Critical Capacity Research Articles

Evaluating the Capacity of Existing Stormwater Drainage System in Kapan, Kathmandu via SWMM Mode

Overflowing drainage systems in the Nepalese cities are the most significant issue due to unplanned urban expansion and inadequate drainage networks. As the city's drainage networks are not designed to handle the extra runoff from catastrophic flooding incidents, flash floods typically occur during short-duration, and high-intensity rainstorm storms frequently. In the vicinity of Kapan, Kathmandu, and many other Nepalese cities, particularly during the rainy season, roads are seen changing into the streams. This study employs a hydrological analysis model to examine the storm water drainage system existing currently in the Kapan area. Being the EPA Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) physically based, deterministic type that simulates the inflows, outflows, and storages of water within a sub-catchment efficiently, it is chosen here mainly to model the catchments specifically. Though it has not been employed frequently in the context of Nepal, despite its popularity in the industrialized countries such as United States of America for the proper management of the storm water, the SWMM is particularly employed here to model the catchments due to its publicly available, easy to obtain, simple data input parameters, and simple processing steps in compared to other relatively more expensive yet sophisticated models. The catchment's overall area of 360.57 hectares was at first separated into the 86 sub catchments using the SWMM based on its surface elevation and existing drainage network, and the attributes of each sub-catchment were then assigned accordingly. After the proper identification of the sub-catchments, the runoff from the relevant sub-catchments was routed to the respective nodes, and finally to the outlet via conduits. In the current study, the drain system (Combined Sewer line) is given along the center of the road network. The storm network are represented by junctions, conduits, and outfalls. The longitudinal and velocity profiles of the drain were obtained. The critical runoff and capacity of existing drains were determined, as well as their validation with discharge derived using the rational technique. With the runoff generated during peak rainfall 45.08 mm/hr., the Kapan area's existing drainage system was found to be insufficient. This study suggests that the SWMM would be the most effective model to be employed for predicting the sudden surface runoff and for prior managing of the storm water, particularly in Kathmandu and other vulnerable parts of main cities in Nepal, where overflow has caused serious problems during rainfall.

Bearing Capacity Analysis of the Weak Basement, Progressive Destruction Analysis, and Evaluation of the Dump on an Inclined Strip Section Using the Upper-Limit Method: A Case Study in an Anonymous Open-Cast Coal Mine

Due to terrain and transportation constraints, some open cast mines have to choose a weak basement as their tailings dumping grounds. Therefore, ensuring the bearing capacity and slope stability of dumping grounds on the weak basement is of great significance for the production capacity and economic benefits of open cast mining. To ensure the safety of surrounding facilities and the normal production of open cast mines, the bearing capacity of the dumping ground of a certain open cast mine was calculated using the oblique strip method and verified by numerical simulation. On this basis, the potential failure mode of the dumping ground base was analyzed, and the ultimate bearing capacity of the dumping ground under current conditions was calculated. The results are as follows: (1) The ultimate bearing capacity of the current dumping ground base is 3781 kPa, and the failure mode of the base is overall shear sliding along the base of the dumping ground. (2) When the slope foot increases from 12° to 18°, the stability coefficient and critical bearing capacity coefficient of the slope base decrease by about 21% and 46%, respectively. The slope angle has a greater impact on the bearing capacity of the base, and the height of the slope body has a relatively small impact, with almost no width effect. (3) Compared with the classic Terzaghi method and Prandtl method, the ultimate bearing capacity of the dumping ground base determined using the oblique strip method proposed in this paper is closer to the numerical simulation results, with an error of no more than 5%, a consistent critical sliding surface, and results that are relatively consistent with the engineering practice monitoring of the surface uplift part. The calculation results of the bearing capacity of the weak basement of open cast mine dumping grounds using the oblique strip method are reliable.

Critical power, W' and W' reconstitution in women and men.

