738 research outputs found

    ‘Shinu Shika Nai’ – ‘There is Nothing to Do but to Die’: Contextualising the Rising Young Female Suicide Rate in Japan

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    During the Covid-19 pandemic, the suicide rate for the 18-39 age cohort of Japanese women has been drastically subverting a long period of prior sustained decline. This work is an anthropological study of social conditions contributing to a social zeitgeist in which these young women are taking their own lives, as told in survivor and advocate testimonies. It seeks to question the ways ideas around what suicide means in the Japanese cultural context to stakeholders in the suicide process. It further elucidates how these ideas exist, and how they have evolved to be meaningful to young women in contemporary Japan

    Waste Management & The Circular Economy in Canada: An Analysis of Policy Layering

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    Waste has become intrinsic to everyday life, where the average person throws away packaging or products no longer needed on a regular basis and does not know much about the rest of the item’s life cycle or where it came from originally. However, waste management is increasingly becoming one of the most challenging responsibilities of jurisdictions around the world. With the costs of maintaining operable waste management systems, such as landfilling and recycling, rising at the same time as environmental and socio-economic pressures, innovative solutions are needed. An answer that is becoming increasingly popular is the circular economy, which closes the loop of the linear business model by minimizing the input of new, raw materials and resources. This is achieved through designing products for reducing, reusing, or recycling as much as possible instead of jumping to the traditional ways of waste management. While many countries, industries, and advocacy organizations have already implemented some circular policies, little is known about an optimal design. Much of the literature speaks of the need for a paradigm shift to achieve a circular economy. Given the well known difficulties of bringing about such a shift, I investigated Canadian provincial policy instruments used to generate the circular economy to discover whether incremental first and second order policy changes are bringing about policy designs that promote circularity. Focusing primarily on the provinces of Saskatchewan (Western region), Ontario (Eastern region), and Nova Scotia (Atlantic region) in Canada, I have evaluated the shift from waste management to waste reduction to circular economy using the full spectrum of policy changes from patching to packaging

    The neural basis of semantic processing across comprehension contexts

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    Current neurobiological models of semantic cognition have been predominately derived from studies of single-words or sentences which may provide an impoverished estimate of how semantic processing occurs in real-world contexts. Studies that make use of more ecologically valid stimuli such as natural language or narratives suggest that, counter to the hub-and-spoke framework in which the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) serves as a graded hub integrating information from proximal sensorimotor spokes, the semantic system displays voxel-wise category specialization tiled across a large, distributed network. A complicating factor in reconciling these seemingly conflicting claims is the over-reliance on concrete conceptual knowledge in describing the organization of the semantic system. A recent theoretical account argues that social knowledge, like other types of semantic knowledge, is processed within the ventrolateral ATL, but this claim has not been tested using naturalistic stimuli, which better sample abstract social knowledge, including pragmatic inference. This thesis investigates the organization of the semantic system across multiple scales, from isolated words to multimodal narratives, and across multiple types of semantic conceptual knowledge, from concrete to abstract. Using comprehension of concrete words as a starting point, the first study describes a critical examination of specialization within the semantic system for taxonomic (dog – bear) and thematic (dog – leash) relations using intracranial EEG recordings from an array of depth electrodes within ATL, inferior parietal lobule (IPL), and two regions within the semantic control network, inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG). Moving across the context and conceptual scale to build upon this work, the second study investigated how the concrete and abstract lexical and semantic properties of single-words, akin to those that informed the hub-and-spoke model, are processed in a complex, complete narrative presented to participants during fMRI scanning. In doing so, this study enabled comparisons between prior studies of isolated words and naturalistic work, thus moving toward an integrated cross-scale account of semantic cognition. Using the same neuroimaging data, the third study extended this work to investigate how context contributes to the construction of meaning by studying how the semantic and social cognitive systems are engaged by social and pragmatic sentence-level content. This enabled a direct, naturalistic test of the claim that social knowledge is housed within the semantic system. The fourth study investigated shared processing between social and semantic systems using fMRI data collected during movie-viewing, which captures the multimodal environment in which social knowledge is exchanged. The results of these studies collectively demonstrate that the semantic and social systems are differentially engaged across the scales investigated here. Concrete conceptual relations engage one (or more) specialized hubs within the semantic system, whereas processing of naturalistic verbal and event content co-varies with activation in large brain networks. There is evidence of functional gradations within ATL that are differentially sensitive to the demands of narrative comprehension – the anterior superior temporal gyrus (i.e., dorsolateral subregion) and anterior fusiform (i.e., ventral subregion) appear to be particularly sensitive to the quantity and informativeness of external input whereas the anterior middle and inferior temporal gyri (i.e., ventrolateral subregion) appear to be engaged by internal, or endogenous, semantic processing during narrative comprehension. Engagement of this same ventrolateral subregion is observed in response to social word and sentence content, providing support for the claim that social processing is subsumed within the semantic system. Taken together, the results suggest an extension to the current neurobiological model of semantic cognition that accommodates comprehension contexts. The studies undertaken as part of this thesis build upon the existing concept-level frameworks towards a narrative-level framework of semantic cognition

