‘Unsettled Minds’ in England and Wales, 1800-1834.

This thesis is set to analyse pauper letters to provide a new critical framework to access the emotional lives of what Edward Thompson once called ‘people from below’ under the last years of the Old Poor Law. The concept and spectrum of ‘unsettled mind’ is to be introduced as the central interpretive framework through which the content and emotional dimensions of pauper’s requests for relief will be examined. The hypothesis of unsettledness is that ordinary people in England and Wales experienced a constant state of flux in their mental well-being and moved across an experiential spectrum. This ranged from deeply embedded contentment with the self and their human situation, to confinement, usually in asylums, in mental institutions. The study is based upon close readings and detailed analysis of the corpus linguistics found in pauper letters from 1,499 individual letter sets across eight different typological and topographical regions. Five different typologies of unsettled mind will be presented and analysed, with a view to reconstructing the emotional lives of the poor. The introduction and subsequent use of the spectrum of unsettledness locates this study at the liminal intersection of the historical literatures of madness and emotion. The argument will be made that the accounts from unsettled paupers allow historians to: look beyond the realm of the asylum and notions of madness to consider contemporaries’ experiences of mental distress in the words used by the affected to describe their experiences; present a history of the emotional dimensions of poverty, a wide-scale study of the emotions of the lower classes, and offer a new window into contemporaries’ actualised experience(s) of illness; and to demonstrate how the letters give testimony to the exercise and limits of paupers’ agency in the early nineteenth century. This thesis aims, ultimately, to present an emotional history of poverty in the words of those that endured its effects and provide a privileged space for their accounts of pauperism and unsettledness to be heard

An Assessment of the Impact of Sand Mining: Unguja, Zanzibar

Resource consumption is one of the most crucial environmental problems facing the world today. Therefore nonrenewable resources need to be sustainably used to ensure the survival of both future generations and the resources at stake. The goal of this study was to investigate the impacts of sand mining on the environment, economy, and communities of Zanzibar. The environmental, economic, and social impacts of sand mining activities were studied at various sites on the island of Unguja. The effects on vegetation, coastal erosion, communities, and local economies were researched based on field observations and interviews with local people and officials at the various sites. Five primary sites were visited throughout this study, three illegal quarries, one abandoned legal quarry, and one active legal quarry. The environmental impacts at each of the five sites were decidedly destructive, and the economic and social results were also found to be generally harmful as many people, children, and animals have drowned and the number of fruitbearing trees and farms are shrinking, which decreases local incomes. The accelerated erosion, lack of plant regeneration, and reported issues with mining in local communities demonstrate that sand mining in Unguja has had adverse impacts overall

Treatment of canine aural haematoma by UK veterinarians.

OBJECTIVES: To survey the current treatment techniques of aural haematomas in dogs and investigate veterinary opinion regarding treatment success. METHODS: Totally 2386 emails were sent to veterinary surgeons and practices inviting them to complete an online survey. Questions investigated treatment selection for initial and repeat presentations of aural haematoma in dogs and their opinion of treatment success to prevent recurrence and for good cosmesis. RESULTS: Totally 312 email addresses were invalid, 259 questionnaires were completed (12·5% response rate) and 251 were included in analysis. On initial presentation, treatments included needle drainage with local deposition of corticosteroids (43%), surgery (29%) and needle drainage without corticosteroids (16%). Surgical procedures included linear incision with sutures alone (35%) or sutures plus stents (24%) and an S-shaped incision with sutures (23%). The most common reason to select a particular treatment was previous success (76%). Recurrent haematoma was treated more commonly with surgery (67%) than that of the initial presentation. Cosmetic results with medical management were excellent and with surgical treatment were good. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This study describes the relative popularity and perceived success of treatments used for aural haematoma in the dog. Surgery is considered more likely to definitively treat the condition with good cosmetic results.This is the author accepted manuscript. It is currently under an indefinite embargo pending publication by Wiley

Specific treatment and outcome of urethrorectal fistula associated with type 1 atresia ani in a juvenile male dog

A four-month-old, entire male, German wirehaired pointer presented with tenesmus due to type I atresia ani and with urination observed through this stenosed anal opening. A positive contrast retrograde urethrogram demonstrated a urethrorectal fistula and stricture of the penile urethra. Urine culture revealed heavy mixed bacterial growth, which was treated with appropriate antibiotics. Surgical correction of the congenital urethrorectal fistula was performed via a perineal approach with a 3.5 French catheter placed retrograde into the fistula to facilitate its dissection. The anal stenosis was addressed by surgical anoplasty and the urethral stricture via a scrotal urethrostomy. The dog recovered well with the owner reporting complete resolution of the clinical signs and urination via the urethrostomy site at six months postoperatively. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first reported case of congenital urethrorectal fistula associated with type 1 atresia ani in a male dog

Cognitive functional therapy (CFT)-based rehabilitation improves clinical outcomes in UK military personnel with persistent low back pain

Introduction Low back pain (LBP) has been reported as the most common reason for presentation to the Medical Centre in the British Military, and the most common re-referral for the same condition. In 2015, the UK Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) adopted a cognitive functional therapy (CFT) approach to spinal rehabilitation in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and military best practice guidelines. The aim of this study is to evaluate the functional and psychosocial outcomes of all patients with chronic LBP treated with CFT-based multidisciplinary rehabilitation at DMRC, Headley Court. Methods A prospective observational service evaluation of British Military patients (n=238) with LBP who attended 3 weeks of inpatient multidisciplinary CFT-based programme from 2015 to the end of 2017 at DMRC was analysed. Functional outcomes include: multistage locomotion test (MSLT) and sit and reach test. Psychosocial outcomes include: Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia, Oswestry Disability Index, Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), General Anxiety Disorder-7 and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Results There were significant improvements in endurance (MSLT), range of motion, kinesiophobia, pain-related lifestyle interference (BPI-Lifestyle), anxiety and depression (p≤0.001). However, no improvements in pain intensity (BPI-Intensity) were demonstrated (p>0.05). Conclusion After 3 weeks of CFT-based multidisciplinary rehabilitation, function and psychosocial health improved with symptoms of pain being less obtrusive to activities of daily activity. There were however no patient-reported reductions in pain intensity. The improvements demonstrated are indicative of outcomes that facilitate greater integration back to work or into society

Whole-Body Barometric Plethysmography Characterizes Upper Airway Obstruction in 3 Brachycephalic Breeds of Dogs.

