274 research outputs found
Knowledge co-production and behavioural change: collaborative approaches for promoting sustainable mobility
No full textThis is the author accepted manuscript of a chapter published by Goodfellow Publishers in Low Carbon Mobility Transitions, edited by Debbie Hopkins, James Higham.The final version is available from Goodfellow Publishers via the link in this record.Published 2016. ISBN: 978-1-910158-64-7 hbk; 978-1-910158-65-4 eBook.Behavioural change has become regarded as a key tool for policy makers to promote behavioural change that can reduce carbon emissions from personal travel. Recommended changes in travel behaviours range from travel mode shifts (from car to bicycle and walking), through amending established habits (car sharing rather than sole car occupancy) to more radical alternatives, such as reducing short haul flying and replacing such flights with rail travel. Yet academic research has suggested that promoting low carbon travel behaviours, in particular those associated with leisure and tourism practices, is particularly challenging because of the highly valued and conspicuous nature of the consumption involved. Accordingly, traditional top-down approaches to developing behavioural change campaigns have largely been ineffectual in this field and this chapter explores innovative ways to understand and develop behavioural change campaigns that are driven from the bottom upwards. In doing so, we draw on emergent literature from management studies and social marketing to explore how ideas of service dominant logic can be used to engage consumers in developing each stage of a behavioural change campaign. Using data and insights from research conducted in the south-east of the UK, we outline and evaluate the process for co-producing knowledge about low carbon travel and climate change. By focusing on two key segments of traditionally frequent flyers (young professionals and ‘empty nesters’) we illustrate how behavioural change campaign creation can be an engaging, lively and productive process of knowledge and experience sharing. The chapter ends by considering the role that co-production and co-creation can have in developing strategies for low carbon mobility and, more broadly, the ways in which publics understand and react to anthropogenic climate change
Demographic changes and the labour market in the international tourism industry
No full textThis chapter considers likely impacts of demographic change over the coming two decades on the workforce in the tourism sector. A global assessment of demographic trends to the year 2030 points to a continuing decline in the rate of population growth and a consequent aging workforce, although the pattern of this trend is certainly not even across all regions and countries. The pattern of demographic change, globally and specifically in the context of developed economies, will pose major challenges for all labour markets in both quantative and qualitative terms and is likely to become one of the main areas of resource competition between nations. Tourism is a sector which is and will likely remain highly labour intensive. Tourism has traditionally depended heavily on the engagement of younger workers to meet its requirements of labour intensity. Therefore, the consequences of changing demographic structures, especially in the developed world, are potentially very serious for the sector and its competitiveness. Changing workplace demographics can also have consequences for the delivery of 'authentic' tourism experiences within some locations where people lie at the heart of the tourism marketing offer. Based on available projection and analyses, this chapter assesses the possible and wide-ranging implications of global population change on the tourism sector in the developed world context from a labour market perspective and will propose long-term strategies that could be adopted by policy makers and the industry in response to these implications, drawing on current labour market scenario planning for the tourism sector within the European Union
The cryo-electron microscopy structure of feline calicivirus bound to junctional adhesion molecule A at 9-angstrom resolution reveals receptor-induced flexibility and two distinct conformational changes in the capsid protein VP1
No full textCaliciviridae are small icosahedral positive-sense RNA-containing viruses and include the human noroviruses, a leading cause of infectious acute gastroenteritis and feline calicivirus (FCV), which causes respiratory illness and stomatitis in cats. FCV attachment and entry is mediated by feline junctional adhesion molecule A (fJAM-A), which binds to the outer face of the capsomere, inducing a conformational change in the capsid that may be important for viral uncoating. Here we present the results of our structural investigation of the virus-receptor interaction and ensuing conformational changes. Cryo-electron microscopy and three-dimensional image reconstruction were used to solve the structure of the virus decorated with a soluble fragment of the receptor at subnanometer resolution. In initial reconstructions, the P domains of the capsid protein VP1 and fJAM-A were poorly resolved. Sorting experiments led to improved reconstructions of the FCV-fJAM-A complex both before and after the induced conformational change, as well as in three transition states. These data showed that the P domain becomes flexible following fJAM-A binding, leading to a loss of icosahedral symmetry. Furthermore, two distinct conformational changes were seen; an anticlockwise rotation of up to 15 degrees of the P domain was observed in the AB dimers, while tilting of the P domain away from the icosahedral 2-fold axis was seen in the CC dimers. A list of putative contact residues was calculated by fitting high-resolution coordinates for fJAM-A and VP1 to the reconstructed density maps, highlighting regions in both virus and receptor important for virus attachment and entry
