Experience and confidence of final year veterinary students in performing desexing surgeries

AIMS: To describe the level of experience and confidence of veterinary students in performing canine and feline desexing procedures at the end of their final clinical year.

METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with veterinary students at Massey University in November 2017 after completion of their final clinical year. The questions included career plans after graduation, number of assisted and unassisted desexing procedures performed, approximate time to complete desexing surgeries, level of confidence with different aspects of desexing surgeries, what aspects of their desexing surgery training were most helpful, and what could be done to improve training in desexing surgical skills in veterinary school.

RESULTS: The survey was completed by 70/95 (74%) students in their final clinical year. Among respondents, 55/70 (70%) had performed >2 unassisted feline neuters before graduation. However 38/70 (54%) students had never performed an unassisted feline spay, 31/70 (44%) had never performed an unassisted canine neuter, and 44/70 (63%) students had never performed an unassisted canine spay. The median reported times to complete a feline neuter, feline spay, canine neuter, and canine spay were 9, 40, 30 and 60 minutes, respectively. The median level of confidence for these procedures were 9, 6, 7 and 5 (on a scale from 1=least confident to 10=most confident), respectively. The reported time to complete procedures and the confidence in performing procedures did not change markedly with increasing total number of procedures performed. Students were most concerned about their ability to perform the desexing procedures in a reasonable amount of time and to prevent post-operative bleeding from occurring. Students were least concerned with their ability to manage post-operative pain in patients and to select the appropriate suture material. Free-text comments revealed that 62/70 (89%) students wanted more hands-on surgical experience prior to graduation.

CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVENCE: Many students are currently completing veterinary school with limited experience and low confidence with performing routine canine and feline desexing procedures. Further research is needed to identify the most effective ways for addressing this issue within the constraints of the veterinary curriculum and teaching hospital resources.     

Effects of chromated-phosphate treatment process on the green color protection of ma bamboo ( Dendrocalamus latiflorus )

Ma bamboo (Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro) treated with chromated phosphate (CP) exhibits an excellent green color. To understand the effects of the treatment sequence of CrO₃ and H₃PO₄ and their interactions regarding green color protection, CrO₃-H₃PO₄ and H₃PO₄-CrO₃ two-step treatments plus a H₃PO₄-CrO₃-H₃PO₄ three-step treatment were carried out in this study. Results revealed that the treatment sequence of CrO₃ and H₃PO₄ definitely affects the effectiveness of bamboo color protection. Green color protection of ma bamboo culm could not be achieved by treating it with CrO₃ or H₃PO₄ alone or with the H₃PO₄-CrO₃ two-step treatment. Only by treating it with the CrO₃-H₃PO₄ two-step treatment or the H₃PO₄-CrO₃-H₃PO₄ three-step treatment did ma bamboo exhibit an excellent green color. The results indicated that bamboo reacts first with CrO₃ and then forms an insoluble complex with H₃PO₄, which produces the green color on its epidermis. Chlorophyll analyses demonstrated that chlorophyll is not a key factor for green color protection. The green pigment was also formed when chlorophyll-free bamboo was treated with 2% CP at 60°C for 3h.     

Mycoplasma hyorhinis in Taiwan: diagnosis and isolation of swine pneumonia pathogen

This study attempted to determine whether one multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an effective adjunct method for diagnosing Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Mycoplasma hyorhinis infection, and whether M. hyorhinis should be considered as an enzootic pneumonia or porcine respiratory disease complex pathogen in Taiwan. To our knowledge, this study is the first to isolate and identify M. hyorhinis as a porcine pathogen in Taiwan. A novel isolation method and a multiplex PCR test were applied to detect and isolate M. hyorhinis. The correlation of M. hyorhinis with swine pneumonia was also examined using a challenge test. Based on weight, 18 pigs were assigned to three groups and housed throughout the study in a specific-pathogen-free (SPF) facility and provided with aseptic feed and water. Groups 1 (n=6) and 2 (n=6) were challenged with 5mL M. hyorhinis culture via tracheal intubation on day 1. The M. hyorhinis strains ATIT-1, -3, and-7 were used to infect group 1 and the strain ATCC 27717 was used for group 2. Culture medium was replaced by phosphate-buffered saline in group 3 (n=6). All pigs were slaughtered on day 28, and their lungs were removed for examination of lesions. Of the six pigs in group 1 challenged with wild-type strains, two had typical mycoplasma pneumonia lesions. No gross lung lesions were observed in groups 2 and 3. Although further examination is necessary to confirm that wild-type strains can cause pneumonia, it appears that M. hyopneumoniae is no longer the only mycoplasma pathogen implicated in the diagnosis of swine enzootic pneumonia (SEP).     

