Applying a community entrepreneurship development (CED) framework

This article develops a community entrepreneurship development (CED) framework and illustrates its use in a case study of the current and potential value of agriculture to the Barossa Valley in South Australia. The CED offers a framework for rural regional development that both practitioners and policymakers can use to develop and leverage entrepreneurial competencies and other forms of community capital to foster entrepreneurship at the community level. It assesses the potential for leveraging Emery and Flora’s [(2006). Spiraling-up: Mapping community transformation with community capitals framework. Community Development, 37(1), 19–35] community capital framework to build entrepreneurship and innovation. The findings suggest that the success of firm-level entrepreneurship is often dependent upon leveraging the rural region’s idiosyncratic natural capitals with human and social/entrepreneurial capitals to result in community-level entrepreneurial market development initiatives

Dysplasia of the Upper Aerodigestive Tract Squamous Epithelium

Dysplasia of the oral, laryngeal and oropharyngeal stratified squamous epithelia is a microscopically defined change that may occur in clinically identifiable lesions including erythroplakia, leukoplakia and erythroleukoplakia, lesions that convey a heightened risk for carcinomatous progression. Dysplastic lesions have been classified microscopically according to degree of cytologic atypia and changes in architectural patterns, usually on a three part or four part gradation scale. Vocal cord epithelial lesions are graded according to either the Ljubljana or the World Health Organization (WHO) system whereas oral dysplasias are generally classified according to WHO criteria. Cytologically atypical cells are considered to represent precancerous changes predicting an increase risk for carcinomatous transformation. Inter- and intra-rater reliability studies among pathologists have disclosed low correlation coefficients for four part grading systems, whereas improved agreement is achieved (kappa correlation values) using the Ljubljana systems. Evidence forwarded by some studies supports the prognostic value of progressively severe dysplastic changes for carcinomatous transformation; however, some studies indicate that the presence of a clinically defined lesion without microscopic evidence of dysplasia also connotes increased risk for carcinomatous transformation. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 3p and 9p microsatellite domains, DNA ploidy analysis and nuclear image analyses may have predictive value as molecular and histomorphological biomarkers

Community engagement and professionalization: Emerging tensions

© 2019 by Emerald Publishing Limited. An increase in community engagement by governments across Australia’s three-tiered federal polity conforms to international trends. It represents a multidimensional institutionalization of participatory democracy designed to involve the public in decision-making. Increasingly, it is a practice which displays the markers of professionalization, including (self-described) professionals, professional associations and a code of ethics. The individuals who design, communicate, and facilitate community engagement are placed in a unique position, whereas most professions claim to serve both their client or employer and a greater public good, community engagement practitioners play these roles while also claiming to serve as “guardians” of democratic processes. Yet the claimed professionalization of community engagement is raising some questions: Is community engagement really a profession – and by what criteria ought this be assessed? What tensions do community engagement practitioners face by “serving multiple masters,” and how do they manage these? More pointedly, how can ethics inform our understanding of community engagement and its professionalization? This chapter examines the case for the practice of community engagement as a profession using Noordegraaf’s (2007) pillars of pure professionalism as a guide. It then explores some practical examples of the tensions practitioners may experience. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the future direction of community engagement given its positioning

