Does physical activity level and total energy expenditure relate to food intake, appetite, and body composition in healthy older adults? A cross-sectional study.

Purpose: With ageing, older adults (≥ 65 years) may experience decreased appetite, contributing to declines in body weight and muscle mass, potentially affecting physical capabilities. Physical activity (PA) has been suggested as a potential strategy to enhance appetite in older adults, but evidence supporting this is insufficient. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between PA levels, total energy expenditure (TEE), body composition, energy intake (EI) and appetite in older adults.

The interplay between scion genotype, root microbiome, and Neonectria ditissima apple canker.

Severity of European apple canker caused by Neonectria ditissima can vary between locations and apple genotypes. We investigated how location, cold storage/planting season, and apple scion genotype affect root-associated microbial communities. Additionally, we investigated whether differences in abundance of specific taxa could be associated with canker lesion counts.

Consistency of interest mediates the positive relationship between growth mindset and presence of meaning in life among Hong Kong adolescents: A cross-lagged panel study.

Meaning in life protects individuals from mental distress during social upheaval. We posit that a growth mindset and consistency of interest positively predict meaning in life during social upheaval. The present research tested the hypothesis that among adolescence living in a period of social upheaval, the presence of a growth mindset (the belief in malleability of valued personal attributes) positively predicts persistent engagement in purpose-congruent interests (consistency of interest), which in turn positively predicts the feeling that life is meaningful (presence of meaning in life).

Application of Family Stress Theory: Predicting Wellbeing by Demands, Resources and Perceptions Among Caregivers of Older Adults.

Family caregivers of older adults are at risk of high care burden and reduced quality of life. Existing research and practices had primarily focused on the caregiving dyad. However, it is often observed that multiple family members are involved in caregiving for older adults.

Punctuational evolution is pervasive in distal site metastatic colonization.

The evolution of metastasis, the spread of cancer to distal sites within the body, represents a lethal stage of cancer progression. Yet, the evolutionary dynamics that shape the emergence of metastatic disease remain unresolved. Here, using single-cell lineage tracing data in combination with phylogenetic statistical methods, we show that the evolutionary trajectory of metastatic disease is littered with bursts of rapid molecular change as new cellular subpopulations appear, a pattern known as punctuational evolution.

Dietary fats and cardiometabolic health-from public health to personalised nutrition: 'One for all' and 'all for one'.

This paper provides a summary of the 2023 British Nutrition Foundation Annual Lecture by Professor Julie Lovegrove. Professor Lovegrove is the head of the Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition at the University of Reading. Professor Lovegrove, who was nominated for the BNF Prize for her outstanding contribution to nutritional sciences has published over 300 scientific papers and made a major contribution to establishing the relevance of dietary fat quality in the development and prevention of cardiometabolic disease.

Sensitivity of Functional Arterial Spin Labelling in Detecting Cerebral Blood Flow Changes.

Arterial spin labelling (ASL) is a non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method. ASL techniques can quantitatively measure cerebral perfusion by fitting a kinetic model to the difference between labelled images (tag images) and ones which are acquired without labelling (control images). ASL functional MRI (fMRI) provides quantitative perfusion maps by using arterial water as an endogenous tracer instead of depending on vascular blood oxygenation level.

Thermally and Base-Triggered "Debond-on-Demand" Chain-Extended Polyurethane Adhesives.

A series of novel chain-extended polyurethanes (CEPUs) featuring degradable sulfonyl ethyl urethane chain-extenders that permit degradation under base-triggered conditions to afford "debond-on-demand" elastomeric adhesives are reported. Exposure of the CEPUs to -butylammonium fluoride (TBAF) triggered the degradation of the sulfonyl ethyl urethane chain-extenders. Lap shear adhesion tests of the CEPUs exposed to TBAF revealed reductions in shear strength of up to 65% for both aluminum and glass substrates, from 2.

Drought Response in the Transcriptome and Ionome of Wild and Domesticated L. Sweet, an Underutilized Legume.

Hunger remains a prevalent issue worldwide, and with a changing climate, it is expected to become an even greater problem that our food systems are not adapted to. There is therefore a need to investigate strategies to fortify our foods and food systems. Underutilized crops are farmed regionally, are often adapted to stresses, including droughts, and have great nutritional profiles, potentially being key for food security.

A qualitative exploration of change processes relevant to compassion-focused therapy that occurs when people view both soothing and non-soothing images.

Objective: Using soothing imagery within psychotherapy may support people to undertake positive visualisation exercises. However, little is known about what processes happen when people view images they find to be soothing or non-soothing.

Design: Exploratory qualitative methods were used.

Species-habitat networks reveal conservation implications that other community analyses do not detect.

Grassland restoration is an important conservation intervention supporting declining insect pollinators in threatened calcareous grassland landscapes. While the success of restoration is often quantified using simple measures of diversity or similarity to target communities, these measures do not capture all fundamental aspects of community reconstruction. Here, we develop species-habitat networks that aim to define habitat-level foraging dependencies of pollinators across restored grassland landscapes and compare their value to these more conventional measures of community restoration.

Nutrient use and methane emissions in growing beef fed different protein sources and a pasture-based diet.

