Companion dogs show signs of jealous behaviour toward non-living agents.

Dogs engage in social interactions with robots, yet whether they perceive them as social agents remains uncertain. In jealousy-evoking contexts, specific behaviours were observed exclusively when dogs' owners interacted with social, rather than non-social rivals. Here, we investigated whether a robot elicits jealous behaviour in dogs based on its level of animateness.

Association between the use of mobile touchscreen devices and the quality of parent-child interaction in preschoolers.

The early use of mobile touchscreen devices (MTSDs), including smartphones and tablets, may reduce the frequency and quality of social interactions between children and parents, which could impact their relationship and have negative consequences on children's socio-cognitive development. In this study, we applied a parental questionnaire and a behavioral observational method in a laboratory setting (free and structured play sessions) to examine the association between preschool MTSD use and the quantity and quality of parent-child relationships. Our findings revealed that preschoolers who regularly use MTSDs ( = 47, aged 4-7 years, engaging in MTSD use for at least 2 h per week) are spending less time with their parents and exhibited lower quality interactions compared to non-users ( = 25).

Breed differences in olfactory performance of dogs.

Most studies on dogs' olfactory performance focused only on some individuals pre-trained for a task or on specially selected/trained detection dogs. Here, using the Natural Detection Task (NDT) that does not require training, we assessed the effect of several potential factors on the performance of a large sample of dogs (N = 527/tested, 484/analysed). Olfactory success was associated with breeds, but breed groups (selected for olfaction, cooperation, or both) were proven non-relevant, suggesting that breed-specific traits are more influential than functional breed group characteristics.

Cure for tantrums? Longitudinal associations between parental digital emotion regulation and children's self-regulatory skills.

Introduction: Parents often use digital devices to regulate their children's negative emotions, e.g., to stop tantrums.

Single-molecule localisation microscopy (SMLM) is feasible in human and animal formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues in medical renal disease.

Aims: Establishment of a protocol for routine single-molecule localisation microscopy (SMLM) imaging on formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue using medical renal disease including minimal change disease (MCD) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS).

Methods: Protocol for normal and diseased renal FFPE tissue was developed to investigate the clinical diagnostic potential of SMLM. Antibody concentrations were determined for confocal microscopy and transferred to SMLM.