Signalment risk factors for cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy (Alabama rot) in dogs in the UK

Seasonal outbreaks of cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy (CRGV) have been reported annually in UK dogs since 2012, yet the aetiology of the disease remains unknown. The objectives of this study were to explore whether any breeds had an increased or decreased risk of being diagnosed with CRGV, and to report on age and sex distributions of CRGV cases occurring in the UK. Multivariable logistic regression was used to compare 101 dogs diagnosed with CRGV between November 2012 and May 2017 with a denominator population of 446,453 dogs from the VetCompass database. Two Kennel Club breed groups—hounds (odds ratio (OR) 10.68) and gun dogs (OR 9.69)—had the highest risk of being diagnosed with CRGV compared with terriers, while toy dogs were absent from among CRGV cases. Females were more likely to be diagnosed with CRGV (OR 1.51) as were neutered dogs (OR 3.36). As well as helping veterinarians develop an index of suspicion for the disease, better understanding of the signalment risk factors may assist in the development of causal models for CRGV and help identify the aetiology of the disease

A mixed method evaluation of a theory based intervention to reduce sedentary behaviour in contact centres- the stand up for health stepped wedge feasibility study

Copyright: \ua9 2023 Sivaramakrishnan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. INTRODUCTION: Contact centres have higher levels of sedentary behaviour than other office-based workplaces. Stand Up for Health (SUH) is a theory-based intervention developed using the 6SQuID framework to reduce sedentary behaviour in contact centre workers. The aim of this study was to test acceptability and feasibility of implementing SUH in UK contact centres. METHODS: The study was conducted in 2020-2022 (pre COVID and during lockdown) and used a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial design including a process evaluation. The intervention included working with contact centre managers to develop and implement a customised action plan aligning with SUH\u27s theory of change. Workplace sedentary time, measured using activPAL™ devices, was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included productivity, mental wellbeing, musculoskeletal health and physical activity. Empirical estimates of between-centre standard deviation and within-centre standard deviation of outcomes from pre-lockdown data were calculated to inform sample size calculations for future trials. The process evaluation adopted the RE-AIM framework to understand acceptability and feasibility of implementing the intervention. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with contact centre employees and managers, and activity preferences were collected using a questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 11 contact centres participated: 155 employees from 6 centres in the pre-lockdown data collection, and 54 employees from 5 centres post-lockdown. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 33 employees and managers, and 96 participants completed an intervention activity preference questionnaire. Overall, the intervention was perceived as acceptable and feasible to deliver. Most centres implemented several intervention activities aligned with SUH\u27s theory of change and over 50% of staff participated in at least one activity (pre-lockdown period). Perceived benefits including reduced sedentary behaviour, increased physical activity, and improved staff morale and mood were reported by contact centre employees and managers. CONCLUSIONS: SUH demonstrates potential as an appealing and acceptable intervention, impacting several wellbeing outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial has been registered on the ISRCTNdatabase: http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN11580369

Low-Temperature Thermochronology of the Chatkal-Kurama Terrane (Uzbekistan-Tajikistan): Insights Into the Meso-Cenozoic Thermal History of the Western Tian Shan

The Chatkal-Kurama terrane represents a key region in understanding the tectonic evolution of the western Tian Shan. In this contribution, we present new thermochronological data (zircon [U-Th-Sm]/He, apatite fission track, and apatite [U-Th-Sm]/He) and the associated thermal history models for 30 igneous samples from the Chatkal-Kurama terrane within Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (west of the Talas-Fergana Fault) and integrate our data with published data from the central Tian Shan (east of the Talas-Fergana Fault). The Chatkal-Kurama terrane experienced a phase of rapid cooling during the Triassic-Jurassic at ca. 225–190 Ma, which we interpret as a far-field response to the closure of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean or the accretion of the Qiangtang terrane on to the Eurasian margin. In the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous, the Chatkal-Kurama terrane experienced a period of tectonic stability and denudation, before transitioning into a period of marine incursions of the Paratethys Sea. In contrast, fast cooling is recorded for the Kyrgyz central Tian Shan to the east of the Talas-Fergana Fault. The differing thermal histories at either side of the Talas-Fergana Fault suggest that the fault induced a topographic divide during the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous, with high relief in the east (Kyrgyz Tian Shan) and low relief to the west (Uzbek-Tajik Tian Shan). Finally, the Chatkal-Kurama terrane experienced renewed tectonic activity since ca. 30 Ma, related with the distant India-Eurasia collision and Pamir indentation. The Cenozoic reactivation induced crustal tilting of the Chatkal-Kurama terrane, progressively exposing deeper rocks to the southwest

Stakeholder involvement in systematic reviews: a protocol for a systematic review of methods, outcomes and effects

Background There is an expectation for stakeholders (including patients, the public, health professionals, and others) to be involved in research. Researchers are increasingly recognising that it is good practice to involve stakeholders in systematic reviews. There is currently a lack of evidence about (A) how to do this and (B) the effects, or impact, of such involvement. We aim to create a map of the evidence relating to stakeholder involvement in systematic reviews, and use this evidence to address the two points above. Methods We will complete a mixed-method synthesis of the evidence, first completing a scoping review to create a broad map of evidence relating to stakeholder involvement in systematic reviews, and secondly completing two contingent syntheses. We will use a stepwise approach to searching; the initial step will include comprehensive searches of electronic databases, including CENTRAL, AMED, Embase, Medline, Cinahl and other databases, supplemented with pre-defined hand-searching and contacting authors. Two reviewers will undertake each review task (i.e., screening, data extraction) using standard systematic review processes. For the scoping review, we will include any paper, regardless of publication status or study design, which investigates, reports or discusses involvement in a systematic review. Included papers will be summarised within structured tables. Criteria for judging the focus and comprehensiveness of the description of methods of involvement will be applied, informing which papers are included within the two contingent syntheses. Synthesis A will detail the methods that have been used to involve stakeholders in systematic reviews. Papers from the scoping review that are judged to provide an adequate description of methods or approaches will be included. Details of the methods of involvement will be extracted from included papers using pre-defined headings, presented in tables and described narratively. Synthesis B will include studies that explore the effect of stakeholder involvement on the quality, relevance or impact of a systematic review, as identified from the scoping review. Study quality will be appraised, data extracted and synthesised within tables. Discussion This review should help researchers select, improve and evaluate methods of involving stakeholders in systematic reviews. Review findings will contribute to Cochrane training resources

