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Abstract Background Revisiting the association between heart disease and renal infarction (RI) in cats is relevant to determine whether those with RI should undergo echocardiographic screening. Objective Compare the relative frequency of echocardiographically detectable heart disease and other comorbidities in cats with and without ultrasonographic evidence of RI. Animals A total of 826 cats that underwent concurrent abdominal ultrasonography and transthoracic echocardiography and were assigned a cardiac diagnosis. Methods Two-center cross-sectional study with a study population recruitment period from January 1, 2011 to June 15, 2021. Demographic, clinical, clinicopathologic, and ultrasonographic data were recorded. Available echocardiographic images were reviewed to assign a standardized cardiac diagnosis. Occult heart disease was defined as structural heart disease without clinical signs of congestive heart failure. Risk factors for RI were evaluated by univariable or multivariable logistic regression. Results The relative frequency of structural heart disease in cats with and without RI was 63% (114/181) and 46% (297/645), respectively (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6; 1.2–2.3). Older age (p = 0.03), higher maximum end-diastolic left ventricular wall thickness (p = 0.02), higher systolic blood pressure (p = 0.02), auscultable cardiac abnormalities other than murmur (p = 0.04), and diagnosis of acute kidney injury (p = 0.002), chronic kidney disease (p = 0.005), and occult heart disease (OR [95% CI], 2.4 [1.7–3.4]; p ≤ 0.001) were associated with increased risk of RI. Strength and statistical significance of associations varied by site. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Occult heart disease is more frequent in cats with RI, and echocardiographic screening of these cats should be considered.

Abstract Background Post-cystoscopy dysuria is thought to be common in dogs. Limited information is available in veterinary medicine regarding strategies to prevent or mitigate post-cystoscopy dysuria. Hypothesis/Objectives Determine the efficacy of intraurethrally administered lidocaine jelly in combination with current standard-of-care pain control (eg, epidural anesthesia, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) for prevention of post-cystoscopy dysuria. Animals Fifty-one client-owned dogs presented for cystoscopy or other cystoscopically guided interventions. Methods Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, and clinical study. All dogs undergoing cystoscopy for common indications were considered for enrollment during the study period with owner permission. Dysuria scores were compared between groups on days 0-7. Results Twenty-six dogs were included in the lidocaine group and 25 in the placebo group. No significant difference was found in the frequency of postprocedure dysuria between groups. Twenty percent of all dogs exhibited dysuria on day 1 after cystoscopy, but decreased to 11% by day 5 (P < .001). Conclusions and clinical importance Intraurethral administration of lidocaine jelly might not be necessary to decrease the frequency and duration of postprocedural dysuria. Dysuria resolved in most patients undergoing cystoscopy by day 4. This information might be helpful for owner education and preparation of dogs for cystoscopic procedures.

Abstract Background Urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence (USMI) is a common problem in female dogs, but some dogs fail to achieve continence with standard treatment. Urethral submucosal injection of autologous skeletal muscle progenitor cells (skMPCs) previously has been shown to restore urethral function in a canine model of USMI. Hypothesis/Objective To determine if urethral submucosal injection of skMPC alters continence in dogs with USMI that had previously failed standard medical management. We hypothesized that the injections would lead to improved continence. Animals Fifteen client-owned dogs with USMI that had failed standard medical management. Methods Dogs were prospectively enrolled into a single-armed clinical trial. Once enrolled, a triceps muscle of each dog was biopsied; the tissue specimens were digested, cultured, and expanded to 100 million cells before injection into the urethral submucosa using a surgical approach. Continence was assessed at baseline and 3, 6, 12, and 24 months post-injection using continence scores and urethral pressure profilometry. Results Median continence scores increased significantly from baseline at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months. Increases were seen in 14 of 15 dogs with 7, 6 or 1 dog achieving scores of 5, 4 or 3, respectively. Additional medication was required to achieve continence in all but 2 dogs. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Urethral submucosal injection of skMPC can be used adjunctively to improve continence in dogs with difficult to manage USMI. The procedure is labor intensive but well tolerated; most dogs will require continued medication to remain continent.

