The financial impact of pet ownership in rental properties

Report URL: https://www.battersea.org.uk/about-us/publications / Online pdf: https://bdch.org.uk/files/The_Financial_Impact_Pet_Ownership_Rental_Properties.pdf .[Foreword] At Battersea, we take in any dog or cat in need of our help, irrespective of age, condition or breed. In 2023 we directly helped nearly 5,000 animals, caring for dogs and cats who have either strayed and can’t get home or whose owners find themselves unable to look after them. Housing is one of the main reasons animals are given up by their owners into our care. This is why we first launched our Pet Friendly Properties campaign in 2018, working initially with the social rented sector where a number of partners have since made their policies more pet friendly. Landlord concerns about pets in their properties mean many owners have to make the traumatic choice between keeping their home or keeping their pet, while many more are denied the benefits of pet ownership because of the terms of their rental agreement. With 28% of all UK households now living in rented accommodation, and the Private Rented Sector only set to grow, landlord decisions about pets are affecting an ever-increasing number of animals and tenants. The positives of pet ownership are strong, showing health benefits for owners, social benefits for communities and economic benefits for the nation. Less attention has been given to the impact on landlords of accepting pets in their properties, and the link to the scarcity of pet-friendly properties. Many landlords are not opposed to pets. Indeed, many will own pets themselves. However, many hold legitimate concerns over the impact of pets on a property for which they may care deeply. For this reason, we decided to commission this high-quality study of the financial impact on landlords of allowing their tenants to keep a pet dog or cat. We recognised that the existing evidence was too anecdotal or methodologically weak to adequately test the conventional wisdom amongst some landlords that pet dogs and cats present an unacceptable financial risk. This question was important enough to warrant our investment in answering it. I hope that, upon seeing the myth-busting findings of this research, landlords will be reassured that accepting tenants with pets is financially viable and may not be the cost burden that they expect. There is less risk to their property than they may fear, while tenants are happier and stay longer in their home. This research is an important addition to the evidence base. I hope it will support and encourage decision-making that better balances the needs of animals, tenants and landlords, leading to more animals finding happy homes with a greater number of tenants and landlords enjoying greater peace of mind.Charity registered in England and Wales (charity no. 206394): Battersea Dogs & Cats Hom

Less-invasive autopsy for early pregnancy loss

Autopsy investigations provide valuable information regarding fetal death that can assist in the parental bereavement process, and influence future pregnancies, but conventional autopsy is often declined by parents because of its invasive approach. This has led to the development of less-invasive autopsy investigations based on imaging technology to provide a more accessible and acceptable choice for parents when investigating their loss. Whilst the development and use of more conventional clinical imaging techniques (radiographs, CT, MRI, US) are well described in the literature for fetuses over 20 weeks of gestational age, these investigations have limited diagnostic accuracy in imaging smaller fetuses. Techniques such as ultra-high-field MRI (>3T) and micro-focus computed tomography have been shown to have higher diagnostic accuracy whilst still being acceptable to parents. By further developing and increasing the availability of these more innovative imaging techniques, parents will be provided with a greater choice of acceptable options to investigate their loss, which may in turn increase their uptake. We provide a narrative review focussing on the development of high-resolution, non-invasive imaging techniques to evaluate early gestational pregnancy loss

Post-mortem micro-CT for non-invasive autopsies: Experience in > 250 human fetuses

BACKGROUND: Non-invasive 'imaging' autopsy alternatives for fetuses weighing <500g are limited. Micro-CT has been reported as a viable option in small case series with the potential to avoid an invasive autopsy. Implementation of post-mortem micro-CT in a large cohort, as part of routine clinical service has yet been unreported and realistic 'autopsy prevention rates' are unknown. OBJECTIVE: To describe the range of abnormalities detectable on fetal micro-CT in a clinical setting, additional findings identified over the antenatal ultrasound, and to estimate the invasive 'autopsy avoidance rate' (i.e. cases where imaging was sufficient to deem autopsy unnecessary). STUDY DESIGN: A prospective observational case series was conducted over 3 years (2016 - 2019), of all fetuses referred for micro-CT imaging at a single institution. Imaging was reported by two paediatric radiologists prior to autopsy, with "decision to proceed" based on specialist perinatal pathologists' judgement and parental consent. Agreement rates between micro-CT and antenatal ultrasound were evaluated, and where feasible, diagnostic accuracy for micro-CT was calculated using autopsy as reference standard. RESULTS: 268 fetuses were included (2-350g weight; 11 - 24 weeks gestation), with cause for demise in 122/268 (45.5%). Of these, 64/122 (52.5%) demonstrated fetal anomalies. Although 221/268 (82.5%) had consent for invasive autopsy, only 29/221 (13.1%) underwent this procedure giving an 'autopsy avoidance rate' of 192/221 (86.9%). Complete agreement was present for all brain, thoracic and abdominal pathologies, whilst sensitivity and specificity for cardiac anomalies were 66.7% and 91.7% respectively. Micro-CT and antenatal ultrasound agreement was found in 219/266 (81.9%) cases, with partial agreement in 21/266 (7.9%) and disagreement in 26/266 (10.5%), mostly due to additional cardiac, soft tissue or genito-urinary findings by micro-CT, not seen at ultrasound. CONCLUSIONS: Fetal micro-CT imaging is a viable and useful tool for imaging early gestational fetuses, and can avoid the need for invasive autopsy. Confirmation of antenatal diagnoses are achieved in the majority, and additional anomalies may also be detected

