Ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) are widely used to treat severe acute malnutrition (SAM) by improving key anthropometric outcomes; however, optimisation of RUTF formulations remains important to support sustained recovery. Rice bran, a novel nutrient-dense, prebiotic food ingredient, can support healthy growth. This two-arm, double-blinded, randomised controlled trial, compared the effectiveness of a locally produced RUTF with rice bran to the same RUTF without rice bran for the treatment of uncomplicated acute malnutrition in Jember, Indonesia. 200 children aged 6–59 months with SAM (WHZ < −3.0 and/or mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) < 115 mm or having bilateral pitting oedema +/++) or approaching SAM (WHZ < −2.5) were enrolled in the study. Primary outcomes were weight, MUAC, and anthropometric z-scores. Linear mixed models were applied across all ages, and split by age groups (6–23 months and 24–59 months) at weeks 0, 4, 8, 12, and 16 for intention-to-treat (ITT) and per protocol analysis (PP). Children in two age groups were expected to respond differently to treatment based on their microbiome maturity. At week 4, the PP analysis revealed RUTF+rice bran treatment had significantly greater weight gain velocity (p = 0.02; p = 0.008) and MUAC velocity (p = 0.004, p = 0.03) when compared to RUTF at all ages and in the 24–59 months age group, respectively. There were no significant differences between treatment groups at time points in the other anthropometric outcomes. This investigation shows promising impact of stabilised rice bran as a prebiotic and nutrient-dense ingredient for inclusion into RUTFs that can improve child growth outcomes.

In weight-sensitive languages, stress is influenced by syllable weight. As a result, heavy syllables should attract, not repel, stress. The Portuguese lexicon, however, presents a case where weight seems to negatively impact stress: antepenultimate stress is more frequent in light antepenultimate syllables than in heavy ones. This pattern is phonologically unexpected and appears to contradict the typology of weight and stress: it is a case where lexical statistics and the grammar conflict. Portuguese also contains gradient, not categorical, weight effects, which weaken as we move away from the right edge of the word. In this article, I examine how native speakers' grammars capture these subtle weight effects, and whether the negative antepenultimate weight effect is learned or repaired. I show that speakers learn the gradient weight effects in the language, but do not learn the unnatural negative effect. Instead, speakers repair this pattern and generalize a positive weight effect to all syllables in the stress domain. This study thus provides empirical evidence that speakers may not only ignore unnatural patterns, but also learn the opposite pattern.

While some accounts of syllable weight deny a role for onsets, onset-sensitive weight criteria have received renewed attention in recent years (e.g. Gordon 2005, Topintzi 2010). This article presents new evidence supporting onsets as factors in weight. First, in complex stress systems such as those of English and Russian, onset length is a significant attractor of stress both in the lexicon and in nonce probes. This effect is highly systematic and unlikely, it is argued, to be driven by analogy alone. Second, in flexible quantitative meters (e.g. in Sanskrit), poets preferentially align longer onsets with heavier metrical positions, all else being equal. A theory of syllable weight is proposed in which the domain of weight begins not with the rime but with the p-center (perceptual center) of the syllable, which is perturbed by properties of the onset. While onset effects are apparently universal in gradient weight systems, they are weak enough to be usually eclipsed by the structure of the rime under categorization. This proposal therefore motivates both the existence of onset weight effects and the subordination of the onset to the rime with respect to weight.

In this article, the authors establish an extension-restriction theorem between homogeneous weighted Besov spaces and weighted mixed-Riesz potential spaces. This general frame covers both the classical Besov spaces and their logarithmic analogs.

