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Abstract Background Elderly people with presbycusis are at higher risk for dementia and depression than the general population. There is no information regarding consequences of presbycusis in dogs. Objective Evaluate the relationship between cognitive function, quality of life, and hearing loss in aging companion dogs. Animals Thirty-nine elderly companion dogs. Methods Prospective study. Hearing was evaluated using brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) testing. Dogs were grouped by hearing ability. Owners completed the canine dementia scale (CADES) and canine owner-reported quality of life (CORQ) questionnaire. Cognitive testing was performed, and cognitive testing outcomes, CADES and CORQ scores and age were compared between hearing groups. Results Nineteen dogs could hear at 50 dB, 12 at 70 dB, and 8 at 90 dB with mean ages (months) of 141 ± 14, 160 ± 16, and 172 ± 15 for each group respectively (P = .0002). Vitality and companionship CORQ scores were significantly lower as hearing deteriorated (6.6-5.4, 50-90 dB group, P = .03 and 6.9-6.2, 50-90 dB group, P = .02, respectively). Cognitive classification by CADES was abnormal in all 90 dB group dogs and normal in 3/12 70 dB group and 11/19 50 dB group dogs (P = .0004). Performance on inhibitory control, detour and sustained gaze tasks decreased significantly with hearing loss (P = .001, P = .008, P = .002, respectively). In multivariate analysis, higher CADES score was associated with worse hearing (P = .01). Conclusions and Clinical Importance Presbycusis negatively alters owner-pet interactions and is associated with poor executive performance and owner-assessed dementia severity.

Abstract Background Idiopathic cystitis (IC) accounts for the majority of lower urinary tract (LUT) disease in cats and is characterized by recurrent clinical signs or urethral obstruction (UO), presenting ongoing challenges in clinical management. Hypothesis/Objectives Determine the feasibility of using single-fraction low-dose radiotherapy (RT) to reduce rate of re-obstruction and recurrence of clinical signs in cats with feline idiopathic cystitis. Animals Fifteen client-owned male cats with recent history of severe IC and historical UO that remained symptomatic despite environmental modification and pharmacological management. Methods An IACUC-approved, single-arm, single-institution, prospective clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the clinical effects of irradiating the entire LUT with a single 6 Gy fraction. Results One cat was immediately lost to follow-up, and 1 died 516 days after RT. The remaining 13 cats were alive at the time of data analysis, with a median follow-up of 548 (range 70-1307) days. All but 1 had symptomatic improvement. Six had a single flare-up of signs of IC at a median of 243 days after RT (range 4-395 days). After RT, 1 cat had a recurrent UO, which occurred at 11 months and was managed surgically. Conclusions and clinical importance In this cohort of severely affected cats, >90% had apparent improvement in clinical signs after RT, with no documented adverse effects, demonstrating that in addition to environmental modification, RT is a promising tool for managing IC in male cats.

