Tobacco Smoke Exposure in Pregnant Dogs: Maternal and Newborn Cotinine Levels: A Pilot Study.

Active and passive smoking in pregnant women is associated with perinatal morbidity and mortality risk, including abortion, preterm birth, low birthweight, and malformations. No data are available on intrauterine exposure to smoking during pregnancy in dogs. This study aimed to fill this gap by exploring the detectability and quantity of cotinine, the major metabolite of nicotine, in maternal (serum and hair) and newborn (amniotic fluid and hair) biospecimens collected at birth in dogs. For this purpose, twelve pregnant bitches, six exposed to the owner's smoke and six unexposed, were enrolled. A further six non-pregnant bitches exposed to passive smoke were included to investigate the role of pregnancy status on cotinine uptake. Exposed dogs, dams, and puppies had greater cotinine concentrations than unexposed ones. Although without statistical significance, serum and hair cotinine concentrations were higher in pregnant compared to non-pregnant bitches, suggesting a different sensitivity to tobacco smoke exposure during gestation. The present results provide evidence for cotinine transplacental passage in the dog. It is conceivable that fragile patients such as pregnant, lactating, and neonate dogs may be more susceptible to the harmful effects of second-hand smoke exposure. Owners should be sensitized to the risk of smoke exposure for their pets.

Cotinine as a Sentinel of Canine Exposure to Tobacco Smoke.

The adverse health effects of both active and passive tobacco smoke have been well-known in humans for a long time. It is presumable that even pets, which intimately share the owner's lifestyle, may be exposed to the same risks. This study aimed to detect and quantify cotinine (a metabolite of nicotine) in the serum and hair of dogs using a specific commercial ELISA immunoassay kit. A total of 32 dogs, 16 exposed and 16 unexposed to the owner's smoke, were enrolled. The cotinine concentration was higher in the exposed than the unexposed group in both matrices (p < 0.001), with greater values in serum than in hair (p < 0.001). Exposed bitches had higher hair cotinine than male dogs (p < 0.001). Conversely, serum and fur cotinine concentrations were lower in female than male dogs of the unexposed group (p < 0.01). The exposure intensity, age, and weight of the dogs did not affect cotinine concentrations. A cut-off value of 2.78 ng/mL and 1.13 ng/mL cotinine concentration in serum and fur, respectively, was estimated to distinguish between the exposed and unexposed dogs. Cotinine was confirmed as a valuable marker of passive smoking also in dogs. Although owners do not perceive secondhand smoke as a risk for their dogs, greater awareness should be advisable, especially in pregnant animals.

Events with Different Emotional Valence Affect the Eye's Lacrimal Caruncle Temperature Changes in Sheep.

Infrared thermography (IRT) has been recently applied to measure lacrimal caruncle temperature non-invasively since this region is related to the sympathetic response, and it seems a promising technique that is able to infer negative emotions in sheep (e.g., fear). However, the scientific literature so far is limited in understanding whether a caruncle's temperature changes also in response to positive emotional states in sheep. Through classical conditioning, we aimed to assess how a positive or a negative event affects the physiological (lacrimal caruncle temperature measured with IRT and cortisol levels) and behavioral responses of sheep (ear position). Fourteen ewes from the same flock were randomly assigned to two treatment groups: positive (n = 7) and negative (n = 7). Each group was then trained through classical conditioning to associate a neutral auditory (ring bell) stimulus to an oncoming event: for the positive group, the presence of a food reward (maize grains), while for the negative one, the opening of an umbrella. After three weeks of training, before (at rest) and after (post-treatment), lacrimal caruncle temperature was non-invasively measured via IRT, and saliva samples were gently collected to measure cortisol levels. During treatment, sheep behavior was videorecorded and then analyzed using a focal animal sampling technique. At rest, the eye's lacrimal caruncle temperature was similar in both groups, while post-treatment, a significant increase was shown only in the negative group (t-test; p = 0.017). In the anticipation phase, sheep in the positive group kept their ears forward longer compared to those in the negative one (Mann-Whitney; p < 0.014), 8.3 ± 2.1 s and 5.2 ± 4.2 s, respectively. The behavioral response observed reflects a learnt association between a neutral stimulus and events with different emotional valence. Cortisol concentration slightly increased in both groups post-treatment. Our results confirm that IRT is a non-invasive technique that can be useful when applied to assess how positive and negative events may affect the physiological response in sheep.

