Rôle de la signalisation Wnt non-canonique dans l’étiologie de l’ostéoarthrose chez l’humain

Les études cliniques et in vitro suggèrent que la sclérose de l’os sous-chondral due aux ostéoblastes (Ob) anormaux est impliquée dans la progression de l’ostéoarthrose (OA). Les Ob OA humains isolés à partir d’os sous-chondral sclérosé montrent un phénotype altéré, un niveau réduit de signalisation Wnt/β-caténine canonique et une minéralisation in vitro réduite. Il existe également deux voies non-canoniques, Wnt/PKC et Wnt/PCP qui ont étés décrites dans la littérature. Cependant, il n’existe aucune étude qui traite de ces deux voies dans les Ob OA. Ces voies sont activées après qu’un ligand Wnt non-canonique tel que Wnt-5a se lie à un récepteur Wnt couplé à des corécepteurs de la voie non-canonique. Ceci enclenche, respectivement pour la voie Wnt/PKC-Ca2+ et Wnt/PCP, la phosphorylation de PKC (p-PKC) et la phosphorylation de JNK (p-JNK) et agit sur les cibles en aval. Nous avons voulu déterminer s’il était possible de constater des altérations dans les voies Wnt non-canoniques dans les Ob OA. Nous avons préparé des cultures primaires d’ostéoblastes sous-chondral humains à partir de plateaux tibiaux de patients OA subissant une arthroplastie totale du genou, ainsi qu’à partir de plateaux tibiaux recueillis à l’autopsie de patients « normaux ». L’expression des gènes impliqués dans les voies Wnt/PKC et Wnt/PCP a été évaluée par RT-qPCR et la production par Western Blot des protéines, ainsi que celle de p-PKC et p-JNK et que l’activité des facteurs NFAT et AP-1 utilisés par ces deux voies. L’activité phosphatase alcaline (ALPase) et la quantité d’ostéocalcine (OC) ont étés évaluées respectivement à l’aide d’hydrolyse de substrat et d’ELISA. Le niveau de minéralisation a été évalué par la coloration au rouge Alizarine. Nos résultats montrent que l’expression et la production de Wnt-5a étaient augmentées dans les Ob OA comparées aux Ob N et LGR5 était significativement plus élevée. De plus, l’expression de LGR5 est directement régulée via la stimulation ou la diminution de Wnt-5a, à la fois au niveau de l’ARNm et des protéines. Par ailleurs, Wnt-5a a stimulé la phosphorylation de JNK et de PKC ainsi que l’activité NFAT et AP-1. Les niveaux de minéralisation ainsi que d’activité ALPase et de sécrétion d’OC ont aussi été affectés par les changements du niveau de Wnt-5a. Ces résultats suggèrent que Wnt-5a, qui est augmentée dans les OA Ob, peut stimuler les voies Wnt non-canoniques et affecter le phénotype et la minéralisation des OA Ob humains.

Rôle de la signalisation Wnt non-canonique dans l’étiologie de l’ostéoarthrose chez l’humain

