8,757 research outputs found

    Desarrollo de una herramienta integral de gestión de gases de efecto invernadero para la toma de decisión contra el cambio climático a nivel regional y local en la Comunitat Valenciana

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    Tesis por compendio[ES] Actualmente, los responsables de tomar decisiones contra el cambio climático carecen de herramientas para desarrollar inventarios de emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) con suficiente rigor científico-técnico y precisión para priorizar e invertir los recursos disponibles de manera eficiente en las medidas necesarias para luchar contra el cambio climático. Por ello, en esta tesis se expone el desarrollo de un sistema de información territorial y sectorial (SITE) para monitorear las emisiones de GEI que sirva como herramienta de gobernanza climática local y regional. SITE combina las ventajas de los enfoques metodológicos descendente o top-down (de arriba hacia abajo) y ascendente o bottom-up (de abajo hacia arriba), para lograr un enfoque híbrido innovador para contabilizar y gestionar de manera eficiente las emisiones de GEI. Por tanto, en esta tesis se definen los diferentes desarrollos metodológicos, tanto generales como específicos de sectores clave del Panel Intergubernamental de Cambio Climático (IPPC) (edificación, transporte, sector forestal, etc.), un desarrollo informático para la parte de SITE que se ejecuta del lado del servidor, que de ahora en adelante denominaremos back-end del sistema, y siete implementaciones como casos de estudio representativos, a diferentes escalas y aplicados sobre diferentes sectores. Estas implementaciones a diferentes escalas y sectores demuestran el potencial del sistema como herramienta de apoyo en la toma de decisión contra el cambio climático a nivel regional y local. Las diferentes implementaciones en casos piloto representativos, tanto a nivel regional en la Comunitat Valenciana como a nivel local en municipios grandes (València) y medianos (Quart de Poblet y Llíria) muestran el potencial de adaptación territorial y sectorial que tiene la herramienta. Las metodologías desarrolladas para los sectores específicos de tráfico rodado, edificación o sector forestal, ofrecen cuantificaciones con una resolución espacial con gran capacidad de optimizar las políticas locales y regionales. Por tanto, la herramienta cuenta con un gran potencial de escalabilidad y gran capacidad de mejora continua mediante la inclusión de nuevos enfoques metodológicos, adaptación de las metodologías a la disponibilidad de datos, metodologías concretas para sectores clave y actualización a las mejores metodologías disponibles derivadas de actividades de investigación de la comunidad científica.[CA] Actualment, els responsables de prendre decisions contra el canvi climàtic no tenen eines per aconseguir inventaris d'emissions de gasos d'efecte hivernacle (GEH) amb prou cientificotècnic rigor, precisió i integritat per invertir els recursos disponibles de manera eficient en les mesures necessàries contra el canvi climàtic. Per això, en aquesta tesis se exposa el desenvolupa un sistema d'informació territorial i sectorial (SITE) per monitoritzar les emissions de GEH com a eina de governança climàtica local i regional. Aquest sistema combina els avantatges dels enfocaments metodològics descendent o top-down (de dalt a baix) i ascendent o bottom-up (de baix a dalt), per aconseguir un enfocament híbrid innovador per comptabilitzar i gestionar de manera eficient les emissions de GEH. Per tant, en aquesta tesi doctoral es descriuen els diferents desenvolupaments metodològics, tant generals com específics de sectors clau del Panel Intergovernamental contra el Canvi Climàtic (edificació, transport, forestal, etc.), un desenvolupament informàtic per al back-end del sistema i set implementacions com a casos d'estudi representatius, a diferents escales, amb els diferents enfocaments metodològics i aplicats sobre diferents sectors. Això queda descrit en sis capítols. Aquestes implementacions a diferents escales i sectors demostren el potencial del sistema com a eina de suport en la presa de decisió contra el canvi climàtic a nivell regional i local. Les diferents implementacions en casos pilot representatius, tant a nivell regional a la Comunitat Valenciana com a nivell local en municipis grans (València) i mitjans (Quart de Poblet i Llíria,) mostren el potencial d'adaptació territorial i sectorial que té l'eina. Les metodologies desenvolupades per als sectors específics de trànsit rodat, edificació i forestal, ofereixen quantificacions amb una resolució espacial amb gran capacitat d'optimitzar les polítiques locals i regionals. Per tant, l'eina compta amb un gran potencial d'escalabilitat i gran capacitat de millora contínua mitjançant la inclusió de nous enfocaments metodològics, adaptació de les metodologies a la disponibilitat de dades, metodologies concretes per a sectors clau, i actualització a les millors metodologies disponibles derivades de activitats de investigació de la comunitat científica.[EN] Currently, regional and local decision-makers lack of tools to achieve greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions inventories with enough rigor, accuracy and completeness in order to prioritize available resources efficiently against climate change. Thus, in this thesis the development of a territorial and sectoral information system (SITE) to monitor GHG emissions as a local and regional climate governance tool is exposed. This system combines the advantages of both, top-down and bottom-up approaches, to achieve an innovative hybrid approach to account and manage efficiently GHG emissions. Furthermore, this thesis defines the methodologies developed, a computer proposal for the back-end of the system and seven implementations as representative case studies at different scales (local and regional level), with the different methodological approaches and applied to different sectors. Thus, these implementations demonstrate the potential of the system as decision-making tool against climate change at the regional and local level as climate governance tool. The different implementations in representative pilot cases, both at the regional level in the Valencian Community and at the local level in large (Valencia) and medium-sized municipalities (Quart de Poblet and Llíria) demonstrate the potential for territorial and sectoral adaptation of the system developed. The methodologies developed for the specific sectors of road transport, building and forestry, offer quantifications with a spatial resolution with a great capacity to optimize local and regional policies. Therefore, the tool has a great potential for scalability and a great capacity for continuous improvement through the inclusion of new methodological approaches, adapting the methodologies to the availability of data, specific methodologies for key sectors, and updating to the best methodologies available in the scientific community.Lorenzo Sáez, E. (2022). Desarrollo de una herramienta integral de gestión de gases de efecto invernadero para la toma de decisión contra el cambio climático a nivel regional y local en la Comunitat Valenciana [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/181662TESISCompendi

