Neurological examination in small animals

This clinical review about the neurological examination in small animals describes the basics about the first steps of investigation when dealing with neurological patients. The knowledge of how to perform the neurological examination is important however more important is how to correctly interpret these performed tests. A step-by-step approach is mandatory and examiners should master the order and the style of performing these tests. Neurological conditions can be sometimes very distressing for owners and for pets that might not be the most cooperating. The role of a veterinary surgeon, as a professional, is therefore to collect the most relevant history, to examine a patient in a professional manner and to give to owners an educated opinion about the further treatment and prognosis. However neurological examinations might look challenging for many. But it is only the clinical application of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology to an every-day situation for practicing veterinarians and it does not require any specific in-to-depth knowledge. This clinical review is aimed not only to provide the information on how to perform the neurological examination but it is also aimed to appeal on veterinarians to challenge their daily routine and to start practicing on neurologically normal patients. This is the best and only way to differentiate between the normal and abnormal in a real situation

Audiogenic reflex seizures in cats

This study aims at characterizing feline audiogenic reflex seizures (FARS). An online questionnaire was developed to capture information from owners with cats suffering FARS. This was collated with the medical records from the primary veterinarian. Ninety-six cats were included. Myoclonic seizures were one of the cardinal signs of this syndrome (90/96), frequently occurring prior to generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) in this population. Other features include a late-onset (median 15 years) and absence seizures (6/96), with most seizures triggered by high frequency sounds amid occasional spontaneous seizures (up to 20%). Half the population (48/96) had hearing impairment or were deaf. One third of cats (35/96) had concurrent diseases, most likely reflecting the age distribution. Birmans were strongly represented (30/96). Levetiracetam gave good seizure control. The course of the epilepsy was non-progressive in the majority (68/96) with an improvement over time in some (23/96). Only 33/96 and 11/90 owners respectively felt the GTCS and myoclonic seizures affected their cat’s quality of life (QoL). Despite this, many owners (50/96) reported a slow decline in their cat’s health becoming less responsive (43/50), not jumping (41/50), uncoordinated or weak in the pelvic limbs (24/50), and exhibiting dramatic weight loss (39/50). These signs were exclusively reported in cats experiencing seizures for >2 years with 42/50 owners stating these signs affected their cat’s QoL. In gathering data on audiogenic seizures in cats, we have identified a new epilepsy syndrome named FARS with a geriatric-onset. Further studies are warranted to investigate potential genetic predispositions to this condition

Commitment e Comunicazione Interna nella Knowledge Economy

In un contesto di mercato dove l’innovazione e dunque la conoscenza, si attestano sempre più come fattori chiave per il successo aziendale, le organizzazioni che ambiscano a conquistare una consistente market share, non possono prescindere dall’impiego di Risorse Umane qualificate, denominati lavoratori della conoscenza. Solo in Italia si stima che i Knowledge workers, dal 1995 al 2005, siano aumentati del 22%. La caratteristica di questi ultimi è quella di essere fattori competitivi durevoli e, come tali, devono essere integrati nell’azienda con la quale formeranno un legame unico e non trasferibile. Il suddetto tratto pone l’esigenza di trattenere l’expertise sviluppato. Scopo di questa tesi è analizzare il commitment come mezzo per il mantenimento dei collaboratori all’interno dell’azienda. Un’analisi di correlazione tra i fattori antecedenti, individuati da Allen e Meyer, ed il commitment evidenza l’importanza dell’esperienza lavorativa nello sviluppo di questo stato psicologico. Le aziende dovranno quindi puntare sull’implementazione di un clima interno positivo e su politiche di Human Resource Management adeguate coadiuvate da una comunicazione efficace. In particolare, il presente lavoro prende in considerazione il ruolo della comunicazione nello sviluppo del commitment fornendo un esempio pratico con riferimento alle Best Communication practices nella General Electric. In a changing scenario in which innovation and knowledge play an essential role as key factors in organizational efficacy, all the organizations who want to be successful can’t disregard the need for high qualified Human Resources, also known as “Knowledge Workers”. In Italy the share of Knowledge workers has rose by 22% from 1995 to 2005. A characteristic of these workers is that they are a source of sustainable competitive advantage and, as such, they must be integrated into the company with which they’ll develop a unique and non-transferable bond. The above mentioned trait makes important to retain the expertise developed. Aim of this work is to investigate Organizational Commitment as a mean of talent retention. A correlation analysis between antecedent factors, determined by Allen and Meyer, and Commitment, highlights the importance of Work Experience in developing such psychological state. Companies should implement a positive Internal Climate and adequate Human Resource Management practices alongside with an effective Communication policy. In particular, this study draws the attention to the role of Internal Communication in developing Commitment, and offers an example of Best Communication Practices in General Electric

First ADS result with doubly Cabibbo suppressed B− → D0K− decays

Measurements of branching fractions and CP asymmetries of B− → D0K− modes allow a theoretically clean extraction of the CKM angle γ. The method proposed by Atwood, Dunietz and Soni makes use of doubly Cabibbosuppressed decay modes, which produce large CP-violating effects. The CDF experiment reports the first measurement at a hadron collider of branching fractions and CP asymmetries of both DCS B → Dπ/K signals. Using 5.0 fb−1 of data we found a combined significance exceeding 5σ and we determined the physics parameters with accuracy comparable with b factories

Gaseous Electronics

Contains report on one research project.Joint Services Electronics Programs (U. S. Army, U. S. Navy, and U. S. Air Force) under Contract DA 28-043-AMC-02536(E

CP violation in B → DK decays at CDF

Measurements of branching fractions and CP asymmetries of B − → D0K− modes allow to extract the CKM angle γ in a theoretically clean way. CDF recently performed, for the first time at a hadron collider, these measurements with the Cabibbo-suppressed B− → [ππ,KK]D K− mode and the doubly Cabibbosuppressed B− → [K+π− ]D K− mode, obtaining competitive results with other experiments