A biological assay based on human cancer cells was developed as an index of metabolic state. This assay is used here to describe the metabolic actions of a variety of agents: oxygen, melatonin, vitamin C, the drugs oligomycin and imatinib, as well as extra-low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields (MFs). Based on chromosome counts in cancer cells, it led us to uncover a basic mechanism of interaction between ELF MFs and biological materials. The action of MFs is through an alteration of the structure of water originally described by Russian physicists at Lomonosov University in Moscow, in the early 1980s. As is the case in many projects, our work started as a fundamental investigation, specifically of the effects of oxygen on cancer cells in culture.Chromosome counts above 46 are observed in the majority of human tumours. But while real tumours grow in oxygen and nutrient restricted environments, cultured cancer cells are provided with 21% oxygen and generous nutrition, stimulating their metabolism. We studied the connection between metabolic activity of cancer cells and their chromosome counts, observing that five metabolic restrictors induced catabolism and chromosome losses in five hyperploid cancer cell lines. These karyotype contractions allow cancer cells to support fewer chromosomes, increase their proliferation rate and acquire the phenotype of a stable, growing tissue. Hyperploid cancer cells expand or contract their karyotypes through rapid mechanisms of endo-reduplication or chromosome loss. These fast meta-genetic mechanisms explain the surprising adaptability of tumours to changing micro-environments and therapeutic interventions. Furthermore, karyotype contraction may provide a basis for the previously observed carcinogenic action of some anti-oxidants, positioning metabolic restriction as a meta-genetic mechanism of tumour promotion.Biological effects of ELF MFs have lacked a credible mechanism of interaction between fields and living material. The effect of ELF MFs was evaluated in our human cancer cell cultures. Ultimately, five cancer cell lines were exposed to ELF MFs within the range of 0.025 to 5 µT, and were examined for karyotype changes after 6 days. Similar to the chemical metabolic restrictors, all cancer cells lines lose chromosomes from MF exposure. MFs from 25 nT to 5 µT reduce the chromosome counts, with a mostly flat dose-response. Constant MF exposures for three weeks allow a rising return to the baseline, unperturbed karyotypes. From this point, small MF increases or decreases are again capable of inducing KCs. Our data suggests that the KCs are caused by MF interference with mitochondria's ATP synthase (ATPS), compensated by the action of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). The effects of MFs are similar to those of the ATPS inhibitor oligomycin. They are amplified by metformin, an AMPK stimulator, and attenuated by resistin, an AMPK inhibitor. Over environmental MFs, KCs of various cancer cell lines show exceptionally wide and flat dose-responses, except for those of erythro-leukemia cells, which display a progressive rise from 0.025 to 0.4 µT. These observations lead us to uncover a subtle mechanism of interaction between MFs and human metabolism. MFs cause an alteration in the structure of water that impairs the flux of protons in ATPS hydrophilic channels, with many downstream biological effects. Although the connection between MFs and ATPS inhibition through increased proton impedance is fairly clear, the consequences of typical human MF exposures on AMPK and metabolism should be more complex to unravel. This mechanism may be environmentally important, in view of the central role played in human physiology by ATPS and AMPK, particularly in their links to diabetes, cancer and longevity. Our work provides a defensible mechanism to explain the action of MFs on biological materials. / Un test d'état métabolique utilisant des cellules humaines cancéreuses est utilisé pour décrire les effets d'une variété d'agents: oxygène, mélatonine, vitamine C, les drogues oligomycine et imatinib, ainsi que les champs magnétiques (CM) de basse fréquence (BF).Basé sur le comptage de chromosomes (CC) de cellules cancéreuses, il nous amené à découvrir un mécanisme d'interaction entre CM BF et le matériel biologique qui passe par une altération de la structure de l'eau décrite par des physiciens russes au début des années 1980. Nos recherches ont débuté par une investigation des effets de l'oxygène sur les cellules en culture.Des CC supérieurs à 46 sont observés dans la majorité des tumeurs humaines. Alors que les tumeurs réelles se développent dans un milieu pauvre en oxygène et nutriments, les cellules cancéreuses sont entourées par un taux d'oxygène de 21% et une nutrition généreuse, ce qui stimule leur métabolisme. Nous rapportons des réductions de CC suite à une activité métabolique réduite chez cinq types de cellules cancéreuses hyperploïdes. Ces contractions permettent aux cellules de supporter moins de chromosomes, d'augmenter leur prolifération et d'acquérir le phénotype d'un tissu stable en progression. Les cellules hyperploïdes augmentent ou réduisent leur karyotype par des mécanismes rapides d'endo-reduplication ou de pertes chromosomiques. Ces mécanismes méta-génétiques rapides expliquent l'adaptation surprenante des tumeurs aux environnements variables et aux interventions thérapeutiques. La contraction des karyotypes pourrait fournir une base à l'action carcinogénique préalablement observée de certains antioxydants, présentant la restriction métabolique comme un mécanisme méta-génétique de promotion cancéreuse.Les effets biologiques des CM BF n'avaient pas de mécanisme crédible d'interaction entre champ et