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Co-Creation and Learning : Concepts and Cases
\"This book introduces readers to co-creation --- a complex, value-based, context-driven and collaborative effort to develop new paradigms, products and services to satisfy human wants. Co-creation is built not only around the perceptions of challenges, cause-and-effect relationships and constraints, but also around available alternatives for dealing with or overcoming those challenges. Co-creation is not about transferring or outsourcing activities, and neither is it about the customization of products and services. This book explains the emergence of the co-creation approach. It describes various models of value creation, as well as different stages and the contract process involved in co-creation. It also explores different types of learning and learning techniques, and how co-creation impacts the learning process. The book allows practitioners and policymakers to understand the processes involved in implementing co-creation in any organization, while also presenting case studies to show how to apply the relevant concepts in their day-to-day activities.\"--Publisher's website.
Book
Predicted genetic burden and frequency of phenotype-associated variants in the horse
Disease-causing variants have been identified for less than 20% of suspected equine genetic diseases. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) allows rapid identification of rare disease causal variants. However, interpreting the clinical variant consequence is confounded by the number of predicted deleterious variants that healthy individuals carry (predicted genetic burden). Estimation of the predicted genetic burden and baseline frequencies of known deleterious or phenotype associated variants within and across the major horse breeds have not been performed. We used WGS of 605 horses across 48 breeds to identify 32,818,945 variants, demonstrate a high predicted genetic burden (median 730 variants/horse, interquartile range: 613–829), show breed differences in predicted genetic burden across 12 target breeds, and estimate the high frequencies of some previously reported disease variants. This large-scale variant catalog for a major and highly athletic domestic animal species will enhance its ability to serve as a model for human phenotypes and improves our ability to discover the bases for important equine phenotypes.
Journal Article
Root growth maintenance during water deficits: physiology to functional genomics
Progress in understanding the network of mechanisms involved in maize primary root growth maintenance under water deficits is reviewed. These include the adjustment of growth zone dimensions, turgor maintenance by osmotic adjustment, and enhanced cell wall loosening. The role of the hormone abscisic acid (ABA) in maintaining root growth under water deficits is also addressed. The research has taken advantage of kinematic analysis, i.e. characterization of spatial and temporal patterns of cell expansion within the root growth zone. This approach revealed different growth responses to water deficits and ABA deficiency in distinct regions of the root tip. In the apical 3 mm region, elongation is maintained at well-watered rates under severe water deficit, although only in ABA-sufficient roots, whereas the region from 3–7 mm from the apex exhibits maximum elongation in well-watered roots, but progressive inhibition of elongation in roots under water deficit. This knowledge has greatly facilitated discovery of the mechanisms involved in regulating the responses. The spatial resolution with which this system has been characterized and the physiological knowledge gained to date provide a unique and powerful underpinning for functional genomics studies. Characterization of water deficit-induced changes in transcript populations and cell wall protein profiles within the growth zone of the maize primary root is in progress. Initial results from EST and unigene analyses in the tips of well-watered and water-stressed roots highlight the strength of the kinematic approach to transcript profiling.
Journal Article
PSILCA database for social life cycle assessment: worker hours vs. raw values approach
Purpose
Progressive development within the research area of social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) has recently occurred, for example, GreenDelta introduced a new direct quantification approach using raw values in the PSILCA database. This complements the concept of the activity variable worker hours, which has many advantages and disadvantages. This paper aims to assess this new approach by identifying its characteristics, opportunities, and challenges in comparison to the initial worker hours approach.
Methods
The general use of activity variables in S-LCA is outlined, followed by an elaboration of the characteristics, purposes, and functionalities of the worker hours approach as well as the raw values approach of PSILCA. This comparison of approaches includes different data components, calculation procedures, and their upsides and downsides and is based on materials provided by GreenDelta as well as our own elaborations. Two components of a fuel cell electric vehicle, the glider and the proton exchange membrane fuel cell, serve as sample applications for the comparison and are briefly described before their calculation is executed in the software openLCA, using both PSILCA approaches. The question of whether the differences in the approaches contradict a comparison is answered: The PSILCA results of the sample applications can be compared to derive further characteristics.
