Steigerung der P-Verfügbarkeit in pyrolysiertem Klärschlamm durch die Zugabe von Salzen beim Pyrolysieren

Durch die Pyrolyse von Klärschlamm entsteht ein hygienisiertes, kohlenstoffhaltiges Granulat mit hoher P-Konzentration. Der Phosphor in der Klärschlammkohle ist allerdings kaum pflanzenverfügbar. Durch den Zusatz von Chloriden (MgCl2, CaCl2) oder Biomasse aus Grünschnittabfall während der Pyrolyse des Klärschlamms wurde versucht, die Verfügbarkeit des Phosphors aus der Klärschlammkohle (KSK) zu steigern. In einem Gewächshausversuch mit Welschem Weidelgras wurde die Pflanzenverfügbarkeit aus der KSK geprüft. Die Düngewirkung der KSK wurde mit wasserlöslichem Ca(H2PO4)2 und weicherdigem Rohphosphat (Dolophos® 26) verglichen. Durch die Zugabe von Chloriden vor der Pyrolyse stieg die Düngewirkung der KSK zwar etwas an, sie blieb aber ähnlich gering wie die des Rohphosphats. Nur der wasserlösliche Mineraldünger steigerte die P-Aufnahme der Pflanzen signifikant

The modifying effect of supramolecular gel fibres on the diffusion of paracetamol and ibuprofen sodium on the picosecond timescale

Employing neutron spectroscopy, we follow the tracer diffusion of two non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug molecules, paracetamol (PCM) and ibuprofen sodium (IBU), in a supramolecular gel and the corresponding bulk solution. Both solutes show altered diffusion behaviour in the gel phase, deviating from each other and their bulk solution. Whilst picosecond diffusion of IBU is slightly quicker in the gel, this effect is significantly increased for PCM, which is up to 70% quicker in the gel than in solution.This effect is independent of changes in the solvent diffusion reported previously. An increased residence time of PCM in solution at lower temperatures points towards the onset of nucleation and crystallisation. This work reports one of the first experiments on the novel Backscattering and Time-of-Flight option (BATS) on the IN16B spectrometer at the Institut Laue-Langevin, France, which with its range and resolution in neutron energy and momentum transfer is ideally suited to observe this type of diffusion

Pyruvate: ferredoxin oxidoreductase and low abundant ferredoxins support aerobic photomixotrophic growth in cyanobacteria

The decarboxylation of pyruvate is a central reaction in the carbon metabolism of all organisms. It is catalyzed by the pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR) and the pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex. Whereas PFOR reduces ferredoxin, the PDH complex utilizes NAD+. Anaerobes rely on PFOR, which was replaced during evolution by the PDH complex found in aerobes. Cyanobacteria possess both enzyme systems. Our data challenge the view that PFOR is exclusively utilized for fermentation. Instead, we show, that the cyanobacterial PFOR is stable in the presence of oxygen in vitro and is required for optimal photomixotrophic growth under aerobic and highly reducing conditions while the PDH complex is inactivated. We found that cells rely on a general shift from utilizing NAD(H)- to ferredoxin-dependent enzymes under these conditions. The utilization of ferredoxins instead of NAD(H) saves a greater share of the Gibbs-free energy, instead of wasting it as heat. This obviously simultaneously decelerates metabolic reactions as they operate closer to their thermodynamic equilibrium. It is common thought that during evolution, ferredoxins were replaced by NAD(P)H due to their higher stability in an oxidizing atmosphere. However, the utilization of NAD(P)H could also have been favored due to a higher competitiveness because of an accelerated metabolism.</p

Characterisation and use of β-lactoglobulin fibrils for microencapsulation of lipophilic ingredients and oxidative stability thereof

There is a growing interest in using fibrils from food grade protein, e.g. β-lactoglobulin, as functional ingredients. In the present study, the functionality of fibrillar β-lactoglobulin from whey protein isolate (WPI) was compared to native WPI in terms of interfacial dilatational rheology and emulsifying activity at acidic conditions (pH 2.0 and 3.0). We report here for the first time data on microencapsulation of fish oil by spray-drying as well as oxidative stability of the oil in emulsions and microcapsules in dependence of WPI conformation. WPI fibrils exerted a significantly higher elasticity at the oil–water (o/w) interface and a better emulsifying activity at a fixed oil content compared to native WPI. Microencapsulation efficiency was also higher with fibrillar WPI (>95%) compared to native WPI (∼90%) at pH 2.0 and a total oil and protein content of 40% and 2.2%, respectively, in the final powder. The oxidative deterioration was lower in emulsions and microcapsules prepared with fibrillar than with native WPI. This was attributed to improved interfacial barrier properties provided by fibrils and antioxidative effects of coexisting unconverted monomers, particularly hydrophilic peptides

