The Experts below are selected from a list of 1062 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
B R Jones - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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causes of loss or retirement from active duty for new zealand police german shepherd dogs
Animal Welfare, 2013Co-Authors: A J Worth, Janis P Bridges, M Sandford, B Gibson, R B Stratton, V H Erceg, B R JonesAbstract:The aim of this study was to determine the causes of loss from active duty amongst German shepherd dogs in service with the New Zealand Police Dog Section. Current or previous police dog handlers (n = 149) completed a postal survey for each dog they had worked with during their career including their current dog. Causes of loss were categorised as either retirement, euthanasia whilst still in active duty, death from illness/natural causes, or being killed whilst on duty. Of 182 dogs with completed questionnaires, 48 dogs were still in service, leaving 134 that were retired (94), had been euthanased (24), had died (11) or had been killed (5). The mean and median age at loss for all dogs no longer in service was 6.6 years. The nominal age for planned retirement (8 years) was only reached by 40% of dogs. The single most important cause of retirement was the inability to cope with the physical demands of the job (61/94 dogs or 65%). Degenerative musculoskeletal disease was cited as the primary factor in 42/61 of these dogs (69%). When both retired and euthanased dogs where considered together, 27% were retired or euthanased due to back/spinal problems, and a high proportion of these were believed to have involved the Lumbosacral Joint. Greater research efforts should be targeted at identification of the factors that lead to degenerative musculoskeletal and lumbo-sacral disease to determine methods of lowering their incidence in police working dogs. Such research could lead to increasing the average working life and ‘in work’ welfare of a police German shepherd dog in New Zealand.
A J Worth - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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causes of loss or retirement from active duty for new zealand police german shepherd dogs
Animal Welfare, 2013Co-Authors: A J Worth, Janis P Bridges, M Sandford, B Gibson, R B Stratton, V H Erceg, B R JonesAbstract:The aim of this study was to determine the causes of loss from active duty amongst German shepherd dogs in service with the New Zealand Police Dog Section. Current or previous police dog handlers (n = 149) completed a postal survey for each dog they had worked with during their career including their current dog. Causes of loss were categorised as either retirement, euthanasia whilst still in active duty, death from illness/natural causes, or being killed whilst on duty. Of 182 dogs with completed questionnaires, 48 dogs were still in service, leaving 134 that were retired (94), had been euthanased (24), had died (11) or had been killed (5). The mean and median age at loss for all dogs no longer in service was 6.6 years. The nominal age for planned retirement (8 years) was only reached by 40% of dogs. The single most important cause of retirement was the inability to cope with the physical demands of the job (61/94 dogs or 65%). Degenerative musculoskeletal disease was cited as the primary factor in 42/61 of these dogs (69%). When both retired and euthanased dogs where considered together, 27% were retired or euthanased due to back/spinal problems, and a high proportion of these were believed to have involved the Lumbosacral Joint. Greater research efforts should be targeted at identification of the factors that lead to degenerative musculoskeletal and lumbo-sacral disease to determine methods of lowering their incidence in police working dogs. Such research could lead to increasing the average working life and ‘in work’ welfare of a police German shepherd dog in New Zealand.
Alan J. Pearce - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The effect of muscle energy technique on corticospinal and spinal reflex excitability in asymptomatic participants
Journal of bodywork and movement therapies, 2013Co-Authors: Gary Fryer, Alan J. PearceAbstract:The aim of the current study was to investigate, using a controlled, repeated measure design, the neurophysiological responses following an acute bout of muscle energy technique (MET). Transcranial magnetic stimulation elicited motor evoked potentials using a 110 mm double cone coil placed over the motor area of the brain, while Hoffman reflexes (H-reflex) were measured from the posterior tibial nerve using electrical stimulation. Responses were measured using surface electromyography electrodes placed over the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle in 12 asymptomatic volunteers. An MET aimed at the Lumbosacral Joint was performed bilaterally. Data were collected pre-intervention, after a control intervention, and after the MET intervention. A significant increase was found in evoked potential silent period (SP) duration (F2,22 = 7.64; p = 0.03) over time following MET, but not the control intervention. A significant decrease was found in H-reflex (F1.3,14.4 = 13.8; p = 0.01) over time following the MET intervention. MET applied to the Lumbosacral Joint produced a significant decrease in corticospinal and spinal reflex excitability, suggesting overall decreased motor excitability.
