93 research outputs found
Perceived sensory dimensions : a study of Slottsparken, Malmö during wintertime
Idag spenderar vi mÀnniskor alltmer tid inomhus vilket tenderar att ha negativa effekter pÄ vÄr
hÀlsa. Det Àr konstaterat att utomhusvistelse i all form Àr bra för oss mÀnniskor och eftersom det
naturliga dagsljuset Àr begrÀnsat under vintern blir det extra viktigt att vistas ute under denna tid.
Hur parker planeras och utformas kan ha en stor betydelse för upplevelsen hos besökaren och bör
dÀrför vara gestaltade för att bidra med kvaliteter Äret om. Patrik Grahn, professor i
landskapsarkitektur, har studerat grönomrÄdens inverkan pÄ mÀnniskors hÀlsa och har tillsammans
med forskningskollegor utvecklat Ätta specifika parkkaraktÀrer (Bengtsson et al. 2018): artrikedom
och variation, social gemenskap, kultur och historia, öppet och utsikt, kÀnsla av rymd, rofylldhet,
vildhet och natur och avskilt och skyddat. Med utgÄngspunkt i denna bakgrund Àr vÄrt syfte att
undersöka hur parkkaraktÀrerna kan upplevas i verkligheten och hur de kan anvÀndas som
utvÀrderande verktyg av grönomrÄden.
VÄrt arbete undersöker parkkaraktÀrerna i teorin genom en litteraturstudie dÀr forskning av
miljöpsykologer som Kaplan och Kaplan, Ulrich, Hartig och Stoltz lyfts fram. Forskningen tar upp
betydelsen av natur för mÀnniskans vÀlmÄende och bÀr pÄ mÄnga likheter med Grahns teori.
Litteraturstudien fortsÀtter sedan med ett fokus pÄ vinteraspekter dÀr upplevelsevÀrden belyses.
DÀrefter undersöks parkkaraktÀrerna i praktiken med hjÀlp av en observationsstudie och med
Slottsparken som exempel. För att ta reda pÄ hur de upplevs i verkligheten har en lista med
beskrivningar av parkkaraktÀrerna anvÀnts.
Resultatet visar att alla Ätta parkkaraktÀrer gÄr att hitta i Slottsparken. En del finns pÄ flera olika
platser medan en del Àr mer sÀllsynta. I en och samma plats kan flera karaktÀrer ingÄ, de
överlappar varandra. ParkkaraktÀrerna Àr komplexa att beskriva med ord, de Àr inte mÀtbara och
vissa tenderar att vara mer spekulativa Àn andra. Slottsparken har vissa platser dÀr ingen karaktÀr
passar in och dessa har vi benÀmnt som icke-karaktÀrer. Under vÄrt platsbesök kom vi fram till att
Slottsparken bÀr pÄ kvaliteter i vintertid. Dessa kan delas upp i visuella och upplevelsemÀssiga
kvaliteter. Slutligen kan vi konstatera att parkkaraktÀrerna kan anvÀndas som stöd för att utvÀrdera
och förstÄ en plats, men Àr tolkningsbara och Àr dÀrför inte heltÀckande. DÀremot kan
parkkaraktÀrerna fungera som inspiration för en landskapsarkitekts designprocess och fungera som
ett hjÀlpmedel vid gestaltning av parker.Most of us people today tend to spend more time indoors which can result in negative effects on
our health. It is established that outdoor stay in all forms has a positive impact on us and since the
natural daylight is limited during wintertime it becomes particularly important to stay outside.
How parks are planned and designed may be important for the experience of the visitor and should
therefore be designed to contribute with qualities all year around. Patrik Grahn, a professor in
landscape architecture, has studied the impact of green spaces on humans health and together with
research colleagues developed eight specific Perceived Sensory Dimensions PSD (Bengtsson et al.
2018): Rich in Species, Social, Culture, Prospect, Space, Serene, Nature, and Refuge. With this
background in mind is our main purpose to examine how the PSD can be experienced and how it
can be used as a tool for evaluating green spaces.
