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Issue: Noting high rates of burnout, depression, and suicidality among medical students, academic medical communities are trying to identify preventive and curricular measures that protect and promote student well-being. To date, the effectiveness of these efforts is unclear. In addition, evidence increasingly suggests that the major drivers of distress appear to be factors within the social, learning, and work environments. Specific to medical schools in the United States, neither the Liaison Committee on Medical Education nor the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation include accreditation standards regarding well-being curricula and, as such, these curricula are not well-integrated into students' medical school experience. Current accreditation standards also do not specifically require institutions to assess or address systemic factors of the learning environment that negatively affect student well-being. Evidence: This paper proposes expanding current Liaison Committee on Medical Education and Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation standards on professionalism to incorporate well-being as a core component of professional identity formation by requiring individual and institutional-level actions. Proposed changes to accreditation standards include (1) institutional assessment of the impact of the learning environment on student well-being; (2) continuous quality improvement efforts to address structural factors associated with student well-being and modification of practices that impair student well-being; and (3) integrated curriculum with related assessment to educate students on empirically-supported strategies for well-being. Implications: Refining undergraduate medical education accreditation standards in the United States to include language specific to student well-being will facilitate long overdue changes to the learning environment. In the end, the goal is not just to improve medical student well-being, but to provide a workforce better equipped for a sustainable and meaningful career.

Research has long emphasized that being trusted is a central concern for leaders (Dirks & Ferrin, 2002), but an interesting and important question left unexplored is whether leaders feel trusted by each employee, and whether their felt trust is accurate. Across 2 field studies, we examined the factors that shape the accuracy of leaders' felt trust-or, their trust meta-accuracy-and the implications of trust meta-accuracy for the degree of relationship conflict between leaders and their employees. By integrating research on trust and interpersonal perception, we developed and tested hypotheses based on 2 theoretical mechanisms-an external signaling mechanism and an internal presumed reciprocity mechanism-that theory suggests shape leaders' trust meta-accuracy. In contrast to the existing literature on felt trust, our results reveal that leader trust meta-accuracy is shaped by an internal mechanism and the presumed reciprocity of trust relationships. We further find that whether trust meta-accuracy is associated with positive relational outcomes for leaders depends upon the level of an employee's actual trust in the leader. Our research contributes to burgeoning interest in felt trust by elucidating the mechanisms underlying trust meta-accuracy and suggesting practical directions for leaders who seek to accurately understand how much their employees trust them. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Purpose: To describe the breadth of strategies U.S. medical schools use to promote medical student well-being., Method: In October 2016, 32 U.S. medical schools were surveyed about their student well-being initiatives, resources, and infrastructure; grading in preclinical courses; and learning communities., Results: Twenty-seven schools (84%) responded. Sixteen (59%) had a student well-being curriculum, with content scheduled during regular curricular hours at most (13/16; 81%). These sessions were held at least monthly (12/16; 75%), and there was a combination of optional and mandatory attendance (9/16; 56%). Most responding schools offered a variety of emotional/spiritual, physical, financial, and social well-being activities. Nearly one-quarter had a specific well-being competency (6/27; 22%). Most schools relied on participation rates (26/27; 96%) and student satisfaction (22/27; 81%) to evaluate effectiveness. Sixteen (59%) assessed student well-being from survey data, and 7 (26%) offered students access to self-assessment tools. Other common elements included an individual dedicated to overseeing student well-being (22/27; 82%), a student well-being committee (22/27; 82%), pass/fail grading in preclinical courses (20/27; 74%), and the presence of learning communities (22/27; 81%)., Conclusions: Schools have implemented a broad range of well-being curricula and activities intended to promote self-care, reduce stress, and build social support for medical students, with variable resources, infrastructure, and evaluation. Implementing dedicated well-being competencies and rigorously evaluating their impact would help ensure appropriate allocation of time and resources and determine if well-being strategies are making a difference. Strengthening evaluation is an important next step in alleviating learner distress and ultimately improving student well-being.