    Representing Reactive attachment disorder in contemporary fiction: creating new paths for neurodiverse characters

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    The first element of this work is a novel titled June in the Garden, which follows a neurodiverse protagonist with a diagnosis of reactive attachment disorder. The next section of the exegesis will provide insight into her atypical profile, particularly her traits of social disinhibition, an absence of emotion, affected cognitive processing and reasoning skills, and an inability to initiate and maintain relationships with others. The second element will include two parts: (1) a critical analysis of key diagnostic terms used in the clinical field to describe disorders relating to social-emotional detachment and disengagement, specifically reactive attachment disorder (RAD); (2) discussions on the current depiction of social-emotional detachment and, more broadly, of neurodiversity in contemporary fiction. This second part will argue that the two main pathways to depict a detachment disorder, like RAD, is heterogeneous characterisation, defined by common patterns that are exhibited in the novels selected, and typography, defined by unconventional text arrangement or a presence of visuals on the printed page. Aspects of typography will include deconstruction of the standard print form to allow for creative formatting, such as increased spacing, incomplete sentences, blank pages, and bolding of words. Another aspect will include the addition of specific visuals, such as conceptual word sharks (The Raw Shark Texts, Steven Hall, 2007), black and white photographs (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer, 2005), and mathematical formulas and blueprints (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon, 2003). These two methods, heterogeneous characterisation and typography, will explain my creative process for developing a neurodiverse protagonist, showing connections between my work and the work of other fiction writers. However, primarily this research will convey a new pathway for an atypical protagonist with a disorder relatively unknown in the wider community, to recontextualise the presentation of social-emotional detachment in fiction. I also hope to highlight the gaps in RAD research, particularly at the adult level, and to show how RAD can be portrayed realistically in a contemporary novel, without being too ‘gimmicky’

    The role of personality type and cognitive biases in chronic back pain

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    Chronic back pain is the single biggest cause of disability among adults in the world with a significant social, economic, and personal impact. The lack of an underlying pathology in some cases of chronic back pain means that psychology may play an important role. Previous investigations considered the chronic back pain population to be a homogenous group with the same coping mechanisms and pain related behaviours. However, recent studies have suggested that there might be sub-groups with different behaviours and coping mechanisms within the chronic pain population. This thesis used a mixed method approach to investigate the effect of personality traits on chronic back pain. Using a well-established cohort study the effects of the big five personality types on chronic back pain assessed three outcomes over an 8-year period: consistent chronic pain, recovered from chronic pain and acquired chronic pain.. Neuroticism was found to be the biggest risk factor for chronic pain in all three outcomes and physical activity and, in some cases, Extraversion and Conscientiousness were protective. The next study investigated cognitive biases within Weinberger’s personality types: defensive high anxious, high anxious, low anxious, and repressors. Results indicated that the repressors had a goal oriented gaze behaviour that is similar to that of a control group whereas in contrast the high anxious and defensive high anxious individuals appeared to have an attentional bias towards the back and face. The final study in this thesis investigated the motor imagery profile of a chronic back pain population as well as the motor imagery profile of each of the Weinberger personality types. Overall, individuals with chronic back pain had lower imagery scores than the pain free control group. When split according to personality type the results seem to suggest that the high anxious had the lowest imagery scores, whereas the repressors’ imagery scores were similar to those of the control group. Taken together, the results from this thesis provide further support for the heterogeneity of individuals with chronic back pain and investigated a new type of imagery intervention that could address limitations in current chronic pain management

