Breakfast clubs create an opportunity for children to have a nutritious breakfast before school starts(1). Due to the perceived benefits, about 80% of schools across the United Kingdom run breakfast clubs, though this is likely to increase following the new government manifesto commitment on free breakfast provision in schools(2). Breakfast clubs are presently offered through the National School Breakfast Programme(3), charities or funded by schools’ budget(2). There is no standard model for delivery of breakfast clubs and research are limited. This study aimed to investigate how breakfast clubs are delivered, types of food provided and the benefits and constraints of delivery.

Primary schools offering breakfast clubs (n=17) across Yorkshire were visited and researchers observed and engaged with students and staff (including those involved in delivery) through participatory research. Researchers conducted interviews with 17 school leads and focus group discussions with 103 children (between 3-7 children from each school). Topic guides were developed by the research team to understand the food system within schools, including barriers to food provision, nutrition education and whole school approaches to food. The data was audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was conducted using the CONNECTS-Food principles Framework(4).

Our findings revealed that breakfast clubs provided children with an enjoyable start to the school day. The main themes developed were Type/quality of provision, Eating environment and Pastoral care. The delivery schemes varied and most schools offered places free or subsidised for children on Free School Meals (FSM) or other government schemes. Several schools considered children from disadvantaged families and offered a free breakfast regardless of FSM eligibility. Our findings revealed that there was diversity of foods on offer. However, the quality was perceived to relate to availability and price and was often dictated by providers rather than through school or child preferences. Offers commonly included bagels, cheese sandwiches, toast, cereals, milk, spreads and juice. The potential of schools to offer breakfast was key, particularly for families who do not have the resources or time to provide breakfast for their children. The eating environment was largely dependent on space and facilities; although, pleasant and supportive atmospheres were commonplace. Activities included drawing, reading books and games. We learnt about the value of breakfast clubs to create an environment with social and educational benefits. Our research specifically highlights the importance of breakfast clubs to support working parents through the childcare provision.

The findings suggest that further research is needed to investigate the adherence of the food provided to school food standards. This study is important as it provides insights into how breakfast clubs can be better delivered considering the new government’s manifesto commitment on school breakfast.

FixOurFood Project is funded by UKRI Transforming Food Systems with grant number BB/V004581/1

This article examines how Native Nations and institutions have been affected by a new directive in the revised NAGPRA regulations, the duty of care provision (43 CFR 10.1(d)), with a focus on the care of Indigenous Ancestral remains and cultural items. The Native Nation’s perspective is provided by the Osage Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; the Illinois State Museum; and Indiana University share their viewpoints as institutions that house Indigenous Ancestral remains, cultural items, and archaeological collections and describe the initial impacts of the revised legislation on their programs. There are several key takeaways of its initial effects, including (1) an increased burden to Native Nations, given the substantial uptick in requests for consultation linked to new requirements for consent and the revised definitions of cultural items and research (although the end result of more consultations leading to repatriations is desired), (2) a disconnect between Native Nations and institutions regarding cultural item identification, (3) a strengthening of existing NAGPRA-related institutional policies and procedures, and (4) an emphasis on the importance of consultation between institutions and Native Nations to facilitate repatriation.

Given that children’s dietary intakes often fail to meet national dietary guidelines, it is particularly relevant to focus on school settings, where children consume approximately 30% of their food/beverage intake (1). However, we do not have current information on what children consume at school - only what they are offered. This study aimed to explore and compare the extent to which lunch served and consumed in primary schools with nurseries fulfils children’s nutritional requirements.

This work is part of the FixOurFood project, a research program in school settings across Yorkshire, and followed the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki (ethical approval number: HSRGC/2021/466/D). Using pre- and post-meal plate photographs from 1063 children across eight Yorkshire schools, we conducted an energy and nutrient analysis of food served and consumed during school lunch. Nutritional composition of the meals served and consumed was compared to government dietary recommendations (2) for children aged 4–10 years (averaged when values differed by age or sex) and adjusted to 30% (estimated proportion for lunch)(3). The percentages of lunches served and consumed in schools meeting the energy and nutritional requirements of children were compared using a paired t-test, and the results were summarised as mean ± SEM.

For most nutrients, we found that the proportion of consumed meals that met dietary requirements was significantly lower than the served meal for: energy (67.7±1.2% vs. 86±1.2%), total (73.2±1.6% vs. 90.3±1.7%), saturated (86.4±2.4% vs. 104.8±2.7%), monounsaturated (69.7±1.7% vs. 84.3±1.8%), and polyunsaturated fats (66±1.5% vs. 85.7±1.7%), carbohydrate (61.5±1.2% vs. 80.4±1.2%), total sugars (182.4±4.6% vs. 229.1±5.1%), protein (187.7±3% vs. 235.4±2.8%), fibre (39.3±1.2% vs. 58.5±1.6%), sodium (78.1±1.6% vs. 96.1±1.7%), calcium (92.3±2.5% vs. 112.2±2.8%), iron (63.1±1.3% vs. 79.9±1.4%), and zinc (65.2±1.5% vs. 81.8±1.7%) (p<0.001).

