Evaluation des Projekts "Planspiel Jugendkreistag - Jugendbeteiligung als Antwort auf den demografischen Wandel" im Landkreis Leipzig

Der vorliegende Bericht fasst die Ergebnisse der wissenschaftlichen Evaluation des Projekts "Planspiel Jugendkreistag - Jugendbeteiligung als Antwort auf den demografischen Wandel" zusammen. Das Projekt wurde von Oktober 2016 bis September 2017 von der Akademie für Lokale Demokratie e.V. (Leipzig, im Weiteren: ALD), in Zusammenarbeit mit der LEADER-Region Leipziger Muldenland sowie dem Freien Gymnasium Naunhof und dem Gymnasium St. Augustin in Grimma durchgeführt

What determines the effectiveness of national protected area networks?

More than 15% of global terrestrial area is under some form of protection and there is a growing impetus to increase this coverage to 30% by 2030. But not all protection is effective and the reasons some countries\u27 protected areas (PAs) are more effective than others\u27 are poorly understood. We evaluate the effectiveness of national PA networks established between 2000 and 2012 globally in avoiding forest loss, taking into account underlying deforestation threats using a combination of matching methods and cross-sectional regressions. We then assess which demographic, agricultural, economic, and governance factors are most strongly associated with national PA effectiveness using machine learning methods. We estimate that national PAs established between 2000 and 2012 reduced deforestation in those areas by 72%, avoiding 86 062 km² of forest loss. The effectiveness of national PAs varied by strictness of protection based on International Union for Conservation of Nature category. Strictly PAs reduced forest loss by 81% compared to what would have occurred without protection, while less strictly PAs reduced forest loss by 67%. Thus, the 26% of new PAs that were strictly protected contributed 39% of the total forest loss avoided within PAs between 2000 and 2012. If every country\u27s PAs were as effective as the country with the most effective PAs within the same region, they would have increased the area of deforestation avoided by 38%, saving a further 119 082 km² of forest. Part of the variation in PA effectiveness across countries is explained by the placement of PA in areas facing higher deforestation threat. Countries with lower agricultural activity, higher economic growth and better governance are most strongly associated with greater country-level PA effectiveness

Measurement of real-time tissue elastography in a phantom model and comparison with transient elastography in pediatric patients with liver diseases

PURPOSEWe aimed to determine the comparability of real-time tissue elastography (RTE) and transient elastography (TE) in pediatric patients with liver diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODSRTE was performed on the Elasticity QA Phantom Model 049 (Computerized Imaging Reference Systems Company Inc., Norfolk, Virginia, USA), which has five areas with different levels of stiffness. RTE measurements of relative stiffness (MEAN [mean value of tissue elasticity], AREA [% of blue color-coded stiffer tissue]) in the phantom were compared with the phantom stiffness specified in kPa (measurement unit of TE). RTE and TE were performed on 147 pediatric patients with various liver diseases. A total of 109 measurements were valid. The participants had following diseases: metabolic liver disease (n=25), cystic fibrosis (n=20), hepatopathy of unknown origin (n=11), autoimmune hepatitis (n=12), Wilson’s disease (n=11), and various liver parenchyma alterations (n=30). Correlations between RTE and TE measurements in the patients were calculated. In addition, RTE was performed on a control group (n=30), and the RTE values between the patient and control groups were compared. RESULTSThe RTE parameters showed good correlation in the phantom model with phantom stiffness (MEAN/kPa, r=-0.97; AREA/kPa, r=0.98). However, the correlation of RTE and TE was weak in the patient group (MEAN/kPa, r=-0.23; AREA/kPa, r=0.24). A significant difference was observed between the patient and control groups (MEAN, P = 5.32 e-7; AREA, P = 1.62 e-6). CONCLUSIONIn the phantom model, RTE was correlated with kPa, confirming the presumed comparability of the methods. However, there was no direct correlation between RTE and TE in patients with defined liver diseases under real clinical conditions

