The Representation of Celtic Tiger Irish Masculinity in Hollywood Cinema: 1994-2008

By analysing the careers of three Irish actors in the U.S. during the Celtic Tiger period— Colin Farrell, Cillian Murphy, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers—this thesis explores the representation of Celtic Tiger Irish masculinity in Hollywood cinema. It considers the “Celtic Tiger” as an economic phenomenon that had cultural ramifications and affected the meanings attached to Irishness at a local and global level. Each chapter takes a trope or stereotype connected to the representation of Irish masculinity in cinema. Chapter One, “Tiger Celts”: Irishness, Whiteness, and Masculinity, considers the way that Irishness registers as a form of enriched whiteness in popular culture while still laying claim to a victim status that has extended from Ireland’s former colonization. It argues that as both film stars and characters, Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers avail of the cultural currency of whiteness, but remain inseparable from their ethnicity. They are seldom cast as actors but as Irish actors in Hollywood, and the contention that the Irishness of Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers lingers as a watermark that remains present regardless of the accent or ethnicity of the characters they play underlies the arguments made throughout the thesis as a whole. Chapter Two, “Gael Gore”: Hollywood Representations of Irish Violence, considers the extent to which the stereotype of Irish violence continues to guide discourses of Irish masculinity in Hollywood. Chapter Three, Fathers, Sons, and Irish Masculinity, looks comparatively at Irish masculinity by considering the characters played by two successive generations of Irish actors. Finally, Chapter Four, Sexuality and the City: The Irish Metrosexual, looks retrospectively at the careers of Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers to argue that the type of metrosexual characters they have represented can be traced to the shifting emphasis between rural and urban Ireland that formed the bedrock of discourses pertaining to the Celtic Tiger

The Representation of Celtic Tiger Irish Masculinity in Hollywood Cinema: 1994-2008

By analysing the careers of three Irish actors in the U.S. during the Celtic Tiger period— Colin Farrell, Cillian Murphy, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers—this thesis explores the representation of Celtic Tiger Irish masculinity in Hollywood cinema. It considers the “Celtic Tiger” as an economic phenomenon that had cultural ramifications and affected the meanings attached to Irishness at a local and global level. Each chapter takes a trope or stereotype connected to the representation of Irish masculinity in cinema. Chapter One, “Tiger Celts”: Irishness, Whiteness, and Masculinity, considers the way that Irishness registers as a form of enriched whiteness in popular culture while still laying claim to a victim status that has extended from Ireland’s former colonization. It argues that as both film stars and characters, Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers avail of the cultural currency of whiteness, but remain inseparable from their ethnicity. They are seldom cast as actors but as Irish actors in Hollywood, and the contention that the Irishness of Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers lingers as a watermark that remains present regardless of the accent or ethnicity of the characters they play underlies the arguments made throughout the thesis as a whole. Chapter Two, “Gael Gore”: Hollywood Representations of Irish Violence, considers the extent to which the stereotype of Irish violence continues to guide discourses of Irish masculinity in Hollywood. Chapter Three, Fathers, Sons, and Irish Masculinity, looks comparatively at Irish masculinity by considering the characters played by two successive generations of Irish actors. Finally, Chapter Four, Sexuality and the City: The Irish Metrosexual, looks retrospectively at the careers of Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers to argue that the type of metrosexual characters they have represented can be traced to the shifting emphasis between rural and urban Ireland that formed the bedrock of discourses pertaining to the Celtic Tiger

Identification and Characterization of Microsporidia from Fecal Samples of HIV-Positive Patients from Lagos, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Microsporidia are obligate intracellular parasites that infect a broad range of vertebrates and invertebrates. They have been increasingly recognized as human pathogens in AIDS patients, mainly associated with a life-threatening chronic diarrhea and systemic disease. However, to date the global epidemiology of human microsporidiosis is poorly understood, and recent data suggest that the incidence of these pathogens is much higher than previously reported and may represent a neglected etiological agent of more common diseases indeed in immunocompetent individuals. To contribute to the knowledge of microsporidia molecular epidemiology in HIV-positive patients in Nigeria, the authors tested stool samples proceeding from patients with and without diarrhea. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Stool samples from 193 HIV-positive patients with and without diarrhea (67 and 126 respectively) from Lagos (Nigeria) were investigated for the presence of microsporidia and Cryptosporidium using Weber's Chromotrope-based stain, Kinyoun stain, IFAT and PCR. The Weber stain showed 45 fecal samples (23.3%) with characteristic microsporidia spores, and a significant association of microsporidia with diarrhea was observed (O.R. = 18.2; CI: 95%). A similar result was obtained using Kinyoun stain, showing 44 (31,8%) positive samples with structures morphologically compatible with Cryptosporidium sp, 14 (31.8%) of them with infection mixed with microsporidia. The characterization of microsporidia species by IFAT and PCR allowed identification of Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Encephalitozoon intestinalis and E. cuniculi in 5, 2 and 1 samples respectively. The partial sequencing of the ITS region of the rRNA genes showed that the three isolates of E.bieneusi studied are included in Group I, one of which bears the genotype B. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: To our knowledge, this is the first report of microsporidia characterization in fecal samples from HIV-positive patients from Lagos, Nigeria. These results focus attention on the need to include microsporidial diagnosis in the management of HIV/AIDS infection in Nigeria, at the very least when other more common pathogens have not been detected

