From pelvic radiation to social isolation: a qualitative study of survivors’ experiences of chronic bowel symptoms after pelvic radiotherapy

\ua9 2024, The Author(s).Purpose: We explored survivors’ experiences of chronic bowel symptoms following pelvic radiotherapy, strategies employed in living with these symptoms, effects on daily activities, and roles at home and in the workplace. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 individuals (10 gynaecological, 14 prostate, four anal/rectal cancer survivors) who had completed pelvic radiotherapy at least six months prior to data collection and who had experience of bowel symptoms during this post-treatment period. Reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken. Results: We propose four themes describing a process leading from experience of symptoms to withdrawal from activities and roles. These are (1) losing control (the experience of unintended anal leakage or discharge); (2) experiencing embarrassment and fear (the experience of embarrassment or fear of embarrassment as a result of discharge becoming public); (3) managing and reacting (acting to reduce the likelihood of discharge or to prevent this becoming public); and (4) restriction and withdrawal (avoiding specific activities or situations so as to reduce or remove the risk of embarrassment). Returning to the workplace presented additional challenges across these themes. Conclusions: Impacts of chronic bowel symptoms can be severe. Survivors employ a variety of methods and strategies in living with their symptoms. Some of these support continued role fulfilment but some constitute a withdrawal from pre-treatment roles. Current healthcare provision and statutory protections fail to fully meet needs following pelvic radiotherapy. Implications for cancer survivors. There is a need to develop and implement evidence-based services and supported self-management programmes for survivors experiencing chronic bowel problems post-radiotherapy

Individual leader to interdependent leadership: A case study in leadership development and tripartite evaluation

This article is available open access through the publisher’s website at the link below. Copyright @ 2013 Sage Publications.The Problem - In this case study we see a move away from orthodox views of school leadership as “headship” to a more contemporary model of educational leadership wherein we note a departure from functional, curricula-based school leadership toward more human resource development (HRD) approaches. The aim of this study was to consider the effectiveness of an educational development program for middle leaders within an educational establishment. The Solution - We examined the impact of a bespoke higher education leadership development intervention in Leadership (and Change) on the formation and cohesiveness of a newly formed innovative leadership structure. The Stakeholders - The leadership development intervention was designed through a tripartite collaboration including a university, senior school leaders, and staff. The intervention was designed to shift leadership from individual leader agency to interdependent human leadership agency. Through tripartite evaluation we uncover leadership development praxis that transcends the boundaries of conventional educational leadership and reemphasizes the benefits of bridging the academic/practitioner divide and the application of theory to praxis

Responsible management: Engaging moral reflexive practice through threshold concepts

YesIn this conceptual paper we argue that, to date, principles of responsible management have not impacted practice as anticipated because of a disconnect between knowledge and practice. This disconnect means that an awareness of ethical concerns, by itself, does not help students take personal responsibility for their actions. We suggest that an abstract knowledge of principles has to be supplemented by an engaged understanding of the responsibility of managers and leaders to actively challenge irresponsible practices. We argue that a form of moral reflexive practice drawing on an understanding of threshold concepts is central to responsible management, and provides a gateway to transformative learning. Our conceptual argument leads to implications for management and professional education

Few figs for frugivores: Riparian fig trees in Zimbabwe may not be a dry season keystone resource

Most plants flower and fruit at times of year when probabilities of pollination and seedling establishment are high. Fig trees (Ficus spp.) are often considered as keystone resources for vertebrate frugivores, in part because of year‐round fig production. This unusual fruiting phenology results in the maintenance of fig wasp populations, but in seasonal environments this means fruiting occurs during periods when the chances of seedling establishment are low. Under these circumstances, selection is expected to favour any individuals that reduce or eliminate fruiting at these times. Here, we describe a large‐scale survey of the extent of dry season fruiting by three riparian Ficus species in Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe. Few trees of two monoecious species, F. sycomorus and F. abutilifolia, had figs, and most crops of F. sycomorus were far smaller than the trees were capable of producing. Large stands of the dioecious F. capreifolia were present, but fig densities were low and no mature female (seed containing) figs were recorded. Even though fig trees may have been the only species bearing fruit, the consequences of the low investment in reproduction by the three Ficus species were clear—there were too few figs for a landscape‐scale keystone role

The epigenetic regulator Histone Deacetylase 1 promotes transcription of a core neurogenic programme in zebrafish embryos

