The Queens of Somerset House

A series inspired by the history of Somerset House and the Queens who resided there when it was a palace, from the mid 16th Century to the beginning of the 18th Century. The Queens included Elizabeth I (reign 1558 – 1603) daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, who establishment the English Protestant church and is sometimes referred to as the Virgin Queen. Anne of Denmark (1574- 1619) wife of James I who oversaw the terracing of the gardens and introduction of the orangery. Henrietta Maria of France (1609-1669) wife of Charles I, who although modest externally, opened the most elaborate Roman Catholic chapel in a particularly grand ceremony in 1636. Catherine of Braganza (1638-1705) wife of Charles II, who commissioned a refurbishment by Christopher Wren and opened the River Terrace to the public, then painted by Canaletto twice in c175

Textile and Place

This special issue explores how textiles can define our identities in ways that are bound up with how they are made and also with how cloth is used in specific places. Place is defined by its physical aspect and its constituency of people, and also by its transactions with other places, in which the exchange, circulation and consumption of textiles play a key role. The first section explores how textiles are involved in codifying place through tradition and memory and through site-specific and community-based practices, while the second section focuses on the role of textiles in movement between places, transmission of histories, the crossing of cultural boundaries, migration, and postcolonialism. Contributors examine how textiles register and record change, and provide a means to place the past in dialog with the present. Textiles can also play a role in making change happen, in strengthening community solidarity and in constructing new ideas of place. Close attention is paid to processes of making and also to the metaphorical resonances of textiles that provide critical and creative ways of thinking through conflicted relations with places and their histories. The influence of textiles extends from the specific and local to global networks of relationships

Fabric: Touch and Identity

This exhibition at Compton Verney Museum is developed from the 3 year research project ‘The Erotic Cloth’ undertaken by Professor Lesley Millar (University for the Creative Arts) and Professor Alice Kettle (Manchester Metropolitan University), the first outcome of which has been the book The Erotic Cloth published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2018. Our argument in the book was concerned with the possibilities of cloth as a membrane through which we might experience the erotic and this exhibition will develop the theoretical discourse of the book through actual cloth as art and in art. Drawing on works from Compton Verney’s collection, as well as pieces by historic and contemporary artists, designers and makers, the exhibition will consider the varied uses of cloth as an expression of personal identity; through sexual identity, gender identity and otherness. Within the exhibition the works - like cloth itself - will flow and embrace many of the identified threads of connection between cloth and skin, making particular reference to the ways in which cloth often performs unspoken aspects of intimacy, pleasure, sensuality, love and tenderness. Of primary importance in the selection of the work has been the dialogue present in the work between the cloth, the body and the space between the cloth and skin

The erotic cloth: seduction and fetishism in textiles

Book commissioned by Bloomsbury Publishing and co-edited by Lesley Millar and Alice Kettle who also contributed a joint introduction, introductions to each section and a chapter each. The book takes a trans-disciplinary approach to the subject positing a variety of interpretations in which erotic is a multifaceted state, historically and culturally connected and materialised through our relationship with cloth. The contributions are written in a variety of tones, including those of practitioners and academics. The introduction discusses the theme from a Western historical and contemporary context, drawing upon the editors specialism in textiles as artistic practice. It closes with an afterword which builds upon the Japanese focus in the final chapter, looking at the notion from an entirely non-Western perspective. By doing this, the editors signpost further research into how other cultures negotiate the relationship between cloth and the erotic. The relationship between cloth and the body has been discussed in depth since the late twentieth century, mainly with a focus on the socio-political and narrative particularities of textiles. With the emergence of Haptic studies (Hara, Miller, Pallasmaa etc), the connection between the surface of the skin and the surface of cloth has been considered in the discussion of the sense of touch. However, the erotic nature of that relationship has tended to be the subtext of previous discourse, acknowledged but largely unspoken. This book specifically seeks to discover the ways in which the qualities of cloth that seduce, conceal and reveal have been explored and exploited in art, design, cinema, politics and dance. There will be a major exhibition based on the book, curated by the editors at Compton Verney in 2021. The book includes contributions from: Savithri Barlett, Catherine Dormor, Malcolm Garrett, Catherine Harper, Ruth Hingston, Nigel Hurlstone, Yuko Ikeda, Claire Jones, Angela Maddock, Masako Matsushita, Liz Rideal, Debra Roberts, Mary Schoeser, Georgina Williams, and Caroline Wintersgill

Pulpotomy for the Management of Irreversible Pulpitis in Mature Teeth (PIP) : a feasibility study

