Review of: Imaging Pilgrimage: Art as Embodied Experience by Kathryn R. Barush

Book Review of Imaging Pilgrimage: Art as Embodied Experience by Kathryn R. Barus

The Common Swift Louse Fly, Crataerina pallida: An Ideal Species for Studying Host-Parasite Interactions

Little is known of the life-history of many parasitic species. This hinders a full understanding of host-parasitic interactions. The common swift louse fly, Crataerina pallida Latreille (Diptera: Hippoboscidae), an obligate haematophagous parasite of the Common Swift, Apus apus Linnaeus 1758, is one such species. No detrimental effect of its parasitism upon the host has been found. This may be because too little is known about C. pallida ecology, and therefore detrimental effects are also unknown. This is a review of what is known about the life-history of this parasite, with the aim of promoting understanding of its ecology. New, previously unreported observations about C. pallida made from personal observations at a nesting swift colony are described. Unanswered questions are highlighted, which may aid understanding of this host-parasite system. C. pallida may prove a suitable model species for the study of other host-parasite relationships

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Duration of androgen deprivation therapy with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of long-course versus short-course androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised trial

Background Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain. Methods RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT) or 24 months of ADT (long-course ADT) to radiotherapy, using subcutaneous gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (monthly in the short-course ADT group and 3-monthly in the long-course ADT group), daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. The comparison had more than 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 75% to 81% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72). Standard time-to-event analyses were used. Analyses followed intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT00541047 . Findings Between Jan 30, 2008, and July 7, 2015, 1523 patients (median age 65 years, IQR 60–69) were randomly assigned to receive short-course ADT (n=761) or long-course ADT (n=762) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 138 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years (7·0–10·0), 313 metastasis-free survival events were reported overall (174 in the short-course ADT group and 139 in the long-course ADT group; HR 0·773 [95% CI 0·612–0·975]; p=0·029). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 71·9% (95% CI 67·6–75·7) in the short-course ADT group and 78·1% (74·2–81·5) in the long-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 105 (14%) of 753 participants in the short-course ADT group and 142 (19%) of 757 participants in the long-course ADT group (p=0·025), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Compared with adding 6 months of ADT, adding 24 months of ADT improved metastasis-free survival in people receiving postoperative radiotherapy. For individuals who can accept the additional duration of adverse effects, long-course ADT should be offered with postoperative radiotherapy. Funding Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society

Adding 6 months of androgen deprivation therapy to postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of short-course versus no androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised controlled trial

Background Previous evidence indicates that adjuvant, short-course androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves metastasis-free survival when given with primary radiotherapy for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the value of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy is unclear. Methods RADICALS-HD was an international randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of ADT used in combination with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to radiotherapy alone (no ADT) or radiotherapy with 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT), using monthly subcutaneous gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue injections, daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as distant metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. Standard survival analysis methods were used, accounting for randomisation stratification factors. The trial had 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 80% to 86% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·67). Analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00541047. Findings Between Nov 22, 2007, and June 29, 2015, 1480 patients (median age 66 years [IQR 61–69]) were randomly assigned to receive no ADT (n=737) or short-course ADT (n=743) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 121 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 9·0 years (IQR 7·1–10·1), metastasis-free survival events were reported for 268 participants (142 in the no ADT group and 126 in the short-course ADT group; HR 0·886 [95% CI 0·688–1·140], p=0·35). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 79·2% (95% CI 75·4–82·5) in the no ADT group and 80·4% (76·6–83·6) in the short-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 121 (17%) of 737 participants in the no ADT group and 100 (14%) of 743 in the short-course ADT group (p=0·15), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Metastatic disease is uncommon following postoperative bed radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy. Adding 6 months of ADT to this radiotherapy did not improve metastasis-free survival compared with no ADT. These findings do not support the use of short-course ADT with postoperative radiotherapy in this patient population

D.: The implications of perceptions and cultural knowledge loss for the management of wooded landscapes: A UK case-study, Forest Ecol