Les études cliniques et in vitro suggèrent que la sclérose de l’os sous-chondral due aux ostéoblastes (Ob) anormaux est impliquée dans la progression de l’ostéoarthrose (OA). Les Ob OA humains isolés à partir d’os sous-chondral sclérosé montrent un phénotype altéré, un niveau réduit de signalisation Wnt/β-caténine canonique et une minéralisation in vitro réduite. Il existe également deux voies non-canoniques, Wnt/PKC et Wnt/PCP qui ont étés décrites dans la littérature. Cependant, il n’existe aucune étude qui traite de ces deux voies dans les Ob OA. Ces voies sont activées après qu’un ligand Wnt non-canonique tel que Wnt-5a se lie à un récepteur Wnt couplé à des corécepteurs de la voie non-canonique. Ceci enclenche, respectivement pour la voie Wnt/PKC-Ca2+ et Wnt/PCP, la phosphorylation de PKC (p-PKC) et la phosphorylation de JNK (p-JNK) et agit sur les cibles en aval. Nous avons voulu déterminer s’il était possible de constater des altérations dans les voies Wnt non-canoniques dans les Ob OA. Nous avons préparé des cultures primaires d’ostéoblastes sous-chondral humains à partir de plateaux tibiaux de patients OA subissant une arthroplastie totale du genou, ainsi qu’à partir de plateaux tibiaux recueillis à l’autopsie de patients « normaux ». L’expression des gènes impliqués dans les voies Wnt/PKC et Wnt/PCP a été évaluée par RT-qPCR et la production par Western Blot des protéines, ainsi que celle de p-PKC et p-JNK et que l’activité des facteurs NFAT et AP-1 utilisés par ces deux voies. L’activité phosphatase alcaline (ALPase) et la quantité d’ostéocalcine (OC) ont étés évaluées respectivement à l’aide d’hydrolyse de substrat et d’ELISA. Le niveau de minéralisation a été évalué par la coloration au rouge Alizarine. Nos résultats montrent que l’expression et la production de Wnt-5a étaient augmentées dans les Ob OA comparées aux Ob N et LGR5 était significativement plus élevée. De plus, l’expression de LGR5 est directement régulée via la stimulation ou la diminution de Wnt-5a, à la fois au niveau de l’ARNm et des protéines. Par ailleurs, Wnt-5a a stimulé la phosphorylation de JNK et de PKC ainsi que l’activité NFAT et AP-1. Les niveaux de minéralisation ainsi que d’activité ALPase et de sécrétion d’OC ont aussi été affectés par les changements du niveau de Wnt-5a. Ces résultats suggèrent que Wnt-5a, qui est augmentée dans les OA Ob, peut stimuler les voies Wnt non-canoniques et affecter le phénotype et la minéralisation des OA Ob humains.

Selling education through “culture” : responses to the market by new, non-government schools

The move to a market model of schooling has seen a radical restructuring of the ways schooling is “done” in recent times in Western countries. Although there has been a great deal of work to examine the effects of a market model on local school management (LSM), teachers’ work and university systems, relatively little has been done to examine its effect on parents’ choice of school in the non-government sector in Australia. This study examines the reasons parents give for choosing a non-government school in the outer suburbs of one large city in Australia. Drawing on the work of Bourdieu specifically his ideas on “cultural capital” (1977), this study revealed that parents were choosing the non-government school over the government school to ensure that their children would be provided, through the school’s emphasis on cultural capital, access to a perceived “better life” thus enhancing the potential to facilitate “extraordinary children”, one of the school’s marketing claims.

Perceptions of aging across 26 cultures and their culture-level associates

College students (N = 3,435) in 26 cultures reported their perceptions of age-related changes in physical, cognitive, and socioemotional areas of functioning and rated societal views of aging within their culture. There was widespread cross-cultural consensus regarding the expected direction of aging trajectories with (1) perceived declines in societal views of aging, physical attractiveness, the ability to perform everyday tasks, and new learning, (2) perceived increases in wisdom, knowledge, and received respect, and (3) perceived stability in family authority and life satisfaction. Cross-cultural variations in aging perceptions were associated with culture-level indicators of population aging, education levels, values, and national character stereotypes. These associations were stronger for societal views on aging and perceptions of socioemotional changes than for perceptions of physical and cognitive changes. A consideration of culture-level variables also suggested that previously reported differences in aging perceptions between Asian and Western countries may be related to differences in population structure.

Are East Asian companies benefiting from western board practices?

Since the Asian crisis, East Asian nations have strived to introduce corporate governance codes, directing companies how to best improve their corporate governance practices. However, these codes have not been universally accepted by East Asian companies. This study examines the adoption of major board-related corporate governance recommendations by large nonfinancial companies in seven East Asian nations and investigates whether improvements in these board governance mechanisms have been associated with increased operating performance and market value. The results indicate that family-owned companies started with worse board governance and have been least likely to improve their board governance since the crisis. Overall, bigger, faster growing, non-family-owned companies with less concentrated ownership have been more likely to improve their board governance. Splitting of the positions of Chairman and CEO, creation of audit and nomination committees and improvements in overall board governance were found to have a positive relationship with subsequent operating performance and/or market value.

