Demographics and career path choices of graduates from three Canadian veterinary colleges

The classes of 2007 from the Atlantic Veterinary College, Ontario Veterinary College, and Western College of Veterinary Medicine were surveyed to determine what factors influenced the respondents’ career path choices. Seventy percent (166/237) of those contacted participated in the survey of which 89.1% were female, 62.7% had an urban upbringing, and 33.0% expected to be employed in a small center (population ≤ 10 000). Half (52.5%) of the respondents reported that they were interested in mixed or food animal practice at the time of entry into veterinary college, but this proportion declined to 34.2% by the time of graduation. Three factors were significantly associated with choosing a career in mixed or food animal practice: having been raised in a small center, being a male, and having a good to excellent knowledge of food animal production at the time of entry into veterinary college, as determined by a self-assessment.     

Excretory urography

Excretory urography is a type of contrast study used to verify and localize upper urinary tract disease. In some instances, information regarding renal function and disease pathophysiology can also be obtained. With the recent advances in small animal ultrasonagraphy, excretory urography has become an underutilized procedure. This article will help explain why excretory urography remains, and will remain, a ubiquitous test that gives excellent detail of the entire urinary tract, and remains an essential tool for the assessment of the renal pelves and especially the ureters. Specifically, this article will focus on technique and interpretation of a properly performed excretory urogram.     

Rates of formation of cis- and trans-oak lactone from 3-methyl-4-hydroxyoctanoic acid

The rates of formation of both cis- and trans-oak lactone from the corresponding isomers of 3-methyl-4-hydroxyoctanoic acid have been measured in model wine at room temperature for a range of pH values. The half-life for formation of the trans-isomer at pH 2.9 was calculated to be 3.1 h, whereas that for the cis-isomer, at the same pH, was calculated to be 40.5 h. The k(trans)/k(cis) ratio in model wine was found to 12.86 +/- 1.34 over the range of pH values employed. A reason for the more facile formation of the trans-isomer, based on conformational reasons, has been proposed. In acidic aqueous media the equilibrium between the oak lactones and their corresponding ring-opened analogues was found to favor the former entirely, with no evidence for the latter being found. Implications of the present study for the future analysis of oak samples, as well as for the interpretation of existing data, are discussed.     

Serum pepsinogen levels and Ostertagia ostertagi populations in clinically normal adult beef cattle

Serum pepsinogen levels and Ostertagia ostertugi populations in clinically normal grass-fed bullocks were investigated in three groups of 10 prime cattle aged between 2.5 and 2.75 years slaughtered in late summer (February), early autumn (March) and late autumn (May) respectively. Apart from occasional foci of mucosal hyperplasia abomasa were grossly normal. Serum pepsinogen levels ranged between 0.2 and 2.5 i.u./l with group means of 1.4,l.S and 1.3 i.u./l. O. ostertagi counts ranged between 0 and5,194 with group means of 734,630 and 701 worms. The composition of the worm populations varied with a higher proportion of adults recovered in February and very few worms from most cattle in March, suggesting the termination of a parasite generation. An increase in numbers of early fourth-stage larvae in May indicated exposure to a new generation. These changes were not reflected in the pepsinogen levels.

The findings are discussed in relation to the adequacy of the pepsinogen assay as a diagnostic aid in field infections, animal age, and correlations between pepsinogen levels and parasite populations.     

Pulsed-wave Doppler tissue imaging velocities in normal geriatric cats and geriatric cats with primary or systemic diseases linked to specific cardiomyopathies in humans, and the influence of age and heart rate upon these velocities

Pulsed-wave Doppler tissue imaging (pw-DTI) techniques allow the non-invasive assessment of myocardial dynamics. pw-DTI has demonstrated regional and global diastolic impairment in various forms of human and feline cardiomyopathy. We hypothesise that in geriatric cats with systemic diseases that have been linked to specific cardiomyopathies in human beings, the myocardial velocity profile will be altered when compared to either normal or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) cats; and that both age and heart rate have a significant affect upon pw-DTI velocities. The aims of this study were to determine whether the feline M-mode or myocardial velocity profile is altered in geriatric cats with disease states that have been linked to specific cardiomyopathies in humans when compared to normal geriatric cats or geriatric cats with HCM and to determine whether age or heart rate has a significant effect upon pw-DTI velocities within these groups of cats. Sixty-six cats aged 8 years or above were included in the study, and were divided as follows: Unaffected (n=8), basilar septal bulge (BSB) (17), HCM (14), hyperthyroid (HiT(4)) (12) and chronic renal failure (CRF) (15). Systolic blood pressure was normal in all the cats. pw-DTI systolic (S'), early (E') and late diastolic (A') velocities were assessed from standardised sites within the myocardium, and the relationships between these and disease group, age and heart rate were then assessed. In cats with HCM, the E' velocity was decreased at various sites. Conversely, the HiT(4) cats demonstrated increased S' velocities. The only site at which the age of the cat was significantly related to myocardial velocities was the S' velocity from the apical mid-septum. There were also significant positive relationships between heart rate and the magnitude of myocardial S', E' and A' velocities of radial motion and S' and A' velocities of longitudinal motion. pw-DTI detected diastolic dysfunction in untreated cats with HCM and increased systolic function in HiT(4) cats. The age of the cat was of little significance, whereas heart rate significantly influenced myocardial velocity profiles.