The Costs and Predictive Factors of Bovine Respiratory Disease in Standardized Steer Tests

A retrospective study of 2,146 feedlot cattle in 17 feedlot tests from 1988 to 1997 was conducted to determine the impact of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) on veterinary treatment costs, average daily gain, carcass traits, mortality, and net profit. Morbidity caused by BRD was 20.6%. The average cost to treat each case of BRD was $12.39. Mortality rate of calves diagnosed and treated for BRD was 5.9% vs. .35% for those not diagnosed with BRD. Average daily gain differed between treated and non-treated steers during the first 28 days on feed but did not differ from 28 days to harvest. Net profit was $57.48 lower for treated steers. Eighty-two percent of this difference was due to a combination of mortality and treatment costs. Eighteen percent of the net profit difference was due to improved performance and carcass value of the non-treated steers. Data from 496 steers and heifers in nine feedlot tests were used to determine the effects of age, weaning, and use of modified live virus or killed vaccines prior to the test to predict BRD. Younger calves, non-weaned calves, and calves vaccinated with killed vaccines prior to the test had higher BRD morbidity than those that were older, weaned, or vaccinated with modified live virus vaccines, respectively. Treatment regimes that precluded relapse resulting in re-treatment prevented reduced performance and loss of carcass value. Using modified live virus vaccines and weaning calves 30 days prior to shipment reduced the incidence of BRD.

Incidence and risk factors of homicide-suicide in Swiss households: National Cohort study

BACKGROUND Homicide-suicides are rare but catastrophic events. This study examined the epidemiology of homicide-suicide in Switzerland. METHODS The study identified homicide-suicide events 1991-2008 in persons from the same household in the Swiss National Cohort, which links census and mortality records. The analysis examined the association of the risk of dying in a homicide-suicide event with socio-demographic variables, measured at the individual-level, household composition variables and area-level variables. Proportional hazards regression models were calculated for male perpetrators and female victims. Results are presented as age-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). RESULTS The study identified 158 deaths from homicide-suicide events, including 85 murder victims (62 women, 4 men, 19 children and adolescents) and 68 male and 5 female perpetrators. The incidence was 3 events per million households and year. Firearms were the most prominent method for both homicides and suicides. The risk of perpetrating homicide-suicide was higher in divorced than in married men (HR 3.64; 95%CI 1.56-8.49), in foreigners without permanent residency compared to Swiss citizens (HR 3.95; 1.52-10.2), higher in men without religious affiliations than in Catholics (HR 2.23; 1.14-4.36) and higher in crowded households (HR 4.85; 1.72-13.6 comparing ≥2 with <1 persons/room). There was no association with education, occupation or nationality, the number of children, the language region or degree of urbanicity. Associations were similar for female victims. CONCLUSIONS This national longitudinal study shows that living conditions associated with psychological stress and lower levels of social support are associated with homicide-suicide events in Switzerland.

Individual and structural factors of member commitment in sports clubs

This article analyses the conditions influencing the commitment of members of sports clubs. It focuses not only on individual characteristics of members, but also on the corresponding structural conditions of sports clubs related to the individual decision to quit or continue their membership. The influences of both the individual and context levels on the commitment of members are estimated in different multi-level models. Results of these multi-level analyses indicate that commitment of members is not just an outcome of individual characteristics such as strong commitment to the club, positively perceived communication and cooperation, satisfaction with sports clubsʼ offers, or voluntary engagement. It is also influenced by club-specific structural conditions: commitment is more probable in rural sports clubs, and clubs who explicitly support sociability, whereas success-oriented sporting goals in clubs have a destabilizing effect.

The potential association between gingival crevicular fluid inflammatory mediators and adverse pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES The association between periodontal disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes (APO), primarily preterm birth (PTB), is still controversially discussed in the literature. Therefore, the aim of the present systematic review was to analyze the existing literature on the potential association between inflammatory mediators detected in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and APO. MATERIALS AND METHODS MEDLINE (PubMed) and EMBASE databases were searched for entries up to April 2012 and studies were selected by two independent reviewers. RESULTS The majority of the eight studies included confirmed a positive association between GCF mediators, such as interleukin-1β, prostaglandin E2, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and APO. Due to the heterogeneity and variability of the available studies, no meta-analysis could be performed. CONCLUSIONS A positive association between GCF inflammatory mediator levels and APO/PTB might be present but the results need to be considered with great caution because of the heterogeneity and variability among the studies. Further studies with an adequate number of patients allowing for an appropriate analysis are warranted to definitely confirm this association. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The present findings suggest that an association between GCF inflammatory mediator levels and APO might exist.

Prevalence and risk factors for carriage of multi-drug resistant Staphylococci in healthy cats and dogs

We investigated the distribution of commensal staphylococcal species and determined the prevalence of multi-drug resistance in healthy cats and dogs. Risk factors associated with the carriage of multi-drug resistant strains were explored. Isolates from 256 dogs and 277 cats were identified at the species level using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight mass spectrometry. The diversity of coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CNS) was high, with 22 species in dogs and 24 in cats. Multi-drug resistance was frequent (17%) and not always associated with the presence of the mecA gene. A stay in a veterinary clinic in the last year was associated with an increased risk of colonisation by multi-drug resistant Staphylococci (OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.1˜5.2, p value LRT = 0.04). When identifying efficient control strategies against antibiotic resistance, the presence of mechanisms other than methicillin resistance and the possible role of CNS in the spread of resistance determinants should be considered.