Grounded in a social functional perspective, this article examines the conditions under which group affect influences group functioning. Using meta-analysis, the authors leverage heterogeneity across 39 independent studies of 2,799 groups to understand how contextual factors-group affect source (exogenous or endogenous to the group) and group life span (one-shot or ongoing)-moderate the influence of shared feelings on social integration and task performance. As predicted, results indicate that group positive affect has consistent positive effects on social integration and task performance regardless of contextual idiosyncrasies. The effects of group negative affect, on the other hand, are context-dependent. Shared negative feelings promote social integration and task performance when stemming from an exogenous source or experienced in a 1-shot group, but undermine social integration and task performance when stemming from an endogenous source or experienced in an ongoing group. The authors discuss implications of their findings and highlight directions for future theory and research on group affect., ((c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).)

The current research explores how awareness of shared attention influences attitude formation. We theorized that sharing the experience of an object with fellow group members would increase elaborative processing, which in turn would intensify the effects of participant mood on attitude formation. Four experiments found that observing the same object as similar others produced more positive ratings among those in a positive mood, but more negative ratings among those in a negative mood. Participant mood had a stronger influence on evaluations when an object had purportedly been viewed by similar others than when (a) that same object was being viewed by dissimilar others, (b) similar others were viewing a different object, (c) different others were viewing a different object, or (d) the object was viewed alone with no others present. Study 4 demonstrated that these effects were driven by heightened cognitive elaboration of the attended object in the shared attention condition. These findings support the theoretical conjecture that an object attended with one's ingroup is subject to broader encoding in relation to existing knowledge structures.

Producer reports from ranches over 2,438 meters in southwest Colorado suggest that the mortality of preweaned beef calves may be substantially higher than the national average despite the selection of low pulmonary pressure herd sires for over 20 years. Diagnostic investigations of this death loss problem have been limited due to the extensive mountainous terrain over which these calves are grazed with their dams. The objective of the current study was to determine the causes of calf mortality on 5 high-altitude ranches in Colorado that have been selectively breeding sires with low pulmonary pressure (<45 mmHg) for over 20 years. Calves were followed from branding (6 weeks of age) in the spring to weaning in the fall (7 months of age). Clinical signs were recorded, and blood samples were taken from sick calves. Postmortem examinations were performed, and select tissue samples were submitted for aerobic culture and/or histopathology. On the principal study ranch, 9.6% (59/612) of the calves that were branded in the spring either died or were presumed dead by weaning in the fall. In total, 28 necropsies were performed: 14 calves (50%) had lesions consistent with pulmonary hypertension and right-sided heart failure, and 14 calves (50%) died from bronchopneumonia. Remodeling of the pulmonary arterial system, indicative of pulmonary hypertension, was evident in the former and to varying degrees in the latter. There is a need to better characterize the additional risk factors that complicate pulmonary arterial pressure testing of herd sires as a strategy to control pulmonary hypertension.

Chronic ingestion of yellow star thistle (Centaurea solstitialis) or Russian knapweed (Acroptilon repens) causes nigropallidal encephalomalacia (NPE) in horses with an abrupt onset of neurologic signs characterized by dystonia of lips and tongue, inability to prehend food, depression, and locomotor deficits. The objectives of this study were to reexamine the pathologic alterations of NPE and to conduct an immunohistochemistry study using antibodies to tyrosine hydroxylase and α-synuclein, to determine whether NPE brains show histopathologic features resembling those in human Parkinson disease. Results confirm that the NPE lesions are located within the substantia nigra pars reticulata, sparing the cell bodies of the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, and in the rostral portion of the globus pallidus, with partial disruption of dopaminergic (tyrosine hydroxylase-positive) fibers passing through the globus pallidus. No abnormal cytoplasmic inclusions like the Lewy bodies of human Parkinson disease were seen in these NPE brains. These findings indicate that equine NPE may serve as a large animal model of environmentally acquired toxic parkinsonism, with clinical phenotype directly attributable to lesions in globus pallidus and substantia nigra pars reticulata rather than to the destruction of dopaminergic neurons.

