In the Triassic Mercia Mudstone Group of the Bristol Channel area, SW Britain, yellow micritic-oolitic dolomites deposited in a near-shore location of an extensive shallow saline alkaline lake, pass landwards into conglomerates and sandstones of colluvial-fluvial origin (Dolomitic Conglomerate). Offshore facies are red marl (Branscombe Fm.) and grey-green marl (Blue Anchor Fm.) of shallow lake-playa origin. Conspicuous red silicified bands and nodules (cherts) occur within the shoreline dolomites cropping out at Clevedon, 30 km SW of Bristol. The originally aragonitic ooids and lime mud were dolomitized very early on the lake floor and just below, and the presence of pyrite indicates anoxic conditions therein. The silicification is attributed to the influx of meteoric water with near-neutral pH, provided by flash floods and rainstorms as hyperpycnal and hypopycnal flows, interacting with the silica-rich, saline, alkaline lake water and porewater within the lake sediment. Aragonitic ooids picked up in the flows underwent dissolution, then slight compaction of outer dolomitic lamellae, before silica precipitation. The red colour of the chert from detrital finely disseminated hematite also indicates very early precipitation, before suboxic-anoxic conditions developed in the enclosing lake carbonates. These Triassic sediments show features of soft-sediment deformation, attributed to the formation of chert via a silica gel and/or density contrasts of rapid deposition-dewatering, plus possible seismic activity connected to a nearby basin-margin fault.

Accurately quantifying all the components of the surface energy balance (SEB) is a prerequisite for the reliable estimation of surface melt and the surface mass balance over ice and snow. This study quantifies the SEB closure by comparing the energy available for surface melt, determined from continuous measurements of radiative fluxes and turbulent heat fluxes, to the surface ablation measured on the Greenland ice sheet between 2003 and 2023. We find that the measured daily energy available for surface melt exceeds the observed surface melt by on average 18 ± 30 W m−2 for snow and 12 ± 54 W m−2 for ice conditions (mean ± SD), which corresponds to 46 and 10% of the average energy available for surface melt, respectively. When the surface is not melting, the daily SEB is on average closed within 5 W m−2. Based on the inter-comparison of different ablation sensors and radiometers installed on different stations, and on the evaluation of modelled turbulent heat fluxes, we conclude that measurement uncertainties prevent a better daily to sub-daily SEB closure. These results highlight the need and challenges in obtaining accurate long-term in situ SEB observations for the proper evaluation of climate models and for the validation of remote sensing products.

The European Food Safety Authority has suggested that EU countries implement the 2 × 24 h diet recall (2 × 24 h DR) method and physical activity (PA) measurements for national dietary surveys. Since 2000, Denmark has used 7 d food diaries (7 d FD) with PA questionnaires and measurements. The accuracy of the reported energy intakes (EI) from the two diet methods, pedometer-determined step counts and self-reported time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were compared with total energy expenditure measured by the doubly labelled water (TEEDLW) technique and with PA energy expenditure (PAEE), respectively. The study involved fifty-two male and sixty-eight female volunteers aged 18–60 years who were randomly assigned to start with either the 24 h DR or the web-based 7 d FD, and wore a pedometer for the first 7 d and filled in a step diary. The mean TEEDLW (11·5 MJ/d) was greater than the mean reported EI for the 7 d FD (9·5 MJ/d (P < 0·01)) but the same as the 2 × 24 h DR (11·5 MJ/d). The proportion of under-reporters was 34 % (7 d FD) and 4 % (2 × 24 h DR). Most participants preferred the 7 d DR as it was more flexible, despite altering their eating habits. Pearson’s correlation between steps corrected for cycling and PAEE was r = 0·44, P < 0·01. Spearman’s correlation for self-reported hours spent in MVPA and PAEE was r = 0·58, P < 0·01. The 2 × 24 h DR performs better than the existing 7 d FD method. Pedometer-determined steps and self-reported MVPA are good predictors of PAEE in adult Danes.

The effects of a (30 cm high) elevated platform as an enrichment structure on the behaviour and performance of fattening rabbits kept in groups were investigated. Three housing systems for fattening rabbits were compared using a stocking density of 15 rabbits m–2. The rabbits were housed either in large pens (3.67 m2 plus a platform of 0.39 m2; with 60 rabbits per pen) or in small pens (0.503 m2 plus a platform of 0.159 m2; with10 rabbits per pen), or in conventional standard cages (0.39 m2, with 6 rabbits and without any enrichment) from 31 to 72 days of age. The conventional cages without a platform were used as a control and reference model. Rabbits housed in each small pen or in each cage belonged to the same litter, and the 60 rabbits sharing the same large pen were from six or seven litters. At the end of fattening, rabbits reached the weight of 2,508 g in cages, 2,397 g in small pens, and 2,340 g in large pens; the only significant difference was daily weight gain which was better in cages than in both pens. There was no difference in growth parameters between the two types of pens. The mortality rate was less than 1% for all treatments. No sanitation problems or severe lesions were seen with rabbits even those reared in large pens and large groups. Neither housing systems, nor elevated platform affected activities such as dietary intake or resting. The use of the platform appears to depend upon the amount of space available; in a large pen, an elevated platform can be utilised as an exercise structure while in a small pen it was used more as simply extra space to occupy.

