The aardvark (Oryecteropus afer) is a fossorial species with a widespread distribution across sub-Saharan Africa. It leaves distinctive tracks and traces of its presence, including large burrows. However, despite a substantial body fossil record, few trace fossils registered by aardvarks have been described. Its distribution range in southern Africa during historic and prehistoric times was probably broadly similar to that of today, with the addition of the currently submerged Palaeo-Agulhas Plain during much of the Pleistocene. Five new trace fossil sites have been identified in Pleistocene aeolianites on the Cape coast and are here interpreted with varying degrees of confidence as large burrows that were made by aardvarks. In addition, a possible aardvark tracksite has been identified. Together these add to the sparse paleoichnological evidence of aardvarks and add to the global ichnological record of large vertebrate burrows. While at this point the evidence does not warrant the proposal of new ichnotaxa, the findings may act to spur further identification of fossilized traces of aardvarks and other fossorial species on the Cape coast and beyond.

We provide a unified, theoretical basis on which measures of data reliability may be derived or evaluated, for both quantitative and qualitative data. This approach evaluates reliability as the “proportional reduction in loss” (PRL) that is attained in a sample by an optimal estimator. The resulting measure is between 0 and 1, linearly related to expected loss, and provides a direct way of contrasting the measured reliability in the sample with the least reliable and most reliable data-generating cases. The PRL measure is a generalization of many of the commonly-used reliability measures.

We show how the quantitative measures from generalizability theory can be derived as PRL measures (including Cronbach's alpha and measures proposed by Winer). For categorical data, we develop a new measure for the general case in which each of N judges assigns a subject to one of K categories and show that it is equivalent to a measure proposed by Perreault and Leigh for the case where N is 2.

A Bayesian approach to the testing of competing covariance structures is developed. The method provides approximate posterior probablities for each model under consideration without prior specification of individual parameter distributions. The method is based on ayesian updating using cross-validated pseudo-likelihoods. Given that the observed variables are the samefor all competing models, the approximate posterior probabilities may be obtained easily from the chi square values and other known constants, using only a hand calculator. The approach is illustrated using and example which illustrates how the prior probabilities can alter the results concerning which model specification is preferred.

We study a proportional reduction in loss (PRL) measure for the reliability of categorical data and consider the general case in which each of N judges assigns a subject to one of K categories. This measure has been shown to be equivalent to a measure proposed by Perreault and Leigh for a special case when there are two equally competent judges, and the correct category has a uniform prior distribution. We consider a general framework where the correct category is assumed to have an arbitrary prior distribution, and where classification probabilities vary by correct category, judge, and category of classification. In this setting, we consider PRL reliability measures based on two estimators of the correct category—the empirical Bayes estimator and an estimator based on the judges' consensus choice. We also discuss four important special cases of the general model and study several types of lower bounds for PRL reliability.

An abbreviated history of marriage helps motivate the question of whether ancient Roman marriage and contemporary love marriage could qualify as stages of the same (token) institution despite carrying significantly different functions, deontological powers, and constitutive rules. Having raised the question of institutional identity over time, I proceed to answer the question by appealing to Kurt Lewin's notion of genidentity. Lewin intends the notion of genidentity to track the spatiotemporal unfolding of different physical and biological processes, such as ontogenesis. I extend the notion of genidentity to the institutional sphere by identifying two ‘re-anchoring mechanisms’ that would describe the conditions under which institutions with different characteristics could nevertheless qualify as the same institution across time. First, formal institutions can be re-anchored by way of a self-amending secondary rule. Second, informal institutions can be re-anchored by leveraging the inherent indeterminacy of the exemplars that indexically define them. I then argue ancient Roman marriage and contemporary love marriage are genidentical in virtue of the actions of a (mostly) informal re-anchoring mechanism.

