Fusing and refreshing the memory: Conserving a Chinese lacquered Buddha sculpture in London

This paper examines the conservation treatment of a lacquered Buddha sculpture undertaken by a Buddhist conservator as part of a postgraduate heritage conservation training programme in London. This creative process selects from a mixture of ideas and practices as a specific response to the people, time, and place of the conservation treatment. Rather than seen as a polarized choice between versions of ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ approaches, the conservation practice is interpreted though a Buddhist understanding of the sculpture in relation to the secular requirements of the current owner. The treatment addressed issues of the physical stability of the object, the reversibility of applied treatments, and the accommodation of Buddhist concepts of ‘completeness’, ‘toplessness’, and ‘no killing’. The result was a Buddha sculpture made into a ‘plausible’ conservation object that represents the compromises necessary at the time and place of the conservation intervention

Conservation in context: a Maori meeting house in Surrey

Since the Institute of Archaeology was founded in the 1930s, conservation has been an integral part of its activities, but it is now being practised and taught in new, more culturally responsive ways. An example of this approach is the involvement of staff and students in the conservation of a Maori meeting house at Clandon Park, Surrey, made possible by a partnership between the Institute and the National Trust

A significant statement: new outlooks on treatment documentation

Values-based conservation is an increasingly dominant theme in heritage conservation theory. It is less routine in the application of object conservation practice, where emphasis on the physical fabric of heritage prevails. Materials-based approaches pivot conservation decisions on assessments of object condition. Values-based approaches posit that conservation should seek to sustain and enhance heritage significance rather than arrest physical change. A values-based approach is also one where the value-judgements underlying conservation decisions are made explicit. To reflect this, a new treatment documentation format has been developed at the UCL Institute of Archaeology. The documentation procedure shifts the focal point from condition assessments to statements of significance. Within the professional setting, similar new documentation is being developed for light-based artworks at Glasgow Museums. Ultimately, using a value-based treatment report, the conservator can be aware of the reasoning behind treatment choices and be better equipped to make decisions that reflect an object’s values

Nonlocality vs. complementarity: a conservative approach to the information problem

A proposal for resolution of the information paradox is that "nice slice" states, which have been viewed as providing a sharp argument for information loss, do not in fact do so as they do not give a fully accurate description of the quantum state of a black hole. This however leaves an information *problem*, which is to provide a consistent description of how information escapes when a black hole evaporates. While a rather extreme form of nonlocality has been advocated in the form of complementarity, this paper argues that is not necessary, and more modest nonlocality could solve the information problem. One possible distinguishing characteristic of scenarios is the information retention time. The question of whether such nonlocality implies acausality, and particularly inconsistency, is briefly addressed. The need for such nonlocality, and its apparent tension with our empirical observations of local quantum field theory, may be a critical missing piece in understanding the principles of quantum gravity.Comment: 11 pages of text and figures, + references. v2 minor text. v3 small revisions to match final journal versio

Determining the Performance of an Arid Zone Radioactive Waste Site Through Site Characterization, Modeling, and Monitoring

A strategy of site characterization, modeling, and monitoring are used to evaluate the performance of an interim cover at a low-level radioactive waste management site. The soil water migration papthway must be evaluated to assure the long-term isolation of low-level radioactive waste. Water balance studies using precision weighing lysimeters have been conducted for five years near the radioactive waste site ath the Nevada Test Site. The numerical flow models UNSAT-H and HYDRUS-2D were tested using the weighing lysimeter data and then used to evaluate various cover design issues including cover thickness, presence of vegetation, and monitoring system design

Isolation of Oropouche Virus from Febrile Patient, Ecuador.

