Pet guardianship is a common practice globally that enhances human well-being by offering companionship and emotional support. However, it also entails financial responsibilities that can pose challenges to both human and animal well-being. This study used an online survey distributed between January and March 2019 to adults residing in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), to investigate financial aspects of pet guardianship, including the importance of pet insurance, the impact of veterinary costs, and the ethical considerations of owning a pet. Understanding these aspects is crucial for promoting responsible pet ownership and ensuring animal welfare. Data were collected through a nationwide online survey, part of the Furry Whānau Wellbeing research project. The survey included questions regarding the financial aspects of pet guardianship, and respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement with various statements. A total of 2,744 respondents participated in the survey. Of these, 2,358 respondents answered the pet guardianship section. Among them, 885 (37.5%) owned both cats and dogs, 652 (28%) were cat-only owners, 609 (26%) were dog-only owners, and 212 (9%) did not currently own a cat or dog. The cost of veterinary care was identified as a key concern, with 1,924 out of 2,296 (83.9%) respondents agreeing that the expense affects the level of healthcare their pets receive. Only one-third of respondents (825/2,296) considered pet insurance essential due to high costs and exclusions. The study also revealed disparities for rural and low-income households. The financial well-being of pet guardians presents a complex challenge, affecting both the well-being of the pet and its owner. This research highlights the need for comprehensive strategies to promote sustainable and equitable pet guardianship, including improving access to affordable veterinary care, enhancing financial literacy among pet owners, and providing support systems for those facing economic hardship.

Quinclorac is a selective postemergence herbicide with activity on both grasses and broadleaf weeds, including the problematic field bindweed, making it useful in systems with mixed weed populations. Field studies conducted from 2021 to 2022 in California, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon assessed both crop safety and weed control efficacy for potential registration in grapes. Quinclorac was applied as a directed spray at 0.42 and 0.84 kg ai ha−1 at three timings: 90 d before harvest (Timing A), 60 d before harvest (Timing B), and post-harvest (Timing C). No grapevine injury was observed in California or Oregon. However, injury occurred in Michigan, New Jersey, and New York, with maximum ratings up to 32%, though severity varied by year and location. Mixed-effects modeling showed that cumulative rainfall and soil clay-plus-organic matter (COM) content explained 52% of the variation in injury (P < 0.001), with injury increasing as rainfall and COM content rose. Despite visible symptoms at some low-COM, high-rainfall sites, quinclorac had no significant effect on yield, berry size, or dormant pruning weights. Field bindweed control was consistently improved by quinclorac, particularly when a post-harvest application was included. Under the evaluated rates and timings, quinclorac posed an unacceptable risk of grapevine injury in many environments and is not currently suitable for use in grapes. Future work should focus on identifying management practices to mitigate the potential for injury.

It is assumed that the biology and ecology of commercial fish species are relatively well-known, given that many of these parameters are key for stock assessment in fisheries management. Surprisingly (or not), several new parasite species are described annually from fish that are of commercial and cultural importance. Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) is an important commercial fish species in the North Atlantic with more than 50 parasite species having been reported from it. Despite its commercial importance in Icelandic waters, only 11 parasite species have been reported from Icelandic haddock. In February and March 2023, 26 haddock were sampled, including 16 and 10 from the north and south of Iceland, respectively. Fish were examined for parasites, with a focus on macroparasites (large, usually visible to the eye). Parasites were identified morphologically with identifications of helminths confirmed using DNA barcoding (Sanger sequencing). Overall, 19 different parasite species were recovered with 17 being shared between haddock sampled from the north and south of Iceland. Of these, eight represent new geographical records for parasites of haddock in Icelandic waters. Our study indicates that monitoring for parasites remains important, regardless of how well a species has been studied. Furthermore, reporting parasites per organ and per region, especially when areas are known to be influenced by different abiotic and physical features, is important in the context of parasites as biological tags for stock identification. Despite a small sample size, our study suggests that some parasites might act as potential biological tags for stock identification of haddock in Icelandic waters.

