| 1. |
- Falster, Daniel, et al.
(författare)
-
AusTraits, a curated plant trait database for the Australian flora
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Scientific Data. - : Nature Portfolio. - 2052-4463. ; 8:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We introduce the AusTraits database - a compilation of values of plant traits for taxa in the Australian flora (hereafter AusTraits). AusTraits synthesises data on 448 traits across 28,640 taxa from field campaigns, published literature, taxonomic monographs, and individual taxon descriptions. Traits vary in scope from physiological measures of performance (e.g. photosynthetic gas exchange, water-use efficiency) to morphological attributes (e.g. leaf area, seed mass, plant height) which link to aspects of ecological variation. AusTraits contains curated and harmonised individual- and species-level measurements coupled to, where available, contextual information on site properties and experimental conditions. This article provides information on version 3.0.2 of AusTraits which contains data for 997,808 trait-by-taxon combinations. We envision AusTraits as an ongoing collaborative initiative for easily archiving and sharing trait data, which also provides a template for other national or regional initiatives globally to fill persistent gaps in trait knowledge.
|
|
| 2. |
- Arndt, D. S., et al.
(författare)
-
STATE OF THE CLIMATE IN 2017
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society - (BAMS). - : American Meteorological Society. - 0003-0007 .- 1520-0477. ; 99:8, s. S1-S310
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)
|
|
| 3. |
- Klionsky, Daniel J., et al.
(författare)
-
Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Autophagy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1554-8635 .- 1554-8627. ; 8:4, s. 445-544
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.
|
|
| 4. |
- Anchordoqui, Luis A., et al.
(författare)
-
The Forward Physics Facility : Sites, experiments, and physics potential
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Physics reports. - : Elsevier. - 0370-1573 .- 1873-6270. ; 968, s. 1-50
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Forward Physics Facility (FPF) is a proposal to create a cavern with the space and infrastructure to support a suite of far-forward experiments at the Large Hadron Collider during the High Luminosity era. Located along the beam collision axis and shielded from the interaction point by at least 100 m of concrete and rock, the FPF will house experiments that will detect particles outside the acceptance of the existing large LHC experiments and will observe rare and exotic processes in an extremely low-background environment. In this work, we summarize the current status of plans for the FPF, including recent progress in civil engineering in identifying promising sites for the FPF and the experiments currently envisioned to realize the FPF's physics potential. We then review the many Standard Model and new physics topics that will be advanced by the FPF, including searches for long-lived particles, probes of dark matter and dark sectors, high-statistics studies of TeV neutrinos of all three flavors, aspects of perturbative and non-perturbative QCD, and high-energy astroparticle physics.
|
|
| 5. |
- Corker, Elizabeth, et al.
(författare)
-
The impact of COVID-19 related regulations and restrictions on mobility and potential for sustained climate mitigation across the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK : a data-based commentary
- 2021
-
Ingår i: UCL Open: Environment Preprint. - London : UCL Press. - 2632-0886. ; 4:3
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Human behaviour change is necessary to meet targets set by the Paris Agreement to mitigate climate change. Restrictions and regulations put in place globally to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 during 2020 have had a substantial impact on everyday life, including many carbon-intensive behaviours such as transportation. Changes to transportation behaviour may reduce carbon emissions. Behaviour change theory can offer perspective on the drivers and influences of behaviour and shape recommendations for how policy-makers can capitalise on any observed behaviour changes that may mitigate climate change. For this commentary, we aimed to describe changes in data relating to transportation behaviours concerning working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic across the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. We display these identified changes in a concept map, suggesting links between the changes in behaviour and levels of carbon emissions. We consider these changes in relation to a comprehensive and easy to understand model of behaviour, the Opportunity, Motivation Behaviour (COM-B) model, to understand the capabilities, opportunities and behaviours related to the observed behaviour changes and potential policy to mitigate climate change. There is now an opportunity for policy-makers to increase the likelihood of maintaining pro-environmental behaviour changes by providing opportunities, improving capabilities and maintaining motivation for these behaviours.
|
|
| 6. |
- Dehmel, Naira, et al.
(författare)
-
Combining service design and discrete choice experiments for intervention design : An application to weather index insurance
- 2021
-
Ingår i: MethodsX. - : Elsevier. - 1258-780X .- 2215-0161. ; 8
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we provide a detailed description of the methodological steps involved in conducting a Service Design study in combination with Discrete Choice Experiments (DCEs). It complements the conceptual and epistemological argument developed for this methodological combination in Osborne et al. (2021, World Development, in review WD-19535). Service Design for the co-creative development of policy interventions in complex adaptive systems involves an iterative process of moving between the six methodological stages of (1) problem co-definition, (2) actor-centred mapping, (3) experience-based problem diagnosis, (4) rapid prototyping, (5) design and testing and (6) upscaling. We suggest using DCEs as a quantitative method that is contextually adaptable and comparatively fast and cheap to implement, as part of stage (6) design and testing. Whilst both methods can operate independently with their own strengths and limitations, we find their combination to add value to the processes and outcomes of each. We illustrate the general methodological approach with a step-by-step description of its application to Weather Index Insurance in eastern Uganda. Bullet points: Service Design co-creatively develops well-targeted solutions in complex adaptive systems. Discrete Choice Experiments quantitatively elicit actors preferences over the design of goods or services. Their combination can bring deeply contextualised, user-centred, operational and experimentally verified ideas for development interventions prior to their implementation. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
|
|
| 7. |
- Ding, Li, et al.
(författare)
-
Somatic mutations affect key pathways in lung adenocarcinoma
- 2008
-
Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 455:7216, s. 1069-1075
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Determining the genetic basis of cancer requires comprehensive analyses of large collections of histopathologically well-classified primary tumours. Here we report the results of a collaborative study to discover somatic mutations in 188 human lung adenocarcinomas. DNA sequencing of 623 genes with known or potential relationships to cancer revealed more than 1,000 somatic mutations across the samples. Our analysis identified 26 genes that are mutated at significantly high frequencies and thus are probably involved in carcinogenesis. The frequently mutated genes include tyrosine kinases, among them the EGFR homologue ERBB4; multiple ephrin receptor genes, notably EPHA3; vascular endothelial growth factor receptor KDR; and NTRK genes. These data provide evidence of somatic mutations in primary lung adenocarcinoma for several tumour suppressor genes involved in other cancers--including NF1, APC, RB1 and ATM--and for sequence changes in PTPRD as well as the frequently deleted gene LRP1B. The observed mutational profiles correlate with clinical features, smoking status and DNA repair defects. These results are reinforced by data integration including single nucleotide polymorphism array and gene expression array. Our findings shed further light on several important signalling pathways involved in lung adenocarcinoma, and suggest new molecular targets for treatment.
|
|
| 8. |
- Kurganskiy, Alexander, et al.
(författare)
-
Predicting the severity of the grass pollen season and the effect of climate change in Northwest Europe
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Science Advances. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 2375-2548. ; 7:13
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Allergic rhinitis is an inflammation in the nose caused by overreaction of the immune system to allergens in the air. Managing allergic rhinitis symptoms is challenging and requires timely intervention. The following are major questions often posed by those with allergic rhinitis: How should I prepare for the forthcoming season? How will the season's severity develop over the years? No country yet provides clear guidance addressing these questions. We propose two previously unexplored approaches for forecasting the severity of the grass pollen season on the basis of statistical and mechanistic models. The results suggest annual severity is largely governed by preseasonal meteorological conditions. The mechanistic model suggests climate change will increase the season severity by up to 60%, in line with experimental chamber studies. These models can be used as forecasting tools for advising individuals with hay fever and health care professionals how to prepare for the grass pollen season.
|
|
| 9. |
- Lambe, Fiona, et al.
