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Combined elevated sputum eosinophils+neutrophils in asthma associated with lowest lung function, greater healthcare utilization, and longitudinally, further spirometric loss, implicating cell-cell interactions or overlapping inflammatory pathways while increased eosinophils or neutrophils alone show less effect.

Objective. To assess the impact of variable leadership development program formats on perceived participant growth. Methods. In 2020, the Phi Lambda Sigma national office began offering national Leader Academies to members, while University of South Florida Health Taneja College of Pharmacy simultaneously offered a Leader Academy program to its Phi Lambda Sigma students. Both programs used virtual leadership development tools from GiANT Worldwide, but differed in meeting frequency, content focus, and participant diversity. A 17-question pre- and postsurvey was developed from the Emotional Intelligence Leadership Inventory. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to compare the cohorts. Results. Twenty-two respondents in the national cohort (66.7% response rate) and 15 in the single-institution cohort (100% response rate) were included. There was more diversity in age, ethnicity, and previous education in the national cohort. Significant improvements in perceived growth were noted in almost all areas. The only decrease noted was the national cohort response to “I strive to improve myself.” The overall change in mean response values was generally higher for the single-institution cohort. Qualitative data supported these results and showed more notable references to emotional intelligence in the national cohorts (∼50%) as compared to the single-institution cohort (

Our aim was to assess three-dimensional kinematic motion analysis as an objective diagnostic tool for the characterization of the movement disorder of Shivers in horses. Kinematic parameters were measured in three horses with Shivers and were compared with a control group of four normal horses. Multiple parameter differences were found in the horses with Shivers at the walk, during backing, and when asked to pick up their hindlimbs. Most significant changes were a wider hindlimb stance of 0.39 ± 0.15 m and increased abduction angle of 48.7 ± 7.52° and hoof elevation (0.77 ± 0.08 m left and 0.94 ± 0.11 m right) when the horses were asked to pick up their hindlimbs. Control horses could back easily in a straight line and with symmetrical hoof separation and could maintain their center of weight when picking up their hindlimbs. In contrast, the horses with Shivers had difficulty backing straight, were slower, with a shorter stride and asymmetric hoof separation. They could not maintain their center of balance when picking up their hindlimbs. The findings of this pilot study advance the understanding of the movement disorder of Shivers and could be used as outcome measures to evaluate treatment modalities.

Thoracic radiography (TR), the most common screening test for pulmonary metastases in dogs, can fail to detect small lesions3 mm. Lung ultrasonography (LUS) is a widely available imaging modality capable of detecting peripheral nodules but is underutilized for this purpose. Thoracic computed tomography (CT) is the criterion standard for diagnosis of lung metastases and nodular disease but is less practical for a variety of reasons. We hypothesized that LUS would be more sensitive but less specific at detecting nodules consistent with metastatic pulmonary disease in dogs compared to TR, using CT as the criterion standard. This was a masked, single-center prospective study of 62 client-owned dogs evaluated for respiratory signs or pulmonary metastatic neoplasia screening using TR, LUS and CT. Dogs were included if metastatic pulmonary disease was a differential. All imaging modalities were scored as having nodules (yes/no) and other types of pathologic lesions were recorded. Sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp) and positive (LR+) and negative likelihood ratios (LR-) were determined for TR and LUS. For TR, Se and Sp were 64% and 73%, and LR+ and LR- were 2.37 and 0.49, respectively. For LUS, Se and Sp were 60% and 65% and LR+ and LR- were 1.71 and 0.62, respectively. The results of the study indicate that LUS had a similar Se to TR, with both modalities missing nodules when used for screening. The low Sp and LR- suggests caution should be used when assuming TR and LUS rule out the presence of nodules.

