Prospective life cycle assessment of climate and biodiversity impacts of meat-based and plant-forward meals: A case study of Indonesian and German meal options.

The emerging field of prospective life cycle assessment (pLCA) offers opportunities for evaluating the environmental impacts of possible future consumption shifts. One such shift involves a transition from meat-based to plant-forward diets, acknowledged to mitigate environmental impacts of the food system under present day conditions. Current diets are often meat intensive ("meat-based"), whilst "plant-forward" diets include mainly plant-based foods, encompassing flexitarian, vegetarian, and vegan diets.

Real-time shrimp freshness detection by anthocyanin-enriched wheat gluten/gelatin electrospun nanofiber films.

Electrospun nanofiber films exhibited significant potential as food freshness indicators (FFI) due to their structural advantages. Herein, a novel electrospinning film based on wheat gluten (WG), gelatin, and anthocyanins was fabricated to detect the freshness of shrimp. Compared with pure WG, an adjusted ratio of the WG to gelatin (W16E9, 16:9) improved physicochemical properties, reducing viscosity from 3.

Manure odor profiling for flock-level monitoring on commercial layer pullet farms: Vaccination events as a model stressor.

Continuous, non-invasive, and objective methods to detect flock-level responses to stressors, including intestinal health deviations, are currently lacking in poultry. This proof of principle study investigated the potential of manure odor profiling in monitoring stress responses in Lohmann Brown Classic, Lohmann LSL Classic and Lohmann LSL Lite layer pullets. Stressors were represented by a Salmonella vaccination given to the pullets at wk 3 of age (Dataset 1 and Dataset 2) and wk 16 of age (Dataset 4) and a viral/bacterial vaccine cocktail given at wk 12 of age (Dataset 3).

Tolerance to insect herbivory increases with progressing plant development.

Plants can sustain various degrees of damage or compensate for tissue loss by regrowth without significant fitness costs. This tolerance to insect herbivory depends on the plant's developmental stage during which the damage is inflicted and on how much tissue is removed. Plant fitness correlates, that is, biomass and germination of seeds, were determined at different ontogenetic stages, vegetative, budding, or flowering stages of three annual brassicaceous species exposed to feeding by Pieris brassicae caterpillars at different intensities.

Environmental enrichment affects immunity and reduces disease severity in pigs after co-infection, with stronger effects when applied from birth than from weaning.

We investigated whether environmental enrichment applied at different life stages of pigs affects the susceptibility to and severity of disease by studying immune cell functions around weaning and during nursery, the effects of infection in models and using a co-infection model of (PRRSV) followed by an infection. Pigs were either conventionally housed (CCH) or enriched housed throughout life, with enrichment consisting of extra space, rooting materials and co-mingling with another litter before weaning (EEH), or they were switched from conventional to enriched housing at weaning (CEH). Sixty days after birth, ten pigs per treatment were infected with PRRSV followed by an infection eight days later.

Addition of retronasal milk fat odour during milk consumption increased liking without affecting intake.

Reduction of food fat content often comes at the cost of sensory appeal. Given that odours can enhance various fat-related sensory characteristics, their use as fat substitutes seems promising. This cross-over study investigated whether sensory characteristics of a low-fat product (dairy milk) can be enhanced by the addition of a fat-related aroma (cream) and whether this influences subsequent eating behaviour within an ecologically valid scenario.

The fungicide propiconazole induces hepatic steatosis and activates PXR in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity.

Propiconazole is a triazole fungicide previously shown to induce triglyceride accumulation in human liver HepaRG cells, potentially via activation of the Pregnane X Receptor (PXR). However, whether propiconazole can disrupt hepatic and whole-body metabolism in vivo is currently unknown. Therefore, we aimed to examine the metabolic effects of propiconazole in the context of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), obesity, and insulin resistance.

Coupling Modelling and Experiments to Analyse Leaf Photosynthesis Under Far-Red Light.

Leaf photosynthesis models are used extensively in photosynthesis research and are embedded in many larger scale models. Typical photosynthesis models simplify light intensity as the integrated intensity over the 400-700 nm waveband (photosynthetic active radiation, PAR). However, far-red light (700-750 nm, FR) also drives photosynthesis when supplied in addition to light within the PAR spectrum.

Effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of citalopram in freshwater mesocosms.

Increased pharmaceutical usage has led to their widespread presence in aquatic environments, resulting in concerns regarding their potential environmental impacts. Antidepressants, particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like citalopram, are frequently detected in European surface waters. Acute laboratory studies have demonstrated that citalopram can inhibit algal growth, immobilise Daphnia magna, and may result in foot detachment (i.

Overwintering of Usutu virus in mosquitoes, The Netherlands.

Analyses of mosquito-borne virus outbreaks have revealed the presence of similar virus strains over several years. However, it remains unclear how mosquito-borne viruses can persist over winter, when conditions are generally unfavorable for virus circulation. One potential route for virus persistence is via diapausing mosquitoes.

H-driven xylitol production in Cupriavidus necator H16.

Background: Biocatalysis offers a potentially greener alternative to chemical processes. For biocatalytic systems requiring cofactor recycling, hydrogen emerges as an attractive reducing agent. Hydrogen is attractive because all the electrons can be fully transferred to the product, and it can be efficiently produced from water using renewable electricity.

A mucus layer derived from porcine intestinal organoid air-liquid interface monolayer attenuates swine enteric coronavirus infection by antiviral activity of Muc2.

Background: The mucus layer provides the first defense that keeps the epithelium free from microorganisms. However, the effect of the small intestinal mucus layer on pathogen invasion is still poorly understood, especially for swine enteric coronavirus. To better understand virus‒mucus layer‒intestinal epithelium interactions, here, we developed a porcine intestinal organoid mucus‒monolayer model under air‒liquid interface (ALI) conditions.

A case of polyploid utility in biocontrol: reproductively-impaired triploid Nasonia vitripennis have high host-killing ability.

Background: Intentionally impairing the fecundity of mass-reared insects has important utility in controlling pest species. Typically, sterilized individuals are competed against wild counterparts, reducing pest population size. A novel consideration is creating biocontrol agents with lower reproductive capacity that are less likely to establish permanently or admix with wild populations, which are both emerging as legal barriers.

Advancing the network theory of mental disorders: A computational model of panic disorder.

The network theory of psychopathology posits that mental disorders are systems of mutually reinforcing symptoms. This framework has proven highly generative but does not specify precisely how any specific mental disorder operates as such a system. Cognitive behavioral theories of mental disorders provide considerable insight into how these systems may operate.

Quantifying the effect of human interindividual kinetic differences on the relative potency value for riddelliine N-oxide at low dose levels by a new approach methodology.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids N-oxides (PA-N-oxides) are predominant in plants and herbal foods, and are converted to pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) upon consumption, leading to toxicity. The effect of interindividual kinetic differences on the relative potency values of PA-N-oxides compared to their PAs (REP) was studied, with riddelliine N-oxide (RIDO) and riddelliine (RID) as model compounds. In vitro kinetic data measured in incubations with 30 fecal and 25 liver S9 donor samples showed high variation across individuals, where the interindividual variability was captured with Bayesian multilevel regression.

Residues of dry cow antimicrobials in colostrum and extended-spectrum and AmpC β-lactamaseproducing Escherichia coli in feces from young dairy calves.

The duration of excretion of dry cow antimicrobials is hard to predict and therefore the level of antimicrobial residues in colostrum can differ considerably between cows. The feeding of colostrum with antimicrobial residues to newborn calves may lead to antimicrobial resistance in calves. The aim of this study was to quantify the prevalence and residue level of dry cow antimicrobials in colostrum from dairy cows.

Effect of multispecies swards on ruminal fermentation, methane emission and potential for climate care cattle farming - an in vitro study.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from livestock ruminants, particularly methane (CH), nitrous oxide, and indirectly ammonia (NH) significantly contribute to climate change and global warming. Conventional monoculture swards for cattle feeding, such as perennial ryegrass or Italian ryegrass, usually require substantial fertiliser inputs. Such management elevates soil mineral nitrogen levels, resulting in GHG emissions and potential water contamination.

Zn inhibits PEDV replication by inducing autophagy through the Akt-mTOR pathway.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a coronavirus that induces diarrhea in pigs, leading to severe economic losses in the global pig industry. Currently, effective antiviral treatments for porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) are rarely available for clinical use. Zinc (Zn), an essential mineral, is known to reduce diarrhea in piglets transitioning from milk to solid feed by modulating immune system activity.

Unhealthful plant-based diet associates with frailty risk predominantly in men with low income from the UK Biobank cohort.

Objective: Plant-based diets (PBD) are generally promoted as beneficial for health. However, whether this is also the case at older ages, when energy deficits, muscle loss and frailty affect health, is unclear. Research has shown that among older adults, particularly in men, a healthful PBD is associated with a lower frailty risk.

Predicting the replicability of social and behavioural science claims in COVID-19 preprints.

Replications are important for assessing the reliability of published findings. However, they are costly, and it is infeasible to replicate everything. Accurate, fast, lower-cost alternatives such as eliciting predictions could accelerate assessment for rapid policy implementation in a crisis and help guide a more efficient allocation of scarce replication resources.

Change Meat Resistance: Systematic Literature Review on Consumer Resistance to the Alternative Protein Transition.

Consumer resistance significantly impedes the transition from animal-derived proteins to alternative protein sources through a dual mechanism: consumer reluctance to change entrenched meat-eating habits and hesitation among policymakers, marketers, and practitioners due to anticipated resistance. The concept of resistance is intricate and viewed diversely across research disciplines. We conducted an extensive systematic literature review supplemented by an artificial intelligence-based approach.

Food insecurity and BMI are associated with depressive symptoms among adolescents in Yogyakarta province, Indonesia, during the COVID-19 pandemic: a 1-year longitudinal study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented multifaceted challenges globally, impacting adolescent health. Among these, food security and nutrition are intertwined closely with mental health outcomes. In Indonesia, with its diverse socio-economic landscape, these interconnections may have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Pulsed electric field processing of edible insect slurries induces thermally-assisted microbial inactivation.

Insect-based food ingredients are emerging as sustainable protein sources, but their production requires ensuring microbial safety and inactivation of endogenous enzymes to avoid undesirable proteolysis, without compromising protein structure. While traditional thermal processing affects the protein structure, the potential of pulsed electric field (PEF) technology to inactivate microorganisms in lesser mealworm and house cricket slurries at pH 3 while simultaneously retaining the native protein structure is yet unexplored. Lesser mealworm and house cricket slurries at pH 3 were subjected to continuous and batch PEF treatments with varying intensities (0-450 kJ/kg).