Efficacy of dupilumab in real-life settings: a STROBE study.

BACKGROUND: Dupilumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting IL-4 and IL-13, has demonstrated its efficacy in several clinical trials. However, to date, real-life data remains limited. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to assess the real-life impact of dupilumab on patients with severe and uncontrolled chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) quality of life. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective, monocentric, observational, real-life study, conducted in accordance with the STROBE guidelines. The following parameters were collected before treatment and at 1, 4, and 12 months: Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22), nasal polyp score (NPS), Sniffin' Sticks-16 (SST-16), visual analog scale (VAS) for loss of smell, nasal congestion score (NCS), gustatory VAS, asthma control, oral corticosteroid usage, surgery rates, and occurrence of side effects. RESULTS: The study included 47 patients. SNOT-22 scores decreased from 52.4 ± 24.3 to 12.7 ± 10.5 at 12 months (p < 0.001). NPS decreased from 6.15 ± 1.71 to 1.57 ± 1.40 at 12 months (p < 0.001). SST-16 scores increased from 1.6 ± 2.83 to 9.1 ± 5.4 at 12 months (p < 0.001). NCS decreased from 2.45 ± 0.72 to 0.38 ± 0.63 at 12 months (p < 0.001). Prior to treatment, 72.3% were using oral corticosteroids, compared to 17.0% at 12 months (p < 0.01). Two patients required additional surgery, and 17% reported completely uncontrolled asthma, compared to 0% at 12 months (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Our real-life results confirm the efficacy of Dupilumab in the treatment of severe and uncontrolled CRSwNP.

Vision-based collective motion: A locust-inspired reductionist model.

Naturally occurring collective motion is a fascinating phenomenon in which swarming individuals aggregate and coordinate their motion. Many theoretical models of swarming assume idealized, perfect perceptual capabilities, and ignore the underlying perception processes, particularly for agents relying on visual perception. Specifically, biological vision in many swarming animals, such as locusts, utilizes monocular non-stereoscopic vision, which prevents perfect acquisition of distances and velocities. Moreover, swarming peers can visually occlude each other, further introducing estimation errors. In this study, we explore necessary conditions for the emergence of ordered collective motion under restricted conditions, using non-stereoscopic, monocular vision. We present a model of vision-based collective motion for locust-like agents: elongated shape, omni-directional visual sensor parallel to the horizontal plane, and lacking stereoscopic depth perception. The model addresses (i) the non-stereoscopic estimation of distance and velocity, (ii) the presence of occlusions in the visual field. We consider and compare three strategies that an agent may use to interpret partially-occluded visual information at the cost of the computational complexity required for the visual perception processes. Computer-simulated experiments conducted in various geometrical environments (toroidal, corridor, and ring-shaped arenas) demonstrate that the models can result in an ordered or near-ordered state. At the same time, they differ in the rate at which order is achieved. Moreover, the results are sensitive to the elongation of the agents. Experiments in geometrically constrained environments reveal differences between the models and elucidate possible tradeoffs in using them to control swarming agents. These suggest avenues for further study in biology and robotics.

Comparative Assessment of Contact Osteogenesis at the Titanium Implant-Bone Junction in Male Rabbits with Dissimilar Femoral Defects / Evaluación Comparativa de la Osteogénesis de Contacto en la Unión entre el Hueso y el Implante de Titanio en Conejos Macho con Defectos Femorales Diferentes

SUMMARY: Traumatized bone tissue has the capacity to repair itself so that it eventually regains its almost original form, even in the case of artificially inserted implants. The process that stays at the base of the regeneration is represented by osteogenesis or remote osteogenesis. The major difference between the two types of bone formation is the location of the cement line, which is located on the surface of the implant for contact osteogenesis and on the surface of the bone defect for remote osteogenesis. The aim of the present study was to assess the contact osteogenesis in the case of inserted titanium screws in holes with diameters of 1.8 mm and 1 mm respectively. The obtained results show, in the case of the groove with 1.8 mm that the newly proliferated bone represents 73.85 % of the total area, while in the case of the groove with 1 mm in diameter the value of the newly proliferated bone is 26.15 %. In conclusion, the insertion of titanium screws by self-tapping into the hole smaller than the core of the screw is accompanied by bone proliferation by contact osteogenesis much more modest than in the case of insertion into the hole larger than the core of the screw.

