| 1. |
- Scaini, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Pathways from research to sustainable development: Insights from ten research projects in sustainability and resilience
- 2024
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Ingår i: AMBIO. - : SPRINGER. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Drawing on collective experience from ten collaborative research projects focused on the Global South, we identify three major challenges that impede the translation of research on sustainability and resilience into better-informed choices by individuals and policy-makers that in turn can support transformation to a sustainable future. The three challenges comprise: (i) converting knowledge produced during research projects into successful knowledge application; (ii) scaling up knowledge in time when research projects are short-term and potential impacts are long-term; and (iii) scaling up knowledge across space, from local research sites to larger-scale or even global impact. Some potential pathways for funding agencies to overcome these challenges include providing targeted prolonged funding for dissemination and outreach, and facilitating collaboration and coordination across different sites, research teams, and partner organizations. By systematically documenting these challenges, we hope to pave the way for further innovations in the research cycle.
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| 2. |
- Çıdık, Mustafa Selçuk, et al.
(författare)
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Political ecology perspective for a new way of understanding stakeholders and value in infrastructure projects
- 2024
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Ingår i: International Journal of Project Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0263-7863 .- 1873-4634. ; 42:2, s. 102565-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The long-term goals and objectives that infrastructure projects aim to deliver are contextualised by complex grand challenges, which involve an entanglement of economic, social, and ecological issues. However, there have been criticisms that infrastructure projects fall short of delivering equitable value to effectively address grand challenges. These criticisms underpinned the recent calls for rethinking the purpose and definition of infrastructure projects. This essay argues that adopting a political ecology perspective can be useful to start identifying the limitations of the current understandings of external stakeholders and value in infrastructure projects, which lead to the criticised shortcomings. Political ecology considers social, ecological, and economic issues as an assemblage that manifests through power relations. Thus, for project studies, it implies a reconceptualization of external stakeholders and project value around the notions of agency, vulnerability, and empowerment. This reconceptualization provides new theoretical and practical directions for project formation, stakeholder management and project leadership in the pursuit of rethinking the purpose and definition of infrastructure projects for effectively tackling the grand challenges of our times.
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| 3. |
- Diep, Loan, et al.
(författare)
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Co-building trust in urban nature : Learning from participatory design and construction of Nature-Based Solutions in informal settlements in East Africa
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2624-9634. ; 4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While the amount of research on NBS is growing rapidly, there is a lack of evidence on community experiences of NBS design and implementation, particularly from low-income and informal settlements of African cities. This article adds new empirical evidence in this space through grounded analysis of NBS "niche" projects co-developed by intermediary organizations and communities in five sites across three settlements in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Findings are organized around four established NBS knowledge gaps: (1) NBS-society relations; (2) Design; (3) Implementation; (4) Effectiveness. We find that across the five studied sites, residents' perceptions and valuation of urban nature has changed through processes of co-design and co-implementation, enabling community ownership of projects, and hence playing a crucial role in NBS effectiveness over time. The integration of gray components into green infrastructure to create hybrid systems has proven necessary to meet physical constraints and communities' urgent needs such as flood mitigation. However, maintenance responsibilities and cost burdens are persisting issues that highlight the complex reality of NBS development in informal settlements. The cases highlight key considerations for actors involved in NBS development to support the replication, scaling up and institutionalization of NBS. These include the need to: (i) develop forms of engagement that align with co-production values; (ii) capture communities' own valuation of and motivations with NBS development for integration into design; (iii) elaborate technical guidance for hybrid green-gray infrastructure systems that can be constructed with communities; and (iv) help define and establish structures for maintenance responsibilities (especially governmental vs. civil society) that will enhance the environmental stewardship of public spaces.
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| 4. |
- Dixon-Suen, Suzanne C, et al.