This study provides the first data on children’s actual school food intake in many years. Our findings show that while food that is offered to children provides a greater opportunity to meet dietary recommendations, children’s actual consumption falls short, particularly for essential nutrients. When adjusting lunch to contribute approximately 30% of daily energy and nutrient intake, the consumed meals were insufficient (<66%) in key nutrients such as carbohydrates, fibre, iron, and zinc. Moreover, there was an overconsumption of total sugars and protein, exceeding the recommended levels. These imbalances highlight a significant gap in meeting children’s nutritional needs. Therefore, a more comprehensive approach to school meal programs is needed, focussing not only on the nutritional value of the served food but also on the quantity children consume. Suggestions for future studies may include a closer examination of children’s consumption habits and the development of strategies to increase consumption rates by offering more appealing, nutrient-dense alternatives. We may also recommend policy changes to balance the energy and sugar content of school meals.

The workplace is considered an important setting for public health dietary interventions (1). For employers, workplace wellbeing provision has the potential for cost-savings related to outcomes such as employee absenteeism, productivity, retention, and company reputation. Yet the evidence to support workplace dietary interventions against these outcomes is limited (2). The aim of this study was to characterise workplace dietary intervention studies that have evaluated organisational-related outcomes.

A systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42023454673) was conducted. Six databases, (Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, APA PsycINFO, Business Source Complete) were searched for articles from 1990 to September 2023. Studies were screened in duplicate and included if they were a randomised controlled trial (RCT) or quasi-experimental design, conducted in a workplace setting in a high-income country, the intervention included a dietary component, and they reported organisational-related outcomes. A narrative synthesis was conducted to characterise study components (population, study design, study duration, intervention characteristics) and outcome measures (outcome measurement tools, unit of measure).

From the 29,418 articles retrieved, 168 met the inclusion criteria. Most articles reported using a quasi-experimental (68.4%) design. Provision of educational materials (62.5%) and group nutritional education (56.0%) were the most frequently reported intervention components and, 82% were combined with a physical activity component. Of the included studies 20.2% were short-term interventions (≤ 3 months) and 42.3% studies were long-term (>12 months). Most studies (26.8%) did not report the personnel delivering the intervention, 25.6% of studies reported a dietitian or nutritionist were involved in delivering the intervention. Most interventions (63.7%) had at least one element of the intervention delivered face to face. Most studies (76.2%) were conducted in the USA or Canada, with 3.6% conducted in UK workplaces. The five main occupational settings reported were health and social care (19.8%), education (14%), manufacturing (12.2%), finance and insurance (11.0%) and public administration (8.1%). The three most frequently reported organisational-related outcomes were absenteeism (45.2%), healthcare costs (35.7%), and program return on investment (ROI) or cost benefit analysis (20.8%). Varied approaches were used to measure organisational-related outcomes, e.g., absenteeism was measured using self-reported WHO-Health and Work Performance questionnaire (3), the Productivity and Disease questionnaire(4), or objective methods such as human resource records. Economic outcomes e.g., healthcare costs and ROI were measured using insurance claims data and/or cost modelling.

The results indicate a substantial volume of studies published evaluating dietary workplace interventions against organisational outcomes, although there is variation in how individual outcomes are measured. The review has found an over representation of studies conducted in North American organisations and limited studies conducted in the UK. The next stage of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and quality of the evidence for dietary interventions to impact the organisational outcomes identified.

Graduates from life sciences, including nutrition, will be at the forefront of promoting environmental, social, and food systems sustainability. The requisite competencies for their future roles include systems thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, and effective communication, which are essential to navigating the complex interrelationship between human health and the environment [1,2]. To address this need, a 'Living Laboratory’ (LL) within a higher education (HE) food service setting could enrich the traditional laboratory experience, allowing students to cultivate these skills through experiential learning. This project aimed to i) scope the published literature to characterise LL examples within a HE food environment and ii) explore the understanding and perceptions of a LL concept in a food service setting for final year student research projects among students and academics at King’s College London.

A systematic scoping review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines (Registration OSF:d7y96). Two databases were searched (PubMed/Medline, Web of Science) from January 2010 to July 2024 to identify articles reporting the design, implementation or evaluation of LL in HE food service settings. A narrative synthesis was performed, and the resulting themes were used to inform focus groups (KCL Ethics:LRM-23/24-42657) with academic staff (two groups, nine participants) and students (four groups, seven postgraduate and nine undergraduate participants). Focus group discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using an inductive thematic approach [3].

