Impact of color-coded and warning nutrition labelling schemes: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

BackgroundSuboptimal diets are a leading risk factor for death and disability. Nutrition labelling is a potential method to encourage consumers to improve dietary behaviour. This systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) summarises evidence on the impact of colour-coded interpretive labels and warning labels on changing consumers’ purchasing behaviour.Methods and findingsWe conducted a literature review of peer-reviewed articles published between 1 January 1990 and 24 May 2021 in PubMed, Embase via Ovid, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and SCOPUS. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies were included for the primary outcomes (measures of changes in consumers’ purchasing and consuming behaviour). A frequentist NMA method was applied to pool the results. A total of 156 studies (including 101 RCTs and 55 non-RCTs) nested in 138 articles were incorporated into the systematic review, of which 134 studies in 120 articles were eligible for meta-analysis. We found that the traffic light labelling system (TLS), nutrient warning (NW), and health warning (HW) were associated with an increased probability of selecting more healthful products (odds ratios [ORs] and 95% confidence intervals [CIs]: TLS, 1.5 [1.2, 1.87]; NW, 3.61 [2.82, 4.63]; HW, 1.65 [1.32, 2.06]). Nutri-Score (NS) and warning labels appeared effective in reducing consumers’ probability of selecting less healthful products (NS, 0.66 [0.53, 0.82]; NW,0.65 [0.54, 0.77]; HW,0.64 [0.53, 0.76]). NS and NW were associated with an increased overall healthfulness (healthfulness ratings of products purchased using models such as FSAm-NPS/HCSP) by 7.9% and 26%, respectively. TLS, NS, and NW were associated with a reduced energy (total energy: TLS, −6.5%; NS, −6%; NW, −12.9%; energy per 100 g/ml: TLS, −3%; NS, −3.5%; NW, −3.8%), sodium (total sodium/salt: TLS, −6.4%; sodium/salt per 100 g/ml: NS: −7.8%), fat (total fat: NS, −15.7%; fat per 100 g/ml: TLS: −2.6%; NS: −3.2%), and total saturated fat (TLS, −12.9%; NS: −17.1%; NW: −16.3%) content of purchases. The impact of TLS, NS, and NW on purchasing behaviour could be explained by improved understanding of the nutrition information, which further elicits negative perception towards unhealthful products or positive attitudes towards healthful foods. Comparisons across label types suggested that colour-coded labels performed better in nudging consumers towards the purchase of more healthful products (NS versus NW: 1.51 [1.08, 2.11]), while warning labels have the advantage in discouraging unhealthful purchasing behaviour (NW versus TLS: 0.81 [0.67, 0.98]; HW versus TLS: 0.8 [0.63, 1]). Study limitations included high heterogeneity and inconsistency in the comparisons across different label types, limited number of real-world studies (95% were laboratory studies), and lack of long-term impact assessments.ConclusionsOur systematic review provided comprehensive evidence for the impact of colour-coded labels and warnings in nudging consumers’ purchasing behaviour towards more healthful products and the underlying psychological mechanism of behavioural change. Each type of label had different attributes, which should be taken into consideration when making front-of-package nutrition labelling (FOPL) policies according to local contexts. Our study supported mandatory front-of-pack labelling policies in directing consumers’ choice and encouraging the food industry to reformulate their products.Protocol registryPROSPERO (CRD42020161877).

Jing Song and co-workers report a systematic review and network meta-analysis assessing evidence on food labeling and purchasing decisions.     

Does point-of-sale nutrition information improve the nutritional quality of food choices?

Point-of-sale nutrition information has been adopted by numerous grocery stores to respond to the demand for easy-to-understand nutrition labeling by consumers. Although there is conflicting evidence regarding the effectiveness of providing nutrition information, previous research indicates simplified shelf nutrition labels may lead to healthier choices. However, these studies have not examined how different consumer segments respond to these labels, nor the differential impacts across foods. Using household purchase data from a store that voluntarily adopted the (now defunct) NuVal shelf nutrition labels (a 1-100 numeric score derived from a nutrition-profiling algorithm), we assess NuVal impacts across different consumers and foods. NuVal scores potentially influence not only purchase quantity but also likelihood of buying. Thus, the effect of NuVal was measured by estimating a two-part model and predicting consumers’ unconditional purchase responses. We found evidence of heterogeneous impacts of NuVal across consumers and foods. High-income households and households with children shifted their yogurt and frozen dinner purchases to more healthful items. In contrast, households with children and households headed by heads with college education slightly shifted their canned soup purchases to less healthful options. Our findings suggest that specific foods and consumer segments are influenced by simplified shelf nutrition information and further research is necessary to better understand its effect on consumer dietary quality.     

