7,252 research outputs found

    Urbanised forested landscape: Urbanisation, timber extraction and forest care on the Vișeu Valley, northern Romania

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    By looking at urbanisation processes from the vantage point of the forest, and the ways in which it both constitutes our living space while having been separated from the bounded space of the urban in modern history, the thesis asks: How can we (re)imagine urbanisation beyond the limits of the urban? How can a feminine line of thinking engage with the forest beyond the capitalist-colonial paradigm and its extractive project? and How can we “think with care” (Puig de la Bellacasa 2017) towards the forest as an inhabitant of our common world, instead of perpetuating the image of the forest as a space outside the delimited boundaries of the city? Through a case study research, introducing the Vișeu Valley in northern Romania as both a site engaged in the circulation of the global timber flow, a part of what Brenner and Schmid (2014) name “planetary urbanisation”, where the extractive logging operations beginning in the late XVIIIth century have constructed it as an extractive landscape, and a more than human landscape inhabited by a multitude of beings (animal, plant, and human) the thesis argues towards the importance of forest care and indigenous knowledge in landscape management understood as a trans-generational transmission of knowledge, that is interdependent with the persistence of the landscape as such. Having a trans-scalar approach, the thesis investigates the ways in which the extractive projects of the capitalist-colonial paradigm have and still are shaping forested landscapes across the globe in order to situate the case as part of a planetary forest landscape and the contemporary debates it is engaged in. By engaging with emerging paradigms within the fields of plant communication, forestry, legal scholarship and landscape urbanism that present trees and forests as intelligent beings, and look at urbanisation as a way of inhabiting the landscape in both indigenous and modern cultures, the thesis argues towards viewing forested landscapes as more than human living spaces. Thinking urbanisation through the case of the Vișeu Valley’s urbanised forested landscape, the thesis aligns with alternate ways of viewing urbanisation as co-habitation with more than human beings, particularly those emerging from interdisciplinary research in the Amazon river basin (Tavares 2017, Heckenberger 2012) and, in light of emerging discourses on the rights of nature, proposes an expanded concept of planetary citizenship, to include non-human personhood

    Dissecting the mechanisms of transport of herpes simplex virus between Langerhans Cells & dendritic cells in epidermis and dermis following infection of human genital mucosa and skin

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    Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has deemed a priority for a vaccine. CD8 and CD4T cells are important in the control and clearance of HSV, however no known vaccine has been able to stimulate CD8T cells. The dermal dendritic cells (dDCs) are suspected to play a role. Previously the host lab has shown in human tissue that HSV-1 infection of Langerhans cells (LCs) caused apoptosis and migration of LCs to the dermis, where they were phagocytosed by dDCs (termed HSV viral relay). Very little is known about the mechanisms of this relay. The host lab has also identified a second resident epidermal immune cell, Epi-cDC2s, which are infectable by HSV. This thesis aims to unravel the mechanisms involved in the relay. RNA-seq and cell surface phenotyping on human dDCs subsets showed that was differential chemokine receptor expression. Bead-based immunoassays were used to determine the chemokines produced by HSV-1 infected LCs and Epi-cDC2s,and showed HSV infected LCs produced increased CXCR3 ligands, while HSV infected Epi-cDC2s produced increased CCR5 ligands. The importance of these chemokine axes was investigated using chemotaxis assays. An cyclic immunofluorescent microscopy panel was then developed to investigate whether this migration could be seen in situ in HSV infected foreskin explants. Underneath epidermal foci of infection, there was migration of both cDC1s and cDC2s towards the basement membrane. Under foci of infection there was a greater proportion of cDC2s clustering with LCs. The uptake of HSV infected epidermal cells by the dDC subsets was examined using imaging cytometry. Preliminary results suggest that there were no significant differences between the ability of dDCs to phagocytose HSV infected epidermal cells. Understanding the mechanisms and the role of each dDC subset in the HSV viral relay will determine which dDC subsets are crucial for CD8 and CD4 T cell stimulation