Intergroup relations and Muslims’ mental health in Western societies

This review article proposes that theories and research of intergroup contact, prejudice, and acculturation, enhance understanding of the current intercultural relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in Western societies, such as in Australia. The actual and perceived prejudice that many Muslims studying, working, and living in the West have been experiencing following the 2001 terrorist attacks, adds an additional layer of stress to the psychosocial adjustment of Muslim immigrants and sojourners, affecting their cross-cultural adaptation and mental health. Stephan and colleagues’ Integrated Threat Theory argues that the perceived threat experienced by all parties, explains the acts of prejudice. Berry’s acculturation framework highlights that adaptive acculturation is determined by congruent host nation policies and practices and immigrant acculturation strategies. Implications for multicultural policy, intercultural training, and mental health practice, and suggestions for future research, are discussed.

The quest for authenticity in the west – negotiating the self in late modern cultures

Across western culture in the late modern era a number of phenomena have emerged that seek to challenge mainstream consumer capitalism and its effects on everyday lifestyles. Two of these movements labelled as Seachange (Amenity Migration) and Downshifting have grown steadily in popularity within the public sphere and also academic discourse. In this thesis these phenomena are investigated further using a Durkheimian platform for theoretical interrogation. It is argued that while previous research accomplishes much in the investigation of Seachange and Downshifting, there is a significant gap in theoretical explanation and synthesis that requires filling. Thus in this research, it is argued that the concept of self-authenticity assists in the fulfilment of this aim. It is shown here that authenticity guides the construction, negotiation and experience of the phenomena which serves to authenticate the self. It is further argued however that Downshifting and Seachange reflect a wider theme of the self where the individual seeks protection from the profane impacts of advanced capitalism. Subsequently, the thesis aims not only to reveal the underlying principles which feed each phenomenon, but also relate them back to a wider cultural narrative of the sacred self.

An examination of communication across cultures in news media and at informal/personal levels : with concentration on relations among two South East Asian countries and Australia and those two countries and Germany

In the age of globalisation dominated by mass communication, the flow of information contributes to a big extent to the worldviews of its "global citizens". From this point of view the mass media can be seen as one of the most salient sources of cross-cultural communication. This study investigates mass communication across cultures, focusing on South East Asia (Malaysia and Singapore), Australia and Germany. The centre of attention is the Western media coverage of South East Asia and vice versa. In this context a content analysis of newspapers of the three regions has been conducted. In addition, working practices and conditions of Western foreign correspondents in South East Asia have been examined. Apart from the investigation of inter-cultural media coverage, another focus of attention will be the examination of two levels of communication: The business level, concentrating on issues like e.g. the Asian business etiquette; and the private level, looking into the transition to a different culture from the perspective of Australian and German expatriates. Apart from investigating mass communication across cultures and to provide a written analysis of the findings, a series of radio documentaries in English and in German has been produced. They cover the following issues: Foreign correspondents in South East Asia, the expatriate-lifestyle of Australians and Germans in South East Asia, business etiquette in Asia, student exchange Germany-Asia, image and prejudices East-West and Tourism.

Advancing design for sustainable food cultures

Our paper, “HCI & Sustainable Food Culture: A Design Framework for Engagement,” presented at the 2010 NordiCHI conference, introduced a design framework for understanding engagement between people and sustainable food cultures (Choi and Blevis, 2010). Our goal for this chapter “Advancing Design for Sustainable Food Cultures” is to expand our notion of this design framework and the programme of research it implies. This chapter presents the three elements of design framework for sustainability: (i) engagement across disciplines; (ii) engagement with and amongst users/non-users and; (iii) engagement for sustained usability. The uses a corresponding sample of photographic records of experiences that reflect three key issues in the current sustainable food domain: respectively, (i) context of food cultures, (ii) farmers’ markets, and (iii) producing food.

