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- Author or Editor: James Lloyd x
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Abstract
Objective—To evaluate US consumer expenditures for veterinary services, pets-pet supplies, and pet-related services.
Design—Retrospective economic analysis.
Sample Population—US consumers from 1980 through 2005.
Procedures—Descriptive statistics and probit regressions were calculated.
Results—From 1980 to 2005, total inflation-adjusted expenditures on pet-related and veterinary services increased, as did the percentage of households with a pet-related expenditure. The percentage of households with veterinary service expenditures was fairly constant. Among households with a pet-related expenditure, the percentage purchasing veterinary services decreased. The probability for pet-related and veterinary service expenditures increased with income, education, and family size and was higher for household heads who were white, were married, owned their residence, and lived in a rural area.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Overall spending on veterinary services increased substantially, providing no indication that successful practices should change strategy. Households that spent money on veterinary services increased their spending sufficiently to exceed the loss of income for veterinarians associated with the increasing proportion of pet-owning households that did not spend anything on veterinary services. Because the probability of veterinary service expenditures was strongly related to household income, caution is suggested in planning provision of veterinary services when incomes are constrained. Among households with pet-related expenditures, the decreasing percentage of households with veterinary service expenditures suggests a growing proportion of pet owners who are not having their veterinary service needs met. Because non-white households were less likely to purchase veterinary services, the veterinary profession cannot afford to delay efforts to enhance diversity and cultural competence.
Abstract
Objective—To compare present values of expected income streams for 5 distinct veterinary medical career tracks.
Design—Present value model.
Sample Population—AVMA survey data.
Procedures—Present values of expected income streams (net of debt repayment) were created and ranked. Sensitivity to each independent variable was assessed.
Results—Career present value at 34 years after graduation (CPV34) was highest for board-certified specialist (SP; $2,272,877), followed by practice owner (PO; $2,119,596), practice owner buying into practice after 10 years (PO-10; $1,736,333), SP working three-fouths time (SP3/4; $1,702,744), and general practitioner (GP; $1,221,131). Compared with CPV34 for SP, other career tracks yielded values of 93.3% (PO), 76.4% (PO-10), 74.9% (SP3/4), and 53.7% (GP). The model was robust to debt, interest rate, loan term, and discount rate but was sensitive to mean starting incomes and mean incomes.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Greatest return on time and money invested by a veterinary student is through practicing full-time as an SP or through being a PO. Being an SP or SP3/4 was substantially more lucrative than being a GP and was comparable to being a PO. Practice ownership and working as an SP3/4 may be options for balancing financial gain with free time. Specialty training and practice ownership may be career tracks with the best potential repayment options for veterinarians with a large educational debt. Regardless of the amount of debt, the type of practice, mean incomes in a particular field, personal lifestyle, and professional interests are important factors when deciding among career tracks.
Abstract
Objective—To gain a better understanding of the role of interpersonal trust in veterinarian-client interactions during routine health-care visits, develop a measure of trust uniquely suited to the context of veterinary medicine, and interpret the actions, beliefs, and perceptions that capture client trust toward veterinarians.
Design—Correlational study.
Sample—103 veterinary students and 19 standardized clients with pets from a college of veterinary medicine at a large public Midwestern university.
Procedures—A measure of trust specific to veterinarian-client interactions was constructed on the basis of preexisting conceptualizations of the construct and administered to veterinary students and standardized clients following interactions in 2 medical scenarios in a high-fidelity simulated animal health clinic. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic techniques were used to validate the measure of trust, and hierarchic linear modeling was used to explore indicators of standardized client trust perceptions in one of the scenarios.
Results—Factor analysis revealed that the measure captured 2 perceptions indicative of trust in veterinary contexts: professionalism and technical candor. Students who had behaviors reflecting these factors as well as those who were perceived as more technically competent were seen as more trustworthy by standardized clients.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The development of trustworthy relationships between clients and veterinarians is important to the continued growth and success of the profession. By identifying characteristics of veterinarian trustworthiness and developing related measurement tools, proactive approaches to monitoring veterinarian-client relations can be implemented and incorporated into veterinary training and practice programs to identify areas for improvement.
Abstract
Objective—To compare endoscopic findings of the upper portion of the respiratory tract in Thoroughbred yearlings with their subsequent race records to determine whether subjective assessment of airway function may be used as a predictor of future racing performance.
Design—Retrospective study.
