scholarly journals The usage of Mate Select, a web-based selection tool for pedigree dogs for promoting sustainable breeding

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateja Janes ◽  
Thomas W. Lewis ◽  
Joanna J. Ilska ◽  
John A. Woolliams

Abstract Background Inbreeding is a phenomenon that accumulates through the mating of relatives within closed populations, such as pedigree dog breeds, and results in reduced genetic variation within breeds, and may lead to poorer health and fertility from inbreeding depression. The impact of inbreeding is driven by the selection and mating of parents, but information on choices to reduce inbreeding is difficult to assess for individual breeders. Tools to inform dog breeders on the current state of the inbreeding and the relationships among possible parents are potentially useful for providing guidance towards choices that are more beneficial to the breed. However, their utility depends on their usage and this study examines the usage of Mate Select, a web-based tool offered by The Kennel Club, covering 222 breeds for a period of 7 years following its launch in 2011. Results The average usage was 2830 searches/week in 2012 with a slight fall of 2.2% per year (P < 0.001) to 2480 searches/week in 2018. Of these, 4% originated from outside the UK, across all continents except Antarctica, with the majority coming from English speaking countries. Searches/week showed a cyclical pattern with two cycles of 26.0 and 50.1 weeks. Since Mate Select’s launch there has been a steady increase in searches from mobile devices, from 11% in 2012 to 43% in 2018. For the 197 breeds with at least 10 dams registered with the Kennel Club during the study period, there was a relationship between usage and registrations, with the average number of searches as a multiple of the number of dams increasing from 2 to 10 for breeds with up to 70 dams and declining towards 2 again for the largest breeds with approximately 20,000 registered dams. However, there remained substantial variation among breeds of similar size, and breeds for which EBVs had become available during the study period had a 2.46 fold greater frequency of searches per registered bitch (P < 0.001), but this was not linked directly to the publication of EBVs. Conclusions Mate Select has sustained and substantial usage, although there is also substantial variation in usage among breeds, which offers an opportunity to develop further guidance.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateja Janes ◽  
Thomas W. Lewis ◽  
Joanna J. Ilska ◽  
John A. Woolliams

Abstract BackgroundInbreeding is a phenomenon that accumulates through the mating of relatives within closed populations, such as pedigree dog breeds, and results in reduced genetic variation within breeds, and may lead to poorer health and fertility from inbreeding depression. The impact of inbreeding is driven by the selection and mating of parents, but information on choices to reduce inbreeding is difficult to assess for individual breeders. Tools to inform dog breeders on the current state of the inbreeding and the relationships among possible parents are potentially useful for providing guidance towards choices that are more beneficial to the breed. However, their utility depends on their usage and this study examines the usage of Mate Select, a web-based tool offered by The Kennel Club, covering 222 breeds for a period of 7 years following its launch in 2011.ResultsThe average usage was 2830 searches/week in 2012 with a slight fall of 2.2% per year (P<0.001) to 2480 searches/week in 2018. Of these, 4% originated from outside the UK, across all continents except Antarctica, with the majority coming from English speaking countries. Searches/week showed a cyclical pattern with two cycles of 26.0 and 50.11 weeks. Sin­­­­ce Mate Select’s launch there has been a steady increase in searches from mobile devices, from 11% in 2012 to 43% in 2018. For the 197 breeds with more than 10 dams registered with the Kennel Club during the study period, there was a relationship between usage and registrations, with the average number of searches as a multiple of the number of dams increasing from 2 to 10 for breeds with up to 70 dams and declining towards 2 again for the largest breeds with approximately 20,000 registered dams. However, there remained substantial variation among breeds of similar size, and breeds for which EBVs had become available during the study period had a 2.46 fold greater frequency of searches per registered bitch (P<0.001), but this was not linked directly to the publication of EBVs.Conclusions Mate Select has sustained and substantial usage, although there is also substantial variation in usage among breeds, which offers an opportunity to develop further guidance.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateja Janes ◽  
Thomas W. Lewis ◽  
Joanna J. Ilska ◽  
John A. Woolliams

