Tadeusz Jezierski

Diagnostic Accuracy of Canine Scent Detection in Early- and Late-Stage Lung and Breast Cancers

Background: Lung and breast cancers are leading causes of cancer death worldwide. Prior exploratory work has shown that patterns of biochemical markers have been found in the exhaled breath of patients with lung and breast cancers that are distinguishable from those of controls. However, chemical analysis of exhaled breath has not shown suitability for individual clinical diagnosis. Methods: The authors used a food reward-based method of training 5 ordinary household dogs to distinguish, by scent alone, exhaled breath samples of 55 lung and 31 breast cancer patients from those of 83 healthy controls. A correct indication of cancer samples by the dogs was sitting/lying in front of the sample. A correct response to control samples was to ignore the sample. The authors first trained the dogs in a 3-phase sequential process with gradually increasing levels of challenge. Once trained, the dogs’ ability to distinguish cancer patients from controls was then tested using breath samples from subjects not previously encountered by the dogs. The researchers blinded both dog handlers and experimental observers to the identity of breath samples. The diagnostic accuracy data reported were obtained solely from the dogs’ sniffing, in double-blinded conditions, of these breath samples obtained from subjects not previously encountered by the dogs during the training period. Results: Among lung cancer patients and controls, overall sensitivity of canine scent detection compared to biopsy-confirmed conventional diagnosis was 0.99 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99, 1.00) and overall specificity 0.99 (95% CI, 0.96, 1.00). Among breast cancer patients and controls, sensitivity was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.75, 1.00) and specificity 0.98 (95% CI, 0.90, 0.99). Sensitivity and specificity were remarkably similar across all 4 stages of both diseases. Conclusion: Training was efficient and cancer identification was accurate; in a matter of weeks, ordinary household dogs with only basic behavioral “puppy training” were trained to accurately distinguish breath samples of lung and breast cancer patients from those of controls. This pilot work using canine scent detection demonstrates the validity of using a biological system to examine exhaled breath in the diagnostic identification of lung and breast cancers. Future work should closely examine the chemistry of exhaled breath to identify which chemical compounds can most accurately identify the presence of cancer.

Effects of handling on behaviour and heart rate in Konik horses: comparison of stable and forest reared youngstock

Abstract Thirty foals and young Konik horses born in 3 consecutive years and reared up to weaning either in a forest reserve (R) or conventional stable (S) were compared with respect to behavioural reactions and heart rate (HR) during handling manipulations. The foals were randomly allocated within sex and rearing group to one of two handling treatments. Intensively handled (IH) foals received a 10-min handling, 5 days/week, beginning at the age of 2 weeks (S foals) or 10 months (R foals), and lasting up to the age of 24 months. During handling IH foals were haltered, touched, rubbed and their feet were picked up; non-handled (NH) foals were not handled except for routine or emergency veterinary care. The horses were tested at the age of approximately 6 months (S only) and 12, 18 and 24 months of age. In a test comprising catching the horse on a paddock, leading away from and towards the stable, picking up feet and being approached by an unfamiliar person, the horses behaviour was scored and the HR was recorded telemetrically. The IH horses scored better as far as manageability behaviour is concerned (P

Identification of volatile lung cancer markers by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry: comparison with discrimination by canines

In this work, a chromatographic method for identification of volatile organic compounds was compared with canine recognition. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC–TOF MS) were used for determination of concentrations of trace gases present in human breath. The technique enables rapid determination of compounds in human breath, at the parts per billion level. Linear correlations were from 0.83–234.05xa0ppb, the limit of detection was the range 0.31–0.75xa0ppb, and precision, expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD), was less than 10.00xa0%. Moreover, trained dogs are able to discriminate breath samples of patients with diagnosed cancer. We found a positive correlation between dog indications and the ethyl acetate and 2-pentanone content of breath (ru2009=u20090.85 and ru2009=u20090.97, respectively). The methods presented for detection of lung cancer markers in exhaled air could be used as a potential non-invasive tool for screening. In addition, the canine method is relatively simple and inexpensive in comparison with chromatography.

