The condition of sustainable development : a realist explanation of the causes of unsustainable development in the sugar industries of Barbados and Australia

This thesis is concerned with the idea of sustainable development. It is concerned to understand how the theory and practice of sustainable development might be progressed. The central tenet of the thesis is that unsustainable practices and events are most usefully understood as outcomes which are conditioned by underlying social structures and processes. In itself, this is hardly an original or profound assertion. However, what is attempted here is a multi-layered explanation of unsustainability which objectifies and elucidates the significance of different elements of causation and thus one which may suggest new and potentially useful ways of achieving sustainable development in practice. It is argued that a realist understanding of causality informed by insights from regulation theory is particularly relevant to this agenda. From a realist perspective, unsustainable practices and events are understood as reflecting not just tendentially expressed real causal mechanisms and contingent factors, but also the conditions which activate the mechanisms involved. In practice, these conditions are largely defined by what regulationists term the 'mode of social regulation'. Thus it is suggested that regulation designed to promote sustainable development needs to be just as concerned with the nature of 'modes of social regulation' in general as it is with specific, concrete controls on development.The first three chapters of the thesis outline and review current thinking on sustainable development, realism and regulation theory respectively. The theoretical constructs developed in these early chapters are subsequently tested, refined and evaluated in their application to case studies of cane sugar production in Barbados and Australia. Chapter 4 outlines and justifies the methodology adopted in the research. Chapter 5 provides a general description of cane sugar production and consumption and the global sugar economy. This provides a context for the subsequent analysis of the two case studies. Chapters 6 and 8 begin with some background information on Barbados and Queensland respectively, and then continue by outlining the current situation of the sugar industries in these two locations. These two basically descriptive chapters are each followed by further chapters which analyse and interpret the dynamic and often unsustainable patterns of development which have occurred in these two locations. The analysis here attempts to develop the type of multi-level, realist, analysis articulated in earlier chapters. Instances of unsustainability are interpreted as the outcomes of plural, but co-active elements of causation. Specific attention is focused on how the inherent unsustainability of extant accumulation systems and social structures is apparently translated into more significant forms of unsustainability, and within this, on the ways in which current modes of social regulation appear to legitimate and license this process of translation. Chapter 10 then attempts to synthesise the analysis of the case studies and to identify any generally relevant insights into the nature of sustainable development. The final section of the thesis, presents an evaluation of this project and the conclusions reached, and suggests how this approach and methodology defined in this research might be further tested, refined and progressed

The Idol, 1977

https://digitalworks.union.edu/idol/1042/thumbnail.jp

Allelic variations of the multidrug resistance gene determine susceptibility and disease behavior in ulcerative colitis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The MDR1 gene encodes P-glycoprotein 170, an efflux transporter that is highly expressed in intestinal epithelial cells. The MDR1 exonic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) C3435T and G2677T have been shown to correlate with activity/expression of P-glycoprotein 170.METHODS: This was a case-control analysis of MDR1 C3435T and G2677T SNPs in a large well-characterized Scottish white cohort (335 with ulcerative colitis [UC], 268 with Crohn's disease [CD], and 370 healthy controls). We conducted 2-locus haplotype and detailed univariate and multivariate genotypic-phenotypic analyses.RESULTS: The MDR1 3435 TT genotype (34.6% vs 26.5%; P = .04; odds ratio [OR], 1.60; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.04-2.44) and T-allelic frequencies (58.2% vs 52.8%; P = .02; OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.03-1.58) were significantly higher in patients with UC compared with controls. No association was seen with CD. The association was strongest with extensive UC (TT genotype: 42.4% vs 26.5%; P = .003; OR, 2.64; 95% CI, 1.34-4.99; and T allele: 63.9% vs 52.8%; P = .009; OR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.24-2.29), and this was also confirmed on multivariate analysis ( P = .007). The G2677T SNP was not associated with UC or CD. These 2 SNPs lie in linkage disequilibrium in our population (D', .8-.9; r 2 , .7-.8). Two-locus haplotypes showed both positive (3435T/G2677 haplotype: P = .03; OR, 1.44) and negative (C3435/2677T haplotype: P = .002; OR, .35) associations with UC. Homozygotes for the haplotype 3435T/G2677 were significantly increased in UC ( P = .017; OR, 8.88; 95% CI, 1.10-71.45).CONCLUSIONS: Allelic variations of the MDR1 gene determine disease extent as well as susceptibility to UC in the Scottish population. The present data strongly implicate the C3435T SNP, although the 2-locus haplotype data underline the need for further detailed haplotypic studies.</p

The contribution of OCTN1/2 variants within the IBD5 locus to disease susceptibility and severity in Crohn's disease

Background and Aims: Recent data suggest that polymorphisms in the organic cation transporter (OCTN) genes OCTN1 (SLC22A4) and OCTN2 (SLC22A5) represent disease-causing mutations within the IBD5 locus (chromosome 5q31). We investigated associations with disease susceptibility, phenotype, and evidence for epistasis with CARD15 in 679 patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC). Methods: A total of 374 patients with CD, 305 patients with UC, and 294 healthy controls (HCs) were studied. Genotyping for single nucleotide polymorphisms IGR2096, IGR2198, and IGR2230, OCTN1 variant (SLC22A4 1672C→T), and OCTN2 variant (SLC22A5 −207G→C) was performed using the TaqMan system. Results: The IBD5 OCTN1 and OCTN2 polymorphisms were in strong linkage disequilibrium (D′, >0.959). IGR2198 variant allele frequency (49.1% vs 40.8%; P = .0046) and homozygosity (21% vs 14.8%; P = .044) were associated with CD versus HCs. Variant allelic frequency of OCTN1 (53.6% vs 43%; P = .0008) and OCTN2 (56.1% vs 48.4%; P = .0092) polymorphisms and homozygosity for the OCTN1/2-TC haplotype (28.4% vs 16%; P = .0042) were associated with CD versus HCs. IGR2198 homozygosity and TC homozygosity were associated with stricturing/penetrating disease at follow-up (P = .011 and P = .011, respectively) and disease progression (P = .038 and P = .049, respectively) on univariate analysis and with need for surgery on multivariate analysis (P = .016 and P = .004, respectively). In the absence of the IBD5 risk haplotype, no association of OCTN1/2 variants with CD was detected. No associations were seen with UC. Conclusions: The IBD5 locus influences susceptibility, progression, and need for surgery in CD. However, the contribution of OCTN1/2 variants is not independent of the IBD5 haplotype; a causative role for these genes remains plausible but is not yet proven. Further genetic, functional, and expression data are now required. </p