War and culture studies in 2016. Putting 'translation' into the transnational?

The first issue of the 'Journal of War and Culture Studies' in 2008 mapped out the academic space which the discipline sought to occupy. Nearly a decade later, the location of war, traditionally within the nation-state, is being challenged in ways which arguably affect the analytical spaces of War and Culture Studies. The article argues for an overt engagement with a reconceptualization of the location of war as broader in both spatial and temporal terms than the nation-state. Within this framing, it identifies local 'contact zones' which are multi-vocal translational spaces, and calls for an incorporation of 'translation' into our analyses of war: translating identities, including associations of the material as well as of subjective identities, and espousing a conscious interdisciplinarity which might lead us to focus more on the performative than the representational. Putting 'translation' into the 'transnational' marks the spaces of War and culture studies as multilingual, making accessible the cultural products and cultural analyses of a much broader range of sources and reflections. The article calls for the discipline of Translation Studies to become a leading contributor to War and Culture Studies in the years to come.

Post-polio syndrome: epidemiologic and prognostic aspects in Brazil

Objectives - To describe the clinical and epidemiological aspects of post-polio syndrome (PPS) and identify predictors of its severity. Materials and methods - 132 patients with PPS were selected at the Neuromuscular Disease Outpatient Clinic of the Federal University of Sao Paulo. Descriptive analysis was carried out and predictors of PPS severe forms were investigated using an unconditional logistic regression. Results - The average age at onset was 39.4 years. The most common symptoms were fatigue (87.1%), muscle pain (82.4%) and joint pain (72.0%); 50.4% of the cases were severe. The following were associated with PPS severity: a < 4-year period of neurological recovery (OR 2.8), permanent damage in two limbs (OR 3.6) and residence at the time of acute polio in a city with more advanced medical assistance (OR 2.5). Conclusions - Health professionals should carefully evaluate polio survivors for PPS and be aware of the implications of muscle overuse in the neurological recovery period.

Calcium intake and its relationship with adiposity and insulin resistance in post-pubertal adolescents

Background Dietary calcium intake has been described as being a negative contributor to adiposity. In adolescents, this relationship is not well established. The objectives of the present study were to compare the calcium intake of normal-weight and obese adolescents and to evaluate its relationship with adiposity and insulin resistance. Methods A cross-sectional analysis of 96 post-pubertal adolescents; 47 normal weight and 49 obese, mean age 16.6 (SD +/- 1.3) years. Body composition was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Dietary intake was evaluated using a 3-day dietary record. The biochemical evaluation comprised the measurements of serum lipids, lipoproteins, glucose and insulin. Insulin resistance was calculated using the Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Results The mean calcium intake, adjusted for energy, was lower in obese adolescents, 585.2 (+/- 249.9) mg, than in normal weight adolescents, 692.1 (+/- 199.5) mg. Only 4% of adolescents had an adequate intake of calcium. Calcium intake was inversely associated with body trunk fat, insulin and HOMA-IR in the obese group. The quartile analysis of calcium intake provided evidence that girls in the highest quartile had decreased adiposity and insulin resistance. Conclusions This study showed a negative relationship between calcium intake and body fat and insulin resistance, mainly in obese girls, and demonstrates the importance of an increased dietary calcium intake.

The program and treatment effect of summer jobs on girls’ post-schooling incomes

Public programs (of disputed effect) offering summer jobs or work while in high school to smooth the transition from school to work is commonplace. In this paper, 1447 girls in their first grade of high school between 1997-2003 and randomly allotted summer jobs via a program in Falun (Sweden) are followed 5-12 years after graduation. The program led to a substantially larger accumulation of income while in high school. The causal effect of the high school income on post-schooling incomes was substantial and statistically significant. The implied elasticity of 0.4 is however potentially inflated dueto heterogeneous effects.

Violence and reproductive health preceding flight from war : accounts from Somali born women in Sweden

Background: Political violence and war are push factors for migration and social determinants of health among migrants. Somali migration to Sweden has increased threefold since 2004, and now comprises refugees with more than 20 years of war experiences. Health is influenced by earlier life experiences with adverse sexual and reproductive health, violence, and mental distress being linked. Adverse pregnancy outcomes are reported among Somali born refugees in high-income countries. The aim of this study was to explore experiences and perceptions on war, violence, and reproductive health before migration among Somali born women in Sweden. Method: Qualitative semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 17 Somali born refugee women of fertile age living in Sweden. Thematic analysis was applied. Results: Before migration, widespread war-related violence in the community had created fear, separation, and interruption in daily life in Somalia, and power based restrictions limited access to reproductive health services. The lack of justice and support for women exposed to non-partner sexual violence or intimate partner violence reinforced the risk of shame, stigmatization, and silence. Social networks, stoicism, and faith constituted survival strategies in the context of war. Conclusions: Several factors reinforced non-disclosure of violence exposure among the Somali born women before migration. Therefore, violence-related illness might be overlooked in the health care system. Survival strategies shaped by war contain resources for resilience and enhancement of well-being and sexual and reproductive health and rights in receiving countries after migration.

