Spaces of the Past, Histories of the Present: An Interview with Stuart Elden and Derek Gregory

The ontologies of space and territory, our experience of them and the techniques we use to govern them, the very conception of the socio-spatial formations that we inhabit, are all historically specific: they depend on a genealogy of practices, knowledges, discourses, regulations, performances and representations articulated in a way that is extremely complex yet nevertheless legible over time. In this interview we look at the logic and the patterns that intertwine space and time — both as objects and tools of inquiry — though a cross-disciplinary dialogue. The discussion with Stuart Elden and Derek Gregory covers the place of history in socio-spatial theory and in their own work, old and new ways of thinking about the intersection between history and territory, space and time, the implications of geography and history for thinking about contemporary politics, and the challenges now faced by critical thought and academic work in the current neo-liberal attack on public universities and the welfare stat

The Effect of Thin Film Adhesives on Mode I Interlaminar Fracture Toughness in Carbon Fiber Composites with Shape Memory Alloy Inserts

Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) was placed within Polymer Matrix Composite (PMC) panels alongside film adhesives to examine bonding. Double cantilever beam (DCB) testing was performed using ASTM D5528. C-scanning was performed before testing, modal acoustic emissions (MAE) were monitored during testing, and microscopy performed post-test. Data was analyzed using modified beam theory (MBT), compliance calibration (CC) and modified compliance calibration (MCC) methods. Fracture toughness for control specimens was higher than previously reported due to fiber-bridging. Specimens with SMAs and adhesives stabilized crack propagation. Results revealed SMA-bridging; a phenomenon mimicking fiber-bridging which increased the load and fracture toughness of SMA specimens

Rhabdomyolysis in an HIV cohort: epidemiology, causes and outcomes.

BackgroundThe Literature on rhabdomyolysis in the HIV-positive population is sparse and limited. We aimed to explore the incidence, patient characteristics, etiologies and outcomes of rhabdomyolysis in a cohort of HIV-positive patients identified through the Johns Hopkins HIV clinical registry between June 1992 and April 2014.MethodsA retrospective analysis of 362 HIV-positive patients with non-cardiac CK elevation ≥1000 IU/L was performed. Both inpatients and outpatients were included. Incidence rate and potential etiologies for rhabdomyolysis were ascertained. The development of acute kidney injury (AKI, defined as doubling of serum creatinine), need for dialysis, and death in the setting of rhabdomyolysis were determined. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association of peak CK level with the development of AKI.ResultsThree hundred sixty two cases of rhabdomyolysis were identified in a cohort of 7079 patients with a 38,382 person years follow-up time. The incidence rate was nine cases per 1000 person-years (95% CI: 8.5-10.5). Infection was the most common etiology followed by compression injury and drug/alcohol use. One-third of cases had multiple potential etiologies. AKI developed in 46% of cases; 20% of which required dialysis. Thirteen percent died during follow-up. After adjustment, AKI was associated with higher CK (OR 2.05 for each 1-log increase in CK [95% CI: 1.40-2.99]), infection (OR 5.48 [95% CI 2.65-11.31]) and higher HIV viral load (OR 1.22 per 1-log increase [95% CI: 1.03-1.45]).ConclusionRhabdomyolysis in the HIV-positive population has many possible causes and is frequently multifactorial. HIV-positive individuals with rhabdomyolysis have a high risk of AKI and mortality

Espacios del pasado, historias del presente: En torno a los rastros de la historia espacial