    A Spanish dancer? No! A troupe of dancers: a review of the family Hexabranchidae Bergh, 1891 (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia, Nudibranchia): A troupe of Spanish dancer

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    Color ontogeny and variations associated with discrete morphological differences may generate taxonomical challenges, which requires multiple data types and in-depth historical review. The nudibranch known as the Spanish dancer, Hexabranchus sanguineus, is a classic example with over 200 years of taxonomic confusion. Currently, H. sanguineus is accepted by most authors as a single species from the Indo-Pacific Ocean with Hexabranchus morsomus as a valid species from the Atlantic Ocean. Yet, despite these species being highly studied, their systematic status remains debatable. Over 30 synonyms have been proposed for H. sanguineus and even a distinct genus for H. morsomus. Here we provide, for the first time, a comprehensive review of all proposed names and an integrative taxonomic revision of the genus including morphological and molecular data. Our results reveal that H. sanguineus is a complex of five species: four previously described and an undescribed species, one of the largest nudibranchs in the world: Hexabranchus giganteus sp. nov. The genus Caribranchus is considered a junior synonym of Hexabranchus Ehrenberg, 1828 and the ontogeny of color pattern is discussed

    Systematics of Philippine Cyrtandra J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. (Gesneriaceae)

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    Systematik ist das grundlegende Fachgebiet der Biologie, dessen Ziel es ist, die Vielfalt des Lebens zu beschreiben und zu verstehen. Ihre Bedeutung kann nicht außer Acht gelassen werden, da uns die Systematik Werkzeuge lieferte, um auf Verwandtschaftsbeziehungen zwischen lebenden Organismen zu schließen, und wir diese Informationen genutzt haben, um unsere Lebensqualität zu verbessern, die Umwelt zu schützen, die Vergangenheit zu verstehen und die Vielfalt der natürlichen Welt wertzuschätzen. Systematik unterteilt sich in drei Fachrichtungen, nämlich Taxonomie, Phylogenie und Biogeographie. In dieser Dissertation habe ich die Systematik der philippinischen Angehörigen der größten Gattung der Familie Gesneriaceae, Cyrtandra, untersucht. Cyrtandra ist eine Gattung mit fast 800 Arten von krautigen Pflanzen, Sträuchern, kletternden Pflanzen und kleinen Bäumen und hat das größte Verbreitungsgebiet innerhalb der Familie der Gesneriaceae, dass sich vom Indo-Australischen Archipel bis zum Pazifik erstreckt. Ihr Vorkommen in Biodiversitätshotspots und ihre hohe Artenzahl machen sie zu einer ausgezeichneten Modellgruppe für die Untersuchung von Biogeografie, Artbildung, Diversifizierung und Prioritätensetzung bei der Erhaltung. Ihr Nutzen als Modellgruppe wird jedoch dadurch behindert, dass nur wenige Systematiker/innen aktiv an der Gattung arbeiten. Jüngste Arbeiten haben glücklicherweise dazu beigetragen, dass die Vielfalt und die Biologie dieser Gattung nun endlich besser verstanden werden. Mit dieser Dissertation, in der ich taxonomische, phylogenetische und biogeografische Untersuchungen an philippinischen Taxa durchführte, möchte ich zu diesem langsam wachsenden Wissen beitragen. Die Dissertation ist in fünf Kapitel unterteilt, wobei das erste und das letzte Kapitel eine allgemeine Einleitung bzw. eine Schlussfolgerung enthalten. In Kapitel 2 berichte ich über taxonomische Neuheiten bei den philippinischen Cyrtandra. Zunächst habe ich neue Namen für zwei Homonyme in der philippinischen Flora vorgeschlagen, C. coriaceifolia für C. humilis in Anlehnung an ihre lederartigen Blätter und C. bacanii für C. umbellata zu Ehren des Sammlers des Typusexemplars, E.S. Bacani. Cyrtandra argentii wird als eine neue endemische Art beschrieben und nach G. Argent benannt. Es handelt sich um eine eigenständige endemische Art, die an ihren hängenden, zusammengesetzten, zymösen Blütenständen mit 10-15 Blüten zu erkennen ist. Schließlich wird C. villosissima var. flavovirens als neue Farbvarietät von C. villosissima beschrieben, benannt nach ihren blassgelben bis gelbgrünen Blütenkronen. Für die neuen Taxa werden Diagnosen, Beschreibungen, Bilder, Strichzeichnungen, Schlüssel und vorgeschlagene IUCN-Kategorien bereitgestellt. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG In Kapitel 3 stelle ich eine taxonomische Synopse der philippinischen Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) vor. Dies ist nach 100 Jahren die erste Aktualisierung von Merrills Aufzeichnungen der Blütenpflanzen aus dem Jahr 1923. Ich erkenne 98 Cyrtandra-Arten für die philippinische Flora an. Ich bestätige einen Artnamen, der zuvor ohne lateinische Diagnose beschrieben wurde (C. peninsula), synonymisiere drei Namen (C. quisumbingii und C. quisumbingii var. minor werden unter C. hypochrysoides synonymisiert, während C. florulenta unter C. incisa synonymisiert wird), und schlage zwei neue Namen vor (C. edanoi für C. pallida und C. siporensis für C. chiritoides). Taxonomische Anmerkungen folgen jeder Art und jeder korrekten Typisierung, um die Stabilität der Namen zu gewährleisten und die Identifizierung der Arten zu erleichtern. Eine Tabelle erleichtert das Nachschlagen der derzeit akzeptierten Namen der philippinischen Cyrtandra. In Kapitel 4 führe ich phylogenetische und biogeografische Analysen über das gesamte Verbreitungsgebiet von Cyrtandra durch, wobei ich die philippinischen Taxa stärker in die Stichproben einbeziehe, um die bisherigen Sammel-Lücken zu schließen. In der phylogenetischen Analyse zeige ich, dass es bei den südostasiatischen Vertretern wenig geografische Strukturierung gibt, was darauf hindeutet, dass die biogeografischen Linien für Pflanzentaxa sehr durchlässig sind, wie dies auch von anderen gezeigt wurde. In der biogeografischen Analyse prüfte ich, ob die Muster und die Diversifizierungsdynamik von Cyrtandra mit der allgemeinen dynamischen Theorie der ozeanischen Inselbiogeografie (general dynamic theory of oceanic island biogeography, GDT) vereinbar sind. Um dies zu prüfen, führte ich eine datierte phylogenetische Analyse durch, gefolgt von einer BioGeoBeaRS- und einer BAMM-Analyse. Ich zeige, dass ozeanische Inseln, insbesondere Wallacea, wichtige Quellen für die Ausbreitung von Cyrtandra-Linien sind. Die GDT betrachtet ozeanische Inseln hauptsächlich als Senken für sich ausbreitende Linien. Der relativ hohe Beitrag von Wallacea lässt sich auf seine zentrale Lage im Verbreitungsgebiet von Cyrtandra und seine komplexe geologische Geschichte zurückführen, die für eine erhöhte Ausbreitungsfähigkeit sorgt. Ich untersuche weiterhin, ob die Diversifizierungsdynamik von Cyrtandra den Vorhersagen der adaptiven Radiation folgt, die auf ozeanischen Inseln von der GDT als dominanter Prozess vorhergesagt wird. Die Diversifizierungsdynamik von Cyrtandra im südostasiatischen Grade zeigt frühe Schübe in den Diversifizierungsraten, gefolgt von einem Plateau, was mit adaptiver Radiation vereinbar ist. Es werden keine Anzeichen für eine diversitätsabhängige Diversifizierung festgestellt, was darauf zurückzuführen ist, dass die südostasiatischen Cyrtandra-Arten verschiedene Nischen besetzen, was durch ihre große morphologische Bandbreite, insbesondere in Bezug auf Habitus und Blütenmerkmale, deutlich wird. Die Gruppe mit den meisten pazifischen Mitgliedern, die in den frühen Stadien der Ontogenese der pazifischen Inseln auftraten, zeigt eine Diversifizierungsdynamik, die durch das Island Immaturity Speciation Pulse (IISP)-Modell vorhergesagt wurde, und ihr morphologisches Spektrum wird durch den Least-Action-Effekt kontrolliert, der Verholzung und fleischige Früchte begünstigt. In dieser Dissertation gebe ich neue Einblicke in die Systematik von Cyrtandra, indem ich den Schwerpunkt auf die philippinischen Mitglieder lege. Außerdem stelle ich neue Informationen zur Verfügung, die zur Standardisierung eines prädiktiven Klassifizierungssystems für die Gattung beitragen sollen. Darüber hinaus ist dies ein erster Schritt in Richtung eines Rahmens für die Untersuchung der Diversifizierungsdynamik, wie sie von der GDT für sehr erfolgreiche insulare Taxa vorhergesagt wird.Systematics is the foundational field of biology wherein it aims to describe and understand the diversity of life. Its importance cannot be disregarded since systematics provides us tools to infer relationships among living organisms and we utilize this information to improve our quality of living, protect the environment, understand the past, and simply appreciate the variation and diversity of the natural world. Systematics is composed of three branches, namely taxonomy, phylogenetics, and biogeography. In this dissertation, I explore the systematics of the Philippine members of the largest genus in the family Gesneriaceae, Cyrtandra. Cyrtandra is a genus of almost 800 species of herbs, shrubs, vines, and small trees and it has the widest distributional range in the family Gesneriaceae starting from the Indo-Australian Archipelago extending farther eastwards to the Pacific. Its presence in biodiversity hotspots and its high species number make it an excellent model group for studying biogeography, speciation, diversification, and