Assessing children’s diets is currently challenging and burdensome. Abbreviated FFQ have the potential to assess dietary patterns in a rapid and standardised manner. Using nationally representative UK dietary intake and biomarker data, we developed an abbreviated FFQ to calculate dietary quality scores for pre-school and primary school-aged children. UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2008–2016) weekly consumption frequencies of 129 food groups from 4-d diaries were cross-sectionally analysed using principal component analysis. A 129-item score was derived, alongside a 12-item score based on foods with the six highest and six lowest coefficients. Participants included 1069 pre-schoolers and 2565 primary schoolchildren. The first principal component explained 3·4 and 3·0 % of the variation in the original diet variables for pre-school and primary school groups, respectively, and described a prudent diet pattern. Prudent diet scores were characterised by greater consumption of fruit, vegetables and tap water and lower consumption of crisps, manufactured coated chicken/turkey products, purchased chips and soft drinks for both age groups. Correlations between the 129-item and 12-item scores were 0·86 and 0·84 for pre-school and primary school-aged children, respectively. Bland–Altman mean differences between the scores were 0·00 sd; 95 % limits of agreement were −1·05 to 1·05 and −1·10 to 1·10 sd for pre-school and primary school-aged children, respectively. Correlations between dietary scores and nutritional biomarkers showed only minor attenuation for the 12-item compared with the 129-item scores, illustrating acceptable congruence between prudent diet scores. The two 12-item FFQ offer user-friendly tools to measure dietary quality among UK children.

Tetflupyrolimet is the first herbicide with a novel site of action (SOA) labeled PRE and early POST for use in agronomic crops to be labeled in the last three decades. Direct-seeded paddy rice field experiments were conducted near Stuttgart, AR, on a silt loam soil and near Keiser, AR, on a clay soil to evaluate tetflupyrolimet-containing herbicide programs in comparison to commercial standards in conventional, imidazolinone-resistant, and quizalofop-resistant rice systems. Additionally, a furrow-irrigated rice experiment was conducted near Colt, AR, and Keiser to ensure weed control with clomazone and tetflupyrolimet mixtures compared to commercial standards. Twelve commonly planted rice cultivars were also evaluated in response to a single PRE or POST (2- to 3-leaf rice) application of tetflupyrolimet at 200 or 400 g ai ha−1 in a paddy rice system near Colt. When averaged over soil texture and site-year, all herbicide programs provided ≥98% barnyardgrass control at 56 d after (DA) the last application. Visible rice injury varied for each rice system. Still, injury rarely differed among herbicide programs, except at a single evaluation timing in the conventional (7 DA, 3- to 4-leaf applications) and quizalofop-resistant (preflood) systems. All 12 rice cultivars displayed high tolerance to a single PRE or POST application of tetflupyrolimet at 200 or 400 g ai ha−1. No visible injury, stand loss, or negative impact on rice maturity or reduced grain yield was observed for any cultivar. Tetflupyrolimet will be an effective alternative SOA in a program approach for barnyardgrass while maintaining excellent rice crop safety.

Tetflupyrolimet is the first herbicide with a novel site of action to be commercialized for use in agronomic crops in three decades. Direct-seed rice field experiments were conducted at research facilities near Stuttgart (silt loam), AR, and Keiser (clay), AR, to evaluate tetflupyrolimet as a preemergence herbicide versus commercial standards. Greenhouse experiments determined the influence of soil moisture on pre- and postemergence barnyardgrass control with tetflupyrolimet and clomazone and the impact of a delayed flood on efficacy when POST-applied. For the field experiments, clomazone, tetflupyrolimet, and quinclorac were applied individually PRE at 336 and 560, 134 and 224, and 336 and 560 g ai ha−1, respectively, on a silt loam and clay soil, along with clomazone + tetflupyrolimet and clomazone + quinclorac at the same rates. The soil moisture experiment included a single PRE and a single POST application of clomazone at 336 g ai ha−1, of tetflupyrolimet at 134 g ai ha−1, and of a mixture at the respective rates on a silt loam soil at 50%, 75%, and 100% of field capacity. For the flood timing experiment, tetflupyrolimet was applied to 2- to 3-leaf barnyardgrass at 134 g ai ha−1, and a flood was established at 4 h after treatment (HAT) and 5 and 10 d after treatment (DAT). Barnyardgrass control with a tetflupyrolimet and clomazone mixture was comparable to clomazone + quinclorac when averaged over all evaluations on silt loam and clay texture soils (≥91%). Soil moisture interacted with herbicide treatments for PRE and POST barnyardgrass efficacy when averaged over DAT, with tetflupyrolimet + clomazone generally providing the greatest and most consistent control across regimes. Flooding barnyardgrass at 4 HAT provided superior control to later flood timings. Tetflupyrolimet is an effective residual barnyardgrass herbicide, and the addition of clomazone will aid in providing consistent control across varying soil moisture conditions.

Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by DMD gene mutations. Delandistrogene moxeparvovec is an investigational gene transfer therapy, developed to address the underlying cause of DMD. We report findings from Part 1 (52 weeks) of the two-part EMBARK trial (NCT05096221). Methods: Key inclusion criteria: Ambulatory patients aged ≥4-<8 years with a confirmed DMD mutation within exons 18–79 (inclusive); North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA) score >16 and <29 at screening. Eligible patients were randomized 1:1 to intravenous delandistrogene moxeparvovec (1.33×1014 vg/kg) or placebo. The primary endpoint was change from baseline in NSAA total score to Week 52. Results: At Week 52 (n=125), the primary endpoint did not reach statistical significance, although there was a nominal difference in change from baseline in NSAA total score in the delandistrogene moxeparvovec (2.6, n=63) versus placebo groups (1.9, n=61). Key secondary endpoints (time to rise, micro-dystrophin expression, 10-meter walk/run) demonstrated treatment benefit in both age groups (4-5 and 6-7 years; p<0.05).There were no new safety signals, reinforcing the favorable and manageable safety profile observed to date. Conclusions: Based on the totality of functional assessments including the timed function tests, treatment with delandistrogene moxeparvovec indicates beneficial modification of disease trajectory.

Ivancovsky et al. propose a novelty-seeking model linking curiosity to creativity. This commentary suggests integrating their work with a stage-based creativity model for additional insights. It also encourages readers to address knowledge gaps identified by the authors, including factors that trigger the pursuit of creative solutions. We aim to refine theory and direct future research to clarify the complex curiosity–creativity relationship.

Thin spray-on liners (TSLs) have been found to be effective for structurally supporting the walls of mining tunnels and thus reducing the occurrence of rock bursts, an effect primarily due to the penetration of cracks by the liner. Surface tension effects are thus important. However, TSLs are also used to simply stabilize rock surfaces, for example, to prevent rock fall, and in this context crack penetration is desirable but not necessary, and the tensile and shearing strength and adhesive properties of the liner determine its effectiveness. We examine the effectiveness of nonpenetrating TSLs in a global lined tunnel and in a local rock support context. In the tunnel context, we examine the effect of the liner on the stress distribution in a tunnel subjected to a geological or mining event. We show that the liner has little effect on stresses in the surrounding rock and that tensile stresses in the rock surface are transmitted across the liner, so that failure is likely to be due to liner rupture or detachment from the surface. In the local rock support context, loose rock movements are shown to be better achieved using a liner with small Young’s modulus, but high rupture strength.

We determine optimal stocker strategies based on calving season, herd size, and the number of days of retention before marketing weaned calves. We estimate a hedonic pricing model for feeder cattle and incorporate this into a simulation model that considers the variability of cattle prices and feed costs. The profit and utility-maximizing decision for fall calving herd would be to retain weaned calves for 150-day postweaning. The producer marketing spring-born calves would prefer to sell these calves at weaning. The results are being utilized by extension to aid cattle producers in reducing their feed costs and increasing their profits.

Folate and choline are methyl donor nutrients that may play a role in fetal brain development. Animal studies have reported that prenatal folate and choline supplementation are associated with better cognitive outcomes in offspring and that these nutrients may interact and affect brain development. Human studies that have investigated associations between maternal prenatal folate or choline levels and neurodevelopmental outcomes have reported contradictory findings and no human studies have examined the potential interactive effect of folate and choline on children’s neurodevelopment. During the second trimester of pregnancy, maternal red blood cell folate was measured from blood samples and choline intake was estimated using a 24-h dietary recall in 309 women in the APrON cohort. At 3–5 years of age, their children’s neurodevelopment was assessed using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence – Fourth EditionCND, NEPSY-II language and memory subtests, four behavioral executive function tasks, and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children – Second Edition. Adjusted regressions revealed no associations between maternal folate and choline levels during pregnancy and most of the child outcomes. On the Dimensional Change Card Sort, an executive function task, there was an interaction effect; at high levels of choline intake (i.e., 1 SD above the mean; 223.03 mg/day), higher maternal folate status was associated with decreased odds of receiving a passing score (β = −0.44; 95%CI −0.81, −0.06). In conclusion, maternal folate status and choline intake during the second trimester of pregnancy were not associated with children’s intelligence, language, memory, or motor outcomes at 3–4 years of age; however, their interaction may have an influence children’s executive functions.

