Animal Behavior Research Articles

Study on need of monitoring sound pollution at developing urban localities

Environmental pollution is a very serious issue around the world due to development of humankind towards well-being and modernization. It not only impacts health but also affects over all biodiversity. Sound does nothing till it is up to certain limit, as it creates pressure on the particles of the medium, when the limit of pressure is increased, it becomes nuisance. Sound pollution is the one important agent out of other factors that disrupts the living of humans and its ecosystem. It is related with physical, psychological or emotional states. Sound pollution adversely affects the humankind and animals leading to irritation, loss of concentration, and loss of hearing and abnormal behaviour of animals. The present work emphasizes the need to monitor and control the sound pollution in the developing cities to tackle the related future problems, to investigate the status and validity of ambient noise standards in the Indian situation, also to propose need of noise control based on the available knowledge on noise policies and regulations. The study is an approach towards importance of monitoring the sound pollution, its sources and its effects on the human activities or the ecosystem with respect to degrees of exposure in the newly developing urban localities with moderate commercial activities. The impact of sound pollution will increase if appropriate measures are not taken.

Narrating Disruptive Encounters in the Forest: Hunting, Animal Lives, and Ecology

Over the last century, three popular writers and media personalities have written bestsellers and created TV programs in order to alert the general public to the suffering of wild animals as well as the deleterious effects on young trees caused directly or indirectly by hunting and forestry practices. Austrian journalist and writer Felix Salten published Bambi: A Story of Life in the Woods (1923), using a baby deer’s perspective. German journalist and literary author Horst Stern shocked the nation with his TV program Remarks about the Stag (1971), which shows the brutality of hunting; his 1989 Jagdnovelle (The Last Hunt) weaves together a hunter’s perspective with his prey animal’s experience. In recent years, German forester Peter Wohlleben has shifted the focus from animals to plants by publishing a series of popular books about the forest, starting with The Hidden Life of Trees (2015). This essay examines how Salten, Stern, and Wohlleben all humanize their animal and plant characters, including through a form of “critical anthromorphism” (Mossner)—and are criticized for it. They also incorporate ethology, i.e. observations of animal behavior and the forest environment, as well as scientific knowledge, as they attempt to evoke their audience’s empathy for their nonhuman characters. Hunting pressure and the violent disruption of the lives of the animals leads to an “ecology of fear” instead of an “ecology of subjects” that would align better with changing perceptions of “nature” (Soentgen). Ethical questions concerning the mass killing of Europe’s largest mammals remain as it does not succeed in reducing deer overpopulation or damage to the forest ecosystem, perpetuing Germany’s forest/game conflict.

Animal behaviour and dietary preference of dairy cows grazing binary and diverse pastures under the leaf regrowth stage defoliation criterion

In New Zealand, intensively managed pasture-based dairy systems rely on binary pastures mostly comprised of Lolium perenne L. and Trifolium repens L.. More frequent and extreme climatic events have been negatively affecting the persistency and production of these pastures, which now present increased seasonality, with marked peaks and troughs of production throughout the year. Diversification of plant species offers a solution to deal with increased seasonality. However, little is known about animal behaviour and dietary preferences of dairy cows grazing diverse pastures. The present study aimed to assess the grazing preferences of dairy cows when unrestrictedly offered binary (L. perenne and T. repens; Bi) and diverse pastures (L. perenne, Bromus valdivianus Phil., Dactylis glomerata L. and T. repens; Mix) subjected to three different leaf regrowth stage (LS) defoliation criteria. Secondarily, the study aimed to determine the main plant-related drivers for any potential animal preference. The treatments were MixLp (defoliated at L. perenne LS), BiLp (defoliated every time MixLp was defoliated), MixBv (defoliated at B. valdivianus LS) and BiBv (defoliated every time MixBv was defoliated), MixDg (defoliated at D. glomerata LS) and BiDg (defoliated every time MixDg was defoliated). Dairy cattle were evaluated over five agricultural seasons. The response variables were grazing time and location, bite rate, animal behavioural activity, pre-grazing herbage mass, undisturbed sward height, lamina:stem ratio, crude protein, metabolisable energy, organic matter digestibility, non-structural carbohydrates, neutral detergent fibre and lignin. Where significant differences were found, binary pastures presented lower sward height and higher non-structural carbohydrate content in comparison to the diverse pastures under the same LS defoliation criteria. However, no significant differences were found in the percentage of time that cows spent grazing both pastures. Season was the greatest contributor to the proportion variation found in all response variables, with values ranging from 47.55 % up to 88.77 %. In winter and spring, cows modulated their grazing behaviour (proportional time spent grazing, ruminating, or idling), investing more time actively grazing pastures under L. perenne LS interval of defoliation (2.5–3.0 LS), the criterion which resulted in shorter grazing rotations. This study allowed us to understand the suitability of diverse pastures from an animal perspective, and highlighted that independent of the pasture type, the positive productive and nutritional effects of defoliation management based on the LS may also extend themselves to positive outcomes in animal preference, interpreted as the percentage of time dairy cows spend grazing rather than ruminating or idling across and within seasons.

