Leadership academy for excellence in disability services: evaluation of outcomes for state employees.

As the United States' first disability-specific leadership academy in state government, the Leadership Academy for Excellence in Disability Services is a year-long competency-based training experience designed for employees who manage programs that impact the lives of Tennesseans with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. The Tennessee Department of Human Resources, in collaboration with the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities, began implementing this program in 2017. The lasting impact of such a training experience on the practices of state employees once they complete the program is not known; this was the aim of the study.

Effectiveness of Deep Brain Stimulation in Reducing Body Mass Index and Weight: A Systematic Review.

Background: Obesity has become a major public health concern worldwide, with current behavioral, pharmacological, and surgical treatments offering varying rates of success and adverse effects. Neurosurgical approaches to treatment of refractory obesity include deep brain stimulation (DBS) on either specific hypothalamic or reward circuitry nuclei, which might contribute to weight reduction through different mechanisms. We aimed to determine the safety and clinical effect of DBS in medical refractory obesity.

The Advisory Council on the Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding.

This paper summarises the factors that led to the formation of the Advisory Council on the Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding and sets out some of the challenges facing the Council. Common to all types of dog is the irresponsible way in which they can be produced, purchased and owned, and the considerable welfare problems that may arise as a direct consequence of these actions. In pedigree and purebred dogs, specific welfare problems may also be the result of the manner in which some of them are bred, as well as a variety of breed-related and inherited disorders and a number of other complex issues.

Tackling the welfare issues of dog breeding.

Sheila Crispin is chair of the new Advisory Council on the Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding. Here, she describes the background to the Council, outlines its priorities and offers some thoughts on the issues that need to be addressed.

Cryptococcus gattii meningoencephalitis in an HIV-negative patient from the Peruvian Andes.

We report a case of an immunocompetent Peruvian patient from the Andes with a one-month history of meningoencephalitis. Cryptococcus gattii was identified from a cerebrospinal fluid culture through assimilation of D-proline and D-tryptophan as the single nitrogen source. Initially, the patient received intravenous antifungal therapy with amphotericin B.

Risk factors for tail injuries in dogs in Great Britain.

The aim of the current study was to quantify the risk of tail injury, to evaluate the extent to which tail docking reduces this risk, and to identify other major risk factors for tail injury in dogs in Great Britain. A nested case-control study was conducted during 2008 and 2009. Data were obtained from a stratified random sample of veterinary practices throughout Great Britain, and questionnaires were sent to owners of dogs with tail injuries and owners of a randomly selected sample of dogs without tail injuries.

An immunohistochemical study of uveodermatologic syndrome in two Japanese Akita dogs.

Materials: Ocular and cutaneous tissues from two Japanese Akita dogs with uveodermatologic syndrome (UVD) were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis.

Results: Light microscopic examination of the globes confirmed the presence of panuveitis of different severity in each case. The infiltrate was primarily granulomatous with prominent perivascular lymphoid aggregates.

The 2001 foot and mouth disease epidemic in the United Kingdom: animal welfare perspectives.

The management of the foot and mouth disease (FMD) epidemic which occurred in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2001 resulted in widespread animal welfare problems. These problems arose firstly because of the large numbers of animals slaughtered to bring the epidemic under control, which meant that the conditions under which animals were slaughtered and the manner in which this was carried out often breached regulations concerning welfare at slaughter. Secondly, the restrictions imposed on movements, especially animal movements, resulted in what appeared to be readily avoidable difficulties with livestock dying from, for example, food shortages and pregnant animals giving birth under unsuitable conditions.

Ocular lipid deposition and hyperlipoproteinaemia.

In all species there are potential ocular manifestations when circulating lipoproteins are raised and these may be transient or permanent Many factors, both systemic and local, influence lipid influx and accumulation (progression) and lipid mobilisation and efflux (regression). In both humans and animals some types of lipid deposition will regress if the local and systemic factors involved in pathogenesis can be modified. There are inescapable parallels with the same phenomena in other tissues.

Systemic hypertensive disease and the feline fundus.

The fundoscopic appearance and some of the histopathological findings of arterial hypertension in the cat are reviewed in relation to the anatomical and physiological features that place retinal function at particular risk when the eye is subjected to sustained increased arterial blood pressure. The fundus changes fall into three categories: hypertensive retinopathy, hypertensive choroidopathy and hypertensive optic neuropathy, and information from cases with confirmed arterial hypertensive disease is used to provide a basis for discussion and future investigation.

Developmental anomalies and abnormalities of the equine iris.

The iris is derived from interaction between neural crest tissue and the adjacent neuroectoderm of the optic cup. Developmental anomalies of the equine iris are common, and include congenital miosis, iris cysts, various manifestations of iris hypoplasia, heterochromia, and persistent pupillary membrane remnants. They may be found alone or in combination with other ocular defects.

Tear-deficient and evaporative dry eye syndromes of the horse.

Tear-deficient dry eye (keratoconjunctivitis sicca), and evaporative dry eye, with some overlap between these two categories, are two major categories of dry eye recognized in the horse. Careful examination of the eyelid margins, the inner and outer surfaces of the upper and lower eyelids, assessment of blink and third eyelid movement, specific testing of tear production, assessment of corneal sensitivity, and slit-lamp examination of the ocular surface before and after fluorescein dye application is recommended to detect dry eye problems. Rose Bengal dye application is also recommended in many cases.

Canine monocytic ehrlichiosis presenting as acute blindness 36 months after importation into the UK.

A four-year-old Labrador retriever developed sudden-onset blindness, associated with bilateral uveitis, intraocular haemorrhage and retinal detachment. It had been imported into the UK from Sardinia 36 months before presentation. Haematological abnormalities included non-regenerative anaemia, thrombocytopenia and neutropenia.