No description available.

No description available.

Abstract Dog phobia is a complex psychological phenomenon classified under the anxiety disorders. Twelve female students suffering from dog phobia participated in this qualitative study which included an initial screening, therapeutic intervention and eight-month follow-up. Initial screening was conducted by means of a Fear Survey Schedule and observational assessment of non-verbal behavior during a behavioral approach test (dog stimulus). Therapeutic intervention involved a combination of systematic desensitization and instructional learning. Qualitative data analysis followed a phenomenological approach. The results indicate that the onset age of dog phobia varied from early childhood to late adolescence. Twothirds of the participants reported a direct traumatic event as the onset context of their dog phobia, while 17% reported vicarious learning contexts and 17% an inability to recall the onset context. The most widely used sensory focal mode of perception during contact with dogs was visual cues, followed by auditory cues. Half of the participants reported “eye” aspects as the fear-evoking stimulus. A wide variety of anxieties and fears were found to co-occur with dog phobia, although some participants were still able to accommodate dogs and other companion animals in their lives. The poststudy follow-up indicated that the intervention yielded significant real life improvement in 75% of the cases. The implications of this study for therapeutic situations are discussed.

Abstract A retrospective serosurvey of multi-host feline and canine viruses among carnivore species in southern Africa (n = 1018) identified widespread pathogen exposure even in remote protected areas. In contrast to morality experienced in East African predators, canine distemper virus (CDV) infection among African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in Botswana was not associated with identifiable change in pup survivorship or disease related mortality of adults. A disease outbreak of unknown aetiology occurred in the same population over 4 weeks in 1996. Outbreak boundaries coincided with ecotones, not the spatial distribution of contiguous packs, highlighting the potential importance of landscape heterogeneities in these processes. Direct management of pathogens in domestic animal reservoirs is complicated by the apparent complexity of pathogen maintenance and transmission in these large systems. Conservation effort should be focused at securing large metapopulations able to compensate for expected episodic generalist pathogen invasion and attention directed to addressing underlying causes of population depression such as habitat loss and wildlife conflict.

Canine Hemophagocytic Histiocytic Sarcoma (CHHS) is an aggressive neoplasm of macrophages with local lymphocytic reaction. Similarities exist between CHHS and Familial Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (FHL), a complex of histiocytic diseases in children, which is attributable to various defects in granule dependent killing (GDK). This led to the hypothesis that defective GDK compromises lymphocyte homeostasis and anti-tumor immunity which results in CHHS. The sequence of canine perforin, a key effector molecule of GDK, was determined by RT-PCR and RACE. Genomic DNA from healthy and CHHS-affected dogs was sequenced and analyzed, but mutations with functional implications were not identified. Subsequently, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) of CHHS were examined for GDK functionality. CHHS-TIL were compared to their functional counterparts in canine cutaneous histiocytoma (CCH), a benign histiocytic tumor in dogs, known to regress via lymphocytic reaction. To facilitate such comparison, functionality of CCH-TIL was studied by immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy and quantified by image analysis applications. This provided novel insights regarding the physiology of TIL in tumor microenvironment and further characterizing CCH as a model for anti-tumor immunity. The comparison revealed a clear, and highly significant structural difference in polarization and degranulation of CHHS-TIL which likely hampers GDK. This defect is similar to several variants of FHL, an association further supported by comparison of clinical and laboratory manifestations of CHHS and FHL. This study suggests that CHHS is a promising natural model for investigating the pathogenesis of FHL, for studying granule polarization and degranulation and assessing the role of TIL in anti-cancer immunity. / Pet Trust foundation

