Impact of culture towards disaster risk reduction

Number of natural disasters has risen sharply worldwide making the risk of disasters a global concern. These disasters have created significant losses and damages to humans, economy and society. Despite the losses and damages created by disasters, some individuals and communities do not attached much significance to natural disasters. Risk perception towards a disaster not only depends on the danger it could create but also the behaviour of the communities and individuals that is governed by their culture. Within this context, this study examines the relationship between culture and disaster risk reduction (DRR). A comprehensive literature review is used for the study to evaluate culture, its components and to analyse a series of case studies related to disaster risk. It was evident from the study that in some situations, culture has become a factor for the survival of the communities from disasters where as in some situations culture has acted as a barrier for effective DRR activities. The study suggests community based DRR activities as a mechanism to integrate with culture to effectively manage disaster risk

International Volunteerism and Capacity Development in Nonprofit Organizations of the Global South

Although international volunteerism has been a part of official development assistance for decades, the capacity development (CD) impacts of such programs in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in the Global South have received scant attention. This paper provides insights into the ways international volunteerism contributes to endogenous CD processes by analysing survey and interview data collected from Australian volunteers and their host organizations in four countries. It shows that volunteers’ contributions can be usefully examined through the lens of Baser and Morgan’s (2008) framework of five core capabilities: to carry out tasks; to relate and attract support; to adapt and renew; to balance diversity and coherence, and to commit and engage. While the voluntary nature of the relationship between host organization and volunteer can make CD impacts less predictable and controllable, it also affords time to explore and negotiate what contributions are most useful to an organization within a specific context

Can deliberate efforts to realise aspirations increase capabilities? A South African case study

This paper takes up Appadurai's suggestion that aspirations could be used as a key to unlock development for people who are economically marginalised, and that their capabilities could be increased by this approach. The notion of “aspirations” is theoretically and conceptually framed, and then Amartya Sen's use of the term capabilities as the space within which development should be assessed is explored. I subsequently describe a five-year programme in which economically marginalised women in Khayelitsha near Cape Town were assisted in voicing and attempting to realise their aspirations, while being assisted with access to some resources. Capability outcomes and constraints are described and analysed, and the question of adaptive preferences is addressed. I conclude that deliberate efforts to realise aspirations, accompanied by some facilitation, can increase capabilities, but that there are also structural constraints to capability expansion for these women that frustrate their aspiration of class mobility.International Bibliography of Social Science

‘I’m a migrant, but I’m the right sort of migrant’:Hegemonic masculinity, whiteness, and intersectional privilege and (dis)advantage in migratory academic careers

Comparatively little attention has been paid to the international careers of many academics, with gender and ethnicity frequently ignored in discussions of migrant academics. Through the lenses of intersectionality, hegemonic masculinity and whiteness, this study explores experiences of migrant academics in Australia and New Zealand, understanding how gender and ethnicity intersect to shape experiences of relative privilege and disadvantage. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 academics at various stages of their careers in both Australia and New Zealand. The data reveal the complex patterns of (dis)advantage which characterise the experiences of migrant academics. While some migrant academics may experience disadvantage, for Anglo white male senior academics, considerable privilege is (re)produced through the migration experience. As such, this article suggests migratory experiences can be better understood through the intersectionality of hegemonic masculinity and whiteness to reveal how privilege is maintained

Safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of the chimpanzee adenovirus type 3-vectored Marburg virus (cAd3-Marburg) vaccine in healthy adults in the USA: a first-in-human, phase 1, open-label, dose-escalation trial

