We assessed the feeding behavior, intake, apparent total tract digestibility, blood parameters, milk yield, milk composition and milk fatty acid profile in dairy goats fed diets containing increasing levels of whole cottonseed (WCS), specifically a control diet with no WCS and diets containing 120, 150 and 180 g WCS/kg DM. Eight lactating dairy goats were distributed in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design with four 21-day periods. Rumination and total chewing time increased linearly with WCS inclusion levels. However, no effects on dry matter intake or digestibility were observed. Milk production was similar among treatments, but milk fat and lactose concentration increased linearly with WCS dietary levels, as did monounsaturated and polyunsaturated FA and conjugated linoleic acid concentration in milk fat. This study demonstrates that increasing the inclusion of WCS in the diets of dairy goats offers potential nutritional benefits without negatively impacting intake, digestibility or ruminal fermentation. Notably, WCS-enhanced diets led to improved milk fat composition, with increased concentrations of beneficial FA. These results support the use of WCS as an effective feed ingredient to enhance milk quality in dairy goats, leveraging both the high-energy content and fiber structure of WCS, which promotes rumen health and function without reducing DMI. Dairy goat producers can incorporate up to 180 g WCS/kg DM in diets to produce milk with a healthier fat profile, potentially enhancing its marketability.

We have initiated a large project on identifying the requirements for developing a realistic and ground-up approach to simulating the formation of terrestrial planets in our solar system. As the first phase of this project, we present here the criteria that any model of planetesimal growth needs to fulfill in order to be self-consistent and produce reliable results. We demonstrate how these criteria emerge by revisiting runaway growth and carrying out a thorough analysis of its results. As our goal is to identify the pathway to a realistic model, we focus analysis on simulations where at the beginning, planetesimals are not artificially enlarged. We show how using uninflated planetesimals, as the first requirement for a realistic model, will result in a set of criteria naturally emerging from the evolution of the system. For instance, the growth times in simulations with uninflated planetesimals become comparable to the time of giant planet formation implying that any realistic simulation of planetesimal growth, in addition to using real-size planetesimals, needs to include the perturbation of the growing giant planets as well. Our analysis also points to a strong connection between the initial distribution of planetesimals and the final outcome. For instance, due to their natural expansion, initially isolated distributions, or a collection of initially isolated distributions, such as rings of planetesimals, do not produce reliable results. In a self-consistent and realistic model, where the initial conditions are supported by basic principles and do not include simplifying, ad hoc assumptions, the entire disk of planetesimals has to be simulated at once. We present the results of our analyses and discuss their implied criteria.

We conducted an international survey of stroke physicians to assess practices and attitudes toward cardiac monitoring and early rhythm control. A 20-question survey was completed by 241 clinicians representing 61 countries. The minimum duration of actionable atrial fibrillation varied widely, and more than 90% (223/241) of respondents indicated a willingness to enroll patients in a trial assessing the ideal duration of cardiac monitoring. Only a quarter of respondents (62/241) offered early rhythm control for patients with atrial fibrillation, with the majority (209/241, 87%) expressing an opinion that there was equipoise about the benefit of rhythm control in the post-stroke population.

In 2022, uptake of all seven Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship were reported by 83% of US long-term care facilities. Though 98% of facilities reported access to an electronic health record, less than one-third utilized it for tracking antibiotic use, suggesting opportunities to leverage electronic data for automated reporting.

This article critically examines the inequities in the access to COVID-19 vaccine and the lessons for global health law. Despite the rapid development and approval of COVID-19 vaccines, the rollout exposed severe systemic failures rooted in preexisting economic distortions and market inefficiencies. The article argues that addressing vaccine inequity requires more than improved distribution and solidarity, but effective reinvention of the global vaccine supply chain through evidence-based and meaningful market-shaping measures. It calls for a transformative approach to global health governance, emphasising the need for a comprehensive, human rights-compliant policy framework to correct structural problems in international markets, moving beyond superficial exhortations to equity.

