Blood-based biomarkers for early frailty are sex-specific: validation of a combined in silico prediction and data-driven approach.

Frailty is characterized by loss of physical function and is preferably diagnosed at an early stage (e.g., during pre-frailty).

Self-Initiated Dietary Adjustments Alter Microbiota Abundances: Implications for Perceived Health.

Personalized and self-initiated dietary adjustments have been shown to alleviate mental and somatic complaints. Here, we investigated the potential role of gut microbiome alterations underlying these effects. For this purpose, participants (n = 185) underwent a four-week self-initiated dietary intervention and filled out weekly questionnaires on their dietary intake, somatic and mental symptoms, and physical activity.

The pace of life for forest trees.

Tree growth and longevity trade-offs fundamentally shape the terrestrial carbon balance. Yet, we lack a unified understanding of how such trade-offs vary across the world's forests. By mapping life history traits for a wide range of species across the Americas, we reveal considerable variation in life expectancies from 10 centimeters in diameter (ranging from 1.

Strong site fidelity, residency and local behaviour of Atlantic cod () at two types of artificial reefs in an offshore wind farm.

Globally, biogenic temperate reefs are among the most threatened habitats. In the North Sea in particular, large shellfish reefs were lost owing to fishing activities in the 1900s. The impact of offshore wind farms (OWFs) on marine wildlife is extensive, and it offers the possibility to reintroduce new hard substrate habitats that are protected from fisheries at a large scale.

In the Eye of the Beholder-Visual Search Behavior in Equestrian Dressage Judges.

This study investigated the visual search behavior of equestrian dressage judges at different expertise levels during the assessment of Grand Prix horse-rider combinations. Twenty judges (11 foundational level, 9 advanced level) participated in the study, with their eye movements recorded using Tobii Fusion Eyetracker as they evaluated video recordings of dressage tests. Fixation metrics, namely Total Duration of Fixation (TDF), Average Duration of Fixation (ADF), and Total Number of Fixations (TNF), were analyzed across four Areas of Interest (AOIs): front, back, rider, and horse's feet.

Frequency-dependent tolerance to aircraft disturbance drastically alters predicted impact on shorebirds.

Anthropogenic disturbance of wildlife is increasing globally. Generalizing impacts of disturbance to novel situations is challenging, as the tolerance of animals to human activities varies with disturbance frequency (e.g.

Survey-based investigation of sports and leisure horse owners' approaches to, and expectations of, equine veterinary care.

Background: Client satisfaction depends on the balance between expectations and service experience. Previous research identified seven aspects of equine veterinary professional conduct that are important for client satisfaction: quality of care, quality of service, horsemanship, transfer of knowledge, financial aspects, interpersonal skills and professionalism.

Methods: By employing a cross-sectional study design through a survey-based investigation, horse owners' initial contact preferences and their perceptions of the importance of various aspects of veterinary care in different scenarios were explored.

Analysis of current equine feeding practices in the Netherlands and identification of potential nutrient leaching and environmental contamination factors.

The aim of this study was to estimate the potential for nutrient leaching based on current feeding practices of horses in the Netherlands. An online survey of horse owners collected data on the demographics of the horses (n = 274) and feeding practices. The median age was 8 years, the majority being warmblood and geldings with a mean bodyweight of 542.

Limitations of current analytical reference methods to determine vitamins in foods: Challenges to support regulatory compliance and nutritional composition data.

Foods are analysed for their vitamin content to support the verification of regulatory compliance or to generate food composition data. Many international reference methods for the analysis of vitamins in foods originate from the 1990s. Advances in nutrition science and analytical technology and the continuing evolution of statutory regulations necessitate the need of new or supplementary regulatory standards.

Green treasures: Investigating the biodiversity potential of equine yards through the presence and quality of landscape features in the Netherlands.

At a time of mounting ecological crises and biodiversity loss, there is an urgent need for nature-based solutions. Equestrian properties cover a considerable proportion of the European rural and peri-urban landscape and provide much potential for integrating ecosystem services, such as the inclusion of small landscape features. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and quality of landscape features (LF) to help determine how the equine sector can contribute to the agro-ecological transition.

Dynamics and Dependencies in Regional Collaboration for Biodiversity Restoration: Reflections from the Netherlands.

Biodiversity restoration on a landscape level requires people with different backgrounds to connect and collaborate over an extended period of time. Hence, understanding how conservation and restoration goals are negotiated and achieved necessitates an understanding of the dynamics of the social fabric: the social networks and interactions that develop, underpin, and sustain collective action. This paper identifies patterns and factors that have contributed to constructive collaboration for biodiversity in the rural area of Ooijpolder-Groesbeek, which has been at the vanguard of nature and landscape development in the Netherlands.