Background: The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is proposing that hospitals measure culture beginning in 2007. However, a reliable and widely used measurement tool for the operating room (OR) setting does not currently exist., Methods: OR personnel in 60 US hospitals were surveyed using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire. The teamwork climate domain of the survey uses six items about difficulty speaking up, conflict resolution, physician-nurse collaboration, feeling supported by others, asking questions, and heeding nurse input. To justify grouping individual-level responses to a single score at each hospital OR level, the authors used a multilevel confirmatory factor analysis, intraclass correlations, within-group interrater reliability, and Cronbach's alpha. To detect differences at the hospital OR level and by caregiver type, the authors used multivariate analysis of variance (items) and analysis of variance (scale)., Results: The response rate was 77.1%. There was robust evidence for grouping individual-level respondents to the hospital OR level using the diverse set of statistical tests, e.g., Comparative Fit Index = 0.99, root mean squared error of approximation = 0.05, and acceptable intraclasss correlations, within-group interrater reliability values, and Cronbach's alpha = 0.79. Teamwork climate differed significantly by hospital (F59, 1,911 = 4.06, P < 0.001) and OR caregiver type (F4, 1,911 = 9.96, P < 0.001)., Conclusions: Rigorous assessment of teamwork climate is possible using this psychometrically sound teamwork climate scale. This tool and initial benchmarks allow others to compare their teamwork climate to national means, in an effort to focus more on what excellent surgical teams do well.

Objective: To test the psychometric soundness of a teamwork climate survey in labor and delivery, examine differences in perceptions of teamwork, and provide benchmarking data., Design: Cross-sectional survey of labor and delivery caregivers in 44 hospitals in diverse regions of the US, using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire teamwork climate scale., Results: The response rate was 72% (3382 of 4700). The teamwork climate scale had good internal reliability (overall alpha = 0.78). Teamwork climate scale factor structure was confirmed using multilevel confirmatory factor analyses (CFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.92, RMSEA = 0.12, SRMR(within) = 0.04, SRMR(between) = 0.09). Aggregation of individual-level responses to the L&D unit-level was supported by ICC (1) = 0.06 (P < 0.001), ICC (2) = 0.83 and mean r (wg(j)) = 0.83. ANOVA demonstrated differences between caregivers F (7, 3013) = 10.30, P < 0.001 and labor and delivery units, F (43, 1022) = 3.49, P < 0.001. Convergent validity of the scale scores was measured by correlations with external teamwork-related items: collaborative decision making (r = 0.780, P < 0.001), use of briefings (r = 0.496, P < 0.001) and perceived adequacy of staffing levels (r = 0.593, P < 0.001)., Conclusion: We demonstrate a psychometrically sound teamwork climate scale, correlate it to external teamwork-related items, and provide labor and delivery teamwork benchmarks. Further teamwork climate research should explore the links to clinical and operational outcomes.

Objective: To describe the prevalence of West Nile virus (WNV) infection and evaluate factors associated with positive IgM capture ELISA results in equids with clinical signs compatible with WNV infection., Design: Retrospective case series., Sample Population: Laboratory submission forms from 1,104 equids tested for WNV in Colorado in 2003., Procedures: Submission forms accompanying samples submitted for detection of WNV via IgM capture ELISA were obtained from the Colorado state veterinarian and diagnostic laboratories performing the tests. Data on signalment, clinical signs, history of vaccination against WNV, and assay results were collected from laboratory submission forms. Equids with clinical signs compatible with WNV infection in which IgM capture ELISA results were positive were considered as case equids., Results: 1,104 equids were tested for WNV; 1,017 (92.1%) had clinical signs compatible with WNV infection. Among equids with clinical signs compatible with WNV infection, the odds of testing positive for WNV via IgM capture ELISA were lower in males and in vaccinated equids and higher in equids with moderate and severe illness, compared with females, unvaccinated equids, and equids with mild illness., Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Among equids with clinical signs compatible with WNV infection, vaccination against WNV, severity of clinical signs, duration of illness, and region in Colorado were associated with increased risk of having a positive IgM capture ELISA result.