This thesis contains two studies. The first study consisted of a prospective, randomized, clinical trial involving twenty-five client-owned dogs with intracranial disease. Each dog was randomly assigned to receive propofol or isoflurane for maintenance of anesthesia, without premedication. All dogs received propofol IV to effect, were intubated and mechanically ventilated (end-tidal carbon dioxide [ETCO2] 30-35 mmHg). Temperature and cardiac output were measured pre- and post-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Scores for mentation, neurological status, maintenance, and recovery were obtained. Pulse oximetry, end tidal gases, arterial blood pressure (AP), heart rate (HR) and requirements for dopamine administration to maintain mean AP > 60 mmHg were recorded throughout anesthesia. Cardiac index was higher, while HR was lower, with propofol in dogs younger than 5 years. Dogs receiving isoflurane were 14.7 times more likely to require dopamine. Sedation and maintenance scores and temperature were not different. Mean and diastolic AP were higher in the propofol group. Recovery scores were better with propofol. Change in neurological score from pre- to post-anesthesia was not different between treatments. In the second study, blood and CSF were collected from 11 dogs with intracranial disease after MRI (Group ID-MRI), in 10 healthy dogs post-MRI (Group H-MRI), and in 39 healthy dogs after induction of anesthesia (Group H-Anesth). Groups ID-MRI and H-MRI were induced to anesthesia with propofol, IV to effect, and maintained on isoflurane or propofol. Dogs in H-Anesth were premedicated with acepromazine and hydromorphone, induced with propofol or thiopental, IV to effect, and maintained on isoflurane. Neurologic scores (NS) and sedation scores (SS) were assessed pre-anesthesia in ID-MRI dogs. There was a tendency for higher cerebrospinal fluid lactate (CSFL) in ID-MRI than H-MRI or H-Anesth (p = 0.12). There was agreement between CSFL and plasma lactate (PL) in ID-MRI dogs (p = 0.007), but not in H-MRI (p = 0.45) or H-Anesth (p = 0.15). Of the ID-MRI dogs, those with worse NS had higher CSFL (r2 = 0.44). Propofol showed some advantages to isoflurane in this patient population for maintenance of blood pressure and recovery. The results of the second study warrant further investigation. / OVC Pet Trust

The Robertsonian polymorphism (numerical change in the chromosome complement by centric fusion or fission) in the dog-whelk (Nucella lapillus, Mollusca: Gastropoda) has been known and studied sporadically for almost 50 years. However, the possible causes, consequences and proposed correlations of this phenomenon remain enigmatic. Nucella lapillus (2n = 26 to 36), has undergone a marked reduction in chromosome number from its ancestral form; most other muricid species have a diploid chromosome number in the range 2n = 60- 70. Correlations have been proposed between chromosome number (or karyotype) and habitat (wave exposure), and also directly or indirectly with allozymes, shell shape and physiology. However, firm conclusions are lacking due to either, insufficient knowledge of the karyotypes in the populations studied, or the fact that any correlations are not consistent throughout the broad geographic range. This study reviews all the past research on the chromosomal polymorphism in N. lapillus, advances the karyology of this species by successfully labelling individual chromosomes through silver-staining of nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) and fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) with rDNA and telomeric probes, and proposes a new system of nomenclature for this polymorphism. Knowledge of the geographic variation in chromosome number and karyotype is advanced by studying around 70 populations throughout the range of N. lapillus (mainly in the UK, but also the USA and northern and southern Europe). Evidence is shown that, (1) the polymorphism is far more widespread geographically than was previously thought; (2) more than five pairs of metacentric chromosomes are involved in the Robertsonian polymorphism; and (3) inversions also occur in some populations. Putative links between chromosomal polymorphism in N. lapillus and Darwinian fitness are reviewed in the light of the new findings and more recent work on other species; data are presented on fecundity, fertility, inter- and intra-individual variation in karyotype, selection within populations (adults v. embryos, homo- v. heterozygotes) and a possible genetic/karyotypic link with phenotype (Dumpton syndrome, a reproductive abnormality). Cytogenetic records for other muricids are also reviewed and karyotypes and chromosome lengths of four other species (Ocenebra erinacea, Thais haemastoma, Murex trunculus, Ocinebrina aciculata) are recorded for the first time. Genome size (DNA content) of 8 species of muricid, including the 2n=26 and 2n=36 forms of N. lapillus, are determined by Feulgen densitometry and compared in the context of evolutionary studies on the family. Although chromosome number and haploid length in N. lapillus has been reduced, its genome size is actually greater than all but one of the other muricids studied, and consequently has a much higher DNA packing ratio (>13000). Whether the chromosomal variation in N. lapillus represents polymorphism, polytypy, or speciation in progress remains unresolved, but substantial advances have been made in this dissertation and the required direction and focus for future work are clarified.

No description available.

Thesis (MSc (Production Animal Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print format.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Aberdeen University, 2008. / Title from web page (viewed on March 9, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.