    The Adirondack Chronology

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    The Adirondack Chronology is intended to be a useful resource for researchers and others interested in the Adirondacks and Adirondack history.https://digitalworks.union.edu/arlpublications/1000/thumbnail.jp

    International Conference Shaping light for health and wellbeing in cities

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    The book collects contributions presented during the international conference “Shaping light for health and wellbeing in cities” organized in the framework of the H2020 ENLIGHTENme project. The conference has investigated the multifaceted consequences light has on life in cities, by adopting a multidisciplinary and integrated approach to explore the complexity of challenges urban lighting poses on health and wellbeing, urban realm and social life. Papers cover several disciplines such as clinical and biomedical sciences, ethics and Responsible Research & Innovation, urban planning and architecture, data accessibility and interoperability, as well as social sciences and economics, and provide multifaceted insights that inspire further explorations. Contributions represent a step towards the development of innovative policies for improving health and wellbeing in our cities, addressing indoor and outdoor lighting

    Investigating the role of R2TP-like co-chaperone complexes during axonemal dynein assembly

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    Motile cilia are specialised cell-types which in humans have important roles in the linings of the airways, the reproductive system and the brain. The movement, required for this type of cilia to function, is facilitated by structures called axonemal dynein motor complexes. These are large, multi-subunit structures, and so it is crucial that they are assembled correctly. In humans, if the motility of these is defective, it can lead to a disorder called Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia, or PCD. This is a heterogeneous, autosomal recessive disorder – symptoms of which include abnormally positioned organs, chronic respiratory infections and infertility. Therefore, the development and structure of the motile cilia is tightly regulated by multiple proteins including chaperones, dynein axonemal assembly factors (DNAAFs), microtubule inner proteins (MIPs), the outer arm docking complex (ODA-DC) and the nexin-dynein regulatory complex (N-DRC). Chaperones work with co-chaperones to regulate their many functions within the cell. One of these co-chaperones is the R2TP complex, which was originally discovered in yeast but is conserved in higher organisms. This multi-protein co-chaperone is involved in the assembly of multi-subunit complexes such as the axonemal dynein motors. Two of the R2TP subunits, Pontin and Reptin, are involved in many cellular functions both in this co-chaperone complex and independently. It is thought that as some DNAAFs share similar protein domains to the components of the R2TP complex, they may form R2TP-like complexes. However, the specific details surrounding the roles of these complexes during the assembly process remains unclear. The structure of motile cilia is highly conserved throughout evolution and Drosophila melanogaster has been shown previously to be an excellent model for furthering understanding into the development and function of these structures as only two cell types in the fly contain axonemal dynein motor complexes. These are the chordotonal neuron, which has a motile ciliated dendrite essential for its mechanosensory function, and the sperm flagellum. In this thesis, I use the Drosophila model to further characterise putative ciliary genes (Wdr16 and Dpcd) identified by a transcriptome analysis previously carried out in the lab. RNAi knockdown experiments as well as expression analysis supported motile cilia functions. The diversity which has been identified regarding the roles of these two putative ciliary genes highlights how proteins can be involved in motile cilia in different ways. I also use this genetically tractable model to further understand the roles of the individual proteins of a previously identified R2TP-like complex (R2DP3). Electron microscopy, proteomics and investigation into how the localisation of dynein subsets was affected in null mutants (generated using CRISPR/Cas9) allowed for the role of this R2TP-like complex in the dynein assembly process to be further specified. Using co-immunoprecipitation and affinity purification, we identified an additional protein complex featuring Pontin and Reptin of the R2TP complex, alongside the DNAAF Heatr2 and the putative DNAAF Dpcd. As well as a role in dynein assembly, both DNAAFs are additionally expressed in the neuroblasts of the CNS, and disruption to their function results in a late larval lethality. Therefore, we have found these genes to not be specific to the dynein assembly process and hypothesise that Dpcd may have an additional function (working with Pontin, Reptin and potentially Heatr2) in the regulation of AKT signalling and therefore impact cell proliferation

