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This thesis provides a sociological exploration of the politics of new agricultural technologies in the United Kingdom. It addresses some of the key issues involved in these politics, as well as how they are discussed and fought over. Conceptually it addresses these questions by focussing on issues of risk, science and governance. In doing so, this thesis situates the politics of GM crops and foods in relation to wider normative concerns about the cultural values, relationships and institutions shaping agriculture, and British society more generally. Empirically, this thesis applies a qualitative methodology, primarily relying on data generated from a series of in-depth interviews. Through these interviews active participants in the debate were able to express a variety of opinions about the risks and benefits of agricultural biotechnology. The interview data is further supplemented by some documentary evidence, particularly as relates to several government led initiatives addressing agricultural debates in terms of contestations over risk and knowledge. Key chapters in this thesis look at the way in which the debate over GM crops and foods has been shaped by perceptions of the role and values of the life-industry, science and the Government in developing and regulating biotechnology. Finally, this thesis also addresses how society, and practices of governance in particular, are able to accommodate these political issues in managing risk and regulating technological change.

The O’Brien lab has demonstrated that Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27)shows attenuated expression in human coronary arteries as the degree of atherosclerosis progresses. Moreover, over-expression of HSP27 reduces atherogenesis in mice. The precise mechanism(s) for HSP27-mediated "atheroprotection" are incompletely understood. Nuclear Factor-kappaB (NF-κB) is a key signaling modulator in atherogenesis. Hence, this project sought to determine if recombinant HSP27 (rHSP27) alters NF-κB signaling to affect atheroprotection. Treatment of THP1 macrophages with rHSP27 resulted in degradation of IκBα, coincided with nuclear translocation of the p65 subunit and produced transcriptional evidence of activation of NF-κB signaling. When the transcriptional profile of THP1 macrophages treated with rHSP27 was analyzed using NF-κB-pathway-specific qRT-PCR arrays, among the regulated genes, IL-10 and GM-CSF mRNA levels were markedly increased, as were parallel translational effects observed. These data provide new mechanistic insights into the atheroprotective effects of HSP27.

Genetically modified insect-resistant (Bt) cotton is widely cultivated in Pakistan, although the Pakistani Government has yet to approve its commercial cultivation. This thesis is the first in-depth, systematic and critical examination of its commercialisation through the informal sector, and explains the conundrum of around 6.4 million acres of ‘illegal’ cultivation of a GM crop. / Most popular Bt varieties under cultivation in Pakistan contain Monsanto’s genetic modification event (called MON 531), widely believed to be under patent protection in Pakistan. Not wanting to infringe Monsanto’s intellectual property rights (IPR), the Pakistani Government has refused biosafety approval to these varieties. Consequently, the Pakistani breeders of these high-yielding Bt varieties commercialised them in the informal sector. This research decriminalises seed provision in the informal sector and shows that rather than being discrete categories, the formal/informal sectors are locations across which breeders and varieties travel. / For its part, Monsanto is not willing to enter the Pakistani seed market, considering it too disorderly in which to operate. It seeks to operate in the ‘high-differential’ end of the market, therefore requiring active engagement of the Government to keep the farmer from dropping out. Alternatively, Monsanto proposes that the Government licenses MON 531 on payment of an annual technology fee for use by Pakistani farmers and breeders. This technology fee is compared with Monsanto’s cost of development of Bt products, and Pakistan’s budgetary allocation for agriculture. On both counts, the technology fee demanded by Monsanto is excessive. / An examination of Pakistan’s patent law and the patents granted to Monsanto reveals that neither MON 531 nor biotechnological products/processes required for its insertion in local cotton varieties are patented in Pakistan. Thus Pakistan presents a unique case where the Government has consistently honoured patents that it never issued. It is argued that Monsanto’s non-existent IPR has been honoured due to the particular social relations between Monsanto and Pakistani farmers and breeders. Since MON 531 is a commodity objectifying the labour of a particular social group, a patent thereupon becomes a means to operationalise the social relations between this social group and those who consume this commodity. / An alternate route for commercialisation is through the hybrid seed. Monsanto is willing to enter the Pakistani seed market if its technology can be carried in hybrid seeds. But the use of hybrid seed is economically unfeasible in cotton production, and there are significant problems with hybrid seed production in large quantities for the Pakistani market. Yet Monsanto and other companies prefer the hybrid route to technology commercialisation because of an important latent function that hybrids perform – they stop the farmer from saving seed. / It is argued that IPR and the use of hybrid seed are key social and technical strategies for accumulation by dispossession. They represent the commodification of seed, which is a pre-requisite for the process of accumulation. At the same time, these appear to be the only available strategies within existing social relations for improving cotton germplasm and for providing quality Bt seed to the Pakistani farmer.

