2,216 research outputs found
Hochschulbildung für den Ökolandbau - Innovative Lehrveranstaltungen in der Praxis - (Workshop)
Im Berufsfeld des Ökologischen Landbaus sind spezifische Fähigkeiten, wie das vernetzende Denken, oder die Wahrnehmungsschulung von hoher Bedeutung. Darüber hinaus haben sich die Kompetenzanforderungen in der Berufsausbildung in den vergangenen Jahren gewandelt: neben der reinen Fachkompetenz gewinnen Fähigkeiten, die es ermöglichen, in einem stetig gewordenen Wandel zu agieren, an zunehmender Bedeutung. Die genannten Fähigkeiten und Fertigkeiten können durch veränderte Lernkonzepte, insbesondere Lehr- und Lernformen, die ein Lernen in und an realen Situationen ermöglichen und darüber hinaus interdisziplinär konzipiert sind, besonders gefördert werden.
Im Workshop werden Praxisbeispiele anhand folgender Leitfragen diskutiert:
• Welche Vorzüge, Schwierigkeiten und Potentiale ergeben sich aus dem jeweiligen Praxisbeispiel?
• Welche Möglichkeiten gibt es darüber hinaus, die Anforderungen des Ökologischen Landbaus an die Berufsausbildung gezielt in der Hochschullehre aufzugreifen?
• Wie können die Studierenden angemessen in die inhaltliche und didaktische Weiterentwicklung von Lernmodulen eingebunden werden
Exponential Random Graph Modeling for Complex Brain Networks
Exponential random graph models (ERGMs), also known as p* models, have been
utilized extensively in the social science literature to study complex networks
and how their global structure depends on underlying structural components.
However, the literature on their use in biological networks (especially brain
networks) has remained sparse. Descriptive models based on a specific feature
of the graph (clustering coefficient, degree distribution, etc.) have dominated
connectivity research in neuroscience. Corresponding generative models have
been developed to reproduce one of these features. However, the complexity
inherent in whole-brain network data necessitates the development and use of
tools that allow the systematic exploration of several features simultaneously
and how they interact to form the global network architecture. ERGMs provide a
statistically principled approach to the assessment of how a set of interacting
local brain network features gives rise to the global structure. We illustrate
the utility of ERGMs for modeling, analyzing, and simulating complex
whole-brain networks with network data from normal subjects. We also provide a
foundation for the selection of important local features through the
implementation and assessment of three selection approaches: a traditional
p-value based backward selection approach, an information criterion approach
(AIC), and a graphical goodness of fit (GOF) approach. The graphical GOF
approach serves as the best method given the scientific interest in being able
to capture and reproduce the structure of fitted brain networks
Robust Digital Holography For Ultracold Atom Trapping
We have formulated and experimentally demonstrated an improved algorithm for
design of arbitrary two-dimensional holographic traps for ultracold atoms. Our
method builds on the best previously available algorithm, MRAF, and improves on
it in two ways. First, it allows for creation of holographic atom traps with a
well defined background potential. Second, we experimentally show that for
creating trapping potentials free of fringing artifacts it is important to go
beyond the Fourier approximation in modelling light propagation. To this end,
we incorporate full Helmholtz propagation into our calculations.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Single-atom imaging of fermions in a quantum-gas microscope
Single-atom-resolved detection in optical lattices using quantum-gas
microscopes has enabled a new generation of experiments in the field of quantum
simulation. Fluorescence imaging of individual atoms has so far been achieved
for bosonic species with optical molasses cooling, whereas detection of
fermionic alkaline atoms in optical lattices by this method has proven more
challenging. Here we demonstrate single-site- and single-atom-resolved
fluorescence imaging of fermionic potassium-40 atoms in a quantum-gas
microscope setup using electromagnetically-induced-transparency cooling. We
detected on average 1000 fluorescence photons from a single atom within 1.5s,
while keeping it close to the vibrational ground state of the optical lattice.