The aim of this study was to compare critical power (CP) and work capacity W', and W' reconstitution (W'REC) following repeated maximal exercise between women and men. Twelve women ([Formula: see text]O2PEAK: 2.53 ± 0.37 L·min-1) and 12 men ([Formula: see text]O2PEAK: 4.26 ± 0.30 L·min-1) performed a minimum of 3 constant workload tests, to determine CP and W', and 1 maximal exercise repetition test with three work bouts (WB) to failure, to quantify W'REC during 2 recovery periods, i.e., W'REC1 and W'REC2. An independent samples t test was used to compare CP and W' values between women and men, and a repeated-measures ANOVA was used to compare W'REC as fraction of W' expended during the first WB, absolute W'REC, and normalized to lean body mass (LBM). CP normalized to LBM was not different between women and men, respectively, 3.7 ± 0.5 vs. 4.1 ± 0.4 W·kgLBM-1, while W' normalized to LBM was lower in women 256 ± 29 vs. 305 ± 45J·kgLBM-1. Fractional W'REC1 was higher in women than in men, respectively, 74.0 ± 12.0% vs. 56.8 ± 9.5%. Women reconstituted less W' than men in absolute terms (8.7 ± 1.2 vs. 10.9 ± 2.0kJ) during W'REC1, while normalized to LBM no difference was observed between women and men (174 ± 23 vs. 167 ± 31J·kgLBM-1). W'REC2 was lower than W'REC1 both in women and men. Sex differences in W'REC (absolute women < men; fractional women > men) are eliminated when LBM is accounted for. Prediction models of W'REC might benefit from including LBM as a biological variable in the equation. This study confirms the occurrence of a slowing of W'REC during repeated maximal exercise.

The impact of marketing modification on the performance of food processing SMEs in Ghana

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to empirically examine the effect of marketing modification on business performance from the perspective of marketing capabilities theory.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a survey method to collect data from 225 food processing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA) registered list in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The effect of marketing modification on the performance of SMEs in the food processing industry was evaluated using a structural equation modeling (SEM) – path analysis.FindingsAccording to the study’s findings, marketing modification has a positive and significant impact on the financial performance (FP), customer performance (CP), internal business process performance (IBPP) and learning and growth performance (LGP) of Ghanaian SMEs engaged in food processing. The results of this study also demonstrated the importance of marketing modification determinants, such as marketing resources (MR), cross-functional and interenterprise collaboration (CFIEC), architectural marketing capability (AMC) and marketing strategy decision implementation (MSDI), in achieving food processing SME performance in Ghana.Research limitations/implicationsThis current research has its limitation, even though its importance has been mentioned earlier. First, the study can be improved by expanding the sample size through the inclusion of other SMEs from other industries since it is industry specific (i.e. food processing SME). Second, this current study was conducted in Ghana. To compare results, the current study may be replicated in other emerging countries. Third, future research studies may consider how business environmental factors such as technological change (e.g. use of artificial intelligence and machine learning) moderate the relationship between marketing modification and SME performance.Practical implicationsThe outcomes of this research study are anticipated to give profitable implications to both academicians and practitioners. For the academic aspect, this study provides an important contribution to marketing modification and performance literature by examining the impact of innovative marketing on the performance of food processing SMEs in Ghana. For practitioners, this study indicates that food processing SME owners/managers must focus on marketing modification to develop their performance. The increase in marketing modification application through marketing capabilities such as MR and CFIEC will enable owners/managers to achieve performance targets.Social implicationsThe application of marketing modification among food processing SMEs in Ghana will contribute greatly to their profitability, survival and growth. The growth and survival of food processing SMEs (not limited to food processing SMEs) in Ghana will help in the control of unemployment, which is a major social issue in Ghana.Originality/valueThe study’s findings provide solid support for the marketing capabilities theory. This study also supports the notion that food processing SMEs should perceive marketing modification and its determinants (i.e. MR, CFIEC, AMC and MSDI) as a critical strategic capacity to enhance their performance (i.e. FP, CF, IBPP and LGP). In terms of contribution, this study adds to the body of knowledge already available on marketing modification and business performance, particularly in the setting of an emerging economy.

Justifying contentious social and political claims using mundane language: An analysis of Canadian right-wing extremism.

