[Review] Melissa Gira Grant (2014) Playing the whore: the work of sex work

Melissa Gira Grant’s latest book examines the denial of basic labour rights for sex workers, and the external factors behind this, including the attitudes of the police, media and politicians. The book is a sharp critique of the sensationalist treatment of the industry and behaviours of establishment figures that proves timely in the wake of Amnesty’s recently declared support for global decriminalization

‘The raft, the ladder, the transitional space, the moratorium…’: digital interventions in twenty-first-century private and public lives

This project explores the nebulizing effect of digital technologies on their analogue counterparts, and their cultural and social repercussions as depicted in early twenty-first-century novels. The thesis finds five central concerns of digital culture, areas in which the structures and codes of the culture have had to be recalibrated to such a degree to accommodate virtuality, and examines them through the works of a novelist with a fascination for, or resistance to this change. The thesis identifies an irreversible shift in the mental apparatus caused by digital technologies that work on narrativizing powers such as memory, interpretation, and perception, that finds expression in fiction. Chapter 1 reads Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad and The Keep as responses to the phenomena of geomapping, networking and communications in the age of global reach. Chapter 2 uses Tom McCarthy’s novels C, Remainder, and Satin Island to illustrate the distorting effects of digitality on time. Chapter 3 brings to focus the more recent work of J. M. Coetzee, Summertime, Elizabeth Costello, and Diary of a Bad Year, that engages with digitality and a cultural landscape increasing reliant on distancing technologies. Chapter 4 examines the recording and surveilling technologies at the heart of Ali Smith’s twentyfirst- century novels How to Be Both, Autumn and The Accidental. Chapter 5 reads Dave Eggers’ The Circle as a critique of corporate digital culture, and examines the role of taste in articulating personal freedom. The conclusion analyses a current crisis point in the digital project, and gestures towards the future of technology in the contemporary novel, speculating on what elements discussed in the thesis might endure and shape fictional narrative as the age of digitality progresses

Estimating the prevalence of hematological malignancies and precursor conditions using data from Haematological Malignancy Research Network (HMRN)

Objective: Well-established cancer registries that routinely link to death registrations can estimate prevalence directly by counting patients alive at a particular point in time (observed prevalence). Such direct methods can only provide prevalence for the years over which the registry has been operational. Time-defined estimates, including 5- and 10-year prevalence, may however underestimate the total cancer burden, and compared with other cancers, there is a lack of accurate information on the total prevalence of hematological malignancy subtypes. Accordingly, we aimed to estimate prevalence (observed and total prevalence) of hematological malignancies and precursor conditions by clinically meaningful subtypes using data from the UK’s specialist population-based register, the Haematological Malignancy Research Network (www.hmrn.org). Methods: Observed and total prevalences were estimated from 15,810 new diagnoses of hematological malignancies from 2004 to 2011 and followed up to the 31 August 2011 (index data). Observed prevalence was calculated by the counting method, and a method based on modelling incidence and survival was used to estimate total prevalence. Estimates were made according to current disease classification for the HMRN region and for the UK. Results: The overall observed and total prevalence rates were 281.9 and 548.8 per 100,000, respectively; the total number of observed and total prevalent cases in the UK was estimated as 165,841 and 327,818 cases, as expected variation existed by disease subtype reflecting the heterogeneity in underlying disease incidence, survival and age distribution of hematological cancers. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the importance of estimating ‘total’ prevalence rather than ‘observed’ prevalence by current disease classification (ICD-O-3), particularly for subtypes that have a more indolent nature and for those that are curable. Importantly, these analyses demonstrate that relying on observed prevalence alone would result in a significant underestimation of the relative burden of some subtypes. While many of these cases may be considered cured and no longer being actively treated, people in this survivorship phase may have long-term medical needs and accordingly, it is important to provide accurate counts to allow for healthcare planning

Risk of mature B-cell neoplasms and precursor conditions after joint replacement : a report from the Haematological Malignancy Research Network

Associations between previous joint replacement and B-cell lymphoid malignancies have been reported, but despite numerous reports, associations with the disease subtypes have received little attention. Using a UK-based register of haematological malignancies and a matched general population-based cohort, joint replacements from linked hospital inpatient records were examined. Cases diagnosed 2009-2015 who were aged 50 years or more were included; 8,013 mature B-cell neoplasms comprising myeloma (n=1,763), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL, n=1,676), chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL, n=1,594), marginal zone lymphoma (MZL, n=957), follicular lymphoma (FL, n=725), and classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL, n=255), together with monoclonal gammopathy of uncertain significance (MGUS, n=2,138) and monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL, n=632). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were calculated relative to 10 age- and sex-matched controls using conditional logistic regression. Having had a joint replacement before diagnosis was associated with myeloma (OR=1.3, 95%CI 1.1-1.5, p=0.008) and MGUS (OR=1.3, 95%CI 1.1-1.5, p<0.001). Excluding replacements in the year before diagnosis, the MGUS risk remained, elevated where two or more joints were replaced (OR=1.5, 95%CI 1.2-2.0, p=0.001), with hip (OR=1.2, 95%CI 1.0-1.5, p=0.06) or knee replacements (OR=1.5, 95%CI 1.2-1.8, p<0.001). Associations with CHL and two or more replacements (OR=2.7, 95%CI 1.3-5.6, p=0.005) or hip replacements (OR=1.9, 95%CI 1.0-3.4, p=0.04); and between DLBCL and knee replacements (OR=1.3, 95%CI 1.0-1.6, p=0.04) were also observed. This study reports for the first time a relationship between joint replacements and MGUS; while absolute risks of disease are low and not of major public health concern, these findings warrant further investigation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Applying an Established Exposure Response Prevention Protocol for Young People With Tourette Syndrome in an Intensive, Group Format: A Feasibility Study

