Co-opting culture : State intervention in and party patronage of literary and popular culture, 1929-1941.

The economic slump of the 1930s heralded a new era of crisis in the United States. It also led to innovative strategies of cultural patronage, the latter being defined herein as the relationship between a provider of protection and material support, and a cultural practitioner, whose production was oriented toward the needs of the patron. Such patterns form the basis of this study. Although initially examining the federal government's attempt to fund artists and writers, a specific cultural strategy that was part of the Roosevelt administration's more general counter-crisis activity, the study introduces a comparative dimension by discussing the responses of the organised literary left to the Depression. This emphasis also unearths a significant secondary problematic, that of the selective amnesia concerning the 1930s which has constructed a number of 'orthodox' readings of the period. Given the 'common sense' character of such mythology, the study has drawn upon an intentionally broad range of sources in order to present an alternative narrative. This has allowed for the identification of a number of common themes across federally-funded culture and that of the left: namely, egalitarianism, a realist approach to representation, and an underlying 'documentary impulse'. We can then see how a sense of crisis became embedded in cultural production, serving as a permanent reminder of economic breakdown and its consequences. An assessment is made of the influences and interplay of various factors, primarily crisis and patronage, which through the medium of the state and the organised left intelligentsia are brought to bear on the direction, appropriation, form and content of cultural practice

Prognostic model to predict postoperative acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery based on a national prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Acute illness, existing co-morbidities and surgical stress response can all contribute to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was prospectively to develop a pragmatic prognostic model to stratify patients according to risk of developing AKI after major gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: This prospective multicentre cohort study included consecutive adults undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection, liver resection or stoma reversal in 2-week blocks over a continuous 3-month period. The primary outcome was the rate of AKI within 7 days of surgery. Bootstrap stability was used to select clinically plausible risk factors into the model. Internal model validation was carried out by bootstrap validation. Results: A total of 4544 patients were included across 173 centres in the UK and Ireland. The overall rate of AKI was 14·2 per cent (646 of 4544) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1·8 per cent (84 of 4544). Stage 1 AKI was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (unadjusted odds ratio 7·61, 95 per cent c.i. 4·49 to 12·90; P < 0·001), with increasing odds of death with each AKI stage. Six variables were selected for inclusion in the prognostic model: age, sex, ASA grade, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, planned open surgery and preoperative use of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Internal validation demonstrated good model discrimination (c-statistic 0·65). Discussion: Following major gastrointestinal surgery, AKI occurred in one in seven patients. This preoperative prognostic model identified patients at high risk of postoperative AKI. Validation in an independent data set is required to ensure generalizability

Types of Social Relationships and Their Effects on Psychological Well-being

Researchers have established the importance of social networks in developing and maintaining well-being. Furthermore, different types of social relationships have been found to influence individuals’ lives in unique ways. There is little understanding, however, of how relationship types compare in their effects on individuals’ psychological well-being. Using a correlational design, this study investigated the associations between relationship intimacy and psychological well-being. Relationship intimacy was measured for respondents’ parents, significant others, close friends, and pets. The surveys were distributed to 91 undergraduate students and included the Miller Social Intimacy Scale (MSIS; Miller &amp; Lefcourt, 1982) and Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Well-being (SPWB-18; Ryff &amp; Keyes, 1995) to assess respondents’ relationships and psychological well-being, respectively. The results of two regression analyses revealed that intimacy in relationships with one’s significant other and close friends was a significant, positive predictor of well-being, though specific mechanisms of influence could not be established. Further research opportunities include diversifying the study sample and the creation of a standardized scale to more accurately measure intimacy across different relationship types

Restoring tourist flows and regenerating city's image: the case of Belgrade

The aim of this research is to examine the effects of the post-1990 transition on the relocation of tourism and changes in the structure of tourism over the last 20 years in Belgrade. Economic and social development altered spatial relations of tourist factors and elements. Apart from the old city core, new tourist zones and directions appeared. Tourist flows and economic challenges influenced the rationalisation of doing business and relocating the hotels outside the central city municipalities. Belgrade has been acknowledged as a low-cost destination of fun and nightlife and the city's new image has attracted more foreign tourists. Both the volume of foreign tourists and their countries of origin have changed significantly over the last several years. However, there have been negligible economic effects on the city's economy, despite this increase in the number of foreign tourists. In conclusion, we examine the implications of new directions in tourism development for the future position of Belgrade as a tourist destination in a competitive European market

Glomerular filtration rate: new age- and gender- specific reference ranges and thresholds for living kidney donation.

BACKGROUND There is a need for a large, contemporary, multi-centre series of measured glomerular filtration rates (mGFR) from healthy individuals to determine age- and gender-specific reference ranges for GFR. We aimed to address this and to use the ranges to provide age- and gender-specific advisory GFR thresholds considered acceptable for living kidney donation. METHODS Individual-level data including pre-donation mGFR from 2974 prospective living kidney donors from 18 UK renal centres performed between 2003 and 2015 were amalgamated. Age- and gender-specific GFR reference ranges were determined by segmented multiple linear regression and presented as means ± two standard deviations. RESULTS Males had a higher GFR than females (92.0 vs 88.1 mL/min/1.73m, P  60 years had a GFR < 60 mL/min/1.73m. The GFR ranges were used along with other published evidence to provide advisory age- and gender-specific GFR thresholds for living kidney donation. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that GFR declines after 35 years of age, and the decline is faster in females. A significant proportion of the healthy population over 60 years of age have a GFR < 60 mL/min/1.73m which may have implications for the definition of chronic kidney disease. Age and gender differences in normal GFR can be used to determine advisory GFR thresholds for living kidney donation