A narrative review of patients' lived experience of having a pressure injury.

AIM: To explore patients' experiences of living with pressure injuries. DESIGN: A qualitative narrative review and thematic synthesis of qualitative research studies. DATA SOURCES: Six electronic databases were searched: Medline, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and Google Scholar (for grey literature). The search was conducted between October 2022 and April 2023. Setting: Acute, community and care home settings across the UK, France, Belgium and the US. REVIEW METHODS: The PRISMA checklist for reporting systematic reviews was used. The included studies were evaluated for quality using the CASP tool. The Joanna Briggs Institute data extraction tool was used to extract data from the included studies. Thematic synthesis was used to identify themes to present a coherent and nuanced understanding of patients' experiences of living with pressure injuries. RESULTS: Nine studies involving 244 participants, aged 21 to 101, with pressure injuries, met the inclusion criteria. Three key themes emerged using thematic analysis: physiological, emotional and psychological, and social effects. Within these themes, subthemes such as endless pain and discomfort, loss of mobility and independence, and social isolation were dominant in all aspects of the lives of patients living with pressure injuries. CONCLUSIONS: This narrative review gives clear and multifaceted insight into the impact of pressure injuries on individuals' lives, emphasising the necessity for patient-centred care and the integration of evidence-based tools for effective pain management and risk assessment. The impact of pain on emotional and psychological wellbeing was significant, and the financial implications are scarcely known. Future research is needed to explore the experiences of younger adults and the financial consequences of living with pressure injuries.

Assessing the Cumulative Social Effects of Projects: Lessons from Canadian Hydroelectric Development.

Cumulative effects assessments are often expected to include an analysis of cumulative social effects to people, their communities, and livelihoods caused by resource development projects and land use activities. Understanding cumulative social effects is important for decisions about prospective resource development projects, but there has been limited attention devoted to how to complete such an assessment. This paper critically examines how cumulative effects frameworks are applied to social impacts during environmental assessments. We do this by analyzing semi-structured interviews exploring practitioner experience in environmental assessments for hydroelectric development in British Columbia and Manitoba, Canada. The results provide a conceptual framework for cumulative social effects and illustrate how identified challenges for cumulative effects assessment are exacerbated by social impacts that introduce additional complexities in impact identification, assessment, and decision-making. The paper concludes with a discussion of how these challenges can be addressed and recommendations for improving environmental assessment practice.

COVID-19 Outbreak Challenges in Indian Migrant Pregnant and Lactating Mothers: Learnt Lesson Demands Phronesis and Hierarchical Strategies for Such Future Pandemics.

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been found to influence almost all sectors starting from socio-religious to educational and environmental levels. However, the systematically planned or unplanned implementation of sudden lockdown across the globe, including India, has pushed the migrant workers into huge troubles. Without savings and transport systems, food security and other problems pushed migrant workers to walk to home from working places covering over 1000 km. Walking under the hot sun with heavy luggage and child in the womb or arm has affected the lactating mothers or pregnant women the most. The objective of this review article was to analyse the problems faced especially by the women migrant workers in India in order to point out and to adapt future strategies for their protection. METHODS: All published relevant literature from scientific sources and reputed news channels are considered to write the current review. RESULTS: Tremendous adverse effects of COVID-19 have been observed at social/cultural/religious/economic levels and other sectors of the society albeit its huge progressive but temporary effects are also observed on environment. The environment is self-regenerating, while the economy is pushed to an unseen manner. This is because many countries including India have adopted social lockdowns as a measure of prevention against the highly contagious disease. The results of lockdowns are encourageable as far as the reduced infection and death rate is concerned. For example, India being the second largest populous country with less advanced healthcare system is enjoying a comparatively low rate of death in COVID-19. However, sudden lockdowns followed by shutdowns mediated by industrial closure have pushed many migrant workers to walk to home by passing over even >1000 kilometres of distance on barefoot. Without transport systems, proper food and medications, many migrant workers faced un-imaginary difficulties, and some of them have also died on the way. Pregnant women and lactating mothers were also in the list and found to face unseen problems while migrating to their home from their working places with a load of child in the womb or on arm. So, phronesis of such problems and hierarchical strategies are suggested. CONCLUSION: Since such zoonotic pandemics cannot be avoided in the near future, solid future strategies must be adopted by different nations especially under developed and poor countries to tackle the problem of the migrant workers including the pregnant women and the lactating mothers.

