Introduction : museum communities/ community museums

Funding: The author wishes to thank all of our funders and collaborators for the field work experiences, cultural encounters, friendships and networks they enabled in the process of research. They are: European Commission Horizon 2020 grant number 693669-EU-LAC Museums (2016–2021); Scottish Funding Council Global Challenges Research Fund – Community Crafts and Cultures (2018–2021); and Royal Society of Edinburgh – Scottish Community Heritage (2019–2022). Research has most recently been supported by the United Kingdom Research and Innovation programme (UKRI) Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council grant number EP/X023036/1 Shared Island Stories Between Scotland and the Caribbean: Past, Present, Future (2022–2027).This book explores case studies of community museums, ecomuseums, grassroots heritage organisations and their networks from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. It builds upon and complements the growing literature on the broad topic of ‘museums and community’ through its specific focus on museums that have been created from community action, respond to local challenges and are reliant upon local systems of governance. The volume is birthed out of the international conference Itinerant Identities: museum communities/community museums held at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, in November 2018. This was a major academic meeting for the European Commission Horizon 2020 research project European Union and Latin American and Caribbean (EU-LAC) Museums that brought together museum and university partners from the Caribbean, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Portugal, Scotland (project co-ordinator), Spain and International Council of Museums (ICOM) (https://www.eulacmuseums.net" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">https://www.eulacmuseums.net). 1 On this occasion, we partnered with the Museums Association of the Caribbean and launched the innovative exhibition of contemporary art entitled Arrivants: Art and Migration in the Anglophone Caribbean World at The Barbados Museum and Historical Society. These transatlantic events and the compilation of this volume are part of an ongoing process seeking to address imbalances in the discourses of museology and art curation that have to date occluded the Caribbean and Central American regions, and where possible we endeavour to give greater agency and voice to the communities represented. The conference title Itinerant Identities reflects Alissandra Cummins’ point that the Caribbean is in essence a region where (virtually) everyone came from (virtually) everywhere else, whether voluntarily or by force, and the sub-title ‘museum communities/community museums’ seeks to reflect the problematics of terminology in the field while also reinstating the possibility of characterising a ‘community museum’ informed by transatlantic research.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

International collaboration between ecomuseums and community museums : the experience of the EU-LAC museums bi-regional youth exchange in fostering identity, building community sustainability and resilience

Funding: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 693669. For further information, please visit: https://www.eulacmuseums.net/.This chapter reflects on the transformative possibilities for young people, their communities and museums through international exchange between ecomuseums and community museums in Scotland, Costa Rica and Portugal. It focuses on a case study that took place in Ecomuseum Druim Nan Linntean (Ridge of Ages) as part of the 2016–18 Europe-Latin America and Caribbean Museums (EU-LAC Museums) Bi-Regional Youth Exchange, reflecting on the role of the international exchange in transforming the lives and ambitions of the young people. We also discuss the project’s engagement in issues of sustainability and climate change resilience in Scotland and Costa Rica and review its impact on the community and the leaders involved.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Museums as tools for sustainable community development : a study of four archaeological museums in northern Peru

Funding: This research received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement No. 693669.A new way of defining and managing museums has emerged in the 21st century, with local communities at the heart of the equation. At the same time, communities have become aware of the political and symbolic importance of working with and being represented by museums: not only can such collaborations strengthen local identities and political power, but it can also enable communities to benefit from the potential of museums to attract resources derived from tourism. Within this framework, the team at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru is participating in the EU-LAC Museums project. As part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme, the initiative aims to develop community museums, foster links between museums and their communities and carry out projects that strengthen local heritage. The Peruvian team developed its proposal in four community-centred archaeological museums on Peru’s northern coast: the Chan Chan and Huacas de Moche site museums in the region of La Libertad, and the Túcume and Sicán museums in the Lambayeque regions. The project’s objectives are to identify how these museums involve local communities, and the role they play in the social, educational and economic development of surrounding territories. Once identified, the project’s actions aimed to consolidate and strengthen these different forms of interrelation, which encourage sustainability, regional integration, education and the use of technologies. To account properly for the vulnerability of local populations amid catastrophic floods caused by the El Niño phenomenon, it was crucial to apply a territorial perspective. This chapter presents the different experiences and actions carried out in the ‘Peru Case Study’ of the EU-LAC Museums project, highlighting the current impact of four local museums. It also promotes the active participation of the institutions and their communities in the future, using a model of joint heritage management that contributes to local sustainable development.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Water Quality Project Evaluation A Handbook for Objectives-Based Evaluation of Water Quality Projects