The behavioural reactions and blood Cortisol levels of cattle stunned using a penetrating captive-bolt pistol whilst standing free in a stunning box were compared with those obtained from cattle similarly stunned but with their heads held in a hydraulically operated chin-lift type of head restrainer. Few (8 out of 55) animals voluntarily put their heads into the restrainer, most had to be ‘persuaded’ to use the head-restrainer; some (5 out of 24) could not be. The mean time between entry into the stunning pen and the stun for 23 free standing animals was 5.6s and for 19 animals which could be persuaded to use the head restrainer was 34.2s. The Cortisol levels in the blood taken at the stick, from 30 animals stunned while standing free was 67.6 nmoVlitre while that from 30 stunned while head-restrained was 143.1 nmolHitre. The behaviour and Cortisol results suggest that enforced usage of this type of head restrainer could be a cause of distress to the cattle involved.

UK legislation requiring pre-slaughter stunning has certain exemptions for religious slaughter. Supporters of both Muslim (Halal) and Jewish (Shechita) slaughter methods claim that the efficiency of the bleed out is adversely affected by stunning. In this study, electrical stunning followed by neck cutting, and captive bolt stunning followed by neck cutting, were compared with the Muslim slaughter method (neck cutting without stunning) in sheep. Total blood loss and percentage blood loss, expressed as a percentage of live weight, were calculated and compared between groups. In addition, the time taken to reach 25%, 50%, 75% and 90% of total blood loss was calculated and compared. There was no apparent difference in the packed cell volume levels between groups. Slaughter method did, however, affect meat pH and colour. The results show that the bleed out after neck cutting is not adversely affected by electrical or captive bolt stunning; nor is an improved bleed out achieved by neck cutting without stunning.

Some supporters of religious slaughter methods claim that efficiency of bleed-out is adversely affected by stunning. Our previous study carried out in sheep at an abattoir comparing the Muslim method of slaughter without stunning with pre-slaughter stunning using a captive bolt or by electrical methods concluded that bleed-out is not adversely affected by stunning, nor improved by a neck cut without stunning. In this paper, a similar study carried out in cattle is reported. In this study, captive bolt stunning followed by neck cutting was compared with the Muslim slaughter method without stunning. The total blood loss, percentage blood loss expressed as a percentage of live weight and percentage loss of estimated total blood were calculated and compared between each group. In addition, the time periods taken to reach 25, 50, 75 and 90% of total blood loss were also calculated. There was no significant difference between the two stunning groups for any of these blood loss variables. The results, subjected to statistical analyses, also showed no apparent difference in the PCV levels and meat quality parameters between treatments. These results confirm the findings with sheep and show that the bleed-out is not adversely affected by captive bolt stunning, nor improved by a neck cut without stunning in cattle. It is anticipated that these findings may help promote the use of stunning methods during Halal slaughter.

Interventions aimed at improving animal welfare on farms may be more successful if greater attention is paid to the points of view of farmers. For example, understanding how different dairy farmers detect lame cows, decide to treat them, get them to the point of treatment, and how practical considerations that impact on this process may be important for reducing lameness on dairy farms. In-depth interviews with twelve dairy farmers were carried out to explore how this occurred on their farms. This in-depth approach allowed a number of factors influencing lameness treatment to be uncovered. The language used by farmers to describe lameness gave important insight into their perceptions of lameness and into the value they placed on prompt treatment. Farmers’ perceptions of lameness were found to affect the speed of treatment, with treatment of cows perceived to have impaired mobility or to be less severely lame sometimes delayed. Other priorities on the farm, skilled labour availability, farm infrastructure and farmers’ emotional responses to lameness treatment were all found to impact on whether or when a lame cow was treated. In order to encourage farmers to promptly treat all lame cows their perceptions of lameness and the benefits of prompt treatment must be addressed. The language used when communicating with farmers about lameness may be key to achieving this. The practical barriers, such as time and labour constraints, associated with the treatment process, must also be understood, taken into account and seen in the context of the farm management as a whole.

