Turid Buvik - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Turid Buvik

Research paper thumbnail of Using dogs to detect oil spills hidden in snow and ice - A new tool to detect oil in Arctic environments

Proceedings, May 1, 2017

The main objective of this project has been to train dogs to find oil spills hidden in snow or ic... more The main objective of this project has been to train dogs to find oil spills hidden in snow or ice. Previous tests performed during 2007 in a laboratory environment in Trondheim showed that dogs are able to detect and identify the smell of oil, both weathered crude and bunker fuels. Outdoor tests in the Trondheim area in Norway (63°N) have also shown that dogs detect the smell of oil and can find point sources of oil at an outdoor temperature down to-5°C. This was confirmed in phase I of this project. Realistic field tests conducted in 2008 on Svalbard (78°N) confirmed that dogs can be used to detect oil spills covered with snow and ice in Arctic environments. The dogs were able to locate single point sources and determine the approximate dimensions of a larger oil spill. The dogs also verified the bearing to a larger oil spill (400 liters, covered in snow) in increasing downwind distances up to 5 km from the oil spill. This fieldwork on Svalbard has shown that the search dog teams perform well under very harsh Arctic conditions. The dogs and the handlers were able to work in temperatures below-20º C for multiple days. The dogs also managed to keep their full concentration and operative sensitivity for several days even after being transported, first by large aircraft (3 hours), then by small aircraft (0.5 hour) and finally the search site in cages strapped on snow scooter sledges. The use of snow scooters for transporting the dogs made it possible to reach remote areas, arriving with rested dogs ready for action.

Research paper thumbnail of Can dogs smell lung cancer? First study using exhaled breath and urine screening in unselected patients with suspected lung cancer

Acta Oncologica, 2013

Background. On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a cani... more Background. On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a canine olfactory test may be useful for detecting lung cancer in an unselected population of patients suspected to have lung cancer. Material and methods. We conducted a prospective study of 93 patients consecutively admitted to hospital with suspected lung cancer. Exhaled breath and urine were sampled before the patients underwent bronchoscopy. The canine olfactory test was performed in a double-blinded manner. Sensitivity and specifi city were outcome measures. Results. With 99% sensitivity, the olfactory test demonstrated that dogs have the ability to distinguish cancer patients from healthy individuals. With an intensifi ed training procedure, the exhaled breath and urine tests showed sensitivity rates of 56-76% and specifi city rates of 8.3-33.3%, respectively, in our heterogeneous study population. Conclusion. Although the olfactory test appears to be a promising tool for the detection of cancer, the main challenge is to determine whether the test can suffi ciently discriminate between patients at risk, patients with benign disease, and patients with malignant disease. We need to gain a deeper understanding of this test and further refi ne it before applying it as a screening tool for lung cancer in clinical settings.

Research paper thumbnail of Can dogs smell lung cancer? First study using exhaled breath and urine screening in unselected patients with suspected lung cancer

Acta Oncologica, 2013

Background. On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a cani... more Background. On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a canine olfactory test may be useful for detecting lung cancer in an unselected population of patients suspected to have lung cancer. Material and methods. We conducted a prospective study of 93 patients consecutively admitted to hospital with suspected lung cancer. Exhaled breath and urine were sampled before the patients underwent bronchoscopy. The canine olfactory test was performed in a double-blinded manner. Sensitivity and specifi city were outcome measures. Results. With 99% sensitivity, the olfactory test demonstrated that dogs have the ability to distinguish cancer patients from healthy individuals. With an intensifi ed training procedure, the exhaled breath and urine tests showed sensitivity rates of 56-76% and specifi city rates of 8.3-33.3%, respectively, in our heterogeneous study population. Conclusion. Although the olfactory test appears to be a promising tool for the detection of cancer, the main challenge is to determine whether the test can suffi ciently discriminate between patients at risk, patients with benign disease, and patients with malignant disease. We need to gain a deeper understanding of this test and further refi ne it before applying it as a screening tool for lung cancer in clinical settings.

