5,957 research outputs found
TeamSTEPPS and Organizational Culture
Patient safety issues remain despite several strategies developed for their deterrence. While many safety initiatives bring about improvement, they are repeatedly unsustainable and short-lived. The index hospital’s goal was to build an organizational culture within a groundwork that improves teamwork and continuing healthcare team engagement. Teamwork influences the efficiency of patient care, patient safety, and clinical outcomes, as it has been identified as an approach for enhancing collaboration, decreasing medical errors, and building a culture of safety in healthcare. The facility implemented Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS), an evidence-based framework which was used for team training to produce valuable and needed changes, facilitating modification of organizational culture, increasing patient safety compliance, or solving particular issues. This study aimed to identify the correlation between TeamSTEPPS enactment and improved organizational culture in the ambulatory care nursing department of a New York City public hospital
Studying the interplay between ageing and Parkinson's disease using the zebrafish model
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterised by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Ageing is the major risk factor for developing PD but the interplay between ageing and PD remains elusive.
To investigate the effect of ageing on PD-relevant pathological mechanisms, zebrafish mutant lines harbouring mutations in ageing-associated genes (klotho-/-, sirt1-/-, satb1a-/-, satb1b-/- and satb1a-/-;satb1b-/-) were generated, using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing. Likewise, a chemical model for SIRT1 deficiency was utilised.
klotho-/- zebrafish displayed an accelerated ageing phenotype at 3mpf and reduced survival to 6mpf. Dopaminergic neuron number, MPP+ susceptibility and microglial number were unaffected in klotho-/- larvae. NAD+ levels were decreased in 6mpf klotho-/- brains. However, ATP levels and DNA damage were unaffected. sirt1-/- zebrafish did not display a phenotype through adulthood. il-1β and il-6 were not upregulated in sirt1-/- larvae, and chemical inhibition of sirt1 did not increase microglial number. cdkn1a, il-1β and il-6 were not upregulated in satb1a-/- and satb1b-/- larvae. Dopaminergic neuron number and MPP+ susceptibility were unaffected in satb1a-/- larvae. However, satb1b-/- larvae demonstrated a moderate decrease in dopaminergic neuron number but equal susceptibility to MPP+ as satb1b+/+ larvae. Adult satb1a-/- but not adult satb1b-/- zebrafish were emaciated. satb1a-/-;satb1b-/- zebrafish did not display a phenotype through adulthood.
Transgenic zebrafish expressing human wildtype α-Synuclein (Tg(eno2:hsa.SNCA-ires-EGFP)) were crossed with klotho-/- and sirt1-/- zebrafish, and treated with a sirt1-specific inhibitor. Neither genetic cross affected survival. The klotho mutation did not increase microglial number in Tg(eno2:hsa.SNCA-ires-EGFP) larvae. Likewise, sirt1 inhibition did not induce motor impairment or cell death in Tg(eno2:hsa.SNCA-ires-EGFP) larvae.
In conclusion, the suitability of zebrafish for studying ageing remains elusive, as only 1 ageing-associated mutant line displayed accelerated ageing. However, zebrafish remain an effective model for studying PD-relevant pathological mechanisms due to the availability of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, neuropathological and neurobehavioral tools
Beam scanning by liquid-crystal biasing in a modified SIW structure
A fixed-frequency beam-scanning 1D antenna based on Liquid Crystals (LCs) is designed for application in 2D scanning with lateral alignment. The 2D array environment imposes full decoupling of adjacent 1D antennas, which often conflicts with the LC requirement of DC biasing: the proposed design accommodates both. The LC medium is placed inside a Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) modified to work as a Groove Gap Waveguide, with radiating slots etched on the upper broad wall, that radiates as a Leaky-Wave Antenna (LWA). This allows effective application of the DC bias voltage needed for tuning the LCs. At the same time, the RF field remains laterally confined, enabling the possibility to lay several antennas in parallel and achieve 2D beam scanning. The design is validated by simulation employing the actual properties of a commercial LC medium
An empirical investigation of the relationship between integration, dynamic capabilities and performance in supply chains
This research aimed to develop an empirical understanding of the relationships between integration,
dynamic capabilities and performance in the supply chain domain, based on which, two conceptual
frameworks were constructed to advance the field. The core motivation for the research was that, at
the stage of writing the thesis, the combined relationship between the three concepts had not yet
been examined, although their interrelationships have been studied individually.
