Öko-Landbau-Forschung in Deutschland

Forschung zum ökologischen Landbau hat in Deutschland eine lange Tradition, die bis in die Zwanzigerjahre des letzten Jahrhunderts zurückreicht. Damals begannen die ersten – meist biologisch-dynamischen – Pioniere, auf ihren Höfen Versuche anzustellen. Das 1950 gegründete Institut für biologisch-dynamische Forschung (IBDF) war weltweit eines der ersten privaten Forschungsinstitute.Auch der erste Lehrstuhl für ökologischen Landbau entstand in Deutschland, wo es bis heute mehr einschlägige Professuren gibt als in anderen Ländern. Mit der Wissenschaftstagung der Stiftung Ökologie & Landbau (SÖL) wird seit Beginn der Neunzigerjahre regelmäßig der Stand der Öko-Landbau-Forschung dokumentiert. Ab Mitte der Neunzigerjahre wurden im Rahmen von EU-Projekten die Kontakte zu Forscherkollegen außerhalb Deutschlands intensiviert. Auch einige Einrichtungen der Ressortforschung öffneten sich dem ökologischen Landbau. Großen Aufschwung erhielt die Öko-Landbau-Forschung mit der Forschungsförderung im Rahmen des Bundesprogramms Ökologischer Landbau

Kommunikation von Forschungsergebnissen deutschlandweit und international: forschung.oekolandbau.de und orgprints.org

The website forschung.oekolandbau.de is an information platform for all players in organic agriculture research in Germany and beyond, providing news and information on events, links, addresses and a newsletter. The platform is used to publish all research results achieved in the German Federal Organic Farming Scheme. The website is linked to the international open access archive Organic Eprints (orgprints.org), in which authors and institutions document publications related to organic farming research. Organic Eprints is increasingly used by the international research community as a communication tool, thus providing the basis for research coordination

“A very orderly retreat”: Democratic transition in East Germany, 1989-90

East Germany's 1989-90 democratisation is among the best known of East European transitions, but does not lend itself to comparative analysis, due to the singular way in which political reform and democratic consolidation were subsumed by Germany's unification process. Yet aspects of East Germany's democratisation have proved amenable to comparative approaches. This article reviews the comparative literature that refers to East Germany, and finds a schism between those who designate East Germany's transition “regime collapse” and others who contend that it exemplifies “transition through extrication”. It inquires into the merits of each position and finds in favour of the latter. Drawing on primary and secondary literature, as well as archival and interview sources, it portrays a communist elite that was, to a large extent, prepared to adapt to changing circumstances and capable of learning from “reference states” such as Poland. Although East Germany was the Soviet state in which the positions of existing elites were most threatened by democratic transition, here too a surprising number succeeded in maintaining their position while filing across the bridge to market society. A concluding section outlines the alchemy through which their bureaucratic power was transmuted into property and influence in the “new Germany”

Haemoproteus minutus is highly virulent for Australasian and South American parrots

Background: Haemoproteus and Plasmodium species are widespread avian blood parasites. Several Plasmodium species are known for their high virulence and have caused significant declines in naïve bird populations. The impact of closely related Haemoproteus parasites is largely unknown. Recently we reported a lethal disease in two parrot aviaries caused by Haemoproteus parasites. Results: Here we show that the causative pathogen Haemoproteus minutus is responsible for further 17 lethal outbreaks in parrot aviaries in Denmark, Germany and Great Britain. All affected parrots are endemic to Australasia and South America. We sequenced the cytochrome b gene from megalomeront-infected muscle tissue of 21 parrots and identified the two lineages TUPHI01 and TURDUS2 as causative agents, commonly naturally infecting the common blackbird (Turdus merula) and the song thrush (Turdus philomelos), respectively, in the Palaearctic. No intraerythrocytic parasite stages were found in any of the parrots. We failed to detect H. minutus in invasive Indian ring-necked parakeets (Psittacula krameri) in Germany. Together this suggests that abortive infections with two virulent lineages of H. minutus are lethal for naïve parrot species from Australasia and South America. We asked whether we could detect H. minutus in New Zealand, where its Turdus hosts were introduced in the 1800s. We therefore tested invasive blackbirds and song thrushes, and the co-existing endemic red-fronted parakeet (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae) population on three New Zealand islands. No Haemoproteus spp. DNA was detected in all blood samples, indicating absence of transmission. Conclusions: The results of this study show that captive parrots in Europe are threatened by two lineages of an otherwise benign parasite of Turdus spp. Aviary collections of parrots should be protected from Culicoides spp. vectors in Europe. Animal trade and climate changes extending the current vector and parasite distribution have to be considered as potential risk factors for the introduction of the disease in naïve parrot populations

