Dr. Roth Receives Salsbury Chair

Last May, Dr. James Roth was named the first recipient of the John G. Salsbury Chair in Veterinary Medicine. This endowed chair was created with a generous challenge gift of $1 million dollars from Dr. John G. Salsbury and his wife, Doris Salsbury. The purpose of this endowed chair is to continue to attract eminent and outstanding faculty to the College of Veterinary Medicine

New Construction on the College of Veterinary Medicine Campus

Construction is in full swing for the College of Veterinary Medicine\u27s newest facility, the Livestock Infectious Disease Isolation Facility for Research, which will be completed by the Spring of 1999. Observant students and staff may have already noticed the progressing dirt work just east of the Veterinary Medical Research Institute (VMRI). The $6.27 million, 27,000 sq. ft. building is a needed addition to the current VMRI research facilities. The facility will be utilized by CVM scientists to expand and develop projects dealing with food safety issues such as Salmonellosis and E. coli infections, as well as livestock infectious diseases, such as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS)

Hans Koehnk Receives Entrepreneurialship Award

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well within the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Hans Koehnk, a third-year veterinary student, was recognized this past semester for his entrepreneurial ambitions with the first ever ISU John and Mary Pappajohn Student Entrepreneurial Scholarship Award. These were given to five students selected from the College of Engineering, the College of Business and the College of Veterinary Medicine. This recognition comes with a $2,000 scholarship. Hans says, To me, the purpose of the John and Mary Pappajohn award is to encourage students to think in an entrepreneurial manner, even though they are still in school. An entrepreneur isn\u27t just a business-minded person. An entrepreneur is someone who approaches problems in an innovative way and isn\u27t afraid to step \u27outside of the box\u27

Wildlife Care Clinic Serves to Educate, Rehabilitate

\u27\u27Will someone from the Wildlife Care Clinic please come to the front desk? The message, barely audible through the pager static, sends Tim Hanks running to the Small Animal Clinic receiving desk. A worker from the Story County Conservation Board stands patiently with a large perforated cardboard box at his feet. A woman found this redtailed hawk under a powerline. It must have flown into the wires and broken its wing. Hanks takes the hawk and enters it as a new patient under the care of the Wildlife Care Clinic (WCC) at the Iowa State University School of Veterinary Medicine

Cast data matrix symbols performance characterization

Data matrix symbols are used as a robust means of unique part identification in many industries. Research of cast data matrix symbols has been limited and expected symbol performance unknown. To develop knowledge of cast data matrix symbol performance, the investigation initially focused on feasibility of casting data matrix symbol. Results of a feasibility experiment led to further investigation of cast symbol design expected performance. Bump marks were evaluated initially due to the inherent ease of production and use in previous cast data matrix applications. The results indicate Bump mark geometry is problematic, due to the inherent nature of shadow formation as a means to create contrast marks. Using design inspiration from Dot Peen data matrix symbols, an alternative cast data matrix design was pursued and analyzed. The results of this modified Dimple mark geometry proved to be superior to the Bump contrast symbol geometry in side by side analysis. A deeper analysis at the module level was also pursued to determine the effect on Print Growth and Symbol Contrast for an array of mark diameters, spacing and surface roughness values. Also, an optimal light angle was selected based on the ANOVA analysis and Print Growthm and Symbol Contrast averages. An applicable design was presented with the use of a heuristic to select ideal symbol factors, which indicated the physical size for aluminum cast data matrix symbols with ten and 50 character capacities were determined to be 1.75 and 3.00 inches, respectively. Using the same methodology for ferrous cast data matrix symbols with ten and 50 character capacities, the physical symbol size was determined to be 2.19 and 3.75 inches, respectively

