Body size and shape play fundamental roles in organismal function and it is expected that animals may possess body proportions that are well-suited to their ecological niche. Tetrapods exhibit a diverse array of body shapes, but to date this diversity in body proportions and its relationship to ecology have not been systematically quantified. Using whole-body skeletal models of 410 extinct and extant tetrapods, we show that allometric relationships vary across individual body segments thereby yielding changes in overall body shape as size increases. However, we also find statistical support for quadratic relationships indicative of differential scaling in small-medium versus large animals. Comparisons of locomotor and dietary groups highlight key differences in body proportions that may mechanistically underlie occupation of major ecological niches. Our results emphasise the pivotal role of body proportions in the broad-scale ecological diversity of tetrapods.

Background: Meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO) comprises a group of debilitating inflammatory diseases affecting the central nervous system of dogs. Currently, no validated clinical scale is available for the objective assessment of MUO severity. Objectives: Design a neurodisability scale (NDS) to grade clinical severity and determine its reliability and whether or not the score at presentation correlates with outcome. Animals: One hundred dogs with MUO were included for retrospective review and 31 dogs were subsequently enrolled for prospective evaluation. Methods: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for 100 dogs diagnosed with MUO to identify the most frequent neurological examination findings. The NDS was designed based on these results and evaluated for prospective and retrospective use in a new population of MUO patients (n = 31) by different groups of independent blinded assessors, including calculation of interobserver agreement and association with outcome. Results: The most common clinical signs in MUO patients were used to inform categories for scoring in the NDS: seizure activity, ambulatory status, posture and cerebral, cerebellar, brainstem, and visual functions. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for prospective use of the NDS was 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.68-0.91) indicating good agreement, and moderate agreement was found between prospective and retrospective assessors (ICC, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.56-0.83). No association was found between NDS score and long-term outcome. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: The NDS is a novel clinical measure for objective assessment of neurological dysfunction and showed good reliability when used prospectively in MUO patients but, in this small population, no association with outcome could be identified.

Several pain scoring systems have been validated to measure pain in dogs. However, pain may not be adequately assessed since these tools are associated with high-level inter-observer variation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the agreement of pain assessment using the CMPS-SF between veterinary students, veterinary nurses, veterinary surgeons, and European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia (ECVAA) diplomates. Forty-five client-owned dogs presented to a teaching hospital were enrolled in this prospective, observational study. All dogs were pain-scored in vivo, while a video of the assessment was recorded and subsequently evaluated by twenty assessors, with five per group. Mean scores between groups were compared, and agreement within groups and agreement of the average scores between groups were assessed by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The intervention point at which dogs were deemed to require additional analgesia was also evaluated. Overall agreement of pain assessment was poor (ICC = 0.494). Nurses had the best inter-observer agreement (ICC = 0.656), followed by ECVAA diplomates (ICC = 0.540), veterinary surgeons (ICC = 0.478), and veterinary students (ICC = 0.432). The best inter-group agreement was between veterinary surgeons and nurses (ICC = 0.951) and between ECVAA diplomates and nurses (ICC = 0.951). Students were more likely to determine that additional analgesia was required compared to other groups. Pain assessment is key for animal welfare, and training in this area should be reinforced to improve consistency.