There has been a lack of research examining how right-wing extremist groups justify their key claims online to reach a broader audience. This question is even more worrisome when considering a Canadian context, given Canada's state policies on multiculturalism and intolerance of hateful rhetoric. My research draws on the gaps within the literature of right-wing extremism, online spaces, and justification of discourse by conducting a content analysis of 300 Facebook and Twitter posts from the accounts of three Canadian right-wing extremist groups, ID Canada, Soldiers of Odin BC, and Yellow Vests Canada. This article proposes the use of French theorist Boltanski and Thévenot's sociology of critical capacity common worlds to help explain how right-wing extremist groups make arguments that are quite extreme to a broad audience of people on social media. Such claims include advocating for a homogenized Canadian identity and Canadian values, promoting a belief in social decay, and supporting authoritarianism. However, these claims are not overt; rather right-wing extremist groups discuss apolitical topics to mask controversial views.

‘Sitting there and listening was one of the most important lessons I had to learn’: critical capacity building in youth participatory action research

ABSTRACT This work builds upon critical youth studies’ concern with capacity building in engaging young people as active agents for social change. This article analyses critical capacity building processes among young women engaged in youth participatory action research (YPAR) that sought to co-design a community sport programme in Melbourne, Australia. Participants included the first author, four young women (second to the fifth author), and a critical friend (sixth author). The experience of engaging young women in YPAR foregrounded significant capacity building such as: (a) learning to genuinely listen to young people in order to plan for change; (b) finding creative and flexible ways to build relationships; (c) learning to negotiate the messiness and uncertainty in the research process; and (d) improving problem-solving skills in order to listen and respond to young people in their community. This paper concludes by articulating how YPAR can potentialise the development of critical capacity building in youth studies, nurturing skills and knowledge linked with social justice, activism, and democracy, instead of instrumentalist and technocratic capacity-building models that focus on training and predefined practical skills.

The “Hart-Dworkin” Debate: Critical Capacity for Russian Legal Theory

This article is devoted to an analysis of the early arguments within the Anglo-American philosophical and legal discussion, known in the academic literature as the “Hart-Dworkin” debate. The key theses attributed by R. Dworkin to the legal positivism of H. Hart and his proponents are examined: the pedigree thesis, the discretion thesis, the obligation thesis and the separability thesis. R. Dworkin’s criticism of these theses, on the basis of legal positivists’ undervaluing of the role of legal principles, as well as the capacity of these arguments for reconsideration of the key assumptions of mainstream Russian legal theory, is characterized. The central statements of the exclusive (hard) and inclusive (soft) legal positivism as two strategies of reaction to R. Dworkin’s critique are analysed. The separability thesis is discussed through the framework of J. Coleman’s distinction between positive and negative versions of the positivist legal theory. The conclusion that the nature of the nexus between moral and legal norms has not been properly problematised in contemporary Russian legal theory and that the arguments in the Hart-Dworkin debate have critical capacity to challenge dogmatism on this issue is justified.

Flow-Sizing Critical Care Resources.

To describe the factors affecting critical care capacity and how critical care organizations (CCOs) within academic centers in the U.S. flow-size critical care resources under normal operations, strain, and surge conditions. PubMed, federal agency and American Hospital Association reports, and previous CCO survey results were reviewed. Studies and reports of critical care bed capacity and utilization within CCOs and in the United States were selected. The Academic Leaders in the Critical Care Medicine Task Force established regular conference calls to reach a consensus on the approach of CCOs to "flow-sizing" critical care services. The approach of CCOs to "flow-sizing" critical care is outlined. The vertical (relation to institutional resources, e.g., space allocation, equipment, personnel redistribution) and horizontal (interdepartmental, e.g., emergency department, operating room, inpatient floors) integration of critical care delivery (ICUs, rapid response) for healthcare organizations and the methods by which CCOs flow-size critical care during normal operations, strain, and surge conditions are described. The advantages, barriers, and recommendations for the rapid and efficient scaling of critical care operations via a CCO structure are explained. Comprehensive guidance and resources for the development of "flow-sizing" capability by a CCO within a healthcare organization are provided. We identified and summarized the fundamental principles affecting critical care capacity. The taskforce highlighted the advantages of the CCO governance model to achieve rapid and cost-effective "flow-sizing" of critical care services and provide recommendations and resources to facilitate this capability. The relevance of a comprehensive approach to "flow-sizing" has become particularly relevant in the wake of the latest COVID-19 pandemic. In light of the growing risks of another extreme epidemic, planning for adequate capacity to confront the next critical care crisis is urgent.