(författare)
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Physical activity, sedentary time and breast cancer risk : a Mendelian randomisation study
- 2022
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Ingår i: British Journal of Sports Medicine. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 0306-3674 .- 1473-0480. ; 56:20, s. 1157-1170
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: Physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour are associated with higher breast cancer risk in observational studies, but ascribing causality is difficult. Mendelian randomisation (MR) assesses causality by simulating randomised trial groups using genotype. We assessed whether lifelong physical activity or sedentary time, assessed using genotype, may be causally associated with breast cancer risk overall, pre/post-menopause, and by case-groups defined by tumour characteristics.METHODS: We performed two-sample inverse-variance-weighted MR using individual-level Breast Cancer Association Consortium case-control data from 130 957 European-ancestry women (69 838 invasive cases), and published UK Biobank data (n=91 105-377 234). Genetic instruments were single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated in UK Biobank with wrist-worn accelerometer-measured overall physical activity (nsnps=5) or sedentary time (nsnps=6), or accelerometer-measured (nsnps=1) or self-reported (nsnps=5) vigorous physical activity.RESULTS: Greater genetically-predicted overall activity was associated with lower breast cancer overall risk (OR=0.59; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.42 to 0.83 per-standard deviation (SD;~8 milligravities acceleration)) and for most case-groups. Genetically-predicted vigorous activity was associated with lower risk of pre/perimenopausal breast cancer (OR=0.62; 95% CI 0.45 to 0.87,≥3 vs. 0 self-reported days/week), with consistent estimates for most case-groups. Greater genetically-predicted sedentary time was associated with higher hormone-receptor-negative tumour risk (OR=1.77; 95% CI 1.07 to 2.92 per-SD (~7% time spent sedentary)), with elevated estimates for most case-groups. Results were robust to sensitivity analyses examining pleiotropy (including weighted-median-MR, MR-Egger).CONCLUSION: Our study provides strong evidence that greater overall physical activity, greater vigorous activity, and lower sedentary time are likely to reduce breast cancer risk. More widespread adoption of active lifestyles may reduce the burden from the most common cancer in women.
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| 5. |
- Drummond, John Amin, et al.
(författare)
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COVID-19 Interventions in an informal settlement : A spatial analysis of accessibility in Kibera, Kenya
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Transport Geography. - : Elsevier BV. - 0966-6923 .- 1873-1236. ; 113
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper introduces a methodology to explore pedestrian accessibility in informal settlements. This methodology is applied to pandemic intervention sites in Nairobi's Kibera area for 3.5 months (14 April to 31 July 2020) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Freely available transportation network data and open-source GIS software are utilised. Isochrones, areas of equal travel time, are calculated to assess pedestrian accessibility (walk times) from 30,231 Kibera structures to 138 COVID-19 stationary intervention sites. These sites aid in virus control, resource distribution, and COVID-related medical support. Travel times are determined considering different terrain slopes. Unequal access to intervention sites is observed due to indirect routes. Shortest walks (up to 21.5 min) are to handwashing and food distribution points, while longer walks (up to 61.5 min) are to interventions with fewer sites or localised clustering, such as baby product distribution. This simple accessibility analysis helps identify service gaps during crises, aiding planning authorities and communities. Our methodology offers insight into travel patterns in slums and has wider applicability to assess the relationships between transport infrastructure provision and resilience in informal settlements.