Reverse immigration

This book (256 pages, written in Korean) is a critical essay that reviews, questions, and criticises Korean and Eastern immigrants’ thinking and behaviour styles in Australia from their cultural perspectives, and discuss and proposes a creative cultural dimension for their better life in a multicultural context. Multiculturalism is not supportive of Eastern cultures because of individualistic collection of cultures, while transculturalism facilitates nurture of their culture in a community-oriented way within multicultural circumstances. Korean and Eastern immigrants, sharing oriental cultural systems and values, should approach to the Australian multicultural context with transculturalism which allows creating new cultural values in collaboration with and by participation into local communities. ------------------------------------------------------------ Many Eastern immigrants live in their own ethnic communities without or less interacting with Australian (communities). The author defines this phenomenon as “reverse immigration”. Reverse immigration refers to re-immigrating to their ethnic community in Australia or to their birth country despite they did not anticipate that this would happen to them before immigration to Australia. The author argues that Easterners’ collectivistic culture often devalues individuality and vice versa. Cultural clash between West and East often forces the immigrants to choose reverse immigration because of their lack of understanding of Western culture and their cultural characteristics such as low individuality, high power distance, and high uncertainty avoidance. For example, a vague boundary between individualist and collectivist in a collectivistic context (within their ethnic group) often leads to maladjustment to local communities and enhancement of cultural conservatism. The author proposes that the cultural clash can be overcome by cross-cultural activities named “transculturalism”. To Eastern immigrants, transculturalism can be achieved by acculturation of their two predominant cultures, the third-person perspective and generalised others. In a multicultural context, the former refers to the ability to share another person's feelings and emotions as if they were your own, and the latter does the ability to manage community and public expectations. When both cultural values are used for quality interactions between East and West, they allow Eastern immigrants to be more creative and critical and Australian to be more socially inclusive and culturally tolerant. With these discussions, the author discusses cultural differences throughout the book with four topics (chapters) and proposes transculturalism as a solution to the reverse immigration. ------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 1 criticises Koreans’ attitudes and methods towards learning English that is less pragmatic and practical, but more likely to be a scholarly study. The author explains that Koreans’ non-pragmatic towards learning English has been firmly built based on their traditional systems and values that Koreans view English as a discipline and an aim of academic achievements rather than a means of communication. Within their cultural context, English can be perceived as more than a language, but something like vastly superior to their language and culture. Their collectivistic culture regards English as an unreachable and heterogeneous one that may threaten their cultural identity, so that “scholarly studying” is only the way to achieve (not learn) it. This discourages the immigrants to engage and involve in daily dialogues by “using” English as a second language. The author further advises the readers to be aware of Eastern collectivistic culture in communication and interaction that sometimes completely reverses private and public topics in a Western context. This leads them to feel that they have no content to talk to natives. ------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 2 compares between Korea and Australia in terms of their educational systems and values, and proposes how Eastern overseas students can achieve critical and creative thinking within a Western educational setting. Interestingly, this chapter includes an explanation of why Eastern overseas students easily fail assessments including essay writing, oral presentations and discussions. One of the reasons the author explains is that Eastern students are not familiar to criticise others and think creatively, especially when they recognise that their words and ideas may harm the collectivistic harmony. Western educational systems focuses on enhancement of individuality such as self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-expression, while Eastern educational systems foster group-oriented values such as interpersonal relationship, and strong moral and spiritual values. Yet, the author argues that the collectivistic approach