Reporting of outcome variables by caregivers in welfare studies is commonplace but is open to subjective bias and so requires validation. Biases can occur in either direction: familiarity with an animal allows a deeper insight into welfare problems, but also can lead to reticence in admitting that an animal in one's care is experiencing problems. Here, we aim to validate owner-reporting of plumage condition of pet parrots, including those with self-inflicted feather-damaging behaviour (FDB), by comparing owners’ scores of feather condition with those of two independent raters, blind to the owners’ and each other's assessments. We surveyed pet parrot owners to collect data on basic demographics and feather condition, and requested four standardised photographs of birds. We received 259 responses (17% of the 1,521 people contacted); 78 sets of images of appropriate quality for assessment by raters were provided. Mean percentage agreement between owners’ and raters’ scores was mostly fair to substantial using Cohen's kappa; however, raters scored a greater proportion of feather damage than did owners. Overall, our results indicate owner-reporting of feather condition, including FDB, to be generally reliable and consistent with independent assessment of photographs. As the use of photographs can be limited by image quality, a failure to represent the long-term state of a parrot, and the potential for incorrect recording if assessed without relevant information (eg on moulting), this evidence that owner-reports can be reliable opens the door for larger-scale surveys of the extent of welfare-relevant problems.

We previously reported that African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) female elephants in European zoos have shorter adult lifespans than protected conspecifics in range countries. This effect was the cause of greatest concern in Asian elephants, and risk factors within this species included being zoo-born, transferred between zoos, and possibly removed early from the mother. Here, we investigate these risk factors further; assess fecundity and sustainability in European zoos; and propose testable hypotheses as to the causes of these animals’ problems. Although imported wild-born Asian elephants live longer than zoo-born conspecifics, being imported when juvenile or adult appears no more protective than being imported in infancy, suggesting that the benefits of being wild- rather than zoo-born are conferred early in life. Zoo-born Asian neonates are significantly heavier than those born to working animals in range countries, with a possible tendency to be fatter. In zoos, African elephants have tended to be removed from their mothers at older ages than young Asians, and were also transferred between zoos significantly less often: factors that could possibly underlie this species’ lower calf losses and improving adult survivorship in Europe. Both species have low fecundity in European zoos compared to in situ populations, and are not self-sustaining, declining at approximately 10% per annum if reliant on captive-bred females under historically prevailing conditions. Data from other species suggest that stress and/or obesity are parsimonious explanations for the suite of problems seen. We recommend specific screens for testing these hypotheses, and for potentially identifying vulnerable individuals within the extant zoo populations.

Stereotypic behaviours (SBs) are linked with behavioural inflexibility and resemble symptoms of autism, suggesting that stereotypic animals could have autistic-like social impairments. SBs are also common in caged mice. We therefore hypothesised relationships between stereotypic and social behaviours, predicting that highly stereotypic mice would give/receive more agonism and be less effective in social learning tasks. Experiment One used C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice in non-enriched or enriched housing (15 cages each); Experiment Two, more cages (six non-enriched, 44 enriched) plus a third strain (BALB/c). Across both experiments, enrichment reduced SB and agonism (aggression, plus ‘displacements’ where one mouse supplants another at a resource). These effects appeared related: housing effects on agonism became negligible when SB was statistically controlled for, and, at least in enriched cages, SB covaried with receiving aggression. In Experiment Three, 20 DBAs varying in SB from Experiment Two acted as demonstrators in a ‘social transmission of food preferences’ task. They were fed a novel flavour (shatavari powder), then each mingled with a familiar but flavour-naïve C57 observer. Observers were subsequently offered two novel flavours: shatavari or marjoram. Those spontaneously choosing more shatavari (n = 10) tended to have had less stereotypic demonstrators than the other ten observer mice. Overall, highly stereotypic mice thus received more agonism — an effect with obvious welfare implications that can be reduced with enrichment — and seemed potentially less effective at inducing flavour preferences in conspecifics. Such effects are consistent with social impairment, suggesting that reducing SB may perhaps enhance interactions between conspecifics.