Analytical Validation of an Assay for Concurrent Measurement of Amino Acids in Dog Serum and Comparison of Amino Acid Concentrations between Whole Blood, Plasma, and Serum from Dogs.

Amino acids play an important role in metabolism. Comprehensive analytical validation of an assay for the concurrent measurement of a large number of amino acids in dogs is lacking, which precludes its usefulness in a clinical setting. Amino acids are often measured in plasma or whole blood.

Whole blood and plasma taurine reference intervals in adult Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and correlations between taurine concentration, diet and mitral valve disease.

Objective: To determine breed-specific reference intervals for whole blood (WB) and plasma taurine concentrations in adult, overtly healthy Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCSs) and determine whether taurine concentrations differ across preclinical myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) stages or between CKCSs eating diets that meet World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) nutritional guidelines versus other diets.

Animals: 200 privately owned CKCSs.

Procedures: Clinically healthy adult CKCSs were recruited prospectively.

The Necessary Thread of Mindfulness Intervention Fidelity Assurance: Enabling an Organizational Strategy to Promote Health Care Professional Well-Being.

Purpose: A growing waitlist for Mindfulness in Motion (MIM), an evidence-based worksite mindfulness-based intervention, necessitated a training system with built in fidelity assurance to meet program demand. MIM was delivered as part of an organizational strategy in a large academic health center to enhance Health Care Professional (HCP) well-being. In order to ensure that the intervention was being delivered the same way to each cohort, a process to ensure intervention fidelity was developed for MIM.

Long-Term Recovery of the Fecal Microbiome and Metabolome of Dogs with Steroid-Responsive Enteropathy.

The long-term impact of treatment of dogs with steroid-responsive enteropathy (SRE) on the fecal microbiome and metabolome has not been investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the fecal microbiome and metabolome of dogs with SRE before, during, and following treatment with standard immunosuppressive therapy and an elimination diet. We retrospectively selected samples from 9 dogs with SRE enrolled in a previous clinical trial, which received treatment for 8 weeks, and had achieved remission as indicated by the post-treatment clinical scores.

Synchronous Mindfulness in Motion Online: Strong Results, Strong Attendance at a Critical Time for Health Care Professionals (HCPs) in the COVID Era.

Mindfulness in Motion (MIM) is an organizationally-sponsored mindfulness program for employees at a large academic health center that consistently produces significant reductions in burnout and perceived stress, alongside significant increases in work engagement and resilience. This study compared outcome measures of a synchronous virtual delivery of MIM, necessitated by COVID-19, to traditional in-person delivery of MIM. Outcome measures from the virtual COVID (AU20, WI21, SP21) MIM cohorts ( = 99) were compared with the in-person Pre-COVID (SP19, AU19, WI20) MIM cohorts ( = 124).

An irradiated marrow niche reveals a small noncollagenous protein mediator of homing, dermatopontin.

Hematopoietic cell homing after hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) is governed by several pathways involving marrow niche cells that are evoked after pre-HCT conditioning. To understand the factors that play a role in homing, we performed expression analysis on zebrafish marrow niche cells following conditioning. We determined that the noncollagenous protein extracellular matrix related protein dermatopontin (Dpt) was upregulated sevenfold in response to irradiation.

Sustained resiliency building and burnout reduction for healthcare professionals via organizational sponsored mindfulness programming.

Purpose: To measure healthcare professional (HCP) result sustainability following implementation of an organizationally sponsored Mindfulness Based Intervention (MBI), Mindfulness in Motion (MIM), in areas of burnout, perceived stress, resilience, and work engagement.

Methods: A follow-up survey was sent via email to healthcare professionals (n = 220) who previously participated in the 8-week MIM intervention. Survey assessed burnout, perceived stress, resilience, work engagement, and included open-ended questions pertaining to barriers, facilitators, and sustained impact of practicing mindfulness after program end.

Embracing Change: A Mindful Medical Center Meets COVID-19.

Background: Healthcare professional (HCP) burnout transcends clinician job title and role, thus creating a need for interprofessional strategies to address burnout. The organizational framework of offering employer-sponsored mindfulness programming to HCPs sets the stage for an orchestrated, mindful response to COVID-19.