Results and discussion
The comparison comprises two modeling requirements for the raw values approach as well as their major consequence. They concern the execution by the practitioner: inventory indicators must be added to every unit process, the choice of inventory indicators must be the same for every unit process, the amount of the reference flow in the output always has to equal “1 USD,” and consequently, the number of unit processes has an influence on the results. Furthermore, the results of the S-LCA sample applications reveal that the direct impacts in the raw values approach tend to be greater than those in the worker hours approach. The reason can be found in the different calculation procedures as well as the different variables included.
Conclusions
Both approaches have benefits and drawbacks. Depending on the goal of the study to be pursued, the one or the other might be advantageous. In both cases, it is key to understand the modeling requirements and the calculation approach used to interpret the PSILCA results.
Journal Article
Clownfish in hypoxic anemones replenish host O2 at only localised scales
The clownfish-anemone association exemplifies a symbiosis where both members benefit from nutrient exchange and protection from predators. Clownfish also perform aeration-like behaviour in their host anemones at night, but it is not yet known whether this is stimulated by the onset of hypoxia, and whether both members benefit from O
2
replenishment. Oxygen at 3 distances above the sea anemone
Entacmaea quadricolor
(0.2, 1.2 and 2.2 cm) therefore was measured under 3 light levels (photon flux density = 0, 55 and 110 µmol m
−2
s
−1
), with and without the anemonefish
Amphiprion frenatus
. Hypoxia (O
2
< 50% air saturation) was recorded in the anemone, but only at 0.2 cm away from the anemone surface under dark conditions when
A. frenatus
was absent. This localised layer of hypoxia was eliminated by the presence of
A. frenatus
exhibiting aeration-like behaviour. Respirometry revealed that
A. frenatus
is extremely hypoxia tolerant (
S
crit
= 14.3% at 25 °C), suggesting that aeration behaviour does not provide a major metabolic advantage to clownfish because they do not breathe water at 0.2 cm and are not metabolically constrained by O
2
at distances ≥ 1.2 cm. That the aeration behaviour of
A. frenatus
facilitates only the metabolism of its O
2
-conforming host reveals a unique aspect of this symbiotic relationship.
Journal Article
Capability of social life cycle assessment for analyzing the artisanal small-scale gold mining sector—case study in the Amazonian rainforest in Brazil
PurposeGold extraction in the Amazonian rainforest is accompanied by ecological threats and social grievances, but at the same time, the artisanal small-scale gold mining sector (ASGM) provides a livelihood for many people. To address this tradeoff, this paper analyzed the social aspects and their possible relations by conducting a case study based on a Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA). This study seeks to determine whether SLCA is capable of reflecting the sector.MethodA literature-based guideline was used for collecting primary data during several field trips to the Tapajós Region in Brazil. This research instrument constituted the basis for information-oriented interviews and on-site observations. The SLCA categories used in this study were based on the United Nations Environment Programme and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (UNEP/SETAC) guidelines and the categories in the Fairmined Standard. In addition, secondary data obtained from the literature were used to provide insights into the sector. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with both deductive and inductive approaches.Results and discussionThis study described the social aspects of the ASGM sector in the Tapajós Region, including the absence of the state, the illegality and informality of mining operations, the remote and rural area, and the organizational structure. In addition, the extraction methods, poor working conditions, and difficult living conditions were considered. Certain characteristics of the industry like unstable payments, worker movements, and low education levels were recognized, and thus, the relations among the social categories and rebound effects were identified. Several issues were proven to be key factors: unstable payments, autonomy, and the rebound effects of excavators. Complex relations among social issues but also towards ecological and economic issues do exist. The suitability of using the SLCA to reflect the ASGM sector was tested on this basis.ConclusionIn some respects, the SLCA had limitations, e.g., due to the nonlinear relation between working hours and the amount of extracted gold. The impacts of technology depend on the underlying definition that is used. The current lack of cause-effect models impedes the assessment of an overall picture that considers the relations among the social aspects and other elements of sustainability. A holistic view must be applied if ecological problems are to be solved.