Las ontologías de ciudad y territorio, la experiencia que de ellos tenemos y las técnicas que usamos para gobernarlos, la propia concepción de las formaciones socioespaciales que habitamos, son históricamente específicas, dependen de una genealogía de prácticas, saberes, discursos, regulaciones y representaciones articulados de forma compleja pero legible en el tiempo. Para inaugurar esta sección de historias urbanas hemos decidido dar un paso atrás, ampliar nuestro horizonte de reflexión e intentar aproximarnos a las lógicas y patrones por las que espacio y tiempo se entrelazan a través de un diálogo transdisciplinar. Para ello hemos invitado a dos autores de referencia en el campo de la geografía histórica y la historia espacial, Derek Gregory y Stuart Elden, miembros del Consejo Asesor Internacional de Urban, a entablar una conversación en torno a los espacios de la historia. Stuart Elden comenzó su carrera docente en la Universidad de Warwick y ha disfrutado de puestos como visitante en las universidades de Virginia, California, New York, Singapur, Washington o Londres, entre otras. En la actualidad es profesor en la Universidad de Durham. Fue uno de los editores fundadores de la revista Foucault Studies y en la actualidad es editor de Environment & Planning D: Society & Space. Ha publicado varios libros y numerosos artículos dedicados al análisis de la dimensión espacial en la obra de pensadores clave del siglo XX y a rastrear las intersecciones entre espacio y poder y la historia de nuestra concepción moderna del territorio. Su último libro como autor, Terror and Territory, ha ganado el Globe Book Award for Public Understanding of Geography y el Julian Minghi Outstanding Research Award del Political Geography Speciality Group, ambos de la Association of American Geographers. Derek Gregory desempeñó diversos puestos docentes en la Universidad de Camdridge, ha sido profesor visitante en numerosos centros y organismos de todo el mundo y editor en diversas revistas de reconocido prestigio. En la actualidad es profesor en la University of British Columbia, donde ha recibido varios premios y la condición de Distinguished University Scholar. Además ha sido premiado por la Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, ha recibido la Founder’s Medal de la Royal Geographical Society, es miembro de la British Academy y la Royal Society of Canada y doctor honoris causa por las universidades de Roskilde y Heidelberg. Ha dedicado buena parte de su amplia trayectoria a recorrer y estudiar diversas geografías históricas y a reflexionar sobre las intersecciones posibles entre la geografía y la teoría social contemporánea; obras como Geographical Imaginations o The Colonial Present —con nueve ediciones publicadas– son ampliamente reconocidas como textos clave en la teoría geográfica del siglo XX. Ha sido además Managing Editor de la última edición de The Dictionary of Human Geography. Con ellos hemos debatido sobre el lugar de la historia en la teoría socioespacial y en su propio trabajo, sobre los viejos y nuevos modos de pensar la intersección entre historia y territorio, espacio y tiempo, sobre las implicaciones de la geografía y la historia para pensar la política contemporánea y los retos al pensamiento crítico y la labor académica en la actual encrucijada de ataque neoliberal a la universidad pública y al Estado de Bienestar

The Effect of Thin Film Adhesives on Mode II Interlaminar Fracture Toughness in Carbon Fiber Composites with Shape Memory Alloy Inserts

A single sheet of nickel-titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloy (SMA) was introduced within an IM7/8552 polymer matrix composite (PMC) panel in conjunction with multiple thin film adhesives to promote the interfacial bond strength between the SMA and PMC. End notched flexure (ENF) testing was performed in accordance to ASTM D7905 method for evaluation of mode II interlaminar fracture toughness (GIIC) of unidirectional fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites. Acoustic emissions (AE) were monitored during testing with two acoustic sensors attached to the specimens. The composite panels examined using scanning electron microscopy techniques after part failure. GIIC values for the control composite samples were found to be higher than those of samples with embedded SMA sheets. The presence of adhesives bonded to SMA sheets further diminished the GIIC values. AE values revealed poor bonding of the panels, with little to no signals during testing

Referrals into services for offenders with intellectual disabilities: variables predicting community or secure provision

Background There is a need for research to promote an understanding among service developers on why people with intellectual disabilities (ID) are referred to offender services in order for them to receive appropriate assessment and treatment. Previous studies investigating referrals into forensic ID services have concentrated on referral sources and administrative variables such as legal status. Aims To construct a predictive model for choice of service referral based on a comprehensive range of information about the clientele. Method We conducted a case record study of 336 people referred to community services and 141 to secure provision. We gathered information on referral source, demographics, diagnosis, index behaviour, prior problem behaviours and history of abuse. Results Comparisons revealed 19 candidate variables which were then entered into multivariate logistic regression. The resulting model retained six variables: community living at time of referral, physical aggression, being charged, referral from tertiary health care, diverse problem behaviour and IQ < 50, which correctly predicted the referral pathway for 85.7% of cases. Conclusions An index act of physical aggression and a history of diversity of problem behaviours as predictors against the likelihood of community service referral suggest that professionals have similar concerns about people with ID as they do about their more average offending peers; however, the more severe levels of ID mitigated in favour of community referral, regardless. Offenders with ID tend to be referred within levels of service rather than between them, for example, form tertiary services into generic community services

Geography and Location Are the Primary Drivers of Office Microbiome Composition.

