Background Leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp., is a zoonotic infection that affects humans, dogs and many other mammalian species. Virtually any mammalian species can act as asymptomatic reservoir, characterized by chronic renal carriage and shedding of a host-adapted leptospiral serovar. Environmental contamination by chronic shedders results in acquisition of infection by humans and susceptible animals.
Body condition scoring (BCS) provides a readily available technique that can be used by both veterinary professionals and owners to assess the body condition of cats, and diagnose overweight or underweight conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate a five-point BCS system with half-point delineations using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Four evaluators (a veterinarian, veterinary technician, trained scorer and untrained scorer) assessed 133 neutered adult cats. For all scorers, BCS score was more strongly correlated with percent body fat than with body weight. Percent body fat increased by approximately 7% within each step increase in BCS. The veterinarian had the strongest correlation coefficient between BCS and percent fat (r = 0.80). Mean body fat in cats classified as being in ideal body condition was 12 and 19%, for 3.0 and 3.5 BCS, respectively. Within BCS category, male cats were significantly heavier in body weight than females within the same assigned BCS category. However, DXA-measured percent body fat did not differ significantly between male and female cats within BCS category, as assigned by the veterinarian (P >0.13). Conversely, when assessed by others, mean percent body fat within BCS category was lower in males than females for cats classified as being overweight (BCS >4.0). The results of this study show that using a BCS system that has been validated within a range of normal weight to moderately overweight cats can help to differentiate between lean cats and cats that may not be excessively overweight, but that still carry a higher proportion of body fat.
Interest is increasing regarding use of Cannabidiol (CBD) in companion animals due to anecdotal evidence of beneficial behavioral and health effects. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the influence of CBD on behavioral responses to fear-inducing stimuli in dogs. Sixteen dogs (18.1 ± 0.2 kg) were utilized in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design experiment with treatments arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial, consisting of control, 25 mg CBD, trazodone (100 mg for 10-20 kg BW, 200 mg for 20.1-40 kg BW), and the combination of CBD and trazodone. A fireworks model of noise-induced fear was used to assess CBD effectiveness after 7 d of supplementation. Each test lasted a total of 6 min and consisted of a 3 min environmental habituation phase with no noise and a 3 min noise phase with a fireworks track. Plasma was collected 1 h before, immediately after, and 1 h following testing for cortisol analysis. Behaviors in each 3 min block were video recorded, and heart rate (HR) sensors were fitted for collection of HR and HR variability parameters. Research personnel administering treats and analyzing behavioral data were blinded as to the treatments administered. Data were tested for normality using the UNIVARIATE procedure in SAS, then differences examined using the MIXED procedure with fixed effects of treatment, period, time, and treatment x time interaction. Inactivity duration and HR increased during the first minute of the fireworks track compared with 1 min prior (P < 0.001 and P = 0.011, respectively), indicating the fireworks model successfully generated a fear response. Trazodone lowered plasma cortisol (P < 0.001), which was unaffected by CBD (P = 0.104) or the combination with CBD (P = 0.238). Neither CBD nor trazodone affected the duration of inactivity (P = 0.918 and 0.329, respectively). Trazodone increased time spent with tail relaxed (P = 0.001). CBD tended to increase HR (P = 0.093) and decreased the peak of low-and high-frequency bands (LF and HF, P = 0.011 and 0.022, respectively). These results do not support an anxiolytic effect of CBD in dogs given 1.4 mg CBD/kg BW/d.
Timely, specific feedback is the most important feature of simulation-based training, but providing adequate instructor supervision is challenging. Students’ ( n = 76) surgical skills were assessed after training using either the traditional (T) method of large-group teaching by multiple instructors or the alternative method of one instructor assigned (A) to a defined group of students. Instructors rotated to a different group of students for each laboratory session. The instructor-to-student ratio and environment remained identical. No differences were found in raw assessment scores or the number of students requiring remediation, suggesting that students learned in this environment whether they received feedback from one instructor or multiple. Students had no preference between the methods, though 88% of the instructors preferred the assigned method, because they perceived an increased ability to teach and observe individual students. There was no difference in the number of students identified as at-risk of remediation between groups. When both groups were considered together, students identified as at-risk were more likely (40% vs. 10%) to require post-assessment remediation. However, only 22% of students requiring remediation had been identified as at-risk, and A-group instructors were more accurate than T-group instructors at identifying at-risk students. These results suggest that students accept either instructional method, but most instructors prefer to be assigned to a small group of students. Surgical skills were learned similarly well by students in both groups, although assigned instructors were more accurate at identifying at-risk students, which could prove beneficial if early intervention measures can be offered.
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