Development and validation of a machine learning model for clinical wellness visit classification in cats and dogs.

Introduction: Early disease detection in veterinary care relies on identifying subclinical abnormalities in asymptomatic animals during wellness visits. This study introduces a model designed to distinguish between wellness and other types of veterinary visits.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to validate the use of a visit classification model compared to manual classification of veterinary visits by three board-certified veterinarians.

The association between symmetric dimethylarginine concentrations and various neoplasms in dogs and cats.

Following the introduction of the symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) immunoassay, cases were reported where the SDMA concentration was markedly increased above the reference interval (RI) with neither concurrent increases in serum creatinine (Cr) concentrations nor clinical signs of kidney disease. Many of these animals were also concurrently diagnosed with cancer, most commonly lymphoma. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the association of increased SDMA in dogs and cats with lymphoma and other cancers as compared with age- and breed-matched non-tumour controls.

Preparing Aquatic Research for an Extreme Future: Call for Improved Definitions and Responsive, Multidisciplinary Approaches.

Extreme events have increased in frequency globally, with a simultaneous surge in scientific interest about their ecological responses, particularly in sensitive freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems. We synthesized observational studies of extreme events in these aquatic ecosystems, finding that many studies do not use consistent definitions of extreme events. Furthermore, many studies do not capture ecological responses across the full spatial scale of the events.

A 3-year retrospective analysis of canine intestinal parasites: fecal testing positivity by age, U.S. geographical region and reason for veterinary visit.

Background: Canine life stage is a key factor in parasite prevalence as clinical signs associated with parasitism are more common in pups. In adult dogs, health status and geographical region may also play a role in parasite prevalence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate fecal test results using zinc sulfate flotation by centrifugation combined with fecal antigen testing for hookworms (Ancylostoma spp.

Retrospective analysis of feline intestinal parasites: trends in testing positivity by age, USA geographical region and reason for veterinary visit.

Background: The goals of this retrospective study were to estimate parasite positivity in samples from cats using zinc sulfate fecal flotation by centrifugation ("centrifugation") and coproantigen and examine trends with age, geographical region and reason for visit to veterinarian. Common methods of parasite detection, such as centrifugal flotation, passive flotation, or direct smear, may underrepresent the true prevalence of intestinal parasites in cats. Coproantigen testing detects more positive samples than traditional methods alone.

The potassium regulator patiromer affects serum and stool electrolytes in patients receiving hemodialysis.

Hyperkalemia is a common and an important cause of death in maintenance hemodialysis patients. Here we investigated the effect of patiromer, a synthetic cation exchanger, to regulate potassium homeostasis. Serum and stool electrolytes were measured in 27 anuric patients with hyperkalemia receiving hemodialysis (mainly 2 mEq/L dialysate) during consecutive two weeks of no-treatment, 12 weeks of treatment with patiromer (16.

An investigation of associations between experience of childhood trauma and political violence and theory of mind impairments in schizophrenia.

There has been little examination of the association between trauma and cognitive deficits seen in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. Theory of Mind (ToM) impairments are a significant feature of schizophrenia but it remains unclear as to why these deficits are so prevalent in this population. This study aimed to explore associations between ToM deficits and specific forms of childhood adversities in a schizophrenia population.

What is the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder and ASD traits in psychosis? A systematic review.

There is increasing evidence to suggest both a symptomatic overlap and a clinically significant degree of co-occurrence between Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia but the nature of such relationships remain unclear. We reviewed the literature reporting prevalence rates of Autistic-like Traits (ALTs) and ASD in populations with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder. A search of three large databases was conducted and from this seven studies met the criteria for inclusion.

School-Wide PBIS: Extending the Impact of Applied Behavior Analysis. Why is This Important to Behavior Analysts?

Horner and Sugai (2015) recently wrote a manuscript providing an overview of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) and why it is an example of applied behavior analysis at the scale of social importance. This paper will describe why school-wide PBIS is important to behavior analysts, how it helps promote applied behavior analysis in schools and other organizations, and how behavior analysts can use this framework to assist them in the promotion and implementation of applied behavior analysis at both at the school and organizational level, as well as, the classroom and individual level.

HIV communication programs, condom use at sexual debut, and HIV infections averted in South Africa, 2005.

Background: Since the 1990s, communication programs in South Africa have promoted HIV prevention, especially condom use. Although HIV prevalence stabilized after 2000, surveys have not clarified how prevention behavior contributed to that change. We present a secondary statistical analysis of the 2005 national South African Human Sciences Research Council survey that reveals how condom use at sexual debut-which normally occurs before infection from unprotected sex-may have contributed to the reduction in HIV infection.

The effect of a joint communication campaign on multiple sex partners in Mozambique: the role of psychosocial/ideational factors.

Mozambique is one of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa most affected by the HIV epidemic. Multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships (MSP/CP) have been recognized as one of the key drivers in the rapid spread of HIV in the region. Though HIV prevention programs have been successful in increasing condom use and HIV testing, reducing the practice of MSP/CP has been more difficult.

Impacts of four communication programs on HIV testing behavior in South Africa.

This paper aims to evaluate the impacts of four communication programs on promoting HIV testing behavior among sexually active individuals in South Africa. The four programs, implemented by Johns Hopkins Health and Education in South Africa, are aimed to promote HIV prevention behaviors, as well as gender-based violence prevention, tuberculosis screening and treatment, and reduction of alcohol consumption. Launched between 2009 and 2010, they all promoted HIV testing.

Targeted analysis of polyphenol metabolism during development of hop (Humulus lupulus L.) cones following treatment with prohexadione-calcium.

