In biology, cells undergo deformations under the action of flow caused by the fluid surrounding them. These flows lead to shape changes and instabilities that have been explored in detail for single component vesicles. However, cell membranes are often multicomponent in nature, made up of multiple phospholipids and cholesterol mixtures that give rise to interesting thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. Our work analyses shear flow around a multicomponent vesicle using a small-deformation theory based on vector and scalar spherical harmonics. We set up the problem by laying out the governing momentum equations and the traction balance arising from the phase separation and bending. These equations are solved along with a Cahn–Hilliard equation that governs the coarsening dynamics of the phospholipid–cholesterol mixture. We provide a detailed analysis of the vesicle dynamics (e.g. tumbling, breathing, tank-treading and swinging/phase-treading) in two regimes – when flow is faster than coarsening dynamics (Péclet number ${\textit{Pe}} \gg 1$) and when the two time scales are comparable ($\textit{Pe} \sim O(1)$) – and provide a discussion on when these behaviours occur. The analysis aims to provide an experimentalist with important insights pertaining to the phase separation dynamics and their effect on the deformation dynamics of a vesicle.

African dryland farming systems integrate crop and livestock production. In these systems, cropland and livestock productivities are intricately connected to support livelihoods of pastoral and agropastoral communities inhabiting African drylands. However, achieving sustainable increases in crop and livestock production under the prevailing conditions of low external inputs, soil degradation and climate variability and vulnerability to climate change, remains a great challenge in African drylands. Thus, to address these inherent challenges and achieve food security in the region, there is a need to adopt sustainable agricultural systems and practices. Pasture cropping, a no-tillage system where annual cereal crops are sown into perennial pastures during their dormant stage, has great potential to diversify African dryland farming systems and enhance overall cropland productivity. This can be linked to its contribution to increased perennial vegetation cover that protects the soil from agents of erosion, improving soil structure and soil hydrological properties, accumulation of organic matter, reducing N leaching, promoting C sequestration and weed control. Despite its great potential, pasture cropping in African drylands is still at its infancy stage. This review examines the potential of pasture cropping as a sustainable agricultural production system in African drylands. Specifically, we describe its salient features, benefits and challenges and explore its applicability to the environmental and socio-economic conditions of African drylands. Pasture cropping shows promise for improving agricultural productivity and sustainability in the African drylands. However, to achieve its full potential, significant adaptations are needed to tailor the system to match prevailing local socio-economic and environmental conditions, including climate and local adaptation, species selection, socio-economic constraints and economic viability among farming communities.

Accurate dietary assessment is crucial for effective public health strategies, yet there are challenges with current methods(1). The ‘Standardised and Objective Dietary Intake Assessment Tool’ (SODIAT)-1 study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a combination of emerging objective and self-report measures to more accurately monitor dietary intake(2). For this study, eNutri, a web-based food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) from the University of Reading, was adapted to assess intake over four days instead of its usual four weeks(3). This analysis aimed to evaluate dietary intakes recorded by eNutri against the known intakes of two 4-day highly-controlled diets and evaluate eNutri’s usability.

This randomised controlled crossover trial recruited 33 UK adults (aged 18-70 years, BMI 20-30kg/m2). Within the clinical units at the University of Reading and Hammersmith Hospital, participants consumed two 4-day controlled diets (non-compliant/compliant with UK guidelines, Diet A/B, respectively) in a randomly-allocated order, with at least one- week washout between diets. Dietary intake was self-reported using eNutri at the end of day 4, for each test period. After first use of eNutri, participants completed the System Usability Scale (SUS) (higher scores represent greater usability, with scores >70 classified as “acceptable” (4)), and rated the overall user-friendliness on a scale from “1: worst imaginable” to “7: best imaginable”. Mean daily nutrient compositions of the test diets were calculated directly from food labels. Since test diets were identical for all participants, the calculated nutrient intakes for Diets A/B with those determined by eNutri were compared using a one sample t-test. Nutrients analysed were: energy (kcal/d), carbohydrate (g/d), fibre (g/d), total and free sugars (g/d), fat (g/d), saturated fat (SFA; g/d), protein (g/d) and sodium (mg/d).

Of 33 participants recruited, 30 completed at least one 4-day eNutri (57% female, mean age (SD)=42(16) years, mean (SD) BMI=24.2(2.7) kg/m2). eNutri reported 10.9% lower free sugars and 13.3% lower SFA than Diet A (p<0.05). eNutri estimated 25.3-62.6% higher SFA, protein and sodium compared to Diet B (p<0.05). No significant differences for energy or other macronutrients were detected for either diet. The mean (SD) SUS score for eNutri was “acceptable” at 73.3 (12.1) and 77% rated the user-friendliness as “good” to “best imaginable”.

eNutri provided promising dietary intake estimates over 4-days, where energy, carbohydrate, total sugars, fibre, and fat closely aligned with test diets, particularly for the diet non-compliant with UK guidelines (Diet A). Notable discrepancies were observed for SFA in both diets, especially for the compliant diet (Diet B). Usability was acceptable, with most participants finding eNutri user-friendly. Further analysis will explore diet order effects and adjust for food leftovers.