Hayfeeders and other tools can improve health, welfare of stabled horses

Novel research offers affordable way to help horses thrive

University of California - Davis

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Fargo, a horse given a jolly ball during research on horse welfare and enrichment tools to improve behavior, health and welfare of stabled horses. (Jael Mackendorf / UC Davis)

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Credit: Jael Mackendorg/UC Davis

Simple items like hay feeders, giant rubber activity balls and shatter-proof mirrors can improve the health and welfare of stabled animals while also reducing frustration behaviors, according to University of California, Davis, research published in the journal Animals. 

The findings offer a low-cost way for owners to keep horses engaged while reducing the risk of ulcers, fragile leg bones and other health and behavioral issues. 

“Just like humans, animals can be bored, so enrichment can be a way to stimulate the mind,” said lead author Miranda Brauns, who conducted the research as a master’s student studying animal biology at UC Davis. “These enrichment tools really are improving the behaviors of animals, and by improving behavior, they’re also improving the animal’s physical and mental health.”

Wild vs. stabled horses 

On a normal day, wild horses walk up to 20 miles and spend at least half of that time grazing. Stabled horses spend most of their days in stalls without many opportunities to forage for food, but their natural instincts and needs do not go away, said Amy McLean, an associate professor in the Department of Animal Science, who oversaw the research. 

“A lot of horses, as well as zoo animals held in captivity or in these smaller confined spaces, may display behaviors that are not wanted as a way of coping with their environment that has less stimulation in it,” McLean said. “We can improve the environment so it’s not compromising their health just standing in one spot.”

The research was a collaboration with the UC Davis Intercollegiate Equestrian Team.

“We had a lot of student athletes who were monitoring behavior and assisted throughout those studies,” McLean said. “I love working with the equestrian team, and I think that’s important for the student athletes to have that research opportunity as well.”

Smart halters and video monitoring 

Nine competition horses — American Quarter and American Paint — were fitted with smart halters that measured heart and respiratory rates. 

“Incorporating the physiological parameters was a way that we get insight into the emotional state of the animal,” said Brauns, who is now a primate technician at the Duke Lemur Center in North Carolina. 

Four times each day over four weeks student athletes, volunteers and Brauns brought out the enrichment items. The interactions were observed and videotaped daily, amounting to 720 hours of video to review. 

Enrichment timing matters

During midday when food wasn’t present, researchers saw increases in heartbeat, grazing and movement and decreases in frustration behavior, such as stomping, kicking and tail swishing. One horse, number 39, managed to pick up the activity ball and move it around. Others kicked around the hay feeder. Mares tended to dislike the mirrors while Geldings seemed more interested.

“I see that as a positive response, because the horse is interacting with the enrichment tool,” McLean said. “If you know in between feedings or in between exercise, your horse may be a little bored in a stall or confined space, that's when you should offer a hay ball, or the jolly ball. By introducing these various tools at certain times of the day, I think it really can improve equine welfare for the industry.”

During the last week of the research, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 was played. That component of the research was not included in this paper, though McLean’s lab has done subsequent experiments on the effects of noise on horses and hopes to continue that work. 

Ahmed Ali at Clemson University and Jeannine Berger at Sacramento Veterinary Behavior Services also contributed to this research.

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Journal

Animals

DOI

10.3390/ani15192779 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Physiological and Behavioral Responses of Stabled Horses (Equus caballus) to Three Types of Environmental Enrichment

Article Publication Date

17-Sep-2025

 

The sensory world: New discoveries in touch, sound, and speech

Sensory development, dysfunction, and illusion shed light on how we experience the world

Society for Neuroscience

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SAN DIEGO — Scientists have been working to understand how we sense the world around us. These findings will be presented at Neuroscience 2025, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.

Senses are critical for processing the outside world. The nervous system sends signals to the brain, where they are interpreted and processed, creating our ability to see, hear, smell, taste, balance, and feel pain and touch. Neuroscientists are investigating key questions about how the brain processes certain sensory information, how sensory capabilities develop, and the mechanisms underlying sensory dysfunctions.

