Comparison of voluntary food intake and palatability of commercial weight loss diets in healthy dogs and cats

Background Obesity in dogs and cats is usually managed by dietary energy restriction using a purpose-formulated weight loss diet, but signs of hunger and begging commonly occur causing poor owner compliance. Altering diet characteristics so as to reduce voluntary food intake (VFI) can improve the likelihood of success, although this should not be at the expense of palatability. The aim of the current study was to compare the VFI and palatibility of novel commercially available canine and feline weight loss diets. Methods The relative performance of two canine (C1 and C2) and two feline (F1 and F2) diets was assessed in groups of healthy adult dogs and cats, respectively. Diets varied in energy, protein, fibre, and fat content. To assess canine VFI, 12 (study 1) and 10 (study 2) dogs were offered food in 4 meals, for 15 min on each occasion, with hourly intervals between the meals. For feline VFI, 12 cats were offered food ad libitum for a period of 18 h per day over 5 consecutive days. The palatability studies used separate panels of 37 dogs and 30 cats, with the two diets being served, side-by-side, in identical bowls. Results In dogs, VFI was significantly less for diet C1 than diet C2 when assessed on energy intake (study 1, 42% less, P = 0.032; study 2, 28% less, P = 0.019), but there was no difference in gram weight intake (study 1: P = 0.964; study 2: P = 0.255). In cats, VFI was 17% less for diet F1 than diet F2 when assessed by energy intake (P < 0.001), but there was again no difference in gram weight (P = 0.207). There was no difference in palatability between the two canine diets (P = 0.490), whilst the panel of cats diet preferred F1 to F2 (P < 0.001). Conclusion Foods with different characteristics can decrease VFI without affecting palatability in both dogs and cats. The effects seen could be due to decreased energy content, decreased fat content, increased fibre content, different fibre source, and increased protein content. Further studies are now needed to determine whether similar findings occur in obese dogs and cats on controlled weight loss programmes

Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis for the Enumeration and Characterization of Mineralo-Organic Nanoparticles in Feline Urine

Urinary stone disease, particularly calcium oxalate, is common in both humans and cats. Calcifying nanoparticles (CNP) are spherical nanocrystallite material, and are composed of proteins (fetuin, albumin) and inorganic minerals. CNP are suggested to play a role in a wide array of pathologic mineralization syndromes including urolithiasis. We documented the development of a clinically relevant protocol to assess urinary CNP in 9 healthy cats consuming the same diet in a controlled environment using Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA®). NTA® is a novel method that allows for characterization of the CNP in an efficient, accurate method that can differentiate these particles from other urinary submicron particulates. The predominant nanoscale particles in feline urine are characteristic of CNP in terms of their size, their ability to spontaneously form under suitable conditions, and the presence of an outer layer that is rich in calcium and capable of binding to hydroxyapatite binders such as alendronate and osteopontin. The expansion of this particle population can be suppressed by the addition of citrate to urine samples. Further, compounds targeting exosomal surfaces do not label these particulates. As CNP have been associated with a number of significant urologic maladies, the method described herein may prove to be a useful adjunct in evaluating lithogenesis risk in mammals

Cohort Study of the Success of Controlled Weight Loss Programs for Obese Dogs

Background Most weight loss studies in obese dogs assess rate and percentage of weight loss in the first 2–3 months, rather than the likelihood of successfully reaching target weight. Objective To determine outcome of controlled weight loss programs for obese dogs, and to determine the factors associated with successful completion. Animals 143 obese dogs undergoing a controlled weight loss program. Methods This was a cohort study of obese dogs attending a referral weight management clinic. Dogs were studied during their period of weight loss, and cases classified according to outcome as “completed” (reached target weight), “euthanized” (was euthanized before reaching target weight), or “stopped prematurely” (program stopped early for other reasons). Factors associated with successful completion were assessed using simple and multiple logistic regression. Results 87/143 dogs (61%) completed their weight loss program, 11 [8%] died or were euthanized, and the remaining 45 [32%] stopped prematurely. Reasons for dogs stopping prematurely included inability to contact owner, refusal to comply with weight management advice, or development of another illness. Successful weight loss was positively associated with a faster rate (P < .001), a longer duration (P < .001), and feeding a dried weight management diet (P = .010), but negatively associated with starting body fat (P < .001), and use of dirlotapide (P = .0046). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance Just over half of all obese dogs on a controlled weight loss program reach their target weight. Future studies should better clarify reasons for success in individual cases, and also the role of factors such as activity and behavioral modification

