Border country: postcolonial ecocriticism in Ireland

Ecocriticism in Irish studies, and the spatial turn which preceded it, emerged from the field’s concentration on postcolonial discourse and the inequalities inherent in Irish modernity. The focus on place as a means of establishing identity, particularly within the context of colonial and imperialist narratives, led to a dynamic discussion of literary representations of the environment in Irish studies depicting fraught relationships between land and scarcity. And yet, there was resistance to engaging with the key debates in Anglo-American ecocriticism on a systematic level. As Eóin Flannery observed in 2016, “the field of Irish cultural studies has yet to exploit fully the critical and analytical resources of ecological criticism.” So far, the discourse around depictions of space has been principally in the service of Irish cultural studies, asking how the relationship with place has made Ireland what it is today. One of the interesting aspects of the incursion of ecocriticism in the field of Irish studies is how environmental considerations have come to be recognised as a part of the identity discourse. As the title suggests, the island of Ireland is also a border country in that it encompasses a contentious border, and two distinct identities, from both Northern Ireland and the Republic. This essay examines the emergence of ecocritical discourse in Irish studies and explores the ongoing dynamic between postcolonialism and environmental criticism with respect to the Irish canon.La ecocrítica en los estudios irlandeses, y el giro espacial que le precedió, surgieron de la concentración del campo en el discurso poscolonial y las desigualdades inherentes a la modernidad irlandesa. El enfoque del lugar como forma de establecer la identidad, especialmente en el contexto de las narrativas coloniales e imperialistas, llevó a una discusión dinámica de las representaciones literarias del medio ambiente en los estudios irlandeses que describen las tensas relaciones entre la tierra y la escasez. Y, sin embargo, se resistieron a participar en los debates clave de la ecocrítica angloamericana de forma sistemática. Como observó Eóin Flannery en 2016, “el campo de los estudios culturales irlandeses aún tiene que explotar plenamente los recursos críticos y analíticos de la crítica ecológica.” Hasta ahora, el discurso en torno a las representaciones del espacio ha estado principalmente al servicio de los estudios culturales irlandeses, con la pregunta de cómo la relación con el lugar ha convertido a Irlanda en lo que es hoy. Uno de los aspectos interesantes de la incursión de la ecocrítica en el campo de los estudios irlandeses es cómo las consideraciones ambientales han llegado a ser reconocidas como parte del discurso de la identidad. Como sugiere el título, la isla de Irlanda también es un país fronterizo en el sentido de que abarca una frontera conflictiva y dos identidades distintas, tanto de Irlanda del Norte como de la República. Este ensayo examina el surgimiento del discurso ecocrítico en los estudios irlandeses y explora la dinámica actual entre el poscolonialismo y la crítica ambiental con respecto al modelo irlandés

Biomarkers of inflammatory arthritis and proteomics

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The conversation matters: a qualitative study exploring the implementation of alcohol screening and brief interventions in antenatal care in Scotland

Background Alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) in antenatal care is internationally recommended to prevent harm caused by alcohol exposure during pregnancy. There is, however, limited understanding of how SBI is implemented within antenatal care; particularly the approach taken by midwives. This study aimed to explore the implementation of a national antenatal SBI programme in Scotland. Methods Qualitative interviews were conducted with antenatal SBI implementation leaders (N = 8) in eight Scottish health boards. Interviews were analysed thematically and using the ‘practical, robust implementation and sustainability model’ (PRISM) to understand differences in implementation across health boards and perceived setting-specific barriers and challenges. Results In several health boards, where reported maternal alcohol use was lower than expected, implementation leaders sought to optimize enquires about women’s alcohol use to facilitate honest disclosure. Strategies focused on having positive conversations, exploring pre-pregnancy drinking habits, and building a trusting relationship between pregnant women and midwives. Women’s responses were encouraging and disclosure rates appeared improved, though with some unexpected variation over time. Adapting the intervention to the local context was also considered important. Conclusions This is the first study to explore implementation leaders’ experiences of antenatal SBI delivery and identify possible changes in disclosure rates arising from the approach taken. In contrast with current antenatal alcohol screening recommendations, a conversational approach was advocated to enhance the accuracy and honesty of reporting. This may enable provision of support to more women to prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and will therefore be of international interest

How can HIV/STI testing services be more accessible and acceptable for gender and sexually diverse young people? A brief report exploring young people's perspectives in Queensland

