Clinical skills of veterinary students - a cross-sectional study of the self-concept and exposure to skills training in Hannover, Germany

Background: Students of veterinary medicine should achieve basic professional competences required to practise their profession. A main focus of veterinary education is on developing clinical skills. The present study used the guidelines of the "Day-One Skills" list of European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE) to create an online questionnaire for assessing the skills acquired by students at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo). The theoretical and practical veterinary knowledge levels of the students and postgraduates are determined and compared. Results: In two batches, 607 people responded (response batch 1, 23.78%; response batch 2, 23.83%). From 49 defined skills, 28 are actually practised during training at the university and 21 activities are known only theoretically. Furthermore, the students showed great willingness to use simulators and models in a clinical skills lab. Conclusions: The results of this survey highlight that the opening of a clinical skills lab at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover and its incorporation into the study programme are ideal tools to promote practical competences and foster the motivation to learn

Intensification of agriculture in southwestern Germany between the Bronze Age and Medieval period, based on archaeobotanical data from Baden-Württemberg

A system of farming with an alternation of land use between being cultivated or left fallow as grassland (Feldgraswirtschaft) developed in southwestern Germany since the Bronze Age. It involved fallow periods, where the arable land is left without crops in order to let it recover its fertility for several years while becoming grassland. This led to regeneration of the topsoil humus, which could later be mobilized by cultivation. With later farming systems, the supply of nutrients needed for crops could also be provided by manuring, which allowed shorter fallow periods but required the production of manure. Such cultivation systems with short or even without fallow phases and with intensive manuring are known from the medieval period as one, two or three field systems of agriculture and their development was an important step towards the intensification of farming. The current study considers on-site plant macrofossil data from archaeological sites as well as the off-site pollen data from cores in Baden-Württemberg in order to recognize the main changes towards agricultural intensification through time from the Bronze Age up to medieval times. The various landscape types included in the study area also reveal their different agricultural histories of intensification. In lowlands with good soils, the intensification can be recognized earlier and more strongly than in uplands or other marginal areas. The main shift towards intensification took place in the Roman period, which is also confirmed by written sources of the time that mention manuring as well as a kind of two field system and alternation between grassland and arable land.publishedVersio

Brachycephaly in French bulldogs and pugs is associated with narrow ear canals

Background – Brachycephalic dog breeds have multiple skull malformations which may lead to anatomical changes in the external auditory canal. It is our frequent observation that in the otoscopic examination of the external ear in these breeds we are unable to visualise the tympanic membrane as a consequence of extreme narrowing of the proximal ear canal. Additionally brachycephalic dogs reportedly are predisposed to otitis externa (OE) and otitis media. Objectives – To characterizse the transition of the cartilaginous ear canal to the bony meatus acusticus externus using computed tomography (CT) and to investigate a possible association with OE in brachycephalic dogs. Materials and methods – Seventy-five client-owned dogs [pugs (n = 20), French bulldogs (n = 55)] were included and assessed for OE using an owner questionnaire and otoscopic and cytological examinations. In dorsal plane CT scans, the diameter of the porus acusticus externus was measured using novel methodology. The results were compared with a normocephalic control group without preexisting otological disorders. Results – Brachycephalic dogs had a significantly smaller porus acusticus externus diameter (2.6 mm) than normocephalic dogs (5.0 mm). Of the brachycephalic dogs, 32% had OE yet this was not statistically significantly related to the diameter of the porus acusticus externus. Middle ear effusion (44%) and narrowing of the external ear canal (82.6%) were significantly more frequent in brachycephalic dogs. Only five of 150 eardrums could be visualised otoscopically. Conclusions and clinical relevance – Malformation of the porus acusticus externus causes severe stenosis of the proximal ear canal in brachycephalic dogs. A connection between stenosis of the external auditory canal and OE could not be confirmed