Veterinary and human medicine: learning from each other.

A well-attended session at this year's joint SPVS/VPMA congress considered what lessons the medical and veterinary professions might learn from one another. Laura Honey reports.

All take and no give?

Benefits of the human-animal bond are often highlighted, but how equal is the relationship? Delegates at the BVA Congress at the London Vet Show heard that, while animals can bring benefits to people, people do not always fulfil their side of the bargain. Laura Honey reports.

Bursting at the seams: managing the companion animal population.

Overproduction of companion animals in the UK was one of the topics considered at this year's Animal Welfare Foundation discussion forum. Other subjects discussed included antimicrobial resistance and the ethical dilemmas surrounding advanced treatment options for pets. Laura Honey reports.

Pet travel, passports and potential problems.

The movement - both legal and illegal - of pet animals, particularly dogs, was discussed in a series of 'big issues' debates at this year's BSAVA congress. Laura Honey reports.

Examining non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents with mental health needs, in Ontario, Canada.

The objectives of this study were to examine the prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents with mental health needs and specific factors associated with NSSI among adolescents aged 14 to 18 years who received mental health services in adult mental health facilities in Ontario, Canada. Data on 2,013 adolescents were obtained from the Ontario Mental Health Reporting System using the Resident Assessment Instrument-Mental Health (RAI-MH) and were analyzed using logistic regression. Approximately, 20.2% (407 adolescents) of the sample engaged in NSSI within the last 12 months. Results from multivariate logistic regression indicate that females were 2.19 times more likely to engage in NSSI than males. Intentional misuse of prescription medication emerged as the most important factor associated with NSSI. Other factors found to be associated with NSSI included multiple psychiatric admissions, sexual abuse, use of alcohol, mood disorders (e.g., depression), adjustment disorders, personality disorders and symptoms of depression. The article discusses the implications of the findings, with suggestions for future research.

Students look to the future.

The future of the veterinary profession formed the theme for this year's congress of the Association of Veterinary Students, held at Nottingham veterinary school on January 25 and 26. Topics under discussion included the RCVS's Professional Development Phase and the new veterinary school at the University of Surrey. Students were also encouraged to take a stand on animal welfare issues by guest speaker Marc Abraham. Laura Honey reports.

Assuring the welfare of food animals.

There is a plethora of schemes for assuring the welfare of food animals but, with each having different standards and with incomplete coverage of all livestock sectors, consumers are confused about what they all mean. A debate at this year's BVA Congress highlighted the problem, and considered how it might be addressed at a farm and consumer level. Laura Honey reports.

Factors associated with the use of intrusive measures at a tertiary care facility for children and youth with mental health and developmental disabilities.

This study seeks to identify some of the explanatory factors associated with the use of intrusive measures among children with mental health and developmental disabilities in psychiatric facilities. Intrusive intervention data were collected using an organizational database that was developed internally at a tertiary care facility. The sample was composed of 338 children/youth aged between 6 and 18 years (mean = 12.33, standard deviation = 2.70) admitted within a 2-year period. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between chemical restraint, physical restraint and secure isolation, and programme type after controlling for demographic and other relevant client characteristics. The study found that the number of chemical restraints and secure isolations was higher for clients with developmental disabilities than for clients with mental health, whereas the number of physical restraints was lower for clients with developmental disabilities than clients with mental health issues. Demographic variables also predicted specific types of intrusive measures. The results of this study outline the differential factors associated with specific types of intrusive measures to control aggressive and self-harm behaviours. The paper also outlines cultural change initiatives, organizational interventions, and policy implications for best practice services for children/youth in psychiatric facilities to further reduce intrusive measures.

Do temperamentally shy children process emotion differently than nonshy children? Behavioral, psychophysiological, and gender differences in reticent preschoolers.

We examined regional brain electrical activity (EEG), heart rate, and subjective responses at rest and during the presentation of videoclips designed to elicit a range of emotions (e.g., sadness, anger, happiness, fear) among a sample of healthy 4-year-old children selected for temperamental shyness. We found that shy children exhibited significantly greater relative right central EEG activation at rest and during the presentation of the fear-eliciting videoclip than nonshy children. Shy females displayed greater relative right mid-frontal EEG activation during the sad, happy, and fear videoclips than shy males who displayed greater relative left mid-frontal EEG activation. These results (1) suggest that recent frontal EEG activation/emotion models might be gender-specific and (2) appear to provide the first empirical evidence for recent theoretical notions linking the origins and maintenance of temperamental shyness in children to difficulty in regulating fear responses.