Acceptability of home-assessment post medical abortion and medical abortion in a low-resource setting in Rajasthan, India : Secondary outcome analysis of a non-inferiority randomized controlled trial

Background: Studies evaluating acceptability of simplified follow-up after medical abortion have focused on high-resource or urban settings where telephones, road connections, and modes of transport are available and where women have formal education. Objective: To investigate women's acceptability of home-assessment of abortion and whether acceptability of medical abortion differs by in-clinic or home-assessment of abortion outcome in a low-resource setting in India. Design: Secondary outcome of a randomised, controlled, non-inferiority trial. Setting Outpatient primary health care clinics in rural and urban Rajasthan, India. Population: Women were eligible if they sought abortion with a gestation up to 9 weeks, lived within defined study area and agreed to follow-up. Women were ineligible if they had known contraindications to medical abortion, haemoglobin < 85mg/l and were below 18 years. Methods: Abortion outcome assessment through routine clinic follow-up by a doctor was compared with home-assessment using a low-sensitivity pregnancy test and a pictorial instruction sheet. A computerized random number generator generated the randomisation sequence (1: 1) in blocks of six. Research assistants randomly allocated eligible women who opted for medical abortion (mifepristone and misoprostol), using opaque sealed envelopes. Blinding during outcome assessment was not possible. Main outcome measures: Women's acceptability of home-assessment was measured as future preference of follow-up. Overall satisfaction, expectations, and comparison with previous abortion experiences were compared between study groups. Results: 731 women were randomized to the clinic follow-up group (n = 353) or home-assessment group (n = 378). 623 (85%) women were successfully followed up, of those 597 (96%) were satisfied and 592 (95%) found the abortion better or as expected, with no difference between study groups. The majority, 355 (57%) women, preferred home-assessment in the event of a future abortion. Significantly more women, 284 (82%), in the home-assessment group preferred home-assessment in the future, as compared with 188 (70%) of women in the clinic follow-up group, who preferred clinic follow-up in the future (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Home-assessment is highly acceptable among women in low-resource, and rural, settings. The choice to follow-up an early medical abortion according to women's preference should be offered to foster women's reproductive autonomy.

Health problems in elderly patients during the first post-stroke year

BACKGROUND: A wide range of health problems has been reported in elderly post-stroke patients. AIM: The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence and timing of health problems identified by patient interviews and scrutiny of primary health care and municipality elderly health care records during the first post-stroke year. METHODS: A total of 390 consecutive patients, ≥65 years, discharged alive from hospital after a stroke event, were followed for 1 year post-admission. Information on the health care situation during the first post-stroke year was obtained from primary health care and municipal elderly health care records and through interviews with the stroke survivors, at 1 week after discharge, and 3 and 12 months after hospital admission. RESULTS: More than 90% had some health problem at some time during the year, while based on patient record data only 4-8% had problems during a given week. The prevalence of interview-based health problems was generally higher than record-based prevalence, and the ranking order was moderately different. The most frequently interview-reported problems were associated with perception, activity, and tiredness, while the most common record-based findings indicated pain, bladder and bowel function, and breathing and circulation problems. There was co-occurrence between some problems, such as those relating to cognition, activity, and tiredness. CONCLUSIONS: Almost all patients had a health problem during the year, but few occurred in a given week. Cognitive and communication problems were more common in interview data than record data. Co-occurrence may be used to identify subtle health problems.

