Domesticated dogs (Canis familiaris) react to what others can and cannot hear

Corresponding author at: Hood College, Department of Psychology, 401 Rosemont Avenue, Room ROS 27, Frederick, MD 21701, USA. Tel.: +1 301 696 3877. E-mail address: [email protected] (S.M.A. Kundey).Recent research suggests some nonhuman primates (e.g., chimpanzees, rhesus macaques) consider what others hear when acting in competitive situations. We explored whether dogs living in private homes or sourced from an animal shelter would show this same predilection. Following an inhibition task where dogs (Canis familiaris) were commanded not to take a treat left on a plate by a human, we presented subjects with the opportunity to take food from one of two containers. These containers were located within the proximity of a human gatekeeper who was either looking straight ahead or not looking at the time of choice. One container was silent when food was inserted or removed while the other was noisy. Among pet dogs (20 total; 10 in each condition) randomly assigned to the Looking or Not Looking condition, four subjects approached the silent container in the Looking condition (binomial test: P = 0.8) while 10 approached the silent container in the Not Looking condition (binomial test: P = 0.004). We compared pet dogs’ pattern of performance between conditions using a chi-square test for independence, which indicated that dogs significantly preferred the silent container only in the Not Looking condition (Chi-square [1] = 8.8, P = 0.003). This outcome suggests dogs preferentially attempted to retrieve food silently only when silence was germane to obtaining food unobserved by the human gatekeeper. Interestingly, dogs sourced from a local animal shelter evidenced similar outcomes. Among shelter dogs (20 total; 10 in each condition) randomly assigned to the Looking or Not Looking condition, four subjects approached the silent container in the Looking condition (binomial test: P = 0.8) while nine approached the silent container in the Not Looking condition (binomial test: P = 0.02).We compared shelter dogs’ pattern of performance between conditions using a chi-square test for independence, which indicated that dogs significantly preferred the silent container only in the Not Looking condition (Chi-square [1] = 5.5, P = 0.02). This result suggests shelter dogs, like pet dogs, preferentially tried to retrieve food silently only if silence was relevant to obtaining food unobserved by a human gatekeeper. This result conflicts with other recent data suggesting that shelter dogs perform more poorly than pet dogs in tasks involving human social cues

3066 consecutive Gamma Nails. 12 years experience at a single centre

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fixation of trochanteric hip fractures using the Gamma Nail has been performed since 1988 and is today well established and wide-spread. However, a number of reports have raised serious concerns about the implant's complication rate. The main focus has been the increased risk of a subsequent femoral shaft fracture and some authors have argued against its use despite other obvious advantages, when this implant is employed.</p> <p>Through access to a uniquely large patient data base available, which is available for analysis of trochanteric fractures; we have been able to evaluate the performance of the Gamma Nail over a twelve year period.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>3066 consecutive patients were treated for trochanteric fractures using Gamma Nails between 1990 and 2002 at the Centre de Traumatologie et de l'Orthopedie (CTO), Strasbourg, France. These patients were retrospectively analysed. Information on epidemiological data, intra- and postoperative complications and patients' outcome was retrieved from patient notes. All available radiographs were assessed by a single reviewer (AJB).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results showed a low complication rate with the use of the Gamma Nail. There were 137 (4.5%) intraoperative fracture-related complications. Moreover 189 (6.2%) complications were detected postoperatively and during follow-up. Cut-out of the lag screw from the femoral head was the most frequent mechanical complication (57 patients, 1.85%), whereas a postoperative femoral shaft fracture occurred in 19 patients (0.6%). Other complications, such as infection, delayed healing/non-union, avascular femoral head necrosis and distal locking problems occurred in 113 patients (3.7%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The use of the Gamma Nail in trochanteric hip fractures is a safe method with a low complication rate. In particular, a low rate of femoral shaft fractures was reported. The low complication rate reported in this series can probably be explained by strict adherence to a proper surgical technique.</p

Dicarboxylic acids as pH sensors for hyperpolarized 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging.

Imaging tumoral pH may help to characterize aggressiveness, metastasis, and therapeutic response. We report the development of hyperpolarized [2-13C,D10]diethylmalonic acid, which exhibits a large pH-dependent 13C chemical shift over the physiological range. We demonstrate that co-polarization with [1-13C,D9]tert-butanol accurately measures pH via13C NMR and magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging in phantoms

Bringing biocatalytic deuteration into the toolbox of asymmetric isotopic labelling techniques

Enzymes dependent on nicotinamide cofactors are important components of the expanding range of asymmetric synthetic techniques. New challenges in asymmetric catalysis are arising in the field of deuterium labelling, where compounds bearing deuterium (2H) atoms at chiral centres are becoming increasingly desirable targets for pharmaceutical and analytical chemists. However, utilisation of NADH-dependent enzymes for 2H-labelling is not straightforward, owing to difficulties in supplying a suitably isotopically-labelled cofactor ([4-2H]-NADH). Here we report on a strategy that combines a clean reductant (H2) with a cheap source of 2H-atoms (2H2O) to generate and recycle [4-2H]-NADH. By coupling [4-2H]-NADH-recycling to an array of C=O, C=N, and C=C bond reductases, we demonstrate asymmetric deuteration across a range of organic molecules under ambient conditions with near-perfect chemo-, stereo- and isotopic selectivity. We demonstrate the synthetic utility of the system by applying it in the isolation of the heavy drug (1S,3'R)-[2',2',3'-2H3]-solifenacin fumarate on a preparative scale

Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 for treatment of open tibial fractures a prospective, controlled, randomized study of four hundred and fifty patients

Background: The treatment of open fractures of the tibial shaft is often complicated by delayed union and non-union. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the use of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2; dibotermin alfa) to accelerate healing of open tibial shaft fractures and to reduce the need for secondary intervention. Methods: In a prospective, randomized, controlled, single-blind study, 450 patients with an open tibial fracture were randomized to receive either the standard of care (intramedullary nail fixation and routine soft-tissue management [the control group]), the standard of care and an implant containing 0.75 mg/mL of rhBMP-2 (total dose of 6 mg), or the standard of care and an implant containing 1.50 mg/mL of rhBMP-2 (total dose of 12 mg). The rhBMP-2 implant (rhBMP-2 applied to an absorbable collagen sponge) was placed over the fracture at the time of definitive wound closure. Randomization was stratified by the severity of the open wound. The primary outcome measure was the proportion of patients requiring secondary intervention because of delayed union or nonunion within twelve months postoperatively. Results: Four hundred and twenty-one (94%) of the patients were available for the twelve-month follow-up. The 1.50-mg/mL rhBMP-2 group had a 44% reduction in the risk of failure (i.e., secondary intervention because of delayed union; relative risk = 0.56; 95% confidence interval = 0.40 to 0.78; pairwise p = 0.0005), significantly fewer invasive interventions (e.g., bone-grafting and nail exchange; p = 0.0264), and significantly faster fracture-healing (p = 0.0022) than did the control patients. Significantly more patients treated with 1.50 mg/mL of rhBMP-2 had healing of the fracture at the postoperative visits from ten weeks through twelve months (p = 0.0008). Compared with the control patients, those treated with 1.50 mg/mL of rhBMP-2 also had significantly fewer hardware failures (p = 0.0174), fewer infections (in association with Gustilo-Anderson type-III injuries; p = 0.0219), and faster wound-healing (83% compared with 65% had wound-healing at six weeks; p =0.0010). Conclusions: The rhBMP-2 implant was safe and, when 1.50 mg/mL was used, significantly superior to the standard of care in reducing the frequency of secondary interventions and the overall invasiveness of the procedures, accelerating fracture and wound-healing, and reducing the infection rate in patients with an open fracture of the tibia.Articl