Introduction to the special issue: under pressure.

This article introduces this special issue on the theme "Under Pressure." It uses an analysis of experimental lesbian filmmaker Su Friedrich's Seeing Red (2005) to frame the issue's focus on the ways that the category "lesbian" is placed under pressure and/or the pressure "lesbian" places on twentieth- and twenty-first-century cultural production. After this overview, the introduction summarizes all seven articles in the order that they appear in the issue.

Survival following the onset of scleroderma: results from a retrospective inception cohort study of the UK patient population.

Scleroderma is a multisystem disease which in many populations is reported to have a substantially reduced survival. One problem with many of the published studies is the inclusion of patients with differing lengths of disease at baseline, with the possibility of left censorship bias. The aim was to determine the survival and its predictors in a cohort of scleroderma patients with new onset of disease.

Geographical clustering of scleroderma in south and west London.

Anecdotal observation suggested a local increase in the occurrence of scleroderma within a borough in close proximity to a major airport. Ascertainment of all living cases was attempted within that borough and adjacent boroughs as well as a similar exercise in two further boroughs in close proximity to another major airport. The results showed a higher prevalence of scleroderma in all three study areas compared to that expected based on a population survey in another part of the United Kingdom adopting similar methodology.