To See or Not to See: Do Front of Pack Nutrition Labels Affect Attention to Overall Nutrition Information?

Background

Front of pack (FOP) nutrition labels are concise labels located on the front of food packages that provide truncated nutrition information. These labels are rapidly gaining prominence worldwide, presumably because they attract attention and their simplified formats enable rapid comparisons of nutritional value.

Methods

Eye tracking was conducted as US consumers interacted with actual packages with and without FOP labels to (1) assess if the presence of an FOP label increases attention to nutrition information when viewers are not specifically tasked with nutrition-related goals; and (2) study the effect of FOP presence on consumer use of more comprehensive, traditional nutrition information presented in the Nutritional Facts Panel (NFP), a mandatory label for most packaged foods in the US.

Results

Our results indicate that colored FOP labels enhanced the probability that any nutrition information was attended, and resulted in faster detection and longer viewing of nutrition information. However, for cereal packages, these benefits were at the expense of attention to the more comprehensive NFP. Our results are consistent with a potential short cut effect of FOP labels, such that if an FOP was present, participants spent less time attending the more comprehensive NFP. For crackers, FOP labels increased time spent attending to nutrition information, but we found no evidence that their presence reduced the time spent on the nutrition information in the NFP.

Conclusions

The finding that FOP labels increased attention to overall nutrition information by people who did not have an explicit nutritional goal suggests that these labels may have an advantage in conveying nutrition information to a wide segment of the population. However, for some food types this benefit may come with a short-cut effect; that is, decreased attention to more comprehensive nutrition information. These results have implications for policy and warrant further research into the mechanisms by which FOP labels impact use of nutrition information by consumers for different foods.     

Relative contributions of local cell and passing fiber activation and silencing to changes in thalamic fidelity during deep brain stimulation and lesioning: a computational modeling study

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) and lesioning are two surgical techniques used in the treatment of advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) in patients whose symptoms are not well controlled by drugs, or who experience dyskinesias as a side effect of medications. Although these treatments have been widely practiced, the mechanisms behind DBS and lesioning are still not well understood. The subthalamic nucleus (STN) and globus pallidus pars interna (GPi) are two common targets for both DBS and lesioning. Previous studies have indicated that DBS not only affects local cells within the target, but also passing axons within neighboring regions. Using a computational model of the basal ganglia-thalamic network, we studied the relative contributions of activation and silencing of local cells (LCs) and fibers of passage (FOPs) to changes in the accuracy of information transmission through the thalamus (thalamic fidelity), which is correlated with the effectiveness of DBS. Activation of both LCs and FOPs during STN and GPi-DBS were beneficial to the outcome of stimulation. During STN and GPi lesioning, effects of silencing LCs and FOPs were different between the two types of lesioning. For STN lesioning, silencing GPi FOPs mainly contributed to its effectiveness, while silencing only STN LCs did not improve thalamic fidelity. In contrast, silencing both GPi LCs and GPe FOPs during GPi lesioning contributed to improvements in thalamic fidelity. Thus, two distinct mechanisms produced comparable improvements in thalamic function: driving the output of the basal ganglia to produce tonic inhibition and silencing the output of the basal ganglia to produce tonic disinhibition. These results show the importance of considering effects of activating or silencing fibers passing close to the nucleus when deciding upon a target location for DBS or lesioning.     

