Formulae to correct sodium concentrations for serum water fraction in cases of hypo- and hyperproteinemia in cats.

Background: Biochemistry analyzers in many high-throughput laboratories use indirect potentiometry to determine serum electrolyte concentrations, which involves a pre-analytical dilution step that may be associated with artifactual increases or decreases in electrolyte concentrations under circumstances of altered serum water fraction (SWF). Severe hypo- and hyperproteinemia, conditions that cause altered SWF, are recognized but under-emphasized causes of falsely measured serum sodium concentrations.

Objectives: The goals of this study were to determine the average actual SWF (SWF ) and establish formulae to correct serum sodium concentration measured by indirect potentiometry in hypo- and hyperproteinemic cats.

Estimating racial health disparities among adverse birth outcomes as deviations from the population rates.

Background: Despite significant research, the reasons for racial health disparities among adverse birth outcomes (ABO) remain largely unknown. The bulk of research into racial health disparities among ABO in the United States has concentrated on the risk of race and ethnic groups relative to the specific sub-population of non-Hispanic white women and their children. The objective of this study was to estimate the racial and ethnic risks among a set of neonatal and maternal health disparities while minimizing bias attributable to how the baseline risk was established.

Prevalence of Malocclusion of Deciduous Dentition in Dogs: An Evaluation of 297 Puppies.

A total of 297 dogs between 8 and 12 weeks of age were examined during a 1-year period to evaluate occlusion. Dogs were categorized either as individual dogs or members of a litter and purebred or mixed breed. Occlusion was evaluated by class: normal, class 1 malocclusion (MAL1), class 2 malocclusion (MAL2), or class 3 malocclusion (MAL3).

The Genetic and Molecular Basis for Canine Models of Human Leukemia and Lymphoma.

Emerging details of the gene expression and mutational features of canine lymphoma and leukemia demonstrate areas of similarities and differences between disease subsets in the humans and dogs. Many features of canine diffuse large B-cell lymphoma resemble the ABC form of human DLBCL, including constitutive activation of the NF-kB pathway, and almost universal presence of double expressing MYC/BCL2 lymphomas. Frequent mutations and absence of BCL6 expression are differences with the human disease that need further exploration.

Identification of canine IgG and its subclasses, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4, by immunofixation and commercially available antisera.

Immunofixation is a diagnostic and research tool used for characterizing the electrophoretic location of immunoglobulin fractions in serum and urine. Commercially available polyclonal antisera which discriminate two IgG subclasses (IgG1 and IgG2) are available and commonly used. More recently, four IgG subclasses have been defined in the dog based on cDNA data.

Optimizing the u411 automated urinalysis instrument for veterinary use.

Background: The Cobas u411 Analyzer (Roche Diagnostics) is an automated, reflectance photometry-based urinalysis instrument designed for use with Roche's CHEMSTRIP 10UA technology and human urine samples.

Objective: We aimed to optimize and validate the Cobas u411 Analyzer for use in canine and feline urinalysis.

Methods: Patient urine samples presenting to the Clinical Pathology Laboratory at the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital were analyzed with the Cobas u411 and by manual readings in parallel.

The effect of diet on the gastrointestinal microbiome of juvenile rehabilitating green turtles (Chelonia mydas).

Threatened and endangered green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are unique because as juveniles they recruit from pelagic to near-shore waters and shift from an omnivorous to primarily herbivorous diet (i.e. seagrass and algae).

Evaluation of Physiological Parameters and Effectiveness of an Immobilization Protocol Using Etorphine, Azaperone, and Butorphanol in Free-Ranging Warthogs ().

Twenty free-ranging warthogs () in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, were immobilized with a combination of etorphine (0.039 ± 0.005 mg/kg) and azaperone (0.

Methods for successful inactivation of Rift Valley fever virus in infected mosquitoes.

Ensuring the successful inactivation of select agent material is critical for maintaining compliance with federal regulations and safeguarding laboratory personnel from exposure to dangerous pathogens. Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), naturally transmitted by mosquitoes, is classified as a select agent by the CDC and USDA due to its potential to cause significant economic losses to the livestock industry and its demonstrated potential to emerge into naïve geographic areas. Herein we describe several effective inactivation procedures for RVFV infected mosquito samples.

Immunoglobulin G4-related disease in a dog.

Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD), which affects many organ systems, has been recognized as a distinct clinical entity in human medicine for just over a decade but has not been previously identified in dogs. In humans, IgG4-RD is characterized by diffuse IgG4-positive lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates that commonly lead to increased serum concentrations of IgG4 and IgE, peripheral eosinophilia, tumorous swellings that often include the parotid salivary glands, obliterative phlebitis, and extensive fibrosis. Herein we describe the diagnosis, clinical progression, and successful treatment of IgG4-RD in an 8-year-old female spayed Husky mixed breed dog.

Validation and method comparison of the use of densitometry to quantify monoclonal proteins in canine sera.

Background: Densitometric quantitation using serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) is used to monitor monoclonal proteins (M-proteins) in human patients but has not been validated in the dog. Serum globulin concentrations, species-specific radial immunodiffusion (RID), and ELISAs are currently used in veterinary medicine.

Objective: We aimed to compare four methods that quantify M-proteins using densitometry and biuret protein (dM-protein) measurements.

Comparison of ultrasound-guided lumbar plexus and sciatic nerve blocks with ropivacaine and sham blocks with saline on perianesthetic analgesia and recovery in dogs undergoing tibial plateau leveling osteotomy surgery.