Animals—427 Thoroughbred yearlings.
Procedures—Endoscopic examination findings were obtained from the medical records and the videoendoscopic repository of the Keeneland 1996 September yearling sales. Racing records were requested for the yearlings through the end of their 4-year-old racing season (1997–2000). Twenty-nine measures of racing performance were correlated with endoscopic findings. Subjective arytenoid cartilage movement grades were determined, using a 4-point grading scale (grade 1 = symmetrical synchronous abduction of the arytenoid cartilages; grade 4 = no substantial movement of the left arytenoid cartilage).
Results—Of the 427 Thoroughbred yearlings included in this study, 364 established race records, and 63 did not. Opinions regarding suitability for purchase, meeting conditions of the sale, and the presence of epiglottic abnormalities had no significant association with racing performance. Arytenoid cartilage movement grades were significantly associated with many of the dependent variables. However, palatine abnormalities were not predictive of inferior racing performance.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Thoroughbred yearlings with grade-1 and -2 arytenoid cartilage movements had significantly better racing performance as adults, compared with yearlings with grade- 3 arytenoid cartilage movements. In contrast, epiglottic and palatine abnormalities were not predictive of inferior racing performance. Therefore, evaluation of laryngeal function, but not epiglottic or palatine abnormalities, using the 4-point grading system, should be the major factor in developing recommendations for prospective buyers. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2001;219: xxx–xxx)
Abstract
Objective—To characterize potential mechanisms of action of glucosamine inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression and activity in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated equine chondrocytes.
Sample Population—Chondrocytes cultured from samples of metacarpophalangeal articular cartilage collected from cadaveric limbs of horses.
Procedure—The effect of glucosamine on MMP activity in conditioned medium from LPS-stimulated cartilage explants was determined by a colorimetric assay with azocoll substrate. Treatments consisted of negative and positive controls, glucose (50mM), and glucosamine (50, 25, 6.25, 3, and 1.5mM). The influence of glucosamine on MMP synthesis was determined in chondrocytes in pellet culture incubated with LPS (20 µg/mL). Concentration of MMP-13 was quantified in spent medium via ELISA; nonspecific MMP activity was determined via azocoll digestion in organomercurial- activated medium. Effects of glucosamine on MMP mRNA concentration in similarly treated chondrocytes were determined by northern blot hybridization with MMP-1, -3, and -13 probes. Statistical analyses were performed with 2-way ANOVA.
Results—Glucosamine had no effect on activated MMP activity but inhibited MMP protein expression, as determined by azocoll digestion (glucosamine, 3 to 50mM) and MMP-13 ELISA (glucosamine, 1.5 to 50mM). Resting mRNA concentrations for MMP-1, -3, and -13 mRNA were significantly lower in cultures exposed to glucosamine at concentrations of 50 and 25mM than those of positive controls.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Glucosamine appears capable of pretranslational, and possibly also translational, regulation of MMP expression; data suggest a potential mechanism of action for chondroprotective effects of this aminomonosaccharide. ( Am J Vet Res 2003;64:666–671)
Abstract
Objective—To determine the likelihood of false-positive results when testing milk samples from individual cows by use of 3 commercially available assays (Penzyme Milk Test and the SNAP β-lactamand Delvo- SP assays) labeled for use with commingled milk.
Sample Population—Milk samples from 111 cows with mild clinical mastitis.
Procedure—Cows were randomly assigned to the control (no antimicrobials) or intramammary treatment group. Posttreatment milk samples were collected at the first milking after the labeled withholding period or an equivalent time for controls, randomly ordered, and tested twice by use of each assay and once by use of high-performance liquid chromatography. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were determined for each assay. Concordance of results for the same sample was assessed for each assay by calculating κ.
Results—Sensitivities of the Delvo-SP and SNAP β-lactam assays were > 90%, whereas the sensitivity of the Penzyme Milk Test was 60%. Positive predictive values (range, 39.29 to 73.68%) were poor for all 3 assays. Concordance of test results was excellent for the SNAP β-lactam and Delvo-SP assays (κ = 0.846 and 0.813, respectively) but was less for the Penzyme Milk Test (κ = 0.545).
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Because of the low positive predictive values, these 3 assays may not be useful for detecting violative antimicrobial residues in individual milk samples from cows treated for mild clinical mastitis. However, repeatability of each assay was considered good to excellent. (Am J Vet Res 2001;62:1716–1720)