Our work examines PSD in theory with a literature study where research by environment
psychologists such as Kaplan and Kaplan, Ulrich, Hartig, and Stoltz are presented. The research
highlights the importance of nature for human health and there is a lot of resemblance with the
theory of Grahn. The literature study continues then with a focus on winter aspects where
experiential value is highlighted. Furthermore, examines the PSD in practice with help of an
observation study and with Slottsparken in Malmö as an example. A list of descriptions is used to
investigate how they are experienced.
Our result shows that all eight PSDs are possible to find in Slottsparken. Some of them are found
in different places while others are rare. In the same place, multiple PSDs can be found, and they
overlap each other. The PSD is complex to describe with words, they are not measurable and some
tend to be more speculative than others. Slottsparken has some places where no PSD fits and those
we call non-PSD. Slottsparken has qualities during the winter that we discovered during our field
visit. Those can be divided into two different qualities, visual and experience based. Finally, we
can conclude that the PSD can be used for support when evaluating and understanding an
environment, but are interpretable and are therefore not comprehensive. However, the PSD might
work as an inspiration for a landscape architectâs design process and work as guidance when
designing parks
Farm the rooftops! : social and health related aspects of urban rooftop farms
Uppsatsen skrivs med tanke pÄ snabbt vÀxande stÀder med krympande tillgÄng till
grönomrÄden som följd, ökat intresse för odling och medvetenhet om gröna miljöers
betydelser för miljö, hÀlsa och socialt liv. Huvudfokus i detta arbete Àr dels att ta reda pÄ
hÀlsoaspekter och sociala aspekter av stadsodling och gröna miljöer. Dels att titta pÄ nÄgra
befintliga takodlingar samt diskutera nÄgra av de utmaningar som kan finnas med att odla pÄ
tak. Hur kan vi platsutnyttja effektivt samtidigt som vi stÀrker hÀlsa och social hÄllbarhet?
Vilka förutsÀttningar kan finnas för takodlingar och vilka typer av roller kan de spela i en tÀt
stad? Hur fungerar sÄdana odlingar idag och vilka typer av utmaningar kan finnas med sÄdana
odlingar, ur hÀlso- och social hÄllbarhetsperspektiv?
Genom litteraturstudie och personlig kontakt har ett antal funna takodlingar pÄ olika platser
i vÀrlden bidragit till infallsvinklar i diskussionen kring tÀta stÀder, hÀlsa och social
hÄllbarhet, med stöd i relevant litteratur. UtifrÄn inhÀmtade kunskaper inklusive teorier och
forskning pÄ omrÄdet har slutsatser dragits och ett resonemang kring tillÀmpning i designoch
planeringsprocesser har förts. Alla studerade exempel visar att takodlingar utgör viktiga
delar i en hÄllbar grön stad, och att viljan bland bÄde privata och offentliga aktörer Àr stor nÀr
det gÀller att uppmuntra platsutnyttjande och gröna lösningar i stÀder. En sammanfattande
slutsats Àr att det behövs mer utförliga riktlinjer för hur tak ska och kan anvÀndas, exempelvis
genom en stads grönplan. Det behövs breda samarbeten mellan aktörer för att fÄ kvalitativa
lösningar, dÀr takodling ses som en sjÀlvklar del i den hÄllbara staden. Det behövs mer
forskning pÄ omrÄdet som, Ätminstone i Sverige, fortfarande Àr relativt nytt.This thesis takes into notice the rapid growth of cities with lesser access to green areas as a
consequence. It also emphasizes the urban farming movement, and the general awareness of
the impacts of green environments on health and social sustainability. The main focus in this
work lies on understanding health and social aspects of urban farming and green
environments. It also targets to look at existing rooftop farms to see how they function and to
discuss some of the potential challenges with rooftop farms. How can we use space
effectively at the same time strengthen health and social sustainability? Which are the
prerequisites for having an urban rooftop farm and what roles can they play in a dense city?
How do urban rooftop farms work today and what types of challenges can apply, in terms of
issues in health and social sustainability?