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| 6. |
- Elmqvist, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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Urban tinkering
- 2018
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Ingår i: Sustainability Science. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1862-4065 .- 1862-4057. ; 13:6, s. 1549-1564
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cities are currently experiencing serious, multifaceted impacts from global environmental change, especially climate change, and the degree to which they will need to cope with and adapt to such challenges will continue to increase. A complex systems approach inspired by evolutionary theory can inform strategies for policies and interventions to deal with growing urban vulnerabilities. Such an approach would guide the design of new (and redesign of existing) urban structures, while promoting innovative integration of grey, green and blue infrastructure in service of environmental and health objectives. Moreover, it would contribute to more flexible, effective policies for urban management and the use of urban space. Four decades ago, in a seminal paper in Science, the French evolutionary biologist and philosopher Francois Jacob noted that evolution differs significantly in its characteristic modes of action from processes that are designed and engineered de novo (Jacob in Science 196(4295):1161-1166, 1977). He labeled the evolutionary process tinkering, recognizing its foundation in the modification and molding of existing traits and forms, with occasional dramatic shifts in function in the context of changing conditions. This contrasts greatly with conventional engineering and design approaches that apply tailor-made materials and tools to achieve well-defined functions that are specified a priori. We here propose that urban tinkering is the application of evolutionary thinking to urban design, engineering, ecological restoration, management and governance. We define urban tinkering as:A mode of operation, encompassing policy, planning and management processes, that seeks to transform the use of existing and design of new urban systems in ways that diversify their functions, anticipate new uses and enhance adaptability, to better meet the social, economic and ecological needs of cities under conditions of deep uncertainty about the future.This approach has the potential to substantially complement and augment conventional urban development, replacing predictability, linearity and monofunctional design with anticipation of uncertainty and non-linearity and design for multiple, potentially shifting functions. Urban tinkering can function by promoting a diversity of small-scale urban experiments that, in aggregate, lead to large-scale often playful innovative solutions to the problems of sustainable development. Moreover, the tinkering approach is naturally suited to exploring multi-functional uses and approaches (e.g., bricolage) for new and existing urban structures and policies through collaborative engagement and analysis. It is thus well worth exploring as a means of delivering co-benefits for environment and human health and wellbeing. Indeed, urban tinkering has close ties to systems approaches, which often are recognized as critical to sustainable development. We believe this concept can help forge much-closer, much-needed ties among engineers, architects, evolutionary ecologists, health specialists, and numerous other urban stakeholders in developing innovative, widely beneficial solutions for society and contribute to successful implementation of SDG11 and the New Urban Agenda.
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| 7. |
- Escala-Garcia, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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A network analysis to identify mediators of germline-driven differences in breast cancer prognosis
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. - 2041-1723. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Identifying the underlying genetic drivers of the heritability of breast cancer prognosis remains elusive. We adapt a network-based approach to handle underpowered complex datasets to provide new insights into the potential function of germline variants in breast cancer prognosis. This network-based analysis studies similar to 7.3 million variants in 84,457 breast cancer patients in relation to breast cancer survival and confirms the results on 12,381 independent patients. Aggregating the prognostic effects of genetic variants across multiple genes, we identify four gene modules associated with survival in estrogen receptor (ER)-negative and one in ER-positive disease. The modules show biological enrichment for cancer-related processes such as G-alpha signaling, circadian clock, angiogenesis, and Rho-GTPases in apoptosis.
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| 8. |
- Jiao, Xiang, et al.
(författare)
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PHIP - a novel candidate breast cancer susceptibility locus on 6q14.1
- 2017
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Ingår i: Oncotarget. - : IMPACT JOURNALS LLC. - 1949-2553. ; 8:61, s. 102769-102782
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most non-BRCA1/2 breast cancer families have no identified genetic cause. We used linkage and haplotype analyses in familial and sporadic breast cancer cases to identify a susceptibility locus on chromosome 6q. Two independent genome-wide linkage analysis studies suggested a 3 Mb locus on chromosome 6q and two unrelated Swedish families with a LOD > 2 together seemed to share a haplotype in 6q14.1. We hypothesized that this region harbored a rare high-risk founder allele contributing to breast cancer in these two families. Sequencing of DNA and RNA from the two families did not detect any pathogenic mutations. Finally, 29 SNPs in the region were analyzed in 44,214 cases and 43,532 controls from BCAC, and the original haplotypes in the two families were suggested as low-risk alleles for European and Swedish women specifically. There was also some support for one additional independent moderate-risk allele in Swedish familial samples. The results were consistent with our previous findings in familial breast cancer and supported a breast cancer susceptibility locus at 6q14.1 around the PHIP gene.
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| 9. |
- Juma, B., et al.