Due to the increasing importance of advanced systems, whose development calls for interdisciplinary and integrative approaches, and fundamental changes in the work environment, leaders are required to have a wide range of competences. Therefore, the aim of this work is to identify competences of future leaders, that are specifically relevant in Advanced Systems Engineering (ASE). Thus, professional, social, methodological, and self competences developed by a literature review are validated through expert interviews and prioritized by a survey. The insights are then presented in a competence portfolio including 30 areas of competences. The portfolio consists of areas of competence that are either relevant in the context of ASE (e.g. intercultural and interdisciplinary competence), New Work (e.g. competence to empower employees) or are relevant to leaders in general. It was possible to add further aspects that are necessary in ASE to the aspects from the literature review. The experts interviewed emphasized various aspects of interdisciplinary work and made clear that in future, leaders should place their employees at the heart of their activities and empower them according to their strengths and weaknesses.

There is a growing evidence base that identifying positive experiences in providing care can have a beneficial influence on carer wellbeing. However, there is a need to better understand what carers identify as the positive aspects of care-giving. The aim of this study is to explore the satisfying aspects of providing care to people with dementia. This study utilised Time 1 data from 1,277 carers of people in the mild-to-moderate stages of dementia taking part in the IDEAL (Improving the experience of Dementia and Enhancing Active Life) cohort study. Responses from 900 carers who answered the open-ended question ‘What is your greatest satisfaction in caring for your relative/friend?’ were analysed using thematic analysis. From the responses, 839 carers detailed satisfactions. Eight themes were identified, pertaining to three groups of beneficiaries: carers, people with dementia and the dyad. Perceived benefits for carers included identifying aspects of personal growth, seeing glimpses of the person, feeling they were making a difference and doing their duty. For the person with dementia, these included retaining independence, receiving good quality care and being happy. Dyadic benefits concerned the continuation of the relationship between carer and person with dementia. The findings highlight the need to take a dyadic approach when conceptualising positive experiences in providing care. Further research is needed to understand the role these positive experiences play and to develop interventions. Professionals working with carers should identify and validate these experiences.

We describe system verification tests and early science results from the pulsar processor (PTUSE) developed for the newly commissioned 64-dish SARAO MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa. MeerKAT is a high-gain ( ${\sim}2.8\,\mbox{K Jy}^{-1}$ ) low-system temperature ( ${\sim}18\,\mbox{K at }20\,\mbox{cm}$ ) radio array that currently operates at 580–1 670 MHz and can produce tied-array beams suitable for pulsar observations. This paper presents results from the MeerTime Large Survey Project and commissioning tests with PTUSE. Highlights include observations of the double pulsar $\mbox{J}0737{-}3039\mbox{A}$ , pulse profiles from 34 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) from a single 2.5-h observation of the Globular cluster Terzan 5, the rotation measure of Ter5O, a 420-sigma giant pulse from the Large Magellanic Cloud pulsar PSR $\mbox{J}0540{-}6919$ , and nulling identified in the slow pulsar PSR J0633–2015. One of the key design specifications for MeerKAT was absolute timing errors of less than 5 ns using their novel precise time system. Our timing of two bright MSPs confirm that MeerKAT delivers exceptional timing. PSR $\mbox{J}2241{-}5236$ exhibits a jitter limit of $<4\,\mbox{ns h}^{-1}$ whilst timing of PSR $\mbox{J}1909{-}3744$ over almost 11 months yields an rms residual of 66 ns with only 4 min integrations. Our results confirm that the MeerKAT is an exceptional pulsar telescope. The array can be split into four separate sub-arrays to time over 1 000 pulsars per day and the future deployment of S-band (1 750–3 500 MHz) receivers will further enhance its capabilities.

