Tracking Gendered Streams

One of the most prominent features of digital music services is the provision of personalized music recommendations that come about through the profiling of users and audiences. Based on a range of “bot experiments,” this article investigates if, and how, gendered patterns in music recommendations are provided by the streaming service Spotify. While our experiments did not give any strong indications that Spotify assigns different taste profiles to male and female users, the study showed that male artists were highly overrepresented in Spotify’s music recommendations; an issue which we argue prompts users to cite hegemonic masculine norms within the music industries. Although the results should be approached as historically and contextually contingent, we argue that they point to how gender and gendered tastes may be constituted through the interplay between users and algorithmic knowledge-making processes, and how digital content delivery may maintain and challenge gender relations and gendered power differentials within the music industries. Seen through the lens of critical research on software, music and gender performativity, the experiments thus provide insights into how gender is shaped and attributed meaning as it materializes in contemporary music streams

Tracking Gendered Streams

One of the most prominent features of digital music services is the provision of personalized music recommendations that come about through the profiling of users and audiences. Based on a range of “bot experiments,” this article investigates if, and how, gendered patterns in music recommendations are provided by the streaming service Spotify. While our experiments did not give any strong indications that Spotify assigns different taste profiles to male and female users, the study showed that male artists were highly overrepresented in Spotify’s music recommendations; an issue which we argue prompts users to cite hegemonic masculine norms within the music industries. Although the results should be approached as historically and contextually contingent, we argue that they point to how gender and gendered tastes may be constituted through the interplay between users and algorithmic knowledge-making processes, and how digital content delivery may maintain and challenge gender relations and gendered power differentials within the music industries. Seen through the lens of critical research on software, music and gender performativity, the experiments thus provide insights into how gender is shaped and attributed meaning as it materializes in contemporary music streams

Changes in genomic inbreeding and diversity over half a century in Swedish Red and Swedish Holstein dairy cattle

Swedish Red (SR) and Swedish Holstein (SH) are the dominating commercial dairy cattle breeds in Sweden. Both breeds have undergone substantial changes during the last half century due to intensive selection for breeding goal traits, but also resulting from increased international exchange of breeding animals and genetic drift. The aim of this study was to learn more about changes in genomic diversity and inbreeding in these two breeds over time. Therefore, semen samples from old bulls were genotyped using the 150K Genomic Profiler SNP array and combined with 50K SNP array genotype data, obtained for more recent bulls from the Nordic Cattle Genetic Evaluation. Different measures of level of homozygosity, genomic inbreeding, relatedness and changes in allele frequency were estimated for bulls born during different time periods from the 1950s until 2020. In total, more than 33,000 SNPs for 9737 SR and 5041 SH bulls were included in the analysis using PLINK v1.9. The results showed higher average homozygosity for SR than for SH bulls up to around 2000, but the difference was very small after that. The average inbreeding coefficients based on deviation from expected homozygosity as well as on runs of homozygosity decreased until the early 1980s in both breeds, whereafter they started to increase again for SH, but stayed more stable for SR. From the 1990s onwards, SH displayed higher average inbreeding coefficients than SR. In the last studied birth year group (2015-2020), the mean inbreeding coefficient based on runs of homozygosity was 5.9% for SH and 3.7% for SR. A principal component analysis showed a pattern of genetic relationships related to the birth year period of the bulls, illustrating the gradual change of the genetic material within each breed. The change in allele frequency over time was generally larger for SH than for SR. The results show that the inbreeding level was higher half a century ago than at present, and the inbreeding levels were lower than in some other studied populations. Still, the increase seen for inbreeding coefficients and homozygosity, especially in SH during recent years, should be considered in future breeding strategies

Klimatanpassning mot urbana översvämningar genom transprofessionell samverkan - En fallstudie av stadsområdet Söderkulla i Malmö