Research paper thumbnail of Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences

Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2016

This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral ... more This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral visual symbols, in order to tell the handler whether they want to have a blanket on or not. Horses were trained for 10-15 min per day, following a training program comprising ten steps in a strategic order. Reward based operant conditioning was used to teach horses to approach and touch a board, and to understand the meaning of three different symbols. Heat and cold challenges were performed to help learning and to check level of understanding. At certain stages, a learning criterion of correct responses for 8-14 successive trials had to be achieved before proceeding. After introducing the free choice situation, on average at training day 11, the horse could choose between a "no change" symbol and the symbol for either "blanket on" or "blanket off" depending on whether the horse already wore a blanket or not. A cut off point for performance or non-performance was set to day 14, and 23/23 horses successfully learned the task within this limit. Horses of warm-blood type needed fewer training days to reach criterion than cold-bloods (P < 0.05). Horses were then tested under differing weather conditions. Results show that choices made, i.e. the symbol touched, was not random but dependent on weather. Horses chose to stay without a blanket in nice weather, and they chose to have a blanket on when the weather was wet, windy and cold (2 = 36.67, P < 0.005). This indicates that horses both had an understanding of the consequence of their choice on own thermal comfort, and that they successfully had learned to communicate their preference by using the symbols. The method represents a novel tool for studying preferences in horses.

Research paper thumbnail of Using dogs to detect oil spills hidden in snow and ice - A new tool to detect oil in Arctic environments

The main objective of this project has been to train dogs to find oil spills hidden in snow or ic... more The main objective of this project has been to train dogs to find oil spills hidden in snow or ice. Previous tests performed during 2007 in a laboratory environment in Trondheim showed tha...

Research paper thumbnail of The effect of weather conditions on the preference in horses for wearing blankets

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

The use of blankets in horses is widespread in Northern Europe. However, horses are very adaptabl... more The use of blankets in horses is widespread in Northern Europe. However, horses are very adaptable to low temperatures and the practice is questioned because blankets may hamper heat dissipation at high temperatures and also disturb free movement. The aim of the current study was to gain information about horses' own preferences for wearing or not wearing a blanket under different weather conditions during the seasons. 10 horses usually wearing blankets and 13 horses usually not wearing blankets were kept outside in their paddock for 2 h during different weather conditions. Then, these horses were tested for their preference for wearing blankets (see Mejdell et al., 2016). When only considering air temperature and not the impact of other weather factors, the horses preferred to have the blanket on in 80 % and 90 % of the test at t <-10 °C in horses usually wearing and not wearing blankets, respectively. As air temperature increased, the preference for keeping the blanket on decreased and at air temperatures > 20 °C, the horses preferred to remove the blanket in all the tests. According to the statistical model, the probability for choosing to have a blanket on increased with increasing wind speed, and also precipitation increased the probability for choosing to have a blanket on. Sunshine however, reduced the probability for choosing to wear a blanket.

Research paper thumbnail of Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences

Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2016

This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral ... more This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral visual symbols, in order to tell the handler whether they want to have a blanket on or not. Horses were trained for 10-15 min per day, following a training program comprising ten steps in a strategic order. Reward based operant conditioning was used to teach horses to approach and touch a board, and to understand the meaning of three different symbols. Heat and cold challenges were performed to help learning and to check level of understanding. At certain stages, a learning criterion of correct responses for 8-14 successive trials had to be achieved before proceeding. After introducing the free choice situation, on average at training day 11, the horse could choose between a "no change" symbol and the symbol for either "blanket on" or "blanket off" depending on whether the horse already wore a blanket or not. A cut off point for performance or non-performance was set to day 14, and 23/23 horses successfully learned the task within this limit. Horses of warm-blood type needed fewer training days to reach criterion than cold-bloods (P < 0.05). Horses were then tested under differing weather conditions. Results show that choices made, i.e. the symbol touched, was not random but dependent on weather. Horses chose to stay without a blanket in nice weather, and they chose to have a blanket on when the weather was wet, windy and cold (2 = 36.67, P < 0.005). This indicates that horses both had an understanding of the consequence of their choice on own thermal comfort, and that they successfully had learned to communicate their preference by using the symbols. The method represents a novel tool for studying preferences in horses.

Research paper thumbnail of ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences

Please cite this article in press as: Mejdell, C.M., et al., Horses can learn to use symbols to c... more Please cite this article in press as: Mejdell, C.M., et al., Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. (2016), http://dx.

