Search Results (7)

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of preventable death, yet machine learning (ML) analyses of forensic (medico-legal) suicide data are scarce and, to our knowledge, absent for Romania. Population-based forensic registries offer exhaustive, autopsy-confirmed coverage that is structurally distinct from clinical or civil death-registration data. We applied supervised and unsupervised ML to a complete regional medico-legal suicide registry to profile the method of death and to identify latent victim subgroups of preventive relevance. Methods: We analysed 395 consecutive suicide deaths (Galați and Brăila counties, ≈750,000 inhabitants; 2018–2024). Two supervised classifiers—L2-regularised logistic regression (LR) and random forest (RF, 200 trees)—were trained to discriminate hanging from other methods, using eleven sociodemographic and clinical predictors, and evaluated by 10-fold stratified cross-validation. Given severe class imbalance, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was the primary metric. Model hyperparameters were fixed a priori, and no class-imbalance correction was applied; both decisions are pre-specified and justified in the Methods. Robustness was assessed by stratified non-parametric bootstrap confidence intervals for the odds ratios, a tipping-point sensitivity analysis for the undocumented clinical fields, and Ward-linkage hierarchical clustering as an independent partitioning check. Predictor importance was quantified by out-of-bag (OOB) permutation importance and Spearman correlations. Unsupervised structure was assessed by K-means clustering (k = 2–7), with the optimal solution selected by the average silhouette coefficient and the elbow (WCSS) criterion. Reporting followed TRIPOD+AI and STROBE. Results: The study population was predominantly male (87.1%) and rural (73.2%), with a mean age of 54.1 years; hanging accounted for 94.2% of deaths—far above the European average (≈50%). RF achieved AUC = 0.865 ± 0.181 and LR AUC = 0.847 ± 0.192, both within the “excellent” discrimination band; sensitivity was very high (0.995–0.997) and specificity was limited (0.233–0.367), an expected consequence of imbalance. Prior suicide attempts (OOB importance 0.959; Spearman ρ = −0.549, p < 0.001; OR = 0.496, 95% CI 0.25–0.72) and the presence of a suicide note (importance 0.575; ρ = −0.439, p < 0.001; OR = 0.549, 95% CI 0.34–0.76) were the dominant predictors. K-means identified two well-separated clusters (silhouette = 0.707), and the partition was reproduced exactly by Ward-linkage hierarchical clustering (adjusted Rand index = 1.000). Cluster 2 (n = 19; 4.8%) was a clinically distinct, younger subgroup (42.4 vs. 54.7 years) characterised by prior attempts (57.9% vs. 0%), suicide notes (68.4% vs. 0%), higher psychiatric comorbidity (52.6% vs. 30.9%) and lower hanging proportion (36.8% vs. 97.1%)—an exploratory, hypothesis-generating profile of recurrent suicidal behaviour with documented prior contact with the medical or medico-legal system. The principal findings were stable across all plausible degrees of clinical under-documentation in the tipping-point sensitivity analysis. Conclusions: ML applied to a complete forensic suicide registry reproduced known regional epidemiology and, beyond classical statistics, isolated an exploratory but clinically coherent high-risk subgroup of direct relevance to the audit of structured post-attempt follow-up. This is, to our knowledge, the first ML study of Romanian forensic suicide data and supports integrating ML into medico-legal research and into the regional targeting and audit of existing post-attempt follow-up provision. Full article

Advertisement calls play a crucial role in anuran species recognition and mate selection, yet acoustic characteristics of Zhangixalus lishuiensis remain undescribed. This study presents the first detailed acoustic analysis of advertisement calls in Zhangixalus lishuiensis from Lishui, Zhejiang Province, China. Based on recordings from 13 males collected in the field during the breeding season, we documented a hierarchical call structure consisting of three note types (Initial Note, Middle Note, and Short Note) organized into two note groups (Note Group 1 (NG1) and Note Group 2). Four structural variants of NG1 were identified, revealing intra-individual acoustic diversity within the population. Compared to the closely related Z. zhoukaiyae from the Dabie Mountains population, male Z. lishuiensis produced calls with significantly longer temporal parameters but lower dominant frequency, despite overall structural similarity, indicating acoustic divergence between these taxa. Comparative analysis across eleven Zhangixalus species revealed substantial variation in call durationand dominant frequency. These findings enrich the bioacoustic characterization of Zhangixalus and establish a foundation for acoustic-based species identification, monitoring, and taxonomic studies in this genus. Full article

