Review: The Journal of Dramaturgy, volume 20, 2009/2010

Contents include: Recognizing Toward a Dramaturgical Sensibility, Geoff Proehl, recipient of the 2009 ATHE Outstanding Book Award; Geoff Proehl\u27s Acceptance Speech, Association for Theatre in Higher Education Awards Ceremony August 10, 2009; Millennial Dramaturgy, A conversation about the new book Dramaturgy and Performance; Creating Sub/Text, Dramaturging the ReStaged Festival; Dramaturgy and Interdisciplinary Learning, A Case Study of Russian Theatre and Politics; Thinking about Theatre Photography; Theatre / Photography. Issue editors: D.J. Hopkins, Sydney Cheek O\u27Donnell, Lauren Beckhttps://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/lmdareview/1040/thumbnail.jp

Investigation of hospital discharge cases and SARS-CoV-2 introduction into Lothian care homes

Background The first epidemic wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Scotland resulted in high case numbers and mortality in care homes. In Lothian, over one-third of care homes reported an outbreak, while there was limited testing of hospital patients discharged to care homes. Aim To investigate patients discharged from hospitals as a source of SARS-CoV-2 introduction into care homes during the first epidemic wave. Methods A clinical review was performed for all patients discharges from hospitals to care homes from 1st March 2020 to 31st May 2020. Episodes were ruled out based on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test history, clinical assessment at discharge, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data and an infectious period of 14 days. Clinical samples were processed for WGS, and consensus genomes generated were used for analysis using Cluster Investigation and Virus Epidemiological Tool software. Patient timelines were obtained using electronic hospital records. Findings In total, 787 patients discharged from hospitals to care homes were identified. Of these, 776 (99%) were ruled out for subsequent introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes. However, for 10 episodes, the results were inconclusive as there was low genomic diversity in consensus genomes or no sequencing data were available. Only one discharge episode had a genomic, time and location link to positive cases during hospital admission, leading to 10 positive cases in their care home. Conclusion The majority of patients discharged from hospitals were ruled out for introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes, highlighting the importance of screening all new admissions when faced with a novel emerging virus and no available vaccine

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron is an immune escape variant with an altered cell entry pathway

Vaccines based on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 are a cornerstone of the public health response to COVID-19. The emergence of hypermutated, increasingly transmissible variants of concern (VOCs) threaten this strategy. Omicron (B.1.1.529), the fifth VOC to be described, harbours multiple amino acid mutations in spike, half of which lie within the receptor-binding domain. Here we demonstrate substantial evasion of neutralization by Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants in vitro using sera from individuals vaccinated with ChAdOx1, BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273. These data were mirrored by a substantial reduction in real-world vaccine effectiveness that was partially restored by booster vaccination. The Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2 did not induce cell syncytia in vitro and favoured a TMPRSS2-independent endosomal entry pathway, these phenotypes mapping to distinct regions of the spike protein. Impaired cell fusion was determined by the receptor-binding domain, while endosomal entry mapped to the S2 domain. Such marked changes in antigenicity and replicative biology may underlie the rapid global spread and altered pathogenicity of the Omicron variant

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

The paradox of the actress: Fanny Kemble and the performances of Juliet and Lady Macbeth.

This study examines the meaning of womanhood in the life and theatrical performances of nineteenth-century actress, Fanny Kemble. I draw from scholarship in women's history, feminist criticism, and semiotics to explore the paradox of the actress who is both the object of the male gaze and the subject of her own performances. This paradox is not only an important aspect of the creation of meaning in theatrical performance, it also describes the constant interplay of forces in, around and against the ubiquitous objectification of women in the nineteenth century. In life, as in performance, the meaning of womanhood was complex, controversial and continually transforming. The paradox of the actress provides a particularly useful point of departure for a study of Kemble. As an actress who claimed to hate performing and as an independent woman who professed a belief in the dependent nature of women, Kemble embodied many of the contradictions of her age. Throughout her two acting careers---initially as a dutiful daughter playing ingenues such as Juliet in her father's company and later as an embattled wife performing mature roles such as Lady Macbeth on tour---she continually transformed her concept and performance of womanhood in response to the contradictions she encountered. As a young actress, Kemble gradually supplanted her self-image as an honorary male with a notion of idealized womanhood which she sought to embody on and off the stage. Her Juliet was popular with audiences who perceived idealized images of feminine delicacy in her performances. Yet these same performances also conveyed a contrasting sense of female power that was consistent with Kemble's analysis of the character. When Kemble returned to the stage, she viewed morality and the maternal instinct as central characteristics of womanhood. Therefore, she interpreted the evil power of Lady Macbeth as masculine. This controversial Lady Macbeth aroused ambiguous and contradictory responses among audiences which exemplify her age's growing concerns over female power. The range of critics' reactions to Kemble's performances suggests that she both confirmed and violated the objectified position of women in a male-dominated society. The diverse and often conflicting images of womanhood that emerged from the conception, production and reception of Kemble's Juliet and Lady Macbeth indicate the ways in which women's theatrical performances mirrored the social debates over the meaning of womanhood.Ph.D.BiographiesCommunication and the ArtsSocial SciencesTheaterWomen's studiesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/131981/2/9938517.pd

Ecosystem engineering in the Quaternary of the West Coast of South Africa

Despite advances in our understanding of the geographic and temporal scope of the Paleolithic record, we know remarkably little about the evolutionary and ecological consequences of changes in human behavior. Recent inquiries suggest that human evolution reflects a long history of interconnections between the behavior of humans and their surrounding ecosystems (e.g., niche construction). Developing expectations to identify such phenomena is remarkably difficult because it requires understanding the multi-generational impacts of changes in behavior. These long-term dynamics require insights into the emergent phenomena that alter selective pressures over longer time periods which are not possible to observe, and are also not intuitive based on observations derived from ethnographic time scales. Generative models show promise for probing these potentially unexpected consequences of human-environment interaction. Changes in the uses of landscapes may have long term implications for the environments that hominins occupied. We explore other potential proxies of behavior and examine how modeling may provide expectations for a variety of phenomena.University of Cape Town Archaeology Department and Human Evolution Research Institute; National Research Foundation (South Africa)National Research Foundation - South Africa [84407]; National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation (NSF) [1826666

Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a university outbreak setting and implications for public health planning

AbstractWhole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 has occurred at an unprecedented scale, and can be exploited for characterising outbreak risks at the fine-scale needed to inform control strategies. One setting at continued risk of COVID-19 outbreaks are higher education institutions, associated with student movements at the start of term, close living conditions within residential halls, and high social contact rates. Here we analysed SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequences in combination with epidemiological data to investigate a large cluster of student cases associated with University of Glasgow accommodation in autumn 2020, Scotland. We identified 519 student cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with this large cluster through contact tracing data, with 30% sequencing coverage for further analysis. We estimated at least 11 independent introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into the student population, with four comprising the majority of detected cases and consistent with separate outbreaks. These four outbreaks were curtailed within a week following implementation of control measures. The impact of student infections on the local community was short-term despite an underlying increase in community infections. Our study highlights the need for context-specific information in the formation of public health policy for higher educational settings.</jats:p