Integrated landscape initiatives in Europe: Multi-sector collaboration in multi-functional landscapes

Landscapes are linked to human well-being in a multitude of ways, some of which are challenged by global market forces and traditional management approaches. In response to this situation there has been a rise in local initiatives to sustain the values of landscape. The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic analysis of the spectrum of these initiatives in Europe in terms of patterns of organisation, participants, resources, problems, and landscape values addressed. This review collects examples of integrated landscape initiatives from all over Europe through systematic internet key word searches and canvassing of European umbrella organisations; followed by an online survey of representatives from the identified initiatives (n = 71). Our results show that the most relevant characteristics of integrated landscape initiatives in Europe are: a holistic approach to landscape management (acting in multifunctional landscapes and combining different objectives), the involvement and coordination of different sectors and stakeholders at many levels, and the role as agents of awareness raising and learning hubs. Integrated landscape initiatives mainly depend on impulses of local civil society. Identified barriers to their work include a lack of funding and institutional support. Therefore, political and societal action is needed to increase their effectiveness

Noncommutative waves have infinite propagation speed

We prove the existence of global solutions to the Cauchy problem for noncommutative nonlinear wave equations in arbitrary even spatial dimensions where the noncommutativity is only in the spatial directions. We find that for existence there are no conditions on the degree of the nonlinearity provided the potential is positive. We furthermore prove that nonlinear noncommutative waves have infinite propagation speed, i.e., if the initial conditions at time 0 have a compact support then for any positive time the support of the solution can be arbitrarily large.Comment: 15 pages, references adde

Scattering of Noncommutative Waves and Solitons in a Supersymmetric Chiral Model in 2+1 Dimensions

Interactions of noncommutative waves and solitons in 2+1 dimensions can be analyzed exactly for a supersymmetric and integrable U(n) chiral model extending the Ward model. Using the Moyal-deformed dressing method in an antichiral superspace, we construct explicit time-dependent solutions of its noncommutative field equations by iteratively solving linear equations. The approach is illustrated by presenting scattering configurations for two noncommutative U(2) plane waves and for two noncommutative U(2) solitons as well as by producing a noncommutative U(1) two-soliton bound state.Comment: 1+13 pages; v2: reference added, version published in JHE

The effects of financialisation and financial development on investment: Evidence from firm-level data in Europe

In this paper we estimate the effects of financialization on physical investment in selected western European countries using panel data based on the balance-sheets of publicly listed non-financial companies (NFCs) supplied by Worldscope for the period 1995-2015. We find robust evidence of an adverse effect of both financial payments (interests and dividends) and financial incomes on investment in fixed assets by the NFCs. This finding is robust for both the pool of all Western European firms and single country estimations. The negative impacts of financial incomes are non-linear with respect to the companies’ size: financial incomes crowd-out investment in large companies, and have a positive effect on the investment of only small, relatively more credit-constrained companies. Moreover, we find that a higher degree of financial development is associated with a stronger negative effect of financial incomes on companies’ investment. This finding challenges the common wisdom on ‘finance-growth nexus’. Our findings support the ‘financialization thesis’ that the increasing orientation of the non-financial sector towards financial activities is ultimately leading to lower physical investment, hence to stagnant or fragile growth, as well as long term stagnation in productivity

Disconnection from nature : Expanding our understanding of human-nature relations

The human relationship with nature is a topic that has been explored throughout human history. More recently, the idea of connection to nature has merged as an important transdisciplinary field of study. Despite increased scholarly attention to connection to nature, the notion of disconnection from nature remains undertheorized and understudied.In this perspective article, we argue for a more comprehensive understanding of disconnection from nature to strengthen theories of human-nature relationships that goes beyond individual relationships and considers social and collective factors of disconnection, including institutional, socio-cultural and power dimensions.Drawing on case insights, we present the 'wheel of disconnection' to illustrate how disconnections from nature manifest across individual or societal meaning-making processes, thereby problematizing existing research that seeks to create dualisms between human positive and negative impacts on the environment in isolation from cultural or political contexts.We do not seek to discount research or important practical efforts to foster an individual's connection to nature by elevating disconnection. Instead, we hope that creating greater awareness and understanding of disconnection will be able to guide opportunities going forward for strengthening a connection to nature along a continuum from the individual to the social. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.Peer reviewe

Dispersionless limit of the noncommutative potential KP hierarchy and solutions of the pseudodual chiral model in 2+1 dimensions

The usual dispersionless limit of the KP hierarchy does not work in the case where the dependent variable has values in a noncommutative (e.g. matrix) algebra. Passing over to the potential KP hierarchy, there is a corresponding scaling limit in the noncommutative case, which turns out to be the hierarchy of a `pseudodual chiral model' in 2+1 dimensions (`pseudodual' to a hierarchy extending Ward's (modified) integrable chiral model). Applying the scaling procedure to a method generating exact solutions of a matrix (potential) KP hierarchy from solutions of a matrix linear heat hierarchy, leads to a corresponding method that generates exact solutions of the matrix dispersionless potential KP hierarchy, i.e. the pseudodual chiral model hierarchy. We use this result to construct classes of exact solutions of the su(m) pseudodual chiral model in 2+1 dimensions, including various multiple lump configurations.Comment: 37 pages, 10 figures, 2nd version: some extensions (Fig 3, Appendix A, additional references), 3rd version: some minor changes, additional reference

