text:
But Mammary Cancer!
A common justification for early neutering of bitches is that it protects against mammary neoplasia. However, many frequently cited references are over 40 years old, and this evidence has not been scrutinised with the benefit of recent developments in epidemiological methods and knowledge of potential confounders of the association between mammary masses and neutering, such as age, breed and treatment with synthetic derivatives of ovarian steroids.
One of the most frequently presented arguments for desexing is 'mammary cancer'. It is commonly stated that desexing bitches reduces the risk of mammary cancer.
But as always, we must ask: What does the research say?
I love to answer questions like this, and so I have read quite a bit of research on mammary cancers in bitches. However, despite doing lots of reading, none of these research papers have made their way to my blog.
The reason? The research is very old and I am not compelled to review or examine such ancient research.
Why does old research matter? It's easy to say that 'biology doesn't change', and if it was so in the 1970s, then it must be so now. While that's the case, our understanding on research methods and limitations is continuing to improve.
Regardless, even if we say that the research from the 1970s is as accurate as ever, compelling results are those that are replicated. While it's nice to get one study that shows a link between mammary cancer and sex hormones, we need multiple studies with large sample sizes to prove this without doubt.
Using the studies considered in Beauvais et al's 2012 systematic review, since the 1960s, there has been approximately fifteen (15) studies on mammary cancer in the bitch. That is, the last fifty-five (55) years, there has been one study on mammary cancer in dogs in ever four years. There are very few papers on mammary cancer, and those that do exist do not replicate past results.
So how old is the mammary cancer research?
Again, if we use the studies considered in Beauvais et al's 2012 systematic review, there were fifteen studies in all considered. Of those studies, only one (1) of those studies was completed in the last ten years. Further, eighty-six percent (86%) of the studies are more than fifteen (15) years old. So, basically: the research is old!
Nothing excites me like a review on literature. (You can imagine what I'm like at parties.) When I noticed a systematic review by Beauvais et al. on mammary cancer in dogs (published in 2012), I was excited as I hoped I would find some more recent studies. The study did not fulfil my hopes, and so I am left believing that more recent research simply doesn't exist.
Interestingly, the researchers made comment that a systematic review (like they produced) had seemingly not been covered before. A systematic review is used to evaluate the strength of evidence and to consider bias. This type of research is common in medical literature, but not so much in veterinary.
The researchers considered the quality of the research for thirteen reports and found "Nine were judged to have a high risk of bias. The remaining four were classified as having a moderate risk of bias." Indeed, some studies made claims (e.g. that neutering had a 'protective effect') but then failed to back up these claims with evidence.
Considering that only one study found an association between neutering and reduced risk of mammary tumours, and two studies found no evidence, there is not strong evidence that desexing reduces the risk of mammary tumours.
What does the evidence say?
Our results suggest that there is some evidence in one study that neutering is associated with a reduction in the risk of malignant mammary tumours (approximately 10-fold), amongst dogs from which samples and been submitted for histopathology, although there was no evidence that neutering after 2.5 years of age is associated with any change in the risk of malignant mammary tumours.
Basically, they concluded that there is weak evidence and there is "not a sound basis for firm recommendations". There is some evidence that desexing before 2-5 years of age is beneficial, and also evidence that desexing before their first season may be beneficial.
The biggest faults in the existing research identified by Beauvais et al. included:
- Research failed to control for age or breed.
- No indication of age at neutering.
- Little numerical data provided in publications (which limited this retrospective study).
- Lack of consideration to bitches treated with ovarian steroids (and the effects this may have on research.)
When it comes to spaying bitches, it is important to recognise that the implications of a gonadecmomy on many aspects of the bitch. Not only does desexing affect the health and temperament of that bitch, there may be wider implications on the general population.
At the moment, vets vary in their opinion and recommendations, especially by country. I encourage owners to do their own research when making decisions for their pets.
Further Reading:Beauvais, W., Cardwell, J., & Brodbelt, D. (2012). The effect of neutering on the risk of mammary tumours in dogs – a systematic review Journal of Small Animal Practice, 53 (6), 314-322 DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-5827.2011.01220.x


