Owner perceptions of their cat's quality of life when treated with a modified University of Wisconsin-Madison protocol for lymphoma

The objectives of this study were to assess owner perceptions of their cat’s quality of life during treatment for lymphoma with a doxorubicin-containing multi-agent chemotherapy protocol, whether various health-related parameters correlated with quality of life scores, and to assess owner satisfaction with the protocol

Indexes: The Heart of Research

This article, originally a presentation at ACL’s 2023 conference, will delineate the enduring value of indexes for librarians and researchers alike, giving some examples of how indexes have evolved in a technology-driven age

Anorexia Nervosa, Major Depression, and Suicide Attempts: Shared Genetic Factors

We evaluated the extent to which genetic and environmental factors influenced anorexia nervosa (AN), major depressive disorder (MDD), and suicide attempts (SA). Participants were 6,899 women from the Swedish Twin study of Adults Genes and Environment. A Cholesky decomposition assessed independent and overlapping genetic and environmental contributions to AN, MDD, and SA. Genetic factors accounted for a substantial amount of liability to all three traits; unique environmental factors accounted for most of the remaining liability. Shared genetic factors may underlie the co-expression of these traits. Results underscore the importance of assessing for signs of suicide among individuals with AN

Global summary of baseline household survey results

This report summarises the results of a baseline household-level survey, designed by the CCAFS team and implemented in late 2010/early 2011 in 3 regions: East Africa, West Africa and South Asia. This survey was designed with the intent of developing simple, comparable cross-site household level indicators, for which changes can be evaluated over time, of food security, households assets, agricultural production diversity, agricultural sales diversity, changes being made in farming practices for adaptation, innovation, and/or to help reduce emissions or store greenhouse gases (mitigation), and gender indicators (e.g. men’s versus women’s reception of weather-related information). A standardised survey, guidelines and training materials were implemented across 12 countries in West Africa (Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Ghana), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Tanzania), and South Asia (India, Nepal and Bangladesh). Thus we have a total of 15 core sites covering 108 villages and 2095 households. This summary report gives an overview of the farming practices, and asset, livelihoods and food security status of rural households in these sites. It describes what changes farmers have been making in recent years with respect to crop management, livestock practices, use of inputs and other agricultural practices. We explore what kinds of weather/climate and associated information these households are receiving, how and by whom. This information provides important baseline information, as these households will be revisited in 5-10 years’ time in order to evaluate the changes in these indicators. This will give us important information as to if, how, and which households are adapting to a changing climate while improving their food security status

Lessons in theory of change: experiences from CCAFS

CGIAR is moving to a different model of doing science, and this needs to be well thought out and understood by centres, CRP researchers and partners. The focus can no longer be on research deliverables such as reports, trainings, crop varieties and decision support tools. We have learnt that the production of these deliverables doesn’t automatically lead to impact in terms of the wellbeing of smallholder famers, the end users of our research.This series of Climate Change and Social Learning (CCSL) briefs will focus on lessons learnt from the ongoing CCAFS experience with TOC. The objective is to share experiences in real time, and generate discussion that will help CCAFS and others improve their TOC, impact pathways and M+E

How resilient are farming households, communities, men and women to a changing climate in Africa?

Using a 9-country dataset from sub-Saharan Africa, and integrating quantitative household-level analyses with qualitative work, the paper shows that gender relations affect agricultural practices and adaptation. The women farmers in our sample control less land than men, the land they control is often of poorer quality, and their tenure is insecure. Women, more than men, are dependent on internal village groups, as opposed to organizations operating at regional or national levels. Hence, women have less access to extension and input services, and are less likely than men to use improved seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. The adaptive capacity of individuals and communities depends on their differential access to resources, economic assets and social capital, which are mediated by their socially defined rights and responsibilities. Highlights include: • Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change depend on opportunities governed by the varied and complex interplay of social relations, institutions, organizations, and policies. • Climate is one of many influences that affect the producers’ coping and adaptation strategies. • Women and men incorporate a wide range of technology and production management adjustments. • The producers’ most frequently cited reasons for adjustments include decrease in productivity, fluctuation in prices, market opportunities, and frequency of drought

Pubertal development predicts eating behaviors in adolescence

Early maturing girls are at increased risk for disordered eating. However, it is unclear if the association between puberty and disordered eating continues throughout pubertal development and if a similar association is exhibited in boys

Climate risk assessment and agricultural value chain prioritisation for Malawi and Zambia

Climate change is projected to have serious impacts on the agriculture of southern Africa, affecting food availability, creating local production shortfalls and resulting in rising commodity prices. This report highlights the risks to agriculture and food systems that may occur in two counties of the region, Malawi and Zambia. The analysis uses the conceptual framework of climate-related risk from the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to examine the impacts that climate change is likely to have on agriculture and food security. Country-specific trends in temperature and rainfall and projected impacts are summarised from the literature. The vulnerability of the agricultural sector in each country is discussed in relation to its sensitivity to change and coping and adaptive capacity, and the risks of climate change on agriculture and small-scale farmers in the two focus countries assessed. A prioritisation process is then carried out to rank different commodities in each country, with respect to four dimensions: the importance of the commodity to the economy of the country, the national yield gap compared with the regional average, the importance of the commodity in people’s diet, and the projected impact of climate change on yield. The results of the analysis highlight three commodities that could be prioritized for agricultural development interventions: maize, potatoes and beans in Malawi, and maize, pulses and sorghum in Zambia

