Animals Finally above Objects and Stricter Criminalization of Cruelty : Some Insights in Czech Animal Legislation

The legal protection of animals of the Czech Republic has its roots as far back as in early 20th century with the first anti-cruelty provisions of the then Czechoslovakia. Nevertheless, the 40-years long communist regime, which lasted until 1989, brought discontinuance in all the law system including animal protection. Thus, completely new animal protection legislation came during the first decade of building a democratic legal system, which was at the same time the decade of preparing our country to the European Union accession in 2004. Today, the legal background of animal protection in the Czech Republic is of a high standard; however, there are minor legislative and administrative imperfections that cause application problems and lower the effectiveness of the animal protection. Initially, this paper introduces basic features of the current Czech animal protection legislation and draws attention to the new Czech legal status of non-human animals. However, the main target of the author is to give a detailed picture of the Czech anti-cruelty legislation; the survey is supported by a short insight in rules of handling stray animals to illustrate the Czech legal approach to companion animals' protection. From 2014, animals will no longer be objects in legal sense in the Czech Republic. Thanks to the new Czech Civil Code, approved in February 2012 and coming in force in two years, the Czech Republic has finally joined the countries that had already reflected in law the ongoing ethical shift of human relations to other living beings that are also capable to experience pain and suffering. The new legal status of animals will apply not only within the civil law, but throughout the whole Czech legal system. What is more, it will cover not only vertebrates, but all non-human animals.La protección jurídica de los animales en la República Checa hunde sus raíces en las primeras disposiciones contra la crueldad hacia los animales de la entonces Checoslovaquia, a inicios del siglo XX. Sin embargo, los cuarenta años del régimen comunista, que duró hasta 1989, trajeron la languidez de todo el sistema legal, incluida la protección de los animales. Así, la nueva legislación en materia de protección de los animales se promulgó durante la primera década de la construcción de un sistema democrático, que era, al mismo tiempo, la década en la que se preparó nuestro país para la adhesión a la Unión Europea, que tendría lugar en 2004. Hoy en día, el marco jurídico de la protección de los animales en la República Checa presenta un estándar alto, pero hay pequeñas imperfecciones legislativas y administrativas que causan problemas de aplicación y reducen la eficacia de la protección de los animales. Este artículo expone las características básicas de la actual legislación checa de protección de los animales y nos llama la atención acerca de la nueva situación jurídica de los animales no humanos en Chequia. Sin embargo, el principal objetivo de la autora es dar una imagen detallada de la legislación en contra de la crueldad animal vigente en la República Checa; la investigación se apoya en un enfoque de las reglas relativas al manejo de animales callejeros, para así ilustrar la aproximación jurídica checa a la protección de los animales de compañía. Desde 2014, los animales ya no estarán considerados como cosas en la República Checa. Gracias al nuevo Código Civil, aprobado este febrero y que entrará en vigor dentro de dos años, la República Checa se ha finalmente unido a aquellos países que ya han reflejado en su derecho el cambio ético en cuanto a las relaciones entre los humanos y los animales, seres capaces de experimentar dolor y sufrir. Este cambio está socialmente aceptado. El nuevo estatus legal de los animales no sólo tendrá efectos civiles, sino que afectará a todo el sistema legal checo. Y, más aún, no solamente incluirá a los vertebrados, sino a todos los animales no humanos

The Distribution of some Elements and Oxides in the Soil Profiles of the Králický Sněžník Region

The work aims to present the preliminary results of the study of distribution of heavy metals and toxic elements in the profiles of chosen dug holes in the area of Králický Sněžník. We have focused mainly on the changes in the element contents depending on the sampling depth, and on the mutual correlations among the elements. We have also monitored several radioactive elements (including the anthropogenic 137Cs nuclide that contaminated the environment after the Chernobyl disaster) and tried to trace the origin of the contaminants in the rock environment.The work aims to present the preliminary results of the study of distribution of heavy metals and toxic elements in the profiles of chosen dug holes in the area of Králický Sněžník. We have focused mainly on the changes in the element contents depending on the sampling depth, and on the mutual correlations among the elements. We have also monitored several radioactive elements (including the anthropogenic 137Cs nuclide that contaminated the environment after the Chernobyl disaster) and tried to trace the origin of the contaminants in the rock environment