Today’s new findings show that:

• Whether a stroke on the sole of the foot feels like a tickle, a gentle touch, or a painful prod depends on its speed and force, and by looking at changes in heart rate, sweating, and breathing, we can predict whether the touch was experienced as ticklish. (Konstantina Kilteni, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour; Karolinska Institute)
• Humans experience speech illusions when the face and voice of talker don’t match. Researchers showed that a deep neural network also reported the illusion, suggesting that AI tools could be used to study human perception. (Michael Beauchamp, University of Pennsylvania)
• Recordings of brain activity in children watching movie clips showed that their auditory cortices had an emerging preference for speech over music as they developed, suggesting how the brain might separate speech from background noise. (Liberty Hamilton, University of California, Berkeley)
• Scientists used gene therapy to restore hearing in congenitally deaf mice. The animals’ brains developed an internal representation of sound within 48 hours — challenging the idea that lack of early sound experience limits hearing recovery. (Daniel Polley, Massachusetts Eye and Ear / Harvard Medical School)

"Everything we know about the world comes from our senses converting energy to signals that are interpreted in the brain,” said Benjamin A. Rowland, PhD, professor of translational neuroscience at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and moderator of the press conference. “It is essential for us to understand how these processes work to enhance their performance, rehabilitate disorders and build functional artificial systems with biological inspirations. The presentations highlight how cutting-edge technologies are being used to help us reach these goals.”

For complete access to Neuroscience 2025 in-person and online, request media credentials. This research was supported by national funding agencies including the National Institutes of Health and private funding organizations.

Sunday, November 16, 2025

9–10 a.m. PST

San Diego Convention Center, Room 15A, and online for registered media

Sensory Press Conference Summary       

• These studies examined how brains process information such as touch and sound from the outside world.
• Three studies centered hearing (the speech illusion, sound distinction in the developing brain, and restoration of hearing); one studied touch (what constitutes tickling).
• Two of the studies worked with humans, one used a computer model, and one used a mouse model.

Characterizing and decoding tickle responses in humans: A multimodal approach

Konstantina Kilteni, konstantina.kilteni@ki.se, Abstract PSTR298.19

• Researchers explored what makes a touch feel ticklish and analyzed behavioral and physiological reactions across 36 subjects.
• Using a robotic device to deliver strokes to the sole of the foot, scientists demonstrated that a "ticklish" touch is one at a medium speed — not as slow as a gentle touch — and with relatively strong force, but not so strong as a painful prod.
• The researchers also demonstrated that it was possible to use facial expressions, voice, heart rate, breathing, and sweating to predict whether a participant experienced a touch as ticklish.
• The results suggest that ticklish touch has unique and measurable characteristics.

Mcgurk perception in 165 humans tested in-person and 165 artificial neural networks

Michael Beauchamp, Michael.Beauchamp@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu, Abstract PSTR173.14

• The McGurk effect is an audio-visual illusion in which watching a video of a speaker saying one syllable ("ga") while hearing an audio recording of a different syllable ("ba") produces the experience of a nonexistent third syllable, distinct from the other two ("da").
• Using a deep neural network called AVHuBERT that can transcribe audiovisual speed with 99% accuracy, researchers showed that it also reported the illusory “da” syllable.
• The results suggest that, despite differences from human brains, deep neural networks could be a useful model of human perception.

Direct brain recordings showing neural prioritization of speech over music in children

Liberty Hamilton, liberty.hamilton@berkeley.edu, Abstract PSTR222.12

• To pay attention in noisy environments, listeners must separate incoming streams of audio that often happen simultaneously. Researchers sought to understand how the brain processes competing sounds — such as speech and music — as it develops.
• Using intracranial brain recordings from 51 young people with epilepsy (aged 4–22) while they were passively listening to speech and music at the same time, the scientists found that as these individuals got older, parts of their auditory cortex showed an emerging preference for speech over music.
• These results suggest that the brain prioritizes speech over other sounds and may help improve learning environments.

Awakening normal cortical sound processing and perception in deaf adult mice lacking all developmental auditory experience

Daniel Polley, Daniel_Polley@meei.harvard.edu, Abstract PSTR280.04

• According to the "critical period" theory, sensory stimulation in early life is necessary for normal sensation and perception. The theory suggests people born with congenital hearing loss — lacking early auditory experience — would be limited in hearing recovery.
• Researchers tested this theory with a congenitally deaf mouse model. They restored hearing via cochlear gene therapy. Neural recordings from the auditory cortex showed that hearing emerged within 48 hours of gene therapy treatment, and receptive fields for different tones emerged within five days. After three weeks, the animals could detect basic sounds, discriminate between complex sounds, and respond to auditory stimuli at levels approaching normal hearing controls.
• The results show that the deaf adult brain can develop an internal representation of sound even without early experience, suggesting that the “critical period” may not permanently limit recovery.