Analysis of Exhaled Breath for Disease Detection

Breath analysis is a young field of research with great clinical potential. As a result of this interest, researchers have developed new analytical techniques that permit real-time analysis of exhaled breath with breath-to-breath resolution in addition to the conventional central laboratory methods using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Breath tests are based on endogenously produced volatiles, metabolites of ingested precursors, metabolites produced by bacteria in the gut or the airways, or volatiles appearing after environmental exposure. The composition of exhaled breath may contain valuable information for patients presenting with asthma, renal and liver diseases, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, inflammatory lung disease, or metabolic disorders. In addition, oxidative stress status may be monitored via volatile products of lipid peroxidation. Measurement of enzyme activity provides phenotypic information important in personalized medicine, whereas breath measurements provide insight into perturbations of the human exposome and can be interpreted as preclinical signals of adverse outcome pathways.

Handling and rearing results in young rabbits

The effect of handling of rabbit pups and juveniles on their mortality rate and weight gains was investigated. Thirty-two litters of White New Zealand rabbit does were used for the experiment. One or two pups were chosen at random from each litter to be in the handled group (H, n = 40) and the remaining pups were used as controls (C, n = 72). The handling began when the pups were 10 days old and lasted 30 weeks. The H rabbits were daily taken out of their nests/cages for 10 min and petted. By a set of tests when held on experimenters knees, the rabbits were classified into two emotional categories. Rabbits spending more time in ‘freezing’ behaviour were classified as ‘timid’ and those spending more time for ‘non-freezing’ were classified as ‘bold’. The average mortality rate up to the age of 30 weeks was lower in the H group (17.5%) than in the C group (31.9%, P = 0.055). The H rabbits were significantly heavier than the C animals in the last 4 weeks of the experiment and had higher weight gains between the 6th and 30th weeks of life. There were more ‘bold’ individuals in the H group than in the C group (69 and 37% respectively, P < 0.01). Rabbits classified as ‘bold’ and ‘timid’ did not differ in their body weight and weight gains. It was concluded that the tender and frequent handling of young rabbits not only changes their behaviour in terms of reducing fear of humans but also positively influences the growth rate and reduces mortality rate.

A quantitative analysis of social behaviour of different crossbreds of dairy cattle kept in loose housing and its relationship to productivity

The social behaviour of Polish Black-and-White dairy cattle (BW) was compared with that of the F1-crossbreds of BW with Jersey (BW × J), Ayrshire (BW × Ay), Holstein-Friesian (BW × HF) and Swedish Black-and-White (BW × SLB). The ethological observations were made under conditions of loose housing. n nThe crossbreds BW × J proved to be most aggressive, excitable and susceptible, as far as milk yield was concerned, to the social tensions connected with moving cows between groups. The BW × Ay were most dominant, least attacked by their group-mates and least susceptible to a group change. The pure-bred BW were calm and subordinate as compared with the crossbreds. n nThe social tensions after a group change caused a mean decrease in milk yield of about 4%. There was a low correlation between the parameters of social behaviour and physical or production traits. The dominance relationships based on spontaneous aggressive interactions differed slightly from those based on interactions motivated by feeding.

Looking for an ideal horse: rider preferences.

ABSTRACT The aims of the present study were as follows: (1) to identify the particular characteristics of a horse that are important to riders, and (2) to examine which of these properties are significant for different categories of riders. The participants (197; 78.7% females) were surveyed using the Ideal Horse Questionnaire (IHQ), which contains items that are categorized as “physical make-up,” “behavior during riding and handling,” “training level,” and “maintenance.” “Behavior during riding and handling” (43.6% of respondents) and “physical make-up” (32.8%) were selected most frequently as the most important category, followed by “training level” (16.9%) and “maintenance” (6.7%). The responses for the questionnaire were subjected to factor analysis (FA). The first four factors of the FA, labeled “ease of handling and maintenance/sociability,” “jumping suitability,” “dressage suitability,” and “challenge” accounted for 13.7%, 11.7%, 8.6%, and 5.9% of the variance, respectively. The highest values on the 0–3 scale were obtained for items related to “ease of handling and maintenance/sociability” (mean ± SD = 1.97 ± 0.48) and “jumping suitability” (1.86 ± 0.62), followed by “dressage suitability” (1.64 ± 0.41) and “challenge” (1.20 ± 0.62). All participants desired a manageable, healthy and non-problematic horse. Men preferred a horse that was a good jumper and would challenge the rider. People who rarely rode, beginner to intermediate riders, non-competitors and all but show jumpers were not interested in a horse with a high “jumping suitability.” Only more experienced riders expected the horse to possess high capabilities and extensive training in dressage. Challenging animals were desirable to men but were avoided by leisure riders. The present study shows that ease of handling and maintenance, along with “jumping suitability,” are crucial attributes of a riding horse. Furthermore, various levels of experience and preferred equestrian activity are associated with different horse requirements.