Dehydration, assessed by urine and blood evaluation, is a risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD). The association between water deficit, as determined by a dietary assessment, and CKD prevalence is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify this association among adults in the USA. This cross-sectional study included the data of 9332 participants aged 18 years or older from the 2009–2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Water turnover was calculated using an equation developed by the International Doubly Labelled Water Database Group. Total water intake was assessed by 24-h dietary recall on ≥ 1 d. Water deficit was defined as the ratio of water intake to water turnover. CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/min/1·73 m2, calculated by the 2021 CKD Epidemiology formula. OR for CKD prevalence were calculated using multivariate logistic regression and restricted cubic spline models. The mean daily water intake, turnover and deficit were 2799 ml, 3290 ml and –15 %, respectively. CKD prevalence was 6·3 %. After adjusting for lifestyle and urine and serum osmolality, the fourth water deficit quartile was inversely associated with CKD prevalence when compared with the first quartile (OR, 0·71; 95 % CI, 0·51, 0·98). In the spline analysis, the water deficit at which the OR for CKD prevalence plateaued was approximately –30 % to 0 %. Water deficit had an L-shaped association with CKD prevalence independent of urine and serum osmolality, highlighting the importance of assessing water intake relative to dietary needs. These findings may assist the development of water requirements.

Poikilothermic and short-lived drifter species such as zooplankton are highly responsive to climate-driven changes and frontal systems in the Southern Ocean. To understand these changes, ongoing assessment of zooplankton is essential. Changes in abundance, biomass and species composition of zooplankton in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean were assessed during the austral summer of 2022/2023 using a ring net that was towed obliquely from an average depth of 200 m to the surface. Thirty-six zooplankton taxa were identified at seven stations, with copepods constituting 64% of the population across 23 species. Zooplankton abundance and biomass were higher in Transect 2 (60–64°S) compared to Transect 1 (50–54°S). A cluster analysis revealed four zooplankton community groups. Notably, the distribution patterns of non-copepod taxa appeared to be influenced by diel vertical migration behaviour, which was closely tied to seasonal dynamics and the timing of sampling. This study improves our understanding of how different oceanographical fronts and behavioural patterns shape zooplankton communities in the Southern Ocean, emphasizing the need for improved sampling to include smaller zooplankton species and to better resolve temporal dynamics.

This review aims to highlight some of the key bioactive functionalities that a range of components in milk can potentially make to reduce risks to health at key life stages. Such functionalities cannot be adequately explained by traditional estimates of nutrient supply. The benefits of gangliosides from the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) for neonatal neurodevelopment are examined along with milk proteins for growth stimulation of children via the proteins’ ability to stimulate insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Exosomes in bovine milk and their miRNA are bioavailable, with an animal study indicating that placenta development and embryo survival were both enhanced. Concerning bone health, the unique characteristics of the casein micelle for supplying Ca, P and Mg to the GI tract were considered. The so-called dairy food matrix and the hypotensive effect of some peptides from milk proteins may be compensatory factors for SFA regarding CVD risk. The recent rise in use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for adiposity reduction and improving glycaemic control is noted alongside evidence that milk proteins can stimulate GLP-1 synthesis potentially reducing GLP-1 receptor agonist need in high milk protein consumers. Other functionality included the ability of whey proteins to stimulate synthesis of skeletal muscle protein, crucial for bone protection and glycaemic control and the role of milk/Ca for reducing colorectal cancer risk. Perhaps the most exciting functionality is that of polar phospholipids in the MFGM potentially improving cognition and reducing the risk of dementia in the elderly. Clearly more human studies are needed.