The effect of dopamine agonists on adaptive and aberrant salience in Parkinson's disease

Clinical evidence suggests that after initiation of dopaminergic medications some patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) develop psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the neurocognitive basis of this phenomenon can be defined as the formation of arbitrary and illusory associations between conditioned stimuli and reward signals, called aberrant salience. Young, never-medicated PD patients and matched controls were assessed on a speeded reaction time task in which the probe stimulus was preceded by conditioned stimuli that could signal monetary reward by color or shape. The patients and controls were re-evaluated after 12 weeks during which the patients received a dopamine agonist (pramipexole or ropinirole). Results indicated that dopamine agonists increased both adaptive and aberrant salience in PD patients, that is, formation of real and illusory associations between conditioned stimuli and reward, respectively. This effect was present when associations were assessed by means of faster responding after conditioned stimuli signaling reward (implicit salience) and overt rating of stimulus-reward links (explicit salience). However, unusual feelings and experiences, which are subclinical manifestations of psychotic-like symptoms, were specifically related to irrelevant and illusory stimulus-reward associations (aberrant salience) in PD patients receiving dopamine agonists. The learning of relevant and real stimulus-reward associations (adaptive salience) was not related to unusual experiences. These results suggest that dopamine agonists may increase psychotic-like experiences in young patients with PD, possibly by facilitating dopaminergic transmission in the ventral striatum, which results in aberrant associations between conditioned stimuli and reward

Ausgewaehlte Probleme und Besonderheiten der Wohnungsbaufoerderung in den neuen Bundeslaendern: Vorstudie

Available from Bibliothek des Instituts fuer Weltwirtschaft, ZBW, Duesternbrook Weg 120, D-24105 Kiel C 189541 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Online-Archivierung von Vorabdrucken und Veröffentlichungen in Organic Eprints: Stellungnahmen der Verlage

Dokumente dürfen nur unter folgenden Voraussetzungen in der Datenbank Organic Eprints archiviert werden: - Die Autoren der Dokumente stimmen der Archivierung in Organic Eprints zu - Die vollständigen bibliographischen Angaben werden aufgeführt - Die Veröffentlichungsrechte werden beachtet . Die Verlage haben unterschiedliche Regelungen in Bezug auf die Annahme eingereichter Texte zur Veröffentlichung und in Bezug auf Veröffentlichungsrechte. Daher haben wir zahlreiche Verlage um ihre Stellungnahme zu folgenden Themen gebeten: . Werden Texte zur Veröffentlichung angenommen, die bereits in Organic Eprints archiviert sind? Dürfen Autoren Organic Eprints nutzen, um bereits im Druck erschienene Dokumente zu archivieren? . Die Listen dieser Internetveröffentlichung geben eine Übersicht über die Antworten der angefragten Verlage. Folgende Übersichten stehen zur Verfügung: - Deutschsprachige Verlage - Englischsprachige Verlage . Die Antworten einiger Verlage waren zu ausführlich, um in der Tabelle wiedergegeben zu werden. In diesen Fällen enthält die Spalte "Details & Anmerkungen" einen Link zum Wortlaut der Stellungnahmen

Molecular characterization of a recently identified circovirus in zebra finches (<i>Taeniopygia guttata</i>) associated with immunosuppression and opportunistic infections

<p>A recently identified circovirus (family <i>Circoviridae</i>) was detected in 14 zebra finches (<i>Taeniopygia guttata</i>) from seven aviaries and hobbyist breeders using polymerase chain reaction followed by sequencing. Full genome sequences of virus strains from six zebra finches consistently revealed characteristic circoviral genomic features such as a stem-loop structure and two major open reading frames (ORFs) encoding the replication-associated protein and the putative capsid protein. One further ORF encoding a protein of unknown function was additionally identified in all six genomes. Based on full genome nucleotide comparison, zebra finch circovirus was most similar to <i>Finch circovirus</i> originating from a Gouldian finch (<i>Chloebia gouldiae</i>) sharing 78% nucleotide identity. High genetic diversity was detected in the circoviruses from individual zebra finches. Comparison of the six full genome sequences revealed two genetic subgroups, which shared pairwise nucleotide identities between 91.4% and 92.7%. Analyses including partial sequences of the replication-associated protein gene of the zebra finch circovirus strains from all 14 birds supported the existence of two main clusters. Clinical diseases associated with circovirus infection were found in nestlings, fledglings and adult birds and varied from mild to severe with high mortality caused by secondary infections. <i>Macrorhabdus ornithogaster</i> was the most frequently detected opportunistic pathogen. Feathering disorders were seen in two birds. Lymphocytic depletion of the spleen and leukocytopaenia were detected in individual birds, suggesting immunosuppression and a pathogenesis common to circovirus infections in other birds.</p