A comprehensive introduction to photometric 3D-reconstruction

Photometric 3D-reconstruction techniques aim at inferring the geometry of a scene from one or several images, by inverting a physical model describing the image formation. This chapter presents an introductory overview of the main photometric 3D-reconstruction techniques which are shape-from-shading, photometric stereo and shape-from-polarisation

Factors contributing to the variation in feline urinary oxalate excretion

This study aimed to identify factors (season, animal, and diet) contributing to the variation in urinary oxalate (Uox) excretion rate, Uox concentration, and urine volume in healthy adult cats. A data set (1,940 observations) containing information on Uox excretion rate of 65 cats fed 252 diets (i.e., each diet was fed to a group of 6 to 8 cats), with known dietary oxalate concentrations, collected over a 6 yr period at a feline nutrition facility, were retrospectively analyzed. Data related to season, animal (i.e., age, gender, body weight, and breed), and diet (i.e., nutrient content) characteristics were subjected to stepwise multivariate regression analysis to identify factors significantly correlated to Uox excretion rate (µmol/(kg BW0.67·d)) and concentration (mmol/L) as well as urine volume (mL/(kg BW0.67·d)). Independent factors significantly (P <0.05) associated with lower Uox concentration (mmol/L) included greater ash, Ca, and Na intake and lower nitrogen-free extract, total dietary fiber, P, and oxalate intake, and a body weigh

The effect of dietary hydroxyproline and dietary oxalate on urinary oxalate excretion in cats

In humans and rodents, dietary hydroxyproline (hyp) and oxalate intake affect urinary oxalate (Uox) excretion. Whether Uox excretion occurs in cats was tested by feeding diets containing low oxalate (13 mg/100g DM) with high (Hhyp-Lox), moderate (Mhyp-Lox), and low hyp (Lhyp-Lox) concentrations (3.8, 2.0 and 0.2 g/100g DM, respectively), and low hyp with high oxalate (93 mg/100g DM; Lhyp-Hox) to 8 adult, female cats in a 48-d study using a Latin square design. Cats were randomly allocated to 1 of the four 12-d treatment periods and fed according to individual energy needs. Feces and urine were collected quantitatively using modified litter boxes during the final 5 d of each period. Feces were analyzed for oxalate and Ca, and urine for specific density, pH, oxalate, Ca, P, Mg, Na, K, ammonia, citrate, urate, sulphate, and creatinine. Increasing hyp intake (0.2, 2.0, and 3.8 g/100g DM) resulted in increased Uox excretion (Lhyp-Lox vs. Mhyp-Lox vs. Hhyp-Lox, P <0.05), and the linear dose-response equation was: Uox (mg ¿d(-1)) = 5.62 + 2.10 x g hyp intake/d (r(2) = 0.56; P <0.001). Increasing oxalate intake from 13 to 93 mg/100g DM did not affect Uox excretion, but resulted in an increase in fecal oxalate output (P <0.001) and positive oxalate balance (32.20 ± 2.06 mg¿d(-1)). The results indicate that the intestinal absorption of the supplemental oxalate, and thereby its contribution to Uox, was low (5.90 ± 5.24%). Relevant increases in endogenous Uox excretion were achieved by increasing dietary hyp intake. The hyp-containing protein sources should be minimized in Ca ox urolith preventative diets until their effect on Uox excretion is tested. The oxalate content (up to 93 mg/100g DM) in a diet with moderate Ca content does not contribute to Uox content

Multi-view Normal Estimation – Application to Slanted Plane-Sweeping

In this paper, we show how to estimate the normals of a 3D surface from a minimum of two views, assuming that the poses of a calibrated camera are perfectly known. For each pair of image points, the normal at the corresponding 3D point is expressed in function of the local gradients of the grey level, whatever the type of image formation (orthogonal or perspective projection). As an application, this allows us to fully estimate the inter-image homography, which not only depends on the relative pose between views, but also on the local orientation of the surface. Hence, the photo-consistency between patches from two images, which is the basis of the so-called “plane-sweeping” method, is improved. Experiments on synthetic and real data validate our approach

Redefining the reference interval for plasma creatinine in dogs: Effect of age, gender, body weight, and breed.

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