Development of Social and Environmental Competences of Teachers in Training Using Sound and Visual Landscape

The soundscape was used as the basis of the research carried out by the Teaching Faculty of the Universitat de València Spain. The research focused on two aspects: (i) study the relationship between environmental sounds and emotions as a base to promote environmental awareness; and (ii) analyze the usefulness as an educational resource for the development of social and environmental competences of teachers in training. Thus, a didactic sequence was designed using 360º virtual recordings of natural and human landscapes in which participants described sound and visual elements that they associated with a range of emotions. Moreover, participants identified environmental problems and reflected on the usefulness of the sound and visual landscape in the acquisition of social and environmental competences. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this study and 327 teachers participated in the training. The findings show the observation of sound and visual elements can facilitate the understanding of environmental problems. The natural soundscape was associated with positive emotions, while more industrial or urban landscapes were associated with negative emotions. This can affect on people’s well-being. Moreover, the participants had a good perception of the development of their social and environmental competences, and considered that the activity promoted the transfer of knowledge and developed argumentative and critical capacities. This approach offers the opportunity to create learning environments contextualized in the landscape that facilitate the connection of scientific and artistic disciplines from an experiential perspective. It is essential to continue studying and implementing educational strategies that promote the integration of theory and practice.

The Intermediary Role of Women Workers for the Inclusion of Women Migrants SOGIESC: Between Recognition and Reflexivity

AbstractThe intermediary role of women workers in NGOs is very important when lesbian, bisexual and queer migrant women apply for international protection in immigration countries. They are more exposed to multiple forms of discrimination when experiencing the intersection of multiple elements of vulnerability (gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, social class, etc.). Applying the technique of narrative interviewing to women NGO workers in Italy, on the one hand, we will try to understand the role of intermediaries that these women assume in taking care of migrant women who are distinguished by Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) and, on the other, to understand whether these women’s activities constitute an opportunity to construct new gendered and sexual imaginaries to the extent that they themselves live a web of experiences that are in some ways similar to those of migrant women. Intermediation enables women workers to acquire a critical capacity with respect to their personal investment in the cause of SOGIESC persons and with respect to the procedure itself for obtaining international protection. Achieving this awareness allows women workers to suggest actions that, inspired by an intersectional perspective, are more appropriate in responding to the multiple vulnerabilities experienced by SOGIESC migrant women in the immigration society.

Analysis of Critical Gap and Capacity at Skewed Uncontrolled Intersections

Critical gaps and capacity of movements at uncontrolled intersections are influenced by intersection geometry, especially in mixed traffic conditions. However, existing models to compute the capacity of uncontrolled base intersections are only suitable for intersections with 00 to 100 skew angles. This study aims to bridge the gap by evaluating the effect of skew angle on the critical gap and capacity of uncontrolled intersections. The critical gap models are developed for different vehicle types. The capacity of uncontrolled intersections is determined for different skew angles (00 to 270) using simulation and Indo-HCM models. The comparison reveals that the Indo-HCM model over-predicts the capacities. Thus, new capacity models are proposed, and it is observed that the capacity varies as a quadratic function of the skew angle, where the constant indicates base capacity. This study also provides the adjustment factors for Indo-HCM capacity models to deduce the capacity of any skew-angled intersections.

(DIS)Locating Meaning: Toward a Hermeneutical Response in Education to Religiously Inspired Extremism

AbstractA key epistemological assumption in the ideologies of many of the groups termed extremist is that there is an unmediated access to a Divine Will. Driven by this assumption, and facilitated by several other factors, a range of coercive actions (including violence) to force others into submission to the perceived Will of God are seen as justified by some of these groups. A consideration of how religion is discussed in various contexts, from seminaries and schools to media and policy discourses, shows that this assumption about unmediated access to Divine Will is widely shared and that most children grow up socialized into it. In this paper, Farid Panjwani argues that challenging this assumption through educational settings can help young people acquire critical capacities that may lead to a critique of extremist narratives, thereby decreasing their attractions. In this regard, the paper draws upon a range of theoretical ideas, for example, the hermeneutical tradition (in particular the work of Hans‐Georg Gadamer), as well as historical and textual examples, to make a case for a rethinking of religious education to develop more critical capacities among the students.

