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Objectives: The objective of the first part of this retrospective multicentre study was to identify and classify common calcaneal tendon (CCT) injuries in a study population of 66 cats. Methods: The medical records of five different small animal referral centres and veterinary teaching hospitals between 2010 and 2020 were reviewed. In addition to patient-specific data, CCT injuries were characterised in detail. Diagnostic modalities and further comorbidities were recorded. Results: Sixty-six cats met the inclusion criteria. The mean age of the cats was 7.5 years (range 0.5–16.3) and their mean body weight (BW) was 4.6 kg (range 1.5–9.0). Thirty-four spayed females (51.5%), five intact females (7.6%) and 27 castrated males (40.9%) were included. Most cases involved closed injuries of the CCT (69.7%). Twenty-one of 46 cats had closed atraumatic injuries (45.7%). Open injuries (30.3%) were most commonly lacerations (65%). Twenty-one injuries were classified as atraumatic (31.8%), whereas 25 were traumatic (37.9%). With every year of age, the odds of having an atraumatic injury increased by a factor of 1.021. Cats with atraumatic injuries had a higher mean BW than cats with traumatic injuries, but the difference was not statistically significant. Acute injuries were recorded in 40.9% of cases, whereas 51.5% of cats had a subacute CCT injury and 7.6% had chronic lesions. Most acute lesions were Meutstege type I injuries (55.6%). Subacute and chronic lesions were more commonly Meutstege type IIc injuries (58.8% and 60%, respectively). Considering all CCT injuries, a Meutstege type IIc injury was most common (53%). Conclusions and relevance: The most common type of injury was Meutstege type IIc. Cats with atraumatic injuries had a higher mean BW than cats with traumatic injuries, but the difference was not statistically significant. Older cats more commonly presented with atraumatic CCT injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aims of the second part of this retrospective multicentre study were to describe the surgical techniques used in the treatment of common calcaneal tendon (CCT) injuries, and evaluate the short- and long-term outcomes and complications. Methods: The medical records of five different small animal referral centres and veterinary teaching hospitals between 2010 and 2020 were reviewed. Surgical vs conservative treatment was evaluated. Treatment type, type of postoperative immobilisation, and short- and long-term outcomes and complications were recorded. Minor complications were defined as not requiring surgical intervention. Long-term outcome was evaluated by an owner questionnaire. Results: Sixty-six cats met the inclusion criteria. Mean time to surgery was 9.6 days (range 0–185). Most cats (83.3%) were treated surgically. Regardless of treatment modality, all limbs were immobilised for a mean time of 48.2 days (range 2–98). For 63 cats that had the temporary tarsal joint immobilisation technique recorded, a transarticular external skeletal fixator (ESF; 57.1%) or a calcaneotibial screw (33.3%) were used most commonly. The method of immobilisation had a notable, although non-significant, influence on the occurrence of short-term complications, with most complications being reported for the transarticular ESF group. The total short-term complication rate was 41.3%, the minor complication rate was 33.3% and the major complication rate was 7.9%, with pin tract infections being the most commonly occurring minor complication. Three cats (6%) had a total of four major complications over the long term. Most cats (86%) were free of lameness at the long-term evaluation, with an overall successful clinical long-term outcome of 84.9%, according to the owner questionnaire. Cats with traumatic injuries and injuries treated surgically had higher questionnaire scores than those with atraumatic injuries and those treated conservatively. Conclusions and relevance: Outcome was generally good in cats with CCT injury, irrespective of the type of treatment. Complications included a high proportion of minor complications associated with the technique of tarsal joint immobilisation. ESF frames were more commonly involved in complications than other techniques. Surgically treated cats had a slightly better long-term outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous work has shown that hyperlinks reflect actors’ strategic choices; these dyadic relationships depend on the actors’ exogenous attributes (e.g., homophily) and the network’s endogenous features (e.g., prestige distribution among actors). We combine these factors as explanatory variables in different exponential random graph models (ERGMs) to assess the relative strength of prestige and homophily for the actors’ link formation. We analyze the climate change discourse in a hyperlink network formed by US civil society actors from November 2014 and test how relevant the different factors are, including variables such as actor type, country, position, and topic. We find that both prestige and various aspects of homophily influence link formation online. With regard to the importance of the different factors, positional homophily stands out, followed by prestige and other homophily effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into polarisation on the internet has so far primarily focused on contentious issues and yielded contradictory results. Shifting the focus to a non-contentious setting, this article combines community detection with brokerage analysis and exponential random graph models to assess the degree of polarisation at different levels of a German hyperlink network on climate change. Although homophily accounts for a moderate degree of polarisation at the top level of the network, the communities reveal that other factors prove more decisive in shaping its structure and the article thus contributes to a more refined understanding of the nature of online polarisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The purpose of this study was to determine differences in normal feline pituitary dimensions in brachycephalic and mesocephalic cats as a basis for establishing cryohypophysectomy in cats. Methods Measurements were performed on sagittal T2-weighted and transverse post-gadolinium T1-weighted or T1 3D fast field echo-weighted MRI images. A total of 32 brachycephalic and 27 mesocephalic cats were examined. Inter-observer reproducibility was assessed by t-test and Bland–Altman analysis. Results The cats were 0.6–15.9 years of age with a body weight range of 1.84–6.60 kg. For brachycephalic cats, the mean pituitary gland sagittal height was 2.15 ± 0.15 mm, pituitary gland transverse height was 2.42 ± 0.21 mm, pituitary gland transverse width was 4.44 ± 0.27 mm and pituitary gland sagittal length was 3.14 ± 0.30 mm. In mesocephalic cats, the pituitary gland dimensions were 2.94 ± 0.16 mm, 3.09 ± 0.26 mm, 4.73 ± 0.31 mm and 4.88 ± 0.30 mm for pituitary gland sagittal height, transverse height, transverse width and sagittal length, respectively. There was a highly significant correlation between brachycephalic and mesocephalic cats and pituitary gland height and length (P <0.0001), respectively. Sex also had an effect on pituitary gland measurements. Neutering status had no significant effect on hypophyseal measurements. Age had a significant influence on pituitary gland height, width and length in the brachycephalic population. Inter-observer reproducibility was good to excellent. Conclusions and relevance The different pituitary measurements in brachycephalic and mesocephalic cats has to be considered if surgery comes into question. There are ranges in pituitary gland sizes, even among the mesocephalic cat population. Thus, exact measuring of the pituitary gland is crucial before any surgical intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although political institutions and their actors are at the heart of the democratic process, we know little about the effect of institutional configurations on legislative discourses. The article conducts a comparative frame analysis of climate change debates in the legislative bodies of four countries—Switzerland, Germany, the UK and the US—that differ in the degree to which they correspond to majoritarian or consensus democracies. The study finds systematic differences with regard to salience of the issue, frame and actor diversity and the degree of polarisation. The implications are discussed and the article addresses limitations and areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]