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Early identification of tail biting and intervention are necessary to reduce tail lesions and their impact on animal health and welfare. Removal of biters has become an effective intervention strategy, but finding them can be difficult and time-consuming. The aim of this study was to investigate whether tail biting and, in particular, individual biters could be identified by detecting pig screams in audio recordings. The study included 288 undocked weaner pigs housed in six pens in two batches. Once a tail biter (n = 7) was identified by visual inspection in the stable and removed by the farm staff, the previous days of video and audio recordings were analyzed for pig screams (sudden increase in loudness with frequencies above 1 kHz) and tail biting events until no biting before the removal was observed anymore. In total, 2893 screams were detected in four pens where tail biting occurred. Of these screams, 52.9% were caused by tail biting in the observed pen, 25.6% originated from other pens, 8.8% were not assignable, and 12.7% occurred due to other reasons. In case of a tail biting event, screams were assigned individually to biter and victim pigs. Based on the audio analysis, biters were identified between one and nine days prior to their removal from the pen after visual inspection. Screams were detected earlier than the increase in hanging tails and could therefore be favored as an early warning indicator. Analyzing animal vocalization has potential for monitoring and early detection of tail biting events. In combination with individual marks and automatic analysis algorithms, biters could be identified and tail biting efficiently reduced. In this way, biters can be removed earlier to increase animal health and welfare.

Reliable animal identification in livestock husbandry is essential for various applications, including behavioral monitoring, welfare assessment, and the analysis of social structures. Although recent advancements in deep learning models have improved animal identification using biometric markers, their applicability remains limited for species without distinctive traits like pigs. Consequently, synthetic features such as ear tags have become widely adopted. However, challenges such as poor lighting conditions and the complexity of ear tag coding continue to restrict the effectiveness of Computer Vision and Deep Learning techniques. In this study, we introduce a robust, lighting-invariant method for individual pig identification that leverages commercially available ear tags within a sequential detection pipeline. Our approach employs four object detection models in succession to detect pigs, localize ear tags, perform rotation correction via pin detection, and recognize digits, ultimately generating a reliable ID proposal. In a first evaluation stage, we assessed the performance of each model independently, achieving a mAP0.95 value of 0.970, 0.979, 0.974 and 0.979 for the pig detection, ear tag detection, pin detection and ID classification model, respectively. In addition, our method was further evaluated in two different camera environments to assess its performance in both familiar and unfamiliar conditions. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves a very high precision of 0.996 in a familiar top-down camera scenario and maintained a strong generalization performance in an unfamiliar, close-up setup with a precision of 0.913 and a recall of 0.903. Furthermore, by publicly proposing three custom datasets for ear tag, pin, and digit detection, we aim to support reproducibility and further research in automated animal identification for precision livestock farming. The findings of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of ID-based animal identification and the proposed method could be integrated within advanced multi-object tracking systems to enable continuous animal observation and for monitoring specific target areas, thereby significantly enhancing overall livestock management systems.

Airway diseases in horses are often multifactorial and have a strong environmental background because diseased horses react to inhaled agents. In this study, the air quality of closed riding arenas was analyzed monthly in four riding arenas over the course of one year with special emphasis on bacteriology. A standardized riding program with one horse was used to measure exposures to airborne bacteria. Air samples were taken from the heights of the riders’ and the horses’ breathing zone (2.5 m and 1.5 m, respectively) at four sampling points before and after the riding program. The bacterial loads in all four arenas significantly increased after the riding program. However, the results showed no differences between the breathing zones of the riders (2.5 m height) and those of the horses (1.5 m height). Gram-positive bacteria and especially Staphylococcus spp. occurred as the predominant aerobic mesophilic bacteria; 80% of the identified Staphylococci were Staphylococcus xylosus. The cultured samples from the ground of the arenas indicated that the ground was probably the main source of airborne Staphylococcus spp. during riding. The impact of an additional bacterial burden in riding halls on the health of riders and horses remains unknown; however, the air quality of riding arenas should be of special interest in future studies in terms of the high air consumption of horses during training periods.