Nutrition and Physical Activity Program to Attenuate Obesity and Promote Physical and Metabolic Fitness in Elementary School Children

Obesity and low levels of physical and metabolic fitness are risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The purpose of this investigation was to attenuate obesity and improve physical and metabolic fitness in elementary school children. Schools have the opportunity, mechanisms, and personnel in place to deliver nutrition education, fitness activities, and a school food service that is nutritious and healthy. Cohorts from grades 3 to 5 in two school districts in rural Nebraska (Intervention/Control) participated in a 2-year study of physical activity and modified school lunch program. Data collection for aerobic capacity, body composition, blood chemistry, nutrition knowledge, energy intake, and physical activity was at the beginning and end of each year. Int received enhanced physical activity, grade specific nutrition education, and a lower fat and sodium school lunch program. Con continued with a regular school lunch and team sports activity program. At year 2, Int lunches had significantly less energy (9%), fat (25%), sodium (21%), and more fiber (17%). However, measures of 24-hour energy intake for Int and Con showed significant differences for sodium only. Physical activity in the classroom was 6% greater for Int compared to Con (p < 0.05) but physical activity outside of school was ?16 % less for Int compared to Con (p < 0.05). Body weight and body fat were not different between schools for normal weight or obese children. No differences were found for cholesterol, insulin, and glucose; however, HDL cholesterol was significantly greater and cholesterol/HDL was significantly less for Int compared to Con (p < 0.05). It appears that compensation in both energy intake and physical activity outside of school may be responsible for the lack of differences between Int and Con.     

Changes in the calorie and nutrient content of purchased fast food meals after calorie menu labeling: A natural experiment

BackgroundCalorie menu labeling is a policy that requires food establishments to post the calories on menu offerings to encourage healthy food choice. Calorie labeling has been implemented in the United States since May 2018 per the Affordable Care Act, but to the best of our knowledge, no studies have evaluated the relationship between calorie labeling and meal purchases since nationwide implementation of this policy. Our objective was to investigate the relationship between calorie labeling and the calorie and nutrient content of purchased meals after a fast food franchise began labeling in April 2017, prior to the required nationwide implementation, and after nationwide implementation of labeling in May 2018, when all large US chain restaurants were required to label their menus.Methods and findingsWe obtained weekly aggregated sales data from 104 restaurants that are part of a fast food franchise for 3 national chains in 3 US states: Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The franchise provided all sales data from April 2015 until April 2019. The franchise labeled menus in April 2017, 1 year prior to the required nationwide implementation date of May 2018 set by the US Food and Drug Administration. We obtained nutrition information for items sold (calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, saturated fat, sugar, dietary fiber, and sodium) from Menustat, a publicly available database with nutrition information for items offered at the top revenue-generating US restaurant chains. We used an interrupted time series to find level and trend changes in mean weekly calorie and nutrient content per transaction after franchise and nationwide labeling. The analytic sample represented 331,776,445 items purchased across 67,112,342 transactions. Franchise labeling was associated with a level change of −54 calories/transaction (95% confidence interval [CI]: −67, −42, p < 0.0001) and a subsequent 3.3 calories/transaction increase per 4-week period (95% CI: 2.5, 4.1, p < 0.0001). Nationwide implementation was associated with a level decrease of −82 calories/transaction (95% CI: −88, −76, p < 0.0001) and a subsequent −2.1 calories/transaction decrease per 4-week period (95% CI: −2.9, −1.3, p < 0.0001). At the end of the study, the model-based predicted mean calories/transaction was 4.7% lower (change = −73 calories/transaction, 95% CI: −81, −65), and nutrients/transaction ranged from 1.8% lower (saturated fat) to 7.0% lower (sugar) than what we would expect had labeling not been implemented. The main limitations were potential residual time-varying confounding and lack of individual-level transaction data.ConclusionsIn this study, we observed that calorie labeling was associated with small decreases in mean calorie and nutrient content of fast food meals 2 years after franchise labeling and nearly 1 year after implementation of labeling nationwide. These changes imply that calorie labeling was associated with small improvements in purchased meal quality in US chain restaurants.

In an interrupted time series analysis, Joshua Petimar and colleagues investigate the relationship between the implementation of calorie content labelling on fast food restaurant menus and changes in calorie and nutrition content of meal purchases from a restaurant franchise in the US.     

You Seem Certain but You Were Wrong Before: Developmental Change in Preschoolers’ Relative Trust in Accurate versus Confident Speakers

The present study tested how preschoolers weigh two important cues to a person’s credibility, namely prior accuracy and confidence, when deciding what to learn and believe. Four- and 5-year-olds (N = 96) preferred to believe information provided by a confident rather than hesitant individual; however, when confidence conflicted with accuracy, preschoolers increasingly favored information from the previously accurate but hesitant individual as they aged. These findings reveal an important developmental progression in how children use others’ confidence and prior accuracy to shape what they learn and provide a window into children’s developing social cognition, scepticism, and critical thinking.     

