BackgroundJudgment bias tasks (JBTs) have emerged as a promising approach for assessing affective states in animals, including domestic dogs, by measuring optimistic or pessimistic responses to ambiguous stimuli as proxies for underlying emotion. Despite growing use, the canine evidence base had not been systematically evaluated.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, searching Scopus and PubMed, with a supplementary search of Web of Science Core Collection. Thirty-two studies (15 experimental, 13 observational/quasi-experimental, 4 methodological) met the inclusion criteria. Experimental studies were appraised with the SYRCLE risk-of-bias tool. Findings were synthesized narratively, as methodological heterogeneity precluded meta-analysis.ResultsFive paradigm types were identified, but 28 of the 32 studies (88%) used the same spatial discrimination task; the four remaining paradigms were represented by one study each. JBTs showed sensitivity to some experimental manipulations, including oxytocin (d = 2.16) and environmental enrichment (nosework, p < 0.01), while observational and quasi-experimental studies also reported associations between training method and JBT performance (e.g., aversive versus reward-based training: Z = −2.38, p = 0.017). However, validity and reliability concerns were pervasive: ceiling effects at ambiguous locations, confounding by spatial-learning ability, poor test–retest reliability, and absent protocol standardization. Convergence with independent welfare indicators was only partial.ConclusionJBTs are responsive to some affective manipulations and are associated with relevant welfare and experiential factors, but substantial validity and reliability limitations remain. Standardized protocols and multi-method validation are needed before JBTs can serve as field measures of canine welfare.
Canine nasal carcinoma (NC) is highly malignant and progressive, with metastasis. Radiation therapy is a common treatment; however, it has various drawbacks, including cost and anesthetic risks in elderly patients. Therefore, the development of alternative anti-cancer drug therapies has been required. In this study, we established an NC organoid culture method as an experimental model and explored more effective therapeutic targets. NC organoids were generated from patient-derived tissues from diseased dogs with NC. Electron microscopy of NC organoids revealed goblet cell differentiation with mucus granules and luminal structures. Immunohistochemical staining was positive for CK19, E-cadherin, and Ki67, and their expression patterns corresponded to those in the original tissues. Furthermore, NC organoids were tumorigenic in immunodeficient mice. We identified useful supplements for culturing NC organoids and found that each NC organoid line exhibited different sensitivities to anti-cancer drugs. RNA sequencing was performed using samples from healthy dogs and NC organoids. Pathways related to MYC targets, oxidative phosphorylation, and protein secretion were enriched in NC organoids compared with normal nasal cells. Among the differentially expressed genes, S100A2 was selected for further functional investigation based on its increased expression and previously reported involvement in cancer-related processes. S100A2 knockdown reduced cell proliferation and invasiveness, supporting a functional contribution of S100A2 to malignant phenotypes in canine NC. These findings establish canine NC organoids as an experimental platform for investigating canine NC biology and provide a basis for future comparative studies.
IntroductionWhippets are sighthounds with distinct cardiovascular adaptations associated with athletic performance. The caudal vena cava to aorta ratio (CVC/Ao) is an established index of intravascular volume status, assessed ultrasonographically and on computed tomography (CT) at thoracic and abdominal sites, but breed-specific differences remain unreported. We compared thoracic and abdominal CVC/Ao in whippets and non-whippet controls, and with published reference values, and hypothesised that whippets would have higher ratios.MethodsSixty-eight dogs without known cardiovascular disease (34 whippets, 34 non-whippet controls) were retrospectively reviewed. CTs were performed under general anaesthesia, with CVC/Ao measured at standardised abdominal and thoracic sites. Groups were compared with Welch’s two-sample t-tests, sites within animals with paired t-tests, and analysis of covariance adjusted for weight and age. Significance was set at p < 0.05.ResultsWhippets had significantly higher abdominal CVC/Ao than controls (1.54 ± 0.29 vs. 1.28 ± 0.23; p < 0.001), whereas thoracic ratios did not differ (1.22 ± 0.23 vs. 1.28 ± 0.26; p = 0.29). The abdominal difference persisted after adjustment for weight and age (adjusted difference 0.29, 95% CI 0.15–0.42; p < 0.001). Within whippets, abdominal ratios exceeded thoracic ratios (p < 0.001), a difference not seen in controls (p = 0.99). The thoracic ratio declined with age independently of breed and weight (−0.023 per year; p = 0.002). Both groups exceeded published CT values at both sites, and a greater proportion of whippets than controls exceeded the ultrasonographic upper limit (73.5% vs. 41.2%; p = 0.007). Observed mean ± 2 SD limits were 0.96–2.13 (abdomen, whippets), 0.82–1.75 (abdomen, controls) and 0.76–1.74 (thorax, combined); these are cohort observations rather than breed-specific reference ranges.DiscussionWhippets had larger abdominal CVC/Ao than controls, with comparable thoracic ratios, indicating a site-specific increase not attributable to body size or age. Because both groups exceeded published values, reference values are not transferable across imaging modality irrespective of breed or anaesthetic status. Modality-, breed- and possibly age-specific ranges are needed, and we provide preliminary limits as a starting point.
