Preterm infants have higher nutritional requirements than term neonates and are vulnerable to extrauterine growth restriction. Providing adequate nutritional support during the initial few weeks of life plays a crucial role in improving the short- and long-term outcomes of these infants. Emerging evidence on enteral feeding emphasises rapid feed advancement, early total enteral feeding and early human milk (HM) fortification for preterm babies. The objective of this review was to summarise the latest evidence around enteral nutrition in very low birth weight or very preterm infants (<32 weeks’ gestation) and provide evidence-based recommendations for practice. The strength of recommendations was graded using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine criteria. This review provides clinical practice guidelines on the following key domains: (1) feed initiation strategies including oral immune therapy, minimal enteral nutrition and early total enteral feeds; (2) type of milk for feeding preterm infants; (3) feed advancement strategies and standardised feeding regimen; (4) various approaches to HM fortification and (5) multivitamin and mineral supplementation. This updated review will serve as a practical guide for clinicians and dietitians in handling the difficulties related to the nutritional management of preterm infants and improving clinical outcomes.

Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL, Hermetia illucens), yellow mealworms (MW, Tenebrio molitor) and house crickets (HC, Acheta domesticus) are the most common production systems insects reared as an alternative protein source for human food or in livestock feeds. However, the nutrient composition, particularly of larval insects (BSFL and MW), varies significantly. This review will focus on the protein nutritional quality of these species, as well as describing how body composition of MW can be manipulated. These three insect species contain relatively high concentrations of protein (34–72%) and have reported digestibility which varies widely (48–99%). Digestible indispensable amino acid scores (DIAAS) for these three species are at best 75–92%, each with a different limiting indispensable amino acid. Both protein content and digestibility vary between species but also within species due to different feeds and product processing. The administration of exogenous Juvenile Hormone to MW feed causes a large and favourable increase in protein and decrease in fat content, thereby demonstrating the potential for MW nutrient composition to be manipulated to provide a higher value feed ingredient. A similarly agriculturally positive impact on MW nutrient composition, but also growth characteristics, can also be achieved by independently manipulating the individual macro- and micro-nutrient composition of MW’s feed. This demonstrates use of feeds with varying nutrient content, could potentially be used to differentially alter protein to fat ratios in MW and increase the total yield of protein. This would represent an important step in improving the commercial viability of mealworms as an animal feed.

We study real and monetary growth models with households endowed with limited foresight and planning only for a finite number of periods, despite being infinitely lived (myopia). In the real model, there emerges a unique Balanced Growth Path ($BGP$) characterized by sub-optimal capital accumulation. However, by relaxing myopia, it converges to the $BGP$ of the economy with perfect foresight. We then prove the existence of equilibria where money, even in absence of financial frictions or liquidity constraints, is positively valued and non-neutral, in contrast to usual results in infinite horizon. Specifically, there arise two monetary $BGPs$, where money is non-neutral along the first one and neutral along the second one. Eventually, we perform a global stability analysis and identify the optimal monetary policy maximizing welfare.

Sotol plants belong to the Dasylirion genus, a group of perennial angiosperms distributed from the southern United States to southern Mexico. They have been used historically for food and crafts, and they are the source of a distilled beverage called sotol. Since nearly all production relies on wild populations, identifying genotypes with strong growth potential is a priority. Early growth variation was evaluated in 30 half-sib families of sotol collected from southeastern Coahuila, along with a control population. A total of 522 plants were grown under greenhouse conditions using a one-way random design. Through 21 months, stem diameter was measured to assess early growth potential. Growth trends were modelled through longitudinal analysis with 3,460 data points. Heritabilities among genotypes were estimated based on the variance of predicted values from a mixed model. The most promising families were selected through best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP). The longitudinal analysis revealed significant genetic variation in stem diameter growth rate among genotypes over the 21-month period, and the trajectories were approximately linear. Heritability for stem diameter growth rate was estimated at 0.725 when the 30 families and the control genotype were included in the model. Without considering the control genotype, heritability was estimated at 0.707. BLUP allowed ranking of the 30 families for selection. The results show the existence of genetic variation in Dasylirion for early growth rate and open the possibility of selecting promising genotypes to be grown under cultivation conditions, with good behaviour in the greenhouse stage.

