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This book offers an in-depth and comprehensive review on current understanding of regulatory ncRNAs in complex diseases from a view of bioinformatics. It conveys state-of-the-art bioinformatics tools and methods for ncRNAs from computational detection, functional prediction, to their roles in diseases. Computational methods used to investigate uncharacterised ncRNAs in diseases are mainly summarized in seven aspects: DNA variation of ncRNAs in diseases, prioritization of disease-related ncRNAs, dysregulation epigenetic factors that regulate ncRNA misexpression (DNA methylation and histone-modification), complex crosstalk across ncRNAs, ncRNAs acted as competing regulators to mediate the expression of protein-coding genes, non-coding RNAs mediated risk pathways,and their contributions to drug target predictions. The generally used data resources of ncRNAs are also listed in the end. This book provides important information on the current progress in the fast-moving fields of bioinformatics for regulatory ncRNAs. It provides a timely and useful reference for computational biologists, specifically with RNA interests, and other related areas. Prof. Xia Li is a Professor and the Dean of College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, China. Dr. Yun Xiao, Dr. Juan Xu, Dr. Shangwei Ning and Dr. Yunpeng Zhang are from College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, China.

Biomathematics. Biometry. Biostatistics --- Human genetics --- medische genetica --- bio-informatica --- genetica --- biometrie --- Bioinformatics. --- Human genetics. --- Human Genetics. --- Genetics --- Heredity, Human --- Human biology --- Physical anthropology --- Bio-informatics --- Biological informatics --- Biology --- Information science --- Computational biology --- Systems biology --- Data processing --- Medical genetics. --- Medical Genetics. --- Clinical genetics --- Diseases --- Heredity of disease --- Medical sciences --- Pathology --- Genetic disorders --- Genetic aspects

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Rather than seeing land commodification as a taken-for-granted term to explain urban and rural changes, this thesis offers a nuanced conceptual and empirical explanation of the process of land commodification and the interaction among involved actors. Based on data collected from the fieldwork in Pidu District of Chengdu City, China, between 2017-2021, this thesis examines the socioeconomic dynamics and consequences of the market-oriented experiment of rural collective commercial construction land (RCCCL) in China, paying attention to the changes between urban and rural areas, central and local, state and collectives. First, I review the policies of construction land supply in China and link them to state politics. Second, from an actor perspective, I examine the land commodification in the RCCCL experiment as a process consisting of three stages steered by different actors. Third, I pay close attention to one of the most important actors, village collectives, to examine their different attitudes and performance in the RCCCL experiment. Fourth, I discuss the rural transformation caused by land commodification using a case study of land development for amenity migrants.The main argument of this thesis is that the RCCCL experiment in China is a land commodification process that opens up land markets in rural areas by state-controlled policy experimentation, and that dispossessory practices emerge in the commodification process. These findings contribute a nuanced understanding of land commodification and the dispossessory practices in China. Thus, this thesis not only advances the understanding of the transformation of rural China, but also might offer insights into other developing economies, where land commodification involves various dispossessory practices and variegated actors. This thesis offers two lessons for rural (re)development. First, the market approach in land transfer does not necessarily mean 'voluntariness' and 'equity' because it is usually associated with political, legal, and even coercive power. Second, whatever the institutions and governance practices for development, people-orientation should be put in the first place.

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European Union (EU) member states decided to trigger economic growth by attracting foreign direct investment in their countries and by making the European labor market more flexible. This flexibilization of labor in terms of working time, work-contracts and wages comes with the price of difficult working conditions in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) devices assembly plants (such as smartphones, tablets, laptops). The EU has put in place weak protection tools such as European Works Councils and Corporate Social Responsibility. These tools are voluntary and rely on implementation in the private sphere, pushing the state further away from its role of service provider. In addition, as trade unions in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries lack power over their employer in ICT industry, NGOs have taken a step forward. ‘Fair ICT’ initiatives seem to have appeared to fill in the void left by the states, the EU and trade unions. Therefore, this paper aimed to see how civil society initiatives are translated into protection of ICT assembly factory workers in the European Union. The post-Marxist framework, which sees civil society movements as the new bearers of long-term and gradual societal challenges, appeared as the right vision of the world to understand the work of ‘fair ICT’ initiatives. Ten semi-structured interviews with nine activists from different civil society organizations (TCO, CATAPA, ICLEI, SOMO, Südwind, Electronics Watch, TSA-FFE, University of Edinburgh), as well as anonymous information from two CEE countries ICT workers, and additional documentations provided by interviewees (or available on their websites) were analyzed through this post-Marxist perspective. Findings show that the ‘fair ICT’ initiatives make use of several ‘common’ strategies for NGOs: lobbying, networking, engaging with industry and creating knowledge (through research and awareness raising campaigns). These strategies have also been screened in terms of effectiveness. Lobbying appears as the least effective strategy and the effectiveness of networking is debated as well. Research and awareness raising campaigns do not focus enough on the situation of ICT assembly workers in the EU to trigger real change for them. Industry engagement also faces critics, especially social audits associated with certification mechanisms which could tend to profit industry more than workers. Finally, findings show that ‘fair ICT’ initiatives have a socially innovative strategy. They could, however, contribute more to the empowerment of ICT assembly workers and to a change in social relations.