Due to climate change more extreme precipitation is expected to strike the constantly growing cities around the world. Urbanization along with densification of urban areas magnifies the impact of heavy rainfall. These two processes have increased the amount of hard surfaces that prevent precipitation to naturally infiltrate, and therefore result in larger amount of surface runoff that must be diverted in order to prevent urban flooding. Conventional urban drainage are not adequate in a changing climate. New, more robust and flexible systems that mimic processes of the hydrological cycle are needed to give urban environment more resilience to urban flooding. Since there is a high demand of surfaces in urban areas, such systems must be multifunctional and integrate well. In order to create these types of systems new approaches must be found through collaboration between the different professions working within the urban arena at the early stages of the planning process. The aim of this study is to convey the magnitude of the solutions that may be required in order to prevent urban flooding, and to explore how they can affect the urban environment. To illustrate this a case study is performed in an urban area particularly exposed to urban flooding. The purpose of the case study is to investigate what kind of climate adaption measures can be taken in an already existing urban area. It is also to propose possible solutions that could be implemented based on the prerequisites of the area itself, and to evaluate these solutions based on how much runoff they can store, and what other qualities they can bring to the urban environment. To present the solutions mitigating efficiency against urban flooding, a visualization tool based on a conceptual model is developed. The visualization tool aims to facilitate communication and to help transprofessional work in the course of climate adaption. The case study shows that it can be difficult to find space for larger chains of solutions for runoff detention in an already existing urban area. It is also found that areas adapted to temporarily store surface runoff can detain considerable volumes of runoff while offering multifunctionality and improving the quality of the urban environment.Klimatförändringen medför att allt mer frekventa och kraftiga skyfall belastar den ständigt växande staden. Urbaniseringen tillsammans med förtätningen av stadsmiljöer har lett till att sådana regn får allt större konsekvenser. Detta beror på den ökade andelen hårdgjorda ytor som hindrar nederbörd från att naturligt infiltrera. Istället bildas större volymer ytavrinning som måste ledas bort för att förhindra uppkomsten av urbana översvämningar. De traditionella dagvattensystemen är inte anpassningsbara vilket krävs i ett föränderligt klimat. Därför behövs nya, flexibla system som återskapar naturens buffringsförmåga och på så sätt ger stadsmiljön motståndskraft. Robusta, öppna lösningar som tål varierande påfrestningar gör anspråk på markyta. För att sådana lösningar ska fungera i stadsmiljö krävs att de integreras väl och att har flera funktioner med tanke på den kamp om ytor som råder i staden. För att kunna skapa sådana lösningar krävs nya förhållningssätt och transprofessionell samverkan tidigt i planeringsprocessen. Syftet med studien är att förmedla magnituden av de lösningar som kan krävas för att motverka urbana översvämningar i befintlig stadsmiljö, och att undersöka på vilket sätt de kan påverka stadsmiljön. För att illustrera detta har en fallstudie genomförts på ett översvämningsdrabbat stadsområde i Malmö. I fallstudien undersöks områdets möjligheter till implementering av klimatanpassningsåtgärder. Områdets förutsättningar ligger till grund för ett lösningsförslag, där lösningarna utvärderas med avseende på fördröjningsvolym och inverkan på stadsmiljön. För att redovisa lösningarnas effektivitet som skydd mot urbana översvämningar utvecklas ett visualiseringsverktyg baserat på en konceptuell modell. Verktyget syftar även till att underlätta kommunikation kring erforderliga klimatanpassnings-åtgärder vid transprofessionellt arbete VA- och stadsplanerare emellan. Fallstudien