There is increasing recognition that the welfare needs of cephalopod molluscs and decapod crustaceans are important. Current commercial practices involving these animals include a range of potential threats to their welfare, such as conditions of farming, capture, transport, and slaughter. This article draws from and updates our 2021 review for the UK Government, recommending a range of relatively simple and impactful changes that could benefit welfare while highlighting important research gaps that should be prioritised to facilitate the drafting of guidelines for best-practice.

Estimates of the mean and standard deviation of the tetrachoric correlation are compared with their expected values in several 2 × 2 tables. Significant bias in the mean is found when the minimum cell frequency is less than 5. Three formulas for the standard deviation are compared and guidelines given for their use.

The flow of a nematic liquid crystal in a Hele-Shaw cell with an electrically controlled viscous obstruction is investigated using both a theoretical model and physical experiments. The viscous obstruction is created by temporarily electrically altering the viscosity of the nematic in a region of the cell across which an electric field is applied. The theoretical model is validated experimentally for a circular cylindrical obstruction, demonstrating user-controlled flow manipulation of an anisotropic liquid within a heterogeneous single-phase microfluidic device.

Lower limb rehabilitation robots based on linkage-based mechanisms have recently drawn significant attention in the field due to their numerous advantages. The control of previously proposed linkage-based gait rehabilitation robotic orthoses has been achieved using constant speed control without consideration for the interaction forces. However, such an approach can be harmful to people with stroke since the level of disability varies among individuals, and it may cause potential injuries when excessive force is applied by the robot. To overcome this limitation and improve the rehabilitation process, it is necessary to recognize the force exerted by the person during walking and adjust the robot’s assistive torque accordingly, to provide synchronized motion. Thus, in this work, a human-cooperative approach based on a stiffness control strategy for the six-bar linkage-based gait rehabilitation robot is presented. The proposed methodology can serve as a solid foundation for developing a human-cooperative approach for linkage-based lower limb rehabilitation robotic orthoses. The control was validated and tested with eight healthy human subjects. As a result, customized robotic assistance with this mechanism can be provided during training to meet the individual needs of stroke patients, which can lead to increased engagement and contribution, thus improving treatment outcomes.

Biotite was altered by boiling in 0.2 M A1C13 solution, and the products were examined by X-ray powder and single-crystal diffraction, chemical analysis and thermogravimetry. The altered material is a 14 Å clay mineral with hydroxy-Al interlayers. It has a stacking sequence characteristic of vermiculite and its silicate layers are similar in chemical composition to trioctahedral vermiculite. The results of extracting the interlayer material with sodium citrate solution, X-ray examinations after heating and thermogravimetry show that the interlayer material is composed of Al associated with OH and H2O. The chemistry and kinetics of the alteration reaction and the orientational between the altered and original biotites are also discussed.

We give a short new proof of a recent result of Hanlon-Hicks-Lazarev about toric varieties. As in their work, this leads to a proof of a conjecture of Berkesch-Erman-Smith on virtual resolutions and to a resolution of the diagonal in the simplicial case.

