Veterinary Intern Program for Entrustable Professional Activities Skills, a.k.a. Intern Boot Camp.

The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine (UTCVM) Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences has developed an intensive training program that all large animal veterinary interns are required to complete at the onset of their internship year. This program was designed to establish a uniform approach to entrustable professional activity (EPA) skills deemed essential by the large animal faculty. These EPA skills emphasize the clinical approaches and skills that interns should understand and demonstrate competency in early in their internship year. The EPA program, completed over 4 consecutive days, was coined the "Intern Boot Camp" and structured to fuse case-based lecture discussions and hands-on wet labs designed to develop or improve skills and techniques. At the conclusion of the boot camp, participants were given an evaluation survey to provide feedback on the program. The results were overwhelmingly positive, with 90% of the participants giving the program a rating of 5 on a scale ranging from 1 (poor opinion or experience) to 5 (excellent opinion or experience). Nearly 95% of participants stated that they felt more prepared for their internship year after attending the boot camp, and 100% of the participants indicated that they would recommend this program to future candidates. Given the positive outcomes over the past 4 years, the implementation of the Veterinary Intern Entrustable Professional Activities program (Intern Boot Camp) is considered a valuable component of the veterinary intern training program and could readily be adapted to other programs.

Genome-wide classification and evolutionary analysis of the bHLH family of transcription factors in Arabidopsis, poplar, rice, moss, and algae.

Basic helix-loop-helix proteins (bHLHs) are found throughout the three eukaryotic kingdoms and constitute one of the largest families of transcription factors. A growing number of bHLH proteins have been functionally characterized in plants. However, some of these have not been previously classified. We present here an updated and comprehensive classification of the bHLHs encoded by the whole sequenced genomes of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), Populus trichocarpa, Oryza sativa, Physcomitrella patens, and five algae species. We define a plant bHLH consensus motif, which allowed the identification of novel highly diverged atypical bHLHs. Using yeast two-hybrid assays, we confirm that (1) a highly diverged bHLH has retained protein interaction activity and (2) the two most conserved positions in the consensus play an essential role in dimerization. Phylogenetic analysis permitted classification of the 638 bHLH genes identified into 32 subfamilies. Evolutionary and functional relationships within subfamilies are supported by intron patterns, predicted DNA-binding motifs, and the architecture of conserved protein motifs. Our analyses reveal the origin and evolutionary diversification of plant bHLHs through differential expansions, domain shuffling, and extensive sequence divergence. At the functional level, this would translate into different subfamilies evolving specific DNA-binding and protein interaction activities as well as differential transcriptional regulatory roles. Our results suggest a role for bHLH proteins in generating plant phenotypic diversity and provide a solid framework for further investigations into the role carried out in the transcriptional regulation of key growth and developmental processes.

Effects of domperidone on digital laminar microvascular blood flow in clinically normal adult horses.

OBJECTIVE: To determine effects of domperidone and acepromazine maleate on microvascular blood flow in digital laminae of clinically normal adult horses. ANIMALS: 8 clinically normal adult horses (4 mares and 4 geldings). PROCEDURES: In a 4-period crossover study, domperidone was administered PO at 1.1 mg/ kg and 5.5 mg/kg and IV at 0.2 mg/kg; acepromazine was administered IV at 0.04 mg/kg. The washout period between treatments was 1 week. A 3-minute measurement of laminar microvascular blood flow (LMBF) was obtained with laser Doppler flowmetry. Baseline measurements were obtained at -2, -1, and 0 hours prior to administration of drugs. Post-treatment measurements were obtained at 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 12 hours. Percentage change from baseline values in LMBF for each treatment was subsequently calculated. RESULTS: Oral administration of domperidone at 1.1 mg/kg and 5.5 mg/kg significantly increased LMBF, compared with baseline values, beginning 4 hours after administration, and this effect persisted for at least 8 hours. Intravenous administration of domperidone at 0.2 mg/kg significantly increased LMBF, compared with baseline values, at 10 and 12 hours after administration. Administration of acepromazine (0.04 mg/kg, IV) significantly increased LMBF, compared with baseline values, at 3, 5, 8, and 10 hours after administration. No adverse effects of drugs were detected in any horse. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Domperidone may be useful for preventing vasoconstriction and reduction in LMBF believed to occur in horses with laminitis, but additional research of the drug's effects in horses with laminitis is required.