A critical analysis of local and global cultural factors in graphic wayfinding design: a case study of Beijing

The main intentions of this thesis are to analyse and explain changes in the function and graphic components of Beijing s wayfinding systems and to explain how the systems construct multiple cultural and political identities at different historical periods and in changing local/global contexts. In the thesis, the oversimplified one-way theory of the global-local dichotomy, in which the global power of the West is overwhelming and constantly dominant, and the local system of non-Western countries is passive and fragile, is challenged. Instead, this thesis seeks to examine the interactivity and correlation of the local and the global from two perspectives: mobility and reversibility. Looking at mobility is to consider the local and global and their nexus as different interconnections and networks that are constantly and unevenly changing. Reversibility, with which this thesis is most concerned, deals primarily with the reversible relationship of the local and global, namely, that either the local or the global can be dominant. This point is well illustrated by the evolution of Beijing s graphic wayfinding systems function and appearance. Beijing, as the capital of China, has undergone a radical transformation from the fall of the last Empire Qing (1912) to the establishment of the People s Republic of China (1949). The meaning of Beijing varies in accordance with the changes in its political and social structures. There have been five phases in Beijing s development: a well-planned imperial city; a capital city with a republican spirit; a totally industrialised but relatively isolated capital of a socialist country; an open and modernised Chinese-style socialist city; and a cosmopolitan city. In the course of this metamorphosis, what took place was a series of collisions, exchanges, fusions, and re-collisions between local power and global power. Along with the immense changes in Beijing, the role and appearance of the graphic wayfinding systems have also changed, especially those of road signs and doorplates, whose roles have been transformed from that of initial household register to orientation reference, to effective propaganda tool, and then on to the regeneration of a city. Finally, Beijing s graphic wayfinding design within its urban development has been reconfirmed as a useful instrument to support the new forms of visual narratives and consolidate the city brand of Beijing in the 21st century. This study probes into the political and cultural significances behind the changes of the graphic wayfinding systems of Beijing, as well as the interaction between the local and the global as reflected in the formation of these findings. The mutable and reversible relationship between the local and the global is illustrated and clarified through analysis and comparison of various functions and visual elements between Beijing s present graphic wayfinding systems and its early wayfinding signs, as well as decoding the different mainstream political or cultural ideologies that have deeply affected the function and design of Beijing graphic wayfinding systems at different periods

The EU and the Catalan Crisis

List of all differentially expressed proteins (n = 45) identified in the study. (XLSX 11 kb

qRT–PCR validation of RNA-Seq results.

<p>Fifteen genes were randomly selected from the DEGs (<i>red columns</i>) from the RNA-Seq data and were analyzed for differential expression changes (<i>blue columns</i>) of the genes. The results were the average of two biological replicate samples in triplicate. <i>Error bars</i> indicate the standard error of two biological replicates in qRT–PCR.</p

GO classifications of genes.

<p>The results are summarized in three main categories: biological processes, molecular functions and cellular components by GO analysis. (A) GO classifications of all genes between the two treatments and all 177 DEGs between the two treatments. <b>(B)</b> GO analysis of the down-regulated genes in A1-vs-A2. <b>(C)</b> GO analysis of the up-regulated genes in A1-vs-A2.</p

All 183 DEGs were divided according to the folds of FPKM value between two treatments.

<p>All 183 DEGs were divided according to the folds of FPKM value between two treatments.</p

Transcriptomic Profiling Analysis of <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> Treated with Exogenous <i>Myo</i>-Inositol

<div><p><i>Myo</i>-insositol (MI) is a crucial substance in the growth and developmental processes in plants. It is commonly added to the culture medium to promote adventitious shoot development. In our previous work, MI was found in influencing <i>Agrobacterium</i>-mediated transformation. In this report, a high-throughput RNA sequencing technique (RNA-Seq) was used to investigate differently expressed genes in one-month-old <i>Arabidopsis</i> seedling grown on MI free or MI supplemented culture medium. The results showed that 21,288 and 21,299 genes were detected with and without MI treatment, respectively. The detected genes included 184 new genes that were not annotated in the <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> reference genome. Additionally, 183 differentially expressed genes were identified (DEGs, FDR ≤0.05, log₂ FC≥1), including 93 up-regulated genes and 90 down-regulated genes. The DEGs were involved in multiple pathways, such as cell wall biosynthesis, biotic and abiotic stress response, chromosome modification, and substrate transportation. Some significantly differently expressed genes provided us with valuable information for exploring the functions of exogenous MI. RNA-Seq results showed that exogenous MI could alter gene expression and signaling transduction in plant cells. These results provided a systematic understanding of the functions of exogenous MI in detail and provided a foundation for future studies.</p></div

MapMan overview of cellular function (A) and biotic stress (B) showing all DEGs between the two treatments with exogenous <i>myo</i>-inositol.

<p>The <i>big grey circle</i> is an illustrated map of nucleus. The <i>small grey circle</i> indicate annotated biological process (metabolites). The <i>small squares</i> represent individual genes. The <i>color key</i> represents RPKM normalized log₂ transformed counts. <i>Red</i> represents up-regulation and <i>blue</i> represents down-regulation between two treatments with exogenous <i>myo</i>-inositol.</p

Hierarchical cluster analyses of gene expression based on log ratio RPKM data.

<p>The cluster display expression patterns for a subset of DEGs in two comparisons (A1-vs-A2) between two treatments. The <i>color key</i> represents RPKM normalized log₁₀ transformed counts. <i>Red</i> represents high expression, <i>green</i> represents a low expression. <i>Each column</i> represents an experimental condition, and <i>each row</i> represents a gene. The columns are evenly divided into three groups, I, II and III. Each group contains 61 genes, their order are arranged in accordance with the blue arrow direction. The green box contains 26 genes, which represented the green rows in III group.</p

Reads number based on the RNA-Seq data in two libraries of <i>A</i>. <i>thaliana</i> wild-type (Col-0) under exogenous <i>myo</i>-inositol (MI+ or MI-).

<p>Reads number based on the RNA-Seq data in two libraries of <i>A</i>. <i>thaliana</i> wild-type (Col-0) under exogenous <i>myo</i>-inositol (MI+ or MI-).</p

Additional file 1: of Potential molecular mechanisms of overgrazing-induced dwarfism in sheepgrass (Leymus chinensis) analyzed using proteomic data

The identified 1022 proteins that had high credibility (FDR < 0.01); 104 differentially expressed proteins between long-term overgrazed rangeland (GZ) and adjacent long-term enclosed rangeland (NG) groups; all results of Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. (XLS 942 kb