The impact of COVID-19 on mental health service utilisation in England

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on population mental health and the need for mental health services in many countries, while also disrupting critical mental health services and capacity, as a response to the pandemic. Mental health providers were asked to reconfigure wards to accommodate patients with COVID-19, thereby reducing capacity to provide mental health services. This is likely to have widened the existing mismatch between demand and supply of mental health care in the English NHS. We quantify the impact of these rapid service reconfigurations on activity levels for mental health providers in England during the first thirteen months (March 2020–March 2021) of the COVID-19 pandemic. We use monthly mental health service utilisation data for a large subset of mental health providers in England from January 1, 2015 to March 31, 2021. We use multivariate regression to estimate the difference between observed and expected utilisation from the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Expected utilisation levels (i.e. the counterfactual) are estimated from trends in utilisation observed during the pre-pandemic period January 1, 2015 to February 31, 2020. We measure utilisation as the monthly number of inpatient admissions, discharges, net admissions (admissions less discharges), length of stay, bed days, number of occupied beds, patients with outpatient appointments, and total outpatient appointments. We also calculate the accumulated difference in utilisation from the start of the pandemic period. There was a sharp reduction in total inpatient admissions and net admissions at the beginning of the pandemic, followed by a return to pre-pandemic levels from September 2020. Shorter inpatient stays are observed over the whole period and bed days and occupied bed counts had not recovered to pre-pandemic levels by March 2021. There is also evidence of greater use of outpatient appointments, potentially as a substitute for inpatient care.

Using Two Statewide Medical Operations Coordination Centers to Load Balance in Pediatric Hospitals During a Severe Respiratory Surge in the United States.

Report on the use of two statewide Medical Operations Coordination Centers (MOCCs) to manage a rapid surge in pediatric acute and critical care patient needs. Brief report. The states of Washington and Oregon during the pediatric respiratory surge in November 2022/December 2022 which overwhelmed existing pediatric acute and critical care hospital capacity. Pediatric patients requiring hospitalization in Washington and Oregon. Adaptations to the use of two existing statewide MOCCs to provide pediatric patient load balancing through surveillance, modifications of existing referral agreements, coordinated expansion of resources, activation of regional crisis standards of care, and integration of pediatric critical care physicians from Harborview Medical Center as subject matter experts (SMEs). The Washington and Oregon MOCCs managed 183 pediatric requests from hospitals unable to transfer pediatric patients between November 1, 2022, and December 14, 2022. Sixteen percent of requests were for children younger than 3 months and 37% were for children between 3 months and 1 year; most had acute viral respiratory disease. Requests for children older than 13 years old were primarily intentional drug ingestions. Fifty-eight percent were for critically ill children and 17% originated from critical access hospitals. Washington's SMEs were utilized in nearly a quarter of cases with the disposition changing in 38% of these. Washington and Oregon statewide MOCCs have leveraged centralized coordination to effectively load balance a surge in pediatric patients which has overwhelmed existing pediatric hospital resources. Centralized coordination and surveillance informed pediatric hospitals and policy makers of unmet clinical needs and facilitated rapid expansion of clinical capacity and modifications to referral processes. Integration of pediatric SMEs enabled efficient triage of these resources. MOCCs provide an adaptable centralized resource for addressing surge and have been effective in managing overwhelmed pediatric hospital resources in Washington and Oregon.

Applying an ethical lens to the provision of care in for-profit healthcare facilities.

In early 2023, after three years of pandemic and delayed care, Ontario faced an overwhelming backlog of elective surgical procedures and unacceptable wait times. With hospitals experiencing historic health human resources shortages and critical capacity limitations, disruptive change was required. The Ontario government proposed to address these mounting access-to-care issues by paying for-profit healthcare clinics and surgi-centres to provide insured services, resulting in considerable controversy, much opposition, some praise, and many public protests. Previous experiences with for-profit independent health facilities had generated both complaints and documented problems with their operations. This article examines these concerns against the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-malfeasance, and justice. While much of this unease can be effectively addressed through collaboration and oversight, the complexity and costs involved in ensuring equity and quality may make it difficult for such facilities to maintain profitability.