In 2020, over 13.4 million babies globally (>10% of all live births) were born preterm(1). Nutrition during the neonatal period plays a crucial role in supporting optimal growth, brain development, and reducing the risk of metabolic diseases later in life(2). Current guidelines on nutrition for preterm infants contain inconsistent recommendations(3), most of which are based on very low certainty of evidence. Challenges in formulating recommendations for nutrition in preterm infants partly arise from inconsistent reporting of outcomes in nutrition intervention studies(4). We aimed to develop a standardised reporting framework for measures of nutrition intake and growth outcomes in preterm nutrition studies. Measures of nutrition intake and growth outcomes were identified in a scoping review, curated, and presented in two real-time Delphi surveys to participants from three stakeholder groups with experience in preterm infants, nutrition, and growth: healthcare consumer; healthcare professional, and researcher. The first survey was to identify measures deemed critical for reporting in a minimum reporting set; the second on how to report these measures. Questions were rated for their importance on a 9-point Likert scale. Items were considered for inclusion when ≥80% of all participants scored the item as 7–9 (critical for inclusion) and <15% scored as 1–3, or when ≥80% of healthcare consumers scored the item as 7–9. The standardised reporting framework was finalised during three online consensus meetings, where stakeholders were given the opportunity to discuss and then vote on the importance of each item. Items receiving ≥80% “critical for inclusion” votes from all attendees or from consumers were included. We recruited 313 participants from 32 countries for survey 1, and 121 participants from 26 countries for survey 2. The proportions of stakeholder groups in both surveys were similar: 12% consumers; 73-77% healthcare professionals, and 11-15% researchers. Eight measures are included in the final standardised reporting framework:(1) the type of milk the baby receives;(2) the type of supplement to milk that a baby receives;(3) the nutrition that the baby actually receives;(4) the time period over which the measurement of the nutrition that the baby actually receives was made; (5) baby’s weight; (6) baby’s length/height; (7) baby’s head circumference; and (8) the time point at which, or the time interval over which, the measurement of size or growth was made. These eight measures are accompanied by 22 recommended measurement methodologies. This standardised reporting framework should be used in the development of future study protocols, evidence syntheses, and nutrition guidelines for preterm infants. Widespread adoption of this framework in preterm nutrition studies would improve the design of studies, the comparability of research findings, thereby facilitating reliable evidence synthesis, and potentially could support the development of evidence-based clinical guidelines and practice.

Plant morphogenesis relies on dynamic growth deformations at the cell and tissue scales driven by osmotic fluxes. A mechanistic understanding of this phenomenon demands a physical framework that integrates cell imbibition, tissue mechanics and water fluxes, as well as their biophysical and molecular regulations, within a theory of plant active matter capturing the open-system and out-of-equilibrium properties of tissues. Building on historical insights into growth geometry, physics and mechanics, combined with recent experimental results, we outline the key challenges in modelling plant growth and propose steps towards a unified physical theory of plant morphogenesis, in which biological regulation, mechanical forces and water fluxes interact to shape biological form through the fundamental principles of living matter.

We solve three problems raised in recent articles by Longstaff [Bull. Aust. Math. Soc. 102 (2020), 226–236; 103 (2021), 260–270; 104 (2021), 78–93]. We show that: (1) the length of an irreducible family of $n\times n$ rank-one matrices can take any value $1,2,\ldots ,n$; (2) the slot length of an irreducible pair of $n\times n$ matrices can exceed $2n-4$; and (3) we give bounds on the $1$-minimum spanning lengths of irreducible pairs.