Members of the Shewanella genus transfer electrons to metal and actinide electron acceptors such as hexavalent uranium, U(VI), via c-type cytochromes. The intracellular mechanism of electron transfer is well studied but the delivery of electrons to external electron acceptors less well so. MtrC, a decaheme c-type cytochrome located on the cell surface side of the outer membrane of many Shewanella species, and extending to the extracellular medium, transfers electrons to U(VI), both in vivo and in vitro when purified. However, it is unclear how the electron transfer between the terminal heme(s) of the protein and extracellular U(VI) occurs. In particular, the type of interaction between MtrC and U(VI), and the parameters controlling electron transfer remain to be elucidated. Here, we investigated the kinetics of U(VI) reduction by S. baltica MtrC in solution for U(VI) complexed with one of five ligands: carbonate, hydroxyl, citrate, nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) or ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). We observed two initial reaction rates, one more rapid for U-citrate, U-NTA and U-EDTA, and another slower for U-carbonate and U-hydroxo. By combining Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy and M4-edge High Resolution X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure spectroscopy, we attributed these differences to the type of interaction between the U-ligand complex and MtrC, i.e., probably electrostatic interaction with the ligand of U-EDTA, hydrogen bonding to the ligand of U-citrate and U-NTA, and covalent bonding with U-carbonate and U-hydroxo. We also demonstrate the persistence of U(V) in the U-carbonate system when interacting with MtrC. Overall, we showed that the mechanism of electron transfer depended on the chemistry of the soluble U(VI) complex serving as the substrate.

Current evidence points to a research-practice gap in mental health. There is a specific unmet need to identify novel strategies to improve diagnostic criteria, especially when clinical manifestations overlap as in the case of bipolar (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Based on the rapidly evolving notion that affective disorders are characterized by disrupted brain-body communication, current efforts of neuropsychiatric research are converging towards the identification of specific clusters of peripheral interconnected biomarkers. We argue that these can capture the complexity of the disease as they are linked to the fundamental pathophysiological mechanisms underlying BD or MDD, and can thus deliver an unbiased biosignature. Here we provide a critical viewpoint on the promises and challenges of biomarkers to identify reliable biosignatures of affective disorders. Novel methodological insight and relevant biomarkers are discussed with a main focus on immunometabolic derangements and disrupted redox balance. Major advancements are reviewed taking into consideration that an unbiased diagnosis can only derive from a deep understanding of how biological, psychological, and social factors interact ultimately affecting the clinical manifestation of affective disorders.

Cocoa is an important agricultural product that plays a crucial role in local communities in South America. In Brazil, it is traditionally grown in agroforestry systems, which are more sustainable and contribute to biodiversity conservation. However, the recent expansion of intensive monocultures in tropical forests poses significant threats to this activity. Using historical data on land use and cocoa productivity at the municipality level from Brazil’s primary cocoa-producing states, we show that maintaining and restoring forest cover are positively correlated with cocoa productivity, particularly in areas with less anthropogenic disturbance. This highlights the dependence of cocoa production on ecosystem services. Recent data reveal that in municipalities where local agriculture is less reliant on cocoa, only larger farms have benefitted from increased forest cover, probably due to their greater dependence on fragments of natural habitat for ecosystem services. In municipalities that are more reliant on cocoa, the effects of forest cover were not detected, while strong negative effects of forest fragmentation were observed in both small- and large-scale farms. We emphasize the importance of preserving natural forests near cocoa plantations to optimize productivity in Amazon and Atlantic Forest agroforestry, especially in deforested areas.

This article examines the causes and geographical trajectories of the globalisation of vermouth, one of the most famous Made in Italy products in the world. Of all the fortified wines, vermouth stands out for its unique history. Originally a product of Piedmont consumed mainly by the aristocracy and the emerging bourgeoisie, vermouth became the subject of a growing export trade between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, gaining credibility thanks to the prizes won at international exhibitions and the marketing strategies of the main companies in the sector (Martini & Rossi, Carpano, Gancia, Cinzano). Despite the commercial difficulties it experienced in the twentieth century as a result of protectionist measures, the effects of war, the heterogeneous policies applied to the alcoholic beverage industry and widespread imitation and counterfeiting, vermouth has managed to maintain an appeal that has made it an international icon and one of the most resilient products in the medium to long term. This is partly the result of a media representation that was capable of deeply influencing the collective imagination of consumers.

In this article, we examine the relationship between the World Health Organization International Health Regulations (IHR) and human rights and its implications for IHR reform, considering the evolution of human rights in the 2005 IHR, the role of human rights in IHR reforms and the implications of these reforms in key domains including equity and solidarity, medical countermeasures, core capacities, travel restrictions, vaccine certificates, social measures, accountability, and financing.