Over the last years, there has been increasing interest in Baby-Led Weaning (BLW), an approach in which infants feed themselves with finger foods. Previous studies have shown that BLW may be associated with lower food fussiness and risk of obesity, but in the other hand with growth flattering. However, the results are limited and still inconclusive. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between complementary feeding method and body mass index (BMI) z-score in children aged 19–36 months from Poland and Austria. This anonymously, the cross-sectional internet-based study was conducted in 2018 and 2019 among 6645 mothers of children aged 12–36 months, recruited through social media. The analysis included data from 5856 mothers (35.5% from Austria) with complete data. Complementary feeding method was categorized as traditional spoon feeding (TSF), partial BLW (children was both spoon-fed and fed themselves), as well as BLW. BMI z-score was calculated based on declared body mass and height using the WHO cut-off points. BLW method was used in 16.4% of children, whereas the TSF in 30.5% of the total study group. Normal BMI z-score was observed in 73.8% of the total study group, thinness in 9.6% and overweight and obesity in 4.3%. The BLW increased the risk of thinness only in children aged 31–36 months (aOR: 1.48; 95%CI: 1.04–2.11) but did not influence the risk of overweight and obesity. In this present large cross-sectional study conducted in two European countries, we did not find an association between BLW and overweight and obesity risk. However, in the older group, BLW increased the risk of thinness. Previous studies observing a risk of thinness were also cross-sectional, although conducted among smaller study groups. In contrary to this, In contrary to this, the RCT trials using modified BLW version Baby-Led Introduction to SolidS (BLISS) did not observe any case of growth flattering. In another cross-sectional study investigating dietary intake of infants aged 6–8 months, who were complementary fed using BLW or TSF method, authors did not observe a difference in energy intake between the two groups. Further studies investigating the role of complementary feeding method and subsequent BMI, especially in long-term are necessary.

There is sufficient evidence that the periconceptional period is a key window during which poor maternal nutrition can adversely influence long-term health and disease risk into adulthood. The higher rate of obesity in women of childbearing age and bad quality of mother's diet may result in higher incidence of hyperglycemia or hyperlipidemia, associated with an impaired metabolism in the offspring.

This cross-sectional study analysed dietary habits and physical activity of 190 pregnant women aged 31 ± 6 years in the second and third trimester of their pregnancy in Austria. Dietary intake data were collected by two non-consecutive 24-h-recalls using GloboDiet software, physical activity was examined with the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire. 31.6 % of investigated women were overweight or obese; a moderate higher prevalence compared to non-pregnant women (21.9–27.8 %). Mean gestational weight gain (GWG) was 3.9 (± 4.8) kg in the second and 9.6 (± 5.1) kg in the third trimester. More than half of the pregnant women exceed the GWG recommendations of the Institute of Medicine (2009). In contrary, average energy consumption was 1765 kcal/d, which is below the DACH (German, Austrian and Swiss Society for Nutrition) reference value assuming a Physical Activity Level of 1,4. However, one quarter of participants exceeded reference value of energy intake. Ratio of energy supply by macronutrient intake was 36.2 E% fat: 48.5 E% carbohydrates: 15.3 E% protein. Mean intakes of linoleic acid and alpha-linoleic acid were within the DACH reference values, but DHA intake (125 mg/d) did not reach the recommendation of 200 mg/d. In addition, average intake of dietary fibre (19.8 g/d) was too low. Intakes of vitamins A, E, B1, B6, and folate as well as potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and iodine were unsatisfying. These results are in accordance with an inadequate supply with fruits, vegetables, cereals, and milk products, at the same time exceeding intake of meat(products) and sweets. Only half of the examined pregnant women have reached the recommendation of 120 minutes of physical activity of moderate to vigorous intensity per week.

This study demonstrates that dietary behaviour and physical activity during pregnancy need to be improved. Adequate energy and nutrient intake is essential before conception, as well as throughout pregnancy to support maternal needs, and to fill up stores required for foetal development. Health strategies supporting women in childbearing age in adopting a healthy lifestyle are important for the health of the next generation.

Negative interactions between guanacos Lama guanicoe and ranchers have recently intensified in central Chile because guanacos are perceived to be competing with livestock for pasture resources. We examined this conservation conflict with a novel approach that considers ranchers' subjective theories, to better understand the origins of the conflict and to identify effective conservation measures based on the participants' explanations. Our findings indicate that ranchers see the source of the current problem in a shift towards increasingly arid conditions associated with climate change. We suggest the ranchers’ perceived problems are not only caused by interspecific resource competition arising from this climatic shift, but also by reported difficulties in negotiating with governmental institutions. This study adds to knowledge of human–wildlife interactions by exploring a further dimension of the complex ecological and social interactions taking place on livestock farms. We recommend identifying effective, acceptable solutions by considering and understanding the everyday knowledge of the conflict's protagonists and their potential for change.