Bioculture Journal
Not a member yet
1309 research outputs found
Sort by
Urban Grain Fostering social and economic diversity through parcelization of large urban development sites. A test case in Seattle’s Central District.
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2015The scale of the built environment is the spatial manifestation of the scale of capital. Contemporary urban morphology expresses the economic conditions that produce it. Due to economies of scale, buildings with larger footprints erase lot lines and fill whole blocks The result is the erosion of the diverse, granular mixture of buildings that gives urban places their distinctive character. We need a different vision for the future of cities; this thesis proposes parcelization as a path to a more complex, adaptable and diverse urban fabric. This proposal seeks to introduce the concept of parcelization as an alternative to monolithic redevelopment of large urban sites. Parcelization consists of a master developer creating a block master plan and conveying sites to individual parcel developers. The principal advantages of parcelization are increased diversity of built form, human scaled development, and the ability of parcels to age separately, supporting economic and social diversity
Urban development modifies lake food webs in the Pacific Northwest
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2015Residential shoreline and watershed development by humans are leading drivers of biodiversity loss in lake ecosystems that reduce abundances and diversity littoral invertebrates. Invertebrate biological and life history traits provide good indicators of environmental quality and ecosystem functioning, yet surprisingly few studies have utilized trait-based approaches to assess impacts of human development to lake littoral communities. My thesis addresses how human development modifies lake food webs by restructuring littoral macroinvertebrate communities and altering the flow of energy to lake consumers. In Ch. III, I used a traits-based approach to assess the impacts of development to littoral macroinvertebrate community structure, and I discuss environmental mechanisms and implications to ecosystem functioning. Multiple linear regressions revealed that functional diversity declined with increasing watershed development, concentrations of total phosphorus, and littoral macrophyte cover. Results from multivariate constrained ordination and fourth corner analysis indicated that high phosphorus concentrations and macrophyte cover filtered taxa with semivoltine life cycles and filter feeders from lake communities, and that both regional and local characteristics of watershed development were important determinants of invertebrate community structure. Urban development had particularly pronounced effects on invertebrate communities in deep littoral zones, for which overall community abundances declined as a result of removals of woody debris and increased phosphorus concentrations. My study indicates that lake shoreline development and nutrient loading favor assemblages of short-lived organisms and herbivores and act as environmental filters of other functional feeding groups. These changes to invertebrate community structure may have important implications for energy flow between terrestrial, littoral, and pelagic food webs. In Ch. II, I examined whether a non-native species provides a prey resource to consumers in lakes across gradients of urban development and native prey availability. I used stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen to assess resource use by consumers in undeveloped and developed lakes and determine whether non-native Chinese Mystery snail maintains the integration of benthic resources in food webs of developed lakes by providing an abundant prey resource. I found that consumers in undeveloped lakes were supported primarily by benthic resources, and lakeshore development dramatically reduced consumer reliance on these resources. This was at least partly due to a reduction in the availability of native snails, a high quality prey item, to the dominant littoral consumer, molluscivorous pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus). In developed lakes with non-native Bellamya, generalist yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and piscivorous largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) consumed benthic resources in proportions similar to undeveloped lakes, and pumpkinseed sunfish consumed Bellamya in higher proportions than in undeveloped lakes
Estimators of Effect Modification of Cumulative Incidence: Aalen-Johansen and Targeted Minimum Loss-based Estimator
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2015-12In time to event settings there are many occasions in which multiple events can occur. This competing risks phenomenon is often encountered in vaccine trials when interest is given to efficacy against a specific subtype of the disease, particularly those included (or not) in the formulation of the vaccine. In these settings, the parameter of interest is cumulative incidence - the probability of being infected by a particular subtype by a certain time. In this thesis we present and compare two estimators of cumulative incidence in various simulated scenarios and compare additive and multiplicative treatment effects as well as effect modification across groups. We apply these estimators to two phase-III double-blind placebo controlled trials of Sanofi Pasteur's dengue vaccine, which has recently been approved in Mexico and is likely to gain approval from the FDA and many other countries in 2016