Study objectives were to describe overweight in Native-American and African-American three-generation families and to examine relationships among the individual variables of body mass index (BMI), television hours, and activity levels. Forty-four Native-American and 40 African-American families were recruited from 10 sites through community contacts at health, senior, community, and tribal centers. Ninety percent of parents and grandparents had BMIs above 25.0. Forty-two percent of African-American and 61% of Native-American children had a BMI above the 85th percentile. More than 35% of total energy was from fat. Significant correlations were observed between parent and child BMI and television hours, grandparent and child BMI, and grandparent and parent activity with child television hours. Sedentary caretakers facilitate more television viewing and less activity in children. Dietetics professionals should plan family-friendly daily physical activities, like walking, and diets lower in fat, sugar, and total energy, with higher intakes of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products for children and caretakers.

A diet consisting entirely of cull onions fed to pregnant ewes produced Heinz body hemolytic anemia in all sheep after 21 d. After 28 d of daily consumption of 20 kg of onions/ewe, the anemia stabilized, and for the remaining 74 d the packed cell volume increased in the majority of sheep, although it did not return to normal. Compared to control ewes fed an alfalfa and grain diet, the onion-fed ewes had comparable body condition scores and fleece weights. There was no significant difference (alpha = 0.05) in pregnancy or lambing rate, number of lambs born/ewe exposed, or number of lambs born/ewe lambing. Greater numbers of sulfate-reducing bacteria (Desulfovibrio spp) and more ruminal hydrogen sulfide were present in onion-fed sheep compared to controls. Although an average 27% reduction in packed cell volume and Heinz body anemia developed in the onion-fed ewes, on the basis of this study it appears that pregnant ewes may be fed a pure onion diet with minimal detrimental effects. This adaptation to a pure onion diet is in part likely due to the apparent ability of the sheep's rumen to quickly develop a population of sulfate-reducing bacteria that decrease the toxicity of onion disulfides.

A rapid electrospray mass spectrometry method was developed for screening larkspur (Delphinium spp.) plant material for toxic norditerpenoid alkaloids. The method was calibrated using two standard alkaloids, methyllycaconitine (1) and deltaline (2), with a recovery of 92% from spiked samples and relative standard deviations of 6.0% and 8.1% for the two alkaloids, respectively. Thirty-three samples of plains larkspur, Delphinium geyeri, were analyzed. Methyllycaconitine (1) concentration was 0.27% +/- 0.08% during a 1-month period in 1997 establishing the relative risk of poisoning from the plant to be low. The method was also applied to the trace analysis (<1 ppm) of 1 in serum samples from sheep dosed different levels of the alkaloid. Electrospray ionization combined with sequential tandem mass spectrometry and HPLC coupled to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) mass spectrometry were used to detect and tentatively identify three new norditerpenoid alkaloids from Delphinium nuttallianum [bearline (6), 14-acetylbearline (7), 16-deacetylgeyerline (8)]. The tentative structure of the new alkaloids was predicted from the tandem mass spectra fragmentation patterns and assigning the substitution pattern for methoxy and acetyl groups at the C-14 and C-16 carbons.