Twenty-one articles were included in the scoping review. Common terms used to describe the LL concept included ‘innovation’, ‘collaboration’, ‘diverse stakeholders’, ‘enabling students’ and ‘practical learning experiences’. Recommendations for implementing LLs were provided in six articles and included engagement and outreach with stakeholders; managing conflicts; assessing impact; and establishing ethical and governance frameworks. The focus group findings indicated that both students and academics view the LL concept as a dynamic, real-world setting, emphasizing engagement and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders. Academics perceived the educational benefits of LLs as fostering experiential learning and perceived the barriers to implementation as including a lack of resources, scheduling conflicts, insufficient stakeholder engagement and unclear governance frameworks. Students highlighted the importance of aligning projects with taught programme content. and identified challenges such as limited awareness, unequal engagement across disciplines, time constraints, and concerns about inclusivity and equity across campuses. Students agreed that the LL provided opportunities to develop skills and knowledge in sustainability, science communication and real-world evidence studies, opening new career options after graduation. Lastly, altruism to improve food environments for peers and future students was a significant driving factor in student engagement.

Implementing LLs in HE food service settings requires input from multiple stakeholders. This scoping project identified key considerations from both academic staff and students to inform the co-design of a LL in a HE food service setting.

The integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into agriculture has emerged as a transformative approach to enhance resource efficiency and enable precision farming. UAVs are used for various agricultural tasks, including monitoring, mapping and spraying of pesticides, providing detailed data that support targeted and sustainable practices. However, effective deployment of UAVs in these applications faces complex control challenges. This paper presents a comprehensive review of UAVs in agricultural applications, highlighting the sophisticated control strategies required to address these challenges. Key obstacles, such as modelling inaccuracies, unstable centre of gravity (COG) due to shifting payloads, fluid sloshing within pesticide tanks and external disturbances like wind, are identified and analysed. The review delves into advanced control methodologies, with particular focus on adaptive algorithms, backstepping control and machine learning-enhanced systems, which collectively enhance UAV stability and responsiveness in dynamic agricultural environments. Through an in-depth examination of flight dynamics, stability control and payload adaptability, this paper highlights how UAVs can achieve precise and reliable operation despite environmental and operational complexities. The insights drawn from this review underscore the importance of integrating adaptive control frameworks and real-time sensor data processing, enabling UAVs to autonomously adjust to changing conditions and ensuring optimal performance in agriculture. Future research directions are proposed, advocating for the development of control systems that enhance UAV resilience, accuracy and sustainability. By addressing these control challenges, UAVs have the potential to significantly advance precision agriculture, offering practical and environmental benefits crucial to sustaining global food production demands.

The perinatal period has gained increasing attention from developmental psychopathologists; however, experiences during birth have been minimally examined using this framework. The current study aimed to evaluate longitudinal associations between childhood maltreatment, negative birth experiences, and postpartum mental health across levels of self-reported emotion dysregulation and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Expectant mothers (N = 223) participated in a longitudinal study from the third trimester of pregnancy to 7 months postpartum. Participants contributed prenatal resting RSA and completed questionnaires prenatally, 24 hours after birth, and 7 months postpartum. Results indicated that more childhood maltreatment was associated with higher birth fear and postpartum anxiety and depressive symptoms. Resting RSA moderated the association between childhood maltreatment and birth fear, such that more childhood maltreatment and higher resting RSA were associated with increased birth fear. Additionally, self-reported prenatal emotion dysregulation moderated the association between childhood maltreatment and postpartum depressive symptoms, such that more childhood maltreatment and higher emotion dysregulation were associated with increased depressive symptoms. Emotion dysregulation across multiple levels may amplify vulnerability to negative birth experiences and postpartum psychopathology among individuals with childhood maltreatment histories. Thus, emotion dysregulation in the context of trauma-informed care may be worthwhile intervention targets during the perinatal period.

Knowledge of the status of ecosystems is vital to help develop and implement conservation strategies. This is particularly relevant to the Arctic where the need for biodiversity conservation and monitoring has long been recognised, but where issues of local capacity and logistic barriers make surveys challenging. This paper demonstrates how long-term monitoring programmes outside the Arctic can contribute to developing composite trend indicators, using monitoring of annual abundance and population-level reproduction of species of migratory Arctic-breeding waterbirds on their temperate non-breeding areas. Using data from the UK and the Netherlands, countries with year-round waterbird monitoring schemes and supporting relevant shares of Arctic-breeding populations of waterbirds, we present example multi-species abundance and productivity indicators related to the migratory pathways used by different biogeographical populations of Arctic-breeding wildfowl and wader species in the East Atlantic Flyway. These composite trend indicators show that long-term increases in population size have slowed markedly in recent years and in several cases show declines over, at least, the last decade. These results constitute proof of concept. Some other non-Arctic countries located on the flyways of Arctic-breeding waterbirds also annually monitor abundance and breeding success, and we advocate that future development of “Arctic waterbird indicators” should be as inclusive of data as possible to derive the most robust outputs and help account for effects of current changes in non-breeding waterbird distributions. The incorporation of non-Arctic datasets into assessments of the status of Arctic biodiversity is recognised as highly desirable, because logistic constraints in monitoring within the Arctic region limit effective population-scale monitoring there, in effect enabling “monitoring at a distance”.