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A bioprinted cardiac patch composed of cardiac-specific extracellular matrix and progenitor cells for heart repair

Congenital heart defects are present in 8 of 1000 newborns and palliative surgical therapy has increased survival. Despite improved outcomes, many children develop reduced cardiac function and heart failure requiring transplantation. Human cardiac progenitor cell (hCPC) therapy has potential to repair the pediatric myocardium through release of reparative factors, but therapy suffers from limited hCPC retention and functionality. Decellularized cardiac extracellular matrix hydrogel (cECM) improves heart function in animals, and human trials are ongoing. In the present study, a 3D-bioprinted patch containing cECM for delivery of pediatric hCPCs is developed. Cardiac patches are printed with bioinks composed of cECM, hCPCs, and gelatin methacrylate (GelMA). GelMA-cECM bioinks print uniformly with a homogeneous distribution of cECM and hCPCs. hCPCs maintain >75% viability and incorporation of cECM within patches results in a 30-fold increase in cardiogenic gene expression of hCPCs compared to hCPCs grown in pure GelMA patches. Conditioned media from GelMA-cECM patches show increased angiogenic potential (>2-fold) over GelMA alone, as seen by improved endothelial cell tube formation. Finally, patches are retained on rat hearts and show vascularization over 14 d in vivo. This work shows the successful bioprinting and implementation of cECM-hCPC patches for potential use in repairing damaged myocardium

Biomineralisation of the Calcitic-Shelled, Inarticulated Brachiopod, Neocrania anomala

The inarticulated calcitic shelled brachiopod, Neocrania anomala belongs to the craniids, the sole Recent members of the class Craniata within the subphylum Craniiformea. Articulation is associated with calcitic valves in the Rhynchonelliformea and inarticulation with apatitic valves in the Linguliformea. Biominerals have organic material, including proteins and glycoproteins, intimately associated with the mineral phase, reducing the nucleation energy required for mineral precipitation and influencing the formation of the biomineral. The characteristics of the structure of shell are therefore a consequence of the protein component of the constituent biomineral. The intracrystalline proteins of N. anoniala are examined here to gain information relating to the formation of the biomineral and therefore the shell of N. anomala. The intracrystalline protein fraction of the shell of N. anomala, is here defined as the protein which is resistant to strong chemical oxidation by incubation of powdered shells in an aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite (1% v/v) for one hour. Mineral-associated proteins were extracted from the intracrystalline and intercrystalline fractions of the dorsal valve and the intracrystalline fraction of the ventral valve. The proteins were purified to homogeneity using gel electrophoresis (SDS PAGE) and subsequently analysed by partial N-terminal sequencing and amino acid analysis. A 44 kDa protein is present in both the intracrystalline and total protein extracts of the dorsal valve and also in the intracrystalline fraction of the ventral valve. In addition, the intracrystalline fraction of the dorsal valve contains a 60 kDa protein. The partial N-terminal sequence obtained for the 44 kDa protein does not resemble previously sequenced brachiopod proteins, nor any other protein in the protein databases searched. The dorsal valve has a higher concentration of protein than the ventral valve. Differences exist between the two valves in terms of the amount of protein present in different locations within the shell. The dorsal valve has twice as much intracrystalline protein per weight of shell than the ventral valve. The higher proportion of protein in the dorsal valve may be related to the presence of seminacre in this valve. The 44 kDa protein of the intracrystalline fraction of the dorsal valve has high levels of aspartic acid/asparagine and glutamic acid/glutamine, as well as glycine and serine. The EDTA-insoluble material contains significantly more protein than the EDTA-soluble protein extract from the intracrystalline fraction of the dorsal valve and differences exist between the two extracts in terms of amino acid composition. The soluble protein of the dorsal valve can both initiate and inhibit crystal nucleation in vitro, depending on the concentration of the protein in the system. Whole extracts were added to the system, so it is not possible to identify which protein(s) influences crystal nucleation. The 44 kDa and the 60 kDa proteins both possess a calcium-binding ability, as determined by reaction with Stains-all and this may be suggestive of the proteins involvement in biomineralisation in vivo. The 60 kDa protein is glycosylated, whereas the 44 kDa protein is not. Chemical etching of the laminar calcite that comprises the semi-nacreous secondary layer of the dorsal valve of N. anornala reveals a high order structural arrangement that resembles the ultrastructures observed in nacreous bivalve shells. Nucleation of new crystals occurs uniformly over the surface of the individual tablets, an arrangement which is also observed in the semi-nacre of the cyclostome bryozoans. The non-specific nucleation observed in these groups may be related to the formation of semi-nacreous shell layers. The presence and pattern of the ultrastructures of the N. anomala secondary shell suggests that lophophorates possess a more complex system of biomineralisation than the Lophophorate-Mollusc discontinuity concept suggests

