Exploring both political aesthetics and the politics of aesthetics to outline an environmental ruralism for art in public spaces, this practice lead research project postulates a “complemental practice”, outlining its methodology and contexts for operation, the rural, spaces of leisure and the public realm. It is a response to threats to spatial and environmental commons from heritage, place-making and nostalgia, psychological inhibition such as a sense of global contingency and widespread economic exploitation. Responses by artists to this situation can be characterised as a binary of dialogism (Kester, 2004) and relational antagonism (Bishop, 2004), i.e. consensual/collaborative or antagonistic/autonomous practices. Informing both is the work of Jacques Rancière who theorises an ethical and social turn in the arts. Through both commissioned and self-initiated projects this thesis offers an interpretation of Jacques Rancière’s conception of dissensus (Rancière, 2010) modulated through an application of the work of philosopher Slajov Žižek on environmental politics and complementarity - the inscription of the universal within the particular (Žižek, 2011). The thesis’ originality lies in this theoretical synthesis which sets out a complemental practice based on dissensus and the undecidability of subject and context, but which dismisses any inflexible schema of either aesthetic autonomy or ethico-political egalitarianism. In addition it suggests an approach to practice in this field and a situation for this - a dissensual infrastructure for the common public realm which is socially relational and evolutionary over time.

One of the visual modification of wood is the formation of dark zone lines (ZLs) via interaction of fungi. The result is called spalted wood, which has hitherto been produced mainly in small batches. The main goal of the present study is to further develop techniques for rapid formation of ZLs in hardwoods. Various white rot and brown rot fungi were tested to this purpose. Initially, interactions of 148 combinations of 17 basidiomycetes in malt extract agar were evaluated and their antagonistic interactions were characterised in order to identify fungal pairs capable of rapidly forming high-quality ZLs. Six types of interactions were observed, among others; antibiosis and inhibition in contact, which differ in terms of variables including mycelial overgrowth and zone line formation. Furthermore, 23 pairs of ZL forming fungi on malt extract agar were identified. Then the interactions of five selected pairs of fungi grown on the hardwood species Acer pseudoplatanus L., Betula pendula Roth. and Populus nigra L. were examined to assess their utility for controlled mycological wood modification, also in terms of a possible substrate dependency of their interactions. The results indicate that Lentinus tigrinus fungus is one of the best and quickest producer of ZLs in mycological wood modification.

Theory predicts that sexually antagonistic mutations will be over- or under-represented on the X and Z chromosomes, depending on the average dominance coefficient of the mutations. However, as little is known about the dominance coefficients for new mutations, the effect of sexually antagonistic selection is difficult to predict. To elucidate the role of sexually antagonistic selection in the evolution of Z chromosome gene content in chicken, we analyzed publicly available microarray data from several somatic tissues as well as somatic and germ cells of the ovary. We found that the Z chromosome is enriched for genes showing preferential expression in ovarian somatic cells, but not for genes with preferential expression in primary oocytes or non-sex-specific somatic tissues. Our results suggest that sexual antagonism leads to higher abundance of female-benefit alleles on the Z chromosome. No bias towards Z-linkage of oocyte-enriched genes can be explained by lower intensity of sexually antagonistic selection in ovarian germ cells compared to ovarian somatic cells. An alternative explanation would be that meiotic Z chromosome inactivation hinders accumulation of oocyte-expressed genes on the Z chromosome. Our results are consistent with findings in mammals and indicate that recessive rather than dominant...

Vad innebär egentligen social hållbarhet? Forskningen presenterar en rad olika förklaringar av begreppet, menar att det bland annat är möjligt att se begreppet som ett ramverk eller verktyg, men det kan även ses som ett sätt att uppnå hållbarhet i generell mening - men är dessa sätt att betrakta social hållbarhet något som även används i kommunernas praktiska verksamhet? Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att undersöka hur begreppet social hållbarhet används och beskrivs på kommunal nivå. Undersökningen har utgått från ett diskursteoretiskt perspektiv och en diskursanalytisk metod som syftar till att dekonstruera och analysera användningen av social hållbarhet på kommunal nivå. Inom ramen för denna uppsats är det två kommuner som har undersökts; Haninge och Huddinge kommun. Undersökningen och analysen av de båda kommunerna har visat att det finns många likheter i hur de båda kommunerna väljer att beskriva social hållbarhet. Analysen visar att det hos kommunerna finns en tilltro till att den fysiska planeringen ska kunna hjälpa kommunerna att skapa social hållbarhet, detta mestadels på liknande sätt. Beskrivningarna för hur social hållbarhet ska skapas i de båda kommunerna är likartade och visar tendenser på att vara ”stigberoende”.

