Strengthening Ethics Within Agricultural Cooperatives

Ethical issues particularly related to the business ethics of day-to-day decision making within agricultural cooperatives are identified. Ethical behavior builds trust which, in turn, sets a foundation for communication, commitment, loyalty, and cooperation. Cooperatives are challenged to distinguish themselves from other organizations and to strengthen their competitive advantages by being leaders in developing and emphasizing ethical business behavior. Cooperative leaders are presented with an analytical framework for determining the ethicality of their cooperative business decisions, which should help them to avoid potentially unethical and embarrassing positions and decisions. Ethical versus moral versus legal behaviors are discussed. Reasons why ethical behavior builds successful cooperatives are identified. Farmer opinion and a possible surveys indicate that producers erosion of ethical behavior. are concerned about ethical issues Results of focus group meetings with cooperative managers and directors identify several ethical issues that leaders often encounter and have to address. Forces and pressures that may promote or cause leaders or cooperative members are discussed. unethical behavior by cooperative Cooperative leaders face critical questions to ask and danger signs to look for in determining if their own organization is at ethical risk. A step-by-step procedure is presented for use by cooperative leaders who want to maintain or improve the ethical conduct of their cooperative businesses. Guidance is provided for cooperative leaders who want to develop a code of ethics that is appropriate for their cooperative businesses. A series of practical exercises for facilitating discussion and understanding of ethical issues on an individual cooperative basis have been developed and are included for cooperatives wishing to conduct meetings, discussion groups, conferences, etc., on ethics for employees, directors, and even members

NPEPPS Is a Druggable Driver of Platinum Resistance

There is an unmet need to improve the efficacy of platinum-based cancer chemotherapy, which is used in primary and metastatic settings in many cancer types. In bladder cancer, platinum-based chemotherapy leads to better outcomes in a subset of patients when used in the neoadjuvant setting or in combination with immunotherapy for advanced disease. Despite such promising results, extending the benefits of platinum drugs to a greater number of patients is highly desirable. Using the multiomic assessment of cisplatin-responsive and -resistant human bladder cancer cell lines and whole-genome CRISPR screens, we identified puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase (NPEPPS) as a driver of cisplatin resistance. NPEPPS depletion sensitized resistant bladder cancer cells to cisplatin in vitro and in vivo. Conversely, overexpression of NPEPPS in sensitive cells increased cisplatin resistance. NPEPPS affected treatment response by regulating intracellular cisplatin concentrations. Patient-derived organoids (PDO) generated from bladder cancer samples before and after cisplatin-based treatment, and from patients who did not receive cisplatin, were evaluated for sensitivity to cisplatin, which was concordant with clinical response. In the PDOs, depletion or pharmacologic inhibition of NPEPPS increased cisplatin sensitivity, while NPEPPS overexpression conferred resistance. Our data present NPEPPS as a druggable driver of cisplatin resistance by regulating intracellular cisplatin concentrations.</p

The interplay of local electron correlations and ultrafast spin dynamics in fcc Ni

The complex electronic structure of metallic ferromagnets is determined by a balance between exchange interaction, electron hopping leading to band formation, and local Coulomb repulsion. The interplay between the respective terms of the Hamiltonian is of fundamental interest, since it produces most, if not all, of the exotic phenomena observed in the solid state. By combining high energy and temporal resolution in femtosecond time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy with ab initio time-dependent density functional theory we analyze the electronic structure in fcc Ni on the time scale of these interactions in a pump-probe experiment. We distinguish transient broadening and energy shifts in the absorption spectra, which we demonstrate to be caused by electron repopulation and correlation-induced modifications of the electronic structure, respectively. Importantly, the theoretical description of this experimental result hence requires to take the local Coulomb interaction into account, revealing a temporal interplay between band formation, exchange interaction, and Coulomb repulsion

Megahertz-rate ultrafast X-ray scattering and holographic imaging at the European XFEL

The advent of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) has revolutionized fundamental science, from atomic to condensed matter physics, from chemistry to biology, giving researchers access to X-rays with unprecedented brightness, coherence and pulse duration. All XFEL facilities built until recently provided X-ray pulses at a relatively low repetition rate, with limited data statistics. Here, results from the first megahertz-repetition-rate X-ray scattering experiments at the Spectroscopy and Coherent Scattering (SCS) instrument of the European XFEL are presented. The experimental capabilities that the SCS instrument offers, resulting from the operation at megahertz repetition rates and the availability of the novel DSSC 2D imaging detector, are illustrated. Time-resolved magnetic X-ray scattering and holographic imaging experiments in solid state samples were chosen as representative, providing an ideal test-bed for operation at megahertz rates. Our results are relevant and applicable to any other non-destructive XFEL experiments in the soft X-ray range

Observation of fluctuation-mediated picosecond nucleation of a topological phase

peer reviewedTopological states of matter exhibit fascinating physics combined with an intrinsic stability. A key challenge is the fast creation of topological phases, which requires massive reorientation of charge or spin degrees of freedom. Here we report the picosecond emergence of an extended topological phase that comprises many magnetic skyrmions. The nucleation of this phase, followed in real time via single-shot soft X-ray scattering after infrared laser excitation, is mediated by a transient topological fluctuation state. This state is enabled by the presence of a time-reversal symmetry-breaking perpendicular magnetic field and exists for less than 300 ps. Atomistic simulations indicate that the fluctuation state largely reduces the topological energy barrier and thereby enables the observed rapid and homogeneous nucleation of the skyrmion phase. These observations provide fundamental insights into the nature of topological phase transitions, and suggest a path towards ultrafast topological switching in a wide variety of materials through intermediate fluctuating states. © 2020, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.Leibniz Association Grant no. K162/2018 (OptiSPIN

Strengthening Ethics Within Agricultural Cooperatives

Ethical issues particularly related to the business ethics of day-to-day decision making within agricultural cooperatives are identified. Ethical behavior builds trust which, in turn, sets a foundation for communication, commitment, loyalty, and cooperation. Cooperatives are challenged to distinguish themselves from other organizations and to strengthen their competitive advantages by being leaders in developing and emphasizing ethical business behavior. Cooperative leaders are presented with an analytical framework for determining the ethicality of their cooperative business decisions, which should help them to avoid potentially unethical and embarrassing positions and decisions. Ethical versus moral versus legal behaviors are discussed. Reasons why ethical behavior builds successful cooperatives are identified. Farmer opinion and a possible surveys indicate that producers erosion of ethical behavior. are concerned about ethical issues Results of focus group meetings with cooperative managers and directors identify several ethical issues that leaders often encounter and have to address. Forces and pressures that may promote or cause leaders or cooperative members are discussed. unethical behavior by cooperative Cooperative leaders face critical questions to ask and danger signs to look for in determining if their own organization is at ethical risk. A step-by-step procedure is presented for use by cooperative leaders who want to maintain or improve the ethical conduct of their cooperative businesses. Guidance is provided for cooperative leaders who want to develop a code of ethics that is appropriate for their cooperative businesses. A series of practical exercises for facilitating discussion and understanding of ethical issues on an individual cooperative basis have been developed and are included for cooperatives wishing to conduct meetings, discussion groups, conferences, etc., on ethics for employees, directors, and even members.</p