Analysis of Relaxin and Acute-Phase Proteins in Urine and Feces for Canine Pregnancy Diagnosis

Measurements of relaxin and acute-phase proteins have not been validated for use in canine serum as a method of pregnancy diagnosis. This means that handling and anesthesia is still necessary to check the pregnancy status of most non-domestic canines. Therefore, the intention of this study was to determine whether relaxin and/or acute-phase proteins could be detected in the urine and/or feces of the domestic dog in order to evaluate the potential for a noninvasive pregnancy test in canines. Blood, urine and feces were collected from 18 domestic dogs and assayed for the presence of relaxin, fibrinogen, alpha-1 acid glycoprotein, and ceruloplasmin. Urinary relaxin appeared to be significant for detecting pregnancy of 30 Days or more in the domestic dog. Additionally, further research might shed light on the presence of relaxin in the feces and fibrinogen and AGP in the urine of the domestic dog and their significance for pregnancy diagnosis

Analysis of Relaxin and Acute-Phase Proteins in Urine and Feces for Canine Pregnancy Diagnosis

Measurements of relaxin and acute-phase proteins have not been validated for use in canine serum as a method of pregnancy diagnosis. This means that handling and anesthesia is still necessary to check the pregnancy status of most non-domestic canines. Therefore, the intention of this study was to determine whether relaxin and/or acute-phase proteins could be detected in the urine and/or feces of the domestic dog in order to evaluate the potential for a noninvasive pregnancy test in canines. Blood, urine and feces were collected from 18 domestic dogs and assayed for the presence of relaxin, fibrinogen, alpha-1 acid glycoprotein, and ceruloplasmin. Urinary relaxin appeared to be significant for detecting pregnancy of 30 Days or more in the domestic dog. Additionally, further research might shed light on the presence of relaxin in the feces and fibrinogen and AGP in the urine of the domestic dog and their significance for pregnancy diagnosis

Self-Regulatory Processes, Motivation to Conserve Resources and Activity Levels in People With Chronic Pain : A Series of Digital N-of-1 Observational Studies

Funding Information: GM was supported by a Ph.D. scholarship from the University of Strathclyde. Acknowledgments We would like to thank Dr. Martin Dunbar for providing advice regarding study procedure and recruitment. We thank the pain management team for their help during the data collection.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Integration of VT ETD-db with Banner

The Electronic Thesis and Dissertation database (ETD-db) was developed at Virginia Tech by Digital Library and Archives for the VT Graduate School and the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD). The software is freely available and over 100 universities worldwide have implemented the ETD-db system. One drawback of the system is the dependence on user keyed data. At Virginia Tech, like most other universities, there is an administrative database that could provide much of this information. The Banner Administrative System is the central administration system at Virginia Tech. Banner’s underlying database software is from Oracle. This paper will demonstrate how the ETD-db can be seamlessly integrated with an Oracle database or more specifically the Banner Administrative System, to improve the integrity of the data for ETDs

Getting ETDs off the Calf-Path: Digital Preservation Readiness for Growing ETD Collections and Distributed Preservation Networks

Paper contributed to the 2009 International Symposium on Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs). This paper discusses digital preservation readiness for growing ETD collections and distributed preservation networks

An Investigation of ETDs as Prior Publications: Findings from the 2011 NDLTD Publishers’ Survey

Do publishers and editors of scholarly journals view theses and dissertations that are readily available on the Internet and through convenient Web browsers as prior publications? This has been a topic of discussion for well over a decade in the ETD community, not only of concern to graduate schools and libraries but also among research faculty and their graduate students. At the same time that a growing number of universities worldwide are requiring ETDs and making the research and scholarship of their graduate students publicly available, many faculty advise their students to restrict online access to their theses and dissertations due to concerns about future publication options. This paper reports on the 2011 survey results of journal editors\u27 and university press directors\u27 attitudes toward online theses and dissertations. This data and the open-ended comments from the survey respondents indicate support for open access to ETDs

Searching for sustainability within public health policy: insights from an injury prevention perspective

Background: Sustaining public health programmes in the long-term is key to ensuring full manifestation of their intended benefits. Although an increasing interest in sustainability is apparent within the global literature, empirical studies from within the European setting are few. The factors that influence sustainability are generally conceptualized at three levels: programme level, the immediate context and the wider environment. To-date attention has focused primarily on the former two. Using a community-based child injury prevention programme in England as an exemplar, this paper explores the concept of sustainability within the wider policy environment, and considers the impact of this on local programmes. Methods: A content review of global and UK national public health policies (1981–2014) relevant to child safety was undertaken. Interviews were held with senior representatives of global and UK agencies involved in developing child safety policy. Results Forty-nine policies were reviewed. The term ‘sustain’, or its derivatives, featured in 36 (73%) of these. Its’ use however, related primarily to conservation of resources rather than continued programme operation. Potential mechanisms for supporting programme sustainability featured within some documents; however, the approach to sustainability was inconsistent between policies and over time. Policy stakeholders identified programme sustainability as relevant to their core business, but its’ conceptualization varied according to individual interpretation. Conclusions: Programme sustainability is poorly addressed within global and UK-based public health policy. Strengthening a national and international policy focus on sustainability and incorporating sustainability into public health planning frameworks may create a more supportive environment for local programmes

Do Open Access Electronic Theses and Dissertations Diminish Publishing Opportunities in the Sciences?

In academia, there is a growing acceptance of sharing the final electronic version of graduate work, such as a thesis or dissertation, in an online university repository. Though previous studies have shown that journal editors are willing to consider manuscripts derived from electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), faculty advisors and graduate students continue to raise concerns that online discoverability of ETDs negatively impact future opportunities to publish those findings. The current study investigated science journal policies on open access ETDs and found that more than half of the science journals responding (51.4%) reported that manuscripts derived from openly accessible ETDs are welcome for submission and an additional 29.1 percent would accept revised ETDs under certain conditions