A Decision Support System for Economic Viability and Environmental Impact Assessment of Vertical Farms

Vertical farming (VF) is the practice of growing crops or animals using the vertical dimension via multi-tier racks or vertically inclined surfaces. In this thesis, I focus on the emerging industry of plant-specific VF. Vertical plant farming (VPF) is a promising and relatively novel practice that can be conducted in buildings with environmental control and artificial lighting. However, the nascent sector has experienced challenges in economic viability, standardisation, and environmental sustainability. Practitioners and academics call for a comprehensive financial analysis of VPF, but efforts are stifled by a lack of valid and available data. A review of economic estimation and horticultural software identifies a need for a decision support system (DSS) that facilitates risk-empowered business planning for vertical farmers. This thesis proposes an open-source DSS framework to evaluate business sustainability through financial risk and environmental impact assessments. Data from the literature, alongside lessons learned from industry practitioners, would be centralised in the proposed DSS using imprecise data techniques. These techniques have been applied in engineering but are seldom used in financial forecasting. This could benefit complex sectors which only have scarce data to predict business viability. To begin the execution of the DSS framework, VPF practitioners were interviewed using a mixed-methods approach. Learnings from over 19 shuttered and operational VPF projects provide insights into the barriers inhibiting scalability and identifying risks to form a risk taxonomy. Labour was the most commonly reported top challenge. Therefore, research was conducted to explore lean principles to improve productivity. A probabilistic model representing a spectrum of variables and their associated uncertainty was built according to the DSS framework to evaluate the financial risk for VF projects. This enabled flexible computation without precise production or financial data to improve economic estimation accuracy. The model assessed two VPF cases (one in the UK and another in Japan), demonstrating the first risk and uncertainty quantification of VPF business models in the literature. The results highlighted measures to improve economic viability and the viability of the UK and Japan case. The environmental impact assessment model was developed, allowing VPF operators to evaluate their carbon footprint compared to traditional agriculture using life-cycle assessment. I explore strategies for net-zero carbon production through sensitivity analysis. Renewable energies, especially solar, geothermal, and tidal power, show promise for reducing the carbon emissions of indoor VPF. Results show that renewably-powered VPF can reduce carbon emissions compared to field-based agriculture when considering the land-use change. The drivers for DSS adoption have been researched, showing a pathway of compliance and design thinking to overcome the ‘problem of implementation’ and enable commercialisation. Further work is suggested to standardise VF equipment, collect benchmarking data, and characterise risks. This work will reduce risk and uncertainty and accelerate the sector’s emergence

Cronos e o aprisionamento eterno do louco criminoso : sobre vozes que silenciam e discursos de verdade na execução das medidas de segurança de internação

Este trabalho busca visibilizar alguns dos efeitos da imposição das medidas de segurança para quem as cumpre. Com o objetivo de apresentar um sujeito ao processo criminal, a pesquisa criou canais de expressão dos sujeitos internados em manicômio judiciário, a fim de promover a humanização da justiça. Para tanto, realizou-se uma pesquisa qualitativa de cunho exploratório que teve como principal ferramenta investigativa as audiências realizadas pelo judiciário no curso da execução das medidas de segurança de internação. O diário de campo da pesquisadora-assistente judiciária atuante durante tais audiências constituiu-se no instrumento de pesquisa privilegiado. Entre as falas que aparecem nesse contexto, em que discursos de verdade científica – prioritariamente jurídico e psiquiátrico - se sobrepõem, o estudo deu especial atenção à voz dos pacientes em cumprimento de Medida de Segurança. Com base nelas, estruturou-se esta escrita sobre três temas que se articulam e interpenetram: o asilo; loucura, crime e perigo; e o tempo. Na primeira parte, conferiu-se destaque aos conceitos de livre arbítrio, culpabilidade e imputabilidade na seara penal, até as inovações trazidas pela Lei Antimanicomial e pelo Estatuto da Pessoa com Deficiência. Na sequência, fez-se um aprofundamento teórico sobre o conceito de periculosidade, essencial para a prorrogação das medidas de segurança, associando-o às noções correlatas de anormalidade, instinto, atavismo, criminalidade nata, hereditariedade mórbida e degeeração moral. Na última parte, promoveu-se uma reflexão acerca do tempo e sua lógica na existência das medidas de segurança. A pesquisa se encerra analisando a manutenção desproporcional das internações e o fato de se pretender um tempo eterno, ultrapassando a vida do louco criminoso.This paper seeks to make visible some of the effects of the imposition of security measures for those who comply with them. With the objective of presenting a subject to the criminal procedure, the research created channels of expression of the people hospitalized at the judicial hospice, in order to promote the humanization of justice. For that, a qualitative research of exploratory nature was carried out that had as main investigative tool the audiences realized by the judiciary in the course of the execution of the measures of security of internment. The investigative assistant's field journal during such hearings constituted the privileged investigative tool. Among the speeches that appear in this context, in which speeches of scientific truth - primarily legal and psychiatric - overlap, the study gave special attention to the voice of patients in compliance with Security Measure. Based on them, this writing was structured on three themes that are articulated and interpenetrated: asylum; madness, crime and danger; and time. In the first part, it was highlighted the concepts of free will, guilt and imputability in the criminal court, to the innovations brought by the Antimanicomial Law and the Statute of the Person with Disabilities. In sequence, a theoretical analysis is then made of the concept of dangerousness, essential for the extension of safety measures, with the related notions of abnormality, instinct, atavism, natural criminality, morbid heredity and moral degeneration. In the last part, was promoted a reflection on the time and its logic in the existence of security measures. The research ends by analyzing the disproportionate maintenance of hospitalizations and the fact that an eternal time is sought, surpassing the life of the crazy criminal