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The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is an organization of nearly 30,000 basic scientists and clinicians who study the brain and the nervous system

 

Study finds longer, more consistent addiction medication use among youth sharply lowers risk of overdose, hospitalization

Mass General Brigham

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Among 11,600 youth in Massachusetts who started buprenorphine, only 1 in 4 maintained high adherence for a full year
• Those who remained adherent for 12 months had almost half the risk of overdose, and fewer emergency department visits and hospitalizations, compared with those who discontinued early
• Findings suggest that longer, more consistent treatment could be lifesaving for youth amid the ongoing fentanyl crisis

 

New research from Mass General Brigham finds that adolescents and young adults who stayed on the medication buprenorphine for at least a year had markedly lower risks of opioid overdose and hospitalization compared with peers who discontinued medication early or took it inconsistently. The results, published in Pediatrics, are especially relevant as youth overdose death rates recently reached record highs, driven by fentanyl. 

“We are commonly asked in youth addiction treatment how long to stay on medication and how strictly it must be taken to provide protection,” said lead and corresponding author Scott Hadland, MD, MPH, MS, chief of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Mass General Brigham for Children. “Our findings suggest that maintaining high adherence for at least a year substantially reduces overdose risk. It’s a clear message to clinicians, families and youth that longer treatment saves lives.”

The study analyzed data on 11,649 youth aged 13-26 who initiated buprenorphine in Massachusetts between 2014 and 2020. Using the Massachusetts Public Health Data Warehouse—a comprehensive statewide dataset linking medical, pharmacy, and mortality records—the team identified four patterns of medication use: high adherence for 12 months (24%), low adherence for 12 months (28%), discontinuation after 3-9 months (16%), and discontinuation in under 3 months (33%).

Compared to youth with high adherence for 12 months, those who stopped within 3-9 months had an 82% higher risk of opioid overdose, while those who stopped in under 3 months had a 76% higher risk. Youth who were on medication for 12 months but had low adherence had a 46% higher risk. Youth who stayed on medication for a year and had high adherence also had lower rates of emergency department visits and hospitalizations.

While buprenorphine is the only medication approved for opioid use disorder in adolescents under 18, many families and youth elect to discontinue treatment after just weeks or months once they see improvements. However, the study’s findings show that consistent, year-long use likely provides the greatest protection against overdose and other serious outcomes.

“Opioid use disorder is a condition that can come and go over the course of several years,” said Hadland. “Staying on treatment longer—even when things feel better—may prevent relapse and save a young person’s life.”

The study underscores the importance of helping youth adhere to treatment, including through the use of long-acting injectable buprenorphine and providing enhanced support for youth with co-occurring mental illness or housing instability.

“Amid the fentanyl era, short-term treatment is simply not enough,” said Hadland. “Clinicians, insurers, and health systems should do everything possible to help young people continue medication for at least a year or longer. This is a key step toward reducing youth overdose deaths.”

 

Authorship: In addition to Hadland, authors include Simeon D. Kimmel, Shapei Yan, Amy L. Bettano, Wei-Hsuan Lo-Ciganic, Sarah M. Bagley, Jessica B. Calihan, Heather E. Hsu, and Marc R. Larochelle.

Disclosures: Hadland is a member of the editorial board of Pediatrics. Lo-Ciganic has received grants from Merck Sharp & Dohme and Bristol Myers Squibb, holds a pending patent (U1195.70174US00), and has been compensated by Teva Pharmaceuticals for consulting services unrelated to this work. Kimmel reports receiving consulting fees from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services.

Funding: The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (K23DA045085, R01DA057566, K18DA059913, and related grants). Coauthors included researchers from Boston Medical Center, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the University of Pittsburgh.

Paper cited: Hadland SE et al. “Buprenorphine Treatment Duration and Adherence among Youth and Subsequent Health Outcomes” Pediatrics DOI: 10.1542/peds.2025-071147

 

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Journal

PEDIATRICS

DOI

10.1542/peds.2025-071147 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Study Finds Longer, More Consistent Addiction Medication Use Among Youth Sharply Lowers Risk of Overdose, Hospitalization

 

Research on intelligent analysis method for dynamic response of onshore wind turbines

ELSP

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The proposed intelligent analysis method bridges high-fidelity modeling and computational efficiency. It uses an iterative algorithm to identify optimal mode shapes, achieving a key response error of less than 3.5% against the high-fidelity benchmark OpenFAST, enabling faster and reliable wind turbine dynamic simulation.