Our results will enable the study of strongly correlated fermionic quantum
systems in optical lattices with resolution at the single-atom level, and give
access to observables such as the local entropy distribution and individual
defects in fermionic Mott insulators or anti-ferromagnetically ordered phases.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures; Nature Physics, published online 13 July 201
Exploring 4D Quantum Hall Physics with a 2D Topological Charge Pump
The discovery of topological states of matter has profoundly augmented our
understanding of phase transitions in physical systems. Instead of local order
parameters, topological phases are described by global topological invariants
and are therefore robust against perturbations. A prominent example thereof is
the two-dimensional integer quantum Hall effect. It is characterized by the
first Chern number which manifests in the quantized Hall response induced by an
external electric field. Generalizing the quantum Hall effect to
four-dimensional systems leads to the appearance of a novel non-linear Hall
response that is quantized as well, but described by a 4D topological invariant
- the second Chern number. Here, we report on the first observation of a bulk
response with intrinsic 4D topology and the measurement of the associated
second Chern number. By implementing a 2D topological charge pump with
ultracold bosonic atoms in an angled optical superlattice, we realize a
dynamical version of the 4D integer quantum Hall effect. Using a small atom
cloud as a local probe, we fully characterize the non-linear response of the
system by in-situ imaging and site-resolved band mapping. Our findings pave the
way to experimentally probe higher-dimensional quantum Hall systems, where new
topological phases with exotic excitations are predicted
Eikonal methods applied to gravitational scattering amplitudes
We apply factorization and eikonal methods from gauge theories to scattering
amplitudes in gravity. We hypothesize that these amplitudes factor into an
IR-divergent soft function and an IR-finite hard function, with the former
given by the expectation value of a product of gravitational Wilson line
operators. Using this approach, we show that the IR-divergent part of the
n-graviton scattering amplitude is given by the exponential of the one-loop IR
divergence, as originally discovered by Weinberg, with no additional subleading
IR-divergent contributions in dimensional regularization.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures; v2: title change and minor rewording (published
version); v3: typos corrected in eqs.(3.2),(4.1
Factorization Properties of Soft Graviton Amplitudes
We apply recently developed path integral resummation methods to perturbative
quantum gravity. In particular, we provide supporting evidence that eikonal
graviton amplitudes factorize into hard and soft parts, and confirm a recent
hypothesis that soft gravitons are modelled by vacuum expectation values of
products of certain Wilson line operators, which differ for massless and
massive particles. We also investigate terms which break this factorization,
and find that they are subleading with respect to the eikonal amplitude. The
results may help in understanding the connections between gravity and gauge
theories in more detail, as well as in studying gravitational radiation beyond
the eikonal approximation.Comment: 35 pages, 5 figure
Tubulin Tyrosination Is Required for the Proper Organization and Pathfinding of the Growth Cone
International audienceBACKGROUND: During development, neuronal growth cones integrate diffusible and contact guidance cues that are conveyed to both actin and microtubule (MT) cytoskeletons and ensure axon outgrowth and pathfinding. Although several post-translational modifications of tubulin have been identified and despite their strong conservation among species, their physiological roles during development, especially in the nervous sytem, are still poorly understood. METHODOLOGY/FINDINGS: Here, we have dissected the role of a post-translational modification of the last amino acid of the alpha-tubulin on axonal growth by analyzing the phenotype of precerebellar neurons in Tubulin tyrosin ligase knock-out mice (TTL(-/-)) through in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro analyses. TTL(-/-) neurons are devoid of tyrosinated tubulin. Their pathway shows defects in vivo, ex vivo, in hindbrains open-book preparations or in vitro, in a collagen matrix. Their axons still orient toward tropic cues, but they emit supernumerary branches and their growth cones are enlarged and exhibit an emission of mis-oriented filopodia. Further analysis of the TTL(-/-) growth cone intracellular organization also reveals that the respective localization of actin and MT filaments is disturbed, with a decrease in the distal accumulation of Myosin IIB, as well as a concomitant Rac1 over-activation in the hindbrain. Pharmacological inhibition of Rac1 over-activation in TTL(-/-) neurons can rescue Myosin IIB localization. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In the growth cone, we propose that tubulin tyrosination takes part in the relative arrangement of actin and MT cytoskeletons, in the regulation of small GTPases activity, and consequently, in the proper morphogenesis, organization and pathfinding of the growth cone during development
The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization
Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation
Signal enhancement in protein NMR using the spin-noise tuning optimum
We have assessed the potential of an alternative probe tuning strategy based on the spin-noise response for application in common high-resolution multi-dimensional biomolecular NMR experiments with water signal suppression on aqueous and salty samples. The method requires the adjustment of the optimal tuning condition, which may be offset by several 100 kHz from the conventional tuning settings using the noise response of the water protons as an indicator. Although the radio frequency-pulse durations are typically longer under such conditions, signal-to-noise gains of up to 22% were achieved. At salt concentrations up to 100 mM a substantial sensitivity gain was observed
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