Animal Activity and Visitor Learning at the Zoo

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effect animal activity had on information visitors attended to at three bear exhibits. Attention was used as an indirect measure of what information visitors are consciously processing, or learning. It was hypothesized that visitors would be more likely to attend to specific information about animal behavior when bears were active rather than when inactive or out of sight. Visitor conversations were recorded during observations of polar, sloth and spectacled bears. Conversation was coded according to its content (animal-directed, human-focused, behavior, other) and to the corresponding behavior of the bear (active, inactive, pacing, not visible). The energy level of the activity was also considered. The hypothesis was supported for the polar bears, but less so for the other two bears. Behavior conversation was highest and human-directed conversation was lowest in the presence of highly animated polar bears. Behavior content was limited in the presence of the less animated sloth and spectacled bears. However, it was still significantly less frequent, and human content more frequent, when the sloth and spectacled bears were pacing and/or not visible. Therefore, what visitors attended to was influenced by what the bears were doing. The findings suggest that animated activity (rather than the more broadly defined ‘activity’) elicits the most visitor attention to behavior, and this in turn potentially facilitates visitor learning.     

Memory: enduring traces of perceptual and reflective attention

Attention and memory are typically studied as separate topics, but they are highly intertwined. Here we discuss the relation between memory and two fundamental types of attention: perceptual and reflective. Memory is the persisting consequence of cognitive activities initiated by and/or focused on external information from the environment (perceptual attention) and initiated by and/or focused on internal mental representations (reflective attention). We consider three key questions for advancing a cognitive neuroscience of attention and memory: to what extent do perception and reflection share representational areas? To what extent are the control processes that select, maintain, and manipulate perceptual and reflective information subserved by common areas and networks? During perception and reflection, to what extent are common areas responsible for binding features together to create complex, episodic memories and for reviving them later? Considering similarities and differences in perceptual and reflective attention helps integrate a broad range of findings and raises important unresolved issues.     

Functional Foods — Lebensmittel der Zukunft?: Maßgeschneiderte Ernährung

Functional foods might be helpful in improving the nutritional status and preventing certain diseases. In order to inform the consumer about the benefit of a product it will be necessary to enable scientifically proved health claims. These health claims have to be supported by studies and should make clear how a product can influence health. Only if there are proven facts, functional foods could establish on the market as foods of the future in the longer term beside the naturally healthful products. It will be of no use neither to the consumer nor to the food industry to promote these product group with exaggerated promises as a kind of miracle cure which can help against all diseases. The acceptance of the consumer will depend on credible product concepts. Another important precondition for functional foods is that there are absolutely no health risks associated with the consumption of these products. Recommendations regarding fortification and intake of functional foods must consider this aspect. Side effects by excessive doses or imbalances are to be avoided. The consumer should know that the point is not to take as much as possible of potentially healthful single substances but to show clearly that physiological dosages, which can also be attained by a higher intake of traditional food are associated with the best benefit‐risk relation, i.e. show the greatest benefit and minimal risk. In general functional foods do not resolve any nutritional problem. The effects are limited, especially if the nutrition is imbalanced (e.g. hyperenergetic, high fat). In these cases the addition of functional foods offers no or only small corrective effects. Functional foods represent no substitute for a fully balanced nourishment with a high amount of naturally healthy foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grain products as well as milk and milk products.     

Neural Mechanisms by Which Attention Modulates the Comparison of Remembered and Perceptual Representations

Attention is important for effectively comparing incoming perceptual information with the contents of visual short-term memory (VSTM), such that any differences can be detected. However, how attentional mechanisms operate upon these comparison processes remains largely unknown. Here we investigate the underlying neural mechanisms by which attention modulates the comparisons between VSTM and perceptual representations using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants performed a cued change detection task. Spatial cues were presented to orient their attention either to the location of an item in VSTM prior to its comparison (retro-cues), or simultaneously (simultaneous-cues) with the probe array. A no-cue condition was also included. When attention cannot be effectively deployed in advance (i.e. following the simultaneous-cues), we observed a distributed and extensive activation pattern in the prefrontal and parietal cortices in support of successful change detection. This was not the case when participants can deploy their attention in advance (i.e. following the retro-cues). The region-of-interest analyses confirmed that neural responses for successful change detection versus correct rejection in the visual and parietal regions were significantly different for simultaneous-cues compared to retro-cues. Importantly, we found enhanced functional connectivity between prefrontal and parietal cortices when detecting changes on the simultaneous-cue trials. Moreover, we demonstrated a close relationship between this functional connectivity and d′ scores. Together, our findings elucidate the attentional and neural mechanisms by which items held in VSTM are compared with incoming perceptual information.     

