Can sleep and resting behaviours be used as indicators of welfare in shelter dogs (Canis lupusfamiliaris)?

Previous research on humans and animals suggests that the analysis of sleep patterns may reliably inform us about welfare status, but little research of this kind has been carried out for non-human animals in an applied context. This study explored the use of sleep and resting behaviour as indicators of welfare by describing the activity patterns of dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) housed in rescue shelters, and comparing their sleep patterns to other behavioural and cognitive measures of welfare. Sleep and activity patterns were observed over five non-consecutive days in a population of 15 dogs. Subsequently, the characteristics of sleep and resting behaviour were described and the impact of activity on patterns of sleep and resting behaviour analysed. Shelter dogs slept for 2.8% of the day, 14.3% less than previously reported and experienced less sleep fragmentation at night (32 sleep bouts). There were no statistically significant relationships between behaviours exhibited during the day and sleep behaviour. A higher proportion of daytime resting behaviour was significantly associated with a positive judgement bias, less repetitive behaviour and increased time spent coded as ‘relaxed’ across days by shelter staff. These results suggest that, in the context of a busy shelter environment, the ability to rest more during the day could be a sign of improved welfare. Considering the non-linear relationship between sleep and welfare in humans, the relationship between sleep and behavioural indicators of welfare, including judgement bias, in shelter dogs may be more complex than this study could detect

Optimised chronic infection models demonstrate that siderophore ‘cheating’ in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is context specific

The potential for siderophore mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to attenuate virulence during infection, and the possibility of exploiting this for clinical ends, have attracted much discussion. This has largely been based on the results of in vitro experiments conducted in iron-limited growth medium, in which siderophore mutants act as social ‘cheats:’ increasing in frequency at the expense of the wild type to result in low-productivity, low-virulence populations dominated by mutants. We show that insights from in vitro experiments cannot necessarily be transferred to infection contexts. First, most published experiments use an undefined siderophore mutant. Whole-genome sequencing of this strain revealed a range of mutations affecting phenotypes other than siderophore production. Second, iron-limited medium provides a very different environment from that encountered in chronic infections. We conducted cheating assays using defined siderophore deletion mutants, in conditions designed to model infected fluids and tissue in cystic fibrosis lung infection and non-healing wounds. Depending on the environment, siderophore loss led to cheating, simple fitness defects, or no fitness effect at all. Our results show that it is crucial to develop defined in vitro models in order to predict whether siderophores are social, cheatable and suitable for clinical exploitation in specific infection contexts

ATS Core Curriculum 2021. Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine: Pulmonary Infections.

The following is a concise review of the Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine Core reviewing pediatric pulmonary infections, diagnostic assays, and imaging techniques presented at the 2021 American Thoracic Society Core Curriculum. Molecular methods have revolutionized microbiology. We highlight the need to collect appropriate samples for detection of specific pathogens or for panels and understand the limitations of the assays. Considerable progress has been made in imaging modalities for detecting pediatric pulmonary infections. Specifically, lung ultrasound and lung magnetic resonance imaging are promising radiation-free diagnostic tools, with results comparable with their radiation-exposing counterparts, for the evaluation and management of pulmonary infections. Clinicians caring for children with pulmonary disease should ensure that patients at risk for nontuberculous mycobacteria disease are identified and receive appropriate nontuberculous mycobacteria screening, monitoring, and treatment. Children with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) typically present with mild symptoms, but some may develop severe disease. Treatment is mainly supportive care, and most patients make a full recovery. Anticipatory guidance and appropriate counseling from pediatricians on social distancing and diagnostic testing remain vital to curbing the pandemic. The pediatric immunocompromised patient is at risk for invasive and opportunistic pulmonary infections. Prompt recognition of predisposing risk factors, combined with knowledge of clinical characteristics of microbial pathogens, can assist in the diagnosis and treatment of specific bacterial, viral, or fungal diseases

G Protein-Coupled Receptor 124 (GPR124) Gene Polymorphisms and Risk of Brain Arteriovenous Malformation

Abnormal endothelial proliferation and angiogenesis may contribute to brain arteriovenous malformation (BAVM) formation. G protein-coupled receptor 124 (GPR124) mediates embryonic CNS angiogenesis; thus we investigated the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes in GPR124 with risk of BAVM. Ten tagging SNPs spanning 39 kb of GPR124 were genotyped in 195 Caucasian BAVM patients and 243 Caucasian controls. SNP and haplotype association with risk of BAVM was screened using χ(2) analysis. Associated variants were further evaluated using multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for age and sex. The minor alleles of 3 GPR124 SNPs adjacent to exon 2 and localized to a 16 kb region of high linkage disequilibrium were associated with reduced risk of BAVM (rs7015566 A, P=0.001; rs7823249 T, P=0.014; rs12676965 C, P=0.007). SNP rs7015566 (intron 1) remained associated after permutation testing (additive model P=0.033). Haplotype analysis revealed a significant overall association (χ(2)=12.55, 4 df, P=0.014); 2 haplotypes (ATCC, P=0.006 and GGCT, P=0.008) were associated with risk of BAVM. We genotyped a known synonymous SNP (rs16887051) in exon 2, however genotype frequency did not differ between cases and controls. Sequencing of conserved GPR124 regions revealed a novel indel polymorphism in intron 2. Immunohistochemistry confirmed GPR124 expression in the endothelium with no qualitative difference in expression between BAVM cases and controls. SNP rs7015566 mapping to intron 1 of GPR124 was associated with BAVM susceptibility among Caucasians. Future work is focused on investigating this gene region

Female Reproductive Aging Is Master-Planned at the Level of Ovary

The ovary receives a finite pool of follicles during fetal life. Atresia remains the major form of follicular expenditure at all stages since development of ovary. The follicular reserve, however, declines at an exponential rate leading to accelerated rate of decay during the years preceding menopause. We examined if diminished follicle reserve that characterizes ovarian aging impacts the attrition rate. Premature ovarian aging was induced in rats by intraembryonicinjection of galactosyltransferase-antibody on embryonic day 10. On post-natal day 35 of the female litters, either a wedge of fat (sham control) or a wild type ovary collected from 25-day old control rats, was transplanted under the ovarian bursa in both sides.Follicular growth and atresia, and ovarian microenvironment were evaluated in the follicledeficient host ovary and transplanted ovary by real time RT-PCR analysis of growth differentiation factor-9, bone morphogenetic protein 15, and kit ligand, biochemical evaluation of ovarian lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activity, and western blot analysis of ovarian pro- and anti-apoptotic factors including p53, bax, bcl2, and caspase demonstrated that the rate of follicular atresia, which was highly preponderant in the follicle-deficient ovary of the sham-operated group, was significantly prevented in thepresence of the transplanted ovary. As against the follicle-deficient ovary of the shamoperated group, the follicle-deficient host ovary as well as the transplanted ovary in the ovary-transplanted group exhibited stimulated follicle growth with increased expression of anti-apoptotic factors and down regulation of pro-apoptotic factors. Both the host andtransplanted ovaries also had significantly lower rate of lipid peroxidation with increased SOD and catalase activity. We conclude that the declining follicular reserve is perhaps the immediate thrust that increases the rate of follicle depletion during the final phase of ovarian life when the follicle reserve wanes below certain threshold size