to criticism and creativity is often more critical and creative than Western individuals when they know what they are supposed to do for a group (or a community). Therefore, Eastern students need to think their cultural merits and demerits by using an individual perspective rather than generalised others’ perspective. The latter often discourages individual participation in a community, and the generalised others in a Western culture is weaker than Eastern. Furthermore, Western educational systems do not educate students to transform (loose) their individuality to fit into a group or a community. Rather they cultivate individuality for community prosperity. ------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 3 introduces various cases of reverse immigration in workplaces that many immigrants return to their country or their ethnic community after many trials for acculturation. Reverse immigration is unexpected and not planned before immigration, so that its emotional embarrassment increases such severe social loneliness. Most Eastern immigrant workers have tried to adjust themselves in this new cultural environment at the early stages of immigration. However, their cultural features of collectivism, high power distance, high uncertainty avoidance, and long-term oriented cultures suppress individual initiative and eliminate the space for experiments in ways of acculturation. The author argues that returning to their ethnic community (physically and psychologically) leads to two significant problems: their distorted parenting and becoming more conservatives. The former leads the first generation of immigrants to pressure their children to pursue extrinsic or materialist values, such as financial success, fame and physical appearance, rather than on intrinsic values, while the latter refers to their isolated conservative characters because of their remoteness from the changes of their own country. The author also warns that their ethnic and religious groups actively strengthens immigrants’ social loneliness and systematically discourages immigrants’ interests and desire to be involving into local communities. The ethnic communities and leaders have not been interacting with Australian local communities and, as a result, are eager to conserve outdated cultural systems values. Even they have a tendency to weed out those people who wish to settle down within Australian local communities. They believe that those people can threaten their community’s survival and continuity. ------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 4 titled multiculturalism argues that Korean and Eastern immigrants should more precisely understand Australia as a multicultural society in a way of collaboratively creating new cultural values. The author introduces multiculturalism with its definitions and history in Australia and argues the limitations of multiculturalism from an Easterner’s perspective. With well known tragedies of the second generations of U.S. immigrants, Cho Seung-Hui, a university student, massacred 32 people on the Virginia Tech before committing suicide and Hidal Hassan, an Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people at Fort Hood and the responses of ethnic community, the author explains that their mental illness may be derived from their parents’ (or ethnic group) culturally isolated attitude and socially static viewpoint of U.S. (Western system and values). The author insists that multiculturalism may restrict Eastern immigrants’ engagement and involvement in local communities. Multiculturalism has been systematically and historically developed based on Western systems and cultural values. In other words, multiculturalism requires high self-confidence and self-esteem that Eastern immigrants less prioritise them. It has been generally known that Easterners put more weight on human relationship than Westerners, but the author claims that this is not true. Within an individualistic culture, Westerners are more interested in building person-to-person connections and relationships. While Easterners are more interested in how individuals can achieve a sense of belonging within a group and a community. Therefore, multiculturalism is an ideology which forces Eastern immigrants to discard their strong desire to be part of a group and does not give a sense of belonging. In a consequence, the author advises that Eastern immigrants should aim towards “transculturalism” which allows them to actively participate in and contribute to their multicultural community. Transculturalism does not ask Easterners to discard their cultural values, but enables them to be a collectivistic individualist (a community leader) who is capable of developing new cultural values in a more creative and productive way. Furthermore, transculturalism encourages Western Australians in a multicultural context to collaborate with ethnic minorities to build a better community.