COVID-19 Infodemic and Impacts on the Mental Health of Older People: Cross-sectional Multicenter Survey Study

Background The COVID-19 pandemic received widespread media coverage due to its novelty, an early lack of data, and the rapid rise in deaths and cases. This excessive coverage created a secondary “infodemic” that was considered to be a serious public and mental health problem by the World Health Organization and the international scientific community. The infodemic particularly affected older individuals, specifically those who are vulnerable to misinformation due to political positions, low interpretive and critical analysis capacity, and limited technical-scientific knowledge. Thus, it is important to understand older people’s reaction to COVID-19 information disseminated by the media and the effect on their lives and mental health. Objective We aimed to describe the profile of exposure to COVID-19 information among older Brazilian individuals and the impact on their mental health, perceived stress, and the presence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Methods This cross-sectional, exploratory study surveyed 3307 older Brazilians via the web, social networks, and email between July 2020 and March 2021. Descriptive analysis and bivariate analysis were performed to estimate associations of interest. Results Major proportions of the 3307 participants were aged 60 to 64 years (n=1285, 38.9%), female (n=2250, 68.4%), and married (n=1835, 55.5%) and self-identified as White (n=2364, 71.5%). Only 295 (8.9%) had never started or completed a basic education. COVID-19 information was mainly accessed on television (n=2680, 81.1%) and social networks (n=1943, 58.8%). Television exposure was ≥3 hours in 1301 (39.3%) participants, social network use was 2 to 5 hours in 1084 (32.8%) participants, and radio exposure was ≥1 hour in 1223 (37%) participants. Frequency of exposure to social networks was significantly associated with perceived stress (P=.04) and GAD (P=.01). A Bonferroni post hoc test revealed significantly different perceived stress in participants who were exposed to social networks for 1 hour (P=.04) and those who had no exposure (P=.04). A crude linear regression showed that “some” social media use (P=.02) and 1 hour of exposure to social media (P&lt;.001) were associated with perceived stress. Adjusting for sociodemographic variables revealed no associations with this outcome variable. In a crude logistic regression, some social media use (P&lt;.001) and 2 to 5 hours of exposure to social media (P=.03) were associated with GAD. Adjusting for the indicated variables showed that some social network use (P&lt;.001) and 1 hour (P=.04) and 2 to 5 hours (P=.03) of exposure to social media were associated with GAD. Conclusions Older people, especially women, were often exposed to COVID-19–related information through television and social networks; this affected their mental health, specifically GAD and stress. Thus, the impact of the infodemic should be considered during anamnesis for older people, so that they can share their feelings about it and receive appropriate psychosocial care.

Lessons Learned from 28 Hospitals and City Agencies: Pediatric Disaster Exercise

Introduction:Children are frequently victims of disasters. However, gaps remain in pediatric disaster preparedness. The New York City Pediatric Disaster Coalition (NYCPDC) is funded by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to prepare NYC for mass casualty events that involve large numbers of children. The NYC PDC conducted a functional exercise testing surge, communications, and secondary transport. Participants included 28 NYC hospitals, the NYC Fire Department-Emergency Medical Services (FDNY-EMS), NYC Emergency Management (NYCEM), NYC DOHMH and the NYC Medical Reserve Corps (MRC).Method:The hospitals and agencies participated in group and individual planning meetings. Scenario-driven, operations-based activities challenged participants to employ their facility's existing pediatric surge and secondary transport plans during an event. The exercise assessed: Communications, Emergency Operation Plans, Surge, Patient Tracking, Patient Transfer, Supplies, and Staffing. Internal and external evaluators assessed the exercise performance.Results:An After-Action Report was written based on information from evaluation data, site-specific and group hot-washes, and an after-action conference. Strengths included meaningful improvement of plans before/after the exercise and doubling pediatric critical care capacity through the implementation of the exercise objectives. Challenges included: gaps in communication/patient tracking, lack of sufficient sub-specialty support, the need for "babysitters” and inadequate supplies of blood products and ventilators.Conclusion:Conducting a multi-hospital and agency pediatric specific exercise demonstrated current planning and produced lessons learned to address planning and training gaps that can improve citywide planning and capabilities during future full-scale exercise and real-time events.