matériel vivant. Cinq lignées de cellules cancéreuses exposées aux CM BF dans la plage de 0.025 à 5 µT ont montré des changements de karyotype après 6 jours, tout comme les restricteurs métaboliques, avec une dose-réponse essentiellement plate. Une continuation de l'exposition sur trois semaines permet un retour progressif au karyotype original de base. De ce point, de petites augmentations ou décroissances de CM sont à nouveau capables d'induire des contractions de karyotypes. Nos croyons que les contractions sont causées par une interférence des CM avec l'ATP synthase (ATPS) des mitochondries, compensée par l'action de la protéine kinase activée par l'AMP (AMPK). Les effets des CM sont similaires à ceux de l'olygomycine, un inhibiteur de l'ATPS. Ils sont amplifiés par la metformine, un stimulateur de l'AMPK, et atténués par la résistine, un inhibiteur de l'AMPK. Sur la plage des CM environnementaux, les contractions de karyotypes de diverses lignées cancéreuses montrent des doses-réponses plates, sauf pour celles des cellules erythro-leucémiques, qui montrent une augmentation progressive de 0.025 à 0.4 µT.Ces observations nous ont mené à découvrir un mécanisme subtil d'interaction entre CM et le métabolisme humain. Les CM causent une altération de la structure de l'eau qui réduit le flux de protons dans les canaux hydrophiles de l'ATPS. Bien que la connexion entre CM et l'inhibition de l'ATPS par l'augmentation de l'impédance aux protons soit raisonnablement claire, les conséquences des expositions magnétiques humaines typiques sur l'AMPK et le métabolisme sont plus complexes à dégager. Ce mécanisme d'interaction pourrait être important pour l'environnement, en vue du rôle central joué dans la physiologie humaine par l'ATPS et l'AMPK, particulièrement dans leurs liens avec le diabète, le cancer et la longévité. Nos travaux fournissent un mécanisme crédible pour expliquer l'action des CM sur le matériel biologique.

In spite tropical forests are the most important terrestrial global carbon sinks due to carbon storage in aboveground biomass, it is also the primary target of deforestation. The conversion of Tropical forests into anthropogenic areas might disrupt biological flux and also lead to severe microclimatic changes at forest edges. These combined effects can trigger profound changes in plant composition through both high mortality of fragmentation-sensitive species and proliferation of disturbed-adapted species which will ultimately impacts carbon storage. Thus, our main objective in this study was understand the role of human-induced disturbances in modulate the dimension of biomass loss at tropical forests. We applied a systematic literature review searching for empirical evidences that edge effects can drive biomass loss in tropical forests (Chapter 2). Our findings highlighted the gap of knowledge about the pattern and process related to biomass loss in tropical forests. To strengthen this understanding, we formulated a conceptual model linking landscape structure and patch-level attributes to severity of edge effects affecting aboveground biomass. Our model hypothesizes that habitat amount, isolation, time since edge creation, and the synergism between edge distance, patch size, and matrix type are the main drivers of biomass loss in anthropogenic tropical forests. We thus used a large plant dataset (18 503 trees ≥ 10 cm dbh) from 146 sites distributed across four Mexican and four Brazilian rainforest regions to test our conceptual model predictions, specifically the influence of forest cover, site isolation, edge distance, patch size and type of matrix on biomass (Chapter 3). We observed that carbon-rich sites presented species that are typical of old-growth forests (shade-tolerant, large-seeded, zoocoric) contrasting to carbon-poor sites composed by disturbed-adapted species (pioneer occupying the understory). Large shade-tolerant trees (≥ 40 cm dbh) were impacted severely by the combination of forest loss and edge effects. Edge distance, patch size, and the amount of open-matrix strongly influence small shade-tolerant trees (≤ 20 cm dbh). Although our results do not fully corroborate the initial predictions of the conceptual model, they support the idea that landscape composition interact with patch structure and ultimately impacts biomass stocks in fragmented tropical forests. Finally, we further investigated if the disturbance level of the region influences plant-structure responses to forest loss (Chapter 4). Biomass, but not plant density, was affected by forest loss in regions with intermediate disturbance levels, i.e. regions showing a combination of moderate deforestation (20-40% of remaining forest cover) disturbed during the past 30-60 years, high defaunation but harboring relictual populations of large-mammals, and areas mostly composed by heterogeneous matrices. In general, our findings highlight that both landscape composition and patch structure are the main drivers of biomass loss in Neotropical forests, and that the landscape context must be considered to obtain more reliable estimations of carbon emissions due to forest degradation. Landscape planning (e.g. restoration of forest cover) should be included in conservation strategies in order to sustain carbon storage. Moreover, we advocate that conservation initiatives will be less costly and more effective if implemented in areas under intermediate disturbance levels / Apesar das florestas tropicais serem a mais importante fonte mundial de carbono da porção terrestre do globo devido ao armazenamento de carbono na biomassa acima do solo, elas são também o alvo primário do desmatamento. A conversão das florestas Tropicais em áreas antropogênicas pode interromper o fluxo biológico e também levar a severas