Capturing wheat phenotypes at the genome level

Recent technological advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have dramatically reduced the cost of DNA sequencing, allowing species with large and complex genomes to be sequenced. Although bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the world’s most important food crops, efficient exploitation of molecular marker-assisted breeding approaches has lagged behind that achieved in other crop species, due to its large polyploid genome. However, an international public–private effort spanning 9 years reported over 65% draft genome of bread wheat in 2014, and finally, after more than a decade culminated in the release of a gold-standard, fully annotated reference wheat-genome assembly in 2018. Shortly thereafter, in 2020, the genome of assemblies of additional 15 global wheat accessions was released. As a result, wheat has now entered into the pan-genomic era, where basic resources can be efficiently exploited. Wheat genotyping with a few hundred markers has been replaced by genotyping arrays, capable of characterizing hundreds of wheat lines, using thousands of markers, providing fast, relatively inexpensive, and reliable data for exploitation in wheat breeding. These advances have opened up new opportunities for marker-assisted selection (MAS) and genomic selection (GS) in wheat. Herein, we review the advances and perspectives in wheat genetics and genomics, with a focus on key traits, including grain yield, yield-related traits, end-use quality, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. We also focus on reported candidate genes cloned and linked to traits of interest. Furthermore, we report on the improvement in the aforementioned quantitative traits, through the use of (i) clustered regularly interspaced short-palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9)-mediated gene-editing and (ii) positional cloning methods, and of genomic selection. Finally, we examine the utilization of genomics for the next-generation wheat breeding, providing a practical example of using in silico bioinformatics tools that are based on the wheat reference-genome sequence

Historical analysis of the Brazilian cervical cancer screening program from 2006 to 2013: a time for reflection

BACKGROUND: The Cervical Cancer Database of the Brazilian National Health Service (SISCOLO) contains information regarding all cervical cytological tests and, if properly explored, can be used as a tool for monitoring and managing the cervical cancer screening program. The aim of this study was to perform a historical analysis of the cervical cancer screening program in Brazil from 2006 to 2013. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The data necessary to calculate quality indicators were obtained from the SISCOLO, a Brazilian health system tool. Joinpoint analysis was used to calculate the annual percentage change. RESULTS: We observed important trends showing decreased rates of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and an increased rate of rejected exams from 2009 to 2013. The index of positivity was maintained at levels below those indicated by international standards; very low frequencies of unsatisfactory cases were observed over the study period, which partially contradicts the low rate of positive cases. The number of positive cytological diagnoses was below that expected, considering that developed countries with low frequencies of cervical cancer detect more lesions annually. CONCLUSIONS: The evolution of indicators from 2006 to 2013 suggests that actions must be taken to improve the effectiveness of cervical cancer control in Brazil

Circadian Control of Dendrite Morphology in the Visual System of Drosophila melanogaster

In the first optic neuropil (lamina) of the fly's visual system, monopolar cells L1 and L2 and glia show circadian rhythms in morphological plasticity. They change their size and shape during the day and night. The most pronounced changes have been detected in circadian size of the L2 axons. Looking for a functional significance of the circadian plasticity observed in axons, we examined the morphological plasticity of the L2 dendrites. They extend from axons and harbor postsynaptic sites of tetrad synaptic contacts from the photoreceptor terminals.The plasticity of L2 dendrites was evaluated by measuring an outline of the L2 dendritic trees. These were from confocal images of cross sections of L2 cells labeled with GFP. They were in wild-type and clock mutant flies held under different light conditions and sacrified at different time points. We found that the L2 dendrites are longest at the beginning of the day in both males and females. This rhythm observed under a day/night regime (LD) was maintained in constant darkness (DD) but not in continuous light (LL). This rhythm was not present in the arrhythmic per(01) mutant in LD or in DD. In the clock photoreceptor cry(b) mutant the rhythm was maintained but its pattern was different than that observed in wild-type flies.The results obtained showed that the L2 dendrites exhibit circadian structural plasticity. Their morphology is controlled by the per gene-dependent circadian clock. The L2 dendrites are longest at the beginning of the day when the daytime tetrad presynaptic sites are most numerous and L2 axons are swollen. The presence of the rhythm, but with a different pattern in cry(b) mutants in LD and DD indicates a new role of cry in the visual system. The new role is in maintaining the circadian pattern of changes of the L2 dendrite length and shape