Background: WHO has identified Marburg virus as an emerging virus requiring urgent vaccine research and development, particularly due to its recent emergence in Ghana. We report results from a first-in-human clinical trial evaluating a replication-deficient recombinant chimpanzee adenovirus type 3 (cAd3)-vectored vaccine encoding a wild-type Marburg virus Angola glycoprotein (cAd3-Marburg) in healthy adults. // Methods: We did a first-in-human, phase 1, open-label, dose-escalation trial of the cAd3-Marburg vaccine at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Clinical Trials Center in the USA. Healthy adults aged 18–50 years were assigned to receive a single intramuscular dose of cAd3-Marburg vaccine at either 1 × 1010 or 1 × 1011 particle units (pu). Primary safety endpoints included reactogenicity assessed for the first 7 days and all adverse events assessed for 28 days after vaccination. Secondary immunogenicity endpoints were assessment of binding antibody responses and T-cell responses against the Marburg virus glycoprotein insert, and assessment of neutralising antibody responses against the cAd3 vector 4 weeks after vaccination. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03475056. // Findings: Between Oct 9, 2018, and Jan 31, 2019, 40 healthy adults were enrolled and assigned to receive a single intramuscular dose of cAd3-Marburg vaccine at either 1 × 1010 pu (n=20) or 1 × 1011 pu (n=20). The cAd3-Marburg vaccine was safe, well tolerated, and immunogenic. All enrolled participants received cAd3-Marburg vaccine, with 37 (93%) participants completing follow-up visits; two (5%) participants moved from the area and one (3%) was lost to follow-up. No serious adverse events related to vaccination occurred. Mild to moderate reactogenicity was observed after vaccination, with symptoms of injection site pain and tenderness (27 [68%] of 40 participants), malaise (18 [45%] of 40 participants), headache (17 [43%] of 40 participants), and myalgia (14 [35%] of 40 participants) most commonly reported. Glycoprotein-specific antibodies were induced in 38 (95%) of 40 participants 4 weeks after vaccination, with geometric mean titres of 421 [95% CI 209–846] in the 1 × 1010 pu group and 545 [276–1078] in the 1 × 1011 pu group, and remained significantly elevated at 48 weeks compared with baseline titres (39 [95% CI 13–119] in the 1 ×1010 pu group and 27 [95–156] in the 1 ×1011 pu group; both p<0·0001). T-cell responses to the glycoprotein insert and neutralising responses against the cAd3 vector were also increased at 4 weeks after vaccination. // Interpretation: This first-in-human trial of this cAd3-Marburg vaccine showed the agent is safe and immunogenic, with a safety profile similar to previously tested cAd3-vectored filovirus vaccines. 95% of participants produced a glycoprotein-specific antibody response at 4 weeks after a single vaccination, which remained in 70% of participants at 48 weeks. These findings represent a crucial step in the development of a vaccine for emergency deployment against a re-emerging pathogen that has recently expanded its reach to new regions. // Funding: National Institutes of Health

History in the service of politics:Constructing narratives of history during the European refugee “crisis”

It is common for politicians to refer to ‘our proud history of supporting refugees’, yet the historical record regarding responses to refugees is not straightforwardly positive. So how is history drawn upon in political debates regarding refugees? Applying discursive psychology, this article analyses the use of history in five United Kingdom parliamentary debates that took place from September 2015 to January 2016 on the European refugee ‘crisis’. The analysis identifies six ‘functions’ of the use of the history: resonance, continuity, reciprocity, posterity, responsibility and redemption. It shows how reference to historical events create narratives regarding the UK’s history of supporting refugees in order to construct the nation in particular ways, mobilise collective identities and legitimise or criticise political actions. Specifically, references to the UK’s role in providing refuge to Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany functions as a hegemonic narrative that reinforces the UK’s ‘heroic’ position, constructs the Syrian conflict as involving an oppressive dictator and innocent refugees in need to help, thereby legitimising support for Syrian refugees. The analysis demonstrates the flexibility of historical narratives, reformulates the distinction between ‘psychological’ and ‘rhetorical’ uses of historical analogies and reflects on the social and political implications of such uses of history

Wnt signaling in triple-negative breast cancer

Wnt signaling regulates a variety of cellular processes, including cell fate, differentiation, proliferation and stem cell pluripotency. Aberrant Wnt signaling is a hallmark of many cancers. An aggressive subtype of breast cancer, known as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), demonstrates dysregulation in canonical and non-canonical Wnt signaling. In this review, we summarize regulators of canonical and non-canonical Wnt signaling, as well as Wnt signaling dysfunction that mediates the progression of TNBC. We review the complex molecular nature of TNBC and the emerging therapies that are currently under investigation for the treatment of this disease

Educating for anti-racism: producing and reproducing race and power in a university classroom