Do intense weather events influence dogs' and cats' behavior? Analysis of owner reported data in Italy.

Climate change is a threat to global health and can affect both veterinary and human health. Intense weather events, including sudden and violent thunderstorms or periods of extreme heat, are predicted to rise in frequency and severity and this could lead owners to significantly change their habits and schedules based on the weather, could modify human management and could aggravate pre-existing behavioral problems in pets. The aims of the present study were to identify and quantify possible weather events impact on management, behavior, and behavioral problems of Italian dogs and cats, based on previous owners' experiences with their animals. Two questionnaires were prepared, one for dogs and one for cats, investigating owners' perceptions of the impact of weather events on their pets' behavior. A number of 392 dogs and 426 cats' owners answered the questionnaire. Our study showed that many behaviors in both species were equally modified by environmental temperature. Play and activity increased with cold weather and decreased with heat, and sleep increased with drops in temperature and with hot weather. In particular, the increase in activity in correspondence with the thermic drop was more significant in males, while the increase in playing behavior was statistically greater in the Sheepdogs and Cattle dogs -group1. Weather events did not affect aggressive and house soiling behaviors in both dogs and cats, but weather events, including wild thunderstorms, torrential rains influenced the pets' behavior. Understanding how pets modify their behaviors based on a different owners' schedule and to weather events can help to refine prevention strategies through societal changes and owner education.

Does Immunocastration Affect Behaviour and Body Lesions in Heavy Pigs?

Immunocastration has been pointed out as an alternative to surgical castration; though, most of the scientific studies were performed in light pig production. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of immunocastration on animal welfare in heavy pig production through the evaluation of behaviour and body lesions. A total of 188 commercial-hybrid pigs were randomly allocated into two treatment groups: surgical castration (SC) and immunocastration with Improvac® (IC). Data on behaviour, body lesions, and salivary testosterone levels were collected the day before each vaccination at 15, 22, 32, and 36 weeks of age. IC and SC pigs were slaughtered at 40 and 41 weeks of age, respectively; productive and carcass traits data were also collected. Considering productive performance, our results confirmed that IC pigs grew faster and presented a higher weight at slaughter. A critical period for pig welfare was observed before 32 weeks: testosterone concentration and body lesion score were significantly higher in IC pigs compared to SC pigs; active behaviours were significantly more frequent in IC at 15 weeks. Immunocastration may represent a suitable alternative to surgical castration with profitable productive performances, whereas the impairment of welfare during the period before the effective vaccination should be further investigated as a potential critical aspect in heavy pig production.

The Effect of Lift Crates on Piglet Survival Rate and Sow Stress Level during Farrowing.

In the present study, we aimed to determine the effect of lift farrowing crates on piglet mortality by crushing and on sow welfare. Eighty-four sows were considered in the one-year experiment in three monitoring sessions. In each session, 14 sows were housed in a room with conventional crates (CC), and 14 sows were lodged in a room equipped with lift crates (LC). The sows, of the same genetics, with parity ranging from 2 to 9, were randomly distributed in CC and LC rooms. No primiparous sows were considered in the study to avoid sows unexperienced with the dynamics of lift crates. The numbers of crushed piglets, assessed by the farm's veterinarian, within 48 h, 72 h, and at weaning (28th day), were recorded. Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) was measured upon entry and exit from farrowing to evaluate stress level variation. Feet diseases and backfat thickness were evaluated to assess sows' potential diseases induced by lift crates and metabolic problems. The results show that the number of crushed piglets per sow was higher in the CC rooms than in the LC rooms in the first two days after delivery (0.39 vs. 0.15, p < 0.05) and up to weaning (0.50 vs. 0.37; p < 0.05). Mean values of HCC variation in sows during farrowing were significantly different in the two housing systems and higher for the LC sows (0.53 pg/mg vs. 0.22 pg/mg; p < 0.05). No significant differences were detected for backfat variation and feet disease scoring between LC and CC sows. In conclusion, LC sows evidenced an increase in hair cortisol values during farrowing, probably caused by a higher stress status induced by the lift crate, along with the benefit of the higher survival rate of piglets before weaning.

Do You Think I Am Living Well? A Four-Season Hair Cortisol Analysis on Leisure Horses in Different Housing and Management Conditions.

