Prevalence and pattern of retinopathy of prematurity at two national referral hospitals in Uganda: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of blindness in children and an ROP epidemic is predicted this decade in sub-Saharan Africa. With the increasing survival rate of preterm babies in Uganda, and no data on ROP prevalence, there is a need to assess the burden of ROP to inform preventive strategies and targeted screening.

Methods: We conducted a two-center cross-sectional study of preterm (< 37 weeks gestational age) infants from the neonatal units of Kawempe National Referral Hospital (KNRH) and Mulago Specialised Women and Neonatal Hospital (MSWNH) from August 2022 to October 2022.

HUNCHEST-II contributes to a shift to earlier-stage lung cancer detection: final results of a nationwide screening program.

Objectives: The introduction of low-dose CT (LDCT) altered the landscape of lung cancer (LC) screening and contributed to the reduction of mortality rates worldwide. Here we report the final results of HUNCHEST-II, the largest population-based LDCT screening program in Hungary, including the screening and diagnostic outcomes, and the characteristics of the LC cases.

Methods: A total of 4215 high-risk individuals aged between 50 and 75 years with a smoking history of at least 25 pack-years were assigned to undergo LDCT screening.

Variation in depressive symptom trajectories in a large sample of couples.

The occurrence of depression is influenced by social relationships, however, most studies focus on individuals, not couples. We aimed to study how depressive symptoms of couples evolve over time and determine, which characteristics are associated with their distinct trajectories. A multi-centric cohort sample of 11,136 heterosexual couples (mean age = 60.

Dogs and their human companions: the effect of familiarity on dog-human interactions.

There are few quantitative examinations of the extent to which dogs discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar persons. In our study we have investigated whether dogs show differential behaviour towards humans of different degrees of familiarity (owner, familiar person, unfamiliar person). Dogs and humans were observed in eight test situations: (1) Three-way strange situation test, (2) Calling in from food, (3) Obedience test, (4) Walking away, (5) Threatening approach, (6) Playful interaction, (7) Food inhibition test and (8) Manipulation of the dog's body.

Dogs discriminate between barks: the effect of context and identity of the caller.

In the present study we explored whether dogs (Canis familiaris) are able to discriminate between conspecific barks emitted in different contexts recorded either from the same or different individuals. Playback experiments were conducted with dogs using barks as stimuli in a habituation-dishabituation paradigm. Barks were recorded in two contexts (stranger at the fence and when the dog was left alone) from different individuals.

A comparative approach to dogs' (Canis familiaris) and human infants' comprehension of various forms of pointing gestures.

We investigated whether dogs and 2-, and 3-year-old human infants living, in some respects, in very similar social environments are able to comprehend various forms of the human pointing gesture. In the first study, we looked at their ability to comprehend different arm pointing gestures (long cross-pointing, forward cross-pointing and elbow cross-pointing) to locate a hidden object. Three-year-olds successfully used all gestures as directional cues, while younger children and dogs could not understand the elbow cross-pointing.

Affiliative and disciplinary behavior of human handlers during play with their dog affects cortisol concentrations in opposite directions.

It has been shown that cortisol concentrations change characteristically in the course of agonistic interactions; our aim was to find out how a playful situation may affect concentrations of this hormone in the saliva. We studied dogs' behavior and the changes of cortisol concentrations in a play situation, where the dogs played with their handler for 3 min with a tug toy. In this experiment working dogs were divided into two groups by the type of their work, namely police dogs and border guard dogs.

Classification of dog barks: a machine learning approach.

In this study we analyzed the possible context-specific and individual-specific features of dog barks using a new machine-learning algorithm. A pool containing more than 6,000 barks, which were recorded in six different communicative situations was used as the sound sample. The algorithm's task was to learn which acoustic features of the barks, which were recorded in different contexts and from different individuals, could be distinguished from another.

Can humans discriminate between dogs on the base of the acoustic parameters of barks?

In this study we tested the often suggested claim that people are able to recognize their dogs by their barks. Earlier studies in other species indicated that reliable discrimination between individuals cannot be made by listening to chaotically noisy vocalizations. As barking is typically such a chaotic noisy vocalization, we have hypothesized that reliable discrimination between individuals is not possible by listening to barks.

Does dog-human attachment affect their inter-specific cooperation?

Leading a blind or blindfolded person is a complex cooperative task influenced by many factors. The aim of this study was to determine if quality of attachment affects the performance of dog and owner dyads showed on an Obstacle Course. Modified Ainsworth's Strange Situation Test was used for assessing attachment quality.

Attachment behavior of adult dogs (Canis familiaris) living at rescue centers: forming new bonds.

In this study, 60 shelter dogs (Canis familiaris) were observed in the modified version of the Strange Situation Test, which has proved to be a useful method for studying dogs' attachment behavior toward humans (J. Topál, A. Miklósi, V.

Attachment behavior in dogs (Canis familiaris): a new application of Ainsworth's (1969) Strange Situation Test.

Fifty-one owner-dog pairs were observed in a modified version of M. D. S.

Effects of morphine in different strains of paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis L.): An ethopharmacological analysis.

The behavioural effects of morphine on random bred Macropodus opercularis , five strains of this species of fish, and the closely related subspecies M. opercularis concolor , were assessed by an ethopharmacological analysis based on the study of different active and passive behavioural units. The results showed that morphine In general these findings stress out the importance of ethopharmacological studies for assessing qualitative behavioural differences which may be related to genetically-modulated neurobiological differences.

A microcomputer method for recording and analysing behavioural elements.

The trend in ethology, psychopharmacology and behaviour genetics is to get increasingly higher resolution of the behaviour of animals, since it increases the sensitivity of the tests used. Consequently the higher resolution requires an increased data-logging efficiency, and a decreased time-investment for data handling. In this paper a method for inexpensive microcomputers is presented, which enables an individual experimenter to obtain frequency, relative duration and its variance from as many behavioural elements as desired.

Behavioural elements of the paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis). I. Regularities of defensive behaviour.

Elements of behaviour were described for the paradise fish on the basis of the topography, location and orientation of the animal observed in various seminatural and laboratory environments. Correlations and repeatability of the parameters of observation were analyzed. Environmental influences, such as periods of the day, housing, feeding, raising conditions, presence of various frightening stimuli and species, and strain differences, were studied.

Behavioural elements of the paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis). II. A functional analysis.

The effects of various environmental influences, such as presence of a living predator, dominant conspecific or frightening artificial stimulus, on particular behavioural elements of the paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis) were studied. It has been found that certain sets of the elements are manifested as organizational complexes which characterize a certain mood or form of defensive behaviour. The compound elements of these complexes seemed to be partly interchangeable, partly under environmental control.

An ethopharmacological analysis of morphine effects in fish (Macropodus Opercularis).

The behavioural effects of morphine on fish (Macropodus opercularis) were studied by an ethopharmacological analysis. For this purpose active and passive behavioural units were observed. The results show that morphine treatment had a stimulating effect.

Opioid antagonism of electroshock-induced seizures.

Morphine, beta-endorphin and [D-Ala2, D-Leu5] enkephalin administered intracerebroventricularly exerted a protective effect on electroconvulsive shock (ECS)-induced seizures in mice. This effect was reversed by intraperitoneal injections of naltrexone. The role of mu and delta receptors in ECS-induced convulsions is discussed.