Making livelihoods within communities of practice: The place of guild organisations in the craft sector

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Routledge via the ISBN in this recordThis chapter interrogates the place of professional networks as communities of practice for craft practitioners who live in remote, rural locations and make their livelihood from their creative practice. The South West region of Britain, has a significant population of craft makers working in a highly distributed manner. Some makers work in small clusters (Harvey et al. 2012) but many work in their own homes or individual workshops. Through in depth qualitative analysis, it locates the ways in which makers develop or join organisations to support their livelihoods, particularly those that distinguish the quality and value of the skilled labour that makes hand-crafted work. Specifically, it explores the role of regional craft guilds for their members, and what members value about these organisations.Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC

Gravity duals of supersymmetric gauge theories on three-manifolds

We study gravity duals to a broad class of N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories defined on a general class of three-manifold geometries. The gravity backgrounds are based on Euclidean self-dual solutions to four-dimensional gauged supergravity. As well as constructing new examples, we prove in general that for solutions defined on the four-ball the gravitational free energy depends only on the supersymmetric Killing vector, finding a simple closed formula when the solution has U(1) x U(1) symmetry. Our result agrees with the large N limit of the free energy of the dual gauge theory, computed using localization. This constitutes an exact check of the gauge/gravity correspondence for a very broad class of gauge theories with a large N limit, defined on a general class of background three-manifold geometries.Comment: 74 pages, 2 figures; v2: minor change

A Tunable Two-impurity Kondo system in an atomic point contact

Two magnetic atoms, one attached to the tip of a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) and one adsorbed on a metal surface, each constituting a Kondo system, have been proposed as one of the simplest conceivable systems potentially exhibiting quantum critical behaviour. We have succeeded in implementing this concept experimentally for cobalt dimers clamped between an STM tip and a gold surface. Control of the tip-sample distance with sub-picometer resolution allows us to tune the interaction between the two cobalt atoms with unprecedented precision. Electronic transport measurements on this two-impurity Kondo system reveal a rich physical scenario which is governed by a crossover from local Kondo screening to non-local singlet formation due to antiferromagnetic coupling as a function of separation of the cobalt atoms.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figure

The Mitochondrial Ca(2+) Uniporter: Structure, Function, and Pharmacology.

Mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake is crucial for an array of cellular functions while an imbalance can elicit cell death. In this chapter, we briefly reviewed the various modes of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake and our current understanding of mitochondrial Ca(2+) homeostasis in regards to cell physiology and pathophysiology. Further, this chapter focuses on the molecular identities, intracellular regulators as well as the pharmacology of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uniporter complex

Clinical pattern of ocular toxoplasmosis treated in a referral centre in Serbia

Purpose To analyze the clinical pattern of ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) in a referral centre in Serbia. Patients and methods The medical records of consecutive patients admitted for OT to the single referral centre for uveitis in Serbia between 2006 and 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. OT was diagnosed on the basis of typical fundus lesions and positive serology for Toxoplasma. Results In a total of 457 uveitis patients, OT was the third leading cause, with 59 patients (12.9%). Most OT cases (73%) were monocular. An active primary retinal lesion was observed in 36% and recurrent OT in 64% patients. Localization of lesions was central/paracentral (44%), juxtapapillar (27%), peripheral (19%), and multifocal (10%). Other ocular manifestations of inflammation included vitritis (44%), anterior uveitis (19%), and retinal vasculitis (10%). Complications included choroidal neovascularization in two and exudative retinal detachment with cataract, glaucoma, and cystoid macular oedema in one patient each. The detection of Toxoplasma-specific IgM antibodies in a single patient indicates a low rate of OT concomitant with acute infection. After treatment, the mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) increased significantly. However, 14 (24%) patients ended up legally blind in the affected eye, of which 2 (3%) with bilateral blindness, all with a very poor BCVA (0.047 +/- 0.055) at presentation. Visual impairment and treatment outcome were both associated with central localization of lesions (P lt 0.0001 and P = 0.006, respectively). Conclusion OT is a significant cause of posterior uveitis in Serbia. Patients should be aware of the recurring nature of OT and react immediately if symptoms occur. Eye (2012) 26, 723-728; doi: 10.1038/eye.2012.20; published online 24 February 201

Changes in Waist Circumference and the Incidence of Acute Myocardial Infarction in Middle-Aged Men and Women

BACKGROUND: Waist circumference (WC) measured at one point in time is positively associated with the risk of acute myocardial infarction (MI), but the association with changes in WC (DWC) is not clear. We investigated the association between DWC and the risk of MI in middle-aged men and women, and evaluated the influence from concurrent changes in BMI (DBMI). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Data on 38,593 participants from the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health study was analysed. Anthropometry was assessed in 1993-97 and 1999-02. Information on fatal and non-fatal MI was obtained from National Registers. Cases were validated by review of the medical records. Hazard ratios (HR) were calculated from Cox proportional hazard models with individuals considered at risk from 1999-02 until December 30 2009. During 8.4 years of follow-up, 1,041 incident cases of MI occurred. WC was positively associated with the risk of MI, but weakly after adjustment for BMI. DWC was not associated with the risk of MI (HR per 5 cm change = 1.01 (0.95, 1.09) with adjustment for covariates, baseline WC, BMI and DBMI). Associations with DWC were not notably different in sub-groups stratified according to baseline WC or DBMI, or when individuals with MI occurring within the first years of follow-up were excluded. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: WC was positively associated with the risk of MI in middle-aged men and women, but changes in WC were not. These findings suggest that a reduction in WC may be an insufficient target for prevention of MI in middle-aged men and women

Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis of α-Galactosidase A in Human Podocytes in Fabry Disease

Injury to the glomerular podocyte is a key mechanism in human glomerular disease and podocyte repair is an important therapeutic target. In Fabry disease, podocyte injury is caused by the intracellular accumulation of globotriaosylceramide. This study identifies in the human podocyte three endocytic receptors, mannose 6-phosphate/insulin-like growth II receptor, megalin, and sortilin and demonstrates their drug delivery capabilities for enzyme replacement therapy. Sortilin, a novel α-galactosidase A binding protein, reveals a predominant intracellular expression but also surface expression in the podocyte. The present study provides the rationale for the renal effect of treatment with α-galactosidase A and identifies potential pathways for future non-carbohydrate based drug delivery to the kidney podocyte and other potential affected organs