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The epigenetic regulator Histone Deacetylase 1 (Hdac1) is required for specification and patterning of neurones and myelinating glia during development of the vertebrate central nervous system (CNS). This co-ordinating function for Hdac1 is evolutionarily conserved in zebrafish and mouse, but the mechanism of action of Hdac1 in the developing CNS is not well-understood.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A genome-wide comparative analysis of the transcriptomes of Hdac1-deficient and wild-type zebrafish embryos was performed, which identified an extensive programme of gene expression that is regulated by Hdac1 in the developing embryo. Using time-resolved expression profiling of embryos, we then identified a small subset of 54 genes within the Hdac1-regulated transcriptome that specifically exhibit robust and sustained Hdac1-dependent expression from early neurogenesis onwards. 18 of these 54 stringently Hdac1-regulated genes encode DNA-binding transcription factors that are implicated in promoting neuronal specification and CNS patterning, including the proneural bHLH proteins Ascl1a and Ascl1b, as well as Neurod4 and Neurod. Relatively few genes are strongly repressed by Hdac1 but expression of the Notch target gene <it>her6 </it>is attenuated by Hdac1 in specific sub-regions of the developing CNS, from early stages of neurogenesis onwards. Selected members of the stringently Hdac1-regulated group of genes were tested for Hdac1 binding to their promoter-proximal <it>cis</it>-regulatory elements. Surprisingly, we found that Hdac1 is specifically and stably associated with DNA sequences within the promoter region of <it>ascl1b </it>during neurogenesis, and that this Hdac1-<it>ascl1b </it>interaction is abolished in <it>hdac1 </it>mutant embryos.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that Hdac1 regulates histone acetylation and methylation in the developing zebrafish embryo and promotes the sustained, co-ordinate transcription of a small set of transcription factor genes that control expansion and diversification of cell fates within the developing CNS. Our <it>in vivo </it>chromatin immunoprecipitation results also suggest a specific function for Hdac1 in directly regulating transcription of a key member of this group of genes, <it>ascl1b</it>, from the beginning of neurogenesis onwards. Taken together, our observations indicate a novel role for Hdac1 as a positive regulator of gene transcription during development of the vertebrate CNS, in addition to its more well-established function in transcriptional repression.</p

Inclusive study of bottomonium production in association with an η\eta meson in e+e−e^+e^- annihilations near Υ(5S)\Upsilon(5S)

We study bottomonium production in association with an $\eta$ meson in $e^+e^-$ annihilations near the $\Upsilon(5S)$, at a center of mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=10.866\,$GeV. The results are based on the $121.4\,$fb$^{-1}$ data sample collected by the Belle experiment at the asymmetric energy KEKB collider. Only the $\eta$ meson is reconstructed and the missing-mass spectrum of $\eta$ candidates is investigated. We observe the $e^+e^-\to\eta\Upsilon_J(1D)$ process and find evidence for the $e^+e^-\to\eta\Upsilon(2S)$ process, while no significant signals of $\Upsilon(1S)$, $h_b(1P)$, nor $h_b(2P)$ are found. Cross sections for the studied processes are reported.Comment: Submitted to EPJ-

Measurement of eta_c(1S), eta_c(2S) and non-resonant eta' pi+ pi- production via two-photon collisions

We report the measurement of gamma gamma to eta_c(1S), eta_c(2S) to eta' pi+ pi- with eta' decays to gamma rho and eta pi+ pi- using 941 fb^{-1} of data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider. The eta_c(1S) mass and width are measured to be M = [2984.6\pm0.7 (stat.)\pm2.2 (syst.)] MeV/c^{2} and \Gamma = [30.8^{+2.3}_{-2.2}~(stat.) \pm 2.5~(syst.)] MeV, respectively. First observation of eta_c(2S) to eta' pi+ pi- with a significance of 5.5sigma including systematic error is obtained, and the eta_c(2S) mass is measured to be M = [3635.1\pm3.7~(stat.)\pm2.9~(syst.)] MeV/c^{2}. The products of the two-photon decay width and branching fraction (B) of decays to eta'pi+ pi- are determined to be \Gamma_{gamma gamma}B = [65.4\pm2.6~(stat.)\pm6.9~(syst.)] eV for eta_c(1S) and [5.6^{+1.2}_{-1.1}~(stat.)\pm1.1~(syst.)] eV for eta_c(2S). A new decay mode for the eta_c(1S) to eta'f_0(2080) with f_0(2080) to pi+ pi- is observed with a statistical significance of 20sigma. The f_0(2080) mass and width are determined to be M = [2083^{+63}_{-66}~(stat.)\pm 32~(syst.)] MeV/c^{2} and \Gamma = [178^{+60}_{-178}~(stat.) \pm 55~(syst.)] MeV. The cross sections for gamma gamma to eta' pi+ pi- and eta'f_{2}(1270) are measured for the first time.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figure

Measurement of the Branching Fraction of the Decay B+→π+π−ℓ+νℓ\boldsymbol{B^{+}\to\pi^{+}\pi^{-}\ell^{+}\nu_\ell} in Fully Reconstructed Events at Belle

We present an analysis of the exclusive $B^{+}\to\pi^{+}\pi^{-}\ell^{+}\nu_{\ell}$ decay, where $\ell$ represents an electron or a muon, with the assumption of charge-conjugation symmetry and lepton universality. The analysis uses the full $\Upsilon(4S)$ data sample collected by the Belle detector, corresponding to 711 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity. We select the events by fully reconstructing one $B$ meson in hadronic decay modes, subsequently determining the properties of the other $B$ meson. We extract the signal yields using a binned maximum-likelihood fit to the missing-mass squared distribution in bins of the invariant mass of the two pions or the momentum transfer squared. We measure a total branching fraction of ${{\cal B}(B^{+}\to \pi^{+}\pi^{-}\ell^{+}\nu_{\ell})= [22.7 ^{+1.9}_{-1.6} (\mathrm{stat}) \pm 3.5(\mathrm{syst}) ]\times 10^{-5}}$, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. This result is the first reported measurement of this decay.Comment: 23 pages, 19 figure