Walk A Hound, Lose A Pound, & Stay Fit for Seniors

Comparative Medicine - OneHealth and Comparative Medicine Poster SessionBackground: Obesity rates in older adults are linked with the national problem of limited physical activity (PA), resulting in chronic illness. Obesity-related illness and functional loss require innovative interventions. Older adult dog walkers maintained physical functioning over a 3 year period (Thorpe 2006). Dog walking may improve long-term PA by improving readiness and physical function. Purpose: The study aimed to test the association between dog walking and physical functioning. Methods: A three-group, repeated measures design tested efficacy of a 12-week (5 days/week) shelter dog walking program for community-dwelling adults over age 65. Three retirement facilities were assigned to the shelter dog walking (DW), human walking companion (HWC), or no-treatment control (C) group. DW group members selected a dog matching their walking capability & walked on a paved road at the animal shelter. HWC group members walked with a friend or spouse on a paved road at their residence. Both groups were accompanied by study staff. Pretest, mid-trial & posttest findings included 6-minute walk, weight, physical activity during the previous week, physical activity stage of change, mood & social support. Findings: Fifty-four adults participated {DW n=12, HWC n=23 & C n=19}. Fourteen males & 40 females, ranged in age from 67-97 years (Mean=85). The 6-minute walk compared pre and post for the DW group increased 28% (p=0.012), the HWC had a 4% increase (p=0.32) and the C group a 6% increase (p=0.18). Conclusions: DW group participants expressed affinity for the shelter dogs. The DW group's walking ability improved significantly. They stated that their balance & walking confidence improved. They stated that they liked the program because it “gets me out,” “is helping me to feel more confident,” & “is fun.” Dog walking may be beneficial to improve or maintain functioning in older adults. Walking speed is an important indicator of balance

Shelter Dog Behavior Improvement: Dog Walking as Enrichment

Comparative Medicine - OneHealth and Comparative Medicine Poster SessionBackground: Several million dogs are euthanized in animal shelters annually after multiple relinquishment reasons (Scarlett, 2002; Salman, 1998; New, 2000 & Kass, 2001). Gains in pet adoptions are happening via shelter enrichment programs. We hypothesized that shelter dogs participating in a daily dog walking program involving elderly citizens, would have better behavior, higher adoption rates, and decreased euthanasia rates than dogs in a control group not in the walking program. Methods: All participant dogs were pre-qualified for walking through the standard shelter behavioral assessment for adoption. The dogs, at least one year of age were matched with a control dog for size (small, medium and large). The experimental group walked with an older adult five days a week. The control group of dogs did not walk. Pre-test and daily behavior scores were assigned. The length of time each dog spent in the shelter was recorded as were adoption, move to foster care, release to a breed rescue group or euthanasia outcomes. Results: There were 84 dog pairs. Outcomes for the experimental (walking) group: adoption n=58, to foster/rescue n=13, euthanized n=7. For the control group: adoption n=26, to foster/rescue n=28, and euthanized n=20. A chi-square test showed that the experimental group had significantly more adoptions (p<0.0001) and fewer euthanasias (p=.0063) than the control group. The control group had significantly more dogs that went to breed rescue networks (p=.00071) than did the experimental group. The control group had a higher total behavior score (exhibited more negative behavior). The Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare the experimental and control groups in terms of total behavior scores. Dogs in the experimental group had significantly better behavior than dogs in the control group (p=<0.0001). Conclusions: The dog walking program was associated with desired dog behavior outcomes, better adoption rates and lower euthanasia rates

Social capital and pet ownership – A tale of four cities☆

Highlights • Pet ownership is significantly associated with higher levels of social capital. • Social capital was associated with pet ownership in the U.S. and Australia. • Results are not confined to dog owners nor dog walkers. • Pets are an under-recognized conduit for building social capital

Dog Ownership During Pregnancy, Maternal Activity, and Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is an observational study of 14273 UK pregnant singleton mothers in 1990/1991. We examined outcomes of self report of strenuous activity (hours per week) at 18 and 32 weeks of gestation, hours spent in leisure-time physical activities and types, and pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI); overweight status was defined as pre-pregnancy BMI$25 and obesity BMI$30. Pet ownership and activity data were reported for 11,466 mothers. Twenty-five percent of mothers owned at least one dog. There was a positive relationship between participation in activity at least once a week and dog ownership (at 18 weeks, Odds ratio 1.27, 95% confidence interval 1.11– 1.44, P,0.001). Dog owners were 50% more likely to achieve the recommended 3 hours activity per week, equivalent to 30 minutes per day, most days of the week (1.53, 1.35–1.72, P,0.001). Dog owners were also more likely to participate in brisk walking activity than those who did not have a dog (compared to no brisk walking 2–6 hrs per week 1.43, 1.23 to 1.67, P,0.001; 7+ hrs per week 1.80, 1.43 to 2.27, P,0.001). However, no association was found with any other types of activities and there was no association between dog ownership and weight status. During the time period studied, pregnant women who had dogs were more active, through walking, than those who did not own dogs. As walking is a low-risk exercise, participation of pregnant women in dog walking activities may be a useful context to investigate as part of a broader strategy to improve activity levels in pregnant women

Paedomorphic facial expressions give dogs a selective advantage

How wolves were first domesticated is unknown. One hypothesis suggests that wolves underwent a process of self-domestication by tolerating human presence and taking advantage of scavenging possibilities. The puppy-like physical and behavioural traits seen in dogs are thought to have evolved later, as a byproduct of selection against aggression. Using speed of selection from rehoming shelters as a proxy for artificial selection, we tested whether paedomorphic features give dogs a selective advantage in their current environment. Dogs who exhibited facial expressions that enhance their neonatal appearance were preferentially selected by humans. Thus, early domestication of wolves may have occurred not only as wolf populations became tamer, but also as they exploited human preferences for paedomorphic characteristics. These findings, therefore, add to our understanding of early dog domestication as a complex co-evolutionary process

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts

Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas

Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin

Spatial Organization and Molecular Correlation of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Using Deep Learning on Pathology Images

Beyond sample curation and basic pathologic characterization, the digitized H&E-stained images of TCGA samples remain underutilized. To highlight this resource, we present mappings of tumorinfiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) based on H&E images from 13 TCGA tumor types. These TIL maps are derived through computational staining using a convolutional neural network trained to classify patches of images. Affinity propagation revealed local spatial structure in TIL patterns and correlation with overall survival. TIL map structural patterns were grouped using standard histopathological parameters. These patterns are enriched in particular T cell subpopulations derived from molecular measures. TIL densities and spatial structure were differentially enriched among tumor types, immune subtypes, and tumor molecular subtypes, implying that spatial infiltrate state could reflect particular tumor cell aberration states. Obtaining spatial lymphocytic patterns linked to the rich genomic characterization of TCGA samples demonstrates one use for the TCGA image archives with insights into the tumor-immune microenvironment