Post-colonial careering and the discipline of geography: British geographers in Nigeria and the UK, 1945-1990

Few geographers wrote explicitly about decolonisation. Yet the ends of empires wrought substantial changes to the discipline of geography. It impacted the places studied, the approaches deemed appropriate, the sites of geographical knowledge production, the lecturing jobs available, and the shape and extent of transnational networks. Focusing on the ‘post-colonial careering’ of British geographers who worked at the university at Ibadan, Nigeria before returning to academic posts in UK geography departments, this paper explores the interconnections between academic careers, geographical knowledge and decolonisation. It argues that that we can understand these connections in three ways. First, geographers’ careers were shaped in important ways by decolonisation; second, these experiences in turn shaped the discipline of geography in the (post)colonial world and the UK; and third, geographers’ work at colonial universities and in Britain was not only influenced by, but was itself part of the process of decolonisation. The article contributes to understandings of decolonisation as registered, and actively produced, through academic research and careers, institutional development, and transnational networks. Uncovering the (post)colonial connections which shaped British geography in the post-war period broadens understandings of disciplinary history beyond those which focus on Anglo-American networks and offers opportunities to consider the lessons of these past disciplinary patterns and practices for contemporary geography

Modern Futures: introduction

There has been a groundswell of interest in modernist architecture in recent years, particularly buildings from the second half of the twentieth century. Individuals and groups are engaging with modernist environments in the form of popular histories, documentaries and community projects, and digital and social media. Alongside this growing popularity however, many of these buildings are under threat from demolition and regeneration. Modern Futures explores these trends, their connections, and how more popular and creative engagements might be used to inform the uncertain future of modernist architecture

Post-colonial careering and urban policy mobility: between Britain and Nigeria, 1945-1990

This paper sets out the value of the concept of ‘careering’ to understanding the global mobility of urban policy across historical and contemporary contexts. Through a case study of one colonial and post-colonial career in urban development, we demonstrate the material and ideological connections between late colonial development in Nigeria, British reconstruction, and international consultancy. Empirically, the paper provides novel post-colonial perspectives on Britain’s post-World War II reconstruction spanning the mid-to-late-twentieth century, globalizing the geographies of the British New Town. Conceptually, the paper argues that careering provides a valuable tool for progressing the study of urban expertise and its mobility in four ways. First, it provides a tool for connecting geographically distant urban development projects. Second, careering allows us to explore intersections between urban development policies and geopolitical transformations. Third, careering allows us to see the impact of ideas, skills, experiences, affiliations and contacts formed at different stages of a career on later professional practice, slowing down and lengthening out our understandings of the processes though which urban policy is made mobile. Fourth, careering as a method demonstrates the continued value of biographical approaches to urban policy mobility, highlighting in particular professional lives worked with colleagues and contacts rather than in isolation, and foregrounding the everyday embodied nature of urban expertise. The article concludes by suggesting such approaches could be productive for the writing of new post-colonial histories of geography and its allied disciplines

Maintaining natural spawning timing in Acropora corals following long distance inter-continental transportation.

The majority of research focusing on coral reproductive biology (e.g. spawning timing and synchrony) is carried out in facilities adjacent to reefs that the corals originated from. This is in part because transporting corals for long distances by air leads to sub-lethal stress that may confound the results of any experimental study. However, these constraints often mean research associated with coral reproductive timing is restricted to relatively few locations. To assess the potential for studying environmental drivers of spawning timing in corals in captivity (defined here as ex situ closed aquaria), we aimed to transport 14 large (16-37 cm) Acropora hyacinthus colonies from reefs in Singapore to a closed aquarium system in London (a journey time of ~34 hours). Collection was purposefully timed to occur just before the predicted annual mass spawning event and on the day of transportation it was noted that 12 of the 14 corals contained large visible oocytes. The ‘inverted submersion method’ was applied and the water used for transport was buffered to ensure the colonies remained healthy throughout their travel time. At the end location all colonies were placed into a purpose built aquarium research system which allowed for the approximation of the environmental conditions found on the fringing reefs south of Singapore (the original location). While three colonies appeared partially bleached (visibly pale) and one colony suffered from partial tissue loss, all colonies (i.e. 100% of those collected) were still alive at the time of writing (28 months post collection). More importantly, all corals that were gravid at the time of collection spawned ex situ within the same lunar month as those in the wild (within 3-4 nights of each other). This paper describes the procedures for carrying out long distance transportation of large gravid broadcast spawning coral colonies from reef sites to public aquariums or research facilities around the world for the purpose of ex situ spawning research.N

Civic Geographies of Architectural Enthusiasm

Our decision to take part in the civic geographies exhibition was motivated by a desire to explore some of the resonances between notions of what civic geographies might look like in theory, but also in practice. We based our contribution upon our British Academy funded research that focuses on how twentieth century architecture is understood, valued, cared for and protected by members of The Twentieth Century Society[1]. The group was initiated to safeguard Britain’s post-1914 architectural heritage. At the end of 2012, the Society’s membership stood just under 2000, made up of architects (retired and in practice), architecture students, builders, civil servants involved in planning, as well as other interested publics. Lobbying, campaigns and casework are central to the Society’s activities, for example in the early nineties the Society persuaded the National Trust to take on the Hampstead house of the Hungarian émigré architect Erno Goldfinger at 2 Willow Road, London, NW3 (see Figure 1). Employing two full-time and two part-time staff, the Society has a statutory role in relation to twentieth century listed buildings in England. This means that local planning authorities have to consult the Society in relation to any threats of demolition or alterations

Microalgae for municipal wastewater nutrient remediation: mechanisms, reactors and outlook for tertiary treatment

