Governing Sustainable Food and Farming Production Futures using Integrated Risk Assessment Approaches

Nanofoods, 'functional foods' and biopharming are three production futures that are strongly developing despite being characterised by significant gaps in knowledge and understanding, and a peculiar scarcity of proactive processes with which to seize opportunities and minimise and manage potential risks and public concerns which could negatively impact on the industry. In order to better assess benefits and risks and to build public trust, the paper suggests the establishment of an integrated health/food and environmental risk assessment regime that also incorporates and is responsive to the ethical concerns, socio-economic realities and local demands of various stakeholders – right from the beginning of a development. In order to have a global as well as a national practical effect, the assessment regime needs to conform to national and accepted international regulations and observe fundamental principles in bioethics and public sector ethics, such as integrity, access, autonomy and choice. Such a pro-active approach might lead to improved collaborations, to constructive communication channels and to enriched and more mutually acceptable futures

"My home is my castle - and it better be warm" – Difficulties in reducing energy consumption in the household

One of the biggest challenges of today is to achieve environmental sustainability. Reducing energy consumption in the private realm is of prime importance, considering that 27% of all carbon emission stem from domestic households (HM Government, 2006). Space heating reflects the largest share of private energy use with 53%, followed by appliances and lighting (22%) and water heating (20%), making these the most relevant areas to address (HM Government, 2006). In fact, in recent years, most energy suppliers have started to provide their customers with information on how to reduce energy consumption, and gadgets such as energy monitors are easily available. Yet, consumption needs to decrease further to meet the ambitious targets defined by the Climate Change Act 2008 (http://www.theccc.org.uk/about-the-ccc/climate-change-act). One question that arises is how much energy consumption can be reduced without impacting negatively on personal comfort. We addressed the question what comfort means and how people feel about their level of comfort in a study among social housing tenants in England. Participants were asked to define what comfort in the home means to them and how satisfied they were with the comfort their home provided. In a survey, their current behavioural practises with regard to energy consumption were assessed, together with a variety of related variables, such as perceived knowledge on energy saving and environmental awareness Participants also gave information on how they operated their heating system. The data was completed by assessing the stock condition and average energy consumption. Preliminary data show that “warmth” was the most important aspect of comfort, followed by security, space and privacy, and cleanliness. Likewise, discomfort was most often ascribed to coldness and drafts. The questions on current practices revealed that most participants took positive actions to reduce their energy consumption, such as turning off appliances completely. The study also revealed that many participants were unsure on how to most efficiently operate the heating system. Taken together, three important factors emerged that make energy reduction in the household difficult: Firstly, personal comfort is mainly determined by warmth. Secondly, behaviours other than cutting back on heat are already performed to a large extent. Thirdly, information on how to best operate the heating system are missing. The implications of these results for landlords and energy suppliers are discussed, with emphasis on how to use this information to reduce energy consumption in social housing

Audio-visual Rhetoric: Visualizing the Pattern Language of Film

Audio-visual Rhetoric is a knowledge domain for designers in theory and practice that is valid for all communicative actions through media that aim for persuasion. Within this domain, we introduce a framework for media analysis. We developed an Audio-Visual Pattern (AVP) language for film that is visualized within a notation system. This system shows auditory and visual parameters in order to reveal film’s rhetorical structure. We discuss related theories from pattern language and rhetoric and apply the AVP method to analyze 10 commercials. Keywords: Pattern Language, Film Analysis, Rhetoric, Emotion, Persuasion, Design Research</p

Nichtinvasive, indirekte Messung des Blutdruckes mittels Pulswellengeschwindigkeit - Anwendung in der Schlafmedizin