BACKGROUND: A novel test using whole-body barometric plethysmography (WBBP) was developed recently to diagnose brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) in unsedated French bulldogs. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: The hypotheses of this study were: (1) respiratory characteristics are different between healthy nonbrachycephalic dogs and brachycephalic dogs; and among pugs, French bulldogs, and bulldogs; and (2) obesity and stenotic nares are risk factors for BOAS. The main objective was to establish a diagnostic test for BOAS in these 3 breeds. ANIMALS: A total of 266 brachycephalic dogs (100 pugs, 100 French bulldogs, and 66 bulldogs) and 28 nonbrachycephalic dogs. METHODS: Prospective study. Exercise tolerance tests with respiratory functional grading, and WBBP were performed on all dogs. Data from WBBP were associated with functional grades to train quadratic discriminant analysis tools to assign dogs to BOAS+ and BOAS- groups. A BOAS index (0-100%) was calculated for each dog. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate classification ability. RESULTS: Minute volume was decreased significantly in asymptomatic pugs (P = .009), French bulldogs (P = .026), and bulldogs (P < .0001) when compared to nonbrachycephalic controls. Respiratory characteristics were different among breeds and affected dogs had a significant increase in trace variation. The BOAS index predicted BOAS status for each breed with 94-97% (95% confidence interval [CI], 88.9-100%) accuracy (area under the ROC curve). Both obesity (P = .04) and stenotic nares (P = .004) were significantly associated with BOAS. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The WBBP can be used as a clinical tool to diagnose BOAS noninvasively and objectively.This study is supported by a grant from the Kennel Club Charitable Trust (KCCT), no. RG71960.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jvim.1393

Characterisation of Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome in French Bulldogs Using Whole-Body Barometric Plethysmography.

Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) is an important health and welfare problem in several popular dog breeds. Whole-body barometric plethysmography (WBBP) is a non-invasive method that allows safe and repeated quantitative measurements of respiratory cycles on unsedated dogs. Here respiratory flow traces in French bulldogs from the pet population were characterised using WBBP, and a computational application was developed to recognise affected animals. Eighty-nine French bulldogs and twenty non-brachycephalic controls underwent WBBP testing. A respiratory functional grading system was used on each dog based on respiratory signs (i.e. respiratory noise, effort, etc.) before and after exercise. For development of an objective BOAS classifier, functional Grades 0 and I were considered to have insignificant clinical signs (termed here BOAS-) and Grades II and III to have significant signs (termed here BOAS+). A comparison between owner-perception of BOAS and functional grading revealed that 60 % of owners failed to recognise BOAS in dogs that graded BOAS+ in this study.WBBP flow traces were found to be significantly different between non-brachycephalic controls and Grade 0 French bulldogs; BOAS- and BOAS+ French bulldogs. A classifier was developed using quadratic discriminant analysis of the respiratory parameters to distinguish BOAS- and BOAS + French bulldogs, and a BOAS Index was calculated for each dog. A cut-off value of the BOAS Index was selected based on a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the classifier on the training group (n=69) were 0.97, 0.93, 0.95, and 0.97, respectively. The classifier was validated using a test group of French bulldogs (n=20) with an accuracy of 0.95. WBBP offers objective screening for the diagnosis of BOAS in French Bulldogs. The technique may be applied to other brachycephalic breeds affected by BOAS, and possibly to other respiratory disease in dogs.Funding was provided by (1) The Kennel Club Charitable Trust (KCCT), Grant no.: RG 71960, http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/our-reso​urces/kennel-club-charitable-trust/, to DRS JFL; and (2) Cambridge Overseas Trust (Taiwan Cambridge Scholarship), https://www.cambridgetrust.org/about/cam​bridge-overseas-trust/, to NCL.This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0130741

Telephone Methods Toolkit

The pandemic has prompted many social scientists to rethink their research methods and adapt to researching in ways that accommodate social distancing rules. Telephone interviews offer a remote route to fieldwork but their value for researchers extends beyond the pandemic. This toolkit considers the role of telephone interviewing in qualitative research and the advantages and challenges of this method and attendant practical and ethical questions. We provide practical reflections around how to address the challenges associated with telephone interviews and draw on examples from current research

COVID-19 and Young Fathers: Negotiating ‘earning’ and ‘caring’ through the COVID-19 crisis: change and continuities in the parenting and employment trajectories of young fathers

In this briefing paper we explore the earning and caring experiences and trajectories of a cohort of seventeen young fathers. We examine continuities and change in their work and family arrangements, the impacts of these changes on their parenting trajectories and personal relationships, and the extent to which these experiences differ for young fathers who are resident and non-resident. The balance of earning and caring has always been negotiated and shared by parents to varying degrees (Neale and Davies, 2015), but never more rapidly than under the renewed socio-economic conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown. As a secondary effect of the lockdown as a major public health intervention, the pandemic has had significant gendered effects, forcing widespread change and renegotiations in the employment and caring circumstances of both men and women