Interplay of rhizome and education for sustainable development

Abstract One of the central challenges within education for sustainable development (ESD) is in empowering learners to reframe mindsets, particularly those that result in unsustainable behaviours and/or actions. This paper introduces the concept of rhizome articulated by Deleuze and Guattari (1987) and proposes that it can act as a framework for re-conceptualising processes of ESD. Key constructs within the rhizome, such as assemblages, nomadism, war machines and lines of flights, are discussed to highlight their relevance to ESD. The principles of the rhizome (connection, heterogeneity, multiplicity, signifying rupture, cartography and decalcomania) are then examined in the context of six processes necessary for effective ESD outlined by Tilbury (2011), namely, collaboration, dialogue, ‘whole system’ engagement, innovation within curricula, teaching and learning and active and participatory learning. The final section critically considers how this weaving of rhizomatic principles with the processes of ESD impacts on educating for sustainability. The rhizome has the potential to inspire educators and learners alike to become more critically aware of the interconnectivity and disruptive influences within sustainability. In this regard, the discussion ends by concluding that the reconceptualisation of ESD as rhizome or rhizomatic can foster an ontological shift towards perceiving the nature of reality as complex interconnected multiplicities.</jats:p

Blood Signature of Pre-Heart Failure: A Microarrays Study

International audienceBACKGROUND: The preclinical stage of systolic heart failure (HF), known as asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction (ALVD), is diagnosed only by echocardiography, frequent in the general population and leads to a high risk of developing severe HF. Large scale screening for ALVD is a difficult task and represents a major unmet clinical challenge that requires the determination of ALVD biomarkers. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 294 individuals were screened by echocardiography. We identified 9 ALVD cases out of 128 subjects with cardiovascular risk factors. White blood cell gene expression profiling was performed using pangenomic microarrays. Data were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and Significant Analysis of Microarrays (SAM). To build an ALVD classifier model, we used the nearest centroid classification method (NCCM) with the ClaNC software package. Classification performance was determined using the leave-one-out cross-validation method. Blood transcriptome analysis provided a specific molecular signature for ALVD which defined a model based on 7 genes capable of discriminating ALVD cases. Analysis of an ALVD patients validation group demonstrated that these genes are accurate diagnostic predictors for ALVD with 87% accuracy and 100% precision. Furthermore, Receiver Operating Characteristic curves of expression levels confirmed that 6 out of 7 genes discriminate for left ventricular dysfunction classification. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These targets could serve to enhance the ability to efficiently detect ALVD by general care practitioners to facilitate preemptive initiation of medical treatment preventing the development of HF

The use of antenatal and postnatal care: perspectives and experiences of women and health care providers in rural southern Tanzania

BACKGROUND\ud \ud Although antenatal care coverage in Tanzania is high, worrying gaps exist in terms of its quality and ability to prevent, diagnose or treat complications. Moreover, much less is known about the utilisation of postnatal care, by which we mean the care of mother and baby that begins one hour after the delivery until six weeks after childbirth. We describe the perspectives and experiences of women and health care providers on the use of antenatal and postnatal services.\ud \ud METHODS\ud \ud From March 2007 to January 2008, we conducted in-depth interviews with health care providers and village based informants in 8 villages of Lindi Rural and Tandahimba districts in southern Tanzania. Eight focus group discussions were also conducted with women who had babies younger than one year and pregnant women. The discussion guide included information about timing of antenatal and postnatal services, perceptions of the rationale and importance of antenatal and postnatal care, barriers to utilisation and suggestions for improvement.\ud \ud RESULTS\ud \ud Women were generally positive about both antenatal and postnatal care. Among common reasons mentioned for late initiation of antenatal care was to avoid having to make several visits to the clinic. Other concerns included fear of encountering wild animals on the way to the clinic as well as lack of money. Fear of caesarean section was reported as a factor hindering intrapartum care-seeking from hospitals. Despite the perceived benefits of postnatal care for children, there was a total lack of postnatal care for the mothers. Shortages of staff, equipment and supplies were common complaints in the community.\ud \ud CONCLUSION\ud \ud Efforts to improve antenatal and postnatal care should focus on addressing geographical and economic access while striving to make services more culturally sensitive. Antenatal and postnatal care can offer important opportunities for linking the health system and the community by encouraging women to deliver with a skilled attendant. Addressing staff shortages through expanding training opportunities and incentives to health care providers and developing postnatal care guidelines are key steps to improve maternal and newborn health

New Knowledge on the Gendered Nature of Poverty and Wellbeing: A Synthesis of Evidence from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and UK Department for International Development (DFID) Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research

