Remembering the Perpetrators: Nationalist Postmemory and Andrés Trapiello’s Ayer no más

In the last decade, much scholarly work has been dedicated to “postmemory,” a term coined by Holocaust scholar Marianne Hirsch and defined as “the response of the second generation to the trauma of the first.” This framework, originally applied to the creative work of the second generation of Holocaust victims, has also been used to treat the legacy of pain of Spanish Civil War victims. In literature, the majority of 21st century Spanish Civil War novels center upon the Republican victim (see Bertrand de Muñoz “Tendencias”). Andrés Trapiello’s novel Ayer no más counters this trend, as the protagonist is the son of a Falangist who participated in the murder of innocents during the war. The main character’s journey is not one towards greater empathy with Franco’s victims and/or recuperation of the memory of the atrocities committed, but rather towards a more complete understanding of his father. This article analyzes the motifs of nostalgia, desencanto, and empathy in Trapiellos’ most recent novel within the larger context of late 20th and 21st century Spanish Civil War fiction. It also explores the ethical consequences of using a postmemorial framework for perpetrators

Diluting substantive equality: why the UK government doesn't know if its welfare reforms promote equality

The UK Coalition government introduced a raft of welfare reforms between 2010-2015. As part of its response to the financial crisis reforms were designed to cut public expenditure on social security and enhance work incentives. Policy makers are required by legislation to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between different people. This Public Sector Equality Duty is an evidence-based duty which requires public authorities to assess the likely effects of policy on vulnerable groups. This chapter explores the extent to which the Department for Work and Pensions adequately assessed the equality impacts of key welfare reforms when policy was being formulated. The chapter focuses on the assessment of the impact of reductions to welfare benefits on individuals with protected characteristics - age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, and sexual orientation - including individual and cumulative impacts. It also considers mitigating actions to offset negative impacts and how the collection of evidence on equality impacts was used when formulating policy. The chapter shows that the impacts of the reforms were only systematically assessed by age and gender, and, where data were available, by disability and ethnicity with no attempt to gauge cumulative impacts. There is also evidence of Equality Impact Assessments finding a disproportionate impact on individuals with protected characteristics where no mitigating action was taken

"Recuerda que soy tu criatura": de "francosteins" y su memoria

1 online resource (PDF, page 13-25

New Deal for Disabled People: second synthesis report - interim findings from the evaluation

The New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP) is the major employment programme available to people claiming incapacity-related benefits, and is an important part of the Government’s welfare-to-work strategy. NDDP is a voluntary programme that provides a national network of Job Brokers to help people with health conditions and disabilities move into sustained employment. The evaluation design incorporates a longitudinal dimension, and this report presents selected findings from the evaluation. It covers developments up to and including spring 2004, and synthesises findings from fieldwork with NDDP participants, employers, members of the eligible population, those delivering the programme (notably staff from Job Brokers and Jobcentre Plus offices), and from administrative data. There are two recurrent themes running through this report: first, continuity and change in the programme, the institutions delivering NDDP and in respondents’ views and experiences; and secondly, identifying ‘what works’ in terms of securing job entries and sustainable employment. For findings covered in both synthesis reports, Chapter 2 maps the extent to which there has been continuity and change for selective aspects of NDDP. As might be expected there are some aspects of NDDP that are unchanged. However, there is also evidence of change and progression – for example, of improved relationships between Job Brokers and Jobcentre Plus locally

Receiving the LHA : claimants’ early experiences of the LHA in the nine Pathfinder Areas

As part of its reform of Housing Benefit, the Government has introduced a Local Housing Allowance (LHA) for private rented sector claimants in nine Pathfinder areas. This report gives early findings from the claimant stream of the evaluation of LHA and covers the period up to around six months after the start of LHA in each Pathfinder. It is important to stress that these are early, emerging findings. Many claimants will only just have gone onto LHA or received direct payment for the first time, so the behavioural impacts of LHA are unlikely to have fed through as yet. These will be monitored throughout the evaluation period to assess any future changes and so these findings may develop over time