Glycolytic flux control by drugging phosphoglycolate phosphatase

Targeting the intrinsic metabolism of immune or tumor cells is a therapeutic strategy in autoimmunity, chronic inflammation or cancer. Metabolite repair enzymes may represent an alternative target class for selective metabolic inhibition, but pharmacological tools to test this concept are needed. Here, we demonstrate that phosphoglycolate phosphatase (PGP), a prototypical metabolite repair enzyme in glycolysis, is a pharmacologically actionable target. Using a combination of small molecule screening, protein crystallography, molecular dynamics simulations and NMR metabolomics, we discover and analyze a compound (CP1) that inhibits PGP with high selectivity and submicromolar potency. CP1 locks the phosphatase in a catalytically inactive conformation, dampens glycolytic flux, and phenocopies effects of cellular PGP-deficiency. This study provides key insights into effective and precise PGP targeting, at the same time validating an allosteric approach to control glycolysis that could advance discoveries of innovative therapeutic candidates

National mitigation potential from natural climate solutions in the tropics.

Better land stewardship is needed to achieve the Paris Agreement's temperature goal, particularly in the tropics, where greenhouse gas emissions from the destruction of ecosystems are largest, and where the potential for additional land carbon storage is greatest. As countries enhance their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement, confusion persists about the potential contribution of better land stewardship to meeting the Agreement's goal to hold global warming below 2°C. We assess cost-effective tropical country-level potential of natural climate solutions (NCS)-protection, improved management and restoration of ecosystems-to deliver climate mitigation linked with sustainable development goals (SDGs). We identify groups of countries with distinctive NCS portfolios, and we explore factors (governance, financial capacity) influencing the feasibility of unlocking national NCS potential. Cost-effective tropical NCS offers globally significant climate mitigation in the coming decades (6.56 Pg CO2e yr-1 at less than 100 US$ per Mg CO2e). In half of the tropical countries, cost-effective NCS could mitigate over half of national emissions. In more than a quarter of tropical countries, cost-effective NCS potential is greater than national emissions. We identify countries where, with international financing and political will, NCS can cost-effectively deliver the majority of enhanced NDCs while transforming national economies and contributing to SDGs. This article is part of the theme issue 'Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions'

Land-based measures to mitigate climate change : potential and feasibility by country

Acknowledgements The design of this study and the data generated was guided by expert consultations and relied on the help of many. We thank all those who contributed: Sierra Gladfelter, Jo House, Mercedes Bustamante, Susan Cook-Patton, Sara Leavitt, Nick Wolff, and Thomas Worthington. We thank M.-J. Valentino at Imaginary Office for helping to design the first three figures. This work was supported by the authors’ institutions and funding sources, including the Climate and Land-use Alliance, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Food Quality, and the EU H2020 projects VERIFY and ENGAGE (grant agreement no. 821471).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The unprecedented 2017-2018 stratospheric smoke event : Decay phase and aerosol properties observed with the EARLINET

© Author(s) 2019. This open access work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Six months of stratospheric aerosol observations with the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET) from August 2017 to January 2018 are presented. The decay phase of an unprecedented, record-breaking stratospheric perturbation caused by wildfire smoke is reported and discussed in terms of geometrical, optical, and microphysical aerosol properties. Enormous amounts of smoke were injected into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere over fire areas in western Canada on 12 August 2017 during strong thunderstorm-pyrocumulonimbus activity. The stratospheric fire plumes spread over the entire Northern Hemisphere in the following weeks and months. Twenty-eight European lidar stations from northern Norway to southern Portugal and the eastern Mediterranean monitored the strong stratospheric perturbation on a continental scale. The main smoke layer (over central, western, southern, and eastern Europe) was found at heights between 15 and 20 km since September 2017 (about 2 weeks after entering the stratosphere). Thin layers of smoke were detected at heights of up to 22-23 km. The stratospheric aerosol optical thickness at 532 nm decreased from values > 0.25 on 21-23 August 2017 to 0.005-0.03 until 5-10 September and was mainly 0.003-0.004 from October to December 2017 and thus was still significantly above the stratospheric background (0.001-0.002). Stratospheric particle extinction coefficients (532 nm) were as high as 50-200 Mm-1 until the beginning of September and on the order of 1 Mm-1 (0.5- 5 Mm-1) from October 2017 until the end of January 2018. The corresponding layer mean particle mass concentration was on the order of 0.05-0.5 μg m-3 over these months. Soot particles (light-absorbing carbonaceous particles) are efficient ice-nucleating particles (INPs) at upper tropospheric (cirrus) temperatures and available to influence cirrus formation when entering the tropopause from above. We estimated INP concentrations of 50-500 L-1 until the first days in September and afterwards 5-50 L-1 until the end of the year 2017 in the lower stratosphere for typical cirrus formation temperatures of -55 ?C and an ice supersaturation level of 1.15. The measured profiles of the particle linear depolarization ratio indicated a predominance of nonspherical smoke particles. The 532 nm depolarization ratio decreased slowly with time in the main smoke layer from values of 0.15-0.25 (August-September) to values of 0.05-0.10 (October-November) and < 0.05 (December-January). The decrease of the depolarization ratio is consistent with aging of the smoke particles, growing of a coating around the solid black carbon core (aggregates), and thus change of the shape towards a spherical form. We found ascending aerosol layer features over the most southern European stations, especially over the eastern Mediterranean at 32-35? N, that ascended from heights of about 18-19 to 22-23 km from the beginning of October to the beginning of December 2017 (about 2 km per month). We discuss several transport and lifting mechanisms that may have had an impact on the found aerosol layering structures.Peer reviewe