mudanças microclimáticas na borda dos fragmentos. A combinação desses efeitos pode engatilhar profundas mudanças na composição da vegetação através tanto da mortalidade de espécies sensíveis à fragmentação como também pela proliferação de espécies adaptadas distúrbios, com impactos finais nos estoques de carbono. Assim, o maior objetivo desse estudo foi compreender o papel dos distúrbios induzidos pelo homem na modulação da dimensão da perda de biomassa em florestas Tropicais. Nós aplicamos uma revisão sistemática da literatura procurando por evidências empíricas de que o efeito de borda pode levar a perda de biomassa em florestas tropicais (Capítulo 2). Nossos resultados destacam a lacuna de conhecimento entre padrões e processos relacionados à perda de biomassa em florestas Tropicais. Para fortalecer esse conhecimento, nós formulamos um modelo conceitual conectando estrutura da paisagem e atributos na escala do fragmento à severidade do efeito de borda, e assim afetando a biomassa acima do solo. Nosso modelo hipotetiza que a quantidade de hábitat, o isolamento, o tempo desde a formação da borda e o sinergismo entre tamanho do fragmento, distância da borda e tipo de matriz são os principais condutores de perda de biomassa em florestas Tropicais antropogênicas. Utilizando um grande banco de dados (18 503 árvores ≥ 10 cm dap) provenientes de 146 locais distribuídos em quatro regiões de floresta úmida no México e quatro no Brasil, nós então testamos as predições do nosso modelo conceitual. Especificamente, a influência da cobertura florestal, isolamento, distância da borda, tamanho do fragmento e tipo de matriz sobre a biomassa (Capítulo 3). Nós observamos que áreas com muito carbono apresentaram espécies típicas de florestas maduras (tolerantes ao sombreamento, zoocóricas, com sementes grandes) contrastando com áreas com pouco carbono compostas por espécies adaptadas à distúrbio (pioneiras ocupando o sub-bosque). Árvores grandes tolerantes ao sombreamento (≥ 40 cm dap) foram impactadas severamente pela combinação de perda de cobertura florestal e efeitos de borda. Distância da borda, tamanho do fragmento e a extensão da área de matriz aberta influenciaram fortemente as árvores pequenas tolerantes a sombreamento (≤ 20 cm dap). Apesar dos nossos resultados não corroborarem completamente as predições iniciais do nosso modelo conceitual, eles dão suporte à ideia de que a composição da paisagem interage com a estrutura do fragmento com impactos finais nos estoques de biomassa em florestas Neotropicais. Por fim, nós investigamos se o nível de distúrbio da região pode influenciar nas respostas da estrutura da vegetação à perda de cobertura florestal. Biomassa, mas não a densidade de indivíduos, foi afetada pela perda de cobertura florestal em regiões com nível intermediário de distúrbio, i.e. regiões apresentando uma combinação de níveis moderados de desmatamento (20-40% de cobertura florestal remanescente) em que a perturbação ocorreu ao longo dos últimos 30-60 anos, com alto grau de defaunação mas ainda abrigando populações relictuais de grandes mamíferos e, em sua maioria, compostos por uma matriz heterogênea. Em geral, nossos resultados destacaram que tanto a composição da paisagem como a estrutura do fragmento são os principais condutores de perda de biomassa em florestas Neotropicais e que o contexto da paisagem deve ser considerado para se obter estimativas mais confiáveis de emissão de carbono devido à degradação florestal. O planejamento da paisagem (e.g. restauração da cobertura florestal) deve ser incluído em estratégias de conservação em ordem de sustentar o armazenamento de carbono. Além disso, nós defendemos que iniciativas de conservação serão menos custosas e mais efetivas se implementadas em áreas sob níveis intermediários de distúrbio

In spite tropical forests are the most important terrestrial global carbon sinks due to carbon storage in aboveground biomass, it is also the primary target of deforestation. The conversion of Tropical forests into anthropogenic areas might disrupt biological flux and also lead to severe microclimatic changes at forest edges. These combined effects can trigger profound changes in plant composition through both high mortality of fragmentation-sensitive species and proliferation of disturbed-adapted species which will ultimately impacts carbon storage. Thus, our main objective in this study was understand the role of human-induced disturbances in modulate the dimension of biomass loss at tropical forests. We applied a systematic literature review searching for empirical evidences that edge effects can drive biomass loss in tropical forests (Chapter 2). Our findings highlighted the gap of knowledge about the pattern and process related to biomass loss in tropical forests. To strengthen this understanding, we formulated a conceptual model linking landscape structure and patch-level attributes to severity of edge effects affecting aboveground biomass. Our model hypothesizes that habitat amount, isolation, time since edge creation, and the synergism between edge distance, patch size, and matrix type are the main drivers of biomass loss in anthropogenic tropical forests. We thus used a large plant dataset (18 503 trees ≥ 10 cm dbh) from 146 sites distributed across four Mexican and four Brazilian rainforest regions to test our conceptual model predictions, specifically the influence of forest cover, site isolation, edge distance, patch size and type of matrix on biomass (Chapter 3). We observed that carbon-rich sites presented species that are typical of old-growth forests (shade-tolerant, large-seeded, zoocoric) contrasting to carbon-poor sites composed by disturbed-adapted species (pioneer occupying the understory). Large shade-tolerant