In this paper I explore some of the issues associated with teaching about race, culture and ethnicity in a psychology program. These curriculum initiatives are part of a broader agenda of raising awareness about racialised oppression and exclusion and contributing to the development of ways of researching and practising psychology that are transformative and culturally sensitive. I overview the broader context and describe our subject and the guiding principles. This is followed by a description and analysis of two events in the classroom that illustrate the ways in which students differentially respond to the challenges posed by writings that challenge taken for granted understandings of race. Part of the analysis shows that students can often engage in the reproduction of oppressive practices and invest in whiteness. It is suggested that more than single semester subjects are required to promote and support the development of critical capacities for anti-racism practice

New spaces of development partnership: rethinking international volunteering

The concept of partnership is frequently invoked in international development as discourse and policy prescription to better understand relationships and engagements between donors and beneficiaries. Despite the increasing prominence of the idea of partnerships, in reality mutual, equal and sustainable development partnerships remain limited. This article examines the extent to which recent growth in international development volunteering can provide new spaces where equitable and sustainable partnerships may emerge. This review highlights partnership’s legacy in discourses of participation and explores the changing role and impact of development volunteering. We identify three spaces where new kinds of alliances and relationships can be forged – personal learning, policy and geopolitical. </jats:p

Abstract 1062: Overexpression of miRNAs 181a and 222 play a role in triple negative breast cancer, and are targeted by entinostat

Abstract Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 15-20% of all breast cancer in women. Clinically, this subtype is characterized by high recurrence rates, poor prognosis, and lack of targeted therapies. Therefore, there is considerable need to identify TNBC-specific biomarkers that can serve as a diagnositc markers and therapeutic targets. MIcroRNAs (miRNAs), may be such biomarkers. miRNAs are short, non-coding regulatory RNA molecules that modulate the expression of specific proteins by binding to target messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and causing either degradation of the mRNAs or inhibition of their translation to protein. Thus, they play an important role in a variety of normal cellular processes (e.g., differentiation, cell growth, cell death, etc.), and in diseases, such as cancer. MiRNAs have been implicated in breast cancer, but there is not consistent agreement as to which miRNAs are involved in TNBCs, nor have molecular targeting drugs been identified that could treat TNBCs by affecting miRNAs. Previous studies by our lab and others indicate that miRNAs 181a and 222 are involved in estrogen-receptor independence, cancer stem cells, and drug resistance (ex. letrozole resistance). Thus, in this study, the expression of miRNAs 181 and 222 in TNBCs, the effect of inhibiting each miRNA on cell viability and cancer stem cells, and the effect of histone deactylase inhibitor entinostat on miRNA expression are explored. RT-PCR analysis of miRNA expression in both HS578T and BT547 TNBCs and MCF-7 cells (represents the least aggressive subtype), and in representative breast cancer patient biopsy samples indicates that both miRNA 181a and 222 are upregulated by at least 15-fold in TNBCs compared to MCF-7 (least aggressive subtype). Specific inhibition of miRNA 181a via siRNA/miRNA inhibitor in HS578T cells significantly decreased cell viability by at least 80%, as determined by MTT assay, and cancer stem cells by 50%, as determined by mammosphere assays. In addition, inhibition of miRNA 181a produced morphological changes in HS578T cells, in which cells lost their protrusions, became more round, and grew in colonies. Lastly, treatment of HS578T cells or of patient derived xenografts with entinostat, which is currently being explored as a TNBC-targeting drug, decreased miRNA 181a and 222 expression and produced similar results as miRNA inhibition on cell viability, cancer stem cells, and morphology. Overall, these results suggest that miRNAs 181a and 222 are overexpressed in TNBCs and may play a role in regulation of cell viability and cancer stem cells. They also indicate that HDAC inhibitor, entinostat, may be an effective treatment for TNBCs through their action on miRNAs 181a and 222. Citation Format: Armina A. Kazi, Alexa Giammarino, Nicholas Musacchio, Gauri Sabnis, Amanda Schech, Angela Brodie. Overexpression of miRNAs 181a and 222 play a role in triple negative breast cancer, and are targeted by entinostat. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1062.</jats:p