Background: Dietary factors have been implicated in modifying bone health, although the results remain controversial, particularly in young women., Objective: The objective of the study was to determine relations of selected dietary factors and anthropometric measurements to bone mineral density (BMD) of the spine, femoral neck, trochanter, Ward's triangle, radius, and total body and the bone mineral content (BMC) of the spine, radius, and total body., Design: The study was a cross-sectional analysis of 215 women aged 18-31 y., Results: Weight, height, and lean mass were correlated with bone mineral measures at every site (r = 0.17-0.78). Postmenarcheal age (years since onset of menses) was positively correlated with total-body BMD and BMC, radius BMD and BMC, and spine BMC, and negatively correlated with Ward's triangle BMD. Radius BMD was correlated with protein, calcium, and phosphorus intakes, and spine BMD and BMC were correlated with energy, protein, calcium, and phosphorus intakes. These correlations remained significant when postmenarcheal age, lean mass, and fat mass were controlled. A pattern emerged in multiple regression analyses that showed a complex relation among calcium, protein or phosphorus, and the calcium-protein or calcium-phosphorus ratio and spine or total-body BMC and BMD. All 3 variables (calcium, protein or phosphorus, and calcium-protein or calcium-phosphorus ratio) were required in the model for significance., Conclusions: Anthropometric measures were predictors of bone mass. A single ratio of calcium to phosphorus or protein did not optimize bone mass across the range of calcium intakes.

Objective: To determine the clinical manifestations, morbidity, mortality, and treatment methods for rattlesnake venom poisoning in horses., Design: Retrospective analysis of medical records., Animals: 27 horses with acute venom poisoning attributable to prairie rattlesnakes, and 5 with chronic problems subsequent to a rattlesnake bite., Results: Most horses were bitten on or near the muzzle while on pasture, resulting in head swelling, dyspnea, and epistaxis. Additional manifestations of acute poisoning included fever, tachycardia, tachypnea, cardiac arrhythmia, hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, hemorrhage, thrombosis of venipuncture sites, colic, diarrhea, and prehensile and masticatory dysfunction. Chronic problems included cardiac disease, pneumonia, laminitis, pharyngeal paralysis, and wound complications. The most common chronic problem was cardiac disease. The most commonly used treatments were antibiotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, tetanus prophylaxis, and airway support. Mortality in the 27 acutely affected horses was 18.5%; the overall mortality was 25%., Clinical Implications: Horses bitten by prairie rattle-snakes may develop multiple, often severe, acute or chronic manifestations of poisoning involving various organ systems. Thorough clinical evaluation, effective treatment, supportive care, and close observation are indicated in horses with rattlesnake venom poisoning.

The effects of feeding high and low doses of field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) to mice were investigated. Bindweed contains several alkaloids, including pseudotropine, and lesser amounts of tropine, tropinone, and meso-cuscohygrine. Mice fed bindweed exclusively died or were euthanized after 4-7 d and had severe hepatic necrosis and gastritis with ulceration or erosions. Mice fed low doses of bindweed along with standard laboratory mouse diet for 6 or 8 w had no clinical disease or gross lesions on necropsy examination but did have histologic lesions of mild multifocal hepatitis and gastritis.

Horses in a few, localized northern Colorado pastures exhibited weight loss and colic. At post mortem, intestinal fibrosis and vascular sclerosis of the small intestine was identified. The pastures where the affected horses grazed were overrun by field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis). Bindweed from the pasture was found to contain the tropane alkaloids tropine, pseudotropine, and tropinone and the pyrrolidine alkaloids cuscohygrine and hygrine. Laboratory mice readily ate C. arvensis and exhibited a variety of abnormal clinical signs depending on the amount eaten. Similar alkaloids have been found in other Convolvulus species and cuscohygrine and calystegines (polyhydroxytropanes) have been previously reported from C. arvensis roots. This is the first report of simple tropane alkaloids in C. arvensis, a world wide problem weed. Pseudotropine, the major alkaloid, is known to affect motility and might represent a causative agent for the observed cases of equine intestinal fibrosis.

