The Paradox of Compacts: final report to the Home Office on monitoring the impact of Compacts

The Compact is an important building block in achieving a better relationship between Government and the voluntary and community sector. We are fully committed to partnership working with the sector and increasing their role in civil society and in the delivery of public s e rvices. The Compact helps us to work better together, so that we can better meet the needs of communities

Validity of Telemetric-Derived Measures of Heart Rate Variability: A Systematic Review

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a widely accepted indirect measure of autonomic function with widespread application across many settings. Although traditionally measured from the ‘gold standard’ criterion electrocardiography (ECG), the development of wireless telemetric heart rate monitors (HRMs) extends the scope of the HRV measurement. However, the validity of telemetric-derived data against the criterion ECG data is unclear. Thus, the purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to systematically review the validity of telemetric HRM devices to detect inter-beat intervals and aberrant beats; and (b) to determine the accuracy of HRV parameters computed from HRM-derived inter-beat interval time series data against criterion ECG-derived data in healthy adults aged 19 to 62 yrs. A systematic review of research evidence was conducted. Four electronic databases were accessed to obtain relevant articles (PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE and SPORTDiscus. Articles published in English between 1996 and 2016 were eligible for inclusion. Outcome measures included temporal and power spectral indices (Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology (1996). The review confirmed that modern HRMs (Polar® V800™ and Polar® RS800CX™) accurately detected inter-beat interval time-series data. The HRV parameters computed from the HRM-derived time series data were interchangeable with the ECG-derived data. The accuracy of the automatic in-built manufacturer error detection and the HRV algorithms were not established. Notwithstanding acknowledged limitations (a single reviewer, language bias, and the restricted selection of HRV parameters), we conclude that the modern Polar® HRMs offer a valid useful alternative to the ECG for the acquisition of inter-beat interval time series data, and the HRV parameters computed from Polar® HRM-derived inter-beat interval time series data accurately reflect ECG-derived HRV metrics, when inter-beat interval data are processed and analyzed using identical protocols, validated algorithms and software, particularly under controlled and stable conditions

Family pictures "out of place" : race, resistance, and affirmation in the Pope family photograph collection, 1890-1920

"This thesis explores the significance of family photography for African Americans in the Jim Crow South through an examination of the photograph collection kept by the Popes, a middle-class African American family of Raleigh, NC. Drawing from multiple disciplines including social history, material culture, and visual culture, the study argues that portraiture represents a crucial yet under-examined arena for the construction of black identity and the expression of political agency under segregation. Findings include that the production, display, and distribution of photographs by families like the Popes represented political acts of opposition to images of blacks created by the dominant culture, as well as examples of African Americans taking control over their own representation in response to white supremacist stereotypes. Meanwhile, these photographs also fulfilled important personal functions, allowing blacks to shape their own legacy and to define and affirm their own senses of beauty, self-worth, and belonging."--Abstract from author supplied metadata

Creative placemaking and the cultural projectariat: artistic work in the wake of Hull City of Culture 2017

Cultural work attracts much sociological interest and is often seen as typifying “precarity”. However, this scholarship rarely examines how “placemaking” policy interventions affect the concrete conditions of cultural work. We study a major recent public/private policy intervention in the United Kingdom: Hull City of Culture 2017. This intervention embodied a multifaceted set of policy logics; combining the desire to boost arts participation, with a market-facing imperative to bolster the city’s “brand”. We examine what happened to the city’s “cultural projectariat” (meaning those workers whose career depends on assembling sequences of discrete, time-limited funded cultural projects) during this event. The influx of funds created opportunities for good quality work, but specific sources of insecurity persisted and in certain respects intensified: including the need for significant unpaid work, and permanent competition for resources. City of Culture’s nature as a market-oriented “placemaking” intervention limits its capacity to ameliorate the conditions of cultural work, which has to be conceived as a policy end in itself if conditions of the cultural projectariat are to be improved

Factors associated with low fruit and vegetable consumption among people with severe mental ill health