    Geoarchaeological Investigations of Late Pleistocene Physical Environments and Impacts of Prehistoric Foragers on the Ecosystem in Northern Malawi and Austria

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    A growing body of research shows that not only did environmental changes play an important role in human evolution, but humans in turn have impacted ecosystems and landscape evolution since the Late Pleistocene. This thesis presents collaborative work on Late Pleistocene open-air sites in the Karonga District of northern Malawi, in which new aspects of forager behavior came to light through the reconstruction of physical environments. My work has helped recognize that late Middle Stone Age (MSA) activity and tool production occurred in locally more open riparian environments within evergreen gallery forest, surrounded by a regional vegetation dominated by miombo woodlands and savanna. Additionally, MSA hunter-gatherers exploited the confluence of river and wetland areas along the shores of Lake Malawi, which likely served as important corridors for the dispersal of biota. By comparing data from the archaeological investigations with lake core records, we were able to identify effects of anthropogenic burning on vegetation structures and sedimentation in the region as early as 80 thousand years ago. These findings not only proved it possible to uncover early impacts of human activity on the ecosystem, but also emphasize the importance of fire in the lives of early foragers. Publications contained within this dissertation: A. Wright, D.K., Thompson, J.C., Schilt, F.C., Cohen, A., Choi, J-H., Mercader, J., Nightingale, S., Miller, C.E., Mentzer, S.M., Walde, D., Welling, M., and Gomani-Chindebvu, E. “Approaches to Middle Stone Age landscape archaeology in tropical Africa”. Special issue Geoarchaeology of the Tropics of Journal of Archaeological Science 77:64-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2016.01.014 B. Schilt, F.C., Verpoorte, A., Antl, W. “Micromorphology of an Upper Paleolithic cultural layer at Grub-Kranawetberg, Austria”. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 14:152-162. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.05.041 C. Nightingale, S., Schilt, F.C., Thompson, J.C., Wright, D.K., Forman, S., Mercader, J., Moss, P., Clarke, S. Itambu, M., Gomani-Chindebvu, E., Welling, M. Late Middle Stone Age Behavior and Environments at Chaminade I (Karonga, Malawi). Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology 2-3:258-397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41982-019-00035-3 D. Thompson, J.C.*, Wright, D.K.*, Ivory, S.J.*, Choi, J-H., Nightingale, S., Mackay, A., Schilt, F.C., Otárola-Castillo, E., Mercader, J., Forman, S.L., Pietsch, T., Cohen, A.S., Arrowsmith, J.R., Welling, M., Davis, J., Schiery, B., Kaliba, P., Malijani, O., Blome, M.W., O’Driscoll, C., Mentzer, S.M., Miller, C., Heo, S., Choi, J., Tembo, J., Mapemba, F., Simengwa, D., and Gomani-Chindebvu, E. “Early human impacts and ecosystem reorganization in southern-central Africa”. Science Advances 7(19): eabf9776. *equal contribution https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf9776 E. Schilt, F.C., Miller, C.M., Wright, D.K., Mentzer, S.M., Mercader, J., Moss, Choi, J.-H., Siljedal, G., Clarke, S., Mwambwiga, A., Thomas, K., Barbieri, A., Kaliba, P., Gomani-Chindebvu, E., Thompson, J.C. “Hunter-gatherer environments at the Late Pleistocene sites of Bruce and Mwanganda®s Village, northern Malawi”. Quaternary Science Reviews 292: 107638. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379122002694 [untranslated

    Vulnerability of the Nigerian coast and communities to climate change induced coastal erosion