(författare)
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Analysis of rainfall extremes in the Ngong River Basin of Kenya : Towards integrated urban flood risk management
- 2020
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Ingår i: Physics and Chemistry of the Earth. - : Elsevier. - 1474-7065 .- 1873-5193.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Extreme rainfall events are a major cause of highly disruptive flooding in small urban watersheds with limited flood risk management systems. In the Ngong River Basin of Kenya, such floods affect more than 0.5 Million residents within the Kibera informal settlements of Nairobi. However, there is paucity of information about the characteristics of the extreme rainfalls to support flood risk management. This study investigated the best-fit probability distribution models for the extreme rainfalls of the Ngong Basin using Block Maxima approach as a basis for anticipatory flood risk management. Daily rainfall data for the period between 1968 and 2017 were acquired from the existing two rainfall stations to support the analysis at monthly, seasonal and annual timescales. The Gamma, Pearson Type III, Gumbel and Generalized Extreme Value distributions were selected and applied to each timescale. Parameters of the distributions were determined using the Maximum-Likelihood estimator. The validity of the fitted probability models was tested using the Kolomogorov- Smirnov, Anderson-Darling and Cramer von Misses measures for Goodness of Fit. The best-fit probability distributions were subsequently used to establish the rainfall frequencies and return levels at annual timescales. The results show that Pearson Type III provided the best fit at monthly timescales during the dry spell months, while the Generalized Extreme Value distribution provided best results during the wet periods. At seasonal timescales, the Gamma distribution was noted to be the best-fit model. The return levels developed could essentially support the design of urban flood control structures for appropriate flood risk management.
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| 10. |
- Juma, Benard, et al.
(författare)
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Flooding in the urban fringes : Analysis of flood inundation and hazard levels within the informal settlement of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya
- 2023
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Ingår i: Physics and Chemistry of the Earth. - : Elsevier BV. - 1474-7065 .- 1873-5193. ; 132, s. 103499-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Overlapping conditions of rapid urbanisation and climate change across developing countries are threatening the capacity of cities to manage climate risks, especially in the flood-exposed low-income peripheral areas. Limited studies have applied hydrodynamic flood models in ascertaining flooding conditions, supportive of risk-informed decisions in such urban fringes. Against this backdrop, we assessed plausible flooding and hazard conditions in the low-lying villages of Lindi and Silanga in Kibera informal settlement. The coupled one-dimensional and two-dimensional hydrodynamic model, customised from the Hydrological Engineering Centre's River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) was parameterised for flood simulation under different hydrological regimes and scenarios associated with flooding in Kibera. Volumetric flow estimates and a computed energy slope were used to define the upstream and downstream modelling boundary conditions respectively. Trial-and-error adjustment of the flow resistance coefficients from land-use features was applied in model calibration, and the results compared to the surveyed flood of 23rd April 2019. Results show that proximal areas to the Ngong River and Nairobi dam face high flood risks. A flood volume of 11.7×105m3 from a 2.5h, 50 mm rainfall could potentially inundate about 2.0% and 8.3% of areas in Lindi and Silanga respectively, while a volume of 48.9×105m3 from a 100-year storm of 172 mm could inundate about 10.6% of Lindi and 29.1% of Silanga. Upstream steeply sloping topographies of the villages increase flood velocities and risk of drowning, while the lower reaches at relatively flatter topographies, experience attenuated flow and rapid accumulation of flood waters, hence, higher flood depths. These results can support policy interventions for integrated flood risk management in Kibera, as a way of mainstreaming the underserved urban communities in climate risk management.
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| 11. |
- Juma, Benard, et al.
