This study aimed to investigate the establishment of relationship between inbreeding and life expectancy in dogs. A dataset of
= 30,563 dogs sourced from the VetCompass™ Program, UK was made ...available by the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, containing information about breed and longevity and was subject to survival analysis. A Cox regression proportional hazards model was used to differentiate survivability in three groups of dogs (mongrel, cross-bred and pure breed). The model was found highly significant (
< 0.001) and we found that mongrel dog had the highest life expectancy, followed by cross-bred dogs with only one purebred ancestor and purebred dogs had the lowest life expectancy. A second Cox regression was also found highly significant (
< 0.001) differentiating the lifespan of different dog breed and correlating positively the hazard ratio and the Genetic Illness Severity Index for Dogs (GISID). The results show that survivability is higher in mongrel dogs followed by cross-bred with one of the ancestor only as a pure breed, and pure breed dog have the highest morbidity level. Higher morbidity is associated with higher GISID scores, and therefore, higher inbreeding coefficients. These findings have important implications for dog breeders, owners, and animal welfare organizations seeking to promote healthier, longer-lived dogs.
Europe is considered the largest producer of wine worldwide, showing a high market potential. Several wastes are generated at the different stages of the wine production process, namely, vine ...pruning, stalks, and grape marc. Typically, these residues are not used and are commonly discarded. Portugal generates annually approximately 178 thousand metric tons of wine production waste. In this context, the interest in redirecting the use of these residues has increased due to overproduction, great availability, and low costs. The utilization of these lignocellulosic biomasses derived from the wine industry would economically benefit the producers, while mitigating impacts on the environment. These by-products can be submitted to pre-treatments (physical, chemical, and biological) for the separation of different compounds with high industrial interest, reducing the waste of agro-industrial activities and increasing industrial profitability. Particularly, vine-pruning residue, besides being a source of sugar, has high nutritional value and may serve as a source of phenolic compounds. These compounds can be obtained by bioconversion, following a concept of biorefinery. In this framework, the current routes of the valorisation of the pruning residues will be addressed and put into a circular economy context.
Beetroot juice contains high levels of inorganic nitrate (NO
) and its intake has proved effective at increasing blood nitric oxide (NO) concentrations. Given the effects of NO in promoting ...vasodilation and blood flow with beneficial impacts on muscle contraction, several studies have detected an ergogenic effect of beetroot juice supplementation on exercise efforts with high oxidative energy metabolism demands. However, only a scarce yet growing number of investigations have sought to assess the effects of this supplement on performance at high-intensity exercise. Here we review the few studies that have addressed this issue. The databases Dialnet, Elsevier, Medline, Pubmed and Web of Science were searched for articles in English, Portuguese and Spanish published from 2010 to March 31 to 2017 using the keywords: beet or beetroot or nitrate or nitrite and supplement or supplementation or nutrition or "sport nutrition" and exercise or sport or "physical activity" or effort or athlete. Nine articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria were identified. Results indicate that beetroot juice given as a single dose or over a few days may improve performance at intermittent, high-intensity efforts with short rest periods. The improvements observed were attributed to faster phosphocreatine resynthesis which could delay its depletion during repetitive exercise efforts. In addition, beetroot juice supplementation could improve muscle power output via a mechanism involving a faster muscle shortening velocity. The findings of some studies also suggested improved indicators of muscular fatigue, though the mechanism involved in this effect remains unclear.
In this cross-sectional study, the gingivitis and the calculus indices of the teeth of N = 41 cats were used to model oral health as a dependent variable using a Poisson regression. The independent ...variables used were "quadrant", "teeth type", "age", and "diet". Teeth type (p < 0.001) and diet (p < 0.001) were found to be significant, however, age was not (p > 0.05). Interactions were all significant: age x teeth (p < 0.01), age × diet (p < 0.01), teeth × diet (p < 0.001), and teeth × age × diet (p < 0.001). The probability of poor oral health is lower in the incisors of young or adult cats, fed a dry diet in comparison to the cheek teeth of older cats fed a wet diet. Diet has a higher contribution to poor oral health than age. It is argued that cats' oral health may be promoted with an early age hygiene of the cheek teeth and with provision of abrasive dry food.
Hyperthyroidism is the most frequently diagnosed endocrine disorder in cats. Therapy may include pharmacological, surgical (thyroidectomy), radioactive (iodine), and dietary treatment. The choice of ...treatment is believed to be strongly influenced by the veterinarian’s experience, level of education, and knowledge of the current scientific literature. The history of survival rates can affect the decision for treatment by both the veterinarian and the owner. This study aimed to explore the longevity in cats diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and to identify significant variables which affect survival rates by using retrospective data from the practice. A multivariate Cox regression was applied with the following results: surgical thyroidectomy and methimazole medication produced similar longevity (median 23.5 months, P>0.05); Domestic Short Hair cats survived longer than pure breeds (median 27.2 vs 9.4 months, P<0.05); as do cats without chronic renal disease (median 28.1 vs 6.2 months, P<0.001); and those with low activities of alanine aminotransferase (median 27.1 vs 17.0 months, P<0.01). Hyperthyroidism is comorbid with renal diseases, but no cumulative effect was found on survivability. There was no difference in survival rates between surgical and pharmaceutical treatment, therefore the discussion of treatment options with owners can focus on other factors (e.g., cost, owners’ compliance, cats’ tolerance to medication, presence of comorbidities). We propose that surgery may be the preferred treatment when the survival rates are expected to be higher than one year. This would avoid high costs and potential side effects of medication.
