Dietary fiber (DF) is receiving increasing attention, and its importance in pig nutrition is now acknowledged. Although DF for pigs was frowned upon for a long time because of reductions in energy intake and digestibility of other nutrients, it has become clear that feeding DF to pigs can affect their well-being and health. This review aims to summarize the state of knowledge of studies on DF in pigs, with an emphasis on the underlying mode of action, by considering research using DF in sows as well as suckling and weaned piglets, and fattening pigs. These studies indicate that DF can benefit the digestive tracts and the health of pigs, if certain conditions or restrictions are considered, such as concentration in the feed and fermentability. Besides the chemical composition and the impact on energy and nutrient digestibility, it is also necessary to evaluate the possible physical and physiologic effects on intestinal function and intestinal microbiota, to better understand the relation of DF to animal health and welfare. Future research should be designed to provide a better mechanistic understanding of the physiologic effects of DF in pigs.

The recent surge of data-driven methods in social policy have created new opportunities to assess existing poverty programs. The expectation is that the combination of advanced methods and more data can calculate the effectiveness of public interventions more accurately and tailor local initiatives accordingly. Specifically, nonmonetary indicators are increasingly being measured at micro levels in order to target social exclusion in combination with poverty. However, the multidimensional character of poverty, local context, and data matching pose challenges to data-driven analyses. By linking Dutch household-level data with policy-initiative-specific data at local level, we present an explorative study on the uptake of a local poverty pass. The goal is to unravel pass usage in terms of household income and location as well as the age of users. We find that income and age play a role in whether the pass is used, and usage differs per neighborhood. With this, the paper feeds into the discourse on how to operationalize and design data matching work in the multidimensional space of poverty and nonmonetary government initiatives.

In the present study two broad hypotheses about the origins of self-mutilation in psychiatric patients were evaluated. The first hypothesis states that self-mutilation originates from child abuse and experiences of neglect and is connected to dissociation in later life. The second hypothesis views self-mutilation as the consequence of impulse control problems. To test these two hypotheses, data concerning traumatic childhood experiences and dissociative symptoms (hypothesis 1), as well as data concerning aggressiveness, obsessive-compulsiveness and sensation seeking (hypothesis 2) were collected in a sample of 54 psychiatric inpatients. Twenty-four out of 54 patients (44%) reported having engaged in self-mutilation. Mean age of onset of this behaviour was 23 years. Self-report measures of self-mutilators were more in line with the first than with the second hypothesis. That is, patients who engaged in self-mutilation reported more traumatic childhood experiences and dissociative symptoms than did control patients. The two groups did not differ in terms of aggressiveness, obsessive-compulsiveness, and sensation seeking. In line with earlier studies, the current results indicate that self-mutilating behaviour is linked to a history of abuse and neglect.

Rodent models of schizophrenia (SCZ) are indispensable when screening for novel treatments, but quantifying their translational relevance with the underlying human pathophysiology has proved difficult. A novel systems methodology (shown in Figure 1) was developed integrating and comparing proteomic data of anterior prefrontal cortex tissue from SCZ post-mortem brains and matched controls with data obtained from four established glutamatergic rodent models, with the aim of evaluating which of these models represent SCZ most closely. Liquid chromatography coupled tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MSE) proteomic profiling was applied comparing healthy and “disease state” in human post-mortem samples and rodent brain tissue samples. Protein-protein interaction networks were constructed from significant abundance changes and enrichment analyses enabled the identification of pathophysiological characteristics of the disorder, which were represented across all four rodent models. Subsequently, these functional domains were used for cross-species comparisons. Five functional domains such as “development and differentiation” represented across all four rodent models, were identified. It was quantified that the chronic phencyclidine (cPCP) model represented SCZ brain changes most closely for four of these functional domains, by using machine-learning techniques. This is the first study aiming to quantify which rodent model recapitulates the neuropathological features of SCZ most closely. The methodology and findings presented here support recent efforts to overcome translational hurdles of preclinical psychiatric research by associating behavioural endophenotypes with distinct biological processes.

Inland water bodies contain significant amounts of carbon in the form of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) derived from a mixture of modern atmospheric and pre-aged sources, which needs to be considered in radiocarbon-based dating and natural isotope tracer studies. While reservoir effects in hardwater lakes are generally considered to be constant through time, a comparison of recent and historical DI14C data from 2013 and 1969 for Lake Constance reveals that this is not a valid assumption. We hypothesize that changes in atmospheric carbon contributions to lake water DIC have taken place due to anthropogenically forced eutrophication in the 20th century. A return to more oligotrophic conditions in the lake led to reoxygenation and enhanced terrigenous organic matter remineralization, contributing to lake water DIC. Such comparisons using DI14C measurements from different points in time enable nonlinear changes in lake water DIC source and signature to be disentangled from concurrent anthropogenically induced changes in atmospheric 14C. In the future, coeval changes in lake dynamics due to climate change are expected to further perturb these balances. Depending on the scenario, Lake Constance DI14C is projected to decrease from the 2013 measured value of 0.856 Fm to 0.54–0.62 Fm by the end of the century.

