Cat-Owner Relationship and Cat Behaviour : Effects of the COVID-19 Confinement and Implications for Feline Management

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of the Italian COVID-19 lockdown on the cat-owner relationship and on cat behaviour. In order to do so, we used a questionnaire to obtain information on the owner and cat's demographics, living environment, cat behaviour, and possible changes in some aspects of the cat-owner relationship. The questionnaire was distributed online when the lockdown was still ongoing and was completed by 548 cat owners, mainly women. Our findings suggest that the greater amount of time that owners spent at home with their cats, as a consequence of the social restrictions, had a positive effect on the owner's perception of their relationship with their cat (e.g., higher frequency of interaction, greater emotional closeness, reduced perceived costs of caring for the cat). Similarly, the lockdown seemed to have improved the welfare of many cats, as suggested by the positive changes in many of their behaviours, even for those cats with pre-existing behavioural problems. Overall, our findings suggest that the lockdown provided many cats with a more thriving physical and social environment. They also highlight the need to reconsider some cat management practices commonly implemented in non-exceptional circumstances. The restrictive measures implemented to stem the spread of COVID-19 abruptly changed the lives of many cats and their owners. This study explored whether the lockdown in Italy affected the cat-owner relationship, as well as cat behaviour and welfare. A survey that included questions on owner and cat's demographics, living environment, cat behaviour and a modified version of the Cat/Dog Relationship Scale (C/DORS) was distributed online during the lockdown and was completed by 548 cat owners, mainly women (81.6%). With regard to the C/DORS subscales, both emotional closeness and cat-owner interactions increased during confinement, as opposed to a reduction in perceived costs. The effect of the type of job, family role and owner's age on the C/DORS scores suggests that the relationship improved for those owners that, due to the lockdown, increased the time spent with their cats. For 58.8% of respondents, their cat's general behaviour did not change, but when changes occurred, they were mostly positive (20.4%). Attention-seeking and demanding behaviours were the most increased during lockdown (25.7%). Cats with pre-existing problematic behaviours tended to either remain stable or improve during confinement. The overall positive effects of lockdown-related environmental changes on a cat's behaviour suggest that some aspects of commonly implemented cat management practices should be revised to improve cat welfare in normal circumstances

Systematic Collaborative Reanalysis of Genomic Data Improves Diagnostic Yield in Neurologic Rare Diseases

Altres ajuts: Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Salut; Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament d'Empresa i Coneixement i CERCA Program; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; Instituto Nacional de Bioinformática; ELIXIR Implementation Studies (CNAG-CRG); Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Enfermedades Raras; Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa; European Regional Development Fund (FEDER).Many patients experiencing a rare disease remain undiagnosed even after genomic testing. Reanalysis of existing genomic data has shown to increase diagnostic yield, although there are few systematic and comprehensive reanalysis efforts that enable collaborative interpretation and future reinterpretation. The Undiagnosed Rare Disease Program of Catalonia project collated previously inconclusive good quality genomic data (panels, exomes, and genomes) and standardized phenotypic profiles from 323 families (543 individuals) with a neurologic rare disease. The data were reanalyzed systematically to identify relatedness, runs of homozygosity, consanguinity, single-nucleotide variants, insertions and deletions, and copy number variants. Data were shared and collaboratively interpreted within the consortium through a customized Genome-Phenome Analysis Platform, which also enables future data reinterpretation. Reanalysis of existing genomic data provided a diagnosis for 20.7% of the patients, including 1.8% diagnosed after the generation of additional genomic data to identify a second pathogenic heterozygous variant. Diagnostic rate was significantly higher for family-based exome/genome reanalysis compared with singleton panels. Most new diagnoses were attributable to recent gene-disease associations (50.8%), additional or improved bioinformatic analysis (19.7%), and standardized phenotyping data integrated within the Undiagnosed Rare Disease Program of Catalonia Genome-Phenome Analysis Platform functionalities (18%)

Impatto del lockdown da pandemia da Covid-19 sul comportamento dei gatti e sulla relazione gatto-proprietario

Il lockdown messo in atto per contrastare la pandemia da Covid-19 ha stravolto la vita delle persone ed è ipotizzabile che ciò abbia avuto un effetto anche sugli animali domestici. Nel nostro studio è stato indagato l’impatto del lockdown sul comportamento del gatto e sulla relazione gatto-proprietario, attraverso l’uso di un questionario compilato durante il lockdown, da Marzo 2020 a Maggio 2020. Dai risultati, è emerso che i gatti sono stati fonte di supporto sociale ed emotivo per le persone, in un periodo dominato da solitudine e incertezza; sono stati un grande aiuto per superare un momento critico come il confinamento. Anche la qualità di vita del gatto è migliorata. É stato riscontrato un avvicinamento emotivo da parte dei proprietari verso i gatti e una aumentata interazione con loro, principalmente nelle fasce di età e nelle categorie di lavori che si sono ritrovati, rispetto alla normalità, a passare maggior tempo con i propri animali. Questo può aver aumentato e migliorato la relazione tra gatto e proprietario, diminuendo il costo percepito nel prendersi cura di esso. Contrariamente alle aspettative, non sono state evidenziate differenze significative nei problemi comportamentali degli animali tra prima e durante il lockdown; quelli già presenti hanno anzi subito un lieve miglioramento. In conclusione, il legame tra l’uomo e i pets ha portato benefici ad entrambe le parti in questa situazione stressante, migliorando il rapporto tra i due ed il benessere del gatto

Pancreatic carcinoma development: new etiological and pathogenetic evidence

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) is a very aggressive cancer with a poor prognosis. To date, the causes and pathogenetic mechanisms involved in the development of this malignancy remain largely unknown. Therefore, additional studies are required to improve our knowledge of the events that occur during the process of pancreatic carcinogenesis. The purpose of this article is to describe the most recent evidence, concerning the possible risk factors and mechanisms that may contribute to determine the development of PAC, as well as models, such as the tensegrity model, that may explain this complex process. Available studies suggest that approximately 15-20% of human malignancies are somehow associated with chronic infection. Some epidemiological research has shown that some infectious agents represent risk factors for PAC. In particular, several reports showed that the infection caused by some micro-organisms, including helicobacter pylori and some bacterial species of oral microbiota, as well as by viral agents, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses, is associated with an increased probability of developing PAC. For the first time, observational studies and meta-analyses have suggested that HBV and HCV, two hepatotropic viruses with oncogenic properties, may be also risk factors for PAC. However, the small number of available reports, nearly all performed in Asian populations, limits their validity to these ethnic groups. Therefore, additional studies focusing on populations of different geographical areas and enrolling larger series of patients are required to confirm this association. Furthermore, an accurate description and a better understanding of the events and of the pathogenetic mechanisms involved in the process of pancreatic carcinogenesis, as proposed by the tensegrity model, might be a useful approach to effectively deal with this pathology