Effect of audible static on blood pressure measurement by Doppler ultrasonic sphygmomanometry in cats.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to determine whether the use of headphones to eliminate audible static during Doppler ultrasonic sphygmomanometry affects blood pressure (BP) measurement in conscious young adult (aged 1-6 years) and mature adult/senior (aged ⩾7 years) cats. METHODS: A randomized crossover study was conducted. Healthy client-owned cats (>1 year) were enrolled. Blood pressure measurements were obtained twice, 14 days apart, with or without the use of headphones worn by a veterinarian. A fear, anxiety and stress (FAS) score (0 = relaxed; 4 = severe signs) was recorded. A linear mixed-effects model was used to compare the effect of wearing headphones on BP measurement. RESULTS: In total, 18 young adult and 14 mature adult and senior cats with a median age of 5 years (range 1-14 years) were enrolled. Of the cats, 47% (15/32) had an average BP measurement that was at least 10 mmHg higher when using headphones compared with when not using headphones, of which a majority (11/15, 73%) were young adult cats. The average BP measurement was not different when using headphones compared with when not using headphones (mean difference -7 mmHg; 95% confidence interval -14 to 0.6; P = 0.07). When compared within age groups, the average BP measurement taken when using headphones (125 ± 15 mmHg) was lower compared with the measurement taken when not using headphones (137 ± 17 mmHg) in young adult cats (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The reduction in the average BP measurement with the use of headphones suggests this method may be helpful in reducing situational hypertension, particularly in young adult cats. Our findings also highlight the importance of consistent use of headphones when comparing serial measurements in a cat.

The Topobiology of Chemical Elements in Seabird Feathers.

The highly organized morphogenesis of bird feathers holds important phylo- and ontogenetic information on the evolution of birds, organogenesis, tissue regeneration, and the health status of individual animals. Altered topobiological patterns are regularly used as retrospective evidence for disturbed developmental trajectories due to the past exposure to environmental stressors. Using the most advanced high-resolution (5-70 µm) X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM), we describe in the feathers from three species of Procellariiformes hitherto unknown, depositions of elements (Zn, Ca, Br, Cu, Fe) that are independent of pigmentation or any underlying variation in density or polymer structure. In the case of Zn, the pattern across several species of Procellariiformes, but not other species, consisted of highly regular bands of Zn numbering 30-32, which may reflect the estimated number of days of active feather growth or the duration of the moult period. Thus, speculatively, the highly consistent Zn pattern might be the result of a so far unknown diurnal systemic regulation rather than local heterogeneity amongst the follicular stem cells.