Möglichkeiten zur Verbesserung der Siliereigenschaften verschiedener perennierender Gras-/ Leguminosenmischungen durch Hoch-Zucker-Gräser

Herbage from legumes or legume-rich swards potentially has lower concentrations of water soluble carbohydrates (= wsc) and a higher buffering capacity (= bc) than grass grown in pure stands. The analysis of three forage legumes (= Trifolium repens, Tri-folium pratense and Lotus corniculatus) in monoculture and mixtures (= 50/50) with the grass species Festuca rubra demonstrates, that the ratio of wsc concentration to bc is critical low, especially when the herbage is harvested at physiological young stages to obtain a higher forage quality. This means an increased risk for silage mak-ing, especially at DM contents which are below 30%. New breedings of the grass spe-cies Lolium perenne with higher sugar contents offer a possibility to increase the wsc concentration in grass/legume mixtures. Our studies show, that the tested high-sugar grass is suitable to increase the wsc concentrations in mixture. However, the grass has grown in monoculture. A present project is focussed on the open question if the advantage of high-sugar varieties is also evident in legume/grass mixtures

Civil and forensic patients : comparing demographics, risk factors, and negative life events

OBJECTIVES: This investigation centres on how the mentally ill with a forensic admission compare to the mentally ill with a civil admission, and investigates who inpatients with a forensic and civil admission are, and how the risk factors and negative historical events they have experienced compare or differ. THEORETICAL BASE: Using a risk and resilience framework, risk factors that are deleterious to healthy development are used as variables. METHODS: The records of all adult inpatients both forensic and civil, aged 18 to 89 at admission in two U.S. mountain region public psychiatric hospitals were included in the sample (n=1768). All patients are assessed using the Colorado Clinical Assessment Record (CCAR) which, measures a diverse set of variables including Current Issues, History of Issues, Demographics, and Disabilities. OUTCOMES: Civil and forensic patients have more in common than differences. Both samples compare more closely to risk factors and negative historical events than they do to the general population. However, this begins to break down once the sample is separated by gender. SOCIAL WORK IMPLICATIONS: Social Workers who work in prison systems need to become more familiar with mental illness interventions. Additionally, social workers should both educate law enforcement about de-escalation tactics with the mentally ill and intervene on mental health related police calls. On the macro level, social workers should advocate for the mentally ill to be housed in psychiatric hospitals rather than be imprisoned where they will often not receive inpatient psychiatric care

Transport coefficients for electrolytes in arbitrarily shaped nano and micro-fluidic channels

We consider laminar flow of incompressible electrolytes in long, straight channels driven by pressure and electro-osmosis. We use a Hilbert space eigenfunction expansion to address the general problem of an arbitrary cross section and obtain general results in linear-response theory for the hydraulic and electrical transport coefficients which satisfy Onsager relations. In the limit of non-overlapping Debye layers the transport coefficients are simply expressed in terms of parameters of the electrolyte as well as the geometrical correction factor for the Hagen-Poiseuille part of the problem. In particular, we consider the limits of thin non-overlapping as well as strongly overlapping Debye layers, respectively, and calculate the corrections to the hydraulic resistance due to electro-hydrodynamic interactions.Comment: 13 pages including 4 figures and 1 table. Typos corrected. Accepted for NJ

Gene duplication and functional divergence of the zebrafish insulin‐like growth factor 1 receptors

Insulin‐like growth factor (IGF) 1 receptor (IGF1R)‐mediated signaling plays key roles in growth, development, and physiology. Recent studies have shown that there are two distinct igf1r genes in zebrafish, termed igf1ra and igf1rb. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that zebrafish igf1ra and igf1rb resulted from a gene duplication event at the igf1r locus and that this has led to their functional divergence. The genomic structures of zebrafish igf1ra and igf1rb were determined and their loci mapped. While zebrafish igf1ra has 21 exons and is located on linkage group (LG) 18, zebrafish igf1rb has 22 exons and mapped to LG 7. There is a strong syntenic relationship between the two zebrafish genes and the human IGF1R gene. Using a MO‐based loss‐of‐function approach, we show that both Igf1ra and Igf1rb are required for zebrafish embryo viability and proper growth and development. Although Igf1ra and Igf1rb demonstrated a large degree of functional overlap with regard to cell differentiation in the developing eye, inner ear, heart, and muscle, they also exhibited functional distinction involving a greater requirement for Igf1rb in spontaneous muscle contractility. These findings suggest that the duplicated zebrafish igf1r genes play largely overlapping but not identical functional roles in early development and provide novel insight into the functional evolution of the IGF1R/insulin receptor gene family.— Schlueter, P. J., Royer, T., Mohamed, H. F., Laser, B., Chan, S. J., Steiner, D. F., Duan, C. Gene duplication and functional divergence of the zebrafish insulin‐like growth factor 1 receptors. FASEB J. 20, E462–E471 (2006)Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154460/1/fsb2fj053882fje.pd