    Assessing Agroecological Principles at the Intervale in Burlington, Vermont: A Case Study and Multimethod Research with a Participatory Approach in a Peri-Urban Socioecological System

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    The emerging field of urban agroecology promises to mend the prevalent unsustainable rupture between rural and urban/peri-urban agri-food endeavors since global industrial conglomerates took power. My research contributes to the efforts of mending this rupture by, first, advancing the academic discussion on how to fill an evidence-based gap on the use of the much theorized multidimensional and cross-disciplinary principles of agroecology to assess community-based agri-food systems beyond the farm level. To do so, my research uses the fifteen principles of agroecology proposed by the non-profit Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité (CIDSE, 2018). Second, my research expands the understanding of how these agroecological principles may be put into practice in different cases and scenarios, especially in urbanized environments. This investigation uses a single significant case study methodology to share a place-based experience as a possible example of urban agroecology. The case study is a 340-acre information-rich peri-urban organic agroecosystem in Burlington, Vermont, owned and managed by the Intervale Center. My research investigates how the Intervale, a non-profit organization and socioecological system, may be practicing agroecology and consider opportunities to strengthen such practices. My investigation involves a principles-focused and context-sensitive baseline assessment (inspired by Patton, 2018) using a qualitative multimethod framework and a participatory action research (PAR) approach. The multimethod framework triangulates a 'practical' PAR stream of inquiry for the co-creation of knowledge with a purposive sample of participants (semi-structured interviews with visual tools such as CIDSEs agroecological principles infographic, site mapping, and photovoicing) and a 'theoretical' stream where the researcher connects theory to practice (participatory observation, photo-documentation, and document analysis) for an integrated analysis. According to observations and participants' responses, the Intervale follows agroecological principles. The collective practices related to the agroecological principles of strengthening local food producers and community and nourishing biodiversity and soils are most prevalent at the Intervale. The organization also plays a noticeable role under the principle of enhancing the power of the local market and building on a social and solidarity economy. There are also some specific areas of intervention in the organizations operations to achieve higher levels of agroecological transformation, especially under the principles of fostering more diversity and solidarity, encouraging stronger participation of food producers, and promoting more farmer-to-farmer exchanges. Conclusively, this research reduces the evidence-based gap between the theory supporting a set of agroecological principles and their application beyond the farm level and in an urbanized setting. The comprehensive methodology and the results illuminate how the Intervale's placed-based practices could serve as an example to advance urban agroecology in North America and even other regions

