and qualitative feedback via an online survey. Two independent analysts performed a qualitative thematic analysis with discrepancies resolved through discussion and negotiated consensus. This analysis informed development of an initial revised AAT, which was then further refined after pilot testing among the author group. The final tool was reassessed for reliability.RESULTS: Of 330 recruited international participants, 309 completed all ratings. The Best Evidence in Emergency Medicine (BEEM) score was the component most frequently reported as difficult to use. Several themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: for ease of use-understandable, logically structured, concise, and aligned with educational value. Limitations include deviation from questionnaire best practices, validity concerns, and challenges assessing evidence-based medicine. Themes supporting its use include evaluative utility and usability. The author group pilot tested the initial revised AAT, revealing a total score average measure intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of moderate reliability (ICC = 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0 to 0.962). The final AAT's average measure ICC was 0.88 (95% CI = 0.77 to 0.95).CONCLUSIONS: We developed the final revised AAT from usability feedback. The new score has significantly increased usability, but will need to be reassessed for reliability in a broad population.</p

The Social Media Index as an Indicator of Quality for Emergency Medicine Blogs: A METRIQ Study

Study objective: Online educational resources such as blogs are increasingly used for education by emergency medicine clinicians. The Social Media Index was developed to quantify their relative impact. The Medical Education Translational Resources: Indicators of Quality (METRIQ) study was conducted in part to determine the association between the Social Media Index score and quality as measured by gestalt and previously derived quality instruments. Methods: Ten blogs were randomly selected from a list of emergency medicine and critical care Web sites. The 2 most recent clinically oriented blog posts published on these blogs were evaluated with gestalt, the Academic Life in Emergency Medicine Approved Instructional Resources (ALiEM AIR) score, and the METRIQ-8 score. Volunteer raters (including medical students, emergency medicine residents, and emergency medicine attending physicians) were identified with a multimodal recruitment methodology. The Social Media Index was calculated in February 2016, November 2016, April 2017, and December 2017. Pearson's correlations were calculated between the Social Media Index and the average rater gestalt, ALiEM AIR score, and METRIQ-8 score. Results: A total of 309 of 330 raters completed all ratings (93.6%). The Social Media Index correlated moderately to strongly with the mean rater gestalt ratings (range 0.69 to 0.76) and moderately with the mean rater ALiEM AIR score (range 0.55 to 0.61) and METRIQ-8 score (range 0.53 to 0.57) during the month of the blog post's selection and for 2 years after. Conclusion: The Social Media Index's correlation with multiple quality evaluation instruments over time supports the hypothesis that it is associated with overall Web site quality. It can play a role in guiding individuals to high-quality resources that can be reviewed with critical appraisal techniques

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background: Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods: We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5-19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI &lt;18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For school-aged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI &lt;2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI &gt;2 SD above the median). Findings: From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation: The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesity. Funding: UK Medical Research Council, UK Research and Innovation (Research England), UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK), and European Union