Media Discourses on Autonomy in Dying and Death

This paper is a synopsis of a research project designed to examine the representations of particular experiences of dying and death as represented in media consumed in Ireland. This media research is a small part of a large study commissioned by the Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme, through the Irish Hospice Foundation. The large study, undertaken by a team of researchers from University College Cork and the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, was tasked with the development of an ethical framework for health-care practitioners on patient autonomy in end-of life care. Patient autonomy at end-of-life is the degree of autonomy or control dying patients, in hospitals and other care settings, have over their end of life experiences. The aim of this media research was to identify and analyse the ways in which different media deal with end-of-life issues in relation to patient autonomy

Policing Women's Bodies in an Illiberal Society: the case of Ireland

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.This journal article outlines the history of the policing women’s bodies in Ireland in the context of law, crime and reproduction. It does this by means of three case studies. The first case study explores the policing of women’s bodies in relation to sexuality. The second case study focuses on reproduction and the policing of women’s bodies in relation to reproduction. The third and final case study considers the policing of women’s bodies in relation to abortion. Taken together, these three case studies provide an overview of the capacity, and indeed the readiness, that exists in Irish society to police women’s bodies and to do so particularly in relation to sexuality and reproduction

Actin filament assembly by bacterial factors VopL/F: Which end is up?

Competing models have been proposed for actin filament nucleation by the bacterial proteins VopL/F. In this issue, Burke et al. (2017. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201608104) use direct observation to demonstrate that VopL/F bind the barbed and pointed ends of actin filaments but only nucleate new filaments from the pointed end

Autoinhibition of the formin Cappuccino in the absence of canonical autoinhibitory domains.

Formins are a conserved family of proteins known to enhance actin polymerization. Most formins are regulated by an intramolecular interaction. The Drosophila formin, Cappuccino (Capu), was believed to be an exception. Capu does not contain conserved autoinhibitory domains and can be regulated by a second protein, Spire. We report here that Capu is, in fact, autoinhibited. The N-terminal half of Capu (Capu-NT) potently inhibits nucleation and binding to the barbed end of elongating filaments by the C-terminal half of Capu (Capu-CT). Hydrodynamic analysis indicates that Capu-NT is a dimer, similar to the N-termini of other formins. These data, combined with those from circular dichroism, suggest, however, that it is structurally distinct from previously described formin inhibitory domains. Finally, we find that Capu-NT binds to a site within Capu-CT that overlaps with the Spire-binding site, the Capu-tail. We propose models for the interaction between Spire and Capu in light of the fact that Capu can be regulated by autoinhibition

Spire stimulates nucleation by Cappuccino and binds both ends of actin filaments.

The actin nucleators Spire and Cappuccino synergize to promote actin assembly, but the mechanism of their synergy is controversial. Together these proteins promote the formation of actin meshes, which are conserved structures that regulate the establishment of oocyte polarity. Direct interaction between Spire and Cappuccino is required for oogenesis and for in vitro synergistic actin assembly. This synergy is proposed to be driven by elongation and the formation of a ternary complex at filament barbed ends, or by nucleation and interaction at filament pointed ends. To mimic the geometry of Spire and Cappuccino in vivo, we immobilized Spire on beads and added Cappuccino and actin. Barbed ends, protected by Cappuccino, grow away from the beads while pointed ends are retained, as expected for nucleation-driven synergy. We found that Spire is sufficient to bind barbed ends and retain pointed ends of actin filaments near beads and we identified Spire's barbed-end binding domain. Loss of barbed-end binding increases nucleation by Spire and synergy with Cappuccino in bulk pyrene assays and on beads. Importantly, genetic rescue by the loss-of-function mutant indicates that barbed-end binding is not necessary for oogenesis. Thus, increased nucleation is a critical element of synergy both in vitro and in vivo

Feminist Ethics and Research with Women in Prison

In this article, a new model, An Ethic of Empathy, is proposed as a guide for researchers, particularly new scholars to the discipline. This model emerged from the authors’ concerns regarding the application of ethics to studies that focus on the experience of female offenders in criminal justice systems. The key issue is the vulnerability of incarcerated and post-release women in relationship to the powerful status of social scientist researchers. The complexity of ethics in such research settings necessitates a particular ethical preparation, involving formation, reflection, understanding, commitment, care, and empathy. Three cases are outlined which document the authors’ ethical formations as researchers