Genetically modified insect-resistant (Bt) cotton is widely cultivated in Pakistan, although the Pakistani Government has yet to approve its commercial cultivation. This thesis is the first in-depth, systematic and critical examination of its commercialisation through the informal sector, and explains the conundrum of around 6.4 million acres of ‘illegal’ cultivation of a GM crop. / Most popular Bt varieties under cultivation in Pakistan contain Monsanto’s genetic modification event (called MON 531), widely believed to be under patent protection in Pakistan. Not wanting to infringe Monsanto’s intellectual property rights (IPR), the Pakistani Government has refused biosafety approval to these varieties. Consequently, the Pakistani breeders of these high-yielding Bt varieties commercialised them in the informal sector. This research decriminalises seed provision in the informal sector and shows that rather than being discrete categories, the formal/informal sectors are locations across which breeders and varieties travel. / For its part, Monsanto is not willing to enter the Pakistani seed market, considering it too disorderly in which to operate. It seeks to operate in the ‘high-differential’ end of the market, therefore requiring active engagement of the Government to keep the farmer from dropping out. Alternatively, Monsanto proposes that the Government licenses MON 531 on payment of an annual technology fee for use by Pakistani farmers and breeders. This technology fee is compared with Monsanto’s cost of development of Bt products, and Pakistan’s budgetary allocation for agriculture. On both counts, the technology fee demanded by Monsanto is excessive. / An examination of Pakistan’s patent law and the patents granted to Monsanto reveals that neither MON 531 nor biotechnological products/processes required for its insertion in local cotton varieties are patented in Pakistan. Thus Pakistan presents a unique case where the Government has consistently honoured patents that it never issued. It is argued that Monsanto’s non-existent IPR has been honoured due to the particular social relations between Monsanto and Pakistani farmers and breeders. Since MON 531 is a commodity objectifying the labour of a particular social group, a patent thereupon becomes a means to operationalise the social relations between this social group and those who consume this commodity. / An alternate route for commercialisation is through the hybrid seed. Monsanto is willing to enter the Pakistani seed market if its technology can be carried in hybrid seeds. But the use of hybrid seed is economically unfeasible in cotton production, and there are significant problems with hybrid seed production in large quantities for the Pakistani market. Yet Monsanto and other companies prefer the hybrid route to technology commercialisation because of an important latent function that hybrids perform – they stop the farmer from saving seed. / It is argued that IPR and the use of hybrid seed are key social and technical strategies for accumulation by dispossession. They represent the commodification of seed, which is a pre-requisite for the process of accumulation. At the same time, these appear to be the only available strategies within existing social relations for improving cotton germplasm and for providing quality Bt seed to the Pakistani farmer.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Indiana University, 2008. / Title from screen (viewed June 24, 2009). Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Maureen Harrington. Includes vita. Non-Latin script record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-132).

Au cours d’une infection, les cellules de l’immunité innée sont capables de reconnaître via les Toll-like receptors (TLR) des motifs appelés pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Les cellules natural killer (NK) contribuent au processus inflammatoire en produisant de nombreuses cytokines. Chez la souris, nous avons montré que l’expression du TLR2 et du TLR4 dans les cellules NK spléniques est intracellulaire, comme pour le TLR9. La réponse des NK aux agonistes des TLR2, 4 et 9 nécessite la présence de cytokines accessoires (IL-15 et IL-18), afin d’obtenir une production significative des cytokines pro-inflammatoires IFN- et GM-CSF. En revanche, dans un modèle de sepsis polymicrobial, les NK spléniques de souris présentent une diminution dramatique de leur production d’IFN- et de GM-CSF en réponse aux agonistes des TLR. Cette diminution est sous le contrôle des cellules T régulatrices (Treg) et due au TGF-1. L’analyse des voies de signalisation nous a permis de montrer que la production de GM-CSF est abolie chez les cellules NK de souris déficientes pour STING en réponse au CpG-DNA. Ces résultats mettent en lumière une voie alternative et cytoplasmique pour la détection de l’ADN bactérien dans les cellules NK, différente de la voie classique TLR9-MyD88 dépendante. De plus, nous avons montré un trafic du récepteur TLR2 depuis l’intérieur vers la surface des cellules NK. La migration du TLR2 à la surface des NK nécessite la molécule UNC93B1, précédemment décrite comme transporteur endosomal de TLR.Chez les cellules NK humaines circulantes (sous-populations CD3-CD56bright et CD3-CD56dim), nous avons montré que l’expression des TLR2 et 4 est majoritairement intracellulaire, comme pour le TLR9 et comme chez la souris. La production d’IFN- par les NK de sujets sains en réponse aux agonistes des TLR nécessite également la présence de cytokines accessoires. Nous montrons que cette production est fortement altérée pour les NK des patients admis en soins intensifs et ayant un sepsis ou un syndrome de réponse inflammatoire systémique (SIRS). De même nous avons trouvé des différences entre les patients et les sujets sains dans l’expression du CD69 (marqueur d’activation précoce) et des TLR eux-mêmes. Cette étude indique que les NK des patients sepsis et SIRS deviennent tolérants aux agonistes des TLR en terme de production d’IFN-, de manière similaire à ce qui a été décrit pour d’autres cellules comme les monocytes / As sensors of infection, innate immune cells are able to recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns by receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLR). NK cells contribute to inflammatory processes by the production of numerous cytokines. In mice, we have shown that the protein expression of TLR2 and TLR4 in naive NK cells from spleen is predominantly intracellular, similarly to TLR9. The responsiveness of purified NK cells to TLR2, 4 or 9 agonists in vitro requires the presence of accessory cytokines (IL-15 and 18) to trigger a significant production of IFN- and GM-CSF. In contrast, NK cells purified from a model of in vivo polymicrobial sepsis, showed a dramatic reduction in their capacity to respond to TLR agonists in terms of IFN- and GM-CSF release due an inhibitory cross talk with Treg cells mediated by TGF-1. Analyzing the signaling pathways involved in cytokine production in response to CpG-DNA, we found that GM-CSF production was abolished in NK cells from STING-deficient mice, revealing that this intracytoplasmic receptor acts as a TLR9/MyD88-independent alternative sensor to bacterial DNA in NK cells. Additionally we show that intracellularly expressed TLR2 traffics to the cell surface of NK cells, by a mechanism involving UNC93B1, a protein previous described as an endosomal TLR carrier.In human peripheral blood NK cells (CD3-CD56bright and CD3-CD56dim subsets), we show that TLR2 and 4 protein expression is primarily intracellular, similar to TLR9, and similar to our findings in murine NK cells. The ex vivo responsiveness of human blood NK cells to TLR2, 4 or 9 agonists also requires accessory cytokines, to promote secretion of IFN-. In intensive care patients diagnosed with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis, IFN- production was significantly decreased. We also discovered modulations in the expression of CD69 (early activation marker) and in that of TLR themselves. This study indicates that NK cells undergo tolerance in response to TLR agonists during SIRS or sepsis, similarly to other cells, such as monocytes.