No Pain, no Gain? Investigating motivational mechanisms of game elements in cognitive tasks

The literature on serious games and gamification suggests that game elements have a positive influence on learning and performance in cognitive tasks. However, the mechanisms by which game elements affect these outcomes are not well understood. Building on theorizing in the self-control literature, the present research investigated whether game elements change the subjective experience of a cognitive task in terms of the positive affect, motivational conflict, and subjective effort experienced. Further, we tested whether people with a low versus high level of self-control benefit more from game elements in terms of their performance. The results of two experimental studies suggest that the gamification of an n-back task did not improve task accuracy (i.e., correct responses) directly but reduced task disengagement (i.e., non-responses). Further, gamification prevented positive affect from dropping over the course of the task and reduced motivational conflict and subjective effort experienced. Only positive affect mediated the effect of game elements on task disengagement. Further, game elements had an indirect effect on task accuracy via subjective effort. There was no indication that individuals with lower delay of gratification or lower trait self-control would profit more from gamification. The implications of these findings for the literature on self-control and gamification are discussed

The German National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON): rationale, study design and baseline characteristics

Schons M, Pilgram L, Reese J-P, et al. The German National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON): rationale, study design and baseline characteristics. European Journal of Epidemiology . 2022.The German government initiated the Network University Medicine (NUM) in early 2020 to improve national research activities on the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. To this end, 36 German Academic Medical Centers started to collaborate on 13 projects, with the largest being the National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON). The NAPKON's goal is creating the most comprehensive Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cohort in Germany. Within NAPKON, adult and pediatric patients are observed in three complementary cohort platforms (Cross-Sectoral, High-Resolution and Population-Based) from the initial infection until up to three years of follow-up. Study procedures comprise comprehensive clinical and imaging diagnostics, quality-of-life assessment, patient-reported outcomes and biosampling. The three cohort platforms build on four infrastructure core units (Interaction, Biosampling, Epidemiology, and Integration) and collaborations with NUM projects. Key components of the data capture, regulatory, and data privacy are based on the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research. By April 01, 2022, 34 university and 40 non-university hospitals have enrolled 5298 patients with local data quality reviews performed on 4727 (89%). 47% were female, the median age was 52 (IQR 36-62-) and 50 pediatric cases were included. 44% of patients were hospitalized, 15% admitted to an intensive care unit, and 12% of patients deceased while enrolled. 8845 visits with biosampling in 4349 patients were conducted by April 03, 2022. In this overview article, we summarize NAPKON's design, relevant milestones including first study population characteristics, and outline the potential of NAPKON for German and international research activities.Trial registration https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04768998 . https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04747366 . https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04679584. © 2022. The Author(s)

Separated by a Common Language: Awareness of Term Usage Differences Between Languages and Disciplines in Biopreparedness

Preparedness for bioterrorism is based on communication between people in organizations who are educated and trained in several disciplines, including law enforcement, health, and science. Various backgrounds, cultures, and vocabularies generate difficulties in understanding and interpretating terms and concepts, which may impair communication. This is especially true in emergency situations, in which the need for clarity and consistency is vital. The EU project AniBio- Threat initiated methods and made a rough estimate of the terms and concepts that are crucial for an incident, and a pilot database with key terms and definitions has been constructed. Analysis of collected terms and sources has shown that many of the participating organizations use various international standards in their area of expertise. The same term often represents different concepts in the standards from different sectors, or, alternatively, different terms were used to represent the same or similar concepts. The use of conflicting terminology can be problematic for decision makers and communicators in planning and prevention or when handling an incident. Since the CBRN area has roots in multiple disciplines, each with its own evolving terminology, it may not be realistic to achieve unequivocal communication through a standardized vocabulary and joint definitions for words from common language. We suggest that a communication strategy should include awareness of alternative definitions and ontologies and the ability to talk and write without relying on the implicit knowledge underlying specialized jargon. Consequently, cross-disciplinary communication skills should be part of training of personnel in the CBRN field. In addition, a searchable repository of terms and definitions from relevant organizations and authorities would be a valuable addition to existing glossaries for improving awareness concerning bioterrorism prevention planning