Automated home cage monitoring of an aging colony of mice-Implications for welfare monitoring and experimentation.

Our understanding of laboratory animal behavior and the implications of husbandry activities on their wellbeing remains incomplete. This is especially relevant with an aging colony as their activity patterns may change as they mature. Home Cage Monitoring (HCM) provides valuable insights into mouse activity within the animal's own environment and can shed light on acclimatization periods and responses to husbandry activities such as cage changing. The aim of this study was to monitor and explore changes in the activity and rest disturbance (RDI) patterns of an aging colony of male and female C57/BL6 mice. The mice were housed in the Digitally Ventilated Cage® system, for up to 18 months of age. Data was then downloaded to investigate how the activity patterns and RDI of the mice changed over time. Habituation, aging and cage change assessments were conducted using linear mixed models, while cage separation and stereotypic behavior investigations were conducted by visual inspection of the data. As expected during the study, mice were less active during the light phase compared to the dark phase. However, on arrival mice displayed heightened activity and RDI during the light phase and reduced activity and RDI during the dark phase, taking several days to adjust to baseline "acclimatized" patterns. With age, overall activity significantly decreased from 5 months until 14 months of age, after which it increased back toward baseline levels. We also observed activity spikes during our monitoring of this colony. Prolonged housing can lead to alarming stereotypic behaviors in animals. Cages of mice flagged for potential stereotypy displayed sustained activity spikes in the light and dark phases. Spikes in activity during the dark phase were much more pronounced than in the light phase. Cage changing led to an increase in the light phase activity and RDI compared to the previous day, with no observed difference in the dark phase post-cage change. This effect remained consistent as the animals aged. This study explores changes in the activity patterns of an aging colony of male and female C57/BL6 mice housed in the Digitally Ventilated Cage® system. We identified distinct aging phases concerning activity and RDI differences and a potential new welfare application for the DVC®, specifically for early detection of stereotypy. In conclusion, the adoption of HCM systems should be considered for long-term animal housing from both a welfare and behavioral perspective.

Antipredator responses of bats during short boreal nights with variable climatic conditions

Abstract The threat of predation can influence the behavior of animals. To minimize the impact of predation, animals rely on antipredatory responses and effectively balance these responses with other activities to maximize survival. Boreal bats are nocturnal animals that must forage within a narrow time frame during short, light summer nights with unpredictable weather. Despite having no specialized predators, boreal bats are still subject to predation. However, whether they express antipredatory responses has not been established. We studied antipredatory responses and responses to climatic conditions in boreal bats in 2 settings: 1) during roost emergence; and 2) during foraging within Tawny Owl territories and at locations with no Tawny Owl sightings. Acoustic data were collected at 23 roosts and 10 foraging grounds. Two controlled predation threats were used—playbacks of Tawny Owl calls and fledgling calls. Fledgling calls were only played during roost emergence. In both experiments, music and no treatment were used as controls. We also incorporated weather variables in the model. According to our results, bats tend to delay their emergence by 16 min when Tawny Owl calls were played outside the roost, but this effect was not noticeable when weather variables were included. There was no difference in exit time when music or fledgling sounds were played. While foraging, bats reduced their activity in Tawny Owl territories when calls of owls or music were played compared to no treatment. These results suggest that bats might display variable antipredatory responses, but weather influences behavior of bats more than predation risk, highlighting the importance of energy-saving strategies at northerly latitudes.

