Albedo on cropland: Field-scale effects of current agricultural practices in Northern Europe

Agricultural land use and management affect land surface albedo and thus the climate. Increasing the albedo of cropland could enhance reflection of solar radiation, counteracting the radiative forcing (RF) of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and local warming. However, knowledge is lacking on how agricultural practices affect albedo under local conditions, and on the benefits of individual practices. In this study, field measurements were made in 15 paired plots at a site in Northern Europe to determine albedo, net shortwave irradiance and RF impacts under various common crops, cultivation intensities and tillage practices. Field data for 2019-2020 were compared with satellite-based albedo for the surrounding region in 2010-2020. At regional level, different combinations of soil type, yearly weather and agricultural practices led to great variability in the albedo of individual crops, despite similar pedo-climatic conditions. At field level within years, albedo differences were determined mainly by crop type, species-specific phenology and post-harvest management. Annual albedo was higher with perennial ley (0.20-0.22) and winter-sown crops (0.18-0.22) than with spring-sown crops (0.16-0.18) and bare soil (0.13). Barley had the highest albedo among winter and spring cereals. In summer, when increased albedo could alleviate local heat stress, oats reduced net shortwave irradiance at the surface by 0.8-5.8 Wm(-2) compared with other cereals, ley, peas or rapeseed. Delayed or reduced tillage gave high local cooling potential (up to-13.6 Wm(-2)) in late summer. Potential benefits for global mean climate as GWP(100 )per hectare and year reached-980 kg CO(2)e for avoiding black fallow,-578 kg CO(2)e for growing a winter-sown variety and-288 kg CO(2)e for delayed tillage. Thus realistic albedo increases on cropland could have important effects on local temperatures and offset a substantial proportion of the RF deriving from field-scale GHG emissions on short time-scales

Language competencies of immigrant students in Germany - Results of the IQB-Ländervergleich for elementary schools

Sprachliche Kompetenzen in der Verkehrs- und Instruktionssprache Deutsch sind zentral, um im deutschen Bildungssystem erfolgreich zu sein. Die Ergebnisse des IQB-Ländervergleichs 2011 für den Primarbereich belegen erneut, dass Kinder mit Zuwanderungshintergrund beim Kompetenzerwerb benachteiligt sind und das Deutsche weniger gut beherrschen als ihre Altersgenossen und Altersgenossinnen ohne Zuwanderungshintergrund. Der Sprach- und Leseförderung in den Schulen kommt daher gerade für diese Kinder eine zentrale Bedeutung zu. (DIPF/Orig.)Language competencies are crucial for success in the German educational system. The findings from the IQB-Ländervergleich 2011 (federal states comparison test of national educational standards) for elementary schools once again show that students from immigrant families are less proficient in German than their peers from native families. Special support for reading and second language acquisition is therefore needed. (DIPF/Orig.

Changes in intervertebral disc morphology persist 5 mo after 21-day bed rest

As part of the nutrition- countermeasures (NUC) study in Cologne, Germany in 2010, seven healthy male subjects underwent 21 days of head-down tilt bed rest and returned 153 days later to undergo a second bout of 21-day bed rest. As part of this model, we aimed to examine the recovery of the lumbar intervertebral discs and muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) after bed rest using magnetic resonance imaging and conduct a pilot study on the effects of bed rest in lumbar muscle activation, as measured by signal intensity changes in T2-weighted images after a standardized isometric spinal extension loading task. The changes in intervertebral disc volume, anterior and posterior disc height, and intervertebral length seen after bed rest did not return to prebed-rest values 153 days later. While recovery of muscle CSA occurred after bed rest, increases (P 0.016) in multifidus, psoas, and quadratus lumborum muscle CSA were seen 153 days after bed rest. A trend was seen for greater activation of the erector spinae and multifidus muscles in the standardized loading task after bed rest. Greater reductions of multifidus and psoas CSA muscle and greater increases in multifidus signal intensity with loading were associated with incidence of low back pain in the first 28 days after bed rest (P 0.044). The current study contributes to our understanding of the recovery of the lumbar spine after 21-day bed rest, and the main finding was that a decrease in spinal extensor muscle CSA recovers within 5 mo after bed rest but that changes in the intervertebral discs persist

