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Mammary cancer is one of the most common neoplasms of dogs, primarily bitches. While studies have been carried out identifying differing risk of mammary neoplasia in different dog breeds, few studies have reported associations between dog breeds and clinical features such as number of neoplastic lesions found in an individual case or the likelihood of lesions being benign or malignant. Such epidemiological studies are essential as a foundation for exploring potential genetic drivers of mammary tumour behaviour. Here, we have examined associations between breed, age and neuter status and the odds of a diagnosis of a mammary epithelial-origin neoplastic lesion (as opposed to any other histopathological diagnosis from a biopsied lesion) as well as the odds of a bitch presenting with either a single mammary lesion or multiple lesions, and the odds that those lesions are benign or malignant. The study population consisted of 129,258 samples from bitches, including 13,401 mammary epithelial neoplasms, submitted for histological assessment to a single histopathology laboratory between 2008 and 2021.In multivariable analysis, breed, age and neuter status were all significantly associated with the odds of a diagnosis of a mammary epithelial-origin neoplastic lesion. Smaller breeds were more likely to receive such a diagnosis. In cases diagnosed with a mammary epithelial neoplasm, these three factors were also significantly associated with the odds of diagnosis with a malignant lesion and of diagnosis with multiple lesions. Notably, while neutered animals were less likely to have a mammary epithelial neoplasm diagnosed, and were less likely to have multiple neoplasms, they were more likely to have malignant disease. Exploration of the patterns of risk of developing malignant disease, or multiple lesions, across individual breeds showed no breed with increased odds of both outcomes. Breeds with altered odds compared to the Crossbreed baseline were either at increased risk of malignant disease and decreased risk of multiple lesions, or vice versa, or they were at significantly altered odds of one outcome with no change in the other outcome. Our analysis supports the hypothesis that age, neuter status and intrinsic biological and genetic factors all combine to influence the biological heterogeneity of canine mammary neoplasia.

(a) Situation faced: An effective and well-penetrated whole-of-organization BPM governance approach was essential to progress with the enterprise-wide business process management (BPM) efforts at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). This rich case study documents the journey that CBA took in this direction. (b) Action taken: A range of governance mechanisms were used, which can be broadly categorized into two pillars: (1) BPM governance within a specialist BPM team was established to govern the process-centric taxonomy and to provide training to process and subprocess owners, and (2) BPM governance at the organizational level was established to outline fully the end-to-end process and experience and to govern the processes and process-centric change. (c) Results achieved: These governance practices enabled CBA to create an ecosystem of rules, roles, responsibilities, and process measurements to facilitate the transparent decision-making that powered their enterprise-wide BPM efforts toward generating optimized business performance and maintaining regulatory conformance. (d) Lessons learned: CBA’s journey suggests that both vertical governance and horizontal coordination mechanisms, along with a dedicated unit that focuses on process excellence, are necessary for a firm to transform into a process-centric organization.

To estimate the prevalence and risk factors for road traffic accidents (RTA) in dogs and describe the management and outcome of these dogs attending primary-care veterinary practices in the United Kingdom.Retrospective cross-sectional study.Primary-care veterinary practices in the United Kingdom.The study population included 199,464 dogs attending 115 primary-care clinics across the United Kingdom.Electronic patient records of dogs attending practices participating in the VetCompass Programme were assessed against selection criteria used to define RTA cases. Cases identified as RTAs were identified and manually verified to calculate prevalence. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression methods were used to evaluate associations between risk factors and RTA. The prevalence of RTA was 0.41%. Of the RTA cases, 615 (74.9%) were purebred, 322 (39.2%) were female, and 285 (54.8%) were insured. The median age at RTA was 2.5 years. After accounting for the effects of other factors, younger dogs had increased odds of an RTA event: dogs aged under 3 years showed 2.9 times the odds and dogs aged between 6-9 years showed 1.8 times the odds of an RTA event compared with dogs aged over 14 years. Males had 1.4 times the odds of an RTA event compared with females. Overall, 22.9% of cases died from a cause associated with RTA. Of dogs with information available, 34.0% underwent diagnostic imaging, 29.4% received intravenous fluid-therapy, 71.1% received pain relief, 46.0% were hospitalized, and 15.6% had surgery performed under general anesthetic.This study identified important demographic factors associated with RTA in dogs, notably being young and male.