Clinical translation of [18F]ICMT-11 for measuring chemotherapy-induced caspase 3/7 activation in breast and lung cancer

Background: Effective anticancer therapy is thought to involve induction of tumour cell death through apoptosis and/or necrosis. [18F]ICMT-11, an isatin sulfonamide caspase-3/7-specific radiotracer, has been developed for PET imaging and shown to have favourable dosimetry, safety, and biodistribution. We report the translation of [18F]ICMT-11 PET to measure chemotherapy-induced caspase-3/7 activation in breast and lung cancer patients receiving first-line therapy. Results: Breast tumour SUVmax of [18F]ICMT-11 was low at baseline and unchanged following therapy. Measurement of M30/M60 cytokeratin-18 cleavage products showed that therapy was predominantly not apoptosis in nature. While increases in caspase-3 staining on breast histology were seen, post-treatment caspase-3 positivity values were only approximately 1%; this low level of caspase-3 could have limited sensitive detection by [18F]ICMT-11-PET. Fourteen out of 15 breast cancer patients responded to first–line chemotherapy (complete or partial response); one patient had stable disease. Four patients showed increases in regions of high tumour [18F]ICMT-11 intensity on voxel-wise analysis of tumour data (classed as PADS); response was not exclusive to patients with this phenotype. In patients with lung cancer, multi-parametric [18F]ICMT-11 PET and MRI (diffusion-weighted- and dynamic contrast enhanced-MRI) showed that PET changes were concordant with cell death in the absence of significant perfusion changes. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential use of [18F]ICMT-11 PET as a promising candidate for non-invasive imaging of caspase3/7 activation, and the difficulties encountered in assessing early-treatment responses. We summarize that tumour response could occur in the absence of predominant chemotherapy-induced caspase-3/7 activation measured non-invasively across entire tumour lesions in patients with breast and lung cancer

Familial Liability for Eating Disorders and Suicide Attempts: Evidence From a Population Registry in Sweden

IMPORTANCE: Suicide attempts are common in individuals with eating disorders. More precise understanding of the mechanisms underlying their concomitant occurrence is needed. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between eating disorders and suicide attempts and whether familial risk factors contribute to the association. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A Swedish birth cohort including individuals born in Sweden between January 1, 1979, and December 31, 2001, was followed up from age 6 years to December 31, 2009 (N = 2,268,786). Information was acquired from Swedish national registers. All individuals were linked to their biological full siblings, maternal half siblings, paternal half siblings, full cousins, and half cousins. Data analysis was conducted from October 5, 2014, to April 28, 2015. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Eating disorders were captured by 3 variables (any eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa) identified by any lifetime diagnoses recorded in the registers. Suicide attempts were defined as any suicide attempts, including death by suicide, recorded in the registers. We examined the association between eating disorders and death by suicide separately, but the study was underpowered to explore familial liability for this association. RESULTS: Of 2,268,786 individuals, 15,457 females (1.40% of all females) and 991 males (0.09% of all males) had any eating disorder, 7680 females (0.70%) and 453 males (0.04%) had anorexia nervosa, and 3349 females (0.30%), and 61 males (0.01%) had bulimia nervosa. Individuals with any eating disorder had an increased risk (reported as odds ratio [95% CI]) of suicide attempts (5.28 [5.04-5.54]) and death by suicide (5.39 [4.00-7.25]). The risks were attenuated but remained significant after adjusting for comorbid major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and substance use disorder (suicide attempts: 1.82 [1.72-1.93]; death by suicide: 2.04 [1.49-2.80]). Similar results were found for anorexia nervosa (suicide attempts: crude, 4.42 [4.12-4.74] vs adjusted, 1.70 [1.56-1.85]; death by suicide: crude, 6.46 [4.38-9.54] vs adjusted, 2.67 [1.78-4.01]) and bulimia nervosa (suicide attempts: crude, 6.26 [5.73-6.85] vs adjusted, 1.88 [1.68-2.10]; death by suicide: crude, 4.45 [2.44-8.11] vs adjusted, 1.48 [0.81-2.72]). Individuals (index) who had a full sibling with any eating disorder had an increased risk of suicide attempts (1.41 [1.29-1.53]). The risk was attenuated for any eating disorder in more-distant relatives (maternal half siblings, 1.10 [0.90-1.34]; paternal half siblings, 1.21 [0.98-1.49]; full cousins, 1.11 [1.06-1.18]; half cousins, 0.90 [0.78-1.03]). This familial pattern remained stable after adjusting for the index individuals' eating disorders. Similar patterns were found for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: These results suggest an increased risk of suicide attempts in individuals with lifetime eating disorders and their relatives. The pattern of familial coaggregation suggests familial liability for the association between eating disorders and suicide. Psychiatric comorbidities partially explain this association, suggesting particularly high-risk presentations