Using news coverage and community-based impact assessments to understand and track social effects using the perspectives of affected people and decisionmakers.

This paper applies an innovative approach to monitoring social effects occurring before and during construction of two hydroelectric dams in Canada. The two studied dams, Site C and Keeyask, are under construction in Canada and underwent community-based impact assessment (CBIA). News coverage and the CBIA documents were analyzed to understand and compare how those two groups perceive social effects induced by the two projects. CBIAs contain concerns expressed by affected people, whereas news coverage can include quotes from both affected people and decisionmakers involved in the assessment process. By contrasting these datasets, we found that the documents are complementary: while CBIAs are comprehensive in assessing community concerns, news outlets can reveal how those concerns evolved throughout different phases of the projects' implementation. This approach fills a gap in SIA around monitoring of key social effects around local conflicts and disputes, psychosocial effects, socioeconomic effects, and cumulative effects on a daily life. Furthermore, by contrasting the views identified within the impact assessments and the media, the study demonstrates how specific concerns diverged: affected people focus on local social effects while decisionmakers' interests lie in a broader political perspective grounded in local sacrifices 'for the good of the whole province'. Our analysis emphasizes the role of political power over decision making that can inhibit CBIA and social impact assessment practice from contributing to socially sustainable projects.

Social effects on age-related and sex-specific immune cell profiles in a wild mammal.

Evidence for age-related changes in innate and adaptive immune responses is increasing in wild populations. Such changes have been linked to fitness, and knowledge of the factors driving immune response variation is important for understanding the evolution of immunity. Age-related changes in immune profiles may be owing to factors such as immune system development, sex-specific behaviour and responses to environmental conditions. Social environments may also contribute to variation in immunological responses, for example, through transmission of pathogens and stress arising from resource and mate competition. Yet, the impact of the social environment on age-related changes in immune cell profiles is currently understudied in the wild. Here, we tested the relationship between leukocyte cell composition (proportion of neutrophils and lymphocytes [innate and adaptive immunity, respectively] that were lymphocytes) and age, sex and group size in a wild population of European badgers (Meles meles). We found that the proportion of lymphocytes in early life was greater in males in smaller groups compared to larger groups, but with a faster age-related decline in smaller groups. By contrast, the proportion of lymphocytes in females was not significantly related to age or group size. Our results provide evidence of sex-specific age-related changes in immune cell profiles in a wild mammal, which are influenced by the social environment.

Heritabilities, social environment effects and genetic correlations of social behaviours in a cooperatively breeding vertebrate.

Social animals interact frequently with conspecifics, and their behaviour is influenced by social context, environmental cues and the behaviours of interaction partners, allowing for adaptive, flexible adjustments to social encounters. This flexibility can be limited by part of the behavioural variation being genetically determined. Furthermore, behaviours can be genetically correlated, potentially constraining independent evolution. Understanding social behaviour thus requires carefully disentangling genetic, environmental, maternal and social sources of variations as well as the correlation structure between behaviours. Here, we assessed heritability, maternal, common environment and social effects of eight social behaviours in Neolamprologus pulcher, a cooperatively breeding cichlid. We bred wild-caught fish in a paternal half-sibling design and scored ability to defend a resource against conspecifics, to integrate into a group and the propensity to help defending the group territory ("helping behaviour"). We assessed genetic, social and phenotypic correlations within clusters of behaviours predicted to be functionally related, namely "competition," "aggression," "aggression-sociability," "integration" and "integration-help." Helping behaviour and two affiliative behaviours were heritable, whereas there was little evidence for a genetic basis in all other traits. Phenotypic social effects explained part of the variation in a sociable and a submissive behaviour, but there were no maternal or common environment effects. Genetic and phenotypic correlation within clusters was mostly positive. A group's social environment influenced covariances of social behaviours. Genetic correlations were similar in magnitude but usually exceeding the phenotypic ones, indicating that conclusions about the evolution of social behaviours in this species could be provisionally drawn from phenotypic data in cases where data for genetic analyses are unobtainable.