To achieve this aim, deductive and inductive reasoning logics were utilised to guide the qualitative
study, which was undertaken via multiple case studies to investigate lines of enquiry that would
address the research questions formulated. This is consistent with the author’s philosophical
adoption of the ontology of relativism and the epistemology of constructionism, which was considered
appropriate to address the research questions. Empirical data and evidence were collected, and
various triangulation techniques were employed to ensure their credibility. Some key features of
grounded theory coding techniques were drawn upon for data coding and analysis, generating two
levels of findings. These revealed that whilst integration and dynamic capabilities were crucial in
improving performance, the performance also informed the former. This reflects a cyclical and
iterative approach rather than one purely based on linearity. Adopting a holistic approach towards
the relationship was key in producing complementary strategies that can deliver sustainable supply
chain performance.
The research makes theoretical, methodological and practical contributions to the field of supply
chain management. The theoretical contribution includes the development of two emerging
conceptual frameworks at the micro and macro levels. The former provides greater specificity, as it
allows meta-analytic evaluation of the three concepts and their dimensions, providing a detailed
insight into their correlations. The latter gives a holistic view of their relationships and how they are
connected, reflecting a middle-range theory that bridges theory and practice. The methodological
contribution lies in presenting models that address gaps associated with the inconsistent use of
terminologies in philosophical assumptions, and lack of rigor in deploying case study research
methods. In terms of its practical contribution, this research offers insights that practitioners could
adopt to enhance their performance. They can do so without necessarily having to forgo certain
desired outcomes using targeted integrative strategies and drawing on their dynamic capabilities
Impact of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on stress resistance of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
Wheat is one of the worldwide most cultivated crop and highly contribute to secure food production in different world regions. Although, it grows almost ubiquitous, its production is severely vulnerable to drought. Soil and rhizosphere microbial communities associated to plants come more and more into the focus of modern agrobiology research, as a solution to maintain productivity under drought, and reinforce sustainable production. Whereas numerous studies on wheat production and the beneficial influence of the soil microbiome under drought have been performed in arid and semiarid regions of the world, comparable studies in Central Europe are rare. This might change due to the ongoing climate crisis and expected less frequent precipitations during the vegetation season. So far, most studies that focus on acclimatization of the wheat rhizobiome to water deficit mostly consider, at best, two interacting factors, and lack to consider other biotic or abiotic drivers of rhizosphere microbial communities structure and function. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to combine complementary analytical approaches to investigate drought-induced structural and functional changes in wheat rhizosphere bacterial communities and individual species in dependency of soil type, farming system, wheat cultivar and plant development stage, and to determine how these changes affect wheat performance as a consequence of possible climate change scenarios in Central Germany.
The presented thesis starts with a general introduction and presentation of the project, followed by three consecutive chapters containing the main findings published in peer-reviewed articles. Starting with an experiment performed in the greenhouse (Chapter 1) and then moving to a realistic climate scenario under field conditions (Chapter 2 and 3), the three chapters demonstrate the sole and interacting effects of drought and farming system (Chapter 1-3), soil type and wheat cultivar (Chapter 1), as well as plant growth stages (Chapter 2 and 3) on bacterial communities and individual taxa of the wheat rhizobiome. The methods used reach from traditional cultivation and in-vitro bioassays (Chapter 3), over extracellular enzyme activity potentials (Chapter 1 and 2) to more advanced technologies such as metabarcoding (Chapter 1 and 2) and computational tools (Chapter 1 and 2), addressing single bacterial taxa as well as community level. Finalizing the thesis, a concluding synopsis compiles and critically reviews the gained results and formulates future study perspectives.
In Chapter 1, we evaluated the impact of soil type (loamy vs. sandy), farming management (conventional vs. organic), wheat cultivar (non-demanding vs. demanding), and the interacting effects of these factors on wheat rhizobacterial community composition and function under extreme drought conditions. Water deficit exerted a strong pressure on rhizobacterial communities, and interacted with soil type and farming management, but not with the wheat cultivar types. In the sandy soil, we observed a strong drought-induced shift in community composition, with a decrease in species diversity and extracellulare enzyme production, while changes by drought were less prominent in the fertile loamy soil. A particular exception from this pattern was found for enzyme activities involved in carbon cycling in the sandy soil suggesting a positive plant-soil-feedback on enzyme activities by drought conditioning.
