Implementing Competency-Based Veterinary Education: A Survey of AAVMC Member Institutions on Opportunities, Challenges, and Strategies for Success.

Competency-based education is increasingly being adopted across the health professions. A model for competency-based education in veterinary medicine was recently developed by a working group of the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) and is being used in institutions worldwide. The purpose of this study was to gather information on progress in and barriers to implementing competency-based education (including use of the AAVMC competency-based veterinary education [CBVE] Model) by AAVMC member schools to inform the development of strategies to support institutions in successful implementation of the CBVE Model.

Genetic mapping and prediction of flowering time and plant height in a maize Stiff Stalk MAGIC population.

The Stiff Stalk heterotic pool is a foundation of US maize seed parent germplasm and has been heavily utilized by both public and private maize breeders since its inception in the 1930s. Flowering time and plant height are critical characteristics for both inbred parents and their test crossed hybrid progeny. To study these traits, a 6-parent multiparent advanced generation intercross population was developed including maize inbred lines B73, B84, PHB47 (B37 type), LH145 (B14 type), PHJ40 (novel early Stiff Stalk), and NKH8431 (B73/B14 type).

Genomic variation within the maize stiff-stalk heterotic germplasm pool.

The stiff-stalk heterotic group in Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important source of inbreds used in U.S.

Who's a good boy? Effects of dog and owner body weight on veterinarian perceptions and treatment recommendations.

Background: Weight bias against persons with obesity impairs health care delivery and utilization and contributes to poorer health outcomes. Despite rising rates of pet obesity (including among dogs), the potential for weight bias in veterinary settings has not been examined.

Subjects/methods: In two online, 2 × 2 experimental studies, the effects of dog and owner body weight on perceptions and treatment recommendations were investigated in 205 practicing veterinarians (Study 1) and 103 veterinary students (Study 2).

Usefulness of muscle condition score and ultrasonographic measurements for assessment of muscle mass in cats with cachexia and sarcopenia.

Objective: To compare muscle condition scores (MCSs) and muscle ultrasonographic measurements in cats with and without muscle loss and to evaluate repeatability and reproducibility of MCS assessment.

Animals: 40 cats of various ages, body condition scores (BCSs), and MCSs.

Procedures: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted.

Esophagostomy tube complications in dogs and cats: Retrospective review of 225 cases.

Background: Esophagostomy feeding tubes (E-tubes) are an essential tool for management of hyporexic patients' acute and chronic nutritional requirements. Despite their routine use, limited information is available regarding E-tube complications, especially in the recent veterinary literature.

Objective: To provide an updated descriptive account of E-tube complications in cats and dogs, and to evaluate potential prognostic factors to determine if certain patients are at increased risk for complications.

Evaluation of the use of muscle condition score and ultrasonographic measurements for assessment of muscle mass in dogs.

Objective: To evaluate repeatability and reproducibility of muscle condition score (MCS) in dogs with various degrees of muscle loss; to compare MCS, muscle ultrasonographic measurements, and quantitative magnetic resonance (QMR) measurements; and to identify cutoff values for ultrasonographic measurements of muscle that can be used to identify dogs with cachexia and sarcopenia.

Animals: 40 dogs of various age, body condition score (BCS), and MCS.

Procedures: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted.

Effects of various diets on the calcium and phosphorus composition of mealworms (Tenebrio molitor larvae) and superworms (Zophobas morio larvae).

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the nutritive quality of Tenebrio molitor larvae and Zophobas morio larvae, which are commonly cultured as live food sources, is influenced by 4 commercially available diets used as nutritional substrates; identify which diet best improved calcium content of larvae; and identify the feeding time interval that assured the highest calcium intake by larvae. ANIMALS 2,000 Zophobas morio larvae (ie, superworms) and 7,500 Tenebrio molitor larvae (ie, mealworms). PROCEDURES Larvae were placed in control and diet treatment groups for 2-, 7-, and 10-day intervals.

Association of signalment parameters with activity of pet dogs.

Activity monitors are increasingly being used to quantify the activity of pet dogs. The aim of the present study was to investigate associations between signalment and activity of free-living pet dogs. Healthy pet dogs were recruited to wear an Actical activity monitor on their collars continuously for 2 weeks in their home environment.