El tejido óseo traumatizado tiene la capacidad de reparar en forma espontánea, de modo que eventualmente recupera su forma casi original, incluso en el caso de implantes insertados artificialmente. El proceso que queda en la base de la regeneración está representado por la osteogénesis u osteogénesis a distancia. La principal diferencia entre los dos tipos de formación ósea es la ubicación de la línea de cemento, que se encuentra en la superficie del implante para la osteogénesis de contacto y en la superficie del defecto óseo para la osteogénesis remota. El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar la osteogénesis de contacto en el caso de tornillos de titanio insertados en forámenes con diámetros de 1,8 mm y 1 mm respectivamente. Los resultados obtenidos muestran, en el caso del surco de 1,8 mm que el hueso neoproliferado representa el 73,85 % del área total, mientras que en el caso del surco de 1 mm de diámetro el valor del hueso neoproliferado es del 26,15 %. En conclusión, la inserción de tornillos de titanio por autorroscantes en el foramen menor que el núcleo del tornillo se acompaña de una proliferación ósea por osteogénesis de contacto mucho más modesta que en el caso de la inserción en el foramen mayor que el núcleo del tornillo.

The hybrid bio-robotic swarm as a powerful tool for collective motion research: a perspective.

Swarming or collective motion is ubiquitous in natural systems, and instrumental in many technological applications. Accordingly, research interest in this phenomenon is crossing discipline boundaries. A common major question is that of the intricate interactions between the individual, the group, and the environment. There are, however, major gaps in our understanding of swarming systems, very often due to the theoretical difficulty of relating embodied properties to the physical agents-individual animals or robots. Recently, there has been much progress in exploiting the complementary nature of the two disciplines: biology and robotics. This, unfortunately, is still uncommon in swarm research. Specifically, there are very few examples of joint research programs that investigate multiple biological and synthetic agents concomitantly. Here we present a novel research tool, enabling a unique, tightly integrated, bio-inspired, and robot-assisted study of major questions in swarm collective motion. Utilizing a quintessential model of collective behavior-locust nymphs and our recently developed Nymbots (locust-inspired robots)-we focus on fundamental questions and gaps in the scientific understanding of swarms, providing novel interdisciplinary insights and sharing ideas disciplines. The Nymbot-Locust bio-hybrid swarm enables the investigation of biology hypotheses that would be otherwise difficult, or even impossible to test, and to discover technological insights that might otherwise remain hidden from view.

Comparison of ionised calcium measured using a portable analyser to a reference method in healthy dogs.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the ionised calcium measured on a portable analyser (iSTAT, Abbott) to a reference method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blood samples from 39 apparently healthy dogs were analysed in duplicate using a portable analyser and a reference method (Radiometer ABL800 FLEX). Bland-Altman plots and Passing-Bablok regression were used to assess constant and proportional bias between the two instruments. A within-assay percentage coefficient of variation and total error (TE) was calculated for both analysers. The reference interval was calculated for the portable analyser using the robust method with confidence interval bootstrapping. RESULTS: The Bland-Altman plot showed a -0.036 mmol/L difference between the two instruments (95% confidence limit -0.08 to 0.01 mmol/L; limits of agreement -0.07 to 0.006 mmol/L). Neither the Bland-Altman plot nor the Passing-Bablock regression (slope -0.03; 95% confidence interval -0.08 to 0.19 and intercept 1; 95% confidence interval 0.83 to 1.2) showed significant proportional bias. The coefficient of variation for the portable analyser was 1.08%, compared to 0.78% for the reference method with a total error of 3.5% for the portable analyser. The estimated population-based reference interval for ionised calcium using the portable analyser is 1.23 to 1.42 mmol/L. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: For the healthy dogs in this study, compared to the reference method, the portable analyser showed no significant bias for measurement of ionised calcium. Further studies including hyper and hypocalcaemic dogs are required to determine clinical impact of the use of this analyser.

