Longevity and mortality of cats attending primary care veterinary practices in England

Enhanced knowledge on longevity and mortality in cats should support improved breeding, husbandry, clinical care and disease prevention strategies. The VetCompass research database of primary care veterinary practice data offers an extensive resource of clinical health information on companion animals in the UK. This study aimed to characterise longevity and mortality in cats, and to identify important demographic risk factors for compromised longevity. Crossbred cats were hypothesised to live longer than purebred cats. Descriptive statistics were used to characterise the deceased cats. Multivariable linear regression methods investigated risk factor association with longevity in cats that died at or after 5 years of age. From 118,016 cats attending 90 practices in England, 4009 cats with confirmed deaths were randomly selected for detailed study. Demographic characterisation showed that 3660 (91.7%) were crossbred, 2009 (50.7%) were female and 2599 (64.8%) were neutered. The most frequently attributed causes of mortality in cats of all ages were trauma (12.2%), renal disorder (12.1%), non-specific illness (11.2%), neoplasia (10.8%) and mass lesion disorders (10.2%). Overall, the median longevity was 14.0 years (interquartile range [IQR] 9.0–17.0; range 0.0–26.7). Crossbred cats had a higher median longevity than purebred cats (median [IQR] 14.0 years [9.1–17.0] vs 12.5 years [6.1–16.4]; P \u3c0.001), but individual purebred cat breeds varied substantially in longevity. In cats dying at or after 5 years (n = 3360), being crossbred, having a lower bodyweight, and being neutered and non-insured were associated with increased longevity. This study described longevity in cats and identified important causes of mortality and breed-related associations with compromised longevity

Multiple Components in Narrow Planetary Rings

The phase-space volume of regions of regular or trapped motion, for bounded or scattering systems with two degrees of freedom respectively, displays universal properties. In particular, drastic reductions in the volume (gaps) are observed at specific values of a control parameter. Using the stability resonances we show that they, and not the mean-motion resonances, account for the position of these gaps. For more degrees of freedom, exciting these resonances divides the regions of trapped motion. For planetary rings, we demonstrate that this mechanism yields rings with multiple components.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figures (some in colors

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Infectivity in Greater Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros)

Of all the species exposed naturally to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent, the greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), a nondomesticated bovine from Africa, appears to be the most susceptible to the disease. We present the results of mouse bioassay studies to show that, contrary to findings in cattle with BSE in which the tissue distribution of infectivity is the most limited recorded for any of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), infectivity in greater kudu with BSE is distributed in as wide a range of tissues as occurs in any TSE. BSE agent was also detected in skin, conjunctiva, and salivary gland, tissues in which infectivity has not previously been reported in any naturally occurring TSE. The distribution of infectivity in greater kudu with BSE suggests possible routes for transmission of the disease and highlights the need for further research into the distribution of TSE infectious agents in other host species

The intermittent behavior and hierarchical clustering of the cosmic mass field

The hierarchical clustering model of the cosmic mass field is examined in the context of intermittency. We show that the mass field satisfying the correlation hierarchy $\xi_n\simeq Q_n(\xi_2)^{n-1}$ is intermittent if $\kappa < d$, where $d$ is the dimension of the field, and $\kappa$ is the power-law index of the non-linear power spectrum in the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) representation. We also find that a field with singular clustering can be described by hierarchical clustering models with scale-dependent coefficients $Q_n$ and that this scale-dependence is completely determined by the intermittent exponent and $\kappa$. Moreover, the singular exponents of a field can be calculated by the asymptotic behavior of $Q_n$ when $n$ is large. Applying this result to the transmitted flux of HS1700 Ly$\alpha$ forests, we find that the underlying mass field of the Ly$\alpha$ forests is significantly intermittent. On physical scales less than about 2.0 h$^{-1}$ Mpc, the observed intermittent behavior is qualitatively different from the prediction of the hierarchical clustering with constant $Q_n$. The observations, however, do show the existence of an asymptotic value for the singular exponents. Therefore, the mass field can be described by the hierarchical clustering model with scale-dependent $Q_n$. The singular exponent indicates that the cosmic mass field at redshift $\sim 2$ is weakly singular at least on physical scales as small as 10 h$^{-1}$ kpc.Comment: AAS Latex file, 33 pages,5 figures included, accepted for publication in Ap

