An Eldorado for the Working Class? The import of Constructivism and the Lubetkin Legacy

This paper focuses on the work of a particular architect whose work between the 1920s and 1960s traverses of the Cold War divides between ’east’ and ’west’: Berthold Lubetkin. Beginning as a student at the Soviet institutions of the postrevolutionary period and then practicing in France and Britain as a paradoxically pro-Soviet emigre, Lubetkin introduced avant-garde ideas to apparently sleepy and anti-modernist Britain. Following his career over this long period, this paper tracks the manner in which his work responds to the development of Soviet architecture from Constructivism to Stalinism, in the apparently different economic and political context of post-war Britain, then embarking on an experiment in social democracy. It then discusses the way in which the buildings have been either conserved or not conserved in the context of neoliberalism in Britain, and the ways in which this does – or doesn’t – contrast with contemporary Russian practice.   Keywords: Constructivism, Communism, Cold War, Welfare State, Architectur

Implementation of the European Society of Cardiology 0/3-hour accelerated diagnostic protocol, using high sensitive troponin T: a clinical practice evaluation of safety and effectiveness involving 3003 patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome.

BackgroundThere have been relatively few studies detailing the real-world effectiveness and safety of accelerated diagnostic protocols (ADP), using high sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn).ObjectiveTo analyse the safety and effectiveness of early emergency department (ED) discharge following implementation of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 0/3-hour ADP for suspected acute coronary syndromes (ACS).MethodWe prospectively studied 2 cohorts of consecutive suspected ACS presentations to ED before (n=1642) and after (n=1376, 2 centres) implementation of the ESC 0/3-hour ADP incorporating limit of detection rule out. Safety was defined by MACE (major adverse cardiac events) inclusive of type 1 myocardial infarction (MI) in patients discharged from ED, and clinical effectiveness by percentage ED discharge. Continuous variables and categorical data were evaluated by independent t-test and χ2 test, respectively. Time-to-event data were analysed as survival data and converted to Kaplan-Meier curves for interpretation.ResultsIn the preimplementation period, there was a higher prevalence of MI. Discharge from ED increased by >100% (from 27.1% to 56.5% of the cohort) with no safety signal (MACE rate 4/444 (0.9%) vs 4/769 (0.52%), p=0.430 for the 2011 and 2018 cohort, respectively). This correlated with a marked reduction in length of stay overall but a more modest reduction for those discharged from ED (6 hours 10 min vs 5 hours 25 min, pConclusionsImplementation of an ADP with hs-cTn is safe and effective for early rule-out and discharge of suspected ACS but require considerable resources and education to optimise maximal patient flow

Digital unreason: Jordan Wolfson’s ‘Evil Jew’

This article privileges an analysis of the artwork Animation, masks (2011) by the Jewish-American contemporary artist Jordan Wolfson. This animated film is over 10 minutes long and features only one character, based on a collection of references Wolfson found under the Google search terms ‘evil Jew’ and ‘Shylock’. One of the key references for this ‘evil Jew’ stereotype, ‘Le Happy Merchant’, is a popular meme circulating on the 4chan media network and has become a mascot of the so called ‘alt-right’ – a loose network of racists and anti-Semites that became militant supporters of the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign and presidency. In Wolfson’s version of the meme, professional American animators were hired to give this stereotype the illusion of life. The result is a fascist stereotype restaged as an endearing Dreamworks character, unpredictable and incoherent, lurching between violent and placatory gestures. Rather than attempt a close analysis, this article argues that Wolfson’s social link to stereotype, conspiracy theory and fascist rebellion requires greater interrogation in light of the Donald Trump campaign, Brexit and the Le Pen candidacy. In all these campaigns, a vitalistic critique of metropolitan ‘elites’ or ‘globalists’ became the anti-establishment pretext for verbal assaults on immigrants, people of colour and Muslims. Alberto Toscano and Jeff Kinkle in Cartographies of the Absolute (2015) connect a popular upsurge in conspiratorial thinking to an absented critique of capitalism. They claim that if the abstract and impersonal character of capitalism is never awarded popular interrogation, conspiracy theory is an easy substitute, leaving the door open to anti-Semitic and racist projections. In turn, they call for art and popular culture that creates a systematic link to the bewildering movements of late capitalism, rather than fall into conspiratorial thinking. In this article, the author suggests that Wolfson in Animation, masks is using animation and caricature to bear witness to the circulation of anti-Semitic conspiracy and the narcissistic social networks that have been emboldened by the rise of the international far Right. However, by ambivalently playing around with stereotype, Wolfson also risks falling into complicity with forces of unreason that are indifferent to ironic treatment. This article discusses the critical contributions and limitations of this artwork, leading to an evaluation of Wolfson’s conceptual performance as a whole

A 'Different Class'? Homophily and Heterophily in the Social Class Networks of Britpop