Mucous non-goblet cells in the small intestine of guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus): a histological and histochemical study.

BACKGROUND: The covering and glandular epithelium of the small intestine in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) include some mucus-secreting cells. Goblet cells are specific cells for mucus secretion with a distinctive cup-like appearance due to the accumulation of mucin in the apical pole. The deep crypt secretory (DCS) cells were identified in a limited array of species and only recently were noticed in the large intestine in mice, guinea pigs, humans, monkeys, and pigs. Our study focuses on the microscopical and histochemical features of the DCS cells in the small intestine of guinea pigs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The samples from the small intestine were collected from five fully grown guinea pigs that were presented to the Hospital of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca (Romania) with severe lesions resulted from domestic activities. The collected tissue samples underwent fixation in 10% buffered formalin and were later processed by standard paraffin technique. Mucous substances were detected using the Periodic Acid-Schiff and Alcian-Blue histochemical stain methods. RESULTS: The intestinal samples of the guinea pigs assessed had a standard microanatomical structure. As regards the mucous-secreting cells from the small intestine, two cell types were identified, i.e. the goblet cells and DCS cells. DCS cells were only detected in the deep parts of the Lieberkühn glands from the jejunum and ileum, and were different morphologically and histochemically from the regular goblet cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our study managed to describe for the first time in guinea pigs, the existence of DCS cells in the jejunum and ileum of the small intestine, but not in the duodenum.

A multifunctional matching algorithm for sample design in agricultural plots.

Collection of accurate and representative data from agricultural fields is required for efficient crop management. Since growers have limited available resources, there is a need for advanced methods to select representative points within a field in order to best satisfy sampling or sensing objectives. The main purpose of this work was to develop a data-driven method for selecting locations across an agricultural field given observations of some covariates at every point in the field. These chosen locations should be representative of the distribution of the covariates in the entire population and represent the spatial variability in the field. They can then be used to sample an unknown target feature whose sampling is expensive and cannot be realistically done at the population scale. An algorithm for determining these optimal sampling locations, namely the multifunctional matching (MFM) criterion, was based on matching of moments (functionals) between sample and population. The selected functionals in this study were standard deviation, mean, and Kendall's tau. An additional algorithm defined the minimal number of observations that could represent the population according to a desired level of accuracy. The MFM was applied to datasets from two agricultural plots: a vineyard and a peach orchard. The data from the plots included measured values of slope, topographic wetness index, normalized difference vegetation index, and apparent soil electrical conductivity. The MFM algorithm selected the number of sampling points according to a representation accuracy of 90% and determined the optimal location of these points. The algorithm was validated against values of vine or tree water status measured as crop water stress index (CWSI). Algorithm performance was then compared to two other sampling methods: the conditioned Latin hypercube sampling (cLHS) model and a uniform random sample with spatial constraints. Comparison among sampling methods was based on measures of similarity between the target variable population distribution and the distribution of the selected sample. MFM represented CWSI distribution better than the cLHS and the uniform random sampling, and the selected locations showed smaller deviations from the mean and standard deviation of the entire population. The MFM functioned better in the vineyard, where spatial variability was larger than in the orchard. In both plots, the spatial pattern of the selected samples captured the spatial variability of CWSI. MFM can be adjusted and applied using other moments/functionals and may be adopted by other disciplines, particularly in cases where small sample sizes are desired.

