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"Jones, A. R"
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Exploration of key stakeholder views and experience of specialist schools’ food: a qualitative study
Background
School food standards in England aim to support healthy diets for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). While dietary advice is consistent across groups, SEND pupils may face unique challenges such as physical and sensory-related eating and drinking difficulties and higher rates of overweight. Nearly 45% of specialist school pupils qualify for Free School Meals (FSM). Despite the potential for school food to improve health outcomes, research on UK specialist school food provision remains limited.
Methods
A qualitative study was conducted in four purposively sampled specialist schools in North East England. Data were collected via online and face-to-face focus groups and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, including pupils, parents/carers, Allied Health Professionals and school staff. Recruitment was supported by designated school contacts. Consent and assent were obtained using accessible formats. Discussions explored school food provision, dietary needs, and influencing factors. Sessions were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using thematic framework analysis. Data collection occurred between October 2024 and January 2025.
Results
Twelve focus groups and eleven interviews were conducted across four specialist schools. Stakeholders highlighted efforts to meet pupils’ individual mealtime requirements, though challenges with modified diet provision and accommodating sensory preferences were common. Menu accessibility, food variety, and communication about food intake varied. Staff and families collaborated to support pupils, but concerns about hunger, food quality, and FSM uptake persisted. Some schools reported poor availability of foods suitable for modification. Variable flexibility in food ordering led to challenges in meeting individual pupil needs and concerns about dietary sufficiency in some settings. Stakeholder menu planning involvement differed across schools and catering models. Awareness of School Food Standards was mixed, with financial and staffing constraints affecting implementation.
Conclusions
Specialist school food provision must accommodate diverse pupil needs and comply with School Food Standards despite resource constraints. Challenges in meeting individual pupil needs contribute to low uptake of FSM among eligible pupils with potential negative impact on the nutritional quality of FSM and on service viability. Future specialist school food interventions co-created with all stakeholders will ensure the feasibility and acceptability of interventions which aim to deliver equitable access to healthy school food for all pupils.
Journal Article
Discussion paper: The naming of Potato virus Y strains infecting potato
Potato virus Y (PVY) strain groups are based on host response and resistance gene interactions. The strain groups PVYO, PVYC and PVYN are well established for the isolates infecting potato in the field. A switch in the emphasis from host response to nucleotide sequence differences in the virus genomes, detection of isolates recombining sequences of different strains, and the need to recognize isolates that cause necrotic symptoms in potato tubers have led to the assignment of new acronyms, especially to isolates of the PVYN strain group. This discussion paper proposes that any newly found isolates should be described within the context of the original strain groups based on the original methods of distinguishing strains (i.e., tobacco and potato assays involving use of 'differential' potato cultivars). Additionally, sequence characterization of the complete genomes of isolates is highly recommended. However, it is acceptable to amend the names of PVY isolates with additional, specific codes to show that the isolate differs at the molecular, serological or phenotypic level from the typical strains within a strain group. The new isolates should preferably not be named using geographical, cultivar, or place-association designations. Since many new variants of PVY are being discovered, any new static classification system will be meaningless for the time being. A more systematic investigation and characterization of PVY from potato at the biological and molecular levels should eventually result in a biologically meaningful genetic strain concept.
Journal Article
Black enough : stories of being young & black in America
A collection of short stories explore what it is like to be young and black, centering on the experiences of black teenagers and emphasizing that one person's experiences, reality, and personal identity are different than someone else.
Book
Differential captivity and experiential conditions and its impact on the behaviour and cognition of Picasso triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus)
In this study, we compared performance across four behavioural tasks in the same fish species (
Rhinecanthus aculeatus
), with one group held in long-term laboratory captivity and the other recently caught and temporarily housed at a field station laboratory. The aims of this study were twofold: first, to test whether captivity conditions influence performance in commonly used behavioural and cognitive assays; and second, to evaluate whether any of these tasks could serve as a practical tool for screening behavioural changes over time. The four tests used were a Novel Object Test, Puzzle Preference Test, Emergence Test, and Cylinder Test. We found that recently caught fish were generally more exploratory and more responsive to novel stimuli; however, their responses were object-specific, with increased neophobia towards some objects. Long-term captive fish were more variable in their responses across all tests. In the Emergence Test, long-term captive fish emerged faster but showed greater individual variability. In the Cylinder Test, all recently caught fish failed to swim around a transparent cylinder, whereas several long-term captive individuals showed possible evidence of inhibitory control. Our results demonstrate that captivity conditions can influence performance in behavioural tests at both group and individual levels. These findings have important implications for comparative cognition studies, particularly when interpreting results collected across different laboratory settings or captivity durations, even when working with the same species. Of the tasks used, the Emergence Test was identified as the most practical assay for tracking the effects of captivity on behaviour, as it was highly sensitive to individual differences and straightforward to run and analyse.