Issue addressed: Gender and sexually diverse young people (GSDYP) are an important target group for HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention and there is an immediate need to explore ways to make testing interventions accessible and appropriate for this group. Methods: We used a modified World Café workshop with 14 GSDYP in Brisbane Australia, to inform the development of a pilot community‐based testing intervention. Results: The workshop identified the key features of an ideal service, which would include multiple, accessible sites that offer holistic, affordable services and confidential care by respectful and knowledgeable providers. The service would allow young people to engage in decision‐making processes, have a culturally inclusive, comfortable and friendly atmosphere, and provide free sexual and reproductive health technologies. Conclusion: When designing HIV/STI testing interventions for key groups, health promotion practitioners need to be cognisant of localised and nuanced expectations and ensure that services are tailored to the needs and experiences of the local population. So what?: This study provides insights into the needs and expectations of HIV/STI testing interventions for GSDYP in Australia, a key at‐risk group whose perspectives are not adequately voiced in sexual health research and intervention design. Summary: This study explores facilitators and current barriers to HIV/STI testing with a group of gender and sexually diverse young people in Brisbane, Australia. Outcomes provide insights into the needs and expectations of HIV/STI testing services for this group

Inter-related Factors Influencing Sexual Quality of Life among Women Living with HIV in Banten Province, Indonesia: A Mixed Methods Study

Socio-cultural concerns often restrict women's sexual rights and well-being living with HIV (WLHIV) in developing countries. These convergent parallel mixed methods study combined quantitative and qualitative approaches to explore factors influencing WLHIV sexual quality of life in Banten Province, Indonesia. A 2017 cross-sectional survey of 207 reproductive-aged WLHIV was analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression statistics. Furthermore, in-depth interviews with a sub-sample of survey participants (n = 30) were thematically analyzed. Most of the women (60%) involved reported loss of sexual pleasure and depressed sexual life. Meanwhile, 48% affirmed low sexual quality of life which was associated with unemployment (aOR = 2.90, and 95%CI =1.51–5.58), limited sexual activities (aOR = 2.89, and 95%CI = 1.20–6.93), living with extended family (aOR = 2.68, and 95%CI = 1.27–5.65), and experiencing intimate partner violence (aOR = 2.28, and 95%CI = 1.03–5.03). The respondents described unsatisfactory sexual life in a belief that having sex is a wife's duty and choosing not to talk about sexual issues or refuse sexual invitation in fear of triggering intimate partner violence. Inter-related personal, social, cultural, and religious factors affected the sufferers’ sexual life

Sleep as an Occupation in College Students

The purpose of this study was to measure the quality of sleep in undergraduate college students and explore the relationship between academic self-efficacy and performance in student-related occupations. A quantitative, exploratory, descriptive and correlational research design was used to explore the relationship among sleep quality, perceived self-efficacy, and selected student characteristics. This study included undergraduate students, as well as self-identified student athletes, first generation students, and students with disabilities. To collect data, the researchers conducted an online survey, which consisted of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a demographic and self-efficacy questionnaire. The PSQI was used to evaluate the sleep quality, while the demographic and self-efficacy questionnaire gathered information about student related occupations and self-efficacy. Two hundred and nine college students, aged 17 to 25, participated in the survey. One hundred thirty five (64.6%) participants scored above a five, indicating poor sleep quality while 74 (35.4%) participants obtained good sleep quality as measured by the PSQI, while. The average number of hours slept reported by participants was 6.68. Results support existing evidence suggesting college students are sleep deprived, and over half of participants reported sleep issues that could be addressed by an occupational therapist.https://scholar.dominican.edu/ug-student-posters/1013/thumbnail.jp

The Effect of Dietary Supplementation with Spent Cider Yeast on the Swine Distal Gut Microbiome

peer-reviewedBackground: There is an increasing need for alternatives to antibiotics for promoting animal health, given the increasing problems associated with antibiotic resistance. In this regard, we evaluated spent cider yeast as a potential probiotic for modifying the gut microbiota in weanling pigs using pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene libraries. Methodology and Principal Findings: Piglets aged 24–26 days were assigned to one of two study groups; control (n = 12) and treatment (n = 12). The control animals were fed with a basal diet and the treatment animals were fed with basal diet in combination with cider yeast supplement (500 ml cider yeast containing ,7.6 log CFU/ml) for 21 days. Faecal samples were collected for 16s rRNA gene compositional analysis. 16S rRNA compositional sequencing analysis of the faecal samples collected from day 0 and day 21 revealed marked differences in microbial diversity at both the phylum and genus levels between the control and treatment groups. This analysis confirmed that levels of Salmonella and Escherichia were significantly decreased in the treatment group, compared with the control (P,0.001). This data suggest a positive influence of dietary supplementation with live cider yeast on the microbial diversity of the pig distal gut. Conclusions/Significance: The effect of dietary cider yeast on porcine gut microbial communities was characterized for the first time using 16S rRNA gene compositional sequencing. Dietary cider yeast can potentially alter the gut microbiota, however such changes depend on their endogenous microbiota that causes a divergence in relative response to that given diet.This work was funded by Enterprise Ireland, under the Commercialisation Fund (Contract No: CFTD/05/117), the Irish Government under the National Development Plan, 2000–2006, the European Research and Development Fund and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI).European Research and Development Fun