Objective: This single arm pre-post interventional research tested changes in measures of burnout, resilience, perceived stress and work engagement for interprofessional HCP faculty and students participating in , a novel eight-week multimodal evidenced-based onsite intervention.

Developmental stages in microbiota, bile acids, and clostridial species in healthy puppies.

Background: The fecal microbiota, fecal bile acid concentrations, and abundance of Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium difficile are altered in acute and chronic gastrointestinal disease in adult dogs. However, less is known in young puppies.

Hypothesis/objectives: To determine composition of the fecal microbiota, assess development of fecal bile acid profiles, and determine the abundance of Clostridial species in puppies, young adult dogs, and adult dogs.

Effects of metronidazole on the fecal microbiome and metabolome in healthy dogs.

Background: Metronidazole has a substantial impact on the gut microbiome. However, the recovery of the microbiome after discontinuation of administration, and the metabolic consequences of such alterations have not been investigated to date.

Objectives: To describe the impact of 14-day metronidazole administration, alone or in combination with a hydrolyzed protein diet, on fecal microbiome, metabolome, bile acids (BAs), and lactate production, and on serum metabolome in healthy dogs.

Fecal Microbial and Metabolic Profiles in Dogs With Acute Diarrhea Receiving Either Fecal Microbiota Transplantation or Oral Metronidazole.

The aim was to characterize differences in fecal consistency, and fecal microbiota and metabolome profiles in dogs with acute diarrhea (AD) treated with either fecal microbiota transplantation as enema (FMT; = 11) or oral metronidazole (MET; = 7) for 7 days. On days 0, 7, and 28 fecal samples were obtained. Fecal samples from healthy dogs (HC; = 14) were used for comparison.

Long-term impact of tylosin on fecal microbiota and fecal bile acids of healthy dogs.

Background: Tylosin is commonly prescribed to dogs with diarrhea. Orally administered antibiotics may alter the intestinal microbiota, which is responsible for crucial key bile acid (BA) biotransformation reactions.

Objectives: To prospectively evaluate the impact of tylosin administration on fecal microbiota and unconjugated bile acids (UBAs) over time.

Altered microbiota, fecal lactate, and fecal bile acids in dogs with gastrointestinal disease.

The intestinal microbiota plays an important role in health and disease and produces, through fermentative reactions, several metabolic products, such as lactate, that can affect the host. The microbiota also interacts with and metabolizes compounds produced by the host, such as primary bile acids. Lactate and bile acids (BA) are of particular interest in gastrointestinal diseases because they have been associated with metabolic acidosis and bile acid diarrhea, respectively.

Comparison of intestinal expression of the apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter between dogs with and without chronic inflammatory enteropathy.

Background: Intestinal absorption of bile acids is mediated by the apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (ASBT). Fecal bile acid dysmetabolism has been reported in dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CIE).

Objective: Characterization of ASBT distribution along the intestinal tract of control dogs and comparison to dogs with CIE.

Dermatopontin in Bone Marrow Extracellular Matrix Regulates Adherence but Is Dispensable for Murine Hematopoietic Cell Maintenance.

The hematopoietic marrow microenvironment is composed of multiple cell types embedded in an extracellular matrix (ECM). We have explored marrow ECM using mass spectrometry and found dermatopontin (DPT), a small non-collagenous ECM protein, to be present. We found that DPT cooperates with other ECM proteins to promote hematopoietic cell adherence in vitro on plastic as well as OP9 stromal cells.

A Functional Bioluminescent Zebrafish Screen for Enhancing Hematopoietic Cell Homing.

To discover small molecules that modulate hematopoietic cell homing after adoptive transfer, we created a transgenic zebrafish expressing firefly luciferase downstream of the ubiquitin promoter (ubi:luc) to serve as a hematopoietic donor. Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) was used to detect and follow ubi:luc hematopoietic cells that homed to the marrow as early as 1 day post-transplant. BLI was able to detect the biological effect of prostaglandin E on early homing/engraftment of donor hematopoietic cells.