The Representation of Celtic Tiger Irish Masculinity in Hollywood Cinema: 1994-2008

By analysing the careers of three Irish actors in the U.S. during the Celtic Tiger period— Colin Farrell, Cillian Murphy, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers—this thesis explores the representation of Celtic Tiger Irish masculinity in Hollywood cinema. It considers the “Celtic Tiger” as an economic phenomenon that had cultural ramifications and affected the meanings attached to Irishness at a local and global level. Each chapter takes a trope or stereotype connected to the representation of Irish masculinity in cinema. Chapter One, “Tiger Celts”: Irishness, Whiteness, and Masculinity, considers the way that Irishness registers as a form of enriched whiteness in popular culture while still laying claim to a victim status that has extended from Ireland’s former colonization. It argues that as both film stars and characters, Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers avail of the cultural currency of whiteness, but remain inseparable from their ethnicity. They are seldom cast as actors but as Irish actors in Hollywood, and the contention that the Irishness of Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers lingers as a watermark that remains present regardless of the accent or ethnicity of the characters they play underlies the arguments made throughout the thesis as a whole. Chapter Two, “Gael Gore”: Hollywood Representations of Irish Violence, considers the extent to which the stereotype of Irish violence continues to guide discourses of Irish masculinity in Hollywood. Chapter Three, Fathers, Sons, and Irish Masculinity, looks comparatively at Irish masculinity by considering the characters played by two successive generations of Irish actors. Finally, Chapter Four, Sexuality and the City: The Irish Metrosexual, looks retrospectively at the careers of Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers to argue that the type of metrosexual characters they have represented can be traced to the shifting emphasis between rural and urban Ireland that formed the bedrock of discourses pertaining to the Celtic Tiger

The Representation of Celtic Tiger Irish Masculinity in Hollywood Cinema: 1994-2008

By analysing the careers of three Irish actors in the U.S. during the Celtic Tiger period— Colin Farrell, Cillian Murphy, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers—this thesis explores the representation of Celtic Tiger Irish masculinity in Hollywood cinema. It considers the “Celtic Tiger” as an economic phenomenon that had cultural ramifications and affected the meanings attached to Irishness at a local and global level. Each chapter takes a trope or stereotype connected to the representation of Irish masculinity in cinema. Chapter One, “Tiger Celts”: Irishness, Whiteness, and Masculinity, considers the way that Irishness registers as a form of enriched whiteness in popular culture while still laying claim to a victim status that has extended from Ireland’s former colonization. It argues that as both film stars and characters, Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers avail of the cultural currency of whiteness, but remain inseparable from their ethnicity. They are seldom cast as actors but as Irish actors in Hollywood, and the contention that the Irishness of Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers lingers as a watermark that remains present regardless of the accent or ethnicity of the characters they play underlies the arguments made throughout the thesis as a whole. Chapter Two, “Gael Gore”: Hollywood Representations of Irish Violence, considers the extent to which the stereotype of Irish violence continues to guide discourses of Irish masculinity in Hollywood. Chapter Three, Fathers, Sons, and Irish Masculinity, looks comparatively at Irish masculinity by considering the characters played by two successive generations of Irish actors. Finally, Chapter Four, Sexuality and the City: The Irish Metrosexual, looks retrospectively at the careers of Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers to argue that the type of metrosexual characters they have represented can be traced to the shifting emphasis between rural and urban Ireland that formed the bedrock of discourses pertaining to the Celtic Tiger

The Representation of Celtic Tiger Irish Masculinity in Hollywood Cinema: 1994-2008

By analysing the careers of three Irish actors in the U.S. during the Celtic Tiger period— Colin Farrell, Cillian Murphy, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers—this thesis explores the representation of Celtic Tiger Irish masculinity in Hollywood cinema. It considers the “Celtic Tiger” as an economic phenomenon that had cultural ramifications and affected the meanings attached to Irishness at a local and global level. Each chapter takes a trope or stereotype connected to the representation of Irish masculinity in cinema. Chapter One, “Tiger Celts”: Irishness, Whiteness, and Masculinity, considers the way that Irishness registers as a form of enriched whiteness in popular culture while still laying claim to a victim status that has extended from Ireland’s former colonization. It argues that as both film stars and characters, Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers avail of the cultural currency of whiteness, but remain inseparable from their ethnicity. They are seldom cast as actors but as Irish actors in Hollywood, and the contention that the Irishness of Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers lingers as a watermark that remains present regardless of the accent or ethnicity of the characters they play underlies the arguments made throughout the thesis as a whole. Chapter Two, “Gael Gore”: Hollywood Representations of Irish Violence, considers the extent to which the stereotype of Irish violence continues to guide discourses of Irish masculinity in Hollywood. Chapter Three, Fathers, Sons, and Irish Masculinity, looks comparatively at Irish masculinity by considering the characters played by two successive generations of Irish actors. Finally, Chapter Four, Sexuality and the City: The Irish Metrosexual, looks retrospectively at the careers of Farrell, Murphy, and Meyers to argue that the type of metrosexual characters they have represented can be traced to the shifting emphasis between rural and urban Ireland that formed the bedrock of discourses pertaining to the Celtic Tiger

