Uneven encounters and paradoxical rights: embodiment and difference in sexual orientation rights and activism

My thesis takes the intersection of sexual orientation and human rights and the increased tendency towards the expression of the concerns of sexual minorities in rights based terminology in international law as a Deleuzian ‘problem’ to be explored and unpicked. Sexual orientation is a singular expression of a complex multifaceted virtuality, yet the term -­‐ understood as a static and relatively unchanging denotation of a particular identity and mode of action -­‐ holds increasing purchase as a human rights issue. I explore the way in which rights shape the expression of sexuality within institutional and activist practices in international arenas and suggest that the complex and contested encounter between sexuality and human rights in international law exposes the problems, limits and temporality of both. By taking seriously the problems inherent to the encounters between sexuality and rights, as they are expressed in different material circumstances, we can explore sexuality as a mutliplicitous and changing flux and rights as a dual sided paradox, acting simultaneously machines of territorialisation and machines of deteritorialisation. Thus, I suggest that in their engagement with questions of 'sexual orientation', rights act as both modes of control, restriction and exclusion and as modes of communication and connection, challenge and escape, depending upon the particular circumstances within which they are expressed. As such, I attempt to engage with the embeddedness of ‘sexuality’ within particular material contexts and through this engagement, explore different potentialities that are implicated within divergent enactments of rights and sexuality in order to critique a mode of action that remains fixed upon abstract discussion of ossified ‘sexualities’ and transcendental rights. Furthermore, my aim is to approach the encounter not only as a means of critique but also as a moment of uncertainty and a site of productive engagement, vitality and becoming. Thus, the key question to be asked of the encounter between sexual orientation and rights is not one of which rights have been violated or of how a perceived violation can be expressed in relation to an already conceived and fixed discourse of rights, but instead, which material circumstances have facilitated the expression of injustice suffered by a sexual minority as a rights violation and in expressing the violation in this way, which possibilities, problematics and discourses are activated, and which others are ignored

Sexuality and Social Justice: What’s Law Got to Do with It? International Symposium Workshop Report

In March 2015, the Sexuality, Poverty and Law programme at the Institute of Development Studies brought together over 60 activists, lawyers, researchers and international advocates to critically assess the scope of law and legal activism for achieving social justice for those marginalised because of their sexual or gender non-conformity. Delegates represented a broad range of expertise in the field of sexuality, gender identity, rights and social justice. They included a number of leading lawyers and activists involved in litigating cases of sexual and gender rights in countries such as Uganda, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Argentina and Botswana. Lawyers and activists shared their experiences of working within this fast developing area of domestic and international law. Discussions also addressed the wider social and theoretical aspects of recent legal developments, contributing to our understanding of the complex relationship between research, knowledge exchange, activism and law.UK Department for International Developmen

Childhood Sexual Abuse Among University Students in Tanzania

Objectives: There are no prevalence data for childhood sexual abuse among Tanzanian university students. This investigation addressed this paucity. The nature of sexual abuse was also investigated. Method: Participants (N= 487) from a university in Tanzania completed a questionnaire which assessed abusive childhood sexual experiences, gathering information about age of victim, duration of abuse, perpetrators, amount of force or persuasion involved, and potential causes of child sexual abuse. A number of individuals were also interviewed about their experiences. Results: The overall prevalence rate for child sexual abuse was 27.7%, with rates being higher for females than for males. The average age of the victim when abuse occurred was 13.8 years. Perpetrators were generally unidentified by respondents; nonetheless, a surprisingly high proportion of female perpetrators was noted. There was a considerable amount of force or persuasion involved in the abusive behavior: betrayal of trust, bribes and physical force were cited frequently. Poverty and superstition were the primary explanations given for child sexual abuse. Conclusion: The study provides evidence for the existence of child sexual abuse in Tanzania. Poverty feeds the “sugar daddy/mammy” phenomenon and combined with various forms of superstition is an important factor in child sexual abuse in Tanzania