Three housing systems for fattening rabbits were compared using a stocking density of 15 rabbits m–2. The rabbits were housed in large pens (3.67 m2, 50 rabbits), small pens (0.66 m2, 10 rabbits) or in conventional standard cages (0.39 m2, 6 rabbits) from 31 to 72 days of age. Rabbits housed in each small pen or in each cage belonged to the same litter, and the 50 rabbits housed in each large pen were from six or seven litters. At the end of fattening, when rabbits were 72 days old, there was no significant difference in the weight of rabbits from the three different housing systems, even though the rabbits from small pens were slightly heavier in weight compared with rabbits from large pens. The best feed conversion ratio was found in rabbits from cages, but was only significantly different from rabbits housed in small pens. No significant differences were found in the main activities: nutrition, social behaviour, resting, and standing; however, the frequency of runs, hops and consecutive hops was significantly higher in rabbits from large pens compared with rabbits from the two other housing systems. These results confirm that the total surface area available for animals is the most important factor for such locomotory activities. This study did not reveal any significant difference in aggressive behaviours between rabbits from different litters housed in large pens and between rabbits from the same litter housed in small pens or cages.

At present, analysis of diet and bladder cancer (BC) is mostly based on the intake of individual foods. The examination of food combinations provides a scope to deal with the complexity and unpredictability of the diet and aims to overcome the limitations of the study of nutrients and foods in isolation. This article aims to demonstrate the usability of supervised data mining methods to extract the food groups related to BC. In order to derive key food groups associated with BC risk, we applied the data mining technique C5.0 with 10-fold cross-validation in the BLadder cancer Epidemiology and Nutritional Determinants study, including data from eighteen case–control and one nested case–cohort study, compromising 8320 BC cases out of 31 551 participants. Dietary data, on the eleven main food groups of the Eurocode 2 Core classification codebook, and relevant non-diet data (i.e. sex, age and smoking status) were available. Primarily, five key food groups were extracted; in order of importance, beverages (non-milk); grains and grain products; vegetables and vegetable products; fats, oils and their products; meats and meat products were associated with BC risk. Since these food groups are corresponded with previously proposed BC-related dietary factors, data mining seems to be a promising technique in the field of nutritional epidemiology and deserves further examination.

Stictococcus vayssierei is a major pest of root and tuber crops in central Africa. However, data on its ecology are lacking. Here we provide an updated estimate of its distribution with the aim of facilitating the sustainable control of its populations. Surveys conducted in nine countries encompassing 13 ecological regions around the Congo basin showed that African root and tuber scale was present in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Uganda. It was not found on the sites surveyed in Chad and Nigeria. The pest occurred in the forest and the forest-savannah mosaic as well as in the savannah where it was never recorded before. However, prevalence was higher in the forest (43.1%) where cassava was the most infested crop, compared to the savannah (9.2%) where aroids (cocoyam and taro) were the most infested crops. In the forest habitat, the pest was prevalent in all but two ecological regions: the Congolian swamp forests and the Southern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic. In the savannah habitat, it was restricted to the moist savannah highlands and absent from dry savannahs. The scale was not observed below 277 m asl. Where present, the scale was frequently (87.1% of the sites) attended by the ant Anoplolepis tenella. High densities (>1000 scales per plant) were recorded along the Cameroon–Gabon border. Good regulatory measures within and between countries are required to control the exchange of plant materials and limit its spread. The study provides information for niche modeling and risk mapping.

Pulmonary hypertension is a complex and progressive condition that is either idiopathic or heritable, or associated with one or multiple health conditions, with or without congenital or acquired cardiovascular disease. Recent developments have tremendously increased the armamentarium of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in children and young adults with pulmonary hypertension that is still associated with a high morbidity and mortality. These modalities include non-invasive imaging, pharmacotherapy, interventional and surgical procedures, and supportive measures. The optimal, tailored diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for pulmonary hypertension in the young are rapidly evolving but still face enormous challenges: Healthcare providers need to take the patient’s age, development, disease state, and family concerns into account when initiating advanced diagnostics and treatment. Therefore, there is a need for guidance on core and advanced medical training in paediatric pulmonary hypertension. The Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology working group “pulmonary hypertension, heart failure and transplantation” has produced this document as an expert consensus statement; however, all recommendations must be considered and applied in the context of the local and national infrastructure and legal regulations.

Maternal pre-pregnancy weight has been related with young singletons’ cognitive and behavioral development, but it is not clear if it has an effect on temperament. We used a twin cohort to evaluate the association between maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and infants’ temperament. The mothers of 834 twins answered questions regarding their pre-pregnancy BMI and their 0- to 18-month-old children’s temperament using the Revised Infant Behavior Questionnaire. Three temperamental dimensions were examined: activity level, distress to limitation and duration of orienting. The relationship between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and each temperamental component was investigated by means of multilevel mixed-effects linear regression analysis. We found no clear evidence of an association of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI with twins’ temperament. The development of temperament is influenced by a large number of factors, probably different from those influencing children’s emotional and behavioral development.

Problem behaviors are of increasing public health concern. Twin studies have revealed substantial genetic and environmental influences on children's behavior, and examining birth-weight difference could allow the identification of the specific contribution of multiple non-shared prenatal environmental factors. The Twins and Multiple Births Association Heritability Study, a UK, volunteer-based study, recruited mothers of twins aged 18 months to 5 years; 960 twins (480 pairs) were included in the analysis. Twins’ mothers answered questions relative to their pregnancy and their twins’ characteristics, and completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) 1½–5. The association between the absolute birth-weight difference and each CBCL scale's score difference was analyzed by means of multiple linear regressions. Expected mean CBCL score differences were calculated. In monozygotic (MZ) twins, statistically and clinically significant associations were found between intrapair birth-weight difference and difference in total problems, internalizing problems, and emotional reactiveness. No significant results were observed neither in dizygotic (DZ) twins when analyzed as a separate group nor in MZ and DZ twins combined. The results of the present study suggest that with increasing the absolute birth-weight difference, the intrapair difference in total problems, internalizing behaviors and emotionality increases, with smaller twins being at major risk for later behavior problems. Moreover, these results suggest a causal association between birth weight and behavior development.