The satisfaction of leisure horses' behavioral needs has begun to be considered a priority, linked to the awareness that horses kept in single boxes may be deprived of social contact and the possibility to perform natural behaviors. Several factors may influence horses' quality of life also in the paddock, and there are very few data on the effects of those variables on leisure horses' chronic stress, measurable in terms of activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. Therefore, managerial choices faced by owners and stables managers are only based on experience, common sense, and anecdotal beliefs. This study assessed and compared the chronic stress levels in leisure horses hosted in structures in the same geographic and climatic area with different daily routines to verify which management strategy could be the one that better contributes to achieving the welfare of horses. Forty-seven horses were divided into three groups homogeneous in terms of sex and age: Mixed management group (n = 12), Paddock group (n = 19), and Natural management group (n = 16). The hair cortisol concentration, a reliable marker of long-term stress, was analyzed in all the horses the same day at four time points of the year. In addition to management strategies, the influences of other variables (sex, age, coat color, and season) were evaluated. Independently from the management strategies, significantly higher hair cortisol values were detected in the autumn and summer, as well as in individuals older than 15 years. No significant differences were highlighted between the sexes or the coat colors. The comparison of the different management strategies showed that, in the summer, autumn, and winter, the hair cortisol levels were significantly lower in the Mixed management group horses than the Paddock group, highlighting that those subjects had better homeostasis. The Natural management group horses' hair cortisol levels were intermediate between the other two groups of horses in all the seasons. Spending the night in the stables would seem to positively impact the well-being of the horses. These findings, if confirmed by further studies, may be helpful in enhancing horse welfare and assisting in managerial choice decision-making.

Influence of Gonadectomy on Canine Behavior.

Due to the lack of unequivocal scientific evidence, gonadectomy's effects on dogs' behavior are still debated. Since veterinarians differ in their opinion, there may be considerable diversity in the advice received by owners. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of gonadectomy on dog behavior across time. Ninety-six dog owners (48 control dogs and 48 experimental dogs) were interviewed twice (T0 and T1, nine months later) to obtain information about their dog's behavior. No change was found in the eating behavior or weight of dogs of both groups. Compared to T0, at T1, experimental dogs were reported to show less mounting behavior, pull on the leash, and roaming behaviors. Marking behavior did not vary across time for both groups of dogs. A tendency to reduce owner-directed aggression was observed at T1 for experimental male dogs, while no change was observed for male controls. The literature reports conflicting information about the effect of gonadectomy on behavior, suggesting that further studies about this topic should be undertaken.

May Salivary Chromogranin A Act as a Physiological Index of Stress in Transported Donkeys? A Pilot Study.

Road transport is known to be a stressful animal husbandry procedure as it induces the activation of two main physiological stress-related pathways: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortex axis and the sympathetic-adrenal medulla axis. This preliminary study aimed to investigate whether salivary chromogranin A (CgA) concentration, known as a biomarker of the sympathetic activity system during psychological stress, may represent a novel physiological index of transportation-induced stress in donkeys. Nineteen Romagnolo donkeys, raised in groups on paddocks, were subject to two transportations, following the farm's routine procedures, for a mean duration of 64 min each on two consecutive days. Salivary samples were gently collected 15 min before and 15 min after each transportation. Salivary CgA was measured by a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. Results showed that CgA salivary levels significantly decreased after both transportations. The physiological mechanisms underlying this result may be related to catestatin activity, a bioactive product of the proteolytic cleavage of CgA, that acts as an inhibitor of catecholamine release. This hypothesis requires further investigation, particularly considering the limited number of subjects involved in this preliminary study. The identification of a reliable and non-invasive stress-marker would represent a useful tool for improving farm animals' welfare in transport conditions.

Two-step investigation of lung cancer detection by sniffer dogs.