(författare)
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Simulation of flood peak discharges and volumes for flood risk management in the ungauged urban informal settlement of Kibera, Kenya
- 2022
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Ingår i: Physics and Chemistry of the Earth. - : Elsevier BV. - 1474-7065 .- 1873-5193. ; 128
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In spite of the increasing extremity and adverse consequences of urban floods under climate change, flood characteristics in most developing countries are still largely unknown due to lack of continuous monitoring. This portentous uncertainty stances high flood risk, especially to a majority low-income urban population inhabiting the flood-prone informal settlements. Physically-based hydrologic models, whose parameters are derivable from catchment features, are often used for hydrological analysis in the ungauged regions. In this study, the Hydro-logic Engineering Centre's-Hydrologic Modelling System (HEC-HMS) was used for rainfall-runoff simulation in the upper Ngong River Basin of Kenya, draining into the Kibera informal settlement, for purposes of estimating flood peak discharges (FPDs) and direct runoff volumes (DRVs), often required for flood risk management. The Soil Conservation Service-Curve Number (SCS-CN), SCS-Unit Hydrograph (SCS-UH) and Muskingum models were used for hydrological simulation from four (4) observed and fifty-four (54) hypothetical extreme rainfalls. The results obtained indicated that a 50 mm rainfall event with a duration of 2.5 h has the potential of producing FPD and DRV of about 90m3s-1 and 1.17 x 106m3 respectively at the Ngong River confluence at Sokomoko in Kibera. On the other hand, the non-intermittent 100-year storm event of about 172 mm in depth, occurring over a period of about 4 h, potentially generated FPD of about 460m3s-1 and DRV of about 4.89 x 106m3, portending calamitous impacts in the basin. These results can offer preliminary information on potential flood character-istics, that can be used as a baseline to support local-level flood risk mitigation measures in the ungauged Ngong River Basin.
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| 12. |
- Lawrenson, Kate, et al.
(författare)
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Functional mechanisms underlying pleiotropic risk alleles at the 19p13.1 breast-ovarian cancer susceptibility locus
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A locus at 19p13 is associated with breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) risk. Here we analyse 438 SNPs in this region in 46,451 BC and 15,438 OC cases, 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers and 73,444 controls and identify 13 candidate causal SNPs associated with serous OC (P=9.2 × 10-20), ER-negative BC (P=1.1 × 10-13), BRCA1-associated BC (P=7.7 × 10-16) and triple negative BC (P-diff=2 × 10-5). Genotype-gene expression associations are identified for candidate target genes ANKLE1 (P=2 × 10-3) and ABHD8 (P<2 × 10-3). Chromosome conformation capture identifies interactions between four candidate SNPs and ABHD8, and luciferase assays indicate six risk alleles increased transactivation of the ADHD8 promoter. Targeted deletion of a region containing risk SNP rs56069439 in a putative enhancer induces ANKLE1 downregulation; and mRNA stability assays indicate functional effects for an ANKLE1 3′-UTR SNP. Altogether, these data suggest that multiple SNPs at 19p13 regulate ABHD8 and perhaps ANKLE1 expression, and indicate common mechanisms underlying breast and ovarian cancer risk.
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| 13. |
- Manshur, Talib, et al.
(författare)
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A citizen science approach for air quality monitoring in a Kenyan informal development
- 2023
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Ingår i: CITY AND ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS. - : Elsevier BV. - 2590-2520. ; 19, s. 100105-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper investigates the use of a citizen science approach for air quality monitoring to explore the likely pollution impacts of the new Missing Link #12 road passing through the informal settlement of Kibera, within Nairobi. Citizen science approaches are gaining relevance in air quality monitoring thanks to the advancement in environmental monitoring technology and the opportunities created for community-based organizations to collect data on air pollution through low-cost sensors. Fourteen households located in proximity to the Missing Link#12 were equipped with optical particle sensors. Data collected indicated that people living along the road are exposed to levels of PM2.5 and PM10 above WHO recommendations, mainly due to the particulate generated by the construction site and fuels used for indoor cooking. A community engagement workshop revealed that participatory approaches are useful for improving awareness of air pollution and associated health implications. It also allowed the community to enhance their capability to gain and use scientific tools to address local issues, and potentially lobby decision-makers to solve them. In the context of transport infrastructure development in African cities, such an approach can be a means of collecting data and monitoring the impacts of air pollution during and after road building.
