scholarly journals A UK wide study of current prostate planning practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 93 (1111) ◽  
pp. 20200142
Author(s):  
Timothy Taylor ◽  
Neil Richmond

Objectives: The objective of this work was to undertake a non-judgemental study of prostate planning practice across the UK by inviting all departments to undertake the same case. Methods: An invitation to take part in the study was sent to the Heads of all UK radiotherapy departments and posted on the UK Medical Physics mailbase. Individuals interested in participating were able to access a single anonymised CT dataset for download with the prostate gland, seminal vesicles, bladder, rectum, bowel, femoral heads, and penile bulb outlined. A brief patient history was also supplied. Participants were asked to create planning target volumes (PTVs) according to their local clinical protocol and plan to give 60 Gy in 20 fractions to the PTV receiving the highest dose. No guidance was given for acceptable organ at risk doses. Dicom plan and dose information was loaded back into ProKnow for analysis by contributors. Results: There were 102 plan submissions made to the study representing 48 different UK radiotherapy departments. Seventeen distinct methodologies for creating the prescription PTV from the prostate and seminal vesicles were identified with the ethos of the CHHIP trial protocol for margin growing followed in nearly two-thirds of cases. Positive correlations were found when assessing the doses received by the bladder and rectum against the volume of the PTV to which 60 Gy was prescribed. Conclusions: A national planning study whereby staff from a multitude of radiotherapy departments create plans based solely on a single dataset is feasible. The cohort of data was made available to all participants following the study to enable self-assessment and benchmarking against that of their peers. Advances in knowledge: This is the first UK wide treatment planning study to investigate local clinical prostate planning practice. This has given UK departments the opportunity to evaluate their planning practices against those of their peers.

1984 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 721 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Marsh ◽  
GE Heinsohn ◽  
TD Glover

The anatomy and histology of the male reproductive tract of the dugong (Dugong dugon) is described. Each testis and its adjacent epididymis lie immediately caudal to the corresponding kidney. The seminal vesicles are large but there is no discrete prostate gland and the bulbo-urethral glands are also diffuse. Both qualitative and quantitative examination of the testes and epididymides of 59 males whose ages have been estimated from tusk dentinal growth layer counts indicate that the male dugong does not produce spermatozoa continuously, despite the absence of a distinct breeding season. Individual dugongs were observed with testes at all stages between complete quiescence and full spermatogenesis, and only 10 of the 40 mature males had fully spermatogenic testes and epididymides packed with spermatozoa. Androgenic and spermatogenic activity of the testes appeared to be in phase, but the testicular histology of some old males suggested that they may have been sterile for long periods.


1994 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 56-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Finn ◽  
Leslie J. Porter
Keyword(s):  

2021 ◽  
pp. 147309522110389
Author(s):  
Chuan Wang

Numerous novel planning concepts have been developed in pursuit of better urban environments, while many are notoriously difficult to define. Lacan’s master signifier is widely employed to criticise these vague, fashionable concepts but lacks a specific examination tool. To fill this gap, this article develops an analytical framework based on Lacanian discourse analysis (LDA) to decipher the complex social relations in the process of applying new concepts to planning policymaking and practice. A comprehensive review of the UK urban village movement is used to demonstrate how this framework provides a deeper analysis, arguing that urban villages are understood differently depending on individual social positions, which, to some extent, determine their actions towards planning practice.


2001 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-145
Author(s):  
Rajal B. Shah ◽  
Min W. Lee ◽  
Alvaro A. Giraldo ◽  
Mahul B. Amin

