Impact of Classical Counterconditioning (Quiet Kennel Exercise) on Barking in Kenneled Dogs—A Pilot Study

Excessive barking is a major source of noise pollution in dog kennels and negatively impacts welfare. Because resources are often limited, minimizing barking in the simplest and most easily implementable way is imperative. This pilot study implemented a Quiet Kennel Exercise (QKE) that utilized classical counterconditioning to change the dogs’ negative emotional state (which can lead to barking) to a more positive emotional state. Therefore, barking motivation is reduced, so barking should decrease. This study aims to show proof of concept that decreasing barking through classical counterconditioning is effective. It was conducted in one ward of day-time boarding kennels at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Data was collected three times per day and included decibel readings, number of dogs present, and number of dogs barking during a 5-day initial baseline and 10-day intervention period. During baseline, people passing through the ward acted as they normally would. During intervention, passersby were asked to simply toss each dog a treat regardless of the dogs’ behaviors in the kennel. Descriptive results show improvement in maximum level of barking after QKE, fewer dogs barking over time, dogs barking less each time, and the most improvement noted in the afternoon.

Effect of base media, FSH and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) alone or in combination on the growth of pig preantral follicles in vitro

To compare the efficiency of North Carolina State University medium 23 (NCSU23) and Alpha Minimum Essential Medium (α-MEM) as a base medium, and to evaluate the effects of Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) alone or in combination with Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) on the in vitro development and steroid production of isolated porcine preantral follicles. Porcine secondary follicles were cultured in NCSU23 or α-MEM media for 4 days. Once α-MEM was determined to be the optimal culture medium, secondary follicles were cultured in α-MEM alone or supplemented with FSH (1.5 ng/mL), AMH (50 ng/mL) or the combination of the two hormones. Follicle development was evaluated by measuring follicular growth, morphology and hormone production. There was no difference between the media NCSU23 and α-MEM in terms of follicle survival and growth (P > 0.05). However, at day 2, the antrum formation rate tended to be (P < 0.074) higher in α-MEM than NCSU23. At day 4 of culture, the estradiol and progesterone secretion were higher in α-MEM than NCSU23 (P < 0.01), while the opposite was observed for testosterone (P < 0.01). The addition of AMH and/or FSH did not affect follicular survival and growth. Nevertheless, the secretion of estradiol and progesterone induced by FSH was reduced with AMH (P < 0.01). α-MEM is a more effective base medium than NCSU23 for the in vitro follicular development of pig preantral follicles and AMH reduces the steroid production induced by FSH.

Bibliometric Analysis of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) Research Publications from Horticulture Category Based on the Web of Science

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is an economically important vegetable crop that is cultivated worldwide. The current study aimed to identify and analyze the 2030 articles and review article about cucumber research from the horticulture category of the VOS viewer Web of Science. Bibliometric data were analyzed by bibliometric science mapping and visualization tools. Articles mainly written in English (1884; 92.81%) were from 5630 authors, 80 countries or territories, and 1094 organizations; they were published in 46 journals and book series. The top five core journals are Scientia Horticulturae (337; 16.60%), HortScience (265; 13.05%), Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science (239; 11.77%), European Journal of Plant Pathology (195; 9.61%), and Horticulture Journal (Journal of the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science) (157; 7.73%). These journals each published more than 157 articles. The top five countries and regions were the United States, People’s Republic of China, Japan, South Korea, and India. The top five organizations were the University of Wisconsin, North Carolina State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service, Michigan State University, and Nanjing Agricultural University. The top five authors are Todd C. Wehner (Wehner, TC), Jack E. Staub (Staub, JE), Yiqun Weng, R.L. Lower, and S. Tachibana; each published more than 24 articles. All keywords used for cucumber research in the horticulture category were separated into eight clusters for different research topics. Visualizations offer exploratory information regarding the current state in a scientific field or discipline as well as indicate possible developments in the future. This review could be a valuable guide for designing future studies.

A novel Career Development course for Animal Science students pursuing veterinary college admissions

A one-credit hour, elective, professional development course was created at North Carolina State University (NCSU) to introduce pre-veterinary track students to the admissions process and the breadth of the veterinary profession. The course was designed to facilitate career exploration while building self-efficacy through vicarious learning, interactions with speakers in various veterinary subfields, and addressing misperceptions about veterinary admissions. To evaluate the student learning objectives and improve upon the current practices of the course, data from two pre-test and post-test course surveys for 235 course participants between Spring 2014-17 were analyzed. The results of the study showed that students experienced significant gains in self-appraisal (Cohen’s d ranged 1.88-2.53), gathering occupational information (Cohen’s d ranged 1.59-2.53), goal selection (Cohen’s d ranged 2.14-2.53), and planning and problem solving (Cohen’s d ranged 1.88-2.77); as well as experienced a decrease in five misperceptions about veterinary admissions. This novel course is presented as a prospective course for other universities.

