Immunomonitoring in bladder cancer: a short report on stability of leukocytes and proteins in refrigerated urine samples.

Background: Urine biomarkers are crucial for monitoring patient responses in treating urological pathologies, including non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Yet, analysing urine biomarkers poses several challenges, including ensuring specimen stability during transportation and analytical processing. This prospective feasibility study aimed to investigate how urinary leukocytes and proteins are impacted by storing and refrigerating urine.

Epistemic Emotions in Learning: Using Qualitative Inquiry to Explore Implications for Veterinary Educators in Responding to Student Emotions in Their Classrooms.

Veterinary students frequently experience heightened emotions which can stimulate or compromise learning. The impact of student emotions on educators, or the ways that educators can respond to these is less well known. This has potential impacts for educators' own emotional responses, and for educators' effectiveness in supporting learning.

Effect of Rabies Booster Vaccination on Antibody Levels in African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus).

Rabies is a highly virulent viral disease that has been associated with large-scale population declines of the endangered African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). Rabies vaccination may be a valuable conservation tool in this species, but studies indicate that a single dose does not always confer protective immunity. We examined 47 serum samples from 22 captive African wild dogs (sampled opportunistically for other purposes) to assess whether serum antibody levels after vaccination correlated with the number of doses received and whether other factors affected outcomes.

Antimicrobial prophylaxis in companion animal surgery: A scoping review for European Network for Optimization of Antimicrobial Therapy (ENOVAT) guidelines.

Surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (SAP) is widely used to reduce the risk of surgical site infections (SSI), but there is uncertainty as to what the proportion of SSI reduction is. Therefore, it is difficult for surgeons to properly weigh the costs, risks and benefits for individual patients when deciding on the use of SAP, making it challenging to promote antimicrobial stewardship in primary practice settings. The objective of this study was to map the veterinary evidence focused on assessing the effect of SAP on SSI development and in order to identify surgical procedures with some research evidence and possible knowledge gaps.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on services for patients with chronic kidney disease: findings of a national survey of UK kidney centres.

Background: Services for patients with kidney disease underwent radical adaptations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We undertook an online national survey of UK kidney centres to understand the nature, range, and degree of variation in these changes and to explore factors contributing to differing practice.

Methods: The survey was designed by a multidisciplinary team of kidney professionals, service users and researchers.

Short Communication: Identification of equine corticotropin-like intermediate lobe peptide (CLIP) binding to an adrenocortipcotrophic hormone (ACTH) assay capture antibody.

A chemiluminescent immunoassay is commonly employed to measure adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) concentrations to assist pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction diagnosis. In a previous study, seasonally-dependent assay cross-reactivity to endogenous equine corticotropin-like intermediate lobe peptide (CLIP, ACTH 18-39) was suspected. The present study aimed to demonstrate binding of endogenous equine CLIP to the capture antibody of the ACTH chemiluminescent immunoassay.

Revealing the Relational Mechanisms of Research for Development Through Social Network Analysis.

Unlabelled: Achieving impact through research for development programmes (R4D) requires engagement with diverse stakeholders across the research, development and policy divides. Understanding how such programmes support the emergence of outcomes, therefore, requires a focus on the relational aspects of engagement and collaboration. Increasingly, evaluation of large research collaborations is employing social network analysis (SNA), making use of its relational view of causation.

Advancing oral delivery of biologics: Machine learning predicts peptide stability in the gastrointestinal tract.

The oral delivery of peptide therapeutics could facilitate precision treatment of numerous gastrointestinal (GI) and systemic diseases with simple administration for patients. However, the vast majority of licensed peptide drugs are currently administered parenterally due to prohibitive peptide instability in the GI tract. As such, the development of GI-stable peptides is receiving considerable investment.

Lassa fever cases suffer from severe underreporting based on reported fatalities.

Background: Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic fever endemic to eight West African countries. Symptomatic disease is expected to occur in 20% of those infected and transmission typically occurs from viral spillover from rodent hosts. The combination of limited access to diagnostics and healthcare means the true burden of this disease is unknown.

Paratenic hosts of and their relation to human neuroangiostrongyliasis globally.

The nematode parasite (rat lungworm) has a complex life cycle involving rats (definitive hosts) and gastropods (intermediate hosts), as well as various paratenic hosts. Humans become infected and develop rat lungworm disease (neuroangiostrongyliasis) when they consume intermediate or paratenic hosts containing the infective parasite larvae. This study synthesizes knowledge of paratenic hosts of and investigates their role in causing human neuroangiostrongyliasis worldwide.

Immunohistochemical characteristics of local sites that trigger atrial arrhythmias in response to high-frequency stimulation.

Aims: The response to high frequency stimulation (HFS) is used to locate putative sites of ganglionated plexuses (GPs), which are implicated in triggering atrial fibrillation (AF). To identify topological and immunohistochemical characteristics of presumed GP sites functionally identified by HFS.

Methods And Results: Sixty-three atrial sites were tested with HFS in four Langendorff-perfused porcine hearts.

FLU-v, a Broad-Spectrum Influenza Vaccine, Induces Cross-Reactive Cellular Immune Responses in Humans Measured by Dual IFN-γ and Granzyme B ELISpot Assay.

Previous reports demonstrated that FLU-v, a peptide-based broad-spectrum influenza vaccine candidate, induced antibody and cellular immune responses in humans. Here, we evaluate cellular effector functions and cross-reactivity. PBMC sampled pre- (day 0) and post-vaccination (days 42 and 180) from vaccine (n = 58) and placebo (n = 27) recipients were tested in vitro for responses to FLU-v and inactivated influenza strains (A/H3N2, A/H1N1, A/H5N1, A/H7N9, B/Yamagata) using IFN-γ and granzyme B ELISpot.