This report describes a unique and promising intelligent agent plug-in technology for Mission Command Systems the Warfighter Associate (WA) that enables individuals and teams to respond more effectively to the cognitive challenges of Mission Command. The WA uses a doctrinally based knowledge representation to model role-specific workflows and continuously monitors the state of the operational environment to enable decision-support, delivering the right information to the right person at the right time. Capabilities include: (1) monitoring communications in chat rooms and other sources, (2) automatically plotting tactical graphics in a common operating picture, (3) reporting the current tactical situation, and (4) recommending courses of action (COAs) with respect to the necessary staff collaborations, re-tasking of assets, and required reporting. Specifically, two interrelated, hierarchical knowledge graphs based on the Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act (OODA) Loop model workflows and the state of the operational environment, facilitating doctrinally based recommendations for COAs based on available assets and asset capabilities. The knowledge graphs are state traces, measuring the staff cognitive demands across scenario runtimes as dynamic events unfold on the battlefield. Mission Command performance metrics can be automatically derived from the traces. Last, we discuss the potential of this technological approach to support Control and Command agility.

Digital imaging system integration is a complex process. A project team and a defined process for system planning, evaluation, and implementation can improve the chance for success. In this presentation, our project team relates their experiences.

This paper examines the experiences and perspectives of ex-military servicemen in the UK. It focuses specifically on the complex links between emotional distress and various constructions of 'masculinity' in a military context. Aspects of military culture that exacerbate vulnerability and also those that are protective to mental health are identified and discussed with reference to the theoretical constructs relating to hegemonic masculinity. A qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews provided in-depth accounts of the experiences of 20 ex-servicemen aged 23-44, all but one of whom were in the Army. We found that in a military setting hegemonic masculinity is embedded in the construction of a soldier identity and expression of emotion may be seen as inappropriate. As a result soldiers often lack a language with which to express distress (in a context in which they may witness extremely distressing events), which may result in delays in recognising and treating mental health problems. However, constructions of masculinity in this setting to some degree also promote a caring, sharing ethos based on strong inter-dependent bonds. A young soldier who can cope with the stresses of military life 'becomes a man', adopts a masculine/soldier identity and is well-placed to benefit from these protective factors, notably the camaraderie that is part of service life. In this manner a caring ethos in which some admissions of weakness may be permissible is situated within hegemonic masculinity. This seeming paradox between hyper masculinity and caring masculinities appears to be embedded within military culture, perhaps reflecting the flexibility and ambiguity inherent in constructions of hegemonic masculinity.

Fifty patients ranging in age between 50-78 years (mean, 56) underwent surgery for a herniated lumbar disc between January 1986 and July 1988. All had objective clinical and radiographic evidence of a herniated disc. All had had failure during an appropriate period of conservative treatment. Far lateral herniation occurred in 8%, and 28% had disc herniations at L2 or L3. Surgical results were 64% excellent, 28% good, 6% fair, and 2% poor. Complications including urinary tract infection, wound infection, myocardial infarction, and pulmonary embolism were observed in 8% of patients. Lumbar disc herniation in the elderly is common. After thorough evaluation to exclude neoplasm or infection, decompression of neural structures can lead to 90% good to excellent results. Spinal stenosis must be carefully considered both preoperatively and intraoperatively. Also, a higher incidence of more cephalad lumbar herniations and far lateral herniations was observed in older patients.

(1989). Project Chariot: How Alaska Escaped Nuclear Excavation. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 45, No. 10, pp. 28-37.