Genome-wide associations for birth weight and correlations with adult disease

Birth weight (BW) is influenced by both foetal and maternal factors and in observational studies is reproducibly associated with future risk of adult metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease1. These lifecourse associations have often been attributed to the impact of an adverse early life environment. We performed a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis of BW in 153,781 individuals, identifying 60 loci where foetal genotype was associated with BW (P <5x10-8). Overall, ˜15% of variance in BW could be captured by assays of foetal genetic variation. Using genetic association alone, we found strong inverse genetic correlations between BW and systolic blood pressure (rg-0.22, P =5.5x10-13), T2D (rg-0.27, P =1.1x10-6) and coronary artery disease (rg-0.30, P =6.5x10-9) and, in large cohort data sets, demonstrated that genetic factors were the major contributor to the negative covariance between BW and future cardiometabolic risk. Pathway analyses indicated that the protein products of genes within BW-associated regions were enriched for diverse processes including insulin signalling, glucose homeostasis, glycogen biosynthesis and chromatin remodelling. There was also enrichment of associations with BW in known imprinted regions (P =1.9x10-4). We have demonstrated that lifecourse associations between early growth phenotypes and adult cardiometabolic disease are in part the result of shared genetic effects and have highlighted some of the pathways through which these causal genetic effects are mediated

Genome-wide associations for birth weight and correlations with adult disease

Birth weight (BW) has been shown to be influenced by both fetal and maternal factors and in observational studies is reproducibly associated with future risk of adult metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease. These life-course associations have often been attributed to the impact of an adverse early life environment. Here, we performed a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis of BW in 153,781 individuals, identifying 60 loci where fetal genotype was associated with BW ($\textit{P}$  < 5 × 10$^{-8}$). Overall, approximately 15% of variance in BW was captured by assays of fetal genetic variation. Using genetic association alone, we found strong inverse genetic correlations between BW and systolic blood pressure ($\textit{R}$ $_{g}$ = -0.22, $\textit{P}$  = 5.5 × 10$^{-13}$), T2D ($\textit{R}$ $_{g}$ = -0.27, $\textit{P}$  = 1.1 × 10$^{-6}$) and coronary artery disease ($\textit{R}$ $_{g}$ = -0.30, $\textit{P}$  = 6.5 × 10$^{-9}$). In addition, using large -cohort datasets, we demonstrated that genetic factors were the major contributor to the negative covariance between BW and future cardiometabolic risk. Pathway analyses indicated that the protein products of genes within BW-associated regions were enriched for diverse processes including insulin signalling, glucose homeostasis, glycogen biosynthesis and chromatin remodelling. There was also enrichment of associations with BW in known imprinted regions ($\textit{P}$ = 1.9 × 10$^{-4}$). We demonstrate that life-course associations between early growth phenotypes and adult cardiometabolic disease are in part the result of shared genetic effects and identify some of the pathways through which these causal genetic effects are mediated.For a full list of the funders pelase visit the publisher's website and look at the supplemetary material provided. Some of the funders are: British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Medical Research Council, National Institutes of Health, Royal Society and Wellcome Trust

Maternal and fetal genetic effects on birth weight and their relevance to cardio-metabolic risk factors.

Birth weight variation is influenced by fetal and maternal genetic and non-genetic factors, and has been reproducibly associated with future cardio-metabolic health outcomes. In expanded genome-wide association analyses of own birth weight (n = 321,223) and offspring birth weight (n = 230,069 mothers), we identified 190 independent association signals (129 of which are novel). We used structural equation modeling to decompose the contributions of direct fetal and indirect maternal genetic effects, then applied Mendelian randomization to illuminate causal pathways. For example, both indirect maternal and direct fetal genetic effects drive the observational relationship between lower birth weight and higher later blood pressure: maternal blood pressure-raising alleles reduce offspring birth weight, but only direct fetal effects of these alleles, once inherited, increase later offspring blood pressure. Using maternal birth weight-lowering genotypes to proxy for an adverse intrauterine environment provided no evidence that it causally raises offspring blood pressure, indicating that the inverse birth weight-blood pressure association is attributable to genetic effects, and not to intrauterine programming.The Fenland Study is funded by the Medical Research Council (MC_U106179471) and Wellcome Trust