Demography and disorders of the French Bulldog population under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2013

Abstract Background Despite its Gallic name, the French Bulldog is a breed of both British and French origin that was first recognised by The Kennel Club in 1906. The French Bulldog has demonstrated recent rapid rises in Kennel Club registrations and is now (2017) the second most commonly registered pedigree breed in the UK. However, the breed has been reported to be predisposed to several disorders including ocular, respiratory, neurological and dermatological problems. The VetCompass™ Programme collates de-identified clinical data from primary-care veterinary practices in the UK for epidemiological research. Using VetCompass™ clinical data, this study aimed to characterise the demography and common disorders of the general population of French Bulldogs under veterinary care in the UK. Results French Bulldogs comprised 2228 (0.49%) of 445,557 study dogs under veterinary care during 2013. Annual proportional birth rates showed that the proportional ownership of French Bulldog puppies rose steeply from 0.02% of the annual birth cohort attending VetCompass™ practices in 2003 to 1.46% in 2013. The median age of the French Bulldogs overall was 1.3 years (IQR 0.6–2.5, range 0.0–13.0). The most common colours of French Bulldogs were brindle (solid or main) (32.36%) and fawn (solid or main) (29.9%). Of the 2228 French Bulldogs under veterinary care during 2013, 1612 (72.4%) had at least one disorder recorded. The most prevalent fine-level precision disorders recorded were otitis externa (14.0%, 95% CI: 12.6–15.5), diarrhoea (7.5%, 95% CI: 6.4–8.7), conjunctivitis (3.2%, 95% CI: 2.5–4.0), nails overlong (3.1%, 95% CI% 2.4–3.9) and skin fold dermatitis (3.0%, 95% CI% 2.3–3.8). The most prevalent disorder groups were cutaneous (17.9%, 95% CI: 16.3–19.6), enteropathy (16.7%, 95% CI: 15.2–18.3), aural (16.3%, 95% CI: 14.8–17.9), upper respiratory tract (12.7%, 95% CI: 11.3–14.1) and ophthalmological (10.5%, 95% CI: 9.3–11.9). Conclusions Ownership of French Bulldogs in the UK is rising steeply. This means that the disorder profiles reported in this study reflect a current young UK population and are likely to shift as this cohort ages. Otitis externa, diarrhoea and conjunctivitis were the most common disorders in French Bulldogs. Identification of health priorities based on VetCompass™ data can support evidence–based reforms to improve health and welfare within the breed

Resistive transport in a mesoscopic proximity superconductor

We review transport measurements in a normal metal (N) in contact with one or two superconducting (S) islands. From the experiment, we distinguish the Josephson coupling, the mesoscopic fluctuations and the proximity effect. In a loop-shaped N conductor, we observe large h/2e-periodic magnetoresistance oscillations that decay with temperature T with a 1/T power-law. This behaviour is the signature of the long-range coherence of the low-energy electron pairs induced by the Andreev reflection at the S interface. At temperature and voltage below the Thouless energy $\hbar D / L^2$, we observe the re-entrance of the metallic resistance. Experimental results agree with the linearized quasiclassical theory.Comment: 8 pages, 6 included epsf figures, Invited paper at the LT21 Conference, Praha, August 1996. To appear in Czech. J. of Phys. 46, Part S6 (1996

Validity and Reliability of Dermoscopic Criteria Used to Differentiate Nevi From Melanoma: A Web-Based International Dermoscopy Society Study.

IMPORTANCE: The comparative diagnostic performance of dermoscopic algorithms and their individual criteria are not well studied. OBJECTIVES: To analyze the discriminatory power and reliability of dermoscopic criteria used in melanoma detection and compare the diagnostic accuracy of existing algorithms. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a retrospective, observational study of 477 lesions (119 melanomas [24.9%] and 358 nevi [75.1%]), which were divided into 12 image sets that consisted of 39 or 40 images per set. A link on the International Dermoscopy Society website from January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2011, directed participants to the study website. Data analysis was performed from June 1, 2013, through May 31, 2015. Participants included physicians, residents, and medical students, and there were no specialty-type or experience-level restrictions. Participants were randomly assigned to evaluate 1 of the 12 image sets. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Associations with melanoma and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were evaluated for the presence of dermoscopic criteria. Diagnostic accuracy measures were estimated for the following algorithms: the ABCD rule, the Menzies method, the 7-point checklist, the 3-point checklist, chaos and clues, and CASH (color, architecture, symmetry, and homogeneity). RESULTS: A total of 240 participants registered, and 103 (42.9%) evaluated all images. The 110 participants (45.8%) who evaluated fewer than 20 lesions were excluded, resulting in data from 130 participants (54.2%), 121 (93.1%) of whom were regular dermoscopy users. Criteria associated with melanoma included marked architectural disorder (odds ratio [OR], 6.6; 95% CI, 5.6-7.8), pattern asymmetry (OR, 4.9; 95% CI, 4.1-5.8), nonorganized pattern (OR, 3.3; 95% CI, 2.9-3.7), border score of 6 (OR, 3.3; 95% CI, 2.5-4.3), and contour asymmetry (OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 2.7-3.7) (P < .001 for all). Most dermoscopic criteria had poor to fair interobserver agreement. Criteria that reached moderate levels of agreement included comma vessels (ICC, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.40-0.49), absence of vessels (ICC, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.42-0.51), dark brown color (ICC, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.35-0.44), and architectural disorder (ICC, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.39-0.48). The Menzies method had the highest sensitivity for melanoma diagnosis (95.1%) but the lowest specificity (24.8%) compared with any other method (P < .001). The ABCD rule had the highest specificity (59.4%). All methods had similar areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Important dermoscopic criteria for melanoma recognition were revalidated by participants with varied experience. Six algorithms tested had similar but modest levels of diagnostic accuracy, and the interobserver agreement of most individual criteria was poor