This review explores the use of microalgae for nutrient removal in municipal wastewater treatment, considering recent improvements in the understanding of removal mechanisms and developments of both suspended and non-suspended systems. Nutrient removal is associated to both direct and indirect uptake, with the former associated to the biomass concentration and growth environment (reactor). Importantly, direct uptake is influenced by the Nitrogen:Phosphorus content in both the cells and the surrounding wastewater, with opposite trends observed for N and P. Comparison of suspended and non-suspended systems revealed that whilst all were capable of achieving high levels of nutrient removal, only non-suspended immobilized systems could do so with reduced hydraulic retention times of less than 1 day. As microalgae are photosynthetic organisms, the metabolic processes associated with nutrient assimilation are driven by light. Optimization of light delivery remains a key area of development with examples of improved mixing in suspended systems and the use of pulsating lights to enhance light utilization and reduce costs. Recent data provide increased confidence in the use of microalgae for nutrient removal in municipal wastewater treatment, enabling effluent discharges below 1 mg L−1 to be met whilst generating added value in terms of bioproducts for energy production or nutrient recovery. Ultimately, the review suggests that future research should focus on non-suspended systems and the determination of the added value potential. In so doing, it is predicted that microalgae systems will be significant in the delivery of the circular economy

White matter pathology and disconnection in the frontal lobe in cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL)

Background; Magnetic resonance imaging indicates diffuse white matter (WM) changes are associated with cognitive impairment in cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL). We examined whether the distribution of axonal abnormalities is related to microvascular pathology in the underlying WM. Methods; We used post‐mortem brains from CADASIL subjects and similar age cognitively normal controls to examine WM axonal changes, microvascular pathology, and glial reaction in up to 16 different regions extending rostro‐caudally through the cerebrum. Using unbiased stereological methods, we estimated length densities of affected axons immunostained with neurofilament antibody SMI32. Standard immunohistochemistry was used to assess amyloid precursor protein immunoreactivity per WM area. To relate WM changes to microvascular pathology, we also determined the sclerotic index (SI) in WM arterioles. Results; The degree of WM pathology consistently scored higher across all brain regions in CADASIL subjects (P < 0.01) with the WM underlying the primary motor cortex exhibiting the most severe change. SMI32 immunoreactive axons in CADASIL were invariably increased compared with controls (P < 0.01), with most prominent axonal abnormalities observed in the frontal WM (P < 0.05). The SIs of arterioles in CADASIL were increased by 25–45% throughout the regions assessed, with the highest change in the mid‐frontal region (P = 0.000). Conclusions; Our results suggest disruption of either cortico‐cortical or subcortical‐cortical networks in the WM of the frontal lobe that may explain motor deficits and executive dysfunction in CADASIL. Widespread WM axonal changes arise from differential stenosis and sclerosis of arterioles in the WM of CADASIL subjects, possibly affecting some axons of projection neurones connecting to targets in the subcortical structures

Bioaccessibility of difenoconazole in rice following industry standard processing and preparation procedures

For pesticide registration a post application assessment is made on the safety of any residue remaining in the edible portion of the treated crop. This assessment does not typically consider the bioaccessibility of pesticide residues. The effects of this on potential exposure to incurred difenoconazole residues passing through the human gastrointestinal tract was studied, including the impact of commodity processing. It has previously been demonstrated that solvent extraction methods have the potential to overestimate the bioaccessible fraction, so in vitro simulated gut systems may offer a better approach to determine residue bioaccessibility to refine the risk assessment process. The bioaccessibility of difenoconazole residues associated with processed rice samples were assessed using in vitro intestinal extraction and colonic fermentation methods. Mean bioaccessibility following intestinal digestion was 33.3% with a range of 13% to 70.6%. Quantification of the colonic bioaccessible fraction was not possible due to compound metabolism. Mechanical processing methods generally increased the residue bioaccessibility while chemical methods resulted in a decrease. Both mechanical and chemical processing methods reduced the total difenoconazole residue level by c. 50%. M. 1, G.R Gibson2, P. Whalley1, C.D Collins3

Weight-loss Independent Clinical and Metabolic Biomarkers Associated with Type 2 Diabetes Remission Post-bariatric/metabolic Surgery

PURPOSE: Remission of type 2 diabetes (T2D) can be achieved by many, but not all, people following bariatric/metabolic surgery. The mechanisms underlying T2D remission remain incompletely understood. This observational study aimed to identify novel weight-loss independent clinical, metabolic and genetic factors that associate with T2D remission using comprehensive phenotyping. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten patients without T2D remission (non-remitters) were matched to 10 patients with T2D remission (remitters) for age, sex, type of surgery, body weight, BMI, post-operative weight loss, duration from surgery and duration of T2D. Detailed body composition assessed using magnetic resonance imaging, gut hormones, serum metabolomics, insulin sensitivity, and genetic risk scores for T2D and anthropometric traits were assessed. RESULTS: Remitters had significantly greater β-cell function and circulating acyl ghrelin levels, but lower visceral adipose tissue (VAT): subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) ratio than non-remitters. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and VLDL particle size were the most discriminant metabolites between groups. A significant positive correlation between, VAT area, VAT:SAT ratio and circulating levels of BCAAs was observed, whereas a significant negative correlation between BCAAs and β-cell function was revealed. CONCLUSION: We highlight a potentially novel relationship between VAT and BCAAs, which may play a role in glucoregulatory control. Improvement in β-cell function, and the role ghrelin plays in its recovery, is likely another key factor influencing T2D remission post-surgery. These findings suggest that adjunctive approaches that target VAT loss and restoration of BCAA metabolism might achieve higher rates of long-term T2D remission post-surgery