Effective wound management and wellbeing: guidance for clinicians, organisations and industry

In February 2011, a multidisciplinary group of clinicians and researchers met at the Wounds International conference in Cape Town, South Africa, ahead of a consensus meeting in Brussels in May 2011. The aim of the meeting was to explore patient wellbeing in relation to wound management. Several themes were discussed and are presented in this article. The key points raised will form the starting point of the consensus meeting which will aim to provide three key stake holders — clinicians, healthcare organisations and industry — with a framework to ensure that patient wellbeing is optimised when delivering effective wound management

Extended safety and efficacy studies of a live attenuated double leucine and pantothenate auxotroph of Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a vaccine candidate

Photograph of a scene during a production of Oklahoma! at Discoveryland

Limited Contribution of Mucosal IgA to Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV)-Specific Neutralizing Antibody Response and Virus Envelope Evolution in Breast Milk of SIV-Infected, Lactating Rhesus Monkeys▿

Breast milk transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains an important mode of infant HIV acquisition. Interestingly, the majority of infants remain uninfected during prolonged virus exposure via breastfeeding, raising the possibility that immune components in milk prevent mucosal virus transmission. HIV-specific antibody responses are detectable in the milk of HIV-infected women and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected monkeys; however, the role of these humoral responses in virus neutralization and local virus quasispecies evolution has not been characterized. In this study, four lactating rhesus monkeys were inoculated with SIVmac251 and monitored for SIV envelope-specific humoral responses and virus evolution in milk and plasma throughout infection. While the kinetics and breadth of the SIV-specific IgG and IgA responses in milk were similar to those in plasma, the magnitude of the milk responses was considerably lower than that of the plasma responses. Furthermore, a neutralizing antibody response against the inoculation virus was not detected in milk samples at 1 year after infection, despite a measurable autologous neutralizing antibody response in plasma samples obtained from three of four monkeys. Interestingly, while IgA is the predominant immunoglobulin in milk, the milk SIV envelope-specific IgA response was lower in magnitude and demonstrated more limited neutralizing capacity against a T-cell line-adapted SIV compared to those of the milk IgG response. Finally, amino acid mutations in the envelope gene product of SIV variants in milk and plasma samples occurred in similar numbers and at similar positions, indicating that the humoral immune pressure in milk does not drive distinct virus evolution in the breast milk compartment

Robust vaccine-elicited cellular immune responses in breast milk following systemic Simian Immunodeficiency Virus DNA prime and live virus vector boost vaccination of lactating rhesus monkeys.

Breast milk transmission of HIV remains an important mode of infant HIV acquisition. Enhancement of mucosal HIV-specific immune responses in milk of HIV-infected mothers through vaccination may reduce milk virus load or protect against virus transmission in the infant gastrointestinal tract. However, the ability of HIV/SIV strategies to induce virus-specific immune responses in milk has not been studied. In this study, five uninfected, hormone-induced lactating, Mamu A*01(+) female rhesus monkey were systemically primed and boosted with rDNA and the attenuated poxvirus vector, NYVAC, containing the SIVmac239 gag-pol and envelope genes. The monkeys were boosted a second time with a recombinant Adenovirus serotype 5 vector containing matching immunogens. The vaccine-elicited immunodominant epitope-specific CD8(+) T lymphocyte response in milk was of similar or greater magnitude than that in blood and the vaginal tract but higher than that in the colon. Furthermore, the vaccine-elicited SIV Gag-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T lymphocyte polyfunctional cytokine responses were more robust in milk than in blood after each virus vector boost. Finally, SIV envelope-specific IgG responses were detected in milk of all monkeys after vaccination, whereas an SIV envelope-specific IgA response was only detected in one vaccinated monkey. Importantly, only limited and transient increases in the proportion of activated or CCR5-expressing CD4(+) T lymphocytes in milk occurred after vaccination. Therefore, systemic DNA prime and virus vector boost of lactating rhesus monkeys elicits potent virus-specific cellular and humoral immune responses in milk and may warrant further investigation as a strategy to impede breast milk transmission of HIV