Sustainable development goals – an analysis of outcomes

Purpose: The concept of sustainability evokes a multiplicity of meanings, depending on the field. Some authors have criticized the concept for its vagueness. Notwithstanding this criticism, worldwide efforts to meet the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are in progress and are expected to yield results by 2030. This paper aims to addresses two issues and make two primary contributions. First, the concept of sustainability is revisited to develop its integrative understanding. This concept is built on systems thinking – specifically, on the concepts of synergy, emergence, recursion and self-organization. Second, an approach is developed to help determine whether the efforts being made towards the SDGs can be expected to be effective (i.e., whether the world can hope to soon be a system that self-organizes towards sustainability). Design/methodology/approach: Based on the assumption that the SDGs and their respective targets are systemically interrelated, the data on the progress towards the SDGs are correlated and the outcome is analysed. Findings: The emerging pattern of correlations reflected the systemic coherence of the efforts as an indication of self-organization towards sustainability. This pattern also revealed that the efforts are still spotty and that the systemic synergy has not yet taken place. This correlation approach to Brazil is then applied. The data about Brazil’s progress towards the SDGs from the World Bank’s Word Development Indicators (WDI) database are gathered. The outcomes indicated that Brazil as a whole cannot yet be seen as self-organizing system that is evolving towards sustainability. Research limitations/implications: To enable the calculation of the correlation matrix, the data series were not allowed to have missing values. Some of the WDI data series had many missing values and had to be eliminated. This unfortunately reduced the variability of the original data. In addition, the missing values in the remaining data series had to be calculated by means of interpolation or extrapolation. There are alternative algorithms to perform such functions. The impact of the interpolation and extrapolation of the missing values on the study, as well as the pros and cons of different algorithms, required investigation. It is important to remark that the WDI series was the only global and open data set that aligned with the SDGs. Social implications: In Brazil, it is important to maintain the public policies that affect SDG 1-6, but it is necessary to develop policies geared towards SDG 12. Environmental goals also need more public policies (SDGs 14 and 15). To achieve this 2030 Agenda, much effort will be required for SDG 17, which is related to greater synergy through partnerships. Originality/value: Three qualitatively distinct levels of efforts to sustainability are identified: individual, organizational and world activities. At the individual level, progress regarding sustainability depends on personal attitudes, including the willingness to abandon a self-centred lifestyle in favour of a more cooperative way of living and making decisions, and to embrace a new approach to ethics, which replaces self-interest by self-denial and self-sacrifice (de Raadt & de Raadt, 2014). At the organizational level, a paradox of the need to internalize environmental and social costs into generic strategies and the sustainability strategy that involves core businesses are challenges for systems working towards sustainability. When it comes to global level, in this paper, the authors tried to make a contribution to push forward the frontier of knowledge by proposing an approach to understand whether the progress made towards the SDGs in the past 25 years indicates that the world is, after all, organizing for sustainability (Schwaninger, 2015)

Dynamic Capabilities for Sustainability: Revealing the Systemic Key Factors

By applying systems thinking theory to capabilities literature, this paper examines the factors that support the development of dynamic capabilities towards sustainable management. For such, we conducted an in-depth single case study using Soft System Methodology (SSM) in an energy organisation from an emerging economy. Our analysis of the last twenty years of operation revealed that the organisation has developed new ways to change and adapt in a disturbing environment by integrating sustainability into three factors: (1) integrative strategy (green products, biodiversity, organic processes and self-sufficient electricity), (2) sustainable culture (sustainable mindset, environmental awareness, learning orientation and decision-making processes) and (3) organisational routines for innovation (new green processes and products, partnerships/alliances and knowledge management). Our results extend the literature by raising a conceptual framework of the fundamental dimensions of dynamic capabilities for sustainability. This is the first study that connects systems thinking and dynamic capabilities theories applied to sustainable management

Correction: Exchange Option under Jump-diffusion Dynamics

In this note, we provide the correct formula for the price of the European exchange option given in Cheang, G. H. L., & Chiarella, C. (2011. Exchange options under jump-diffusion dynamics. Applied Mathematical Finance, 18, 245–276) in a bi-dimensional jump diffusion model

Positive and negative aspects of GRI reporting as perceived by Brazilian organizations