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    Improving coastal resilience to climate change hazards requires understanding past shoreline changes. As the coastal population grows, evaluation and monitoring of shoreline changes are essential for planning and development. Population growth increases exposure to sea level rise and coastal hazards. Nigeria, where the study is situated, is among the top fifteen countries in the world for coastal population exposure to sea level rise. This study provided a novel lens in establishing a link between social factors and the intensifying coastal erosion along the Akwa Ibom State study coast. The mixed-method approach used in the study to assess the vulnerability of the Nigerian coast and communities to climate change-induced coastal erosion proved to be essential in gathering a wide range of data (physical, socio economic, participatory GIS maps and social learning) that contributed to a more robust and holistic assessment of coastal erosion, which is a complex issue due to the interplay between the human and natural environments. Remotely sensed data was used to examine the susceptibility and coastal evolution of Akwa Ibom State over 36 years (1984 -2020). Longer-term (1984- 2020) and short-term (2015-2020) shoreline change analyses were used to understand coastal erosion and accretion. From 1984-2020, the total average linear regression rate (LRR) was - 2.7+0.18m/yr and from 2015-2020, it was -3.94 +1.28m/yr, demonstrating an erosional trend along the study coast. Although the rate of erosion varies along the study coast, the linear regression rates (LRR) results show a predominant trend of erosion in both the short and longer term. According to the 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, loss of land, loss of assets, community disruption and livelihood, loss of environmental resources, ecosystem, loss of life, or adverse health impact are all potential risks along the African coast due to climate change – this study shows that these risks are already occurring today. To quantify the anticipated future coastal erosion risk by 2040 along the study coast, the findings in this study show an overall average LRR of -2.73+ 0.99 m/yr which anticipates that coastal erosion will still be prevalent along the coast by 2040. And, given the current global climate change situation, should be expected to be much higher than the current forecasting. This study re-conceptualised the European Environmental Agency Driver-Pressure StateImpact-Response (DPSIR) model to show Hazard-Driver-Pressure-State-Impact ResponseObservation causal linkages to coastal erosion hazards. The results showed how human activities and environmental interactions have evolved through time, causing coastal erosion. Removal of vegetation cover/backstop for residential and agricultural purposes, indicate that human activities significantly contribute to the study area's susceptibility, rapid shoreline changes, and vulnerability to coastal erosion, in addition to oceanic and climate change drivers such as sea level rise and storminess. Risk perception of coastal erosion in the study area was analysed using the rhizoanalytic method proposed by Deleueze. The method demonstrates how connections and movements can be related and how data can be used to show multiplicity, mark and unmark ideas, rupture pre-conceptions and make new connections. This study shows that coastal erosion awareness is insufficient to build a long-term management plan and sustain coastal resilience. The Hino's conceptual model which provides in-depth understanding on planned retreat was used to illustrate migratory and planned retreat for the study coast where relocation has already occurred due to coastal erosion. The result fell within the Self-Reliance quadrant, indicating that people left the risk zone without government backing or retreat plans. Other coastal residents who have not relocated fell within the Hunkered Down quadrant, showing that they are willing to stay in the risk zone and cope with the threat unless the government/environmental agencies relocate them. This study shows that coastal resilience requires adaptive capacity and government support. However, multilevel governance has inhibited government-community dialogue and involvement, increasing coastal erosion vulnerability. The coastal vulnerability index to coastal erosion was calculated using the Analytical Hierarchy Process weightings. It revealed that 67.55% of the study coast falls within the high-very high vulnerability class while 32.45% is within the very low-low vulnerability class. This study developed and combined a risk perception index to coastal erosion (RPIerosion) and participatory GIS (PGIS) mapping into a novel coastal vulnerability index called the integrated coastal erosion vulnerability index (ICEVI). The case study evaluation in Akata, showed an improvement in the overall vulnerability assessment to reflect the real-world scenario, which was consistent with field data. This study demonstrated not only the presence and challenges of coastal erosion in the research area but also the relevance of involvement between the local stakeholders, government and environmental agencies. Thus, showing the potential for the perspectives of the inhabitants of these regions to inform the understanding of the resilience capacity of the people impacted, and importantly to inform future co-design and/or selection of effective adaptation methods, to better support coastal climate change resilience in these communities. Overall, the study provides a useful contribution to coastal erosion vulnerability assessments in data-scarce regions more broadly, where the mixed-methods approach used here can be applied elsewhere

    Valorisation of unconventional lignocellulosic biomass into bioenergy and bioproducts using ionic-liquid based technologies