Through literature study and personal contact, a number of rooftop farms around the world
have been found and studied. With support from relevant literature, they contribute to
perspectives to the discussion regarding dense cities, health and social sustainability. By
learning from theories and the examples, argumentation and suggested applications have been
made, to support the implement of rooftop farms in planning and design processes. All of the
studied examples shows that rooftop farms make important parts of a green, sustainable city,
and that both private and public actors have a great will to encourage and provide places for
green solutions. A summarization is that more precise guidelines are needed, when it comes
to wanted and supported use of roofs, for example by municipal green strategies. Broad
cooperation amongst different actors are essential in reaching long-term qualitative solutions,
where urban farming on roofs is a natural part of the sustainable city. More research is
needed, however, since the subject is rather new, at least when it comes to rooftop farms in
Sweden
Vad motiverar till livsstilsförÀndringar hos personer med risk för eller som har diabetes mellitus typ 2. En litteraturstudie.
The link between place and human
MÄlet för denna masteruppsats var att fÄ reda pÄ hur anvÀndningen av offentliga platser kan styras av utformningen. I vÄr studie utgick vi ifrÄn litteratur inom miljöpsykologi och frÄn Jan Gehls teorier.
Miljöpsykologi studerar mÀnniskors upplevelser av olika miljöer, med hjÀlp av denna litteratur har vi fÄtt en djupare förstÄelse för hur gestaltning kan pÄverka mÀnniskors beteenden.
VÄr ambition Àr att bredda vÄra kunskaper inom Àmnet för att kunna applicera det i framtida projekt som landskapsarkitekter.
Genom litteraturstudie och observationer har vi analyserat tre torg i Malmö för att jÀmföra de mot varandra och huruvida litteraturen kan appliceras pÄ platserna. Vi utgick ifrÄn Gehls 12 kvalitets-
kriterier för att bedöma torgens helhetskvalitéer och kompletterade med egna tabeller som utgÄr ifrÄn Gehls teorier om olika typer av aktivitet, utrustning, objektsorientering och antal besökare. Vi analyserade Àven rörelsemönster för att fÄ en uppfattning om hur gestaltningen kan styra anvÀndningen utifrÄn
platsens kontext.
Genom detta har vi kommit fram till slutsatsen att teorierna kring hur en plats ska utformas stÀmmer vÀl överens med vÄra egna upplevelser vid observationstillfÀllena. För att en plats ska upplevas kvalitativ och trygg behövs det byggstenar sÄsom sociala aktiviteter, belysning, rumslighet, mÀnsklig skala, sittplatser, estetiska vÀrden, vÀderskydd, vÀxtlighet, cykelplatser etc.
Avslutningsvis kan det konstateras att alla platser har sin egen identitet samt rumslighet, vilket
innebĂ€r att varje plats bör utformas pĂ„ sitt sĂ€tt. Man kan sĂ„ledes anvĂ€nda dessa rekommendationer att utgĂ„ ifrĂ„n men eftersom alla platser ser olika ut kan det aldrig bli en identisk gestaltning. Som landskapsarkitekter har vi nu ökade kunskaper om hur platser bör utformas för att fĂ„ en ökad trivsel samt en förstĂ„else av hur mĂ€nniskor anvĂ€nder offentliga rum.The goal with this essay for our masterâs degree was to find out about how the use of public places can be controlled by the formation. We used environmental psychology literature and Jan Gehlâs theories for this study. Environmental psychology is a study of the human experiences of different environments, with help of this literature we gained a deeper understanding on how the conformation can affect the human behaviour.
Our ambition is to broaden our knowledge within the subject of being able to apply it in future
projects as landscape architects.
Through the studying of the literature and observations, we have analysed three town squares in Malmö to compare them and how the literature can be applied on the locations. We used Gehlâs 12 quality criterias to assess the individual town squaresâ general quality and our own tables with inspiration from Gehlâs theories on different kinds of activities, equipment, the orientation of the objects and the number of visitors. We analysed patterns in movements to gain an understanding on how the formation can direct the usage from the context of the locations.
