Adaptation Genomics in Urban Environments

2020 ◽  
pp. 74-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Perrier ◽  
Aude Caizergues ◽  
Anne Charmantier
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Genetics ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Genomic Studies ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms ◽  
New Generation Sequencing ◽  
New Generation ◽  
The City

The field of urban ecology has provided many fascinating examples of organisms that display novel biological features in urban environments compared to natural habitats. Quantitative genetics provides a framework that can be used to investigate whether this phenotypic differentiation between urban and natural habitats is adaptive and is the result of heritable changes in response to divergent selection. New generation sequencing tools offer unique opportunities to expand our understanding of the genes and genetic mechanisms implicated in evolution in urban environments. This chapter first reviews quantitative genetics studies investigating the mechanisms of evolution in the city. It then reviews pioneering genomic studies that have shed light on the genes and genetic mechanisms implicated in urban microevolution. The authors discuss how further use of cost-effective high-resolution genomic approaches may improve the comprehension of both genomic and epigenomic mechanisms implicated in such evolution. Finally, the chapter provides an overview of how the integrated use of quantitative genetics, field experiments, and genomics could expand our knowledge of the processes leading to urban evolution.

scholarly journals Urban ecosemiotics of trees: Why the ecological alien species paradigm has not gained ground in cities?

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 319-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riin Magnus ◽  
Tiit Remm
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Model ◽  
Nature Protection ◽  
Semiotic System ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
The City

The transportation and translocation of species beyond their natural habitats is considered to be one of the major causes of biodiversity loss these days. Concerns are growing also about urbanization and the resulting destruction of natural habitats. At the same time, the integration of urban environments into nature protection efforts has brought along the intent to apply the ecological alien species paradigm in cities. Yet, as the practices of urban landscaping demonstrate, this objective has not been achieved. In this article, we propose that the reasons behind it are largely related to the specifics of the city as a semiotic system. Multiplicity of codes and subjects of various origins is contested by the ecological alien species paradigm, yet characteristic of the urban semiotic environment. The city often serves the function of a cultural model, embodying the principles of setting the borders between Self and the Other. Also in this case, the ecological alien species paradigm has to face a different complex of meanings attributed to the Other. We demonstrate how two different models of the city are expressed in the interpretations of alien trees by using pyramid oaks and poplars in Estonia as an example.

scholarly journals Clinical-parasitological screening for respiratory capillariosis in cats in urban environments

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 322-334
Author(s):  
P. Stepanović ◽  
D. Despotović ◽  
S. Dimitrijević ◽  
T. Ilić
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Human Infection ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Parasitic Disease ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Wild Carnivores ◽  
Capillaria Aerophila ◽  
The City ◽  
Close Contacts

SummaryRespiratory capillariosis is a widely distributed zoonotic parasitic disease caused by the nematode Capillaria aerophila (Trichocephalida, Trichuridae) that commonly infects wild carnivores but also cats and dogs. This retrospective study aims to describe cases of respiratory capillariosis in cats from the city of Belgrade, Serbia. Between 2015 and 2019, a total of 155 pet cats with or without respiratory symptoms were submitted to physical examination and parasitological examination of the feces. All cats lived indoor but had free access to outdoor. In suburban settlements, wild carnivores commonly share their living environments with owned cats and dogs. It can be assumed that more intense urbanization spreading into the natural habitats of will carnivores creates the opportunity for closer and more frequent contacts between the population of cats and feral carnivores which might increase the risk of feline contamination. The findings confirm the existence of capillaries in cats in urban areas of the city of Belgrade, contribute to a better understanding of the epidemiology of this nematode and warn that, because of close contacts between cats of pets and humans, capillaries can cause human infection.