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    In order to transition energy use away from fossil fuels, the transformation of renewable lignocellulosic biomass needs to be improved and its supply of sustainable bioenergy into a wider bioeconomy increased. Achieving this will require: (1) renewable, cheap and high-quality lignocellulosic feedstocks, (2) a robust process to transform this feedstock into bioenergy and finally (3) a system to recover and use this bioenergy as well as value-added products. In this PhD, multiple examples were used to explore unconventional feedstocks, novel transformation processes and opportunities for value-added products. Feedstocks ranging from invasive species threatening the UK environment, Rhododendron and Japanese Knotweed (Chapter 3), metal contaminated waste wood (Chapter 4), metal enriched biomass grown on marginal land (Chapter 5), and wastewater irrigated willow, a leading dedicated bioenergy crop (Chapter 6). While conventional bioenergy systems often burn wood pellets for energy co-generation, the innovative transformation process of ionic liquid-based technologies are explored as flexible enough to fractionate unconventional biomass feedstocks and deliver high yields of sustainable bioenergy and bioproducts. This was allowed by the unique and tuneable properties of protic ionic liquids. Here dimethylbutyl-hydrogen sulphate - [DMBA][HSO4], a cheap hydrogen sulphate [HSO4]- based ionic liquid, and 1-methylimidazolium chloride - [C1Him][Cl], were used in the ionic-liquid based ionoSolv process. Key efficiency parameters such as temperature, reaction time, biomass to solvent loading and solvent recycling, were explored. The process was also challenged with the presence of diverse metal contamination to determine the potential to extract the metals and produce a fermentable pulp and lignin in parallel. Bioenergy recovery from the ionoSolv process was explored as well as the potential to recover multiple value-added products. In addition to determination of heating values of isolated lignin as well as hydrolysis and fermentation yields of cellulose rich pulps into bioethanol, interactions of contaminating metals and their impact on yeast fermentation yields were investigated. This investigation highlights the benefits of [C1Him][Cl] ionic liquid pretreatment for the production of clean bioenergy and bioproducts from highly contaminated feedstocks. As an important property of ionic liquids is that they can act as media for electrochemical reactions, electrodeposition of metals from ionic liquid liquor, metal extraction efficiencies and any detrimental interactions with ionic liquid recycling were assessed. To further diversify system outputs beyond bioenergy alone, production of bio-oils, char and gases from pyrolysis of post-hydrolysis residue was determined, as well as the possibility for recovery of phytochemicals as potential complementary value-added products. This research highlights that unconventional feedstocks have the potential to support a developing bioeconomy and that the reallocation of waste and reclamation of contaminated soils and waters could act as a financial, social and environmental levers to improve the sustainability of bioenergy production. The studies also showcase how a versatile engineered ionic-liquid pretreatment has the potential to transform environmental burdens into resources that are compatible with the diversification of multiple product streams. Taken together, these findings can serve as a proof-of-concept for integrated scale-up of sustainable ionic-liquid based biorefinery.Open Acces

    Immersive analytics for oncology patient cohorts

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    This thesis proposes a novel interactive immersive analytics tool and methods to interrogate the cancer patient cohort in an immersive virtual environment, namely Virtual Reality to Observe Oncology data Models (VROOM). The overall objective is to develop an immersive analytics platform, which includes a data analytics pipeline from raw gene expression data to immersive visualisation on virtual and augmented reality platforms utilising a game engine. Unity3D has been used to implement the visualisation. Work in this thesis could provide oncologists and clinicians with an interactive visualisation and visual analytics platform that helps them to drive their analysis in treatment efficacy and achieve the goal of evidence-based personalised medicine. The thesis integrates the latest discovery and development in cancer patients’ prognoses, immersive technologies, machine learning, decision support system and interactive visualisation to form an immersive analytics platform of complex genomic data. For this thesis, the experimental paradigm that will be followed is in understanding transcriptomics in cancer samples. This thesis specifically investigates gene expression data to determine the biological similarity revealed by the patient's tumour samples' transcriptomic profiles revealing the active genes in different patients. In summary, the thesis contributes to i) a novel immersive analytics platform for patient cohort data interrogation in similarity space where the similarity space is based on the patient's biological and genomic similarity; ii) an effective immersive environment optimisation design based on the usability study of exocentric and egocentric visualisation, audio and sound design optimisation; iii) an integration of trusted and familiar 2D biomedical visual analytics methods into the immersive environment; iv) novel use of the game theory as the decision-making system engine to help the analytics process, and application of the optimal transport theory in missing data imputation to ensure the preservation of data distribution; and v) case studies to showcase the real-world application of the visualisation and its effectiveness