Because of this, we have come to the conclusion that the theories regarding how a location should be formatted agrees to our experiences from observing the locations. For a place to be portrayed as qualitative and feel safe, there needs to be building blocks as well as social activities, lighting, spacious, clean, reasonable scale, seating areas, aesthetic, vegetation, bicycle areas, etc.
In conclusion, all locations have their own identity as well as spatiality, which means that every location is formatted in its own way. These recommendations can be used as an inspiration, but since all locations are different there will never be an identical formation. As landscape architects, we now have the knowledge of how locations should be formatted to increase well-being and an increase in the understanding on how people use public areas
Combined Experimental and System-Level Analyses Reveal the Complex Regulatory Network of miR-124 during Human Neurogenesis
Non-coding RNAs regulate many biological processes including neurogenesis. The brain-enriched miR-124 has been assigned as a key player of neuronal differentiation via its complex but little understood regulation of thousands of annotated targets. To systematically chart its regulatory functions, we used CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to disrupt all six miR-124 alleles in human induced pluripotent stem cells. Upon neuronal induction, miR-124-deleted cells underwent neurogenesis and became functional neurons, albeit with altered morphology and neurotransmitter specification. Using RNA-induced-silencing-complex precipitation, we identified 98 high-confidence miR-124 targets, of which some directly led to decreased viability. By performing advanced transcription-factor-network analysis, we identified indirect miR-124 effects on apoptosis, neuronal subtype differentiation, and the regulation of previously uncharacterized zinc finger transcription factors. Our data emphasize the need for combined experimental- and system-level analyses to comprehensively disentangle and reveal miRNA functions, including their involvement in the neurogenesis of diverse neuronal cell types found in the human brain
Emission Line Abundances of Absorption Selected Galaxies at z<0.5
We have obtained optical spectra of four galaxies associated with MgII QSO
absorbers at redshifts 0.10 < z < 0.45. We calculate the gas-phase oxygen
abundance of these galaxies using the empirical R23 strong line method. The
absolute B-band magnitudes of the galaxies span -20.6 < M_B < -18.3. If the
metallicities lie on the R23 upper branch (8.4 < log (O/H) + 12 < 8.9), then
the metallicities of these absorption selected galaxies span the range between
0.5--1.4 solar and would be consistent with the well-known
luminosity-metallicity relation for 0.10 < z < 0.45 emission-line galaxies.
However, such metallicities would be 0.5--1.0 dex higher than those observed in
damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) via absorption line measurements at similar
redshifts. Conversely, the lower R23 branch calibration yields metallicities
approximately 1/7 solar, consistent with the DLA absorption metallicities at
low redshifts. In this case, the absorption selected galaxies would lie
significantly lower than the luminosity-metallicity relation for emission-line
galaxies at z<0.5. We discuss the implications and possible solutions for each
scenario.Comment: Accepted for publications in MNRA
Comorbid Chronic Pain and Depression: Who Is at Risk?