trees (≥ 40 cm dbh) were impacted severely by the combination of forest loss and edge effects. Edge distance, patch size, and the amount of open-matrix strongly influence small shade-tolerant trees (≤ 20 cm dbh). Although our results do not fully corroborate the initial predictions of the conceptual model, they support the idea that landscape composition interact with patch structure and ultimately impacts biomass stocks in fragmented tropical forests. Finally, we further investigated if the disturbance level of the region influences plant-structure responses to forest loss (Chapter 4). Biomass, but not plant density, was affected by forest loss in regions with intermediate disturbance levels, i.e. regions showing a combination of moderate deforestation (20-40% of remaining forest cover) disturbed during the past 30-60 years, high defaunation but harboring relictual populations of large-mammals, and areas mostly composed by heterogeneous matrices. In general, our findings highlight that both landscape composition and patch structure are the main drivers of biomass loss in Neotropical forests, and that the landscape context must be considered to obtain more reliable estimations of carbon emissions due to forest degradation. Landscape planning (e.g. restoration of forest cover) should be included in conservation strategies in order to sustain carbon storage. Moreover, we advocate that conservation initiatives will be less costly and more effective if implemented in areas under intermediate disturbance levels / Apesar das florestas tropicais serem a mais importante fonte mundial de carbono da porção terrestre do globo devido ao armazenamento de carbono na biomassa acima do solo, elas são também o alvo primário do desmatamento. A conversão das florestas Tropicais em áreas antropogênicas pode interromper o fluxo biológico e também levar a severas mudanças microclimáticas na borda dos fragmentos. A combinação desses efeitos pode engatilhar profundas mudanças na composição da vegetação através tanto da mortalidade de espécies sensíveis à fragmentação como também pela proliferação de espécies adaptadas distúrbios, com impactos finais nos estoques de carbono. Assim, o maior objetivo desse estudo foi compreender o papel dos distúrbios induzidos pelo homem na modulação da dimensão da perda de biomassa em florestas Tropicais. Nós aplicamos uma revisão sistemática da literatura procurando por evidências empíricas de que o efeito de borda pode levar a perda de biomassa em florestas tropicais (Capítulo 2). Nossos resultados destacam a lacuna de conhecimento entre padrões e processos relacionados à perda de biomassa em florestas Tropicais. Para fortalecer esse conhecimento, nós formulamos um modelo conceitual conectando estrutura da paisagem e atributos na escala do fragmento à severidade do efeito de borda, e assim afetando a biomassa acima do solo. Nosso modelo hipotetiza que a quantidade de hábitat, o isolamento, o tempo desde a formação da borda e o sinergismo entre tamanho do fragmento, distância da borda e tipo de matriz são os principais condutores de perda de biomassa em florestas Tropicais antropogênicas. Utilizando um grande banco de dados (18 503 árvores ≥ 10 cm dap) provenientes de 146 locais distribuídos em quatro regiões de floresta úmida no México e quatro no Brasil, nós então testamos as predições do nosso modelo conceitual. Especificamente, a influência da cobertura florestal, isolamento, distância da borda, tamanho do fragmento e tipo de matriz sobre a biomassa (Capítulo 3). Nós observamos que áreas com muito carbono apresentaram espécies típicas de florestas maduras (tolerantes ao sombreamento, zoocóricas, com sementes grandes) contrastando com áreas com pouco carbono compostas por espécies adaptadas à distúrbio (pioneiras ocupando o sub-bosque). Árvores grandes tolerantes ao sombreamento (≥ 40 cm dap) foram impactadas severamente pela combinação de perda de cobertura florestal e efeitos de borda. Distância da borda, tamanho do fragmento e a extensão da área de matriz aberta influenciaram fortemente as árvores pequenas tolerantes a sombreamento (≤ 20 cm dap). Apesar dos nossos resultados não corroborarem completamente as predições iniciais do nosso modelo conceitual, eles dão suporte à ideia de que a composição da paisagem interage com a estrutura do fragmento com impactos finais nos estoques de biomassa em florestas Neotropicais. Por fim, nós investigamos se o nível de distúrbio da região pode influenciar nas respostas da estrutura da vegetação à perda de cobertura florestal. Biomassa, mas não a densidade de indivíduos, foi afetada pela perda de cobertura florestal em regiões com nível intermediário de distúrbio, i.e. regiões apresentando uma combinação de níveis moderados de desmatamento (20-40% de cobertura florestal remanescente) em que a perturbação ocorreu ao longo dos últimos 30-60 anos, com alto grau de defaunação mas ainda abrigando populações relictuais de grandes mamíferos e, em sua maioria, compostos por uma matriz heterogênea. Em geral, nossos resultados destacaram que tanto a composição da paisagem como a estrutura do fragmento são os principais condutores de perda de biomassa em florestas Neotropicais e que o contexto da paisagem deve ser considerado para se obter estimativas mais confiáveis de emissão de carbono devido à degradação florestal. O planejamento da paisagem (e.g. restauração da cobertura florestal) deve ser incluído em estratégias de conservação em ordem de sustentar o armazenamento de carbono. Além disso, nós defendemos que iniciativas de conservação serão menos custosas e mais efetivas se implementadas em áreas sob níveis intermediários de distúrbio