Research paper thumbnail of Can dogs smell lung cancer? First study using exhaled breath and urine screening in unselected patients with suspected lung cancer

Background. On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a cani... more Background. On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a canine olfactory test may be useful for detecting lung cancer in an unselected population of patients suspected to have lung cancer. Material and methods. We conducted a prospective study of 93 patients consecutively admitted to hospital with suspected lung cancer. Exhaled breath and urine were sampled before the patients underwent bronchoscopy. The canine olfactory test was performed in a double-blinded manner. Sensitivity and specifi city were outcome measures. Results. With 99% sensitivity, the olfactory test demonstrated that dogs have the ability to distinguish cancer patients from healthy individuals. With an intensifi ed training procedure, the exhaled breath and urine tests showed sensitivity rates of 56 – 76% and specifi city rates of 8.3 – 33.3%, respectively, in our heterogeneous study population. Conclusion. Although the olfactory test appears to be a promising tool for the detection of cancer, the main challenge is to determine whether the test can suffi ciently discriminate between patients at risk, patients with benign disease, and patients with malignant disease. We need to gain a deeper understanding of this test and further refi ne it before applying it as a screening tool for lung cancer in clinical settings.

Research paper thumbnail of Can dogs smell lung cancer? First study using exhaled breath and urine screening in unselected patients with suspected lung cancer

Acta Oncologica, 2014

On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a canine olfactory... more On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a canine olfactory test may be useful for detecting lung cancer in an unselected population of patients suspected to have lung cancer. We conducted a prospective study of 93 patients consecutively admitted to hospital with suspected lung cancer. Exhaled breath and urine were sampled before the patients underwent bronchoscopy. The canine olfactory test was performed in a double-blinded manner. Sensitivity and specificity were outcome measures. With 99% sensitivity, the olfactory test demonstrated that dogs have the ability to distinguish cancer patients from healthy individuals. With an intensified training procedure, the exhaled breath and urine tests showed sensitivity rates of 56-76% and specificity rates of 8.3-33.3%, respectively, in our heterogeneous study population. Although the olfactory test appears to be a promising tool for the detection of cancer, the main challenge is to determine whether the test can sufficiently discriminate between patients at risk, patients with benign disease, and patients with malignant disease. We need to gain a deeper understanding of this test and further refine it before applying it as a screening tool for lung cancer in clinical settings.

Research paper thumbnail of Using dogs to detect oil spills hidden in snow and ice - A new tool to detect oil in Arctic environments

Proceedings, May 1, 2017

The main objective of this project has been to train dogs to find oil spills hidden in snow or ic... more The main objective of this project has been to train dogs to find oil spills hidden in snow or ice. Previous tests performed during 2007 in a laboratory environment in Trondheim showed that dogs are able to detect and identify the smell of oil, both weathered crude and bunker fuels. Outdoor tests in the Trondheim area in Norway (63°N) have also shown that dogs detect the smell of oil and can find point sources of oil at an outdoor temperature down to-5°C. This was confirmed in phase I of this project. Realistic field tests conducted in 2008 on Svalbard (78°N) confirmed that dogs can be used to detect oil spills covered with snow and ice in Arctic environments. The dogs were able to locate single point sources and determine the approximate dimensions of a larger oil spill. The dogs also verified the bearing to a larger oil spill (400 liters, covered in snow) in increasing downwind distances up to 5 km from the oil spill. This fieldwork on Svalbard has shown that the search dog teams perform well under very harsh Arctic conditions. The dogs and the handlers were able to work in temperatures below-20º C for multiple days. The dogs also managed to keep their full concentration and operative sensitivity for several days even after being transported, first by large aircraft (3 hours), then by small aircraft (0.5 hour) and finally the search site in cages strapped on snow scooter sledges. The use of snow scooters for transporting the dogs made it possible to reach remote areas, arriving with rested dogs ready for action.

Research paper thumbnail of Can dogs smell lung cancer? First study using exhaled breath and urine screening in unselected patients with suspected lung cancer

Acta Oncologica, 2013

Background. On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a cani... more Background. On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a canine olfactory test may be useful for detecting lung cancer in an unselected population of patients suspected to have lung cancer. Material and methods. We conducted a prospective study of 93 patients consecutively admitted to hospital with suspected lung cancer. Exhaled breath and urine were sampled before the patients underwent bronchoscopy. The canine olfactory test was performed in a double-blinded manner. Sensitivity and specifi city were outcome measures. Results. With 99% sensitivity, the olfactory test demonstrated that dogs have the ability to distinguish cancer patients from healthy individuals. With an intensifi ed training procedure, the exhaled breath and urine tests showed sensitivity rates of 56-76% and specifi city rates of 8.3-33.3%, respectively, in our heterogeneous study population. Conclusion. Although the olfactory test appears to be a promising tool for the detection of cancer, the main challenge is to determine whether the test can suffi ciently discriminate between patients at risk, patients with benign disease, and patients with malignant disease. We need to gain a deeper understanding of this test and further refi ne it before applying it as a screening tool for lung cancer in clinical settings.