Noncommutative Burgers Equation

We present a noncommutative version of the Burgers equation which possesses the Lax representation and discuss the integrability in detail. We find a noncommutative version of the Cole-Hopf transformation and succeed in the linearization of it. The linearized equation is the (noncommutative) diffusion equation and exactly solved. We also discuss the properties of some exact solutions. The result shows that the noncommutative Burgers equation is completely integrable even though it contains infinite number of time derivatives. Furthermore, we derive the noncommutative Burgers equation from the noncommutative (anti-)self-dual Yang-Mills equation by reduction, which is an evidence for the noncommutative Ward conjecture. Finally, we present a noncommutative version of the Burgers hierarchy by both the Lax-pair generating technique and the Sato's approach.Comment: 24 pages, LaTeX, 1 figure; v2: discussions on Ward conjecture, Sato theory and the integrability added, references added, version to appear in J. Phys.

Perceived contributions of multifunctional landscapes to human well-being : Evidence from 13 European sites

Multifunctional landscapes provide critical benefits and are essential for human well-being. The relationship between multifunctional landscapes and well-being has mostly been studied using ecosystem services as a linkage. However, there is a challenge of concretizing what human well-being exactly is and how it can be measured, particularly in relation to ecosystem services, landscape values and related discussions. In this paper, we measure self-reported well-being through applying an inductive free-listing approach to the exploration of the relationships between landscape multifunctionality and human well-being across 13 rural and peri-urban sites in Europe. We developed a face-to-face online survey (n = 2,301 respondents) integrating subjective perceptions of well-being (free-listing method) with mapping perceived ecosystem service benefits (Public Participation GIS, PPGIS approach). Applying content analysis and diverse statistical methods, we explore the links between well-being (i.e. perceived well-being items such as tranquillity, social relations and health) and social-ecological properties (i.e. respondents' sociocultural characteristics and perception of ecosystem service benefits). We identify 40 different well-being items highlighting prominently landscape values. The items form five distinct clusters: access to services; tranquillity and social capital; health and nature; cultural landscapes; and place attachment. Each cluster is related to specific study sites and explained by certain social-ecological properties. Results of our inductive approach further specify pre-defined conceptualizations on well-being and their connections to the natural environment. Results suggest that the well-being contributions of multifunctional landscapes are connected to therapeutic well-being effects, which are largely neglected in the ecosystem services literature. Our results further point to the context-specific character of linkages between landscapes and human well-being. The clusters highlight that landscape-supported well-being is related to multiple interlinked items that can inform collective visions of well-being in the future. For landscape planning and management, we highlight the need for place-specific analysis and consideration of perceptions of local people to identify the contributions to their well-being. Future research would benefit from considering the experiential qualities of value and well-being as they relate to direct experiences with the landscape and wider psychological needs, specifically over time. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.Peer reviewe

Ectopic A-lattice seams destabilize microtubules

Natural microtubules typically include one A-lattice seam within an otherwise helically symmetric B-lattice tube. It is currently unclear how A-lattice seams influence microtubule dynamic instability. Here we find that including extra A-lattice seams in GMPCPP microtubules, structural analogues of the GTP caps of dynamic microtubules, destabilizes them, enhancing their median shrinkage rate by >20-fold. Dynamic microtubules nucleated by seeds containing extra A-lattice seams have growth rates similar to microtubules nucleated by B-lattice seeds, yet have increased catastrophe frequencies at both ends. Furthermore, binding B-lattice GDP microtubules to a rigor kinesin surface stabilizes them against shrinkage, whereas microtubules with extra A-lattice seams are stabilized only slightly. Our data suggest that introducing extra A-lattice seams into dynamic microtubules destabilizes them by destabilizing their GTP caps. On this basis, we propose that the single A-lattice seam of natural B-lattice MTs may act as a trigger point, and potentially a regulation point, for catastrophe

Kank Is an EB1 Interacting Protein that Localises to Muscle-Tendon Attachment Sites in Drosophila

Little is known about how microtubules are regulated in different cell types during development. EB1 plays a central role in the regulation of microtubule plus ends. It directly binds to microtubule plus ends and recruits proteins which regulate microtubule dynamics and behaviour. We report the identification of Kank, the sole Drosophila orthologue of human Kank proteins, as an EB1 interactor that predominantly localises to embryonic attachment sites between muscle and tendon cells. Human Kank1 was identified as a tumour suppressor and has documented roles in actin regulation and cell polarity in cultured mammalian cells. We found that Drosophila Kank binds EB1 directly and this interaction is essential for Kank localisation to microtubule plus ends in cultured cells. Kank protein is expressed throughout fly development and increases during embryogenesis. In late embryos, it accumulates to sites of attachment between muscle and epidermal cells. A kank deletion mutant was generated. We found that the mutant is viable and fertile without noticeable defects. Further analysis showed that Kank is dispensable for muscle function in larvae. This is in sharp contrast to C. elegans in which the Kank orthologue VAB-19 is required for development by stabilising attachment structures between muscle and epidermal cells