Genetics and developmental biology of cooperation.

Despite essential progress towards understanding the evolution of cooperative behaviour, we still lack detailed knowledge about its underlying molecular mechanisms, genetic basis, evolutionary dynamics and ontogeny. An international workshop "Genetics and Development of Cooperation," organized by the University of Bern (Switzerland), aimed at discussing the current progress in this research field and suggesting avenues for future research. This review uses the major themes of the meeting as a springboard to synthesize the concepts of genetic and nongenetic inheritance of cooperation, and to review a quantitative genetic framework that allows for the inclusion of indirect genetic effects. Furthermore, we argue that including nongenetic inheritance, such as transgenerational epigenetic effects, parental effects, ecological and cultural inheritance, provides a more nuanced view of the evolution of cooperation. We summarize those genes and molecular pathways in a range of species that seem promising candidates for mechanisms underlying cooperative behaviours. Concerning the neurobiological substrate of cooperation, we suggest three cognitive skills necessary for the ability to cooperate: (i) event memory, (ii) synchrony with others and (iii) responsiveness to others. Taking a closer look at the developmental trajectories that lead to the expression of cooperative behaviours, we discuss the dichotomy between early morphological specialization in social insects and more flexible behavioural specialization in cooperatively breeding vertebrates. Finally, we provide recommendations for which biological systems and species may be particularly suitable, which specific traits and parameters should be measured, what type of approaches should be followed, and which methods should be employed in studies of cooperation to better understand how cooperation evolves and manifests in nature.

A Qualitative Study on the Interconnected Nature of HIV, Water, and Family.

Human immunodeficiency virus infection/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and poor access to water are two primary global health issues. Poor access to water may significantly affect families infected with HIV and result in adverse social and health consequences. A qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to understand health and social outcomes of families after the implementation of water interventions in rural Kenya. One major sub-theme emerged during this research, which included the effects of water on an HIV-affected family. Prior to the water interventions, common adverse health effects from lack of nutrition, water, and poor hygiene were experienced. After receiving access to water, nutrition and hygiene were improved and additional time was gained and used to reinforce relationships and spread awareness about HIV/AIDS. This study provides need-based evidence for access to safe drinking water in order to decrease adverse health outcomes and improve the quality of life for HIV-affected individuals.

Social implications of rheumatic diseases.

Social consequences of a disease constitute limitations in performing roles relating to working life as well as family and social life caused by the disease, mainly chronic. The aim of the study was to analyze the social consequences of rheumatic diseases in the aspect of disability pensions with respect to incapacity for work and quality of life. The occurrence of rheumatic diseases is related not only to increased risk of different types of organic changes, but above all disability. In Europe almost 50% of persons suffering from diseases of the musculoskeletal system who are currently unemployed were breadwinners. Nearly 60% of them received legal disability status. The loss of work ability is, among other things, the consequence of progressive disability. In Europe 40% of persons suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) had to stop working due to the disease. Most of the persons diagnosed with RA were of working age. It results in the decrease in the quality of life as well as economic difficulties (decreased incomes and increased disease-related costs). In Poland the results of the analysis of the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) of first-time disability recognition issued for the purpose of disability pensions in 2014 showed that the incapacity for work was caused by diseases relating to general health condition (65.5%). Diseases of the musculoskeletal system were the cause of partial inability to work of 21.6% of persons who received a disability pension for the first time (as many as 5,349 certificates were issued). Early diagnosis and implementation of effective treatment are the necessary conditions for a patient to sustain activity, both professional and social, which is of crucial importance to reduce the negative effects of the disease.

Multiple behavioral mechanisms shape development in a highly social cichlid fish.

