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The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV) on the hematological, biochemical, and acute phase proteins in naturally infected dairy heifers through the transition period. Pregnant Holstein and Jersey heifers (n=24) were distributed into 2 experimental groups: (BLV+) and (BLV-), and BLV+ group was divided into two subgroups presenting high and low proviral load. Animals were assessed at weeks -3, -2, -1, parturition (0), +1, +2, +3 weeks. Blood samples were harvested for RBC, WBC, biochemical exams, including acute phase proteins biomarkers. Herd prevalence of serum positive animals for BLV was 57.25%, and 38.7% in pregnant heifers group. BLV has effect on hematological parameter, in addition to the increase of AST and high concentration of fibrinogen. Also, BLV+ heifers had high risk of inflammation according to the HP cut-off ≥ 2.0 mg/dL (OR= 4.959). Leukocyte counts from animals with high viral load were higher in the high viral load group (P=0.018), especially by lymphocytosis (P=0.036). This is the first publication presenting the impact of BLV on the health of dairy heifers through transition period, reporting a high risk of inflammation. Viral load can impact leukocyte counts, especially by predisposing lymphocytosis.

Objective To determine whether crowdfunding of pharmacy-related products through popular online platforms is a viable means to attain funding and what factors influence success. Methods Kickstarter and Indiegogo were searched for projects related to pharmacy using select key words. Projects were included for analysis if they were a device or system relevant to pharmacy care and excluded if found to be nonrelevant to medication management purposes or were of an artistic nature. Projects were assessed for their success in reaching their primary funding goals and also whether they were still in business following completion of their crowdfunding phase. Results Subsequent to the application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria to the dataset, 40 projects were identified, of which 13 reached their desired crowdfunding funding amounts. The most commonly created crowdfunded projects were those involving medication adherence or storage tools. Anecdotal evidence points to media attention leading to continued success beyond the initial crowdfunding phase of the business. The presence of a medical professional on the project team or the inclusion of a product demonstration did not lead to a different rate of success. Conclusion The crowdfunding of pharmacy care–related products appear to have a low success rate, although Indiegogo might offer a higher success rate compared with Kickstarter in this niche product area. The products’ ability to garner media attention seems to be a primary driver in the business surviving past the crowdfunding stage and becoming a lasting success.

The interaction of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and the microbiome (all the microbes in the lumen of the GIT) has become an increasing area of interest in terms of the effect on the immune system and overall health of cattle. Feed changes (including feed restriction) and dehydration (including water restriction), let alone the use antimicrobials, plus the normal stressors (weather, density, weaning, etc.) all effect both the mucosal epithelial (ME) cells of the GIT and the microbiome. The ME maintain a kill zone barrier to keep out pathogens in concert with the commensal microorganisms (microbiome) and other cells of the immune system. The microbiome functions best when it is in a stable condition resulting in immune homeostasis. Immunoregulation by the ME and microbiome results in the establishment of a mucosal firewall. Disruptions in the microbiome result in dysbiosis, which decreases the kill zone, allows leaky gut, and increases inflammation. This increased inflammation is seen as an important part of pathogenesis of infectious diseases of the GIT, respiratory, and reproductive tract. This inflammation often results in a “cytokine storm”- a perfect storm that involves a physiological component of the GIT along with microbiome changes in the gut (diet change), triggering systemic changes which result in enhanced disease. By improving mucosal barriers and the decreasing stressors, overall health and productivity of the cattle can be enhanced., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2020

Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) have become of large commercial importance over the last two decades. They have become the dominant low cost, low power coherent sources in many applications such as optical sensing and short distance data communication.Despite their great success, there remain opportunities for improvement. Almost all commercially produced VCSELs are fabricated on structures based on a GaAs substrate. This restricts their wavelength range to between 650 and 1300 nm. Many potential applications exist at wavelengths outside of this range, so much work has gone into realizing VCSELs on other substrates. Though they have been realized, this has typically come with complexity that increases cost of producing such VCSELs. Of particular interest are InP-based VCSELs, which allow for emission at the wavelengths of 1320 nm and 1550 nm, two regions of high importance for optical communications applications.Another area of much research has been improving the modal characteristics of VCSELs. Typical VCSELs will lase in two polarization-degenerate optical modes. In addition, due to their structure, lateral optical modes also appear when a typical VCSEL's aperture becomes more than a few microns in size, limiting their output power. For high performance optical communications and sensing, a single mode laser is essential, so solving these mode problems is important.Next generation optical communication systems also require sources with an array of lasers of multiple output wavelengths or a tunable wavelength source that can be quickly tuned over a wide range of wavelengths. Schemes for both approaches have been implemented on VCSELs though various limitations of the current approaches have prevented them of being of large commercial importance to date. Tunable VCSELs have been limited in wavelength tuning speed by the thickness of their movable mirror. A commercially viable approach for an array of VCSELs of multiple wavelengths has also been difficult to achieve - most approaches shown to date require complex growth methods and the have not been able to achieve controllable wavelength spacing.High contrast gratings (HCGs) have emerged as an exciting new tool for achieving optical features such as broadband mirrors, planar lenses, and high quality factor resonators. Of particular use for VCSELs is a broadband mirror. These high contrast gratings in addition to acting as a mirror have features that can be exploited for many applications such as polarization differentiation and definable phase among others. HCGs are an exciting new tool for many optical applications.In this dissertation, we show how a high contrast grating can potentially solve several of the issues facing VCSELs and open new application spaces for VCSELs.First, we introduce the state of the art in VCSEL research and give a detailed overview of major areas of interest in VCSEL research. Next, we introduce high contrast gratings, discuss their implementation onto VCSELs, and demonstrate how they can be used to achieve more ideal modal qualities in the VCSEL, a single polarization mode as well as a larger area single transverse mode device. Then we show how the high contrast grating can be used in a tunable VCSEL to achieve ultra high speed tuning. Following that discussion, we shift our focus to implementing high performance, low cost VCSELs on InP with an HCG, showing two different approaches: a deposited Si HCG sitting on SiO2 and a monolithically-grown InP HCG. We conclude with a discussion of two approaches to achieve controllable arrays of VCSELs emitting at multiple wavelengths. The high contrast grating may be an important tool to achieving higher performance VCSELs, and VCSELs with features that enable new applications.