Engaging men with penile cancer in qualitative research: reflections from an interview-based study.

To explore the challenges of engaging men with penile cancer in qualitative interview research

THE IMPACT OF PENILE CANCER TREATMENT ON SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS: A QUALITATIVE ENQUIRY

Background: Penile cancer is a rare but highly treatable condition. Current guidance recommends the use of a surgical procedure to excise the primary tumour (and a margin of normal penile tissue). Whilst treatment can be effective, treatment often has a significant impact on a patient's sexual and urinary function, and physical and mental wellbeing. The objective of this study was to explore the impact of treatment for penile cancer on sexual function and relationships. Methods: Qualitative data was collected via narrative video interviews. Maximum variation sampling was used to acquire the widest possible range of experiences. All interviews were recorded using either a digital video recorder or digital audio recorder, transcribed. A method of constant comparison analysis was used to illicit themes and outliers. Results: Twenty seven men were interviewed; mean age at diagnosis = 63 (range = 41-82); Mean number of years post-surgery = 3 (range = 0-15 years) 15 men were married, a further two were in a committed relationship, the remaining 10 were single/widowed. All men had received surgical treatment ranging from circumcision to total penectomy. Just two men had attended any form of psychological therapy. The impact of treatment varied considerably. The majority of men talked about still being able to experience arousal and sexual pleasure in some way. However, for many, penetrative sex was awkward and less gratifying than before treatment. One man who had received a total penectomy was surprised to experience a form of orgasm after surgery. For a number of men, the impact of treatment on their ability to satisfy their sexual partners was a key concern. Men who were able to openly talk with their partners about sex and the impact of the treatment on sexual practice found this a great comfort. Conclusion: The significance of sex for a man can differ considerably between individuals; relationship status, age and life stage are all likely to have a bearing on the role that sex plays in a man life. A diagnosis of cancer can also affect how a man (and his partner) views sex and the level of importance which he attaches to it. For men who are sexually active prior to treatment, surgery will undoubtedly result in changes to sexual practice, however, treatment does not have to result in sexual abstinence

Archaeological investigations at the Ross Hammock site, Florida.

Describes the excavations of the Ross Hammock Site, located a little southeast of Oak Hill, Florida. The excavations were made in 1963 to evaluate the site\u27s archaeological potential. The authors believed that the site was probably occupied about 2000 years ago. Includes a brief account of an investigation of a nearby 19th century salt evaporation works site.https://stars.library.ucf.edu/floridaheritage/1007/thumbnail.jp

The need for safety targets in south Asian developing countries

Road deaths in eighteen countries were analyzed in this study to recognize an appropriate next step for south Asian developing countries. Road fatality trend analysis revealed that the annual road deaths in south Asian developing countries are continuously increasing with economic development. Further results from south Asian developing countries revealed that lesser populated countries lose a larger share of their people to road crashes. Target setting to improve road safety together with systematic selection and application of remedial measures considered in developed countries have been found to be working well; thus it is identified as a suitable next step to improve road safety in south Asia. Different strategies implemented in developed countries show that safety interventions need to differ between countries. The need for methodological approaches to set up a safety office to reduce the road deaths in south Asian developing countries are also highlighted

The need for safety targets in south Asian developing countries

Road deaths in eighteen countries were analyzed in this study to recognize an appropriate next step for south Asian developing countries. Road fatality trend analysis revealed that the annual road deaths in south Asian developing countries are continuously increasing with economic development. Further results from south Asian developing countries revealed that lesser populated countries lose a larger share of their people to road crashes. Target setting to improve road safety together with systematic selection and application of remedial measures considered in developed countries have been found to be working well; thus it is identified as a suitable next step to improve road safety in south Asia. Different strategies implemented in developed countries show that safety interventions need to differ between countries. The need for methodological approaches to set up a safety office to reduce the road deaths in south Asian developing countries are also highlighted

Earthquake waves and the mechanical properties of the earth's interior

It has come to be realized in the present century that the science of Seismology, in addition to providing information on the nature and characteristics of earthquakes, is a central source of knowledge of the mechanics and layering of the Earth's deep interior.It has come to be realized in the present century that the science of Seismology, in addition to providing information on the nature and characteristics of earthquakes, is a central source of knowledge of the mechanics and layering of the Earth's deep interior

Earthquake networks based on similar activity patterns

Earthquakes are a complex spatiotemporal phenomenon, the underlying mechanism for which is still not fully understood despite decades of research and analysis. We propose and develop a network approach to earthquake events. In this network, a node represents a spatial location while a link between two nodes represents similar activity patterns in the two different locations. The strength of a link is proportional to the strength of the cross-correlation in activities of two nodes joined by the link. We apply our network approach to a Japanese earthquake catalog spanning the 14-year period 1985-1998. We find strong links representing large correlations between patterns in locations separated by more than 1000 km, corroborating prior observations that earthquake interactions have no characteristic length scale. We find network characteristics not attributable to chance alone, including a large number of network links, high node assortativity, and strong stability over time.Comment: 8 pages text, 9 figures. Updated from previous versio

Experimental Demonstration of Squeezed State Quantum Averaging

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a universal quantum averaging process implementing the harmonic mean of quadrature variances. The harmonic mean protocol can be used to efficiently stabilize a set of fragile squeezed light sources with statistically fluctuating noise levels. The averaged variances are prepared probabilistically by means of linear optical interference and measurement induced conditioning. We verify that the implemented harmonic mean outperforms the standard arithmetic mean strategy. The effect of quantum averaging is experimentally tested both for uncorrelated and partially correlated noise sources with sub-Poissonian shot noise or super-Poissonian shot noise characteristics.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Impact of controlled vacuum induced surface freezing on the freeze drying of human plasma

During the freezing step of a typical freeze drying process, the temperature at which nucleation is induced is generally stochastically distributed, resulting in undesired within-batch heterogeneity. Controlled nucleation techniques have been developed to address this problem; these make it possible to trigger the formation of ice crystals at the same time and temperature in all the batch. Here, the controlled nucleation technique known as vacuum induced surface freezing is compared to spontaneous freezing for the freeze drying of human plasma, a highly concentrated system commonly stored in a dried state. The potency of Factor VIII (FVIII), a sensitive, labile protein present in plasma, and the reconstitution time of the dried cakes are evaluated immediately after freeze drying, and after 1, 3, 6 or 9 months storage at different degradation temperatures. We show that the application of controlled nucleation significantly reduces the reconstitution time and in addition helps to improve FVIII stability