Effects of an educational patient safety campaign on patients' safety behaviours and adverse events

Rationale, aims and objectives  The study aims to investigate the effects of a patient safety advisory on patients' risk perceptions, perceived behavioural control, performance of safety behaviours and experience of adverse incidents. Method  Quasi-experimental intervention study with non-equivalent group comparison was used. Patients admitted to the surgical department of a Swiss large non-university hospital were included. Patients in the intervention group received a safety advisory at their first clinical encounter. Outcomes were assessed using a questionnaire at discharge. Odds ratios for control versus intervention group were calculated. Regression analysis was used to model the effects of the intervention and safety behaviours on the experience of safety incidents. Results  Two hundred eighteen patients in the control and 202 in the intervention group completed the survey (75 and 77% response rates, respectively). Patients in the intervention group were less likely to feel poorly informed about medical errors (OR = 0.55, P = 0.043). There were 73.1% in the intervention and 84.3% in the control group who underestimated the risk for infection (OR = 0.51, CI 0.31-0.84, P = 0.009). Perceived behavioural control was lower in the control group (meanCon  = 3.2, meanInt  = 3.5, P = 0.010). Performance of safety-related behaviours was unaffected by the intervention. Patients in the intervention group were less likely to experience any safety-related incident or unsafe situation (OR for intervention group = 0.57, CI 0.38-0.87, P = 0.009). There were no differences in concerns for errors during hospitalization. There were 96% of patients (intervention) who would recommend other patients to read the advisory. Conclusions  The results suggest that the safety advisory decreases experiences of adverse events and unsafe situations. It renders awareness and perceived behavioural control without increasing concerns for safety and can thus serve as a useful instrument for communication about safety between health care workers and patients.

Patterns of exposure to infectious diseases and social contacts in early life and risk of brain tumours in children and adolescents: an International Case-Control Study (CEFALO)

BACKGROUND Infectious diseases and social contacts in early life have been proposed to modulate brain tumour risk during late childhood and adolescence. METHODS CEFALO is an interview-based case-control study in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, including children and adolescents aged 7-19 years with primary intracranial brain tumours diagnosed between 2004 and 2008 and matched population controls. RESULTS The study included 352 cases (participation rate: 83%) and 646 controls (71%). There was no association with various measures of social contacts: daycare attendance, number of childhours at daycare, attending baby groups, birth order or living with other children. Cases of glioma and embryonal tumours had more frequent sick days with infections in the first 6 years of life compared with controls. In 7-19 year olds with 4+ monthly sick day, the respective odds ratios were 2.93 (95% confidence interval: 1.57-5.50) and 4.21 (95% confidence interval: 1.24-14.30). INTERPRETATION There was little support for the hypothesis that social contacts influence childhood and adolescent brain tumour risk. The association between reported sick days due to infections and risk of glioma and embryonal tumour may reflect involvement of immune functions, recall bias or inverse causality and deserve further attention.

The importance of partnership factors and individual factors associated with absent or inconsistent condom use in heterosexuals: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES Decisions to use condoms are made within partnerships. We examined the associations between inconsistent or no condom use and individual and partnership characteristics. We also examined the relative importance of individual versus partnership factors. METHODS Cross-sectional study of heterosexual individuals enrolled from the sexually transmitted infections (STI) outpatient clinic in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from May to August 2010. Participants completed a questionnaire about sexual behaviour with the last four partners in the preceding year. Participant and partnership factors associated with inconsistent or no condom use in steady and casual partnerships were identified. RESULTS 2144 individuals were included, reporting 6401 partnerships; 54.7% were female, the median age was 25 (IQR 22-30) years and 79.9% were Dutch. Inconsistent or no condom use occurred in 13.9% of 2387 steady partnerships and in 33.5% of 4014 casual partnerships. There was statistical evidence of associations between inconsistent condom use in steady partnerships and ethnic concordance, longer duration, higher number of sex acts, practising anal sex, and sex-related drug use. In casual partnerships, associations were found with having an older partner, ethnic concordance, longer duration, higher number of sex acts, anal sex, sex-related drug use, ongoing partnerships and concurrency. In multivariable models, partnership factors explained 50.9% of the variance in steady partnerships and 70.1% in casual partnerships compared with 10.5% and 15.4% respectively for individual factors. CONCLUSIONS Among heterosexual STI clinic attendees in Amsterdam, partnership factors are more important factors related with inconsistent condom use than characteristics of the individual.

Changes in situational and dispositional factors as predictors of job satisfaction

Arguably, job satisfaction is one of the most important variables with regard to work. When explaining job satisfaction, research usually focuses on predictor variables in terms of levels but neglects growth rates. Therefore it remains unclear how potential predictors evolve over time and how their development affects job satisfaction. Using multivariate latent growth modeling in a study with 1145 young workers over five years, we analyzed how well job satisfaction is predicted a) by levels of situational (i.e., job control) and dispositional (i.e., Core Self-Evaluations (CSE)) factors and b) by growth per year of these predictors. Results showed both intercepts and slopes to be related to each other, suggesting a joint growth of job control and CSE during early careers. Job satisfaction after five years was best predicted by the slopes of job control (β = .31, p < .001) and CSE (β = .34, p < .01). These findings provide further longitudinal evidence for the role of situational as well as dispositional factors for predicting job satisfaction. In addition, growth rates per year were better predictors than initial levels. Furthermore, a lack of change in job control or CSE went along with a drop in job satisfaction, implying that young workers need to perceive things to be improving in order to increase, or at least maintain, their level of job satisfaction. In terms of theory, the relative importance of levels versus changes deserves more attention. In terms of practical implications, our results suggest a double emphasis on job design (i.e., granting sufficient, and increasing, control) and on personal development (e.g., through training) so that people experience a match between both. Finally, negative associations between initial levels and growth rates suggest that people are quite successful in achieving a reasonable fit between their job characteristics and their needs and goals.