Überzeugungen von Lehrkräften zu den Funktionen von Vergleichsarbeiten. Zusammenhänge zu Veränderungen im Unterricht und den Kompetenzen von Schülerinnen und Schülern

Die Vergleichsarbeiten (VERA) sind seit mehreren Jahren ein wichtiges Instrument der Kompetenzdiagnostik, das auf den Bildungsstandards der Kultusministerkonferenz basiert. Sie dienen in erster Linie der Unterrichts- und Schulentwicklung, werden teilweise aber auch zur flächendeckenden Information der Schulaufsicht über den Leistungsstand von Einzelschulen genutzt. Der Beitrag untersucht, inwieweit diese Funktionen von Lehrkräften wahrgenommen werden und in welcher Beziehung sie zum Unterricht der Lehrkräfte und den Kompetenzen der Schülerinnen und Schüler stehen. Die Studie basiert auf Daten des IQB-Ländervergleichs 2011 in der Primarstufe, in dem Kompetenzen in den Fächern Deutsch und Mathematik erhoben wurden. Die Analysen zeigen, dass Lehrkräfte, die VERA als Mittel der Unterrichtsentwicklung begreifen, ihren Unterricht verstärkt auf die Entwicklung von Kompetenzen ausrichten und eine stärkere Differenzierung im Unterricht vornehmen. Weiterhin erreichen Schülerinnen und Schüler von Lehrkräften mit diesen Überzeugungen bessere Ergebnisse im Lesen und in Mathematik, auch nach Berücksichtigung individueller und klassenbezogener Hintergrundmerkmale. (DIPF/Orig.)Comparative tests based on the educational standards set by the Conference of Education Ministers (Vergleichsarbeiten; German abbreviation: VERA) have for many years been an important instrument in competence diagnostics. They serve primarily school and curriculum development; sometimes, however, they are also used for the comprehensive information of the school supervision authorities concerning the performance level of individual schools. The contribution examines how far teachers are aware of these functions and in what way they are related to characteristics of classroom instruction and to the students\u27 competencies. The study is based on data provided by the national assessment study carried out by the IQB (Institute for Educational Quality Improvement) in 2011 on the level of primary education, which focused on competencies in the subjects math and German. The analyses show that teachers who consider VERA a means for the development of teaching orientate their lessons much more towards the development of competencies and undertake a more detailed differentiation in their lessons. Furthermore, students of such teachers achieve better results in both reading and math, even after allowance for individual and class-related background characteristics. (DIPF/Orig.

The Csr/Rsm system of Yersinia and related pathogens: A post-transcriptional strategy for managing virulence.

This review emphasizes the function and regulation of the Csr regulatory system in the human enteropathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and compares its features with the homologous Csr/Rsm systems of related pathogens. The Csr/Rsm systems of eubacteria form a complex regulatory network in which redundant non-translated Csr/Rsm-RNAs bind the RNA-binding protein CsrA/RsmA, thereby preventing its interaction with mRNA targets. The Csr system is controlled by the BarA/UvrY-type of two-component sensor-regulator systems. Apart from that, common or pathogen-specific regulators control the abundance of the Csr components. The coordinate control of virulence factors and infection-linked physiological traits by the Csr/Rsm systems helps the pathogens to adapt individually to rapidly changing conditions to which they are exposed during the different stages of an infection. As Csr/Rsm function is relevant for full virulence, it represents a target suitable for antimicrobial drug development

Nutzung von Altersinformationen aus posttranslationalen Proteinmodifikationen und DNA-Methylierung zur postmortalen Lebensaltersschätzung

