Frequency of Lost Dogs and Cats in the United States and the Methods Used to Locate Them

Dogs and cats are a common member of the family in homes across the US. No population-based data exist on the frequency of pets getting lost from the home and lost pets can be a source of human and animal suffering. Our primary objective was to determine the percentage of owned dogs and cats that were lost, and of these, what percentages of pets were recovered. We examined the recovery success for dogs compared to cats and the methods used as well as the relationship between lost or found pets and pet and owner demographics. While 15% of dog and cat owners lost their pets, dogs had higher recovery rates (93%) than cats (75%) as well as being returned using different search methods

Preliminary Investigation of Food Guarding Behavior in Shelter Dogs in the United States

Even though food guarding is an adaptive trait for dogs, they are often euthanized when they exhibit this behavior while at an animal shelter. This research demonstrates some dogs that guard their food can be adopted and guarding is seldom seen in the home. Based on post-adoption follow-up of the dogs selected for the program, guarding behavior was rarely reported during the first three weeks, and by three months, adopters reported no food bowl guarding behavior. The adopters reported being highly bonded with these dogs and return rates were lower than general shelter dog population. Placing food guarding dogs into homes and providing follow-up support for adopters can provide a life-saving safety net for many shelters

Effects of a Geographically-Targeted Intervention and Creative Outreach to Reduce Shelter Intake in Portland, Oregon

Animal shelters focus much of their efforts towards decreasing euthanasia and one of the best ways to reduce euthanasia risk may be to prevent cats and dogs from ever entering a shelter. This study, conducted in Portland, Oregon, relied on the capabilities of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to precisely and scientifically identify an intervention area (with high shelter intake) and to identify control areas to compare the project results with community-wide trends. The intervention itself was designed and implemented in a comprehensive way by seeking numerous paths to engage pet owners and reduce shelter intake of cats and Pit Bull type dogs. This research highlighted the ability of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to significantly improve a community's capacity to identify the most appropriate locations to focus resources and to closely track and measure interventions. Portland's targeted intervention to reduce shelter intake utilized many outreach tools with varying levels of impact. The overall intervention yielded a reduction in intake of owned cats that was greater in total numbers and percentage than four control areas. Furthermore, this work identified a percentage of cat spay/neuter out of the estimated number of owned, originally intact cats within the intervention and control areas. As percentages approached or surpassed 20%, those areas realized larger intake reductions than control areas with lower percentages

Financial Education and Savings Outcomes in Individual Development Accounts

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are subsidized savings accounts. Unlike other subsidized savings accounts such as Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) or 401(k) plans, IDAs are targeted to the poor, provide subsidies through matches rather than through tax breaks, and require participants to attend financial education. Participants accrue matches as they save for purposes that build assets that increase long-term well-being and financial self-sufficiency. Matched uses of withdrawals typically include home purchase, post-secondary education, and microenterprise. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the hours of financial education attended by IDA participants and savings outcomes. The data are from the Downpayments on the American Dream Policy Demonstration (ADD). The goal of financial education is to make people more aware of financial choices and possible consequences. IDA programs require financial education, but there is no systematic/scientific evidence that this requirement is essential. As of June 30, 2000, 81 percent of the 2,378 participants in ADD had attended general financial-education classes. Most participants (65 percent) had one to twelve hours of attendance recorded, 16 percent had 13 hours or more, and 14 percent were recorded as having no hours. Mean attendance was 10.4 hours, with a low of zero and a high of 35. To measure the association between attendance at financial education and savings outcomes, we used a Heckman two-step regression in which the first step predicted exit from the IDA program (and thus a high likelihood of a low opportunity for attendance at financial education). The second step predicted average monthly net deposit (AMND) for those participants who did not exit, controlling for length of participation and a wide range of other factors that might affect AMND. These results broadly suggest that between 0 and 12 hours of financial education have large, positive effects on savings (in the range of one dollar of AMND for each hour of general financial education up to 12 hours). After that point, the effects leveled off. Results for asset-specific education were similar. In short, financial education seems to have had large effects on savings outcomes.education, financial literacy, savings incentives,Individual Development Accounts

The Effects of Beetroot Juice Consumption on Maximal Oxygen Consumption

There are many synthetic dietary supplements available to those wishing to enhance their athletic abilities. Unfortunately, dietary supplements do not follow the same strict regulations as do foods or drugs do by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA, 2018). Therefore, they often contain ineffective and sometimes unsafe substances, which may cause short and long-term harmful effects to the consumer (Hirsch, J., 2018). However, there are in fact natural and safer ways to achieve the same effect a synthetic supplement may claim to provide. Many natural foods are claimed to produce an ergogenic effect (i.e. – enhance athletic performance), one of them being the beetroot vegetable. Beetroot has high amounts of nitrates – a substance that, when our body converts it to nitric oxide, can dilate our blood vessels – thus creating better circulation, which significantly aids in oxygen and nutrient delivery to tissues (Garcia, X., & Stein, F., 2006; Lidder, S., & Webb, A., 2013). Recent studies have shown that consumption of beetroot may be able to improve an individual’s resting heart rate, blood pressure, VO2Max, and aid in aerobic performance (Dominguez, R., et al., 2017). The purpose of this review of literature is to illustrate that natural supplements, such as beetroot juice, obtain many health benefits that can enhance athletic aerobic performance in comparison to synthetic substances

