Editorial

The diverse research interests of the three editors of this ‘madness’ edition of Transgressive Culture means the content here is especially trans-disciplinary. Given ‘madness’ and transgression are concerned with challenging the limit, along with Russell Williams’ eclectic selection of reviews, this is apposite. Charley Baker is Lecturer in Mental Health in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Physiotherapy at the University of Nottingham. She co-founded both the Madness and Literature Network (www.madnessandliterature.org) and the International Health Humanities Network (www.healthhumanities.org). Jason Lee is Professor of Culture and Creative Writing and Head of Film and Media with Creative Writing at the University of Derby and has published extensively on child sexual abuse and madness, as well as a novel about a mental health ward, Dr Cipriano’s Cell, and another novel that examines insanity, Unholy Days. Sarah Rossellini is a postgraduate on the MA Humanities – Horror and Transgression at the University of Derby, and co-founder of Beyond Transgression (www.beyondtransgression.wordpress.com), specialising in transgression, science fiction, technology and culture

Identification of Clostridium Phage Endolysins with Novel Multimeric Genetic Sequences

The endolysin CD27L is produced by the Clostridium phage phiCD27. This phage targets the bacteria and uses the endolysin’s enzymatic properties to lyse cells from within and release new replicated phages. Past studies have characterized the two domains of CD27L’s genetic sequence, the enzymatically active domain (EAD) at the N-terminus and the cell wall binding domain (CBD) at the C-terminus connected by a linker sequence. The gene sequence order is EAD-linker-CBD. A unique aspect of CD27L is its ability to form a multimeric enzymatic structure from these two domains where one EAD and multiple CBDs are present in one structure. This multimeric endolysin is formed from one gene, so translation of the one sequence uses two ribosome binding sites and two start codons. One ribosome binding site and start codon is before the EAD and the other in the linker sequence before the CBD. Our goal is to analyze the sequences of other Clostridium phage endolysins to find multimeric endolysins similar to CD27L. We are specifically looking for multiple ribosome binding sites with start codons or alternate start codons downstream in close proximity on one gene sequence.First-Year Innovation and Research Experience (FIRE) at the University of Maryland, College Par

A ‘Force for Good’? Police Reform in Post?conflict Sierra Leone

The Sierra Leone Police Force has its origins in British colonial administration. After Independence and with the consolidation of one?party rule the force slid into disrepute. The outbreak of civil conflict in 1991 largely decimated the force but the gradual restoration of peace provided an opportunity for police reform. This article covers the aspects of the political and institutional environment that helped engender change, as well as constraints faced by the reform agenda. It considers how the officers actually carried out the task at hand, and shares lessons as to what reform tactics worked and which were less successful. While several challenges remain, the reform programme has been largely successful, hinging on – among other factors – the appointment of a British Inspector General of Police; the availability of a core of reform?minded officers; long?term external technical and financial assistance; and a conducive political environment for change

What is home? An art-based workshop to explore the physical, relational and wellbeing properties of home

This feasibility study was framed under the notion of creative practices as mutual recovery – the idea that shared creativity, collective experience and mutual benefit can promote resilience in mental health and well-being. The study evaluated the impact of an art-based workshop designed to examine participant’s notions of home. Thematic analysis was used to evaluate the textual data derived from three focus groups. The findings indicate that art-based workshops that incorporate principles of mindfulness can be used to raise awareness of mental health and well-being issues associated with challenging or inadequate notions of home. These workshops provide a forum for reflection and community in which these problematic notions can be meaningfully articulated and communicated and solutions discussed. This type of creative practice supports the notion of mutual recovery health, helps build resilience among residential workforce and thus helps them to better deal with existing problems

Tremor in multiple sclerosis

Tremor is estimated to occur in about 25 to 60 percent of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This symptom, which can be severely disabling and embarrassing for patients, is difficult to manage. Isoniazid in high doses, carbamazepine, propranolol and gluthetimide have been reported to provide some relief, but published evidence of effectiveness is very limited. Most trials were of small size and of short duration. Cannabinoids appear ineffective. Tremor reduction can be obtained with stereotactic thalamotomy or thalamic stimulation. However, the studies were small and information on long-term functional outcome is scarce. Physiotherapy, tremor reducing orthoses, and limb cooling can achieve some functional improvement. Tremor in MS remains a significant challenge and unmet need, requiring further basic and clinical research

Struggling for subversion: Service user movements and limits to the impact of client led accountability

This paper is based on longstanding involvement in the mental health care system and highlights limitations of the systems of user involvement that obtained from the 1980s to the present day.Since the invention of the service user as a medico-political category, service user involvement has been advocated by policymakers and researchers as a way of empowering clients and ensuring service responsiveness and accountability in mental health care in the UK. However, our experience of involvement in this field over the past three decades suggests that these initiatives may have limited emancipatory impact. Service providers may be adept at ensuring that only certain kinds of service user voices are legitimated and heard, and more critical transgressive voices are sidelined. Moreover, service user involvement has implications which are seldom appreciated, such as the opportunities for patronage, co-optation of tame users and nepotism within the service user organisations themselves. The experiences we relate here suggest that as presently constituted, service user involvement and empowerment does not necessarily make users powerful. Indeed, without a careful reconsideration of the present arrangements for service user representation, it may well consolidate notions of passivity, medical models of human distress and deflect the liberatory potential of transgression. The implicit and sometimes explicit stipulations of what it means to be a ‘good patient’ attenuate the potential for meaningful change and obscure the exercise of power within the mental health system