Flesh and Circuit: Rethinking Performance and Technology

The live, embodied, material, and interactive qualities of performance have made it a notable means of exploring the creative potential of technological engagement, acting as a critical vector for revealing and resisting the technological colonisation of everyday life. The innovative collaborations of Experiments in Art and Technology (EAT) during the 1960’s with artists such as Yvonne Rainer and Robert Rauschenberg, Stelarc’s extreme body modifications, Dumb Type’s intermedia performance, and Guillermo Gomez-Pena and La Pocha Nostra’s poetic and speculative imaginings, have mapped the advances in technology and opened new creative fields to explore embodiment. However, there are still some significant oversights in regard to the pervasive and intimate nature of technological mediation, surveillance, and behavioural modification. Currently, technological embodiment assumes new forms tied to data assemblages of unprecedented scope and granularity. The body is commodified as data to be exchanged, controlled, and influenced in algorithmic regimes of governance and as raw material for machine learning and AI. Artists working with performance and technology are engaging with these exclusions, rethinking the intersection of performance and technology, and re-defining embodiment for the twenty-first century. The following articles start to fill these gaps in the literature on art, technology and embodiment through the lens of performance. While much remains to be written on the topic to account for current artistic practice and the changing nature of digital platforms and ubiquity of algorithmic governance, these articles point to new ways of thinking on issues around the intersections of flesh and circuits

Rehabilitation interventions to modify physical frailty in adults before lung transplantation: A systematic review protocol

Introduction: Lung transplantation is the gold standard treatment for end-stage lung disease for a small group of patients meeting strict acceptance criteria after optimal medical management has failed. Physical frailty is prevalent in lung transplant candidates and has been linked to worse outcomes both on the waiting list and postoperatively. Exercise has been proven to be beneficial in optimising exercise capacity and quality of life in lung transplant candidates but its impact on physical frailty is unknown. This review aims to assess the effectiveness of exercise interventions in modifying physical frailty for adults awaiting lung transplantation. Methods and Analysis: This protocol was prospectively registered on the PROSPERO database. We will search four databases plus trials registries to identify primary studies of adult candidates for lung transplantation undertaking exercise interventions and assessing outcomes pertaining to physical frailty. Studies must include at least ten participants. Article screening will be performed by two researchers independently at each stage. Extraction will be performed by one reviewer and checked by a second. The risk of bias in studies will be assessed by two independent reviewers using tools appropriate for the research design of each study; where appropriate we will use Cochrane risk of bias 2 or ROBINS-I. At each stage of the review process discrepancies will be resolved through consensus or consultation with a third reviewer. Meta-analyses of frailty outcomes, will be performed if possible and appropriate as will pre-specified subgroup and sensitivity analyses. Where we are unable to perform meta-analysis we will conduct narrative synthesis following SWiM guidance. The review will be reported using the PRISMA Checklist.Ethics and Dissemination: No ethical issues are predicted due to the nature of this study. Dissemination will occur via conference abstracts, professional networks, peer reviewed journals and patient support groups. Registration Details: PROSPERO registration number CRD42022363730

The Distribution of the crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes (Lereboullet) in Ireland

The distribution of Austropotamobius pallipes, the only freshwater crayfish recorded from Ireland and presumed to be an old native, is described using some 300 records collected since 1976: the positive and negative loci from regularly sampled rivers and streams are used to provide a baseline from which any future changes in distribution can be monitored. Although absent from some regions, most notably the south-west (south of the Dingle-Dungarvan line) and north-west (County Donegal), crayfish are widely spread in the country principally in Carboniferous Limestone areas. The natural chemistry characteristics of the river and stream sites supporting crayfish had the following ranges: pH 7.2 - 8.4, alkalinity 34 - 356 mg/l and hardness 47 - 402 mg/l. Factors which might be important in influencing distribution of A. pallipes in Ireland, including pollution, predation and disease, are discussed