Effect of Cholesterol-Enriched Diet on Liver and Heart Enzymes in Male Rabbits

White New Zealand male rabbits were fed a high-cholesterol (1%) diet for 7 weeks. The activity of alkaline phosphatase (AP), alanine (AlaAT), aspartate (AspAT) aminotransferases and level of glucose in the blood plasma of rabbits was determined and compared with those of a control group of animals. The cholesterol-enriched diet resulted in increases in plasma AlaAT and AP activity and a decrease in plasma glucose. In the liver, cholesterol treatment decreased the activity of AspAT, AlaAT, AP, phosphoglucomutase, phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase. Activities of glucosephosphate isomerase, aldolase and the level of glycogen were not affected. No statistically significant changes in the activity of examined enzymes in heart of rabbits fed with cholesterol-enriched diet were observed. Chronic intake of cholesterol in the diet had a negative effect on liver metabolism but not on heart metabolism in rabbits.

Homosexual and social behaviours of young bulls of different geno- and phenotypes and plasma concentrations of some hormones

Abstract Homosexual mounting and social interactions of young bulls were observed, and plasma concentrations of testosterone, oestradiol 17β, progesterone and luteinizing hormone (LH) were determined. The observations were conducted on 12 Black and White (BW), 9 Hereford (HER) and 12 hybrid bulls (HYB) with 25% European bison blood. Among the bulls, there were individuals with body conformation classified subjectively as typical of males or more typical of females. In the first period, the bulls were kept in separate genotype groups in pens and during the second period all genotype groups were kept together on a pasture. The frequency of initiated mounts and social interactions was the highest in BW bulls and the lowest in HYB bulls. The frequency of performed and received “flehmen” was the highest in HER bulls, whereas the frequency of received “flehmen” was the lowest in BW bulls. The bulls of the male-type body conformation initiated fewer and received more mounts, as well as initiated and received more butts than those of the female-type body conformation. HER group mates were preferred as partners for mounting by bulls of all genotypes. For aggressive interactions, bulls of all genotypes preferred partners of their own genotype. HER bulls and bulls of the male-type body conformation had a higher mean dominance index. The highest level of testosterone and LH, and the lowest level of progesterone, were found in HER bulls. The highest level of progesterone and the lowest level of oestradiol 17β were found in HYB bulls, whereas the highest level of oestradiol 17β was found in BW bulls. Bulls of the male-type body conformation showed a slightly higher level of all hormones except for the median value of LH. The rank-correlation coefficients between the behavioural traits and hormone concentrations were rather low to medium sized and variable in particular genotype groups.

The effects of superovulation hormone treatments on the frequency of estrous behaviours in cows

Superovulation was induced in 37 Black-and-White dairy cows by injections of PGF2α-analogue (Cloprostenol) and FSH as hormone treatment (HT). As controls 120 herd-mates without and HT were observed. The frequencies of mountings and vulva sniffings during a total of 275 estrous cases after which cows conceived, and 238 diestrous periods preceding the last estrus before pregnancy were analysed. During the heats after HT the frequency of sniffings was higher (P<0.05), especially in the first heat after treatment. During the diestrous periods after HT the frequency of initiated and received mounts demonstrated a high individual variability. Only the frequencies of sniffings initiated and received by HT cows in diestrus were higher (P<0.01 and P<0.01, respectively) than in control cows. The hormone treatments applied for superovulation seem to increase the frequency of behaviours connected with olfactory examination of estrous cycle by cows.