Malnutrition remains a major public health challenge in low- and middle-income countries and disproportionately affecting children under five. Eggs, given their high nutrient density and relative physical or economic accessibility, have been tested for their effect on improving nutritional outcomes in children under five. However, findings from scientific exercises to test the impact of egg-based trials on child growth have not been systhematically pooled and synthesised. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to synthesise evidence on the impact of egg-based interventions on the nutritional status of children underfive as determined by weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ), weight-for-age z-score (WAZ), and height-for-age z-score (HAZ). Research articles of randomised controlled trials published between 2013 and 2023 were identified through a comprehensive search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL, Embase, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and African Index Medicus data bases. Articles evaluated the effect of egg-based interventions against alternative diets, behaviour-change education, or no alternative intervention were included. Primary outcomes are WHZ, WAZ, and HAZ. Random-effects models were used to pool effect sizes (mean difference), and subgroup analyses and meta-regression explored sources of heterogeneity. Publication bias was assessed using funnel plots and Egger’s test. Seven studies involving 3673 children met the inclusion criteria. Egg-based intervention significantly improved WAZ (MD: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.11–0.55) and WHZ (MD: 0.30; 95% CI: 0.12–0.48). However, no significant effect was observed on HAZ (MD: 0.05; 95% CI: –0.05–0.14). It is figuredout that egg-based interventions can improve weight-related nutritional outcomes (WHZ and HAZ) among children underfive in sub-Saharan Africa, but not linear growth (HAZ).

B. infantis abundance in the infant gut may be associated with growth and health outcomes. However, these relationships have not been widely studied in settings where B. infantis is a dominant early-life commensal and growth faltering is prevalent. Here, we estimated associations between neonatal B. infantis abundance and anthropometric outcomes up to 6 months of age in generally healthy infants in Dhaka, Bangladesh; diarrhoea and hospitalizations (at 1–2 and 6 months) were secondary morbidity outcomes. B. infantis stool absolute abundance was quantified by qPCR; for each infant, the primary exposure was mean abundance (0–28 days). Length-for-age, weight-for-age, and weight-for-length z-scores were derived at birth, 2, 3, and 6 months. Neonatal B. infantis abundance had a bimodal distribution, with 63% of infants having detectable B. infantis by 28 days of age. Anthropometric z-score distributions were shifted down, with means below zero. Neonatal B. infantis abundance was not associated with any anthropometric outcome at 2, 3, or 6 months of age (n = 830), or with the risks of diarrhoea or hospitalizations. The lack of association of neonatal B. infantis abundance with growth outcomes suggests that promoting early B. infantis colonization is unlikely to improve growth in populations with postnatal faltering.

Understanding trends in height and BMI, along with trajectories of weight status, is crucial to identifying the optimal timing for intervention. The objective of this study was to describe trends in height and BMI among children and adolescents and identify the trajectory of weight status over time. This was a longitudinal study with data collected annually (2013–2020). A total of 41 325 students aged 5–18 years from forty-seven schools participated in the study, and a subsample of 11 535 participants with at least five BMI measurements was used for the analyses. Mixed-effects analysis showed significant increases in height over the years for boys (0·19 cm, standard error 0·01, P < 0·001) and girls (0·15 cm, standard error 0·01, P < 0·001). Regarding BMI, an increasing trend over the years was also found in boys (0·04 kg/m2, se 0·01, P < 0·001) and girls (0·04 kg/m², se 0·01, P < 0·001). Analysing weight status trajectories, three groups were identified: consistently normal weight (males 63·7 %, females 64·5 %), increasingly overweight (males 21·8 %, females 20·7 %) and increasingly obese (males 14·5 %, females 14·8 %). We conclude that in adolescence, height was below expected, indicating that children are not reaching their maximum growth potential. Furthermore, the identification of increasing trajectories of overweight and obesity, starting in childhood, emphasises the progressive nature of excessive weight gain before adulthood. These findings highlight the early onset of nutritional deviations in this population, suggesting the need for interventions to promote healthy weight as children transition into adolescence to mitigate future health risks.