Minimetrò in Perugia as leverage for urban regeneration

TERRITORIO ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 148-163
Author(s):  
Luca Fondacci
Keyword(s):  
Urban Regeneration ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Sustainable Mobility ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Peripheral Area ◽  
Alternative Means ◽  
Considerable Impact ◽  
The City ◽  
Historical Centre

In the 1970s, the fragile historical centre of the city of Perugia was a key area where the binomial of sustainable mobility and urban regeneration was developed and applied. At the turn of the xxi century, the low carbon automatic people-mover Minimetrò broadened that application from the city's historical centre to the outskirts, promoting the enhancement of several urban environments. This paper is the outcome of an investigation of original sources, field surveys and direct interviews, which addresses the Minimetrò as the backbone of a wide regeneration process which has had a considerable impact on the economic development of a peripheral area of the city which was previously devoid of any clear urban sense. The conclusion proposes some solutions to improve the nature of the Minimetrò as an experimental alternative means of transport.

Two-stage chemical-biological treatment at Thessaloniki greater area WWTP - experiences and potentials

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 75-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Andreadakis ◽  
G. H. Kristensen ◽  
A. Papadopoulos ◽  
C. Oikonomopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Biological Treatment ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Primary Treatment ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Effluent Quality ◽  
Filamentous Microorganisms ◽  
Sludge Settling ◽  
The City

The wastewater from the city of Thessaloniki is discharged without treatment to the nearby inner part of the Thessaloniki Gulf. The existing, since 1989, treatment plant offers only primary treatment and did not operate since the expected effluent quality is not suitable for safe disposal to the available recipients. Upgrading of the plant for advanced biological treatment, including seasonal nitrogen removal, is due from 1995. In the mean time, after minor modifications completed in February 1992, the existing plant was put into operation as a two-stage chemical-biological treatment plant for 40 000 m3 d−1, which corresponds to about 35% of the total sewage flow. The operational results obtained during the two years operation period are presented and evaluated. All sewage and sludge treatment units of the plant perform better than expected, with the exception of the poor sludge settling characteristics, due to severe and persistent bulking caused by excessive growth of filamentous microorganisms, particularly M. Parvicella. Effective control of the bulking problem could lead to more cost-effective operation and increased influent flows.

scholarly journals Testing the Effect of Hedge Height on Perceived Safety—A Landscape Design Intervention

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5063
Author(s):  
Katinka H. Evensen ◽  
Helena Nordh ◽  
Ramzi Hassan ◽  
Aslak Fyhri
Keyword(s):  
Field Study ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Landscape Design ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Space Management ◽  
Perceived Safety ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Outdoor Spaces ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
The Impact

Access to safe, green urban environments is important for quality of life in cities. The objective of this study is to explore the impact of a safety-enhancing landscape design measure on visitors’ experiences in an urban park. Additionally, this paper combines the use of field and virtual reality (VR) experiments, contributing methodological insights into how to evaluate safety measures in green space management and research on perceived safety. In a field experiment (n = 266), we explored whether the height of a hedge along a pathway influenced perceived safety among users. The field study showed that cutting down the hedge improved the perceived prospect of the immediate surrounding areas for female users, which again made them feel safer in the park. We developed a VR experiment for an evening scenario in the same environment (n = 19) to supplement the field study and test the effect of the intervention further. The VR experiment also found a gender effect on perceived safety, with females reporting lower perceived safety, but no effect was shown for the height of the hedge. The results in this study show that environmental attributes such as perceived prospect and concealment should be considered in the design and management of urban green spaces. Additionally, this research demonstrates an approach to conducting field experiments to test the effects of actual design interventions and then further developing these experiments using VR technology. Further research on perceived safety in outdoor spaces is needed to make use of this combined method’s potential.

scholarly journals Biomass of ryegrass from field experiments: toward a cost-effective and efficient biosourced catalyst for the synthesis of Moclobemide

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-20
Author(s):  
Marie Hechelski ◽  
Christophe Waterlot ◽  
Pierrick Dufrénoy ◽  
Brice Louvel ◽  
Adam Daïch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Cost Effective

scholarly journals Facilitating fine-grained intra-urban dengue forecasting by integrating urban environments measured from street-view images

