Artists' books at the Centre for Fine Print Research

An article on artists' books at the Centre for Fine Print Research

A Manifesto for the Book

What will be the canon for the artist’s book in the 21st Century? In an arena that now includes both digital and traditionally produced artists’ books, what will constitute the concepts of artists’ publishing in the future?This project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council from March 2008 - February 2010. This project investigated and discussed issues concerning the context and future of the artist’s book, in an attempt to extend and sustain critical debate of what constitutes an artist’s book in the 21st Century.One of the key points of this project was to try and include all the book related activity that artists engage with. To include work that was being produced on, and exclusively for, digital technologies within the book arts field, and not leave it floundering uncomfortably on the edge, or subjected to a different terminology altogether, if the artist considered what they were producing to be a book, then we felt it should be included. We also looked at the continued practice of traditional production processes for artists’ books such as letterpress, etching, lithography, screenprint and woodcut, and have interviewed a range of artists and publishers who work with these, as well as those producing livres d’artistes, fine press books, design bindings, multiples, installation and audio books.Bodman will give a conference paper on this book at the IMPACT 7 International Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking Conference at University of Melbourne 27-30 September 2011. Topic 14: Printmedia and the Artists' Book - paper title ‘A Manifesto for the Book - artist's book - artist's publication - book art?’. http://impact7.org.au/program_wednesday.htm

Group-based microfinance for collective empowerment: a systematic review of health impacts

$\textbf{Objective}$ To assess the impact on health-related outcomes, of group microfinance schemes based on collective empowerment. $\textbf{Methods}$ We searched the databases Social Sciences Citation Index, Embase, MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-Process, PsycINFO, Social Policy & Practice and Conference Proceedings Citation Index for articles published between 1 January 1980 and 29 February 2016. Articles reporting on health impacts associated with group-based microfinance were included in a narrative synthesis. $\textbf{Findings}$ We identified one cluster-randomized control trial and 22 quasi-experimental studies. All of the included interventions targeted poor women living in low- or middle-income countries. Some included a health-promotion component. The results of the higher quality studies indicated an association between membership of a microfinance scheme and improvements in the health of women and their children. The observed improvements included reduced maternal and infant mortality, better sexual health and, in some cases, lower levels of interpersonal violence. According to the results of the few studies in which changes in empowerment were measured, membership of the relatively large and well-established microfinance schemes generally led to increased empowerment but this did not necessarily translate into improved health outcomes. Qualitative evidence suggested that increased empowerment may have contributed to observed improvements in contraceptive use and mental well-being and reductions in the risk of violence from an intimate partner. $\textbf{Conclusion}$ Membership of the larger, well-established group-based microfinance schemes is associated with improvements in some health outcomes. Future studies need to be designed to cope better with bias and to assess negative as well as positive social and health impacts.The systematic review was funded by the United Kingdom Department of Health through the Public Health Research Consortium

Missed case of Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome: a case report

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Un Manifesto para o Livro (A Manifesto for the Book)

A Manifesto for the Book was first published as a free online download as part of the findings from a two-year AHRC funded research project on the future of the artist’s book in the digital age(http://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/canon.htm). The manifesto, co-authored by Bodman and Sowden was republished by invitation of the Editor in Chief José Bártolo, ESAD, Portugal, in PLI magazine, in English and Portuguese. PLI is a Portuguese, quarterly magazine devoted to design criticism and practice published by ESAD/Escola Superior de Artes e Design de Matosinhos (the Matosinhos Institute of Art and Design), (www.esad.pt). This particular double issue “Entusiasmo” is about publishing: self-publishing, DIY, big books, artists’ books, publishing as cultural and political production.Dedicated to the theme of Enthusiasm, in this issue of PLI, the desire to affirm the strength of art & design at a time of economic crisis is strongly visible. It is a double issue (no. 2/3) which features a wide range of national and international contributors, a total of 36 authors working in the areas of design, architecture, photography and contemporary thought. With more than 200 content-filled pages, this issue of PLI stands out in that its physical structure has turned it into a real piece of design, encompassing 5 different formats, various different types of paper and exploring differing graphic solutions that culminate in a magazine with a very strong visual presence.Contributors: António Quadros Ferreira, António Silveira Gomes, António Olaio, Atelier do Corvo, Brad Freeman, Caroline Niémant, Derek Birdsall, Emanuel Barbosa, Francisco Laranjo, Henrique Magalhães, Isabel Baraona, Isabel Lucena, Ken Garland, Kiluanji Kia Henda, José Albergaria, José Bártolo, José Brandão, Luís Miguel Castro, Margarida Azevedo, Maria João Baltazar, Mário Moura, Patrick Lasey, Paolo Deganello, Paulo T. Silva, Richard Kostelanetz, Roberto Vidal, Roger Sabin, Roger Willems, Sarah Brasseur, Sarah Bodman, Silvia Prudêncio, Steven McCarthy, Susana Carvalho, Susanna Edwards, Tom Sowden, Tony White, Vera Tavares