Arterielle Hypertonie gehört zu den wichtigsten Risikofaktoren von kardiovaskulären Erkrankungen. Besonders der nächtliche Blutdruck hat einen besonderen Aussagewert bei der Bestimmung des Risikos, an solchen Erkrankungen zu versterben. Die obstruktive Schlafapnoe gehört zu den atmungsbedingten Schlafstörungen. Ihre Prävalenz ist in der Altersgruppe über 40 Jahre sehr hoch. Obstruktive Schlafapnoe ist mit arterieller Hypertonie assoziiert und geht mit einem erhöhten Risiko für kardiovaskuläre Ereignisse wie Herzinfarkt, Herzrhythmusstörung und Hirninfarkt einher. Die ursächlichen Beziehungen zwischen obstruktiver Schlafapnoe und kardiovaskulärem Risiko bzw. Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen sind nicht ausreichend untersucht. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird deshalb eine kontinuierliche, nichtinvasive Blutdruckbestimmung auf der Basis der Pulswellengeschwindigkeit vorgestellt, validiert und bei Patienten mit schwerer Schlafapnoe eingesetzt, um das Blutdruckverhalten bei dieser Erkrankung zu untersuchen. Grundlage der Bestimmung des Blutdruckes aus der Pulswellengeschwindigkeit sind physikalische Beziehungen zwischen der Pulswellengeschwindigkeit und der Gefäßelastizität (Elastizitätsmoduls). Letztere wird ganz wesentlich auch vom Blutdruck bestimmt. Somit kann mittels Messung der Pulswellengeschwindigkeit, Rückschluss auf den Blutdruck gezogen werden. Die Funktion zwischen Blutdruck und Pulswellenlaufzeit muss aufgrund unterschiedlicher individueller Gefäßsteifheit kalibriert werden. Es wurden drei Studien durchgeführt. In einer Gruppe von 50 Probanden wurde die Blutdruckbestimmung durch Messung der Pulslaufzeit (BDPTT) mit der traditionellen Messung nach Riva Rocci am Arm (BDRR) während Fahrrad Ergometrie verglichen. In einer zweiten Studie an 12 Patienten erfolgte die Validierung des BDPTT gegen die intraarterielle Messung. In der dritten Studie untersuchten wir die Blutdruckfluktuationen und Atmungsparameter in Apneophasen im Schlaf bei 97 Patienten mit schwerer Schlafapnoe. Der Korrelationskoeffizient zwischen systolischen BDPTT und dem Manschettendruck (BDRR) in der Studie 1 betrug 0,83 (276 Messungen) für alle Probanden. Die Vertrauensintervalle im Bland-Altman Plot waren +/-19,8 mmHg, ohne bemerkenswerte Differenz zwischen den BD-Mittelwerten. In der Studie 2 korrelierten systolischer BDPTT und systolischer BDPTT der intraarteriellen Messung (BDIA, R=0,947) sowie diastolischer BDPTT und diastolischer BDIA (R=0,419). Die Mittelwertdifferenzen waren 0,78 mmHg (sytolisch) und 4,78 mmHg (diastolisch). Die Vertrauensintervalle betrugen +/-18,9 mmHg (systolisch) und +/-18,5 mmHg (diastolisch). In Studie 3 zeigte sich, dass der systolische BD in Perioden besonders langer Apnoen und kurzer Atmungsphasen im Verlauf der Apnoe anstieg, jedoch nicht wieder auf Ausgangswerte zurückging. Die war mit einer deutlichen Blutdruckerhöhung und extremen Blutdruckspitzen verbunden („Superposition“). Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen die klinische Verwendbarkeit der Pulslaufzeit-basierten BD-Messung mit Einpunktkalibrierung. Wir zeigen neue Phänomene des Blutdruckverhaltens (Superposition) bei Patienten mit schwerer obstruktiver Schlafapnoe zeigen. Diese BD-Superposition findet in Zusammenhang mit bestimmten Atemmustern statt. Die extrem hohen Blutdrücke in den Phasen der Superposition stellen ein erhöhtes nächtliches Risiko für kardiovaskuläre Ereignisse dar.Arterial hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Night-time blood pressure (BP) has the greatest significance for estimation of patient’s risk. The obstructive sleep apnea has high prevalence in people older than 40 years. It is associated with hypertension and increased risk for cardiovascular events. The mechanisms behind the causal relationship between obstructive sleep apnea arterial hypertension are not well known. Therefore, we investigated BP behavior in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea using a novel method based on the pulse transit time (PTT). The determination of arterial BP by using the PTT bases on the physical relation between pulse wave velocity and arterial stiffness (elasticity modulus). Latter is determined by the arterial BP. Thus, measurement of the pulse wave velocity allows conclusion about BP. However, patients have different vessels stiffness, which demands for individual calibration of the measuring system. Three studies were performed. In a group of 50 volunteers, cycling on a bicycle ergometer, the systolic BPPTT and the BP measured by using the Riva Rocci-technique (BPRR) were compared. In second study in 12 volunteers, the intra-arterial BP (BPIA) served a Gold standard for the validation of BPPTT. Further, in a third investigation, we studied the behavior of BP during periods of apnea in 97 patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea. In study 1, the mean correlation factor between BDRRsyst and BDPTTsyst was R=0.83. The difference of mean systolic BPPTT and BPRR in bicycle ergometer group was below 1 mmHg and the limits of agreement were +/-19.8 mmHg. In the study 2, the mean correlation factor between BPPTT and BPIA was R=0.947 (systolic) and R=0.419 (diastolic). The limits of agreement in the Bland–Altman-Plot were 18.9 mmHg and 18.5 mmHg for systolic and diastolic BP, respectively. Mean arterial BP differed comparing both method by 0.78 mmHg (systolic) and 4.78 mmHg (diastolic). In study 3, we observed characteristic apnea-related BP-patterns, but in addition, periods of long apneas combined with short breathing intervals occurred, where the BP did not level to values before the apnea, but increased continuously. In these periods, called superposition, BP reached extremely high values. The results of our studies reveal the usefulness of the BP measurement by using PTT and one-point-calibration. We detected a novel phenomenon of nighttime BP behavior in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea. The extremely high nighttime BP increases the risk for cardiovascular events and may add to hypertension in these patients. The finding supports the necessity of continuous BP pressure measurement during night