(författare)
-
Design Devices for Human Development : A Capabilities Approach in Kenya and Uganda
- 2022
-
Ingår i: She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation. - : Elsevier. - 2405-8726 .- 2405-8718. ; 8:2, s. 217-243
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite progress in recent decades, many crucial challenges to the eradication of extreme poverty remain intractable. Development interventions often fail to deliver sustained, transformational outcomes to households and communities. The field of design has demonstrated its capacity to deliver designed artifacts that enhance the livelihoods and well-being of people living in resource poor communities, but it remains unclear how its tools can contribute to interventions seeking multidimensional and transformational development outcomes. We present insights from two case studies, conducted in Kenya and Uganda, where a service design approach was applied to the design of two development interventions: a clean cookstove and fuel system, and an innovative insurance product to help farmers cope with climate variability. In both cases, experience mapping, archetype construction, and prototyping served to reveal individual needs, capacities, and values, and enabled the translation of this information into design features for the interventions. Using Amartya Sens capabilities approach as an ex post analytical frame, we show how these devices could guide designers seeking to deliver transformational development outcomes when co-designing services that aim for environmental sustainability and social well-being among low-income communities.
|
|
| 10. |
- Lambe, Fiona, 1979-
(författare)
-
Devising Capabilities : Service Design for Development Interventions
- 2023
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Despite the progress in recent decades, one in ten people globally still live in extreme poverty, and this number is set to increase in the coming years. Designing interventions to improve well-being and livelihoods is challenging because poverty is multidimensional and plays out in complex, adaptive social-ecological systems, where behaviours and practices at the local level can have unintended consequences elsewhere in the system. In such contexts, linear approaches to designing development interventions are insufficient. Service design has emerged as a human-centred, integrative approach to designing services and systems in complex settings, but knowledge gaps remain on how service design can be used to address development challenges in the Global South. Without an understanding of how service design tools and approaches function in these contexts, there is a risk they might inadvertently cause harm to research participants and local communities.This thesis contributes new knowledge about how service design can be used to design development interventions in complex social-ecological contexts The research questions address three areas where service design could play a role: (i) how service design could be used to make sense of local level complexity and package this information for development programmers and policymakers; (ii) how service design could support local agency in the design of development projects; and (iii) how service design could be used to complement conventional methods of development research.The research questions were addressed using three case studies of development interventions. In two of the cases, a clean cookstove intervention in Kenya and an insurance product for small-scale farmers in Uganda, a service design approach was combined with quantitative methods. In the third case study, participatory backcasting was used to inform a long-term plan for energy transition for an off-grid community in Machakos, Kenya. A conceptual framework was first developed to support the use of service design to address development challenges in complex social-ecological systems. Elements of the framework were then applied in two of the case studies: the cookstoves and insurance studies. The thesis uses service design as an approach and practice, and the capabilities approach as the main conceptual and theoretical framing.The findings reveal that in these contexts, service design tools can become devices for understanding how value is assigned over time by users of the designed services. Archetype construction and prototyping became important devices for identifying patterns in heterogeneous needs and behaviours, while conveying key design parameters to policymakers and programmers. The research also shows that prototyping can enhance local agency by allowing research participants to challenge the core assumptions that underpin proposed interventions. The findings also demonstrate that participatory backcasting can be positioned as a device for prototyping future development pathways. It was found to facilitate individual and collective action in the short term. Combining service design devices with quantitative methods allowed triangulation of findings and a more comprehensive understanding of complex contexts.Beyond the empirical findings on design devices, the thesis makes two important conceptual contributions. First, it positions service design as an integrative approach to conducting transdisciplinary development research in complex social-ecological contexts. Second, the thesis bridges service design and the capabilities approach and demonstrates how this can help designers anchor their work in the local context while navigating normative development objectives. The contributions are useful for service design researchers and practitioners interested in how service design can be used alongside other disciplines to support long-term development objectives. For the development community, the contributions demonstrate a radically different approach to designing interventions where complexity, messiness and non-linearity are embraced.
|
|