Indigeneity and the judicial decision to imprison : a study of Western Australia’s higher courts

Internationally, sentencing research has largely neglected the impact of Indigeneity on sentencing outcomes. Using data from Western Australia’s higher courts for the years 2003–05, we investigate the direct and interactive effects of Indigenous status on the judicial decision to imprison. Unlike prior research on race/ethnicity in which minority offenders are often found to be more harshly treated by sentencing courts, we find that Indigenous status has no direct effect on the decision to imprison,after adjusting for other sentencing factors (especially past and current criminality).However, there are sub-group differences: Indigenous males are more likely to receive a prison sentence compared to non-Indigenous females. We draw on the focal concerns perspective of judicial decision making in interpreting our findings.

Measuring risk and blameworthiness in the sentencing of criminal defendants : an exploratory study in Western Australia's Higher Courts

The focal concern perspective dominates quantitative explorations of judicial sentencing. A critical argument underlying this perspective is the role of judicial assessments of risk and blameworthiness. Prior research has not generally explored how these two concepts fit together. This study provides an empirical test of the focal concerns perspective by examining the latent structure among the measures traditionally used in sentencing research, and investigates the extent to which focal concerns can be applied in a non-US jurisdiction. Using factor analysis (as suggested by prior research), we find evidence of distinct factors of risk and blameworthiness, with separate and independent effects on sentencing outcomes. We also identify the need for further development of the focal concerns perspective, especially around the role of perceptual shorthand.

The inherent challenges of knowledge transfer across countries and cultures

Purpose — The purpose of this chapter is to outline the findings of research into knowledge transfer across countries and culture and the implications of the findings for human resource practitioners. Methodology/approach — Use of a qualitative case study methodology approach was employed. Findings — The findings highlight the inherent difficulty of knowledge transfer and the broad range of factors that influence the knowledge transfer process and which are connected together in a complex and non-linear manner. Research implications — The research revealed insight into those managers most likely to be effective at knowledge transfer and what characteristics and experiences had supported this openness to knowledge from outside of their cultural context. The lessons from the research can be incorporated into the selection and development processes for expatriates. Originality value — The study affirmed the critical importance of face-to-face interaction in knowledge transfer. The research also resulted in the development of a practical model and tool, which pulls together the broad range of factors that impact on knowledge transfer.

Do you see what I mean? charting changing representations and receptions of the disabled body in contemporary and pop cultural performance

The meaning of the body emerges through acts of seeing, looking and staring in daily and dramatic performances. Acts that are, as Maike Bleeker argues1, bound up with the scopic rules, regimes and narratives that apply in specific cultures at specific times. In Western culture, the disabled body has been seen as a sign of defect, deficiency, fear, shame or stigma. Disabled artists – Mat Fraser, Bill Shannon, Aaron Williamson, Katherine Araniello, Liz Crow and Ju Gosling – have attempted, via performances that co-opt conventional images of the disabled body, to challenge dominant ways of representing and responding such bodies from within. In this paper, I consider what happens when non-disabled artists co-opt images of the disabled body to draw attention to, affirm, and even exoticise, eroticise or beautify, other modalities of or desires for difference. As Carrie Sandahl has noted2, the signs, symbols and somatic idiosyncrasies of the disabled body are, today, transported or translated into theatre, film and television as a metaphor or "master trope" for every body’s experience of difference. This happens in performance art (Guillermo Gomez-Pena’s use of a wheelchair in Chamber of Confessions), performance (Marie Chouinard's use of crutches, canes and walkers to represent dancers’ experience of becoming different or mutant during training in bODY rEMIX /gOLDBERG vARIATIONS), and pop culture (characters in wheelchairs in Glee or Oz). In this paper, I chart changing representations and receptions of the disabled body in such contexts. I use analysis of this cultural shift as a starting point for a re-consideration of questions about whether a face-toface encounter with a disabled body is in fact a privileged site for the emergence of a politics, and whether co-opting disability as a metaphor for a range of difference differences reduces its currency as a category around which a specific group might mobilise a politics.

Knowing and teaching the indigenous other : teachers’ engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures

This is the first empirical study of teacher knowledge and classroom practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education. It describes the construction of a survey instrument to measure non-Indigenous Australian teachers’ knowledge of Indigenous culture and place, frequency of everyday intercultural exchanges, and attempts to integrate Indigenous knowledge into classroom practice. Many teachers reported low levels of knowledge of Indigenous cultures, and limited encounters outside of school. While the cohort expressed dissatisfaction with pre-service training, exposure to pre- and in-service courses in Indigenous education correlated with higher levels of cultural knowledge and cultural engagement. Teachers with higher levels of cultural engagement were more likely to attempt to integrate Indigenous knowledges in curriculum and pedagogy.