Science as a Way of Knowing: Man and Food

The author congratulates the Education Committee of the AmericanSociety of Biologists for undertaking the Science as a Way ofKnowing project. The project objective, to improve first-year,college-level biology courses, is excellent, and how to handlefood and man in the courses is an important issue needing attention. The author recognizes that course content should vary amonginstitutions because their programs serve widely divergentclientele.Suggestions are made concerning topics which the author believesgenerally should be given greater attention. Hunger and famine were recognized as being critical problemsin the world, and students should learn more about them. Scienceis humankind's great hope, and through it the problems the worldfaces are solvable. Instructors are encouraged to take a positiveapproach and demonstrate what science can do. Hunger and famine are largely the result of misguided nationaland international policies and not the result of our not knowinghow to meet the food needs of all the world's people. The challengeis as much to apply what we know as it is toincrease our stockof knowledge. This calls for greater emphasis on problem solving. Teachers are encouraged to view food in its broadest contextand call attention to the variations in the systems utilizedto produce and distribute it. Attention should be given to environmentalimpacts, efficiency, risk, and managerial requirements for thevarious systems. Global food needs in relation to the World's carrying capacityare discussed and information provided on the causes ofhungerand famine. Vital issues in food and hunger are discussed.     

Zika virus infection drives epigenetic modulation of immunity by the histone acetyltransferase CBP of Aedes aegypti

Epigenetic mechanisms are responsible for a wide range of biological phenomena in insects, controlling embryonic development, growth, aging and nutrition. Despite this, the role of epigenetics in shaping insect-pathogen interactions has received little attention. Gene expression in eukaryotes is regulated by histone acetylation/deacetylation, an epigenetic process mediated by histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs). In this study, we explored the role of the Aedes aegypti histone acetyltransferase CBP (AaCBP) after infection with Zika virus (ZIKV), focusing on the two main immune tissues, the midgut and fat body. We showed that the expression and activity of AaCBP could be positively modulated by blood meal and ZIKV infection. Nevertheless, Zika-infected mosquitoes that were silenced for AaCBP revealed a significant reduction in the acetylation of H3K27 (CBP target marker), followed by downmodulation of the expression of immune genes, higher titers of ZIKV and lower survival rates. Importantly, in Zika-infected mosquitoes that were treated with sodium butyrate, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, their capacity to fight virus infection was rescued. Our data point to a direct correlation among histone hyperacetylation by AaCBP, upregulation of antimicrobial peptide genes and increased survival of Zika-infected-A. aegypti.     

Reducing the level of nutrition of twin-bearing ewes during mid to late pregnancy produces leaner prime lambs at slaughter

The Australian prime lamb industry is seeking to improve lean meat yield (LMY) as a means to increasing efficiency and profitability across the whole value chain. The LMY of prime lambs is affected by genetics and on-farm nutrition from birth to slaughter and is the total muscle weight relative to the total carcass weight. Under the production conditions of south eastern Australia, many ewe flocks experience a moderate reduction in nutrition in mid to late pregnancy due to a decrease in pasture availability and quality. Correcting nutritional deficits throughout gestation requires the feeding of supplements. This enables the pregnant ewe to meet condition score (CS) targets at lambing. However, limited resources on farm often mean it is difficult to effectively manage nutritional supplementation of the pregnant ewe flock. The impact of reduced ewe nutrition in mid to late pregnancy on the body composition of finishing lambs and subsequent carcass composition remains unknown. This study investigated the effect of moderately reducing ewe nutrition in mid to late gestation on the body composition of finishing lambs and carcass composition at slaughter on a commercial scale. Multiple born lambs to CS2.5 target ewes were lighter at birth and weaning, had lower feedlot entry and exit weights with lower pre-slaughter and carcass weights compared with CS3.0 and CS3.5 target ewes. These lambs also had significantly lower eye muscle and fat depth when measured by ultrasound prior to slaughter and carcass subcutaneous fat depth measured 110 mm from the spine along the 12th rib (GR 12th) and at the C-site (C-fat). Although carcasses were ~5% lighter, results showed that male progeny born to ewes with reduced nutrition from day 50 gestation to a target CS2.5 at lambing had a higher percentage of lean tissue mass as measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and a lower percentage of fat during finishing and at slaughter, with the multiple born progeny from CS3.0 and CS3.5 target ewes being similar. These data suggest lambs produced from multiple bearing ewes that have had a moderate reduction in nutrition during pregnancy are less mature. This effect was also independent of lamb finishing system. The 5% reduction in carcass weight observed in this study would have commercially relevant consequences for prime lamb producers, despite a small gain in LMY.     