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Interactions of decay-accelerating factor (DAF) with haemagglutinating human enteroviruses: utilizing variation in primate DAF to map virus binding sites
No full textA cellular receptor for the haemagglutinating enteroviruses (HEV), and the protein that mediates haemagglutination, is the membrane complement regulatory protein decay accelerating factor (DAF; CD55). Although primate DAF is highly conserved, significant differences exist to enable cell lines derived from primates to be utilized for the characterization of the DAF binding phenotype of human enteroviruses. Thus, several distinct DAF-binding phenotypes of a selection of HEVs (viz. coxsackievirus A21 and echoviruses 6, 7, 11-13, 29) were identified from binding and infection assays using a panel of primate cells derived from human, orang-utan, African Green monkey and baboon tissues. These studies complement our recent determination of the crystal structure of SCR(34) of human DAF [Williams, P., Chaudhry, Y., Goodfellow, I. G., Billington, J., Powell, R., Spiller, O. B., Evans, D. J. & Lea, S. (2003). J Biol Chem 278, 10691-10696] and have enabled us to better map the regions of DAF with which enteroviruses interact and, in certain cases, predict specific virus-receptor contacts
Detection of protein-protein interactions using tandem affinity purification
No full textTandem affinity purification (TAP) is an invaluable technique for identifying interaction partners for an affinity tagged bait protein. The approach relies on the fusion of dual tags to the bait before separate rounds of affinity purification and precipitation. Frequently two specific elution steps are also performed to increase the specificity of the overall technique. In the method detailed here, the two tags used are protein G and a short streptavidin binding peptide; however, many variations can be employed. In our example the tags are separated by a cleavable tobacco etch virus protease target sequence, allowing for specific elution after the first round of affinity purification. Proteins isolated after the final elution step in this process are concentrated before being identified by mass spectrometry. The use of dual affinity tags and specific elution in this technique dramatically increases both the specificity and stringency of the pull-downs, ensuring a low level of background nonspecific interactions.</p
Green Growth and Travelism : Letters from Leaders
No full textIncludes preface by Maurice Strong; an introduction by the editors; and "letters" by 47 author
Influence of genome-scale RNA structure disruption on the replication of murine norovirus--similar replication kinetics in cell culture but attenuation of viral fitness in vivo
No full textMechanisms by which certain RNA viruses, such as hepatitis C virus, establish persistent infections and cause chronic disease are of fundamental importance in viral pathogenesis. Mammalian positive-stranded RNA viruses establishing persistence typically possess genome-scale ordered RNA secondary structure (GORS) in their genomes. Murine norovirus (MNV) persists in immunocompetent mice and provides an experimental model to functionally characterize GORS. Substitution mutants were constructed with coding sequences in NS3/4- and NS6/7-coding regions replaced with sequences with identical coding and (di-)nucleotide composition but disrupted RNA secondary structure (F1, F2, F1/F2 mutants). Mutants replicated with similar kinetics to wild-type (WT) MNV3 in RAW264.7 cells and primary macrophages, exhibited similar (highly restricted) induction and susceptibility to interferon-coupled cellular responses and equal replication fitness by serial passaging of co-cultures. In vivo, both WT and F1/F2 mutant viruses persistently infected mice, although F1, F2 and F1/F2 mutant viruses were rapidly eliminated 1–7 days post-inoculation in competition experiments with WT. F1/F2 mutants recovered from tissues at 9 months showed higher synonymous substitution rates than WT and nucleotide substitutions that potentially restored of RNA secondary structure. GORS plays no role in basic replication of MNV but potentially contributes to viral fitness and persistence in vivo
Expression of the murine norovirus (MNV) ORF1 polyprotein is sufficient to induce apoptosis in a virus-free cell model
No full textInvestigations into human norovirus infection, replication and pathogenesis, as well as the development of potential antiviral agents, have been restricted by the lack of a cell culture system for human norovirus. To date, the optimal cell culture surrogate virus model for studying human norovirus biology is the murine norovirus (MNV). In this report we generate a tetracycline-regulated, inducible eukaryotic cell system expressing the entire MNV ORF1 polyprotein. Once induced, the MNV ORF1 polyprotein was faithfully processed to the six mature non-structural proteins that predominately located to a discrete perinuclear region, as has been observed in active MNV infection. Furthermore, we found that expression of the ORF1 polyprotein alone was sufficient to induce apoptosis, characterised by caspase-9 activation and survivin down-regulation. This cell line provides a valuable new tool for studying MNV ORF1 non-structural protein function, screening for potential antiviral agents and acts as a proof-of-principle for such systems to be developed for human noroviruse
System Walks and Sampling Colour
No full textThis paper discusses some of the processes employed by the author, a Systems Artist, during the production of artwork made from walking. The authors approach to walking is discussed before describing the original drawing techniques, employed to sample digitally captured colours, on the walk, to produce drawings, colour field paintings and prints
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