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People and pets in the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis: Identifying trends in the intake, adoption and return of companion animals during times of uncertainty
Get PDF© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Pet ownership is the most common form of human–animal interaction (HAI), is prevalent worldwide and confers benefits for the health and wellbeing of humans. Here, we examined a large set of anonymised data from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) to identify trends in the intake, adoption and relinquishment of companion animals in England and Wales before and during times of uncertainty, namely, the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis (COLC). We employed an interrupted time series (ITS) design which controls for pre-existing trends by comparing observed outcomes post-intervention with those expected if the intervention had not occurred. Nearly 200,000 animals were taken in by the RSPCA and over 140,000 animals were adopted or released over the four-year period from 2018 to 2022. When controlling for the brief closure of RSPCA sites, fewer dogs and cats were taken in and adopted during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic, and the intake and adoption of animals were lower during the COLC than before. A downward trend in the return of animals was observed, and the principal reasons for return were problem behaviours, owner unpreparedness and a change in circumstances. Our ITS analysis also permitted forecast predictions to be made which could prove helpful to the RSPCA.University of Chester Research and Innovation Office’s Policy Support Fund, grant number PSY0801
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs
No full textItem not available via ChesterRep.Living reference work. Introductory paragraph: A term used to describe all artificial changes in a plant or animal created through genetic engineering. Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally, e.g., through the introduction of a gene from a different organism. The technology is often called “modern biotechnology” or “gene technology,” sometimes also “recombinant DNA technology” or “genetic engineering.” Currently available GM foods stem mostly from plants, but in the future foods derived from GM microorganisms or GM animals are likely to be introduced into the world market. Most existing genetically modified crops have been developed to improve yield through the introduction of resistance to plant diseases or of increased tolerance to herbicides. GM foods can also allow for reductions in food prices through improved yields and reliability.N/
Proceedings of the 21st European Conference on Composite Materials: Volume 3 - Material and Structural Behavior – Simulation & Testing
Get PDF©2024 RAYYAAN_RishadCommercial wind turbine (WT) blades that are now being operational globally, are primarily made of glass-reinforced composites using epoxy or polyester matrix systems, mainly epoxy. The industry is rapidly growing (2100 TWh currently; 17% growth annually) with a forecast of 7400 TWh by 2030. The average lifespan of a WT is 20-25 years, which signifies the importance of repairing the damaged blades. Amongst the methods that have been exploited so far, resistance welding shows eminent potential, due to its ease of operation, promptness of the repair process, and cost effectiveness. Resistance welding was exploited previously for repairing thermoplastic composites. But in this project, repair of thermoset composites was evaluated using thermoplastic welding medium. The project focused on parametric optimisation of resistance welding, evaluation of welding via single lap shear strength, and COMSOL multiphysics modelling to examine the homogeneity of heat-distribution across the welding region. Stainless steel mesh and carbon nonwoven sheet were used as heating elements, while polymethyl methacrylate and thermoplastic polyurethane were used as welding medium. The highest single lap shear strength was shown as 6.4 MPa when nonwoven carbon sheet was used along with thermoplastic polyurethane. COMSOL modelling with a custom-designed heating element showed improvement in thermal homogeneity; however, further modifications will be required to better optimisation of welding.Horizon Europe (UK participants are supported by UKRI [10040791] (University of Leeds
An in-depth analysis of barriers to corporate sustainability?