Mood shapes the impact of reward on perceived fatigue from listening

YesKnowledge of the underlying mechanisms of effortful listening could help to reduce cases of social withdrawal and mitigate fatigue, especially in older adults. However, the relationship between transient effort and longer-term fatigue is likely to be more complex than originally thought. Here, we manipulated the presence/absence of monetary reward to examine the role of motivation and mood state in governing changes in perceived effort and fatigue from listening. In an online study, 185 participants were randomly assigned to either a ‘reward’ (n = 91) or ‘no-reward’ (n = 94) group and completed a dichotic listening task along with a series of questionnaires assessing changes over time in perceived effort, mood, and fatigue. Effort ratings were higher overall in the reward group, yet fatigue ratings in that group showed a shallower linear increase over time. Mediation analysis revealed an indirect effect of reward on fatigue ratings via perceived mood state; reward induced a more positive mood state which was associated with reduced fatigue. These results suggest that: (a) listening conditions rated as more ‘effortful’ may be less fatiguing if the effort is deemed worthwhile, and (b) alterations to one’s mood state represents a potential mechanism by which fatigue may be elicited during unrewarding listening situations

A comparison of sexual behaviour and attitudes of healthy adolescents in a Danish high school in 1982, 1996, and 2001

AIM: To assess changes in sexual behaviour among students at a high school in Denmark from 1982 to 2001. METHODS: An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was used to compare data from three identical cross-sectional surveys performed in 1982, 1996, and 2001. RESULTS: Girls: More girls reported their first sexual intercourse before their 16th birthday in 2001 (42%) than in 1996 (29%) In 1982 it was also 42% (Chi-square for trend: p = 0.003). Fewer girls with no regular partner used condoms for their personal protection in 2001 (2%) than in 1996 (9%) and 1982 (0%) (Chi-square for trend p = 0.016). The proportion of girls with no regular partner who considered protection from sexually transmitted disease important for their choice of contraception was 39% in 2001 compared with 71% in 1996 and only 10% in 1982 (Chi-square for trend: p < 0.0001). Boys: More boys reported sexual debut before their 16th birthday in 2001 (40%) than in 1996 (37%) and 1982 (24%) (Chi-square for trend: p = 0.023). For boys with no regular partner, condom was preferred for personal protection by 85% in 2001, 91% in 1996 and 61% in 1982 (Chi-square for trend p = 0.007). Protection against sexually transmitted infection declined, especially among boys with no regular partner, from 51% in 2001 to 72% in 1996 and 21% in 1982 Chi-square for trend: p < 0.0001). The tendency towards earlier sexual debut and less use of safe sex practices to protect against sexually transmitted infections (STI) was accompanied by a rise in the number of detected STIs during this period. CONCLUSIONS: The period from 1982 to 1996 during which sexual attitudes were directed toward safer sex seems to have given way to a reverse trend in the period from 1996 to 2001. These findings may have significant implications for health care authorities organising preventive strategies for healthy adolescents

Monitoring and evaluation of breast cancer screening programmes : Selecting candidate performance indicators

In the scope of the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer (ECIBC) the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) subgroup was tasked to identify breast cancer screening programme (BCSP) performance indicators, including their acceptable and desirable levels, which are associated with breast cancer (BC) mortality. This paper documents the methodology used for the indicator selection. The indicators were identified through a multi-stage process. First, a scoping review was conducted to identify existing performance indicators. Second, building on existing frameworks for making well-informed health care choices, a specific conceptual framework was developed to guide the indicator selection. Third, two group exercises including a rating and ranking survey were conducted for indicator selection using pre-determined criteria, such as: relevance, measurability, accurateness, ethics and understandability. The selected indicators were mapped onto a BC screening pathway developed by the M&E subgroup to illustrate the steps of BC screening common to all EU countries. A total of 96 indicators were identified from an initial list of 1325 indicators. After removing redundant and irrelevant indicators and adding those missing, 39 candidate indicators underwent the rating and ranking exercise. Based on the results, the M&E subgroup selected 13 indicators: screening coverage, participation rate, recall rate, breast cancer detection rate, invasive breast cancer detection rate, cancers > 20 mm, cancers ≤10 mm, lymph node status, interval cancer rate, episode sensitivity, time interval between screening and first treatment, benign open surgical biopsy rate, and mastectomy rate. This systematic approach led to the identification of 13 BCSP candidate performance indicators to be further evaluated for their association with BC mortality

Response of littoral chironomid community and organic matter to late glacial lake level and environmental changes at Lago dell'Accesa (Tuscany, Italy).