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| 14. |
- Mavaddat, Nasim, et al.
(författare)
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Prediction of Breast Cancer Risk Based on Profiling With Common Genetic Variants
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1460-2105 .- 0027-8874. ; 107:5, s. 036-036
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Data for multiple common susceptibility alleles for breast cancer may be combined to identify women at different levels of breast cancer risk. Such stratification could guide preventive and screening strategies. However, empirical evidence for genetic risk stratification is lacking. Methods: We investigated the value of using 77 breast cancer-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for risk stratification, in a study of 33 673 breast cancer cases and 33 381 control women of European origin. We tested all possible pair-wise multiplicative interactions and constructed a 77-SNP polygenic risk score (PRS) for breast cancer overall and by estrogen receptor (ER) status. Absolute risks of breast cancer by PRS were derived from relative risk estimates and UK incidence and mortality rates. Results: There was no strong evidence for departure from a multiplicative model for any SNP pair. Women in the highest 1% of the PRS had a three-fold increased risk of developing breast cancer compared with women in the middle quintile (odds ratio [OR] = 3.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.95 to 3.83). The ORs for ER-positive and ER-negative disease were 3.73 (95% CI = 3.24 to 4.30) and 2.80 (95% CI = 2.26 to 3.46), respectively. Lifetime risk of breast cancer for women in the lowest and highest quintiles of the PRS were 5.2% and 16.6% for a woman without family history, and 8.6% and 24.4% for a woman with a first-degree family history of breast cancer. Conclusions: The PRS stratifies breast cancer risk in women both with and without a family history of breast cancer. The observed level of risk discrimination could inform targeted screening and prevention strategies. Further discrimination may be achievable through combining the PRS with lifestyle/environmental factors, although these were not considered in this report.
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| 15. |
- Middha, Pooja K., et al.
(författare)
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A genome-wide gene-environment interaction study of breast cancer risk for women of European ancestry
- 2023
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Ingår i: Breast Cancer Research. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1465-5411 .- 1465-542X. ; 25:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Genome-wide studies of gene-environment interactions (GxE) may identify variants associated with disease risk in conjunction with lifestyle/environmental exposures. We conducted a genome-wide GxE analysis of similar to 7.6 million common variants and seven lifestyle/environmental risk factors for breast cancer risk overall and for estrogen receptor positive (ER +) breast cancer. Methods Analyses were conducted using 72,285 breast cancer cases and 80,354 controls of European ancestry from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Gene-environment interactions were evaluated using standard unconditional logistic regression models and likelihood ratio tests for breast cancer risk overall and for ER + breast cancer. Bayesian False Discovery Probability was employed to assess the noteworthiness of each SNP-risk factor pairs. Results Assuming a 1 x 10(-5) prior probability of a true association for each SNP-risk factor pairs and a Bayesian False Discovery Probability < 15%, we identified two independent SNP-risk factor pairs: rs80018847(9p13)-LINGO2 and adult height in association with overall breast cancer risk (ORint = 0.94, 95% CI 0.92-0.96), and rs4770552(13q12)-SPATA13 and age at menarche for ER + breast cancer risk (ORint = 0.91, 95% CI 0.88-0.94). Conclusions Overall, the contribution of GxE interactions to the heritability of breast cancer is very small. At the population level, multiplicative GxE interactions do not make an important contribution to risk prediction in breast cancer.
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| 16. |
- Mulligan, Joe, et al.