Proper nutrition enhances athletes’ performance and recovery during sports activities. This review aims to investigate the effects of nutrition education interventions on dietary intake, nutrition knowledge, and body composition of female athletes. From a comprehensive search, we identified 20 single-arm and 8 double arm studies that met the inclusion criteria. The interventions in these studies ranged from personalized consultations to group workshops. The mode of delivery was mainly face-to-face. Most of these interventions consisted of group sessions with variable duration and frequency. From the studies finally included, nutrition education intervention significantly increased the nutrition knowledge of female athletes in 76% and improved their dietary intake in 67%. However, only 44% of the studies that measured changes in body composition reported significant changes. Moreover, only a minority of studies (14%) maintained follow-up assessments to measure the lasting impact of the interventions. Sixty percent of interventions were delivered by professional nutritionists or dietitians, ensuring high-quality education. There is a need for standardized methodologies and more robust study designs to better assess the effectiveness of nutrition education interventions. Knowing athletes’ preferences when planning education may improve engagement and intervention efficacy. Also, longer-term follow-up of athletes would allow for a more accurate evaluation of the consolidation of acquired knowledge. Including coaches in nutrition education interventions would probably amplify the impact on athletes’ dietary behaviours. Nutrition education can positively influence the knowledge and eating habits of female athletes, but its effect on body composition represents an area where much remains to be explored.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a significant zoonotic helminthic disease with considerable public health and economic impact in endemic regions. We aimed to analyse the climatic and environmental factors affecting the human CE cases in North Khorasan Province, northeast Iran. Using a geographic information system, we map the addresses of 316 hospitalised CE patients from 2012 to 2022 and examined the influence of climatic variables, altitude, and land cover on CE case distribution. Data were analysed using logistic regression models. Most patients were female (58.9%) and aged 21–60 years (67.4%), with liver involvement being the most common (57.3%). The multivariate model identified urban settings, irrigated and dry farms, soil temperature, and humidity as the most important geoclimatic determinants, respectively. In contrast, gardens, moderate and excellent rangelands, minimum, maximum, and mean air temperatures, and rainfall were only found to be significant factors in univariate models. High-risk areas for CE include urban and suburban regions, surrounding fields, and pastures where stray dogs and wild canids roam, livestock husbandries are present, and residents consume unsanitised vegetables. Additionally, areas with lower soil and weather temperatures and higher humidity conditions that may enhance the survival of E. granulosus eggs dispersed by canids were identified as high-risk zones. Health managers can use these findings to prioritise control programs and allocate limited resources to these areas, ultimately reducing the future incidence of CE.

Conduct disorder is a psychological condition marked by persistent patterns of rule-breaking, aggression and disregard for societal norms. As pornography consumption becomes increasingly prevalent among young adults, concerns have emerged regarding its potential psychological and social implications. This study explores how pornography consumption may contribute to conduct disorder symptoms among young adults through an in-depth qualitative analysis. Using a case-study approach, four individuals with a history of frequent pornography consumption and behavioural issues linked to conduct disorder were selected. Data were collected through detailed interviews, focusing on their experiences, behavioural patterns and psychological effects. The analysis revealed that prolonged exposure to certain types of pornography was associated with increased impulsivity, aggression and rule-breaking tendencies. Participants also reported social and emotional challenges, further reinforcing conduct disorder symptoms. This study suggests that specific patterns of pornography consumption may play a role in the development or worsening of conduct disorder symptoms. Recognizing these behavioural links is crucial for creating effective prevention and intervention strategies, especially for young adults at risk of engaging in deviant or criminal behaviour.

The interaction of helminth infections with type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been a major area of research in the past few years. This paper, therefore, focuses on the systematic review of the effects of helminthic infections on metabolism and immune regulation related to T2D, with mechanisms through which both direct and indirect effects are mediated. Specifically, the possible therapeutic role of helminths in T2D management, probably mediated through the modulation of host metabolic pathways and immune responses, is of special interest. This paper discusses the current possibilities for translating helminth therapy from basic laboratory research to clinical application, as well as existing and future challenges. Although preliminary studies suggest the potential for helminth therapy for T2D patients, their safety and efficacy still need to be confirmed by larger-scale clinical studies.