Personality shapes inter- and intraspecific interactions in rodents: a behavioral experiment with Brandt’s voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii)

Abstract Interspecific and intraspecific interactions are integral components of antagonistic and mutualistic networks of all animal species. These interactions are affected by various factors, such as morphological, physiological, and genetic characteristics. However, the impact of personality traits on animal inter- and intraspecific interactions remains unclear. We investigated the role of different personality types (proactive and reactive) in Lasiopodomys brandtii. We examined both intraspecific interactions with Lasiopodomys brandtii and interspecific interactions with Kunming mice. We found that for intraspecific interactions, proactive individuals had higher numbers of contacts with opponents, spent more time in the vicinity of an opponent, and moved greater distances within the vicinity of an opponent. For interspecific interactions, proactive individuals had higher numbers of contacts with opponents than reactive individuals. These results suggest that proactive individuals, especially male voles, tend to occupy dominant positions in both intraspecific and interspecific relationships. Consequently, our study is meaningful in understanding how personality traits affect animal behavior, species niche differentiation, and community dynamics and local biodiversity.

Development of a Marmoset Apparatus for Automated Pulling to study cooperative behaviors

In recent years, the field of neuroscience has increasingly recognized the importance of studying animal behaviors in naturalistic environments to gain deeper insights into ethologically relevant behavioral processes and neural mechanisms. The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), due to its small size, prosocial nature, and genetic proximity to humans, has emerged as a pivotal model toward this effort. However, traditional research methodologies often fail to fully capture the nuances of marmoset social interactions and cooperative behaviors. To address this critical gap, we developed the Marmoset Apparatus for Automated Pulling (MarmoAAP), a novel behavioral apparatus designed for studying cooperative behaviors in common marmosets. MarmoAAP addresses the limitations of traditional behavioral research methods by enabling high-throughput, detailed behavior outputs that can be integrated with video and audio recordings, allowing for more nuanced and comprehensive analyses even in a naturalistic setting. We also highlight the flexibility of MarmoAAP in task parameter manipulation which accommodates a wide range of behaviors and individual animal capabilities. Furthermore, MarmoAAP provides a platform to perform investigations of neural activity underlying naturalistic social behaviors. MarmoAAP is a versatile and robust tool for advancing our understanding of primate behavior and related cognitive processes. This new apparatus bridges the gap between ethologically relevant animal behavior studies and neural investigations, paving the way for future research in cognitive and social neuroscience using marmosets as a model organism.

Development of a Marmoset Apparatus for Automated Pulling to study cooperative behaviors.

In recent years, the field of neuroscience has increasingly recognized the importance of studying animal behaviors in naturalistic environments to gain deeper insights into ethologically relevant behavioral processes and neural mechanisms. The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), due to its small size, prosocial nature, and genetic proximity to humans, has emerged as a pivotal model toward this effort. However, traditional research methodologies often fail to fully capture the nuances of marmoset social interactions and cooperative behaviors. To address this critical gap, we developed the Marmoset Apparatus for Automated Pulling (MarmoAAP), a novel behavioral apparatus designed for studying cooperative behaviors in common marmosets. MarmoAAP addresses the limitations of traditional behavioral research methods by enabling high-throughput, detailed behavior outputs that can be integrated with video and audio recordings, allowing for more nuanced and comprehensive analyses even in a naturalistic setting. We also highlight the flexibility of MarmoAAP in task parameter manipulation which accommodates a wide range of behaviors and individual animal capabilities. Furthermore, MarmoAAP provides a platform to perform investigations of neural activity underlying naturalistic social behaviors. MarmoAAP is a versatile and robust tool for advancing our understanding of primate behavior and related cognitive processes. This new apparatus bridges the gap between ethologically relevant animal behavior studies and neural investigations, paving the way for future research in cognitive and social neuroscience using marmosets as a model organism.

Mixed representations of choice direction and outcome by GABA/glutamate cotransmitting neurons in the entopeduncular nucleus.

The basal ganglia (BG) are an evolutionarily conserved and phylogenetically old set of sub-cortical nuclei that guide action selection, evaluation, and reinforcement. The entopeduncular nucleus (EP) is a major BG output nucleus that contains a population of GABA/glutamate cotransmitting neurons (EP Sst+ ) that specifically target the lateral habenula (LHb) and whose function in behavior remains mysterious. Here we use a probabilistic switching task that requires an animal to maintain flexible relationships between action selection and evaluation to examine when and how GABA/glutamate cotransmitting neurons contribute to behavior. We find that EP Sst+ neurons are strongly engaged during this task and show bidirectional changes in activity during the choice and outcome periods of a trial. We then tested the effects of either permanently blocking cotransmission or modifying the GABA/glutamate ratio on behavior in well-trained animals. Neither manipulation produced detectable changes in behavior despite significant changes in synaptic transmission in the LHb, demonstrating that the outputs of these neurons are not required for on-going action-outcome updating in a probabilistic switching task.