In Chapter 2, two individual, but interrelated aims were pursued. First, we used the platform of the Global Change Experimental Facility (GCEF) to explore the impact of two farming practices (conventional vs. organic) and two climate treatments (ambient vs. future) on bacterial community composition and activity profiles of extracellulare enzymes involved in C,N and P cycles in the wheat rhizosphere at two different plant growth stages. The climate treatment in the GCEF had no effect on the rhizobacterial communities. Rhizobacterial community composition and functions significantly differed between vegetative and mature growth stages of the plants, in both conventional and organic farming. In a second step, we reused the data to explore further the accuracy of computational approaches, like Tax4Fun and PanFP, to predict functional profiles of bacterial communities based on 16S rDNA abundance data. To this end, we compared the measured enzyme activities with respective gene abundances in the community under different climate and farming treatments, and at the two plant development stages. This analysis revealed qualitative, but not necessarily quantitative concordances, i.e. we found effects of the different treatments on the measured enzyme activities reflected in the gene abundances.
Chapter 3 is a complementary approach to Chapter 2 with a focus on individual bacterial species level. Culture-dependent methods were used to specifically isolate strong P-solubilizing bacteria from the rhizosphere of wheat, which were tested for their in-vitro drought tolerance. Among the more than 800 isolated species, Phyllobacterium, Pseudomonas and Streptomyces species dominated. While farming management and climate treatment had only minor effects on composition and functions of the isolates, the wheat growth stages had an impact, whereby a dominance of Pseudomonas species at the vegetative growth phase was replaced by dominance of Phyllobacterium species at the mature growth phase. Since P-solubilizing potential was paralleled by a high in vitro drought tolerance, Phyllobacterium species were characterized as promising plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) of wheat under future drought conditions.
In the synopsis part, we evaluated the multifactorial and multidisciplinary approaches and investigated to what extent the adaptations of bacterial communities in field and pot experiments coincided or differed.
Overall, we found common and distinct adaptation processes of bacterial communities and individual species in the rhizosphere of wheat to drought, whereby single factors, but also interacting effects exerted a strong impact on these processes. This study underlines the importance of multifactorial approaches to reveal community- or species-specific plant-soil-feedbacks.:Contents 3
Preface 5
Bibliographic description 6
Zusammenfassung 9
Summary 13
Introduction 16
When extreme events become the new normal 17
Feedback to agricultural production and need for management adaptation 20
Difficulties in exploring the soil microbiome and identification of plant beneficial microbial taxa 22
Our approach with wheat 24
Bibliography 27
ÖŽ Chapter 1 31
Interactions Between Soil Properties, Agricultural Management and Cultivar Type Drive Structural and Functional Adaptations of the Wheat Rhizosphere Microbiome To Drought 31
Supplemental Tables 51
Supplemental Figures 55
╬ Chapter 2 59
Can We Estimate Functionality of Soil Microbial Communities from Structure-Derived Predictions? A Reality Test in Agricultural Soils 59
Supplementary Tables 79
Supplemental Figures 84
Supplemental Material 1: 87
Variation in edaphic parameters according to experimental factors 87
Supplemental Material 2 88
Effect of abiotic soil parameters on bacterial community structure and function 88
Supplemental Material 3 90
Indicator species analysis 90
Űť Chapter 3 95
