Achieving Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Early Childhood Education Through Critical Reflection in Transformative Learning

The central role of education in creating a more sustainable future has been already recognized by educators and policy-makers alike. This chapter argues that this can only be truly achieved through the efforts of teachers in implementing an “education of a different kind,” a general educational shift that seeks to encompass a converging transformation of the priorities and mindsets of education professionals. In this regard, the professional preparation of teachers, as the leading actors in shaping children’s learning processes, and their continuous professional development are vital considerations for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) to be successfully achieved. Linking transformative learning and ESD has emerged as a distinct and useful pedagogy because they both support the process of critically examining habits of mind, then revising these habits and acting upon the revised point of view. This study aims to describe and evaluate the potential of transformative learning in innovating mainstream education toward sustainability by focusing on the role of critical reflection in a capacity building research project realized in Turkey. The data was gathered from 24 early childhood educators using a mixed-method research design involving learning diaries, a learning activities survey, and follow-up interviews. This chapter identified content, context, and application method of the in-service training as factors that have contributed to the reflective practices of the participants. In addition, presenting the implications regarding the individual differences in how learners engage in critical reflection practices, this research offers a framework for a content- and process-based approach derived from Mezirow’s conception of critical reflection

Learning Legged Locomotion

Legged locomotion of biological systems can be viewed as a self-organizing process of highly complex system-environment interactions. Walking behavior is, for example, generated from the interactions between many mechanical components (e.g. physical interactions between feet and ground, skeletons an

Molecular phylogeny and timing of diversification in Alpine Rhithrogena (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae).

BACKGROUND: Larvae of the Holarctic mayfly genus Rhithrogena Eaton, 1881 (Ephemeroptera, Heptageniidae) are a diverse and abundant member of stream and river communities and are routinely used as bio-indicators of water quality. Rhithrogena is well diversified in the European Alps, with a number of locally endemic species, and several cryptic species have been recently detected. While several informal species groups are morphologically well defined, a lack of reliable characters for species identification considerably hampers their study. Their relationships, origin, timing of speciation and mechanisms promoting their diversification in the Alps are unknown. RESULTS: Here we present a species-level phylogeny of Rhithrogena in Europe using two mitochondrial and three nuclear gene regions. To improve sampling in a genus with many cryptic species, individuals were selected for analysis according to a recent DNA-based taxonomy rather than traditional nomenclature. A coalescent-based species tree and a reconstruction based on a supermatrix approach supported five of the species groups as monophyletic. A molecular clock, mapped on the most resolved phylogeny and calibrated using published mitochondrial evolution rates for insects, suggested an origin of Alpine Rhithrogena in the Oligocene/Miocene boundary. A diversification analysis that included simulation of missing species indicated a constant speciation rate over time, rather than any pronounced periods of rapid speciation. Ancestral state reconstructions provided evidence for downstream diversification in at least two species groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our species-level analyses of five gene regions provide clearer definitions of species groups within European Rhithrogena. A constant speciation rate over time suggests that the paleoclimatic fluctuations, including the Pleistocene glaciations, did not significantly influence the tempo of diversification of Alpine species. A downstream diversification trend in the hybrida and alpestris species groups supports a previously proposed headwater origin hypothesis for aquatic insects

Plasma and cellular fibronectin: distinct and independent functions during tissue repair

Fibronectin (FN) is a ubiquitous extracellular matrix (ECM) glycoprotein that plays vital roles during tissue repair. The plasma form of FN circulates in the blood, and upon tissue injury, is incorporated into fibrin clots to exert effects on platelet function and to mediate hemostasis. Cellular FN is then synthesized and assembled by cells as they migrate into the clot to reconstitute damaged tissue. The assembly of FN into a complex three-dimensional matrix during physiological repair plays a key role not only as a structural scaffold, but also as a regulator of cell function during this stage of tissue repair. FN fibrillogenesis is a complex, stepwise process that is strictly regulated by a multitude of factors. During fibrosis, there is excessive deposition of ECM, of which FN is one of the major components. Aberrant FN-matrix assembly is a major contributing factor to the switch from normal tissue repair to misregulated fibrosis. Understanding the mechanisms involved in FN assembly and how these interplay with cellular, fibrotic and immune responses may reveal targets for the future development of therapies to regulate aberrant tissue-repair processes

Fibroblast Migration in 3D is Controlled by Haptotaxis in a Non-muscle Myosin II-Dependent Manner

Cell migration in 3D is a key process in many physiological and pathological processes. Although valuable knowledge has been accumulated through analysis of various 2D models, some of these insights are not directly applicable to migration in 3D. In this study, we have confined biomimetic hydrogels within microfluidic platforms in the presence of a chemoattractant (platelet-derived growth factor-BB). We have characterized the migratory responses of human fibroblasts within them, particularly focusing on the role of non-muscle myosin II. Our results indicate a prominent role for myosin II in the integration of chemotactic and haptotactic migratory responses of fibroblasts in 3D confined environments.Grants: EUR/7FP/ERC-2012-StG 306751 ES/MINECO - DPI2012-38090-C03-01 ES/MINECO - SAF2011- 2495

The hypertriglyceridemic-waist phenotype is associated with the Framingham risk score and subclinical atherosclerosis in Canadian Cree

Background and aims: For primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), Canadian guidelines recommend that asymptomatic Canadians with abdominal obesity undergo Framingham risk score (FRS) assessment, and that in Indigenous Peoples, indicators of metabolic syndrome also be used to identify at-risk individuals. The hypertriglyceridemic-waist phenotype (HTGW) has been proposed to be a surrogate marker of visceral obesity and a simple proxy measure for metabolic syndrome. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate whether the HTGW and the FRS associated with sub-clinical atherosclerosis. Methods and results: Asymptomatic Cree participants in a cross-sectional study conducted 2005–2009 (n = 446, 18–81 y) were assessed for the HTGW using NCEP-ATP-III gender-specific-cutoffs (waist circumference: for men, ≥102 cm; for women ≥88 cm) and fasting triglycerides ≥1.7 mmol/L. Sub-clinical atherosclerosis was defined by the presence of a high sex-specific common-carotid-intimal-medial-wall-thickness (≥75th percentile). HTGW was present in 26.7% and a 10-y FRS greater than 10% was present in 18.8% of participants. The multivariate adjusted OR (95% CI) for sub-clinical atherosclerosis associated with an FRS greater than 10% was 4.10 (2.20–7.50) while that associated with the HTGW phenotype was 1.74 (95% CI 1.61–1.88) from a model including age, body mass index, alcohol consumption, FRS and the HTGW. Conclusions: The HTGW phenotype is prevalent in the Cree. Our findings support further study on the utility of combining the HTGW with the FRS in the prediction of cardiovascular disease outcomes and in health screening and intervention programs among indigenous peoples