Real-Time Road Safety: A Web and Mobile Application Approach to Mitigating Animal-Vehicle Conflicts in Sri Lanka

This research paper presents a pioneering web and mobile application aimed at mitigating the rising issue of animal-vehicle collisions in Sri Lanka, a concern that poses significant risks to both human safety and wildlife preservation. The application leverages a combination of knowledge-based case studies and crowd- sourcing techniques to enhance real-time road safety by identifying animal habitats and behaviors in proximity to users' locations. Through the web platform, users can input data on observed wildlife interactions and animal- vehicle conflicts, contributing to a comprehensive database for statistical analysis and predictive modelling. This information is used to generate real-time alerts and feedback, enabling drivers to take precautionary measures. The mobile application, utilizing geofencing and geotargeting technologies, provides real-time alerts, facilitates user feedback, and fosters community participation in ensuring safer roads. In addition to mitigating accidents, the application serves as an educational tool, offering guidelines and raising public awareness about the importance of road safety in areas rich in wildlife. By fostering a collaborative effort among users, this solution aims to reduce the frequency of animal-vehicle collisions, thereby promoting safer roads for both humans and animals in Sri Lanka.

The effects of Mid-Holocene foragers on the European oyster in Denmark

Oysters (Ostreidae) play a pivotal role in the health and productivity of marine ecosystems. Their unique ability to filter water, provide habitat, and contribute to nutrient cycling has remained underused in many parts of Europe following the destruction of vast oyster beds in the 19th and 20th centuries. The burgeoning field of oyster restoration for aquaculture has recognized the potential of these bivalves in promoting ecosystem resilience and enhancing biodiversity. Restoring oysters to previous levels requires the establishment of ecological baselines that ideally take into account the long-term changes of animal behavior as well as the surrounding environment prior to significant human intervention, an extremely challenging task. Archaeological shell middens are invaluable baseline archives and provide exclusive insights into past ecosystems. Here, we use demographic information from over 2,000 analyzed European oyster (Ostrea edulis) shells dating from ~5,660 to 2,600 cal BCE (calibrated years BCE), the largest archaeological growth rate dataset of mollusks yet. Through the analysis of size as well as ontogenetic age, we decouple anthropogenic from environmental impacts throughout Denmark. Our data show definitive influence of oyster size-age structure through human harvesting during the Mid-Holocene, with older oysters in the Mesolithic (mean: 4.9 y) than the Neolithic (mean: 3.7 y), irrespective of changes in growth rate. Furthermore, we present the metrics for long-term sustainable harvesting of oysters across environmental and socioeconomic transitions, providing demographic targets for current oyster restoration projects and valuable context in mitigating the impact of modern climatic change.

Measuring Docility, Boldness, and Exploration in the Free-Living Yellow Ground Squirrel Spermophilus fulvus Licht. (Sciuridae)

Studying intraspecific variation in animal behavior is one of the key trends in recent biology. Comparative behavioral studies of different species require developing an adequate methodology for every new species. We performed three types of behavioral tests with juveniles of the yellow ground squirrel, a large hibernating rodent. Docility tests with an estimation of the time and intensity of the animal locomotor activity in a bag showed low repeatability and appeared to be inappropriate for this species since most of the pups demonstrated freezing behavior. Boldness tests with an action camera installed near the squirrel’s burrow were more promising, but the juveniles still did not emerge aboveground for a long time after they escaped to their burrows, remained vigilant, and did not explore the new object. Test results indicate that yellow ground squirrels are very shy and cautious, which may be a persistent behavioral trait of this species.

MPE-HRNetL: A Lightweight High-Resolution Network for Multispecies Animal Pose Estimation.

Animal pose estimation is crucial for animal health assessment, species protection, and behavior analysis. It is an inevitable and unstoppable trend to apply deep learning to animal pose estimation. In many practical application scenarios, pose estimation models must be deployed on edge devices with limited resource. Therefore, it is essential to strike a balance between model complexity and accuracy. To address this issue, we propose a lightweight network model, i.e., MPE-HRNet.L, by improving Lite-HRNet. The improvements are threefold. Firstly, we improve Spatial Pyramid Pooling-Fast and apply it and the improved version to different branches. Secondly, we construct a feature extraction module based on a mixed pooling module and a dual spatial and channel attention mechanism, and take the feature extraction module as the basic module of MPE-HRNet.L. Thirdly, we introduce a feature enhancement stage to enhance important features. The experimental results on the AP-10K dataset and the Animal Pose dataset verify the effectiveness and efficiency of MPE-HRNet.L.