    Application of advanced surface patterning techniques to study cellular behavior

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    Surface manipulation for the fabrication of chemical or topographic micro- and nanopatterns, has been central to the evolution of in vitro biology research. A high variety of surface patterning methods have been implemented in a wide spectrum of applications, including fundamental cell biology studies, development of diagnostic tools, biosensors and drug delivery systems, as well as implant design. Surface engineering has increased our understanding of cell functions such as cell adhesion and cell-cell interaction mechanics, cell proliferation, cell spreading and migration. From a plethora of existing surface engineering techniques, we use standard microcontact printing methods followed by click chemistry to study the role of intercellular contacts in collective cancer cell migration. Cell dispersion from a confined area is fundamental in a number of biological processes, including cancer metastasis. To date, a quantitative understanding of the interplay of single cell motility, cell proliferation, and intercellular contacts remains elusive. In particular, the role of E- and N-Cadherin junctions, central components of intercellular contacts, is still controversial. Combining theoretical modeling with in vitro observations, we investigate the collective spreading behavior of colonies of human cancer cells (T24). The spreading of these colonies is driven by stochastic single-cell migration with frequent transient cell-cell contacts. We find that inhibition of E- and N-Cadherin junctions decreases colony spreading and average spreading velocities, without affecting the strength of correlations in spreading velocities of neighboring cells. Based on a biophysical simulation model for cell migration, we show that the behavioral changes upon disruption of these junctions can be explained by reduced repulsive excluded volume interactions between cells. This suggests that in cancer cell migration, cadherin-based intercellular contacts sharpen cell boundaries leading to repulsive rather than cohesive interactions between cells, thereby promoting efficient cell spreading during collective migration. Despite the remarkable progress in surface engineering technology and its applications, a combination of pattern properties such as stability, precision, specificity, high-throughput outcome and spatiotemporal control is highly desirable but challenging to achieve. Here, we introduce a versatile and high-throughput covalent photo-immobilization technique, comprising a light-dose dependent patterning step and a subsequent functionalization of the pattern via click chemistry. This two-step process is feasible on arbitrary surfaces and allows for generation of sustainable patterns and gradients. The method is validated in different biological systems by patterning adhesive ligands on cell repellent surfaces, thereby constraining the growth and migration of cells to the designated areas. We then implement a sequential photopatterning approach by adding a second switchable pattering step, allowing for spatiotemporal control over two distinct surface patterns. As a proof of concept, we reconstruct the dynamics of the tip/stalk cell switch during angiogenesis. Our results show that the spatiotemporal control provided by our “sequential photopatterning” system is essential for mimicking dynamic biological processes, and that our innovative approach has a great potential for further applications in cell science. In summary, this work introduces two novel and versatile paradigms of surface patterning for studying different aspects of cell behaviour in different cell types. The reliability of both setups is experimentally confirmed, providing new insight into the role of cell-cell contacts during collective cancer cell migration as well as the tip/stalk switch behaviour during angiogenesis

    A computational framework for multidimensional parameter space screening of reaction-diffusion models in biology

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    Reaction-diffusion models have been widely successful in explaining a large variety of patterning phenomena in biology ranging from embryonic development to cancer growth and angiogenesis. Firstly proposed by Alan Turing in 1952 and applied to a simple two-component system, reaction-diffusion models describe spontaneous spatial pattern formation, driven purely by interactions of the system components and their diffusion in space. Today, access to unprecedented amounts of quantitative biological data allows us to build and test biochemically accurate reaction-diffusion models of intracellular processes. However, any increase in model complexity increases the number of unknown parameters and thus the computational cost of model analysis. To efficiently characterize the behavior and robustness of models with many unknown parameters is, therefore, a key challenge in systems biology. Here, we propose a novel computational framework for efficient high-dimensional parameter space characterization of reaction-diffusion models. The method leverages the LpL_p-Adaptation algorithm, an adaptive-proposal statistical method for approximate high-dimensional design centering and robustness estimation. Our approach is based on an oracle function, which describes for each point in parameter space whether the corresponding model fulfills given specifications. We propose specific oracles to estimate four parameter-space characteristics: bistability, instability, capability of spontaneous pattern formation, and capability of pattern maintenance. We benchmark the method and demonstrate that it allows exploring the ability of a model to undergo pattern-forming instabilities and to quantify model robustness for model selection in polynomial time with dimensionality. We present an application of the framework to reconstituted membrane domains bearing the small GTPase Rab5 and propose molecular mechanisms that potentially drive pattern formation

    Cybercrime vs Hacktivism: Do we need a differentiated regulatory approach?

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    Background and aims: Cybercrime is an issue that increases year on year, however rarely are the motivations behind these attacks investigated. More and more people are turning to the internet to protest with some scholars debating whether hacktivism is a social movement. This Dissertation uses networked social movement theory in order to establish if hacktivism is a social movement or whether it is simply a politically motivated form of cybercrime. While demonstrating hacktivism’s place in the social movement landscape this Dissertation will also analyse how hacktivism is currently regulated and whether the legislative and regulatory tools are appropriate. Methods: This Dissertation uses a multi-method approach to establish whether hacktivism could be considered to be a social movement. The first method used is a rhetorical analysis of the Twitter accounts from active hacktivist accounts. Tweets posted by these accounts are coded using Stewart’s functional approach to rhetoric used by social movements (1980) using MAXQDA’s content analysis software. The second method used is a descriptive statistical analysis of a number of publicly available datasets (Zone H; the Cambridge Computer Crime Database; DCMS’s Cyber Security Breaches Surveys from 2017-2021; an AnonOps Internet Relay Chat Channel; a sentiment analysis; the hack aggregator ‘Hackmageddon’) to establish hacktivism’s similarities and differences to both cybercrime and social movements. Results and Conclusions:: This Dissertation found that hacktivism is substantially different to cybercrime despite it being regulated as such based on the methods, targets and ideologies. Additionally, the Dissertation found that hacktivism could be considered to be a social movement based on similarities in their communications and motivations as well as the online parallels hacktivism has to social movement methods. The dissertation also found that due to the similarities hacktivism shares with traditional offline protests and hacktivism, the UK should look at the offline parallels when regulating hacktivism to ensure that the human rights of those taking part in hacktivist methods are not being quashed and are being upheld