Auscultatory, ECG, and echocardiographic data have been presented for healthy llamas. The literature, however, contains little information on the incidence of congenital and acquired heart disease in the llama. Data compiled from the medical records at CSU-VTH and the VMDB provide an indication of the types of cardiac disease to be found in llamas in North America. A wide variety of congenital cardiac defects are found in llamas, the most prevalent defect of which is VSD. Llamas tend to do well with this defect but are unlikely to be useful pack animals. Acquired heart disease primarily involved inflammatory processes of the pericardium, endocardium, epicardium, and myocardium, and pericardial effusion without documented inflammatory disease. Although not every cardiac murmur necessitates a complete cardiac work-up, every effort should be made to compile accurate medical histories and physical findings related to the cardiac disease in llamas in order to advance our knowledge of these disorders. There also is a need to use available technologies to better define cardiac abnormalities in the llama and accurately report these findings in the literature before cardiology of llamas is fully understood.

Six mature Holstein bulls were given an 8-day course of phenylbutazone (PBZ) orally (loading dose, 12 mg of PBZ/kg of body weight and 7 maintenance doses of 6 mg of PBZ/kg, q 24 h). Plasma concentration-vs-time data were analyzed, using nonlinear regression modeling. The harmonic mean +/- pseudo-SD of the biologic half-life of PBZ was 61.8 +/- 12.8 hours. The arithmetic mean +/- SEM of the total body clearance and apparent volume of distribution were 0.0021 +/- 0.0001 L/h/kg and 0.201 +/- 0.009 L/kg, respectively. The predicted mean minimal plasma concentration of PBZ with this dosage regimen was 75.06 +/- 4.05 micrograms/ml. The predicted minimal plasma drug concentration was compared with the observed minimal plasma drug concentration in another group of bulls treated with PBZ for at least 60 days. Sixteen mature Holstein bulls were given approximately 6 mg of PBZ/kg, PO, daily for various musculoskeletal disorders. The mean observed minimal plasma concentration of PBZ in the 16 bulls was 76.10 +/- 2.04 micrograms/ml, whereas the mean predicted minimal plasma concentration was 74.69 +/- 3.10 micrograms/ml. Dosages of 4 to 6 mg of PBZ/kg, q 24 h, or 10 to 14 mg of PBZ/kg, q 48 h, provided therapeutic plasma concentrations of PBZ with minimal steady-state concentrations between 50 and 70 micrograms/ml.

Six mature Holstein bulls were each given 10 mg of phenylbutazone (PBZ)/kg of body weight, PO. Of the 6 bulls, 3 were given 10 mg of PBZ/kg by rapid IV administration 4 weeks later. Plasma concentration-vs-time data were analyzed, using nonlinear regression modeling (sum of exponential functions). The harmonic mean of the biologic half-life of PBZ was 62.6 +/- 12.9 hours after oral administration and 61.6 +/- 7.2 hours after IV administration. The mean residence time was 94.61 +/- 8.44 hours and 90.49 +/- 8.93 hours for oral and IV administration, respectively. The mean total body clearance was 0.0015 +/- 0.0003 L/h/kg, with the mean apparent volume of distribution 0.134 +/- 0.021 L/kg. Mean bioavailability was 73 +/- 2% after oral administration. Phenylbutazone was adequately absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract in bulls. The apparent volume of distribution was small, indicating that PBZ distributed mainly into plasma and extracellular fluid. The total body clearance was also small, which accounted for the long half-life of PBZ in bulls.

Rams shedding Brucella ovis in semen but without palpable abnormalities of the epididymides were treated with long-acting oxytetracycline for 15 days and dihydrostreptomycin for 7 days (n = 9) or conventional oxytetracycline and dihydrostreptomycin (n = 9) for 7 days. Nine rams were not treated. More treated rams were considered to have satisfactory breeding soundness examination results at posttreatment weeks 3, 7, 12, and 19. Nontreated rams continued to shed B ovis in semen. After treatment, B ovis was not recovered from 78% of rams given long-acting oxytetracycline and dihydrostreptomycin or from 89% of rams given conventional oxytetracycline and dihydrostreptomycin. At week 21, all rams were euthanatized, and specimens of the testes and epididymides were bacteriologically cultured for B ovis. Brucella ovis was not recovered from the testes of rams or from the epididymides from rams not shedding the organism in the semen. In one treated ram, B ovis was recovered from the semen but not from other tissues. All rams remained ELISA-positive, with the exception of 2 treated rams that ceased shedding B ovis in semen immediately after treatment was started; both these rams became ELISA-negative on the last examination at week 19.