(författare)
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Hybrid infrastructures, hybrid governance : New evidence from Nairobi (Kenya) on green-blue-grey infrastructure in informal settlements "Urban hydroclimatic risks in the 21st century: Integrating engineering, natural, physical and social sciences to build resilience"
- 2020
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Ingår i: Anthropocene. - : ELSEVIER SCI LTD. - 2213-3054. ; 29
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In expanding informal neighborhoods of cities in sub-Saharan Africa, sustainable management of storm and wastewater drainage is fundamental to improving living conditions. Planners debate the optimal combination between "green" or natural infrastructure, traditional "grey" infrastructure, and "blue" infrastructure, which mimics natural solutions using artificial materials. Many advocate for small-scale, niche experiments with these approaches in informal settings, in order to learn how to navigate the intrinsic constraints of space, contested land tenure, participation, and local maintenance. This paper reports the benefits and limitations of implementing and managing local green, blue and grey infrastructure solutions in an urban informal setting. We studied ten completed public space projects that featured urban drainage infrastructure in the informal neighborhood of Kibera, Nairobi. The analysis drew from ten surveys with project designers and seven semi-structured interviews with site managers. The studied spaces featured different combinations of green, grey, and blue drainage infrastructure that have evolved over years of operation, maintenance, and change in the settlement. All projects featured participation in design, mixed design methods, hybrid infrastructure, and community governance models with potential to interact successfully with municipal actors. Results show that involvement in the co-development of small-scale green infrastructure changed people's valuation, perception, and stewardship of nature-based systems and ecosystem services. These results have implications for the larger scale adoption, integration, and management of urban drainage infrastructure. They also suggest that hybrid systems of infrastructure and governance constitute a resilient approach to incremental and inclusive upgrading.
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| 17. |
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| 18. |
- Mulligan, Joe, et al.
(författare)
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Participatory flood modelling for negotiation and planning in urban informal settlements
- 2019
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. - : ICE PUBLISHING. - 1478-4629 .- 1751-7680. ; 172:7, s. 354-371
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Participatory modelling in water resource management - involving diverse actors in what is traditionally a purely analytical process - is thought to broaden stakeholder engagement and improve outcomes. Further research and case studies are required to explore the practicalities of integrating meaningful participation within modelling processes in the water sector. Participatory modelling may be of particular interest within the context of urban informal areas, where the confluence of climate change, urbanisation and contested land requires new methods for engagement and planning. This paper develops new case-based knowledge to inform the application of participatory modelling and planning for informal urban areas. A flood-modelling project in the large informal neighbourhood of Kibera in central Nairobi, Kenya, is analysed using a newly established framework for the classification of participatory modelling approaches developed by Basco-Carrera et al. in 2017. Conclusions suggest that the further upstream more diverse stakeholders can be involved, the better the chance of co-producing new knowledge and of creating implementable plans and policies. At the same time, delivering 'co-design' of modelling processes in areas of limited co-operation requires a strong vision for participation, a tolerance for contention, a willingness to learn between actors and a budget to support additional time inputs.
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| 19. |
- Shu, Xiang, et al.
(författare)
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Associations of obesity and circulating insulin and glucose with breast cancer risk : a Mendelian randomization analysis
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 48:3, s. 795-806
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: In addition to the established association between general obesity and breast cancer risk, central obesity and circulating fasting insulin and glucose have been linked to the development of this common malignancy. Findings from previous studies, however, have been inconsistent, and the nature of the associations is unclear. Methods: We conducted Mendelian randomization analyses to evaluate the association of breast cancer risk, using genetic instruments, with fasting insulin, fasting glucose, 2-h glucose, body mass index (BMI) and BMI-adjusted waist-hip-ratio (WHRadj BMI). We first confirmed the association of these instruments with type 2 diabetes risk in a large diabetes genome-wide association study consortium. We then investigated their associations with breast cancer risk using individual-level data obtained from 98 842 cases and 83 464 controls of European descent in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Results: All sets of instruments were associated with risk of type 2 diabetes. Associations with breast cancer risk were found for genetically predicted fasting insulin [odds ratio (OR) = 1.71 per standard deviation (SD) increase, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.26-2.31, p = 5.09 x 10(-4)], 2-h glucose (OR = 1.80 per SD increase, 95% CI = 1.3 0-2.49, p = 4.02 x 10(-4)), BMI (OR = 0.70 per 5-unit increase, 95% CI = 0.65-0.76, p = 5.05 x 10(-19)) and WHRadj BMI (OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.79-0.91, p = 9.22 x 10(-6)). Stratified analyses showed that genetically predicted fasting insulin was more closely related to risk of estrogen-receptor [ER]-positive cancer, whereas the associations with instruments of 2h glucose, BMI and WHRadj BMI were consistent regardless of age, menopausal status, estrogen receptor status and family history of breast cancer. Conclusions: We confirmed the previously reported inverse association of genetically predicted BMI with breast cancer risk, and showed a positive association of genetically predicted fasting insulin and 2-h glucose and an inverse association of WHRadj BMI with breast cancer risk. Our study suggests that genetically determined obesity and glucose/insulin-related traits have an important role in the aetiology of breast cancer.
