The hitchhiker’s guide to co-production: six ways to link knowledge and action for sustainability

By directly linking research processes to change makers, co-production promises to create more impactful knowledge and actions. However, what co-production means in practice is not always clear or consistent. Drawing on the experiences of 32 co-production initiatives from around the world that aim to enhance sustainability, Josephine Chambers, Carina Wyborn, Henrik Österblom, Lakshmi Charli-Joseph, Jessica Cockburn, Rosemary Hill, Ruth Brennan, Chris Cvitanovic and their many co-authors, present a scheme for understanding different kinds of co-production, and the different tradeoffs they entail. In so doing, they highlight 6 modes of co-production that emerge when particular design choices are made

Fasting enhances pyroglutamyl peptidase II activity in tanycytes of the mediobasal hypothalamus of male adult rats

Fasting down-regulates the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis activity through a reduction of TRH synthesis in neurons of the parvocellular paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN). These TRH neurons project to the median eminence (ME), where TRH terminals are close to the cytoplasmic extensions of β2 tanycytes. Tanycytes express pyroglutamyl peptidase II (PPII), the TRH-degrading ectoenzyme that controls the amount of TRH that reaches the anterior pituitary. We tested the hypothesis that regulation of ME PPII activity is another mechanism by which fasting affects the activity of the HPT axis. Semiquantitative in situ hybridization histochemistry data indicated that PPII and deiodinase 2 mRNA levels increased in tanycytes after 48 hours of fasting. This increase was transitory, followed by an increase of PPII activity in the ME, and a partial reversion of the reduction in PVN pro-TRH mRNA levels and the number of TRH neurons detected by immunohistochemistry. In fed animals, adrenalectomy and corticosterone treatment did not change ME PPII activity 72 hours later. Methimazole-induced hypothyroidism produced a profound drop in tanycytes PPII mRNA levels, which was reverted by 3 days of treatment with T4. The activity of thyroliberinase, the serum isoform of PPII, was increased at most fasting time points studied. We conclude that delayed increases in both the ME PPII as well as the thyroliberinase activities in fasted male rats may facilitate the maintenance of the deep down-regulation of the HPT axis function, despite a partial reactivation of TRH expression in the PVN

Transformative spaces in the making: key lessons from nine cases in the Global South

Creating a just and sustainable planet will require not only small changes, but also systemic transformations in how humans relate to the planet and to each other, i.e., social–ecological transformations. We suggest there is a need for collaborative environments where experimentation with new configurations of social–ecological systems can occur, and we refer to these as transformative spaces. In this paper, we seek a better understanding of how to design and enable the creation of transformative spaces in a development context. We analyse nine case studies from a previous special issue on Designing Transformative Spaces that aimed to collect examples of cutting-edge action-oriented research on transformations from the Global South. The analysis showed five design phases as being essential: Problem Definition Phase; Operationalisation Phase; Tactical Phase; Outcome Phase; and Reflection Phase. From this synthesis, we distilled five key messages that should be considered when designing research, including: (a) there are ethical dilemmas associated with creating a transformative space in a system; (b) it is important to assess the readiness of the system for change before engaging in it; (c) there is a need to balance between ‘safe’ and ‘safe-enough’ spaces for transformation; (d) convening a transformative space requires an assemblage of diverse methodological frameworks and tools; and (e) transformative spaces can act as a starting point for institutionalising transformative change. Many researchers are now engaging in transdisciplinary transformations research, and are finding themselves at the knowledge–action interface contributing to transformative space-making. We hope that by analysing experiences from across different geographies we can contribute towards better understanding of how to navigate the processes needed for the urgent global transformations that are being called for to create a more equitable and sustainable planet Earth

Transcriptional profiling of fetal hypothalamic TRH neurons

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.AbstractBackgroundDuring murine hypothalamic development, different neuroendocrine cell phenotypes are generated in overlapping periods; this suggests that cell-type specific developmental programs operate to achieve complete maturation. A balance between programs that include cell proliferation, cell cycle withdrawal as well as epigenetic regulation of gene expression characterizes neurogenesis. Thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) is a peptide that regulates energy homeostasis and autonomic responses. To better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying TRH neuron development, we performed a genome wide study of its transcriptome during fetal hypothalamic development. ResultsIn primary cultures, TRH cells constitute 2% of the total fetal hypothalamic cell population. To purify these cells, we took advantage of the fact that the segment spanning -774 to +84 bp of the Trh gene regulatory region confers specific expression of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the TRH cells. Transfected TRH cells were purified by fluorescence activated cell sorting, various cell preparations pooled, and their transcriptome compared to that of GFP- hypothalamic cells. TRH cells undergoing the terminal phase of differentiation, expressed genes implicated in protein biosynthesis, intracellular signaling and transcriptional control. Among the transcription-associated transcripts, we identified the transcription factors Klf4, Klf10 and Atf3, which were previously uncharacterized within the hypothalamus. ConclusionTo our knowledge, this is one of the first reports identifying transcripts with a potentially important role during the development of a specific hypothalamic neuronal phenotype. This genome-scale study forms a rational foundation for identifying genes that might participate in the development and function of hypothalamic TRH neurons.Published versio

Structured Collaboration Across a Transformative Knowledge Network-Learning Across Disciplines, Cultures and Contexts?

Realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require transformative changes at micro, meso and macro levels and across diverse geographies. Collaborative, transdisciplinary research has a role to play in documenting, understanding and contributing to such transformations. Previous work has investigated the role of this research in Europe and North America, however the dynamics of transdisciplinary research on ‘transformations to sustainability’ in other parts of the world are less well-understood. This paper reports on an international project that involved transdisciplinary research in six different hubs across the globe and was strategically designed to enable mutual learning and exchange. It draws on surveys, reports and research outputs to analyse the processes of transdisciplinary collaboration for sustainability that took place between 2015-2019. The paper illustrates how the project was structured in order to enable learning across disciplines, cultures and contexts, and describes how it also provided for the negotiation of epistemological frameworks and different normative commitments between members across the network. To this end, it discusses lessons regarding the use of theoretical and methodological anchors, multi-loop learning and evaluating emergent change (including the difficulties encountered). It offers insights for the design and implementation of future international transdisciplinary collaborations that address locally-specific sustainability challenges within the universal framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

An intergenerational androgenic mechanism of female intrasexual competition in the cooperatively breeding meerkat.

Female intrasexual competition can be intense in cooperatively breeding species, with some dominant breeders (matriarchs) limiting reproduction in subordinates via aggression, eviction or infanticide. In males, such tendencies bidirectionally link to testosterone, but in females, there has been little systematic investigation of androgen-mediated behaviour within and across generations. In 22 clans of wild meerkats (Suricata suricatta), we show that matriarchs 1) express peak androgen concentrations during late gestation, 2) when displaying peak feeding competition, dominance behaviour, and evictions, and 3) relative to subordinates, produce offspring that are more aggressive in early development. Late-gestation antiandrogen treatment of matriarchs 4) specifically reduces dominance behaviour, is associated with infrequent evictions, decreases social centrality within the clan, 5) increases aggression in cohabiting subordinate dams, and 6) reduces offspring aggression. These effects implicate androgen-mediated aggression in the operation of female sexual selection, and intergenerational transmission of masculinised phenotypes in the evolution of meerkat cooperative breeding

Emerging insights and lessons for the future

This concluding chapter summarises the key findings of the ‘Pathways’ transformative knowledge network (TKN), its contributions to the ‘sustainability transformations’ literature and the lessons and implications for internationally networked, transdisciplinary research projects in the future. It revisits the theoretical anchors and methodological anchors introduced in Chapters 2–4, and draws on insights from the TKN from individual hubs in each of these areas, pointing to experiences both during the project and after its formal conclusion. It discusses the approaches used to foster cross-learning and evaluation in the project, and describes the single-, double- and triple-loop learning that this enabled. The chapter provides a deeper understanding of ‘transformative pathways to sustainability’ and the role that science and research can play in fostering them, not only through formal research outputs but also the tacit and experiential knowledge and the relationships that they can foster. The chapter closes by offering lessons and recommendations for researchers, funders, policy-makers, managers and practitioners with an interest in enhancing the contribution of social science and transdisciplinary research to the transformative agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals.Fil: Ely, Adrian. University of Sussex; Reino UnidoFil: Marin, Anabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Escuela de Economia y Negocios. Centro de Investigaciones Para la Transformacion.; ArgentinaFil: Marshall, Fiona. University of Sussex; Reino UnidoFil: Apgar, Marina. No especifíca;Fil: Eakin, Hallie. Arizona State University; Estados UnidosFil: Pereira, Laura. No especifíca;Fil: Charli Joseph, Lakshmi. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Siquieros Garcia, Mario. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Yang, Lichao. No especifíca;Fil: Chengo, Victoria. No especifíca;Fil: Abrol, Dinesh. No especifíca;Fil: Kushwaha, Pravin. No especifíca;Fil: Hackett, Edward. No especifíca;Fil: Navarrete, David Manuel. No especifíca;Fil: Mehrotra, Ritu Priya. No especifíca;Fil: Atela, Joanes. No especifíca;Fil: Mbeva, Kennedy. No especifíca;Fil: Onyango, Joel. No especifíca;Fil: Olsson, Per. No especifíca