Ethics and the credit insurance industry

Student Number : 0215239Y - MA research project - School of Social Sciences - Faculty of HumanitiesThe purpose of this report is to investigate whether ethics is important to the credit insurance industry and to consider the role a code of ethics can play in helping to make better decisions. The conclusions that I reach are that ethics plays a vital role in building and sustaining a healthy credit insurance business and that a well designed and managed ethics policy is an invaluable tool in running an ethical business and in protecting the reputation and long term viability of a credit insurer. The report begins by providing - in part I - a brief outline of the major ethical theories including short reviews of the two closely related subjects of corporate governance and sustainable development. It continues by discussing the impact of ethics on business in general. I commence the heart of the report by examining in part II ethics in the credit insurance industry, by defining credit insurance and describing the special roles it plays in national and international economies. I then focus on the pertinent operational aspects of a credit insurance business, i.e. marketing and sales, underwriting, claims and reinsurance with particular reference to the role ethics can and should play in each of them. By drawing together the outcomes of these various deliberations the basic guidelines for the drafting of codes of ethics in the credit insurance industry will be developed (obviously each company has to design its own code in line with its own corporate culture, values and circumstances). Finally I attempt to show the benefits a well drafted and properly managed code can have for a credit insurer (part III)

SHAPESLewisham and the Shape of Lewisham: Connectivity, Communication and Construction in a Creative Enterprise Zone

This paper provides a deeper understanding of the challenges and needs of creative workers in Lewisham in order that the Creative Enterprise Zone's aims can be successfully pursued. Through thematic, analytic examination of academic literature and direct evidence from creative practitioners - via both original primary case studies, and wider peer group expert reflections (SHAPESLewisham Talks) - this research provides a rich grounding for the CEZ to: • support growth needs, as well as recognise, celebrate and leverage cultural capital created in, and by, those of the CEZ; • identify key issues of risk management (societal and economic) that can ensure the CEZ retains its diverse talent and builds scale, and; • work collaboratively with local educational settings to better understand and develop existing relationships between creative practitioners and organisations such as Goldsmiths University

Role of electrolytes and unmeasured anions in the metabolic acid-base abnormalities in dogs with parvoviral enteritis

Background: The strong ion model (SIM) is an alternative paradigm in the characterization of acid‐base disturbances particularly in complex disorders. Hypothesis/Objectives: To compare the acid‐base changes in dogs with parvoviral enteritis (PE) using the Henderson‐Hasselbalch (HH) approach, with 2 strong ion approaches. Animals: Forty‐four dogs with PE, and 16 age‐matched control dogs. Methods: Prospective controlled observational study. Acid‐base status was evaluated using the HH model, Fencl‐Stewart (FS) approach and a validated strong ion model (VDM). The acid‐base changes according to each model were classified and compared. Statistical correlations between pH, CO2, and various SIM variables were performed, as well as between the sum of effects (SOE) of the SIM and the individual variables comprising the SOE. Results: The HH model identified acid‐base disorders in 31/44 cases of which 16/31 were mixed with metabolic acidosis and concurrent respiratory alkalosis the most common (10/31). Using the FS approach, metabolic changes were present 36/42 cases, with changes in free water (FW), chloride, and unmeasured anions (UA) being the most prevalent. Both FW and UA correlated well with pH; however, UA were most consistently abnormal in severe acidemia. Similarly to the HH, the VDM detected acid‐base disturbances in 28/44 cases. Major contributors to the acid‐base changes were hyponatremia, hypochloremia, and Atot acidosis because of elevated globulins and increased UA. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Acid‐base changes are common and complex in dogs with PE, and were easier to understand using a SIM paradigm. Increases in UA have not been documented in PE in dogs

The utility of uric acid assay in dogs as an indicator of functional hepatic mass

Uric acid was used as a test for liver disease before the advent of enzymology. Three old studies criticised uric acid as a test of liver function. Uric acid, as an end-product of purine metabolism in the liver, deserved re-evaluation as a liver function test. Serumtotal bile acids are widely accepted as the most reliable liver function test. This study compared the ability of serumuric acid concentration to assess liver function with that of serumpre-prandial bile acids in dogs. In addition, due to the renal excretion of uric acid the 2 assays were also compared in a renal disease group. Using a control group of healthy dogs, a group of dogs with congenital vascular liver disease, a group of dogs with non-vascular parenchymal liver diseases and a renal disease group, the ability of uric acid and pre-prandial bile acids was compared to detect reduced functional hepatic mass overall and in the vascular or parenchymal liver disease groups separately. Sensitivities, specificities and predictive value parameters were calculated for each test. The medians of uric acid concentration did not differ significantly between any of the groups, whereas pre-prandial bile acids medians were significantly higher in the liver disease groups compared with the normal and renal disease group of dogs. The sensitivity of uric acid in detecting liver disease overall was 65% while the specificity of uric acid in detecting liver disease overall was 59 %. The sensitivity and specificity of uric acid in detecting congenital vascular liver disease was 68%and 59 %, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of uric acid in detecting parenchymal liver disease was 63%and 60 %, respectively. The overall positive and negative predictive values for uric acid in detecting liver disease were poor and the data in this study indicated uric acid to be an unreliable test of liver function. In dogs suffering from renal compromise serum uric acid concentrations may increase into the abnormal range due to its renal route of excretion.http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_savet.htm