International audienceThis study focuses on the response of lacustrine littoral chironomid communities to late glacial changes in limnological, environmental and climate conditions in the Mediterranean context. Late glacial chironomid (Diptera: Chironomidae) assemblages, organic petrography and geochemistry were analysed in a sediment core from the littoral zone of Lago dell'Accesa (Tuscany, Italy), where the lake-level fluctuations and the vegetation history have been previously reconstructed. Comparison of the chironomid stratigraphy to other proxies (pollen assemblages, organic petrography and geochemistry, lake-level) and regional climate reconstruction suggested the predominant influence of lake-level changes on the littoral chironomid fauna. The main lowering events that occurred during the Oldest and the Younger Dryas were followed by higher proportions of taxa typical of littoral habitats. A complementary study of organic matter suggested the indirect impact of lake-level on the chironomids through changes in humic status and habitat characteristics, such as the type of substrate and aquatic macrophyte development. Several chironomid taxa, such as Glyptotendipes, Microtendipes and Cricotopus type patens, were identified as possible indicators of low lake-level in the late glacial records. Nevertheless, this study suggested that parallel analyses of organic matter and chironomid assemblages may be needed to circumvent misinterpretation of littoral chironomid assemblage stratigraphy. There was a weak response of the chironomid assemblages to small lake-level lowerings that corresponded to the Older Dryas and Preboreal oscillations. A higher level of determination, e.g. to the species group level, may be necessary to increase the sensibility of the indicators to lake-level changes

Embedding open and reproducible science into teaching: A bank of lesson plans and resources

Recently, there has been a growing emphasis on embedding open and reproducible approaches into research. One essential step in accomplishing this larger goal is to embed such practices into undergraduate and postgraduate research training. However, this often requires substantial time and resources to implement. Also, while many pedagogical resources are regularly developed for this purpose, they are not often openly and actively shared with the wider community. The creation and public sharing of open educational resources is useful for educators who wish to embed open scholarship and reproducibility into their teaching and learning. In this article, we describe and openly share a bank of teaching resources and lesson plans on the broad topics of open scholarship, open science, replication, and reproducibility that can be integrated into taught courses, to support educators and instructors. These resources were created as part of the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science (SIPS) hackathon at the 2021 Annual Conference, and we detail this collaborative process in the article. By sharing these open pedagogical resources, we aim to reduce the labour required to develop and implement open scholarship content to further the open scholarship and open educational materials movement

Design principles in housing for people with complex physical and cognitive disability: towards an integrated framework for practice

To develop a research-based environmental framework to guide the design and construction of suitable residential dwellings for individuals with complex disability. An environmental approach to housing design and development recognises that there are physical, psychological and social components relating to housing design, dwelling location and the neighbourhood context, and that these elements interact to affect the physical, psychological, and social wellness of individuals. Following theoretical review and synthesis, a comprehensive set of design features that are conducive to residents’ wellness and quality of life are described. It is clear that housing design and development for people with complex disability ought to consider the physical, social, natural, symbolic, and care environment in relation to housing design, dwelling location, and the neighbourhood context for improved housing outcomes. An integrated housing design and development framework is presented. It is hoped this practical matrix/evaluative tool will inform future inclusive housing design and development decisions in Australia and internationally. The application of this framework is especially relevant to political climates striving to achieve design innovation to increase housing choice for people with complex disability

Combinatorial hydrogel library enables identification of materials that mitigate the foreign body response in primates

The foreign body response is an immune-mediated reaction that can lead to the failure of implanted medical devices and discomfort for the recipient. There is a critical need for biomaterials that overcome this key challenge in the development of medical devices. Here we use a combinatorial approach for covalent chemical modification to generate a large library of variants of one of the most widely used hydrogel biomaterials, alginate. We evaluated the materials in vivo and identified three triazole-containing analogs that substantially reduce foreign body reactions in both rodents and, for at least 6 months, in non-human primates. The distribution of the triazole modification creates a unique hydrogel surface that inhibits recognition by macrophages and fibrous deposition. In addition to the utility of the compounds reported here, our approach may enable the discovery of other materials that mitigate the foreign body response.Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (3-SRA-2014-285-M-R)United States. National Institutes of Health (EB000244)United States. National Institutes of Health (EB000351)United States. National Institutes of Health (DE013023)United States. National Institutes of Health (CA151884)United States. National Institutes of Health (P41EB015871-27)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (P30-CA14051