This paper aims to identify the positive and negative aspects in the sustainability reporting framework proposed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The research was conducted through content analysis of 27 companies’ responses to three questions: “Why does the company where you work prepare a sustainability report?” “What are the positive aspects you identify in the framework for GRI reporting?” and “What are the negative aspects you identify in the framework for GRI reporting?” The questionnaire was sent to all Brazilian companies that published sustainability reports using the GRI guidelines between 2011 and 2013 related to the base year 2010. We found that respondents viewed the GRI guidelines and the reports they created as management tools for sustainability and that they assist in benchmarking sustainability performance and legitimizing the sustainability actions of the organization. Furthermore, some respondents indicated that the reports themselves are marketing tools. On the other hand, the respondents reported difficulties in understanding the proposed GRI guidelines. They considered the guidelines complex, ambiguous, and too flexible, which undermined both the standardization of the reports and the ability to compare reports. Based on these comments, it is recommended that the GRI develop a simpler and less flexible reporting methodology

TargetSearch - a Bioconductor package for the efficient preprocessing of GC-MS metabolite profiling data

Background: Metabolite profiling, the simultaneous quantification of multiple metabolites in an experiment, is becoming increasingly popular, particularly with the rise of systems-level biology. The workhorse in this field is gas-chromatography hyphenated with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The high-throughput of this technology coupled with a demand for large experiments has led to data pre-processing, i.e. the quantification of metabolites across samples, becoming a major bottleneck. Existing software has several limitations, including restricted maximum sample size, systematic errors and low flexibility. However, the biggest limitation is that the resulting data usually require extensive hand-curation, which is subjective and can typically take several days to weeks. Results: We introduce the TargetSearch package, an open source tool which is a flexible and accurate method for pre-processing even very large numbers of GC-MS samples within hours. We developed a novel strategy to iteratively correct and update retention time indices for searching and identifying metabolites. The package is written in the R programming language with computationally intensive functions written in C for speed and performance. The package includes a graphical user interface to allow easy use by those unfamiliar with R. Conclusions: TargetSearch allows fast and accurate data pre-processing for GC-MS experiments and overcomes the sample number limitations and manual curation requirements of existing software. We validate our method by carrying out an analysis against both a set of known chemical standard mixtures and of a biological experiment. In addition we demonstrate its capabilities and speed by comparing it with other GC-MS pre-processing tools. We believe this package will greatly ease current bottlenecks and facilitate the analysis of metabolic profiling data

ORS1, an H(2)O(2)-Responsive NAC Transcription Factor, Controls Senescence in Arabidopsis thaliana

We report here that ORS1, a previously uncharacterized member of the NAC transcription factor family, controls leaf senescence in Arabidopsis thaliana. Overexpression of ORS1 accelerates senescence in transgenic plants, whereas its inhibition delays it. Genes acting downstream of ORS1 were identified by global expression analysis using transgenic plants producing dexamethasone-inducible ORS1-GR fusion protein. Of the 42 up-regulated genes, 30 (similar to 70%) were previously shown to be up-regulated during age-dependent senescence. We also observed that 32 (similar to 76%) of the ORS1-dependent genes were induced by long-term (4 d), but not short-term (6 h) salinity stress (150 mM NaCl). Furthermore, expression of 16 and 24 genes, respectively, was induced after 1 and 5 h of treatment with hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), a reactive oxygen species known to accumulate during salinity stress. ORS1 itself was found to be rapidly and strongly induced by H(2)O(2) treatment in both leaves and roots. Using in vitro binding site selection, we determined the preferred binding motif of ORS1 and found it to be present in half of the ORS1-dependent genes. ORS1 is a paralog of ORE1/ANAC092/AtNAC2, a previously reported regulator of leaf senescence. Phylogenetic footprinting revealed evolutionary conservation of the ORS1 and ORE1 promoter sequences in different Brassicaceae species, indicating strong positive selection acting on both genes. We conclude that ORS1, similarly to ORE1, triggers expression of senescence-associated genes through a regulatory network that may involve cross-talk with salt- and H(2)O(2)-dependent signaling pathways

Metabolite Profiles of Sugarcane Culm Reveal the Relationship Among Metabolism and Axillary Bud Outgrowth in Genetically Related Sugarcane Commercial Cultivars