The unprecedented 2017–2018 stratospheric smoke event: decay phase and aerosol properties observed with the EARLINET

Six months of stratospheric aerosol observations with the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET) from August 2017 to January 2018 are presented. The decay phase of an unprecedented, record-breaking stratospheric perturbation caused by wildfire smoke is reported and discussed in terms of geometrical, optical, and microphysical aerosol properties. Enormous amounts of smoke were injected into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere over fire areas in western Canada on 12 August 2017 during strong thunderstorm–pyrocumulonimbus activity. The stratospheric fire plumes spread over the entire Northern Hemisphere in the following weeks and months. Twenty-eight European lidar stations from northern Norway to southern Portugal and the eastern Mediterranean monitored the strong stratospheric perturbation on a continental scale. The main smoke layer (over central, western, southern, and eastern Europe) was found at heights between 15 and 20 km since September 2017 (about 2 weeks after entering the stratosphere). Thin layers of smoke were detected at heights of up to 22–23 km. The stratospheric aerosol optical thickness at 532 nm decreased from values > 0.25 on 21–23 August 2017 to 0.005–0.03 until 5–10 September and was mainly 0.003–0.004 from October to December 2017 and thus was still significantly above the stratospheric background (0.001–0.002). Stratospheric particle extinction coefficients (532 nm) were as high as 50–200 Mm−1 until the beginning of September and on the order of 1 Mm−1 (0.5–5 Mm−1) from October 2017 until the end of January 2018. The corresponding layer mean particle mass concentration was on the order of 0.05–0.5 µg m−3 over these months. Soot particles (light-absorbing carbonaceous particles) are efficient ice-nucleating particles (INPs) at upper tropospheric (cirrus) temperatures and available to influence cirrus formation when entering the tropopause from above. We estimated INP concentrations of 50–500 L−1 until the first days in September and afterwards 5–50 L−1 until the end of the year 2017 in the lower stratosphere for typical cirrus formation temperatures of −55 ∘C and an ice supersaturation level of 1.15. The measured profiles of the particle linear depolarization ratio indicated a predominance of nonspherical smoke particles. The 532 nm depolarization ratio decreased slowly with time in the main smoke layer from values of 0.15–0.25 (August–September) to values of 0.05–0.10 (October–November) and < 0.05 (December–January). The decrease of the depolarization ratio is consistent with aging of the smoke particles, growing of a coating around the solid black carbon core (aggregates), and thus change of the shape towards a spherical form. We found ascending aerosol layer features over the most southern European stations, especially over the eastern Mediterranean at 32–35∘ N, that ascended from heights of about 18–19 to 22–23 km from the beginning of October to the beginning of December 2017 (about 2 km per month). We discuss several transport and lifting mechanisms that may have had an impact on the found aerosol layering structures