A Case Study Using Historical Timelines: Developing a Research Methodology for a Study of Policing Women’s Bodies

This is a SAGE Research Methods Case Study. It outlines and explains the interesting and innovative research methodology that I developed for research that I published in a 2017 journal article entitled Policing Women's Bodies in an Illiberal Society: the case of Ireland.This SAGE case study details the way in which I developed my research for my journal article entitled Policing Women’s Bodies in an Illiberal Society: the case of Ireland. In this SAGE case study, I explain how I carried out the research for this project and how I structured the research. The key issue with this research project was the enormous scope of the study. The policing of women’s bodies is a very broad topic, and this, coupled with the long timeframe of the study, made this project a very big research project. To cope with the scope of the research project, I developed a specific research methodology for the study. This research methodology allowed me (1) to conduct the study I wanted to conduct

Discourse and identity: a study of women in prison in Ireland

This dissertation deals with the question of whether women prisoners’ identities are completely subjugated by the prison or whether they are able to resist identitysubjugation. My thesis is that, although women prisoners are subjugated as prisoners, they have developed ways of resisting subjugation as women. This study is based on a critical ethnography of women’s experiences of imprisonment in Ireland in both a historical and contemporary context. Methodologically the study is informed by feminist epistemology, discourse analysis, and semiotics. The aim of the research was to explore the social and spatial experiences of imprisonment. The historical data is taken from published and archived memoirs, historiographies, prison records and reports. The contemporary data is based on a quantitative profile of women currently in prison, the crimes for which they are imprisoned and the sentence imposed upon them. I also conducted a series of qualitative in-depth interviews with 83 imprisoned women. During these interviews I photographed the women’s personal prison spaces. Using a series of photo-elicitation interviews, I examined with the women the meanings of their personal prison spaces and the meanings of the artefacts which they displayed within those spaces. In addition, I interviewed thirty people involved with and working in the prisons; conducted a content and semiotic analysis of print media representations o f women’s prisoners in a range of newspapers; and undertook an examination of the structures of the women’s prisons. The analysis of the research material reveals a comprehensive profile of women prisoner’s experiences in the Irish prison system. The meaning, effect and implications of their experiences are established. The main conclusions centre on the manner in which these prison experiences shape their identities, subjectivities, and senses of self

Interaction between Microtubules and the Drosophila Formin Cappuccino and Its Effect on Actin Assembly

Formin family actin nucleators are potential coordinators of the actin and microtubule cytoskeletons, as they can both nucleate actin filaments and bind microtubules in vitro. To gain a more detailed mechanistic understanding of formin-microtubule interactions and formin-mediated actin-microtubule cross-talk, we studied microtubule binding by Cappuccino (Capu), a formin involved in regulating actin and microtubule organization during Drosophila oogenesis. We found that two distinct domains within Capu, FH2 and tail, work together to promote high-affinity microtubule binding. The tail domain appears to bind microtubules through nonspecific charge-based interactions. In contrast, distinct residues within the FH2 domain are important for microtubule binding. We also report the first visualization of a formin polymerizing actin filaments in the presence of microtubules. Interestingly, microtubules are potent inhibitors of the actin nucleation activity of Capu but appear to have little effect on Capu once it is bound to the barbed end of an elongating filament. Because Capu does not simultaneously bind microtubules and assemble actin filaments in vitro, its actin assembly and microtubule binding activities likely require spatial and/or temporal regulation within the Drosophila oocyte

Truths and Lies from the Polysomnography ECG Recording: An Electrophysiologist Perspective

Polysomnography remains the gold standard for diagnosis of Sleep Apnea (SA) and evaluation of the apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) which is used as the primary index of SA severity. The electrocardiogram (typically a single lead) obtained during the polysomnographic study is usually used to report the association between SA and cardiac rhythm disturbances. These findings help in guiding medical decisions but they could also represent a source for confusion. Electrophysiologists are frequently consulted to determine whether interventions need to be taken. We present 2 cases where the ECG during a polysomnography study required the intervention of an electrophysiologist to help with management