Severe mental ill health (SMI) is associated with excess mortality, and poor diet is one associated modifiable risk factor. This study investigated factors associated with low consumption of fruit and vegetables among people with SMI (N = 9914). A total of 8.4% of participants ate no portions per day, while only 15% ate 5 + portions. Individuals who never consumed fruit and vegetables or ate < 5 portions per day were more likely to be male, younger than 65, unemployed, experience poorer general health, or perceive health as unimportant. Poor diet is common among people with SMI and tailored dietary improvement interventions are required

A Layered History: Interpreting Cultural Resources at Sesquicentennial State Park

Sesquicentennial State Park is one of the most popular state parks in South Carolina and is well-known in the Columbia metropolitan area as a refuge from the hustle and bustle of the urban scene. Driving through its entrance gates from busy Two Notch Road, visitors find themselves immediately in the midst of a pine forest. Past the ranger’s kiosk a winding road follows the contours of the gently rolling terrain, offering occasional glimpses of a mysterious fire tower, an evocative two-story log house, and eventually the open vista of a large lake with white concrete buildings and lawns along the shore. This beguiling patch of nature in the midst of the city has long been a place for recreation and for learning natural history in an “outdoor classroom.” Although an historical plaque notes that the park was established by the Sesquicentennial Commission, there is little at the modern park to help visitors see that the site has both natural history and a deep human history. (A couple of recently placed waysides now explain the role of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and a civil rights challenge in the 1960s.) This report presents some preliminary findings on the human history of the park – as well as the history of the site before it became a park. The report is divided into seven sections. The first section is the park’s current mission statement. Sections two and three present a set of “statements of significance” and “primary interpretive themes” which seek to identify important patterns of history at the site as ways to make the past meaningful to public audiences. The fourth and largest section offers fresh research on the history of Sesquicentennial State Park by “periodizing” it into five eras: the pre-park history, the role of the Sesquicentennial Commission of 1936 in creating the park, the management of the South Carolina Commission of Forestry, the ten-year struggle to desegregate South Carolina’s state parks, and the management of the South Carolina State Park Service, the current steward of the park. Section five offers ideas for how this history might be communicated to visitors in a cost-effective manner, using strategically placed QR codes in public areas and along existing walking trails. Because this is a preliminary report on park history, section six contains suggestions for further research to help guide future researchers, within or beyond the South Carolina State Park Service. The research team discovered much new information but much more can be uncovered. Lastly, section seven is an appendix with an historical timeline, bibliographies, additional information on individuals significant in the pre-park era, and a list of people who worked to establish a museum on the history of Columbia as one legacy of the Sesquicentennial commemoration.https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/pubhist_books/1004/thumbnail.jp

Jahn-Teller driven electronic instability in thermoelectric tetrahedrite

Tetrahedrite, Cu12Sb4S13, is an abundant mineral with excellent thermoelectric properties owing to its low thermal conductivity. The electronic and structural origin of the intriguing physical properties of tetrahedrite, including its metal-to-semiconductor transition, remains largely unknown. This work presents the first determination of the low-temperature structure of tetrahedrite that accounts for its unique properties. Contrary to prior conjectures, our results show that the trigonal-planar copper cations remain in planar coordination below the metal-to-semiconductor transition. The atomic displacement parameters of the trigonal-planar copper cations, which have been linked to low thermal conductivity, increase by 200% above the metal-to-semiconductor transition. The phase transition is consequence of the orbital degeneracy of the highest occupied 3d cluster orbitals of the copper clusters found inside the sodalite cages in the cubic phase. This study reveals that a Jahn-Teller electronic instability leads to the formation of “molecular-like” Cu57+ clusters and suppresses copper rattling vibrations due to the strengthening of direct copper-copper interactions. Our first-principles calculations demonstrate that the structural phase transition opens a small band gap in the electronic density of states and eliminates the unstable phonon modes. The present results provide insights on the interplay between phonon transport, electronic properties and crystal structure in mixed-valence compounds

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

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic