Interrogating the technical, economic and cultural challenges of delivering the PassivHaus standard in the UK.

A peer-reviewed eBook, which is based on a collaborative research project coordinated by Dr. Henrik Schoenefeldt at the Centre for Architecture and Sustainable Environment at the University of Kent between May 2013 and June 2014. This project investigated how architectural practice and the building industry are adapting in order to successfully deliver Passivhaus standard buildings in the UK. Through detailed case studies the project explored the learning process underlying the delivery of fourteen buildings, certified between 2009 and 2013. Largely founded on the study of the original project correspondence and semi-structured interviews with clients, architects, town planners, contractors and manufacturers, these case studies have illuminated the more immediate technical as well as the broader cultural challenges. The peer-reviewers of this book stressed that the findings included in the book are valuable to students, practitioners and academic researchers in the field of low-energy design. It was launched during the PassivHaus Project Conference, held at the Bulb Innovation Centre on the 27th June 2014

GPs' decisions about prescribing end-of-life anticipatory medications: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: GPs have a central role in decisions about prescribing anticipatory medications to help control symptoms at the end of life. Little is known about GPs' decision-making processes in prescribing anticipatory medications, how they discuss this with patients and families, or the subsequent use of prescribed drugs. AIM: To explore GPs' decision-making processes in the prescribing and use of anticipatory medications for patients at the end of life. DESIGN AND SETTING: A qualitative interview study with GPs working in one English county. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 13 GPs. Interview transcripts were analysed inductively using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three themes were constructed from the data: something we can do, getting the timing right, and delegating care while retaining responsibility. Anticipatory medications were a tangible intervention GPs felt they could offer patients approaching death (something we can do). The prescribing of anticipatory medications was recognised as a harbinger of death for patients and their families. Nevertheless, GPs preferred to discuss and prescribe anticipatory medications weeks before death was expected whenever possible (getting the timing right). After prescribing medications, GPs relied on nurses to assess when to administer drugs and keep them updated about their use (delegating care while retaining responsibility). CONCLUSION: GPs view anticipatory medications as key to symptom management for patients at the end of life. The drugs are often presented as a clinical recommendation to ensure patients and families accept the prescription. GPs need regular access to nurses and rely on their skills to administer drugs appropriately. Patients' and families' experiences of anticipatory medications, and their preferences for involvement in decision making, warrant urgent investigation.National Institute for Health Research NIHR School for Primary Care Research. National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration East of England

Transcriptome-Wide Survey of Mouse CNS-Derived Cells Reveals Monoallelic Expression within Novel Gene Families

Monoallelic expression is an integral component of regulation of a number of essential genes and gene families. To probe for allele-specific expression in cells of CNS origin, we used next-generation sequencing (RNA-seq) to analyze four clonal neural stem cell (NSC) lines derived from Mus musculus C57BL/6 (B6)×Mus musculus molossinus (JF1) adult female mice. We established a JF1 cSNP library, then ascertained transcriptome-wide expression from B6 vs. JF1 alleles in the NSC lines. Validating the assay, we found that 262 of 268 X-linked genes evaluable in at least one cell line showed monoallelic expression (at least 85% expression of the predominant allele, p-value<0.05). For autosomal genes 170 of 7,198 genes (2.4% of the total) showed monoallelic expression in at least 2 evaluable cell lines. The group included eight known imprinted genes with the expected pattern of allele-specific expression. Among the other autosomal genes with monoallelic expression were five members of the glutathione transferase gene superfamily, which processes xenobiotic compounds as well as carcinogens and cancer therapeutic agents. Monoallelic expression within this superfamily thus may play a functional role in the response to diverse and potentially lethal exogenous factors, as is the case for the immunoglobulin and olfactory receptor superfamilies. Other genes and gene families showing monoallelic expression include the annexin gene family and the Thy1 gene, both linked to inflammation and cancer, as well as genes linked to alcohol dependence (Gabrg1) and epilepsy (Kcnma1). The annotated set of genes will provide a resource for investigation of mechanisms underlying certain cases of these and other major disorders

Below the radar: Data, narratives and the politics of irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa

Emerging narratives call for recognising and engaging constructively with small-scale farmers who have a leading role in shaping the current irrigation dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper explores whether new irrigation data can usefully inform these narratives. It argues that, for a variety of reasons, official irrigation data in sub-Saharan Africa fail to capture the full extent and diverse nature of irrigation and its rapid distributed growth over the last two decades. The paper investigates recent trends in the use of remote sensing methods to generate irrigation data; it examines the associated expectation that these techniques enable a better understanding of current irrigation developments and small-scale farmers' roles. It reports on a pilot study that uses radar-based imagery and analysis to provide new insights into the extent of rice irrigated agriculture in three regions of Tanzania. We further stress that such mapping exercises remain grounded in a binary logic that separates 'irrigation' from other 'non-irrigated' landscape features. They can stem from, and reinforce, a conventional understanding of irrigation that is still influenced by colonial legacies of engineering design and agricultural modernisation. As farmers' initiatives question this dominant view of irrigation, and in a policy context that is dominated by narratives of water scarcity, this means that new data may improve the visibility of water use by small-scale irrigators but may † Jean-Philippe Venot and Sam Bowers are joint first authors. General comments and other correspondence should be addressed to Jean-Philippe Venot. Correspondence on remote sensing radar analysis should be addressed to Sam Bowers. Water Alternatives-2021 Volume 14 | Issue 2 Venot et al.: The politics of irrigation data in Sub-Saharan Africa 547 also leave them more exposed to restrictions favouring more powerful water users. The paper thus calls for moving away from a narrow debate on irrigation data and monitoring, and towards a holistic discussion of the nature of irrigation development in sub-Saharan Africa. This discussion is necessary to support a constructive engagement with farmer-led irrigation development; it is also challenging in that it involves facing entrenched vested interests and requires changes in development practices

Woody biomass increases across three contrasting land uses in Hurungwe, mid-Zambezi valley, Zimbabwe

Globally, Miombo woodlands store important quantities of carbon, with tree cover and carbon stocks strongly determined by human use. We assessed woodland cover and aboveground carbon (AGC) stocks of miombo along a utilisation gradient on three different land use types, that is, a national park, a buffer zone and a communal area. Woodland cover and carbon stock changes were assessed through mapping of AGC between 2007 and 2017 using Phased Array L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar observations (ALOS-PALSAR 1 and 2). Woodland cover was higher in the national park and the buffer zone than in the communal area for both 2007 and 2017. In 2007, mean AGC stock was not significantly different (p = 0.005) across all three land use types. However, in 2017, mean AGC was significantly lower (p &lt; 0.001) in the buffer zone and communal area than in the national park. In all three land use types, Miombo woodland cover and mean AGC gains outweighed losses over the 10-year period. AGC gains were significantly higher (p &lt; 0.001) in the national park than in both the buffer zone and the communal area. Results of the study indicate that woodland cover and aboveground carbon increased in all three land use types despite the observed human disturbance over the study period. Both variables recorded a lower increase with elevated utilisation. The study concluded that sustainable resource utilisation is possible without loss of such ecosystem services as carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation

Photonic chip-based low noise microwave oscillator

Numerous modern technologies are reliant on the low-phase noise and exquisite timing stability of microwave signals. Substantial progress has been made in the field of microwave photonics, whereby low noise microwave signals are generated by the down-conversion of ultra-stable optical references using a frequency comb. Such systems, however, are constructed with bulk or fiber optics and are difficult to further reduce in size and power consumption. Our work addresses this challenge by leveraging advances in integrated photonics to demonstrate low-noise microwave generation via two-point optical frequency division. Narrow linewidth self-injection locked integrated lasers are stabilized to a miniature Fabry-P\'{e}rot cavity, and the frequency gap between the lasers is divided with an efficient dark-soliton frequency comb. The stabilized output of the microcomb is photodetected to produce a microwave signal at 20 GHz with phase noise of -96 dBc/Hz at 100 Hz offset frequency that decreases to -135 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset--values which are unprecedented for an integrated photonic system. All photonic components can be heterogeneously integrated on a single chip, providing a significant advance for the application of photonics to high-precision navigation, communication and timing systems

2018: Art & Mobilities Network Inaugural Symposium Instant Journal (Peter Scott Gallery)

"Mobilities has been gaining momentum through networks, conferences, books, special issues, exhibitions and in the practices of artists, writers and curators. In recognition of this activity we are forming an Art & Mobilities network through which to consolidate, celebrate and develop this work.Inspired by the recent foregrounding of Mobility and the Humanities (Pearce & Merriman, 2018) and drawing on last November's successful Mobile Utopia Exhibition amongst others, the Centre for Mobilities Research (CEMORE) at Lancaster University are pleased to hold a UK Art & Mobilities Network Inaugural Symposium 2018 on the 3rd of July 2018. The aim of the symposium is to bring together people in the UK who are active in the field of mobilities and art in order to discuss the distinctive contribution that art makes to mobilities research and vice versa. We would be delighted if you can join us for this one-day event to help shape the network, particularly in the context of a fast-changing world, not just socio-politically but in terms of the place of art in the academy and vice versa. There are nearly 30 key international artists and researchers gathered on this day both locally and via Skype. We invite all participants in the symposium to bring with them an artwork, artefact, written statement or quote that can be displayed as a ‘pop up’ exhibition. These artefacts will be used during the day to focus discussion around different facets of mobilities and art." (Jen Southern, Kai Syng Tan, Emma Rose, Linda O'Keeffe Editors