The Effects of Peat Swamp Forest Patches and Riparian Areas within Large Scale Oil Palm Plantations on Bird Species Richness.

It is well established that oil palm is one of the most efficient and productive oil crops. However, oil palm agriculture is also one of the threats to tropical biodiversity. This study aims to investigate how set-aside areas in an oil palm plantation affect bird biodiversity.

Fertilization benefits the facultative parasitic plant Rhamphicarpa fistulosa while gains by the infected host Oryza sativa are marginalized.

Background And Aims: Rhamphicarpa fistulosa (Hochst.) Benth. is an annual facultative parasitic plant adapted to hydromorphic soils.

Do Native and Alien Species Differ in Their Ecological Strategies? A Test with Woody Plants in Tropical Rainforests on Réunion Island (Mascarene Archipelago, Indian Ocean).

Understanding the mechanisms of biological invasions (e.g., competitive exclusion) is a key conservation challenge, especially on islands.

Preliminary examination of the perceptions of sustainable horse feeding practices in the Netherlands.

The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of sustainability among horse owners in the Netherlands and their willingness to switch to more sustainable feeding practices. A survey was distributed to a target group of horse owners in the Netherlands via social media channels. Data (n = 338 valid responses) were stratified based on yard type and size (small (<20), medium (20-50), and large (>50 horses).

Diurnal predators of restocked lab-reared and wild near artificial reefs in Saba.

The long-spined sea urchin controls reef dynamics by grazing on algae and increasing coral recruitment. Populations of never recovered after a mass-die off in 1983 and 1984, and numbers were further reduced by a more recent die-off in 2022. To restore grazing pressure and thereby the resilience of Caribbean coral reefs, multiple restocking efforts have been performed.

Used like Pawns or Treated like Kings? How Narratives around Racehorse Welfare in the 2023 Grand National May Affect Public Acceptance: An Informed Commentary.

The 2023 Grand National steeplechase race was delayed when protesters from the animal rights group, 'Animal Rising', gained access to the course just prior to the race. The international media spotlight was focused on what is already a high-profile event and the social licence of both this race and racing in general was scrutinised. Both at the time and for several days afterwards, the general public was exposed to two different narratives from pro- and anti-racing communities.

Let Them Be the Judge of That: Bias Cascade in Elite Dressage Judging.

Sport performances judged subjectively often suffer from systematic errors due to biases, with the sport of equestrian dressage being no exception. This study examines whether international dressage judges display systematic errors while evaluating elite horse-rider combinations. Data from seven 5* Grand Prix dressage events between May 2022 and April 2023 were analyzed (510 judges' scores) using Multivariable Linear Regression Analysis.

Consumer-grade UAV imagery facilitates semantic segmentation of species-rich savanna tree layers.

Conventional forest inventories are labour-intensive. This limits the spatial extent and temporal frequency at which woody vegetation is usually monitored. Remote sensing provides cost-effective solutions that enable extensive spatial coverage and high sampling frequency.

Is personality and its association with energetics sex-specific in yellow-necked mice ?

For the last two decades, behavioral physiologists aimed to explain a plausible covariation between energetics and personality, predicted by the "pace-of-life syndrome" (POLS) hypothesis. However, the results of these attempts are mixed with no definitive answer as to which of the two most acknowledged models "performance" or "allocation" predicts covariation between consistent among-individual variation in metabolism and repeatable behavior (animal personality). The general conclusion is that the association between personality and energetics is rather context-dependent.

Dietary Transitions Toward Sustainable Horse Feeding.

Sustainability is the balancing act of optimizing the use of current resources without compromising the current or future environment. Within the agriculture sector the primary focus of sustainability has been to reduce environmental pollution, specifically greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions, nitrogen emissions, and leaching. For the equine industry the first step towards sustainability is the documentation and critique of current feeding and management practices to permit modifications to enable the industry meet social and legislative obligations.

A scuticociliate causes mass mortality of in the Caribbean Sea.

Echinoderm mass mortality events shape marine ecosystems by altering the dynamics among major benthic groups. The sea urchin , virtually extirpated in the Caribbean in the early 1980s by an unknown cause, recently experienced another mass mortality beginning in January 2022. We investigated the cause of this mass mortality event through combined molecular biological and veterinary pathologic approaches comparing grossly normal and abnormal animals collected from 23 sites, representing locations that were either affected or unaffected at the time of sampling.