Shifts Between and Among Populations of Wheat Rhizosphere Pseudomonas, Streptomyces and Phyllobacterium Suggest Consistent Phosphate Mobilization at Different Wheat Growth Stages Under Abiotic Stress 95
Supplementary Figures 112
Supplementary Tables 117
Synopsis 152
Multidisciplinary approaches combine advantages of cultivation-based and high throughput community-based methods 155
Multifactorial approaches to gain a more holistic understanding of plant-microbe interactions in pot experiments 157
Transferability of findings gained in the pot experiment to field conditions 159
Towards a wheat core microbiome? 161
Study limitations and outlook 163
Bibliography 164
Acknowledgements 169
Curriculum Vitae 171
Personal details 171
Education 171
Work experience 172
Research and Mentoring experience 172
Extracurricular activities 173
List of publications and Presentations 174
Publications in peer-reviewed journals: 174
Oral Presentations: 175
Poster Presentations: 175
Statutory declaration 176
Eidesstattliche Erklärung 177
Author contributions 178Weizen ist eine der weltweit am häufigsten angebauten Kulturpflanzen und trägt zur Sicherung der Nahrungsmittelproduktion in verschiedenen Regionen der Welt bei. Obwohl er fast überall angebaut werden kann, ist die Produktion durch Trockenheit limitiert. Daher rücken mehr und mehr die mikrobiellen Gemeinschaften im Boden und in der Rhizosphäre in den Mittelpunkt der modernen agrarbiologischen Forschung, um die Produktivität bei Trockenheit aufrechtzuerhalten und eine nachhaltige Produktion zu fördern. Während bereits zahlreiche Studien über die Weizenproduktion und den positiven Einfluss des Bodenmikrobioms in ariden und semiariden Regionen der Welt durchgeführt wurden, sind vergleichbare Studien in Mitteleuropa selten. Dies könnte sich aufgrund der anhaltenden Klimakrise und der zu erwartenden ausbleibenden Sommerniederschläge ändern. Dabei haben die meisten Studien, die sich mit der Akklimatisierung des Weizenrhizobioms an Wasserdefizite befasst haben, bestenfalls den Einfluss von Trockenheit und ein oder zwei weiteren biotischen oder abiotischen Einflussfaktoren, die zudem miteinander interagieren können, auf die Struktur und Funktion der mikrobiellen Gemeinschaften in der Rhizosphäre untersucht. Ziel dieser Arbeit war es daher, verschiedene komplementäre Analysemethoden zu kombinieren, um trockenheitsbedingte strukturelle und funktionelle Veränderungen in den bakteriellen Gemeinschaften und auch einzelner Arten in der Weizenrhizosphäre, in Abhängigkeit von Bodentyp, Landnutzungssystem, Weizensorte und Pflanzenentwicklungsstadium zu untersuchen, und zu ermitteln, wie sich diese Veränderungen auf die Produktivität des Weizens als Folge möglicher Szenarien des Klimawandels in Mitteldeutschland auswirken.
Die vorliegende Arbeit leitet mit einer allgemeinen Einführung und Vorstellung des Projekts ein, gefolgt von drei aufeinanderfolgenden Kapiteln, die die wichtigsten Ergebnisse enthalten, die in von Fachleuten begutachteten Artikeln veröffentlicht wurden. Beginnend mit einem Experiment im Gewächshaus (Kapitel 1) und weiterführend zu einem realistischen Klimaszenario unter Feldbedingungen (Kapitel 2 und 3), beschreiben die drei Kapitel die alleinigen und interagierenden Auswirkungen von Trockenheit und Anbausystem (Kapitel 1-3), Bodentyp und Weizensorte (Kapitel 1), sowie Pflanzenwachstumsstadien (Kapitel 2 und 3) auf Bakteriengemeinschaften und einzelne Taxa des Weizenrhizobioms. Die verwendeten Methoden reichen dabei von der traditionellen Kultivierung und In-vitro-Bioassays (Kapitel 3), über extrazelluläre Enzymaktivitätspotenziale (Kapitel 1 und 2), bis hin zu fortschrittlicheren Technologien, wie Metabarcoding (Kapitel 1 und 2) und computergestützten Vorhersagen (Kapitel 1 und 2). Zum Abschluss der Arbeit werden in einer abschließenden Synopsis die gewonnenen Ergebnisse zusammengetragen und kritisch betrachtet, sowie Ideen für zukünftige Studien formuliert.