Objective: To assess the effects of ultrasound-guided lumbar plexus and sciatic nerve blocks on perianesthetic analgesia and recovery quality in dogs undergoing tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO).

Animals: A group of twenty 20 dogs.

Study Design: Prospective, randomized, blinded, clinical study.

Protein characterization using electrophoresis and immunofixation; a case-based review of dogs and cats.

Protein electrophoresis and immunotyping can be a useful adjunct to the standard biochemical techniques for characterizing serum and urine proteins. This paper reviews currently available and commonly used methods for diagnostic protein electrophoresis, including both agarose gel and capillary zone electrophoretic techniques and total protein assessments. Immunofixation and immunosubtraction methods for identification of immunoglobulin location and class are also presented.

Financial impact of ultrasound-guided lumbar plexus and sciatic nerve blocks with electrostimulation for tibial plateau leveling osteotomy surgery in dogs.

Objective: To determine the anesthesia cost from ultrasound-guided lumbar plexus and sciatic nerve blocks confirmed with electrostimulation for unilateral tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) surgery in dogs.

Study Design: Prospective, randomized, blinded clinical trial.

Animals: A group of 20 dogs weighing 33.

Reporting results with (Un)certainty.

Background: A degree of uncertainty occurs with every measured laboratory result due to both analytical and biological variation. The tools of Total Observed error (TE ) and dispersion based on biological variation have helped veterinary labs quantify the causes of variation that lead to measurement uncertainty (MU). International organizations recommend that the amount of MU in veterinary laboratory results be identified and communicated.

IN FREE-RANGING LIONS () - EVALUATION OF SEROLOGICAL AND TUBERCULIN SKIN TESTS FOR DETECTION OF INFECTION AND DISEASE.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by infection, causes morbidity and mortality in free-ranging lions in bTB-endemic areas of South Africa. However, the only currently used diagnostic test is the tuberculin skin test (TST). This test is logistically challenging to perform because it requires immobilization of lions twice in a 72-hr period.

Disentangling the roles of maternal and paternal age on birth prevalence of down syndrome and other chromosomal disorders using a Bayesian modeling approach.

Background: Multiple neonatal and pediatric disorders have been linked to older paternal ages. Combining these findings with the evidence that many men are having children at much later ages generates considerable public health concern. The risk of paternal age has been difficult to estimate and interpret because children often have parents whose ages are similar and likely to be confounded.

An evaluation of whether a gestational weight gain of 5 to 9 kg for obese women optimizes maternal and neonatal health risks.

Background: Maternal obesity has a wide range of health effects on both the pregnant woman and developing fetus. The clinical significance of these disorders, combined with a dramatically increasing prevalence of obesity among pregnant women has precipitated a major health crisis in the United States. The most commonly used recommendations for gestational weight gain were established by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2009 and have become well known and often adopted.

US Veterinarians' Knowledge, Experience, and Perception Regarding the Use of Cannabidiol for Canine Medical Conditions.

Due to the myriad of laws concerning cannabis, there is little empirical research regarding the veterinary use of cannabidiol (CBD). This study used the Veterinary Information Network (VIN) to gauge US veterinarians' knowledge level, views and experiences related to the use of in the medical treatment of dogs. Participants ( = 2130) completed an anonymous, online survey.

Neuroimaging Biomarkers of Experimental Epileptogenesis and Refractory Epilepsy.

This article provides an overview of neuroimaging biomarkers in experimental epileptogenesis and refractory epilepsy. Neuroimaging represents a gold standard and clinically translatable technique to identify neuropathological changes in epileptogenesis and longitudinally monitor its progression after a precipitating injury. Neuroimaging studies, along with molecular studies from animal models, have greatly improved our understanding of the neuropathology of epilepsy, such as the hallmark hippocampus sclerosis.

Sex related biases for attending to object color versus object position are reflected in reaction time and accuracy.

Processing of visual features related to objects and space relations occurs within separate cortical streams that interact with selective attention. Such separation has implications for cognitive development because the perception of 'what' and 'where' provide a neural foundation for the development of aspects of higher cognition. Thus, a small attentional bias in early development for attending to one aspect over the other might influence subsequent higher cognitive processing in tasks involving object recognition and space relations.

Basal cell enumeration does not predict malignancy in canine perianal gland tumor cytology.

Background: Perianal (hepatoid) gland tumors are common in dogs, and the distinction between the benign and malignant forms is clinically important. Cytology of these tumors typically contains many large hepatoid cells and fewer small basal cells.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine whether the proportion of the smaller basaloid reserve cells in cytologic samples from perianal tumors correlates with malignancy.

Validation of an immunocytochemical assay for immunophenotyping of lymphoma in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus).

Background: Lymphoma is an important disease of pet guinea pigs, although validation of immunophenotyping techniques based on cytologic or hematologic samples has not been reported.

Objective: To describe an immunocytochemical method for immunophenotyping of lymphoma (as either T- or B-cell) in guinea pigs, and to validate antibodies for this purpose.

Methods: Blood and tissues were obtained at the time of necropsy from laboratory guinea pigs and a privately owned dog (control) euthanized for reasons unrelated to lymphoproliferative disease.

A retrospective analysis of the use of lokivetmab in the management of allergic pruritus in a referral population of 135 dogs in the western USA.

Background: Lokivetmab neutralizes IL-31, a cytokine that plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD) in dogs.

Objective: To review experience of one year of treatment with lokivetmab for the control of pruritus in dogs with allergic dermatitis.

Animals: Eighty dogs diagnosed with AD, ten with concurrent adverse food reaction and AD and 45 with allergic dermatitis of undetermined cause.