Functional MRI in Awake Unrestrained Dogs

Because of dogs' prolonged evolution with humans, many of the canine cognitive skills are thought to represent a selection of traits that make dogs particularly sensitive to human cues. But how does the dog mind actually work? To develop a methodology to answer this question, we trained two dogs to remain motionless for the duration required to collect quality fMRI images by using positive reinforcement without sedation or physical restraints. The task was designed to determine which brain circuits differentially respond to human hand signals denoting the presence or absence of a food reward. Head motion within trials was less than 1 mm. Consistent with prior reinforcement learning literature, we observed caudate activation in both dogs in response to the hand signal denoting reward versus no-reward

Vaccination Against SARS-CoV-2 Is Associated With a Lower Viral Load and Likelihood of Systemic Symptoms

Background: Data conflict on whether vaccination decreases severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral load. The objective of this analysis was to compare baseline viral load and symptoms between vaccinated and unvaccinated adults enrolled in a randomized trial of outpatient coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment. Methods: Baseline data from the first 433 sequential participants enrolling into the COVID-OUT trial were analyzed. Adults aged 30-85 with a body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m2 were eligible within 3 days of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test and <7 days of symptoms. Log10 polymerase chain reaction viral loads were normalized to human RNase P by vaccination status, by time from vaccination, and by symptoms. Results: Two hundred seventy-four participants with known vaccination status contributed optional nasal swabs for viral load measurement: median age, 46 years; median (interquartile range) BMI 31.2 (27.4-36.4) kg/m2. Overall, 159 (58%) were women, and 217 (80%) were White. The mean relative log10 viral load for those vaccinated <6 months from the date of enrollment was 0.11 (95% CI, -0.48 to 0.71), which was significantly lower than the unvaccinated group (P = .01). Those vaccinated ≥6 months before enrollment did not differ from the unvaccinated with respect to viral load (mean, 0.99; 95% CI, -0.41 to 2.40; P = .85). The vaccinated group had fewer moderate/severe symptoms of subjective fever, chills, myalgias, nausea, and diarrhea (all P < .05). Conclusions: These data suggest that vaccination within 6 months of infection is associated with a lower viral load, and vaccination was associated with a lower likelihood of having systemic symptoms

Randomized Trial of Metformin, Ivermectin, and Fluvoxamine for Covid-19

BACKGROUND Early treatment to prevent severe coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is an important component of the comprehensive response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. METHODS In this phase 3, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we used a 2-by-3 factorial design to test the effectiveness of three repurposed drugs - metformin, ivermectin, and fluvoxamine - in preventing serious SARS-CoV-2 infection in nonhospitalized adults who had been enrolled within 3 days after a confirmed diagnosis of infection and less than 7 days after the onset of symptoms. The patients were between the ages of 30 and 85 years, and all had either overweight or obesity. The primary composite end point was hypoxemia (≤93% oxygen saturation on home oximetry), emergency department visit, hospitalization, or death. All analyses used controls who had undergone concurrent randomization and were adjusted for SARSCoV-2 vaccination and receipt of other trial medications. RESULTS A total of 1431 patients underwent randomization; of these patients, 1323 were included in the primary analysis. The median age of the patients was 46 years; 56% were female (6% of whom were pregnant), and 52% had been vaccinated. The adjusted odds ratio for a primary event was 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66 to 1.09; P=0.19) with metformin, 1.05 (95% CI, 0.76 to 1.45; P=0.78) with ivermectin, and 0.94 (95% CI, 0.66 to 1.36; P=0.75) with fluvoxamine. In prespecified secondary analyses, the adjusted odds ratio for emergency department visit, hospitalization, or death was 0.58 (95% CI, 0.35 to 0.94) with metformin, 1.39 (95% CI, 0.72 to 2.69) with ivermectin, and 1.17 (95% CI, 0.57 to 2.40) with fluvoxamine. The adjusted odds ratio for hospitalization or death was 0.47 (95% CI, 0.20 to 1.11) with metformin, 0.73 (95% CI, 0.19 to 2.77) with ivermectin, and 1.11 (95% CI, 0.33 to 3.76) with fluvoxamine. CONCLUSIONS None of the three medications that were evaluated prevented the occurrence of hypoxemia, an emergency department visit, hospitalization, or death associated with Covid-19