Mapping and valuation of ecosystems and economic activities along the coast of Cameroon: implications of future sea level rise.

The vulnerability of the coastal zone of Cameroon to flooding from sea level rise (SLR) was quantified using Geographic Information System (GIS) flooding analysis. The main economic activities and ecosystems along this area were iden tified using secondary data. Valuations of non- market values of ecosystems were based on the ecosystem service product method. The low-lying coastal areas were found to be physically and socio-economically susceptible to impacts of SLR due to their high ecological and economic value. A digitised land use/land cover (LULC) classification was produced from low resolution topographic maps and Google Earth images of the area. The digital elevation model (DEM) used was acquired by the shuttle radar topography mission. Evaluation of potential land loss due to inundation was based on empirical approaches using minimum and maximum scenarios of 2 and 10 m flooding. These were estimated considering the best available SLR data for the area, mean high water levels and wave heights during storms. The estimated SLR range from 2.3 m to 9.2 m for the low and high scenarios, respectively, by 2050 and from 2.6 m to 9.7 m for the low and high scenarios, respectively, by the year 2100. Results indicate that 112 km 2 (1.2 %) and 1,216 km 2 (12.6 %) of the coastal area will be lost from a 2 m (equivalent to a low scenario by 2050) and 10 m (equivalent to a high scenario by 2100) flooding, respectively. 0.3 % to 6.3 % of ecosystems worth US$ 12.13 billion/yr could be at risk of flooding by the years 2050 and 2100. The areas under a serious threat cont ain mangroves, sea and airport, residential and industrial areas of Douala. Main plantation crops of banana and palms will be slightly affected. The identification of the soci o-economic impacts of projected SLR on vulnerable coastlines and populations is important for timely actions to be taken in mitigating the effects of natural disasters in the coastal zone

ANCHOR: logically-centralized security for Software-Defined Networks

While the centralization of SDN brought advantages such as a faster pace of innovation, it also disrupted some of the natural defenses of traditional architectures against different threats. The literature on SDN has mostly been concerned with the functional side, despite some specific works concerning non-functional properties like 'security' or 'dependability'. Though addressing the latter in an ad-hoc, piecemeal way, may work, it will most likely lead to efficiency and effectiveness problems. We claim that the enforcement of non-functional properties as a pillar of SDN robustness calls for a systemic approach. As a general concept, we propose ANCHOR, a subsystem architecture that promotes the logical centralization of non-functional properties. To show the effectiveness of the concept, we focus on 'security' in this paper: we identify the current security gaps in SDNs and we populate the architecture middleware with the appropriate security mechanisms, in a global and consistent manner. Essential security mechanisms provided by anchor include reliable entropy and resilient pseudo-random generators, and protocols for secure registration and association of SDN devices. We claim and justify in the paper that centralizing such mechanisms is key for their effectiveness, by allowing us to: define and enforce global policies for those properties; reduce the complexity of controllers and forwarding devices; ensure higher levels of robustness for critical services; foster interoperability of the non-functional property enforcement mechanisms; and promote the security and resilience of the architecture itself. We discuss design and implementation aspects, and we prove and evaluate our algorithms and mechanisms, including the formalisation of the main protocols and the verification of their core security properties using the Tamarin prover.Comment: 42 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, 5 algorithms, 139 reference

Identification of the genetic causes of orphan diseases

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityBackground: Orphan diseases are defined as any disease, syndrome, or disorder that affects less than 200,000 persons in the United States. Most of these disorders are genetic in origin. However, with so few patients to study, researchers have struggled to collect enough data on any one orphan disease to make progress towards treatment and/or a cure. But, with the recent monumental advances in the field of genetic sequencing techniques, there has been an explosion in the potential avenues of study for these scientists. We hope to use data generated from whole exome studies of our orphan disease patients to identify potential disease-causing genetic lesions, and therefore solve the mystery of the genetic basis of their condition. Methods: For each family enrolled in our study, genomic DNA samples from the proband and his/her mother and father were evaluated for whole exome sequencing (performed by Axeq Technologies). We sorted and filtered these results using a variety of parameters until discovering a genetic variant we believed to potentially explain the phenotype of each patient. Once a gene of interest was identified, we used Sanger sequencing to confirm the mutation. At the present moment, we are at a variety of stages of progress amongst our study of our different patients. For our patients thought to be affected by dysfunctional SPEG, we have been working on a SPEG-CKO mouse model in attempt to recreate the phenotype we see in our patients and further study the function of SPEG. For our patient thought to be affected by dysfunctional PHKG1 and our patient thought to be affected by dysfunctional LAMA1, we are in the process of studying whether their mutations affect the expression and/or function of the associated proteins. Results: While we are still developing our mouse colonies, we have successfully developed a SPEG-CKO mouse model. With respect to PHKG1, we are still searching for another mutation, for both the proband and father are heterozygous for the same frameshift mutation, but only the proband is clinically affected. Our studies of LAMA1 appear promising, for the patient carries two mutations which segregate to each parent. However, more data must be collected on the expression of this protein, particularly with respect to whether it could cause the pontocerebellar hypoplasia phenotype. Conclusion: While major challenges still remain for orphan disease research, we will continue our investigations in hopes of determining the genetic basis of disease in these marginalized patients

'Commoning' at the borderland: ecovillage development, socio-economic segregation and institutional mediation in southwestern Alentejo, Portugal

This article sheds light on the exclusionary dynamics that emerge when the construction of commons-based alternative political ecologies does not take political economy considerations into account. It analyses the relationship between Tamera – Healing Biotope I, and the ecosystem, population and institutions of the region of southwestern Alentejo, Portugal, where this ecovillage is located. Tamera is based on a prefigurative process of "commoning", transplanted from Central European counter-culture, which created a "borderland" that spatially segregates and at the same time creates a point of contact between two contrasting cultural, ecological and socio-economic realities. However, maintaining the "borderland" granted the community access to the resources needed to develop its vision, while countering existing regulations, although eventually involving the state in the development of a new regulatory framework. Since the mid-2000s, Tamera has been engaging in cultural dialogue with the local population, with the support of the municipality. The analysis raises the question of how to develop regulatory and financial instruments that support ecovillages in promoting inclusive strategies of economic sustainability, integrating them in placebased dynamics of regional development. The specificities of their biophysical and social processes must be taken into account, as well as their vocation as "testfields" for sustainability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Radical Environmentalism and “commoning”: synergies between ecosystem regeneration and social governance at Tamera Ecovillage, Portugal

This article explores the scope and limitations of Radical Environmentalism as a source of practices of “commoning”. The application of the radical environmental “Healing Biotope” model in Tamera, an ecovillage located in southern Portugal, further expands the understanding of “commoning” as a social process, as well as of Radical Environmentalism as a cognitive framework. This article distinguishes between the technical and political dimensions of “commoning”. It also identifies two structuring dimensions of Radical Environmentalism, hereby called integrative rationality and the experiential action research and learning methodology. These dimensions support the technical aspect of “commoning” in Tamera by promoting epistemic and methodological coherence between social and environmental technologies. Despite their contested scientific validity, they contribute to the sustainability of the project by promoting synergies between ecological regeneration and social governance. However, they have limited capacity to address the political dimension of “commoning”, related with rank and socio-economic inequalities among members.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio