An Idirchultúrthacht Iarchoilíneach i nGearrscéalaíocht Phádraic Bhreathnaigh.

Scríbhneoir é Pádraic Breathnach a bhfuil blianta fada caite aige i mbun gearrscéalaíochta. Go dtí seo ní dhearnadh plé cuimsitheach ar a shaothar gearrscéalaíochta ina iomláine. Is éard is cuspóir don tráchtas seo ná léamh faoi leith amháin a sholáthar ar an ngearrscéalaíocht sin chun léargas a thabhairt ar lárnacht na hidirchultúrthachta iarchoilíní inti. Chuige sin, déanfar iniúchadh ar chomhthéacs na hidirchultúrthachta iarchoilíní, agus ar an áit faoi leith atá ag Éirinn sa díospóireacht ar an gcoilíneachas agus ar an iarchoilíneachas. Áiteofar go bhfuil áit lárnach ag Éirinn agus ag litríocht na hÉireann, go háirithe ag litríocht na Gaeilge, sa phlé sin. Féachfar le haitheantas cuí a thabhairt do ghearrscéalaíocht an Bhreathnaigh sa dioscúrsa sin. Tabharfar faoi léargas a sholáthar ar chastacht cheist na hidirchultúrthachta a eascraíonn as próiseas an choilíneachais agus ar thábhacht na teanga dúchasaí i bpróiseas an díchoilínithe. Déanfar iniúchadh ar chastacht cheist na hidirchúltúrthachta a eascraíonn as an eispéireas coilíneach i litríocht na Gaeilge, á léiriú trí mhionphlé ar ghearrscéalaíocht Phádraic Bhreathnaigh. Féachfar ar fhéinaitheantas agus ar speictream an déachais idirchultúrtha i gcarachtracht scéalta an Bhreathnaigh, agus ar ghnéithe d’fhéinaitheantas an scríbhneora féin. Scríbhneoir Breac-Ghaeltachta is ea Pádraic Breathnach agus tá an tionchar sin soiléir ina shaothar cruthaitheach. Déanfar plé ar thionchar na timpeallachta ar a shaothar de réir theoiric an Third Space, a d’fhorbair Homi Bhabha. Speictream is ea an déachas idirchultúrtha a réimníonn an aonchultúrthacht, an chrossíolracht, agus an cumasc cultúrtha. Pléifear gearrscéalaíocht Phádraic Bhreathnaigh i gcomhthéacs an speictrim sin. Ina theannta sin, déanfar tábhacht Phádraic Bhreathnaigh mar scríbhneoir idirchultúrtha a chomhthéacsú i gcúlra socheacnamaíoch Éire a linne agus i gcúlra liteartha a linne féin. Mar thoradh ar léamh na hidirchultúrthachta iarchoilíní a dhéanfar sa tráchtas seo ar ghearrscéalaíocht Phádraic Bhreathnaigh, tá léamh nua ar shaothar an scríbhneora seo á chur ar fáil atá inchomparáide le saothar scríbhneoirí iarchoilíneacha eile ar fud na cruinne. Ag eascairt as an taighde seo, is léir gur réimse critice an idirchultúrthacht iarchoilíneach arbh fhiú é a fhorbairt a thuilleadh amach anseo mar uirlis chritice do litríocht Ghaeilge na linne seo, agus saothair liteartha scríbhneoirí eile na Gaeilge á meas

Slán Beo le Saol an Bhlascaoid: Tionchar na hlmirce ar an Oileán Tiar agus an Tréigean Deireanach

Is éard is aidhm don tráchtas seo ná iniúchadh a dhéanamh ar théama na himirce i litríocht an Bhlascaoid Mhóir. Breathnófar ar shaothair dhírbheathaisnéise, saothair chin lae agus ailt mhuintir an Bhlascaoid agus, chomh maith leis sin, ar agallaimh a cuireadh ar Bhlascaodaigh faoi leith, agus ar dhaoine a bhain leis an mBlascaod Mór, chun spléachadh a fháil ar thuiscintí agus ar thuairimí phobal an Bhlascaoid i leith na himirce. Bainfear leas as béaloideas agus dinnsheanchas na mBlascaodaí, ar uairibh, tríd an tráchtas seo, chun tuiscint a fháil ar nósanna agus ar luachanna mhuintir an Bhlascaoid. Beifear ag breathnú ar an tslí inar scríobh muintir an Bhlascaoid, mar aon le daoine a chuaigh isteach ar an mBlascaod, faoi eispéireas na himirce, agus faoina tionchar ar an bpobal beag a mhair ar an Oileán iargúlta sin siar ó chósta Chiarraí. Déanfar iniúchadh ar thuairimí na mBlascaodach i leith na himirce, agus cuirfear peirspeictíochtaí éagsúla na ndaoine os comhair an léitheora, ón seanóir nár fhág an tOileán Tiar riamh le dui go ‘Tir an Allais’, go dti an páiste a bhreathnaiodh ar na fir is na mná óga a théadh sali gach bliain, ag tnûth leis an mbliain a mbeadh sé féin in aois imeachta; ón mbean ôg neamhspléach a bhreathnaiodh ar an imirce mar shli éalaithe ón gcruachás ina raibh si ar an ‘árthach bàite’, agus a chuaigh sali go ‘Tir na mBrionglóidí’ chun saol iontach nua-aimseartha a chaitheamh ami beag beann ar chumhacht mhithrocaireach na farraige, go dti an t-ógánach uaigneach a d’fhan ar a oileán dúchais, nach raibh uaidh riamh ach saol an Oileáin Tiar ach a bhraith a chairde uaidh agus iad bailithe leo sali go Meiriceâ

Mathematics Anxiety and Metacognitive Processes: Proposal for a New Line of Inquiry

This paper presents a proposal for a new area of investigation that connects the metacognition literature, and especially the recently developed meta-reasoning framework, with research into mathematical reasoning, mathematics learning, and mathematics anxiety. Whereas the literature on mathematics anxiety focusses on the end result of learning and problem-solving, the metacognitive approach can offer further insight by a fine-grained analysis of the stages of these processes. In particular, it provides tools for exposing students' initial assessment of tasks and test situations, the targets they set for themselves, the process of monitoring progress, and decisions to stick with or abandon a particular solution. The paper outlines various ways in which the metacognitive approach could be used to investigate the effects of mathematics anxiety on mathematics learning and problem solving. This approach could help in answering questions like: Do anxious and non-anxious learners differ in how they prepare for an exam? Are anxious students more or less prone to overconfidence than non-anxious students? What metacognitive decisions mediate maths anxious participants' tendency to give up on problems too early? Additionally, this line of work has the potential to significantly expand the scope of metacognitive investigations and provide novel insights into individual differences in the metacognitive regulation of learning and problem solving. It could also offer some practical benefits by focusing the attention of educational designers on particular components within the learning process of anxious students.<br /

A Common Variant in the Adaptor Mal Regulates Interferon Gamma Signaling

Humans that are heterozygous for the common S180L polymorphism in the Toll-like receptor (TLR) adaptor Mal (encoded by TIRAP) are protected from a number of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis (TB), whereas those homozygous for the allele are at increased risk. The reason for this difference in susceptibility is not clear. We report that Mal has a TLR-independent role in interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) receptor signaling. Mal-dependent IFN-gamma receptor (IFNGR) signaling led to mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38 phosphorylation and autophagy. IFN-gamma signaling via Mal was required for phagosome maturation and killing of intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). The S180L polymorphism, and its murine equivalent S200L, reduced the affinity of Mal for the IFNGR, thereby compromising IFNGR signaling in macrophages and impairing responses to TB. Our findings highlight a role for Mal outside the TLR system and imply that genetic variation in TIRAP may be linked to other IFN-gamma-related diseases including autoimmunity and cancer

Amóinia? Amóinia? Cad faoi Amóinia?

This is a comic aimed at children from the age of eight upwards. It highlights impacts from ammonia in agriculture, plus sources and solutions to the problem

Aspirin compared to enoxaparin or rivaroxaban for thromboprophylaxis following hip and knee replacement.

