Participant Reactions to Two-Way Immersion (TWI) Programs

The purpose of this study was to elicit participant reactions to two-way immersion (TWI) programs in the United States of America. A large number of recent studies have focused on instructor views and perspectives of two-way immersion programs, so this study aimed to gain insight from students who are, or who have, participated in TWI programs throughout North America. One hundred fifty-one TWI schools throughout the United States were contacted and asked to participate in this study. Two similar surveys were developed, one for current TWI students, and another for former TWI students. Students from these two groups were asked to fill out a confidential online survey that addressed specific linguistic skills, abilities, and preferences, as well as connection to the cultures of the target language. Forty-eight percent of the survey respondents were native speakers of English, and the remaining 52% were non-native speakers of English. The number of respondents to the former student survey was so low that the data were inconclusive, and, therefore, will not be included in this study. Since the survey was conducted online, the data were stored in a comma-delimited format for further evaluation. The data were then tallied and analyzed for common themes

Remission of diabetes mellitus in cats cannot be predicted by the arginine stimulation test

Hintergrund: Die Ansprechbarkeit der β-Zellen auf Arginin bleibt während des Fortschreitens eines Diabetes mellitus (DM) am längsten bestehen, was den intravenösen Arginin-Stimulationstest (IVAST) ideal für die Untersuchung der Insulin- und Glukagon- Restkapazität macht. Hypothese: Katzen mit und ohne diabetische Remission zeigen unterschiedliche Arginin-induzierte Insulin- und Glukagonsekretionsmuster Tiere: 17 Katzen mit DM, 7 gesunde Katzen. Methoden: Das Ansprechen im IVAST wurde mittels Fläche unter der Kurve (AUC) für Insulin und Glukagon und dem Glukagon:Insulin AUC Verhältnis berechnet. Die Katzen wurden mit Insulin behandelt und der Krankheitsverlauf für 18 Wochen verfolgt. Remission wurde definiert als Normoglykämie und Verschwinden der Symptome für ≥4 Wochen. Resultate: Bei 7 Katzen kam es zu einer Remission. Bei diesen Katzen war die Blutglukose bei Eintritt signifikant tiefer (Median, 389 mg/dl) als bei Katzen ohne Remission (Median, 506 mg/dl). Katzen mit Remission hatten höhere Glukagon:Insulin AUC Verhältnisse (Median, 61) als Katzen mit Remission (Median, 26); die AUC von Glukose, Insulin und Glukagon waren nicht unterschiedlich. Schlussfolgerung: Katzen mit und ohne diabetische Remission haben eine ähnlich hohe Arginin-induzierte Insulinausschüttung. Obwohl Katzen mit Remission bei Eintritt eine tiefere Blutglukose und höhere Glukagon:Insulin AUC Verhältnisse hatten, verhindert die starke Überlappung der Resultate den Einsatz dieser Parameter. Background: Responsiveness of β-cells to arginine persists the longest during diabetes progression, making the intravenous arginine stimulation test (IVAST) a useful tool to assess residual insulin and glucagon secretion. Hypothesis: Diabetic cats with and without remission will have different arginine-induced insulin or glucagon response. Animals: 17 cats with diabetes, 7 healthy cats. Methods: Response to IVAST was assessed by calculating insulin and glucagon area under the curve (AUC) and the AUC glucagon:insulin ratio. Diabetic cats were treated with insulin and followed for 18 weeks. Remission was defined as normoglycemia and disappearance of clinical signs of diabetes for ≥4 weeks. Results: 7 diabetic cats achieved remission. On admission, blood glucose concentration was significantly lower in cats with remission (median, 389 mg/dL) than in those without remission (median, 506 mg/dL). After IVAST, diabetic cats with remission had higher AUC glucagon:insulin ratios (median, 61) than did cats without remission (median, 26); glucose, insulin, and glucagon AUCs were not different. Diabetic cats had lower insulin AUC than did healthy cats but comparable glucagon AUC. Conclusions: Diabetic cats with and without remission have similar arginine-stimulated insulin secretion. Although cats with remission had lower blood glucose concentrations and higher AUC glucagon:insulin ratios, large overlap between groups prevents use of these parameters in practice

The dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitor NVP-DPP728 reduces plasma glucagon concentration in cats

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues and inhibitors of its degrading enzyme, dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV), are interesting therapy options in human diabetics because they increase insulin secretion and reduce postprandial glucagon secretion. Given the similar pathophysiology of human type 2 and feline diabetes mellitus, this study investigated whether the DPPIV inhibitor NVP-DPP728 reduces plasma glucagon levels in cats. Intravenous glucose tolerance tests (ivGTT; 0.5g/kg glucose after 12h fasting) and a meal response test (test meal of 50% of average daily food intake, offered after 24h fasting) were performed in healthy experimental cats. NVP-DPP728 (0.5-2.5mg/kg IV or SC) significantly reduced glucagon output in all tests and increased insulin output in the ivGTT. Follow-up studies will investigate the potential usefulness as therapy in diabetic cats

Evaluation of four methods used to measure plasma insulin-like growth factor 1 concentrations in healthy cats and cats with diabetes mellitus or other diseases

Objective-To evaluate 4 methods used to measure plasma insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 1 concentrations in healthy cats and cats with diabetes mellitus or other diseases. Animals-39 healthy cats, 7 cats with diabetes mellitus, and 33 cats with other diseases. Procedures-4 assays preceded by different sample preparation methods were evaluated, including acid chromatography followed by radioimmunoassay (AC-RIA), acid-ethanol extraction followed by immunoradiometry assay (AEE-IRMA), acidification followed by immunochemiluminescence assay (A-ICMA), and IGF-2 excess followed by RIA (IE-RIA). Validation of the methods included determination of precision, accuracy, and recovery. The concentration of IGF-1 was measured with all methods, and results were compared among cat groups. Results-The intra-assay coefficient of variation was 1,000 ng/mLwith the AEE-IRMA, but < 1,000 ng/mL with the other methods. Compared with healthy cats, hyperthyroid cats had significantly higher concentrations of IGF-1 with the A-ICMA method, but lower concentrations with the IE-RIA method. Cats with lymphoma had lower IGF-1 concentrations than did healthy cats regardless of the method used. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Differences in the methodologies of assays for IGF-1 may explain, at least in part, the conflicting results previously reported in diabetic cats. Disorders such as hyperthyroidism and lymphoma affected IGF-1 concentrations, making interpretation of results more difficult if these conditions are present in cats with diabetes mellitus

Pan-European Study on the Prevalence of the Feline Leukaemia Virus Infection - Reported by the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD Europe)

Feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) is a retrovirus associated with fatal disease in progressively infected cats. While testing/removal and vaccination led to a decreased prevalence of FeLV, recently, this decrease has reportedly stagnated in some countries. This study aimed to prospectively determine the prevalence of FeLV viraemia in cats taken to veterinary facilities in 32 European countries. FeLV viral RNA was semiquantitatively detected in saliva, using RT-qPCR as a measure of viraemia. Risk and protective factors were assessed using an online questionnaire to report geographic, demographic, husbandry, FeLV vaccination, and clinical data. The overall prevalence of FeLV viraemia in cats visiting a veterinary facility, of which 10.4% were shelter and rescue cats, was 2.3% (141/6005; 95% CI: 2.0%-2.8%) with the highest prevalences in Portugal, Hungary, and Italy/Malta (5.7%-8.8%). Using multivariate analysis, seven risk factors (Southern Europe, male intact, 1-6 years of age, indoor and outdoor or outdoor-only living, living in a group of ≥5 cats, illness), and three protective factors (Northern Europe, Western Europe, pedigree cats) were identified. Using classification and regression tree (CART) analysis, the origin of cats in Europe, pedigree, and access to outdoors were important predictors of FeLV status. FeLV-infected sick cats shed more viral RNA than FeLV-infected healthy cats, and they suffered more frequently from anaemia, anorexia, and gingivitis/stomatitis than uninfected sick cats. Most cats had never been FeLV-vaccinated; vaccination rates were indirectly associated with the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. In conclusion, we identified countries where FeLV was undetectable, demonstrating that the infection can be eradicated and highlighting those regions where awareness and prevention should be increased