This Research Paper tested the hypothesis that the dietary inclusion of a fermentation product of Aspergillus niger (ANP), alone, or in combination with a mannan-rich fraction (MRF) derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell wall, would enhance dairy calf performance and rumen variables. Thirty Holstein–Friesian bull calves (age 19 ± 5 days) were obtained from a single farm and randomly assigned according to days of age to one of three dietary treatment groups and one of two cull dates, experimental day 27 (immediately prior to weaning) or experimental day 70. Dietary treatment groups were: CTRL, no treatment; ANP, 3 g/day ANP; MRF, 3 g/day ANP and 2 g/day MRF. Calves were housed and fed individually and had ad libitum access to starter concentrates, water, and straw. Throughout the trial, ANP calves consumed a greater quantity of solid starter feed than CTRL and MRF calves. Body weight, average daily gain, apparent total tract dry matter digestibility and faecal scores were unaffected by treatment. Calves fed ANP and MRF had improved feed conversion efficiency compared with CTRL in some weeks, but this was not consistent throughout the pre-weaned and weaned periods. Calves fed MRF had a decreased acetate to propionate ratio compared with CTRL pre-weaning, and ANP had a lower acetate to propionate ratio and higher propionate proportion of total VFA compared with CTRL post-weaning. At both culling timepoints, ANP and MRF had thicker stratum basale, stratum spinosum and stratum granulosum in their rumen papillae compared with CTRL. The inclusion of ANP and ANP + MRF could favourably alter rumen fermentation and increase the metabolic and absorptive capacity of papillae in transition stage dairy calves but no consistent effects of treatment on calf growth or feed efficiency were observed in this trial.

This Research Communication addresses the hypothesis that calf faeces can be used as a microbial inoculum in the in vitro gas production (GP) technique to model rumen digestibility in calves. In vitro GP is a valuable method of screening dietary interventions in ruminants. However, the technique requires a microbial inoculum, typically obtained from the rumens of fistulated animals. Using faecal inocula that can be collected non-invasively would be ethically and economically preferable, if it provided equivalent results. The aim of this pilot study was to compare in vitro GP from faecal and ruminal inocula obtained from dairy calves that were killed either pre-weaning or post-weaning. Ruminal content and faeces were collected from calves aged 4, 7 and 13 weeks old, and incubated with calf starter concentrates in the ANKOMRF system. A weak relationship between inocula was seen for all modelled GP kinetic parameters (R2 < 0.53), although modelling indicated that incubations using faecal and rumen inocula from pre-weaned calves had similar lag times and rates of degradation. In weaned calves, aged 13 weeks, faecal incubations produced less gas, lag times were longer, and the rate of degradation of the slowly degradable fraction of calf starter was slower, compared to rumen incubations. Weak relationships, and kinetic differences, between rumen and faecal inocula would likely hinder the use of faeces to model calf rumen fermentation.

This Research Paper addresses the hypothesis that the dietary inclusion of an Aspergillus niger fermentation product will alter the degradation kinetics and rumen fermentation patterns of feeds in dairy cattle. Fungal fermentation products often contain a suite of bioactive compounds and secondary metabolites, which can influence the microbial environment in the rumen and act as digestibility enhancers. As the cattle sector is under increasing pressure to enhance its sustainability, the investigation of dietary interventions that could improve the efficiency of production is warranted. In a previous experiment, Synergen®, a product of the solid-state fermentation of Aspergillus niger (ANP) containing residual enzyme activities, significantly increased the in vitro digestibility of a grass silage-based dairy total mixed ration (TMR), suggesting that in vivo studies would be valuable. Hence the present study aimed to quantify the effects of this ANP on rumen fermentation measures in cattle. Using a 4 × 4 Latin square design, the effect of four doses of ANP (0, 5, 10, 15 g/day) in four cannulated Jersey heifers was measured on the in sacco degradation of dry matter (DM), organic matter, crude protein and neutral detergent fibre in steam-flaked barley, grass silage and a grass silage-based TMR formulated for dairy cattle. Treatments had no significant effect on the rate, or extent, of degradation of any component in any feed investigated. Rumen volatile fatty acid concentrations and proportions, and rumen pH, were quantified at seven timepoints during each 48-h sampling period and were unaffected by treatment, as was the apparent total tract digestibility of DM. Under the conditions of this trial, ANP did not influence rumen fermentation kinetics; indicating that supplementing mature, non-lactating Jersey cattle with this fungal fermentation product is not an advantageous strategy to enhance feed digestibility.

As the first article in its March 1889 issue, The Classical Review published a short piece jointly authored by Henry Sidgwick and John Grote: a dialogue between Socrates and friends and John’s brother, George Grote. This brief but complex and playful dialogue is a microcosm of a broader discussion between a group of friends, colleagues, and relatives in the third quarter of the nineteenth century about individual happiness, justice and the good of the community. This article introduces the dialogue and places it in the context of two important wider debates in order to show how this brief dialogue illuminates the intellectual milieu of the time and the personalities involved. The first is a debate about how to read and engage with Plato’s philosophical dialogues. The second is a debate about utilitarianism, the nature of happiness, and the correct end of human actions.

Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in the UK (1-2). Low exposure to the sun in winter months, as well as higher risk of deficiency amongst some ethnic minority populations (1), means that fortification of food and beverages remains an important potential route to ensure optimal vitamin D status. However, it is unclear as to whether type of fortified food affects ability to raise vitamin D status. Animal foods (e.g. dairy foods) would be expected to lead to higher vitamin D absorption than would non-animal-based foods (e.g. bread, juice), due to their higher fat content. The primary aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effectiveness of animal and non-animal-based vitamin D fortified foods on raising serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D).

The literature search was conducted using PubMed on 23 January 2024. Inclusion criteria were as follows: data on non-pregnant/non-lactating adults or data on children, randomised controlled trial; data for 25(OH)D measurement. Initial search results retrieved 701 publications, and 593 ineligible records were removed. Next, 108 records were screened by title and abstract, with 63 records excluded, for the following reasons: off topic (n=54); pregnant or breastfeeding (n=6); non-human (n=1); preterm infants (n=1) and duration <4 weeks (n=1). After full text eligibility screening, 28 publications remained for systematic review and meta-analysis. Ethical approval was not required as this was a literature review.

The end point data meta-analysis showed (for all studies combined) a significant increase in 25(OH)D (+23.4 (95% CI 17.0, 29.7) nmol/L (24 studies)). For specific food types, results were as follows: ‘animal’ +21.7 (95% CI 14.1, 29.3) nmol/L (17 studies); mixture of ‘animal’ and ‘non-animal’ +26.1 (95% CI 10.8, 41.4) nmol/L (1 study); ‘non-animal’ +28.1 (95% 12.0, 44.2) nmol/L (6 studies).

Contrary to what would be expected, non-animal mode of fortification (e.g. bread, juice) had a similar effect size to animal modes (e.g. dairy), so can be considered equivalent in effectiveness in raising 25(OH)D concentration. Differences in dose, duration and population groups between the non-animal and animal modes (in terms of health and baseline vitamin D status) mean the results should be taken with caution, and future studies where these factors are standardised could be useful to provide further evidence of effectiveness.

The Mazon Creek Lagerstätte (Moscovian Stage, late Carboniferous Period; Illinois, USA) captures a diverse view of ecosystems in delta-influenced coastal settings through exceptional preservation of soft tissues in siderite concretions. The generally accepted paradigm of the Mazon Creek biota has been that of an inferred paleoenvironmental divide between what have been termed the Braidwood and Essex assemblages, wherein the former represents a freshwater ecosystem with terrestrial input and the latter a marine-influenced prodelta setting with abundant cnidarians, bivalves, worm phyla, and diverse arthropods. Here, we revisit the paleoecology of the Mazon Creek biota by analyzing data from nearly 300,000 concretions from more than 270 locations with complementary multivariate ordinations. Our results show the Braidwood assemblage as a legitimate shoreward community and provide evidence for further subdivision of the Essex assemblage into two distinct subassemblages, termed here the Will-Essex and Kankakee-Essex. The Will-Essex represents a benthos dominated by clams and trace fossils along the transition between nearshore and offshore deposits. The Kankakee-Essex is dominated by cnidarians, presenting an ecosystem approaching the geographic margin of this taphonomic window. These new insights also allow a refined taphonomic model, wherein recalcitrant tissues of Braidwood organisms were subject to rapid burial rates, while organisms of the Essex assemblage typically had more labile tissues and were subject to slower burial rates. Consequently, we hypothesize that the Braidwood fossils should record more complete preservation than the Essex, which was exposed for longer periods of aerobic decomposition. This is supported by a higher proportion of non-fossiliferous concretions in the Essex than in the Braidwood.

In the second half of the twentieth century, typhoon-triggered floods affected all sectors of society in the Philippines, but none more so than the urban poor, particularly the esteros-dwellers or shanty-town inhabitants, residing in the low-lying locales of Manila and a number of other cities on Luzon and the Visayas. The growing number of post-war urban poor in Manila, Cebu City and elsewhere, was largely due to the policy repercussions of rapid economic growth and impoverishment under the military-led Marcos regime. At this time in the early 1970s, rural poverty and environmental devastation increased rapidly, and on a hitherto unknown scale in the Philippines. Widespread corruption, crony capitalism and deforesting the archipelago caused large-scale forced migration, homelessness and a radically skewed distribution of income and assets that continued to favour elite interests.

Moths are a hyperdiverse taxon and contribute to important ecosystem services, including herbivory, pollination, and as food for other animals. Artificial light is an effective means by which to attract nocturnal moths for ecological study, but many traditional light-trapping approaches require the use of heavy, lead acid batteries, whereas novel light-emitting diodes (LEDs) use much lighter and energy-efficient lithium-ion batteries. Employing replicated forest stands being used for a longer-term study on the effects of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (Btk) application, we assessed how traps fitted with either black-light fluorescent (BLF) or LED lights differed in the moth assemblages they attracted. The macromoth assemblages captured by the two light sources differed significantly in their composition, with some species almost exclusively collected by a particular light type. We collected significantly more moths in the BLF traps overall. However, we found a higher diversity of species using the LED light traps but only in the Btk–treated sites. We show that, although these lights appear to attract significantly different species assemblages, LEDs represent an effective, efficient, and environmentally safer approach for attracting macromoths. More empirical studies will help elucidate which species are most attracted to various light sources and if broader phylogenetic patterns exist.