Eye trackers have enabled users to interact with computers for a long time. Yet, there are still many challenges left to be solved to make the interaction easy for users with development disabilities. Especially, when it comes to setup eye tracking where calibration of the eye tracker is important to get accurate estimation of where users are looking. This paper presents a study in which three modified versions of a calibration interface for eye trackers has been designed and evaluated by nine participants with development disabilities. These calibration interfaces used regions that were aware of when a user gazed at them, gaze-aware regions, and varied in the speed of which a stimulus moved during the calibration and how quickly the regions around the stimulus grew. Data was collected for each interface about interaction with the gaze-aware regions, time to complete a calibration, how many calibration points that were completed and gaze offset from the stimulus. No statistically significance was found between the modified interfaces for its efficiency, effectiveness and accuracy. However, a stimulus moving quicker and a gaze-aware region growing faster indicated a more effective and efficient calibration method without loss in accuracy. Also, if only screen engagement is involved using smooth-pursuit calibration could improve the calibration process. / Ögonstyrning har under en längre tid möjliggjort interaktion för användare. Dock är det fortfarande många utmaningar för att göra interaktionen lätt för användare med intellektuella funktionsnedsättningar. Framförallt när det kommer till inställningar för ögonstyrning, där kalibrering har visat sig vara viktigt för att ge en noggrann uppskattning vart användarna fokuserar. Denna rapport presenterar en studie där tre modifierade versioner av ett kalibreringsgränsnitt för ögonstyrning har blivit designat och utvärderat av nio deltagare med låg fokuseringsförmåga. Dessa gränssnitt använde regioner som var medvetna när en användare tittade inom dom, så kallade blickmedvetna regioner, och varierade i vilken hastighet ett stimuli rörde sig och hur snabbt regionerna runt ett stimuli växte. Data samlades in för varje gränssnitt om interaktionen med de blickmedvetna regionerna, tiden för att genomföra kalibreringen, antal avklarade kalibreringspunkter och avståndet mellan användarnas blick och stimuli. Ingen statistisk signifikans hittades mellan de modifierade gränssnitten mellan tidseffektivitet, effektivitet och noggrannhet. Däremot indikerades en mer tidseffektiv och effektiv kalibreringsmetod, utan minskad noggrannhet, genom användningen av ett stimuli som rör sig snabbare med blickmedvetna regioner som växer. Dessutom skulle kalibreringsprocessen kunna förbättras om enbart engagemang med skärmen används genom smooth-pursuit kalibrering

GHG emissions play a key role in the escalating extreme weather crisis. Commercial and industrial sectors consume almost two-thirds of global end-use electricity; therefore, they have played and will continue to play an important role in driving clean energy in the near term, particularly renewables. Electricity lies at the heart of these global challenges. It is both a significant source of global carbon emissions and is also key to decarbonizing large sectors of the economy, including buildings, transport, and industry. Access to affordable and clean electricity is also essential for economic growth, quality healthcare and education, and many other development goals. To achieve net-zero emissions across the global economy by 2050, electricity must decarbonize even faster, while becoming the core of a just and accessible energy system. Carbon Neutral is where organizations offset their emissions by purchasing carbon offsets intended to reduce or prevent global emissions. 100% Renewable Energy is where organizations purchase renewable energy to match their annual electricity use. 24/7 RE (Renewable Energy) means that rather than emitting and compensating, organizations don’t emit in the first place. Every kilowatt-hour of electricity consumption is met with renewable energy electricity sources. It means reneweble energy for all. The thesis evaluates two main needs for reaching 24/7 for all: metering production and consumption data access and a granular certificate scheme. In addition, a business case for a granular certificate issuer is presented in order to show the opportunities and challenges that these entities will have with the coming 24/7 renewable energy approach. For metering data access, the thesis shows that although Europe is at the forefront of the process, only 3 countries out of the 18 analysed meet all the criteria required to allow consumers and their partners easy and cost-efficient access to relevant, granular metering data. 8 of these countries present some kind of obstacle, 7 do not have a system in place, although data is available in some way, and 1 has no smart rollout plan in place at all. Guarantees of origin schemes analysed shows that systems are not customer centred, in most of the countries it is not possible to assign the GO certificate to a specific consumption point and the process of getting information about cancelled GOs for corporate consumers is tedious and time-consuming. With the identified barriers, in both, metering data exchange infrastructures and guarantees of origin systems, a proposed system have been developed, which links metering data exchange infrastructures with the certification scheme, by providing metering consumption and production data with hourly granularity to support the 24/7 matching of renewable energy. Finally, in the business case proposed, it can be observed that being a granular certificate issuer, a 1.3 M revenue can be obtained in the first year, only with the Spanish market. Then, after 5 years, by also targeting Netherlands