Undefined Community Research Articles

In search of a global community: a multivocal critique of UNESCO’s education commons discourse

ABSTRACT This article critically examines UNESCO’s construction of a commons approach to global education through a multivocal analysis of its 2021 report Reimagining our futures together: a new social contract for education. The participating researchers’ “voices” are brought together through dialogue and joint meaning making to critically analyse UNESCO’s promotion of education as a global commons. This is achieved by unpacking how the “we” that this commons implies is constructed by the text. A multivocal approach is particularly well suited to this task because it can encompass multiple perspectives, identities and social roles, thereby enriching the analysis and discussion. The joint analysis uncovers three “commons-constructing” devices i) a reliance on anticipatory politics and projection of a common apocalyptic future; ii) a discursive balance between cultural diversity and universal values, and iii) a downplaying of power relations. Taken together, these strategies work to construct the commons by fostering a particular subjectivity around a “we”, an undefined community, which readers of the report are expected to relate to. We question to what extent this community of global readers exists and consider its implications for a global commons approach to education.

Impact of Spontaneous Fermentation and Inoculum with Natural Whey Starter on Peptidomic Profile and Biological Activities of Cheese Whey: A Comparative Study

Fermentation is a promising solution to valorize cheese whey, the main by-product of the dairy industry. In Parmigiano Reggiano cheese production, natural whey starter (NWS), an undefined community of thermophilic lactic acid bacteria, is obtained from the previous day residual whey through incubation at gradually decreasing temperature after curd cooking. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of fermentation regime (spontaneous (S) and NWS-inoculated (I-NWS)) on biofunctionalities and release of bioactive peptides during whey fermentation. In S and I-NWS trials proteolysis reached a peak after 24 h, which corresponded to the drop out in pH and the maximum increase in lactic acid. Biological activities increased as a function of fermentation time. NWS inoculum positively affected antioxidant activity, whilst S overcame I-NWS in angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and DPP-IV (dipeptidyl peptidase IV) inhibitory activities. Peptidomics revealed more than 400 peptides, mainly derived from β-casein, κ-casein, and α-lactalbumin. Among them, 49 were bioactive and 21 were ACE-inhibitors. Semi-quantitative analysis strongly correlated ACE-inhibitory activity with the sum of the peptide abundance of ACE-inhibitory peptides. In both samples, lactotripeptide isoleucine-proline-proline (IPP) was higher than valine-proline-proline (VPP), with the highest content in S after 24 h of fermentation. In conclusion, we demonstrated the ability of whey endogenous microbiota and NWS to extensively hydrolyze whey proteins, promoting the release of bioactive peptides and improving protein digestibility.

All together now: experimental multispecies biofilm model systems.

Studies of microorganisms have traditionally focused on single species populations, which have greatly facilitated our understanding of the genetics and physiology that underpin microbial growth, adaptation and biofilm development. However, given that most microorganisms exist as multispecies consortia, the field is increasingly exploring microbial communities using a range of technologies traditionally limited to populations, including meta-omics based approaches and high resolution imaging. The experimental communities currently being explored range from relatively low diversity, for example, two to four species, to significantly more complex systems, comprised of several hundred species. Results from both defined and undefined communities have revealed a number of emergent properties, including improved stress tolerance, increased biomass production, community level signalling and metabolic cooperation. Based on results published to date, we submit that community-based studies are timely and increasingly reveal new properties associated with multispecies consortia that could not be predicted bystudies of the individual component species. Here, we review a range of defined and undefined experimental systems used to study microbial community interactions.

Proteome changes in the initial bacterial colonist during ecological succession in an acid mine drainage biofilm community

Proteomes of acid mine drainage biofilms at different stages of ecological succession were examined to understand microbial responses to changing community membership. We evaluated the degree of reproducibility of the community proteomes between samples of the same growth stage and found stable and predictable protein abundance patterns across time and sampling space, allowing for a set of 50 classifier proteins to be identified for use in predicting growth stages of undefined communities. Additionally, physiological changes in the dominant species, Leptospirillum Group II, were analysed as biofilms mature. During early growth stages, this population responds to abiotic stresses related to growth on the acid mine drainage solution. Enzymes involved in protein synthesis, cell division and utilization of 1- and 2-carbon compounds were more abundant in early growth stages, suggesting rapid growth and a reorganization of metabolism during biofilm initiation. As biofilms thicken and diversify, external stresses arise from competition for dwindling resources, which may inhibit cell division of Leptospirillum Group II through the SOS response. This population also represses translation and synthesizes more complex carbohydrates and amino acids in mature biofilms. These findings provide unprecedented insight into the physiological changes that may result from competitive interactions within communities in natural environments.

Electric Power Generation from Municipal, Food, and Animal Wastewaters Using Microbial Fuel Cells

AbstractHere, we explore if microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology can replace activated sludge processes for secondary wastewater treatment. We will discuss the present limitations and problems of electric current generation when a complex wastewater is treated with a diverse and undefined community of microbes in large‐scale systems. These challenges include low coulombic efficiencies, slow kinetic rates, and nonlinear power density increases during scale‐up efforts. Finally, we developed a prediction of the main economic gain from treating wastewater with microbial fuel cells. We conclude that electricity generation will not justify MFC operation, but that BOD removal with this more sustainable technology is attractive.