    Collected Papers (on various scientific topics), Volume XIII

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    This thirteenth volume of Collected Papers is an eclectic tome of 88 papers in various fields of sciences, such as astronomy, biology, calculus, economics, education and administration, game theory, geometry, graph theory, information fusion, decision making, instantaneous physics, quantum physics, neutrosophic logic and set, non-Euclidean geometry, number theory, paradoxes, philosophy of science, scientific research methods, statistics, and others, structured in 17 chapters (Neutrosophic Theory and Applications; Neutrosophic Algebra; Fuzzy Soft Sets; Neutrosophic Sets; Hypersoft Sets; Neutrosophic Semigroups; Neutrosophic Graphs; Superhypergraphs; Plithogeny; Information Fusion; Statistics; Decision Making; Extenics; Instantaneous Physics; Paradoxism; Mathematica; Miscellanea), comprising 965 pages, published between 2005-2022 in different scientific journals, by the author alone or in collaboration with the following 110 co-authors (alphabetically ordered) from 26 countries: Abduallah Gamal, Sania Afzal, Firoz Ahmad, Muhammad Akram, Sheriful Alam, Ali Hamza, Ali H. M. Al-Obaidi, Madeleine Al-Tahan, Assia Bakali, Atiqe Ur Rahman, Sukanto Bhattacharya, Bilal Hadjadji, Robert N. Boyd, Willem K.M. Brauers, Umit Cali, Youcef Chibani, Victor Christianto, Chunxin Bo, Shyamal Dalapati, Mario Dalcín, Arup Kumar Das, Elham Davneshvar, Bijan Davvaz, Irfan Deli, Muhammet Deveci, Mamouni Dhar, R. Dhavaseelan, Balasubramanian Elavarasan, Sara Farooq, Haipeng Wang, Ugur Halden, Le Hoang Son, Hongnian Yu, Qays Hatem Imran, Mayas Ismail, Saeid Jafari, Jun Ye, Ilanthenral Kandasamy, W.B. Vasantha Kandasamy, Darjan Karabašević, Abdullah Kargın, Vasilios N. Katsikis, Nour Eldeen M. Khalifa, Madad Khan, M. Khoshnevisan, Tapan Kumar Roy, Pinaki Majumdar, Sreepurna Malakar, Masoud Ghods, Minghao Hu, Mingming Chen, Mohamed Abdel-Basset, Mohamed Talea, Mohammad Hamidi, Mohamed Loey, Mihnea Alexandru Moisescu, Muhammad Ihsan, Muhammad Saeed, Muhammad Shabir, Mumtaz Ali, Muzzamal Sitara, Nassim Abbas, Munazza Naz, Giorgio Nordo, Mani Parimala, Ion Pătrașcu, Gabrijela Popović, K. Porselvi, Surapati Pramanik, D. Preethi, Qiang Guo, Riad K. Al-Hamido, Zahra Rostami, Said Broumi, Saima Anis, Muzafer Saračević, Ganeshsree Selvachandran, Selvaraj Ganesan, Shammya Shananda Saha, Marayanagaraj Shanmugapriya, Songtao Shao, Sori Tjandrah Simbolon, Florentin Smarandache, Predrag S. Stanimirović, Dragiša Stanujkić, Raman Sundareswaran, Mehmet Șahin, Ovidiu-Ilie Șandru, Abdulkadir Șengür, Mohamed Talea, Ferhat Taș, Selçuk Topal, Alptekin Ulutaș, Ramalingam Udhayakumar, Yunita Umniyati, J. Vimala, Luige Vlădăreanu, Ştefan Vlăduţescu, Yaman Akbulut, Yanhui Guo, Yong Deng, You He, Young Bae Jun, Wangtao Yuan, Rong Xia, Xiaohong Zhang, Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas, Zayen Azzouz Omar, Xiaohong Zhang, Zhirou Ma.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
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