The objective was to develop equations to predict carcass weight (CW), use CW to predict empty body weight (EBW); and carcass gain (CG) to predict empty body weight gain (EBWG) and retained energy (RE) in hair sheep. To generate the prediction models, a data set was composed of individual measurements from 569 sheep encompassing intact males (n = 416), castrated males (n = 51), and females (n = 102). Validation analyses were performed by using the Model Evaluation System (MES). The prediction equations for CW, EBW, and EBWG were not influenced by sex class (P > 0.05), and the following equations were generated, respectively: CW (kg) = − 0.234 (±1.1358) + 0.485 (±0.0387) × FBW; EBW (kg) = 1.367 (±0.5472) + 1.681 (±0.0210) × CW and EBWG (kg) = 0.004 (±0.0026) + 1.679 (±0.0758) × CG. There was an effect of sex class on the intercept (P = 0.0013) of the relationship between RE and CG: RE (MJ/day) = 1.448 (±0.0657) × EBW0.75 × CG0.797 (±0.0399); RE (MJ/day) = 1.522 (±0.0699) × EBW0.75 × CG0.797 (±0.0399) and RE (MJ/day) = 1.827 (±0.0739) × EBW0.75 × CG0.797 (±0.0399) for intact males, castrated males and females, respectively. This study highlights the importance of incorporating carcass information into EBW, EBWG, and RE predictions. Replacing empty body weight gain with carcass gain might be a suitable alternative to estimate the retained energy of hair sheep. In addition, the generated equations will provide support for meat production systems in carcass weight prediction.

We review shoreline monitoring methodologies used by members of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) Archaeology, Geology, and Wildlife Biology teams from February 2021 to December 2022 on Pockoy Island in Charleston County, South Carolina, USA. Our project objectives were to better understand the driving forces behind the landward movement of the shoreline (transgression), to apply new understanding to the rate of shoreline erosion of the island that directly impacts the Pockoy Island Shell Ring Complex (38CH2533), and to establish best practice for future community science monitoring efforts. Each member of our team used a different shoreline monitoring methodology (a nested methodology approach). Multiple unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV)-derived orthoimagery datasets, on-the-ground transect measurements, and Arrow Gold real-time kinematic (RTK) unit measurements have been collected monthly following significant storms or king (perigean) tide events. Moving forward, the erosion transect approach tested within this project will serve as the foundation for community science monitoring at heritage at-risk sites in South Carolina. In this article, we introduce initial efforts in establishing a community science monitoring program in South Carolina that will influence future research, land management, and policy, and we propose how our research might be adapted for other sites at risk.

The rational use of lactobacilli and lysozyme (LZ) could be a simple strategy for boosting key enzyme activities during cheese ripening. This study investigated the effect of the application of LZ on the cell envelopes and metabolic potential of two strains of mesophilic lactobacilli: Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 29 (L29) and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus 77 (L77). An in vitro study of LZ-sensitivity was carried out on the two strains. In L29 (only), the results of turbidity, culturability and physiological profile as well as fluorescence microscopy images and scanning electron micrographs confirmed a high-level of sensitivity to LZ. Therefore, L29 alone or in combination with LZ as well as a cell-free extract of L29 were used as ripening agents in the manufacture of a mature cheese. The release of peptidases in the cheese matrix by the lysis of L29 in situ was validated and associated with positive effects on the cheese quality, especially the increase of hydrophilic peptide levels.

Regulation is nothing without enforcement. This particularly holds for the dynamic field of emerging technologies. Hence, this article has two ambitions. First, it explains how the EU’s new Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA) may be implemented and enforced by various institutional bodies, thus clarifying the governance framework of the AIA. Second, it proposes a normative governance model, providing recommendations to ensure uniform and coordinated execution of the AIA and the fulfillment of the legislation. The article explores how the AIA may be implemented by national and EU institutional bodies, encompassing longstanding bodies, such as the European Commission, and those newly established under the AIA, such as the AI Office. It investigates their roles across supranational and national levels, emphasising how EU regulations influence institutional structures and operations. These regulations may not only directly dictate the structural design of institutions but also indirectly request administrative capacities needed to enforce the AIA.