Recipes for low carbon, adaptable design

The thesis contributes a more lucid understanding of the potential for interaction amongst different facets of sustainability in the context of building design, providing evidence that the assimilation of diverse and often seemingly unconnected aspects of sustainability is not the unassuming process implicit in the current sustainability discourse. Working inductively and with a focus on two sustainable principles (the current UK government sponsored sustainability agenda, low carbon design, and an alternative interpretation, adaptable design, whose literature is framed in a sometimes complementary, at others antagonistic fashion to the former), this thesis develops an understanding of interaction in building design processes, using publically available documentary evidence and a comparative case-study approach. The thesis describes and categorises instances of interaction arising in the twenty-three case study building design processes, demonstrating both the empirical existence of interaction and improving the theoretical conceptualisation beyond basic ideas of synergy and conflict. Interaction is noted as arising from both technical incompatibilities and project actors interpretation of the agendas themselves: a socio-technical issue. The thesis distinguishes multiple approaches adopted by design teams to managing the entanglement encountered. Interpreting these interaction strategies in their case context, factors driving the selection of a particular approach are inductively derived and combined to form a tentative conceptual framework. This framework aides a systematic comparison across project cases, facilitated by the crisp set qualitative comparative analysis (csQCA) technique. Projects are described as configurations of the identified conditions and, by operationalizing interaction in a manner consistent with case study observation and the existing literatures of adaptable and low carbon design, assessed for successfulness in reconciling the agendas. The technique identifies three causal pathways to successful reconciliations of adaptable and low carbon design. Finally, the thesis makes a methodological contribution, through an evaluation of the application of QCA to a novel problem space (socio-technical, project-orientated problems of the built environment). Through the richness of documentary data obtained for study, it also demonstrates the potential effectiveness of documents as primary sources in the field of building design, where they are often relegated to a supporting role

Public education in New Hampshire-an economic appraisal, Station Bulletin, no.481

The Bulletin is a publication of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

Patterns of expenditures among rural New Hampshire school districts, Station Bulletin, no.491

The Bulletin is a publication of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

Rural real estate tax delinquency in New Hampshire, Bulletin, no. 290

The Bulletin is a publication of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

Dairy herd replacements in Southern New Hampshire, Bulletin, no. 302

The Bulletin is a publication of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

Studies in local government and taxation in rural New Hampshire, Bulletin, no. 346

The Bulletin is a publication of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

7‑hydroxymitragynine is an active metabolite of mitragynine and a key mediator of its analgesic effects

Mitragynina speciosa, more commonly known as kratom, is a plant native to Southeast Asia, the leaves of which have been used traditionally as a stimulant, analgesic, and treatment for opioid addiction. Recently, growing use of the plant in the United States and concerns that kratom represents an uncontrolled drug with potential abuse liability, have highlighted the need for more careful study of its pharmacological activity. The major active alkaloid found in kratom, mitragynine, has been reported to have opioid agonist and analgesic activity in vitro and in animal models, consistent with the purported effects of kratom leaf in humans. However, preliminary research has provided some evidence that mitragynine and related compounds may act as atypical opioid agonists, inducing therapeutic effects such as analgesia, while limiting the negative side effects typical of classical opioids. Here we report evidence that an active metabolite plays an important role in mediating the analgesic effects of mitragynine. We find that mitragynine is converted in vitro in both mouse and human liver preparations to the much more potent mu-opioid receptor agonist 7-hydroxymitragynine, and that this conversion is mediated by cytochrome P450 3A isoforms. Further, we show that 7-hydroxymitragynine is formed from mitragynine in mice and that brain concentrations of this metabolite are sufficient to explain most or all of the opioid-receptor-mediated analgesic activity of mitragynine. At the same time, mitragynine is found in the brains of mice at very high concentrations relative to its opioid receptor binding affinity, suggesting that it does not directly activate opioid receptors. The results presented here provide a metabolism-dependent mechanism for the analgesic effects of mitragynine and clarify the importance of route of administration for determining the activity of this compound. Further, they raise important questions about the interpretation of existing data on mitragynine and highlight critical areas for further research in animals and humans.</p

Elastic interactions of active cells with soft materials

Anchorage-dependent cells collect information on the mechanical properties of the environment through their contractile machineries and use this information to position and orient themselves. Since the probing process is anisotropic, cellular force patterns during active mechanosensing can be modelled as anisotropic force contraction dipoles. Their build-up depends on the mechanical properties of the environment, including elastic rigidity and prestrain. In a finite sized sample, it also depends on sample geometry and boundary conditions through image strain fields. We discuss the interactions of active cells with an elastic environment and compare it to the case of physical force dipoles. Despite marked differences, both cases can be described in the same theoretical framework. We exactly solve the elastic equations for anisotropic force contraction dipoles in different geometries (full space, halfspace and sphere) and with different boundary conditions. These results are then used to predict optimal position and orientation of mechanosensing cells in soft material.Comment: Revtex, 38 pages, 8 Postscript files included; revised version, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Mathematical modelling of extracellular matrix dynamics using discrete cells: Fiber orientation and tissue regeneration

Matrix orientation plays a crucial role in determining the severity of scar tissue after dermal wounding. We present a model framework which allows us to examine the interaction of many of the factors involved in orientation and alignment. Within this framework, cells are considered as discrete objects, while the matrix is modelled as a continuum. Using numerical simulations, we investigate the effect on alignment of changing cell properties and of varying cell interactions with collagen and fibrin