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| 20. |
- Wamsler, Christine, et al.
(författare)
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Activating transformation : integrating interior dimensions of climate change in adaptation planning
- 2022
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Ingår i: Climate and Development. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1756-5529 .- 1756-5537.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The increasing number and complexity of urban risk and disasters have a significant bearing on the emotional and mental wellbeing of those who are exposed and hamper their responses. Nevertheless, current discourses and approaches to increase resilience tend to focus on broader socio-economic, physical and environmental systems. This reflects a failure by the academic and practitioner communities to consider the potential contribution of human interior dimensions in adaptation planning. Concomitantly, a growing body of knowledge highlights the need to bridge the gap between internal and external (systems) approaches for achieving sustainable transformations. Against this background, this article aims to increase knowledge on the operationalization of such more integrative approaches in marginal settings. Based on a case study of a flood adaptation project in Kibera, Kenya, we assess the need and potential ways to address interior dimensions in the context of project planning, design and implementation. We show how the integration of such dimensions occurs in existing adaptation projects and why this matters. On this basis, we provide methodological and operational recommendations regarding ways to support more integrative approaches that bridge subjective, intersubjective, objective and interobjective perspectives to support transformation.
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- Zeng, Chenjie, et al.
(författare)
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Identification of independent association signals and putative functional variants for breast cancer risk through fine-scale mapping of the 12p11 locus
- 2016
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Ingår i: Breast Cancer Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1465-5411 .- 1465-542X. ; 18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Multiple recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs10771399, at 12p11 that is associated with breast cancer risk. Method: We performed a fine-scale mapping study of a 700 kb region including 441 genotyped and more than 1300 imputed genetic variants in 48,155 cases and 43,612 controls of European descent, 6269 cases and 6624 controls of East Asian descent and 1116 cases and 932 controls of African descent in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC; http://bcac.ccge.medschl.cam.ac.uk/), and in 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers in the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA). Stepwise regression analyses were performed to identify independent association signals. Data from the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements project (ENCODE) and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were used for functional annotation. Results: Analysis of data from European descendants found evidence for four independent association signals at 12p11, represented by rs7297051 (odds ratio (OR) = 1.09, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 1.06-1.12; P = 3 x 10(-9)), rs805510 (OR = 1.08, 95 % CI = 1.04-1.12, P = 2 x 10(-5)), and rs1871152 (OR = 1.04, 95 % CI = 1.02-1.06; P = 2 x 10(-4)) identified in the general populations, and rs113824616 (P = 7 x 10(-5)) identified in the meta-analysis of BCAC ER-negative cases and BRCA1 mutation carriers. SNPs rs7297051, rs805510 and rs113824616 were also associated with breast cancer risk at P < 0.05 in East Asians, but none of the associations were statistically significant in African descendants. Multiple candidate functional variants are located in putative enhancer sequences. Chromatin interaction data suggested that PTHLH was the likely target gene of these enhancers. Of the six variants with the strongest evidence of potential functionality, rs11049453 was statistically significantly associated with the expression of PTHLH and its nearby gene CCDC91 at P < 0.05. Conclusion: This study identified four independent association signals at 12p11 and revealed potentially functional variants, providing additional insights into the underlying biological mechanism(s) for the association observed between variants at 12p11 and breast cancer risk.
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