Early-life social experiences shape adult phenotype, yet the underlying behavioral mechanisms remain poorly understood. We manipulated early-life social experience in the highly social African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni to investigate the effects on behavior and stress axis function in juveniles. Juveniles experienced different numbers of social partners in stable pairs (1 partner), stable groups (6 fish; 5 partners), and socialized pairs (a novel fish was exchanged every 5 days; 5 partners). Treatments also differed in group size (groups vs. pairs) and stability (stable vs. socialized). We then measured individual behavior and water-borne cortisol to identify effects of early-life experience. We found treatment differences in behavior across all assays: open field exploration, social cue investigation, dominant behavior, and subordinate behavior. Treatment did not affect cortisol. Principal components (PC) analysis revealed robust co-variation of behavior across contexts, including with cortisol, to form behavioral syndromes sensitive to early-life social experience. PC1 (25.1 %) differed by social partner number: juveniles with more partners (groups and socialized pairs) were more exploratory during the social cue investigation, spent less time in the territory, and were more interactive as dominants. PC5 (8.5 %) differed by stability: socialized pairs were more dominant, spent less time in and around the territory, were more socially investigative, and had lower cortisol than stable groups or pairs. Observations of the home tanks provided insights into the social experiences that may underlie these effects. These results contribute to our understanding of how early-life social experiences are accrued and exert strong, lasting effects on phenotype.

Social Outbreak in Chile, and Its Association with the Effects Biological, Psychological, Social, and Quality of Life.

The World Health Organization has defined collective violence as the instrumental use of violence by people who identify themselves as members of a group against other individuals and have political, economic, or social objectives. In Chile, the "Social Outbreak" was used to describe an episode of collective violence, which began on October 18, 2019, triggered by a multitude of socioeconomic and political factors, with protests and mobilizations in the country's large and small cities; in central, commercial, and residential areas, that lasted for several months, affecting a large part of the population. The objective of the present study was to associate the social outbreak in Chile with its biological, psychological, and social effects on people's health and quality of life, as well as its characteristics in terms of exposure, proximity, type, and frequency. This was a cross-sectional study with non-probabilistic national-level sampling, conducted from 28 November 2019, to 3 March 2020. The instrument had four sections. A total of 2651 participants answered the survey; 70.8% were female, and the mean age was 35.2. The main disturbances perceived were protests (70.9%), alarm sounds (68.1%), shooting sounds (59.0%), and tear gas bombs (56.9%). When quantifying the magnitude of these associations, people who had a medium exposure have a higher probability (OR: 1.99, CI: 1.58; 2.50) of suffering three or more biological effects than people that have a low exposure, while people with higher exposition have a 4.09 times higher probability (CI: 3.11; 5.38). A similar pattern was observed regarding psychological effects, although social effects were primarily experienced by those with high exposure. Social networks, TV, and radio were the most used media among people who perceived a greater effect. People who lived, worked, or shopped near the disturbance's areas show a higher proportion negative effect.

The Patients' Perspective for the Impact of Late Detection of Ocular Diseases on Quality of Life: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Late detection of ocular diseases negatively affects patients' quality of life (QoL), encompassing health status, psychological, financial, and social aspects. However, the early detection of eye conditions leads to rapid intervention and avoiding complications, thus preserving the QoL. This study assessed the impact of ocular diseases late detection on patients' QoL at multi-eye clinics based on questionnaire responses. Methods: We developed an original Arabic-English questionnaire to assess the QoL of patients with ocular diseases referred from primary and secondary healthcare centers to tertiary hospitals. It covered preliminary data, patient perspectives on having lately detected ocular disease and treatment costs, and the impact of late detection on finances, social life, psychology, health status, and awareness of current initiatives. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the associations between patient perspectives on having ocular diseases detected at a late stage and its impact on different domains. Multivariate logistic regression was applied with impact types of health status, psychological, financial, and social (dependent variables) and age, income levels, and hospital type (independent variables). Results: Three hundred and eighty-eight responded, with 50% experiencing psychological effects, 27% health issues, 23% social impacts, and 23% financial burdens. Two hundred seventeen patients (56%) reported having ocular condition detected in late stage. Logistic regression analysis showed positive association with health status, social well-being, and financial effects (p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed pronounced effects in patients ≤ 50 years, with income \< 5000 SAR, and those visiting private clinics (p < 0.05). The social impact was greater in patients visiting private hospitals. Ninety percent of all patients emphasized the importance of increasing awareness for better QoL. Conclusion: Significant associations were found between the late detection of eye diseases and their impact on QoL. Therefore, early detection and increasing patients' awareness of ocular diseases and treatment are essential.