Phylogenomic Resolution of the Cetacean Tree of Life Using Target Sequence Capture.

The evolution of cetaceans, from their early transition to an aquatic lifestyle to their subsequent diversification, has been the subject of numerous studies. However, while the higher-level relationships among cetacean families have been largely settled, several aspects of the systematics within these groups remain unresolved. Problematic clades include the oceanic dolphins (37 spp.), which have experienced a recent rapid radiation, and the beaked whales (22 spp.), which have not been investigated in detail using nuclear loci. The combined application of high-throughput sequencing with techniques that target specific genomic sequences provide a powerful means of rapidly generating large volumes of orthologous sequence data for use in phylogenomic studies. To elucidate the phylogenetic relationships within the Cetacea, we combined sequence capture with Illumina sequencing to generate data for ∼3200 protein-coding genes for 68 cetacean species and their close relatives including the pygmy hippopotamus. By combining data from >38,000 exons with existing sequences from 11 cetaceans and seven outgroup taxa, we produced the first comprehensive comparative genomic dataset for cetaceans, spanning 6,527,596 aligned base pairs and 89 taxa. Phylogenetic trees reconstructed with maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference of concatenated loci, as well as with coalescence analyses of individual gene trees, produced mostly concordant and well-supported trees. Our results completely resolve the relationships among beaked whales as well as the contentious relationships among oceanic dolphins, especially the problematic subfamily Delphininae. We carried out Bayesian estimation of species divergence times using MCMCTree, and compared our complete dataset to a subset of clocklike genes. Analyses using the complete dataset consistently showed less variance in divergence times than the reduced dataset. In addition, integration of new fossils (e.g., Mystacodon selenensis) indicate that the diversification of Crown Cetacea began before the Late Eocene and the divergence of Crown Delphinidae as early as the Middle Miocene

Core reconstruction in pseudopotential calculations

A new method is presented for obtaining all-electron results from a pseudopotential calculation. This is achieved by carrying out a localised calculation in the region of an atomic nucleus using the embedding potential method of Inglesfield [J.Phys. C {\bf 14}, 3795 (1981)]. In this method the core region is \emph{reconstructed}, and none of the simplifying approximations (such as spherical symmetry of the charge density/potential or frozen core electrons) that previous solutions to this problem have required are made. The embedding method requires an accurate real space Green function, and an analysis of the errors introduced in constructing this from a set of numerical eigenstates is given. Results are presented for an all-electron reconstruction of bulk aluminium, for both the charge density and the density of states.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

Strategies for assessing the implications of malformed frogs for environmental health.

The recent increase in the incidence of deformities among natural frog populations has raised concern about the state of the environment and the possible impact of unidentified causative agents on the health of wildlife and human populations. An open workshop on Strategies for Assessing the Implications of Malformed Frogs for Environmental Health was convened on 4-5 December 1997 at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The purpose of the workshop was to share information among a multidisciplinary group with scientific interest and responsibility for human and environmental health at the federal and state level. Discussions highlighted possible causes and recent findings directly related to frog deformities and provided insight into problems and strategies applicable to continuing investigation in several areas. Possible causes of the deformities were evaluated in terms of diagnostics performed on field amphibians, biologic mechanisms that can lead to the types of malformations observed, and parallel laboratory and field studies. Hydrogeochemistry must be more integrated into environmental toxicology because of the pivotal role of the aquatic environment and the importance of fates and transport relative to any potential exposure. There is no indication of whether there may be a human health factor associated with the deformities. However, the possibility that causal agents may be waterborne indicates a need to identify the relevant factors and establish the relationship between environmental and human health in terms of hazard assessment

Urinary tract infections in healthy women: a revolution in management?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Urinary infection in otherwise healthy women has largely been a straightforward matter of diagnosis by identifying bacteria in the urine, and then cure by appropriate antibiotics. Recent research has shown this to be over-simplified. Evaluation of methods of self-management of symptoms has been neglected.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Firstly trial data show that women with what used to called 'urethral syndrome' (urinary symptoms but sterile urine) obtain relief from antibiotics. Other trial data have shown a surprisingly large placebo effect from the resolution of symptoms among women who feel their care has been 'positive'. In addition, data published this month in <it>BMC Medicine </it>show that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drugs provide symptom relief to women with conventional infections (positive urine bacteriology) as much as antibiotics.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These recent findings provide an opportunity to consider how clinicians might change practice, and sets a new research agenda. We need to know (1) whether the effect of NSAIDs is replicable; (2) why some women in previous trials have had more symptoms if not treated with antibiotics sooner; (3) whether NSAIDs and antibiotics have an additive effect on relieving symptoms; (4) how we can harness the placebo effect better to assist out patients with this distressing and common complaint.</p> <p>See research article <url>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/8/30</url></p