The SAF-box domain of chromatin protein DEK

DEK is an abundant chromatin protein in metazoans reaching copy numbers of several millions/nucleus. Previous work has shown that human DEK, a protein of 375 amino acids, has two functional DNA-binding domains, of which one resides in a central part of the molecule and contains sequences corresponding to the scaffold attachment factor-box (SAF-box) domain as found in a growing number of nuclear proteins. Isolated SAF-box peptides (amino acids 137–187) bind weakly to DNA in solution, but when many SAF-box peptides are brought into close proximity on the surface of Sephadex beads, cooperative effects lead to a high affinity to DNA. Furthermore, a peptide (amino acids 87–187) that includes a sequence on the N-terminal side of the SAF-box binds efficiently to DNA. This peptide prefers four-way junction DNA over straight DNA and induces supercoils in relaxed circular DNA just like the full-length DEK. Interestingly, however, the 87–187 amino acid peptide introduces negative supercoils in contrast to the full-length DEK, which is known to introduce positive supercoils. We found that two adjacent regions (amino acids 68–87 and 187–250) are necessary for the formation of positive supercoils. Our data contribute to the ongoing characterization of the abundant and ubiquitous DEK chromatin protein

Flavin Monooxygenase-Generated N-Hydroxypipecolic Acid Is a Critical Element of Plant Systemic Immunity

Hartmann M, Zeier T, Bernsdorff F, et al. Flavin Monooxygenase-Generated N-Hydroxypipecolic Acid Is a Critical Element of Plant Systemic Immunity. Cell. 2018;173(2):456-469.e16.Following a previous microbial inoculation, plants can induce broad-spectrum immunity to pathogen infection, a phenomenon known as systemic acquired resistance (SAR). SAR establishment in Arabidopsis thaliana is regulated by the Lys catabolite pipecolic acid (Pip) and flavin-dependent-monooxygenase1 (FMO1). Here, we show that elevated Pip is sufficient to induce an FMO1-dependent transcriptional reprogramming of leaves that is reminiscent of SAR. In planta and in vitro analyses demonstrate that FMO1 functions as a pipecolate N-hydroxylase, catalyzing the biochemical conversion of Pip to N-hydroxypipecolic acid (NHP). NHP-systemically accumulates in plants after microbial attack. When exogenously applied, it overrides the defect of NHP-deficient fmo1 in acquired resistance and acts as a potent inducer of plant immunity to bacterial and oomycete infection. Our work has identified a pathogen-inducible L-Lys catabolic pathway in plants that generates the N-hydroxylated amino acid NHP as a critical regulator of systemic acquired resistance to pathogen infection

Between Rack Rents and Paternalism: Economic Behaviour and the Lease Market in Westphalia, with a Particular Focus on the 19th Century

Departing from research on Westphalian leases between 1600 and 1900 the paper discusses the lease market of and price determination on three Westphalian estates. While economic history approaches suppose that leases can be seen as market relations and are therefore useful indicators to measure agricultural productivity, a more anthropological perspective emphasises the social relations between lessor (here: noble estate owner) and leaseholders. The choice of an adequate perspective has significant implications for research on agricultural productivity based on rents and leases. Our results indicate that the contractual arrangement of leasehold (well defined duration, announcement, auctions) was used to achieve the highest possible leases. However, at least until the 1830s, demand for leasehold land was rather low and leaseholders could benefit from a lack of competition. Price determination of leases resulted in rents below the Ricardian rent. Therefore, we argue that important assumptions of the established price approach, which uses leases as proxies for productivity, are not met and the analysis of agricultural productivity requires additional evidence on the leaseholder’s income and profit

Lactation support in neonatal intensive care units in Germany from the mothers’ perspective – a mixed-method study of the current status and needs

Schwab I, Wullenkord R, Eyssel F, Dresbach T, Scholten N. Lactation support in neonatal intensive care units in Germany from the mothers’ perspective – a mixed-method study of the current status and needs. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2024;24(1): 282.**Abstract** **Background** Establishing successful lactation in mothers of very low birth weight (VLBW, <1500g) infants requires structured lactation support. Little is known about mothers’ perspectives on lactation support in German neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). **Methods** This paper features a convergent mixed-method approach that includes a retrospective, cross-sectional questionnaire and interview data to showcase mothers’ perceptions of lactation support in NICUs. Content analysis of the interviews (n = 12) and a descriptive analysis of quantitative data (n = 533) were performed to illustrate the current status and need for lactation support in German NICUs. **Results** The results show that lactation support in German NICUs is often inadequate and does not comply with recommendations based on the existing literature to encourage pumping and breastfeeding in mothers. The data imply that even if lactation is successfully initiated in most cases, it is often not maintained over time, which may be due to a lack of personal support and consistent information. **Conclusion** The overall structures and institutional guidelines for lactation support should be encouraged to promote nutrition with mother´s own milk in German NICUs. </p

Seafood Life Cycle Inventory database : Methodology and Principles and Data Quality Guidelines

