scholarly journals The Untrained Response of Pet Dogs to Human Epileptic Seizures

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2267
Author(s):  
Neil A. Powell ◽  
Alastair Ruffell ◽  
Gareth Arnott
Keyword(s):  
Early Warning ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Seizure Onset ◽  
Trigger Mechanism ◽  
Pet Dogs ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Olfactory Ability ◽  
Life Threatening

Epilepsy is a debilitating and potentially life-threatening neurological condition which affects approximately 65 million people worldwide. There is currently no reliable and simple early warning seizure-onset device available, which means many people with unstable epilepsy live in fear of injury or sudden death and the negative impact of social stigmatization. If anecdotal claims that untrained dogs anticipate seizures are found to be true, they could offer a simple and readily available early warning system. We hypothesized that, given the extraordinary olfactory ability of dogs, a volatile organic compound exhaled by the dog’s epileptic owner may constitute an early warning trigger mechanism to which make dogs react by owner-directed affiliative responses in the pre-seizure period. Using 19 pet dogs with no experience of epilepsy, we exposed them to odours that were deemed to be characteristic of three seizure phases, by using sweat harvested from people with epilepsy. The odours were delivered to a point immediately under a non-epileptic and seated pet dog owner’s thighs. By altering the alternating odours emerging from sweat samples, captured before seizure, during a seizure and after a seizure, and two nonseizure controls, we were able to record the response of the 19 pet dogs. Our findings suggest that seizures are associated with an odour and that dogs detect this odour and demonstrate a marked increase in affiliative behaviour directed at their owners. A characteristic response of all 19 dogs to seizure odour presentation was an intense stare which was statistically significant, (p < 0.0029), across the pre-seizure, seizure and post-seizure phases when compared to control odours of nonseizure origin.

scholarly journals The untrained response of pet dogs to human epileptic seizures

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Anthony Powell ◽  
Alastair Ruffell ◽  
Gareth Arnott
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Premature Death ◽  
Seizure Onset ◽  
Pet Dogs ◽  
Behavioural Changes ◽  
Repeated Measures Design ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain and a seriously debilitating condition, which has been associated with injury, social stigmatisation and in some cases, sudden unexpected and premature death. A sense of profound isolation is felt by many individuals with epilepsy, and this community has expressed an urgent desire for an early warning system to allow them time to prepare for seizure onset. Surveys of dog owners with epilepsy have previously reported that some dogs can predict the onset of a seizure. Therefore, the current study investigated the hypothesis that if pet dogs were exposed to seizure-related odours which apparently emanated from their owners, they would respond by demonstrating attention seeking behaviours. This provides the first empirical test of this phenomenon in dogs that have not previously been trained for seizure alerting. This study, therefore, explores the propensity of pet dogs to anticipate and respond to human epileptic seizure onset in a controlled experimental investigation. Using a repeated measures design of experiment, recordings were made of the reactions of 19 untrained pet dogs to odours from sweat samples provided by three people with epilepsy and two people without epilepsy (controls). The sweat samples were from pre-ictal, ictal and post-ictal phases. Odours from the harvested sweat samples were randomly delivered to individual dogs in a test area, using two bespoke pieces of apparatus called Remote Odour Delivery Mechanisms, (RODMs). Behavioural changes by the dogs on encountering the odour samples were recorded by video for later analysis. Consistent with our hypothesis, seizure-associated odours evoked behavioural changes in the dogs, concordant with attention seeking attempts and thereby supporting the view that seizures are accompanied by a distinctive odour.

