It's a dog's life: Doggy database aims to define pet health
1 Climate model simulations
analyzed as part of the study revealed that the relationship between sea
surface temperatures and atmospheric convection in the Indian Ocean changes
rainfall in East Africa. Specifically, wet conditions in coastal East Africa
are associated with cool sea surface temperatures in the eastern Indian Ocean
and warm sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean, which cause ascending
atmospheric circulation over East Africa and enhanced rainfall. The opposite
situation—cold sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean and warmer
in the East—causes drought. Such variations in sea-surface temperatures likely
caused the historical fluctuations in rainfall seen in the paleorecord. Credit:
Jessica Tierney, et al, 2013
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-01-insights-drought-east-africa.html#jCp
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-01-insights-drought-east-africa.html#jCp
Using data collected about Labrador Retrievers, research
published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Veterinary Research is beginning to quantify the health,
illnesses, and veterinary care of dogs. The UK is a nation of pet lovers -- but
what do we know about the health of our pets? To date the long term
(longitudinal) study of canine diseases has been patchy, relying on information
from referral centers and details about pet illnesses which are not reported to
a vet have never been studied before.
The Dogslife internet-based project (http://www.dogslife.ac.uk/) was organized in conjunction
with the Kennel Club. From the 1st July 2010 the owners of all Labrador Retrievers
born after 1st January 2010 and registered with the Kennel Club were invited to
be part of the project. In the first year of the study 1407 dogs were enrolled
in the study.
Early
results to come out of this study show that four out of ten of all dogs were
ill at some point. Analyzing their data the researchers estimated that about
80% of dogs had been ill by the time they were one year old -- but that only
half were considered by their owners to be ill enough to need to visit the vet.
Discussing
the Dogslife project, Dr Dylan Clements from the Royal (Dick) School of
Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, which are both part of The
University of Edinburgh, and lead author of the study said, "Labrador
Retrievers are the most popular pedigree dog in the UK, and breeders and owners
are passionate about the health of their pets. We are extremely grateful for
the time and commitment provided by owners and breeders contributing to the
study. We hope to follow the health of these dogs throughout their lives so
that we can identify aspects of care which might reduce the risk of dogs
developing disease in the future."
The
study is on-going, so any Kennel Club registered Labradors born in the UK after
1st January 2010 can join the project.
Source: BioMed Central Limited
need } � e r �(� 0� r if the models will
eventually prove correct in their projections of increased precipitation in
East Africa," says co-author Jason Smerdon, of the Lamont-Doherty Earth
Observatory.
While
it's currently unclear which theory is correct, the discovery of the importance
of the Indian Ocean may help solve the mystery. "In terms of forecasting
long-term patterns in drought and food security, we would recommend that
researchers make use of patterns of sea surface temperature changes in the
Indian Ocean rather than just looking at the shorter term El Niño events or the
Pacific Ocean," says Tierney.
In
addition, Tierney and her colleagues lack paleoclimate data from the region
that is most directly affected by the Indian Ocean -- the Horn of Africa. The
paleoclimate data featured in this study are limited to more equatorial and
interior regions of East Africa. With support from National Science Foundation,
Tierney and her colleagues are now developing a new record of both aridity and
sea surface temperatures from the Gulf of Aden, at a site close to the Horn.
"This
will give us the best picture of what's happened to climate in the Horn, and in
fact, it will be the first record of paleoclimate in the Horn that covers the
last few millennia in detail. We're working on those analyses now and should
have results in the next year or so," says Tierney.
This
research was based on work supported by the National Science Foundation and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Source: Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution
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