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Rusting Away (or: packing the entire Crossref database into a SQLite file)
No full textOver the past few weeks I’ve been working to pack the entire Crossref database into a distributable SQLite file. While this sounds somewhat insane – the resulting file is 900GB – it’s quite a cool project for, say, embedded systems work in situations where no internet connection is available. It also provides speedy local indexed lookups, working faster than the internet-dependent API ever could
Applying the entrepreneurial ecosystem concept to regional entrepreneurship policy analysis - a critique
No full textThis chapter applies the Stam (2015) entrepreneurial ecosystems framework to analysing region-level policy levers for improving start-up and scale-up performance in five case study regions, three in Poland and two in the UK. It uses primary and secondary data to identify weak links in the regional entrepreneurial ecosystems, and assesses how to strengthen policy measures in the regions to address the entrepreneurship barriers. It also considers what methods can provide information on ecosystem quality and the strengths and weaknesses of the qualitative and quantitative approaches adopted.
It finds that the entrepreneurial ecosystems concept offers a useful empirically- and theoretically-informed framework to steer entrepreneurship policy development at regional level. However, it highlights certain issues that have not been well addressed by the framework. These include the limited relevance of some ecosystem elements; insufficient attention to anchor organisations; variations in ecosystem conditions by sector, sub-region and social group; and possible difficulties in disentangling which elements of the ecosystem drive system performance. Future research and framework refinements could make the entrepreneurial ecosystem concept an even stronger tool for policy development on regional entrepreneurship
Plague, war and the politics of refuge in early modern Danzig
No full textBook synopsis: Refugees have existed since ancient times but it was in the early modern era that they first became a distinct social and political category. This open access book maps the early modern 'invention of the refugee' and in the process uncovers their impact on local, regional, and transnational politics.
With case studies ranging from Scandinavia to the Maghreb, Refugee Politics in Early Modern Europe traces how refugees transformed Europe. Topics explored include: the development of refugees as a political group in early modern societies; the role of displaced minorities in forging humanitarian networks; and the impact of refugees on migration management and imperialism. Most notably, this collection of essays moves beyond discussions of expulsion and flight to shine a spotlight on how states responded critically and constitutionally to refugees – as a means of galvanizing social groups, reinforcing identities, promoting activities, and expanding bureaucratic reach. The result is a sophisticated comparative study of migration, identity, power and politics which will be vital reading to all scholars of early modern Europe
Generation and gender: theorising social reproduction in rural West Africa
Get PDFThis paper argues for generation to be incorporated into the analysis of social reproduction to open new ways of thinking about the significance of children’s unpaid work in and for their families. The paper situates its argument in relation to social reproduction theory and the conceptualization of generation in childhood studies and development studies. It draws on a longitudinal study of girls growing up in contemporary Benin and Togo conducted by Plan Benin and Plan Togo. The paper shows how the work of social reproduction is distributed across the household with children, especially girls, playing a large part in these activities. Trading and farming are the main economic activities of women, and girls gradually extend their knowledge of how to farm and trade as they get older. The paper concludes that placing generation into the centre of social reproduction theory will not only make visible the work that children do in subsistence economies but is also important for answering the perennial question of social reproduction theory in capitalist economies: who pays for that ‘strange commodity’, ‘living labour’ to be reproduced
Running as a catalyst for environmental data inquiry: closing the distance between ‘everyday’ and ‘expert’ knowledges
Get PDFPublic misunderstanding of environmental data is often framed as a skills deficit on the part of the audience, but in truth, ‘data’ is multifarious and manifold in everyday life. Drawing on my experiences as an exceedingly average runner with a geographer’s appreciation for maps, this essay charts how running has catalysed my own inquiry with environmental data, acting as an embodied methodology for thinking about place-based environmental change and risks, like flooding. I argue that communication of such risks could be enhanced by integrating data into the everyday spaces and activities where people encounter maps, aiding them to make connections between familiar forms of data and new knowledge
Crafting arts-based stories of exile, resistance and trauma among Chileans in the UK
Get PDFIn 2017 an exhibition of over 100 craft pieces created by Chilean political prisoners held in concentration camps during the military dictatorship of General Pinochet, was launched in the UK along with an accompanying short film, ‘Crafting Resistance: the Art of Chilean Political Prisoners’. In the film, several of the craft makers, who came to the UK in the 1970s as political exiles following their imprisonment, discuss the making of the objects as well as their significance today. Drawing on these arts-based interventions, the paper reflects on the use of craft objects both a symbol of political resistance as well as a means of initiating difficult conversations around forced political exile, trauma and mental health while creating space for people to ‘tell their stories’. Indeed, the paper contends that projects such as Crafting Resistance can ‘care for knowledge’ through the curation of craftwork while simultaneously creating space for counter memories. The analysis also highlights the changing relationship between the craft makers and the craftwork itself and argues that placing the craft objects within the exhibition assigned a new role to the objects as they became part of a display of collective memories and potentially contribute towards collective healing. Finally, the paper advocates for greater recognition of the historical use of craft as a political expression, which to date has been relatively neglected in debates around the use of arts-based research and methods