Ideabook: Libraries for Families

The IDEABOOK is a research-based framework to guide and broaden family engagement in libraries.The framework helps libraries move beyond thinking of family engagement as random, individual activities or programs, but rather as a system where library leadership, activities, and resources that are linked to goals. The framework represents a theory of change that begins with a set of elements—leadership, engagement, and support services—that build a pathway for meaningful family engagement beginning in the early childhood years and extending through young adulthood.This IDEABOOK was developed for anyone who works in a library setting—from library directors and children's and youth librarians, to volunteers and support staff—and shares many innovative ways that libraries support and guide families in children's learning and development

Should Dogs and Cats be Given as Gifts?

Policies that state pets should not be adopted as gifts are prevalent at animal welfare organizations, despite the fact that this belief is unfounded. Denying adopters who intend to give the animals as gifts may unnecessarily impede the overarching goal of increasing adoptions of pets from our nations' shelter system. We found that receiving a dog or cat as a gift was not associated with impact on self-perceived love/attachment, or whether the dog or cat was still in the home. These results suggest there is no increased risk of relinquishment for dogs and cats received as a gift

HIV and Partner Violence: Implications for HIV Voluntary\ud Counseling and Testing Programs in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

This study explored the links between HIV infection, serostatus disclosure, and partner violence among women attending a VCT clinic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Men and women both perceive HIV testing as a way to plan for the future but are motivated to undergo testing by a number of different individual, relationship, and environmental factors. The women in our study described more barriers to HIV testing than did men, and women who have communicated with their partners about VCT before seeking services are significantly more likely to share their HIV test results than those who have not talked with their partners. Findings from this study led to a number of recommendations that could reduce the barriers women face in getting tested for HIV and in disclosing their serostatus to their partners, as well as reduce levels of partner violence. These recommendations pertain to VCT services as well as to the wider community and policy environment

Administrative Support and Provisionally-Licensed Special Education Teachers: Examining Support Dimensions During a Global Pandemic

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to report on the perspectives of provisionally-licensed special education teachers as to the administrative support they experienced and felt they needed in a distance learning environment. Utilizing a three-step convenience sampling process, five provisionally-licensed special education teachers who attended a Mid-Atlantic university participated in the study and described their perspectives of administrative support. Utilizing House’s (1981) theory of social support as a conceptual framework, data was collected through participant journal entries and semi-structured interviews and analyzed through a multi-step coding process. Findings revealed that provisionally-licensed special education teachers require support across all of House’s (1981) dimensions including instrumental support, informational support, emotional support, and appraisal support. Findings include four main takeaways: (a) provisionally-licensed special education teachers require supports across dimensions, most importantly, emotional support; (b) provisionally-licensed special education teachers reported a need for school-based administrators to establish open communication to inform special education teacher roles, establish expectations of collaboration, and demonstrate care and support; (c) school-based administrators who possess a background in special education were reported to possess knowledge and skills to support special education teachers and students with disabilities; and (d) support provided to provisionally-licensed special education teachers did not always align to needed support. Recommendations for administrative support approaches for provisionally-licensed special education teachers are described and limitations and implications for future research are discussed

Characteristics of ADHD symptom response/remission in a clinical trial of methylphenidate extended release

Clinical trials in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have typically measured outcome using clinician ratings on the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale, Fourth Edition (ADHD-RS-IV) and the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) scale. Remission has been defined as an endpoint score of less than or equal to 18 on the ADHD-RS-IV (or a mean score of 1). Responders have been defined as patients who achieve a CGI-I score of much or very much improved (1 or 2). There is a lack of agreement in the literature on what percent change in symptoms on the ADHD-RS-IV should be used to define improvement or remission. This study uses data from a clinical trial of a methylphenidate extended release (MPH-MLR; Aptensio XR®) phase III clinical trial to attempt to determine the percent change of symptoms that best corresponds with improvement and remission. Symptom remission at endpoint (ADHD-RS-IV total score ≤18) was most closely aligned with a ≥46% reduction in ADHD-RS-IV total score. Clinical improvement was most closely aligned with a ≥40% reduction in ADHD-RS-IV total score. The three different measures of outcome were strongly aligned during double blind and open label treatment, and were independent of subtype status. Our data suggest that at least 40% improvement in symptoms is needed to achieve a robust response at endpoint