Family giving dog a bath

Inscriptions: Verso: [stamped] Photograph by Freda Leinwand. [463 West Street, Studio 229G, New York, NY 10014].

Dog at International Women's Day march

Inscription: Verso: International Women's Day march, New York.

Behavioral Perspectives on Organizational Change: Practice Adoption, Product Culling, and Technological Search

This dissertation explores the complex process of organizational change, applying a behavioral lens to understand change in processes, products, and search behaviors. Chapter 1 examines new practice adoption, exploring factors that predict the extent to which routines are adopted “as designed” within the organization. Using medical record data obtained from the hospital’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) system I develop a novel measure of the “gap” between routine “as designed” and routine “as realized.” I link this to a survey administered to the hospital’s professional staff following the adoption of a new EHR system and find that beliefs about the expected impact of the change shape fidelity of the adopted practice to its design. This relationship is more pronounced in care units with experienced professionals and less pronounced when the care unit includes departmental leadership. This research offers new insights into the determinants of routine change in organizations, in particular suggesting the beliefs held by rank-and-file members of an organization are critical in new routine adoption. Chapter 2 explores changes to products, specifically examining culling behaviors in the mobile device industry. Using a panel of quarterly mobile device sales in Germany from 2004-2009, this chapter suggests that the organization’s response to performance feedback is conditional upon the degree to which decisions are centralized. While much of the research on product exit has pointed to economic drivers or prior experience, these central finding of this chapter—that performance below aspirations decreases the rate of phase-out—suggests that firms seek local solutions when doing poorly, which is consistent with behavioral explanations of organizational action. Chapter 3 uses a novel text analysis approach to examine how the allocation of attention within organizational subunits shapes adaptation in the form of search behaviors in Motorola from 1974-1997. It develops a theory that links organizational attention to search, and the results suggest a trade-off between both attentional specialization and coupling on search scope and depth. Specifically, specialized unit attention to a more narrow set of problems increases search scope but reduces search depth; increased attentional coupling also increases search scope at the cost of depth. This novel approach and these findings help clarify extant research on the behavioral outcomes of attention allocation, which have offered mixed results.

Congenital thoracic vertebral malformations in brachycephalic “screw-tailed” dog breeds: Validation of a human classification scheme and a method of Cobb angle measurement in the assessment of vertebral column deformity

Congenital vertebral malformations are common in brachycephalic “screw-tailed” dog breeds such as French bulldogs, English bulldogs, Boston terriers, and Pugs. Those vertebral malformations disrupt the normal vertebral column anatomy and biomechanics, potentially leading to deformity of the vertebral column and subsequent neurological dysfunction. The initial aim of this work was to study and determine whether the congenital vertebral malformations identified in those breeds could be translated in a radiographic classification scheme used in humans to give an improved classification, with clear and well-defined terminology, with the expectation that this would facilitate future study and clinical management in the veterinary field. Therefore, two observers who were blinded to the neurologic status of the dogs classified each vertebral malformation based on the human classification scheme of McMaster and were able to translate them successfully into a new classification scheme for veterinary use. The following aim was to assess the nature and the impact of vertebral column deformity engendered by those congenital vertebral malformations in the target breeds. As no gold standard exists in veterinary medicine for the calculation of the degree of deformity, it was elected to adapt the human equivalent, termed the Cobb angle, as a potential standard reference tool for use in veterinary practice. For the validation of the Cobb angle measurement method, a computerised semi-automatic technique was used and assessed by multiple independent observers. They observed not only that Kyphosis was the most common vertebral column deformity but also that patients with such deformity were found to be more likely to suffer from neurological deficits, more especially if their Cobb angle was above 35 degrees.

Allergological evaluation of a dog population in a veterinary immuno-allergology consultation: What correlates in a canine model