Hospital placement is essential training for medical interns, involving shift work and high-pressure environments. This can increase physiological and psychological stress, which may be mediated by metabolites of microbial digestion(1). Nutrients of interest include those accessible to microbial digestion and associated with altered signalling within the microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA)(1). Fibre is fermented by gut microbes to produce short-chain fatty acids(2) and is associated with improved psychological outcomes(3). Tryptophan, a precursor to gut-derived serotonin(2), has been negatively associated with anxiety(4). Processed foods contain food additives, excess sugars, and saturated fats that may disrupt gut homeostasis(1) and impact psychological well-being(4). Lastly, total energy intake may determine the level of substrate available for microbial fermentation(2). Therefore, this research explores how microbiota-accessible food components interact with physical and psychological well-being in a cohort of medical interns undertaking their first-year of hospital placement. Participants were healthy medical interns, during first-year hospital placement (n = 21) from the Hunter New England Local Health District, NSW, Australia. Participants completed diet and wellbeing surveys at baseline and every 2 months over a 10-month period. 24-hour diet diaries were self-recorded from participants using a mobile application (Easy Diet Diary) and analysed using AusNut and the NOVA classification system of ultra-processed foods (ULP). Wellbeing surveys include depression, anxiety, stress scale (DASS), and PROMIS survey for mental (M), physical (P), and sleep well-being. Current data represents an ‘in-progress’ of the longitudinal data collection. This study utilised Spearman correlation and Tukey’s post hoc test for mixed methods analysis. From baseline to timepoint 3 (T3, 4 months) daily energy intake was consistent with cohort estimated energy requirements (EER). However, consumption ranged from 37% to 167% of EER, indicating a large variation of intakes. Energy consumed from ULP ranged from 30% to 34% (p = 0.6875). Baseline tryptophan intake (x¯ = 1139mg) was within the suggested target, whilst fibre intake (x¯ = 23g) was below the recommended intake. Neither saw significant changes from baseline to T3. Fibre intake was positively correlated with mental and physical well-being at baseline (x¯ = 23.1g, M: r = 0.474, p = 0.04, P: r = 0.608, p = 0.007), and timepoint 2 (x¯ = 31.5g, M: r = 0.647,p = 0.026, P: r = 0.780, p = 0.004) but not at T3. In addition, baseline consumption of sugar (x¯ = 18g) and poly-unsaturated fats (x¯ = 15g) were both negatively correlated with mental and physical well-being. Overall, no significant dietary changes were evident from baseline to mid-year collection in a first-year medical intern cohort during hospital placements. Fibre was significantly associated with mental and physical well-being, building on current understanding of fibre’s role in the MGBA. Planned metabolite analysis will explore the mechanisms of proposed microbiome-accessible nutrients alongside diet, well-being, and microbiota data. Findings from this study will identify how diet-microbiome interactions change under stress, with wider positive implications on intense workplace environments with the aim to preserve individual wellbeing.

Although food insecurity affects a significant proportion of young children in New Zealand (NZ)(1), evidence of its association with dietary intake and sociodemographic characteristics in this population is lacking. This study aims to assess the household food security status of young NZ children and its association with energy and nutrient intake and sociodemographic factors. This study included 289 caregiver and child (1-3 years old) dyads from the same household in either Auckland, Wellington, or Dunedin, NZ. Household food security status was determined using a validated and NZ-specific eight-item questionnaire(2). Usual dietary intake was determined from two 24-hour food recalls, using the multiple source method(3). The prevalence of inadequate nutrient intake was assessed using the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) cut-point method and full probability approach. Sociodemographic factors (i.e., socioeconomic status, ethnicity, caregiver education, employment status, household size and structure) were collected from questionnaires. Linear regression models were used to estimate associations with statistical significance set at p <0.05. Over 30% of participants had experienced food insecurity in the past 12 months. Of all eight indicator statements, “the variety of foods we are able to eat is limited by a lack of money,” had the highest proportion of participants responding “often” or “sometimes” (35.8%). Moderately food insecure children exhibited higher fat and saturated fat intakes, consuming 3.0 (0.2, 5.8) g/day more fat, and 2.0 (0.6, 3.5) g/day more saturated fat compared to food secure children (p<0.05). Severely food insecure children had lower g/kg/day protein intake compared to food secure children (p<0.05). In comparison to food secure children, moderately and severely food insecure children had lower fibre intake, consuming 1.6 (2.8, 0.3) g/day and 2.6 (4.0, 1.2) g/day less fibre, respectively. Severely food insecure children had the highest prevalence of inadequate calcium (7.0%) and vitamin C (9.3%) intakes, compared with food secure children [prevalence of inadequate intakes: calcium (2.3%) and vitamin C (2.8%)]. Household food insecurity was more common in those of Māori or Pacific ethnicity; living in areas of high deprivation; having a caregiver who was younger, not in paid employment, or had low educational attainment; living with ≥2 other children in the household; and living in a sole-parent household. Food insecure young NZ children consume a diet that exhibits lower nutritional quality in certain measures compared to their food-secure counterparts. Food insecurity was associated with various sociodemographic factors that are closely linked with poverty or low income. As such, there is an urgent need for poverty mitigation initiatives to safeguard vulnerable young children from the adverse consequences of food insecurity.