How can architecture positively impact on the development of integrated economic, social and ecological systems in an urban precinct? This dissertation is about the role that architecture can play as a systemic tool in the form of a brewery to facilitate regeneration in the urban context of Marabastad. Through the theories of regenerative design, systems theory and the non-modern thesis, an architecture of participation between various existing networks on site is established, that empowers resident traders while creating new opportunities for production, retail and social interaction. These activities are rooted in their context and participate in natural cycles and systems. / Dissertation MArch(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2014 / Architecture / MArch(Prof) / Unrestricted

As with the majority of Johannesburg areas, the Newtown Electric Power Station Heritage Precinct does not fully realise its potential for spatial relations facilitating creative means of living. Creativity is a powerful tool to engage present and future possibilities. A Centre to stimulate creativity will benefit the direct area users, as well as contribute to the prominence of the historical and cultural richness of Newtown. The vacant site adjacent to the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre provides an apt location for the Creativity Centre as the intervening programme will activate, strengthen and define the presently underutilised street corner edges. The proposed architectural spaces aim to direct the site’s current movement routes created by pedestrian commuters, in order for creativity to become more ingrained in daily life. The proposed architectural elements aim to facilitate creative activities - both curatorial and organically inspired through community appropriation of specifically designed open, or adaptable, spaces. The Centre aims to become a creative community gathering hub: becoming integral to the existing creative individuals currently pursuing artistic practices in Newtown. Gesamtkunstwerk theoretically guides the project: in terms of the architectural intervention being comprised of singular elements all contributing to a greater whole. Gesamtkunstwerk also programmatically unites the entire Electric Power Station city block, through promoting the unification of art forms with life, as a holistic, creative entity. The Centre acts as a crucial beacon highlighting the importance of creativity in the contemporary South African situation where it is undervalued and underutilised. It also articulates that as a directorial element of societal authorisations and processes, architectural design should articulate the value of creativity through facilitating and inspiring creative modes of living. / Dissertation MArch(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Architecture / MArch(Prof) / Unrestricted

The practices that have allowed farming to be separated from the city, with the resultant food security concerns, are being globally challenged. Simultaneously, low levels of employable skills in South Africa are magnifying unemployment levels in the country. Concurrently Pretoria has embraced urban programmes to unify urban areas which were previously effectively fragmented by apartheid’s Group Areas Act. This dissertation finds its genesis in this context of multiple concerns where the concurrent issues provide architecture with a unique challenge to interpret and to respond to the revised relationships: • between farming and the city, • between citizens and their cities, and • between unemployment and economic development. This dissertation undertakes the multi-function of addressing these conditions not only in terms of technical intervention, but more importantly by the examination of the changing urban context and by re-embracing food production within the city. The situation created by the crossroads in which the world, the nation and the city of Tshwane find themselves provides an unprecedented opportunity for an architectural expression which is influenced by a fresh re-assessment of local, national and global concerns. This dissertation therefore addresses the proposal not merely as a building but as an active change-generating catalyst. / Dissertation MArch(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2014 / Architecture / MArch(Prof) / Unrestricted