Stable Carbon Isotope Fractionation of Chloroethenes by Dehalorespiring Isolates

Stable carbon isotope fractionation during the reductive dechlorination of chloroethenes by two bacterial strains that dechlorinate to ethene, Dehalococcoides ethenogenes 195 and Dehalococcoides sp. strain BAV1 as well as Sulfurospirillum multivorans and Dehalobacter restrictus strain PER-K23, isolates that do not dechlorinate past DCE, are reported. Fractionation by a Dehalococcoides-containing enrichment culture is also measured for comparison to the isolates. All data adequately fit the Rayleigh model and results are presented as enrichment factors. For strain 195, the measured enrichment factors were -9.6 +/- 0.4, -21.1 +/- 1.8, and -5.8 +/- 0.5 when degrading TCE, cDCE, and 1,1-DCE, respectively. Strain BAV1 exhibited enrichment factors of -16.9 +/- 1.4, -8.4 +/- 0.3, -21.4 +/- 0.9, and -24.0 +/- 2.0 for cDCE, 1,1-DCE, tDCE, and VC, respectively. The surprisingly large differences in enrichment factors caused by individual reductases (RDases) reducing different chloroethenes is likely the result of chemical structure differences among the chloroethenes. For TCE reduction, S. multivorans and D. restrictus strain PER-K23 exhibited enrichment factors of -16.4 +/- 1.5 and -3.3 +/- 0.3, respectively. While all of the organisms studied here utilize RDases that require corrinoid cofactors, the biotic TCE enrichment factors varied widely from those reported for the abiotic cobalamin-catalyzed reaction, indicating that additional factors affect the extent of fractionation in these biological systems. The enrichment factors measured for the Dehalococcoides-containing enrichment culture did not match well with those from any of the isolates, demonstrating the inherent difficulties in predicting fractionation factors of undefined communities. Although compound-specific isotope fractionation is a powerful tool for evaluating the progress of in situ bioremediation in the field, given the wide range of enrichment factors associated with functionally similar and phylogenetically diverse organisms, caution must be exercised when applying enrichment factors for the interpretation of dechlorination data.

Community structure of eastern Bering Sea epibenthic invertebrates from summer bottom-trawl surveys 1982 to 2002

Catches of invertebrates from the annual summer bottom-trawl surveys in the eastern Bering Sea between 1982 and 2002 were analyzed to describe the composition and spatial distri- bution of epibenthic invertebrate communities. A persistent characteristic is distinct inshore and offshore community types separated by the dynamic oceanographic inner front that generally co- incides with the 50 m isobath. This typical spatial distribution of the 2 communities corresponds closely with surficial sediment type and previously reported patterns for groundfishes and infaunal invertebrates. The biomass of the inshore assemblage is overwhelmingly dominated by the sea star Asterias amurensis, whereas Gastropoda, Paguridae and the snow crab Chionoecetes opilio domi- nate the offshore assemblage. Variations in the typical inshore- offshore pattern occurred in 1982- 84, 1987- 88, 1998- 99 and 2001- 02, when there were substantial reductions in the spatial extent of the inshore community, especially in the Bristol Bay area. During these reductions, epiben- thos in Bristol Bay shifted from the inshore type to either offshore or an undefined community type. In general, reductions in the inshore domain were correlated with a mean bottom temperature in the survey area that was higher than normal in the preceding summer. Extreme El Nino events coincided with sizable contractions of the inshore community in 1982- 84 and 1998- 99. Spatial variability in the epibenthic communities may thus reflect the influence of environmental changes on interannual and decadal scales. Evidence suggests that mobile taxa, especially crabs, may be migrating offshore toward cooler waters, thereby rearranging the epibenthic communities.

The Dilemma of Privatized Public Services: Philosophical Frames in Understanding Failure and Managing Partnership Terminations

This paper uses social theory to explicate the competing perspectives on the on-going and, increasing, privatization of public services in the U.K. It suggests that if business ignores these perspectives then political imperatives will come into play that will inevitably turn privatization initiatives commercially sour. Contrary to political rhetoric, public/private partnerships (PPPs) constitute a more strategic form and process of out-sourcing, demanding that wherever public funding flows, private “rent-seeking” opportunities be created for the private sector. Seen in these terms, managerial elites will need to understand and anticipate conditions under which the state would seek to terminate lucrative partnering arrangements in the public interest. Political–administrative dialogue on partnerships can involve an unresponsive discourse or a dialogue of the deaf, both constituting a threat to business through the imposition of undefined community service obligations or hostile and unprofitable terminations by the state. Performance required of PPPs goes beyond market success and requires co-optation of strategic stakeholders, raising significant issues about corporate governance directions. Business leaders will need to develop communicative rationalities that build pluralized decision structures and implementation capacities. The paper concludes by outlining design features of more effective regulatory regimes to avoid hostile and unprofitable terminations of increasingly contested PPPs. The conclusion is less sanguine about the ability, or even the wish, of governments to do so.