Explaining history to children: Otto and Marie Neurath’s work on the ‘Visual history of mankind’

This essay traces the development of Otto Neurath’s ideas that led to the publication of one of the first series of children’s books produced by the Isotype Institute in the late 1940s, the Visual History of Mankind. Described in its publicity material as ‘new in content’ and ‘new in method’, it embodied much of Otto Neurath’s thinking about visual education, and also coincided with other educational ideas in the UK in the 1930s and 1940s. It exemplified the Isotype Institute’s approach: teamwork, thinking about the needs of younger readers, clear explanation, and accessible content. Further, drawing on correspondence, notes and drawings from the Otto and Marie Neurath Isotype Collection at the University of Reading, the essay presents insights to the making of the books and the people involved, the costs of production and the influence of this on design decisions, and how the books were received by teachers and children.

Dancing in translation: Irina Brook’s mise en scène of 'Danser à Lughnasa', Jean-Marie Besset’s translation of Brian Friel’s 'Dancing at Lughnasa'

This essay contributes to debates about theatre and cross-cultural encounter through an analysis of Irina Brook’s 1999 Swiss / French co-production of Irish playwright Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa, in a French translation by Jean-Marie Besset. While the translation and Brook’s mise en scène clearly identified the source text and culture as Irish, they avoided cultural stereotypes, and rendered the play accessible to francophone audiences without entirely assimilating it to a specific Swiss or French cultural context. Drawing on discourses of theatre translation, and concepts of cosmopolitanism and conviviality, the essay focuses on the potential of such textual and theatrical translation to acknowledge specific cultural traces but also to estrange the familiar perceptions and boundaries of both the source and target cultures, offering modes of interconnection across diverse cultural affiliations.

A New Yardstick for Rating Dental Arch Relationship in Patients With Complete Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate

Objective: To develop yardsticks for assessment of dental arch relationship in young individuals with repaired complete bilateral cleft lip and palate appropriate to different stages of dental development. Participants: Eleven cleft team orthodontists from five countries worked on the projects for 4 days. A total of 776 sets of standardized plaster models from 411 patients with operated complete bilateral cleft lip and palate were available for the exercise. Statistics: The interexaminer reliability was calculated using weighted kappa statistics. Results: The interrater weighted kappa scores were between .74 and .92, which is in the ""good"" to ""very good"" categories. Conclusions: Three bilateral cleft lip and palate yardsticks for different developmental stages of the dentition were made: one for the deciduous dentition (6-year-olds` yardstick), one for early mixed dentition (9-year-olds` yardstick), and one for early permanent dentition (12-year-olds` yardstick).

A Longitudinal Three-Center Study of Dental Arch Relationship in Patients With Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate

Objective: To compare and evaluate longitudinally the dental arch relationships from 4.5 to 13.5 years of age with the Bauru-BCLP Yardstick in a large sample of patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP). Design: Retrospective longitudinal intercenter outcome study. Patients: Dental casts of 204 consecutive patients with complete BCLP were evaluated at 6, 9, and 12 years of age. All models were identified only by random identification numbers. Setting: Three cleft palate centers with different treatment protocols. Main Outcome Measures: Dental arch relationships were categorized with the Bauru-BCLP yardstick. Increments for each interval (from 6 to 9 years, 6 to 12 years, and 9 to 12 years) were analyzed by logistic and linear regression models. Results: There were no significant differences in outcome measures between the centers at age 12 or at age 9. At age 6, center B showed significantly better results (p = .027), but this difference diminished as the yardstick score for this group increased over time (linear regression analysis), the difference with the reference category (center C, boys) for the intervals 6 to 12 and 9 to 12 years being 10.4% (p = .041) and 12.9% (p = .009), respectively. Conclusions: Despite different treatment protocols, dental arch relationships in the three centers were comparable in final scores at age 9 and 12 years. Delaying hard palate closure and employing infant orthopedics did not appear to be advantageous in the long run. Premaxillary osteotomy employed in center B appeared to be associated with less favorable development of the dental arch relationship between 9 and 12 years.

Health care providers' perceptions of and attitudes towards induced abortions in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia : a systematic literature review of qualitative and quantitative data.

BACKGROUND: Unsafe abortions are a serious public health problem and a major human rights issue. In low-income countries, where restrictive abortion laws are common, safe abortion care is not always available to women in need. Health care providers have an important role in the provision of abortion services. However, the shortage of health care providers in low-income countries is critical and exacerbated by the unwillingness of some health care providers to provide abortion services. The aim of this study was to identify, summarise and synthesise available research addressing health care providers' perceptions of and attitudes towards induced abortions in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. METHODS: A systematic literature search of three databases was conducted in November 2014, as well as a manual search of reference lists. The selection criteria included quantitative and qualitative research studies written in English, regardless of the year of publication, exploring health care providers' perceptions of and attitudes towards induced abortions in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The quality of all articles that met the inclusion criteria was assessed. The studies were critically appraised, and thematic analysis was used to synthesise the data. RESULTS: Thirty-six studies, published during 1977 and 2014, including data from 15 different countries, met the inclusion criteria. Nine key themes were identified as influencing the health care providers' attitudes towards induced abortions: 1) human rights, 2) gender, 3) religion, 4) access, 5) unpreparedness, 6) quality of life, 7) ambivalence 8) quality of care and 9) stigma and victimisation. CONCLUSIONS: Health care providers in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia have moral-, social- and gender-based reservations about induced abortion. These reservations influence attitudes towards induced abortions and subsequently affect the relationship between the health care provider and the pregnant woman who wishes to have an abortion. A values clarification exercise among abortion care providers is needed.

