Predictors of laminitis development in a cohort of nonlaminitic ponies.

Background: Quantifying risk factors for laminitis development requires improvement.

Objectives: To identify the most useful physical examination, metabolic and management factors to predict laminitis development in client-owned, nonlaminitic ponies.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Rapid Reconstitution of the Fecal Microbiome after Extended Diet-Induced Changes Indicates a Stable Gut Microbiome in Healthy Adult Dogs.

The gut microbiome has an important role in health, and diet represents a key lever for shaping the gut microbiome across all stages of life. Maternal milk consumption in neonates leads to long-term health effects, indicating that pliability in the infant gut microbiome in response to diet can drive enduring change. The ability of diet to drive lasting changes in the adult gut microbiome is less understood.

Long-term biological variability and the generation of a new reference interval for plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide in Labrador retrievers.

Objectives: First, to investigate the biological variability of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in healthy Labrador retrievers and compare this with current laboratory recommendations for dilated cardiomyopathy screening. Second, to calculate a breed-specific reference interval and validate it in a retrospective cohort.

Materials And Methods: Plasma NT-proBNP was measured in 51 clinically healthy Labrador retrievers at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks.

Short-term determination and long-term evaluation of the dietary methionine requirement in adult dogs.

Methionine, an essential sulphur-containing amino acid (SAA), plays an integral role in many metabolic processes. Evidence for the methionine requirements of adult dogs is limited, and we employed the indicator amino acid oxidation (IAAO) method to estimate dietary methionine requirements in Labrador retrievers (n 21). Using semi-purified diets, the mean requirement was 0·55 (95 % CI 0·41, 0·71) g/4184 kJ.

Mapping the bacterial ecology on the phyllosphere of dry and post soaked grass hay for horses.

Soaking hay fodder to reduce dust and soluble carbohydrate (WSC) contents prior to feeding is common practice among horse owners. Soaking can increase bacteria load in hay but no information exists on how this process alters the bacteria profile, which could pose a health risk or digestive challenge, to horses by introducing foreign bacteria into the gastrointestinal tract and so altering the normal profile. The current objectives were to map the bacterial profile of 3 different hays and determine how soaking alters this with the aim of improving best practice when feeding stabled horses.

Comparison of immunofluorescence and chemiluminescence assays for measuring ACTH in equine plasma.

Background: The chemiluminescence (CL) and immunofluorescence (IF) assays yield different results for basal adrenocorticotropin hormone concentrations [ACTH] in pony plasma. It is unclear whether this difference also occurs in basal samples from horses or samples from ponies following thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation.

Objectives: To compare the results of [ACTH] analysis by CL and IF methods in basal samples from horses and pony samples following TRH stimulation.

Relationships Between Measurements of Body Fat in Thoroughbred Horses.

Equine obesity is increasing in prevalence, and weight loss diets are frequently recommended for these horses. However, there are also management situations in which horses are deemed to be too thin. To monitor the efficacy of weight change programs, estimates of body fat are often made.

Effect of Changing Diet on Gastric Ulceration in Exercising Horses and Ponies After Cessation of Omeprazole Treatment.

Diet is an accepted risk factor for equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD), but there is little published evidence for the benefit of dietary change (DC). This study evaluated the effect of DC with or without initial omeprazole medication. Twelve pairs of exercising horses with ESGD Grade 2/4 (EM) and 17 pairs with ESGD Grade ≥3/4 (ES), were monitored.

Predicting early risk of chronic kidney disease in cats using routine clinical laboratory tests and machine learning.

Background: Advanced machine learning methods combined with large sets of health screening data provide opportunities for diagnostic value in human and veterinary medicine.

Hypothesis/objectives: To derive a model to predict the risk of cats developing chronic kidney disease (CKD) using data from electronic health records (EHRs) collected during routine veterinary practice.

Animals: A total of 106 251 cats that attended Banfield Pet Hospitals between January 1, 1995, and December 31, 2017.

Socio-demographic factors associated with pet ownership amongst adolescents from a UK birth cohort.

Background: In developed nations, pet ownership is common within families. Both physical and psychological health benefits may result from owning a pet during childhood and adolescence. However, it is difficult to determine whether these benefits are due to pet ownership directly or to factors linked to both pet ownership and health.

Psychological Health Benefits of Companion Animals Following a Social Loss.

Background And Objectives: In later life, the loss of a spouse due to divorce or widowhood is common and can lead to elevated depressive symptoms and loneliness. Research suggests that companion animal (CA) may be beneficial for psychological health, but limited research has explored whether CA can buffer negative consequences of social losses.

Research Design And Methods: This study uses data drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine changes in depressive symptoms and loneliness in relation to a social loss among those with/without a CA.

Observing Live Fish Improves Perceptions of Mood, Relaxation and Anxiety, But Does Not Consistently Alter Heart Rate or Heart Rate Variability.

