Comparison of Veterinary Nutrition Exam Results After Classroom or Virtual Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic at a German University

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, university teaching had to be kept up in spite of severe contact restrictions. Virtual teaching of animal nutrition was implemented at the Veterinary Faculty of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, Germany, for both lectures and practical courses. Live online classes were held via Zoom®, and recordings were accessible afterwards. Animal nutrition is taught in the 5th and 6th term of the veterinary studies, followed by an oral state exam about subjects from both terms. In this study, the success of classroom vs. virtual teaching in veterinary animal nutrition was evaluated by comparison of exam results. Two exam cohorts (2019, before the pandemic; 2020, with one term of virtual teaching during the pandemic) were evaluated. The results indicated no significant difference of teaching method on the grades. However, there was a significantly higher probability of students not taking or failing the exam in the 2020 exam cohort, suggesting a general effect of the pandemic on the students. Additionally, two surveys were distributed among the students during summer term 2020 and winter term 2020/21, when virtual teaching due to the pandemic had been implemented for the first time. The survey results provide insights into the students' view of benefits and problems of virtual teaching in animal nutrition at the LMU. The majority was in favor of the live online format for lectures and courses in computed-based ration calculation, whilst feedstuff demonstrations were preferred in classroom setting

An Inflammatory Myopathy in the Dutch Kooiker Dog

The Dutch Kooiker dog (het Nederlandse Kooikerhondje) is one of nine Dutch dog breeds. As of 1960, a number of heritable diseases have been noted in this breed. One is an inflammatory myopathy that emerged in 1972, with numbers of affected dogs gradually increasing during the last few decades. The objective of this paper is to describe clinical signs, laboratory results, electromyography and histopathology of the muscle biopsies of the affected dogs. Method: Both retrospectively as well as prospectively affected Kooiker dogs were identified and categorized using a Tiered level of Confidence. Results: In total, 160 Kooiker dogs—40 Tier I, 33 Tier II and 87 Tier III—were included. Clinical signs were (1) locomotory problems, such as inability to walk long distances, difficulty getting up, stiff gait, walking on eggshells; (2) dysphagia signs such as drooling, difficulty eating and/or drinking; or (3) combinations of locomotory and dysphagia signs. CK activities were elevated in all except for one dog. Histopathology revealed a predominant lymphohistiocytic myositis with a usually low and variable number of eosinophils, neutrophils and plasma cells. It is concluded that, within this breed, a most likely heritable inflammatory myopathy occurs. Further studies are needed to classify this inflammatory myopathy, discuss its treatment, and unravel the genetic cause of this disease to eradicate it from this population

Nachhaltigkeit im industriellen Umfeld

Im Rahmen der Lehrveranstaltung "Nachhaltigkeit im industriellen Umfeld" im Masterstudiengang Umwelt- und Verfahrenstechnik der Hochschulen Konstanz und Ravensburg-Weingarten wurde 2015 eine studentische Fachkonferenz durchgeführt. Die Studierenden entwickelten in Einzelarbeit oder als Zweierteam Konferenzbeiträge zu folgenden Themen: - Innovationen und Spannendes aus dem Bereich der Energieerzeugung und -wandlung - Aspekte der Schließung von Stoffkreisläufen und Vermeidung von Schadstoffeinträgen in die Umwelt - Chancen und Herausforderungen Nachwachsender Rohstoffe bei verschiedenen Einsatzmöglichkeiten sowie Themen der Nachhaltigkeit in der Landwirtschaft - verschiedene Blickwinkel auf das Thema Wasser (von der Abwasserreinigung bis zum Wasserkonsum der Konsumenten) - die Betrachtung spezifischer Industrien und Unternehmen sowie deren Werkzeuge zur Umsetzung von Nachhaltigkeit Die Ergebnisse der studentischen Fachkonferenz zur „Nachhaltigkeit im industriellen Umfeld“ werden in der vorliegenden Publikation präsentiert

Phylogenetic Position of the Copepod-Infesting Parasite Syndinium turbo (Dinoflagellata, Syndinea)

11 pages, 4 figuresSequences were determined for the nuclear-encoded small subunit (SSU) rRNA and 5.8S rRNA genes as well as the internal transcribed spacers ITS1 and ITS2 of the parasitic dinoflagellate genus Syndinium from two different marine copepod hosts. Syndinium developed a multicellular plasmodium inside its host and at maturity free-swimming zoospores were released. Syndinium plasmodia in the copepod Paracalanus parvus produced zoospores of three different morphological types. However, full SSU rDNA sequences for the three morphotypes were 100% identical and also their ITS1-ITS2 sequences were identical except for four base pairs. It was concluded that the three morphotypes belong to a single species that was identified as Syndinium turbo, the type species of the dinoflagellate subdivision Syndinea. The SSU rDNA sequence of another Syndinium species infecting Corycaeus sp. was similar to Syndinium turbo except for three base pairs and the ITS1-ITS2 sequences of the two species differed at 34-35 positions. Phylogenetic analyses placed Syndinium as a sister taxon to the blue crab parasite Hematodinium sp. and both parasites were affiliated with the so-called marine alveolate Group II. This corroborates the hypothesis that marine alveolate Group II is Syndinea. © 2005 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reservedAS was supported by the European Commission, Directorate General Research, through a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (HPMF-CT-2002-01931). ES was funded through the Spanish MCYT project ZOOTRANSFER (REN2001-1693) and RM through the Spanish MEC project ESTRAMAR (CTM2004-12631/MAR)Peer Reviewe

An Inflammatory Myopathy in the Dutch Kooiker Dog

The Dutch Kooiker dog (het Nederlandse Kooikerhondje) is one of nine Dutch dog breeds. As of 1960, a number of heritable diseases have been noted in this breed. One is an inflammatory myopathy that emerged in 1972, with numbers of affected dogs gradually increasing during the last few decades. The objective of this paper is to describe clinical signs, laboratory results, electromyography and histopathology of the muscle biopsies of the affected dogs. Method: Both retrospectively as well as prospectively affected Kooiker dogs were identified and categorized using a Tiered level of Confidence. Results: In total, 160 Kooiker dogs—40 Tier I, 33 Tier II and 87 Tier III—were included. Clinical signs were (1) locomotory problems, such as inability to walk long distances, difficulty getting up, stiff gait, walking on eggshells; (2) dysphagia signs such as drooling, difficulty eating and/or drinking; or (3) combinations of locomotory and dysphagia signs. CK activities were elevated in all except for one dog. Histopathology revealed a predominant lymphohistiocytic myositis with a usually low and variable number of eosinophils, neutrophils and plasma cells. It is concluded that, within this breed, a most likely heritable inflammatory myopathy occurs. Further studies are needed to classify this inflammatory myopathy, discuss its treatment, and unravel the genetic cause of this disease to eradicate it from this population

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field