A fourteen-year-old, 3.9 kg, intact female green iguana (Iguana iguana) was presented to a veterinary clinic with an 8-week history of persistent apathy and progressive bilateral coelomic distension. Physical examination revealed poor body condition and significant deterioration of the general condition. The caudal coelom was circumferentially distended and palpation revealed multiple firm, irregularly shaped intracoelomic structures. Radiographic evaluation showed a large radiopaque mass in the median and caudal coelom. Ultrasonography confirmed a large intracoelomic mass, high-grade ascites, and multiple smaller hyperechogenic masses within the caudal coelom. Microscopic examination of the ascites fluid revealed cocci, heterophilic granulocytes, and degranulated mast cells. Based on the findings of all examinations, differential diagnoses included severe follicular stasis, multiple intracoelomic abscesses, neoplastic disease, and concurrent coelomitis. Subsequently, a lateral exploratory coeliotomy was performed under general anesthesia. A 5 x 4.5 x 4.5 cm intracoelomic mass and multiple irregular, ovoid, rough, whitish masses measuring approximately 2 x 3 x 2.5 cm were surgically removed. The animal failed to recover from anesthesia and died 3 h postoperatively. Histopathological examination revealed a teratoma and a severe, multifocal, lipogranulomatous oophoritis. This case report describes and characterizes a neoplastic disease that has rarely been reported in iguanas. Nevertheless, ovarian neoplasia should be considered an important differential diagnosis for common reproductive disorders in female lizards.
Aquaculture has become a major contributor to global food production, but its rapid expansion and intensification have increased concerns regarding the welfare of farmed fish. Although advances in welfare science have generated animal-based measures, operational welfare indicators, and increasingly sophisticated monitoring technologies, their incorporation into regulatory frameworks remains uneven. This review examines the evolution of fish welfare regulation and compares the regulatory approaches of Chile, Norway, and Scotland, three major salmon-producing jurisdictions representing distinct models of welfare governance. The analysis distinguishes between legislation that directly establishes welfare obligations and sanitary, environmental, biosecurity, and production regulations that indirectly influence welfare determinants. Chile combines explicit legal recognition of fish welfare with an extensive sanitary and environmental regulatory architecture, although standardized animal-based welfare assessment, intervention criteria, and welfare-specific auditing remain limited. Norway is characterized by the direct incorporation of detailed welfare requirements into aquaculture regulation, complemented by structured monitoring, documentation, and science-based assessment tools. Scotland represents a more distributed model in which statutory welfare duties are complemented by aquaculture and animal-health legislation, government guidance, industry codes, and scientific assessment tools. Importantly, differences in regulatory operationalization should not be interpreted as evidence of differences in regulatory effectiveness, which requires independent evaluation through measurable welfare outcomes. Based on this comparison, we propose Evidence-Based Welfare Regulation (EBWR) as an integrative regulatory framework connecting legal welfare objectives with evidence-qualified resource-, management-, and animal-based indicators, standardized monitoring, context-specific thresholds or reference ranges, corrective actions, outcome verification, and periodic scientific review. Rather than introducing a new welfare-assessment methodology, EBWR integrates existing scientific and regulatory tools within an adaptive feedback system. For Chile, this transition could build on existing regulatory and institutional capacities through species-specific welfare standards, evidence-qualified operational welfare indicators, risk-based monitoring, outcome verification, and adaptive regulatory review.