Evaluation of acute kidney injury in dogs with complicated or uncomplicated Babesia rossi infection

Dogs with babesiosis can present with multiple complications, including acute kidney injury (AKI). The objective of this study was to characterize AKI in dogs with babesiosis caused by Babesia rossi at presentation and after treatment. Thirty-five client-owned dogs with B. rossi infection and 10 control dogs were included in this prospective observational study. Blood and urine were collected in Babesia-infected dogs at presentation (T-0, n = 35), after 24 h (T-24h, n = 11), and after 1 month (T-1m, n = 9). The following urinary kidney injury biomarkers were assessed: urinary protein to creatinine ratio (UPC), urinary glomerular injury biomarkers (immunoglobulin G (uIgG) and C-reactive protein (uCRP)), and urinary tubular injury biomarkers (retinol-binding protein (uRBP) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL)). Serum functional renal biomarkers were creatinine (sCr) and symmetric dimethylarginine (sSDMA). Post-mortem kidney biopsies were analyzed by light and transmission electron microscopy. At T-0, all kidney injury biomarkers were significantly higher in Babesia-infected dogs compared to healthy controls (P 0.05). At T-24h, all urinary tubular injury biomarkers and UPC decreased significantly (P 0.5). Significant changes in functional renal biomarkers were not seen after treatment (P > 0.05). Dogs with complicated babesiosis had significantly higher glomerular injury biomarkers, UPC, and sSDMA compared to uncomplicated cases (P 0.1). Dogs with babesiosis caused by B. rossi showed transient kidney injury, which was detected by all kidney injury biomarkers, but remained undetected by functional biomarkers. All infected dogs, irrespective of disease severity, suffered comparable kidney injury based on tubular injury biomarker concentrations, while loss of function was seen more often in dogs with complicated babesiosis based on sSDMA results

One Episode of Self-Resolving Plasmodium yoelii Infection Transiently Exacerbates Chronic Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection

Malaria and tuberculosis (Tb) are two of the main causes of death from infectious diseases globally. The pathogenic agents, Plasmodium parasites and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), are co-endemic in many regions in the world however compared to other co-infections like HIV/Tb or helminth/Tb, malaria/Tb has been given less attention both in clinical and immunological studies. Due to the lack of sufficient human data, the impact of malaria on Tb and vice versa is difficult to estimate but co-infections are likely to occur very frequently. Due to its immunomodulatory properties malaria might be an underestimated risk factor for latent or active Tb patients particularly in high-endemic malaria settings were people experience reinfections very frequently. In the present study, we used the non-lethal strain of Plasmodium yoelii to investigate how one episode of self-resolving malaria impact on a chronic Mtb infection. P. yoelii co-infection resulted in exacerbation of Tb disease as demonstrated by increased pathology and cellular infiltration of the lungs which coincided with elevated levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators. T cell responses were not impaired in co-infected mice but enhanced and likely contributed to increased cytokine production. We found a slight but statistically significant increase in Mtb burden in co-infected animals and increased lung CFU was positively correlated with elevated levels of TNFbut not IL-10. Infection with P. yoelii induced the recruitment of a CD11c+ population into lungs and spleens of Mtb infected mice. CD11c+ cells isolated from P. yoelii infected spleens promoted survival and growth of Mtb in vitro. 170 days after P. yoelii infection changes in immunopathology and cellular immune responses were no longer apparent while Mtb numbers were still slightly higher in lungs, but not in spleens of co-infected mice. In conclusion, one episode of P. yoelii co-infection transiently exacerbated disease severity but had no long-term consequences on disease progression and survival of Mtb infected mice

The pathology of the spleen in lethal canine babesiosis caused by Babesia rossi

To provide useful information based on the macropathology, histopathology and immunohistochemical investigation in the spleens of dogs with Babesia rossi infection. Control spleens were collected from four healthy dogs euthanized for welfare reasons. Nine dogs that died naturally because of a mono‐infection with Babesia rossi were selected for the diseased group. One haematoxylin‐and‐eosin–stained section of splenic tissue from each of the infected and control dogs was examined under the light microscope. Immunohistochemical markers were applied to characterize different immunocyte populations. The application of analytic software enabled semi‐quantitative comparison of leucocyte subpopulations. Routine splenic histopathology revealed diffuse intermingling of white and red pulp from infected dogs with a clear loss of distinction between these zones. Immunohistochemistry revealed an increase in the proportion of tissue resident and bone marrow origin macrophages in the infected spleens. Apart from a few remnant lymphocytes within the peri‐arteriolar lymphatic sheaths and follicles, the majority of the immunocytes redistributed to the red pulp, supporting the observation of white and red pulp intermingling. The majority of our findings are in agreement with histomorphological descriptions of the spleen in a variety of noncanid mammalian hosts with lethal malaria or babesiosis.The National Research Foundationhttp://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pim2021-03-02hj2021Companion Animal Clinical StudiesParaclinical Science