Research paper thumbnail of Can dogs smell lung cancer? First study using exhaled breath and urine screening in unselected patients with suspected lung cancer

Acta Oncologica, 2013

Background. On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a cani... more Background. On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a canine olfactory test may be useful for detecting lung cancer in an unselected population of patients suspected to have lung cancer. Material and methods. We conducted a prospective study of 93 patients consecutively admitted to hospital with suspected lung cancer. Exhaled breath and urine were sampled before the patients underwent bronchoscopy. The canine olfactory test was performed in a double-blinded manner. Sensitivity and specifi city were outcome measures. Results. With 99% sensitivity, the olfactory test demonstrated that dogs have the ability to distinguish cancer patients from healthy individuals. With an intensifi ed training procedure, the exhaled breath and urine tests showed sensitivity rates of 56-76% and specifi city rates of 8.3-33.3%, respectively, in our heterogeneous study population. Conclusion. Although the olfactory test appears to be a promising tool for the detection of cancer, the main challenge is to determine whether the test can suffi ciently discriminate between patients at risk, patients with benign disease, and patients with malignant disease. We need to gain a deeper understanding of this test and further refi ne it before applying it as a screening tool for lung cancer in clinical settings.

Research paper thumbnail of Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences

Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2016

This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral ... more This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral visual symbols, in order to tell the handler whether they want to have a blanket on or not. Horses were trained for 10-15 min per day, following a training program comprising ten steps in a strategic order. Reward based operant conditioning was used to teach horses to approach and touch a board, and to understand the meaning of three different symbols. Heat and cold challenges were performed to help learning and to check level of understanding. At certain stages, a learning criterion of correct responses for 8-14 successive trials had to be achieved before proceeding. After introducing the free choice situation, on average at training day 11, the horse could choose between a "no change" symbol and the symbol for either "blanket on" or "blanket off" depending on whether the horse already wore a blanket or not. A cut off point for performance or non-performance was set to day 14, and 23/23 horses successfully learned the task within this limit. Horses of warm-blood type needed fewer training days to reach criterion than cold-bloods (P < 0.05). Horses were then tested under differing weather conditions. Results show that choices made, i.e. the symbol touched, was not random but dependent on weather. Horses chose to stay without a blanket in nice weather, and they chose to have a blanket on when the weather was wet, windy and cold (2 = 36.67, P < 0.005). This indicates that horses both had an understanding of the consequence of their choice on own thermal comfort, and that they successfully had learned to communicate their preference by using the symbols. The method represents a novel tool for studying preferences in horses.

Research paper thumbnail of Using dogs to detect oil spills hidden in snow and ice - A new tool to detect oil in Arctic environments

The main objective of this project has been to train dogs to find oil spills hidden in snow or ic... more The main objective of this project has been to train dogs to find oil spills hidden in snow or ice. Previous tests performed during 2007 in a laboratory environment in Trondheim showed tha...

Research paper thumbnail of The effect of weather conditions on the preference in horses for wearing blankets

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

The use of blankets in horses is widespread in Northern Europe. However, horses are very adaptabl... more The use of blankets in horses is widespread in Northern Europe. However, horses are very adaptable to low temperatures and the practice is questioned because blankets may hamper heat dissipation at high temperatures and also disturb free movement. The aim of the current study was to gain information about horses' own preferences for wearing or not wearing a blanket under different weather conditions during the seasons. 10 horses usually wearing blankets and 13 horses usually not wearing blankets were kept outside in their paddock for 2 h during different weather conditions. Then, these horses were tested for their preference for wearing blankets (see Mejdell et al., 2016). When only considering air temperature and not the impact of other weather factors, the horses preferred to have the blanket on in 80 % and 90 % of the test at t <-10 °C in horses usually wearing and not wearing blankets, respectively. As air temperature increased, the preference for keeping the blanket on decreased and at air temperatures > 20 °C, the horses preferred to remove the blanket in all the tests. According to the statistical model, the probability for choosing to have a blanket on increased with increasing wind speed, and also precipitation increased the probability for choosing to have a blanket on. Sunshine however, reduced the probability for choosing to wear a blanket.