This study takes the perspective of the theory of ethical witnessing. We analyse whether there is a difference in a discourse transmitted in a frame of reference based on ethical witnessing versus a discourse transmitted in the frame of hegemonic discourse based on the hierarchical testimony. This study tests the hypothesis that discourses diverging from the communication hierarchy and, consequently, from the interpretation frame established about gender-based violence, transform the elaboration, comprehension, and structure of questioning the victim’s suffering. The sample comprised 300 individuals, 85 identifying as male and 215 identifying as female. This study adopted a two-factorial (2 × 2) design comparing the testimony of gender-based violence (ethical witnessing vs. hierarchical testimony) and familiarity with the victim’s testimony (Yes vs. No). The results show that communications based on the ethical witnessing format are more effective in transforming the perception of gender-based violence than those using a hierarchical format. This study adopts the framework of ethical witnessing to examine whether discourse differs when conveyed through this lens, compared to discourse shaped by a hegemonic, hierarchical testimony. We test the hypothesis that narratives which deviate from traditional communication hierarchies—and thus from dominant interpretative frameworks surrounding gender-based violence—significantly influence how the victim’s suffering is processed, understood, and questioned. The global resonance of the #MeToo movement exemplifies the transformative potential of ethical testimony, as it amplified the voices of survivors while challenging traditional hierarchies of credibility and authority in public discourse. Full article

Adoption among nonhuman primates (hereafter primates) has been widely reported, particularly in chimpanzees, renowned for their higher intelligence and well-developed cognition. In contrast to adoption in other Old World monkeys, this case of adoption in golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) involves two infants associated with three units characterized by distinct social structures and reproductive functions. Consequently, this case extends beyond traditional hypotheses on allomaternal care and adoption—such as enhancing the fitness of adoptive mothers, fostering maternal behaviors, and improving fitness through social and individual interactions—to necessitate an association with the complex social structure characterized by hierarchical, multilevel composition, akin to human society, and intense sexual selection that frequently results in infanticide. Specifically, adopting an infant with a genetic link to the dominant male of the adopting female may reduce the risk of infanticide against her offspring that do not share a biological link with the dominant male. This adoption pattern suggests that golden snub-nosed monkeys may possess more sophisticated intelligence and cognition, characteristics supported by more developed brain structure and facial muscles than the other Old World monkeys. Full article

Scholars have observed that Korean Buddhist nuns have a relatively high social status compared to nuns of other Asian countries, much like their sisters in Taiwan. It is a source of great pride for many Korean bhikṣuṇīs that their community operates with a high degree of autonomy, bringing them to an almost equal standing with their male counterparts. However, this claim of equal status is challenged once the nuns step outside their own communities and into the hierarchical system of the Order, an institution dominated by male monastics. This paper aims to report on the gender disparity between male monastics and Buddhist women, both nuns and laywomen alike. I will first explore Korean Buddhist nuns’ experiences of gender discrimination imposed by the current institutional and cultural practices of the Buddhist Order, and their battles to challenge the legitimacy of this power structure. Next, I will introduce various episodes, including the Buddhist administration’s conflict with progressive women’s groups, to showcase the gender dynamics and current status of women in Korean Buddhism. Ultimately, my argument is that the conservatism and misogynism of traditional religion continue to influence Korean Buddhism today, despite societal efforts to heighten gender awareness and sensitivity. Full article

Gender-based violence and sexual harassment (GBVH) by and towards academics and students has been under-theorised at an organisational level in higher education institutions (HEIs). The methodology involves a critical review of the literature on GBVH and organizational responses to it, locating it in the context of an analysis of organizational power. The theoretical perspective involves a focus on power and workplace bullying. It identifies three power-related characteristics of academic environments which it is suggested facilitate GBVH: their male-dominant hierarchical character; their neoliberal managerialist ethos and gender/intersectional incompetent leadership which perpetuates male entitlement and toxic masculinities. These characteristics also inhibit tackling GBVH by depicting it as an individual problem, encouraging informal coping and militating against the prosecution of perpetrators. Initiating a discussion and action at organizational and state levels about GBVH as a power-related phenomenon, challenging the dominant neo-liberal ethos and the hierarchical character of HEIs, as well as reducing their male dominance and increasing the gender competence of those in positions of power are seen as initial steps in tackling the problem. Full article

The “trap, spay/neuter, and release” programs to manage unowned free-roaming cat populations are diffused worldwide and they are largely advised even in countries where the suppression of unowned cats is enforced by law. Despite the massive neutering campaigns in the world, there is little information on the influence of neutering on individual cat behaviour, as well as on the social structure of cat colonies. The aim of this study is to verify such effects. Before neutering, the group consisted of 17 free-roaming domestic cats, who were totally unrestrained. After neutering it consisted of 16 individuals. Data on the outcomes of aggressive, submissive, affiliative, and territorial behaviour were collected, using classic ethological methods (“focal animal”, “all occurrences”, and “1/0” sampling methods) (735 h of observation before and 537 h after neutering). The dominance hierarchy did not change after neutering. On the other hand, the frequency of aggressive, territorial behaviour as well as proximity among individuals decreased significantly. Affiliative behaviour has been observed among neutered adult males that never performed it before neutering. The results of this study suggest that, after neutering: (i) The group of free-ranging cats was stable over time; (ii) the hierarchical structure of the cat social group did not change; (iii) the general level of activity, decreased; (iv) urine spraying marking behaviour almost disappeared; (v) the level of social proximity among group members decreased, although it tended to increase in some male–male dyads. The most obvious effect of neutering, detected on individual behaviour, was that cats were less active. Full article