conservation prioritization. Its utility as a model group, however, is hampered because of the few systematists actively working on the genus. Recent works have fortunately acted as stimuli to finally pick up the pace in understanding the diversity and biology of this genus. I aim to contribute to this slowly increasing knowledge with this dissertation wherein I conduct taxonomic, phylogenetic, and biogeographic research on Philippine members. This dissertation is divided into five chapters and the first and last chapters provide a general introduction and conclusion, respectively. In Chapter 2, I report taxonomic novelties in Philippine Cyrtandra. First, I propose new names to two homonyms in the Philippine flora, C. coriaceifolia for C. humilis in reference to its coriaceous leaves and C. bacanii for C. umbellata to honor the collector of the type specimen, E.S. Bacani. I describe Cyrtandra argentii as a new endemic species and named after G. Argent. This is a distinct endemic recognized by its pendulous compound cymose inflorescences with 10–15 flowers. Lastly, I describe C. villosissima var. flavovirens as a new color variety of C. villosissima named for its pale yellow to yellow-green corollas. I provide diagnoses, descriptions, images, line drawings, keys, and IUCN categories for the novel taxa. In Chapter 3, I present a taxonomic synopsis of Philippine Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae). This is the first update, after 100 years, of Merrill’s 1923 enumeration of flowering plants. I recognize 98 species of Cyrtandra for the Philippine flora. I validate a species name that was previously described without a Latin diagnosis (C. peninsula), synonymize three names (C. quisumbingii and C. quisumbingii var. minor are in synonymy under C. hypochrysoides while C. florulenta is in synonymy under C. incisa), and propose two new names (C. edanoi for C. pallida, and C. siporensis for C. chiritoides). Taxonomic notes follow every species and correct typification to ensure stability of the names and aid in the identification of species. I also provide a look-up table to facilitate referencing of currently accepted names in Philippine Cyrtandra. In Chapter 4, I perform phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses across the entire distributional range of Cyrtandra with increased sampling of Philippine members to fill-in sampling gaps. In the phylogenetic analysis, I show that there is little geographic structuring in Southeast Asian members indicating that biogeographic lines are highly permeable for plant taxa, as has been shown in others. In the biogeographic analysis, I test whether patterns and diversification dynamics in Cyrtandra are consistent with the general dynamic theory of oceanic island biogeography (GDT) by performing a dated-tree analysis, followed ancestral range estimation via BioGeoBeaRS, and then diversification rate analysis using BAMM. I show that oceanic islands, specifically Wallacea, are important sources of dispersing lineages for Cyrtandra. GDT views oceanic islands mainly as sinks for dispersing lineages. The relatively high contribution of Wallacea is attributed to its central location along the distributional range of Cyrtandra and its complex geological history selecting for increased dispersibility. I show that diversification dynamics in Cyrtandra follow predictions of adaptive radiation, which is the dominant process on oceanic islands as predicted by the GDT. Diversification dynamics of Cyrtandra in the Southeast Asian grade show early bursts in diversification rates followed by a plateau which is consistent with adaptive radiation. No signals of diversity-dependent diversification are detected, and this is attributed to Southeast Asian cyrtandras occupying various niche spaces as evident by its wide morphological range, particularly in habit and floral characters. The clade containing mostly Pacific members, which arrived at the early stages of the ontogeny of the Pacific islands, show diversification dynamics predicted by the Island Immaturity Speciation Pulse (IISP) model and their morphological range is controlled by the least action effect favouring woodiness and fleshy fruits. In this dissertation, I provide novel insights into the systematics of Cyrtandra by putting focus on Philippine members. Also, I provide new information that aims to contribute to the standardization of a predictive classification system for the genus. Additionally, this provides a first step towards a framework for investigating diversification dynamics as predicted by the GDT in highly successful insular taxa

