Exploring early life events including diet in cats presenting for gastrointestinal signs in later life

Our study aimed to determine if certain early life events were more prevalent in cats presenting to veterinary practices specifically for gastrointestinal signs on at least two occasions between six months and 30 months of age. Data from an owner-completed questionnaire for 1212 cats before 16 weeks of age and subsequent questionnaires for the same cats between six months and 30 months of age were reviewed. Of the 1212 cats included, 30 visited a veterinary practice for gastrointestinal signs on two or more occasions. Of the early life events recorded, cats reported with vomiting, diarrhoea or both, and/or those not exclusively fed commercial diet(s) that meets the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Global Nutrition Committee (GNC) guidelines before 16 weeks of age were more likely to visit veterinary practices specifically for gastrointestinal signs on at least two occasions between six months and 30 months of age (P<0.001, odds ratio (OR)=2.64, 95 per cent confidence interval (CI)=1.66–4.22 and P=0.030, OR=1.51, 95 per cent CI=1.04–2.22, respectively). Ensuring cats exclusively consume commercial diet(s) that meets the WSAVA GNC guidelines and further studies identifying specific aetiologies for vomiting and diarrhoea before 16 weeks of age to enable prevention may reduce the number of cats subsequently presenting to primary care veterinary practices for repeated gastrointestinal signs

Clinical implications of the Royal College of Physicians three questions in routine asthma care: A real-life validation study

BACKGROUND: Annual recording of the Royal College of Physicians three questions (RCP3Q) morbidity score is rewarded within the UK 'pay-for-performance' Quality and Outcomes Framework. AIMS: To investigate the performance of the RCP3Qs for assessing control in real-life practice compared with the validated Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) administered by self-completed questionnaire. METHODS: We compared the RCP3Q score extracted from a patient's computerised medical record with the ACQ self-completed after the consultation. The anonymous data were paired by practice, age, sex, and dates of completion. We calculated the sensitivity and specificity of the RCP3Q scale compared with the threshold for good/poor asthma control (ACQ greater than 1). RESULTS: Of 291 ACQ questionnaires returned from 12 participating practices, 129 could be paired with complete RCP3Q data. Twenty-five of 27 patients who scored zero on the RCP3Q were well controlled (ACQ less than 1). An RCP3Q score greater than 1 predicted inadequate control (ACQ greater than 1) with a sensitivity of 0.96 and specificity of 0.34. Comparable values for RCP3Q greater than 2 were sensitivity 0.50 and specificity 0.94. The intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.13 indicated substantial variability between practices. Exacerbations and use of reliever inhalers were moderately correlated with ACQ (Spearman's rho 0.3 and 0.35) and may reflect different aspects of control. CONCLUSIONS: In routine practice, an RCP3Q score of zero indicates good asthma control and a score of 2 or 3 indicates poor control. An RCP3Q score of 1 has good sensitivity but poor specificity for suboptimal control and should provoke further enquiry and consideration of other aspects of control such as exacerbations and use of reliever inhalers

Проблема взаємозв’язку громадянського суспільства і державної бюрократії в Україні: деякі сучасні аспекти історіографії дослідження

Розглядається взаємодія громадянського суспільства і державної бюрократії. Зроблено висновок, що позиції українських дослідників відповідають напрацюванням західної наукової традиції стосовно теоретичних, а також практичних способів забезпечення взаємодії інститутів громадянського суспільства і державного апарату.In this article the interrelation between civil society and state bureaucracy is analysed. The conclusion is made that the views of the Ukrainian scientists correlate with the western traditional scientific opinion concerning theoretical and practical ways of ensuring interaction between the civil society institutions and state apparatus

ABCD : Update of the 2009 guidelines on prevention and management of feline infectious diseases

In this article, the ABCD guidelines published in the JFMS Special Issue of July 2009 (Volume 11, Issue 7, pages 527-620) are updated by including previously unavailable and novel information. For a better picture, the reader is advised to consult that issue before focusing on the novel features

Four patients with a history of acute exacerbations of COPD: implementing the CHEST/Canadian Thoracic Society guidelines for preventing exacerbations

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0

Rethinking globalised resistance : feminist activism and critical theorising in international relations

This article argues that a feminist approach to the 'politics of resistance' offers a number of important empirical insights which, in turn, open up lines of theoretical inquiry which critical theorists in IR would do well to explore. Concretely, we draw on our ongoing research into feminist 'anti-globalisation' activism to rethink the nature of the subject of the politics of resistance, the conditions under which resistance emerges and how resistance is enacted and expressed. We begin by discussing the relationship of feminism to critical IR theory as a way of situating and explaining the focus and approach of our research project. We then summarise our key empirical arguments regarding the emergence, structure, beliefs, identities and practices of feminist 'anti-globalisation' activism before exploring the implications of these for a renewed critical theoretical agenda in IR

Reconsidering the aid relationship: International relations and social development

Recent rhetoric surrounding the contemporary aid relationship between donors and African states is couched in terms of a high level consensus between western and African political leaderships, a central pillar of which is adherence to liberal principles of governance and economic management. The paper argues that an analysis of the nature of this consensus and its prospects requires that we need to understand it as (i) encompassing specifically international-geopolitical dimensions (including state interests, bargaining and power); and (ii) social-developmental purposes and content. The paper uses Rosenberg's considerations on 'international sociology' and uneven and combined development to provide a framework for analysing the aid relationship. In doing this, the paper speaks to two related theoretical issues: conceptualisations of the relationship between the 'social developmental' and the 'geopolitical/international' within International Relations (IR); and the contemporary relevance or otherwise of the discipline of IR to analyses of Africa's place in the international system

The Role of FeNO in Cough Management : A Randomised Controlled Trial

This abstract is funded by: Observational & Pragmatic Research Institute Pte Ltd, and Circassia Presented at thematic poster session: A34 ASTHMA CLINICAL STUDIES I Sunday 20th MayPeer reviewedPostprin