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Magister Scientiae (Medical Bioscience) - MSc(MBS) / This study investigated the effects of TKIs on the growth and proliferation of MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells in culture. MCF-7 cells were exposed to different concentrations of TKIs alone and in combination with each other. Inhibition of cell growth by TKIs used individually occurred in a dose- and time-dependent manner. When EGFR Inhibitor I, EGFR Inhibitor II/BIBX1382 and the multi-specific EGFR/ErbB-2/ErB-4 Inhibitor were used in combination with each other at equimolar log dose concentrations, the combined effects on cell growth was significantly different to inhibitors used individually as reflected in a decreased EC50 (IC50) during combination treatments. Generally, for the combinations with DOX, CPL and the TKIs, synergistic as well as antagonistic effects were observed at isoeffective concentrations with resultant decreases in dose reduction indices (DRIs) implying greater efficacies with the respective combinations. In this study, conventional PCR was used to detect and illustrate the presence of the EGFR gene in the samples, while RT-qPCR was used to determine the mRNA expression levels of this gene in MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells

Na história do pensamento geográfico há um grande equívoco na maneira pela qual é concebida a teoria do determinismo geográfico/ambiental. Isso significa que o tema tem sido tratado sob estereotipada roupagem, empobrecendo a Geografia e difamando e subestimando inúmeros geógrafos, bem como suas obras e idéias. O primeiro grande objetivo é o de demonstrar a importância histórica, científica e filosófica da idéia das influências ambientais que subjaz ao determinismo ambiental, a inevitabilidade de sua existência enquanto hipótese básica, e a impossibilidade epistemológica de se negá-la como uma hipóteses básica da Geografia, com ênfase em alguns autores rotulados de deterministas, como Hipócrates, Montesquieu, Semple e Huntington. O segundo grande objetivo é realizar uma crítica da crítica, minando algumas generalizações e equívocos dentre tantos que historicamente têm permeado o temário geográfico, e explicar o emaranhado semântico, filosófico, conceitual e epistemológico do tema das influências ambientais sobre a esfera humana, com ênfase na falsa dualidade determinismo/possibilismo. Assim, deve ser concebida como não mais que um mero prolegômeno, essencial, todavia, ao estudo da relação homem-ambiente, e em particular, ao estudo da história do pensamento geográfico, da idéia das influências ambientais e do determinismo ambiental. Ao final da pesquisa foi possível demonstrar a insustentabilidade da suposta dicotomia entre a escola determinista e a escola possibilista; a confusão conceitual, semântica e filosófica dos textos que comentam os autores deterministas; a impertinência, a leviandade e imprecisão da crítica ao determinismo, baseada mais no rótulo criado do que nas idéias em si; a riqueza de idéias de autores como Huntington e Semple, o pioneirismo possibilista de Hipócrates e Montesquieu e outros autores; a importância do modelo de modos de narrativa e dos estratagemas erísticos de Schopenhauer para a análise textual dos autores deterministas e de seus críticos, culminando com a elaboração de vinte e dois problemas essenciais de pesquisa, lançados como propostas metodológicas e epistemológicas iniciais ao estudo da história da Geografia e de suas idéias / Environmental determinism has been a controversial theme within human sciences and geography. There has been much misunderstanding and understatement concerning this fundamental explanatory hypothesis. A varied assortment of geographical works and authors have been incorrectly labeled and suffered from biased criticism and general misconceptions. The long-standing debate around environmental determinism is marked by a chaotic semantic tangle which shades its real and proper meaning. The first objective is to show the historical, philosophical and scientific importance of environmental determinism in terms of its underlying principle and hypothesis, called the idea of the environmental influences and point to its relevance as a craddle of modern geography and as valid approach to the man-milieu relationships.The second objective is to lauch a counter-criticism on those who irresponsibly dismissed environmental determinism without recognizing its underlying and unavoidable basic hypothesis and who did not read the labeled works in full. Criticism has been frequently incomplete, biased, crude, distorted, unscientific, politically oriented or naïve. The third objective is to disentangle the semantic, epistemologic and philosophic traps that threaten any attempt of covering the theme in full perspective and detail. The fourth objective is to analyse some environmentalists, such as Semple and Huntington, in order to deny the wrong labels attached to them. The fifth objective was to deconstruct the false determinism/possibilism dualism and to present a new way of interpreting this issue. The last objective was to bring a preliminary discussion of the literature of the theme, a short history of environmental ideas from the Greeks to the modern geography in the United States. After a careful analysis some myths were proven incorrect, or misleading and inaccurate at best, and as a final evaluation, twenty-one epistemological and methodological devices were listed as a contribution to the research in history of geography.