This study aimed to investigate the influence of socio-demographic and epidemiological factors on the secular changes in body size indicators (height, weight, and BMI) among young adults aged 17–22 years in Moscow from the early 20th century to the present. Published average anthropometric data from screening surveys conducted from 1880/1925–26 to 2020–21 were analysed (4,823 males and 5,952 females), along with demographic data from the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation. Findings revealed consistent anthropometric trends and strong associations between secular changes in body size of Moscow youth and socio-demographic indicators such as population size, life expectancy, and infant mortality rates. An increase in height and weight was noted against the backdrop of urbanisation, increased life expectancy, and reduced infant mortality. These results indicate that the urbanisation process and the transformation of the epidemiological landscape in 20th-century Russia – marked by enhancements in public health, modernisation of the healthcare system, and medical advancements – have had a significant impact on changes in body size across generations. Notably, from the mid-20th century onwards, with the exception of the final decade, conditions favourable to growth and development were established, culminating in a significant increase in definitive anthropometric parameters across successive generations. The findings underscore the imperative for policymakers to bolster investments in urban development, healthcare, and education. Such strategic investments are essential for sustaining and amplifying the positive physical development trends witnessed.

Maintaining optimal growth of preterm infants after hospital discharge remains a challenge. There has been no data on the long-term growth trajectory of preterm infants in Indonesia. We aimed to describe the growth trajectory of preterm infants up to 24 months of corrected age and its variation among gestational age groups. A longitudinal study was conducted in Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, from 2018 to 2020. All preterm infants who were discharged during the study period were included. Growth trajectory analysis used weight-for-age, length-for-age and weight-for-length z-score of 3-month time intervals across gestational age groups using repeated measure ANOVA and generalised estimating equation regression. Length trajectory was specifically reported as a stunted proportion. Among 306 preterm infants included, most were moderate preterm (49·67 %) and low birth weight (69·93 %). Overall weight-for-age at 0 months was in the median of the curve, then decreased at 3 months but consistently increased slowly until 24 months. The weight-for-age trends were unique across gestational age groups but statistically similar (P= 0·263). The proportion of stunted gradually decreases to 13·40 % at 24 months, mostly among the moderate preterm group in the first 6 months (P< 0·001), but then becomes similar at 24 months. All subjects were in the normal range for weight-for-length but had variations in trends across gestational age groups (P< 0·001). Growth trajectory differed between weight, length and weight-for-length in the first 24 months and varied among gestational age groups. Close follow-up is crucial to ensure optimal growth after neonatal intensive care unit discharge.

The aim of this study was to explore the associations between diet quality, socio-demographic measures, smoking, and weight status in a large, cross-sectional cohort of adults living in Yorkshire and Humber, UK. Data from 43, 023 participants aged over 16 years in the Yorkshire Health Survey, 2nd wave (2013–2015) were collected on diet quality, socio-demographic measures, smoking, and weight status. Diet quality was assessed using a brief, validated tool. Associations between these variables were assessed using multiple regression methods. Split-sample cross-validation was utilised to establish model portability. Observed patterns in the sample showed that the greatest substantive differences in diet quality were between females and males (3.94 points; P < 0.001) and non-smokers vs smokers (4.24 points; P < 0.001), with higher diet quality scores observed in females and non-smokers. Deprivation, employment status, age, and weight status categories were also associated with diet quality. Greater diet quality scores were observed in those with lower levels of deprivation, those engaged in sedentary occupations, older people, and those in a healthy weight category. Cross-validation procedures revealed that the model exhibited good transferability properties. Inequalities in patterns of diet quality in the cohort were consistent with those indicated by the findings of other observational studies. The findings indicate population subgroups that are at higher risk of dietary-related ill health due to poor quality diet and provide evidence for the design of targeted national policy and interventions to prevent dietary-related ill health in these groups. The findings support further research exploring inequalities in diet quality in the population.