New excavations in Liang Bua, where the remains of the ‘Hobbit’ ( Homo floresiensis ) were discovered, show that this diminutive human species used this cave between 190,000 and 50,000 years ago, and not until as recently as 12,000 years ago as previously interpreted; modern humans have been present in Australia since around 50,000 years ago, so whether Homo floresiensis survived long enough to witness the arrival of modern humans is still an open question. An earlier date for Homo floresiensis The discovery in Liang Bua cave on the island of Flores in Indonesia of the diminutive Homo floresiensis , an archaic member of the human family commonly known as the 'Hobbit', was an archaeological sensation in 2004. A source of considerable debate was the fact that it lived in Liang Bua cave between 95,000 and 12,000 years ago, after modern humans had colonized the area (around 50,000 years ago). Thomas Sutikna and colleagues — including many of the original research team — have gone back to Liang Bua, where new excavations have exposed previously unexplored parts of the cave. They have found that the layers of sediment in the cave are not deposited evenly, and it now seems that the H. floresiensis -bearing strata are older than was thought. New radiometric dating places the H. floresiensis remains and stone artefacts to between 190,000 and 50,000 years ago. Whether H. floresiensis survived long enough to witness the arrival of modern humans is an open question. Homo floresiensis , a primitive hominin species discovered in Late Pleistocene sediments at Liang Bua (Flores, Indonesia) 1 , 2 , 3 , has generated wide interest and scientific debate. A major reason this taxon is controversial is because the H. floresiensis -bearing deposits, which include associated stone artefacts 2 , 3 , 4 and remains of other extinct endemic fauna 5 , 6 , were dated to between about 95 and 12 thousand calendar years (kyr) ago 2 , 3 , 7 . These ages suggested that H. floresiensis survived until long after modern humans reached Australia by ~50 kyr ago 8 , 9 , 10 . Here we report new stratigraphic and chronological evidence from Liang Bua that does not support the ages inferred previously for the H. floresiensis holotype (LB1), ~18 thousand calibrated radiocarbon years before present (kyr cal. bp ), or the time of last appearance of this species (about 17 or 13–11 kyr cal. bp ) 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 , 11 . Instead, the skeletal remains of H. floresiensis and the deposits containing them are dated to between about 100 and 60 kyr ago, whereas stone artefacts attributable to this species range from about 190 to 50 kyr in age. Whether H. floresiensis survived after 50 kyr ago—potentially encountering modern humans on Flores or other hominins dispersing through southeast Asia, such as Denisovans 12 , 13 —is an open question.

Background Injury to the vascular endothelium occurs in up to 34% of patients acutely following severe traumatic injury and can be quantified clinically by measuring the plasma concentration of syndecan-1 (SDC-1). Tranexamic acid (TXA) attenuates endothelial damage in animal and cell culture models and has been associated with lower SDC-1 levels after prehospital TXA administration. The aim of this study was to assess the association of prehospital TXA on SDC-1 levels in a more severely injured prehospital cohort. Methods The PATCH-Trauma trial randomised patients to receive pre-hospital TXA or placebo. In this sub-cohort, SDC-1 was measured in blood samples collected on hospital admission, at 8 and 24 h. Relationships between SDC-1 levels over time, treatment groups, and outcomes were analyzed using regression modelling controlling for potential confounding factors. Results There were 89 patients included, with 57 administered TXA and 32 administered placebo (per protocol). SDC-1 levels were available in 87 patients on arrival to hospital, 70 at 8 h, and 69 at 24 h. Patients had a median SDC-1 on admission of 106 ng/mL (IQR 88–137). There was no effect of TXA treatment on SDC-1 levels over the first 24 h of hospital admission, even after controlling for known confounders. There was no association between SDC-1 level at any time point and the development of deep vein thrombosis or sepsis, mortality at 28-days, or days alive and out of hospital, even after adjustment for confounding factors. Conclusion Administration of TXA, initiated pre-hospital, did not affect SDC-1 levels in the first 24 h of hospital admission in this severely injured cohort. Further research is required to elucidate the mechanisms of the effect of TXA on the endothelium as well as the utility of SDC-1 as an endothelial biomarker.

In humans, gait speed is a crucial component in geriatric evaluation since decreasing speed can be a harbinger of cognitive decline and dementia. Aging companion dogs can suffer from age-related mobility impairment, cognitive decline and dementia known as canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome. We hypothesized that there would be an association between gait speed and cognition in aging dogs. We measured gait speed on and off leash in 46 adult and 49 senior dogs. Cognitive performance in senior dogs was assessed by means of the Canine Dementia Scale and a battery of cognitive tests. We demonstrated that dogs' food-motivated gait speed off leash is correlated with fractional lifespan and cognitive performance in dogs, particularly in the domains of attention and working memory. Food-motivated gait speed off leash represents a relatively easy variable to measure in clinical settings. Moreover, it proves to be a more effective indicator of age-related deterioration and cognitive decline than gait speed on leash.

