Creating Pedagogy to Integrate Sustainability and the Arts

The creation of a sustainable world urgently requires managers of organizations to consider large-scale changes in the practices and policies of social and economic institutions. Compelling scientific and economic information on the environment, while the basis of much dialogue in higher education and in the public sphere, has failed to motivate adequate progress to date. In this article, therefore, we present an original theoretical model for a pedagogy that brings together the arts and sustainability. We postulate that motivation or “heart” to initiate such actions for the environment and persist in the face of societal and institutional inertia can come from the arts, particularly given their unique and time-proven ability to move the human heart in authentic ways. A sustainability pedagogy that utilizes the arts can be incorporated moreover into any discipline at any level of education. This  pedagogy reaches students not only intellectually but empathetically as well, thereby increasing the depth and effectiveness of learning. Indeed, emphasizing the content characteristics of complexity, modernity, and equity/justice as well as incorporating student reflection/discernment, experiential learning, and community engagement will further enhance an arts/ sustainability pedagogy. In this light, we briefly examine some preliminary courses integrating the arts and sustainability in four different disciplines, including business. We find these examples indicate that the pedagogy suggested by this theory is a promising avenue to pursue. Finally, we provide some specific suggestions for instructors. New pedagogy that integrates the arts with sustainability can thus contribute significantly to the education of future and current managers, those who are essential agents in effecting needed change

Toward a Theory of the Arts and Sustainability

To make real progress on what can only be classified as environmental emergencies, we need a wide base of public consensus for action given that public motivation and involvement is a prerequisite for policymakers to implement what our scientists urge us to do. In this light, crucial thresholds of public motivation and involvement can be created by reaching into the hearts of individuals, an area of competitive advantage for the arts. Efforts to enhance understanding in this arena, however, must incorporate sufficient complexity given highly complex and inter-related challenges in sustainability. This article thus presents a theoretical framework for the arts and sustainability based on the variables of artistic complexity and public engagement. The arts, when allowed sufficient scope and freedom, can assist society in marshalling and galvanizing people across the globe to take essential steps toward a sustainable planet

Creating Pedagogy to Integrate Sustainability and the Arts

The creation of a sustainable world urgently requires managers of organizations to consider large-scale changes in the practices and policies of social and economic institutions. Compelling scientific and economic information on the environment, while the basis of much dialogue in higher education and in the public sphere, has failed to motivate adequate progress to date. In this article, therefore, we present an original theoretical model for a pedagogy that brings together the arts and sustainability. We postulate that motivation or “heart” to initiate such actions for the environment and persist in the face of societal and institutional inertia can come from the arts, particularly given their unique and time-proven ability to move the human heart in authentic ways. A sustainability pedagogy that utilizes the arts can be incorporated moreover into any discipline at any level of education. This pedagogy reaches students not only intellectually but empathetically as well, thereby increasing the depth and effectiveness of learning. Indeed, emphasizing the content characteristics of complexity, modernity, and equity/justice as well as incorporating student reflection/discernment, experiential learning, and community engagement will further enhance an arts/ sustainability pedagogy. In this light, we briefly examine some preliminary courses integrating the arts and sustainability in four different disciplines, including business. We find these examples indicate that the pedagogy suggested by this theory is a promising avenue to pursue. Finally, we provide some specific suggestions for instructors. New pedagogy that integrates the arts with sustainability can thus contribute significantly to the education of future and current managers, those who are essential agents in effecting needed change

CD44 Plays a Functional Role in Helicobacter pylori-induced Epithelial Cell Proliferation

The cytotoxin-associated gene (Cag) pathogenicity island is a strain-specific constituent of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) that augments cancer risk. CagA translocates into the cytoplasm where it stimulates cell signaling through the interaction with tyrosine kinase c-Met receptor, leading cellular proliferation. Identified as a potential gastric stem cell marker, cluster-of-differentiation (CD) CD44 also acts as a co-receptor for c-Met, but whether it plays a functional role in H. pylori-induced epithelial proliferation is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that CD44 plays a functional role in H. pylori-induced epithelial cell proliferation. To assay changes in gastric epithelial cell proliferation in relation to the direct interaction with H. pylori, human- and mouse-derived gastric organoids were infected with the G27 H. pylori strain or a mutant G27 strain bearing cagA deletion (ΔCagA::cat). Epithelial proliferation was quantified by EdU immunostaining. Phosphorylation of c-Met was analyzed by immunoprecipitation followed by Western blot analysis for expression of CD44 and CagA. H. pylori infection of both mouse- and human-derived gastric organoids induced epithelial proliferation that correlated with c-Met phosphorylation. CagA and CD44 co-immunoprecipitated with phosphorylated c-Met. The formation of this complex did not occur in organoids infected with ΔCagA::cat. Epithelial proliferation in response to H. pylori infection was lost in infected organoids derived from CD44-deficient mouse stomachs. Human-derived fundic gastric organoids exhibited an induction in proliferation when infected with H. pylori, that was not seen in organoids pre-treated with a peptide inhibitor specific to CD44. In the wellestablished Mongolian gerbil model of gastric cancer, animals treated with CD44 peptide inhibitor Pep1, resulted in the inhibition of H. pylori-induced proliferation and associated atrophic gastritis. The current study reports a unique approach to study H. pylori interaction with the human gastric epithelium. Here, we show that CD44 plays a functional role in H. pyloriinduced epithelial cell proliferation

Adult gastric stem cells and their niches.

Adult gastric stem cells replenish the gastric epithelium throughout life. Recent studies have identified diverse populations of stem cells, progenitor cells, and even differentiated cells that can regain stem cell capacity, so highlighting an unexpected plasticity within the gastric epithelium, both in the corpus and antrum. Two niches seem to co-exist in the gastric unit: one in the isthmus region and the other at the base of the gland, although the precise features of the cell populations and the two niches are currently under debate. A variety of gastric organoid models have been established, providing new insights into niche factors required by the gastric stem cell populations. Here we review our current knowledge of gastric stem cell populations, their markers and interactions, important niche factors, and different gastric organoid systems. WIREs Dev Biol 2017, 6:e261. doi: 10.1002/wdev.261 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.Wellcome-Trus