and Denmark, a 3.24 M revenue can be obtained.5Several business opportunities appear, in addition to the business of being a granular certificate issuer. / Utsläppen av växthusgaser spelar en nyckelroll i den eskalerande extrema väderkrisen. Kommersiella och industriella sektorer förbrukar nästan två tredjedelar av den globala slutanvändningen av el. De har därför spelat och kommer att fortsätta att spela en viktig roll för att driva fram ren energi på kort sikt, särskilt förnybar energi. Elektricitet är kärnan i dessa globala utmaningar. Den är både en betydande källa till globala koldioxidutsläpp och en nyckelfaktor för att minska koldioxidutsläppen inom stora delar av ekonomin, inklusive byggnader, transporter och industri. Tillgång till billig och ren el är också avgörande för ekonomisk tillväxt, högkvalitativ hälso- och sjukvård och utbildning och många andra utvecklingsmål. För att uppnå nettonollutsläpp i hela den globala ekonomin till 2050 måste el avkarbonisera ännu snabbare, samtidigt som den blir kärnan i ett rättvist och tillgängligt energisystem. Koldioxidneutralitet innebär att organisationer kompenserar sina utsläpp genom att köpa koldioxidkompensation som syftar till att minska eller förhindra globala utsläpp. 100 % förnybar energi innebär att organisationer köper förnybar energi som motsvarar deras årliga elförbrukning. Förnybar energi dygnet runt innebär att organisationer inte släpper ut och kompenserar utan låter bli att släppa ut i första hand. Varje kilowattimme av elförbrukningen täcks med förnybara elkällor. Det innebär förnybar energi för alla. I avhandlingen utvärderas två huvudbehov för att nå 24/7 för alla: tillgång till produktions- och förbrukningsdata från mätare och ett granulärt certifikatsystem. Dessutom presenteras en affärsidé för en utfärdare av granulära certifikat för att visa vilka möjligheter och utmaningar som dessa enheter kommer att ha med den kommande strategin för förnybar energi dygnet runt. När det gäller tillgång till mätdata visar avhandlingen att även om Europa ligger i framkant i processen är det bara tre länder av de 18 analyserade som uppfyller alla kriterier som krävs för att ge konsumenter och deras partner enkel och kostnadseffektiv tillgång till relevanta, granulära mätdata. I åtta av dessa länder finns det någon form av hinder, sju länder har inget system, även om uppgifterna är tillgängliga på något sätt, och ett land har ingen plan för smart utbyggnad alls. De system för ursprungsgarantier som analyserats visar att systemen inte är kundorienterade, i de flesta länder är det inte möjligt att tilldela ett intyg om ursprungsgarantier till en specifik förbrukningsplats och processen för att få information om upphävda ursprungsgarantier för företagskonsumenter är tråkig och tidskrävande. Med de identifierade hindren, både när det gäller infrastrukturer för utbyte av mätdata och system för ursprungsgarantier, har ett föreslaget system utvecklats som kopplar samman infrastrukturer för utbyte av mätdata med certifieringssystemet, genom att tillhandahålla förbruknings- och produktionsdata från mätare med granularitet per timme för att stödja matchning av förnybar energi dygnet runt. Slutligen kan man i den föreslagna affärsidén konstatera att en granulär certifikatutgivare kan få en intäkt på 1,3 miljoner euro under det första året, enbart på den spanska marknaden. Efter fem år kan man sedan, genom att även rikta in sig på Nederländerna och Danmark, uppnå en intäkt på 3,24 miljoner euro. Flera affärsmöjligheter dyker upp, förutom att vara en utfärdare av granulära certifikat.

MIniature STudent satellite (MIST) is a project at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm where students build a satellite. The satellite will be placed into orbit around the earth carrying six experiments. One of the experiments on-board the MIST satellite will need to send larger units of data than the radio on-board can send at a time. Therefore, the data will need to be fragmented before it is sent and then defragmented when it is received. The fragmentation protocol to be used, and its implementation, will need to meet the MIST satellite’s requirements and limitations. It should add as little overhead and complexity as possible. This thesis proposes a fragmentation protocol and presents an implementation that enables experiments on-board the MIST satellite to send larger units of data than on-board radio allows. The design of the protocol is based on existing network protocols, but tailored for use on the MIST satellite. The proposed protocol may be possible to use in other satellites or embedded systems applications. This may however require some modifications. / MIniature STudent satellite (MIST) är ett projekt på Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH) i Stockholm där studenter bygger en satellit. Satelliten kommer att placeras i omloppsbana runt jorden med sex experiment ombord. Ett av experimenten ombord på MIST-satelliten behöver skicka större data än vad radiomodulen ombord kan sända åt gången. Därför behöver datan fragmenteras innan den skickas och sedan defragmenteras då den tas emot. Fragmenteringsprotokollet som ska användas, och dess implementation, behöver uppfylla MIST-satellitens krav och begränsningar. Protokollet bör tillföra så lite overhead och komplexitet som möjligt. Detta examensarbete föreslår ett fragmenteringsprotokoll och presenteraren implementation som möjliggör för experimenten ombord MIST-satelliten att sända större data än vad radiomodulen tillåter. Protokollets design är baserat på existerande nätverksprotokoll, men skräddarsytt för att användas av MIST-satelliten. Det föreslagna protokollet kan användas av andra satelliter eller inbyggda system. Detta kan dock kräva vissa anpassningar.

