Crime and Punishment in Dundalk. The Transportation of Irish Women in 19th Century Ireland: A Case History

This article focuses on the tale of two sisters, Margaret and Judith Byrne, who were arrested in Dundalk for the larceny of a pair of shoes, transferred to Grange Gorman Lane, transportation depot, and disposed of on the Phoebe in 1845 to Van Diemen’s Land. This article examines the case as it was presented to the courts including the petitions put forward on behalf of the sisters. Their journey from Dundalk to Hobart will be considered and documentary analysis will uncover how the sisters fared once they stepped foot on Vandemonian soil.Not applicabl

Implementation of BSG/ACPGBI/PHE polypectomy surveillance guidelines safely reduces the burden of surveillance in a screening cohort: a virtual model study

Objective To evaluate the impact of British Society of Gastroenterology/Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland/Public Health England (BSG/ACPGBI/PHE) 2019 polypectomy surveillance guidelines within a national faecal immunochemical test-based bowel cancer screening (BS) cohort on surveillance activity and detection of pathology by retrospective virtual application.Design A retrospective review of BS colonoscopies performed in 2015–2016 with 5 years prospective follow-up in single institution. Index colonoscopies were selected. Incomplete colonoscopies were excluded. Histology of all resected polyps was reviewed. Surveillance intervals were calculated according to BSG/ACPGBI/PHE 2019 guidelines and compared with pre-existing ‘European Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Colorectal Cancer Screening and Diagnosis’ (EUQA 2013). Total number of colonoscopies deferred by virtual implementation of BSG/ACPGBI/PHE 2019 guidelines were calculated. Pathology identified on procedures that would have been deferred was reviewed.Results Total number of index BS colonoscopies performed in 2015–2016 inclusive was 890. 115 were excluded (22 no caecal intubation, 51 inadequate bowel preparation, 56 incomplete polyp clearance). N=509 colonoscopies were scheduled within a 5-year interval following index colonoscopy surveillance rounds based on EUQA guidelines. Overall, volume of surveillance was significantly reduced with retrospective application of BSG/ACPGBI/PHE 2019 guidelines (n=221, p<0.0001). No cancers were detected within the ‘potentially deferred’ procedures who attended for follow-up (n=330) with high-risk findings found in<10% (n=30) of colonoscopies within the BSG/ACPGBI/PHE cohort.Conclusion BSG/ACPGBI/PHE 2019 guidelines safely reduce the burden of colonoscopy demand with acceptable pathology findings on deferred colonoscopies

The Associations of Selenoprotein Genetic Variants with the Risks of Colorectal Adenoma and Colorectal Cancer: Case–Control Studies in Irish and Czech Populations

Background: Selenium manifests its biological effects through its incorporation into selenoproteins, which play several roles in countering oxidative and inflammatory responses implicated in colorectal carcinogenesis. Selenoprotein genetic variants may contribute to colorectal cancer (CRC) development, as we previously observed for SNP variants in a large European prospective study and a Czech case–control cohort. Methods: We tested if significantly associated selenoprotein gene SNPs from these studies were also associated with CRC risk in case–control studies from Ireland (colorectal neoplasia, i.e., cancer and adenoma cases: 450, controls: 461) and the Czech Republic (CRC cases: 718, controls: 646). Genotyping of 23 SNPs (20 in the Irish and 13 in the Czechs) was performed by competitive specific allele-specific PCR (KASPar). Multivariable adjusted logistic regression was used to assess the associations with CRC development. Results: We found significant associations with an increased CRC risk for rs5859 (SELENOF) and rs2972994 (SELENOP) in the Irish cohort but only with rs4802034 (SELENOV) in the Czechs. Significant associations were observed for rs5859 (SELENOF), rs4659382 (SELENON), rs2972994 (SELENOP), rs34713741 (SELENOS), and the related Se metabolism gene variant rs2275129 (SEPHS1) with advanced colorectal neoplasia development. However, none of these findings retained significance after multiple testing corrections. Conclusions: Several SNPs previously associated with CRC risk were also associated with CRC or colorectal neoplasia development in either the Irish or Czech cohorts. Selenoprotein gene variation may modify CRC risk across diverse European populations, although the specific variants may differ