har visat att det kan vara svårt att hitta utrymme för större, sammanhängande fördröjningslösningar i en redan befäst stadsmiljö. Det har framkommit att punktinsatser i form av anlagda översvämningsytor kan erbjuda både en ansenlig fördröjningsvolym samtidigt som de kan ges fler funktioner och bidra med kvaliteter i stadsmiljön.KAN SAMHÄLLET GÖRAS MINDRE SÅRBART FÖR URBANA ÖVERSVÄMNINGAR SAMTIDIGT SOM STADSMILJÖNS KVALITET HÖJS? Den pågående klimatförändringen medför att större mängder regn faller oftare och under en kortare tid. När dessa kraftiga regn drabbar allt tätare och mer hårdgjorda städer kan översvämningar uppstå eftersom städerna inte är rustade att hantera så stora regnmängder. Städerna är särskilt sårbara då människor, byggnader, infrastruktur och andra ekonomiska värden kan skadas vid översvämning. Därför är det viktigt att arbeta med klimatanpassning för att minska effekterna av extrema regn genom att bygga mer motståndskraftiga stadsmiljöer. Den hårdnande kampen om utrymme i stadsrummet gör också att flera behov behöver tillgodoses på samma yta, och det behöver därför ställas krav på att klimatanpassningsåtgärder bidrar till fler kvaliteter till stadsmiljön för att de ska få genomslag. Människors inflyttning till städer gör att mer mark bebyggs med bostäder, vägar och parkeringar. På så sätt omvandlas det som en gång var mjuka gräsytor till hårdgjorda ytor. Dessa hårdgjorda ytor släpper inte igenom regnvatten utan orsakar istället att en större mängd regnvatten rinner av ytan och måste ledas bort för att förhindra översvämning. Traditionellt har avledningen skett genom ledningar under marken. Deras kapacitet är däremot begränsad vilket gör att ledningsnätet inte kan hantera den ökade mängden ytavrinning som följer vid kraftigare skyfall. Därför behövs det större, öppna och mer flexibla lösningar för att ta hand om den ytavinning som följer av ett förändrat klimat och växande städer. Dessa öppna lösningar behöver, till skillnad från ledningsnätet, göra anspråk på markyta vilket kan skapa intressekonflikter då det råder platsbrist och därmed konkurrens om de ytor som finns i våra städer. Det är många professioner som vill driva igenom sina behov och funktioner på samma yta, som till exempel stadsplanerare, arkitekter, politiker och nu också VA-planerare. Det gör att lösningar som ska motverka översvämningar måste ha fler funktioner, vara multifunktionella, om de ska vara attraktiva nog för att byggas. Det kan exempelvis vara en nedsänkt skatepark som vid kraftiga regn tillåts översvämmas, eller en grönyta som i vanliga fall används som rekreationsområde. För att skapa sådana lösningar krävs god kommunikation och samarbete mellan de olika professionerna så tidigt som möjligt, innan översvämningen är ett faktum. En fallstudie har genomförts på det översvämningsdrabbade stadsområdet Söderkulla i Malmö. Baserat på områdets förutsättningar analyserade ur både VA-planerares och stadsplanerares perspektiv, föreslås en rad åtgärder som syftar till att öka områdets motståndskraft vid extrema regn. Åtgärderna utvärderas ur de båda professionernas synvinkel. Dels med avseende på hur mycket regnvatten de kan magasinera, och dels med avseende på deras inverkan i stadsmiljön. Lösningarnas effektivitet som skydd mot översvämningar redovisas som deras förmåga att magasinera regnvatten i ett visualiseringsverktyg som innehåller platsspecifika översvämningsscenarier. På så sätt skapas enkelt en förståelse för magnituden av de åtgärder som kan krävas för att motverka översvämningar i området. Verktyget underlättar på så sätt kommunikation mellan VAplanerare och stadsplanerare då man diskuterar vad som krävs av stadens ytor och hur man på bästa sätt kan samverka för att nå ett gemensamt mål. Genom fallstudien har det framkommit att det kan vara svårt att hitta plats för större och sammanhängande magasineringslösningar i en redan bebyggd stadsmiljö. Fallstudien visar att punktinsatser i form av anlagda översvämningsytor kan vara ett bra alternativ för att skapa lösningar som har större magasineringsförmåga samtidigt som de kan vara multifunktionella och bidra med kvaliteter till stadsmiljön

Genetic and phenotypic parameters for growth and lamb survival traits of Farta and their crosses with Washera sheep in northwest Ethiopia: Inputs to design of breeding programs

Genetic and phenotypic parameters were estimated for various traits of Farta and their crosses with Washera sheep in northwest Ethiopia. Data collected from 2015 to 2020 on 4318 lambs were used. A number of models were evaluated, all contained the direct additive animal genetic effect and then, either the maternal genetic or permanent environment or both effects. The estimates of direct heritability for birth weight, weaning weight, pre-weaning daily gain, six-month weight, yearling weight and pre-weaning lamb survival were 0.08 +/- 0.03, 0.20 +/- 0.05, 0.15 +/- 0.05, 0.24 +/- 0.06, 0.29 +/- 0.14 and 0.14 +/- 0.04, respectively. The maternal heritabilities were 0.29 +/- 0.05, 0.31 +/- 0.05, 0.40 +/- 0.05, 0.15 +/- 0.57 and 0.02 +/- 0.15 for weaning weight, pre-weaning daily gain, six-month weight, yearling weight and pre-weaning lamb survival, respectively. Genetic correlation between birth weight and pre-weaning lamb survival was negative (-0.36 +/- 0.22), implying heavier lambs have low pre-weaning survival. For the other pairs of traits, genetic correlations ranging from 0.10 +/- 0.16 between yearling weight and pre-weaning lamb survival to 0.98 +/- 0.01 between weaning weight and pre-weaning daily gain were estimated. Overall, the present study showed that heritability is more likely to be overestimated if the maternal genetic and permanent environment effects are not taken into account. Parameters estimated in the current study can be used to design sheep breeding programs

Breeding practices and trait preferences of smallholder farmers for indigenous sheep in the northwest highlands of Ethiopia: Inputs to design a breeding program

The aim of this study was to identify breeding practices and trait preferences for indigenous sheep in three districts (Estie, Farta and Lay Gayient) located in the northwest highlands of Ethiopia. Questionnaire survey and choice experiment methods were used to collect data from 370 smallholder farmers. Respondents were selected randomly among smallholder farmers who own sheep in the aforementioned districts. A generalized multinomial logit model was employed to examine preferences for sheep attributes, while descriptive statistics and index values were computed to describe sheep breeding practices. Having the highest index value of 0.36, income generation was ranked as the primary reason for keeping sheep, followed by meat and manure sources. The average flock size per smallholder farmer was 10.21 sheep. The majority of the smallholder farmers (91%) have the experience of selecting breeding rams and ewes within their own flock using diverse criteria. Given the highest index value of 0.34, body size was ranked as a primary ram and ewe selection criteria, followed by coat color. Furthermore, choice modeling results revealed that tail type, body size, coat color, growth rate, horn and ear size have shown significant influences on smallholder farmers' preference for breeding rams (P<0.01). The part-worth utility coefficients were positive for all ram attributes except ear size. For breeding ewes, mothering ability, coat color, body size, lambing interval, growth rate, tail type and litter size have shown significant effects on choice preferences of smallholder farmers (P<0.05). Moreover, significant scale heterogeneity was observed among respondents for ewe attributes (P<0.001). Overall, the results implied that sheep breeding objectives suitable for the northwest highlands of the country can be derived from traits such as linear body measurement, weight and survival at different ages, and lambing intervals. However, selection decisions at the smallholder level should not only be based on estimated breeding values of traits included in the breeding objective but instead, incorporate ways to address farmers' preference for qualitative traits

Standing wave instabilities in a chain of nonlinear coupled oscillators

We consider existence and stability properties of nonlinear spatially periodic or quasiperiodic standing waves (SWs) in one-dimensional lattices of coupled anharmonic oscillators. Specifically, we consider Klein-Gordon (KG) chains with either soft (e.g., Morse) or hard (e.g., quartic) on-site potentials, as well as discrete nonlinear Schroedinger (DNLS) chains approximating the small-amplitude dynamics of KG chains with weak inter-site coupling. The SWs are constructed as exact time-periodic multibreather solutions from the anticontinuous limit of uncoupled oscillators. In the validity regime of the DNLS approximation these solutions can be continued into the linear phonon band, where they merge into standard harmonic SWs. For SWs with incommensurate wave vectors, this continuation is associated with an inverse transition by breaking of analyticity. When the DNLS approximation is not valid, the continuation may be interrupted by bifurcations associated with resonances with higher harmonics of the SW. Concerning the stability, we identify one class of SWs which are always linearly stable close to the anticontinuous limit. However, approaching the linear limit all SWs with nontrivial wave vectors become unstable through oscillatory instabilities, persisting for arbitrarily small amplitudes in infinite lattices. Investigating the dynamics resulting from these instabilities, we find two qualitatively different regimes for wave vectors smaller than or larger than pi/2, respectively. In one regime persisting breathers are found, while in the other regime the system rapidly thermalizes.Comment: 57 pages, 21 figures, to be published in Physica D. Revised version: Figs. 5 and 12 (f) replaced, some new results added to Sec. 5, Sec.7 (Conclusions) extended, 3 references adde