The histone fold domain of Cse4 is sufficient for CEN targeting and propagation of active centromeres in budding yeast

Centromere-specific H3-like proteins (CenH3s) are conserved across the eukaryotic kingdom and are required for packaging centromere DNA into a specialized chromatin structure required for kinetochore assembly. Cse4 is the CenH3 protein of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Like all CenH3 proteins, Cse4 consists of a conserved histone fold domain (HFD) and a divergent N terminus (NT). The Cse4 NT contains an essential domain designated END (for essential N-terminal domain); deletion of END is lethal. To investigate the role of the Cse4 NT in centromere targeting, a series of deletion alleles (cse4DeltaNT) were analyzed. No part of the Cse4 NT was required to target mutant proteins to centromere DNA in the presence of functional Cse4. A Cse4 degron strain was used to examine targeting of a Cse4DeltaNT protein in the absence of wild-type Cse4. The END was not required for centromere targeting under these conditions, confirming that the HFD confers specificity of Cse4 centromere targeting. Surprisingly, overexpression of the HFD bypassed the requirement for the END altogether, and viable S. cerevisiae strains in which the cells express only the Cse4 HFD and six adjacent N-terminal amino acids (Cse4Delta129) were constructed. Despite the complete absence of the NT, mitotic chromosome loss in the cse4Delta129 strain increased only 6-fold compared to a 15-fold increase in strains overexpressing wild-type Cse4. Thus, when overexpressed, the Cse4 HFD is sufficient for centromere function in S. cerevisiae, and no posttranslational modification or interaction of the NT with other kinetochore component(s) is essential for accurate chromosome segregation in budding yeast

Characterization of a monothiol glutaredoxin encoded by Chlorella virus PBCV-1

Annotation of the 330-kb Chlorella virus PBCV-1 genome identified a 237 nucleotide gene (a438l) that codes for a protein with ~35% amino acid identity to glutaredoxins (Grx) found in other organisms. The PBCV-1 protein resembles classical Grxs in both size (9 kDa) and location of the active site (N-terminus). However, the PBCV-1 Grx is unusual because it contains a monothiol active site (CPYS) rather than the typical dithiol active site (CPYC). To examine this unique active site, four sitespecific mutants (CPYC, CPYA, SPYC, and SPYS) were constructed to determine if the N-terminal cysteine is necessary for enzyme activity. Wild type and both mutants containing N-terminal cysteines catalyzed the reduction of disulfides in a coupled system with GSH, NADPH, and glutathione reductase. However, both mutants with an altered N-terminal cysteine were inactive. The grx gene is common in the Chlorella viruses. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of the PBCV-1 enzyme support its relatedness to those from other Chlorella viruses and yet demonstrate the divergence of the Grx molecule

Skin cancer in the youth population of the United Kingdom

Skin cancer is disproportionately high in the youth population of the United Kingdom, as compared with other cancers, yet it is a topic which so far has received little recognition, subsequently relevant literature is relatively scarce. In the United Kingdom, malignant melanoma is now one of the commonest cancers in those aged 15–34 years. Furthermore, malignant melanoma the 7th most common cancer in men, and 5th most common cancer in women in the United Kingdom in 2013 accounting for 4% of all cancer cases in the United Kingdom. Moreover, skin cancer is currently the fastest growing cancer in the world with a five-fold increase in frequency since the 1970′s resulting in disfigurement and death. This essay explores this skin cancer age-related anomaly through the lens of public health. A scoping review combined with a thematic analysis of literature, identified risk factors including demographic and environmental risk factors within the youth population. Research suggests that 86% of cases could be prevented alleviating the current financial burden of over £100 million spent on managing skin cancer. I therefore suggest a multi primary and secondary prevention approach through education programs, whilst promoting awareness and tanning alternatives targeting both youth and parental populations. A final recommendation involves government incentives to increase sun protective factor (SPF) in creams, and imposing a complete national ban on tanning beds. All these preventions would contribute to lowering skin cancer prevalence in the youth population whilst also alleviating the financial burden of the disease