    Analysis of the multiple sclerosis susceptibility gene IL22RA2

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    347 p.Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory neurological disease whose underlying cause remains uncertain and can be influenced by different environmental and genetic factors. We have studied two MS-susceptibility genes, IL22RA2 and IL12A, to better understand their regulation and relationship to MS. We demonstrated that the IL22RA2 gene gives rise to three isoforms in monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs).. We also found that CD14++/CD16+ intermediate monocytes produced higher levels of IL22RA2 mRNA than classical and non-classical monocytes. Using transfected human cell lines, we demonstrated that the protein product of IL22RA2 variant 1 (IL22RA2v1), the IL-22BP isoform 1 (IL-22BPi1), was poorly secreted and largely retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We performed interactome analysis to uncover the mechanism underlying the ER retention of IL-22BPi1 and identified ER chaperones GRP78, GRP94, GRP170 and calnexin as main interactors. Structure-function analysis revealed that, like IL-22BPi2, IL-22BPi1 binds to the substrate-binding domain of GRP78 as well as to the middle domain of GRP94, and thus, we have demonstrated the domain of interaction of IL-22BPi1 and IL-22BPi2 with GRP78 and GRP94. Upon silencing of IL22RA2 expression in moDC, GRP78 levels were significantly reduced, suggesting that native IL22RA2 expression naturally contributes to upregulated GRP78 levels in these cells. Finally, we demonstrated that another variant apart from the canonical IL12A was expressed in moDCs and in different immune and epithelial cells lines. Altogether, our work highlights the relevance of the study of splicing variants of MS susceptibility genes for a better understanding of the effect of the genetic factors in the disease
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