Investigating the factors that lead to the construction of gendered perceptions of climate variability and change of communal farmers in agro-ecological zones II and III of Zimbabwe

Farmers’ perceptions of changes in their climate are inextricably linked to the livelihood decisions that they make and their ability to bolster their adaptive capacity and reduce their vulnerability to climate variability and change. Yet research has shown that smallholder farmers’ experiences and interpretations of climate variability and change do not translate into perceptions that accurately align with the climate record and thus have considerable consequences for their ability to adapt and reduce their vulnerability to climatic stresses and shocks. Moreover, research has tended to concentrate on farmer’s experiences of weather and climate as the principal factor in the construction of their perceptions, whilst overlooking the role of non-climatic factors. The study takes a social constructivist approach and gendered perspective to investigate farmer perceptions of climate variability and change in the communal areas of agro-ecological zones II and III of Zimbabwe, the climatic and nonclimatic factors that lead to the gendered construction of perceptions and the relationship that exists between farmers’ perceptions and those held by research, development and extension actors. Utilizing a mixed methods approach that integrated participatory research tools, a farmer questionnaire, in-depth interviews with farmers and a range of actors and historical climate analysis, the study found no significant change in long-term rainfall trends, but clearly significant increases in temperatures were observed. Farmer’s perceptions of temperature aligned more closely with the climate record than their perceptions of changes in rainfall parameters. Importantly, farmer’s perceptions of changes in rainfall and temperature parameters and overall belief that the climate is changing were significantly gendered, with male farmers’ perceptions tending to be more heightened and negative than those of female farmers, whose overall perceptions tended to align more closely with the climate record. Findings emphasize a number of cognitive mechanisms and mismatches that distort, amplify and attenuate farmer’s experiences of weather and climate and contribute to heightened negative perceptions of climate variability and change. The study demonstrates that these experiences contribute to farmer belief that the climate is changing to a far lesser extent than was originally assumed and that perceptions of temperature change play no statistically significant role in the construction of overall farmer belief that that the climate is changing. Further, findings illustrate the tendency of farmers to attribute changes in the environment and farming system directly to changes in climatic parameters, overlooking a host of non-climatic stressors that have complex and interrelated impacts on the communal farming system. Notably, changes in communal demographics and the broader economic environment have the ability to impact the manner in which farmers perceive weather and climate, with these factors contributing significantly to the construction of farmer belief that the climate is changing. Additionally, the role of weather and climate information was explored, demonstrating that male farmers had greater access to and trust in formal sources of information and consequently had greater exposure to inaccurate climate forecasts and emerging climate change narratives, leading to heightened expectations of climatic change. Findings demonstrate the centrality of gender in determining the ability of individuals to interact with and process experiences of weather and climate, weather and climate information, normative perceptions and mythologies that exist around past climate and agricultural production. Lastly, findings demonstrate that the absence of accurate and timely historical and short-term weather and climate information increases the potential for farmer (mis)perceptions to be incorporated into the perceptions held by research, development and extension actors, increasing the likelihood that actors will transfer misperceptions back to farmers in the work they carry out, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of misperception that contributes to farmer’s heightened negative perceptions of climate variability and change. The study highlights the importance of provision of timely historic and short-term weather and climate information to farmers and actors, as a means of reducing farmer misperception and increasing their capacity to make appropriate livelihood decisions that will reduce their vulnerability to climatic variability and change

Deterministic Evolutionary Trajectories Influence Primary Tumor Growth: TRACERx Renal.

The evolutionary features of clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) have not been systematically studied to date. We analyzed 1,206 primary tumor regions from 101 patients recruited into the multi-center prospective study, TRACERx Renal. We observe up to 30 driver events per tumor and show that subclonal diversification is associated with known prognostic parameters. By resolving the patterns of driver event ordering, co-occurrence, and mutual exclusivity at clone level, we show the deterministic nature of clonal evolution. ccRCC can be grouped into seven evolutionary subtypes, ranging from tumors characterized by early fixation of multiple mutational and copy number drivers and rapid metastases to highly branched tumors with >10 subclonal drivers and extensive parallel evolution associated with attenuated progression. We identify genetic diversity and chromosomal complexity as determinants of patient outcome. Our insights reconcile the variable clinical behavior of ccRCC and suggest evolutionary potential as a biomarker for both intervention and surveillance

Fc Effector Function Contributes to the Activity of Human Anti-CTLA-4 Antibodies.