In Kapitel 1 untersuchten wir die Auswirkungen des Bodentyps (lehmig vs. sandig), der Bewirtschaftung (konventionell vs. ökologisch), der Weizensorte (anspruchslos vs. anspruchsvoll) und die Wechselwirkungen zwischen diesen Faktoren auf die Zusammensetzung und Funktion der Bakteriengemeinschaft in der Rhizosphäre von Weizen unter extremen Trockenheitsbedingungen. Das Wasserdefizit übte einen starken Druck auf die Rhizosphärenbakteriengemeinschaften aus und stand in Wechselwirkung mit dem Bodentyp und der Bewirtschaftung, nicht aber mit den Weizensorten. In den Sandböden beobachteten wir eine starke trockenheitsbedingte Veränderung der Zusammensetzung der Gemeinschaft mit einem Rückgang der Artenvielfalt und der extrazellulären Enzymproduktion, während die Veränderungen durch die Trockenheit in den fruchtbaren Lehmböden weniger stark ausgeprägt waren. Eine besondere Ausnahme von diesem Muster wurde für Enzymaktivitäten gefunden, die am Kohlenstoffkreislauf im Sandboden beteiligt sind, was auf eine positive Rückkopplung zwischen Pflanze und Bodengemeinschaften unter Trockenheit hindeutet.
In Kapitel 2 wurden zwei einzelne, jedoch miteinander verknüpfte Ziele verfolgt. Erstens nutzten wir die Plattform der Global Change Experimental Facility (GCEF), um die Auswirkungen von zwei Anbaupraktiken (konventionell vs. ökologisch) und zwei Klimabehandlungen (ambient vs. zukünftig) auf die Zusammensetzung der Bakteriengemeinschaft und die Aktivitätsprofile extrazellulärer Enzyme, die an den C-, N- und P-Zyklen in der Rhizosphäre von Weizen beteiligt sind, in zwei verschiedenen Pflanzenwachstumsstadien zu untersuchen. Die Klimabehandlung in der GCEF hatte keinen Einfluss auf die Rhizosphärenbakteriengemeinschaften. Die Zusammensetzung und die Funktionen der Rhizosphärenbakteriengemeinschaften unterschieden sich signifikant zwischen dem vegetativen und dem generativen Wachstumsstadium der Pflanzen, sowohl im konventionellen als auch im ökologischen Landbau. In einem zweiten Schritt nutzten wir die gewonnenen Daten, um die Genauigkeit rechnerischer Ansätze wie Tax4Fun und PanFP zur Vorhersage funktioneller Profile von Bakteriengemeinschaften auf der Grundlage von 16S rDNA-Daten zu überprüfen. Zu diesem Zweck verglichen wir die gemessenen Enzymaktivitäten mit den jeweiligen Genhäufigkeiten in der Gemeinschaft unter verschiedenen Klima- und Anbaubedingungen und in den beiden Entwicklungsstadien der Pflanzen. Diese Analyse ergab qualitative, aber nicht unbedingt quantitative Übereinstimmungen, d. h. wir fanden Auswirkungen der verschiedenen Behandlungen auf die gemessenen Enzymaktivitäten, die sich auch in den Genhäufigkeiten widerspiegeln.
Kapitel 3 stellt einen ergänzenden Ansatz zu Kapitel 2 dar, wobei der Schwerpunkt auf einzelnen Bakterienarten liegt. Mit kulturabhängigen Methoden wurden gezielt stark Phosphat-solubilisierende Bakterien aus der Rhizosphäre von Weizen isoliert und auf ihre In-vitro-Trockenheitstoleranz getestet. Unter den mehr als 800 isolierten Arten dominierten Phyllobacterium-, Pseudomonas- und Streptomyces-Arten. Während Anbaumanagement und Klimabehandlung nur geringe Auswirkungen hatten, wirkten sich die Wachstumsstadien des Weizens signifikant auf die Zusammensetzung und Funktionen der Isolate aus, wobei eine Dominanz von Pseudomonas-Arten in der vegetativen Wachstumsphase durch eine Dominanz von Phyllobacterium-Arten in der generativen Wachstumsphase ersetzt wurde. Da das Potenzial zur P-Solubilisierung mit einer hohen in vitro-Trockenheitstoleranz einherging, wurden Phyllobacterium-Arten als vielversprechende pflanzenwachstumsfördernde Rhizobakterien (PGPR) für Weizen unter zukünftigen Trockenheitsbedingungen charakterisiert.
