PurposeThe dynamics of organizational change related to environmental sustainability on university campuses are examined in this article. Whereas case studies of campus sustainability efforts tend to classify leadership as either “top‐down” or “bottom‐up”, this classification neglects consideration of the leadership roles of the institutional “middle” – namely the faculty and staff.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw from research conducted on sustainability initiatives at the University of Guelph combined with a review of faculty and staff‐led initiatives at universities across Canada and the USA, as well as literature on best practices involving campus sustainability. Using concepts developed in business and leadership literature, faculty and staff are shown to be universities' equivalent to social “intrapreneurs”, i.e. those who work for social and environmental good from within large organizations.FindingsFaculty and staff members are found to be critical leaders in efforts to achieve lasting progress towards campus sustainability, and conventional portrayals of campus sustainability initiatives often obscure this. Greater attention to the potential of faculty and staff leadership and how to effectively support their efforts is needed.Originality/valueIn the paper, a case is made for emphasizing faculty and staff leadership in campus sustainability efforts and several successful strategies for overcoming barriers are presented.
Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass) has been observed to grow sporadically on the surface of coal dumps in the Witbank coal mining area of South Africa. Root zone investigation indicated that a number of fungal species may be actively involved in the biodegradation of hard coal, thus enabling the survival of the plant, through mutualistic interaction, in this extreme environment. In an extensive screening program of over two thousand samples, the Deuteromycete, Neosartorya fischeri, was isolated and identified. The biodegradation of coal by N. fischeri was tested in flask studies and in a perfusion fixed-bed bioreactor used to simulate the coal dump environment. The performance of N. fischeri was compared to Phanaerochaete chrysosporium and Trametes (Polyporus) versicolor, previously described in coal biodegradation studies. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry of the biodegradation product indicated oxidation of the coal surface and nitration of the condensed aromatic structures of the coal macromolecule as possible reaction mechanisms in N. fischeri coal biodegradation. This is a first report of N. fischeri-mediated coal biodegradation and, in addition to possible applications in coal biotechnology, the findings may enable development of sustainable technologies in coal mine rehabilitation.
Dendritic cells (DC) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells and are fundamental for the establishment of transplant tolerance. The Dendritic Cell-Specific Intracellular adhesion molecule-3-Grabbing Non-integrin (DC-SIGN; CD209) receptor provides a target for dendritic cell therapy. Biodegradable and high-surface area porous silicon (pSi) nanoparticles displaying anti-DC-SIGN antibodies and loaded with the immunosuppressant rapamycin (Sirolimus) serve as a fit-for-purpose platform to target and modify DC. Here, we describe the fabrication of rapamycin-loaded DC-SIGN displaying pSi nanoparticles, the uptake efficiency into DC and the extent of nanoparticle-induced modulation of phenotype and function. DC-SIGN antibody displaying pSi nanoparticles favourably targeted and were phagocytosed by monocyte-derived and myeloid DC in whole human blood in a time- and dose-dependent manner. DC preconditioning with rapamycin-loaded nanoparticles, resulted in a maturation resistant phenotype and significantly suppressed allogeneic T-cell proliferation.
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