1,720,984 research outputs found
Contemporary Health Hazards of the Greenland Sled Dog in Greenland:Ullutsinni Qimmit Qimmutut Napaatigisinnaasaat
No full textThe Greenland sled dog (Canis familiaris borealis) represents a several thousand-year-old human-animal symbiosis. The dog has been used for a variety of purposes throughout time and space, but the close human-dog relationship has persisted. Today, the largest remaining population exists in Greenland where it is relatively unchanged and thus with a relatively high genetic continuity through time, and escaping post-colonial admixture with other dog breeds. But these dogs, along with their cultural and historic significance, are disappearing at a drastic pace and a wish to preserve them has been expressed across Greenland. Potential solutions are multifaceted but among other includes an understanding of the most important contemporary health threats for the sled dogs in a drastically changing Arctic. Through the work herein we greatly increase the understanding of health and health hazards among sled dogs in Greenland – a study which has never been conducted before. Moreover, by means of ‘applied science’ we have directed our efforts at health-related issues that have potential for change by various public and private decision-makers. We sampled more than 400 dogs and analyzed health parameters through physical examinations, blood analyses, hair analysis, and parasitological analyses based on fecal and tissue samples. We also participated in research into the genetic make-up and origin of the dogs and gathered owner experiences through surveys about health and management. Moreover, by studying characteristics of police records pertaining to animal welfare offences, we gained information about relevant health hazards related to circumstances where management fails, but also on the role of law enforcement in animal welfare. This dissertation, as such, presents the findings thereof and provides recommendations that can guide efforts to ensure future sustainability and welfare of the breed. Nine scientific reports offer a wealth of information pertaining to health hazards of modern sled dogs in Greenland, but a very brief selection of findings include that the most prevalent clinical health issues are tooth fractures (+/- abscesses), bite wounds, viral disease, gastrointestinal disease, parasitism and energy deficiency/low body condition. More generalized health hazards are risk of inbreeding and effects of bioaccumulating toxic pollutants originating predominantly from a wildlife diet.The Greenland sled dogs are remarkably resilient, but they do suffer from a handful of common health conditions which are however preventable and typically treatable from a relatively simple veterinary treatment setup. Stakeholders and national decisions-makers are recommended to i) prioritize protection of sled dogs and associated culture in Greenland among other by ii) supporting efforts to mitigate health hazards described herein, and iii) increasing veterinary access
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Biomarkers of non-infectious inflammatory CNS diseases in dogs — Where are we now? Part I:Meningoencephalitis of unknown origin
No full textMeningoencephalitides of Unknown Origin (MUO) comprises a group of non-infectious inflammatory brain conditions, which frequently cause severe neurological disease and death in dogs. Although multiple diagnostic markers have been investigated, a conclusive diagnosis, at present, essentially relies on postmortem histopathology. However, different groups of biomarkers, e.g. acute phase proteins, antibodies, cytokines, and neuro-imaging markers may prove useful in the diagnostic investigation of dogs with MUO. It appears from the current literature that acute phase proteins such as C-reactive protein are often normal in MUO, but may be useful to rule out steroid responsive meningitis-arteritis as well as other systemic inflammatory conditions. In antibody research, anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) may play a role, but further research is needed to establish this as a consistent marker of particularly Pug dog encephalitis. The proposed diagnostic markers often lack specificity to distinguish between the subtypes of MUO, but an increased expression of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in necrotizing meningoencephalitis (NME) and interleukin-17 (IL-17) in granulomatous meningoencephalitis (GME) in tissue biopsies may indicate their potential as specific markers of NME and GME, respectively, suggesting further investigations of these in serum and CSF. While neuro-imaging is already an important part of the diagnostic work-up in MUO, further promising results have been shown with Positron Emission Tomography (PET) as well as proton resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS), which may be able to detect areas of necrosis and granulomas, respectively, with relatively high specificity. This review presents different groups of established and potential diagnostic markers of MUO assessing current results and future potential.</p
Biomarkers of non-infectious inflammatory CNS diseases in dogs:Where are we now? Part 2 — Steroid responsive meningitis-arteritis
No full textSteroid responsive meningitis-arteritis (SRMA) in dogs causes severe inflammation of meningeal arteries leading to generalized meningitis with possible neurological signs, as well as a systemic inflammatory response. The etiology and exact pathogenesis are unknown, but an immune-mediated origin has been suggested and is supported by a positive response to immunosuppressive treatment with corticosteroids. A collection of clinical and paraclinical characteristics may be highly indicative of SRMA, but a single and conclusive diagnostic test or biomarker is currently not available. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current understanding and knowledge on SRMA, with special emphasis on potential biomarkers and their applicability in the diagnostic work-up. Though no specific markers for SRMA currently exist, clinically useful markers include IgA and several acute phase proteins e.g. C-reactive protein. A frequent problem of both acknowledged and proposed biomarkers, is, however, their inability to effectively differentiate SRMA from other systemic inflammatory conditions. Other proposed diagnostic markers include genetic markers, acute phase proteins such as serum amyloid A, cytokines such as interleukin-17 and CC-motif ligand 19, endocannabinoid receptors and heat shock protein 70; these suggestions however either lack specificity or need further investigation.</p
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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