scholarly journals The Untrained Response of Pet Dogs to Human Epileptic Seizure

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil A. Powell ◽  
Gareth Arnott ◽  
Alastair Ruffell
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Premature Death ◽  
Pet Dogs ◽  
Behavioural Changes ◽  
Repeated Measures Design ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain and a seriously debilitating condition, which has been associated with injury, social stigmatisation and in some cases, sudden unexpected and premature death. A sense of profound isolation is felt by many individuals with epilepsy, and this community has expressed an urgent desire for an early warning system to allow them time to prepare for seizure onset. Surveys of dog owners with epilepsy have previously reported that some dogs can predict the onset of a seizure. The current study used an experimental design to investigate the alleged propensity of untrained pet dogs to react to human epileptic seizures. We hypothesised that seizures are associated with specific volatile organic compounds resulting in detectable odours which are the biomarker that triggers these reported behavioural changes in the dogs. Here we provide details of the first empirical test to demonstrate that pet dogs display several significant behavioural changes when they are exposed to seizure-related odours that apparently emanate from their owners. Using a repeated measures design experiment, recordings were made of the reactions of 19 untrained pet dogs to odours from sweat samples provided by three people with epilepsy and by two people without epilepsy (controls). The seizure-associated sweat samples were captured pre-seizure, during seizure and post-seizure. All samples were randomly delivered to individual dogs in a test area, using two bespoke pieces of apparatus called Remote Odour Delivery Mechanisms (RODM). One RODM delivered only experimental odours, the other delivered only control odours. Behavioural changes by the dogs on encountering the odour samples were recorded by video for later analysis. Consistent with our hypothesis, seizure-associated odours evoked significant behavioural changes in the dogs which were affiliative in nature and directed at their owners.

Computer-Based Early Warning System for Potentially Life-Threatening QT Prolongation

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. e235-e244 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Martijn Bos ◽  
Pedro J. Caraballo ◽  
Michael J. Ackerman
Keyword(s):  
Early Warning ◽  
Early Warning System ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Qt Prolongation ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Computer Based

An Early-Warning Method for Agglomeration Detection in Gas-Solid Fluidized Bed Based on Hydromechanics

2013 ◽  
Vol 387 ◽  
pp. 152-158
Author(s):  
Meng Guo ◽  
Wei Guo Lin ◽  
Hai Yan Wu ◽  
Zhong Zhao ◽  
Jin Wei Liu
Keyword(s):  
Fluidized Bed ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Early Warning System ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Reactor Operation ◽  
Window Method ◽  
Sensitivity And Selectivity

The occurrence of agglomeration in gas-solid fluidized bed can have a very negative impact on the efficiency of reactor operation. In order to overcome the agglomeration problem, an Agglomeration Early-Warning System (AEWS) is proposed. AEWS is able to detect the event of such undesired behavior and make it possible to operate more efficiently. The sensitivity and selectivity of AEWS is illustrated with experimental results. In order to minimize the false alarm, both moving time window method and minimizing value method were analyzed. The experimental results have shown that agglomeration can be recognized 30-60min earlier with AEWS than that with conventional methods based on changes in pressure drop or temperature difference over the bed.

scholarly journals Planning, Accounting and Control as Risk Management Tools for Small Business Investment Projects

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 650-666
Author(s):  
Svitlana Bondarenko ◽  
Natalya Shlafman ◽  
Nataliia Kuprina ◽  
Olga Kalaman ◽  
Olena Moravska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Investment Project ◽  
Investment Projects ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
And Control

The purpose of this study is to develop scientifically sound proposals and recommendations for the implementation of planning, accounting and control tools in risk management of investment projects of small businesses. The relevance of this study is due to the need to provide small businesses with effective methods of risk management of the investment project, which can significantly reduce the negative impact of risk factors and achieve a significant effect from the investment. To achieve the goal of the study, methodological approaches were used to assess the risk sustainability of the enterprise, based on the assessment of the resource potential of the enterprise. A system of indicators is proposed to assess the quality of enterprise resources. Theoretical and methodological approaches to the formation of an early warning system in risk management have been developed. The proposed concept of indicative management includes tools for indicative control of investment projects in relation to the risk sustainability of the enterprise from the standpoint of its resource provision. Risks in this case become key indicators to which management actions should be directed. The introduction of a risk passport is proposed as a tool for early warning of crisis phenomena in small enterprises. The authors proved that the risk prevention system should be integrated into the overall organizational structure and become part of the enterprise management system. Indicative management is proposed as a tool for implementing functional strategies to prevent or eliminate threats and maximize their strengths and capabilities. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-01302 Full Text: PDF

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