Journal Article
Data-scarce surrogate modeling of shock-induced pore collapse process
Understanding the mechanisms of shock-induced pore collapse is of great interest in various disciplines in sciences and engineering, including materials science, biological sciences, and geophysics. However, numerical modeling of the complex pore collapse processes can be costly. To this end, a strong need exists to develop surrogate models for generating economic predictions of pore collapse processes. In this work, we study the use of a data-driven reduced-order model, namely dynamic mode decomposition, and a deep generative model, namely conditional generative adversarial networks, to resemble the numerical simulations of the pore collapse process at representative training shock pressures. Since the simulations are expensive, the training data are scarce, which makes training an accurate surrogate model challenging. To overcome the difficulties posed by the complex physics phenomena, we make several crucial treatments to the plain original form of the methods to increase the capability of approximating and predicting the dynamics. In particular, physics information is used as indicators or conditional inputs to guide the prediction. In realizing these methods, the training of each dynamic mode composition model takes only around 30 s on CPU. In contrast, training a generative adversarial network model takes 8 h on GPU. Moreover, using dynamic mode decomposition, the final-time relative error is around 0.3% in the reproductive cases. We also demonstrate the predictive power of the methods at unseen testing shock pressures, where the error ranges from 1.3 to 5% in the interpolatory cases and 8 to 9% in extrapolatory cases.
Journal Article
Maize Root Transcriptome by Serial Analysis of Gene Expression
Serial Analysis of Gene Expression was used to define number and relative abundance of transcripts in the root tip of well-watered maize seedlings (Zea mays cv FR697). In total, 161,320 tags represented a minimum of 14,850 genes, based on at least two tags detected per transcript. The root transcriptome has been sampled to an estimated copy number of approximately five transcripts per cell. An extrapolation from the data and testing of single-tag identifiers by reverse transcription-PCR indicated that the maize root transcriptome should amount to at least 22,000 expressed genes. Frequency ranged from low copy number (2-5, 68.8%) to highly abundant transcripts (100[rightwards arrow]1,200; 1%). Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR for selected transcripts indicated high correlation with tag frequency. Computational analysis compared this set with known maize transcripts and other root transcriptome models. Among the 14,850 tags, 7,010 (47%) were found for which no maize cDNA or gene model existed. Comparing the maize root transcriptome with that in other plants indicated that highly expressed transcripts differed substantially; less than 5% of the most abundant transcripts were shared between maize and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Transcript categories highlight functions of the maize root tip. Significant variation in abundance characterizes transcripts derived from isoforms of individual enzymes in biochemical pathways.
Journal Article
Isotopic analysis of plutonium impurity in neptunium target
Recently a Np-237 target (26 mg) was analyzed for trace Pu isotopes (approximately 300 ppb). This work describes the chemistry required for a Np/Pu separation sufficient for Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS), as well as the Pu purification from other potential contaminants. A point source was prepared from the purified Pu fraction and the atom ratios were measured via TIMS. The Pu isotopics provide a picture of the Np target’s irradiation history, which will also be discussed.
Journal Article
Comparing regional transcript profiles from maize primary roots under well-watered and low water potential conditions
Regionally distinct elongation responses to water stress in the maize primary root tip have been observed in the past. A genetic basis for such differential responses has been demonstrated. Normalized bar-coded cDNA libraries were generated for four regions of the root tip, 0-3 mm (R1), 3-7 mm (R2), 7-12 mm (R3), and 12-20 mm (R4) from the root apex, and transcript profiles for these regions were sampled. This permitted a correlation between transcript nature and regional location for 15 726 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) that, in approximately equal numbers, derived from three conditions of the root: water stress (water potential: -1.6 MPa) for 5 h and for 48 h, respectively, and well watered (5 h and 48 h combined). These normalized cDNA libraries provided 6553 unigenes. An analysis of the regional representation of transcripts showed that populations were largely unaffected by water stress in R1, correlating with the maintenance of elongation rates under water stress known for R1. In contrast, transcript profiles in regions 2 and 3 diverged in well-watered and water-stressed roots. In R1, transcripts for translation and cell cycle control were prevalent. R2 was characterized by transcripts for cell wall biogenesis and cytoskeleton formation. R3 and R4 shared prevalent groups of transcripts responsible for defence mechanisms, ion transport, and biogenesis of secondary metabolites. Transcripts which were followed for 1, 6, and 48 h of water stress showed distinct region-specific changes in absolute expression and changes in regulated functions.
Journal Article