Incentives and constraints for the use of organic seeds in organic farming: example of Capsicum annuum seeds in the Netherlands and Spain

The EU legislation on organic farming was aimed at forcing the use of organic seeds in organic production. However, there are striking differences in its implementation across the EU and the use of organic seeds is still sparse. This study examines the use of organic seeds for sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) production in a pilot study for the Netherlands and Spain. In order to identify existing incentives and constraints, a supply chain analysis is applied, derogation requests for using non-organic seeds are analysed and interviews with stakeholders of the supply chain are conducted. Based on the findings, recommendations are given on how each stakeholder can participate in improving the implementation of the EU law, promoting the use of organic seeds

World ecology and global environmental governance

Environmental problems have always been part of our history, of life, and work. Yet the way in which environmental problems are perceived and politicized has changed: If it was at first chiefly local and regional environmental problems that were recognized, in recent years global environmental problems that have been a major cause of concern. Global problems can be tackled only by means of an internationally coordinated, global environmental policy; local and regional environmental policies have to be integrated into this context. --

Bestrophine: potentielle Kandidaten für olfaktorische Ca2+-aktivierte Cl--Kanäle

Olfactory signal transduction takes place in the cilia of olfactory neurons. Ca$^{2+}$-activated Cl$^{-}$-channels participate in the generation of action potentials in these cells. The channels conduct a depolarizing chloride current. Cloning of olfactory Ca$^{2+}$-activated Cl$^{-}$-channels has not been successful, yet. To identify these channels molecularly we used the ODORA cell-line which is of olfactory origin. ODORA cells express olfactory Ca$^{2+}$-activated Cl$^{-}$-channels and several other olfactory “marker” proteins. It is assumed that Bestrophin proteins are likely candidates to form functional Ca$^{2+}$-activated Cl$^{-}$-channels. Therefore I cloned members of the Bestrophin gene-family from ODORA cells. I successfully isolated four full-length Bestrophin cDNAs. The cDNAs were transiently transfected into HEK 293 cells. The proteins were detected by hemagglutinin (HA)-Tag immunostaining. Stably transfected cell-lines were established that express each Bestrophin isoform constitutively. Electrophysiological recordings showed that Bestrophin 1 forms Ca$^{2+}$- activated Cl$^{-}$-channels. Isoform-specific antibodies were raised against all four Bestrophins. In Western Blots, Bestrophin proteins were detected by $\alpha$-HA-antibodies as well as by $\alpha$-Bestrophin-antibodies in membrane fractions isolated from stably transfected cell lines. The Ca$^{2+}$-activated Cl$^{-}$-channel in ODORA cells most likely is regulated by CaM. Therefore Bestrophins were examined for potential CaM interaction. All Bestrophin proteins bind to CaM-Agarose and could be eluted with Ca$^{2+}$-free buffer. Amino-acid substitutions in a 1-5-8-14 CaM binding-site of Bestrophin 2 and 3 did not change the interaction to the CaM matrix. Immunostainings of tissue sections showed that Bestrophin 2 is expressed in olfactory neurons, preferentially in the dendrites and the soma. In some preparations, olfactory cilia were also stained. Because Bestrophin 2 is only moderately co-localized with cyclic nucleotid-gated (CNGA2) channels, it is still uncertain whether Bestrophins form Ca$^{2+}$-activated Cl$^{-}$-channels in the olfactory epithelium

Kein kaltes Werk für eine kalte Welt : Homosexualität als Fokus in Brechts "Caesar"

Mannmännliches Begehren und Lieben ist sicher kein Schwerpunkt für Brecht gewesen, doch hat es ihn unleugbar fasziniert. Von Anfang an gibt es, wenn auch nur sporadisch, Homosexualität in seinem Werk. Die Texte bis ca. 1938 repräsentieren indessen nichts, was im gängigen Sinn als „schwule Literatur“ gelten könnte. Weder manifestierte sich Brecht je als „bisexuell“ oder gar „schwul“, noch wird der Stellenwert von Homosexualität – oder genauer gesagt: von Homosexualitäten – bei ihm thematisiert. Nie hat er je irgend etwas gezielt für „Schwule“ geschrieben. Eine andere Rolle spielt die Schilderung von Homosexualität in Bertolt Brechts Romansatire "Die Geschäfte des Herrn Julius Caesar". An diesem Projekt arbeitete er 1938/39 gemeinsam mit seiner Geliebten Margarete Steffin (1908-1941) im dänischen und schwedischen Exil. Der umfangreiche Fragment gebliebene Roman wurde in Buchform erst posthum 1957 veröffentlicht. Der Roman, obschon wie ein Großteil seiner Prosa, in den Schatten der medialen und wissenschaftlichen Aufmerksamkeit für den Lyriker, Dramatiker und Theatermann geraten, gehört zweifellos zu den Hauptwerken Bertolt Brechts und steht an zentraler Stelle in seinem Schaffen. Einige der wichtigsten Themen Brechts fließen im Caesar-Projekt zusammen, das reichen Aufschluss gibt über seine Sicht der Dinge und seine sich daraus ergebende Arbeitsweise