Validity and interpretation of spirometric recordings to diagnose COPD in UK primary care.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of COPD is dependent upon clinical judgment and confirmation of the presence of airflow obstruction using spirometry. Spirometry is now routinely available; however, spirometry incorrectly performed or interpreted can lead to misdiagnosis. We aimed to determine whether spirometry undertaken in primary care for patients suspected to have COPD was of sufficient quality and whether their spirometry was correctly interpreted. METHODS: Two chest physicians re-read all spirometric readings for both quality of the procedure and interpretation, received as a part of COPD validation studies using data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). We then used logistic regression to investigate predictors of correct interpretation. RESULTS: Spirometry traces were obtained for 306 patients, of which 221 (72.2%) were conducted in primary care. Of those conducted in primary care, 98.6% (n=218) of spirometry traces were of adequate quality. Of those traces that were of adequate quality and conducted in primary care, and in whom a general practitioner (GP) diagnosis of COPD had been made, 72.5% (n=218) were consistent with obstruction. Historical records for asthma diagnosis significantly decreased odds of correct interpretation. CONCLUSION: The quality of the spirometry procedure undertaken in primary care is high. However, this was not reflected in the quality of interpretation, suggesting an unmet training in primary care. The quality of the spirometry procedure as demonstrated by spirometric tracings provides a re-assurance for the use of spirometric values available in the electronic health care record databases for research purposes

Short- and Long-Term Impact of Prior Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations on Healthcare Resource Utilization and Related Costs : An Observational Study (SHERLOCK)

Acknowledgments Medical writing support, under the direction of the authors, was provided by Sara Cameron, MPhil, CMC Connect, a division of IPG Health Medical Communications, funded by AstraZeneca in accordance with Good Publication Practice (GPP 2022) guidelines [Citation28]. All authors were involved in the design and conduct of the study and in the interpretation of the data. All authors were involved in the writing of the manuscript and the final decision to submit to COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Funding This study was sponsored by AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca authors were involved in the design of the study; in the analysis, and interpretation of the data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The long-term clinical impact of COPD exacerbations : a 3-year observational study (SHERLOCK)

Acknowledgements Medical writing support, under the direction of the authors, was provided by Sara Cameron, M. Phil., of CMC Connect, McCann Health Medical Communications, funded by AstraZeneca in accordance with Good Publication Practice (GPP3) guidelines. The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was supported by AstraZeneca. Employees of AstraZeneca were involved in the design of the study, interpretation of the data (but not the data collection), in the writing of the report, and in the decision to submit the article for publication.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Budesonide/Glycopyrrolate/Formoterol for the Management of COPD in a UK Primary Care Population : Real-World Use and Early Medication Success

We thank Johann Castaneda for his contribution to protocol development, analysis and interpretation of data. Dr Ruth B Murray (Medscript NZ Ltd) provided medical writing assistance under the direction of the authors, funded by AstraZeneca.Peer reviewe

Recording of hospitalizations for acute exacerbations of COPD in UK electronic health care records.