Mobilizing Crop Biodiversity

Over the past 70 years, the world has witnessed extraordinary growth in crop productivity, 1 enabled by a suite of technological advances, including higher yielding crop varieties, improved farm management, synthetic agrochemicals, and agricultural mechanization. While this “Green Revolution” intensified crop production, and is credited with reducing famine and malnutrition, its benefits were accompanied by several undesirable collateral effects (Pingali, 2012). These include a narrowing of agricultural biodiversity, stemming from increased monoculture and greater reliance on a smaller number of crops and crop varieties for the majority of our calories. This reduction in diversity has created vulnerabilities to pest and disease epidemics, climate variation, and ultimately to human health (Harlan, 1972). The value of crop diversity has long been recognized (Vavilov, 1992). A global system of genebanks (e.g.www.genebanks.org/genebanks/) was established in the 1970s to preserve the abundant genetic variation found in traditional “landrace” varieties of crops and in crop wild relatives (Harlan, 1972). While preserving crop variation is a critical first step, the time has come to make use of this variation to breed more resilient crops. The DivSeek International Network (https://divseekintl.org/) is a scientific, not-for profit organization that aims to accelerate such effort

Microbiome definition re-visited: old concepts and new challenges

peer-reviewedAbstract The field of microbiome research has evolved rapidly over the past few decades and has become a topic of great scientific and public interest. As a result of this rapid growth in interest covering different fields, we are lacking a clear commonly agreed definition of the term “microbiome.” Moreover, a consensus on best practices in microbiome research is missing. Recently, a panel of international experts discussed the current gaps in the frame of the European-funded MicrobiomeSupport project. The meeting brought together about 40 leaders from diverse microbiome areas, while more than a hundred experts from all over the world took part in an online survey accompanying the workshop. This article excerpts the outcomes of the workshop and the corresponding online survey embedded in a short historical introduction and future outlook. We propose a definition of microbiome based on the compact, clear, and comprehensive description of the term provided by Whipps et al. in 1988, amended with a set of novel recommendations considering the latest technological developments and research findings. We clearly separate the terms microbiome and microbiota and provide a comprehensive discussion considering the composition of microbiota, the heterogeneity and dynamics of microbiomes in time and space, the stability and resilience of microbial networks, the definition of core microbiomes, and functionally relevant keystone species as well as co-evolutionary principles of microbe-host and inter-species interactions within the microbiome. These broad definitions together with the suggested unifying concepts will help to improve standardization of microbiome studies in the future, and could be the starting point for an integrated assessment of data resulting in a more rapid transfer of knowledge from basic science into practice. Furthermore, microbiome standards are important for solving new challenges associated with anthropogenic-driven changes in the field of planetary health, for which the understanding of microbiomes might play a key role. Video Abstrac

Parameters in panoramic radiography for differentiation of radiolucent lesions

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to establish parameters in panoramic radiography for interpretation of unilocular radiolucent lesions, and to compare the accuracy of diagnoses given by examiners before and after using these parameters. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In Part I, 12 specialists analyzed 24 images and the diagnostic criteria used by each examiner to make correct diagnoses were used to build a list of basic radiographic parameters for each pathology (ameloblastoma, keratocystic odontogenic tumor, dentigerous cyst, and idiopathic bone cavity). In Part II, this list was used by 6 undergraduate students (Un), 8 recently graduated dentists (D), 3 oral pathologists, 3 stomatologists, 3 oral radiologists, and 3 oral surgeons to diagnose the corresponding pathologies in the other set of 24 panoramic radiographs (T2). The same analysis occurred without using this list (T1). The method of generalized estimating equations (GEE) was used in order to estimate the probability of making a correct diagnosis depending on the specialty of the examiner, type of lesion, and moment of the evaluation, T1 or T2 (before or after they had access to the list of parameters, respectively). RESULTS: Higher values were obtained for the probability (GEE) of making a correct diagnosis on T2; the group Un presented the highest improvement (14.6 %); no differences between the probabilities were observed either between Un and D, or among the different groups of specialists. CONCLUSIONS: The use of panoramic radiographic parameters did allow improving the diagnostic accuracy for all groups of examiners