En växande insikt om betydelsen av livsmedel för global miljöpåverkan, särskilt animaliska livsmedel inklusive sjömat, har lett till ett behov hos producenter såväl som handeln att kommunicera miljöpåverkan av råvaror och produkter genom livsmedelskedjan. Detta visar sig i form av nya krav på att dokumentera produkters miljöavtryck, t ex vid certifiering och i regelverk. EU initiativet inom hållbar utveckling med en "inre marknad för gröna produkter" är ett exempel, med målet att dokumentera miljöavtrycket av produkter på EU marknaden enligt metoden Product Environmental Footprinting (PEF). Målet är att göra det möjligt för konsumenter, handel, producenter och lagstiftare att göra medvetna val och att etablera drivkrafter mot reducerad miljöpåverkan i produkters värdekedja. För att kunna leva upp till dessa nya krav, krävs tillgång på representativ data av hög kvalitet, något som i stort sett har saknats för sjömatsprodukter. För att göra högkvalitativa, representativa data kring resursåtgång och miljöpåverkan av sjömatsprodukter (inklusive biomassa som direkt eller indirekt används till foder) tillgängliga, initierade den norska sjömatsbranschen ett pilotprojekt. Projektet definierade en rekommenderad metod och struktur för datainsamling och använde denna metod för att samla in tillgängliga data för ett antal pilotfall. Metoden för datainsamling presenteras i detta dokument och kan, tillsammans med pilotdataseten som gjorts tillgängliga i projektet, användas av näringen som grund för en bredare datainsamling för att skapa en utbyggd sjömats-LCI-databas.An increasing awareness about the important role of food, in particular animal-based foods including seafood, for global environmental impacts has led to a need of producers as well as retailers to communicate environmental impacts of raw materials and products through the food chain. This is demonstrated by new requirements to document the environmental footprints of products, e.g. by certification schemes and policies. The EU policy for sustainable development with its "single market for green products" is one example, aiming for documenting the environmental footprint of products on the EU market according to the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method. The goal is to enable consumers, retailers, producer, regulators and policy makers to make conscious choices and establish drivers for reducing environmental impacts throughout product supply chains. To be able to live up to these new requirements, representative data of high quality is needed, something which has largely been missing for seafood products. To make high-quality, representative data on the resource use and environmental impacts caused by seafood products (including biomass used directly or indirectly for feed) available, the Norwegian seafood industry initiated a pilot project. The project defined a recommended method and structure for data collection and used this method to collect available data for a number of pilot cases. The method for data collection is presented in this document and can, together with the pilot data sets made available through the project, be used by the industry as a basis for a broader data collection to create an expanded seafood LCI database

Lactation support in neonatal intensive care units in Germany from the mothers’ perspective – a mixed-method study of the current status and needs

Abstract Background Establishing successful lactation in mothers of very low birth weight (VLBW, <1500g) infants requires structured lactation support. Little is known about mothers’ perspectives on lactation support in German neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Methods This paper features a convergent mixed-method approach that includes a retrospective, cross-sectional questionnaire and interview data to showcase mothers’ perceptions of lactation support in NICUs. Content analysis of the interviews (n = 12) and a descriptive analysis of quantitative data (n = 533) were performed to illustrate the current status and need for lactation support in German NICUs. Results The results show that lactation support in German NICUs is often inadequate and does not comply with recommendations based on the existing literature to encourage pumping and breastfeeding in mothers. The data imply that even if lactation is successfully initiated in most cases, it is often not maintained over time, which may be due to a lack of personal support and consistent information. Conclusion The overall structures and institutional guidelines for lactation support should be encouraged to promote nutrition with mother´s own milk in German NICUs

Scouting the Autonomous Agricultural Machinery Market

The development and introduction of machines ranging from highly automated to driverless will have a strong impact on global agriculture - there is no doubt about this. Today, fully autonomous tractors or combine harvesters are no longer prototypes, but are already in use in preliminary stages. This inevitably raises the question of how fast and to what extent the new technologies will determine the market in the future. To examine this question, Fraunhofer IESE in cooperation with the Kleffmann Group conducted this study, which deals with the state of the art as well as the future development of the autonomous agricultural machinery market. Several parallel paths were taken in the study: (1) The first task was to identify and classify the influencing factors related to the market. This is linked to the determination of changes in agricultural work processes within the framework of autonomous agricultural machinery development. (2) These influencing factors in combination with corresponding expert assessments as well as market data on tractor sales were then used within the framework of an empirical modeling approach to develop possible future scenarios up to the year 2045

Depth of shower maximum and mass composition of cosmic rays from 50 PeV to 2 EeV measured with the LOFAR radio telescope

We present an updated cosmic-ray mass composition analysis in the energy range 1016.8 to 1018.3 eV from 334 air showers measured with the LOFAR radio telescope and selected for minimal bias. In this energy range, the origin of cosmic rays is expected to shift from galactic to extragalactic sources. The analysis is based on an improved method to infer the depth of the maximum Xmax of extensive air showers from radio measurements and air shower simulations. We show results of the average and standard deviation of Xmax versus primary energy and analyze the Xmax dataset at the distribution level to estimate the cosmic ray mass composition. Our approach uses an unbinned maximum likelihood analysis, making use of existing parametrizations of the Xmax distributions per element. The analysis has been repeated for three main models of hadronic interactions. Results are consistent with a significant light-mass fraction, at best fit 23% to 39% protons plus helium, depending on the choice of hadronic interaction model. The fraction of the intermediate-mass nuclei dominates. This confirms earlier results from LOFAR, with systematic uncertainties on Xmax now lowered to 7 to 9 g/cm2. We find agreement in mass composition compared to results from Pierre Auger Observatory, within statistical and systematic uncertainties. However, in line with earlier LOFAR results, we find a slightly lower average Xmax. The values are in tension with those found at Pierre Auger Observatory but agree with results from other cosmic ray observatories based in the northern hemisphere