Inbreeding and pedigree analysis of the European red dairy cattle

Background Red dairy cattle breeds have an important role in the European dairy sector because of their functional characteristics and good health. Extensive pedigree information is available for these breeds and provides a unique opportunity to examine their population structure, such as effective population size, depth of the pedigree, and effective number of founders and ancestors, and inbreeding levels. Animals with the highest genetic contributions were identified. Pedigree data included 9,073,403 animals that were born between 1900 and 2019 from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Sweden, and covered 32 breeds. The numerically largest breeds were Red Dairy Cattle and Meuse-Rhine-Yssel. Results The deepest average complete generation equivalent (9.39) was found for Red Dairy Cattle in 2017. Mean pedigree completeness ranged from 0.6 for Finncattle to 7.51 for Red Dairy Cattle. An effective population size of 166 animals was estimated for the total pedigree and ranged from 35 (Rotes Hohenvieh) to 226 (Red Dairy Cattle). Average generation intervals were between 5 and 7 years. The mean inbreeding coefficient for animals born between 1960 and 2018 was 1.5%, with the highest inbreeding coefficients observed for Traditional Angler (4.2%) and Rotes Hohenvieh (4.1%). The most influential animal was a Dutch Meuse-Rhine-Yssel bull born in 1960. The mean inbreeding level for animals born between 2016 and 2018 was 2% and highest for the Meuse-Rhine-Yssel (4.64%) and Rotes Hohenvieh breeds (3.80%). Conclusions We provide the first detailed analysis of the genetic diversity and inbreeding levels of the European red dairy cattle breeds. Rotes Hohenvieh and Traditional Angler have high inbreeding levels and are either close to or below the minimal recommended effective population size, thus it is necessary to implement tools to monitor the selection process in order to control inbreeding in these breeds. Red Dairy Cattle, Vorderwalder, Swedish Polled and Hinterwalder hold more genetic diversity. Regarding the Meuse-Rhine-Yssel breed, given its decreased population size, increased inbreeding and low effective population size, we recommend implementation of a breeding program to prevent further loss in its genetic diversity

Shared Ancestry and Signatures of Recent Selection in Gotland Sheep

Gotland sheep, a breed native to Gotland, Sweden (an island in the Baltic Sea), split from the Gute sheep breed approximately 100 years ago, and since, has probably been crossed with other breeds. This breed has recently gained popularity, due to its pelt quality. This study estimates the shared ancestors and identifies recent selection signatures in Gotland sheep using 600 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype data. Admixture analysis shows that the Gotland sheep is a distinct breed, but also has shared ancestral genomic components with Gute (similar to 50%), Karakul (similar to 30%), Romanov (similar to 20%), and Fjallnas (similar to 10%) sheep breeds. Two complementary methods were applied to detect selection signatures: A Bayesian population differentiation F-ST and an integrated haplotype homozygosity score (iHS). Our results find that seven significant SNPs (q-value < 0.05) using the F-ST analysis and 55 significant SNPs (p-value < 0.0001) using the iHS analysis. Of the candidate genes that contain significant markers, or are in proximity to them, we identify several belongings to the keratin genes, RXFP2, ADCY1, ENOX1, USF2, COX7A1, ARHGAP28, CRYBB2, CAPNS1, FMO3, and GREB1. These genes are involved in wool quality, polled and horned phenotypes, fertility, twining rate, meat quality, and growth traits. In summary, our results provide shared founders of Gotland sheep and insight into genomic regions maintained under selection after the breed was formed. These results contribute to the detection of candidate genes and QTLs underlying economic traits in sheep