Knowing Food: Sustainability Politics, Food Policy Councils and the Co-Production of Knowledge

As one of the major causes of climate change, there is an urgent need for a fundamental transformation of the food system. Calls for greater sustainability underscore the importance of integrating civil society and the local knowledge of citizens in this transformation process. One increasingly relevant organisation that can actively engage a plurality of actors from across civil society is the Food Policy Council (FPC). In this paper, we explore the potential role of FPCs in sustainability politics to create an alternative food system, with a focus on the co-production of knowledge for policy-making. We propose that the co-production of knowledge requires knowledge inclusion, exchange and transmission, and we focus on the challenges that can arise for FPCs. Our paper shows that bottom-up emerging FPCs constitute a new form of alternative food organisation that can integrate and support the critical capacity of civil society in food system transformation, but also face potential struggles in the co-production of knowledge for sustainable food policy-making. The paper further highlights that co-producing knowledge in and for sustainability transformation is fundamentally a political process, with politics broadly conceived. It not only has relevance for the institutions of formal politics, but emerges in and is intrinsically linked to the grassroots collective action of contentious and prefigurative politics in civil society. FPCs (re)politicise food by combining these various kinds of sustainability politics, which constitutes their transformative potential.

Long term culture promotes changes to growth, gene expression, and metabolism in CHO cells that are independent of production stability.

Phenotypic stability of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells over long term culture (LTC) presents one of the most pressing challenges in the development of therapeutic protein manufacturing processess. However, our current understanding of the consequences of LTC on recombinant (r-) CHO cell lines is still limited, particularly as clonally-derived cell lines present distinct production stability phenotypes. This study evaluated changes of culture performance, global gene expression, and cell metabolism of two clonally-derived CHO cell lines with a stable or unstable phenotype during the LTC (early [EP] vs. late [LP] culture passages). Our findings indicated that LTC altered the behavior of CHO cells in culture, in terms of growth, overall gene expression, and cell metabolism. Regardless whether cells were categorized as stable or unstable in terms of r-protein production, CHO cells at LP presented an earlier decline in cell viability and loss of any observable stationary phase. These changes were parallelled by the upregulation of genes involved in cell proliferation and survival pathways (i.e., MAPK/ERK, PI3K-Akt). Stable and unstable CHO cell lines both showed increased consumption of glucose and amino acids at LP, with a parallel accumulation of greater amounts of lactate and TCA cycle intermediates. In terms of production stability, we found that decreased r-protein production in the unstable cell line directly correlated to the loss in r-gene copy number and r-mRNA expression. Our data revealed that LTC produced ubiquitious effects on CHO cell phenotypes, changes that were rooted in alterations in cell transcriptome and metabolome. Overall, we found that CHO cells adapted their cellular function to proliferation and survival during the LTC, some of these changes may well have limited effects on overall yield or specific productivity of the desired r-product, but they may be critical towardthe capacity of cells to handle r-proteins with specific molecular features.

Effect of Coupling Discretization on Coherent-Ising-Machine-Implemented Hopfield Model

The coherent Ising machine (CIM) is being developed for solving combinatorial optimization problems scalably at high speed. The actual equipment of the measurement-feedback type of CIM (MFB-CIM) uses a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) to calculate the local field. Because the product of the coupling strength matrix and the measured amplitude vector of the optical parametric oscillator pulses must be calculated in real-time to achieve feedback, the coupling strength must have a low-bit discrete representation in the FPGA. By reducing the number of bits of coupling strength, the amount of memory needed to store the coupling matrix can be reduced and the calculation speed increased so that the MFB-CIM can implement more spins. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the number of bits of coupling strength as much as possible while maintaining the performance in solving combinatorial optimization problems. In this paper, to evaluate the effect of discretization of the coupling strength in the MFB-CIM, we quantitatively evaluate the performance of the Hopfield model with discrete coupling when it is implemented in the CIM. The Hopfield model, which is a canonical model of Ising computation in information statistical mechanics, is defined in a coupling manner called the correlation-type interaction, in common with other models such as Sourlas code, a code division multiple access multiuser detector, and L0 regularization-based compressed sensing. We derived the macroscopic equations (MEs) of the Hopfield model with discrete coupling when it is implemented in the CIM by using the non-equilibrium statistical mechanics method we previously proposed. Moreover, we clarified the relationship between the number of bits of the coupling strength and the critical memory capacity for various pump rates.