Historians have long been aware that patronage is a crucial factor in interpreting the social meaning of art. The late Middle Ages knew a variety of patrons, each employing art to communicate different sorts of concern: royal and aristocratic courts emphasized political messages, urban communes created governmental myths, cathedrals and monasteries gave expression to spiritual ideas—and all used art to convey notions of social identity. Recent investigations into the process of choosing and procuring works of art in these contexts have not only added perspective to formal art criticism, they have also deepened our understanding of the groups interested in the creation of art. One area in which questions of patronage could perhaps be better illuminated is the community of the parish. The parish served as the primary religious community for the majority of men and women for most of the Middle Ages. It was complex in composition, involving both laity and clergy, encompassing other religious associations, such as gilds, and including the devout and the indifferent, the orthodox and the dissenters.

Diets rich in fruits and vegetables (FV), which contain (poly)phenols, protect against age-related inflammation and chronic diseases. T-lymphocytes contribute to systemic cytokine production and are modulated by FV intake. Little is known about the relative potency of different (poly)phenols in modulating cytokine release by lymphocytes. We compared thirty-one (poly)phenols and six (poly)phenol mixtures for effects on pro-inflammatory cytokine release by Jurkat T-lymphocytes. Test compounds were incubated with Jurkat cells for 48 h at 1 and 30 µm, with or without phorbol ester treatment at 24 h to induce cytokine release. Three test compounds that reduced cytokine release were further incubated with primary lymphocytes at 0·2 and 1 µm for 24 h, with lipopolysaccharide added at 5 h. Cytokine release was measured, and generation of H2O2 by test compounds was determined to assess any potential correlations with cytokine release. A number of (poly)phenols significantly altered cytokine release from Jurkat cells (P<0·05), but H2O2 generation did not correlate with cytokine release. Resveratrol, isorhamnetin, curcumin, vanillic acid and specific (poly)phenol mixtures reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine release from T-lymphocytes, and there was evidence for interaction between (poly)phenols to further modulate cytokine release. The release of interferon-γ induced protein 10 by primary lymphocytes was significantly reduced following treatment with 1 µm isorhamnetin (P<0·05). These results suggest that (poly)phenols derived from onions, turmeric, red grapes, green tea and açai berries may help reduce the release of pro-inflammatory mediators in people at risk of chronic inflammation.

Over 40 years of archaeological investigations along the south coast of Papua New Guinea has identified a rapid succession of cultural changes during the late Holocene. The so-called ‘Papuan Hiccup’ (c. 1200–800 cal bp) is a poorly understood period of socio-economic upheaval along the coast, identified mainly from changes in archaeological ceramic styles and settlement patterns. During this period, the region-wide Early Papuan Pottery (EPP) tradition diverges into separate, localised ceramic sequences that have generic associations with local ethnographic wares. A correspondence between the timing of the Papuan Hiccup and a period of peak El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity implies a link between cultural and climate change. This paper explores this relationship further by examining changes in interaction networks along the south coast of Papua New Guinea, specifically focusing on chert artefacts. Chemical characterisation (portable X-Ray Fluorescence; pXRF) and technological analysis are used to map changes in lithic technology over time, including access to raw materials and technological organisation, at the site of Taurama, a prehistoric coastal village site that was occupied both prior to and after the Papuan Hiccup. Although the sample sizes are small and the interpretations necessarily circumscribed, it is argued that changes in the number of chert sources being exploited and in the intensity of core reduction at Taurama may be related to climate change in the region.

Acute psychological stress is positively associated with a cold/flu. The present randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study examined the effect of three potentially probiotic bacteria on the proportion of healthy days over a 6-week period in academically stressed undergraduate students (n 581) who received Lactobacillus helveticus R0052, Bifidobacterium longum ssp. infantis R0033, Bifidobacterium bifidum R0071 or placebo. On each day, participants recorded the intensity (scale: 0 = not experiencing to 3 = very intense) for nine cold/flu symptoms, and a sum of symptom intensity >6 was designated as a day of cold/flu. B. bifidum resulted in a greater proportion of healthy days than placebo (P≤ 0·05). The percentage of participants reporting ≥ 1 d of cold/flu during the 6-week intervention period was significantly lower with B. bifidum than with placebo (P< 0·05). There were no effects of B. infantis or L. helveticus compared with placebo on either outcome. A predictive model accounted for influential characteristics and their interactions on daily reporting of cold/flu episodes. The proportion of participants reporting a cold on any given day was lower at weeks 2 and 3 with B. bifidum and B. infantis than with placebo for the average level of stress and the most commonly reported number of hours of sleep. Daily intake of bifidobacteria provides benefit related to cold/flu outcomes during acute stress.

Many viral infections that cause minor illness in younger adults can lead to significant mortality and morbidity in older people, particularly as co-morbidities tend to accumulate with increased age. Respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses are ubiquitous and frequently cause outbreaks, with major impact on those in care homes or residential accommodation. Advances in medicine have opened the way for increased impact of the herpes viruses (varicella zoster virus, herpes simplex virus, Epstein–Barr virus and cytomegalovirus), as immune systems are manipulated. People are also leading more active lives in older age; human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) will be increasingly prevalent, as those living with HIV grow older in good health. In addition, new diagnoses of HIV, viral hepatitis and travel-related infections will present to those working in health care of older people. This review article of viral infections aims to highlight relevant pathology, with specific reference to management in older people.

Using concepts from the literature on individual and collective identity, we argue that organizational psychologists are at a tipping point with regard to identity. Assertions regarding a lack of distinctiveness from other fields, ambiguity in individual identification with the field among new entrants, hyperadaptation to external forces, and a failure to manage within-identity dynamics associated with science and practice are presented. These assertions are supported with descriptions of the nature of growth in the field, challenges in academic psychology departments, and calls for changing research agendas. With the aim of engaging others in collective sensemaking, alternative future scenarios for organizational psychology are presented.

The commentaries provided an array of perspectives on identity management in our profession. However, there was general agreement on what should be central and distinctive about our field and on the need to cultivate a positive identity for the profession. The commentators also suggested a number of ways to cultivate this identity. For us, the commentaries also stimulated further reflection on our approach to training graduate students. We share our reflections and encourage readers to take the time to reflect on their own efforts to contribute to the profession's management of identity.