Providing pigs with organic enrichment material is important for satisfying pigs’ natural explorative behavior to prevent injurious tail biting and thus increase animal welfare in general. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of automatically supplied enrichment material of three different types (alfalfa pellets, oat bran pellets, or a mixture of both) and different enrichment frequencies (2, 4, or 6 supplies/day) on the behavior, the occurrence of tail biting, and daily weight gains of weaner pigs. The results showed significant effects and interactions of enrichment material, frequency and the time of day on the exploratory behavior, the occurrence of tail biting, and daily weight gains. Higher probabilities for pigs using the enrichment material were observed for groups provided with only two supplies/day or receiving oat bran pellets. Additionally, more pigs explored the material when supplied in the afternoon compared to the morning. Tail lesions began to increase in week 4 of the rearing period. Higher probabilities of having a tail lesion were recorded in groups provided with two supplies/day compared to four or six supplies per day. Furthermore, the highest probabilities for pigs having a tail length loss at the end of the rearing period were shown by groups receiving two supplies/day, with 0.170 for alfalfa pellets, 0.342 for mixture, and 0.486 for oat bran pellets. For daily weight gains, only alfalfa groups differed significantly from mixture groups in the case of two supplies/day. No differences were observed for the other factor combinations. These results showed the potential of an automatic enrichment device supporting pigs in performing their natural exploratory behavior in a conventional housing system. Higher numbers of daily enrichment supplies show beneficial effects to reduce the occurrence of tail biting and tail length losses.

Background/Purpose Health state utilities (HSU) are a subjective measure of an individual's health-related quality of life (HRQoL), adjusted by societal or patient relative preference weights for living in different states of health-related quality of life (HRQoL), derived from patient-reported responses to multi-attribute utility instrument (MAUI), and can be used as inputs for cost-utility analyses and in clinical assessment. This research assessed associations of diet with subsequent HSU in a large international cohort of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS), a progressive autoimmune condition of the central nervous system. Methods HSUs were generated from responses to Short-Form Six-Dimension (SF-6D) MAUI, and quality-of-the-diet by Diet Habits Questionnaire (DHQ). Cross-sectional, and short- and long-term prospective associations of DHQ with HSU evaluated by linear regression at 2.5- and 5-years. Pooled prospective associations between DHQ and HSU evaluated using linear and quantile regression. Analyses adjusted for relevant demographic and clinical covariates. Results Among 839 participants, baseline DHQ scores showed short- and long-term associations with subsequent HSU, each 10-unit increase in total DHQ score associated with 0.008–0.012 higher HSU (out of 1.00). These associations were dose-dependent, those in the top two quartiles of baseline DHQ scores having 0.01–0.03 higher HSU at follow-up, 0.03 being the threshold for a minimally clinically important difference. Fat, fiber, and fruit/vegetable DHQ subscores were most strongly and consistently associated with better HSU outcomes. However, baseline meat and dairy consumption were associated with 0.01–0.02 lower HSU at subsequent follow-up. Conclusions A higher quality-of-the-diet showed robust prospective relationships with higher HSUs 2.5- and 5-years later, substantiating previous cross-sectional relationships in this cohort. Subject to replication, these results suggest interventions to improve the quality-of-the-diet may be effective to improve HRQoL in people living with MS.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic auto-immune neuroinflammatory disorder presenting as a range of systemic and neurological symptoms, including cognitive impairment. Emerging evidence suggests that diets targeting brain health—such as the Mediterranean (MED) and Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diets—may improve cognitive function; however, studies examining their role in people living with MS are limited. Methods: We examined cross-sectional associations between diet and cognition data from 967 participants in the United Kingdom Multiple Sclerosis Register (UKMSR). Dietary pattern scores (alternate Mediterranean; aMED, and MIND) were derived from the 130-item EPIC-Norfolk food frequency questionnaire. Cognition was assessed using the MS-specific Cognitron-MS (C-MS) battery (13 tasks) and summarised as overall cognition (global G factor) and four domains (object memory, problem solving, information processing speed [IPS], and words memory). Cognitive outcomes were expressed as Deviation-from-Expected (DfE) scores standardised to demographic and device characteristics using external regression-based norms. Linear models were adjusted for total energy intake, MS phenotype, disease duration since diagnosis, and current disease-modifying therapy (DMT) use. Interactions tested moderation by MS phenotype (relapsing vs. progressive MS) and current DMT use (yes vs. no). Sensitivity analyses included within-domain multiple-comparison control, rank-based inverse-normal transformation, and winsorisation. Results: Greater alignment with aMED and MIND dietary patterns were associated with higher scores in specific cognitive domains but not in overall cognition. Higher aMED scores were associated most consistently with better IPS, while higher MIND scores were additionally associated with better words memory. In categorical models, participants with the middle or highest tertiles of aMED or MIND scores performed up to ~0.4 SD better on tasks of Verbal Analogies, Word Definitions, Simple Reaction Time, Words Memory Immediate, or Words Memory Delays compared with those in the lowest tertile. These findings were robust across sensitivity analyses. Stratified analyses showed differential cognitive performance and diet-cognition associations by MS phenotype and DMT use. Conclusions: Mediterranean and MIND dietary patterns showed modest cross-sectional associations with specific cognition domains, with differential cognitive performance in different subgroups according to MS phenotype and DMT use. Although causal inference is not possible, our findings indicate future MS-related dietary studies (longitudinal and/or randomised controlled trials) examining cognitive function domains across different MS subgroups are warranted.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important public health problem with a genetic component. We performed genome-wide association studies in up to 130,600 European ancestry participants overall, and stratified for key CKD risk factors. We uncovered 6 new loci in association with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), the primary clinical measure of CKD, in or near MPPED2, DDX1, SLC47A1, CDK12, CASP9, and INO80. Morpholino knockdown of mpped2 and casp9 in zebrafish embryos revealed podocyte and tubular abnormalities with altered dextran clearance, suggesting a role for these genes in renal function. By providing new insights into genes that regulate renal function, these results could further our understanding of the pathogenesis of CKD.

