The Role of Radioactivities in Astrophysics

I present both a history of radioactivity in astrophysics and an introduction to the major applications of radioactive abundances to astronomy

Geographical and temporal distribution of SARS-CoV-2 clades in the WHO European Region, January to June 2020

We show the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 genetic clades over time and between countries and outline potential genomic surveillance objectives. We applied three available genomic nomenclature systems for SARS-CoV-2 to all sequence data from the WHO European Region available during the COVID-19 pandemic until 10 July 2020. We highlight the importance of real-time sequencing and data dissemination in a pandemic situation. We provide a comparison of the nomenclatures and lay a foundation for future European genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2.Peer reviewe

Avitha Sooful: Allegorical embodiments of the local landscape

This article offers a critical reading of a number of artworks by Avitha Sooful, mainly dating from the period 1980 to 2004. Readings of other relevant works that illustrate either continuities or disjunctures with her artistic practices and world views are included. This is part of a larger study that investigated the constructs of identity, place and displacement in the artworks of female artists who were employed at Vaal University of Technology (VUT) during that time.1 The first ten years of democracy and transformation in South Africa tacitly underpin the scope of the article, which focuses on Sooful’s cultural exchange and interchange with the changing political and social realities in a new South Africa. The theoretical underpinnings of this article are embedded in the discourses of geographically and historically specific events in South Africa, and cultural studies theories. They are framed by postcolonial readings of identity, place and displacement. The artist’s work is used to demonstrate how her subject position inspired her to produce artworks that reconfigured the local Durban and Free State regions over the 20 years concerned.http://journals.sabinet.co.za/ej/ejour_dearte.htmlhttp://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=20117am201

‘They have different ways of doing things’: Cemeteries, diversity and local place attachment

This paper explores how local place attachment and group identity are conceived by those who manage civic cemeteries, and those who, by their memorial practices, co-create them. Engaging with debates about (post)colonialism and belonging, the paper presents evidence from both interviews and photographs, conceptually framing the meaning of these with reference to Lefebvre’s spatial triad: of space as perceived, conceived and lived. It identifies a disjuncture between the way cemetery managers view group and individual identities, and the way this manifests in memorial practices. Formal ‘representations of space’ are influenced by neo-colonial narratives of ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ whereas greater diversity and categorical transgressions are apparent in spatial practices. This has implications for the management and articulation civic identity and contemporary understandings of belonging beyond as well as within public places of memorial and remembrance

Body mass index and complications following major gastrointestinal surgery: A prospective, international cohort study and meta-analysis

Aim Previous studies reported conflicting evidence on the effects of obesity on outcomes after gastrointestinal surgery. The aims of this study were to explore the relationship of obesity with major postoperative complications in an international cohort and to present a metaanalysis of all available prospective data. Methods This prospective, multicentre study included adults undergoing both elective and emergency gastrointestinal resection, reversal of stoma or formation of stoma. The primary end-point was 30-day major complications (Clavien–Dindo Grades III–V). A systematic search was undertaken for studies assessing the relationship between obesity and major complications after gastrointestinal surgery. Individual patient meta-analysis was used to analyse pooled results. Results This study included 2519 patients across 127 centres, of whom 560 (22.2%) were obese. Unadjusted major complication rates were lower in obese vs normal weight patients (13.0% vs 16.2%, respectively), but this did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.863) on multivariate analysis for patients having surgery for either malignant or benign conditions. Individual patient meta-analysis demonstrated that obese patients undergoing surgery formalignancy were at increased risk of major complications (OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.49–2.96, P < 0.001), whereas obese patients undergoing surgery for benign indications were at decreased risk (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.46–0.75, P < 0.001) compared to normal weight patients. Conclusions In our international data, obesity was not found to be associated with major complications following gastrointestinal surgery. Meta-analysis of available prospective data made a novel finding of obesity being associated with different outcomes depending on whether patients were undergoing surgery for benign or malignant disease