Get PDF© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Establishing sustainable and resilient businesses are among the key drivers behind the unprecedented demand for the transition and transformation of sustainable growth models. Driven by a desire to remain competitive amidst economic turmoil and climate change, organisations are embedding sustainable measures into their long-term goals and strategies. This is demonstrated by developing and implementing Net-Zero targets and associated plans. However, the greatest challenge is whether such momentum will be retained and how organisations can maintain the drive. Although this is a positive move towards climate-related actions from organisations and stakeholders, it is taking longer than anticipated to be realised and actualised. This necessitates the urgency in understanding the intricacies of corporate sustainability matrices. The question as to why attaining a positive climatic state has taken almost half a century needs to be explored when compared to scenarios where the implementation of sustainable related measures has taken less time. This paper provides a review of the barriers that are making sustainability unattractive for corporate organisations. Finance gaps, the complexity of organisational sustainability, reporting frameworks, tools, and procedures coupled with considerable marketing and communication in a business-as-usual environment are key barriers to corporate sustainability. Our findings provide recommendations for policymakers, and stakeholders across the corporate sustainability platform by delivering a holistic approach to overcome the bottlenecks for implementation, action, and monitoring.UnfundedAAM archived and VoR uploaded to ChesterRep 28/04/202
Effectiveness of Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARB) and hydrochlorothiazide compared to ARB monotherapy in the control of hypertension among adult patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Get PDFCopyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.Background: Hypertension (HTN) is a global disease of public health concern. It is considered a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The global and regional recommendations for the management of high blood pressure are complicated, with an increasing call for several adequate measures to commence treatment, increase the dosage, or introduce a new class of medication. Evidence suggests that most people with HTN require more than one drug regime to achieve blood pressure goals, with a greater percentage of patients reporting only having access to monotherapy. This work evaluated the combined effectiveness of angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) compared to ARB monotherapy in an uncontrolled hypertensive patients. Methods: The search involved screening through databases such as Cochrane Library, PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Medline, and the Web of Science, medical journals, and international registry on clinicals from the WHO were searched for primary studies not older than 13 years. Randomized control trials (RCTs) comparing the effectiveness of ARB/HCTZ versus ARB monotherapy in hypertensive patients were selected. Care was taken to include only studies that lasted at least four weeks. Meta-analysis was conducted on RevMan 5.3 statistical application software, following data extraction. Data quality and risk of bias assessment were also all assessed. A total of seven RCTs were considered for this study involving 4814 participants. Results: The result from the intervention arm revealed that ARB/HCTZ combination resulted in a higher rate of target blood pressure achievement when compared to ARB monotherapy relative risk (RR) = 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.42, 1.65), with p < 0.00007. The adverse effects observed in the intervention arm were not significant. Conclusion: The ARB/HCTZ combination therapy was more effective in lowering and controlling blood pressure when compared to ARB monotherapy without significant adverse drug effects reported by the participants. Health workers should therefore recommend ARB/HCTZ combination therapy for patients with uncontrolled hypertension.Unfunde
A standardised comparison of chest and percutaneous drainage catheters to evaluate the applicability of the ‘French’ sizing units
Get PDFThe version of record of this article, first published in [Scientific Reports], is available online at Publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-71935-wA variety of medical specialities undertake percutaneous drainage but understanding of device performance outside radiology is often limited. Furthermore, the current catheter sizing using the “French” measurement of outer diameter is unhelpful; it does not reflect the internal diameter and gives no information on flow rate. To illustrate this and to improve catheter selection, notably for chest drainage, we assessed the variation of drain performance under standardised conditions. Internal diameter and flow rates of 6Fr.-12Fr. drainage catheters from 8 manufacturers were tested to ISO 10555-1 standard: Internal diameters were measured with Meyer calibrated pin-gauges. Flow rates were calculated over a period of 30s after achieving steady state. Evaluation demonstrated a wide range of internal diameters for the 6Fr., 8Fr., 10Fr. and 12Fr. catheters. Mean measurements were 1.49 mm (SD:0.07), 1.90 mm (SD:0.10), 2.43 mm (SD:0.11) and 2.64 mm (SD:0.03) respectively. Mean flow rates were 128 mL/min (SD:37.6), 207 mL/min (SD: 55.1), 291 mL/min (SD:36.7) and 303 mL/min (SD:20.2) respectively. There was such variance that there was overlap between catheters of different size: thin-walled 10Fr. drains performed better than 12Fr. “Seldinger” chest drains. Better understanding of drain characteristics and better declaration of performance data by manufacturers are required to allow optimum drain choice for individual patients and optimum outcomes.This work was funded by Minnova Medical Foundation CIC