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND, 2008. / The research examines the Perceptions and Practices of learner rights in the South African Black Schools. This study made use of Primary sources, Secondary sources and interviews to ascertain the perceptions and Practices of learner rights in South African Black schools. In this study we first embark on a retrospective probe into discourses of difference between educators and learners and argue that these discourses of difference tend to promote oppressive and dehumanizing social relationship between learners and educators. We further argue that the discourses of difference and power tend to naturalize and normalize Otherness as though it is naturally given rather than conceiving of it as socially constructed. The study thus highlights that the issue of learner rights in schools that is predicated on differential power relations between learners and educators can be resolved if co-operation between learners and educators could be forged.

Chez l'homme, la voix facilite les interactions sociales par la transmission d’informations sur l'identité de la personne, ses émotions ou sa personnalité. En particulier, l'identité du locuteur peut être automatiquement extraite même lorsque le message et l'état émotionnel varient, ce qui suggère des mécanismes cognitifs et cérébraux partiellement dissociables pour ces processus. Cependant, la reconnaissance d'une voix familière ou la discrimination entre deux locuteurs sont, pour certains sujets, non seulement non-automatiques, mais même impossibles. Ce déficit, lorsqu'il se manifeste dès la naissance, est appelé phonagnosie du développement et constitue la contrepartie auditive de la prosopagnosie (déficit de reconnaissance des visages). Dans le domaine visuel, il a été proposé que les sujets affectés par la prosopagnosie du développement représentent des cas extrêmes dans la distribution des capacités de reconnaissance de visages. A l’inverse, des "super-reconnaisseurs" des visages se situaient à l’opposé de cette distribution.Comme la distribution des capacités de reconnaissance de la voix dans la population générale était encore inconnue, le premier objectif de cette thèse a été d'en étudier les différences individuelles au moyen d'un court test - le Glasgow Voice Memory Test (GVMT). Les résultats obtenus ont reflété une large variabilité interindividuelle dans les capacités de reconnaissance des voix: parmi une cohorte de 1120 sujets, il y avait à la fois des sujets avec des performances significativement en dessous de la moyenne (potentiels phonagnosiques) et des "super-reconnaisseurs" des voix. Cette variabilité individuelle comportementale semblerait se refléter au niveau cérébral, comme révélés par l'imagerie par résonance magnétique fonctionnelle (IRMf) : en fait, il a été montré précédemment qu'il existait une variabilité interindividuelle considérable dans le signal BOLD (blood-oxygen level dependent) lié à la voix dans les zones temporales de la voix (TVAs). Ces régions sont situées sur le bord supérieur des sulcus/gyrus temporal supérieur (STS/STG) et montrent une activation préférentielle pour les sons vocaux plutôt que non vocaux. Le deuxième objectif de ce travail fut de mieux caractériser le lien entre les mécanismes comportementaux et neuronaux sous-tendant la variabilité interindividuelle dans les processus de reconnaissance des voix. Pour cela, nous avons examiné comment la perception de la voix modulait la connectivité fonctionnelle entre les TVAs, constituant le "noyau" du réseau de perception de la voix, et les régions frontales également sensibles aux voix, constituant une extension de ce réseau. Les résultats ont montré qu'il y avait une connectivité fonctionnelle positive dans l'ensemble du réseau et que la connectivité fonctionnelle fronto-temporelle et fronto-frontale droite augmentait avec les scores obtenus lors du GVMT.Pour compléter ce travail, nous avons réalisé une autre étude IRMf en utilisant des analyses multivariées, afin de clarifier les corrélats neuronaux de la reconnaissance du locuteur mais aussi le lien entre sensibilité cérébrale à la voix et capacités de reconnaissance du locuteur. Pour cela, des sujets ayant des capacités de reconnaissance vocale hétérogènes ont été soumis à la fois à une tâche d'identification du locuteur et à une tâche d'écoute passive de sons vocaux et non vocaux. Les résultats ont confirmé que l’identification du locuteur s’effectuait via un réseau étendu de régions, incluant les TVAs mais aussi des régions frontales. De plus, nous avons observé que le score de classification voix/non-voix dans le STS droit permettait de prédire les capacités d'identification des locuteurs.Dans l'ensemble, ces résultats suggèrent que les capacités de reconnaissance vocale varient considérablement d'un individu à l'autre et que cette variabilité pourrait être le reflet de profils d’activité cérébrale différents au sein du réseau de la perception de la voix. / In humans, voice conveys heterogeneous information such as speaker’s identity, which can be automatically extracted even when language content and emotional state vary. We hypothesized that the ability to recognize a speaker considerably varied across the population, as previously observed for face recognition. To test this hypothesis, a short voice recognition test was delivered to 1120 subjects in order to observe how voice recognition abilities were distributed in the general population. Since it has been previously observed that there exists a considerable inter-individual variability in voice-elicited activity in temporal voice areas (TVAs), regions along the superior temporal sulcus/gyrus (STS/STG) that show preferentially activation for voices than other sounds, the second aim of this work was then to better characterize the link between the behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying inter-individual variability in voice recognition processes through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results of a first fMRI study showed that functional connectivity between frontal and temporal voice sensitive regions increased with voice recognition scores obtained at a voice recognition test. Another fMRI study showed that speaker’s identity was treated in an extended network of regions, including TVAs but also frontal regions and that voice/non-voice classification accuracy in right STS increased with speaker identification abilities. Altogether, these results suggest that voice recognition abilities considerably vary across subjects and that this variability can be mirrored by different neural profiles within the voice perception network.