A gendered understanding of poverty is crucial for exploring its differing impacts and this analysis provides valuable insights in a number of key areas. This evidence is a synthesis from 122 research grants awarded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and UK Department for International Development (DFID) Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research since 2005. The insights could have particular relevance as governments focus on working towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that include commitments on gender equality across the board. Gender is one of four areas that the ESRC and DFID tasked four groups of researchers to look at, across the diverse projects funded through the Joint Fund. The resulting reports - children and young people; gender; with those on health; and research methods to follow - will be valuable pieces of research and rich sources of information which we all hope will be of interest to a broad range of audiences. They highlight the specific achievements and contributions of Joint Fund research - to knowledge about development issues, to methods and approaches to researching these, and to supporting social and economic impact. The ESRA also point to spaces where more research would be valuable, issuing challenges both to researchers and funders to consider how they continue to drive, as well as respond to, evolving development agendas and changing global circumstances. A series of summaries to capture these findings and their implications for policymakers as well as for researchers also accompany the main reports, produced by the Impact Initiative.Research supported by the ESRC and DFID

Full report: Gender evidence synthesis research award

A gendered understanding of poverty is crucial for exploring its differing impacts and this analysis provides valuable insights in a number of key areas. This evidence is a synthesis from 122 research grants awarded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and UK Department for International Development (DFID) Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research since 2005. The insights could have particular relevance as governments focus on working towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that include commitments on gender equality across the board. Gender is one of four areas that the ESRC and DFID tasked four groups of researchers to look at, across the diverse projects funded through the Joint Fund. The resulting reports - children and young people; gender; with those on health; and research methods to follow - will be valuable pieces of research and rich sources of information which we all hope will be of interest to a broad range of audiences. They highlight the specific achievements and contributions of Joint Fund research - to knowledge about development issues, to methods and approaches to researching these, and to supporting social and economic impact. The ESRA also point to spaces where more research would be valuable, issuing challenges both to researchers and funders to consider how they continue to drive, as well as respond to, evolving development agendas and changing global circumstances. A series of summaries to capture these findings and their implications for policymakers as well as for researchers also accompany the main reports, produced by the Impact Initiative.Evidence Synthesis Research Award was funded by ESRC / DFI

HER2+ Cancer Cell Dependence on PI3K <i>vs</i>. MAPK Signaling Axes Is Determined by Expression of EGFR, ERBB3 and CDKN1B

<div><p>Understanding the molecular pathways by which oncogenes drive cancerous cell growth, and how dependence on such pathways varies between tumors could be highly valuable for the design of anti-cancer treatment strategies. In this work we study how dependence upon the canonical PI3K and MAPK cascades varies across HER2+ cancers, and define biomarkers predictive of pathway dependencies. A panel of 18 HER2+ (<i>ERBB2</i>-amplified) cell lines representing a variety of indications was used to characterize the functional and molecular diversity within this oncogene-defined cancer. PI3K and MAPK-pathway dependencies were quantified by measuring <i>in vitro</i> cell growth responses to combinations of AKT (MK2206) and MEK (GSK1120212; trametinib) inhibitors, in the presence and absence of the ERBB3 ligand heregulin (NRG1). A combination of three protein measurements comprising the receptors EGFR, ERBB3 (HER3), and the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27 (CDKN1B) was found to accurately predict dependence on PI3K/AKT vs. MAPK/ERK signaling axes. Notably, this multivariate classifier outperformed the more intuitive and clinically employed metrics, such as expression of phospho-AKT and phospho-ERK, and PI3K pathway mutations (<i>PIK3CA</i>, <i>PTEN</i>, and <i>PIK3R1</i>). In both cell lines and primary patient samples, we observed consistent expression patterns of these biomarkers varies by cancer indication, such that ERBB3 and CDKN1B expression are relatively high in breast tumors while EGFR expression is relatively high in other indications. The predictability of the three protein biomarkers for differentiating PI3K/AKT vs. MAPK dependence in HER2+ cancers was confirmed using external datasets (Project Achilles and GDSC), again out-performing clinically used genetic markers. Measurement of this minimal set of three protein biomarkers could thus inform treatment, and predict mechanisms of drug resistance in HER2+ cancers. More generally, our results show a single oncogenic transformation can have differing effects on cell signaling and growth, contingent upon the molecular and cellular context.</p></div

Canonical PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK signaling nodes and their statistical association with biomarker-defined cell line subsets represented in Project Achilles.

<p>Canonical PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK signaling nodes and their statistical association with biomarker-defined cell line subsets represented in Project Achilles.</p