Chronically sustained systemic hypertension in dogs can damage the kidneys, eye, brain, heart, and vessels. In human medicine, systemic hypertension has been implicated as the most common risk factor for aorta dilation, which can progress to an aneurysm. Abdominal ultrasound has been commonly used to monitor the size of the abdominal aorta in people with systemic hypertension. In this retrospective cross‐sectional abdominal ultrasound study, evaluation of the size of the abdominal aorta relative to the caudal vena cava was performed in 18 control dogs and 128 dogs with confirmed systemic hypertension. Preexisting conditions contributing to systemic hypertension in these dogs were renal disease, hyperadrenocorticism, diabetes mellitus, adrenal tumors, and previous administration of phenylpropanolamine or palladia. The abdominal aorta and caudal vena cava were assessed from longitudinal images cranial to the trifurcation with measurements made from outer border to outer border of the walls, being careful not to compress the caudal vena cava that would alter its size. Our hypothesis was the ratio of the diameter of the abdominal aorta to caudal vena cava would be higher in dogs with systemic hypertension compared to dogs with normal blood pressure. The mean abdominal aorta‐caudal vena cava ratio was 1.028 in control dogs with a normal blood pressure and 1.515 in dogs with systemic hypertension. In dogs with confirmed systemic hypertension, the abdominal aorta was dilated compared to the caudal vena cava in the caudal abdomen. An increase in the abdominal aorta‐caudal vena cava ratio in a dog should raise suspicion for the presence of systemic hypertension and prompt evaluation of blood pressure.

Background: The eating behavior of children is important to maintain a healthy weight. This current study explored the differences in children’s eating behaviors and their relation to weight status and maternal education level, using the child eating behavior questionnaire (CEBQ). Methods: The study recruited 169 participants aged between six and ten years. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted to examine the association between the CEBQ factors and children’s body weight status. The association between the CEBQ scores and maternal educational levels was examined using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: The multinomial logistic regression findings indicate that children in the obese group exhibited a significant increase in food responsiveness, enjoyment of food, emotional overeating, and a decrease in satiety responsiveness compared to normal weight children. The one-way ANOVA showed a significant difference in subscales under the food approach (food responsiveness, desire to drink, emotional overeating) and food avoidance (satiety responsiveness) based upon the child’s weight status. The three subscales under the food approach category were significantly dependent upon the maternal education but did not have a significant association with food avoidance. Conclusions: The results suggest that the increase in food responsiveness and emotional overeating in obese children is influenced by maternal education.

Methionine hydroxy analogue (MHA) has been widely used and shows positive effects on growth in poultry, swine, ruminant and aquatic animals. Nevertheless, the utilization efficiency of methionine hydroxy analogue remains controversial considering the wide variation in effects across studies, feeding parameters and environmental culture conditions. Meta‐analysis can quantify the effect of adding MHA on animal performance. Here, we analysed the effect of MHA‐supplemented diets on the final weight (FW), per cent weight gain (WG), protein efficiency ratio (PER), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and feed efficiency (FE) in common, diverse aquaculture taxa. To conduct the meta‐analyses, twenty‐three published studies were included that accounted for 249 effect sizes estimated across eight fish and one shrimp species. The effect size (measured as the standardized mean difference; Hedges’ g) of response parameters between MHA level in a diet formulation and an MHA‐less control condition was calculated. Based on these results, adding MHA in the diet can significantly improve FW, WG, PER, and FE and decrease FCR for fish rather than shrimp. Using meta‐regression analysis, there was a significant quadratic linear relationship between MHA addition and effect size for FW (P = 0.002 for MHA, P = 0.042 for MHA2), and significant linear relationships between MHA addition and effect size for WG (P = 0.0005) and FCR (P = 0.002). There was no significant relationship, linear or non‐linear, between the MHA addition and effect size for FE (P = 0.985) and PER (P = 0.461). In all, when properly dosed in diets, MHA can significantly improve aquaculture production for fish.