Mechanism of Gastrodin against neurotoxicity based on network pharmacology, molecular docking and experimental verification

BackgroundDisorders of glutamate metabolism and excessive release participat in multiple neuronal pathologies including ischemic stroke (IS), Alzheimer's disease (AD), or Parkinson's disease (PD). Recently, herbal medicines have been widely used and have shown satisfactory results in the treatment of neurological disorders. Gastrodin is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) used for the treatment of nerve injuries, spinal cord injuries, and some central nervous system diseases as well. This research examines the neuroprotective effects of Gastrodin against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in neuronal cells. MethodsThe HERB database was used to explore the active ingredients and target genes of Gastrodia Elata. The STRING database and Cytoscape software were used to screen and construct the Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI). Furthermore, we used molecular docking to predict the potential targets of Gastrodin. The effects of Gastrodin were revealed by western blot, calcium imaging, membrane clamp, CCK8 and flow cytometry. Neuronal oxidative stress and damage were assessed by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Neuronal morphology was examined using Golgi-Cox staining. Finally, animal behavior was examined using novel object recognition and fear conditioning tests. ResultsWe have obtained 22 components such as TM10, TM17, TM25 (Gastrodin), and 281 targets such as AKT, EGFR, and CDK1 through network pharmacology. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses revealed these genes were significantly enriched in protein phosphorylation, protein serine/threonine/tyrosine kinase activity, apoptosis and HIF-1 signaling pathways, etc. A higher affinity between Gastrodin and AKT was revealed by PPI analysis and molecular docking. Further, Gastrodin significantly inhibited Ca2+ influxes and excitatory synaptic transmission in cortical neurons. In addition, Gastrodin effectively alleviated neuron apoptosis, oxidative stress and damage. ConclusionGastrodin has neuroprotective effects against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity.

General anesthesia activates a central anxiolytic center in the BNST

Low doses of general anesthetics like ketamine and dexmedetomidine have anxiolytic properties independent of their sedative effects, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We discovered a population of GABAergic neurons in the oval division of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis that are activated by multiple anesthetics and the anxiolytic drug diazepam (ovBNSTGA). The majority of ovBNSTGA neurons express neurotensin receptor 1 (Ntsr1) and form circuits with brain regions known to regulate anxiety and stress responses. Optogenetic activation of ovBNSTGA or ovBNSTNtsr1 neurons significantly attenuated anxiety-like behaviors in both naive animals and mice with inflammatory pain, while inhibition of these cells elevated anxiety. Activation of these neurons decreased heart rate and increased heart rate variability, suggesting that they reduce anxiety by modulating autonomic responses. Our study identifies ovBNSTGA/ovBNSTNtsr1 neurons as a common neural substrate mediating the anxiolytic effect of low-dose anesthetics and a potential therapeutic target for treating anxiety-related disorders.

TIBA: A web application for the visual analysis of temporal occurrences, interactions, and transitions of animal behavior.

Data in behavioral research is often quantified with event-logging software, generating large data sets containing detailed information about subjects, recipients, and the duration of behaviors. Exploring and analyzing such large data sets can be challenging without tools to visualize behavioral interactions between individuals or transitions between behavioral states, yet software that can adequately visualize complex behavioral data sets is rare. TIBA (The Interactive Behavior Analyzer) is a web application for behavioral data visualization, which provides a series of interactive visualizations, including the temporal occurrences of behavioral events, the number and direction of interactions between individuals, the behavioral transitions and their respective transitional frequencies, as well as the visual and algorithmic comparison of the latter across data sets. It can therefore be applied to visualize behavior across individuals, species, or contexts. Several filtering options (selection of behaviors and individuals) together with options to set node and edge properties (in the network drawings) allow for interactive customization of the output drawings, which can also be downloaded afterwards. TIBA accepts data outputs from popular logging software and is implemented in Python and JavaScript, with all current browsers supported. The web application and usage instructions are available at tiba.inf.uni-konstanz.de. The source code is publicly available on GitHub: github.com/LSI-UniKonstanz/tiba.