2014 AAHA weight management guidelines for dogs and cats.

Communicating and implementing a weight management program for dogs and cats can be a challenging endeavor for veterinarians, but a rewarding one. An effective individualized weight loss program provides a consistent and healthy rate of weight loss to reduce risk of disease, prevent malnutrition, and improve quality of life. Weight loss is achieved with appropriate caloric restriction, diet selection, exercise, and strategies to help modify behavior of both the pet and client.

From problem to success: feline weight loss programs that work.

Practical Relevance: Obesity is the most common unhealthy nutritional condition that is recognized in cats. Documented associated health risks include diabetes mellitus, lameness, non-allergic skin disease, feline lower urinary tract disease and idiopathic hepatic lipidosis.

Clinical Challenges: Simply recommending a diet designed for weight loss fails, in most cases, to result in successful weight loss in the obese or overweight cat.

Correlation of a feline muscle mass score with body composition determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Body condition scoring (BCS) systems primarily assess body fat. Both overweight and underweight animals may have loss of lean tissue that may not be noted using standard BCS systems. Catabolism of lean tissue can occur rapidly, may account for a disproportionate amount of body mass loss in sick cats and can have deleterious consequences for outcome.

Determination and application of cut points for accelerometer-based activity counts of activities with differing intensity in pet dogs.

Objective: To investigate whether an accelerometer-based activity monitor could be used in pet dogs to differentiate among and delineate the amount of time spent in activities of differing intensity.

Animals: 104 dogs.

Procedures: For the first phase of the study, each dog (n = 104) wore an accelerometer-based activity monitor and was led through a series of standard activities (recumbency [sedentary], walking, and trotting).

Evaluation of the effect of signalment and body conformation on activity monitoring in companion dogs.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of signalment and body conformation on activity monitoring in companion dogs.

Animals: 104 companion dogs.

Procedures: While wearing an activity monitor, each dog was led through a series of standard activities: lying down, walking laps, trotting laps, and trotting up and down stairs.

Evaluation of optimal sampling interval for activity monitoring in companion dogs.

OBJECTIVE-To determine by use of an accelerometer the sampling interval that has the least variable total activity counts from one week to the next in companion (ie, nonlaboratory) dogs. ANIMALS-80 dogs. PROCEDURES-Dogs wore an accelerometer continuously for 2 weeks.

Using a diet history to improve adherence to dietary recommendations.

Proper dietary management is essential to pet health, yet changing pet owners' feeding practices is often difficult. Taking a diet history provides an opportunity to open a dialogue about animals' dietary needs as well as invaluable information that will aid in tailoring specific dietary interventions to the needs and preferences of patients and their caregivers.

Exploring human/animal intersections: converging lines of evidence in comparative models of aging.

At a symposium convened on March 8, 2007 by the Institute on Aging at the University of Pennsylvania, researchers from the University's Schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine explored the convergence of aging research emerging from the two schools. Studies in human patients, animal models, and companion animals have revealed different but complementary aspects of the aging process, ranging from fundamental biologic aspects of aging to the treatment of age-related diseases, both experimentally and in clinical practice. Participants concluded that neither animal nor human research alone will provide answers to most questions about the aging process.

A prospective investigation of the prevalence and prognostic significance of weight loss and changes in body condition in feline cancer patients.

The objectives of this study were to prospectively identify and characterize weight loss and changes in body condition in feline cancer patients and to investigate the prognostic significance of these findings. Fifty-seven cats with neoplasia were evaluated. Body condition was assessed with a nine-point scoring system (BCS) and multiple sites were assessed for muscle and fat mass using four-point scoring systems.

Unconventional diets for dogs and cats.

Food plays a far more complex role in daily life than simply serving as sustenance. Social and cultural factors along with individual beliefs govern people's eating behaviors, and it is likely that these same factors influence their choice of diet and feeding practices for their pets. Some people seek alternatives to conventional commercial pet foods, including commercially available "natural" diets, raw food diets, and vegetarian diets, in addition to a variety of home-prepared diets.

Disease prevalence among dogs and cats in the United States and Australia and proportions of dogs and cats that receive therapeutic diets or dietary supplements.

Objective: To estimate disease prevalence among dogs and cats in the United States and Australia and proportions of dogs and cats that receive therapeutic diets or dietary supplements.

Design: Telephone survey. Sample Population-Dog and cat owners located in 5 geographic areas.