Draft Genome Sequence of NDM-5-Producing Escherichia coli Sequence Type 648 and Genetic Context of blaNDM-5 in Australia

We report here the draft genome sequence of uropathogenic Escherichia\ua0coli sequence type 648 (ST648) possessing blaNDM-5 from a 55-year-old female in Australia with a history of travel to India. The plasmid-mediated blaNDM-5 was in a genetic context nearly identical to that of the GenBank entry of an IncX3 blaNDM-5 plasmid previously reported from India (Klebsiella\ua0pneumoniae MGR-K194)

Antiretroviral therapy and liver disease progression in HIV and hepatitis C co-infected patients : a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: HIV co-infection exacerbates hepatitis C disease, increasing the risk of cirrhosis and hepatitis C-related mortality. Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is the current standard treatment for co-infected individuals, but the impact of cART and antiretroviral (ARV) monotherapy on liver disease in this population is unclear. We aimed to assess the effect of cART and ARV monotherapy on liver disease progression and liver-related mortality in individuals co-infected with HIV and chronic hepatitis C. Methods: A systematic review with meta-analyses was conducted. MEDLINE and EMBASE bibliographic databases were searched up to September 2015. Study quality was assessed using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Results were synthesised narratively and by meta-analysis. Results: Fourteen observational studies were included. In analyses that adjusted for potential confounders, risk of liver-related mortality was significantly lower in patients receiving cART (hazard ratio/odds ratio 0.31, 95 % CI 0.14 to 0.70). Results were similar in unadjusted analyses (relative risk 0.40, 95 % CI 0.29 to 0.55). For outcomes where metaanalysis could not be performed, results were less consistent. Some studies found cART was associated with lower incidence of, or slower progression of liver disease, fibrosis and cirrhosis, while others showed no evidence of benefit. We found no evidence of liver-related harm from cART or ARV monotherapy compared with no HIV therapy. Conclusions: cART was associated with significantly lower liver-related mortality in patients co-infected with HIV and HCV. Evidence of a positive association between cART and/or ARV monotherapy and liver-disease progression was less clear, but there was no evidence to suggest that the absence of antiretroviral therapy was preferable. Keywords: Systematic review, Meta-analysis, Anti-retroviral agents, Hepatitis C, HI

Parents' agendas in paediatric clinical trial recruitment are different from researchers' and often remain unvoiced: a qualitative study

Ensuring parents make an informed decision about their child's participation in a clinical trial is a challenge for practitioners as a parent's comprehension of a trial may differ from that intended by the practitioners responsible for recruitment. We explored what issues parents consider important when making a decision about participation in a paediatric clinical trial and their comprehension of these issues to inform future recruitment practice. This qualitative interview and observational study examined recruitment in four placebo-controlled, double-blind randomised clinical trials of medicines for children. Audio-recorded trial recruitment discussions between practitioners and parents (N = 41) were matched with semi-structured interviews with parents (N = 41). When making a decision about trial entry parents considered clinical benefit, child safety, practicalities of participation, research for the common good, access to medication and randomisation. Within these prioritised issues parents had specific misunderstandings, which had the potential to influence their decisions. While parents had many questions and concerns about trial participation which influenced their decision-making, they rarely voiced these during discussions about the trials with practitioners. Those involved in the recruitment of children to clinical trials need to be aware of parents' priorities and the sorts of misunderstandings that can arise with parents. Providing trial information that is tailored to what parents consider important in making a decision about a clinical trial may improve recruitment practice and ultimately benefit evidence-based paediatric medicine. © 2013 Woolfall et al