Otosclerosis

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In silico evaluation of the thermal stress induced by MRI switched gradient fields in patients with metallic hip implant

This work focuses on the in silico evaluation of the energy deposed by MRI switched gradient fields in bulk metallic implants and the consequent temperature increase in the surrounding tissues. An original computational strategy, based on the subdivision of the gradient coil switching sequences into sub-signals and on the time-harmonic electromagnetic field solution, allows to realistically simulate the evolution of the phenomena produced by the gradient coils fed according to any MRI sequence. Then, Pennes' bioheat equation is solved through a Douglas-Gunn time split scheme to compute the time-dependent temperature increase. The procedure is validated by comparison with laboratory results, using a component of a realistic hip implant embedded within a phantom, obtaining an agreement on the temperature increase better than 5%, lower than the overall measurement uncertainty. The heating generated inside the body of a patient with a unilateral hip implant when undergoing an Echo-Planar Imaging (EPI) MRI sequence is evaluated and the role of the parameters affecting the thermal results (body position, coil performing the frequency encoding, effects of thermoregulation) is discussed. The results show that the gradient coils can generate local increases of temperature up to some kelvin when acting without radiofrequency excitation. Hence, their contribution in general should not be disregarded when evaluating patients' safety

Developing consumption feedback principles for monthly utility bills informed by behavioural economics: evidence from controlled experiments

Better feedback principles for the utility bills in South Africa need to be developed. Utility providers might be able to "nudge" consumers towards more desirable consumption patterns by delivering simpler and better feedback informed by applied behavioural sciences. Two sets of controlled experiments were conducted with over 1,500 subjects to identify bill design strategies that could overcome two major barriers to effective consumption feedback: • the complexity of the utility bill, especially with regards to tariff calculations, and • consumer's declining mindfulness of utility consumption between billing moments. The "Utility Bill Redesign" experiment, using a randomised control trial, investigates how improving billing feedback design increases consumer's understanding of energy usage and costs. More than 1,300 participants are randomly assigned to different treatment groups and receive one of nine redesigned utility bills or the current standard bill. Thereafter, participant's understanding of the bill they received is tested through a questionnaire. We find that restructuring the bill in a logical order and displaying the amount of electricity consumed in each tariff block with separate bar graphs is a successful way to increase consumer understanding of the bill, especially with regards to the step tariff. Further, the results clearly show that consumers are unable to make sense of a utility bill that is not in their home language, even when adding utility specific symbols. We conclude that significant low-cost improvements can be made to utility bills to increase consumer comprehension. In the "Attention Redirection" experiment, participants are assigned to different treatment groups and are given an online task that requires daily attention and effort in order to maximise pay-offs. We find that daily SMS reminders significantly redirect attention to the daily task. A blank graph, given to participants at the beginning of the experiment to assist them in self-managing their behaviour, has no effect on task adherence. The results illustrate how inattention routinely leads to sub-optimal behaviour in a specific task area and the resulting welfare loss. A purely bill-based strategy is rendered unsuccessful

Magnetic Field-Induced Lattice Effects in a Quasi-2D Organic Conductor Close to the Mott Metal-Insulator Transition

We present ultra-high-resolution dilatometric studies in magnetic fields on a quasi-two-dimensional organic conductor $\kappa$-(D8-BEDT-TTF)$_{2}$Cu[N(CN)$_{2}$]Br, which is located close to the Mott metal-insulator (MI) transition. The obtained thermal expansion coefficient, $\alpha(T)$, reveals two remarkable features: (i) the Mott MI transition temperature $T_{MI}$ = (13.6 $\pm$ 0.6)\,K is insensitive to fields up to 10\,T, the highest applied field; (ii) for fields along the interlayer \emph{b}-axis, a magnetic-field-induced (FI) phase transition at $T_{FI}$ = (9.5 $\pm$ 0.5)\,K is observed above a threshold field $H_c \sim$ 1 T, indicative of a spin reorientation with strong magneto-elastic coupling.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Fighting for democracy: the case for corporate political responsibility

Some companies have adopted a new role that goes beyond lobbying and donations. Many now operate as political actors and actively position themselves against anti-democratic forces. Rolf Brühl and Benedikt Kapteina make the case for corporate political responsibility, arguing that companies depend on a viable political system and are not immune to the changing landscape