Journal Article
Digital image correlation and infrared thermography data for seven unique geometries of 304L stainless steel
Material Testing 2.0 (MT2.0) is a paradigm that advocates for the use of rich, full-field data, such as from digital image correlation and infrared thermography, for material identification. By employing heterogeneous, multi-axial data in conjunction with sophisticated inverse calibration techniques such as finite element model updating and the virtual fields method, MT2.0 aims to reduce the number of specimens needed for material identification and to increase confidence in the calibration results. To support continued development, improvement, and validation of such inverse methods—specifically for rate-dependent, temperature-dependent, and anisotropic metal plasticity models—we provide here a thorough experimental data set for 304L stainless steel sheet metal. The data set includes full-field displacement, strain, and temperature data for seven unique specimen geometries tested at different strain rates and in different material orientations. Commensurate extensometer strain data from tensile dog bones is provided as well for comparison. We believe this complete data set will be a valuable contribution to the experimental and computational mechanics communities, supporting continued advances in material identification methods.
Journal Article
Micromechanics of cellularized biopolymer networks
Collagen gels are widely used in experiments on cell mechanics because they mimic the extracellular matrix in physiological conditions. Collagen gels are often characterized by their bulk rheology; however, variations in the collagen fiber microstructure and cell adhesion forces cause the mechanical properties to be inhomogeneous at the cellular scale. We study the mechanics of type I collagen on the scale of tens to hundreds of microns by using holographic optical tweezers to apply pN forces to microparticles embedded in the collagen fiber network. We find that in response to optical forces, particle displacements are inhomogeneous, anisotropic, and asymmetric. Gels prepared at 21 °C and 37 °C show qualitative difference in their micromechanical characteristics. We also demonstrate that contracting cells remodel the micromechanics of their surrounding extracellular matrix in a strainand distance-dependent manner. To further understand the micromechanics of cellularized extracellular matrix, we have constructed a computational model which reproduces the main experiment findings.
Journal Article
A blended professional learning intervention for early childhood educators to target the promotion of physical activity and healthy eating: the HOPPEL cluster randomized stepped-wedge trial
Background
Childcare centres are important environments for promoting physical activity and healthy eating. Blended approaches to professional learning may help overcome existing challenges for educators in promoting these behaviours. This study aimed to test the effect of a blended professional learning program on healthy eating and physical activity in childcare.
Methods
Cluster randomized stepped-wedge trial in 15 childcare centres in Tasmania, Australia. Children aged 2-5y who attended at least two days per week were eligible to participate. Random assignment occurred at the centre level. Centre names were drawn out of a hat and then subsequently allocated to one of the three steps. The intervention comprised a 12-week blended professional learning program for educators. The main outcome was centre-level physical activity and healthy eating, assessed using the Environment and Policy Assessment Observation System (EPAO). All data collectors were blinded to step allocation. Analyses were according to intention to treat. The trial was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ACTRN12618000346279, date registered: 07/03/2018).
Results
Centres were recruited between January 2016 and February 2016. All centres were retained for the duration of the study. A total of 313 children were recruited with 291 analysed at the completion of the study (93%). The difference between groups for the EPAO total score was significant at the end of the maintenance period (adjusted difference = 14.63, 95% CI [1.33, 27.92],
p
= 0.03). Significant differences were found for the percentage of time children spent in light-intensity physical activity at the end of the intervention (adjusted difference = 0.01, 95% CI [0.00,0.01],
p
= 0.02) and maintenance periods (adjusted difference = 0.01, 95% CI [0.00,0.02],
p
= 0.04). To the best of the authors knowledge, there were no adverse events.
Conclusion
This intervention achieved a sustained improvement in physical activity and healthy eating in childcare centres. Further, it can be easily integrated into existing service provision, especially among centres with limited access to professional learning.
Trial registration
The study was registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (
ACTRN12618000346279
, date registered: 07/03/2018).
Journal Article
Geographical range, heat tolerance and invasion success in aquatic species
Species with broader geographical ranges are expected to be ecological generalists, while species with higher heat tolerances may be relatively competitive at more extreme and increasing temperatures. Thus, both traits are expected to relate to increased survival during transport to new regions of the globe, and once there, establishment and spread. Here, we explore these expectations using datasets of latitudinal range breadth and heat tolerance in freshwater and marine invertebrates and fishes. After accounting for the latitude and hemisphere of each species’ native range, we find that species introduced to freshwater systems have broader geographical ranges in comparison to native species. Moreover, introduced species are more heat tolerant than related native species collected from the same habitats. We further test for differences in range breadth and heat tolerance in relation to invasion success by comparing species that have established geographically restricted versus extensive introduced distributions. We find that geographical range size is positively related to invasion success in freshwater species only. However, heat tolerance is implicated as a trait correlated to widespread occurrence of introduced populations in both freshwater and marine systems. Our results emphasize the importance of formal risk assessments before moving heat tolerant species to novel locations.
Journal Article