People with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have higher weight gain and psychological distress compared to those without PCOS(1). While COVID-19 restrictions led to population level adverse changes in lifestyle, weight gain and psychological distress(2), their impact on people with PCOS is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact the 2020 COVID-19 restrictions had on weight, physical activity, diet and psychological distress for Australians with PCOS. Australian reproductive-aged women participated in an online survey with assessment of weight, physical activity, diet and psychological distress. Multivariable logistic and linear regression were used to examine associations between PCOS and residential location with health outcomes. On adjusted analysis, those with PCOS gained more weight (2.9%; 95% CI; 0.027–3.020; p = 0.046), were less likely to meet physical activity recommendations (OR 0.50; 95% CI; 0.32–0.79; p = 0.003) and had higher sugar-sweetened beverage intake (OR 1.74; 95% CI 1.10–2.75; p = 0.019) but no differences in psychological distress compared to women without PCOS. People with PCOS were more adversely affected by COVID-19 restrictions, which may worsen their clinical features and disease burden. Additional health care support may be necessary to assist people with PCOS to meet dietary and physical activity recommendations.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome PCOS is an endocrine disorder affecting 8 to 13% of reproductive aged women(1). Dietary and physical activity changes are the first-line therapy to assist with symptom and weight management and to reduce the risk of reproductive, metabolic and psychological comorbidities(2). However, women with PCOS have a higher weight, experience weight gain, and a higher prevalence of living in a larger body. Health care professionals (HCPs) play a crucial role in delivering diet and physical activity advice for people with PCOS. Thus, the aim of this systematic review is to understand the barriers, facilitators, experiences, and perceptions of engagement and compliance with diet and physical activity modifications in people with PCOS and in HCPs providing or referring people with PCOS to diet and physical activity modifications. A mixed-method systematic review was conducted with quantitative studies narratively synthesised and all studies thematically analysed. There were 68 eligible papers, including n = 59 (n = 5198) people with PCOS and n = 17 (n = 2,622) HCPs. Several themes were identified as impacting people with PCOS’ ability to make diet and physical activity changes. HCP education on PCOS management through diet and physical activity was viewed by HCPs and people with PCOS to be inadequate, further impacting the quality of care and health outcomes. Dietary and physical activity advice delivered by a multidisciplinary team, including dietitians, was identified as a key component for change. Both people with PCOS and HCPs agreed that there was a need for individualised and PCOS-specific diet and physical activity advice. However, HCPs viewed that there was limited evidence supporting these recommendations and a lack of time to deliver this care. Weight stigma was identified as impacting both those in larger and smaller bodies with PCOS, reducing the quality of care and affecting self-perception and mental health. People with PCOS perceived that diet and physical activity are overly focused on weight loss and fertility, independent of their own personal motivations and goals. Systemic changes, including receiving diet and physical activity advice that meet the individual’s needs, are necessary for leading to long-term sustainable changes and improvements in health outcomes. A multidisciplinary team approach and an overhaul of HCPs’ perceptions and mentality of weight and weight-centric care for those with PCOS are essential in delivering effective diet and physical activity advice.

Monism and pluralism are not only used to describe the ways in which international law becomes part of a domestic legal system but can also be applied to scholarship that seeks to explain the messiness of discrimination. According to Sophia Moreau's pluralist theory, the wrongfulness of discrimination can be summarized as three types of treatment: subordination, restriction, and exclusion. In this contribution, I will explore the role that power plays in her theory; while power is explicitly discussed in relation to subordination, it is less apparent from restriction and exclusion. However, as I will argue, power is a crucial element underpinning all forms of discrimination and all protected grounds.

Let G be a group that is either virtually soluble or virtually free, and let ω be a weight on G. We prove that if G is infinite, then there is some maximal left ideal of finite codimension in the Beurling algebra $\ell^1(G, \omega)$, which fails to be (algebraically) finitely generated. This implies that a conjecture of Dales and Żelazko holds for these Banach algebras. We then go on to give examples of weighted groups for which this property fails in a strong way. For instance, we describe a Beurling algebra on an infinite group in which every closed left ideal of finite codimension is finitely generated and which has many such ideals in the sense of being residually finite dimensional. These examples seem to be hard cases for proving Dales and Żelazko’s conjecture.