Book Review: Comrades Betrayed: Jewish World War I Veterans Under Hitler
Get PDFThis is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in [German History] following peer review. The version of record [Grady, T. (2021). [Review of the book Comrades Betrayed: Jewish World War I Veterans Under Hitler by M. Geheran]. German History, 39(3), 478–479] is available online at: https://academic.oup.com/gh/article/39/3/478/6308748Book review of Comrades Betrayed: Jewish World War I Veterans Under HitlerUnfundedAAM out of embargo 24/06/2023, output uploaded to CR 30/01/202
“The want for independence!”: Factors influencing care preferences for older people living in a local authority in northwest England
Get PDFThis author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please contact [email protected] paper reports a project evaluating public opinions regarding factors determining preferred place and type of care in older age. Design/methodology/approach: A service evaluation utilising appreciative inquiry and co-creation was conducted. Participants were recruited via convenience sampling from public places and care/support facilities. Data were captured utilising five methods: four innovative, creative approaches (Snap Judgement, 3-Word elicitation, Ideas Board, Scenarios) and a survey. Results were analysed thematically. Findings: There were 126 participants, in the study; the majority expressed a preference for care in their own home. Closeness to family and friends was the most important factor in choice, followed by cost. A wide variety of sources were identified to gain information about care. A desire was expressed for local community-based care options. Research limitations/implications: Findings suggest most people may prefer to remain at home as they age, emphasising importance of domiciliary care in maximising independence. Leveraging technology could aid this goal. Further application of the creative methods used is essential to determine their effectiveness and validity. Practical implications: Unless individuals plan for their care arrangements in older age, the location and type of care may be determined at point of need, with minimal or no input from individuals involved. This may result in people not receiving their preferred mode of care. Originality/value: Assisted by the local authority’s proactiveness in commissioning the project, researchers actively engaged with the public in a variety of settings. Innovative data collection methods enabled capture of rich data and data triangulation strengthened trustworthiness.The Study was funded by the Impact and Research Programme in partnership with a local authority in Northwest Englan
FireLite: Leveraging Transfer Learning for Efficient Fire Detection in Resource-Constrained Environments
Get PDFFire hazards are extremely dangerous, particularly in sectors such the transportation industry where political unrest increases the likelihood of their occurring. By employing IP cam eras to facilitate the setup of fire detection systems on transport vehicles losses from fire events may be prevented proactively. However, the development of lightweight fire detection models is required due to the computational constraints of the em bedded systems within these cameras. We introduce ”FireLite,” a low-parameter convolutional neural network (CNN) designed for quick fire detection in contexts with limited resources, in answer to this difficulty. With an accuracy of 98.77%, our model—which has just 34,978 trainable parameters—achieves remarkable performance numbers. It also shows a validation loss of 8.74 and peaks at 98.77 for precision, recall, and F1-score measures. Because of its precision and efficiency, FireLite is a promising
Harried and stressful or hurried and rewarding? A study of young Norwegians’ active leisure lives
Get PDFAmidst the backdrop of a ‘speed-up society’, this study examines how youngsters navigate their discretionary time while juggling educational demands, social networks, family obligations, and leisure activities. Through semi-structured interviews with 41 sports-active Norwegian youngsters, the study analysed their leisure activities and experiences of time pressure. The findings revealed that, contrary to perceptions of a harried existence, young Norwegians generally perceived their busy leisure lives to be rewarding rather than stressful. Their engagement in active leisure, especially sports, was seen as a counterbalance to the stresses of educational demands. Leisure, it seems, acted as an enclave for mental and physical recreation, aiding in managing school-related stress. Their ongoing involvement in sport underscore the importance of early life experiences in shaping youths’ leisure choices. It also serves to remind us of the potential for busy leisure lives to be experienced as hurried and rewarding rather than straightforwardly harried and stress-inducing.N/
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