    Offene-Welt-Strukturen: Architektur, Stadt- und Naturlandschaft im Computerspiel

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    Welche Rolle spielen Algorithmen fĂŒr den Bildbau und die Darstellung von Welt und Wetter in Computerspielen? Wie beeinflusst die Gestaltung der RĂ€ume, Level und Topografien die Entscheidungen und das Verhalten der Spieler_innen? Ist der Brutalismus der erste genuine Architekturstil der Computerspiele? Welche Bedeutung haben LandschaftsgĂ€rten und Nationalparks im Strukturieren von Spielwelten? Wie wird Natur in Zeiten des Klimawandels dargestellt? Insbesondere in den letzten 20 Jahren adaptieren digitale Spielwelten akribischer denn je Merkmale der physisch-realen Welt. Durch aufwĂ€ndige Produktionsverfahren und komplexe Visualisierungsstrategien wird die Angleichung an unsere ĂŒbrige Alltagswelt stets in AbhĂ€ngigkeit von Spielmechanik und Weltlichkeit erzeugt. Wie sich spĂ€testens am Beispiel der Open-World-Spiele zeigt, fĂŒhrt die Übernahme bestimmter Weltbilder und Bildtraditionen zu ideologischen Implikationen, die weit ĂŒber die bisher im Fokus der Forschung stehenden, aus anderen Medienformaten transferierten ErzĂ€hlkonventionen hinausgehen. Mit seiner Theorie der Architektur als medialem Scharnier legt der Autor offen, dass digitale Spielwelten medienspezifische Eigenschaften aufweisen, die bisher nicht zu greifen waren und der Erforschung harrten. Durch VerschrĂ€nken von Konzepten aus u.a. Medienwissenschaft, Game Studies, Philosophie, Architekturtheorie, Humangeografie, Landschaftstheorie und Kunstgeschichte erarbeitet Bonner ein transdisziplinĂ€res Theoriemodell und ermöglicht anhand der daraus entwickelten analytischen Methoden erstmals, die komplexe Struktur heutiger Computerspiele - vom Indie Game bis zur AAA Open World - zu verstehen und zu benennen. Mit "Offene-Welt-Strukturen" wird die Architektonik digitaler Spielwelten umfassend zugĂ€nglich

    Sclerochronology and modelling: combining annually resolved bivalve records and biogeochemical models to understand the shelf seas