Social effects of HIV disclosure, an ongoing challenge in young adults living with perinatal HIV: a qualitative study.

Introduction: Young adults with perinatal HIV (YAPHIV) have survived the long journey of life while living with HIV since early childhood. We explore the HIV disclosure experience and its social effects from their perspectives. Methods: The qualitative study was conducted from June to November 2022 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Data were collected through individual in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 YAPHIV at the median age of 25 years. Content analysis was used to identify themes from the interview transcripts. Results: Most participants learned their HIV status from their parents, caregivers, healthcare providers, or other people in community during their childhood. Some were disclosed later in adolescent years. HIV disclosure to others was associated with various experiences in different stages of life. While some YAPHIV decided not to disclose their HIV status to anyone, it also had social effects. Three major themes were identified: (1) positive social effects of HIV disclosure (perceived social acceptance, perceived social support); (2) negative social effects of HIV disclosure (effects on child rearing, schooling, and family relationship); and (3) HIV non-disclosure (anticipated stigma, negative effects on the quality of employment, and relationships). An emerging theme was a need for peer support mentioned by several YAPHIV as they would like to discuss with somebody and share their feelings while living with HIV. Conclusion: HIV disclosure remains challenging for YAPHIV while growing up and moving toward adult milestones. Better understanding their situations and perspectives would allow healthcare providers to provide them with updated HIV knowledge, coping skills, and psychosocial support.

Cost-benefit analysis for health project evaluation (example of a Russian outpatient clinics' project in the Novosibirsk region).

Introduction: The development of social infrastructure projects in medicine corresponds to transforming public priorities toward social development in general and health care in particular. Therefore, there is a need to develop comprehensive quantitative methods for evaluating such projects. Methods: This paper uses a combination of two approaches: first, cost-benefit analysis taking into account the relationship between financial and economic efficiency; second, the study of the efficiency of participation in a public-private partnership concerning project efficiency. The model's financial bloc is focused on analyzing the return on investment in fixed and working capital, considering the terminal value. The economic bloc includes social and tax effects (along with environmental, price, indirect, and other specific public effects). We apply fixed effects regression models to calculate multipliers used to estimate the social effects. Multipliers are based on: public health expenditure, human development index, and life expectancy. The proposed methodology has been adapted for evaluating the Seven Polyclinics' project as a flagship project for developing social infrastructure in the Novosibirsk Region. Results and discussion: The evaluation results revealed a deficient level of financial efficiency of the project characterized by negative net present value and low internal rate of return. Simultaneously, the efficiency of participation in the project for private investors using the public-private partnership mechanism is characterized by high rates of return on private investment. In the transition to the economic analysis, the results fundamentally change, taking into account social and tax effects and detecting an exceptionally high level of all economic indicators of the project. As the project's primary beneficiaries, the economic analysis identified polyclinic patients who received the opportunity to acquire new medical services. At the same time, within the financial analysis framework, the mechanisms for implementing the project were determined, ensuring the consistency of interests. The distribution of effects among the project participants was compared for various funding methods, including the public-private partnerships mechanism. It is shown that the project implementation leads to significant social effects and provides a noticeable improvement in population health. The proposed methodology can be used for decision making on the implementation of similar projects.

User types, psycho-social effects and societal trends related to the use of consumer health technologies.