Isolation of Lawsonia intracellularis in Korea and reproduction of proliferative enteropathy in pigs and hamsters

Lawsonia intracellularis (L. intracellularis) was isolated from a Korean pig suffering acute proliferative enteropathy. In vitro culture conditions of L. intracellularis were established in McCoy cells. Pigs and hamsters experimentally infected with the pure culture of L. intracellularis reproduced clinical signs and intestinal lesions of proliferative enteropathy. The presence of L. intracellularis in the intestinal lesions was confirmed by immunohistochemistry with L. intracellularis-specific monoclonal antibodies.     

Utilization of polar metabolite profiling in the comparison of juvenile wood and compression wood in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda)

Juvenile wood (JW) of conifers is often associated with compression wood (CW), with which it is sometimes believed to be identical. To determine whether JW and CW can be distinguished metabolically, we compared gas chromatographic profiles of 25 polar metabolites from rooted cuttings of a single loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) clone raised in controlled environment chambers and subject to three treatments: (1) grown erect with minimal wind sway (control); (2) swayed by wind from oscillating fans; and (3) with 30-cm growth increments successively bent at an angle of 45 degrees to the vertical. Profiles were compared by principal component analysis. Substantial increases in abundances of coniferin and p-glucocoumaryl alcohol separated immature JW-forming xylem tissues of the control trees from the CW-forming xylem of the bent and swayed trees.     

A critical role for the innate immune signaling molecule IRAK-4 in T cell activation

IRAK-4 is a protein kinase that is pivotal in mediating signals for innate immune responses. Here, we report that IRAK-4 signaling is also essential for eliciting adaptive immune responses. Thus, in the absence of IRAK-4, in vivo T cell responses were significantly impaired. Upon T cell receptor stimulation, IRAK-4 is recruited to T cell lipid rafts, where it induces downstream signals, including protein kinase C activation through the association with Zap70. This signaling pathway was found to be required for optimal activation of nuclear factor kappaB. Our findings suggest that T cells use this critical regulator of innate immunity for the development of acquired immunity, suggesting that IRAK-4 may be involved in direct signal cross talk between the two systems.     

SV2 is the protein receptor for botulinum neurotoxin A

How the widely used botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) recognizes and enters neurons is poorly understood. We found that BoNT/A enters neurons by binding to the synaptic vesicle protein SV2 (isoforms A, B, and C). Fragments of SV2 that harbor the toxin interaction domain inhibited BoNT/A from binding to neurons. BoNT/A binding to SV2A and SV2B knockout hippocampal neurons was abolished and was restored by expressing SV2A, SV2B, or SV2C. Reduction of SV2 expression in PC12 and Neuro-2a cells also inhibited entry of BoNT/A, which could be restored by expressing SV2 isoforms. Finally, mice that lacked an SV2 isoform (SV2B) displayed reduced sensitivity to BoNT/A. Thus, SV2 acts as the protein receptor for BoNT/A.     

Finger joint performance of structural laminated bamboo member

The structural performance of finger-jointed laminated bamboo was investigated for two bamboo species by considering the finger length, profile orientation, lamination direction, culm growth height, and mechanical properties of bamboo materials. Based on the growth height variation and bamboo species, the best finger-jointed laminated bamboo was found for the lamina processed from the middle growth height of a moso bamboo culm with the finger profile shown on the width face of the beam. It was 38.7% higher in bending strength than the lowest group, with the lamina from the lower ma bamboo culm showing the finger profile on the thickness face of the beam. When considering the finger length and lamination orientation, the strongest finger-jointed laminated bamboo joined with an 18-mm finger, showing the finger profile on the width face of a vertically laminated beam was 50.1% higher in bending strength than the lowest group having a 12-mm finger showing the finger profile on the thickness face of a vertically laminated beam. The laminated ma bamboo showed higher finger-joint efficiency, 11.6%, than moso bamboo, and the members showing the finger profile on the width surface was 12.3% better in joint efficiency than that showing on the thickness surface of the beam.     

A conserved domain in axonal targeting of Kv1 (Shaker) voltage-gated potassium channels

Axonal voltage-gated potassium (Kv1) channels regulate action-potential invasion and hence transmitter release. Although evolutionarily conserved, what mediates their axonal targeting is not known. We found that Kv1 axonal targeting required its T1 tetramerization domain. When fused to unpolarized CD4 or dendritic transferrin receptor, T1 promoted their axonal surface expression. Moreover, T1 mutations eliminating Kvbeta association compromised axonal targeting, but not surface expression, of CD4-T1 fusion proteins. Thus, proper association of Kvbeta with the Kv1 T1 domain is essential for axonal targeting.