Comparison of treatment of incomplete abortion with misoprostol by physicians and midwives at district level in Uganda : a randomised controlled equivalence trial

BACKGROUND: Misoprostol is established for the treatment of incomplete abortion but has not been systematically assessed when provided by midwives at district level in a low-resource setting. We investigated the effectiveness and safety of midwives diagnosing and treating incomplete abortion with misoprostol, compared with physicians. METHODS: We did a multicentre randomised controlled equivalence trial at district level at six facilities in Uganda. Eligibility criteria were women with signs of incomplete abortion. We randomly allocated women with first-trimester incomplete abortion to clinical assessment and treatment with misoprostol either by a physician or a midwife. The randomisation (1:1) was done in blocks of 12 and was stratified for study site. Primary outcome was complete abortion not needing surgical intervention within 14-28 days after initial treatment. The study was not masked. Analysis of the primary outcome was done on the per-protocol population with a generalised linear-mixed effects model. The predefined equivalence range was -4% to 4%. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01844024. FINDINGS: From April 30, 2013, to July 21, 2014, 1108 women were assessed for eligibility. 1010 women were randomly assigned to each group (506 to midwife group and 504 to physician group). 955 women (472 in the midwife group and 483 in the physician group) were included in the per-protocol analysis. 452 (95·8%) of women in the midwife group had complete abortion and 467 (96·7%) in the physician group. The model-based risk difference for midwife versus physician group was -0·8% (95% CI -2·9 to 1·4), falling within the predefined equivalence range (-4% to 4%). The overall proportion of women with incomplete abortion was 3·8% (36/955), similarly distributed between the two groups (4·2% [20/472] in the midwife group, 3·3% [16/483] in the physician group). No serious adverse events were recorded. INTERPRETATION: Diagnosis and treatment of incomplete abortion with misoprostol by midwives is equally safe and effective as when provided by physicians, in a low-resource setting. Scaling up midwives' involvement in treatment of incomplete abortion with misoprostol at district level would increase access to safe post-abortion care. FUNDING: The Swedish Research Council, Karolinska Institutet, and Dalarna University.

Women's acceptability of misoprostol treatment for incomplete abortion by midwives and physicians : secondary outcome analysis from a randomized controlled equivalence trial at district level in Uganda

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess women´s acceptability of diagnosis and treatment of incomplete abortion with misoprostol by midwives, compared with physicians. METHODS: This was an analysis of secondary outcomes from a multi-centre randomized controlled equivalence trial at district level in Uganda. Women with first trimester incomplete abortion were randomly allocated to clinical assessment and treatment with misoprostol by a physician or a midwife. The randomisation (1:1) was done in blocks of 12 and stratified for health care facility. Acceptability was measured in expectations and satisfaction at a follow up visit 14-28 days following treatment. Analysis of women's overall acceptability was done using a generalized linear mixed-effects model with an equivalence range of -4% to 4%. The study was not masked. The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.org, NCT 01844024. RESULTS: From April 2013 to June 2014, 1108 women were assessed for eligibility of which 1010 were randomized (506 to midwife and 504 to physician). 953 women were successfully followed up and included in the acceptability analysis. 95% (904) of the participants found the treatment satisfactory and overall acceptability was found to be equivalent between the two study groups. Treatment failure, not feeling calm and safe following treatment, experiencing severe abdominal pain or heavy bleeding following treatment, were significantly associated with non-satisfaction. No serious adverse events were recorded. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of incomplete abortion with misoprostol by midwives and physician was highly, and equally, acceptable to women. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01844024.

The discourses on induced abortion in Ugandan daily newspapers : a discourse analysis

Background: Ugandan law prohibits abortion under all circumstances except where there is a risk for the woman's life. However, it has been estimated that over 250 000 illegal abortions are being performed in the country yearly. Many of these abortions are carried out under unsafe conditions, being one of the most common reasons behind the nearly 5000 maternal deaths per year in Uganda. Little research has been conducted in relation to societal views on abortion within the Ugandan society. This study aims to analyze the discourse on abortion as expressed in the two main daily Ugandan newspapers. Method: The conceptual content of 59 articles on abortion between years 2006-2012, from the two main daily English-speaking newspapers in Uganda, was studied using principles from critical discourse analysis. Results: A religious discourse and a human rights discourse, together with medical and legal sub discourses frame the subject of abortion in Uganda, with consequences for who is portrayed as a victim and who is to blame for abortions taking place. It shows the strong presence of the Catholic Church within the medial debate on abortion. The results also demonstrate the absence of medial statements related to abortion made by political stakeholders. Conclusions: The Catholic Church has a strong position within the Ugandan society and their stance on abortion tends to have great influence on the way other actors and their activities are presented within the media, as well as how stakeholders choose to convey their message, or choose not to publicly debate the issue in question at all. To decrease the number of maternal deaths, we highlight the need for a more inclusive and varied debate that problematizes the current situation, especially from a gender perspective.

