Constellations of identity: place-ma(r)king beyond heritage

This paper will critically consider the different ways in which history and belonging have been treated in artworks situated in the Citadel development in Ayr on the West coast of Scotland. It will focus upon one artwork, Constellation by Stephen Hurrel, as an alternative to the more conventional landscapes of heritage which are adjacent, to examine the relationship between personal history and place history and argue the primacy of participatory process in the creation of place and any artwork therein. Through his artwork, Hurrel has attempted to adopt a material process through which place can be created performatively but, in part due to its non-representational form, proves problematic, aesthetically and longitudinally, in wholly engaging the community. The paper will suggest that through variants of ‘new genre public art’ such as this, personal and place histories can be actively re-created through the redevelopment of contemporary urban landscapes but also highlight the complexities and indeterminacies involved in the relationship between artwork, people and place

GEO-6 assessment for the pan-European region

Through this assessment, the authors and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) secretariat are providing an objective evaluation and analysis of the pan-European environment designed to support environmental decision-making at multiple scales. In this assessment, the judgement of experts is applied to existing knowledge to provide scientifically credible answers to policy-relevant questions. These questions include, but are not limited to the following:• What is happening to the environment in the pan-European region and why?• What are the consequences for the environment and the human population in the pan-European region?• What is being done and how effective is it?• What are the prospects for the environment in the future?• What actions could be taken to achieve a more sustainable future?<br/

Connecting the Dots: a cluster-randomized clinical trial integrating standardized autism spectrum disorders screening, high-quality treatment, and long-term outcomes.

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects one in 54 children in the United States of America, and supporting people with ASD across the lifespan presents challenges that impact individuals, families, and communities and can be quite costly. The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued recommendations for routine ASD screening at 18 and 24 months, but some research suggests that few pediatricians perform high-fidelity, standardized screening universally. Furthermore, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) found insufficient evidence to recommend for or against universal ASD screening. The objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that children with ASD who have high fidelity; standardized screening will achieve superior outcomes at 5 years of age compared to children receiving usual care ASD detection strategies.MethodsThis is a cluster-randomized, controlled clinical trial in 3 sites in the USA. Pediatric practices will be randomized to implement universal, standardized, high-fidelity toddler screening or usual care, with randomization stratified by the practice size. The study will enroll 3450 children, approximately half in each group. From this sample, we anticipate 100 children to be diagnosed with ASD. Children in both groups receiving an ASD diagnosis will be administered the Early Start Denver Model, an evidence-based early intervention addressing social, communication, and cognitive functioning. Treatment will last for 1 year, with up to 20 h per week of therapy for children with ASD.ResultsPrimary outcomes measured at baseline, following treatment, and at 4 and 5 years of age include ASD symptom severity (Brief Observation of Social Communication Change (BOSCC)) and cognitive functioning (Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) and Differential Abilities Scale-II (DAS-II)). Secondary outcomes in children include measures of adaptive functioning, ASD symptoms, and kindergarten readiness; secondary analyses will also examine stress and empowerment among parents. Several novel exploratory measures will be included as well. The study will utilize a modified intention-to-treat analysis.ConclusionsThis trial will evaluate the impact of universal, standardized, high-fidelity screening for ASD among children at 18 months of age, with a goal of providing evidence to support this strategy to detect ASD in toddlers in order to start treatment as young as possible and maximize outcomes.Ethics and disseminationThis study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Drexel University (IRB protocol: 1607004653). All findings will be provided by the principal investigator via email; data will be available through the NIMH Data Archive ( https://nda.nih.gov/ ).Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03333629 . Registered on November 7, 2017