Introduction: Nurses providing care to individuals with chronic kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis must have specific training in dialysis techniques. Therefore, Dialysis Nurses should develop ...specific and differentiated competencies throughout their professional career. Blended learning plays a fundamental role in modernizing education, making it more accessible, flexible, and tailored to the needs of nurses. It offers opportunities to improve the quality of learning and promote collaboration and innovation in the educational process.Objectives: The study’s objectives were to assess the influence of sociodemographic variables (age and education) and acquired training (frequency and duration) on the competence profile and to evaluate the effectiveness of a training program in HD techniques on the perception of competence of Dialysis Nurses.Material and Methods: Quasi-experimental, pre and post-test study without a control group.Results: Age, frequency, and duration of training influence dialysis nurses’ perceptions of competence. Participants showed a significant improvement in some domains of dialysis nurses’ perceptions of competence after the implementation of a training program in HD techniques.Conclusions: A properly structured and standardized training program for dialysis nurses is an asset in acquiring, consolidating, and updating knowledge.
In this study, we examined how beliefs about farm animal sentience and their suffering vary across culture and demographic characteristics. A total of N = 5027) questionnaires were administered in ...Brazil, Russia, India, China, and the USA. Brazilians showed higher and Chinese lower levels of perceived animal sentience. In Russia and India, the perception of suffering and sentience increases with age, with similar levels to those observed in the USA. In all the countries, more people agreed than disagreed that animals are sentient. Men in India show higher levels of agreement with the relation between eating meat and animal suffering, followed by women in Brazil and China. Lower levels of agreement are observed in Americans and Chinese. Women show higher levels of compassion than men. In Russia, there is a slightly higher level of agreement between men and in the USA younger men agree more. Young American men show higher levels of agreement, while in India and China age has the opposite effect. For fair trading competition, it is important to standardize procedures and respect the demand for both animal protein and its ethical production. Overall, our results showed that perceptions of farm animal sentience and suffering vary substantially across countries and demographic groups. These differences could have important consequences for the perceived ethicality of meat production and consumption, and for global trade in animal products.
Strong evidence during the last few decades has highlighted the importance of nutrition for sport performance, the role of carbohydrates (CHO) being of special interest. Glycogen is currently not ...only considered an energy substrate but also a regulator of the signaling pathways that regulate exercise-induced adaptations. Thus, low or high CHO availabilities can result in both beneficial or negative results depending on the purpose. On the one hand, the depletion of glycogen levels is a limiting factor of performance during sessions in which high exercise intensities are required; therefore ensuring a high CHO availability before and during exercise is of major importance. A high CHO availability has also been positively related to the exercise-induced adaptations to resistance training. By contrast, a low CHO availability seems to promote endurance-exercise-induced adaptations such as mitochondrial biogenesis and enhanced lipolysis. In the present narrative review, we aim to provide a holistic overview of how CHO availability impacts physical performance as well as to provide practical recommendations on how training and nutrition might be combined to maximize performance. Attending to the existing evidence, no universal recommendations regarding CHO intake can be given to athletes as nutrition should be periodized according to training loads and objectives.
The European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has evolved over the years, and climate change mitigation and sustainability were recently added as objectives to the policy. This
policy includes ...subsidies for farmers. The success of EU policies relies on positive public perception. This study aimed to investigate Europeans' perception of EU
subsidies. This analysis was complemented by evaluating citizens’ attitudes towards agriculture and climate change and socio-economic variables. Overall, EU citizens support CAP and
practices. Our findings reveal that EU citizens strongly in favour of this support tend to be older, more educated, politically left-wing, from higher social classes, residing in smaller communities, and optimistic about the EU's future. Additionally, these citizens hold strong environmental concerns and support innovative practices to benefit sustainable agriculture.
Iron deficiency is a frequent and multifactorial disorder in the career of athletes, particularly in females. Exercise-induced disturbances in iron homeostasis produce deleterious effects on ...performance and adaptation to training; thus, the identification of strategies that restore or maintain iron homeostasis in athletes is required. Hepcidin is a liver-derived hormone that degrades the ferroportin transport channel, thus reducing the ability of macrophages to recycle damaged iron, and decreasing iron availability. Although it has been suggested that the circulating fraction of hepcidin increases during early post-exercise recovery (~3 h), it remains unknown how an acute exercise bout may modify the circulating expression of hepcidin. Therefore, the current review aims to determine the post-exercise expression of serum hepcidin in response to a single session of exercise. The review was carried out in the Dialnet, Elsevier, Medline, Pubmed, Scielo and SPORTDiscus databases, using hepcidin (and "exercise" or "sport" or "physical activity") as a strategy of search. A total of 19 articles were included in the review after the application of the inclusion/exclusion criteria. This search found that a single session of endurance exercise (intervallic or continuous) at moderate or vigorous intensity (60-90% VO
) stimulates an increase in the circulating levels of hepcidin between 0 h and 6 h after the end of the exercise bout, peaking at ~3 h post-exercise. The magnitude of the response of hepcidin to exercise seems to be dependent on the pre-exercise status of iron (ferritin) and inflammation (IL-6). Moreover, oxygen disturbances and the activation of a hypoxia-induced factor during or after exercise may stimulate a reduction of hepcidin expression. Meanwhile, cranberry flavonoids supplementation promotes an anti-oxidant effect that may facilitate the post-exercise expression of hepcidin. Further studies are required to explore the effect of resistance exercise on hepcidin expression.
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