Hops (Humulus lupulus), a main ingredient in beer, are valued as a source of bitter flavour and biologically active polyphenols. We treated immature hop cones with prohexadione-calcium (Pro-Ca), a flavanone-3-hydroxylase (F3H) inhibitor, to perturb the flavonoid pathway, and conducted a targeted analysis of 29 compounds from the phenolic acid, flavonoid, and terpenophenolic pathways, using photodiode array (UHPLC-PDA), and time of flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOF-MS) analysis. Hop cones were analysed over four stages of development spanning 22days following Pro-Ca treatment.

Pharmaceuticals suppress algal growth and microbial respiration and alter bacterial communities in stream biofilms.

Pharmaceutical and personal care products are ubiquitous in surface waters but their effects on aquatic biofilms and associated ecosystem properties are not well understood. We measured in situ responses of stream biofilms to six common pharmaceutical compounds (caffeine, cimetidine, ciprofloxacin, diphenhydramine, metformin, ranitidine, and a mixture of each) by deploying pharmaceutical-diffusing substrates in streams in Indiana, Maryland, and New York. Results were consistent across seasons and geographic locations.

Community development following gamma radiation at a pine-oak forest, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Long Island, New York1.

We investigated a unique source of forest disturbance: gamma radiation. While the temporal patterns of ecological succession are well understood for the forests of eastern North America, this is not the case for massively irradiated forests. Our objective was to compare vascular plant community change after irradiation at the five vegetation zones described in 1962 by Woodwell at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Long Island, New York.

Steps toward massage therapy guidelines: a first report to the profession.

The massage profession has grown rapidly since the late 1980s. As with business startups that begin informally and successfully mature into larger enterprises, growth brings new organizational challenges, together with greater visibility and opportunity. The maturation of massage as a health care profession increases the need for a process to formalize the synthesis of massage therapy knowledge from clinical experience and research-to collect what we know and to make such baseline knowledge widely available to practitioners, consumers, and other health care stakeholders.

Increasing sennoside yields in tinnevelly senna (Cassia angustifolia) I: effects of drought, foliar nitrogen spray and crop type.

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the promise of Tinnevelly senna, Cassia angustifolia Vahl, as an alternative crop for stressful agroecosystems. Effects of drought, foliar nitrogen application and crop type on sennoside yields were studied with simultaneous measurements of net photosynthesis. Short term drought increased sennoside A + B concentration (% dw).

Multivariate causal attribution and cost-effectiveness of a national mass media campaign in the Philippines.

Cost-effectiveness analysis is based on a simple formula. A dollar estimate of the total cost to conduct a program is divided by the number of people estimated to have been affected by it in terms of some intended outcome. The direct, total costs of most communication campaigns are usually available.

Impact of an entertainment-education television drama on health knowledge and behavior in Bangladesh: an application of propensity score matching.

Shabuj Chaya is a weekly television drama broadcast during a 13-week period in Bangladesh in 2000. It used an entertainment-education format to increase health knowledge and to promote visits to health clinic and modern contraceptive use. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how a relatively new statistical technique, propensity score matching in conjunction with structural equation modeling, can be used to obtain an unbiased estimate of changes in health outcomes that can be attributed to exposure to the drama.

Applying behavior analysis to school violence and discipline problems: Schoolwide positive behavior support.

School discipline is a growing concern in the United States. Educators frequently are faced with discipline problems ranging from infrequent but extreme problems (e.g.

From innovation to social norm: bounded normative influence.

Every innovation begins as a deviation from existing social norms. Given the strong effect of social norms and pressure, how can any innovation ever diffuse to the point where it becomes a new social norm? The seeming paradox of how a minority can influence the majority has not been explained well by prevailing social science theory. Computer simulations of the diffusion of a new behavior within the social network of a Bangladesh village led to the discovery of a new principle of social change that resolves this paradox.

Social networks, ideation, and contraceptive behavior in Bangladesh: a longitudinal analysis.

Longitudinal survey data from a panel of married women in Bangladesh is used to estimate the impact of a social network approach to family planning field worker communication and to test a theoretical model of behavior change that explains why women adopt modern contraceptives. Government field workers were trained to organize group discussions with women in the homes of opinion leaders located at central points in each village's social network. A set of intervening variables, referred to collectively as 'ideation', are derived from diffusion of innovation and social network theory to explain how the social network approach affects contraceptive behavior.

Clinical surveillance of a tined, bipolar, J-shaped, steroid-eluting, silicone-insulated atrial pacing lead.

Since 1990, 558 Medtronic 5524 bipolar, silicone-insulated, J-shaped, tined, steroid-eluting atrial leads have been implanted at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN, USA) and the Midelfort Clinic (Eau Claire, WI, USA). Implantation data were favorable, with pacing thresholds at implantation (median threshold, 0.6 V) better than most published data on other atrial leads.

Clinical surveillance of a tined, bipolar, steroid-eluting, silicone-insulated ventricular pacing lead.

Since 1990, 1,068 Medtronic 5024 bipolar, silicone-insulated, tined, steroid-eluting ventricular leads have been implanted at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) and Midelfort Clinic (Eau Claire, WI). Implantation data were favorable: median pacing thresholds of 0.5 V at 0.

Multicenter experience with a bipolar tined polyurethane ventricular lead.

A multicenter study was undertaken to determine the failure rate of a specific bipolar tined polyurethane ventricular pacing lead, the Medtronic 4004/4004M pacing lead. Seven centers in the United States and Canada implanted 586 Medtronic 4004/4004M pacing leads. The study was designed to determine the probability and clinical manifestations of lead failure.