Cocaine-Induced Locomotion as a Potential Predictor of Impulsivity in Rats

Measures aimed at reducing the length of stay (LOS) of cats in shelters can promote animal welfare and more efficient use of resources. The extent to which variables shown to impact LOS are broadly applicable is unclear. The aim of this study was to describe a population of cats adopted from an urban shelter, and to analyze the association between potential predictor variables and LOS. A study cohort was identified retrospectively from shelter records (n = 2584), 48.8% of which were < 12 weeks old at admission, and 80.7% were stray. Among 445 cats relinquished by owners, reasons for surrender were primarily owner-related (87.2%). Overall, reason for surrender and coat color were significantly associated with LOS. Hazard ratios showed that all reasons for surrender for owner-relinquished cats were associated with a shorter LOS than stray cats and this association was significant (p < 0.05) for all except cat behavioral or medical reasons. In contrast to previous reports, white cats had a significantly (p < 0.05) longer LOS than black cats. This study highlights an important role for shelter-specific baseline data to inform and measure the effect of interventional studies aimed at improving animal welfare by reducing LOS in shelter-housed cats

Download Full-text

Soluble Fas affects erythropoiesis in vitro and acts as a potential predictor of erythropoiesis-stimulating agent therapy in patients with chronic kidney disease

AJP Renal Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajprenal.00433.2019 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 318 (4) ◽

pp. F861-F869

Author(s):

Daniela Mendes Chiloff ◽

Danilo Candido de Almeida ◽

Maria A. Dalboni ◽

Maria Eugênia Canziani ◽

Sunil K. George ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Kidney Disease ◽

Glomerular Filtration Rate ◽

Kidney Disease ◽

Glomerular Filtration ◽

Filtration Rate ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Potential Predictor ◽

Soluble Fas ◽

Esa Therapy

Serum soluble Fas (sFas) levels are associated with erythropoietin (Epo) hyporesponsiveness in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Whether sFas could predict the need for erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) usage and its influence in erythropoiesis remain unclear. We evaluated the relation between sFas and ESA therapy in patients with CKD with anemia and its effect on erythropoiesis in vitro. First, we performed a retrospective cohort study with 77 anemic patients with nondialysis CKD. We performed in vitro experiments to investigate whether sFas could interfere with the behavior of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). HSCs were isolated from umbilical cord blood and incubated with recombinant sFas protein in a dose-dependent manner. Serum sFas positively correlated with Epo levels ( r = 0.30, P = 0.001) but negatively with hemoglobin ( r = −0.55, P < 0.001) and glomerular filtration rate ( r = −0.58, P < 0.001) in patients with CKD at baseline. Elevated sFas serum levels (4,316 ± 897 vs. 2,776 ± 749, P < 0.001) with lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (26.2 ± 10.1 vs. 33.5 ± 14.3, P = 0.01) and reduced hemoglobin concentration (11.1 ± 0.9 vs. 12.5 ± 1.2, P < 0.001) were identified in patients who required ESA therapy compared with patients with non-ESA. Afterward, we detected that the sFas level was slight correlated with a necessity of ESA therapy in patients with nondialysis CKD and anemia. In vitro assays demonstrated that the erythroid progenitor cell frequency negatively correlated with sFas concentration ( r = −0.72, P < 0.001). There was decreased erythroid colony formation in vitro when CD34+ HSCs were incubated with a higher concentration of sFas protein (1.56 ± 0.29, 4.33 ± 0.53, P < 0.001). Our findings suggest that sFas is a potential predictor for ESA therapy in patients with nondialysis CKD and that elevated sFas could affect erythropoiesis in vitro.

Download Full-text