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kang Liu ◽  
Ling Yin ◽  
Meng Zhang ◽  
Min Kang ◽  
Ai-Ping Deng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Feature Vector ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Environmental Feature ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Environmental Features ◽  
Street View ◽  
The City ◽  
Dengue Epidemic

Abstract Background Dengue fever (DF) is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that has threatened tropical and subtropical regions in recent decades. An early and targeted warning of a dengue epidemic is important for vector control. Current studies have primarily determined weather conditions to be the main factor for dengue forecasting, thereby neglecting that environmental suitability for mosquito breeding is also an important factor, especially in fine-grained intra-urban settings. Considering that street-view images are promising for depicting physical environments, this study proposes a framework for facilitating fine-grained intra-urban dengue forecasting by integrating the urban environments measured from street-view images. Methods The dengue epidemic that occurred in 167 townships of Guangzhou City, China, between 2015 and 2019 was taken as a study case. First, feature vectors of street-view images acquired inside each township were extracted by a pre-trained convolutional neural network, and then aggregated as an environmental feature vector of the township. Thus, townships with similar physical settings would exhibit similar environmental features. Second, the environmental feature vector is combined with commonly used features (e.g., temperature, rainfall, and past case count) as inputs to machine-learning models for weekly dengue forecasting. Results The performance of machine-learning forecasting models (i.e., MLP and SVM) integrated with and without environmental features were compared. This indicates that models integrating environmental features can identify high-risk urban units across the city more precisely than those using common features alone. In addition, the top 30% of high-risk townships predicted by our proposed methods can capture approximately 50–60% of dengue cases across the city. Conclusions Incorporating local environments measured from street view images is effective in facilitating fine-grained intra-urban dengue forecasting, which is beneficial for conducting spatially precise dengue prevention and control.

Obstacles on the Path to Urban Greatness: Competing Plans for the Creation of Greater Lviv (“Wielki Lwów”)

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-671
Author(s):  
Nadja Weck
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Future Development ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Comprehensive Plan ◽  
The Future ◽  
Imperial Capital ◽  
New Generation ◽  
The City

Like in many other provinces, during the Habsburg period, the main point of orientation for Galicia was Vienna. This also applies to architecture and urban development. Galicia’s technical elite applied the theoretical and practical experience it gathered in Vienna to the towns and cities of this northeastern Crown land. Ignacy Drexler, born in 1878 in the Austro-Hungarian Lemberg, was a representative of a new generation of engineers and architects who did not necessarily have to spend time in the imperial capital to earn their spurs. Increasingly, besides the more or less obligatory stay in Vienna, other European countries became points of reference. Drexler did not live to see the realization of important aspects of his comprehensive plan for the city, but his ideas and the data he compiled were indispensable for the future development of his hometown. They shape urban planning in Lviv to this day.

scholarly journals Prediction limits of mobile phone activity modelling

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 160900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dániel Kondor ◽  
Sebastian Grauwin ◽  
Zsófia Kallus ◽  
István Gódor ◽  
Stanislav Sobolevsky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Full Spectrum ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Social Events ◽  
Prediction Limits ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
City Structure ◽  
The City

Thanks to their widespread usage, mobile devices have become one of the main sensors of human behaviour and digital traces left behind can be used as a proxy to study urban environments. Exploring the nature of the spatio-temporal patterns of mobile phone activity could thus be a crucial step towards understanding the full spectrum of human activities. Using 10 months of mobile phone records from Greater London resolved in both space and time, we investigate the regularity of human telecommunication activity on urban scales. We evaluate several options for decomposing activity timelines into typical and residual patterns, accounting for the strong periodic and seasonal components. We carry out our analysis on various spatial scales, showing that regularity increases as we look at aggregated activity in larger spatial units with more activity in them. We examine the statistical properties of the residuals and show that it can be explained by noise and specific outliers. Also, we look at sources of deviations from the general trends, which we find to be explainable based on knowledge of the city structure and places of attractions. We show examples how some of the outliers can be related to external factors such as specific social events.

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