Assistance dogs must manage stress efficiently because they are involved in challenging tasks. Their welfare is currently a fundamental issue. This preliminary study aimed to compare assistance dogs (AD; n = 22) with pet dogs (PD; n = 24), using blood neuromodulator indicators to help find biomarkers that can improve the AD breeding, selection, training, and welfare monitoring. Both populations originated from different breeds, are of different ages, and had different lifestyles. Basal peripheral concentrations of prolactin (PRL), serotonin (5-HT), free (fOT) and total (tOT) oxytocin were measured by immunoassays. Multiple linear regressions were performed to assess the effect of activity, age, sex, and their interactions on these parameters. Correlations between neurohormonal levels were analyzed. No interactions were significant. fOT and tOT concentrations were significantly influenced by age ( < 0.0001 and = 0.0002, respectively) and dogs' activity ( = 0.0006 and = 0.0277, respectively). A tendency was observed for age effect on PRL ( = 0.0625) and 5-HT ( = 0.0548), as well as for sex effect on tOT ( = 0.0588). PRL concentrations were heterogenous among AD. fOT and tOT were significantly but weakly correlated (Pearson's r = 0.34; = 0.04). Blood prolactin, serotonin, and oxytocin may represent biomarkers to assess workload and chronic stress-related responses in ADs and eventually improve their selection and training.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8466048 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11092594 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Antagonisation of Prokineticin Receptor-2 Attenuates Preeclampsia Symptoms.
J Cell Mol Med
January 2025
Interdisciplinary Research Institute of Grenoble, IRIG-Biosanté, University Grenoble Alpes, INSERM, CEA, UMR 1292, Grenoble, France.
Preeclampsia (PE) is the most threatening pathology of human pregnancy. Placenta from PE patients releases harmful factors that contribute to the exacerbation of the disease. Among these factors is the prokineticin1 (PROK1) and its receptor, PROKR2 that we identified as a mediators of PE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRefinement of a meaning-centered counseling program for Chinese patients with advanced cancer: integrating cultural adaptation and implementation science approaches.
BMC Health Serv Res
January 2025
Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Background: This mixed methods study identified needed refinements to a telehealth-delivered cultural and linguistic adaptation of Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Chinese patients with advanced cancer (MCP-Ch) to enhance acceptability, comprehensibility, and implementation of the intervention in usual care settings, guided by the Ecological Validity Model (EVM) and the Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model (PRISM).
Methods: Fifteen purposively sampled mental health professionals who work with Chinese cancer patients completed surveys providing Likert-scale ratings on acceptability and comprehensibility of MCP-Ch content (guided by the EVM) and pre-implementation factors (guided by PRISM), followed by semi-structured interviews. Survey data were descriptively summarized and linked to qualitative interview data.
Immune responses of cattle vaccinated by various routes with Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG).
BMC Vet Res
January 2025
Bacterial Diseases of Livestock Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, 1920 Dayton Ave, Ames, IA, 50010, USA.
Background: Mycobacterium bovis BCG is the human tuberculosis vaccine and is the oldest vaccine still in use today with over 4 billion people vaccinated since 1921. The BCG vaccine has also been investigated experimentally in cattle and wildlife by various routes including oral and parenteral. Thus far, oral vaccination studies of cattle have involved liquid BCG or liquid BCG incorporated into a lipid matrix.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMRI-guided focused ultrasound for treating Parkinson's disease with human mesenchymal stem cells.
Sci Rep
January 2025
Physical Sciences Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive disorder that affects the nervous system and causes regions of the brain to deteriorate. In this study, we investigated the effects of MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) for the delivery of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-HODA)-induced PD rat model. MRgFUS-induced blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability modulation was conducted using an acoustic controller with the targets at the striatum (ST) and SN.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFunctional genomics implicates ebony in the black pupae phenotype of tephritid fruit flies.
Commun Biol
January 2025
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, Hilo, USA.
The remarkable diversity of insect pigmentation offers a captivating avenue for studying evolution and genetics. In tephritids, understanding the molecular basis of mutant traits is also crucial for applied entomology, enabling the creation of genetic sexing strains through genome editing, thus facilitating sex-sorting before sterile insect releases. Here, we present evidence from classical and modern genetics showing that the black pupae (bp) phenotype in the GUA10 strain of Anastrepha ludens is caused by a large deletion at the ebony locus, removing the gene's entire coding region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!