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Mid-Continent University processes many enrollment verifications for loans through the National Student Loan Clearinghouse. Student enrollment data is reported to the clearinghouse periodically throughout the year.
Enrollment will be verified for the official dates of each semester once a student has completed the registration process. This includes scheduling classes and paying tuition and fees.
Undergraduate students will be certified as full-time if they are registered for 12 or more credit hours each semester. Those with fewer than 12 credit hours will be certified as part-time.
Students may request enrollment verification by completing the verification request from found on the printable forms page. After completing the form, it may be faxed or mailed to the Registrar's Office. There is no charge for this service.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The lights are on
Bandai Namco has announced that MotoGP 14 is speeding toward retail and digital releases this fall. The title will feature 100 different racers, real manufacturers, and 18 tracks.
The title is under development at Milestone S.r.L., in Milan, Italy. The team previously worked on MotoGP 13, the WRC series, and the Superbike World Championship franchise.
All we have now is a teaser and a release date. Bandai Namco will release the game on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Vita, and PC on November 4. The PC and Vita versions will be available via digital distribution only.
I wish they would've kept making the Superbike World Championship games. I'll still try this though.
This game seems cool. I'm excited to see how this turns out. I have never owned a motorcycle racing game, but I love motorcycles.
The only MotoGp game I liked was released on the original Xbox and it was developed by Climax I believe. I played that game for hours and hours it was a lot of fun. Whatever happened to Climax? I used to really like their games.
Not coming for the Xbox One? Who cares?!
This will make my PS4 very happy XD
never played one of these but i really like gran turismo, maybe i'll look for this in steam sales later on..
I know this will sound stupid so please bare with me. Is this going to play like the bikes in Mario Kart? I dont think I have ever played a game with motorcycles in it other than maybe Saints row, GTA, and Mario Kart and not sure what this game will be like.
Finally a new racing game for the Vita. Finally.
Nice job.


text: >and "hidden" package dependencies bite the most and the hardest. > >I'm now rebuilding the umpteenth package that had a stealth dependency >on the OpenSSL package on a -current machine with OpenSSL installed >natively because of the use of "-L${PREFIX}/lib" in package builds. I >had encountered something at one point, probably due to a now fixed bug >in pkgsrc, that required the OpenSSL package instead of the in-tree >version. I eventually cleaned up that mistake and deleted the OpenSSL >package. Suddenly half my packages fail with ``Shared object >"libcrypto.so.1" not found''! (this latest one is ethereal!) in general, yes that's true. the real source of the problem is that you have two set of openssl files in your system. the best solution i can ever think of is to remove pkg-based openssl when you get openssl in base tree (like upgrade to 1.5). it is safe to keep pkg-based openssl for a while (until next time you compile new binary), but if you keep two of them longer and run compilation, you will be in trouble. there are other reasons to add -L/usr/pkg/lib -I/usr/pkg/include (like for ncurses), and if you have /usr/lib/libcrypto.so and /usr/pkg/lib/libcrypto.so, you have no idea which one will be picked. also, if you use /usr/pkg/include/openssl with /usr/lib/libcrypto.so, you will be in a BIG trouble. itojun


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Just thirteen hours after he went head-to-head with First Minister Alex Salmond on a televised referendum debate, MP Alistair Darling was in Glenrothes.
The Labour MP and leader of the Better Together campaign was back on the road listening to the concerns of a major employer in the town who fears leaving the union could force the business to close
The former Chancellor visited Glenrothes-based Fife Fabrications, one of the UK's most advanced manufacturers of precision sheet-metalwork, who have been operating in the new town for 42 years, and who employ 130 people.
Archie Smith, managing director told Mr Darling the uncertainty over an independent Scotland's currency and tax powers could damage future growth for his firm.
"At least 70 per cent of my business is down south and at least half of them have told me they have considered moving their custom to English companies," said Mr Smith.
"Even my export customers have been asking if they'll still be able to pay in sterling and I have to tell them I don't know as Alex Salmond won't answer the questions."
After the visit Mr Darling told the Gazette : "The problem businesses across Fife will have is the complexity and uncertainty of what currency an independent Scotland will have and how that will adversely impact the future prosperity of those businesses who deal mainly with customers south of the border and elsewhere."
Asked what devolved powers would be introduced to benefit firms should there be a 'no' vote on September 18 he said: "Devolving responsibility of controlling work programmes to the Scottish Parliament will allow closer interaction on training, college places and apprenticeships ensuring a skills base for the future."