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A sustainability transition invites multi-stakeholder action, frequently translated into turning the planet ‘green’ with trees. Digital technologies facilitate the tree planting frenzy, which, however, remains little studied. This research explored the intersection between digital platforms and sustainability by utilising Ecosia, a Berlin-based search engine, as a case study. It addressed the following question: ‘How do individual and institutional users interact with Ecosia’s search engine that is designed to promote tree planting, and to what extent do they perceive it as an agent of change in their sustainability transition?’. This question deconstructed platform elements, situated Ecosia within capitalism, and interpreted it as a sustainability tool by zooming in on the experiences of a Belgian university. This work used a transdisciplinary lens, drawing from media studies, political economy, platform, and science and technology studies. Theoretical and epistemological underpinnings included the actor-network theory and platform capitalism, while green growth and reforestation literature further informed this research. Methodologically, this thesis employed the walkthrough method as developed by Light et al. (2018), merging autoethnography, interviews, and secondary resources. This thesis drew attention to the links between Ecosia and the platform ecosystem. Essentially, interpretations of Ecosia were inseparable from platform theory, power asymmetries, and interdependencies. The findings pointed to Ecosia’s reliance on technology giants for infrastructural services. Yet, Ecosia’s differentiation lies in a value-driven approach founded on sustainability, integrity, and transparency. Ecosia manifests these in social (e.g., steward-ownership structure, privacy policy) and technological (e.g., data policy, visual interface cues) elements that constitute Ecosia. Another major differentiator is its treatment of data: Ecosia abstains from data commodification and monetisation by resisting the sale of data to third parties. Ecosia’s expansion into novel sectors and institutional adoption intensify its tree-planting efforts. From a critical perspective, they increase its valuation and denote profit extraction pathways. Concretely, Ecosia differs from other platforms but shares commonalities in pursuing growth. In answering the research question, the results pointed to the dialectical relationship between human beings and technology. For users, Ecosia is a digital tool that contributes to sustainability by translating an everyday activity into tree planting. Institutional adoption facilitates local student activism and campaigning; hence technology steered environmental action. Interviewees perceived Ecosia’s approach as a step towards sustainability, yet not as a silver bullet. Alternatives, such as decarbonisation and the need to address consumerism, were equally important. Tree planting is a drop in the ocean, yet an increase in users could have a significant environmental impact. Interviewees drew no connections to the Eurocentric roots of tree planting and the ecological importance of treeless ecosystems. The habituation of online search limited critical and ethical reflections on tree idealisations, and reductionist and quantitative approaches to nature. Future research could explore cross-institutional adoption, the spatial dimension of Ecosia’s climate investments, and on-the-ground tree planting beyond the virtual world.

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The subject for this thesis was discovered quite late. It was a happy discovery as this is a unique social conflict in Belgium due to its length and intractability. As a student of sustainable development, it was especially interesting to uncover such a conflict so close to home. In Doel, the importance of growth and economics is placed directly opposite of the lives and experiences of the locals. Doel is a small village on the left bank of the river Scheldt just downriver from Antwerp. The village is located between the port of Antwerp to the South and the nuclear power plant of Doel to the north. Today, only 15-20 people live there. The majority of inhabitants were “consensually” expropriated by the government and financially compensated for their troubles to accommodate the expansion of the nearby port. Doel is not a success story for the port as there has been a protracted resistance in Doel since the expansionist rhetoric started in 1964. The most effective resistance was carried out in the courts of Belgium with the Council of State, the highest administrative court in Belgium, supporting the existence of Doel through its decisions. Thanks to those decisions a shift has happened in the conflict and today a process of consensual dialog is ongoing and marks an important tipping point in the conflict. I conducted 8 in-depth interviews in Dutch to uncover what had happened and what could be done about it in the future. The goal was to understand the conflict in Doel by uncovering intersecting conflicts and tensions to allow suggestions to be made for addressing similar conflicts. It quickly became quite clear that there was a dominant bloc in Doel consisting of the Flemish government, the port, and their allies. Their power has been challenged by a group of actors mainly consisting of farmers and activist committees on the other side. This powerful coalition of actors was focused on values such as economic growth and physical expansion while the resistance focused on another set of values closely linked to place identity and the value of nature and heritage. Resistance is often ambiguous, unclear, and romanticized. Because of this, there are many possible ways that it could cause friction within and outside of the resisting groups. These frictions were analyzed and seven contesting narratives were uncovered: the varying interpretations of expropriations leading to diverging interpretations of the conflict, the different attitudes actors had towards nature causing nature to be maltreated and used as a political instrument, the excessive focus on the economic side of the story ignoring other values linked to nature and heritage, the disempowerment of the local government by the higher governmental levels which relegated the local government to a passive and reactive role, the more social approach of the nuclear power plant compared to the confrontational approach of the port, the diverging future expectations of actors concerning the growth of the port and the village, and the differences between countries. In conclusion, these narratives served as the basis for several suggestions to enable similar conflicts to happen differently.