Introduction: Allergic dermatitis (AD) is the most common canine pruritic condition in veterinary dermatology. Allergic dermatitis to flea bites presents the highest prevalence, followed by atopic dermatitis and food AD. This study aimed to identify possible correlation between data from clinical signs, intradermal tests (IDT) and specific IgE levels, which are used in dog AD assessment. Methods: Fifty five dogs from the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Évora (Portugal) and Rof Codina University Hospital (Lugo, Spain) outpatient consultations were studied by means of clinical inquiry, IDT and specific IgE determination. Thirty five of the patients belonged to predisposed breeds, 30 were females and 25 males. Forty one (74%) were indoor. Results: In 82% of cases first clinical signs appeared before the age of 3 years and 24% even before 1 year old. In 70% of the individuals clinical signs included itching, which was generalized in 66%, with 78% of paw licking and chewing. Clinical profile showed seasonal worsening in 64% of cases. From the 69.1% of dogs already presenting with dermatitis, 50% also presented external otitis and 28.9% self-inflicted alopecia. "Intense itching" was found in 10.5%, "medium itching" in 81.6% and “mild itching” in 5.26% of the patients. Prevalence of positive IDT was 37.3 % to Lep d, 29.41% to Der f, 27.5% to Der p, 25.5% to Dac g and 21.6% to Malassezia sp. From the 37 dogs submitted to food IDT, 40.5% revealed positive to beef, 27% to chicken, 27% to porc and 5.4% to lamb. Specific IgE > 150 EAU was found in 84% of dogs to indoor allergen sources and in 68% to pollens. A negative correlation was found between an outdoor life and the intensity (p = 0.033) and precocity (p = 0.026) of clinical signs. Sensitization to pollens was found positively correlated with the seasonality of clinical signs (p = 0.001) and the positivity for Dac g (p = 0.007). The prevalence of chronic otitis correlated positively with alopecia and reactivity to Lep d (p = 0.008), Plantago lanceolata (p = 0.026) and Platanus acerifolia (p = 0.017). There was no correlation between the results of ITD and specific IgE. Conclusion: We can conclude that correlation between different clinical signs and positive testing for some allergenic sources may occur, as well as between sensitization to pollens and the beginning, the intensity and the seasonality of dog patient clinical signs.

Practical Management of the Endangered African Wild Dog (Lycaon Pictus): Implementation of Research Methodologies, Management Tools and Validation of Non-Invasive Endocrinology Applications

The porpoise of this study was to implement research methodologies and assess the effectiveness and impact of management tools to promote best practices for the long term conservation of the endangered African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). Different methods were included in the project framework to investigate and expand the applicability of these methodologies to free-ranging African wild dogs in the southern African region: ethology, behavioural endocrinology and ecology field methodologies were tested and implemented. Additionally, research was performed to test the effectiveness and implication of a contraceptive implant (Suprenolin) as a management tool for the species of a subpopulation hosted in fenced areas. Attention was especially given to social structure and survival of treated packs. This research provides useful tools and advances the applicability of these methods for field studies, standardizing and improving research instruments in the field of conservation biology and behavioural endocrinology. Results reported here provide effective methodologies to expand the applicability of non-invasive endocrine assessment to previously prohibited fields, and validation of sampling methods for faecal hormone analysis. The final aim was to fill a knowledge gap on behaviours of the species and provide a common ground for future researchers to apply non-invasive methods to this species research and to test the effectiveness of the contraception on a managed metapopulation.

Effect of biofunctionalized implant surface on osseointegration: a histomorphometric study in dogs

Among the different properties that influence bone apposition around implants, the chemical or biochemical composition of implant surface may interfere on its acceptance by the surrounding bone. The aim of this study was to investigate if a biofunctionalization of implant surface influences the bone apposition in a dog model and to compare it with other surfaces, such as a microstructured created by the grit-blasting/acid-etching process. Eight young adult male mongrel dogs had the bilateral mandibular premolars extracted and each one received 6 implants after 12 weeks, totaling 48 implants in the experiment. Four groups of implants were formed with the same microrough topography with or without some kind of biofunctionalization treatment. After histomorphometric analysis, it was observed that the modified microstructured surface with a "low concentration of the bioactive peptide" provided a higher adjacent bone density (54.6%) when compared to the other groups (microstructured + HA coating = 46.0%, microstructured only = 45.3% and microstructured + "high concentration of the bioactive peptide" = 40.7%), but this difference was not statistically significant. In conclusion, biofunctionalization of the implant surface might interfere in the bone apposition around implants, especially in terms of bone density. Different concentrations of bioactive peptide lead to different results.

Enhanced bone apposition to Brazilian microrough titanium surfaces

It has recently been reported that machined and microrough (micro) Brazilian titanium (Ti) implants have good production standards. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vivo bone formation around 2 different implant surfaces placed in dog's mandible. Thirty-two screw-typed Ti implants were used in this study. Mandibular premolars were extracted in 8 dogs and, after 12 weeks, 2 machined (Neodent Titamax, Brazil) and 2 micro implants (Neodent Titamax Porous, Brazil) were placed in each animal. Biopsies were taken at 3 and 8 weeks post-implantation and stained with Stevenel's blue and Alizarin red for histomorphometric measurements of bone-to-implant contact (BIC), bone area between threads (BABT) and bone area within the mirror area (BAMA). Data were analyzed statistically by two-way ANOVA (α=0.05). While at 3 weeks micro implants exhibited significantly more BIC than machined ones (55 ± 12.5% and 35.6 ± 15%, p<0.05), no significant difference in such parameter was detected at 8 weeks (51.2 ± 21% and 48.6 ± 18.1%, p>0.05). There were no significant differences in BABT and BAMA between the implants. Micro surfaces promoted higher contact osteogenesis. These data indicate that this commercial micro Ti implant surface enhances contact osteogenesis at an early post-implantation period when compared to the machined one.