The inhibitory effect of salicylates on intestinal secretion in 1- to 5-day-old calves given Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin (ST)-induced intestinal fluid response was investigated. Purified ST was diluted in isotonic saline solution to obtain 1:10, 1:25, 1:50, 1:75, and 1:100 dilutions. Each dilution (1 ml) was inoculated into ligated loops in the distal part of the jejunum of each calf. Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) given orally (100 mg/kg) at 4 hours before ST was inoculated did not substantially alter the intestinal fluid response to ST. Sodium salicylate (IV) infusion, begun simultaneously when, or at 1 hour after, ST was inoculated, significantly (P less than 0.05) decreased fluid accumulation in those loops inoculated with ST dilutions of 1:25 or greater. The sodium and potassium concentrations of the accumulated fluid did not differ significantly between or within treatment groups. These results indicate that sodium salicylate infusion may be beneficial in treating enterotoxic colibacillosis in calves. Aspirin given orally at the dose used in the present study, would not have any beneficial effect.

The reproductive tracts of 26 estrus synchronized, bred ewes were scanned with a portable 5.0 MHz real-time ultrasound unit within 1 to 6 d postbreeding. Intrarectal scanning was performed on alternate days until Days 28 to 30 and twice weekly until Days 50 of gestation. Transabdominal uterine scans were conducted twice weekly from Days 25 to 65 and continued weekly until parturition. A total of 24 ewes (92%) became pregnant. A nonpregnant ewe was recognized 100% of the time by both methods of ultrasonic screening. Correct identification of a gravid ewe as pregnant was 100% from Days 51 to 150 of gestation using transabdominal real-time ultrasonography. There was a significant association (P < 0.005) between the number of lambs born and the number of fetuses observed using transabdominal real-time ultrasonography after Day 25 of gestation. Accurate differentiation of fetal numbers by transabdominal scanning was 100.0% for ewes carrying one lamb and 97.3% for ewes carrying two lambs at Days 51 to 75 of gestation. Fetal attrition was documented in one ewe at Day 49 of gestation. Hydrops allantois was diagnosed in another ewe at 110 d of gestation. A total of 37 lambs were born to 23 ewes in the project flock. No congenital abnormalities were noted in any of the lambs. Transabdominal real-time ultrasonography is a safe, rapid, accurate and practical method for assessing pregnancy status, fetal number and fetal viability in sheep.

Malignant melanoma was identified in a crossbred goat. It involved the coronary band area and the medial claw of the right hindfoot, which was removed surgically. The goat was reexamined 1 month after tumor removal and found to have widespread metastases with concurrent neurologic signs.

Two doses of a formalin-killed, cell culture-derived vesicular stomatitis virus (vsv)-New Jersey serotype vaccine were administered intramuscularly, 30 days apart, to all lactating and nonlactating cows in a 350-cow dairy herd. Serum specimens were obtained serially from 96 cows before vaccination and at 30, 52 and 80 days after vaccination and from 24 of these cows 175 days after vaccination. Serum neutralizing antibody titers to vsv-New Jersey serotype were determined from serum-dilution, plaque-reduction tests. Serum neutralizing antibody titers also were determined during the same period for 67 nonvaccinated heifers in the herd. Peak group geometric mean serum neutralizing antibody titers of 1:530.46 +/- 1.14 (group geometric mean titer log10, 2.725 +/- 0.055) developed 21 days after the second vaccination, but decreased to a low value of 1:65.36 +/- 1.38 (group geometric mean titer log10, 1.815 +/- 0.142) by 175 days after vaccination. The nonvaccinated group had no detectable antibody titer to vsv-New Jersey serotype throughout the study. All serum specimens from the vaccinates and controls were negative for heterologous reactivity to vsv-Indiana serotype.