PurposeDiet has been investigated for its effects on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but there is limited research of its impact on Health State Utility (HSU), a metric for HRQoL. We aimed to investigate cross-sectional and prospective associations between diet quality and HSU in an international cohort of people with MS over the course of five years.MethodsHSUs were estimated by the SF-6D, and diet quality was estimated by the Diet Habits Questionnaire (DHQ). Cross-sectional relationships of DHQ with HSU and the short- and long-term effects of baseline DHQ with subsequent HSU were evaluated by linear regression at 2.5- and 5-year reviews. Prospective associations between DHQ and HSU were evaluated via lagged panel-data linear regression at 2.5- and 5-year reviews. Analyses were adjusted for relevant demographic and clinical covariates.ResultsAmong a sample of 839 participants, DHQ was cross-sectionally associated with higher HSU: participants in the top DHQ quartile had 0.06 higher HSU at 2.5-year (aβ:0.06,95%CI:0.04–0.08) and 0.04 at 5-year reviews (aβ=0.04,95%CI:0.01–0.07). Prospectively, highest quartile DHQ was associated with 0.03 higher HSU (aβ=0.03,95% CI:0.01–0.04). Highest baseline DHQ quartile was associated with a 0.03 higher HSU 2.5 (aβ=0.03,95%CI:0.01–0.05) and 5 years later (aβ=0.03,95%CI:0.00–0.05). The Pain HSU subdomain had the strongest associations with diet quality, while Fat and Fruit/vegetable DHQ subscores had the strongest associations with HSUs.ConclusionsHigher diet quality is associated with improved quality-of-life in people with MS indicating the potential of diet as a valuable adjunct to the management of MS.