A pragmatic cluster randomised trial evaluating three implementation interventions

Background

One of the most consistent findings from clinical and health services research is the failure to translate research into practice and policy. As a result of these evidence-practice and policy gaps, patients fail to benefit optimally from advances in healthcare and are exposed to unnecessary risks of iatrogenic harms, and healthcare systems are exposed to unnecessary expenditure resulting in significant opportunity costs. Over the last decade, there has been increasing international policy and research attention on how to reduce the evidence-practice and policy gap. In this paper, we summarise the current concepts and evidence to guide knowledge translation activities, defined as T2 research (the translation of new clinical knowledge into improved health). We structure the article around five key questions: what should be transferred; to whom should research knowledge be transferred; by whom should research knowledge be transferred; how should research knowledge be transferred; and, with what effect should research knowledge be transferred?

Discussion

We suggest that the basic unit of knowledge translation should usually be up-to-date systematic reviews or other syntheses of research findings. Knowledge translators need to identify the key messages for different target audiences and to fashion these in language and knowledge translation products that are easily assimilated by different audiences. The relative importance of knowledge translation to different target audiences will vary by the type of research and appropriate endpoints of knowledge translation may vary across different stakeholder groups. There are a large number of planned knowledge translation models, derived from different disciplinary, contextual (i.e., setting), and target audience viewpoints. Most of these suggest that planned knowledge translation for healthcare professionals and consumers is more likely to be successful if the choice of knowledge translation strategy is informed by an assessment of the likely barriers and facilitators. Although our evidence on the likely effectiveness of different strategies to overcome specific barriers remains incomplete, there is a range of informative systematic reviews of interventions aimed at healthcare professionals and consumers (i.e., patients, family members, and informal carers) and of factors important to research use by policy makers.

Summary

There is a substantial (if incomplete) evidence base to guide choice of knowledge translation activities targeting healthcare professionals and consumers. The evidence base on the effects of different knowledge translation approaches targeting healthcare policy makers and senior managers is much weaker but there are a profusion of innovative approaches that warrant further evaluation.     

Patterns of Social Attention in Mandrills, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mandrillus sphinx</Emphasis>

Primates possess impressive cognitive abilities, especially in the social domain, and accumulate knowledge about their social environment. Studying how primates distribute their attention among group mates may help us understand how they obtain their social knowledge and what they consider as the most relevant social stimuli. We conducted 11 month of observations on glance rates in a captive group of 15 mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx). We investigated the factors affecting inter- and intraindividual variation in the attention paid to group mates. The total amount of attention given to group mates was related to the age, but not to the sex or the dominance rank of the subject. Mandrills looked more at high-ranking than at low-ranking group mates and more at their own kin than at nonkin. Furthermore, the attention directed to both the aggressor and its victim increased markedly after an aggressive episode. These results show mandrills actively monitor their group mates, thus presumably gaining valuable social information, and suggest that studying patterns of social attention may help to understand primate social knowledge and decision making.     

Probiotics,prebiotics, and COVID-19 infection: A review article

The beneficial live microbes of humans and animals are termed probiotics, and the chemical compounds that improve the growth of probiotics are known as prebiotics. Paraprobiotics and postbiotics refer to dead or inactivated living cells of probiotics and healthful metabolic products that are produced by the living cells of probiotics, respectively. Although the healthful, functional, nutritional, and immune benefits of probiotics and prebiotics are scientifically well established beyond a reasonable doubt, their potential biological roles against COVID-19 infection still warrant further clinical and laboratory investigation.     