Space Borne Hydrodynamic Model Development: The Case of Ganges and Brahmaputra River Basin
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2015River modeling is an important component of flood forecasting system that can simulate the water flow dynamics of a stream network and forecast river levels in flood prone regions. Around the world, especially in the developing regions, many large river basins are mostly ungauged. For these basins river model setup is very challenging due to lack of necessary in-situ and routine measurement of river bathymetry, flood plain and river boundary data. Moreover, lack of data sharing among the countries occupying the trans-boundary rivers, also a hurdle to river model development. For such basins, proxy approaches depending on the satellite based remotely sensed data could be an alternative solution. In this study, one dimensional hydrodynamic model has been developed for the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna basin region using the Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System (HEC-RAS). Only 7% of the total basin area has good quality in-situ measurement of river hydraulics. For the remaining part, remotely sensed data have been utilized for river model development. This study utilized: a) LANDSAT/MODIS for identifying flow path of river network, b) Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) for extracting river profile c) Radar altimeter for establishing depth-width relationship and d) Precipitation data to generate sub basin wise flow data. Simulated model results have been tested at two downstream low lying locations. The outcome of the study showed significant improvement of root mean square error (RMSE) for river level simulation from 3.0m to 1.0m. A step by step `rule book' has been documented to facilitate the setting up river models for similar type basins around the world for operational water agencies
Public Involvement as an Opportunity for Multicultural Sociability in an Urban Context
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2014University of Washington Abstract Public Involvement as an Opportunity for Multicultural Sociability in an Urban Context Ian W. Nunley Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Associate Professor Mark Purcell Urban Design and Planning The social compositions of American cities are in a constant state of evolution. With levels of domestic and international migration on the rise, the rapidly developing nature of these increasingly multicultural constituencies can often lead to verbal or even physical conflict unless mechanisms are institutionalized that encourage cross-cultural communication, interactions across difference, and inclusive governance. As a forum for solving community-wide environmental problems, public involvement processes in urban planning offer an opportunity for the public to interact across cultural differences as they deliver discussions about shared spaces to people and communities that might never have other reason to interact. In order to develop effective and inclusive public processes in multicultural cities, a pronounced emphasis must be placed on the implementation of community outreach, engagement, and design methodology that encourages progressive communication and collaboration. Following a review of the work of Leonie Sandercock and the future of urban cultural diversity, this paper presents the framework for an ideal public process that organically fosters fruitful interactions across difference. This hypothetical framework is then used to analyze the public process currently being implemented in Seattle in association with the new Central Waterfront Program. Results from the analysis show a dynamic and comprehensive process, but not one that regularly encourages interactions across difference by members of the public. Following this analysis, a set of recommendations is then posited for strengthening the opportunities for multicultural interaction in the public oversight, outreach, participation, and engagement processes associated with the Central Waterfront. The work presented here has implications for future studies pertaining to the cultural dynamics of multicultural cities and the social production of space
Fishes that suck: comparison of the adhesive discs of three fishes of the Pacific Northwest
No full textThere are more than ten different species of fishes in the Pacific Northwest with ventral
adhesive organs that facilitate adhesion to marine substrates. The performance of these
adhesive discs have been measured in three species. These include the Northern clingfish
(Gobiesox maeandricus), Pacific spiny lumpsucker (Eumicrotremus orbis), and tide pool
snailfish (Liparis florae). While the clingfish that lives in the intertidal zone where
waves continually crash down, it is the other two who have been shown to have stronger
discs. Scanning electron microscopy and photography of cleared and stained individuals
was used to look for differences in morphology that might explain these performance
differences. High speed videography was used to determine the mechanism of
detachment for E. orbis and L. florae because this is unknown. All three species have
different disc morphology (Fig. 1); E. orbis and L. florae have much large papillae than
G. maeandricus and a more rigid support to their disc which may help to explain the
difference in disc performance. Papillae may increase friction which prevents the disc
from slipping and rigid pelvic spines resist bending of the disc. Both E. orbis and L.