Call for Your Life: Acoustic Structure and Age‐Sex Differences in Distress Calls of Red‐Necked Nightjars

ABSTRACTPredatory interactions result in strong selection pressures acting on multiple aspects of animal behaviour. Anti‐predator strategies are therefore common in most animals, typically signalling at various stages of a predation event. Many species of caprimulgids perform conspicuous anti‐predator displays, including stereotyped behaviours and vocal signals. Here, we described distress calls of red‐necked nightjars (Caprimulgus ruficollis), produced when birds are trapped and unable to escape during a predatory interaction. Distress calls are harsh, low‐frequency guttural vocalisations with irregular amplitude modulations. The age and sex of birds partially explained the acoustic variation observed, whereas size‐related morphological features were poor predictors of the acoustic structure. Age‐sex differences in distress calls may respond to physiological constraints associated with sexual dimorphism and/or developmental variation. Alternatively, directional selection associated with differential predation risk on each age‐sex class may have resulted in the observed differences in distress calls. The extremely deep voice and the harsh quality of distress calls fit the structure of aggressive signals and may resemble those produced by a larger animal. We propose that these calls serve as a last resort strategy to reduce post‐encounter risk of predation, either as a startling effect to facilitate escape or to attract other predators that could intimidate the captor.

Opto2P-FCM: A MEMS based miniature two-photon microscope with two-photon patterned optogenetic stimulation.

Multiphoton microscopy combined with optogenetic photostimulation is a powerful technique in neuroscience enabling precise control of cellular activity to determine the neural basis of behavior in a live animal. Two-photon patterned photostimulation has taken this further by allowing interrogation at the individual neuron level. However, it remains a challenge to implement imaging of neural activity with spatially patterned two-photon photostimulation in a freely moving animal. We developed a miniature microscope for high resolution two-photon fluorescence imaging with patterned two-photon optogenetic stimulation. The design incorporates a MEMS scanner for two-photon imaging and a second beam path for patterned two-photon excitation in a compact and lightweight design that can be head-attached to a freely moving animal. We demonstrate cell-specific optogenetics and high resolution MEMS based two-photon imaging in a freely moving mouse. The new capabilities of this miniature microscope design can enable cell-specific studies of behavior that can only be done in freely moving animals.

Positive Deviance in Nutritional Practices for Two-Year-Olds in Poor Fisherman Families in the Belawan Health Center Area, 2022

The problem of malnutrition is still the main problem faced in human resource development. The problem of growth and development of Baduta is a serious problem because at this age the process of physical and intellectual growth and development is critical. Malnutrition problems mostly occur in poor families but are not caused by poor families who have well-nourished children. The Belawan Community Health Center working area is one of the community health centers with the highest number of cases of malnutrition in Medan City. To overcome this, a program is needed that is believed to be effective and sustainable. One of the existing programs to overcome the problem of malnutrition and malnutrition is positive deviation. This research aims to identify positive behavior in feeding (type of food, processing of food ingredients, mealtimes and method of feeding) of toddlers who are well-nourished in poor fishing families in the Belawan Community Health Center Working Area in 2022. This research method is qualitative research with a narrative approach. Researchers studied individual lives by asking one or several individuals to tell stories about their lives related to positive behavior in feeding well-nourished animals. This information is then retold by the researcher in a narrative chronology. The findings of this research indicate that addressing nutritional challenges in children can be effectively achieved by leveraging the potential and resources within the community. This is done through the identification of positive deviant behaviors, particularly those related to beneficial feeding practices. These practices encompass aspects such as the types of food provided, the methods of food preparation, the timing of meals, and the approach to food administration. Keep up the great work! The way you’re thinking about integrating community strengths is spot-on for creating sustainable solutions.

MeHA: A Computational Framework in Revealing the Genetic Basis of Animal Mental Health Traits Under an Intensive Farming System-A Case Study in Pigs.

Intensively farmed animals such as pigs inevitably experience a certain degree of psychological stress, which leads to a reduction in production performance. Mental health traits are currently difficult to measure, resulting in a gap in understanding their genetic basis. To address this challenge, we propose a computational framework called mental health of animals (MeHA), capable of revealing genes related to animal mental health traits. Using MeHA, we identified 109 candidate genes associated with pig mental health and discovered their intricate connections with critical functions, such as memory, cognition, and neural development, which are essential components of mental health and cognitive performance. Importantly, our findings provide evidence of the potential impact of these genes on economically important traits, including meat quality and piglet survival. This research underscores the importance of genetic studies in enhancing our understanding of animal behavior and cognition, as well as promoting agricultural practices. By applying our approach to study the genetic basis of mental health in pigs as a case, we confirmed that our framework is an effective way to reveal genetic factors affecting animal mental health traits, which contributes to animal welfare and has potential implications for understanding human mental disorders.