Na história do pensamento geográfico há um grande equívoco na maneira pela qual é concebida a teoria do determinismo geográfico/ambiental. Isso significa que o tema tem sido tratado sob estereotipada roupagem, empobrecendo a Geografia e difamando e subestimando inúmeros geógrafos, bem como suas obras e idéias. O primeiro grande objetivo é o de demonstrar a importância histórica, científica e filosófica da idéia das influências ambientais que subjaz ao determinismo ambiental, a inevitabilidade de sua existência enquanto hipótese básica, e a impossibilidade epistemológica de se negá-la como uma hipóteses básica da Geografia, com ênfase em alguns autores rotulados de deterministas, como Hipócrates, Montesquieu, Semple e Huntington. O segundo grande objetivo é realizar uma crítica da crítica, minando algumas generalizações e equívocos dentre tantos que historicamente têm permeado o temário geográfico, e explicar o emaranhado semântico, filosófico, conceitual e epistemológico do tema das influências ambientais sobre a esfera humana, com ênfase na falsa dualidade determinismo/possibilismo. Assim, deve ser concebida como não mais que um mero prolegômeno, essencial, todavia, ao estudo da relação homem-ambiente, e em particular, ao estudo da história do pensamento geográfico, da idéia das influências ambientais e do determinismo ambiental. Ao final da pesquisa foi possível demonstrar a insustentabilidade da suposta dicotomia entre a escola determinista e a escola possibilista; a confusão conceitual, semântica e filosófica dos textos que comentam os autores deterministas; a impertinência, a leviandade e imprecisão da crítica ao determinismo, baseada mais no rótulo criado do que nas idéias em si; a riqueza de idéias de autores como Huntington e Semple, o pioneirismo possibilista de Hipócrates e Montesquieu e outros autores; a importância do modelo de modos de narrativa e dos estratagemas erísticos de Schopenhauer para a análise textual dos autores deterministas e de seus críticos, culminando com a elaboração de vinte e dois problemas essenciais de pesquisa, lançados como propostas metodológicas e epistemológicas iniciais ao estudo da história da Geografia e de suas idéias / Environmental determinism has been a controversial theme within human sciences and geography. There has been much misunderstanding and understatement concerning this fundamental explanatory hypothesis. A varied assortment of geographical works and authors have been incorrectly labeled and suffered from biased criticism and general misconceptions. The long-standing debate around environmental determinism is marked by a chaotic semantic tangle which shades its real and proper meaning. The first objective is to show the historical, philosophical and scientific importance of environmental determinism in terms of its underlying principle and hypothesis, called the idea of the environmental influences and point to its relevance as a craddle of modern geography and as valid approach to the man-milieu relationships.The second objective is to lauch a counter-criticism on those who irresponsibly dismissed environmental determinism without recognizing its underlying and unavoidable basic hypothesis and who did not read the labeled works in full. Criticism has been frequently incomplete, biased, crude, distorted, unscientific, politically oriented or naïve. The third objective is to disentangle the semantic, epistemologic and philosophic traps that threaten any attempt of covering the theme in full perspective and detail. The fourth objective is to analyse some environmentalists, such as Semple and Huntington, in order to deny the wrong labels attached to them. The fifth objective was to deconstruct the false determinism/possibilism dualism and to present a new way of interpreting this issue. The last objective was to bring a preliminary discussion of the literature of the theme, a short history of environmental ideas from the Greeks to the modern geography in the United States. After a careful analysis some myths were proven incorrect, or misleading and inaccurate at best, and as a final evaluation, twenty-one epistemological and methodological devices were listed as a contribution to the research in history of geography.

Femicides are not a new phenomenon. Marches involving thousands of people all around the Latin American continent to fight them, however, is. Ni Una Menos - Not one woman less - is the slogan that also mobilized Bolivians to mass-based protests in November 2016.This thesis investigates the counterpublic of #NiUnaMenosBolivia for the purpose of understanding its discursively articulated identities. A multidisciplinary discourse theoretical analysis combines Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s discourse theory with Nancy Fraser’s contributions to the struggle over needs of counterpublics to examine textual, photographic and ethnographic data.Two levels of identities of #NiUnaMenos are extracted from the investigation: Internal agonistic identities pinpoint at the friction between the representors and the represented identities of the counterpublic. A collective identity evolves in the context of the struggle for justice, freedom and dignity through the construction of an antagonistic “Others” who are held responsible for femicidal violence.This study builds a bridge between feminist activism and academic discourse for feminist studies of the region. It further develops and exemplifies a methodological toolkit for a theoretically based discourse analysis on contemporary women’s movements.