Parent perceptions of the quality of life of pet dogs living with neuro-typically developing and neuro-atypically developing children: an exploratory study

There is growing scientific and societal recognition of the role that pet dogs can play in healthy development of children; both those who are neuro-typically developing and those who live with a neuro-developmental disorder, such as autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, little attention has been paid to how living with children positively and negatively affects quality of life of a pet dog. In this exploratory study we conducted semi-structured interviews with parents of neuro-typically developing children (n = 18) and those with a neuro-developmental disorder (n = 18) who owned a pet dog, until no new factors were identified. Living with children brought potentially positive benefits to the dog’s life including: imposition of a routine, participation in recreational activities and the development of a strong bond between the child and the dog. The importance of maintaining a routine was particularly prevalent in families with children with neuro-developmental disorders. Potential negative factors included having to cope with child meltdowns and tantrums, over stimulation from child visitors, harsh contact and rough and tumble play with the child. The regularity and intensity of meltdowns and tantrums was particularly evident in responses from parents with children with a neuro-developmental disorder. However, child visitors and rough play and contact were mentioned similarly across the groups. Protective factors included having a safe haven for the dog to escape to, parent’s awareness of stress signs and child education in dog-interaction. Parents were also asked to complete a stress response scale to provide an initial quantitative comparison of stress responses between dogs living with the two family-types. Parents with neuro-typically developing children more frequently observed their dog rapidly running away from a situation and less frequently observed their dog widening their eyes, than parents with children with a neuro-developmental disorder. We propose the development of a stress audit based on the findings reported here, to prevent potential dangerous situations, which may lead to dog bites and dog relinquishment and allow owners to maximise the benefits of dog ownership

Hit Improves Aerobic Capacity Without a Detrimental Decline in Blood Glucose in People with Type 1 Diabetes.

AIMS: To investigate whether 1) six weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIT) induces similar improvements in cardio-metabolic health markers as moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) in people with type 1 diabetes, and 2) whether HIT abolishes acute reductions in plasma glucose observed following MICT sessions. METHODS: Fourteen sedentary individuals with type 1 diabetes (n=7 per group) completed six weeks of HIT or MICT 3 times per week. Pre- and post-training measurements were made of 24h interstitial glucose profiles (using continuous glucose monitors (CGMS)) and cardio-metabolic health markers (V˙O2peak, blood lipid profile and aortic pulse wave velocity; aPWV). Capillary blood glucose concentrations were assessed before and after exercise sessions throughout the training programme to investigate changes in blood glucose during exercise in the fed state. RESULTS: Six weeks of HIT or MICT increased V˙O2peak by 14% and 15%, respectively (P0.05). In the fed state, the mean change in capillary blood glucose concentration during the HIT sessions was -0.2±0.5 mmol/L, whereas blood glucose change was -5.5±0.4 mmol/L during MICT. CONCLUSIONS: Six weeks of HIT improved V˙O2peak and aortic PWV to a similar extent as MICT. The finding that blood glucose remained stable during HIT in the fed state, but consistently fell during MICT, suggests that HIT may be the preferred training mode for some people with type 1 diabetes

Covalently bridging gaps in single-walled carbon nanotubes with conducting molecules

Molecular electronics is often limited by the poorly defined nature of the contact between the molecules and the metal surface. We describe a method to wire molecules into gaps in single-waited carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Precise oxidative cutting of a SWNT produces carboxylic acid-terminated electrodes separated by gaps of <= 10 nanometers. These point contacts react with molecules derivatized with amines to form molecular bridges held in place by amide linkages. These chemical contacts are robust and allow a wide variety of molecules to be tested electrically. In addition to testing molecular wires, we show how to install functionality in the molecular backbone that allows the conductance of the single-molecule bridges to switch with pH

Observation of a Luttinger-liquid plasmon in metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes

© 2015 Nature Publishing Group Surface plasmons, collective oscillations of conduction electrons, hold great promise for the nanoscale integration of photonics and electronics. However, nanophotonic circuits based on plasmons have been significantly hampered by the difficulty in achieving broadband plasmonic waveguides that simultaneously exhibit strong spatial confinement, a high quality factor and low dispersion. Quantum plasmons, where the quantum mechanical effects of electrons play a dominant role, such as plasmons in very small metal nanoparticles and plasmons affected by tunnelling effects, can lead to novel plasmonic phenomena in nanostructures. Here, we show that a Luttinger liquid of one-dimensional Dirac electrons in carbon nanotubes exhibits quantum plasmons that behave qualitatively differently from classical plasmon excitations. The Luttinger-liquid plasmons propagate at ‘quantized’ velocities that are independent of carrier concentration or excitation wavelength, and simultaneously exhibit extraordinary spatial confinement and high quality factor. Such Luttinger-liquid plasmons could enable novel low-loss plasmonic circuits for the subwavelength manipulation of light