FLNC Gene Splice Mutations Cause Dilated\ua0Cardiomyopathy

OBJECTIVE: To identify novel dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) causing genes, and to elucidate the pathological mechanism leading to DCM by utilizing zebrafish as a model organism. BACKGROUND: DCM, a major cause of heart failure, is frequently familial and caused by a genetic defect. However, only 50% of DCM cases can be attributed to a known DCM gene variant, motivating the ongoing search for novel disease genes. METHODS: We performed whole exome sequencing (WES) in two multigenerational Italian families and one US family with arrhythmogenic DCM without skeletal muscle defects, in whom prior genetic testing had been unrevealing. Pathogenic variants were sought by a combination of bioinformatic filtering and cosegregation testing among affected individuals within the families. We performed function assays and generated a zebrafish morpholino knockdown model. RESULTS: A novel filamin C gene splicing variant (FLNC c.7251+1 G>A) was identified by WES in all affected family members in the two Italian families. A separate novel splicing mutation (FLNC c.5669-1delG) was identified in the US family. Western blot analysis of cardiac heart tissue from an affected individual showed decreased FLNC protein, supporting a haploinsufficiency model of pathogenesis. To further analyze this model, a morpholino knockdown of the ortholog filamin Cb in zebrafish was created which resulted in abnormal cardiac function and ultrastructure. CONCLUSIONS: Using WES, we identified two novel FLNC splicing variants as the likely cause of DCM in three families. We provided protein expression and in vivo zebrafish data supporting haploinsufficiency as the pathogenic mechanism leading to DCM

Searching For Dark Matter with Plasma Haloscopes

We summarise the recent progress of the Axion Longitudinal Plasma HAloscope (ALPHA) Consortium, a new experimental collaboration to build a plasma haloscope to search for axions and dark photons. The plasma haloscope is a novel method for the detection of the resonant conversion of light dark matter to photons. ALPHA will be sensitive to QCD axions over almost a decade of parameter space, potentially discovering dark matter and resolving the Strong CP problem. Unlike traditional cavity haloscopes, which are generally limited in volume by the Compton wavelength of the dark matter, plasma haloscopes use a wire metamaterial to create a tuneable artificial plasma frequency, decoupling the wavelength of light from the Compton wavelength and allowing for much stronger signals. We develop the theoretical foundations of plasma haloscopes and discuss recent experimental progress. Finally, we outline a baseline design for ALPHA and show that a full-scale experiment could discover QCD axions over almost a decade of parameter space.Comment: Endorsers: Jens Dilling, Michael Febbraro, Stefan Knirck, and Claire Marvinney. 26 pages, 17 figures, version accepted in Physical Review

N_LyST: a simple and rapid screening test for Lynch Syndrome

Aims: We sought to use PCR followed by high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis to develop a single closed-tube screening panel to screen for Lynch Syndrome. This comprises tests for microsatellite instability (MSI), MLH1 methylation promoter and BRAF mutation.Methods:For MSI-testing, 5 mononucleotide markers (BAT25, BAT26, BCAT25, MYB, EWSR1) were developed. In addition, primers were designed to interrogate Region C of the MLH1 promoter for methylation (using bisulphite-modified DNA) and to test for mutations in codon 600 of BRAF. Two separate cohorts from Nottingham (n = 99, 46 with MSI, 53 being microsatellite stable (MSS)) and Edinburgh (n=88, 45 MSI, 43 MSS). Results:All the cases (n=187) were blind tested for MSI and all were correctly characterised by our panel. The MLH1 promoter and BRAF were tested only in the Nottingham cohort. Successful blinded analysis was performed on the MLH1 promoter in 97 cases. All MSS cases showed a pattern of non-methylation whilst 41/44 cases with MSI showed full methylation. The three cases with MSI and a non-methylated pattern had aberrations in MSH2 and MSH6 expression. BRAF mutation was detected in 61% of MSI cases and 11% of MSS cases. Finally, 12 cases were blind screened by using the whole panel as a single test. Of these, 5 were identified as MSS, 4 as MSI/non-LS and 3 as MSI/possible LS. These results were concordant with the previous data.Conclusion: We describe the Nottingham Lynch Syndrome Test (N_LyST). This is a quick simple cheap method for screening for Lynch Syndrome

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

International genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new primary biliary cirrhosis risk loci and targetable pathogenic pathways.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a classical autoimmune liver disease for which effective immunomodulatory therapy is lacking. Here we perform meta-analyses of discovery data sets from genome-wide association studies of European subjects (n=2,764 cases and 10,475 controls) followed by validation genotyping in an independent cohort (n=3,716 cases and 4,261 controls). We discover and validate six previously unknown risk loci for PBC (Pcombined<5 × 10(-8)) and used pathway analysis to identify JAK-STAT/IL12/IL27 signalling and cytokine-cytokine pathways, for which relevant therapies exist