Violence and reproductive health preceding flight from war : accounts from Somali born women in Sweden

Background: Political violence and war are push factors for migration and social determinants of health among migrants. Somali migration to Sweden has increased threefold since 2004, and now comprises refugees with more than 20 years of war experiences. Health is influenced by earlier life experiences with adverse sexual and reproductive health, violence, and mental distress being linked. Adverse pregnancy outcomes are reported among Somali born refugees in high-income countries. The aim of this study was to explore experiences and perceptions on war, violence, and reproductive health before migration among Somali born women in Sweden. Method: Qualitative semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 17 Somali born refugee women of fertile age living in Sweden. Thematic analysis was applied. Results: Before migration, widespread war-related violence in the community had created fear, separation, and interruption in daily life in Somalia, and power based restrictions limited access to reproductive health services. The lack of justice and support for women exposed to non-partner sexual violence or intimate partner violence reinforced the risk of shame, stigmatization, and silence. Social networks, stoicism, and faith constituted survival strategies in the context of war. Conclusions: Several factors reinforced non-disclosure of violence exposure among the Somali born women before migration. Therefore, violence-related illness might be overlooked in the health care system. Survival strategies shaped by war contain resources for resilience and

Carl Maria von Weber’s Overture to Oberon: A History of Recorded Performance

My research examines the recorded performance history of the Overture to Weber’s Oberon in light of these aesthetic goals. I have charted changes in performance practice trends, including in timing, tempo fluctuation, rhythmic accuracy and ensemble, and the use of portamento. The twenty recordings studied that I surveyed span nearly seventy-five years, and include many of the 20th century’s most prominent conductors and orchestras, including groups from Communist Russia, both pre-World War II and post-World War II continental Europe, the British Isles, and the United States.8 Though by no means comprehensive, my selections encompass a diverse sampling of surviving recordings, ensuring a large enough sample size to reflect general trends in the performance of Weber’s masterpiece. My research and analysis confirms the conventional view of a move toward more accurate—but also more cautious, uniform, and inexpressive— performances. Surprisingly, however, this analysis also suggests that we are on the cusp of a new era in orchestra performance practice, one that shares many of the values of the earlier recorded performances. While maintaining today’s high standards of execution, modern performances now look to regain many of the past’s expressive qualities, doing so in sometimes surprising ways.

A brief history of Brazil's growth

The paper studies Brazil’s economic growth and begins with a brief overview of events that marked the country’s development from her discovery to the 19th century. It then divides the years between 1900 and 2008 into four periods. The breaks in regime occur in 1918, 1967 and 1980, according to the methodology created by Bai and Perron (1998, 2003). The use of the accounting methodology serves the analysis of the behavior of productivity in the previously identified different phases of the post-World War II period. High inflation might have been a reason for the decline in productivity observed between 1980 and mid-1990s. The paper shows that terms of trade have a significant effect on economic growth and output fluctuations. Other factors (such as fiscal stimulus or easy access to foreign finance) also matter for output accelerations in the short run. From 2004 to 2008, terms of trade improvement and debt reduction brought economic progress. The emergence of a new era in this millennium will depend on wiser fiscal policies than those of the past.

Relações Brasil-Angola no pós-guerra fria : os condicionantes internos e a via multilateral

Este estudo apresenta reflexões a respeito das relações Brasil-Angola no período compreendido entre os anos de 1990 e 2002. Tendo como ponto de partida o estabelecimento (e aprofundamento) das relações bilaterais no período entre os anos de 1975 e 1990, o presente estudo fornece subsídios que orientam o teor do contato Brasília-Luanda no período pós-Guerra Fria. Entre esses subsídios encontram-se os condicionantes internos, que em cada país influíram de modo determinante na sua respectiva atuação externa, aliados ao contexto de reestruturação internacional. Assim, pela relevância da adaptação por que passaram esses contatos bilaterais, o trabalho distingue essas relações entre diretas e indiretas, estas últimas efetivadas pela via multilateral, seja no cenário regional (notadamente na implantação da CPLP e possibilidade de concretização da ZOPACAS), seja no cenário internacional, com a atuação conjunta nas Nações Unidas.

Labor earnings dynamics in post-stabilization Brazil

This paper analyzes both the levels and evolution of wage inequality in the Brazilian formal labor market using administrative data from the Brazilian Ministry of Labor (RAIS) from 1994 to 2009. After the covariance structure of the log of real weekly wages is estimated and the variance of the log of real weekly wages is decomposed into its permanent and transitory components, we verify that nearly 60% of the inequality within age and education groups is explained by the permanent component, i.e., by time-invariant individual productive characteristics. During this period, wage inequality decreased by 29%. In the rst years immediately after the macroeconomic stabilization (1994

Pre-emptive epidural ketamine or S(+)-ketamine in post-incisional pain in dogs: A comparative study

