Mobile masculinities: changing representations of the gay male form in comics over time

This article explores how representations of the gay male form in comics have changed over time in relation to shifting social and cultural contexts. It compares three works: Miss Thing, by Joe Johnson, Fabrice Neaud’s Émile, and Greek Love, by Dale Lazarov and Adam Graphite. On one hand, the differences between these works reflect shifting attitudes towards the presentation of the male gay body; on the other, each of them corresponds to a different distribution platform: the periodical gag strip, webcomics, and prestige hardbacks, respectively. Miss Thing satirizes work of its time such as that typified by Tom of Finland oeuvre. Johnson parodies this pneumatic, exaggerated hypermasculinity and contrasts it with a more feminine, graceful line. Playing on the butch/swish dynamic, he uses satire and camp to generate punchlines. Émile, on the other hand, is dependent on the juxtaposition of words and imagery, but Neaud highlights the male form by its absence. The figure only appears in renderings of photographs, which are used comparatively to illustrate the characters who are otherwise only present in the narrator’s appeals. Greek Love, finally, stands in contrast to the other two comics by merit of its wordless nature. It recuperates Greek mythology to re-weave the male queer body into history and finds a form of sexual freedom in a proto-post-AIDS climate. The article makes a comparison between these works to illustrate the changing nature of the male gay form in comics and suggests that these changes are reflective of evolving socio-political contexts, especially the HIV/AIDS crisis

Perturbation of lipids and glucose metabolism associated with previous 2,4-D exposure: a cross-sectional study of NHANES III data, 1988-1994

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Results from previous population studies showed that mortality rates from acute myocardial infarction and type-2 diabetes during the 1980s and 1990s in rural, agricultural counties of Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota, were higher in counties with a higher level of spring wheat farming than in counties with lower levels of this crop. Spring wheat, one of the major field crops in these four states, was treated for 85% or more of its acreage with chlorophenoxy herbicides. In the current study NHANES III data were reviewed for associations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) exposure, one of the most frequently used chlorophenoxy herbicides, with risk factors that are linked to the pathogenesis of acute myocardial infarction and type-2 diabetes, such as dyslipidemia and impaired glucose metabolism.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To investigate the toxicity pattern of chlorophenoxy herbicides, effects of a previous 2,4-D exposure were assessed by comparing levels of lipids, glucose metabolism, and thyroid stimulating hormone in healthy adult NHANES III subjects with urinary 2,4-D above and below the level of detection, using linear regression analysis. The analyses were conducted for all available subjects and for two susceptible subpopulations characterized by high glycosylated hemoglobin (upper 50^thpercentile) and low thyroxine (lower 50^thpercentile).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Presence of urinary 2,4-D was associated with a decrease of HDL levels: 8.6% in the unadjusted data (p-value = 0.006), 4.8% in the adjusted data (p-value = 0.08), and 9% in the adjusted data for the susceptible subpopulation with low thyroxine (p-value = 0.02). An effect modification of the inverse triglycerides-HDL relation was observed in association with 2,4-D. Among subjects with low HDL, urinary 2,4-D was associated with increased levels of triglycerides, insulin, C-peptide, and thyroid stimulating hormone, especially in the susceptible subpopulations. In contrast, subjects with high HDL did not experience adverse 2,4-D associated effects.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results indicate that exposure to 2,4-D was associated with changes in biomarkers that, based on the published literature, have been linked to risk factors for acute myocardial infarction and type-2 diabetes.</p

Comparative genetic analysis: the utility of mouse genetic systems for studying human monogenic disease

One of the long-term goals of mutagenesis programs in the mouse has been to generate mutant lines to facilitate the functional study of every mammalian gene. With a combination of complementary genetic approaches and advances in technology, this aim is slowly becoming a reality. One of the most important features of this strategy is the ability to identify and compare a number of mutations in the same gene, an allelic series. With the advent of gene-driven screening of mutant archives, the search for a specific series of interest is now a practical option. This review focuses on the analysis of multiple mutations from chemical mutagenesis projects in a wide variety of genes and the valuable functional information that has been obtained from these studies. Although gene knockouts and transgenics will continue to be an important resource to ascertain gene function, with a significant proportion of human diseases caused by point mutations, identifying an allelic series is becoming an equally efficient route to generating clinically relevant and functionally important mouse models

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

The Role of Personality in Development of Criminal Thinking Style

Previous research reported that individuals who enter prison with a low level of antisocial attitudes will develop more deviant thoughts with the passage of time due to criminal associations. However, this research suggests that the presence of criminal personality has the most significant impact on the development of a criminal thinking style

Can The Theory of Planned Behaviour Predict Intentions to Participate in Counselling Among At-Risk Irish Government Employees

Background: Mental health services, such as counselling, are chronically underutilised despite the widespread occurrence of mental illness. Traditionally attempts to understand this phenomenon have considered only attitudes or associated social stigma. Few studies have employed the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) to understand why people avoid, or make use of, counselling services. Aims: To compare the predictive utility of Ajzen’s (1991) TPB model and an alternative TPB model to explain intentions to participate in psychological counselling, and to examine for any gender difference in intentions. Method: 259 members of a front-line, at-risk occupation for the Irish government completed a TPB-based questionnaire during a training seminar. Results: Ajzen’s TPB model explained 47 per cent of variance in intentions, with all the main TPB variables significantly predicting intentions. An alternative TPB model, which split the PBC construct between its internal and external control components, explained an additional 10 per cent of variance in intentions. Intentions to participate in counselling were neutral-to-positive and no gender differences were identified. Conclusions: The TPB model is an appropriate tool for the prediction of intentions to participate in counselling. The predictive utility of the TPB may well be improved by distinguishing internal and external control factors as separate predictor variable