Old English Sheepdogs and Gordon Setters suffer from a juvenile onset, autosomal recessive form of canine hereditary ataxia primarily affecting the Purkinje neuron of the cerebellar cortex. The clinical and histological characteristics are analogous to hereditary ataxias in humans. Linkage and genome-wide association studies on a cohort of related Old English Sheepdogs identified a region on CFA4 strongly associated with the disease phenotype. Targeted sequence capture and next generation sequencing of the region identified an A to C single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located at position 113 in exon 1 of an autophagy gene, RAB24, that segregated with the phenotype. Genotyping of six additional breeds of dogs affected with hereditary ataxia identified the same polymorphism in affected Gordon Setters that segregated perfectly with phenotype. The other breeds tested did not have the polymorphism. Genome-wide SNP genotyping of Gordon Setters identified a 1.9 MB region with an identical haplotype to affected Old English Sheepdogs. Histopathology, immunohistochemistry and ultrastructural evaluation of the brains of affected dogs from both breeds identified dramatic Purkinje neuron loss with axonal spheroids, accumulation of autophagosomes, ubiquitin positive inclusions and a diffuse increase in cytoplasmic neuronal ubiquitin staining. These findings recapitulate the changes reported in mice with induced neuron-specific autophagy defects. Taken together, our results suggest that a defect in RAB24, a gene associated with autophagy, is highly associated with and may contribute to canine hereditary ataxia in Old English Sheepdogs and Gordon Setters. This finding suggests that detailed investigation of autophagy pathways should be undertaken in human hereditary ataxia.

Abstract Background Idiopathic cystitis (IC) accounts for the majority of lower urinary tract (LUT) disease in cats and is characterized by recurrent clinical signs or urethral obstruction (UO), presenting ongoing challenges in clinical management. Hypothesis/Objectives Determine the feasibility of using single-fraction low-dose radiotherapy (RT) to reduce rate of re-obstruction and recurrence of clinical signs in cats with feline idiopathic cystitis. Animals Fifteen client-owned male cats with recent history of severe IC and historical UO that remained symptomatic despite environmental modification and pharmacological management. Methods An IACUC-approved, single-arm, single-institution, prospective clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the clinical effects of irradiating the entire LUT with a single 6 Gy fraction. Results One cat was immediately lost to follow-up, and 1 died 516 days after RT. The remaining 13 cats were alive at the time of data analysis, with a median follow-up of 548 (range 70-1307) days. All but 1 had symptomatic improvement. Six had a single flare-up of signs of IC at a median of 243 days after RT (range 4-395 days). After RT, 1 cat had a recurrent UO, which occurred at 11 months and was managed surgically. Conclusions and clinical importance In this cohort of severely affected cats, >90% had apparent improvement in clinical signs after RT, with no documented adverse effects, demonstrating that in addition to environmental modification, RT is a promising tool for managing IC in male cats.

This is a critical qualitative study grounded in the tripartite frame of Black masculinity, critical race theory, and career development theory. The study examines the impact of racism on the career development of African American professional men in corporate America. Fourteen African American men who hold mid-management or higher positions in their respective companies were interviewed for this study. Participants' responses were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Findings reveal that African American professional men experience repressive structures due to gendered racism, which impacts their careers in ways that are different from their White male counterparts and African American professional women. The study also identifies facilitative structures African American men employ to negotiate the impact of racism on their career development. Four conclusions are discussed, and implications for practice and future research are offered.

Background An inexpensive method of generating continuous data on hind limb function in dogs with spinal cord injury is needed to facilitate multicentre clinical trials. This study aimed to define normal fore limb, hind limb coordination in dogs walking on a treadmill and then to determine whether reliable data could be generated on the frequency of hind limb stepping and the frequency of coordinated stepping in dogs with a wide range of severities of thoracolumbar spinal cord injury. Results Sixty-nine neurologically normal dogs of different body sizes including seven lame dogs were videotaped walking on the treadmill without prior training and all used the lateral gait of right fore, left hind, left fore, right hind (RF-LH-LF-RH). Severely paraparetic dogs were able to walk on the treadmill for a minimum of 75 seconds, scoring of which generated data representative of function in animals with extremely variable gaits. Fifty consecutive stepping cycles were scored by three observers in 18 dogs with a wide range of disability due to acute thoracolumbar spinal cord injury using a stepping score (hind limb steps/fore limb steps ×100), and a coordination score (coordinated hind limb steps/total hind limb steps ×100). Dogs were also scored using a previously validated ordinal open field score (OFS). Inter- and intraobserver agreement was high as assessed with Cronbach’s alpha test for internal reliability. The stepping and coordination scores were significantly correlated to each other and to the OFS. Conclusions Dogs with naturally occurring spinal cord injury can walk on a treadmill without prior training and their hind limb function can be scored reliably using a stepping score and coordination score. The only requirements for data acquisition are a treadmill and appropriately positioned video camera and so the system can be used in multicentre clinical trials to generate continuous data on neurologic recovery in dogs.