Representations of the European Union in German and UK secondary school textbooks - a comparative analysis

The current thesis observes secondary school textbooks from the UK and Germany from a comparative perspective and evaluates how the European Union is represented in them. For doing so, a methodology of qualitative content analysis along with a sociosemiotic analysis of the visual materials is conducted. The UK and Germany have been chosen as countries for the analysis since they take very different approaches towards EU integration, Germany strongly supporting EU integration, and the UK being apprehensive towards enhanced integration. Along with their significant political influence in EU decision-making Germany can be seen as a driver and the UK as a critic of EU integration. Based on the theoretically supported assumption that textbooks have a political dimension and are subject to political control and influence, it aims to understand if and how the narratives, presented in the textbooks, reflect government positions towards the EU in both countries. The analysis reveals a quite low standing of EU teaching, especially in the UK textbooks. These mainly emphasize the institutional structure and economic aspects of the union. Furthermore, the risk of losing too much sovereignty is regularly mentioned which goes along with the British approach of “cooperating” with the European states rather than “integrating”. The UK’s relationship with the EU, which is represented, can be described as ambiguous. German textbooks, on the other hand, mainly emphasize institutional aspects and the Monetary Union. The EU is usually represented as an unfinished process with an undefined end, e.g. the enlargement discussion takes an important position in the German textbooks. This goes along with the German government's active engagement in integration processes. Furthermore, the EU is presented as something incontestable. The solution for problems is generally seen in ever further political integration. Altogether, the discourse by political élites and governments is quite strongly present in the observed textbooks. However, perspectives of other political actors may also be presented.http://www.ester.ee/record=b4578814*es