<jats:title>Zusammenfassung</jats:title><jats:p>Mit der Identifikation und Beschreibung „molekularer Uhren“ (posttranslationale Proteinmodifikationen, DNA-Methylierung) eröffnen sich neue Möglichkeiten zur Entwicklung von Verfahren zur postmortalen Lebensaltersschätzung. Bislang werden diese Ansätze aber nur unabhängig voneinander eingesetzt. Ihre Verknüpfung verspricht eine bessere Erfassung hochkomplexer Alterungsprozesse und damit die Möglichkeit zur Entwicklung optimierter Verfahren zur Altersschätzung für verschiedenste Szenarien der forensischen Praxis.</jats:p><jats:p>In Vorbereitung umfangreicher Untersuchungen zur Überprüfung dieser Hypothese wurden verschiedene molekulare Uhren (Akkumulation von D‑Asparaginsäure, Akkumulation von Pentosidin und DNA-Methylierungsmarker [<jats:italic>RPA2, ZYG11A, F5, HOXC4, NKIRAS2, TRIM59, ELOVL2, DDO, KLF14 </jats:italic>und <jats:italic>PDE4C</jats:italic>]) in 4 fäulnisresistenten Geweben (Knochen, Sehne, Bandscheibe, Epiglottis) von 15 Individuen untersucht.</jats:p><jats:p>In allen untersuchten Geweben fand sich eine starke Korrelation beider Proteinmarker sowie jeweils mehrerer DNA-Methylierungsmarker mit dem Lebensalter. Dabei zeigten die untersuchten Parameter gewebsspezifische Veränderungen mit dem Alter.</jats:p><jats:p>Die Ergebnisse der Pilotstudie belegen das Potenzial der Verknüpfung molekularer Verfahren für die postmortale Altersschätzung. Weitere Untersuchungen werden zeigen, wie genau postmortale Altersschätzungen sein können, wenn Altersinformationen aus posttranslationalen Proteinmodifikationen und DNA-Methylierung aus verschiedenen Geweben in multivariaten Modellen verknüpft werden.</jats:p&gt

IQB-Ländervergleich 2011

Dieses Skalenhandbuch dokumentiert die Erhebungsinstrumente, die im IQB-Ländervergleich 2011 in der Primarstufe eingesetzt wurden. Dies umfasst die Testinstrumente zur Erfassung der Kompetenzen in den Fächern Deutsch und Mathematik sowie die Fragebögen der Schüler-, Eltern-, Lehrkräfte- und Schulleiterbefragung. Der IQB-Ländervergleich dient einem systematischen Vergleich der Länder der Bundesrepublik Deutschland mit Blick auf die in den Bildungsstandards für die Fächer Deutsch und Mathematik beschriebenen Kompetenzen

The Small Protein YmoA Controls the Csr System and Adjusts Expression of Virulence-Relevant Traits of .

Virulence gene expression of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis changes during the different stages of infection and this is tightly controlled by environmental cues. In this study, we show that the small protein YmoA, a member of the Hha family, is part of this process. It controls temperature- and nutrient-dependent early and later stage virulence genes in an opposing manner and co-regulates bacterial stress responses and metabolic functions. Our analysis further revealed that YmoA exerts this function by modulating the global post-transcriptional regulatory Csr system. YmoA pre-dominantly enhances the stability of the regulatory RNA CsrC. This involves a stabilizing stem-loop structure within the 5'-region of CsrC. YmoA-mediated CsrC stabilization depends on H-NS, but not on the RNA chaperone Hfq. YmoA-promoted reprogramming of the Csr system has severe consequences for the cell: we found that a mutant deficient of ymoA is strongly reduced in its ability to enter host cells and to disseminate to the Peyer's patches, mesenteric lymph nodes, liver and spleen in mice. We propose a model in which YmoA controls transition from the initial colonization phase in the intestine toward the host defense phase important for the long-term establishment of the infection in underlying tissues