Prevalence of subclinical bactibilia in apparently healthy shelter dogs.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of subclinical bactibilia in apparently healthy shelter dogs and characterise serum liver enzymes activities, hepatobiliary histopathology and bile cytology in apparently healthy dogs with and without bactibilia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Healthy, abandoned dogs euthanased for non-medical reasons were prospectively recruited for this cross-sectional study. Whole blood, collected immediately before euthanasia, was submitted for serum liver enzyme activity (alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyl transferase) analyses. Bile, gall bladder and liver samples were collected aseptically from dogs within 25 minutes of euthanasia. Bile was submitted for bacterial culture and cytology in all dogs. Gall bladder and liver samples were submitted for histopathological examination in bactibilic dogs and nine randomly selected non-bactibilic dogs. RESULTS: Sixty-five healthy dogs were included in this study. Bactibilia was diagnosed in 10.8% (7/65) of dogs, with 9.2% (6/65) of dogs diagnosed on cytological examination and 4.6% (3/65) on culture. Elevated alanine aminotransferase activities were present in one bactibilic and five non-bactibilic dogs; and elevated gamma-glutamyl transferase activities in one bactibilic and two non-bactibilic dogs. No dogs had elevated alkaline phosphatase activities. Histopathological changes in bactibilic and non-bactibilic dogs included lymphoplasmocellular cholecystitis (7/7 and 9/9), gall bladder oedema (7/7 and 9/9), hepatic vacuolar degeneration (6/7 and 8/9), cholangitis (5/7 and 7/9), hepatic nodular hyperplasia (3/7 and 5/9) and hepatic cholestasis (2/7 and 4/9). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This study confirms that subclinical bactibilia occurs in a small number of apparently healthy shelter dogs and that subclinical hepatobiliary histopathological abnormalities can occur in apparently healthy bactibilic and non-bactibilic dogs.

A retrospective descriptive analysis of race-day injuries of greyhounds in New Zealand.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the distribution, and determine the incidence, of veterinary reported injuries experienced by greyhounds during racing in New Zealand. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study utilised data obtained on all greyhound race starts and all racing injuries sustained in New Zealand between 10 September 2014 and 19 June 2019. Greyhound injuries were described by the number and percentage of the type, location, and presumed cause of injuries. The overall incidence of injuries per 1000 racing starts was calculated and stratified incidence rates were calculated for race year, racetrack, race number, sex of the greyhound, country of origin of the greyhound, starting box number, race type, race class and race distance. Poisson regression was used to calculate incidence rate ratios for the outcome of injury and race exposure variables. RESULTS: There were 213,630 race starts and 4100 injuries. The incidence of injury was 19.2 per 1000 starts, while the number of fatalities at the track was 1.3 per 1000 race starts. Most injuries experienced by greyhounds on race-day were minor (soft-tissue). Most injuries affected the limbs of the greyhounds (82.8%, n = 3393/4100). The rate of injuries was higher in Australian dogs compared with New Zealand dogs, the incidence rate of injury increased with advancing age group and the incidence rate varied among racetracks. CONCLUSION: The injury rates were similar to those previously reported for racing greyhounds in New Zealand. This study highlighted the need for greater uniformity and conciseness around the classification of injuries to permit comparisons across jurisdictions.

Towards Computational Modeling of Human Goal Recognition.

Recently, we are seeing the emergence of plan- and goal-recognition algorithms which are based on the principle of rationality. These avoid the use of a plan library that compactly encodes all possible observable plans, and instead generate plans dynamically to match the observations. However, recent experiments by Berkovitz (Berkovitz, The effect of spatial cognition and context on robot movement legibility in human-robot collaboration, 2018) show that in many cases, humans seem to have reached quick (correct) decisions when observing motions which were far from rational (optimal), while optimal motions were slower to be recognized. Intrigued by these findings, we experimented with a variety of rationality-based recognition algorithms on the same data. The results clearly show that none of the algorithms reported in the literature accounts for human subject decisions, even in this simple task. This is our first contribution. We hypothesize that humans utilize plan-recognition in service of goal recognition, i.e., match observations to known plans, and use the set of recognized plans to conclude as to the likely goals. To test this hypothesis, a second contribution in this paper is the introduction of a novel offline recognition algorithm. While preliminary, the algorithm accounts for the results reported by Berkovitz significantly better than the existing algorithms. Moreover, the proposed algorithm marries rationality-based and plan-library based methods seamlessly.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the anal sac in two cats.