The National Weather Service-North Carolina State University Internship Course: Impacts and Success over a Generation

Nearly 100 North Carolina State University students have participated in a unique, highly structured internship course conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Raleigh, NC. Here, we explore the impact that this course has had on their professional development and career trajectories. The course has now been running for 17 years, and this paper provides an update on how the course has changed over time, including an evolution of the interview process to participate in the course, the number of students enrolled each semester has systematically been lowered to allow for more individual attention, and additional experiences outside of the WFO have been added. There are benefits for the students, with about half of the students now employed by the NWS, and nearly universal praise for how the course impacted their career progression. The university benefits from the course because the course serves as a compelling selling point for the MEAS department when recruiting students and the department also ensures that the curriculum is adequately preparing potential students for the job market. Finally, the NWS gains by creating a pool of potential employees that will require less spin-up time if hired, and graduates of the NCSU program have gone on to be involved with similar student volunteer programs at their respective offices once hired.

Absorption and Translocation of Florpyrauxifen-benzyl in Ten Aquatic Plant Species

Additional active ingredients are needed for use in aquatic systems in order to respond to new threats or treatment scenarios, enhance selectivity, reduce use rates, and to mitigate the risk of herbicide-resistance. Florpyrauxifen-benzyl is a new synthetic auxin developed for use as an aquatic herbicide. A study was conducted at North Carolina State University, in which 10 µg L−1 of 25% radiolabeled florpyrauxifen-benzyl was applied to the isolated shoot tissue of ten different aquatic plant species in order to elucidate absorption and translocation patterns in these species. Extremely high levels of shoot absorption were observed for all species and uptake was rapid. Highest shoot absorptions were observed for crested floatingheart [Nymphoides cristata (Roxb.) Kuntze] (A192 =20 µg g−1), dioecious hydrilla [Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) Royle] (A192 =25.3 µg g−1), variable watermilfoil (Myriophyllum heterophylum Michx.) (A192 =40.1 µg g−1) and Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum L.) (A192 =25.3 µg g−1). Evidence of translocation was observed in all rooted species tested with the greatest translocation observed in N. cristata (1.28 µg g-1 at 192 HAT). The results of this study add to the growing body of knowledge surrounding the behavior of this newly registered herbicide within aquatic plants.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Pre-Veterinary Opportunities and Recommendations for DVM Admissions

During the summer of 2020, a survey-based study was conducted at North Carolina State University, a land-grant university, to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on pre-veterinary students’ ability to gain experience hours for Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) admissions. Of the 286 respondents (47% of the respondent pool), 92% reported losing at least one animal, veterinary, research, extracurricular, or work opportunity due to COVID-19, and 59% were not able to find a replacement. Of the lost experiences, 74 (20.8%) were for academic credit, resulting in 131 total academic credit hours lost, while only 12 credit hours were gained via alternative experiences. Of respondents, 30% (29.7%) identified as applicants of the 2020–2021 Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS) cycle. More than half (52.6%) of the sample identified being concerned about the strength of their VMCAS experiences due to these lost opportunities. Many respondents reported considering delaying application submissions by taking a gap year (17.5%) or have had their intended graduation timeline affected (14.8%). Since the majority of veterinary colleges utilize a holistic review process, this study provides a basis for understanding the effects of COVID-19 on the duration, depth, and diversity of experiences gained by future DVM applicants. This article also provides recommendations for DVM admissions adaptations based on the outcomes of the data.

Veterinary Professions Advising Center: An innovative approach to pre-veterinary advising for Animal Science students

Veterinary Professions Advising Center (VetPAC) is a unique undergraduate advising center that combines Career Center services with pre-professional advising for pre-veterinary students at North Carolina State University (NCSU). During the past 10 years, VetPAC has created five distinct internships, three annual study abroad courses, a competitive annual high school summer camp, provided holistic advising, and hosted large-scale advising events that consistently provide resources to more than 800 students annually. The VetPAC provided outreach to an average of 13 local high schools per academic year, and educated over 300 visiting students about VetPAC and pre-veterinary life at NCSU since 2015. NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine has had a minimum of 26% and a maximum of 45% DVM students in the incoming classes who accessed VetPAC resources and advising. This article presents the impact VetPAC has had on pre-veterinary student success at NCSU, and provides an outline of VetPAC’s first 10 years of development as a model of combined career services and pre-professional advising for peer institutions.

How to Evaluate the STEM Curriculum in Spain?

There is a wide demand for professionals related to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field; nevertheless, the number of students is decreasing every day, and the presence of women is also scarce. Within the Spanish context, different programs are promoting measures for STEM skills’ development; however, they are neither collected nor evaluated under a common umbrella. For that reason, it seems appropriate to investigate the possibilities of carrying out a STEM certification, involving the management and teaching practice of secondary and high school education centers. The present work has developed an evaluation instrument based on the work by The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation from the North Carolina State University (USA). The model proposed looking at obtaining a high-quality STEM Center certification in the Spanish context, seeking to guarantee that the efforts made are systematically collected and evaluated in a common framework. This model includes an evaluation rubric with 5 dimensions and a series of indicators, classifying the centers in 4 levels of development. The aim is to provide a framework to establish, monitor and guide their STEM culture development with a global perspective, counting with the entire educational community, working on STEM skills in a transversal manner.