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Skin Reaction Predicts Enhanced Mycobacteria-Specific T-Cell Responses in Infants: A Post Hoc Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Rationale: Scar formation following bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination has been associated with lower all-cause mortality; the relation between scar and mycobacteria-specific protection against tuberculosis is debated. Objectives: To evaluate the association between BCG skin reaction and mycobacteria-specific immune responses. Methods: Apost hocanalysis was done among 214 infants in Australia randomized to vaccination with one of three BCG vaccine strains (BCG-Denmark, BCG-Japan, or BCG-Russia) given at birth or BCG-Denmark given at 2 months of age. Measurements and Main Results: BCG skin reaction size and characteristics 10 weeks after vaccination were related to thein vitromycobacteria-specific immune responses measured in stimulated whole blood. The size and characteristics of the skin reaction correlated positively within vitroimmune responses, even after adjusting for BCG vaccine strain and age at vaccination. Specifically, the reaction size and characteristics correlated with the proportion of mycobacteria-specific polyfunctional CD4+T cells after stimulation with BCG and PPD and, to a lesser extent, after stimulation withMycobacterium tuberculosisorMycobacterium ulcerans. A similar correlation was observed with concentrations of IFN-γ, IL-2, tumor necrosis factor, and IL-13 in the supernatant after stimulation with BCG, PPD, andM. tuberculosisand to some degree for the proportions of mycobacteria-specific polyfunctional CD8+T cells and CD107+cytotoxic cells. Conclusions: BCG skin reaction correlated with the magnitude of mycobacteria-specific T-cell responses. As T-cell responses play a key role in defense against mycobacteria, the relationship between BCG scar formation and protection against tuberculosis should be revisited. This may also extend to the need for BCG revaccination in scar-negative individuals. Clinical trial registered with www.australianclinicaltrials.gov.au/clinical-trial-registries (ACTRN12608000227392).</p

Bone resorption in syndromes of the Ras/MAPK pathway

BACKGROUND: Disorders of the Ras/MAPK pathway have an overlapping skeletal phenotype (eg. scoliosis, osteopenia). The Ras proteins regulate cell proliferation and differentiation and NF1 individuals have osteoclast hyperactivity and increased bone resorption as measured by urine pyridinium crosslinks [pyridinoline (Pyd) and deoxypyridinoline (Dpd)]. Pyd and Dpd are hydroxylysine derived cross-links of collagen found in bone and cartilage and excreted in the urine. Dpd is most abundant in bone. The aim of this study was to evaluate if other syndromes of the Ras/MAPK pathway have increased bone resorption, which may impact the skeletal phenotype. METHODS AND RESULTS: Participants: [Noonan syndrome (n=14), Costello syndrome (n=21), and cardiofaciocutaneous (CFC) syndrome (n=14)]. Pyridinium cross-links from two consecutive first morning urines were extracted after acid hydrolysis and analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromotography. Three separate analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were performed to compare Pyd, Dpd, and Dpd/Pyd ratio of each group to controls after controlling for age. Data were compared to 99 healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: The Dpd and the Dpd/Pyd ratio were elevated (p<0.0001) in all 3 conditions compared to controls suggesting that collagen degradation was predominantly from bone. The data suggest that the Ras/MAPK signal transduction pathway is important in bone homeostasis

A pós-modernização da cultura: património e museus na contemporaneidade

Este artigo pretende analisar o crescimento e a diversificação de museus e sítios patrimoniais na contemporaneidade, procurando problematizar este fenómeno no âmbito das condições que caracterizam a pós-modernidade e que incluem uma multiplicidade de aspectos, como sejam, os processos de globalização, os localismos, a nostalgia pelo passado, a problemática da representação cultural no quadro das críticas ao realismo e a uma epistemologia positivista, bem como a mercantilização da cultura e a ênfase crescente na questão dos públicos e nos processos de interpretação e comunicação que se desenrolam nestes cenários culturais.<br>This paper intends to analyse the growth and diversification of museums and heritage sites in the contemporary world, seeking to investigate this subject in the vast context of post-modernity, addressing several dimensions such as globalization, localisms, nostalgia for the past, cultural representation and the critics of realism and positivist epistemology. It will also revolve around the comodification of culture, the increasing emphasis on audiences, as well as the processes of interpretation and communication that take place at this cultural cenarios