Canine Olfaction Research and Education Lab, Davis College of Animal and Food Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States of America.
Forensic Analytical Chemistry and Odor Profiling Laboratory, Department of Environmental Toxicology at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2024 Feb 21;19(2):e0297538. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297538. eCollection 2024.
Canines are one of the best biological detectors of energetic materials available; however, canine detection of explosives is impacted by a number of factors, including environmental conditions. The objectives of this study were: 1) determine how canine detection limits vary when both the canine and odorant are tested in varying temperature and humidity conditions (canine and odor interactive effects); and 2) determine if an acclimatization plan can improve detection limits in an adverse environmental condition. Eight working line canines were trained to detect four energetics: prill ammonium nitrate (AN), Composition 4 (C4), trinitrotoluene (TNT) and double base smokeless powder (SP). In Experiment 1, canines completed a 3-alternative forced choice 3-down-1-up staircase threshold assessment in five environmental conditions: 40°C and 70% relative humidity (RH), 40°C and 40% RH, 0°C and 90% RH, 0°C and 50% RH and 21°C and 50% RH. Canines showed a 3.5-fold detection limit increase (poorer detection) for C4 in 40°C and 70% RH compared to their detection limit at 21°C and 50% RH. In Experiment 2, the eight canines were split into two groups (n = 4), control and acclimation groups. The control group completed the threshold assessment for C4 at 21°C and 50% RH each day for 20 days, with 5 minutes of petting prior to testing. The acclimation group completed the same assessment daily starting at 21°C and 50% RH but temperature and RH were incremented daily over the course of 6 days to the 40°C and 70% RH condition. After the initial six days, the acclimation group completed daily assessments at 40°C and 70% RH condition for the remainder of the experiment. All acclimatization group canines started their session with 5 minutes of toy or food retrieves. Detection limits for C4 for all dogs were tested in 40°C and 70% RH on day 11 and day 22. The acclimatization plan improved detection limits in the 40°C and 70% RH condition for C4 compared to the non-acclimated group. In this set of experiments, canine detection limits for four explosive odorants were found to vary based on environmental condition and were mostly driven by impacts on the canine rather than odor availability. The acclimatization plan did result in lower detection limits (i.e., increased performance). Future work should determine what factor (exercise or environmental exposure) is more effective in acclimatization for odor detection work.
犬类是目前可用的最优秀的生物探测能源材料之一;然而,犬类对爆炸物的探测受到许多因素的影响,包括环境条件。本研究的目的是:1)确定当犬类和气味剂都在不同的温度和湿度条件下进行测试时,犬类检测极限会如何变化(犬类和气味剂的交互作用);2)确定是否可以通过适应计划来改善在不利环境条件下的检测极限。8 只工作线犬接受了训练,以检测四种爆炸物:颗粒状硝酸铵(AN)、4 号炸药(C4)、三硝基甲苯(TNT)和双基无烟粉末(SP)。在实验 1 中,犬类在五种环境条件下完成了 3 种选择 3 下 1 上的阶梯式阈值评估:40°C 和 70%相对湿度(RH)、40°C 和 40%RH、0°C 和 90%RH、0°C 和 50%RH 和 21°C 和 50%RH。与在 21°C 和 50%RH 条件下的检测极限相比,犬类对 C4 的检测极限在 40°C 和 70%RH 下增加了 3.5 倍(检测能力下降)。在实验 2 中,8 只犬分为两组(n=4),对照组和适应组。对照组每天在 21°C 和 50%RH 条件下完成 C4 的阈值评估,在测试前进行 5 分钟的抚摸。适应组每天在相同条件下完成评估,但温度和湿度在 6 天内逐日增加至 40°C 和 70%RH 条件。在最初的 6 天之后,适应组在其余实验期间每天在 40°C 和 70%RH 条件下进行评估。所有适应组犬在开始测试前都进行了 5 分钟的玩具或食物检索。所有犬类的 C4 检测极限在第 11 天和第 22 天在 40°C 和 70%RH 下进行了测试。适应计划提高了 C4 在 40°C 和 70%RH 条件下的检测极限,与未适应组相比。在这组实验中,发现四种爆炸物气味剂的犬类检测极限会根据环境条件而变化,并且主要是由犬类的影响而不是气味的可用性驱动的。适应计划确实导致了更低的检测极限(即,性能提高)。未来的工作应该确定在气味探测工作中,哪种因素(锻炼或环境暴露)更有效。
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