Abstract Confirmed by an extensive international literature, forest landscapes reflect and influence community cultural history. As palimpsests of archaeology they provide evidence of former uses. Information about wooded landscapes, on the ground and in archives, relates to woodland and non-woodland activities. Ancient woodland landscapes preserve features relating to environmental factors and people's activities. Human influences include: (a) those related to woodland and its utilisation and (b) those of non-wooded periods. Present-day woods were formed and influenced by both, not always equally, each site to some extent a unique living catalogue of landscape history. Evidence includes the woodland ecology, for example, botanical 'indicators' of antiquity or disturbance, the 'archaeological features or finds', and the field evidence of tree-forms (working trees) and earthworks. Intensive UK-based studies show the depth and diversity of people/woodland interactions, and that understanding of these landscapes and their drivers has changed over recent years. There remain deep-seated problems of limited understanding of the interactions of culture and nature in these landscapes; ecologists and foresters often failing to see this. Archaeologists recognise built structures ('monuments') and 'finds' but overlook ecology and many earthworks. With Ecclesall Woods (100-ha case-study) the official archaeological information repository (The South Yorkshire Sites and Monuments Record) after visits by senior archaeologists and ecologists had four to five only 'finds' or 'features', the research described in this paper revised this to over 1000. Ecologists surveying the site considered it 'typical inherently species-poor Coal Measures Series woodland'. However, this 'typical' and 'natural' vegetation is to a large degree an artefact of 500+ years of intensive human exploitation. Understanding these landscapes has been made more difficult by the rapid loss of local cultural knowledge about woodland management. These issues are exemplified and their consequences noted for a case-study in Sheffield, England

An historic overview of the impacts of forests on warfare and warfare on forests

Trees, woods, and forests impact on warfare through their roles as terrain, and as important or even essential resources. Furthermore, since ancient times, access to the resources provided by forests has been the direct cause of major conflicts (Rotherham, 2024). For early civilisations as in the Mediterranean region for instance, the loss of forest resources through over-exploitation or conquest from outside, could cause collapse (Perlin, 1989). Indeed, as regional timber resources were exhausted and supply-lines to necessary forests became over-extended, there was inevitable strain on social and economic or political structures. Woods and forests also provided essential resources for the successful waging of war and for the undertaking of military campaigns, and this was the case from antiquity and certainly up until the First World War (Cana, 1920; Rotherham, 2024; Pearson et al., 2010).Along with trees, woods, and forests as resources, forested landscapes have influenced conflicts through their roles as the settings within which military campaigns were implemented (Cana, 1920; Clayton, 2012). Forested countryside has proved critical in tipping the balance of conflict between, for example, native, indigenous peoples and external forces often unfamiliar with the local terrain. The forest influences the type of warfare waged and the nature of resistance to invasion by external forces. Indeed, history is populated by examples whereby superior, external, military forces have been unable to suppress or remove much smaller and technologically inferior communities fighting from a forested homeland (Grunwald, 2006; Perrett, 1990).Finally, all the above-mentioned factors result in warfare impacting of forested countryside when a conflict takes place. This impact occurs for various and varied reasons from simple over-exploitation of the resources for fuel, construction, or other uses, or because in times of conflict the usual processes governing the uses of forest resources break down (Pearson, 2012; Matteson, 2015). A result may be a long-term impact of forest or woodland degradation because of the short-term over-utilization during conflicts.These issues are explored with examples to illustrate the processes and consequences of forested countryside influencing warfare, and the impacts of war on trees, woods, and forests

Il ruolo dei network per le imprese familiari: uno studio preliminare sulle attrazioni nell’area rurale del Sussex, Inghilterra

Il ruolo dei network per le imprese familiari: uno studio preliminare sulle attrazioni nell’area rurale del Sussex, Inghilterra - This paper analyses the relationships between family business and networking processes with a case study of visitor attractions in rural Sussex in England. Following a review of key literature on relevant aspects of entrepreneurial and tourism research related to networking activity, a focused study was undertaken to address formal and informal relationships. The results of cross comparison reveal that the presence of common goals between the network members is important in any long-term adherence to a network. The empirical evidence indicates that family businesses adopt a different networking strategy in relation to expected entrepreneurial problem-solving processes. A model is proposed in which networking process is explained in relation with information dissemination and knowledge diffusion, destination governance, and innovation process.