History has proved that too much power, in any form, is detrimental to the greater good of the society concerned. People at the hands of the power-hungry face discrimination and are often subjected to extreme violence and abuse. Society has undergone several changes and progressions through time, including economic, political and social changes. One thing that has remained unchanged however, is man‟s power over woman. Patriarchal power is present in all sectors and scenarios of society, from the home to the international legal system. My study focuses on the notion that an abundance of power leads to fear, violence and total disarray at the micro and macro levels of society. I argue that the essential problem in the relationship between man and woman is not a man‟s abuse of power, but rather that he has too much power in the first place. A culture of entitlement breeds among men, enabling them to treat women as inferior, sub-human objects. Definitions of male and female prove to be concreted into specific roles and gendered identities within the home and the greater society. People fall automatically into these roles, blindly and unquestioningly. It is for this reason that I maintain all members of society ensure the survival of patriarchy – even if they do so unconsciously. While the difference in the understanding of rape and sexual intercourse should be stark, it is blurred because they are defined according to male terms. Man‟s entitlement allows him to think it his right to take sex from a woman, even if she does not offer it willingly. Culture and tradition serve as major obstacles in any possibility of society‟s progression. Culture has proved such an undisputed order in society that it even trumps the international legal system of human rights. Culture justifies, or at least trivialises, the abuse of women. The social stigmatisation of sexual abuse silences women, providing further endorsement for men to continue asserting their power. A woman‟s life, as determined by male hierarchy, gender bias, culture and social stigmas, is therefore fated. It is with this in mind that I strongly question the progression of society into a true form of liberality and equality. In order for society to attain such a transcended state, it will have to disregard everything that it knows and deconstruct everything that has defined it up to that point. Until this is achieved, women will continue to live their lives in fear of the silent weapon in war and peace. / Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / gm2014 / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

L’objectif de cette thèse est de comprendre le comportement cinématique d’interception latérale manuelle et locomotrice. Dans l’introduction nous montrons que l’étude du mouvement d’interception peut être engagée avec les concepts de la perception directe et du couplage perception-action. De nombreux travaux ont montré qu’une stratégie prospective serait mise en oeuvre pour intercepter un mobile mais un débat existe quant à la double question (i) quelle information est utilisée pour réguler le mouvement ? (ii) comment est utilisée cette information ? Pour répondre nous avons utilisé la réalité virtuelle. Dans le premier chapitre expérimental nous montrons que les variables environnementales qui ont émergées de la littérature ne peuvent expliquer seules les régulations du mouvement d’interception. Dans le deuxième chapitre expérimental nous proposons qu’une variable d’ordre intermédiaire plutôt qu’entier pourrait guider le mouvement. Enfin dans le troisième chapitre expérimental nous apportons des éléments de preuve en faveur du concept d’information d’ordre fractionnaire qui augmenterait au cours de l’action. Nous développons dans ces deux dernières études deux modèles dynamiques qui nous permettent de simuler de façon satisfaisante le comportement cinématique d’interception latérale pour une situation donnée. Plus généralement, nous suggérons, quant à l’ensemble des modèles dynamiques formalisant les interactions perception-action, que cette proposition conceptuelle pourrait permettre de plus larges avancées encore si l’on considérait l’éventuelle sensibilité des différents organismes vivants aux informations d’ordre intermédiaire plutôt que nécessairement entier. / The goal of the present thesis was to understand the operative perception-action relations underlying the kinematic patterns of movement observed in manual and locomotor lateral interception. The introduction sets the stage for this endeavor, calling upon the theoretical concepts of direct perception and information-movement coupling, understood as a particular form of the online control of movement. Whereas a large body of work has demonstrated that interception is based on a prospective control strategy, debate persists as to the double question of (i) what information is that used to regulate the movement and (ii) how this information is used in the regulation of movement. To address these questions our general methodology was based on interception tasks presented in virtual reality settings. In the first experimental chapter we demonstrate that neither of the two variables proposed in the literature could by themselves explain the kinematic patterns observed. Integrating an modeling approach based on attractor dynamics, the second experimental chapter provides first evidence for reliance on a variable of intermediate rather than integer order. In the third experimental chapter we take our modeling approach one step further and demonstrate that reliance on information of a trajectory-dependent fractional order allows capturing the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the interception behavior observed. In the final chapter we discuss the suggested potential of opening up the information space to non-integer orders for the understanding of perception-action relations.