Abstract Context.—We have observed intraluminal crystalloid morphology in seminal vesicles that is superficially similar to that seen in prostate neoplasia, but found little information on such morphology in the literature. Design.—Two hundred fifty-three prostate specimens (163 needle biopsies, 75 radical prostatectomies with prostate carcinoma, 11 prostates from autopsy, and 4 cystoprostatectomies without prostate carcinoma) were examined for seminal vesicle secretions, which were categorized as (a) dense platelike inspissated, (b) fluidlike, (c) crystalloid morphology, and (d) absent. Histochemical stains (periodic acid–Schiff with and without diastase, Alcian blue at pH 2.5, and mucicarmine) were performed to characterize the nature of secretions. Results.—Proteinaceous secretions were identified in 82% of seminal vesicles examined. Of these, 61% had predominantly dense, platelike, inspissated secretions, 15% had predominantly fluidlike secretions, and 24% had predominantly crystalloid morphology. Although in some cases the crystalloid morphology resembled that of prostatic intraluminal crystalloids, the seminal vesicle crystalloids differed in that they were invariably multiple, had curved edges, and had varied forms (elliptical, cylindrical, rodlike, and rectangular). Seventy-one percent of seminal vesicle crystalloids were associated with dense, platelike, inspissated secretions and appeared to be created by fracturing within platelike secretions. There was no relationship between seminal vesicle crystalloid morphology and associated malignancy in the prostate gland, as it was seen in 24% of cases with prostate carcinoma and 25% of cases without prostate carcinoma (P = 1.0000). Fluidlike secretions were positive for Alcian blue (pH 2.5) and mucicarmine, whereas dense platelike secretions and crystalloid morphology were negative for Alcian blue (pH 2.5) and mucicarmine. Conclusions.—Seminal vesicle secretions are fairly common and, when fluidlike, are composed of acid mucopolysaccharides. Inspissation of secretions appears to be associated with loss of acidity, presumably resulting in dense platelike secretions and crystallization. Awareness of both the crystalloid morphology in seminal vesicle tissue and the distinguishing features from prostatic crystalloids may be important while interpreting prostate needle biopsies in which seminal vesicle epithelium may be confused for prostate carcinoma because of a small acinar morphology with accompanying cytologic atypia and crystalloid morphology.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 578-587
Author(s):  
Donatella Busso ◽  
Alain Devalle ◽  
Fabio Rizzato

Board evaluation is an evaluation of the performance of the board of directors and its committees, as well as their size, composition and operation. The aim of this paper is to investigate how entities do the evaluation of the performance of the board and how they disclose the self-assessment. We analysed the largest forty constituents of both Italy’s FTSE MIB index and the UK’s FTSE 100 index. The results show that although Corporate Governance Codes’ requirements are similar, implementation of these requirements and the related disclosure continue to show significant differences. The UK companies seem to have a stronger “forward-looking” approach compared to Italian companies. Disclosure provided by Italian companies is too often not enough to enable stakeholder understanding of the process and its outcome. This research contributes to the literature by providing results on the evaluation of boards of directors: regulators, practitioners and researchers must deal with this topic in order to strengthen the rules of corporate governance.


1991 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 313 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Sujarit ◽  
RC Jones

The uptake of [3H]thymidine by the epididymis, ventral prostate gland and seminal vesicles was determined in vivo for rats aged 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 45 and 55 days. The pattern of uptake varied considerably between organs and generally was different from patterns of growth measured as mass or ratio of mass of DNA:tissue. The 'initial segment' of the epididymis and caput and corpus epididymidis showed a similar pattern of [3H]thymidine uptake, being greatest in 15-day-old animals and declining thereafter. On Day 15 the cauda epididymidis had a lower uptake than more proximal regions of the epididymis, but it subsequently showed two significant peaks of increased uptake on Days 25-30 and Day 45. The uptake by the seminal vesicles was high on Day 15, fell to low levels on Day 20, increased considerably from Days 20 to 35, then gradually decreased from Day 35 to 55. The uptake by the prostate gland was a little lower than by the seminal vesicles on Days 15 and 20, then reduced to about the same level as non-reproductive tissues.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1418
Author(s):  
Kathryn E. South ◽  
Kelly Haynes ◽  
Angus C. Jackson

The European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus, is frequently admitted to rescue centres in the UK. With many overwintering in captivity, there is cause to investigate hibernation patterns in order to inform and improve husbandry and monitoring protocols. Thirty-five hedgehogs were studied over two winters. Weight change during hibernation for the first winter was used to test for effects of disturbance on different aspects of hibernation, including total duration, frequency and duration of spontaneous arousals. There was no significant difference between the two winters for any of the four aspects studied. Significant positive correlations demonstrated that weight-loss increased with the duration of the hibernation period and with percent of nights spent asleep, but not with the number of arousal events. Thus, weight-loss appears more strongly associated with the proportion of time spent asleep than with the number of arousal events. This was surprising given the assumed energetic expense of repeated arousal and was potentially due to availability of food during arousals. In contrast with previous studies, larger hedgehogs lost less weight per day than did smaller hedgehogs. They also woke up more often (i.e., had more opportunities to feed), which may explain the unexpected pattern of weight-loss. Hibernatory behaviour in captivity differs from that in the wild, likely because of non-natural conditions in hutches and the immediate availability of food. This study provides a basis for further research into the monitoring and husbandry of hedgehogs such that it can be adapted for each individual according to pre-hibernation weight and behaviour during hibernation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document