Background: Soft-coated wheaten terriers (SCWTs) have a predisposition to the development of protein-losing enteropathy (PLE). Early recognition of disease may improve morbidity and mortality in these and other at-risk dogs. Preclinical inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), characterized by increased intestinal permeability, immune dysregulation and inflammation, and changes to the gut microbial composition, or biochemical evidence of disease many years before development of clinical signs, has been proposed for people at risk for IBD. Hypothesis/Objectives: Determine if changes in fecal metabolites and intestinal permeability could be identified in SCWTs before development of clinical signs. We hypothesized that, in contrast to healthy non-SCWT dogs, healthy SCWT would have changes similar to those of dogs with PLE. Animals: Twelve healthy SCWTs, 10 healthy non-SCWTs, and 8 PLE dogs. Methods: Prospective study. Fecal calprotectin, targeted metabolites and unconjugated bile acids, intestinal permeability testing, and video capsule endoscopy were evaluated. Single-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to evaluate fecal metabolites and bile acids for group differences. A repeated-measures mixed model ANOVA was performed for blood lactulose:galactose area under the curve (AUC). Results: Significant differences among groups were found for several fecal fatty acids and sterols. Healthy non-SCWT dogs, but not healthy SCWTs, were found to have significantly lower AUCs than PLE dogs (P = .04). Conclusions: Healthy SCWT dogs had changes in several biomarkers used to identify preclinical IBD in humans.

Hempseed hydrolysates prepared by enzymatic hydrolysis have been previously shown to have potent antioxidant activity. The objective of this study is to examine lipid oxidation in beef and turkey meatballs in the presence of selected hempseed hydrolysate products. Alcalase hydrolyzed hempseed meal (AHM10) and hempseed protein isolate (AHPI10) were incorporated into meat products to determine their effects on oxidation over time. Changes in lipid oxidation levels over a 14-day period at 4 °C were determined using peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) methods. Additionally, sensory analyses of the cooked beef and turkey meatballs were performed on day 1 and day 14 of storage to determine the effect of hempseed hydrolysates on the sensory attributes of both meat systems. Overall, AHM10 at 0.4% acted most effectively in beef meatballs and showed enhanced antioxidant activity when compared to EDTA at 100 ppm. Specifically, its use maintained PV below 5.0 meq hydroperoxides/kg oil and TBARS below 1.8 mg MDA/kg oil across the 14-day period. In sensory analysis, no significant differences were found amongst the treatments for various attributes and panelists did not detect bitterness or off flavors. Thus, AHM10 is applicable in food systems as an alternative antioxidant to replace synthetic ones.

Machine learning and pose estimation using a convolutional neural network accurately detected and objectively scored buprenorphine-induced changes in locomotor behaviors of mice on an elevated zero maze (EZM). Confirmatory factor analysis supports the interpretation that the anxiety-like construct accounted for the buprenorphine-induced changes in motor behavior. The results have noteworthy implications for the relationship between Darwin’s story model of mammalian emotions and computational models of anxiety-like behavior in mice.

Fiber-reinforced polymer composites are increasingly adopted in energy absorption applications due to their low density and superior energy absorption per unit mass compared to metals. In addition to their lightweight characteristics, these materials offer high specific stiffness, strength, and durability in corrosive environments. This study presents a systematic evaluation of the crashworthiness performance of three commercially available fiber-reinforced composites—glass fiber/polypropylene (GF/PP), glass fiber/polyamide-6 (GF/PA6), and carbon fiber/epoxy (CF/Epoxy)—using a sinusoidal specimen geometry. The novelty of this work lies in the combined investigation of temperature (−40°C to 80°C) and impact velocity (quasi-static to 9.3 m⋅s ⁻¹ ) effects on crash energy absorption using standardized, automotive-grade materials. Key crashworthiness metrics—specific energy absorption (SEA), crush force efficiency (CFE), and steady-state crush stress (SSCS)—were used to characterize rate–temperature dependence. The CF/Epoxy system consistently yielded the highest SEA (up to 93 kJ⋅kg ⁻¹ ), while the thermoplastic GF/PA6 and GF/PP materials showed competitive SEA values of 88 and 75 kJ⋅kg ⁻¹ , respectively. This full-factorial analysis provides critical insight into how thermoset and thermoplastic composites behave under realistic crash conditions and supports ongoing efforts to standardize crashworthiness testing methods for non-tubular composite structures.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of cholestyramine on the fecal dysbiosis index (DI) and the fecal excretion of conjugated and unconjugated bile acids (BAs) in dogs. Methods: This was a prospective, pre-post experimental study. Individually housed research colony dogs were screened for inclusion. Included dogs were deemed healthy based on a lack of gastrointestinal signs and evaluation of annual blood work and fecal flotation. Cholestyramine was orally administered (53 to 75 mg/kg/d of active drug) to healthy dogs for 12 weeks. Dogs were maintained on the same maintenance diet for the entirety of the study. Feces were collected at 5 time points: 12 and 6 weeks prior to treatment, time 0, and 6 and 12 weeks during treatment. Repeated-measures 1-way ANOVAs were used to test differences over time for fecal conjugated and unconjugated BAs (time 0 and weeks 6 and 12 of treatment) and the fecal DI (all time points), including its individual bacterial taxa. Results: 12 dogs completed the study. No adverse events following cholestyramine treatment were observed. The DI was significantly lower following cholestyramine treatment compared to before treatment and was not outside of the reference range. Cholestyramine administration significantly increased total fecal BAs, which was largely driven by a significant increase in secondary unconjugated BAs. Conclusions: Cholestyramine increased the total fecal BA excretion in colony dogs and had little to no clinical effect on the DI. Clinical Relevance: These findings support the investigation of the use of cholestyramine in controlled clinical trials of dogs with suspected BA diarrhea.