The long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3PUFA) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, 22:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) are beneficial for health. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of worldwide dietary recommendations for LC n-3PUFA across life-stages for general healthy populations from technical and scientific documents (TSD) that underpin food based dietary guidelines (FBDG) or TSD from expert groups. Using the Food and Agriculture Organization global online repository of FBDG and structured Google searches, forty-two TSD were identified for inclusion. Seventy-one percent of TSD included quantitative dietary intake recommendations which varied widely across life-stages with gaps for some groups, 62% included health messages related to LC n-3PUFA consumption, 33% discussed supplementation and 29% gave guidance on high intakes. The most frequently recommended intakes for adults were 250 mg/day EPA + DHA and 250 mg/day EPA + DHA plus an additional 100–200 mg/day DHA in pregnancy. This overview is useful for nutrition science, medical, industry and consumer communities since it identifies the recommendations available and the gaps of interest to national or international groups wishing to set dietary intake recommendations for LC n-3PUFA. Low dietary intake of LC n-3PUFA from seafood is a risk factor for suboptimal health. Intake recommendations can be challenging to achieve. Most countries for which data are available show that LC n-3PUFA intakes fail to meet recommended targets, highlighting the need for accessible, innovative, sustainable alternative EPA + DHA sources e.g. bio-enriched foods and supplements to support higher population intakes, LC n-3PUFA status and health benefits.

Three motor sledges were taken on Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition to Antarctica in 1910. They performed poorly, making only small contributions to the polar journey and making no contribution to the expedition’s scientific programme.

The motor sledges have received little attention from historians and researchers. No definitive work has been published. The purpose of this article is to provide an authoritative, reliable and complete history of Scott’s Antarctic motor sledges.

This article studies Belton Hamilton’s concept for a “chain track” vehicle, then traces its development path through two prototype vehicles and two snow trials in Norway. The outcomes of the snow trials and associated recommendations are reviewed. The article then considers Scott’s detailed plans to reach the South Pole and his instructions to the Motor Party in pursuit of that goal. Four major problems that prevented the motor sledges from satisfying Scott’s instructions are identified.

Several conclusions are drawn. It is apparent that the vehicles were flawed from the outset by poor engineering decisions about track design, engine power and carburetion/airflow. It is unlikely that experimentation or minor refinement in the Antarctic would have produced vehicles reliable enough to make a major contribution to the polar journey.

Palmer amaranth is an increasing concern for producers in the northeastern United States. A new Palmer amaranth population (NY_PA) was identified in a soybean field in Ontario County, New York, in 2024. The main objectives of this research were to 1) confirm whether this NY_PA population is resistant to glyphosate and atrazine, and 2) determine the effectiveness of various postemergence herbicides alone or in mixtures to control it. Along with the NY_PA population, two previously known glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth populations from Connecticut (CT_PA) and Kansas (KS_PA), and a known glyphosate-susceptible population from Alabama (AL_SUS) were also evaluated. Results from the quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay revealed that the NY_PA population had an average of 180 copies of the 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) gene with a single EPSPS gene copy in the AL_SUS population. A greenhouse dose-response study revealed that the NY_PA and CT_PA populations had 7-fold to 11-fold resistance to atrazine. Nearly all postemergence herbicides tested, including 2,4-D, dicamba, saflufenacil, glufosinate, and lactofen alone or in mixtures with 2,4-D, dicamba, and glufosinate, provided effective control (90% to 100%) of Palmer amaranth weeds collected in Connecticut, Kansas, and New York. All these postemergence herbicides, alone or in mixtures, reduced shoot dry biomass of all three populations by 82% to 97% compared with plants in nontreated control plots. These results confirm the first report of Palmer amaranth populations from New York and Connecticut with resistance to multiple herbicides (glyphosate and atrazine). Effective postemergence herbicides tested in this research can be used to manage these Palmer amaranth populations.

