How sulphate-reducing microorganisms cope with stress: lessons from systems biology

Sulphate-reducing microorganisms (SRMs) are a phylogenetically diverse group of anaerobes encompassing distinct physiologies with a broad ecological distribution. As SRMs have important roles in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and various metals, an understanding of how these organisms respond to environmental stresses is of fundamental and practical importance. In this Review, we highlight recent applications of systems biology tools in studying the stress responses of SRMs, particularly Desulfovibrio spp., at the cell, population, community and ecosystem levels. The syntrophic lifestyle of SRMs is also discussed, with a focus on system-level analyses of adaptive mechanisms. Such information is important for understanding the microbiology of the global sulphur cycle and for developing biotechnological applications of SRMs for environmental remediation, energy production, biocorrosion control, wastewater treatment and mineral recovery

Language socialization through textbooks

Textbooks, as one of the primary and basic teaching/learning resources in education, provide a cornerstone for knowledge transmission, literacy education, enculturation, and socialisation. By their very nature, textbooks contain not only subject knowledge but also social norms and cultural values and ideologies. Although language socialisation through textbooks may depend on how they are employed in various contexts, the chapter reviews mainly studies of language textbooks’ cultural content as a means of socialisation. The chapter starts with a review of the early developments of textbook content used for literacy education in different sociocultural contexts. It then provides a discussion of the major contributions to the field with a focus on cultural knowledge embedded in foreign language textbooks. This is followed by an overview of recent developments in language textbook analysis, including the critical analysis of ideological representations involved in the politics of selection of content. Lastly, challenges for the field are outlined and future directions are indicated as reflected in evolving educational systems and political environments