Abstract Background Inbreeding is a natural phenomenon, which accumulates through the mating of relatives within closed populations, such as pedigree dog breeds, and results in inbreeding depression and reduced genetic variation within breeds. The impact of inbreeding is driven by the selection and mating of parents, but information on choices to reduce inbreeding is difficult to assess for individual breeders. Tools to inform dog breeders on the current state of the inbreeding and the relationships among possible parents are potentially useful for providing guidance towards choices that are more beneficial to the breed. However, their utility depends on their usage and this study examines the overall usage of Mate Select, a web-based tool offered by The Kennel Club, covering 222 breeds for a period of 7 years following its launch in 2011. Results The average usage was 2830 searches/week in 2012 with a slight fall of 2.2% per year (P<0.001) to 2480 searches/week in 2018. Of these, 4% originated from outside the UK, across all continents except Antarctica, with the majority coming from English speaking countries. Searches/week showed a cyclical pattern with two cycles of 26 and 52 weeks. Sin­­­­ce Mate Select’s launch there has been a steady increase in searches from mobile devices, from 11% in 2012 to 43% in 2018. For the 197 breeds with more than 10 dams registered with the Kennel Club during the study period, there was a relationship between usage and registrations, with the average number of searches as a multiple of the number of dams increasing from 2 to 10 for breeds with up to 100 dams and declining towards 2 again for the largest breeds with approximately 20,000 registered dams. However, there remained substantial variation among breeds of similar size, and breeds for which EBVs had become available during the study period had a 1.8 fold greater frequency of searches per registered bitch (P<0.001), although this was not linked explicitly to the publication of EBVs.Conclusions Mate Select has sustained and substantial usage, although there is also substantial variation in usage among breeds, which offers an opportunity to develop further guidance.


2020 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2020-002422
Author(s):  
Donna Wakefield ◽  
Elizabeth Fleming ◽  
Kate Howorth ◽  
Kerry Waterfield ◽  
Emily Kavanagh ◽  
...  

ObjectivesNational guidance recommends equality in access to bereavement services; despite this, awareness and availability appears inconsistent. The aim of this study was to explore availability and accessibility of bereavement services across the North-East of England and to highlight issues potentially applicable across the UK, at a time of unprecedented need due to the impact of COVID-19.MethodsPhase 1: an eight item, web-based survey was produced. A survey link was cascaded to all GP practices (General Practitioners) in the region. Phase 2: an email was sent to all services identified in phase 1, requesting details such as referral criteria and waiting times.ResultsAll 392 GP practices in the region were invited to participate. The response rate was 22% (85/392). Twenty-one per cent (18/85) of respondents reported that they do not refer patients, comments included ‘not aware of any services locally’. A total of 36 services were contacted with 72% responding with further information. Most bereavement specific support was reliant on charity-funded services including hospices, this sometimes required a pre-existing link with the hospice. Waiting times were up to 4 months.ConclusionsAlthough multiple different, usually charity-funded services were identified, awareness and accessibility were variable. This survey was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, where complex situations surrounding death is likely to impact on the usual grieving process and increase the need for bereavement support. Meanwhile, charities providing this support are under severe financial strain. There is an urgent need to bridge the gap between need and access to bereavement services.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adil M Hazara ◽  
Katherine Durrans ◽  
Sunil Bhandari

Abstract Web-based portals enable patients to access their electronic health records, including test results and clinical documents, from anywhere with Internet access. Some portals also serve as a means of two-way communication between patients and healthcare professionals and provide a platform for the recording of patient-entered data such as home blood pressure readings. Such systems are designed to encourage patient participation in the management of their condition, and ultimately to increase patient empowerment and self-management, which are associated with improved clinical outcomes. As an example of portal use in patients with renal conditions, we discuss the PatientView portal, which is offered free of cost to patients under the care of renal physicians in the UK. We present an account of its various features and briefly describe the user experience. Previous studies examining the impact of this portal on patient care have been very positive; it appears to be popular among users and overall levels of satisfaction with the service are high. As the use of patient portals increases, we discuss barriers to the more widespread use of portals. We offer suggestions on how the care of patients with renal conditions can be enhanced in the future by further developing the existing features, learning from experiences of other patient portals and providing better integration of portal use into the current model of care.


Author(s):  
Kevin Albertson ◽  
Chris Fox ◽  
Chris O’leary ◽  
Gary Painter ◽  
Kimberly Bailey ◽  
...  

This chapter reviews the current state of evidence on what works in outcomes-based commissioning using published evaluations of Payment by Results (PbR) and Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) in the UK and SIBs in the US. Findings from these evaluations are arranged under the following broad headings: designing and commissioning, development of markets, performance management, innovation, the role of incentives, and overall outcomes. The evaluations address issues such as the complexity of PbR commissioning models compared to other commissioning exercises, the impact of PbR on the market for social goods, and the development of new or enhanced performance management systems as a result of outcomes-based commissioning. Two areas of innovation are also highlighted: innovation in service design and delivery, and innovation in financing.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofía Castro ◽  
Zofia Wodniecka ◽  
Kalinka Timmer