The interdisciplinary perspective on International Law and International Relations by Anne-Marie Slaughter

Este artigo consiste em uma resenha crítica sobre a reflexão de Anne-Marie Slaughter para uma aproximação interdisciplinar entre Direito Internacional e Relações Internacionais. Slaughter tem sido apontada, internacionalmente, como uma das protagonistas neste debate acadêmico, e sua obra é indicada como uma das mais influentes na academia dos Estados Unidos da América, no século XX. Em tempos de aproximação entre juristas e internacionalistas no Brasil, o artigo procura contribuir com a contextualização da produção da autora, bem como elucidar os momentos de influência das suas atividades em outros centros de discussão e produção. A proposta principal deste artigo é, assim, favorecer um mapeamento histórico e contextualizado da chamada para o debate interdisciplinar entre Direito Internacional e Relações Internacionais, a partir dos trabalhos de um de seus pivôs na academia nos Estados Unidos.

Adrien-Marie Legendre (1752-1833) e suas obras em Teoria dos Números

The present thesis is an analysis of Adrien-Marie Legendre s works on Number Theory, with a certain emphasis on his 1830 edition of Theory of Numbers. The role played by these works in their historical context and their influence on the development of Number Theory was investigated. A biographic study of Legendre (1752-1833) was undertaken, in which both his personal relations and his scientific productions were related to certain historical elements of the development of both his homeland, France, and the sciences in general, during the 18th and 19th centuries This study revealed notable characteristics of his personality, as well as his attitudes toward his mathematical contemporaries, especially with regard to his seemingly incessant quarrels with Gauss about the priority of various of their scientific discoveries. This is followed by a systematic study of Lagrange s work on Number Theory, including a comparative reading of certain topics, especially that of his renowned law of quadratic reciprocity, with texts of some of his contemporaries. In this way, the dynamics of the evolution of his thought in relation to his semantics, the organization of his demonstrations and his number theoretical discoveries was delimited. Finally, the impact of Legendre s work on Number Theory on the French mathematical community of the time was investigated. This investigation revealed that he not only made substantial contributions to this branch of Mathematics, but also inspired other mathematicians to advance this science even further. This indeed is a fitting legacy for his Theory of Numbers, the first modern text on Higher Arithmetic, on which he labored half his life, producing various editions. Nevertheless, Legendre also received many posthumous honors, including having his name perpetuated on the Trocadéro face of the Eiffel Tower, which contains a list of 72 eminent scientists, and having a street and an alley in Paris named after him

Caracterização in situ e diversidade genética de algodoeiros mocós (Gossypium hissutum raça marie galante) da Região Nordeste do Brasil

Brazil is one of the major centers of diversity for polyploid cotton plants; these plants belong to the genus Gossypium, which has three known species: G. hirsutum, G. barbadense and G. mustelinum. The Northeast is the only region where the three species occur, the last group being endemic. Northeast s cotton plants can be important sources of variability for genetic breeding. It is believed that great part of local diversity is being lost, due to economic, political, cultural and agricultural problems. In an attempt to mitigate this loss and delineate conservation strategies it is necessary to know how the species are found where they occur. The objective was to characterize and determine how plants are maintained in situ in the states of Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba at the beginning of the XXI century. The in situ characterization of G. hirsutum and G. barbadense was conducted through structured interviews with the cotton plants owners and through the analysis of the environment. The data were collected during expeditions undertaken between the years 2004 to 2005. Twenty-two plants were collected in the state of Paraíba, forty-four in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, one hundred and forty-six in the state of Ceará, forty in the state of Maranhão and ninety-one plants in the state of Piauí. All plants collected in the states of Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte belonged to moco type. Moco cotton plants also predominated in the other states, representing 92%, 62% and 78% of plants collected in Ceará, Piauí and Maranhão, respectively. The other cotton plants collected belong to the species G. barbadense. The cotton plants were found in situ as dooryard plants, roads side, feral populations, cultivation or local varieties. Great part were dooryard plants (45.2%), being major in Piauí and Maranhão. Cultivation predominated in Ceará; in Rio Grande do Norte feral populations were the most frequent and, in Paraíba, local varieties. The maintenance of moco plants is related, mainly, to the phytotherapic domestic use (20.9%) and to confection of lamp wicks (29.7%). Few inhabitants in Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Piauí and none in Maranhão used harvest the plants, storage the seeds or gin; however, in Ceará, 40.5% of owners affirmed that they harvested and commercialized the fiber. It was found that the maintenance of species is dependent of the fragile cultural habits of local inhabitants, therefore the maintenance in situ is not a suitable way to conservation of genetic resources. The efforts must be directed to the continuity of collections, maintenance and characterization ex situ