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Greening prosperity stripes across the globe
No full textThis paper is motivated by the urgency of climate change mitigation and the crucial importance of communicating the need for it. Our approach relies on using comparative visualizations in terms of maps and stripes in color for all countries across the globe that can easily be conveyed and understood even by nonspecialists. It proposes an intuitive novel measure of what we refer to as ‘greening prosperity stripes’, defined to be visually comparable across countries over time along a brown- to-green pallette depicting the ratio of real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per capita, based on annual data from the World Bank since 1990. We illustrate our findings along both cross-section and time- series dimensions, acknowledging that images and colors speak louder than words and affect emotionally, thereby hoping to raise awareness and mobilize immediate climate policy action worldwide. Moreover, the greening prosperity world maps and stripes by country, possibly updated online every year, can be used to track progress toward the goal of net zero clearly and compellingly
Board games and social space at Aphrodisias: the view from the theatre
Get PDFGameboards carved into stone surfaces are common in Roman, Late Antique, and Medieval cities, yet their archaeological study is still in its early development. While early research focused on reconstructing game rules, recent scholarship has explored the social significance of gaming. However, the lack of systematic recording hampers our understanding of these everyday activities. This article presents initial findings from a new project analysing the numerous gameboards and related markings at Aphrodisias. Focusing on the city’s Theatre, it explores how gameboards in the cavea and the stage suggest that the Theatre was frequently used for recreation outside of times when mass spectacles were taking place. Rather than competing with theatrical entertainment, gaming complemented the Theatre’s role as a social hub
Developing a virus-like particle (VLP) Polio vaccine
Get PDFPoliovirus (PV) is a subtype of the enterovirus C species widely known as the agent
responsible for poliomyelitis, a destruction of neurons that can result in paralysis and death.
Control of the infection is achieved by vaccination with either a live-attenuated oral
poliovirus vaccine (OPV) or an inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), with global coverage
reaching nearly 100%. As cases of the natural infection fall, the manufacture of the current
vaccines, both of which rely of large-scale virus growth, present a biosafety risk and PV
vaccines developed in the absence of live virus are desirable to address vaccine production
to maintain PV global vaccination. Virus-like particles (VLPs), which are incapable of
infection, made of the assembled viral capsid proteins synthesized in recombinant expression
systems, represent a promising infection-free vaccine for PV. This study produced the capsid
proteins VP0, VP1, and VP3 in E.coli and baculovirus expression systems and assessed both
their expression levels and their ability to assemble into virus-like particles. To avoid protein \ud
aggregation in the E.coli system each protein was fused to the SUMO-tag and purified
individually for SUMO tag removal and attempted VLP assembly. Novelly, E.coli strains
were transformed with all three vectors simultaneously and processed similarly. Despite these
modifications, SUMO tagged capsid proteins remained largely insoluble and the low levels
present in the soluble fractions failed to be cleaved by the SUMO protease. In the baculovirus
system the P1 precursor protein, co-expressed with 3C protease, gave rise to the authentic
cleavage pattern and modification at both the N- and C- termini were investigated as a means
to improve expression levels. A range of mutations aimed at optimizing the N-myristoylation
reaction revealed several that were associated with increased levels of cleaved mature capsid
proteins. Further, modification of the C-terminus, including short truncations of the VP1
sequence, was shown to benefit expression level. In a final study, mutations in VP4,
previously reported in the live virus to abrogate the virus entry reaction, were investigated in
the VLP system. Individual mutations at VP4 residues 24, 28 and 29 were shown to
significantly alter expression levels and further analysis of these changes within the VP0
protein only were studied following VP0 fusion to Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). The
outcome of these studies showed that single residue changes in VP4 in the context of VP0
can significantly affect protein expression level and subcellular localization.