Rapid activation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system are hallmarks of the acute stress response and these systems interact with the immune system by signaling though glucocorticoid and adrenergic receptors on immune cells. There is limited information about the effect of these physiologic responses on immunologic parameters of pet dogs enrolled in clinical studies. The objective of this study was to evaluate how travel, instrumentation, and hospitalization alter immunologic parameters in pet dogs. Blood was collected from healthy dogs in a home environment and from healthy dogs at the time of presentation to the hospital and after instrumentation and 24 hours of hospitalization. We found that lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced downregulation of toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) was blunted in dogs exposed to stress. Neutrophil and monocyte major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) expression increased after transportation to the veterinary hospital but then became similar to that of the control dogs at the end of hospitalization. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell cytotoxicity function was blunted in dogs exposed to the stress of transportation as well as hospitalization. Neutrophil apoptosis was greater in dogs exposed to stress compared to controls although this effect significantly decreased after hospitalization stress. Conversely, stress did not alter induced or spontaneous cytokine production from leukocytes, neutrophil or monocyte expression of TLR4, LPS-induced downregulation of monocyte TLR4, LPS-induced neutrophil and monocyte expression of MHCII or peripheral blood lymphocyte phenotype. Transportation and instrumentation/hospitalization stress should be considered when interpreting immunologic studies in pet dogs.

Horses affected with gastrointestinal conditions such as colic or colitis are at substantial risk for translocation of bacterial components such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS, endotoxin) from the gastrointestinal tract into circulation resulting in systemic inflammation and subsequent morbidity and mortality. Therefore, there is a need for effective preventive and treatment strategies aimed at minimizing the host's inflammatory reaction to these pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) from gastrointestinal disease. Resveratrol (RES, trans-3,5,4′-trihydroxystilbene) is a phytoalexin commonly found in fruits and beverages, including red wine. Health benefits associated with the consumption of red wine have been attributed to RES. Resveratrol has been significantly shown to exert a powerful anti-inflammatory effect in laboratory animals subjected to experimental endotoxemia/sepsis. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine in vitro whether RES had an inhibitory effect on the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in cultivated whole blood (Cwb) following stimulation by PAMPs. We hypothesized that RES would inhibit TNF production in Cwb following stimulation by LPS or lipoteichoic acid (LTA). Production of TNF bioactivity in Cwb was measured in the presence of phosphate buffered saline (control), ethanol (solvent control), dexamethasone (anti-inflammatory control), LPS, LTA, and three different concentrations of RES. Both LPS and LTA stimulated TNF production, and addition of dexamethasone was inhibitory to this effect. An anti-inflammatory effect for RES was not demonstrated under the current experimental conditions. Further studies are required to characterize the effect of RES on the equine innate immune system during systemic inflammation.

Studies evaluating circulating dendritic cells (DCs) and natural and induced regulatory T cells (nTregs, iTregs) are often obtained at a single time point and difficult to interpret without understanding their intrinsic day-to-day biologic variability.We investigated the day-to-day variability in quantifying DCs, nTregs (FoxP3(+)CD25(+)CD4(+)) and cytokine production by iTregs (granzyme B-GZB, Th1/2 cytokines following CD3 plus CD46 in vitro activation) from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected on three consecutive days in healthy adults. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to evaluate intra-individual variability.In 10 healthy adults, the %PBMCs of plasmacytoid (pDC) and myeloid (mDC1 and mDC2) were 0.27 ± 0.12, 0.22 ± 0.10, and 0.02 ± 0.02, with ICC 0.91, 0.90, and 0.17 respectively. Natural Tregs (3.27 ± 1.27% CD4(+) cells) had an ICC of 0.86. Inducible Tregs (GZB-positive, 35.3 ± 17.7% CD4(+) cells) had an ICC of 0.77. The ICCs for IL-10, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-5 production by iTregs were 0.49, 0.63, 0.68, 0.74, and 0.82, respectively. There were no significant changes in ICC (0.1) after adjusting for age, gender and atopy except for IL-4. Substantial variability for iTregs was determined for the control condition (PBS with IL-2).No meaningful day-to-day biologic variability was observed for the quantification of nTregs, pDC and mDC1 in normal adults; however, there was substantial variability in measuring mDC2 proportions and iTreg production of IL-10. These results suggest obtaining an average of several measurements over time to determine the most representative value of these biologic measures.

