Survival and complications in cats treated with subcutaneous ureteral bypass.

To report the complications and factors affecting outcome for cats following placement of a subcutaneous ureteral bypass (SUB™). In this retrospective study, complications, the presence of a urinary tract infection and survival time were recorded following subctutaneous ureteral bypass placement. Factors affecting survival time were assessed using a Kaplan Meier curve and log rank test. Ninety-five cats had 130 subcutaneous ureteral bypasses placed. Ten cats did not survive to discharge. Forty cats died or were euthanised after discharge (42%); the median survival time of these cats was 530 days (range 7 to 1915). Minor complications occurred in 18 cats (19%) and major complications occurred in 46 cats (48%), the majority of which were after hospital discharge. Twenty-seven cats were diagnosed with a urinary tract infection (UTI) post-operatively. A significant association between long-term survival and creatinine at presentation was identified. The median survival time for cats presenting with creatinine concentration ≥440 μmol/L (International Renal Interest Society stage acute kidney injury (AKI) 4 and 5) was 530 days (95% CI 273-787 days), compared to a median survival time of 949 days (95% CI 655-1243 days; Log Rank P=0.024) for those cats presenting with creatinine <440 μmol/L (International Renal Interest Society stage AKI 1-3). In this population of cats, subcutaneous ureteral bypass placement was associated with an approximately 10% in-hospital mortality and a high complication rate. Most complications were manageable, resulting in an overall median survival time of over 2 years. [Abstract copyright: © 2020 British Small Animal Veterinary Association.

Biotic and stable-isotope characterization of the Toarcian Ocean Anoxic Event through a carbonate–clastic sequence from Somerset, UK

This study focuses on a condensed sequence of alternating carbonate–clastic sediments of the Barrington Member, Beacon Limestone Formation (latest Pliensbachian to early Toarcian) from Somerset (SW England). Abundant ammonites confirm (apart from the absence of the Clevelandicum and Tenuicostatum ammonite subchronozones) the presence of Hawskerense Subchronozone to Fallaciosum–Bingmanni subchronozones. Well-preserved, sometimes diverse assemblages of ostracods, foraminifera, nannofossils and lowdiversity dinoflagellate assemblages support the chronostratigraphic framework. Stable-isotope analyses demonstrate the presence of a carbon isotope excursion, relating to the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, within the early Toarcian. Faunal, geochemical and sedimentological evidence suggest that deposition largely took place in a relatively deep-water (subwave base), mid-outer shelf environment under a well-mixed water column. However, reduced benthic diversity, the presence of weakly laminated sediments and changes in microplankton assemblage composition within the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event indicates dysoxic, but probably never anoxic, bottom-water conditions during this event. The onset of the carbon isotope excursion coincides with extinction in the nannofossils and benthos, including the disappearance of the ostracod suborder Metacopina. Faunal evidence indicates connectivity with the Mediterranean region, not previously recorded for the UK during the early Toarcian

Factors Affecting European Farmers’Participation in Biodiversity Policies

This article reports the major findings from an interdisciplinary research project that synthesises key insights into farmers’ willingness and ability to co-operate with biodiversity policies. The results of the study are based on an assessment of about 160 publications and research reports from six EU member states and from international comparative research.We developed a conceptual framework to systematically review the existent literature relevant for our purposes. This framework provides a common structure for analysing farmers’ perspectives regarding the introduction into farming practices of measures relevant to biodiversity. The analysis is coupled and contrasted with a survey of experts. The results presented above suggest that it is important to view support for practices oriented towards biodiversity protection not in a static sense – as a situation determined by one or several influencing factors – but rather as a process marked by interaction. Financial compensation and incentives function as a necessary, though clearly not sufficient condition in this process

Research on the Geography of Agricultural Change: Redundant or Revitalized?

Future research directions for agricultural geography were the subject of debate in Area in the late 1980s. The subsequent application of political economy ideas undoubtedly revived interest in agricultural research. This paper argues that agricultural geography contains greater diversity than the dominant political economy discourse would suggest. It reviews ‘other’ areas of agricultural research on policy, post-productivism, people, culture and animals, presenting future suggestions for research. They should ensure that agricultural research continues revitalized rather than redundant into the next millennium

Delinquent Behavior of Dutch Rural Adolescents

This article compares Dutch rural and non-rural adolescents’ delinquent behavior and examines two social correlates of rural delinquency: communal social control and traditional rural culture. The analyses are based on cross-sectional data, containing 3,797 participants aged 13–18 (48.7% females). The analyses show that rural adolescents are only slightly less likely to engage in delinquent behavior. Furthermore, while rural adolescents are exposed more often to communal social control, this does not substantially reduce the likelihood that they engage in delinquent behavior. Concerning rural culture, marked differences appeared between rural and non-rural adolescents. First, alcohol use and the frequency of visiting pubs were more related to rural adolescents’ engagement in delinquent behavior. Second, the gender gap in delinquency is larger among rural adolescents: whereas rural boys did not differ significantly from non-rural boys, rural girls were significantly less likely to engage in delinquent behavior than non-rural girls. However, the magnitude of the effects of most indicators was rather low. To better account for the variety of rural spaces and cultures, it is recommended that future research into antisocial and criminal behavior of rural adolescents should adopt alternative measurements of rurality, instead of using an indicator of population density only

Geographical classifications to guide rural health policy in Australia

The Australian Government's recent decision to replace the Rural Remote and Metropolitan Area (RRMA) classification with the Australian Standard Geographical Classification - Remoteness Areas (ASGC-RA) system highlights the ongoing significance of geographical classifications for rural health policy, particularly in relation to improving the rural health workforce supply. None of the existing classifications, including the government's preferred choice, were designed specifically to guide health resource allocation, and all exhibit strong weaknesses when applied as such. Continuing reliance on these classifications as policy tools will continue to result in inappropriate health program resource distribution. Purely 'geographical' classifications alone cannot capture all relevant aspects of rural health service provision within a single measure. Moreover, because many subjective decisions (such as the choice of algorithm and breakdown of groupings) influence a classification's impact and acceptance from its users, policy-makers need to specify explicitly the purpose and role of their different programs as the basis for developing and implementing appropriate decision tools such as 'rural-urban' classifications. Failure to do so will continue to limit the effectiveness that current rural health support and incentive programs can have in achieving their objective of improving the provision of health care services to rural populations though affirmative action programs

Migration and Urbanity in Rural Areas. Developments in the German-Luxembourg Border Region

Studies on the connection between migration and urbanity are usually concerned with conditions and developments in cities. The presence of ‘urbanity’ in rural space is the topic of the present contribution. It will be discussed using the example of residential migration in the Greater Region SaarLorLux. The massive influx of residential migrants from Luxembourg into the border regions of the neighbouring countries is a relatively recent phenomenon, the main cause of which lies in the developments in the real-estate market in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. This phenomenon is of special interest for the topic of migration in rural areas in two regards: because of the important demographic changes produced by the residential migrants in individual border villages and because of the complex composition of the group of residential migrants, which is extremely differentiated regarding the dimension rural – urban. Central to the article is the question, whether urban attitudes and practices become visible in German border villages, and, if so, how the migratory movement from Luxembourg influences this ‘rural urbanity’. Furthermore, taking the everyday practices of the residential migrants as starting point, it asks in how far the dichotomy urbanity - rurality presents a conceptual approach for the examination of individual and structural integration processes