This report describes two cases of feline anal sac squamous cell carcinoma. Cat 1 was managed with a multimodal approach combining surgical resection, radiation therapy and systemic therapy (toceranib phosphate; Palladia™) until local recurrence was identified at 236 days postsurgery. At that time, the cat received carboplatin. With the tumour being progressive, the cat was euthanased 552 days post initial surgery. Cat 2 was managed palliatively with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (meloxicam) and supportive medications. Unfortunately, with further decline in quality of life following initial diagnosis, the cat was euthanased 28 days later. Squamous cell carcinoma should be considered as a possible differential diagnosis when a cat is presented for investigation of an anal sac mass.

Chemopreventive Effects of Propolis in the MNU-Induced Rat Mammary Tumor Model.

Currently, one of the central problems in cancer management is the relapse of disease following conventional treatments, yet few therapeutic agents targeting resistance and tolerance exist. Propolis is known as a healing agent since ancient times. Therefore, over time, its curative properties have kept the interest of scientists, thus leading permanently to investigations of its other possible undiscovered effects. In this context, current experiments were performed to establish the chemopreventive potential of propolis extract (PE) (1.05 mg/kg BW/day) in N-methyl-N-nitrosourea- (MNU-) induced rat mammary tumors. MNU-inoculated/PE-treated rats had tumors of different physical attributes compared with control rats MNU-inoculated. The number of developed tumors (mean 49% versus 100%), incidence (mean 49% versus 100%), multiplicity (1.8 versus 3.7 (p < 0.001)), tumor volume (mean 10 cm3 versus 16 cm3 (p < 0.001)), and weight of the tumor mass (mean 7.42 g versus 9.00 g (p < 0.05)) were noted. The numbers of grade I tumors recorded for MNU-inoculated rats were 24 (Group 1) and 7 (Group 2) for MNU-induced/PE-treated rats. In the serum of rats MNU-inoculated/PE-treated were found higher levels of antioxidative enzymes (SOD, CAT, and GPx) than in MNU-induced. Taken together, these data indicate that propolis could be a chemopreventive agent against MNU-induced mammary carcinogenesis.

Precooling Strategy Allows Exponentially Faster Heating.

What is the fastest way to heat a system which is coupled to a temperature controlled oven? The intuitive answer is to use only the hottest temperature available. However, we show that often it is possible to achieve an exponentially faster heating protocol. Surprisingly, this protocol can have a precooling stage-cooling the system before heating it shortens the heating time significantly. To demonstrate such improvements in many-body systems, we developed a projection-based method with which such protocols can be found in large systems, as we demonstrate on the 2D antiferromagnet Ising model.

Myenteric ganglionitis and intestinal leiomyositis in a Jack Russell terrier.

A 9-year, 6-month old spayed female Jack Russell terrier presented with a 3-week history of intermittent vomiting, diarrhoea and weight loss. Serum biochemistry demonstrated severe panhypoproteinaemia, mild hypocalcaemia and mild hypocholesterolaemia, consistent with protein-losing enteropathy. Full-thickness biopsies obtained from the stomach and different sections of small intestine demonstrated histological features of both myenteric ganglionitis and early intestinal leiomyositis. Complete resolution of clinical signs occurred within 1 week of implementing immunosuppressive therapy. At the time of writing, 9 months following diagnosis, the dog remains in remission.

