Changing disabling places

This thesis documents, develops and demonstrates a novel form of praxis in relation to disability in Scottish Higher Education. 'Praxis', as I use the term in this thesis, refers to an ongoing, irreducible, collective process through which is enacted, in one and the same process: 'knowledgementing' (the construction and legitimation of knowledge claims); 'radical reflexivity' (the bringing to awareness and critical problematisation of interests served by what is thought, said and done by all relevant parties); and 'ideologically progressive social action' (the pursuit of emancipatory process and just outcomes and the contesting of'external and internal' institutional oppression). The meaning of praxis is explicated in this thesis and demonstrated in action with reference to disability in Scottish Higher Education. Particular attention is paid to explicating and demonstrating the conceptual unity of praxis and the interconnectivity in actuality of the practices, procedures and policies which disable in assemblages or apparatuses, as Foucault uses the terms. The interconnectivity of the praxis is, it is claimed, the key to unlocking the interconnectivity of the assemblages which produce and maintain disability in Scottish Higher Education. The thesis traces the connections between the various elements of the assemblage producing a novel account (and new knowledges) which, it is claimed, could only have been derived as a result of the praxis and which can also account for the knowledges presented in previous research into disability in British Higher Education, locating these studies as part of the disabling assemblage. The thesis concludes by drawing out wider implications of praxis for conventional research, for psychology and social science

Male Action Project: Summary of Outcomes report

The simplest pattern of color superconductivity involves BCS pairing between up and down quarks. We argue that this ``2SC'' phase will not arise within a compact star. A macroscopic volume of quark matter must be electrically neutral and must be a color singlet. Satisfying these requirements imposes a significant free energy cost on the 2SC phase, but not on color-flavor locked (CFL) quark matter, in which up, down and strange quarks all pair. As a function of increasing density, therefore, one may see a single phase transition from hadronic matter directly to CFL quark matter. Alternatively, there may be an intervening phase in which the different flavors self-pair, or pair with each other in a non-BCS pattern, such as in a crystalline color superconductor.Comment: Significant changes to correct an error in the derivation of the free energy for neutral CFL quark matter; result unchanged. 18 pages, 2 figure

Leiomodin-3 dysfunction results in thin filament disorganization and nemaline myopathy

Peer reviewe

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron is an immune escape variant with an altered cell entry pathway

Vaccines based on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 are a cornerstone of the public health response to COVID-19. The emergence of hypermutated, increasingly transmissible variants of concern (VOCs) threaten this strategy. Omicron (B.1.1.529), the fifth VOC to be described, harbours multiple amino acid mutations in spike, half of which lie within the receptor-binding domain. Here we demonstrate substantial evasion of neutralization by Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants in vitro using sera from individuals vaccinated with ChAdOx1, BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273. These data were mirrored by a substantial reduction in real-world vaccine effectiveness that was partially restored by booster vaccination. The Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2 did not induce cell syncytia in vitro and favoured a TMPRSS2-independent endosomal entry pathway, these phenotypes mapping to distinct regions of the spike protein. Impaired cell fusion was determined by the receptor-binding domain, while endosomal entry mapped to the S2 domain. Such marked changes in antigenicity and replicative biology may underlie the rapid global spread and altered pathogenicity of the Omicron variant

Male Escorting, Safety & National Ugly Mugs: Queering Policy & Practice on the Reporting of Crimes Against Sex Workers

Men who sell sex to men are largely invisible in sex work research and policy discourse (Whowell and Gaffney, 2009; Whowell, 2010). Violence against sex workers is considered to be a gendered act, with men constructed as hyper-masculine pimps, clients or traffickers. Rarely are they considered sex workers or vulnerable to crimes being committed against them (Gaffney, 2007). This chapter draws on case studies and monitoring data from the National Ugly Mugs (NUM) scheme (a national reporting mechanism for crimes committed against sex workers), in order to highlight the range of incidents that male sex workers encounter and the barriers they face to reporting crimes. It argues that positioning sex workers and their performed sexual encounters within a queer conceptual framework is necessary in the context of progressive policy and practice. Exploring the experiences of male sex workers offers a more nuanced understanding of sex workers’ experiences of work-related crimes and sex work, more broadly; laying bare the flaws in radical feminist analyses, which present the extremity of simplistic ideological theory (Weitzer, 2005). Such theories have heavily influenced policy in recent decades, drawing attention away from the lived realities of male sex workers and marginalising their experiences as victims of crime. NUM has the potential to play a critical role in making visible the experiences of male sex workers and providing important learning about their support needs in relation to work-related crimes. The linking of NUM to formal police systems is a vital step towards recognition of the rights to protection under the law and justice for all sex workers who are victims of crime