Overall, these studies suggest that optimization of the P1 sequence can improve the levels of
PV protein expressed. However, when tested, the antigenicity of the PV VLPs detected was
predominantly in the H (heated) rather than the N (native) form suggesting that none of the
alterations tested resulted in a VLP conformation required for vaccine use
Children's artistic expressions : weaving the threads of cultural diversity
No full textAl-Sadu is a traditional weaving technique, which has historically been practised by Bedouin women living in the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Sadu weaving performs a dual role both as a functional craft, which provides nomadic communities with the physical resources that they require to survive in the desert, and an aesthetic means of expressing tribal and communal identities. The researcher is a practitioner of weaving and was a teacher of art in Kuwait. This study explores the utility of and engagement with Al-Sadu in greater depth. The study incorporates a mini-ethnographic research design underwritten by the philosophy of practice-based research. The study aims to identify and describe how children in two differing cultural contexts - the UK and Kuwait - respond to the 'Woven Dialogues' sculpture and express themselves through art and woven materials. 78 children aged between 9 and 11 were recruited from two UK schools and one Kuwaiti school. Data were collected through drawings, weavings, verbal reflections, captions, unstructured interviews, and observations, and were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings revealed five principal themes including: (1) Gender and Weaving; (2) Sameness and Difference; (3) Global and Local Cultures; (4) Feelings and Emotions; and (5) Political Consciousness. The study contributes to the existing evidence base, which has shown how engagement with art and tactile devices can stimulate children's agency, expression and participation. Reflections upon practice-based research suggest that weaving, such as Al-Sadu, is best conceptualised as a form of embodied knowledge where truths are experienced at a primordial level through material practices. Weaving thus provides an ideal space for the tactical reversal of hegemonic ideas, practices and habitual ways of being and knowing
Evaluating biological realism in ecological modelling: application of a novel framework to compare mechanistic and process-based earthworm and wild pollinator population models
Get PDFEcological models can support land management decisions and optimisation schemes that need to account for invertebrate population responses at the field to landscape level. However, models that incorporate greater biological detail (e.g. individual-level physiological and behavioural responses) often become computationally intractable at larger spatial extents. Such trade-offs in model development lead to ad hoc model design for different species and management questions, hindering generalisable insights needed to advance predictive ecological models for decision support. To facilitate model comparison, we developed and applied a novel approach to quantify the biological realism of models for two functionally important invertebrate groups commonly targeted by management interventions. Mechanistic and process-based population models for earthworms (n = 23) and wild pollinators (n = 24) were identified through a structured review. We find that earthworm models are predominantly non-spatial or micro-scale (<10 m extent) and often incorporate detailed physiological mechanisms. Pollinator models frequently simulate landscape-scale scenarios (≥1 km extent) and typically rely on aggregated processes to predict population dynamics or crop visitation rates, although some include detailed individual-level movement behaviours. Species- and scale-specific model structures highlight the need for greater integration of physiological and behavioural mechanisms across broader spatial extents. We recommend systematic strategies to build on the progress made by existing models, aiming to resolve the trade-off between realism and tractability for more informed population predictions at management-relevant spatial scales. Our framework complements existing efforts towards greater transparency in model development, communication, and application for robust environmental decision support
Asset ambiguity, reporting flexibility, and strategic declarations: evidence from audit announcements and a dividend tax cut
Get PDFThis paper studies how ambiguity in asset classification and flexibility in tax reporting enable strategic tax declarations. Using administrative data from the Netherlands, we show that a 2005 audit announcement coincided with sharp increases in declared property-related assets, particularly among the wealthiest taxpayers, in sections not directly targeted by the announcement. The study also exploits a one-year dividend tax cut in 2007, which coincided with a second audit announcement, to further examine strategic spontaneous declarations and income shifting among shareholders, particularly those with substantial company holdings. The findings reveal how taxpayers exploit reporting flexibility to declare previously hidden and hard-to-trace wealth. The results underscore how classification ambiguity can be used to strategically reallocate wealth in response to tax policy changes
Macro-level indicators of household and ambient air pollution mortality risk: global evidence
Get PDFHousehold and ambient air pollution (HAAP), a major global health risk, is linked to a lower quality of life and is responsible for over six million premature deaths globally each year. We investigate country-level socioeconomic, environmental, energy, and health determinants of HAAP mortality rates, using regression analyses and global mapping of predicted probabilities of high HAAP mortality risk. While related studies are predominantly country-specific based on micro-level factors, our study provides global evidence from 150 countries based on a broad range of macro-level indicators. Our findings reveal that greater rural access to clean cooking fuels and technology and increased healthcare expenditures are critical for reducing HAAP deaths, whereas rurality and energy deprivation significantly increase such mortality risks. While advanced economies demonstrate clear resilience to HAAP mortality risks, emerging and developing economies are disproportionately vulnerable. Contrary to related literature, our analyses also reveal that males are more at risk of HAAP mortality than females. We further contextualise our global evidence with previous country-specific case studies on HAAP risks. Our research helps to appraise the progress towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 3, 5, and 7, addressing their associated targets and indicators, providing guidance for policymakers to strengthen efforts to reduce HAAP mortality and improve living conditions globally
Behavioral effects of capital market regulations on investor (ir)rationality and market (in)efficiency: Evidence from MAD and TPD EU directives
No full textRegulatory reform has the potential to shape behavior and hence the functioning of economic institutions. We examine whether the EU Market Abuse Directive (MAD) and Transparency Directive (TPD) reduced irrational herding/anti-herding of investors, hence improving informational efficiency of capital markets. Using daily stock-level data from ten EU markets, we find pre-MAD anti-herding, which was eliminated post-MAD, while TPD enactment provided no additional benefits in curbing irrational investor behavior and market inefficiency. We further investigate market- and non-market-related explanations of our findings, and find that pre-reform market behavior is indicative of overconfidence and weak self-control of investors (proxied by national culture). Our results indicate that a regulatory reform (MAD) aimed at addressing the misuse of private information led to a substitution of irrational for information-driven trading, hence promoting market efficiency