Exploring the attitudes towards homosexuality of a semi-professional Swedish football team with an openly gay teammate

Men’s contact teamsports, such as football, have historically been understood as a hostile environment for sexual minorities (Hekma, 1998; Parker, 1996; Pronger, 1990). In recent years, however, academic research has documented how teamsports have become increasingly progressive for gay athletes (Anderson, 2011; Anderson & McGuire, 2010; Magrath, Anderson & Roberts, 2015). As has been argued elsewhere in this collection (see Chapter 1 & Magrath & Cleland, Chapter XYZ), high levels of inclusivity have been especially evident in research on football (e.g. Adams, 2011; Adams & Anderson, 2012; Gaston, Magrath & Anderson, 2018; Magrath, 2017a, 2017b, 2018; Magrath, Anderson & Roberts, 2015; Roberts, Anderson & Magrath, 2017). In this chapter, we aim to investigate the inclusive nature of the teammates of the second active professional footballer to come out, Anton Hysèn. This was a unique opportunity as, historically, the majority of professional athletes wait until their retirement to announce their sexuality (e.g. Cleland, Magrath & Kian, 2018). Hysèn is one of the few professional athletes who has ‘come out’ whilst still playing professional sport, thus allowing the data to present a current reflection of acceptance rather than a historical account of how team members recall their level of acceptance. In this endeavor, we employed surveys to collect data from Hysèn’s teammates, measuring the team’s overall attitudes toward homosexuality; whilst also investigating if there were any socio-negative issues with having an openly gay athlete on the team. This chapter will focus on the male homosexuality and homophobia towards male athletes due the participants in this research being only men

Radiation Induces Acute Alterations in Neuronal Function

Every year, nearly 200,000 patients undergo radiation for brain tumors. For both patients and caregivers the most distressing adverse effect is impaired cognition. Efforts to protect against this debilitating effect have suffered from inadequate understanding of the cellular mechanisms of radiation damage. In the past it was accepted that radiation-induced normal tissue injury resulted from a progressive reduction in the survival of clonogenic cells. Moreover, because radiation-induced brain dysfunction is believed to evolve over months to years, most studies have focused on late changes in brain parenchyma. However, clinically, acute changes in cognition are also observed. Because neurons are fully differentiated post-mitotic cells, little information exists on the acute effects of radiation on synaptic function. The purpose of our study was to assess the potential acute effects of radiation on neuronal function utilizing ex vivo hippocampal brain slices. The cellular localization and functional status of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors was identified by immunoblotting. Electrophysiological recordings were obtained both for populations of neuronal cells and individual neurons. In the dentate gyrus region of isolated ex vivo slices, radiation led to early decreases in tyrosine phosphorylation and removal of excitatory N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) from the cell surface while simultaneously increasing the surface expression of inhibitory gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors (GABAARs). These alterations in cellular localization corresponded with altered synaptic responses and inhibition of long-term potentiation. The non-competitive NMDAR antagonist memantine blocked these radiation-induced alterations in cellular distribution. These findings demonstrate acute effects of radiation on neuronal cells within isolated brain slices and open new avenues for study

The politics of heroes through the prism of popular heroism

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Palgrave Macmillan via the DOI in this record.In modern day Britain, the discourse of national heroification is routinely utilised by politicians, educationalists and cultural industry professionals, whilst also being a popular concept to describe deserving ‘do-gooders’ who contribute to British society in a myriad of ways. We argue that although this heroification discourse is enacted as a discursive device of encouraging politically and morally desirable behaviour, it is dissociated from the largely under-explored facets of contemporary popular heroism. To compensate for this gap, this paper explores public preferences for heroes using survey data representative of British adults. This analysis demonstrates a conceptual stretching in the understanding of heroism, and allows identifying age- and gender-linked dynamics which effect public choices of heroes. In particular, we demonstrate that age above all determines the preference for having a hero, but does not explain preferences for specific hero-types. The focus on gender illustrates that the landscape of popular heroism reproduces a male-dominated bias which exists in the wider political and cultural heroification discourse. Simultaneously, our study shows that if national heroification discourse in Britain remains male-centric, the landscape of popular heroism is characterised by a gendered trend towards privatisation of heroes being particularly prominent amongst women. In the conclusion, this paper argues for a conceptual revision and re-gendering of the national heroification discourse as a step towards both empirically grounded, and age- and gender-sensitive politics of heroes and heroines.AHR

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored. Results: A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays. Conclusions: IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients

Weight and Weight-Related Behaviors Among 2-Year College Students

OBJECTIVES AND PARTICIPANTS: The purpose of this paper is to describe weight indicators and weight-related behaviors of students enrolled in 2-year colleges, including sex differences. METHODS: During Fall 2011 and Spring 2012, 441 students from 3 Minnesota community colleges enrolled in the Choosing Healthy Options in College Environments and Settings (CHOICES) Study and completed baseline assessments. Participants completed a baseline survey evaluating eating and activity patterns, sleep, and stress and measures of height, weight, waist circumference, and body fat. RESULTS: Participants were primarily female (68%), white (73%), with a mean age of 22.8 years and 66.2% reporting an annual income <$12,000. Almost half (47%) were overweight or obese. Young males appeared to engage the most in risky health behaviors and had higher levels of overweight or obesity, compared to young females. CONCLUSIONS: Findings confirm the need for innovative interventions targeting this understudied and underserved young adult population