Fundings: This study is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment Program (project reference NIHR129230). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. The funding body has had no role in the design of the study and will have no role in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data and in the writing of any future manuscript. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank all the patients, dentists and dental team members who are participating in the PIP Trial. We would also like to thank the members of the TSC and DMEC. We would like to acknowledge the funding for the project from the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme (Project Number NIHR129230). The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the HTA programme, NIHR, NHS or the Department of Health. Sponsor: University of Dundee Funder: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme, Project number: NIHR129230 The PIP study group consists of the co-chief investigators, grant holders, project management group and the Trial Management Committee as outlined as follows: Co-chief investigators: Jan E Clarkson (JC) and Craig R Ramsay (CR) Grant holders: Sondos Albradri (SA), Avijit Banerjee (AB), Katie Banister (KB), Dwayne Boyers (DB), David Conway (DC), Chris Deery (CD), Beatriz Goulao (BG), Ekta Gupta (EG), Fadi Jarad (FJ), Thomas Lamont (TL), Graeme MacLennan (GMacL), Francesco Mannocci (FM) Zoe Marshmann (ZM), Tina McGuff (TMcG), David Ricketts (DR), Douglas Robertson (DR) Marjon van der Pol (MvdP) and Linda Young (LY). Trial Management Committee: Sondos Albradri (SA), Avijit Banerjee (AB), Katie Banister (KB), Chris Deery (CD), Rosanne Bell (RB), David Conway (DC), Dwayne Boyers (DB), Lori Brown (LB), Pina Donaldson (PD), Anne Duncan (AD), Katharine Dunn (KD), Patrick Fee (PF), Mark Forrest (MF), Jill Gouick (JG), Beatriz Goulao (BG), Ekta Gupta (EG), Alice Hamilton (AH), Fadi Jarad (FJ), Jennifer Kettle (JK), Thomas Lamont (TL), Graeme MacLennan (GMacL), Lorna Macpherson (LM), Francesco Mannocci (FM), Zoe Marshmann (ZM), Fiona Mitchell (FM), Tina McGuff (TMcG), David Ricketts (DR), Douglas Robertson (DR), Marjon van der Pol (MvdP), Gabriella Wojewodka (GW) and Linda Young (LY)Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Radical Response exhibition in partnership with the International Association of Design Research (IASDR) Conference

Radical Response exhibition in partnership with the International Association of Design Research (IASDR) Conferenc

Home and Online Management and Evaluation of Blood Pressure (HOME BP) using a digital intervention in poorly controlled hypertension: randomised controlled trial

Objective: The HOME BP (Home and Online Management and Evaluation of Blood Pressure) trial aimed to test a digital intervention for hypertension management in primary care by combining self-monitoring of blood pressure with guided self-management. Design: Unmasked randomised controlled trial with automated ascertainment of primary endpoint. Setting: 76 general practices in the United Kingdom. Participants: 622 people with treated but poorly controlled hypertension (>140/90 mm Hg) and access to the internet. Interventions: Participants were randomised by using a minimisation algorithm to self-monitoring of blood pressure with a digital intervention (305 participants) or usual care (routine hypertension care, with appointments and drug changes made at the discretion of the general practitioner; 317 participants). The digital intervention provided feedback of blood pressure results to patients and professionals with optional lifestyle advice and motivational support. Target blood pressure for hypertension, diabetes, and people aged 80 or older followed UK national guidelines. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was the difference in systolic blood pressure (mean of second and third readings) after one year, adjusted for baseline blood pressure, blood pressure target, age, and practice, with multiple imputation for missing values. Results: After one year, data were available from 552 participants (88.6%) with imputation for the remaining 70 participants (11.4%). Mean blood pressure dropped from 151.7/86.4 to 138.4/80.2 mm Hg in the intervention group and from 151.6/85.3 to 141.8/79.8 mm Hg in the usual care group, giving a mean difference in systolic blood pressure of −3.4 mm Hg (95% confidence interval −6.1 to −0.8 mm Hg) and a mean difference in diastolic blood pressure of −0.5 mm Hg (−1.9 to 0.9 mm Hg). Results were comparable in the complete case analysis and adverse effects were similar between groups. Within trial costs showed an incremental cost effectiveness ratio of £11 ($15, €12; 95% confidence interval £6 to £29) per mm Hg reduction. Conclusions: The HOME BP digital intervention for the management of hypertension by using self-monitored blood pressure led to better control of systolic blood pressure after one year than usual care, with low incremental costs. Implementation in primary care will require integration into clinical workflows and consideration of people who are digitally excluded. Trial registration: ISRCTN13790648