With the use of a mouse model expressing human Fc-gamma receptors (FcγRs), we demonstrated that antibodies with isotypes equivalent to ipilimumab and tremelimumab mediate intra-tumoral regulatory T (Treg) cell depletion in vivo, increasing the CD8+ to Treg cell ratio and promoting tumor rejection. Antibodies with improved FcγR binding profiles drove superior anti-tumor responses and survival. In patients with advanced melanoma, response to ipilimumab was associated with the CD16a-V158F high affinity polymorphism. Such activity only appeared relevant in the context of inflamed tumors, explaining the modest response rates observed in the clinical setting. Our data suggest that the activity of anti-CTLA-4 in inflamed tumors may be improved through enhancement of FcγR binding, whereas poorly infiltrated tumors will likely require combination approaches

Investigating the Factors that Lead to the Construction of Gendered Perceptions of Climate Variability and Change of Communal Farmers in Agro-Ecological Zones II and III of Zimbabwe

<p>Farmers’ perceptions of changes in their climate are inextricably linked to the livelihood decisions that they make and their ability to bolster their adaptive capacity and reduce their vulnerability to climate variability and change. Yet research has shown that smallholder farmers’ experiences and interpretations of climate variability and change do not translate into perceptions that accurately align with the climate record and thus have considerable consequences for their ability to adapt and reduce their vulnerability to climatic stresses and shocks. Moreover, research has tended to concentrate on farmer’s experiences of weather and climate as the principal factor in the construction of their perceptions, whilst overlooking the role of non-climatic factors. The study takes a social constructivist approach and gendered perspective to investigate farmer perceptions of climate variability and change in the communal areas of agro-ecological zones II and III of Zimbabwe, the climatic and non-climatic factors that lead to the gendered construction of perceptions and the relationship that exists between farmers’ perceptions and those held by research, development and extension actors. Utilizing a mixed methods approach that integrated participatory research tools, a farmer questionnaire, in-depth interviews with farmers and a range of actors and historical climate analysis, the study found no significant change in long-term rainfall trends, but clearly significant increases in temperatures were observed. Farmer’s perceptions of temperature aligned more closely with the climate record than their perceptions of changes in rainfall parameters. Importantly, farmer’s perceptions of changes in rainfall and temperature parameters and overall belief that the climate is changing were significantly gendered, with male farmers’ perceptions tending to be more heightened and negative than those of female farmers, whose overall perceptions tended to align more closely with the climate record. Findings emphasize a number of cognitive mechanisms and mismatches that distort, amplify and attenuate farmer’s experiences of weather and climate and contribute to heightened negative perceptions of climate variability and change. The study demonstrates that these experiences contribute to farmer belief that the climate is changing to a far lesser extent than was originally assumed and that perceptions of temperature change play no statistically significant role in the construction of overall farmer belief that that the climate is changing. Further, findings illustrate the tendency of farmers to attribute changes in the environment and farming system directly to changes in climatic parameters, overlooking a host of non-climatic stressors that have complex and interrelated impacts on the communal farming system. Notably, changes in communal demographics and the broader economic environment have the ability to impact the manner in which farmers perceive weather and climate, with these factors contributing significantly to the construction of farmer belief that the climate is changing. Additionally, the role of weather and climate information was explored, demonstrating that male farmers had greater access to and trust in formal sources of information and consequently had greater exposure to inaccurate climate forecasts and emerging climate change narratives, leading to heightened expectations of climatic change. Findings demonstrate the centrality of gender in determining the ability of individuals to interact with and process experiences of weather and climate, weather and climate information, normative perceptions and mythologies that exist around past climate and agricultural production. Lastly, findings demonstrate that the absence of accurate and timely historical and short-term weather and climate information increases the potential for farmer (mis)perceptions to be incorporated into the perceptions held by research, development and extension actors, increasing the likelihood that actors will transfer misperceptions back to farmers in the work they carry out, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of misperception that contributes to farmer’s heightened negative perceptions of climate variability and change. The study highlights the importance of provision of timely historic and short-term weather and climate information to farmers and actors, as a means of reducing farmer misperception and increasing their capacity to make appropriate livelihood decisions that will reduce their vulnerability to climatic variability and change.</p

Scoping a UK Heritage Science Infrastructure. Priorities, Risks and Values. A report to the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

In 2021, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) awarded funding for five infrastructure policy and engagement fellowships, as part of its ongoing process of portfolio scoping and prioritisation. Two Fellowships were awarded to undertake research and engagement in the creative industries, and three Fellows were funded by AHRC to undertake research and engagement in heritage science and conservation research. A report by the three Fellows in heritage science and conservation research is now available. The Fellows’ report refers throughout to a bid by AHRC to the UKRI Infrastructure Fund. The AHRC bid is to establish a networked, distributed infrastructure for UK heritage science, RICHeS. Securing public investment on the scale envisaged for RICHeS must go through a rigorous process to comply with rules for managing public money. At the time the Fellows’ report was written (2021) and in mid-2022, the AHRC bid was still undergoing development and assessment. The Fellows’ report should therefore be viewed as supporting wider conversations around heritage science and should not be read as defining the operational or funding decisions for RICHeS, which remain a matter for AHRC