An Evaluation of a Behaviour Assessment to Determine the Suitability of Shelter Dogs for Rehoming

We evaluated a scheme for assessing shelter dog behaviour, which used 28 tests and rated responses from 0 (positive response) to 5 (fear, tonic immobility, or escape attempts). The assessment was evaluated for 236 dogs, and was repeated by a different assessor for 39 dogs approximately 80 days after rehoming to determine relevance of individual test components. A new owner survey evaluated satisfaction with the dog. A total of 130 of 236 dogs passed (score ≤ 70), 24 scored 71–80 (referred for behavioural modification), and 82 (score > 80) failed. Scores were mainly unaffected by dog type and environmental variables, but decreased if dog faeces from a previous test was present in the arena during a test. Shelter tests only correlated with repeat tests if there was no direct contact with assessors. Adopters were satisfied with their dogs, despite reporting some behaviour problems. The shelter assessment was therefore robust against most outside influences but did not predict responses to people well

Management of Bleeding Associated with Malignant Wounds

Abstract Bleeding malignant wounds in palliative care patients can be anxiety-provoking for patients, their caregivers, and healthcare providers, and can be difficult to manage. We present the case of a 60-year-old man with a bleeding neck wound due to squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx admitted to our inpatient palliative care unit. Management of bleeding included local wound care measures and psychosocial support for the patient and his wife. We review therapeutic approaches to managing bleeding malignant wounds with the aim of providing clinically useful information.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98457/1/jpm%2E2011%2E0286.pd

Lubiprostone ameliorates the cystic fibrosis mouse intestinal phenotype

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in the <it>CFTR </it>gene that impair the function of CFTR, a cAMP-regulated anion channel. In the small intestine loss of CFTR function creates a dehydrated, acidic luminal environment which is believed to cause an accumulation of mucus, a phenotype characteristic of CF. CF mice have small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, an altered innate immune response, and impaired intestinal transit. We investigated whether lubiprostone, which can activate the CLC2 Cl^-channel, would improve the intestinal phenotype in CF mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>Cftr^tm1UNC</it>(CF) and wildtype (WT) littermate mice on the C57BL/6J background were used. Lubiprostone (10 μg/kg-day) was administered by gavage for two weeks. Mucus accumulation was estimated from crypt lumen widths in periodic acid-Schiff base, Alcian blue stained sections. Luminal bacterial load was measured by qPCR for the bacterial 16<it>S </it>gene. Gastric emptying and small intestinal transit in fasted mice were assessed using gavaged rhodamine dextran. Gene expression was evaluated by Affymetrix Mouse430 2.0 microarray and qRT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Crypt width in control CF mice was 700% that of WT mice (<it>P </it>< 0.001). Lubiprostone did not affect WT crypt width but, unexpectedly, increased CF crypt width 22% (<it>P </it>= 0.001). Lubiprostone increased bacterial load in WT mice to 490% of WT control levels (<it>P </it>= 0.008). Conversely, lubiprostone decreased bacterial overgrowth in CF mice by 60% (<it>P </it>= 0.005). Lubiprostone increased gastric emptying at 20 min postgavage in both WT (<it>P </it>< 0.001) and CF mice (<it>P </it>< 0.001). Lubiprostone enhanced small intestinal transit in WT mice (<it>P </it>= 0.024) but not in CF mice (<it>P </it>= 0.377). Among other innate immune markers, expression of mast cell genes was elevated 4-to 40-fold in the CF intestine as compared to WT, and lubiprostone treatment of CF mice decreased expression to WT control levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results indicate that lubiprostone has some benefits for the CF intestinal phenotype, especially on bacterial overgrowth and the innate immune response. The unexpected observation of increased mucus accumulation in the crypts of lubiprostone-treated CF mice suggests the possibility that lubiprostone increases mucus secretion.</p

The effects of mining machinery noise of different frequencies on the behaviour, faecal corticosterone and tissue morphology of wild mice (Mus musculus)

Mining noise has a wide variety of frequency spectra and is a potential source of stress for wildlife. We evaluated the effects of mining machinery noise on behaviour and associated physiological parameters at two isoenergetic frequency ranges: high (>2 kHz) and low (≤2 kHz), the latter being less audible to mice, our model species. Effects of these two frequency spectra on behaviour, organ morphology and faecal corticosterone of wild mice were compared with a control treatment with no extra auditory stimuli. The mice exposed to high frequency noise spent less time in their nest than those exposed to low frequency noise or those in the control treatment, and they spent more time circling, especially anticlockwise, which in conjunction with elevated faecal corticosterone levels may reflect a greater right brain hemisphere stress-related response, particularly in females. Low frequency mining noise reduced grooming and circling, suggesting decreased physiological arousal due to mild stress. Low frequencies were also associated with increased faecal corticosterone in males compared to controls, which may be related to gender-based differences of the ear canal that affect frequency sensitivity. In conclusion, high frequency and low frequency mining machinery noise produced stress-related responses that may be important for the animals’ welfare and survival

Auditory laterality in a nocturnal, fossorial marsupial (Lasiorhinus latifrons) in response to bilateral stimuli

Behavioural lateralisation is evident across most animal taxa, although few marsupial and no fossorial species have been studied. Twelve wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons) were bilaterally presented with eight sounds from different contexts (threat, neutral, food) to test for auditory laterality. Head turns were recorded prior to and immediately following sound presentation. Behaviour was recorded for 150 seconds after presentation. Although sound differentiation was evident by the amount of exploration, vigilance and grooming performed after different sound types, this did not result in different patterns of head turn direction. Similarly, left-right proportions of head turns, walking events and food approaches in the post-sound period were comparable across sound types. A comparison of head turns performed before and after sound showed a significant change in turn direction (&chi;2 1 = 10.65, P = 0.001) from a left preference during the pre-sound period (mean 58% left head turns, CI 49-66%) to a right preference in the post-sound (mean 43% left head turns, CI 40-45%). This provides evidence of a right auditory bias in response to the presentation of the sound. This study therefore demonstrates that laterality is evident in southern hairy-nosed wombats in response to a sound stimulus, although side biases were not altered by sounds of varying context

Production and decay of evolving horizons

We consider a simple physical model for an evolving horizon that is strongly interacting with its environment, exchanging arbitrarily large quantities of matter with its environment in the form of both infalling material and outgoing Hawking radiation. We permit fluxes of both lightlike and timelike particles to cross the horizon, and ask how the horizon grows and shrinks in response to such flows. We place a premium on providing a clear and straightforward exposition with simple formulae. To be able to handle such a highly dynamical situation in a simple manner we make one significant physical restriction, that of spherical symmetry, and two technical mathematical restrictions: (1) We choose to slice the spacetime in such a way that the space-time foliations (and hence the horizons) are always spherically symmetric. (2) Furthermore we adopt Painleve-Gullstrand coordinates (which are well suited to the problem because they are nonsingular at the horizon) in order to simplify the relevant calculations. We find particularly simple forms for surface gravity, and for the first and second law of black hole thermodynamics, in this general evolving horizon situation. Furthermore we relate our results to Hawking's apparent horizon, Ashtekar et al's isolated and dynamical horizons, and Hayward's trapping horizons. The evolving black hole model discussed here will be of interest, both from an astrophysical viewpoint in terms of discussing growing black holes, and from a purely theoretical viewpoint in discussing black hole evaporation via Hawking radiation.Comment: 25 pages, uses iopart.cls V2: 5 references added; minor typos; V3: some additional clarifications, additional references, additional appendix on the Viadya spacetime. This version published in Classical and Quiantum Gravit

Diseño y construcción de las bóvedas por cruceros en España durante el siglo XVI

The aim of this text is to present the historical guidelines, design and construction of the grid crossing vaults built in Spain during the 16th century to show how the Gothic tradition of building ribbed vaults could be adapted to classical aesthetic principles. In the Andalusia of the 16th century, both a Renaissance classical architecture and another extraordinarily evolved Gothic one reached, at the same time, their full development, taking place between them interesting knowledge, stylistic and technical transfers. In this respect, the grid crossing vaults are a remarkable example of the formal autonomy of Gothic ribs which, without losing their medieval construction principles, are capable of adapting themselves to Renaissance models. We will see how in the grid crossing vaults, the Gothic crossings adapted themselves to the shape of a classical grid structure, drawing on the surface of the vault a design of caissons according to the stricter Roman Canon.El objetivo de este texto es dar a conocer las pautas históricas, de diseño y construcción de las bóvedas por cruceros erigidas en España durante el siglo XVI, como muestra de cómo la tradición gótica de construir bóvedas con nervaduras pudo adaptarse a los principios estéticos clásicos. En la Andalucía del siglo XVI, una arquitectura clásica renacentista y otra gótica extraordinariamente evolucionada alcanzaron, al mismo tiempo, su pleno desarrollo; entre ambas se produjeron interesantes transferencias de conocimiento, estilísticas y técnicas. En este sentido, las bóvedas por cruceros constituyen un notable ejemplo de autonomía formal de la nervadura gótica que, sin perder sus principios constructivos medievales, es capaz de adaptarse a modelos renacentistas. Veremos como en las bóvedas por cruceros, las crucerías góticas se adaptan a la forma de una trama reticular clásica, dibujando sobre la superficie de la bóveda un diseño de casetones conforme al canon romano más estricto

Student evaluation of an OSCE in paediatrics at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica

BACKGROUND: The Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies first implemented the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in the final MB Examination in Medicine and Therapeutics during the 2000–2001 academic year. Simultaneously, the Child Health Department initiated faculty and student training, and instituted the OSCE as an assessment instrument during the Child Health (Paediatric) clerkship in year 5. The study set out to explore student acceptance of the OSCE as part of an evaluation of the Child Health clerkship. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was completed by successive groups of students immediately after the OSCE at the end of each clerkship rotation. Main outcome measures were student perception of examination attributes, which included the quality of instructions and organisation, the quality of performance, authenticity and transparency of the process, and usefulness of the OSCE as an assessment instrument compared to other formats. RESULTS: There was overwhelming acceptance of the OSCE in Child Health with respect to the comprehensiveness (90%), transparency (87%), fairness (70%) and authenticity of the required tasks (58–78%). However, students felt that it was a strong anxiety-producing experience. And concerns were expressed regarding the ambiguity of some questions and inadequacy of time for expected tasks. CONCLUSION: Student feedback was invaluable in influencing faculty teaching, curriculum direction and appreciation of student opinion. Further psychometric evaluation will strengthen the development of the OSCE