Emotional Arousal Impacts Physical Health in Dogs: A Review of Factors Influencing Arousal, with Exemplary Case and Framework.

Excessive emotional arousal has been shown to impact physiological health in both veterinary species and human animals. The focus of work in many models of veterinary behavioural medicine has predominantly been associated with reducing activation of the protective emotional systems; in particular, fear-anxiety. The management of the engaging emotional systems of desire-seeking, social play, care and lust has not traditionally been considered in the treatment of physiological health of veterinary species.

Sleep Characteristics in Dogs; Effect on Caregiver-Reported Problem Behaviours.

Optimal sleep duration and quality is difficult to define. There are strong arguments for a relationship between sleep, in particular REM sleep, and emotional health and behaviour in a variety of species. This study aims to broaden the level of knowledge regarding canine sleep durations and characteristics and begin research into the relationship between behavioural responses and the duration and quality of sleep.

Patient Involvement in Medical Education Research: Results From an International Survey of Medical Education Researchers.

There are demands to involve patients in medical education research (MER). This study surveyed researchers to examine the extent and nature of patient involvement in MER. It obtained 283 completed surveys (response rate of 5%).

Prolonged grief disorder prevalence in adults 65 years and over: a systematic review.

Background: Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) is a recently recognised mental health disorder with an estimated prevalence of 10% in the bereaved adult population. This review aims to appraise and summarise evidence relating to PGD in older adults (≥65 years), a growing population group, most likely to experience bereavement and often assumed to cope well.

Method: Literature from Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane Library and Web of Science was searched.

Virus Resistance Is Not Costly in a Marine Alga Evolving under Multiple Environmental Stressors.

Viruses are important evolutionary drivers of host ecology and evolution. The marine picoplankton has three known resistance types that arise in response to infection with the Phycodnavirus OtV5: susceptible cells (S) that lyse following viral entry and replication; resistant cells (R) that are refractory to viral entry; and resistant producers (RP) that do not all lyse but maintain some viruses within the population. To test for evolutionary costs of maintaining antiviral resistance, we examined whether populations composed of each resistance type differed in their evolutionary responses to several environmental drivers (lower light, lower salt, lower phosphate and a changing environment) in the absence of viruses for approximately 200 generations.

Mode of resistance to viral lysis affects host growth across multiple environments in the marine picoeukaryote Ostreococcus tauri.

Viruses play important roles in population dynamics and as drivers of evolution in single-celled marine phytoplankton. Viral infection of Ostreococcus tauri often causes cell lysis, but two spontaneously arising resistance mechanisms occur: resistant cells that cannot become infected and resistant producer cells that are infected but not lysed, and which may slowly release viruses. As of yet, little is known about how consistent the effects of viruses on their hosts are across different environments.

Novel dietary strategies can improve the outcome of weight loss programmes in obese client-owned cats.

A randomised, single-blinded, positively controlled, field trial for weight loss in obese client-owned cats was undertaken to look at novel diets and dietary strategies that could improve owner compliance and, therefore, success of feline weight loss programmes. Three dietary strategies were evaluated: strategy A used a novel dry high fibre ration; strategy B used ready-prepared portions of dry and moist food; strategy C used an existing commercial dry high fibre ration fed with a measuring cup. Cats were assessed at weeks 4, 12 and 20, and adjustments to the energy allocation made if required.

Determination of the dosage of clomipramine for the treatment of urine spraying in cats.

Objective: To determine the optimal dosage of clomipramine for the treatment of urine spraying in cats.

Design: Randomized controlled multicenter clinical trial.

Animals: 67 neutered cats.