Chondrodystrophoid breeds of dog are prone to explosive herniation of mineralized disc material into the thoracolumbar spinal canal. The resulting acute spinal cord injury may respresent an excellent spontaneous model of acute traumatic spinal cord injury. The aims of this study were to quantify the recovery of dogs following acute disc herniations, to evaluate external factors that influence recovery, and to identify a group of dogs suitable for use in clinical trials on neuroprotective drugs. The gait of 88 dogs with thoracolumbar disc herniations was scored at the time of injury and 2, 4, and 12 weeks after surgical decompression. Dogs were placed into four groups dependent on the severity of presenting signs; dogs in group 1 had the most severe injury severity. Group 1 dogs showed a variable but incomplete recovery by 12 weeks. Dogs in groups 2 and 3 recovered uniformly but more completely, while dogs in group 4 made a rapid and excellent recovery and were deemed unsuitable for clinical trials. Combining dogs in groups 1, 2 and 3 produced a population of dogs with incomplete recovery by 12 weeks. Power analysis revealed that 87 such dogs would be needed per treatment group to detect a 20% change in function with a power of 95%. The number needed reduced drastically to 19 by eliminating dogs in group 1, but this produced less room for functional improvement. External factors did not appear to influence outcome. We conclude that dogs with spontaneous disc herniations provide a useful model of acute spinal cord injury for clinical trials.

Old English Sheepdogs and Gordon Setters suffer from a juvenile onset, autosomal recessive form of canine hereditary ataxia primarily affecting the Purkinje neuron of the cerebellar cortex. The clinical and histological characteristics are analogous to hereditary ataxias in humans. Linkage and genome-wide association studies on a cohort of related Old English Sheepdogs identified a region on CFA4 strongly associated with the disease phenotype. Targeted sequence capture and next generation sequencing of the region identified an A to C single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located at position 113 in exon 1 of an autophagy gene, RAB24, that segregated with the phenotype. Genotyping of six additional breeds of dogs affected with hereditary ataxia identified the same polymorphism in affected Gordon Setters that segregated perfectly with phenotype. The other breeds tested did not have the polymorphism. Genome-wide SNP genotyping of Gordon Setters identified a 1.9 MB region with an identical haplotype to affected Old English Sheepdogs. Histopathology, immunohistochemistry and ultrastructural evaluation of the brains of affected dogs from both breeds identified dramatic Purkinje neuron loss with axonal spheroids, accumulation of autophagosomes, ubiquitin positive inclusions and a diffuse increase in cytoplasmic neuronal ubiquitin staining. These findings recapitulate the changes reported in mice with induced neuron-specific autophagy defects. Taken together, our results suggest that a defect in RAB24, a gene associated with autophagy, is highly associated with and may contribute to canine hereditary ataxia in Old English Sheepdogs and Gordon Setters. This finding suggests that detailed investigation of autophagy pathways should be undertaken in human hereditary ataxia.

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to investigate the relationship between reading scores, as measured by the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI), and math achievement scores on the State's Comprehensive Assessment System (CAS) test for students enrolled at an urban middle school. This study examined the individual performance of a cohort of students over a two-school year period, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. The sampling included 100 eighth grade middle school students, all of which possessed both variables of the study for the two academic school years. The scholastic reading inventory scores and CAS math scores were converted to identify a student's below-, on-, or above-grade level status. Both a scatter plot, a chart on which the variables are placed to provide a visual representation of their relationship, and the Pearson r correlational test displayed there is a significant correlation between SRI and CAS mathematic scores earned in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. Further, statistical findings highlighted a moderate, positive association existed between reading and mathematics scores obtained in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. A moderate, positive relationship was identified among reading scores and below-, on-, and above-grade level mathematics performance; yet, the above-grade level moderate correlation proved not to be a statistically significant difference. The study's findings supported the theoretical context utilized as underpinning of the research study, as Thorndike and Woodworth (1901) indicated learning acquired in one context supported the learning in another context. Additionally, this study's findings provided educators with tangible strategies to improve students' mathematical performance, while concretely focusing on the bottom lines of education, shrinking school budgets and improved student achievement.