Probability bounds analysis for Python

Probability bounds analysis (PBA) is a collection of mathematical methods generalising interval analysis and probability theory. PBA can be utilised for uncertainty quantification for both aleatory and epistemic uncertainty across a wide range of scientific fields. PBA is most useful when information about variables is only partially known and can be used without requiring untenable assumptions to be made about parameter values, distribution shapes or dependence between variables. This paper introduces a PBA library for the Python programming language

Innate immune response is differentially dysregulated between bipolar disease and schizophrenia

Articles in PressSchizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) are severe psychiatric conditions with a neurodevelopmental component. Genetic findings indicate the existence of an overlap in genetic susceptibility across the disorders. Also, image studies provide evidence for a shared neurobiological basis, contributing to a dimensional diagnostic approach. This study aimed to identify the molecular mechanisms that differentiate SZ and BD patients from health controls but also that distinguish both from health individuals. Comparison of gene expression profiling in post-mortem brains of both disorders and health controls (30 cases), followed by a further comparison between 29 BD and 29 SZ revealed 28 differentially expressed genes. These genes were used in co-expression analysesthat revealed the pairs CCR1/SERPINA1, CCR5/HCST, C1QA/CD68, CCR5/S100A11 and SERPINA1/TLR1 as presenting the most significant difference in co-expression between SZ and BD. Next, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network using the 28 differentially expressed genes as seeds revealed CASP4, TYROBP, CCR1, SERPINA1, CCR5 and C1QA as having a central role in the diseases manifestation. Both co-expression and network topological analyses pointed to genes related to microglia functions. Based on this data, we suggest that differences between SZ and BP are due to genes involved with response to stimulus, defense response, immune system process and response to stress biological processes, all having a role in the communication of environmental factors to the cells and associated to microglia.Stanley Medical Research Institute for providing the tissue samples and the patients for donating the samplesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Gateway for Technology Adoption in Agriculture: a Design-Thinking Approach for a Compliance Decision Support System

Globally, consumers are becoming more conscious of unsustainable farming practices. The appetite for safely produced, compliant and pesticide free crops is increasing. In response to these demands, the Argentinian government has issued new regulation to govern the application of <em>good agricultural practices </em>affecting production, storage and selling activities. This legislation is an opportunity to incentivise farm owners to adopt technology for recording mandatory information which has previously proven difficult. This project aims to test whether compliance software is an effective gateway for shifting farmers decision-making to technology, and from intuition-based to evidence-based, improving agricultural productivity. Understanding and integrating technology into their existing practices a substantial challenge for many farms. Consequently, the authors prototype a decision support system (DSS) for greenhouse farmers in Argentina that can track traceability of batches of crop and their treatments to reduce compliance risk. Incorporating lessons learned from previous DSS projects, the authors utilise design-thinking strategies to include end-users in the development of the system. Through such a tool, the authors can trial innovative features to test receptiveness of farm owners to utilise information technology solutions for decision-making, and identify barriers to data collection and technology adoptio

Telomere length and epigenetic age acceleration in adolescents with anxiety disorders