Comparison of post-operative outcomes after open or closed surgical techniques to stabilize metacarpal and metatarsal fractures in dogs and cats.

Backfround: Treatment options for metacarpal/metatarsal fractures include conservative and surgical management. The aim of this study is to determine whether there is any significant difference in healing and complication rates, between open and closed treatment. Medical records of dogs and cats with metacarpal/metatarsal fractures with complete follow-up were retrospectively reviewed.

A general locomotion control framework for multi-legged locomotors.

Serially connected robots are promising candidates for performing tasks in confined spaces such as search and rescue in large-scale disasters. Such robots are typically limbless, and we hypothesize that the addition of limbs could improve mobility. However, a challenge in designing and controlling such devices lies in the coordination of high-dimensional redundant modules in a way that improves mobility.

Reprogramming bone progenitor identity and potency through control of collagen density and oxygen tension.

The biophysical microenvironment of the cell is being increasingly used to control cell signaling and to direct cell function. Herein, engineered 3D tuneable biomimetic scaffolds are used to control the cell microenvironment of Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (AMSC), which exhibit a collagen density-specific profile for early and late stage bone cell lineage status. Cell potency was enhanced when AMSCs were cultured within low collagen density environments in hypoxic conditions.

Gastrointestinal Tracking and Gastric Emptying of Coated Capsules in Rats with or without Sedation Using CT imaging.

Following oral administration, gastric emptying is often a rate-limiting step in the absorption of drugs and is dependent on both physiological and pharmaceutical factors. To guide translation into humans, small animal imaging during pre-clinical studies has been increasingly used to localise the gastrointestinal transit of solid dosage forms. In contrast to humans, however, anaesthesia is usually required for effective imaging in animals which may have unintended effects on intestinal physiology.

Detecting false-positive disease references in veterinary clinical notes without manual annotations.

Clinicians often include references to diseases in clinical notes, which have not been diagnosed in their patients. For some diseases terms, the majority of disease references written in the patient notes may not refer to true disease diagnosis. These references occur because clinicians often use their clinical notes to speculate about disease existence (differential diagnosis) or to state that the disease has been ruled out.

LRRK2 deficiency induced mitochondrial Ca efflux inhibition can be rescued by Na/Ca/Li exchanger upregulation.

Variants of leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (lrrk2) are associated with an increased risk in developing Parkinson's disease (PD). Mitochondrial dysfunction and specifically mitochondrial Ca handling has been linked to the pathogenesis of PD. Here we describe for the second time a mitochondrial Ca efflux deficiency in a model displaying alterations in a PD-associated risk protein.

Like a hole in the head: Development, evolutionary implications and diseases of the cranial foramina.

Cranial foramina are holes in the skull through which nerves and blood vessels pass to reach both deep and superficial tissues. They are often overlooked in the literature; however they are complex structures that form within the developing cranial bones during embryogenesis and then remain open throughout life, despite the bone surrounding them undergoing constant remodelling. They are invaluable in assigning phylogeny in the fossil record and their size has been used, by some, to imply function of the nerve and/or blood vessel that they contained.

α-synuclein oligomers interact with ATP synthase and open the permeability transition pore in Parkinson's disease.

Protein aggregation causes α-synuclein to switch from its physiological role to a pathological toxic gain of function. Under physiological conditions, monomeric α-synuclein improves ATP synthase efficiency. Here, we report that aggregation of monomers generates beta sheet-rich oligomers that localise to the mitochondria in close proximity to several mitochondrial proteins including ATP synthase.

Using the Five Domains Model to Assess the Adverse Impacts of Husbandry, Veterinary, and Equitation Interventions on Horse Welfare.

The aim of this study was to conduct a series of paper-based exercises in order to assess the negative (adverse) welfare impacts, if any, of common interventions on domestic horses across a broad range of different contexts of equine care and training. An international panel (with professional expertise in psychology, equitation science, veterinary science, education, welfare, equestrian coaching, advocacy, and community engagement; = 16) met over a four-day period to define and assess these interventions, using an adaptation of the domain-based assessment model. The interventions were considered within 14 contexts: C1 Weaning; C2 Diet; C3 Housing; C4 Foundation training; C5 Ill-health and veterinary interventions (chiefly medical); C6 Ill-health and veterinary interventions (chiefly surgical); C7 Elective procedures; C8 Care procedures; C9 Restraint for management procedures; C10 Road transport; C11 Activity-competition; C12 Activity-work; C13 Activity-breeding females; and C14 Activity-breeding males.

Assessing enclosure design and husbandry practices for successful keeping and breeding of the Burmese brow antlered deer (Eld's deer, Rucervus eldii thamin) in European zoos.

The endangered Burmese brow antlered deer (Rucervus eldii thamin) is a medium sized tropical cervid kept in a number of European zoos. Studbook data and anecdotal reports have suggested that this species suffers from poor reproductive success and relatively high neonatal mortality in captivity. Questionnaires were sent to 10 European zoos, holding 91 (20.

Malaria over-diagnosis in Cameroon: diagnostic accuracy of Fluorescence and Staining Technologies (FAST) Malaria Stain and LED microscopy versus Giemsa and bright field microscopy validated by polymerase chain reaction.

Background: Malaria is a major world health issue and its continued burden is due, in part, to difficulties in the diagnosis of the illness. The World Health Organization recommends confirmatory testing using microscopy-based techniques or rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) for all cases of suspected malaria. In regions where Plasmodium species are indigenous, there are multiple etiologies of fever leading to misdiagnoses, especially in populations where HIV is prevalent and children.