Although fish and other aquatic species are popular privately-kept pets, little is known about the effects of watching live fish on the perceptions of arousal and the link between those perceptions and physiological measures of arousal. In two separate experiments, participants were asked to watch identically-equipped fish tanks for five minutes in each of three conditions: (1) Live fish, (2) plants and water, and (3) empty tank. Linear mixed models used across both experiments revealed similar results: Greater perceptions of relaxation and mood, and less anxiety during or after viewing the live fish condition, compared with the other conditions.

A transcriptomic atlas of mammalian olfactory mucosae reveals an evolutionary influence on food odor detection in humans.

The mammalian olfactory system displays species-specific adaptations to different ecological niches. To investigate the evolutionary dynamics of olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) subtypes across mammalian evolution, we applied RNA sequencing of whole olfactory mucosa samples from mouse, rat, dog, marmoset, macaque, and human. We find that OSN subtypes, representative of all known mouse chemosensory receptor gene families, are present in all analyzed species.

The effects of interacting with fish in aquariums on human health and well-being: A systematic review.

Background: Most research into the health benefits of human-animal interaction has focused on species that interact physically with humans, such as dogs. This may be unsuitable for certain populations for reasons including accessibility and the risk of negative consequences to both the person and the animal. However, some research has associated viewing fish in aquariums with positive well-being outcomes; as there is no physical contact with the animal, this form of interaction carries less risk.

Simulated Sunlight Selectively Modifies Maillard Reaction Products in a Wide Array of Chemical Reactions.

The photochemical transformation of Maillard reaction products (MRPs) under simulated sunlight into mostly unexplored photoproducts is reported herein. Non-enzymatic glycation of amino acids leads to a heterogeneous class of intermediates with extreme chemical diversity, which is of particular relevance in processed and stored food products as well as in diabetic and age-related protein damage. Here, three amino acids (lysine, arginine, and histidine) were reacted with ribose at 100 °C in water for ten hours.

Exploring the Handler-Dog Connection within a University-Based Animal-Assisted Activity.

There has been an increase in research concerning the quality of dyadic interactions between humans and dogs in university-based animal assisted activities (AAAs). While interactions between students and dogs are commonly an area of focus, studies examining interactions between handlers and their dogs are needed. We coded 10-min long video-recorded observations ( = 151) using a mixed methods approach to capture the duration and frequency of dog-directed handler behavior (i.

Physics of animal health: on the mechano-biology of hoof growth and form.

Global inequalities in economic access and agriculture productivity imply that a large number of developing countries rely on working equids for transport/agriculture/mining. Therefore, the understanding of hoof conditions/shape variations affecting equids' ability to work is still a persistent concern. To bridge this gap, using a multi-scale interdisciplinary approach, we provide a bio-physical model predicting the shape of equids' hooves as a function of physical and biological parameters.

A longitudinal assessment of periodontal disease in Yorkshire terriers.

Background: Periodontal disease is the most common oral disease of dogs and has been associated with systemic disease. The purpose of the present study was to determine the extent of periodontal disease in a population of Yorkshire terrier dogs with and without a tooth brushing regimen. Each dog was assessed under general anaesthesia two to five times between 37 and 78 weeks of age.

Genomes from bacteria associated with the canine oral cavity: A test case for automated genome-based taxonomic assignment.

Taxonomy for bacterial isolates is commonly assigned via sequence analysis. However, the most common sequence-based approaches (e.g.

Measuring Human-Animal Attachment in a Large U.S. Survey: Two Brief Measures for Children and Their Primary Caregivers.

Researchers in the human-animal interaction (HAI) field face a challenge in generalizing the impact of pet ownership and companion animal interaction from small samples to larger populations. While researchers in Europe and Australia have included measures of pet ownership and attachment in surveys for some time (e.g.

Insulin Resistance as a Result of Body Condition Categorized as Thin, Moderate, and Obese in Domesticated U.S. Donkeys (Equus asinus).

Donkeys are often kept, especially in industrialized countries, as companion animals. Donkeys have greater digestive efficiency and tend to expend less energy than horses or ponies, which contributes to obesity in nonworking donkeys. Obesity in all equine species increases risk of chronic health conditions such as laminitis and insulin resistance.

Metabolomic profiling to identify effects of dietary calcium reveal the influence of the individual and postprandial dynamics on the canine plasma metabolome.

Short-term feeding studies have highlighted a phenomenon in Ca regulation that raises concerns around Ca absorption in dogs that may make an impact on commercial diets near to the maximum recommended level. A recent study to determine responses in dogs fed one of two diets differing in dietary Ca over 40 weeks found no evidence to suggest a concern across a range of biological parameters hypothesised to be affected by Ca. Unforeseen consequences of dietary Ca could have occurred and metabolic profiling was deemed a suitable data-driven approach to identify effects of dietary Ca.