Application and Evaluation of a Snowmelt Runoff Model in the Tamor River Basin, Eastern Himalaya Using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) Data Assimilation Approach

Previous studies have drawn attention to substantial hydrological changes taking place in mountainous watersheds where hydrology is dominated by cryospheric processes. Modelling is an important tool for understanding these changes but is particularly challenging in mountainous terrain owing to scarcity of ground observations and uncertainty of model parameters across space and time. This study utilizes a Markov Chain Monte Carlo data assimilation approach to examine and evaluate the performance of a conceptual, degree-day snowmelt runoff model applied in the Tamor River basin in the eastern Nepalese Himalaya. The snowmelt runoff model is calibrated using daily streamflow from 2002 to 2006 with fairly high accuracy (average Nash-Sutcliffe metric approx. 0.84, annual volume bias <3%). The Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach constrains the parameters to which the model is most sensitive (e.g. lapse rate and recession coefficient) and maximizes model fit and performance. Model simulated streamflow using an interpolated precipitation data set decreases the fractional contribution from rainfall compared with simulations using observed station precipitation. The average snowmelt contribution to total runoff in the Tamor River basin for the 2002-2006 period is estimated to be 29.7+/-2.9% (which includes 4.2+/-0.9% from snowfall that promptly melts), whereas 70.3+/-2.6% is attributed to contributions from rainfall. On average, the elevation zone in the 4000-5500m range contributes the most to basin runoff, averaging 56.9+/-3.6% of all snowmelt input and 28.9+/-1.1% of all rainfall input to runoff. Model simulated streamflow using an interpolated precipitation data set decreases the fractional contribution from rainfall versus snowmelt compared with simulations using observed station precipitation. Model experiments indicate that the hydrograph itself does not constrain estimates of snowmelt versus rainfall contributions to total outflow but that this derives from the degree-day melting model. Lastly, we demonstrate that the data assimilation approach is useful for quantifying and reducing uncertainty related to model parameters and thus provides uncertainty bounds on snowmelt and rainfall contributions in such mountainous watersheds

Psychosocial Measures and Outcomes Among Caregivers of Children With Tracheostomies: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: Children with tracheostomies have complex medical issues that require long-term technology dependence and continuous medical care at home. Parents of tracheostomy-dependent children often assume the majority of their child\u27s home care leading to a shift in family dynamics and a decrease in caregiver quality of life. This systematic review sought to identify instruments to measure caregiver psychosocial outcomes after their child\u27s tracheostomy and report on the findings. DATA SOURCES: A systematic review was performed using Medline, CINAHL, and EMBASE. REVIEW METHODS: Studies that evaluated psychosocial outcomes in caregivers of tracheostomy-dependent children were included. RESULTS: We screened a total of 1286 nonduplicate records to include a total of 12 studies assessing the psychosocial outcomes of parents of tracheostomy-dependent children. Fourteen instruments were identified. Caregivers reported lower quality of life when compared to other chronic caregiver groups. They experienced high degrees of stress, struggled to cope individually and as a family unit, and experienced decision regret and conflict. CONCLUSION: Findings from this review suggest a significant impact on caregiver psychosocial well-being, but few quantitative studies investigated this dynamic with measures validated in this caregiver population. This review demonstrates the need for longitudinal studies using validated tools to assess the long-term impacts and outcomes of caregivers of the tracheostomy-dependent child

Liraglutide and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes

In a randomized, controlled trial that compared liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide 1 analogue, with placebo in patients with type 2 diabetes and high cardiovascular risk who were receiving usual care, we found that liraglutide resulted in lower risks of the primary end point (nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes) and death. However, the long-term effects of liraglutide on renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes are unknown