Evidence on the relationship between genetics and mental health are flourishing. However, few studies are evaluating early biomarkers that might link genes, environment, and psychopathology. We aimed to study telomere length (TL) and epigenetic age acceleration (AA) in a cohort of adolescents with and without anxiety disorders (N = 234). We evaluated a representative subsample of participants at baseline and after 5 years (n = 76) and categorized them according to their anxiety disorder diagnosis at both time points: (1) control group (no anxiety disorder, n = 18), (2) variable group (anxiety disorder in one evaluation, n = 38), and (3) persistent group (anxiety disorder at both time points, n = 20). We assessed relative mean TL by real-time quantitative PCR and DNA methylation by Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. We calculated AA using the Horvath age estimation algorithm and analyzed differences among groups using generalized linear mixed models. The persistent group of anxiety disorder did not change TL over time (p = 0.495). The variable group had higher baseline TL (p = 0.003) but no accelerated TL erosion in comparison to the non-anxiety control group (p = 0.053). Furthermore, there were no differences in AA among groups over time. Our findings suggest that adolescents with chronic anxiety did not change telomere length over time, which could be related to a delay in neuronal development in this period of life

Telomere length and epigenetic age acceleration in adolescents with anxiety disorders

Evidence on the relationship between genetics and mental health are flourishing. However, few studies are evaluating early biomarkers that might link genes, environment, and psychopathology. We aimed to study telomere length (TL) and epigenetic age acceleration (AA) in a cohort of adolescents with and without anxiety disorders (N = 234). We evaluated a representative subsample of participants at baseline and after 5 years (n = 76) and categorized them according to their anxiety disorder diagnosis at both time points: (1) control group (no anxiety disorder, n = 18), (2) variable group (anxiety disorder in one evaluation, n = 38), and (3) persistent group (anxiety disorder at both time points, n = 20). We assessed relative mean TL by real-time quantitative PCR and DNA methylation by Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. We calculated AA using the Horvath age estimation algorithm and analyzed differences among groups using generalized linear mixed models. The persistent group of anxiety disorder did not change TL over time (p = 0.495). The variable group had higher baseline TL (p = 0.003) but no accelerated TL erosion in comparison to the non-anxiety control group (p = 0.053). Furthermore, there were no differences in AA among groups over time. Our findings suggest that adolescents with chronic anxiety did not change telomere length over time, which could be related to a delay in neuronal development in this period of life

SNLS3: Constraints on Dark Energy Combining the Supernova Legacy Survey Three Year Data with Other Probes

We present observational constraints on the nature of dark energy using the Supernova Legacy Survey three year sample (SNLS3) of Guy et al. (2010) and Conley et al. (2011). We use the 472 SNe Ia in this sample, accounting for recently discovered correlations between SN Ia luminosity and host galaxy properties, and include the effects of all identified systematic uncertainties directly in the cosmological fits. Combining the SNLS3 data with the full WMAP7 power spectrum, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey luminous red galaxy power spectrum, and a prior on the Hubble constant H0 from SHOES, in a flat universe we find omega_m=0.269+/-0.015 and w=-1.061+0.069-0.068 -- a 6.5% measure of the dark energy equation-of-state parameter w. The statistical and systematic uncertainties are approximately equal, with the systematic uncertainties dominated by the photometric calibration of the SN Ia fluxes -- without these calibration effects, systematics contribute only a ~2% error in w. When relaxing the assumption of flatness, we find omega_m=0.271+/-0.015, omega_k=-0.002+/-0.006, and w=-1.069+0.091-0.092. Parameterizing the time evolution of w as w(a)=w_0+w_a(1-a), gives w_0=-0.905+/-0.196, w_a=-0.984+1.094-1.097 in a flat universe. All of our results are consistent with a flat, w=-1 universe. The size of the SNLS3 sample allows various tests to be performed with the SNe segregated according to their light curve and host galaxy properties. We find that the cosmological constraints derived from these different sub-samples are consistent. There is evidence that the coefficient, beta, relating SN Ia luminosity and color, varies with host parameters at >4sigma significance (in addition to the known SN luminosity--host relation); however this has only a small effect on the cosmological results and is currently a sub-dominant systematic.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. Data available from https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/snl

Influência do estradiol sobre o controle reflexo da pressão arterial e no equilíbrio entre as atividades da NADPH oxidase e no sintase

40