The relationship between kinematics and fault geometry for surface coseismic ruptures on across-strike faults: new observations of slip vectors and displacements along the Pisia and Skinos faults from the 1981 Eastern Gulf of Corinth, Greece earthquakes
Get PDFThe relationships between kinematics and fault geometry for the coseismic ruptures from the 24th and February 25, 1981 earthquake sequence in the eastern Gulf of Corinth (Ms 6.7 and 6.4) are analysed. The two earthquakes ruptured faults located across strike rather than along strike as typifies other earthquake sequences. In detail, surface ruptures formed on the sub-parallel Pisia and Skinos Faults, with an 8 km along-strike overlap zone, separated across strike by < 2 km. The largest coseismic offsets occurred in the overlap zone. The 41-year-old ruptures are still well preserved as bedrock fault plane lichen-free stripes and colluvial ruptures, allowing detailed structural mapping at 213 rupture localities. A comparison between our measurements and Jackson et al. (1982) showed no overall consistent signal of post-seismic slip as some of our measurements were greater and some smaller than those recorded in 1981. The ruptures produced a single maximum asymmetric profile (Pisia: maximum throw of 223 cm) and a double maxima profile (Skinos: maximum throw of 109 cm and 130cm). The shapes of the profiles differed in previous earthquakes on these faults, as evidenced by an older lichen-free stripe, implying non-characteristic earthquakes. Summing the two overlapping throw profiles across-strike reveals a single maximum symmetric bell-like profile. Using the above observations on coseismic offsets, kinematic information, and the geometry of faults, a rupture scenario has been proposed in terms of fault bend
Leflunomide treatment does not protect neural cells following Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation (OGD) in vitro
Get PDFNeonatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI) affects 2–3 per 1000 live births in developed countries and up to 26 per 1000 live births in developing countries. It is estimated that of the 750,000 infants experiencing a hypoxic-ischemic event during birth per year, more than 400,000 will be severely affected. As treatment options are limited, rapidly identifying new therapeutic avenues is critical, and repurposing drugs al- ready in clinical use offers a fast-track route to clinic. One emerging avenue for therapeutic intervention in neonatal HI is to target mitochondrial dysfunction, which occurs early in the development of brain injury. Mitochondrial dynamics are particularly affected, with mitochondrial fragmentation occurring at the expense of the pro-fusion protein Optic Atrophy (OPA)1. OPA1, together with mitofusins (MFN)1/2, are required for membrane fusion, and therefore, protecting their function may also safeguard mitochon- drial dynamics. Leflunomide, an FDA-approved immunosuppressant, was recently identified as an acti- vator of MFN2 with partial effects on OPA1 expression. We, therefore, treated C17.2 cells with Lefluno- mide before or after oxygen-glucose deprivation, an in vitro mimic of HI, to determine its efficacy as a neuroprotection and inhibitor of mitochondrial dysfunction. Leflunomide increased baseline OPA1 but not MFN2 expression in C17.2 cells. However, Leflunomide was unable to promote cell survival follow- ing OGD. Equally, there was no obvious effect on mitochondrial morphology or bioenergetics. These data align with studies suggesting that the tissue and mitochondrial protein profile of the target cell/tissue are critical for taking advantage of the therapeutic actions of Leflunomide
How we survived: older adults’ adjustment to the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Get PDFObjective: Older adults were found to be the most susceptible group to suffer the physical health consequences of a COVID-19 infection and were considered vulnerable to the negative effects of the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet unlike many young adults did not generally experience an increased rate of mental health problems. Our study explored the strategies older adults in Portugal deployed during the mandatory lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Methods and Measures: Qualitative interview data were collected with 22 older adults in relatively good health (aged between 66 and 92 years old; 36% women). Results: Three main themes were identified via thematic analysis: 1) Finding things to do and activities that can protect me; 2) Identifying how my thoughts can protect me; and 3) Counting myself lucky – me and my home advantages. Conclusion: Some of the thematic strategies identified by older adults to manage pandemic and lockdown-related stresses related to meaning-centered coping could be further developed via cognitive behavioral therapies of the third wave
YOLO-ET: a machine learning model for detecting, localising and classifying anthropogenic contaminants and extraterrestrial microparticles optimised for mobile processing systems
Get PDFImminent robotic and human activities on the Moon and other planetary bodies would benefit from advanced in situ Computer Vision and Machine Learning capabilities to identify and quantify microparticle terrestrial contaminants, lunar regolith disturbances, the flux of interplanetary dust particles, possible interstellar dust, -meteoroids, and secondary impact ejecta. The YOLO-ET (ExtraTerrestrial) algorithm, an innovation in this field, fine-tunes Tiny-YOLO to specifically address these challenges. Designed for coreML model transference to mobile devices, the algorithm facilitates edge computing in space environment conditions. YOLO-ET is deployable as an app on an iPhone with LabCam® optical enhancement, ready for space application ruggedisation. Training on images from the Tanpopo aerogel panels returned from Japan’s Kibo module of the International Space Station, YOLO-ET demonstrates a 90% detection rate for surface contaminant microparticles on the aerogels, and shows promising early results for detection of both microparticle contaminants on the Moon and for evaluating asteroid return samples. YOLO-ET’s application to identifying spacecraft-derived microparticles in lunar regolith simulant samples and SEM images of asteroid Ryugu samples returned by Hayabusa2 and curated by JAXA’s Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences indicate strong model performance and transfer learning capabilities for future extraterrestrial applications
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