The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and demographic risk factors of chronic pain and its comorbidity with depression. Computer-assisted telephone interviewing was utilized to obtain a representative community sample in the state of Michigan (N = 1,179). The prevalence of chronic pain due to any cause was 21.9%. Approximately 35% of participants with chronic pain also had comorbid depression (7.7% of the entire sample). Depression was not associated with pain types or sites. A multinomial regression analysis revealed several demographic correlates of chronic pain and depression. Participants with chronic pain or comorbid pain and depression were more likely to be older, female, employed less than full-time, and have less education than persons without either condition. Logistic regression analyses showed that younger participants were more likely to have comorbid pain and depression than chronic pain only. A similar but marginally significant effect was found for African-American participants. Compared to the depression only group, those in the comorbid group were more likely to be women and middle-aged. These findings provide additional evidence on the prevalence of comorbid pain and depression in the community and suggest that certain demographic groups with chronic pain may especially benefit from depression screenings
High precision astrometry mission for the detection and characterization of nearby habitable planetary systems with the Nearby Earth Astrometric Telescope (NEAT)
(abridged) A complete census of planetary systems around a volume-limited
sample of solar-type stars (FGK dwarfs) in the Solar neighborhood with uniform
sensitivity down to Earth-mass planets within their Habitable Zones out to
several AUs would be a major milestone in extrasolar planets astrophysics. This
fundamental goal can be achieved with a mission concept such as NEAT - the
Nearby Earth Astrometric Telescope. NEAT is designed to carry out space-borne
extremely-high-precision astrometric measurements sufficient to detect
dynamical effects due to orbiting planets of mass even lower than Earth's
around the nearest stars. Such a survey mission would provide the actual
planetary masses and the full orbital geometry for all the components of the
detected planetary systems down to the Earth-mass limit. The NEAT performance
limits can be achieved by carrying out differential astrometry between the
targets and a set of suitable reference stars in the field. The NEAT instrument
design consists of an off-axis parabola single-mirror telescope, a detector
with a large field of view made of small movable CCDs located around a fixed
central CCD, and an interferometric calibration system originating from
metrology fibers located at the primary mirror. The proposed mission
architecture relies on the use of two satellites operating at L2 for 5 years,
flying in formation and offering a capability of more than 20,000
reconfigurations (alternative option uses deployable boom). The NEAT primary
science program will encompass an astrometric survey of our 200 closest F-, G-
and K-type stellar neighbors, with an average of 50 visits. The remaining time
might be allocated to improve the characterization of the architecture of
selected planetary systems around nearby targets of specific interest (low-mass
stars, young stars, etc.) discovered by Gaia, ground-based high-precision
radial-velocity surveys.Comment: Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy. The full member
list of the NEAT proposal and the news about the project are available at
http://neat.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr. The final publication is available at
http://www.springerlink.co
The Barents and Chukchi Seas: Comparison of two Arctic shelf ecosystems
This paper compares and contrasts the ecosystems of the Barents and Chukchi Seas. Despite their similarity in a number of features, the Barents Sea supports a vast biomass of commercially important fish, but the Chukchi does not. Here we examine a number of aspects of these two seas to ascertain how they are similar and how they differ. We then indentify processes and mechanisms that may be responsible for their similarities and differences.Both the Barents and Chukchi Seas are high latitude, seasonally ice covered, Arctic shelf-seas. Both have strongly advective regimes, and receive water from the south. Water entering the Barents comes from the deep, ice-free and "warm" Norwegian Sea, and contains not only heat, but also a rich supply of zooplankton that supports larval fish in spring. In contrast, Bering Sea water entering the Chukchi in spring and early summer is cold. In spring, this Bering Sea water is depleted of large, lipid-rich zooplankton, thus likely resulting in a relatively low availability of zooplankton for fish. Although primary production on average is similar in the two seas, fish biomass density is an order of magnitude greater in the Barents than in the Chukchi Sea. The Barents Sea supports immense fisheries, whereas the Chukchi Sea does not. The density of cetaceans in the Barents Sea is about double that in the Chukchi Sea, as is the density of nesting seabirds, whereas, the density of pinnipeds in the Chukchi is about double that in the Barents Sea. In the Chukchi Sea, export of carbon to the benthos and benthic biomass may be greater. We hypothesize that the difference in fish abundance in the two seas is driven by differences in the heat and plankton advected into them, and the amount of primary production consumed in the upper water column. However, we suggest that the critical difference between the Chukchi and Barents Seas is the pre-cooled water entering the Chukchi Sea from the south. This cold water, and the winter mixing of the Chukchi Sea as it becomes ice covered, result in water temperatures below the physiological limits of the commercially valuable fish that thrive in the southeastern Bering Sea. If climate change warms the Barents Sea, thereby increasing the open water area via reducing ice cover, productivity at most trophic levels is likely to increase. In the Chukchi, warming should also reduce sea ice cover, permitting a longer production season. However, the shallow northern Bering and Chukchi Seas are expected to continue to be ice-covered in winter, so water there will continue to be cold in winter and spring, and is likely to continue to be a barrier to the movement of temperate fish into the Chukchi Sea. Thus, it is unlikely that large populations of boreal fish species will become established in this Arctic marginal sea. © 2012 Elsevier B.V
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