Maternal consumption of a high-fat diet (mHFD) during perinatal life influences hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation and impacts the long-term physiological and metabolic health of offspring. Milk-derived extracellular vesicles (MEVs) are lipid-coated nanovesicles that transfer biological materials from mother to infant and can survive intestinal degradation and cross the blood-brain barrier. MEVs provide cytoprotection in peripheral organs; however, their pro-survival functions remain unknown in the neonatal brain. Further, sex differences resulting from MEV treatment require investigation, as male and female neonates display variable responses to early life nutrient stress. We investigated the interaction between MEVs and the heat shock protein response in the liver, hypothalamus, and prefrontal cortex in male and female neonatal rats exposed to perinatal mHFD at postnatal day 11. MEV treatment robustly modulated the HSR in female neonates with the largest response recorded in the prefrontal cortex. These results suggest that MEVs may influence pro-survival outcomes in the prefrontal cortex by activating HSF1-mediated pro-survival in a sex-specific manner.

Measuring waning in vaccine effectiveness (VE) is challenging due to potential depletion-of-susceptibles bias. Some SARS-CoV-2 studies excluded individuals with prior infection and adjusted for the probability of remaining uninfected. We applied this approach to assess waning influenza VE in Hong Kong during the 2012/2013 season. First, we estimated the infection risk for unvaccinated children using published serological and surveillance data. Next, we derived infection risk for vaccinated children, assuming VE against infection of 57%. Uncorrected VE from 14 to 270 days post-vaccination was estimated from hospitalized children. We calculated the rate of depletion of susceptibles given infection risk and VE corrected for depletion-of-susceptibles bias. Waning rates for uncorrected and bias-corrected VE were measured by comparing VE at day 270 versus day 14. Bias was assessed as the absolute difference between two waning rates in percentage points. Waning rate of uncorrected VE was overestimated by 5.9 percentage points or 1.3 percentage points when assessed up to day 120. Bias was substantial when assuming 80% unvaccinated, and all vaccinated children were initially uninfected, but minimal when these proportions were similar. The observed waning in 2012/2013 was unlikely due to depletion-of-susceptibles bias. Further studies across various conditions are needed to confirm our findings.

Notocotylidae is a family of digeneans with some aberrant morphological features (absence of ventral sucker), which as sexual adults parasitise herbivorous and molluscivorous birds and mammals. The phylogenetics and taxonomy of this family have many unresolved problems concerning the relatedness of genera and species and the reliability of identification of specimens for which molecular data are available. The aim of this study is morphological and molecular characterisation of the type species of Notocotylus Diesing, 1839 (Notocotylus triserialis Diesing, 1839) and its two congeners, Notocotylus pacifera (Noble, 1933) and Notocotylus sp., and verification of the monophyly of the genus Notocotylus within the taxonomic boundaries established in the recent revision. Notocotylus triserialis was collected from a Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons (Scopoli, 1769) taken down in the Russian Karelia, and the other two digenean species were derived from European Coots Fulica atra Linnaeus, 1758, from different locations in Eurasia (Eastern Europe and the Far East). We provide detailed morphological descriptions of the examined digeneans, supplemented with original line drawings. Notocotylus sp. is morphologically similar to N. pacifera but differs in cirrus sac length. Phylogenetic inference based on the 28S rRNA gene dataset places N. triserialis within a well-supported clade comprising several congeners, whereas N. pacifera is recovered outside this assemblage, forming a closer phylogenetic association with Pseudocatatropis dvoryadkini Izrailskaia, Besprozvannykh, Tatonova, Nguyen and Ngo, 2019. Thus, our data do not support the monophyly of the genus Notocotylus.

Although insect pollination has been shown to enhance yields of soybean, Glycine max (Linnaeus) Merrill (Fabaceae), the lingering misconception among growers that soybean does not benefit from insect pollination hinders the adoption of pollinator-friendly practices. As such, identifying the wild pollinators visiting soybean flowers can help raise awareness of their importance in soybean production. We surveyed wild bees and wasps visiting soybean flowers and carrying soybean pollen in an extensive field crop region of southeastern Canada (Ontario and Quebec). Insects were hand-netted from 19 soybean fields while they actively foraged on soybean flowers, and their corbicular or scopal loads and body surfaces were screened for soybean pollen. A total of 81 insects (77 wild bees and four wasps), representing 18 bee and four wasp species, were collected. The majority (91.4%) carried soybean pollen, indicating a potential role in soybean pollination. Generalist bumble bees and ground-nesting bees were the most common, suggesting that management practices that support these two groups are likely to be particularly relevant for growers in Canada.