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    The shelf seas are extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Projected to warm at substantially greater rates than the open ocean, understanding how shelf sea systems operate and how they will respond to future change is of vital importance. Policy decision-makers rely on high quality information to ensure the protection of marine habitats and ecosystem services. While model studies can provide such data, they require spatially and temporally-extensive datasets for verification. Currently, this type of data is highly limited for the shelf seas, particularly at depth. Sclerochronology of bivalve molluscs has shown great potential to extend instrumental data for the shelf seas, providing absolutely-dated, multi-centennial, annually-resolved archives of past ocean environment, analogous to dendrochronology in terrestrial environments. Bivalve molluscs have a wide distribution, and can be found on the shelf environments living at depth on the sea floor. Yet sclerochronology is a developing field with a number of fundamental research gaps limiting the use of sclerochronology as a valuable marine proxy. This thesis addresses three of those gaps: Chapter 2 (Methods Development: Imaging shells for sclerochronology) presents a novel and non-destructive method for imaging the internal growth bands of bivalves used in sclerochronology – micro computed tomography (micro-CT). Micro-CT uses x-rays to create 3D high resolution images of the internal structure of specimens. Experiments evaluated whether density or resolution could limit bivalves from being imaged and showed that subtle microstructural features can be seen in the micro-CT images of even the most dense bivalve species. The research suggested that with future development in micro-CT technology including increased resolution and power, analysis of bivalve growth bands via micro-CT may be possible, significantly reducing the time required to produce highly valuable sclerochronology records and allowing more records to be constructed. Chapter 3 (Sclerochronology and 1D modelling: a novel study using a 1D ecosystem model to better interpret sclerochronology records) focuses on a fundamental problem in sclerochronology - the lack of understanding regarding the mechanistic drivers of shell growth. Here, a 1D ecosystem model GOTM-ERSEM- BFM was used explore these mechanisms. The model was able to simulate the shell growth of a central North Sea composite chronology which allowed exploration of ecosystem processes to understand the mechanisms that lead to growth. Experiments manipulating the meteorological inputs to the model mechanistically attributed variability in surface heating and wind temperature as key controls on shell growth in the central North Sea. Chapter 4 (Southern North Sea sclerochronologies: using shell records to test hypotheses across hydrological and biological gradients) addresses the scarcity of long-term productivity information in the North Sea which currently limits an understanding of historical variability. In particular, accurate measurements of North Sea productivity are limited by the poor quantification of sub-surface chlorophyll which cannot be measured by remote sensing or surface phytoplankton surveying. 12 new sclerochronology records of the bivalve mollusc Arctica islandica were produced from 4 locations in the southern North Sea to test if bivalve growth differs across productivity and hydrography gradients, and investigate whether shell records capture sub-surface chlorophyll variability. Differences in the rate of raw growth of Arctica islandica was demonstrated between regions of high and low productivity, supported by variations in synchronicity (estimated population signals) of multiple composite chronologies constructed using the shells records. These results suggest that sub surface chlorophyll may play a role in Arctica islandica shell growth but how this interacts with stratification regimes in the North Sea is difficult to quantify due to complex interactions of biology and other hydrographical features in the region. Further research is required in other locations to better understand impact of stratification and sub-surface productivity on shell growth and subsequently North Sea ecosystems. The novel research presented in this thesis has advanced the fields of sclerochronology and ecosystem modelling and has laid the foundation for transformative approaches to sclerochronology. By developing the methods needed to understand long-term variability of shelf sea environments, particularly at depth, this work has contributed to improving the understanding of past and future climate change in the shelf seas

    Endogenous measures for contextualising large-scale social phenomena: a corpus-based method for mediated public discourse

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    This work presents an interdisciplinary methodology for developing endogenous measures of group membership through analysis of pervasive linguistic patterns in public discourse. Focusing on political discourse, this work critiques the conventional approach to the study of political participation, which is premised on decontextualised, exogenous measures to characterise groups. Considering the theoretical and empirical weaknesses of decontextualised approaches to large-scale social phenomena, this work suggests that contextualisation using endogenous measures might provide a complementary perspective to mitigate such weaknesses. This work develops a sociomaterial perspective on political participation in mediated discourse as affiliatory action performed through language. While the affiliatory function of language is often performed consciously (such as statements of identity), this work is concerned with unconscious features (such as patterns in lexis and grammar). This work argues that pervasive patterns in such features that emerge through socialisation are resistant to change and manipulation, and thus might serve as endogenous measures of sociopolitical contexts, and thus of groups. In terms of method, the work takes a corpus-based approach to the analysis of data from the Twitter messaging service whereby patterns in users’ speech are examined statistically in order to trace potential community membership. The method is applied in the US state of Michigan during the second half of 2018—6 November having been the date of midterm (i.e. non-Presidential) elections in the United States. The corpus is assembled from the original posts of 5,889 users, who are nominally geolocalised to 417 municipalities. These users are clustered according to pervasive language features. Comparing the linguistic clusters according to the municipalities they represent finds that there are regular sociodemographic differentials across clusters. This is understood as an indication of social structure, suggesting that endogenous measures derived from pervasive patterns in language may indeed offer a complementary, contextualised perspective on large-scale social phenomena
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