Monolingualism has typically been understood as a homogeneous phenomenon. The linguistic experiences of monolinguals are usually overlooked when analysing the impact of foreign language experiences on language processing and cognitive functioning. In this study, we analyse the linguistic experiences of 962 English-speaking individuals from the United Kingdom (UK) who identified as monolinguals. Through an online survey, we found that more than 80% of these monolinguals had in fact learned at least one foreign language, dialect, or type of jargon. More than half of this 80% of monolinguals also used languages they had learned at some point in their lives. Moreover, nearly 40% of all the studied monolinguals confirmed that they had been exposed to foreign languages or dialects in their environment; approximately a fourth of these monolinguals who declared exposure to at least one foreign language (or dialect) confirmed that they also used these languages. Furthermore, activities that involved passive use of languages (e.g., watching TV) were occasionally carried out in foreign languages: around 26% of these monolinguals confirmed the passive use of more than one language. Lastly, around 58% of them who had visited one or more non-English-speaking countries declared the active use of foreign languages during their stay(s). These results suggest that the linguistic experiences of monolinguals from the UK often include exposure to and use of foreign languages. Moreover, these results show the need to consider the specificity of the monolingual language experience when analysing the impact of foreign languages on cognitive functioning, as differences in the language experiences of bilinguals also have divergent impacts on cognition. Lastly, monolingual experiences are different from bilingual experiences; therefore, questionnaires that target the particular linguistic experiences of monolinguals should be developed.


2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-142
Author(s):  
Ian Menter ◽  
Moira Hulme ◽  
Jean Murray ◽  
Anne Campbell ◽  
Ian Hextall ◽  
...  

This paper offers an analysis of the current state of teacher education research in the United Kingdom (UK). It commences with a brief historical overview of developments over the last century. Some recent «capacity building» initiatives designed to enhance and develop teacher education research are described. There is then a focus on a particular web-based resource that draws together a significant number of publications in UK teacher education research from 2000-2008. This database is then analysed in order to identify in which journals and by which authors this work is produced. The range of methodological approaches and substantive areas of focus that appear to predominate in teacher education research in the UK are reviewed, according to categories within the database. This demonstrates that there are some very real challenges to be faced by teacher education researchers in the years ahead, similar but not identical to those faced elsewhere.


Author(s):  
Charlotta Martinus ◽  
Nicholas A. Kearney

This chapter outlines the current state of affairs of yoga provision for teenagers in the UK. It looks at the history of yoga in the UK among young people, the research and the application in school contexts, as well as prison and Pupil Referral Units. It outlines the results from the Hippocampus project, an EU-funded 2 year project evaluating the impact of yoga on disadvantaged youth in five countries. The chapter also takes a look at the current financial support for yoga in schools and the possibilities of taking it forward.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 795-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bob Jeffery ◽  
Dawn Devine ◽  
Peter Thomas

This article explores attitudes and barriers to work, and the impact of punitive welfare reform in the City of Salford (Greater Manchester). Contextualising our discussion in relation to the contemporary landscape of inequality and social class in the UK, we draw attention to the trends towards the expansion of low-paid work, precarity, and stigmatisation, and highlight the need for more qualitative, geographically sensitive studies of how these phenomena are being played out. Describing the economic context of the City of Salford and the current state of its labour market, we then present the findings from qualitative interviews with a sample of low income, mostly working-class participants, who describe their orientations towards employment, perceptions of the labour market, barriers to employment and interactions with punitive welfare reform. Ultimately, we conclude by noting that both strategies of neoliberal statecraft aimed at the reduction of the charitable state described by Wacquant are at play in Salford and that their result is a discouragement from claiming welfare and a recommodification of labour.


2021 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-215889
Author(s):  
Constantin-Cristian Topriceanu ◽  
Andrew Wong ◽  
James C Moon ◽  
Alun D Hughes ◽  
Nishi Chaturvedi ◽  
...  

BackgroundKey workers played a pivotal role during the national lockdown in the UK’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although protective measures have been taken, the impact of the pandemic on key workers is yet to be fully elucidated.MethodsParticipants were from four longitudinal age-homogeneous British cohorts (born in 2001, 1990, 1970 and 1958). A web-based survey provided outcome data during the first UK national lockdown (May 2020) on COVID-19 infection status, changes in financial situation, trust in government, conflict with people around, household composition, psychological distress, alcohol consumption, smoking and sleep duration. Generalised linear models with logit link assessed the association between being a key worker and the above outcomes. Adjustment was made for cohort design, non-response, sex, ethnicity, adult socioeconomic position (SEP), childhood SEP, the presence of a chronic illness and receipt of a shielding letter. Meta-analyses were performed across the cohorts.Findings13 736 participants were included. During lockdown, being a key worker was associated with increased chances of being infected with COVID-19 (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.68) and experiencing conflict with people around (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.37). However, key workers were less likely to be worse off financially (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.65), to consume more alcohol (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.98) or to smoke more (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.80) during lockdown. Interestingly, being a key worker was not associated with psychological distress (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.05).InterpretationBeing a key worker during the first UK COVID-19 lockdown was a double-edged sword, with both benefits and downsides. The UK government had the basic duty to protect its key workers from SARS-CoV-2 infection, but it may have failed to do so, and there is an urgent need to rectify this in light of the ongoing third wave.


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