Veterinary and pet owner perspectives on addressing access to veterinary care and workforce challenges.

Objectives: (1) Assess and compare the perceptions of pet owners and veterinary professionals pertaining to the extent of veterinary workforce and access to care challenges in 2023 in Colorado, and (2) Assess what programs, policies, and resources veterinary professionals and pet owners believe would be most effective at addressing access to care and workforce challenges in Colorado.

Sample: 736 veterinarians, veterinary technicians, or practice/owner manager ("veterinary professionals") in Colorado. A total of 1,209 pet owners (919 from an online survey and 290 from in-person surveying).

Spanish for Veterinarians Part 2: A Survey Gauging Student Perspectives on a Profession-Specific Language Learning Experience.

This article describes the distribution and results of a survey that was disseminated among students enrolled in Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) programs in the United States. It is a critical component to a substantial effort being undertaken at Colorado State University (CSU) to overhaul its current Spanish for Veterinarians offerings (outlined and discussed in "Spanish for Veterinarians Part 1: An Approach to Weaving Spanish Language Education into DVM Curricula") into a cohesive Spanish language program that offers consistent synchronous exposure to the language and guided practice over several semesters of instruction. The information obtained in this survey informs on veterinary student interest in and availability to engage in Spanish coursework created specifically for the veterinary field, as well as students' previous Spanish language learning experience.

Spanish for Veterinarians Part 1: An Approach to Weaving Spanish Language Education into DVM Curricula.

The authors describe the need for discipline-specific Spanish language training in veterinary programs and elaborate on student interest in veterinary Spanish offerings. They outline their interdisciplinary approach to field-specific Spanish curriculum development that evolved from a single third-year practicum offering into a 7-credit Spanish language program while summarizing curriculum content, assessments, and student feedback. The challenges and approaches to weaving the language program into a demanding veterinary curriculum are addressed and program limitations are discussed.

Opportunities for Expanding Access to Veterinary Care: Lessons From COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted people and professions around the world, including veterinary medicine. The epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 broadened the definition of vulnerability in human populations, and the virus' economic impacts exacerbated well-established financial barriers to providing equal access to medical care. The objective of this study was to explore how the pandemic was impacting access to companion animal care in the months March-September of 2020, with a focus on traditionally vulnerable as well as newly vulnerable populations.

Exploration of Immersive Virtual Reality in Teaching Veterinary Orthopedics.

The COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed the use of novel teaching modalities to enhance the provision of remote veterinary education. In this study, we describe the use of immersive virtual reality (iVR) as a teaching aid for veterinary medicine students during their orthopedics clinical rotation. Student sentiments were assessed using voluntary electronic surveys taken by veterinary students before and after the rotation.

Influence of sleep deprivation and circadian misalignment on cortisol, inflammatory markers, and cytokine balance.

Cortisol and inflammatory proteins are released into the blood in response to stressors and chronic elevations of blood cortisol and inflammatory proteins may contribute to ongoing disease processes and could be useful biomarkers of disease. How chronic circadian misalignment influences cortisol and inflammatory proteins, however, is largely unknown and this was the focus of the current study. Specifically, we examined the influence of weeks of chronic circadian misalignment on cortisol, stress ratings, and pro- and anti-inflammatory proteins in humans.

Age-related changes in slow wave activity rise time and NREM sleep EEG with and without zolpidem in healthy young and older adults.

Objective: Whether there are age-related changes in slow wave activity (SWA) rise time, a marker of homeostatic sleep drive, is unknown. Additionally, although sleep medication use is highest among older adults, the quantitative electroencephalographic (EEG) profile of the most commonly prescribed sleep medication, zolpidem, in older adults is also unknown. We therefore quantified age-related and regional brain differences in sleep EEG with and without zolpidem.

Influence of zolpidem and sleep inertia on balance and cognition during nighttime awakening: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Objectives: To determine whether sleep inertia (grogginess upon awakening from sleep) with or without zolpidem impairs walking stability and cognition during awakenings from sleep.

Design: Three within-subject conditions hypnotic medication (zolpidem), placebo (sleep inertia), and wakefulness control randomized using balanced Latin square design.

Setting: Sleep laboratory.

The effects of 40 hours of total sleep deprivation on inflammatory markers in healthy young adults.

Inflammatory cytokines are released in response to stress, tissue damage, and infection. Acutely, this response is adaptive; however, chronic elevation of inflammatory proteins can contribute to health problems including cardiovascular, endocrine, mood, and sleep disorders. Few studies have examined how sleep deprivation acutely affects inflammatory markers, which was the aim of the current study.

Inter- and intra-individual variability in performance near the circadian nadir during sleep deprivation.

The study purpose was to assess inter- and intra-individual variability in neurobehavioral function near the circadian nadir during sleep deprivation and conduct exploratory factor analyses to assess relationships among alertness and performance measures during sleep deprivation. Twenty-five healthy individuals (16 females) aged 18-25 years participated. Participants were sleep deprived for two nights under controlled laboratory conditions using a modified constant routine procedure.