Background:The risk of venous thromboembolism following major orthopaedic surgery is among the highest for all surgical specialties. Our hospital guidelines for thromboprophylaxis following elective primary total hip or knee replacement are based on American College of Chest Physicians guidance. The most recent change to local guidelines was the introduction of the extended aspirin regimen as standard thromboprophylaxis. Objective: To establish the appropriateness of this regimen by comparing venous thromboembolism rates in patients receiving extended aspirin to previous regimens. Setting The largest dedicated orthopaedic hospital in Ireland. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. Data were collected from patient record software. All eligible patients undergoing primary total hip or knee replacement between 1st January 2010 and 30th June 2016 were included. Main outcome measure Venous thromboembolism up to 6 months post-operatively. Results Of the 6548 participants (55.3% female, mean age 65.4 years (± 11.8 years, 55.8% underwent total hip replacement), venous thromboembolism occurred in 65 (0.99%). Venous thromboembolism rate in both the inpatient enoxaparin group (n = 961) and extended aspirin group (n = 3460) was 1.04% and was 0.66% in the modified rivaroxaban group (n = 1212). Non-inferiority analysis showed the extended aspirin regimen to be equivalent to the modified rivaroxaban regimen. History of venous thromboembolism was the only significant demographic risk factor for post-operative venous thromboembolism (0.87% vs. 3.54%, p  = 0.0002). Conclusion: In daily clinical practice, extended aspirin regimen is at least as effective as modified rivaroxaban for preventing clinically important venous thromboembolism among patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty who are discharged from the hospital without complications. Aspirin can be considered a safe and effective agent in the prevention of venous thromboembolism after total hip or total knee replacement

Mycobacterium tuberculosis promotes Th17 expansion via regulation of human dendritic cells toward a high CD14 and low IL-12p70 phenotype that reprograms upon exogenous IFN-γ.

Item does not contain fulltextThe capacity to develop protective immunity against mycobacteria is heterogeneously distributed among human beings, and it is currently unknown why the initial immune response induced against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) does not provide proper clearance of this pathogen. Dendritic cells (DCs) are some of the first cells to interact with Mtb and they play an essential role in development of protective immunity against Mtb. Given that Mtb-infected macrophages have difficulties in degrading Mtb, they need help from IFN-gamma-producing CD4+ T cells propagated via IL-12p70-producing DCs. Here we report that Mtb modifies human DC plasticity by expanding a CD14+ DC subset with weak IL-12p70-producing capacity. The CD14+ Mtb-promoted subset was furthermore poor inducers of IFN-gamma by naive CD4+ T cells, but instead prompted IL-17A-producing RORgammaT+ CD4+ T cells. Mtb-derived peptidoglycan and mannosylated lipoarabinomannan partly recapitulated the subset partition induced by Mtb. Addition of IFN-gamma, but neither IL-17A nor IL-22, which are potentially produced by Mtb-exposed gamma/delta-T cells in mucosal linings, inhibited the differentiation toward CD14+ DCs and promoted high-level IL-12p70 in Mtb-challenged DCs. We conclude that Mtb exploits DC plasticity to reduce production of IL-12p70, and that this process is entirely divertible by exogenous IFN-gamma. These data suggest that strategies to increase local IFN-gamma production in the lungs of tuberculosis patients may boost host immunity toward Mtb

Barriers and facilitators to Hepatitis C (HCV) Screening and Treatment – A Prisoners’ Perspective

Background: Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection is a global epidemic with an estimated 71 million people infected worldwide. People who inject drugs (PWID) are over represented in prison populations globally and have higher levels of HCV infection than the general population. Despite increased access to primary health care while in prison, many HCV infected prisoners do not engage with screening or treatment. With recent advances in treatment regimes, HCV in now a curable and preventable disease and prisons provide an ideal opportunity to engage this hard to reach population. Aim: To identify barriers and enablers to HCV screening and treatment in prisons Methods: A qualitative study of four prisoner focus groups (n=46) conducted at two prison settings in Dublin, Ireland. Results: The following barriers to HCV screening and treatment were identified, lack of knowledge, concerns regarding confidentiality and stigma experienced and inconsistent and delayed access to prison health services. Enablers identified included; access to health care, opt-out screening at committal, peer support, and stability of prison life which removed many of the competing priorities associated with life on the outside. Unique blocks and enablers to HCV treatment reported were, fear of treatment and having a liver biopsy, the requirement to go to hospital and in-reach hepatology services and fibroscaning. Conclusion; The many barriers and enablers to HCV screening and treatment reported by Irish prisoners will inform both national and international public health HCV elimination strategies. Incarceration provides a unique opportunity to upscale HCV treatment and linkage to the community would support effectiveness