Discrete breathers in polyethylene chain

The existence of discrete breathers (DBs), or intrinsic localized modes (localized periodic oscillations of transzigzag) is shown. In the localization region periodic contraction-extension of valence C-C bonds occurs which is accompanied by decrease-increase of valence angles. It is shown that the breathers present in thermalized chain and their contribution dependent on temperature has been revealed.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

The dynamical background of polar mesosphere winter echoes from simultaneous EISCAT and ESRAD observations

On 30 October 2004 during a strong solar proton event, layers of enhanced backscatter from altitudes between 55 and 75km have been observed by both ESRAD (52MHz) and the EISCAT VHF (224MHz) radars. These echoes have earlier been termed Polar Mesosphere Winter Echoes, PMWE. After considering the morphology of the layers and their relation to observed atmospheric waves, we conclude that the radars have likely seen the same phenomenon even though the radars&apos; scattering volumes are located about 220km apart and that the most long-lasting layer is likely associated with wind-shear in an inertio-gravity wave. An ion-chemistry model is used to determine parameters necessary to relate wind-shear induced turbulent energy dissipation rates to radar backscatter. The model is verified by comparison with electron density profiles measured by the EISCAT VHF radar. Observed radar signal strengths are found to be 2-3 orders of magnitude stronger than the maximum which can be expected from neutral turbulence alone, assuming that previously published results relating radar signal scatter to turbulence parameters, and turbulence parameters to wind shear, are correct. The possibility remains that some additional or alternative mechanism may be involved in producing PMWE, such as layers of charged dust/smoke particles or large cluster ions

Field theoretic description of charge regulation interaction

In order to find the exact form of the electrostatic interaction between two proteins with dissociable charge groups in aqueous solution, we have studied a model system composed of two macroscopic surfaces with charge dissociation sites immersed in a counterion-only ionic solution. Field-theoretic representation of the grand canonical partition function is derived and evaluated within the mean-field approximation, giving the Poisson-Boltzmann theory with the Ninham-Parsegian boundary condition. Gaussian fluctuations around the mean-field are then analyzed in the lowest order correction that we calculate analytically and exactly, using the path integral representation for the partition function of a harmonic oscillator with time-dependent frequency. The first order (one loop) free energy correction gives the interaction free energy that reduces to the zero-frequency van der Waals form in the appropriate limit but in general gives rise to a mono-polar fluctuation term due to charge fluctuation at the dissociation sites. Our formulation opens up the possibility to investigate the Kirkwood-Shumaker interaction in more general contexts where their original derivation fails.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, submitted to EPJ

Long-range forces between two excited mercury atoms and associative ionization

The long-range quadrupole-quadrupole ($\sim R^{-5}$) and leading dispersion ($\sim R^{-6}$) interactions between all pairs of excited Hg($6s6p$) $^3P_0$, $^3P_1$, $^3P_2$, and $^1P_1$ atoms are determined. The quadrupole moments are calculated using the {\it ab initio} relativistic configuration-interaction method coupled with many-body perturbation theory. The van der Waals coefficients are approximated using previously calculated static polarizabilities and expressions for the dispersion energy that are validated with similar systems. The long-range interactions are critical for associative ionization in thermal and cold collisions, and are found to be quite different for different pairs of interacting states. Based on this knowledge and the short-range parts of previously calculated potential curves, improved estimates of the chemi-ionization cross sections are obtained.Comment: accepted in Phys Rev

Arch Stiffness Does Not Determine Running Economy in Recreational Runners

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