Bioenergy and African Transformation

Among the world’s continents, Africa has the highest incidence of food insecurity and poverty and the highest rates of population growth. Yet Africa also has the most arable land, the lowest crop yields, and by far the most plentiful land resources relative to energy demand. It is thus of interest to examine the potential of expanded modern bioenergy production in Africa. Here we consider bioenergy as an enabler for development, and provide an overview of modern bioenergy technologies with a comment on application in an Africa context. Experience with bioenergy in Africa offers evidence of social benefits and also some important lessons. In Brazil, social development, agricultural development and food security, and bioenergy development have been synergistic rather than antagonistic. Realizing similar success in African countries will require clear vision, good governance, and adaptation of technologies, knowledge, and business models to myriad local circumstances. Strategies for integrated production of food crops, livestock, and bioenergy are potentially attractive and offer an alternative to an agricultural model featuring specialized land use. If done thoughtfully, there is considerable evidence that food security and economic development in Africa can be addressed more effectively with modern bioenergy than without it. Modern bioenergy can be an agent of African transformation, with potential social benefits accruing to multiple sectors and extending well beyond energy supply per se. Potential negative impacts also cut across sectors. Thus, institutionally inclusive multi-sector legislative structures will be more effective at maximizing the social benefits of bioenergy compared to institutionally exclusive, single-sector structures

Kleinkörnige Leguminosen energie- und proteinoptimiert produzieren in Strip-Till-Systemen

Mit dem Projekt Klee_pro_StripS sollte die teilflächenspezifische Aussaat der Leguminosen in bereits vorhandene Ackergrasbestände erforscht werden, d.h. der räumlich getrennte Anbau von Gras und Leguminose in alternierenden Reihen oder durch sensorgestützte Raumzuteilung in vorhandene Lücken. Gegenüber der verbreiteten Aussaat als Leguminosen-Gras-Gemenge können so die Gräser im ersten Anbaujahr intensiv genutzt, mit Gülle gedüngt und z.B. ohne Auswirkungen auf die Leguminosen mit Pflanzenschutzmitteln behandelt werden. Damit könnte die Akzeptanz von Futterleguminosen vor allem in konventionellen Betrieben erhöht, und auch der mehrjährige Futterbau gefördert werden. Es wurden dafür Leguminosen verwendet, die eine gewisse Verträglichkeit gegenüber Trockenheit erwarten lassen: Lotus corniculatus, Trifolium pratense und Medicago sativa. Die Versuche an mehreren haben jedoch deutlich gemacht, dass sich alle Leguminosen in besonders trockenen Jahren, wie die beiden Hauptversuchsjahre 2019 und 2020, sowohl mit neuen als auch bewährten Aussaatmethoden nur schwer in den angestrebten Ertragsanteilen etablieren lassen. Große Probleme ergaben sich durch mangelnden Aufgang, unzureichende Knöllchenbildung und Schädlingsdruck. Die Frässaattechnik war angesichts der zu trockenen Böden sehr schadenanfällig. Vielversprechender war die sensorgestützte Nachsaat in vorhandene Lücken, die nun weiterentwickelt werden soll

Targeted microbubbles: a novel application for the treatment of kidney stones

Kidney stone disease is endemic. Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy was the first major technological breakthrough where focused shockwaves were used to fragment stones in the kidney or ureter. The shockwaves induced the formation of cavitation bubbles, whose collapse released energy at the stone, and the energy fragmented the kidney stones into pieces small enough to be passed spontaneously. Can the concept of microbubbles be used without the bulky machine? The logical progression was to manufacture these powerful microbubbles ex vivo and inject these bubbles directly into the collecting system. An external source can be used to induce cavitation once the microbubbles are at their target; the key is targeting these microbubbles to specifically bind to kidney stones. Two important observations have been established: (i) bisphosphonates attach to hydroxyapatite crystals with high affinity; and (ii) there is substantial hydroxyapatite in most kidney stones. The microbubbles can be equipped with bisphosphonate tags to specifically target kidney stones. These bubbles will preferentially bind to the stone and not surrounding tissue, reducing collateral damage. Ultrasound or another suitable form of energy is then applied causing the microbubbles to induce cavitation and fragment the stones. This can be used as an adjunct to ureteroscopy or percutaneous lithotripsy to aid in fragmentation. Randall's plaques, which also contain hydroxyapatite crystals, can also be targeted to pre-emptively destroy these stone precursors. Additionally, targeted microbubbles can aid in kidney stone diagnostics by virtue of being used as an adjunct to traditional imaging methods, especially useful in high-risk patient populations. This novel application of targeted microbubble technology not only represents the next frontier in minimally invasive stone surgery, but a platform technology for other areas of medicine

Autoantibodies against NMDAR subunit NR1 disappear from blood upon anesthesia

Anesthetics penetrate the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) and - as confirmed preclinically – transiently disrupt it. An analogous consequence in humans has remained unproven. In mice, we previously reported that upon BBB dysfunction, the brain acts as ‘immunoprecipitator’ of autoantibodies against N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor subunit-NR1 (NMDAR1-AB). We thus hypothesized that during human anesthesia, pre-existing NMDAR1-AB will specifically bind to brain. Screening of N = 270 subjects undergoing general anesthesia during cardiac surgery for serum NMDAR1-AB revealed N = 25 NMDAR1-AB seropositives. Only N = 14 remained positive post-surgery. No changes in albumin, thyroglobulin or CRP were associated with reduction of serum NMDAR1-AB. Thus, upon anesthesia, BBB opening likely occurs also in humans