Phosphorus sorption, supply potential and availability in soils with contrasting parent material and soil chemical properties

Soil phosphorus (P) management requires a more targeted and soil-specific approach than is currently applied for agronomic recommendations and environmental evaluation. Phosphorus buffering capacities control the supply of P in the soil solution and were measured across Irish soils with contrasting parent material and chemical properties. Langmuir sorption buffer capacities (MBCs) and binding energies (b) were strongly correlated with soil pH and extractable aluminium (Al). A broken-line regression fitted to the relationship between MBC and Al derived a change-point value for Al above which MBC increased linearly. Soils above the change point were predominantly acidic to neutral with non-calcareous parent material, with larger buffering capacities and binding energies than calcareous soils. Ratios of Mehlich3-Al and P (Al:P) were used to relate buffering capacity to supply potential in non-calcareous soils. Large ratios of Al:P were associated with poor P availability, characteristic of strongly P-fixing soils. Threshold values of iron-oxide paper strip P (FeO-P) and Morgan's P revealed Al:P ratios where soils began to supply P in available form. The change-point for Morgan's P fell within the current target index for P availability; however, the confidence interval was more compatible with previous agronomic P indices used in Ireland. Relationships between Morgan's P and measures of extractable P, M3-P and Olsen P, deviated in calcareous soils at large soil P contents, indicative of P precipitation processes dominating in these soils. Identifying differences in soil P buffering capacity at the laboratory scale would improve agronomic and environmental assessment at field and catchment scales

Trends and risk factors for death and excess all-cause mortality among notified tuberculosis patients in the UK: an analysis of surveillance data.

INTRODUCTION: In the UK, several hundred patients notified with tuberculosis (TB) die every year. The aim of this article is to describe trends in deaths among notified TB patients, explore risk factors associated with death and compare all-cause mortality in TB patients with age-specific mortality rates in the general UK population. METHODS: We used 2001-2014 data from UK national TB surveillance to explore trends and risk factors for death, and population mortality data to compare age-specific death rates among notified TB patients with annual death rates in the UK general population. RESULTS: The proportion of TB patients in the UK who died each year declined steadily from 7.1% in 2002 to 5.5% in 2014. One in five patients (21.3%) was diagnosed with TB post-mortem. Where information was available, almost half of the deaths occurred within 2 months of starting treatment. Risk factors for death included demographic, disease-specific and social risk factors. Age had by far the largest effect, with patients aged ≥80 years having a 70 times increased risk of death compared with those aged <15 years. In contrast, excess mortality determined by incidence ratios comparing all-cause mortality among TB patients with that of the general population was highest among children and the working-age population (15-64 years old). CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to control TB and improve diagnosis and treatment outcomes in the UK need to be sustained. Control efforts need to focus on socially deprived and vulnerable groups. There is a need for further in-depth analysis of deaths of TB patients in the UK to identify potentially preventable factors

Expression of DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR on human sinusoidal endothelium: a role for capturing hepatitis C virus particles.

Hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells are unique among endothelial cells in their ability to internalize and process a diverse range of antigens. DC-SIGNR, a type 2 C-type lectin expressed on liver sinusoids, has been shown to bind with high affinity to hepatitis C virus (HCV) E2 glycoprotein. DC-SIGN is a closely related homologue reported to be expressed only on dendritic cells and a subset of macrophages and has similar binding affinity to HCV E2 glycoprotein. These receptors function as adhesion and antigen presentation molecules. We report distinct patterns of DC-SIGNR and DC-SIGN expression in human liver tissue and show for the first time that both C-type lectins are expressed on sinusoidal endothelial cells. We confirmed that these receptors are functional by demonstrating their ability to bind HCV E2 glycoproteins. Although these lectins on primary sinusoidal cells support HCV E2 binding, they are unable to support HCV entry. These data support a model where DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR on sinusoidal endothelium provide a mechanism for high affinity binding of circulating HCV within the liver sinusoids allowing subsequent transfer of the virus to underlying hepatocytes, in a manner analogous to DC-SIGN presentation of human immunodeficiency virus on dendritic cells

