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This dissertation challenges dominant food security discourses and practices that seek to address food insecurity through technoscientific approaches to agricultural production. Situated in Vietnam’s An Giang province in the Mekong River Delta, this work ethnographically explores and historically grounds global, national, and household scalar implications of these same discourses and practices on rice farmers’ livelihoods. The central research question that guided this project asks: if farmers are producing security for the nation, then why do they remain food insecure? Through a 16-month ethnographic study utilizing a mixed-methods approach I combined participant observation, household surveys, semi-structured interviews, and participatory mapping with rice farmers, farm laborers, and local and national government officials in order to address this question from a historically and ethnographically ground perspective. I show how Vietnam’s history of hunger and famine, experienced most recently in the late 1970’s, colors the nation’s current and future agricultural development. Focused on a future of rural development, economic growth, and values of modernity, new models of agricultural production are implemented across the Mekong River Delta to ensure the nation’s self-sufficiency in producing “enough” rice and food. Amongst these strategies, intensive triple cropping rice practices, food safety certifications and practices, and an increased reliance on agro-chemicals has resulted in differing farming practices and mixed impacts on farming livelihoods. I leverage a feminist political ecology and science and technology studies framework to foreground the rice farmers’ perspectives and differed experiences, while tracking the rooted inequalities within government policies, market logics, and social relationships. In three articles, I (1) examine differential experiences of state-based agricultural models and their impact on farmers’ livelihood security (2) trace how dominant discourses raise questions about individual and state responsibility; and (3) explore emergent farming livelihood opportunities and challenges within late socialist agricultural development. Drawing on ethnographic accounts and experiences, particularly from farmers, results showed that these dominant discourses that narrows food security to only be governable through techno-scientific approaches and agricultural practices are insufficient to address farmers’ insecurity.

Denne oppgaven omhandler lyden av byen og utforsker hva slags betydning lydlandskapet har for å skape bedre lydmiljø i den kompakte byen. Kontinuerlig befolkningsvekst og urbanisering kombinert med kompakt byutvikling, fører til fortetting, økt arealbruk og høyere lydnivå. Nedbygging av grøntarealer, trafikkstøyvekst og gentrifisering er noen av utfordringene som skaper press på byens livskvalitetsfaktorer. Flere, men mindre boenheter i sentrumsnære knutepunkter resulterer i større behov for uteoppholdsarealer med kvalitet. Studiet av lydlandskapet er både en kritikk, men også et innovativt og positivt svar til den kompakte og bærekraftige samfunnsutviklingen. Byen trenger sårt et bedre tilpasset akustisk miljø for å være beboelig. Lydlandskap og hvordan gode lydmiljø kan skapes i byrom har vært lite belyst i norsk arealplanlegging. Behovet foreligger derfor for kompetanseheving og nytenking i fagfeltet. Gjennom de teoretiske perspektivene lyd, mennesket og byen, skapes forståelse og grunnlag for videre oppgaveutarbeiding. Lydens betydning for mennesket og kompakt byplanlegging, samt kvalitetsprinsipper for design av offentlig rom utforskes. Analysering av empirisk materiale, herunder støyregelverket og lydlandskapet til Teaterplassen, bidrar til økt kunnskap om hvordan lydmiljøet håndteres i planleggingspraksis og forbedringspotensialer. Lydlandskapstilnærminger ble testet ut for å vise at det er mulig å studere og bli kjent med lydmiljøet i Oslo. Faktumet er at flere vil bli eksponert for helseskadelig støy, fordi T-1442 åpner for utbygging innenfor støysoner i samsvar med samordnet bolig-, areal- og transportplanlegging. Med negativ tilnærming, benytter støyregelverket kildetiltak for å forebygge støy. Selv om grenseverdier oppnås betyr det ikke at lydlandskapet er godt. Da regelverket var svar på noe som tidligere ble ansett som viktig, stiller den ikke de riktige spørsmålene i dagens byutvikling. Lydlandskapsstudiet fokuserer på innholdet og betydning lyden har for mennesket, ikke kun lydnivået slik støyregelverket gjør. Den tverrfaglige tilnærmingen fremmer lydmiljøbevaring etter menneskets behov og akustiske designprinsipper. Lydlandskapsstudiet kan derfor bidra til å forbedre lydmiljøet samt (livs)kvaliteten i det kompakte Oslo, ved å utfylle eksisterende støyregelverk. This thesis deals with the sound of the city and explores the importance of soundscape for creating better sound environments in the compact city. Continuous population growth and urbanization combined with compact urban development, leads to densification, increased land use and higher level of noise. Reduced green areas, traffic noise growth and gentrification are some of the challenges that put pressure on the city's life quality factors. Increasingly smaller housing units near city center hubs result in greater need for quality in public spaces. The study of soundscape is both a criticism, but also an innovative and positive response to the compact and sustainable societal development. The city needs a better adapted acoustic environment which can be habitable. Soundscape and how good sound environment can be created in urban spaces has been very little illuminated in Norwegian planning. There is therefore a need to increase the competence and innovative thinking within the field. Understanding and foundation for further thesis compilation is created through the theoretical perspectives of sound, human and the city. The importance of sound for humans and compact planning, as well as design principles of quality for public spaces are explored. The analysis of empirical materials, including noise regulation and Teaterplassens soundscape, contribute to increased knowledge of how the sound environment is addressed in planning practice and improvement potentials. Soundscape approaches were tested to show that it is possible to study and get to know the sound environment in Oslo. The fact is that more people will be exposed of harmful noise, because T-1442 allows development within noise zones in accordance with coordinated housing, area and transport planning. With negative approach, the noise regulation uses source measures to prevent noise. Although thresholds are achieved does not mean that good soundscape is attained. As the regulation was an answer to something that previously was considered important, it does not promote the right questions in today's urban development. The soundscape study focuses on the content and importance sounds have for humans, not only the sound level which noise regulations focuses on. The interdisciplinary approach promotes sound environment conservation according to human needs and acoustic design principles. Soundscape studies can therefore help improve the sound environment and (life)quality in a compact Oslo, by supplementing existing noise regulations. M-BYREG