florae seem to use abduction of their pelvic fins and operculum to brace themselves as
they pull back the anterior edge of their disc, causing failure and allowing the disc to be
peeled back in the anterior direction. Modeling discs based off these morphologies could
be done to create a strong, bio-inspired suction cup for human use
Operant conditioning of cortical cell and muscle response patterns
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2014Part I: In primates, corticomotoneuronal (CM) cells have sufficiently strong synaptic linkages to motoneurons to mediate post-spike facilitation in spike-triggered averages of muscle activity. We investigated the degree to which activity of CM cells and their target muscles could be independently controlled by operantly conditioning their relative activation levels. In two Macaca nemestrina monkeys, single cortical neurons were recorded with moveable microwires chronically implanted in the caudal bank of the pre-central gyrus. Rectified EMG of 12 distal forelimb muscles was recorded with sub-cutaneously implanted pairs of wires in each muscle in one monkey from which 35 unique cell-muscle pairs were operantly conditioned. In the other animal, surface electrodes were placed over wrist flexor and extensor muscles (9 unique cell-muscle pairs). Spike-triggered averages of rectified EMG were compiled while the monkeys performed a force target-tracking task about the wrist. Twenty-four CM cells, with post-spike effects at latencies between 6 and 16 ms in one or more forelimb muscles, were selected for activity dissociation conditioning. Monkeys performed an operant conditioning task through which relative activation of the CM cell and a target muscle could be explored (44 unique cell-muscle pairs). Cell and muscle activity controlled the position of a cursor on a screen, with cursor position determined by concurrent cell spike rates (C) and EMG activity of a target muscle (M); one activity assigned the horizontal direction the other, vertical. Monkeys received fruit sauce rewards for holding the cursor in target positions requiring at least four combinations of increased (+) and suppressed (-) activation relative to levels observed during force generation, namely C+M+; C+M-; C-M+ and C-M-. The monkeys learned to reciprocally activate cells and target muscles exhibiting post-spike facilitation (42 out of 44 cell-muscle pairs), in both directions. For muscles with post-spike suppression (4 out of 4 pairs), monkeys learned to co-activate these cell-muscle pairs. These results indicate that cortical cells with direct synaptic linkages to motoneurons can be flexibly activated relative to their target muscles. Further, CM cell-muscle activity dissociations can be rapid, robust, reversible and are subject to volitional control. Calculation of mutual information between CM cell and muscle activation patterns during reciprocal dissociation events, compared to force target-tracking, implicates involvement of other upstream sources. Activity independence between correlationally-linked components within a neural circuit favors strategies for brain computer interface (BCI) control in which individual neurons are each assigned an individual degree-of-freedom of device output. Part II: Operant conditioning of neural activity has typically been achieved under controlled behavioral conditions using food reinforcement. To reward cell activity during unconstrained behavior, we sought midbrain sites whose stimulation would support operant responding. Three nemestrina monkeys learned to perform a manual step-tracking task rewarded by fruit sauce. We found sites in nucleus accumbens and surrounding striatum whose stimulation could maintain task performance and verified that response rates increased monotonically with increasing pulse frequency and amplitude. We recorded activity of single neurons with moveable microwires chronically implanted in the precentral gyrus and documented neural modulation with a force-guided target-tracking task. We attempted to condition increased firing rates first with the monkey in the training booth and then during free behavior in the cage using the Neurochip—a head-fixed, autonomous recording and stimulating system. Spikes occurring above baseline rates triggered single or multiple electrical pulses to the reinforcement site (1 mA, 0.2 ms biphasic current pulses). This rate-contingent, unit-triggered stimulation was made available for periods of 1 to 3 minutes separated by 3 to 10 minute time-out periods without stimulation, regardless of cell activity. During in-booth sessions feedback was presented as vertical cursor movement and auditory clicks. During in-cage conditioning, barely audible clicks occurred during each spike-triggered stimulation event. In-booth conditioning produced increases in single neuron firing probability after transition to intracranial reinforcement in 48 of 58 