In der Synopsis dieser Arbeit bewerteten wir die multifaktoriellen und multidisziplinären Ansätze, und untersuchten, inwieweit die Anpassungen der Bakteriengemeinschaften in Feld- und Topfversuchen übereinstimmen oder sich unterscheiden.
Insgesamt fanden wir allgemeine, aber auch differenzielle Anpassungsprozesse von Bakteriengemeinschaften und einzelnen Arten in der Rhizosphäre von Weizen an die Trockenheit, wobei einzelne Faktoren, aber auch interagierende Effekte einen starken Einfluss auf diese Prozesse ausübten. Diese Studie unterstreicht damit die Bedeutung multifaktorieller Ansätze, um gemeinschafts- oder artspezifische Rückkopplungen zwischen Pflanze und Boden zu untersuchen.:Contents 3
Preface 5
Bibliographic description 6
Zusammenfassung 9
Summary 13
Introduction 16
When extreme events become the new normal 17
Feedback to agricultural production and need for management adaptation 20
Difficulties in exploring the soil microbiome and identification of plant beneficial microbial taxa 22
Our approach with wheat 24
Bibliography 27
ÖŽ Chapter 1 31
Interactions Between Soil Properties, Agricultural Management and Cultivar Type Drive Structural and Functional Adaptations of the Wheat Rhizosphere Microbiome To Drought 31
Supplemental Tables 51
Supplemental Figures 55
╬ Chapter 2 59
Can We Estimate Functionality of Soil Microbial Communities from Structure-Derived Predictions? A Reality Test in Agricultural Soils 59
Supplementary Tables 79
Supplemental Figures 84
Supplemental Material 1: 87
Variation in edaphic parameters according to experimental factors 87
Supplemental Material 2 88
Effect of abiotic soil parameters on bacterial community structure and function 88
Supplemental Material 3 90
Indicator species analysis 90
Űť Chapter 3 95
Shifts Between and Among Populations of Wheat Rhizosphere Pseudomonas, Streptomyces and Phyllobacterium Suggest Consistent Phosphate Mobilization at Different Wheat Growth Stages Under Abiotic Stress 95
Supplementary Figures 112
Supplementary Tables 117
Synopsis 152
Multidisciplinary approaches combine advantages of cultivation-based and high throughput community-based methods 155
Multifactorial approaches to gain a more holistic understanding of plant-microbe interactions in pot experiments 157
Transferability of findings gained in the pot experiment to field conditions 159
Towards a wheat core microbiome? 161
Study limitations and outlook 163
Bibliography 164
Acknowledgements 169
Curriculum Vitae 171
Personal details 171
Education 171
Work experience 172
Research and Mentoring experience 172
Extracurricular activities 173
List of publications and Presentations 174
Publications in peer-reviewed journals: 174
Oral Presentations: 175
Poster Presentations: 175
Statutory declaration 176
Eidesstattliche Erklärung 177
Author contributions 17
Molecular Research in Rice: Agronomically Important Traits 2.0
This volume presents recent research achievements concerning the molecular genetic basis of agronomic traits in rice. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most important food crop in the world, being a staple food for more than half of the world’s population. Recent improvements in living standards have increased the worldwide demand for high-yielding and high-quality rice cultivars. To develop novel cultivars with superior agronomic performance, we need to understand the molecular basis of agronomically important traits related to grain yield, grain quality, disease resistance, and abiotic stress tolerance. Decoding the whole rice genome sequence revealed that ,while there are more than 37,000 genes in the ~400 Mbp rice genome, there are only about 3000 genes whose molecular functions are characterized in detail. We collected in this volume the continued research efforts of scholars that elucidate genetic networks and the molecular mechanisms controlling agronomically important traits in rice
The role of exports in manufacturing pollution in sub–Saharan Africa and South Asia: towards a better trade-environment governance
Based on the gaps and challenges identified through case studies, the report proposes recommendations for
Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania, Bangladesh, and Pakistan along with the main three areas of research:
(i) Environmental Law and Public Governance, (ii) Private Sector Governance, and (iii) Life Cycle Assessment.
Even though at different stages, the four countries are building diversified economies by developing their industrial sectors. As exports play a significant role in their economic growth, those countries gain from more sustainable manufacturing practices
- …