Social network analysis is increasingly recognised as a useful way to explore music scenes. In this article we examine the individuals who were the cultural workforce that comprised the 'Britpop' music scene of the 1990s. The focus of our analysis is homophily and heterophily to determine whether the clusters of friendships and working relationships of those who were ‘best connected’ in the scene were patterned by original social class position. We find that Britpop's 'whole network' is heterophilic but its 'sub-networks' are more likely to be social class homophilic. The sub-networks that remain heterophilic are likely to be united by other common experiences that brought individuals in the network to the same social spaces. We suggest that our findings on Britpop might be generalised to the composition of other music scenes, cultural workforces and aggregations of young people. Our study differs from research on, first, British ‘indie music’ and social class which focusses upon the construction, representation and performance of social location rather than the relationships it might shape (such as Wiseman-Trowse, 2008) and second, the pioneering social network analyses of music scenes (such as Crossley 2008; 2009; 2015; Crossley et. al 2014) which currently lacks the explicit emphasis on social class

PRIMO: an interactive homology modeling pipeline

The development of automated servers to predict the three-dimensional structure of proteins has seen much progress over the years. These servers make calculations simpler, but largely exclude users from the process. In this study, we present the PRotein Interactive MOdeling (PRIMO) pipeline for homology modeling of protein monomers. The pipeline eases the multi-step modeling process, and reduces the workload required by the user, while still allowing engagement from the user during every step. Default parameters are given for each step, which can either be modified or supplemented with additional external input. PRIMO has been designed for users of varying levels of experience with homology modeling. The pipeline incorporates a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to alter parameters used during modeling

The malarial exported PFA0660w is an Hsp40 co-chaperone of PfHsp70-x

Plasmodium falciparum, the human pathogen responsible for the most dangerous malaria infection, survives and develops in mature erythrocytes through the export of proteins needed for remodelling of the host cell. Molecular chaperones of the heat shock protein (Hsp) family are prominent members of the exportome, including a number of Hsp40s and a Hsp70. PFA0660w, a type II Hsp40, has been shown to be exported and possibly form a complex with PfHsp70-x in the infected erythrocyte cytosol. However, the chaperone properties of PFA0660w and its interaction with human and parasite Hsp70s are yet to be investigated. Recombinant PFA0660w was found to exist as a monomer in solution, and was able to significantly stimulate the ATPase activity of PfHsp70-x but not that of a second plasmodial Hsp70 (PfHsp70-1) or a human Hsp70 (HSPA1A), indicating a potential specific functional partnership with PfHsp70-x. Protein binding studies in the presence and absence of ATP suggested that the interaction of PFA0660w with PfHsp70-x most likely represented a co-chaperone/chaperone interaction. Also, PFA0660w alone produced a concentrationdependent suppression of rhodanese aggregation, demonstrating its chaperone properties. Overall, we have provided the first biochemical evidence for the possible role of PFA0660w as a chaperone and as co-chaperone of PfHsp70-x. We propose that these chaperones boost the chaperone power of the infected erythrocyte, enabling successful protein trafficking and folding, and thereby making a fundamental contribution to the pathology of malaria

Waiting for other people: a psychoanalytic interpretation of the time for action

Typical responses to a confrontation with failures in authority, or what Lacanians term ‘the lack in the Other’, involve attempts to shore it up. A patient undergoing psychoanalysis eventually faces the impossibility of doing this successfully; the Other will always be lacking. This creates a space through which she can reimagine how she might intervene in her suffering. Similarly, when coronavirus forces us to confront the brute fact of the lack in the Other at the socio-political level, we have the opportunity to discover a space for acting rather than continuing symptomatic behaviour that increasingly fails to work

Untangling creativity and art for policy purposes : ethnographic insights on Manchester International Festival and Manchester Day Parade

This paper draws on anthropological fieldwork of a civic parade in Manchester from 2010 to 2012 to argue for engaging with creativity as a process rather than an attribute of a particular sector or individual. It shows how the focus on funding and supporting ‘creative industries’ defined as ‘cinema, television, music, literature, performing arts, heritage and related areas’ actually excludes and diminishes the potential for others to engage with ideas and creative processes. Two major events in Manchester’s cultural calendar – Procession by artist Jeremy Deller, produced by Manchester International Festival and Manchester Day Parade, a council-led civic celebration – both combined community groups with artist input to put large-scale structures and people on the city’s streets. In this ethnographic analysis, I argue that the ‘creativity’ sought from these artists is their adaptive and productive approach to making ideas tangible. By focusing on creativity as a process rather than a character trait, there is even greater potential for stimulating a ‘creative’ city

Towards a spatial critique of ideology: architecture as a test

The article presents the outline for the theory of ideological space. The ideological properties of space are reconsidered by the juxtaposition of Lefebvre’s and Bourdieu’s theories. The resultant reconciliation points towards the notion of spatial critique of ideology as well as the possibility of employing ideology for critique of space. The notion of a test (as characterized by Boltanski) is introduced to show the importance of capabilities of actors and objects in the process of critique. The article emphasizes the exceptional significance of architecture for the construction of critical positions. The architecture is described as a form of a test. In so doing, the architecture is characterized as one of the essential elements of possible social emancipation. In effect, both the social responsibilities of the architecture and its critical role are underscored