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Credit: Xuhong Zhou/Chongqing University, Jiepeng Liu/Chongqing University, Guoqing Huang/Chongqing University, Liang Cao/Hunan University, Maolin Dai/Chongqing University

Researchers have developed a high-fidelity 13-degree-of-freedom nonlinear model and an intelligent algorithm for wind turbine dynamic analysis. This framework accurately captures complex tower-blade interactions, including often-neglected torsional effects, achieving a remarkable agreement with high-fidelity benchmarks. Published in Smart Construction, this work provides a powerful and efficient tool for structural assessment and future optimization of large-scale wind energy systems.

The global push for sustainable energy has cemented wind power's role in the renewable transition. However, designing safe and cost-effective onshore wind turbines requires a deep understanding of their dynamic behavior under complex environmental loads. Traditional modeling approaches often struggle to balance computational efficiency with simulation accuracy, particularly in capturing the full coupled dynamics of the entire system.

Addressing this challenge, a research team led by Professor Xuhong Zhou from Chongqing University has developed an innovative nonlinear dynamic modeling and intelligent analysis framework for onshore wind turbines. Their study introduces a comprehensive 13-degree-of-freedom (13-DOF) multibody model derived using Euler-Lagrange formalism.

"This model provides a holistic view of wind turbine dynamics," explains Professor Guoqing Huang. "A key advancement is the explicit incorporation of the tower's torsional degree of freedom, an aspect often simplified in conventional models but critical for accurate load assessment in the upper tower sections."

The tower and blades are modeled as Euler-Bernoulli beams capable of capturing both bending and torsional deformations, with aerodynamic loads computed via an enhanced Blade Element Momentum theory. To tackle the critical challenge of selecting optimal vibration mode functions—which significantly impact computational cost and result accuracy—the team proposed an intelligent mode selection algorithm. This algorithm automatically identifies the most suitable mode shapes based on structural response convergence.

"A major hurdle in efficient simulation is choosing the right modal representations without sacrificing physical accuracy," says Professor Jiepeng Liu. "Our intelligent algorithm systematically optimizes this selection, striking a balance that avoids the prohibitive computational cost of high-fidelity commercial tools while maintaining high accuracy."

The numerical simulations, implemented symbolically in MATLAB®, were rigorously validated against OpenFAST, a widely recognized high-fidelity simulation tool from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), using the NREL 5-MW reference turbine as a benchmark. The results demonstrated that the proposed model effectively captures nonlinear and coupled dynamic behavior.

"The validation showed a close agreement with OpenFAST outputs, with relative errors in key response metrics, such as tower-top and blade-tip displacements, maintained within 3.5%," notes Doctor Maolin Dai from Chongqing University. "This level of accuracy, achieved at a fraction of the computational expense, is highly promising for engineering applications."

This modeling framework offers a reliable tool for the structural dynamic assessment of existing turbines and establishes a solid foundation for future applications in optimization and control of large-scale wind energy systems. By enabling more accurate and efficient simulations, it can contribute to the design of lighter, safer, and more economically competitive wind turbine towers, which account for a significant portion of project costs.

"The framework is particularly suitable for preliminary design, parameter sensitivity studies, and dynamic response analysis," concludes Associate Professor Liang Cao from Hunan University. "It charts a clear path for developing next-generation, performance-driven design tools for the wind energy industry."

The team acknowledges future directions, including further theoretical refinement to capture more complex dynamic couplings and expansion of the model's validation under non-steady-state conditions like turbulent inflow.

This paper "Research on intelligent analysis method for dynamic response of onshore wind turbines" was published in Smart Construction (ISSN: 2960-2033), a peer-reviewed open access journal dedicated to original research articles, communications, reviews, perspectives, reports, and commentaries across all areas of intelligent construction, operation, and maintenance, covering both fundamental research and engineering applications. The journal is now indexed in Scopus, and article submission is completely free of charge until 2026.

Citation:

Dai M, Cao L, Huang G, Zhou X, Liu J. Research on intelligent analysis method for dynamic response of onshore wind turbines. Smart Constr. 2025; 20250028. https://doi.org/10.55092/sc20250028

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Journal

Smart Construction

DOI

10.55092/sc20250028 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Research on intelligent analysis method for dynamic response of onshore wind turbines

Article Publication Date

12-Nov-2025