The effect of the sodium-glucose cotransporter type-2 inhibitor dapagliflozin on glomerular filtration rate in healthy cats.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter type-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) reduce glomerular hyperfiltration in diabetic people with early diabetic nephropathy. The objective of this report was to assess changes in glomerular filtration rate in healthy cats after treatment with a SGLT2i. Eight healthy research adult castrated male cats were used in a randomized, controlled, cross-over study design. We induced isolated renal tubular glucosuria by dosing cats with the SGLT2i dapagliflozin. The cats received by mouth 10 mg dapagliflozin or control every 24 h in each of the 4, 5-d trial periods that were separated by a 7-d washout period. We assessed glomerular filtration rate (iohexol clearance method), serum urea, creatinine, symmetric dimethylarginine, and 24-h sodium and chloride urinary excretion on the fifth day of each trial period. We analyzed the data with a mixed linear model that included the fixed effects of treatment (treated and control) and trial period, and the random effect of the cat. Compared with controls, cats treated with dapagliflozin had a significant increase in mean (±SE) glomerular filtration rate (3.1 ± 0.2 vs 2.5 ± 0.2 mL/kg/min; P = 0.01), whereas there were no significant differences in serum urea, creatinine and symmetric dimethylarginine, and 24-h urine sodium and chloride excretion. We propose that dapagliflozin-mediated delivery of sodium and glucose distal from the proximal convoluted tubule induced compensatory increased sodium absorption at the thick ascending loop of Henle that resulted in decreased sodium delivery to the distal tubule leading to tubuloglomerular feedback-mediated glomerular hyperfiltration. Future studies should determine if SGLT2is' renoprotective effect in people can be enhanced with the addition of a Na+-K+-Cl- diuretic and whether dapagliflozin will be useful in mitigating proteinuria and hypertension that follow glomerular hyperfiltration in diabetic companion animals in a similar mechanism as in people.

Xenotransfusion of canine blood to cats: a review of 49 cases and their outcome.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the use of a xenotransfusion protocol, the outcome of xenotransfusion in recipient cats and to assess owner memory of the xenotransfusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cats administered xenotransfusions in two hospitals between January 2016 and July 2018 were included. Adherence to xenotransfusion protocol, cause of anaemia, blood type, packed cell volume (PCV), transfusion volume, transfusion reactions, PCV 12 hours after transfusion and survival to discharge were recorded. Owners of surviving cats were questioned to assess if they remembered that a xenotransfusion had been performed. RESULTS: Forty-nine cats underwent the xenotransfusion protocol. The most common causes of anaemia were surgical blood loss (n = 17), immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia (n = 14) and neoplasia (n = 14). Median PCV before transfusion was 10%. Six cats (12%) had febrile non-haemolytic transfusion reactions. Median PCV 12 hours after transfusion was 25%. Ten cats (20%) died or were euthanased within 24 hours of xenotransfusion. A delayed haemolytic transfusion reaction occurred in 25 of 39 (64%) cats manifesting as icterus in 15 cats after a median of 1.9 days and haemolytic serum in 19 cats after a median of 2 days. Of the 18 cats alive at 1 week after discharge, 15 (83%) were still alive at a median of 173 days after xenotransfusion. All owners contacted remembered that their cats had received a xenotransfusion. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Xenotransfusion of canine packed red blood cells to cats is possible but haemolysis should be expected between 1 and 6 days after transfusion.

Effect of clinical signs, endocrinopathies, timing of surgery, hyperlipidemia, and hyperbilirubinemia on outcome in dogs with gallbladder mucocele.

Gallbladder mucocele (GBM) is a common extra-hepatic biliary syndrome in dogs with death rates ranging from 7 to 45%. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the association of survival with variables that could be utilized to improve clinical decisions. A total of 1194 dogs with a gross and histopathological diagnosis of GBM were included from 41 veterinary referral hospitals in this retrospective study. Dogs with GBM that demonstrated abnormal clinical signs had significantly greater odds of death than subclinical dogs in a univariable analysis (OR, 4.2; 95% CI, 2.14-8.23; P<0.001). The multivariable model indicated that categorical variables including owner recognition of jaundice (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.19-3.77; P=0.011), concurrent hyperadrenocorticism (OR 1.94; 95% CI, 1.08-3.47; P=0.026), and Pomeranian breed (OR, 2.46; 95% CI 1.10-5.50; P=0.029) were associated with increased odds of death, and vomiting was associated with decreased odds of death (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.30-0.72; P=0.001). Continuous variables in the multivariable model, total serum/plasma bilirubin concentration (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.04; P<0.001) and age (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.08-1.26; P<0.001), were associated with increased odds of death. The clinical utility of total serum/plasma bilirubin concentration as a biomarker to predict death was poor with a sensitivity of 0.61 (95% CI, 0.54-0.69) and a specificity of 0.63 (95% CI, 0.59-0.66). This study identified several prognostic variables in dogs with GBM including total serum/plasma bilirubin concentration, age, clinical signs, concurrent hyperadrenocorticism, and the Pomeranian breed. The presence of hypothyroidism or diabetes mellitus did not impact outcome in this study.