Metabolic composition is known to exert influence on several important agronomic traits, and metabolomics, which represents the chemical composition in a cell, has long been recognized as a powerful tool for bridging phenotype–genotype interactions. In this work, sixteen truly representative sugarcane Brazilian varieties were selected to explore the metabolic networks in buds and culms, the tissues involved in the vegetative propagation of this species. Due to the fact that bud sprouting is a key trait determining crop establishment in the field, the sprouting potential among the genotypes was evaluated. The use of partial least square discriminant analysis indicated only mild differences on bud outgrowth potential under controlled environmental conditions. However, primary metabolite profiling provided information on the variability of metabolic features even under a narrow genetic background, typical for modern sugarcane cultivars. Metabolite–metabolite correlations within and between tissues revealed more complex patterns for culms in relation to buds, and enabled the recognition of key metabolites (e.g., sucrose, putrescine, glutamate, serine, and myo-inositol) affecting sprouting ability. Finally, those results were associated with the genetic background of each cultivar, showing that metabolites can be potentially used as indicators for the genetic background

G‐protein coupled receptor‐mediated nutrient sensing and developmental control in Aspergillus nidulans

Nutrient sensing and utilisation are fundamental for all life forms. As heterotrophs, fungi have evolved a diverse range of mechanisms for sensing and taking up various nutrients. Despite its importance, only a limited number of nutrient receptors and their corresponding ligands have been identified in fungi. G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of transmembrane receptors. The Aspergillus nidulans genome encodes 16 putative GPCRs, but only a few have been functionally characterised. Our previous study showed the increased expression of an uncharacterised putative GPCR, gprH, during carbon starvation. GprH appears conserved throughout numerous filamentous fungi. Here, we reveal that GprH is a putative receptor involved in glucose and tryptophan sensing. The absence of GprH results in a reduction in cAMP levels and PKA activity upon adding glucose or tryptophan to starved cells. GprH is pre-formed in conidia and is increasingly active during carbon starvation, where it plays a role in glucose uptake and the recovery of hyphal growth. GprH also represses sexual development under conditions favouring sexual fruiting and during carbon starvation in submerged cultures. In summary, the GprH nutrient-sensing system functions upstream of the cAMP-PKA pathway, influences primary metabolism and hyphal growth, while represses sexual development in A.nidulans

Reference genes for quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction expression studies in wild and cultivated peanut

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Wild peanut species (<it>Arachis </it>spp.) are a rich source of new alleles for peanut improvement. Plant transcriptome analysis under specific experimental conditions helps the understanding of cellular processes related, for instance, to development, stress response, and crop yield. The validation of these studies has been generally accomplished by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) which requires normalization of mRNA levels among samples. This can be achieved by comparing the expression ratio between a gene of interest and a reference gene which is constitutively expressed. Nowadays there is a lack of appropriate reference genes for both wild and cultivated <it>Arachis</it>. The identification of such genes would allow a consistent analysis of qRT-PCR data and speed up candidate gene validation in peanut.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A set of ten reference genes were analyzed in four <it>Arachis </it>species (<it>A. magna</it>; <it>A. duranensis</it>; <it>A. stenosperma </it>and <it>A. hypogaea</it>) subjected to biotic (root-knot nematode and leaf spot fungus) and abiotic (drought) stresses, in two distinct plant organs (roots and leaves). By the use of three programs (GeNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper) and taking into account the entire dataset, five of these ten genes, <it>ACT1 </it>(actin depolymerizing factor-like protein), <it>UBI1 </it>(polyubiquitin), <it>GAPDH </it>(glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase), <it>60S </it>(60S ribosomal protein L10) and <it>UBI2 </it>(ubiquitin/ribosomal protein S27a) emerged as top reference genes, with their stability varying in eight subsets. The former three genes were the most stable across all species, organs and treatments studied.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This first in-depth study of reference genes validation in wild <it>Arachis </it>species will allow the use of specific combinations of secure and stable reference genes in qRT-PCR assays. The use of these appropriate references characterized here should improve the accuracy and reliability of gene expression analysis in both wild and cultivated Arachis and contribute for the better understanding of gene expression in, for instance, stress tolerance/resistance mechanisms in plants.</p