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Copyright of Cahiers Elisabethains: A Biannual Journal of English Renaissance Studies is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

There is much current interest in walking as a social and physiological practice in disciplines from literature to geography, from anthropology to performance studies. 'Walking Studies' impact Shakespearean scholarship and in particular work relating to Shakespeare-freighted sites such as Stratford-upon-Avon, where the loaded discourses of tourism and personal encounter are predominant in the practical experience of visitors. This article asks what it might mean, either for the individual or the collective, to 'walk with Shakespeare' and whether the 'Shakespeare' that we locate in these experiences is always already a construct, fashioned to feed the demands of a national economy and the gross national product by drawing millions of visitors to an otherwise fairly nondescript Midlands market town. It explores the possibility that walking with 'Shakespeare' may mean walking with an available icon but not with the complex textual, performative, and historical Shakespeares at the heart of academic scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Cardiopulmonary bypass during cardiac surgery can result in a shortfall in oxygen delivery relative to demand, marked by a decrease in muscle tissue oxygen saturation as blood flow is redistributed to vital organs. Such "tissue shock" might impair postoperative recovery. Objectives To determine the association of changes in tissue oxygen saturation with postoperative outcome in cardiac surgery patients. Methods In 74 adults undergoing cardiac surgery, tissue oxygen saturation in the thenar eminence was recorded using near-infrared spectroscopy before and during induction of anesthesia, throughout surgery, and in the intensive care unit until extubation or for a maximum monitoring time of 24 hours. The measurements were related to postoperative outcome. Results Mean tissue oxygen saturation increased from 81.7% to 88.5% with induction of anesthesia and decreased to 78.9%and 69.9% during surgery and on arrival in the intensive care unit, respectively. Saturation increased to 77.8% by 6 hours after surgery and remained stable. Mean saturation during the first minutes of anesthesia and 20 minutes in the intensive care unit was lower in patients with a postoperative morbidity than in patients without such morbidity on day 15 (81.1% vs 87.6%; P = .04) and on day 3 (72.9% vs 85.5%; P = .009). No associations with other outcome measures were observed. Conclusions In patients undergoing cardiac surgery, reduced tissue oxygen saturation in the thenar eminence may be associated with poor postoperative outcome. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to determine whether measures to improve the balance between oxygen delivery and consumption might improve both tissue oxygen saturation and outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the play "Macbeth," directed by Lucy Pitman-Wallace and starring Allison McKenzie, performed at the Nottingham Playhouse in Nottingham, England in October-November 2008.