Objective-To compare the pre-emptive analgesic effects of epidural ketamine or S(+)-ketamine on post-incisional hyperalgesia.Study Design-Prospective randomized study.Animals-Twenty-four mongrel dogs (1-5 years, weighing 11.9 +/- 1.8 kg).Methods-Dogs were anesthetized with propofol (5 mg/kg intravenously) and a lumbosacral epidural catheter was placed. Dogs were randomly allocated to 3 groups, each with 8 dogs. The control group (CG) was administered saline solution (0.3 mL/kg); the ketamine group (KG) ketamine (0.6 mg/kg); and the S(+)-ketamine group (SG) S(+)-ketamine (0.6 mg/kg). The final volume was adjusted to 0.3 mL/kg in all groups. Five minutes after the epidural injection a surgical incision was made in the common pad of the right hind limb and was immediately closed with simple interrupted nylon suture. Respiratory (RR) and heart (HR) rates, rectal temperature (7, sedation (S), lameness score, and mechanical nociceptive threshold by von Frey filaments were evaluated before the propofol anesthesia and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 minutes and then at 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24 hours after epidural injection.Results-There were no differences in RR, HR, T, or S between groups. Motor blockade of the hind limbs was observed during 20 +/- 3.6 minutes in KG and during 30.6 +/- 7.5 minutes in SG (mean SD). Mechanical force applied to obtain an aversive response was higher from 45 minutes to 12 hours in KG and from 60 to 90 minutes in SG, when compared with CG.Conclusions-Pre-emptive epidural ketamine induced no alterations in RR and FIR, and reduced post-incisional hyperalgesia for a longer time than did S(+) ketamine.Clinical Relevance-Although anesthetic and analgesic potency of S(+) ketamine is twice that of ketamine, the racemic form is seemingly better for post-incisional hyperalgesia. (C) Copyright 2004 by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

O mundo criado pelas imagens: paisagens e espaços coloniais na obra do holandês Frans Post

The aims of this dissertation is to study formation of the Dutch view seeing the colonial scenery in screens by Frans Post, as well as, to perceive a colonial world constitution through landscape paintings by him with his natural and human representation. The artist was the first to portray South American views, after he landed in Pernambuco with retinue of Dutch governor of colony, John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen. Post, by his 24 years old, was designated to represent for Dutch people their colony. The text reflects on visual construction of natural and human aspects in landscapes by Dutchman and how that aspects were included in colonizer imaginary about the strange world of America. European (Dutch) look about their conquered possessions in the New World was charged with exoticism and imagination. In order to understand that view, it`s paramount to study imaginary pictures reared by Frans Post, on his return to the Netherlands, and notions of landscape and exotic, wild and unspoiled nature which the Dutch people had when they thought about the Dutch colony in America. Our principal (visual) sources of research are six paintings: Vista da Sé de Olinda (1662), Vista das ruínas de Olinda (undated), Engenho (undated), Engenho (1660), Vista da cidade Maurícia e do Recife (1653), e Paisagem com rio e tamanduá (1649), all these canvases were painted when Frans Post returned to Europe. We seek to work through a methodology that focuses on investigation of primary visual and textual material, because these textual and pictorial representations reflect the 17th-century colonial view of colonial history themes of the - here called - Dutch America

Association between anthropometric indicators of body fat and metabolic risk markers in post-menopausal women

Objective. to evaluate anthropometric indicators of body fat and their association with metabolic risk markers in postmenopausal women.Methods. A cross-sectional study with 80 Brazilian women (40-70 years) was carried out. Body mass index (BMI = weight/height(2)), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were obtained for anthropometric evaluation. Trunk fat mass (TFM) was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The following metabolic variables were evaluated: total cholesterol (TC), HDL, LDL, triglycerides (TG), as well as glycemia and insulin to determine insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).Results. Overweight and obesity were observed in 81% of the women. Values of WC >88 cm were observed in 68.5% of the women. on average, TC, LDL and TG levels were above normal levels in 60, 50 and 42.5% of the women, respectively; and HDL was normal in 82.5%. IR was observed in 37.5% of the women. Positive correlations were found between anthropometric indicators and TFM (P < 0.05). WC was most correlated with TFM (r = 0.92), followed by BMI (r = 0.88) and by WHR (r = 0.48; P < 0.05). All anthropometric indicators and TFM showed significant negative correlations with HDL and significant positive correlations with HOMA-IR (P < 0.05). Only WHR was significantly associated with dysglycemia (R(2) = 12%), hypertriglyceridemia (R(2) = 17%) and decreased HDL (R(2) = 27%). WC was significantly associated with HOMA-IR (R(2) = 34%).Conclusion. WC and WHR are anthropometric measures that showed strong correlation with TFM and with metabolic risk markers in postmenopausal women.