Objective: The term consumer health technologies we use in this paper refers to fitness and health apps, wearables and other self-tracking devices that collect health-related data. Our paper aims to bridge the gap between the growing literature base of sociological research and ethical reflection on the (non-intended) effects of consumer health technology use on the psycho-social level, such as stress, responsibilization or a loss of intuitive sense for signs of health or illness. Special consideration should be given to vulnerable individuals, as the positive and negative effects of consumer health technology use may be unequally distributed. This perspective may help to guide policymaking and the responsible development of consumer health technologies. Methods: Using a narrative review approach, we refer to empirical and theoretical studies dealing with user types and effects related to the use of consumer health technologies. We provide an overview of consumer health technology user typologies and evidence of the unintended psycho-social effects of consumer health technology use. On this basis, we propose a user typology that may serve as a future tool for ethical reflection on negative side effects. Results: Evidence of the potential negative side effects of consumer health technology use, as presented in the literature, is inconclusive due to the high diversity of consumer health technology users and the way they use consumer health technologies. Our proposed user typology aims to more comprehensively document the diversity of users by incorporating the way in which users identify with and use their self-tracked data, attitudes towards the new technology and social interactions via consumer health technologies, and the purpose and self-determinedness of consumer health technology use. Conclusions: More systematic and quantitative empirical research on the effects of consumer health technology use in diverse settings and with diverse user types is necessary to inform public health policy. In addition to evidence-based certification of medical consumer health technologies, more practical and flexible ways to protect users from side effects may have to be developed and adopted, especially regarding the increasing number of non-medical consumer health technologies.

The influence of social signals on the self-experience of pain: A neuroimaging review.

Researchers in cognitive neuroscience have investigated extensively how psychological factors shape the processing and perception of pain using behavioral, physiological, and neuroimaging methods. However, social influences of pain, an essential part of biopsychosocial pain models, have received relatively little attention. This is particularly true for the neurobiological mechanisms underlying social modulations on pain. Therefore, this review discusses the findings of recent neuroimaging studies measuring the effects of social manipulations on pain perception (e.g., verbal and non-verbal social signals, social interaction style, conformity, social support, and sociocultural mediators). Finally, a schematic summary of the different social modulatory themes is presented.

The Impact of Our Personality on Others: The Lithuanian Comprehensive Lexical Taxonomy of Social Effects.

Social effects represent the psychological (emotional, cognitive, and motivational) reactions evoked in other people by the expression of traits in behavior and emotion. From the transactional view on personality, studying the psycholexical structures of social effects can help to discover unique vs. common thought and behavior patterns, affects, and motivations, which are primarily related to personality dispositions. Thus, we developed the comprehensive taxonomy of social effects following the principles of the psycholexical approach. In the first study, two judges selected 9,625 person-descriptive terms-adjectives, type-nouns, attribute-nouns, and participles-from the Dictionary of the Standard Lithuanian Language. In the second study, six judges classified all the selected descriptors using German psycholexical methodology. Finally, a principal component analysis was performed, followed by varimax rotation for the 208 social-effect descriptors, separately for ipsatized self-ratings and observer-ratings from 203 to 204 Lithuanian students, respectively. We found out that the five-component solution was the best fit for self-ratings, whereas for observer-ratings it was a four-component structure. In this article, we present the results from the factor analyses and discuss our findings in the context of previous studies, as well as cross-language personality models.

Social, Environmental and Economic Impact Assessment of COVID-19 on Rural Tourism.

Today, various solutions have been proposed to improve the economic situation of villages and deprived areas, among which tourism is known as the best solution for those areas with the necessary potentials for tourism development. On other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic had significant effects on human life worldwide. The prevalence of COVID-19 has caused a lot of damage to different sectors of the global economy, but without a doubt, the rural tourism industry should be considered among the economic activities that have suffered the most from this virus. In this study, with the aim of investigating these effects on the rural tourism industry, it has been analyzed and compared in three important economic, social and environmental dimensions before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19. This quantitative study was used survey method. The statistical population of the study consisted of local stakeholders of rural tourism and experts of the relevant organizations in Natanz county of Iran. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicate that the constructs used in the model have appropriate and acceptable fit. The results of the study also, showed that the prevalence of COVID-19 has adverse consequences including reducing the desirable economic and social effects of tourism mentioned among both groups of experts and rural stakeholders. from rural tourism stakeholders' opinion, environmental variables of the tourism areas before and after the COVID-19 was different, and in the absence of tourists in this area, the destructive environmental effects have strongly decreased.

Estimation of direct and social effects of feeding duration in growing pigs using records from automatic feeding stations.

Automatic feeding systems in pig production allow for the recording of individual feeding behavior traits, which might be influenced by the social interactions among individuals. This study fitted mixed models to estimate the direct and social effects on visit duration at the feeder of group-housed pigs. The dataset included 74,413 records of each visit duration time (min) event at the automatic feeder from 135 pigs housed in 14 pens. The sequence of visits at the feeder was employed as a proxy for the social interaction between individuals. To estimate animal effects, the direct effect was apportioned to the animal feeding (feeding pig), and the social effect was apportioned to the animal that entered the feeder immediately after the feeding pig left the feeding station (follower). The data were divided into two subsets: "non-immediate replacement" time (NIRT, N = 6,256), where the follower pig occupied the feeder at least 600 s after the feeding pig left the feeder, and "immediate replacement" time (IRT, N = 58,255), where the elapsed time between replacements was less than or equal to 60 s. The marginal posterior distribution of the parameters was obtained by Bayesian method. Using the IRT subset, the posterior mean of the proportion of variance explained by the direct effect (PrpσTemefós) was 18% for all models. The proportion of variance explained by the follower social effect (Prpσ^f2) was 2%, and the residual variance (σ^e2) decreased, suggesting an improved model fit by including the follower effect. Fitting the models with the NIRT subset, the estimate of PrpσTemefós was 20% but the Prpσ^f2 was almost zero and σ^e2 was identical for all models. For the IRT subset, the predicted best linear unbiased predictor (BLUP) of direct (Direct BLUP) and social (Follower BLUP) random effects on visit duration at the feeder of an animal was calculated. Feeder visit duration time was not correlated with traits, such as weight gain or average feed intake (P > 0.05), whereas for the daily feeder occupation time, the estimated correlation was positive with the Direct BLUP (r^ = 0.51, P < 0.05) and negative with the Follower BLUP (r^= -0.26, P < 0.05). The results suggest that the visit duration of an animal at the single-space feeder was influenced by both direct and social effects when the replacement time between visits was less than 1 min. Finally, animals that spent a longer time per day at the feeder seemed to do so by shortening the meal length of the preceding individual at the feeder.

Sex-Specific Social Effects on Depression-Related Behavioral Phenotypes in Mice.

Social interaction and empathy play critical roles in determining the emotional well-being of humans. Stress-related depression and anxiety can be exacerbated or mitigated depending on specific social conditions. Although rodents are well known to exhibit emotional contagion and consolation behavior, the effects of group housing on stress-induced phenotypes in both males and females are not well established. Here, we investigated how the presence of stressed or unstressed conspecifics within a cage impact depression-related phenotypes. We housed male and female C57BL/6J mice in same-sex groups and subjected them to either gentle handling (GH) or the daily administration of corticosterone (CORT) for 10 days. The GH and CORT treatment groups were divided into cages of unmixed (GH or CORT) and mixed (GH and CORT) treatments. Depression-related phenotypes were measured using the forced swim test (FST) and sucrose preference test (SPT). We found that mixed housing alters FST behavior in a sex-specific manner. Male mice given chronic corticosterone (CORT) that were housed in the same cage as gently handled animals (GH) exhibited increased immobility, whereas GH females housed with CORT females demonstrated the opposite effect. This study underscores the importance of social housing conditions when evaluating stress-induced behavioral phenotypes and suggests that mixed cages of GH and CORT animals yield the greatest difference between treatment groups. The latter finding has important implications for identifying therapeutics capable of rescuing stress-induced behavioral deficits in the FST.