Background: The motor and vocal tics that characterise Tourette syndrome are stigmatizing and impact on quality of life. Behavioural interventions such as Exposure Response Prevention or Comprehensive Behavioural Interventions for Tics are first line treatment for Tourette syndrome, but availability is limited. This study is the first to explore the impact of an established manualised Exposure Response Prevention treatment protocol, developed for individual therapy, but here uniquely delivered intensively, to a group. // Methods: A naturalistic study comprised of a consecutive series of children (N = 20), aged 8–16 years (M = 12, SD = 2.17) were offered Exposure Response Prevention in one of two groups, delivered in series within a specialist clinic. Young people received the equivalent of 12 sessions (matching the manualised individual protocol). // Results: The YGTSS and Giles de la Tourette Syndrome Quality of Life Scale for Children and Adolescents (Satisfaction Scale) showed significant improvement following treatment with moderate to large effect sizes. Thirty-five percent of children demonstrated a reliable improvement on the YGTSS Global Tic Severity score. // Conclusions: These data suggest an established Exposure Response Prevention protocol can be delivered in an intensive, group setting with a positive clinical outcome. Replication in a randomized controlled trial is an important next step

Genomic epidemiology of salmonid alphavirus in Norwegian aquaculture reveals recent subtype-2 transmission dynamics and novel subtype-3 lineages

Viral disease poses a major barrier to sustainable aquaculture, with outbreaks causing large economic losses and growing concerns for fish welfare. Genomic epidemiology can support disease control by providing rapid inferences on viral evolution and disease transmission. In this study, genomic epidemiology was used to investigate salmonid alphavirus (SAV), the causative agent of pancreas disease (PD) in Atlantic salmon. Our aim was to reconstruct SAV subtype-2 (SAV2) diversity and transmission dynamics in recent Norwegian aquaculture, including the origin of SAV2 in regions where this subtype is not tolerated under current legislation. Using nanopore sequencing, we captured ~90% of the SAV2 genome for n = 68 field isolates from 10 aquaculture production regions sampled between 2018 and 2020. Using time-calibrated phylogenetics, we infer that, following its introduction to Norway around 2010, SAV2 split into two clades (SAV2a and 2b) around 2013. While co-present at the same sites near the boundary of Møre og Romsdal and Trøndelag, SAV2a and 2b were generally detected in non-overlapping locations at more Southern and Northern latitudes, respectively. We provide evidence for recent SAV2 transmission over large distances, revealing a strong connection between Møre og Romsdal and SAV2 detected in 2019/20 in Rogaland. We also demonstrate separate introductions of SAV2a and 2b outside the SAV2 zone in Sognefjorden (Vestland), connected to samples from Møre og Romsdal and Trøndelag, respectively, and a likely 100 km Northward transmission of SAV2b within Trøndelag. Finally, we recovered genomes of SAV2a and SAV3 co-infecting single fish in Rogaland, involving novel SAV3 lineages that diverged from previously characterized strains >25 years ago. Overall, this study demonstrates useful applications of genomic epidemiology for tracking viral disease spread in aquaculture

Patterns of Metabolite Changes Identified from Large-Scale Gene Perturbations in Arabidopsis Using a Genome-Scale Metabolic Network

Metabolomics enables quantitative evaluation of metabolic changes caused by genetic or environmental perturbations. However, little is known about how perturbing a single gene changes the metabolic system as a whole and which network and functional properties are involved in this response. To answer this question, we investigated the metabolite profiles from 136 mutants with single gene perturbations of functionally diverse Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genes. Fewer than 10 metabolites were changed significantly relative to the wild type in most of the mutants, indicating that the metabolic network was robust to perturbations of single metabolic genes. These changed metabolites were closer to each other in a genome-scale metabolic network than expected by chance, supporting the notion that the genetic perturbations changed the network more locally than globally. Surprisingly, the changed metabolites were close to the perturbed reactions in only 30% of the mutants of the well-characterized genes. To determine the factors that contributed to the distance between the observed metabolic changes and the perturbation site in the network, we examined nine network and functional properties of the perturbed genes. Only the isozyme number affected the distance between the perturbed reactions and changed metabolites. This study revealed patterns of metabolic changes from large-scale gene perturbations and relationships between characteristics of the perturbed genes and metabolic changes