Water-Soluble Fullerene (C60) Derivatives as Nonviral Gene-Delivery Vectors

A new class of water-soluble C60 transfecting agents has been prepared using Hirsch-Bingel chemistry and assessed for their ability to act as gene-delivery vectors in vitro. In an effort to elucidate the relationship between the hydrophobicity of the fullerene core, the hydrophilicity of the water-solubilizing groups, and the overall charge state of the C60 vectors in gene delivery and expression, several different C60 derivatives were synthesized to yield either positively charged, negatively charged, or neutral chemical functionalities under physiological conditions. These fullerene derivatives were then tested for their ability to transfect cells grown in culture with DNA carrying the green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene. Statistically significant expression of GFP was observed for all forms of the C60 derivatives when used as DNA vectors and compared to the ability of naked DNA alone to transfect cells. However, efficient in vitro transfection was only achieved with the two positively charged C60 derivatives, namely, an octa-amino derivatized C60 and a dodeca-amino derivatized C60 vector. All C60 vectors showed an increase in toxicity in a dose-dependent manner. Increased levels of cellular toxicity were observed for positively charged C60 vectors relative to the negatively charged and neutral vectors. Structural analyses using dynamic light scattering and optical microscopy offered further insights into possible correlations between the various derivatized C60 compounds, the C60 vector/DNA complexes, their physical attributes (aggregation, charge) and their transfection efficiencies. Recently, similar Gd@C60-based compounds have demonstrated potential as advanced contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Thus, the successful demonstration of intracellular DNA uptake, intracellular transport, and gene expression from DNA using C60 vectors suggests the possibility of developing analogous Gd@C60-based vectors to serve simultaneously as both therapeutic and diagnostic agents

West Highland White Terriers under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2016: demography, mortality and disorders

The West Highland White Terrier (WHWT) is a relatively common breed in the UK, although Kennel Club registrations have declined in recent years. The VetCompass™ Programme collates de-identified clinical data from primary-care veterinary practices in the UK for epidemiological research. Using VetCompass clinical data, this study aimed to characterise the demography, longevity and common disorders of WHWTs under primary veterinary care in the UK

A dimensioning and tolerancing methodology for concurrent engineering applications II: comprehensive solution strategy

Dimensioning and tolerancing (D&T) is a multidisciplinary problem which requires the fulfillment of a large number of dimensional requirements. However, almost all of the currently available D&T tools are only intended for use by the designer. In addition, they typically provide solutions for the requirements one at time. This paper presents a methodology for determining the dimensional specifications of the component parts and sub-assemblies of a product by satisfying all of its requirements. The comprehensive solution strategy presented here includes: a strategy for separating D&T problems into groups, the determination of an optimum solution order for coupled functional equations, a generic tolerance allocation strategy, and strategies for solving different types of D&T problems. A number of commonly used cost minimization strategies, such as the use of standard parts, preferred sizes, preferred fits, and preferred tolerances, have also been incorporated into the proposed methodology. The methodology is interactive and intended for use in a concurrent engineering environment by members of a product development team

Quantifying defects in graphene via Raman spectroscopy at different excitation energies.

We present a Raman study of Ar(+)-bombarded graphene samples with increasing ion doses. This allows us to have a controlled, increasing, amount of defects. We find that the ratio between the D and G peak intensities, for a given defect density, strongly depends on the laser excitation energy. We quantify this effect and present a simple equation for the determination of the point defect density in graphene via Raman spectroscopy for any visible excitation energy. We note that, for all excitations, the D to G intensity ratio reaches a maximum for an interdefect distance ∼3 nm. Thus, a given ratio could correspond to two different defect densities, above or below the maximum. The analysis of the G peak width and its dispersion with excitation energy solves this ambiguity