cells. Reinforced cell activity could rise > 5 times that of non-reinforced activity, doubling in most sessions. Activity peaks typically occurred during the first 10 seconds of each time-in period and, for many cells, activity remained elevated above baseline for the full period. In-cage conditioning produced significant increases in post-transition activity in 21 out of 33 sessions. In-cage effects peaked later and lasted longer than in-booth effects but were often comparatively smaller, between 13 and 18 percent above non-reinforced activity. The difference in responding in the two conditioning environments could be due to the dynamic range of candidate cell firing rate, robustness of the reinforcement site and differing levels of attention and competing behaviors in the booth and cage. Controls indicate that stimulation of the reinforcement site did not directly evoke increased cell activity. In several sessions, neighboring, synaptically-linked motor cortex neurons were recorded simultaneously with the trigger cell, revealing network involvement in eliciting conditioned rate changes in the stimulation-triggering neuron
Tiered Technologies of Power: Subject-making in China through Electronic Censorship
No full textBachelor of arts (BA)Since its inception and rise to wide-spread popularity, the internet has provided new opportunities for communication and configured global connectivity possibilities and information sharing. However, with this technological revolution, new and interesting regulatory challenges have emerged. With this paper, I build on Foucauldian understandings of governmentality to examine internet censorship in China within the global context, arguing that these issues of internet censorship in China represent an important example of the emergence of new techniques of governing that stem from new, globalized threats to state control. As a fundamentally global network, the internet ranks among one of the most pressing of these threats, requiring new regulatory practices in both authoritarian and non-authoritarian regimes. This paper argues that as a result, new, decentralized regulatory practices have emerged to augment existing centralized techniques of control and, in the process, constructed tiered technologies of power through which subjects are produced and governed
Methods and models to control and predict behavior of two dimensional paper networks for diagnostics
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2014Medical care is dramatically more efficient when physicians can diagnose their patient's illness to guide appropriate treatment. Currently, there are two classes of diagnostic tests: high-performance gold standard laboratory-based tests that require complex and expensive infrastructure that is not available in clinics, homes, or rural areas; and inexpensive, easy-to-use, rapid lateral flow tests that often have poor sensitivity and specificity. Novel devices that achieve high sensitivity and specificity, while remaining accessible for point-of-care diagnosis in low-resource settings, would dramatically improve heath outcomes around the world. Recent developments toward 2-dimensional paper network (2DPN) diagnostics that combine the sophistication of microfluidics with the simplicity and low cost of lateral flow tests are a promising solution for point-of-care diagnostics. Integration, automation and design of these 2DPN devices would be improved if device engineers could predict how their assays would behave without needing to iterate through dozens of experiments to optimize conditions. These improvements can be realized through the development of techniques to predict and control the behavior of a variety of different components that are used in the assay design process. This project has developed a set of methods and models that are a valuable step toward the goal of fully controlled and "engineerable" assays. First, the process of printing reagents onto nitrocellulose membranes has been characterized--examining and modeling the imbibition of liquids into membranes. Second, techniques were developed to study protein adsorption to nitrocellulose surfaces, and a model was developed to evaluate and compare different rates of this adsorption process. Third, methods were developed to pattern and dry reagents for storage directly within the nitrocellulose membranes, and subsequently rehydrate them in a variety of controlled spatial and temporal distributions in a device. Fourth, a multi-step malaria assay was implemented using solely patterned and dried reagents. Fifth, a computational model of transport and binding of reagents within a single pore was developed to provide insight into the various parameters governing assay signal. Finally, another computational model was built to illustrate the multitude of binding interactions that occur when multivalent analytes and antibodies are used in an assay system