Psychosocial and mental health supports for war-affected children frequently are limited by a deficits focus. Current research and practice indicate the value of a strengths-based approach that supports children's resilience and supports a positive environment for children and builds on existing strengths. This paper analyzes how community-based child protection mechanisms are a cornerstone of prevention efforts, and views community-based action as a particularly valuable source for strengths-based support for war-affected children. It shows how collective planning and action on behalf of vulnerable children create high levels of community ownership and effective, sustainable supports for children. It suggests that significant work lies ahead in strengthening the evidence base regarding the effectiveness of strengths-based approaches and in transforming practice away from expert-driven approaches toward community-driven action.

Like earth and planetary scientists, most children are curious about the world, the solar system and the rest of the universe. However, for various reasons primary schools emphasise language and calculus rather than natural sciences. When science is taught, examination systems often favour knowledge of the ‘right’ answer over the process of investigation and logical reasoning towards that answer. In order to continue to spark children's curiosity and their motivation to learn and discover, science education hubs at universities and science museums could collaborate more with schools and teachers, and are beginning to do so. The objective of this position paper is to report on recent experiences in earth and planetary science education for pupils in primary and secondary education, to provide examples and inspiration for scientists. We report three examples of initiation and consolidation of science education in primary schools in the Netherlands: (1) a focus on asking questions and seeking information to reason towards the answer, initiated with a classroom game, Expedition Mundus, (2) bringing pupils and teachers together outside their school in the science museum to gain confidence and self-efficacy, and (3) having children ask their own questions and do their own research guided by the empirical cycle, for example on experimentation on sandbox scale models of channels and crater lake deltas as found on Mars. The focus on other planets, fictitious and real, stimulates pupils to ask questions about planet Earth. Finally, we argue that involvement of more scientists in science education would not only benefit primary and secondary schools and future students but also university education and science communication with society.

Oral microbes that colonize in the mouths of humans contribute to disease susceptibility, but it is unclear if host genetic factors mediate colonization. We therefore tested the hypothesis that the levels at which oral microbes colonize in the mouth are heritable. Dental plaque biofilms were sampled from intact tooth surfaces of 118 caries-free twins. An additional 86 caries-active twins were sampled for plaque from carious lesions and intact tooth surfaces. Using a reverse capture checkerboard assay the relative abundance of 82 bacterial species was determined. An integrative computational predictive model determined microbial abundance patterns of microbial species in caries-free twins as compared to caries-active twins. Heritability estimates were calculated for the relative microbial abundance levels of the microbial species in both groups. The levels of 10 species were significantly different in healthy individuals than in caries-active individuals, including, A. defectiva, S. parasanguinis, S. mitis/oralis, S. sanguinis, S. cristatus, S. salivarius, Streptococcus sp. clone CH016, G. morbillorum and G. haemolysans. Moderate to high heritability estimates were found for these species (h2 = 56%–80%, p < .0001). Similarity of the overall oral microbial flora was also evident in caries-free twins from multivariate distance matrix regression analysis. It appears that genetic and/or familial factors significantly contribute to the colonization of oral beneficial species in twins.

This study aimed to: (1) determine concordance rates of self-reported and subjectively determined indicators of oral malodor in twins; (2) determine the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors to levels of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) in intraoral and exhaled breath. Fifty-one twin pairs participated in the study. Measurements of VSCs were obtained by a halimeter. The presence of tongue coatings was determined and twins filled out a 32-item questionnaire on oral malodor indicators independently of one another. Estimates of heritability (h2) for halimeter measurements were computed by SOLAR. The concordance rates for the presence of tongue coating among identical and fraternal twins were 67% and 11%, respectively. In the 10 most informative items, 70% exhibited higher concordance rates for identical than for fraternal twins. Of particular interest were the differences in concordance rates for dry mouth, sinus infection and unusual sweating. The h2 for intra-oral breath was 0.28 ± 0.17 (NS), whereas the h2 for exhaled breath was 0.50 ± 0.20 (p = .0207). The concordance rates of tongue coatings and malodor indicators were higher in identical twins than in fraternal twins. Intraoral breath VSC values were primarily attributable to environmental factors, whereas exhaled breath VSC values were partially explained by genetic factors.

We report on the optical and charge transport properties of novel alkali metal chalcogenides, Cs2Hg6S7 and Cs2Cd3Te4, pertaining to their use in radiation detection. Optical absorption, photoconductivity, and gamma ray response measurements for undoped crystals were measured. The band gap energies of the Cs2Hg6S7 and Cs2Cd3Te4 compounds are 1.63 eV and 2.45 eV, respectively. The mobility-lifetime products for charge carriers are of the order of ~10-3 cm2/V for electrons and ~10-4 cm2/V for holes. Detectors fabricated from the ternary compound Cs2Hg6S7 shows well-resolved spectroscopic features at room temperature in response to ϒ -rays at 122 keV from a 57Co source, indicating its potential as a radiation detector.