Challenges with childhood emotion regulation may have origins in infancy and forecast later social and cognitive developmental delays, academic difficulties, and psychopathology. This study tested whether markers of emotion dysregulation in infancy predict emotion dysregulation in toddlerhood, and whether those associations depended on maternal sensitivity. When children (N = 111) were 7 months, baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), RSA withdrawal, and distress were collected during the Still Face Paradigm (SFP). Mothers’ reports of infant regulation and orientation and maternal sensitivity were also collected at that time. Mothers’ reports of toddlers’ dysregulation were collected at 18 months. A set of hierarchical regressions indicated that low baseline RSA and less change in RSA from baseline to stressor predicted greater dysregulation at 18 months, but only for infants who experienced low maternal sensitivity. Baseline RSA and RSA withdrawal were not significantly associated with later dysregulation for infants with highly sensitive mothers. Infants who exhibited low distress during the SFP and who had lower regulatory and orienting abilities at 7 months had higher dysregulation at 18 months regardless of maternal sensitivity. Altogether, these results suggest that risk for dysregulation in toddlerhood has biobehavioral origins in infancy but may be buffered by sensitive caregiving.

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and X-ray powder diffraction data on the tubular, hydrous aluminosilicate imogolite were found to be fully consistent with a previously proposed crystal structure consisting of a rolled-up, 6-coordinate Al-O(OH) sheet, bonded to isolated orthosilicate groups. The calculated 29Si chemical shift of this structure agreed with the observed shift within 3 ppm. Thermal dehydroxylation of the Al-O(OH) sheet produced predominantly NMR-transparent 5-coordinate Al, but a few 4- and 6-coordinate sites and some residual hydroxyl groups may also have formed, as shown by NMR spectroscopy. Changes in the 29Si NMR spectrum on dehydroxylation suggest a condensation of the orthosilicate groups, but steric considerations rule out bonding between adjacent silicons. To account for these observations, an alternative mechanism to orthosilicate condensation has been proposed, involving the fracture and unrolling of the tubes, followed by the condensation of fragments to form a layer structure. The layer structure has a calculated 29Si chemical shift of -95.6 ppm, in good agreement with the observed value of -93 ppm.

Oxygen isotopic compositions were determined for coexisting mixed-layer serpentine-chlorite (Sp-Ch) and illite-smectite (I-S) from 5 Tuscaloosa Formation sandstone cores sampled between 1937 and 5470 m burial depth. High gradient magnetic separation (HGMS) was used to concentrate Sp-Ch and I-S from the <0.5 μm fraction of each core sample into fractions with a range in the Sp-Ch: I-S ratio, and end-member δ18O compositions were determined by extrapolation. The Sp-Ch δ18O values range from + 10.4 to 13.7% and increase with burial between 3509 and 5470 m. The only exception is Sp-Ch from 1937 m, which has an anomalously high δ18O value of +12.6‰ The I-S δ18O values range from +16.1 to 17.3% and do not change significantly between 3509 and 5470 m burial depth.

Pore water δ18O compositions calculated from Sp-Ch and I-S values and measured borehole temperatures range from −2.6 to +10.3‰ The isotopically light values indicate that Sp-Ch formed at shallow burial depths in the presence of brackish to marine water and/or meteoric water. The depth-related increase in δ18O of Sp-Ch is attributed to oxygen exchange between mineral and pore water during diagenetic mineral reactions. Increasing δ18O values, in conjunction with XRD and SEM data, indicate that transformation of serpentine layers to chlorite layers and Ibb polytype layers to Iaa polytype layers occurred on a layer-by-layer basis when individual layers dissolved and recrystallized within the confines of coherent crystals. Possible explanations for the variation in I-S δ18O values include depth-related differences in pore water δ18O values present at the time of I-S crystallization, contamination by detrital 2M, mica and 1M polytype rotations that facilitated oxygen exchange.

In recognition of an increasing number of high-consequence infectious disease events, a group of subject-matter experts identified core safety principles that can be applied across all donning and doffing protocols for personal protective equipment.