Clinical, ophthalmoscopic, and histopathologic findings of vitamin A deficiency in a group of 535 feedlot cattle are described. Liver vitamin A content and results of histologic examination of ocular and osseous (optic canal) tissue confirmed the diagnosis. Blindness was the only clinical sign observed. Even though the steers and heifers in this feedlot were approximately the same age and were fed the same ration for an equal period, none of the heifers had overt clinical signs of hypovitaminosis A. Production of vitamin A by the bovine corpus luteum may account for the sexual dimorphism observed in vitamin A-deficient cattle.

The death of 10 horses was attributed to feeding dried grass hay containing hound's-tongue, Cynoglossum officinale. Affected horses developed weight loss, icterus, photosensitization, and hepatic encephalopathy. Histologic examination of the liver of 3 of the horses revealed megalocytosis, biliary hyperplasia, and fibrosis characteristic of pyrrolizidine alkaloid poisoning. Hound's-tongue was found to contain large quantities (0.6% to 2.1%, dry matter basis) of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which, when fed to a pony for 20 days, caused liver fibrosis and biliary hyperplasia.

A ten-year-old male nubian goat with no previous medical history was found recumbent. Clinical examination revealed an underweight, dehydrated, very depressed and unresponsive animal. At necropsy, the liver contained multiple, well-demarcated hepatocellular carcinomas. The right adrenal gland contained a solitary phaeochromocytoma. Multiple leiomyomas were present within the urinary bladder. The three primary neoplasms reported in this goat have been reported separately in other species; their simultaneous occurrence in one animal is uncommon.

Metabolic changes were studied in the serum, saliva and peritoneal fluid of 5 healthy yearling feedlot steers after experimentally induced urinary bladder rupture. There were statistically significant decreases in serum, saliva and peritoneal fluid sodium and chloride values and significant increases in serum, saliva and peritoneal fluid urea nitrogen, creatinine and phosphorus values. Serum calcium, pH, bicarbonate, and base excess decreased significantly. Potassium did not change significantly in serum but did increase significantly in the saliva. The hemogram and peritoneal fluid analysis failed to provide clinicopathologic evidence of peritonitis. The average time of death or euthanasia after bladder rupture was 13.6 days with a range of 8-21 days. No single biochemical parameter could be identified which would allow prediction of the approaching time of death or duration of the disease process. There was no peritonitis at necropsy indicating that urine was not irritating to the bovine peritoneal cavity. Extracellular replacement fluid with or without sodium bicarbonate supplementation appeared to be the fluid of choice for correction of fluid and electrolyte imbalances in steers with ruptured urinary bladders. The ratio between serum and peritoneal fluid creatinine concentrations appears to be valuable for the clinical diagnosis of ruptured urinary bladders in steers.

Dysphagia developed in a 2-year-old Quarter Horse filly following an incident in which it fell over backward while exercising on a mechanical horse walker. Hyperextension of the neck at this time apparently caused unilateral rupture of the longus capitis (rectus capitis ventralis major) and the rectus capitis ventralis minor muscles at their insertion. An existing mycotic lesion involving the dorsomedial wall of the left guttural pouch may have weakened the area of insertion of the involved muscles. Tearing of the tendinous insertion of these muscles caused damage to the IX, X, and XI cranial nerves and left guttural pouch, with subsequent development of mild transitory epistaxis, laryngeal hemiplegia, pharyngeal paralysis, and dysphagia. Gangrenous pneumonia eventually developed because of inhalation of ingesta, and the filly was euthanatized.