An ethological analysis of close-contact inter-cat interactions determining if cats are playing, fighting, or something in between.

Intraspecific social interactions in domestic cats are often categorised as affiliative or agonistic. However, public or professional assessment of encounters can have difficulty distinguishing rough-and-tumble play from true agonism. One possible issue is the potential occurrence of elements of both, play and agonism, within inter-cat play, for example when one cat wants to terminate a bout of play but the other seeks to continue the interaction, which subsequently may provoke more overt agonistic behaviour. To test this hypothesis, we conducted behavioural observations of 105 unique dyadic interactions of domestic cats (N = 210) captured on videos collected from owners and YouTube. We assessed cats for the frequency and duration of six behavioural elements. The dataset was reduced using PCA with a varimax rotation and factor scores were used to classify the population using hierarchical cluster analysis. To validate the identified clusters, the average scores of the constituent factors were compared and the data on interactions were labelled by four cat behaviour experts as "playful", "intermediate" or "agonistic". In addition, to evaluate properties of expert-labelled categories we used linear discriminant analysis followed by an ordinal regression. The results showed considerable convergent validity in factor distributions between clusters and expert-labelled groups: reciprocal wrestling was most closely associated with a group of playfully interacting cats, while vocalisation and chasing were associated with the agonistic group. The intermediate group, while having characteristics of both, was more closely related to the playful group than the agonistic group, with prolonged exchanges of interactive behaviours being a predominant feature. Thus, our findings support the suggestion of there being an intermediate category between mutual social play and agonism. This might escalate into a fully agonistic encounter, but does not necessarily reflect a break down in their social relationship but rather a short-term disagreement in social priorities.

Good-looking vs. Obedient, Which Would You Rather Take Home? Appearance and Behavioral Predictors Affecting the Adoption of Shelter Dogs in Slovakia.

The aim of the study was to investigate the key factors influencing the successful adoption of dogs from dog shelters in Slovakia. The study covered the following factors in relation to individual dogs: time spent at the shelter, age, body weight, sex, coat color, length of the coat, and behavior (specifically intraspecific aggression, aggression toward humans, activity, and fear-related behavior). The survey was conducted in three shelters in the territory of the Slovak Republic. The online and on-site questionnaires of about 162 successfully adopted dogs were collected and were filled in by the shelter staff, those who accepted dogs into the shelter. Non-parametric statistics (Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis H test followed by Dunn's multiple comparisons test with correction) confirmed that the most important factors influencing the decision-making process of potential adopters were the age of the dog and its weight. However, we found that the length or color of the coat and sex had no effect on early adoption. While behavior is important during the prospective adopter/owner's interaction with the dog, it is still not the most important criterion in making a decision.

The fate of added nitrate used in the manufacture of Emmental cheese.

The aim of this study was to observe the dynamics of nitrates and nitrites during the six stages of manufacture of Emmental cheeses. Samples were taken of untreated milk, of pasteurized milk, of milk with nitrates added, of pressed cheese curd, of whey, of maturing cheese and of the final product. The samples were drawn from a commercial operation in a cheese factory in the eastern part of Slovakia. The mean NaNO2 content in untreated and in pasteurised milk was 0.2 and 0.1 mg kg-1, respectively and the mean NaNO3 content was 0.9 and 0.9 mg kg-1 respectively. Nitrates were added to the milk to prevent 'blowing' of hard cheese by micro organisms. In milk with nitrate added the mean content was 81.2 mg kg-1 NaNO3; the maximum value being 90.0 mg kg1 NaNO3. After pressing, the mean value of nitrate was found to be 20.6 mg kg-1 NaNO3. A considerable quantity of nitrates passed into the whey, where the mean nitrate content was 67.0 mg kg-1 NaNO3. The final product had a markedly decreased content of nitrates (3.3 mg kg-1 NaNO3) and nitrites (0.2 mg kg-1 NaNO2) when compared with the values in cheese during maturation (11.3 mg kg-1 NaNO3; 0.4 mg kg-1 NaNO2).

The effect of emissions on heavy metals concentrations in cattle from the area of an industrial plant in Slovakia.

Attention was devoted to the effects of risk element-containing industrial emissions on the biological material of cattle bred on farms in the vicinity of a metallurgical plant in East Slovakia. The observations lasted two years and included four agricultural farms in the polluted area and one control farm outside this area. In 1991, 20, 30, 30, 30, and 30 samples of milk, muscle, liver, heart, and kidney tissue were analyzed, whereas in 1992, 30, 48, 48, 48, and 48 respective samples were taken. For Cu, Zn, Mn, Cd, Pb, and Ni analyses, the AAS method was employed, using the UNICAM 939 device, while Hg residues were determined on the TMA 254 analyzer. In 1991, of a total of 120 samples of tissue and organs, 12.5%, 9.16% and 0.8% were found to contain above-limit levels of Cd, Ni, and Cu, respectively. The concentrations of the remaining elements, viz., Zn, Mn, Pb, and Hg, did not surpass the permitted maxima. In 1992, 1.03%, 2.60%, 0.51%, and 5.20% of 192 samples of tissue and organs contained above-limit Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn levels.