We report identification of an Oropouche virus strain in a febrile patient from Ecuador by using metagenomic sequencing and real-time reverse transcription PCR. Virus was isolated from patient serum by using Vero cells. Phylogenetic analysis of the whole-genome sequence showed the virus to be similar to a strain from Peru

Improving recruitment to a study of telehealth management for long-term conditions in primary care: two embedded, randomised controlled trials of optimised patient information materials

Background: Patient understanding of study information is fundamental to gaining informed consent to take part in a randomised controlled trial. In order to meet the requirements of research ethics committees, patient information materials can be long and need to communicate complex messages. There is concern that standard approaches to providing patient information may deter potential participants from taking part in trials. The Systematic Techniques for Assisting Recruitment to Trials (MRC-START) research programme aims to test interventions to improve trial recruitment. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect on recruitment of optimised patient information materials (with improved readability and ease of comprehension) compared with standard materials. The study was embedded within two primary care trials involving patients with long-term conditions. Methods: The Healthlines Study involves two linked trials evaluating a telehealth intervention in patients with depression (Healthlines Depression) or raised cardiovascular disease risk (Healthlines CVD). We conducted two trials of a recruitment intervention, embedded within the Healthlines host trials. Patients identified as potentially eligible in each of the Healthlines trials were randomised to receive either the original patient information materials or optimised versions of these materials. Primary outcomes were the proportion of participants randomised (Healthlines Depression) and the proportion expressing interest in taking part (Healthlines CVD). Results: In Healthlines Depression (n = 1364), 6.3 % of patients receiving the optimised patient information materials were randomised into the study compared to 4.0 % in those receiving standard materials (OR = 1.63, 95 % CI = 1.00 to 2.67). In Healthlines CVD (n = 671) 24.0 % of those receiving optimised patient information materials responded positively to the invitation to participate, compared to 21.9 % in those receiving standard materials (OR = 1.12, 95 % CI = 0.78 to 1.61). Conclusions: Evidence from these two embedded trials suggests limited benefits of optimised patient information materials on recruitment rates, which may only be apparent in some patient populations, with no effects on other outcomes. Further embedded trials are needed to provide a more precise estimate of effect, and to explore further how effects vary by trial context, intervention, and patient population

What we talk about when we talk about "global mindset": managerial cognition in multinational corporations

Recent developments in the global economy and in multinational corporations have placed significant emphasis on the cognitive orientations of managers, giving rise to a number of concepts such as “global mindset” that are presumed to be associated with the effective management of multinational corporations (MNCs). This paper reviews the literature on global mindset and clarifies some of the conceptual confusion surrounding the construct. We identify common themes across writers, suggesting that the majority of studies fall into one of three research perspectives: cultural, strategic, and multidimensional. We also identify two constructs from the social sciences that underlie the perspectives found in the literature: cosmopolitanism and cognitive complexity and use these two constructs to develop an integrative theoretical framework of global mindset. We then provide a critical assessment of the field of global mindset and suggest directions for future theoretical and empirical research

Guidelines for reporting embedded recruitment trials

Background: Recruitment to clinical trials is difficult with many trials failing to recruit to target and within time. Embedding trials of recruitment interventions within host trials may provide a successful way to improve this. There are no guidelines for reporting such embedded methodology trials. As part of the Medical Research Council funded Systematic Techniques for Assisting Recruitment to Trials (MRC START) programme designed to test interventions to improve recruitment to trials, we developed guidelines for reporting embedded trials. Methods: We followed a three-phase guideline development process: (1) pre-meeting literature review to generate items for the reporting guidelines; (2) face-to-face consensus meetings to draft the reporting guidelines; and (3)post-meeting feedback review, and pilot testing, followed by finalisation of the reporting guidelines. Results: We developed a reporting checklist based on the Consolidated Standards for Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement 2010. Embedded trials evaluating recruitment interventions should follow the CONSORT statement 2010 and report all items listed as essential. We used a number of examples to illustrate key issues that arise in embedded trials and how best to report them, including (a) how to deal with description of the host trial; (b) the importance of describing items that may differ in the host and embedded trials (such as the setting and the eligible population); and (c) the importance of identifying clearly the point at which the recruitment interventions were embedded in the host trial. Conclusions: Implementation of these guidelines will improve the quality of reports of embedded recruitment trials while advancing the science, design and conduct of embedded trials as a whole