In the United States, humans spend the majority of their time indoors, where they are exposed to the microbiome of the built environment (BE) they inhabit. Despite the ubiquity of microbes in BEs and their potential impacts on health and building materials, basic questions about the microbiology of these environments remain unanswered. We present a study on the impacts of geography, material type, human interaction, location in a room, seasonal variation, and indoor and microenvironmental parameters on bacterial communities in offices. Our data elucidate several important features of microbial communities in BEs. First, under normal office environmental conditions, bacterial communities do not differ on the basis of surface material (e.g., ceiling tile or carpet) but do differ on the basis of the location in a room (e.g., ceiling or floor), two features that are often conflated but that we are able to separate here. We suspect that previous work showing differences in bacterial composition with surface material was likely detecting differences based on different usage patterns. Next, we find that offices have city-specific bacterial communities, such that we can accurately predict which city an office microbiome sample is derived from, but office-specific bacterial communities are less apparent. This differs from previous work, which has suggested office-specific compositions of bacterial communities. We again suspect that the difference from prior work arises from different usage patterns. As has been previously shown, we observe that human skin contributes heavily to the composition of BE surfaces. IMPORTANCE Our study highlights several points that should impact the design of future studies of the microbiology of BEs. First, projects tracking changes in BE bacterial communities should focus sampling efforts on surveying different locations in offices and in different cities but not necessarily different materials or different offices in the same city. Next, disturbance due to repeated sampling, though detectable, is small compared to that due to other variables, opening up a range of longitudinal study designs in the BE. Next, studies requiring more samples than can be sequenced on a single sequencing run (which is increasingly common) must control for run effects by including some of the same samples in all of the sequencing runs as technical replicates. Finally, detailed tracking of indoor and material environment covariates is likely not essential for BE microbiome studies, as the normal range of indoor environmental conditions is likely not large enough to impact bacterial communities

The Dust Attenuation Curve versus Stellar Mass for Emission Line Galaxies at z ~ 2

We derive the mean wavelength dependence of stellar attenuation in a sample of 239 high redshift (1.90 < z < 2.35) galaxies selected via Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFC3 IR grism observations of their rest-frame optical emission lines. Our analysis indicates that the average reddening law follows a form similar to that derived by Calzetti et al. for local starburst galaxies. However, over the mass range 7.2 < log M/Msolar < 10.2, the slope of the attenuation law in the UV is shallower than that seen locally, and the UV slope steepens as the mass increases. These trends are in qualitative agreement with Kriek & Conroy, who found that the wavelength dependence of attenuation varies with galaxy spectral type. However, we find no evidence of an extinction "bump" at 2175 A in any of the three stellar mass bins, or in the sample as a whole. We quantify the relation between the attenuation curve and stellar mass and discuss its implications.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

A multi-centre study of adults with learning disabilities referred to services for antisocial or offending behaviour: demographic, individual, offending and service characteristics

This study was carried out as part of a larger study commissioned by the UK Department of Health to investigate the service pathways for offenders with learning disabilities (LD). The study covered three health regions in the UK and included 477 people with LD referred to services because of antisocial or offending behaviour during a 12-month period. Data were collected concerning demographic, individual, offending behaviour and service characteristics. The findings of the study are broadly consistent with contemporary research concerning this population, particularly in relation to the nature and frequency of offending, history of offending, psychopathology, age and gender distribution. However, very few of those referred had any form of structured care plan, despite having significant offending histories, and this may have compromised early identification of their needs and communication between the health, social and other services involved