Use of group-randomized trials in pet population research

Communities invest considerable resources to address the animal welfare and public health concerns resulting from unwanted pet animals. Traditionally, research in this area has enumerated the pet-owning population, described pet population dynamics in individual communities, and estimated national euthanasia figures. Recent research has investigated the human–animal bond and explored the community implications of managed feral cat colonies. These reports have utilized traditional epidemiologic study designs to generate observational data to describe populations and measure associations. However, rigorous scientific evaluations of potential interventions at the group level have been lacking. Group-randomized trials have been used extensively in public health research to evaluate interventions that change a population's behavior, not just the behavior of selected individuals. We briefly describe the strengths and limitations of group-randomized trials as they are used to evaluate interventions that promote social and behavioral changes in the human public health field. We extend these examples to suggest the appropriate application of group-randomized trials for pet population dynamics research.     

改进遗传算法求解作业车间提前/拖期调度问题

为解决作业车间提前/拖期调度问题,提出一个以最小惩罚为目标的改进遗传算法。该算法采用双染色体矩阵编码方式,利用部分映射交叉重排算子对父代个体进行交叉操作,提供了一种可以保留较高适应度个体的记忆功能,并利用爬山算法对记忆库进行更新,提高算法的局部搜索能力及收敛速度。仿真实验表明,与其他算法相比,该算法的搜索效率更高,收敛性能更好,求解的调度方案更优。     

职业教育国家教学资源库建设与实践——以宠物内科病课程为例

以现代宠物技术专业教学资源库建设为背景,以宠物内科病课程资源库建设为个案,总结了教学资源库的建设思路、步骤、内容及资源库应用推广情况,以建立优质、高效的共享型教育资源库,推进教学质量的全面提升。     

机械零件二维与三维一体化设计程序的开发

介绍了在AutoCAD设计系统中,机械零件二维与三维一体化设计程序的开发方法。利用这个方法,设计者在完成机械零件三维模型设计后,可以快速获得零件施工图。     

澳门民间遛狗文化与城市遛狗公园建设匹配度研究

民间遛狗文化是澳门的民俗特色之一。如何科学合理地规划建设城市遛狗公园（遛狗区）以满足市民日益增长的生活需求已成为专业部门面临的重要挑战。通过对文献实证研究、遥感测绘和实地调研,梳理了近代以来澳门遛狗、赛狗的民俗文化活动特点,分析了澳门高密度城市环境中的民间遛狗文化与城市遛狗公园建设的供需匹配度,得出澳门半岛与离岛城市遛狗公园建设均有较大的匹配度失衡,针对性提出未来澳门城市遛狗公园建设的规划策略思路。     

Comparison of Serum Concentrations of Symmetric Dimethylarginine and Creatinine as Kidney Function Biomarkers in Cats with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background

Symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) has been shown to be an accurate and precise biomarker for calculating estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in humans, as well as a more sensitive biomarker than serum creatinine concentration (sCr) for assessing renal dysfunction.

Objectives

The purpose of this retrospective study was to report on the utility of measuring serum SDMA concentrations in cats for detection of chronic kidney disease (CKD) before diagnosis by conventional measurement of sCr.

Animals

Chronic kidney disease cats (n = 21) included those persistently azotemic for ≥3 months (n = 15), nonazotemic cats with GFR >30% decreased from median GFR of normal cats (n = 4), and nonazotemic cats with calcium oxalate kidney stones (n = 2). Healthy geriatric cats (n = 21) were selected from the same colony.

Methods

Symmetric dimethylarginine concentrations (liquid chromatography‐mass spectroscopy) and sCr (enzymatic colorimetry) were determined retrospectively from historical data or banked serum samples in azotemic cats or at the time GFR (iohexol clearance) was measured in nonazotemic cats.

Results

Serum SDMA (r = −0.79) and sCr (r = −0.77) concentrations were significantly correlated to GFR (both P < .0001). Symmetric dimethylarginine became increased before sCr in 17/21 cats (mean, 17.0 months; range, 1.5–48 months). Serum SDMA had higher sensitivity (100%) compared with sCr (17%), but lower specificity (91% versus 100%) and positive predictive value (86% versus 100%).

Conclusion and Clinical Importance

Using serum SDMA as a biomarker for CKD allows earlier detection of CKD in cats compared with sCr, which may be desirable for initiating renoprotective interventions that slow progression of CKD.     

创建西宁森林氧巴探讨

通过分析西宁地区的森林资源和森林旅游现状，提出把西宁市建设成为青藏高原的森林氧巴的建议。