Research paper thumbnail of Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences

Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2016

This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral ... more This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral visual symbols, in order to tell the handler whether they want to have a blanket on or not. Horses were trained for 10-15 min per day, following a training program comprising ten steps in a strategic order. Reward based operant conditioning was used to teach horses to approach and touch a board, and to understand the meaning of three different symbols. Heat and cold challenges were performed to help learning and to check level of understanding. At certain stages, a learning criterion of correct responses for 8-14 successive trials had to be achieved before proceeding. After introducing the free choice situation, on average at training day 11, the horse could choose between a "no change" symbol and the symbol for either "blanket on" or "blanket off" depending on whether the horse already wore a blanket or not. A cut off point for performance or non-performance was set to day 14, and 23/23 horses successfully learned the task within this limit. Horses of warm-blood type needed fewer training days to reach criterion than cold-bloods (P < 0.05). Horses were then tested under differing weather conditions. Results show that choices made, i.e. the symbol touched, was not random but dependent on weather. Horses chose to stay without a blanket in nice weather, and they chose to have a blanket on when the weather was wet, windy and cold (2 = 36.67, P < 0.005). This indicates that horses both had an understanding of the consequence of their choice on own thermal comfort, and that they successfully had learned to communicate their preference by using the symbols. The method represents a novel tool for studying preferences in horses.

Research paper thumbnail of ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences

Please cite this article in press as: Mejdell, C.M., et al., Horses can learn to use symbols to c... more Please cite this article in press as: Mejdell, C.M., et al., Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. (2016), http://dx.

Research paper thumbnail of Can dogs smell lung cancer? First study using exhaled breath and urine screening in unselected patients with suspected lung cancer

Background. On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a cani... more Background. On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a canine olfactory test may be useful for detecting lung cancer in an unselected population of patients suspected to have lung cancer. Material and methods. We conducted a prospective study of 93 patients consecutively admitted to hospital with suspected lung cancer. Exhaled breath and urine were sampled before the patients underwent bronchoscopy. The canine olfactory test was performed in a double-blinded manner. Sensitivity and specifi city were outcome measures. Results. With 99% sensitivity, the olfactory test demonstrated that dogs have the ability to distinguish cancer patients from healthy individuals. With an intensifi ed training procedure, the exhaled breath and urine tests showed sensitivity rates of 56 – 76% and specifi city rates of 8.3 – 33.3%, respectively, in our heterogeneous study population. Conclusion. Although the olfactory test appears to be a promising tool for the detection of cancer, the main challenge is to determine whether the test can suffi ciently discriminate between patients at risk, patients with benign disease, and patients with malignant disease. We need to gain a deeper understanding of this test and further refi ne it before applying it as a screening tool for lung cancer in clinical settings.

Research paper thumbnail of Can dogs smell lung cancer? First study using exhaled breath and urine screening in unselected patients with suspected lung cancer

Acta Oncologica, 2014

On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a canine olfactory... more On the basis of our own experience and literature search, we hypothesised that a canine olfactory test may be useful for detecting lung cancer in an unselected population of patients suspected to have lung cancer. We conducted a prospective study of 93 patients consecutively admitted to hospital with suspected lung cancer. Exhaled breath and urine were sampled before the patients underwent bronchoscopy. The canine olfactory test was performed in a double-blinded manner. Sensitivity and specificity were outcome measures. With 99% sensitivity, the olfactory test demonstrated that dogs have the ability to distinguish cancer patients from healthy individuals. With an intensified training procedure, the exhaled breath and urine tests showed sensitivity rates of 56-76% and specificity rates of 8.3-33.3%, respectively, in our heterogeneous study population. Although the olfactory test appears to be a promising tool for the detection of cancer, the main challenge is to determine whether the test can sufficiently discriminate between patients at risk, patients with benign disease, and patients with malignant disease. We need to gain a deeper understanding of this test and further refine it before applying it as a screening tool for lung cancer in clinical settings.