Fashioning anatomies : figurations of the sexed and gendered body on the early modern English stage

This dissertation is an investigation into the representation of the sexed and gendered body on the English stage between the years 1570 and 1635. The parameters of the study are fully set out in the introduction, however, a summary that might prove useful to the general reader is as follows: The thesis commences with an account of the 'one-sex' anatomical model - as recently set out by Thomas Laqueur in Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud (Cambridge. Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1990). It then proceeds to question the dominance of such an anatomical paradigm throughout the entire Renaissance - and, in its first chapter, sets out evidence from various medical treatises in order to outline the emergence of a contrasting 'two-sex' model of human reproductive biology. Chapter two then uses evidence from a 'two-sex' model in order to re-examine the homo-erotic implications of theatrical narratives that present (or imply) spontaneous sex changes (by means of an analysis of John Lyly's Gallathea and Shakespeare's Falstaff plays). In chapter three, attention turns to the female body in early modern English society and attempts to assess the implications of an emergent 'two-sex' model on female cultural and social agency in the period (by means of an analysis of actual female-to-male cross-dressers and the anatomical representations of the female body that were undertaken in elite cultural forms such as the Court Masque). Chapter four then turns back to the professional English transvestite stage in order to examine the strategies of recuperation of the female body that were employed in a production environment that was exclusively controlled by men (and this is undertaken by means of an analysis of Middleton and Dekker's The Roaring Girl and Beaumont and Fletcher's The Maid's Tradedy). Chapter five turns its attention to an analysis of theatre and anatomy hall architecture in order to examine the ways in which one exclusive private theatre (Christopher Beeston's Phoenix, in Drury Lane) sought to exploit an architectural accident in order to provide elite audiences with a staged representation of the processes of anatomical dissection. Finally, chapter six examines four plays by John Ford: The Witch of Edmonton, The Broken Heart, Love's Sacrifice and 'Tis Pity She's A Whore in order to examine the anatomical emblazonment of the female body in two specific Private theatres. The dissertation also contains four appendices: I) Selections from the Published Debate Between Jean Riolan and Jacques Duval Concerning the Case of Marie Le Marcis, the Hermaphrodite of Rouen II) The List of Sex Changes from Johann Schenck von Graffenberg's Observationum Medicarum Rarum (Frankfurt, 1600) III) Selections From Thomas Artus' L'Isle des Hermaphrodites IV) Selections From The Boke of Duke Huon ofBurdeux, translated by Sir John Bourchier (Lord Berners] (Wynkyn de Worde, 1534) V) Anthony Wood, Athena Oxonienses. An Exact history of all the Writers and Bishops who have had their Education in the most Ancient and Famous University ofOxford(a Biography of William Petty

Czech puppet theatre in global contexts: roots, theories and encounters

This article is both an introduction to this volume as well as to the rich and enchanting world of Czech puppet theatre, with its unique combination of transnational and geographically and cultural distinctive features. Pavel Drábek's essay, incorporated in this introduction, revisits the early modern roots of Czech puppet theatre, suggesting the possible missing links between the early practices, as documented in the travelling performers' tradition, and the tradition of the marionettists of the last two centuries. The introduction traces the developments of the Czech puppet theatre into the twentieth century and its impact on cinema as well as its key role in the shaping of modern theatre theory under the aegis of the Prague School

Global Variation of Nutritional Status in Children Undergoing Chronic Peritoneal Dialysis : A Longitudinal Study of the International Pediatric Peritoneal Dialysis Network

While children approaching end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) are considered at risk of uremic anorexia and underweight they are also exposed to the global obesity epidemic. We sought to investigate the variation of nutritional status in children undergoing chronic peritoneal dialysis (CPD) around the globe. The distribution and course of body mass index (BMI) standard deviation score over time was examined prospectively in 1001 children and adolescents from 35 countries starting CPD who were followed in the International Pediatric PD Network (IPPN) Registry. The overall prevalence of underweight, and overweight/obesity at start of CPD was 8.9% and 19.7%, respectively. Underweight was most prevalent in South and Southeast Asia (20%), Central Europe (16.7%) and Turkey (15.2%), whereas overweight and obesity were most common in the Middle East (40%) and the US (33%). BMI SDS at PD initiation was associated positively with current eGFR and gastrostomy feeding prior to PD start. Over the course of PD BMI SDS tended to increase on CPD in underweight and normal weight children, whereas it decreased in initially overweight patients. In infancy, mortality risk was amplified by obesity, whereas in older children mortality was markedly increased in association with underweight. Both underweight and overweight are prevalent in pediatric ESKD, with the prevalence varying across the globe. Late dialysis start is associated with underweight, while enteral feeding can lead to obesity. Nutritional abnormalities tend to attenuate with time on dialysis. Mortality risk appears increased with obesity in infants and with underweight in older children.Peer reviewe

Management of intra-abdominal infections : recommendations by the WSES 2016 consensus conference

This paper reports on the consensus conference on the management of intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) which was held on July 23, 2016, in Dublin, Ireland, as a part of the annual World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) meeting. This document covers all aspects of the management of IAIs. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation recommendation is used, and this document represents the executive summary of the consensus conference findings.Peer reviewe

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

Representations of Greek tragedy in ancient pottery : a theatrical perspective

In this article, Christian M. Billing considers the relationship between representations of mythic narratives found on ancient pottery (primarily found at sites relating to the Greek colonies of south Italy in the fourth century BC, but also to certain vases found in Attica) and the tragic theatre of the fifth century BC. The author argues against the current resurgence in critical accounts that seek to connect such ceramics directly to performance of tragedies by the major tragedians: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Using five significant examples of what he considers to be errors of method in recent philologically inspired accounts of ancient pottery, Billing argues for a more nuanced approach to the interpretation of such artefacts – one that moves beyond an understanding of literary texts and art history towards a more performance-conscious approach, while also acknowledging that a multiplicity of spheres of artistic influence, drawn from a variety of artistic media, operated in the production and reception of such artefacts. Christian M. Billing is an academic and theatre practitioner working in the fields of ancient Athenian and early modern English and European drama. He has extensive experience as a director, designer, and actor, and has taught at a number of universities in the UK and the USA. He is currently Lecturer in Drama at the University of Hull

Masculinity, corporality and the English stage 1580–1635

The significance of human anatomy to the most physical of art forms, the theatre, has hitherto been an under-explored topic. Filling this gap, Christian Billing questions conventional wisdom regarding the one-sex anatomical model and uses a range of medical treatises to delineate an emergent two-sex paradigm of human biology. The impact such a model had on the staging of the human form in English professional theatre is also explored in appraisals of: (i) the homo-erotic significance of a two-sex paradigm; (ii) social and theatrical cross-dressing; (iii) the uses of theatrical androgyny; (iv) masculine corporality and the representation of assertive women; and (v) the theatrical poetics of human dissection. Billing supports cultural and scientific study with close-readings of Lyly, Shakespeare, Jonson, Middleton, Dekker, Beaumont, Fletcher, and Ford. The book provides a sophisticated and original analysis of the early modern stage body as a discursive site in wider debates concerning sexuality and gender