Trichinella spiralis (T. spiralis) is a zoonotic parasitic worm that has a significant impact on both public health and the livestock industry. It is widely used in experimental studies because of several unique features of its life cycle that can be completed in a single host, including distinct intestinal and muscular phases of infection, and it can be easily maintained in laboratory animals. These characteristics make T. spiralis a valuable model for evaluating the efficacy of new drugs and vaccines against parasitic infections. The current work aims to evaluate the procedures used for Trichinella larval counting in experimental studies by comparing the magnetic stirring digestion method (MSDM) with individual muscle digestion and compression techniques under standardised, controlled conditions to assess their effectiveness and applicability. Fifteen male Swiss albino mice were orally infected with T. spiralis and sacrificed on day 35 post-infection. They were divided into three groups: group 1—MSDM for total larval count; group 2—individual digestion of masseter, diaphragm, gastrocnemius, and tongue muscles; and group 3—slide compression method of the same muscles. MSDM yielded the highest larval counts, with individual muscle digestion and compression methods generally producing significantly lower results, except tongue digestion, while correlation and concordance analyses identified gastrocnemius compression as an alternative despite overall poor agreement with the reference method. Therefore, MSDM is the most accurate method for larval counting in experimental studies, compared to individual muscle digestion or compression methods.

Computer vision–based precision weed control has proven effective in reducing herbicide usage, lowering weed management costs, and enhancing sustainability in modern agriculture. However, developing deep learning models remains challenging due to the effort required for weed dataset annotation and the difficulty of identifying weeds at different stages and densities in complex field conditions. To address these challenges, this study introduces an indirect weed detection method that combines deep learning and image processing techniques. The proposed approach first employs an object detection network to identify and label crops within the images. Subsequently, image processing techniques are applied to segment the remaining green pixels, thereby enabling indirect detection of weeds. Furthermore, a novel detection network—CD-YOLOv10n (You Only Look Once version 10 nano)—was developed based on the YOLOv10 framework to optimize computational efficiency. Redesigning the backbone (C2f-DBB) and integrating an optimized upsampling module (DySample) permitted the network to achieve higher detection accuracy while maintaining a lightweight structure. Specifically, the model achieved a mean average precision (mAP50) of 98.1%, which is a 1.4% percentage-point increase compared with the YOLOv10n baseline, a relevant improvement given the already strong baseline performance. At the same time, compared with YOLOv10n, its GFLOPs (giga floating-point operations per second) were reduced by 22.62%, and the number of parameters decreased by 15.87%. These innovations make CD-YOLOv10n highly suitable for deployment on resource-constrained platforms.

A new species of Pseudocorax (Lamniformes, Pseudocoracidae), Pseudocorax heteroserratus n. sp., is described from the upper Maastrichtian phosphates of Morocco. This novel taxon is recognized by a large sample of isolated teeth collected from the upper Couche III layer at the Sidi Chennane quarry in the Oulad Abdoun Basin, Khouribga Province, Morocco. P. heteroserratus is differentiated from other Pseudocorax species by bearing a mesiodistally elongated tooth base, broad crown, and highly variable serrations. The variability in number and extent of serrations along the carinae ranges from completely absent to fully serrated and finely to coarsely serrated, raising speculation on broader Pseudocorax phylogenetics and as to whether the genesis of serrations within Pseudocorax occurred in a singular progressive event or rather from two distinct events. The morphological variability within the new species highlights the importance of large sample sizes in selachian odontological studies using isolated teeth.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/a8e2d349-5b2e-4fdd-9e3e-a93a290bf875