Pulmonary Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare is the main driver of the rise in non-tuberculous mycobacteria incidence in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2007–2012

BACKGROUND: The incidence of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolation from humans is increasing worldwide. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland (EW&NI) the reported rate of NTM more than doubled between 1996 and 2006. Although NTM infection has traditionally been associated with immunosuppressed individuals or those with severe underlying lung damage, pulmonary NTM infection and disease may occur in people with no overt immune deficiency. Here we report the incidence of NTM isolation in EW&NI between 2007 and 2012 from both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary samples obtained at a population level. METHODS: All individuals with culture positive NTM isolates between 2007 and 2012 reported to Public Health England by the five mycobacterial reference laboratories serving EW&NI were included. RESULTS: Between 2007 and 2012, 21,118 individuals had NTM culture positive isolates. Over the study period the incidence rose from 5.6/100,000 in 2007 to 7.6/100,000 in 2012 (p < 0.001). Of those with a known specimen type, 90 % were pulmonary, in whom incidence increased from 4.0/100,000 to 6.1/100,000 (p < 0.001). In extra-pulmonary specimens this fell from 0.6/100,000 to 0.4/100,000 (p < 0.001). The most frequently cultured organisms from individuals with pulmonary isolates were within the M. avium-intracellulare complex family (MAC). The incidence of pulmonary MAC increased from 1.3/100,000 to 2.2/100,000 (p < 0.001). The majority of these individuals were over 60 years old. CONCLUSION: Using a population-based approach, we find that the incidence of NTM has continued to rise since the last national analysis. Overall, this represents an almost ten-fold increase since 1995. Pulmonary MAC in older individuals is responsible for the majority of this change. We are limited to reporting NTM isolates and not clinical disease caused by these organisms. To determine whether the burden of NTM disease is genuinely increasing, a standardised approach to the collection of linked national microbiological and clinical data is required

Mycobacterium tuberculosis PPD-induced immune biomarkers measurable in vitro following BCG vaccination of UK adolescents by multiplex bead array and intracellular cytokine staining

BACKGROUND: The vaccine efficacy reported following Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) administration to UK adolescents is 77% and defining the cellular immune response in this group can inform us as to the nature of effective immunity against tuberculosis. The aim of this study was to identify which cytokines and lymphocyte populations characterise the peripheral blood cellular immune response following BCG vaccination. RESULTS: Diluted blood from before and after vaccination was stimulated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis purified protein derivative for 6 days, after which soluble biomarkers in supernatants were assayed by multiplex bead array. Ten out of twenty biomarkers measured were significantly increased (p < 0.0025) 1 month after BCG vaccination when compared to paired samples (n = 12) taken prior to vaccination (IFNgamma, TNFalpha, IL-1alpha, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, GM-CSF, MIP1alpha, IP-10). All of these remained detectable by multiplex bead array in samples taken 12 months after BCG vaccination of a partially overlapping adolescent group (n = 12). Intracellular cytokine staining after 24 hour Mycobacterium tuberculosis purified protein derivative stimulation of PBMC samples from the 12 month group revealed that IFNgamma expression was detectable in CD4 and CD8 T-cells and natural killer cells. Polyfunctional flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that cells expressing IFNgamma alone formed the majority in each subpopulation of cells. Only in CD4 T-cells and NK cells were there a notable proportion of responding cells of a different phenotype and these were single positive, TNFalpha producers. No significant expression of the cytokines IL-2, IL-17 or IL-10 was seen in any population of cells. CONCLUSIONS: The broad array of biomarker responses detected by multiplex bead array suggests that BCG vaccination is capable, in this setting, of inducing a complex immune phenotype. Although polyfunctional T-cells have been proposed to play a role in protective immunity, they were not present in vaccinated adolescents who, based on earlier epidemiological studies, should have developed protection against pulmonary tuberculosis. This may be due to the later sampling time point available for testing or on the kinetics of the assays used