COVID-19: Global radiation oncology's targeted response for pandemic preparedness

As the global COVID-19 pandemic escalates there is a need within radiation oncology to work to support our patients in the best way possible. Measures are required to reduce infection spread between patients and within the workforce. Departments need contingency planning to create capacity and continue essential treatments despite a reduced workforce. The #radonc community held an urgent online journal club on Twitter in March 2020 to discuss these issues and create some consensus on crucial next steps. There were 121 global contributors. This document summarises these discussions around themes of infection prevention, rationalisation of workload and working practice in the presence of infection

Galactomannan Does Not Precede Major Signs on a Pulmonary Computerized Tomographic Scan Suggestive of Invasive Aspergillosis in Patients with Hematological Malignancies

Background. Detection of serum galactomannan (GM) antigen and presence of the halo sign on a pulmonary computerized tomographic (CT) scan have a high specificity but a low sensitivity to diagnose invasive aspergillosis (IA) in patients at risk for this disease. To our knowledge, the relationship between the time at which pulmonary infiltrates are detected by CT and the time at which GM antigens are detected by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) has not been studied. Methods. In a prospective study, tests for detection of GM were performed twice weekly for patients with hematological malignancies who had undergone hematopoetic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) or had received induction and/or consolidation chemotherapy. A pulmonary CT scan was performed once weekly. Infiltrates were defined as either major or minor signs. IA was classified as proven, probable, or possible, in accordance with the definition stated by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer-Invasive Fungal Infections Cooperative Group and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Mycoses Study Group. Results. We analyzed 161 episodes of infection in 107 patients (65 allogeneic HSCT recipients, 30 autologous HSCT recipients, and 66 induction and/or consolidation chemotherapy recipients). A total of 109 episodes with no IA, 32 episodes with possible IA, and 20 episodes with probable or proven IA were identified. Minor pulmonary signs were detected by CT in 70 episodes (43%), and major pulmonary signs were detected by CT in 11 episodes (7%). Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed no significant association between detection of GM by EIA and detection of abnormal pulmonary signs by CT. A significant association was found between GM levels and receipt of piperacillin-tazobactam. GM test results were not positive before major signs were seen on CT images. Only 7 (10%) of 70 patients with minor pulmonary signs had positive GM test results before detection of the greatest pathologic change by CT. Conclusions. We show that detection of GM by EIA does not precede detection of major lesions by pulmonary CT. In the clinical setting, the decision to administer mold-active treatment should based on detection of new pulmonary infiltrates on CT performed early during infection, rather than on results of EIA for detection of G

Eating, heating or taking the bus? Lived experiences at the intersection of energy and transport poverty

Experiences of poverty can manifest in multiple aspects of everyday life, often in interlinking ways. One example is ‘double energy vulnerability’, where a household faces both energy poverty and transport poverty simultaneously. This can result in trade-offs, where prioritising one essential need (e.g., transport) makes accessing another impossible (e.g., heating). Such decisions are not easily made, and they can have distinct spatio-temporal characteristics. They can vary between space and time and across different household members, and result in stark inter- as well as intra-household differences. People with socio-demographic and contextual vulnerabilities are particularly at risk of experiencing double energy vulnerability. Based on 59 household interviews across the four nations of the United Kingdom, we provide novel, multi-nation empirical evidence on the lived experiences of double energy vulnerability, drawing on our themes; ‘being locked into infrastructure’, ‘facing high costs and low incomes’, ‘choosing between energy and transport’, and ‘missing out’. A cross-national lived-experiences approach sheds light on double energy vulnerability as a relational, contingent and ongoing phenomena, attending to everyday experiences and capacities. We provide suggestions for further research, such as further study of double energy vulnerability amongst refugees and migrants. We also highlight that the study of lived experiences can aid the recognition of how different forms of poverty intersect and how they need to be taken into account in the design of Net Zero policies

Bone mineral density in breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant letrozole, tamoxifen, or sequences of letrozole and tamoxifen in the BIG 1-98 study (SAKK 21/07)

Background: The risk of osteoporosis and fracture influences the selection of adjuvant endocrine therapy. We analyzed bone mineral density (BMD) in Swiss patients of the Breast International Group (BIG) 1-98 trial [treatment arms: A, tamoxifen (T) for 5 years; B, letrozole (L) for 5 years; C, 2 years of T followed by 3 years of L; D, 2 years of L followed by 3 years of T]. Patients and methods: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) results were retrospectively collected. Patients without DXA served as control group. Repeated measures models using covariance structures allowing for different times between DXA were used to estimate changes in BMD. Prospectively defined covariates were considered as fixed effects in the multivariable models. Results: Two hundred and sixty-one of 546 patients had one or more DXA with 577 lumbar and 550 hip measurements. Weight, height, prior hormone replacement therapy, and hysterectomy were positively correlated with BMD; the correlation was negative for letrozole arms (B/C/D versus A), known osteoporosis, time on trial, age, chemotherapy, and smoking. Treatment did not influence the occurrence of osteoporosis (T score < −2.5 standard deviation). Conclusions: All aromatase inhibitor regimens reduced BMD. The sequential schedules were as detrimental for bone density as L monotherap