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The effect of Lumbosacral manipulation on corticospinal and spinal reflex excitability on asymptomatic participants
Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics, 2011Co-Authors: Gary Fryer, Alan J. PearceAbstract:Abstract Objective The aim of the study was to examine the effects of a high-velocity, low-amplitude (HVLA) manipulation to the Lumbosacral Joint on corticospinal excitability, as measured by motor evoked potentials (MEPs) using transcranial magnetic stimulation, and spinal reflex excitability, as measured by the Hoffman reflex (H-reflex). Methods In a randomized, controlled, crossover design, 14 asymptomatic volunteers (mean age, 23 ± 5.4 years; 10 men; 4 women) were measured for MEPs and H-reflexes immediately before and after a randomly allocated intervention. The interventions consisted of HVLA applied bilaterally to the Lumbosacral Joint and a control intervention. Participants returned a week later, and the same procedures were performed using the other intervention. Data for H-reflex and MEP amplitudes were normalized to the M-wave maximum amplitude and analyzed using 2-way analysis of variance with repeated measures. Results A significant interaction of treatment by time was found for MEP ( F 1,13 = 4.87, P = .04), and post hoc analyses showed that the MEP/M-wave maximum ratio decreased significantly in the HVLA treatment ( P = .02; effect size, 0.68). For H-reflex, there was a significant effect of time ( F 1,13 = 8.186, P = .01) and treatment and time interaction ( F 1,13 = 9.05, P = .01), with post hoc analyses showing that H-reflexes were significantly reduced after the HVLA manipulation ( P = .004; effect size, 0.94). There were no significant changes in MEP latency or silent period duration. Conclusion An HVLA manipulation applied to the Lumbosacral Joint produced a significant decrease in corticospinal and spinal reflex excitability, and no significant change occurred after the control intervention. The changes in H-reflexes were larger than those in MEPs, suggesting a greater degree of inhibition at the level of the spinal cord.
Katrina E Jones - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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new insights on equid locomotor evolution from the lumbar region of fossil horses
Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2016Co-Authors: Katrina E JonesAbstract:The specialization of equid limbs for cursoriality is a classic case of adaptive evolution, but the role of the axial skeleton in this famous transition is not well understood. Extant horses are extremely fast and efficient runners, which use a stiff-backed gallop with reduced bending of the lumbar region relative to other mammals. This study tests the hypothesis that stiff-backed running in horses evolved in response to evolutionary increases in body size by examining lumbar Joint shape from a broad sample of fossil equids in a phylogenetic context. Lumbar Joint shape scaling suggests that stability of the lumbar region does correlate with size through equid evolution. However, scaling effects were dampened in the posterior lumbar region, near the sacrum, which suggests strong selection for sagittal mobility in association with locomotor–respiratory coupling near the Lumbosacral Joint. I hypothesize that small-bodied fossil horses may have used a speed-dependent running gait, switching between stiff-backed and flex-backed galloping as speed increased.
Janis P Bridges - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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causes of loss or retirement from active duty for new zealand police german shepherd dogs
Animal Welfare, 2013Co-Authors: A J Worth, Janis P Bridges, M Sandford, B Gibson, R B Stratton, V H Erceg, B R JonesAbstract:The aim of this study was to determine the causes of loss from active duty amongst German shepherd dogs in service with the New Zealand Police Dog Section. Current or previous police dog handlers (n = 149) completed a postal survey for each dog they had worked with during their career including their current dog. Causes of loss were categorised as either retirement, euthanasia whilst still in active duty, death from illness/natural causes, or being killed whilst on duty. Of 182 dogs with completed questionnaires, 48 dogs were still in service, leaving 134 that were retired (94), had been euthanased (24), had died (11) or had been killed (5). The mean and median age at loss for all dogs no longer in service was 6.6 years. The nominal age for planned retirement (8 years) was only reached by 40% of dogs. The single most important cause of retirement was the inability to cope with the physical demands of the job (61/94 dogs or 65%). Degenerative musculoskeletal disease was cited as the primary factor in 42/61 of these dogs (69%). When both retired and euthanased dogs where considered together, 27% were retired or euthanased due to back/spinal problems, and a high proportion of these were believed to have involved the Lumbosacral Joint. Greater research efforts should be targeted at identification of the factors that lead to degenerative musculoskeletal and lumbo-sacral disease to determine methods of lowering their incidence in police working dogs. Such research could lead to increasing the average working life and ‘in work’ welfare of a police German shepherd dog in New Zealand.