Inconsistent results have been reported that long-term exposure to ambient air pollution contributes to the increased prevalence of stroke and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). In order to examine whether the exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with the prevalence of stroke and CVDs among people living in a heavy industrial province of northeast China, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 24,845 Chinese adults, ages 18–74 years old, from 33 communities in the 11 districts of the three Northeastern Chinese Cities during 2009. Three-year (2006–2008) average concentrations of particles with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxides (NO2), and Ozone (O3) were calculated from monitoring stations in each of the 11 districts. We used two-level logistic regressions models to examine the effects of yearly variations in exposure to each pollutant, controlling for important covariates. We found significant associations between PM10 and SO2 levels and stroke prevalence after accounting for important covariates: the adjusted odds ratio for stroke increased by 1.16 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03–1.30) per 19 μg m−3 increase in PM10, and 1.14 (95%CI, 1.01–1.29) per 20 μg m−3 increase in SO2, respectively. When stratified analysis by gender, these associations were significant only in men, but not in women. In conclusion, this study shows the association between long-term exposure to PM10 and SO2 and increased stroke prevalence, and the associations were more apparent in men than in women.

Allergen-specific rush immunotherapy (RIT) shows promise in treating asthma; however, pet cats will likely require at least initial concurrent glucocorticoids (GCs) to control serious clinical signs. How the immunosuppressive effects of GCs would impact RIT in cats is unknown. The hypothesis of this study was that oral, but not inhaled GCs will diminish the efficacy of RIT in experimental feline asthma. Cats (n=6/group) were sensitized using Bermuda grass allergen (BGA) and randomized to receive BGA-specific RIT for 9 months with an oral GC (prednisolone 10mg daily), inhaled GC (fluticasone 220 μg twice daily), or placebo administered for the first 6 months. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) percent eosinophils and other immunological assays were performed. Eosinophilic airway inflammation was suppressed in all groups at month 6 of RIT (group mean ± SD, 5 ± 2%, 13 ± 4%, and 7 ± 2% for oral GC, inhaled GC, and placebo, respectively; P=0.291). BALF percent eosinophils significantly increased over time only in oral GC/RIT cats between months 6 and 9 (P=0.031). Placebo/RIT cats had significant decreases over time in BGA-specific serum IgE (P=0.031). Concentration of interleukin (IL)-5 in BALF significantly increased over time in inhaled GC/RIT cats (P=0.031). No significant differences were found between groups at month 6 or over time in each group for BGA-specific lymphocyte blastogenesis, percent blood T regulatory cells, or number of IL-10-producing cells. Given the significant increase of airway eosinophilia over time in RIT cats initially treated with an oral GC, inhaled GCs might be better for dampening eosinophilic inflammation until RIT normalizes the dysregulated immune system.

Glucose levels in dogs and cats with diabetes mellitus can be monitored using a variety of techniques. Selecting the best monitoring technique requires involvement of the pet owner, communication between the owner and veterinarian, and practicality of the method. Some of the techniques typically used in dogs and cats are identical to those used in human diabetic patients. The use of modern technology designed specifically for people is being used increasingly for the management of diabetes in dogs and cats and offers a new mechanism for monitoring glucose in diabetic animals.

Whole blood culture ( C wb ) is a method to evaluate leukocyte response to stimuli. We used C wb to evaluate the inflammatory response to pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) in cats. Blood was collected from diluted with RPMI and stimulated with various concentrations of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), lipoteichoic acid (LTA), peptidoglycan (PG) or control (PBS). Multiple concentrations of LPS, LTA and PG significantly stimulated tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin (IL)-1β and CXC chemokine ligand (CXCL)-8 in feline C wb . All PAMPs failed to stimulate IL-6 production and PG failed to stimulate CXCL-8 production. Lipopolysaccharide was a more potent inducer of IL-1β and CXCL-8 than LTA or PG and LTA is a more potent inducer of CXCL-8 than PG. Based on these data, PAMPs from gram positive and negative bacteria induce TNF, IL-1β and CXCL-8 production in feline whole blood. Cats appear to be relatively more sensitive to gram negative compared to gram positive bacteria.