BACKGROUND: Accurate identification of hospitalizations for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) within electronic health care records is important for research, public health, and to inform health care utilization and service provision. We aimed to develop a strategy to identify hospitalizations for AECOPD in secondary care data and to investigate the validity of strategies to identify hospitalizations for AECOPD in primary care data. METHODS: We identified patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) with linked Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) data. We used discharge summaries for recent hospitalizations for AECOPD to develop a strategy to identify the recording of hospitalizations for AECOPD in HES. We then used the HES strategy as a reference standard to investigate the positive predictive value (PPV) and sensitivity of strategies for identifying AECOPD using general practice CPRD data. We tested two strategies: 1) codes for hospitalization for AECOPD and 2) a code for AECOPD other than hospitalization on the same day as a code for hospitalization due to unspecified reason. RESULTS: In total, 27,182 patients with COPD were included. Our strategy to identify hospitalizations for AECOPD in HES had a sensitivity of 87.5%. When compared with HES, using a code suggesting hospitalization for AECOPD in CPRD resulted in a PPV of 50.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 48.5%-51.8%) and a sensitivity of 4.1% (95% CI 3.9%-4.3%). Using a code for AECOPD and a code for hospitalization due to unspecified reason resulted in a PPV of 43.3% (95% CI 42.3%-44.2%) and a sensitivity of 5.4% (95% CI 5.1%-5.7%). CONCLUSION: Hospitalization for AECOPD can be identified with high sensitivity in the HES database. The PPV and sensitivity of strategies to identify hospitalizations for AECOPD in primary care data alone are very poor. Primary care data alone should not be used to identify hospitalizations for AECOPD. Instead, researchers should use data that are linked to data from secondary care

Treatable traits in the NOVELTY study

Background and objective: Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are two prevalent and complex diseases that require personalized management. Although a strategy based on treatable traits (TTs) has been proposed, the prevalence and relationship of TTs to the diagnostic label and disease severity established by the attending physician in a real-world setting are unknown. We assessed how the presence/absence of specific TTs relate to the diagnosis and severity of ‘asthma’, ‘COPD’ or ‘asthma + COPD’. Methods: The authors selected 30 frequently occurring TTs from the NOVELTY study cohort (NOVEL observational longiTudinal studY; NCT02760329), a large (n = 11,226), global study that systematically collects data in a real-world setting, both in primary care clinics and specialized centres, for patients with ‘asthma’ (n = 5932, 52.8%), ‘COPD’ (n = 3898, 34.7%) or both (‘asthma + COPD’; n = 1396, 12.4%). Results: The results indicate that (1) the prevalence of the 30 TTs evaluated varied widely, with a mean ± SD of 4.6 ± 2.6, 5.4 ± 2.6 and 6.4 ± 2.8 TTs/patient in those with ‘asthma’, ‘COPD’ and ‘asthma + COPD’, respectively (p < 0.0001); (2) there were no large global geographical variations, but the prevalence of TTs was different in primary versus specialized clinics; (3) several TTs were specific to the diagnosis and severity of disease, but many were not; and (4) both the presence and absence of TTs formed a pattern that is recognized by clinicians to establish a diagnosis and grade its severity. Conclusion: These results provide the largest and most granular characterization of TTs in patients with airway diseases in a real-world setting to date

Validation of a diagnosis-agnostic symptom questionnaire for asthma and/or COPD

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to acknowledge the work of the NOVELTY study investigators, who are listed in full in the supplementary material, and Sharon MacLachlan (Evidera, London, UK), who participated in the analysis of sections of the data. Medical writing support, under the direction of the authors, was provided by Lauren McNally, MSci, CMC Connect, McCann Health Medical Communications, and was funded by AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK, in accordance with Good Publication Practice (GPP3) guidelines (Ann Intern Med 2015; 163: 461–464). Support statement: The NOVELTY study is funded by AstraZenecaPeer reviewedPublisher PD

137Cs Contamination of Soils in the Highland Regions of North Moravia

The survey aims to determine the extent, the level and the vertical distribution of chosen contaminants in soils of various cultivation (forests, pastures, fields) in the areas of Králický Sněžník, Jeseníky, Orlické hory and Moravian-Silesian Beskydy Mts. The research is focused namely on radiogenic 137Cs (half-life of 30.1 years), to a lesser extent also on the isotopes of U, Th, K.The survey aims to determine the extent, the level and the vertical distribution of chosen contaminants in soils of various cultivation (forests, pastures, fields) in the areas of Králický Sněžník, Jeseníky, Orlické hory and Moravian-Silesian Beskydy Mts. The research is focused namely on radiogenic 137Cs (half-life of 30.1 years), to a lesser extent also on the isotopes of U, Th, K