Sleep is fundamental for cognitive homeostasis, especially in senior populations since clearance of amyloid beta (key in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease) occurs during sleep. Some electroencephalographic characteristics of sleep and wakefulness have been considered a hallmark of dementia. Owners of dogs with canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (a canine analog to Alzheimer's disease) report that their dogs suffer from difficulty sleeping. The aim of this study was to quantify age-related changes in the sleep-wakefulness cycle macrostructure and electroencephalographic features in senior dogs and to correlate them with their cognitive performance. We performed polysomnographic recordings in 28 senior dogs during a 2 h afternoon nap. Percentage of time spent in wakefulness, drowsiness, NREM, and REM sleep, as well as latency to the three sleep states were calculated. Spectral power, coherence, and Lempel Ziv Complexity of the brain oscillations were estimated. Finally, cognitive performance was evaluated by means of the Canine Dementia Scale Questionnaire and a battery of cognitive tests. Correlations between age, cognitive performance and sleep-wakefulness cycle macrostructure and electroencephalographic features were calculated. Dogs with higher dementia scores and with worse performance in a problem-solving task spent less time in NREM and REM sleep. Additionally, quantitative electroencephalographic analyses showed differences in dogs associated with age or cognitive performance, some of them reflecting shallower sleep in more affected dogs. Polysomnographic recordings in dogs can detect sleep-wakefulness cycle changes associated with dementia. Further studies should evaluate polysomnography's potential clinical use to monitor the progression of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the engagement of aging dogs with a cognitively challenging and potentially frustrating task (the impossible task). Based on previous observations, we predicted that dogs showing signs of cognitive impairment in other cognitive tests and owner-completed questionnaires would show reduced engagement with the task. In this task, dogs were shown a piece of food in a clear container that they could not open; time spent interacting with the container and the experimenter was measured. While the impossible task has not been used as a measure of frustration, the parameters of the test design creates a potential frustrate state, making this assessment appropriate. Thirty-two dogs enrolled in a longitudinal aging study participated in the study. Owners were asked to complete two cognitive dysfunction screening questionnaires (Canine Dementia Scale [CADES] and Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Rating Scale [CCDR]) as well a questionnaire assessing general frustration. Dogs participated in multiple measures of cognitive function as well the impossible task. Latency to disengage from the impossible task was faster for dogs with higher total (more impaired) CADES ( = 0.02) and total CCDR ( = 0.04) scores. Latency to disengage also correlated with decreased performance in cognitive tests observing social cues ( = 0.01), working memory ( ≤ 0.001), spatial reasoning and reversal learning ( = 0.02), and sustained attention ( = 0.02). The high correlation with several cognitive measures and the ease of administration of this test makes it a useful tool in evaluating canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome, however it is unclear if increased frustration or other cognitive processes are contributing to the observed changes.

Seven particles captured by the Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector and returned to Earth for laboratory analysis have features consistent with an origin in the contemporary interstellar dust stream. More than 50 spacecraft debris particles were also identified. The interstellar dust candidates are readily distinguished from debris impacts on the basis of elemental composition and/or impact trajectory. The seven candidate interstellar particles are diverse in elemental composition, crystal structure, and size. The presence of crystalline grains and multiple iron-bearing phases, including sulfide, in some particles indicates that individual interstellar particles diverge from any one representative model of interstellar dust inferred from astronomical observations and theory.

Beta oscillations observed in motor cortical local field potentials (LFPs) recorded on separate electrodes of a multi-electrode array have been shown to exhibit non-zero phase shifts that organize into planar waves. Here, we generalize this concept to additional classes of salient patterns that fully describe the spatial organization of beta oscillations. During a delayed reach-to-grasp task we distinguish planar, synchronized, random, circular, and radial phase patterns in monkey primary motor and dorsal premotor cortices. We observe that patterns correlate with the beta amplitude (envelope): Coherent planar/radial wave propagation accelerates with growing amplitude, and synchronized patterns are observed at largest amplitudes. In contrast, incoherent random or circular patterns are observed almost exclusively when beta is strongly attenuated. The occurrence probability of a particular pattern modulates with behavioral epochs in the same way as beta amplitude: Coherent patterns are more present during movement preparation where amplitudes are large, while incoherent phase patterns are dominant during movement execution where amplitudes are small. Thus, we uncover a trigonal link between the spatial arrangement of beta phases, beta amplitude, and behavior. Together with previous findings, we discuss predictions on the spatio-temporal organization of precisely coordinated spiking on the mesoscopic scale as a function of beta power.