Early detection of lung cancer (LC) is a priority since LC is characterized by symptoms mimicking other respiratory conditions, but it remains the leading cause of oncological disease death. Properly trained dogs can perceive the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) related to cancer thanks to their acute sense of smell. The use of dogs for LC detection could be advantageous: reliably trained dogs would represent a valuable, cost-effective, non-invasive method of screening, which gives a clear-cut yes/no response. However, whether sniffer dogs are able to maintain their discriminative capacity under long-term control, and in different types of environments, needs further investigation. In this study, we sought to test two hypotheses: firstly, if dogs can be trained to perceive LC-related VOCs in human urine, a substrate which is not influenced by the carrier materials and may thus be a good candidate for large-number screening; and secondly, whether trained dogs retain their performance stability over time, even if the environment in which the tests are carried out varies. We have selected three family dogs that underwent a one-year training period (two weekly training sessions) by the clicker training method. At the end of the training, the dogs underwent two separate test phases, in two different locations, one year apart. All the other procedures had been maintained unchanged. The donors of the samples submitted to the dogs were recruited by the European Institute of Oncology (IEO), Milan, Italy. The results show that the dogs had different sensitivity (range: 45%-73%) and specificity rates (range: 89%-91%), and were deceived neither by lung conditions (that the dogs did not consider) nor by the existence of tumors in the beginning stage, that were correctly reported by the dogs. The one-year interruption of the research work and the changes in the test environment did not induce statistically significant differences in the dogs' perceptive capacity. To our knowledge, so far, these issues have never been highlighted.

Taurine Administration Recovers Motor and Learning Deficits in an Angelman Syndrome Mouse Model.

Angelman syndrome (AS, MIM 105830) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 1:10-20,000 children. Patients show moderate to severe intellectual disability, ataxia and absence of speech. Studies on both post-mortem AS human brains and mouse models revealed dysfunctions in the extra synaptic gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors implicated in the pathogenesis. Taurine is a free intracellular sulfur-containing amino acid, abundant in brain, considered an inhibiting neurotransmitter with neuroprotective properties. As taurine acts as an agonist of GABA-A receptors, we aimed at investigating whether it might ameliorate AS symptoms. Since mice weaning, we orally administered 1 g/kg/day taurine in water to Ube3a-deficient mice. To test the improvement of motor and cognitive skills, Rotarod, Novel Object Recognition and Open Field tests were assayed at 7, 14, 21 and 30 weeks, while biochemical tests and amino acid dosages were carried out, respectively, by Western-blot and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on frozen whole brains. Treatment of Ube3am-/p+ mice with taurine significantly improved motor and learning skills and restored the levels of the post-synaptic PSD-95 and pERK1/2-ERK1/2 ratio to wild type values. No side effects of taurine were observed. Our study indicates taurine administration as a potential therapy to ameliorate motor deficits and learning difficulties in AS.

Role of Personality in Behavioral Responses to New Environments in Captive Asiatic Lions (Panthera leo persica).

Studying personality in captive animals may enable the development of individual-based management decisions, which may improve animal welfare. Asiatic lions at London Zoo represent an opportunity to research an understudied species' response to new environments since they have experienced social and physical changes, such as new enclosures and increased social interaction with humans. This project aimed to investigate the role of personality in behavioral responses to these changes. Lion personality questionnaires completed by keepers and direct focal animal observations were used to create personality profiles. Time budgets and enclosure use were determined and compared between control nights and event nights and between the lions' previous enclosure and their new one. The results showed a lack of difference in time budget and enclosure use between control and social event nights, and the spread of participation index values revealed that the lions use their enclosures unevenly. Personality profiles identified various traits that could assist with individual-based management decisions. As the first study to assess Asiatic lions personality, this research contributes to the creation of consistent and valid methodology for evaluating captive animal personality that may improve husbandry and welfare protocols for individual lions, leading to the improved health and success of the species.

Behavioural Profiles of Brown and Sloth Bears in Captivity.

Three brown bear (Ursusarctosarctos) individuals and two sloth bear (Melursusursinusinornatus) individuals were observed in captivity to produce behavioural profiles for each individual. Data collected through behavioural observations were used to produce activity budgets, and to identify space usage and certain aspects of social behavior. Behaviour monitoring allowed the researchers to evaluate the welfare of the animals by identifying the occurrence of stereotypic behaviours, which are sometimes associated with stress. Behavioural profiles were created using data obtained through behavioural observations (coding) and keeper questionnaires (rating). The behavioural observations indicated a number of stereotypic behaviours in sloth bears but not in brown bears. The uniformity of zone usage was calculated to investigate if the enclosure size and features were adequate for use, and a social aspect of otherwise solitary animals was also identified. The behavioural profiles generated through coding and rating were compared to determine the reliability between these two methods in Ursids. Profiles were not compared between individuals since this study is not a comparison between different personality types but rather an effort (one of the few ones existing in literature) to select a valid and reproducible methodology capable of assessing personality in bears.