This study investigated the effects of different protein sources on feed intake, nutrient, and energy utilization, growth performance, and enteric methane (CH4) emissions in growing beef cattle, also evaluated against a pasture-based diet. Thirty-two Holstein × Angus growing beef were allocated to four dietary treatments: a total mixed ration (TMR) including solvent-extracted soybean meal as the main protein source (SB; n = 8), TMR with local brewers' spent grains (BSG; n = 8), TMR with local field beans (BNS; n = 8), and a diet consisting solely of fresh-cut Italian ryegrass (GRA; n = 8). Every four weeks, animals were moved to digestibility stalls within respiration chambers to measure nutrient intakes, energy and nitrogen (N) utilization, and enteric CH4 emissions.

Changes in event soil moisture-temperature coupling can intensify very extreme heat beyond expectations.

The most disastrous heatwaves are very extreme events with return periods of hundreds of years, but traditionally, climate research has focussed on moderate extreme events occurring every couple of years or even several times within a year. Here, we use three Earth System Model large ensembles to assess whether very extreme heat events respond differently to global warming than moderate extreme events. We find that the warming signal of very extreme heat can be amplified or dampened substantially compared to moderate extremes.

Morphological change in an isolated population of red squirrels () in Britain.

The mechanical properties of dietary items are known to influence skull morphology, either through evolution or by phenotypic plasticity. Here, we investigated the impact of supplementary feeding of peanuts on the morphology of red squirrels () from five populations in Britain (North Scotland, Borders, Jersey and two temporally distinct populations from Formby (Merseyside)). Stable isotope analysis confirmed dietary ecology in 58 specimens.

A review of recent progress in alginate-based nanocomposite materials for tissue engineering applications.

Integrating nanotechnology with tissue engineering has revolutionized biomedical sciences, enabling the development of advanced therapeutic strategies. Tissue engineering applications widely utilize alginate due to its biocompatibility, mild gelation conditions, and ease of modification. Combining different nanomaterials with alginate matrices enhances the resulting nanocomposites' physicochemical properties, such as mechanical, electrical, and biological properties, as well as their surface area-to-volume ratio, offering significant potential for tissue engineering applications.

Low-Intensity Online Intervention for Mental Distress Among Help-Seeking Young People in Hong Kong: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Mental health issues among young people are increasingly concerning. Conventional psychological interventions face challenges, including limited staffing, time commitment, and low completion rates.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a low-intensity online intervention on young people in Hong Kong experiencing moderate or greater mental distress.

Beekeepers' perceptions toward a new omics tool for monitoring bee health in Europe.

Pressures on honey bee health have substantially increased both colony mortality and beekeepers' costs for hive management across Europe. Although technological advances could offer cost-effective solutions to these challenges, there is little research into the incentives and barriers to technological adoption by beekeepers in Europe. Our study is the first to investigate beekeepers' willingness to adopt the Bee Health Card, a molecular diagnostic tool developed within the PoshBee EU project which can rapidly assess bee health by monitoring molecular changes in bees.

Not just symbolism: Technologies may also have a less than direct connection with cognition.

I expand Stibbard-Hawkes' exploration of symbolism and cognition to suggest that we also ought to reconsider the strength of connections between cognition and technological complexity. Using early weaponry as a case study I suggest that complexity may be "hidden" in early tools, and further highlight that assessments of technologies as linear and progressive have roots in Western colonial thought.

Interaction between genetic risk score and dietary carbohydrate intake on high- density lipoprotein cholesterol levels: Findings from the Study of Obesity, Nutrition, Genes and Social factors (SONGS).

Background & Aims: Cardiometabolic traits are complex interrelated traits that result from a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors. This study aimed to assess the interaction between genetic variants and dietary macronutrient intake on cardiometabolic traits [body mass index, waist circumference, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triacylglycerol, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting serum glucose, fasting serum insulin, and glycated haemoglobin].

Methods: This cross-sectional study consisted of 468 urban young adults aged 20 ± 1 years, and it was conducted as part of the Study of Obesity, Nutrition, Genes and Social factors (SONGS) project, a sub-study of the Young Lives study.

Integrating genetics, metabolites, and clinical characteristics in predicting cardiometabolic health outcomes using machine learning algorithms - A systematic review.

Background: Machine learning (ML) integration of clinical, metabolite, and genetic data reveals variable results in predicting cardiometabolic health (CMH) outcomes. Therefore, we aim to (1) evaluate whether a multi-modal approach incorporating all three data types using ML algorithms can improve CMH outcome prediction compared to single-modal or paired-modal models, and (2) compare the methodologies used in existing prediction models.

Methods: We systematically searched five databases from 1998 to 2024 for ML predictive modelling studies using the multi-modal approach for CMH outcomes.

Motivating tones to enhance education: The effects of vocal awareness on teachers' voices.

Background: Effective classroom communication is key to shaping the learning environment and inspiring student engagement. And, it's not just what is said, but how it's said, that influences students. Yet, few (current or future) teachers receive education on vocal pedagogy.

Injectable antibacterial drug-free hydrogel dressing enabled by a bioactive peptide-mimicking synthetic peptidyl polymer.

The management of bacterial wounds presents a significant challenge in the field of medicine and poses a grave threat to public health. Traditional gauze materials exhibit limited efficacy in treating bacterial infection wounds, while antibiotics demonstrate cytotoxicity and resistance. Therefore, in this study, the peptide biomimetic polymer (PAL-BA) was designed and served as the antibacterial framework for constructing an antibiotic drug-free antibacterial hydrogel dressing through a Schiff base reaction with oxidized hyaluronic acid (OHA).