Periapical repair after root canal filling with different root canal sealers

The aim of this study was to evaluate periapical repair after root canal filling with different endodontic sealers. Sixty-four root canals from dog´s teeth were filled, divided into 4 groups (n=16). Root canals were instrumented with K-type files and irrigated with 1% sodium hypochlorite solution. Root canals were filled in the same session by active lateral condensation of the cones and sealers: Intrafill, AH Plus, Roeko Seal and Resilon/Epiphany System. After 90 days, the animals were euthanized and the tissues to be evaluated were processed and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. For histopathological analysis, the following parameters were evaluated: inflammatory process, mineralized tissue resorption, and apical mineralized tissue deposition. Histopathological analysis demonstrated that Intrafill had less favorable results in terms of apical and periapical repair, compared to the other sealers (p<0.05). AH Plus, Roeko Seal, and Epiphany sealers had similar and satisfactory results (p>0.05). In conclusion, AH Plus and the materials Roeko Seal and Epiphany are good options for clinical use in Endodontics.

Isolation of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli from diarrheic dogs and their antimicrobial resistance profile

From January to December 2006, 92 Escherichia coli isolates from 25 diarrheic dogs were analyzed by screening for the presence of adhesin-encoding genes (pap, sfa, afa), hemolysin and aerobactin genes. Virulence gene frequencies detected in those isolates were: 12% pap, 1% sfa, 10% hemolysin and 6.5% aerobactin. Ten isolates were characterized as extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains; all showed a multidrug resistance phenotype that may represent a reason for concern due the risk of dissemination of antimicrobial resistant genes to the microbiota of human beings.

Estudo morfofuncional das glândulas mamárias de Mão Pelada, Procyon cancrivorus

Para a descrição macro e microscópica das glândulas mamárias foram utilizadas três fêmeas de Mão Pelada (Procyon cancrivorus). As amostras das glândulas foram processadas conforme técnicas rotineiras para histologia. As fêmeas estudadas apresentaram 3 pares de glândulas mamárias, sendo um par de glândula mamária abdominal cranial, um par de abdominal caudal e um par de inguinal. As papilas mamárias apresentaram formato pendular, como os canídeos domésticos. Microscopicamente, a glândula mamária apresentou da porção externa para a interna: epiderme (epitélio estratificado pavimentoso queratinizado), derme (tecido conjuntivo frouxo e tecido conjuntivo denso não modelado), fibras musculares lisas e ductos papilíferos que abrem em vários ósteos papilares em formato de "chuveiro". A porção secretora glandular era caracteristicamente túbulo alveolar, com células cuboidais dispostas em camada simples. Os resultados indicam que o conjunto glandular estudado é semelhante ao da cadela (Cannis familiaris) tanto em seu aspecto macroscópico quanto em seu aspecto microscópico, este fato sugere que podemos utilizar o Mão Pelada e o Cão como modelos similares de estudo, para identificação de patologias relacionadas a este sistema.

Caracterização imunofenotípica e avaliação quantitativa do infiltrado linfocítário junto às áreas de displasia epitelial da próstata de cães adultos sexualmente intactos

O estudo da próstata canina tem se tornado comum em razão da grande incidência de doenças prostáticas nessa espécie e das similaridades com as alterações apresentadas pela glândula prostática humana. Frente à alta frequência de displasias epiteliais acompanhadas de infiltrado linfocitário intersticial e atrofia acinar na espécie canina, o presente estudo teve como objetivos a caracterização imunofenotípica e a avaliação quantitativa desse infiltrado, utilizando marcadores para identificação de linfócitos T (anti-CD3) e B (anti-CD79a). Foram catalogadas 42 lesões displásicas classificadas em discreta (48%), moderada (38%) e acentuada (14%). O infiltrado linfocitário intersticial periacinar junto às áreas de epitélio prostático displásico constituiu-se predominantemente por linfócitos T (66%) e houve interação entre o grau histológico da displasia e o marcador imunoistoquímico, com oscilação na quantidade de células T e B intersticiais em função do grau da displasia epitelial.

Urolitíase por cistina em cães no Brasil

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo relatar três casos de urolitíase canina por cistina, atendidos no Hospital Veterinário da Universidade Estadual de Londrina entre o período de 2007 a 2009. O diagnóstico de urolitíase foi baseado na anamnese, no exame físico e nos exames laboratoriais e radiográficos, e a confirmação do tipo de urólito envolvido foi realizada no Centro de Urólitos de Minnesota-USA, por meio de análise quantitativa, revelando cálculos puros de cistina. A terapia instituída incluiu a remoção cirúrgica dos urólitos e a prevenção de recidivas, por meio do aumento da solubilidade da cistina na urina com dieta comercial própria, aumento da ingestão hídrica e alcalinização medicamentosa da urina.