International audience; Severe influenza disease strikes otherwise healthy children and remains unexplained. We report compound heterozygous null mutations in IRF7, which encodes the transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 7, in an otherwise healthy child who suffered life-threatening influenza during primary infection. In response to influenza virus, the patient's leukocytes and plasmacytoid dendritic cells produced very little type I and III interferons (IFNs). Moreover, the patient's dermal fibroblasts and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived pulmonary epithelial cells produced reduced amounts of type I IFN and displayed increased influenza virus replication. These findings suggest that IRF7-dependent amplification of type I and III IFNs is required for protection against primary infection by influenza virus in humans. They also show that severe influenza may result from single-gene inborn errors of immunity.

Author Manuscript, Recapitulation of lung development from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) in three dimensions (3D) would allow deeper insight into human development, as well as the development of innovative strategies for disease modelling, drug discovery and regenerative medicine. We report here the generation from hPSCs of lung bud organoids (LBOs) that contain mesoderm and pulmonary endoderm and develop into branching airway and early alveolar structures after xenotransplantation and in Matrigel 3D culture. Expression analysis and structural features indicated that the branching structures reached the second trimester of human gestation. Infection in vitro with respiratory syncytial virus, which causes small airway obstruction and bronchiolitis in infants, led to swelling, detachment and shedding of infected cells into the organoid lumens, similar to what has been observed in human lungs. Introduction of mutation in HPS1, which causes an early-onset form of intractable pulmonary fibrosis, led to accumulation of extracellular matrix and mesenchymal cells, suggesting the potential use of this model to recapitulate fibrotic lung disease in vitro. LBOs therefore recapitulate lung development and may provide a useful tool to model lung disease., NIH HL120046-01 (H.-W.S.), 1U01HL134760-01 (H.-W.S.) RO1 AI031971 (A.M.), and RO1 AI114736 (A.M.), as well as a sponsored research and agreement from Northern Biologics Inc. (H.-W.S.), and funding from the Thomas R Kully IPF Research Fund (H.-W.S.). RUES2-HPS1 cells were generated by the Columbia Stem Cell Core Facility. We thank NYULMC OCS Microscopy core C. Petzold and K. Dancel for their assistance with transmission electron microscopy. We thank M. Peeples (Ohio State University) for providing the original recombinant RSV. Flow cytometry was performed in the CCTI Flow Cytometry Core, supported in part by the Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health under awards S10RR027050 and S10OD020056