A review of cashmere nutrition experiments with suggestions for improving their design and conduct

The scientific literature contains divergent views about the effects of nutrition on cashmere. The consequences of ignoring nutrition will be an increase in the number of goats suffering lower production, increased welfare risks and premature mortality. This review evaluated published reports to identify current knowledge and best practice in regard to the design and management of cashmere nutrition experiments. The ability of experiments to distinguish between treatments was evaluated based on their statistical evidence. Many experiments had serious deficiencies in their design, conduct and reporting. Six of 16 papers did not provide statistical information that would enable a reader to verify differences between treatments. For most experiments to detect nutrition affects at P < 0.05, they required a difference between treatments of 0.2–0.8 μm in cashmere mean fibre diameter and 15–42 g in clean cashmere production. Government Research Institutes research was characterised by more experienced authors conducting longer (P < 0.05) and larger (P < 0.05) experiments than those conducted by Universities. Much of the “debate” regarding the affects of nutrition on cashmere production arises from the misinterpretation of both experiments that did not detect statistically significant effects and of experiments that did detect statistically significant effects. Based on a comparison between experiments reporting responses to nutrition with those reporting no response, 13 design and management features were identified that are related to the ability of experiments to detect significant treatment affects. Methods must be adopted to reduce the variance in cashmere production within treatments, by using sufficient animals per treatment, and having replication to provide sufficient degrees of freedom to reduce error terms in analysis. The power of experimental designs should be evaluated before experiments commence. Cashmere production records from a previous full production year could be used as co-variants during statistical analyses but this requires that potential experimental goats are managed in one flock, without variations resulting from different grazing, reproduction or other management for a year prior to an experiment. It is preferable to use more productive and older goats, and goats that are used to handling, and to the conditions and feed to be used. Allocation of animals to treatments must take into account live weight. Nutrition treatments need to be sufficiently different to produce different growth curves. An appropriate control is needed such as live weight maintenance. Evidence of both nutrition intake and growth curves must be published with cashmere production data so the claims made can be verified by the actual responses. As cashmere production is an order of magnitude less than fibre production of Merino sheep or Angora goats and is more difficult to measure, the requirements for measurement, sampling and testing cashmere fleeces are summarised. The use of mid side cashmere patches to determine cashmere growth and quality is seriously biased and must be avoided, preferably by shearing goats prior to and at the end of experiments. In order to obtain higher fleece growth responses and improve the ability of experiments to detect treatment effects it is preferable to start cashmere growth experiments by midsummer and conduct experiments for at least 4 months. These requirements make it difficult for many university students to plan, undertake and complete long-term cashmere nutrition experiments without considerable management support. It is not possible for experiments to disprove the Null hypothesis regarding the effects of nutrition on cashmere production as they can only report a failure to detect treatment effects. Researchers and journals need to be more rigorous in providing statistical information including: degrees of freedom for error terms, treatment variances, standard error of differences or similar to enable readers to compare treatment effects. Publications that do not provide sufficient statistical information should be disregarded from future discussions. Claims that an experiment shows no responses to nutrition should be subject to rigorous examination using the issues identified in this review.     

Producing milk with 2.5% fat — the biology and health implications for dairy cows

Consumer demand for the major components of milk has changed considerably over the past 10 years. The trend in recent years is for reduced consumption of milk fat as a component of fluid milk and in dairy products such as butter, cheese and yoghurt. Matching production of milk components to demand improves biological efficiency and ultimately enhances the overall profitability of the dairy industry. Genetic selection of dairy cattle allows the dairy industry to respond to consumer demand in the long-term. However, it is not a satisfactory means of manipulating milk composition in the short- or medium-term. The potential of nutrition as a tool to alter the composition of milk — especially milk fat percentage — has not been fully exploited. Changes in the composition of the diet, in particular the forage to concentrate ratio, can result in changes in milk fat percentage in the range of 2.0 to 4.0%. The largest reduction in milk fat is achieved in mid- to late-lactation and this is also a time when cows are less susceptible to metabolic disorders. Although experiments designed to evaluate the long-term effects of feeding extreme fat-depressing diets have not been conducted there are sufficient examples of apparently healthy herds which produce milk with a fat content in the range of 2.5 to 3.0% to allow cautious optimism that low milk fat is not necessarily incompatible with ‘healthy’ cows.