Presumptive migrating gall bladder mucocoele in two dogs with gall bladder rupture.

A 10-year-old neutered female soft-coated wheaten terrier and a 10-year-old, entire female Pomeranian were presented for vomiting and anorexia. Using ultrasound, an oval structure with a stellate, kiwifruit-like appearance typical of a gall bladder mucocoele was observed in the caudal abdomen of the soft-coated wheaten terrier and adjacent to the liver in the Pomeranian. There was also a moderate volume of abdominal effusion in both dogs. Cytology of the peritoneal fluid indicated a sterile exudative process but varied between the two dogs, with an absence of bile pigment in the soft-coated wheaten terrier and marked bile peritonitis in the Pomeranian. An entire free-floating ectopic mucocoele was confirmed via exploratory laparotomy with concomitant gall bladder rupture and common bile duct obstruction. Both dogs recovered completely after surgery. This is the first report of cases of gall bladder rupture with entire free-floating gall bladder mucocoeles in dogs.

Resolving the Λ Hypernuclear Overbinding Problem in Pionless Effective Field Theory.

We address the Λ hypernuclear "overbinding problem" in light hypernuclei which stands for a 1-3 MeV excessive Λ separation energy calculated in _{Λ}^{5}He. This problem arises in most few-body calculations that reproduce ground-state Λ separation energies in the lighter Λ hypernuclei within various hyperon-nucleon interaction models. Recent pionless effective field theory (πEFT) nuclear few-body calculations are extended in this work to Λ hypernuclei. At leading order, the ΛN low-energy constants are associated with ΛN scattering lengths, and the ΛNN low-energy constants are fitted to Λ separation energies (B_{Λ}^{exp}) for A≤4. The resulting πEFT interaction reproduces in few-body stochastic variational method calculations the reported value B_{Λ}^{exp}(_{Λ}^{5}He)=3.12±0.02 MeV within a fraction of MeV over a broad range of πEFT cutoff parameters. Possible consequences and extensions to heavier hypernuclei and to neutron-star matter are discussed.

Variability of Symmetric Dimethylarginine in Apparently Healthy Dogs.

BACKGROUND: Symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) is a screening tool for early kidney dysfunction and monitoring treatment in cases of chronic kidney disease (CKD). There are no current studies describing the suitability of this test for use with published population-based reference intervals. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To determine the components of biological variability, the index of individuality (IOI), the critical difference between sequential measurements (CD ) and the number of measurements required to assess the homeostatic set point (HSP), for both SDMA and serum creatinine (sCr), in apparently healthy dogs. ANIMALS: Twenty apparently healthy adult dogs owned by clients or staff at a veterinary teaching hospital. METHODS: Prospective, observational study. Blood was collected from each dog on 9 occasions, and SDMA and sCr were measured in duplicate using commercially available assays. RESULTS: SDMA and sCr had intermediate and low IOI values of 0.87 and 0.28, respectively. The CD of SDMA and sCr, was 1.34 µg/dL and 0.89 µmol/L, respectively. The sample numbers required for estimation of an individual's HSP (with 90 and 95% CI) for SDMA and sCr were 8 and 45, and 2 and 12 sequential measurements, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Based on our findings, in comparison to sCr, SDMA is better suited for use with population-based reference intervals. False-negative test results could occur when comparing a single test result from an individual to such intervals. Ideally CD should be used with sequential measurements.