A novel cost effective and high-throughput isolation and identification method for marine microalgae

Background: Marine microalgae are of major ecologic and emerging economic importance. Biotechnological screening schemes of microalgae for specific traits and laboratory experiments to advance our knowledge on algal biology and evolution strongly benefit from culture collections reflecting a maximum of the natural inter- and intraspecific diversity. However, standard procedures for strain isolation and identification, namely DNA extraction, purification, amplification, sequencing and taxonomic identification still include considerable constraints increasing the time required to establish new cultures. Results: In this study, we report a cost effective and high-throughput isolation and identification method for marine microalgae. The throughput was increased by applying strain isolation on plates and taxonomic identification by direct PCR (dPCR) of phylogenetic marker genes in combination with a novel sequencing electropherogram based screening method to assess the taxonomic diversity and identity of the isolated cultures. For validation of the effectiveness of this approach, we isolated and identified a range of unialgal cultures from natural phytoplankton communities sampled in the Arctic Ocean. These cultures include the isolate of a novel marine Chlorophyceae strain among several different diatoms. Conclusions: We provide an efficient and effective approach leading from natural phytoplankton communities to isolated and taxonomically identified algal strains in only a few weeks. Validated with sensitive Arctic phytoplankton, this approach overcomes the constraints of standard molecular characterisation and establishment of unialgal cultures

Hindering and supporting forces of a development of a daily school canteen with local and organic food of educational value – The case of Tolga

Based on the case study of Tolga Municipality, a force-field analysis was conducted to detect hindering and supporting forces of the development of a daily school canteen supplied with organic and local food of educational value. Thereby, the methods of interview, photovoice, survey, and participant observation were used

How does the local wind field control the aerosol distribution in coastal Dronning Maud Land?

Atmospheric circulation patterns and chemical concentrations in firn cores are highly related to each other. Atmospheric winds transport aerosols like sea salt and mineral dust over the globe and redistribute them. Because of this, it is possible to reconstruct atmospheric circulation bringing aerosol to Antarctica by analyzing chemical impurities in firn and ice. With these analyses, the gap caused by sparse atmospheric measurements can be filled and this knowledge can then be used to improve the understanding of local and global circulation patterns.Due to a very high accumulation rate (~600 kg/m²*a), coastal Dronning Maud Land (CDML) is a perfect site to conduct these studies.Here, the upper 6m of two firn cores drilled on Halvfaryggen and Sörasen (covering the time interval from 2002- 2007) were analyzed on ionic concentrations. This data was then contrasted to measurements from the air chemistry laboratories at Neumayer (NM) and Kohnenstation (KS), and synoptic measurements from automatic weather stations (distributed in CDML and at NM).The analyses show very different results: Sea salt ions (e.g. Na+) are higher correlated to ions measured in aerosol samples at the air chemistry laboratory at KS than to the one located at NM. In contrast, ions representing mineral dust (e.g. nss-Ca2+) only have a weak correlation over the whole area and time period. Accordingly, the deposition of aerosol is highly dependent on its origin and the topography in coastal Antarctica suggesting different transport pathways for sea level and higher altitude sites

Efficacy of imidacloprid 10%/moxidectin 1% spot-on formulation (Advocate®) in the prevention and treatment of feline aelurostrongylosis

Background: In three randomized, controlled laboratory efficacy studies, the efficacy in the prevention of patent infections of a topical combination of imidacloprid 10%/moxidectin 1% (Advocate® spot-on formulation for cats, Bayer Animal Health GmbH) against larval stages and immature adults of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus, as well as the treatment efficacy of a single or three monthly treatments against adult A. abstrusus, were evaluated. Methods: Cats were experimentally inoculated with 300–800 third-stage larvae (L3). Each group comprised 8 animals and the treatment dose was 10 mg/kg bodyweight (bw) imidacloprid and 1 mg/kg bw moxidectin in each study. Prevention of the establishment of patent infections was evaluated by two treatments at a monthly interval at three different time points before and after challenge infection. Curative efficacy was tested by one or three treatments after the onset of patency. Worm counts at necropsy were used for efficacy calculations. Results: In Study 1, the control group had a geometric mean (GM) of 28.8 adult nematodes and the single treatment group had a GM of 3.4 (efficacy 88.3%). In Study 2, the control group had a GM of 14.3, the prevention group had a GM of 0 (efficacy 100%), while the treatment group had a GM of 0.1 (efficacy 99.4%). In Study 3, the GM worm burden in the control group was 32.6 compared to 0 in all three prevention groups (efficacy 100% for all of those groups). Conclusions: The monthly administration of Advocate® reliably eliminated early larval stages and thereby prevented lung damage from and patent infections with A. abstrusus in cats. Regarding treatment, a single application of Advocate® reduced the worm burden, but it did not sufficiently clear the infection. In contrast, three monthly treatments were safe and highly efficacious against A. abstrusus

Determining optimal transit charges: The Kiel Canal in Germany

The Kiel Canal in Germany connects ports on the Baltic Sea with the rest of the world and is the most-used artificial waterway in the world. Despite this fact, it generates a balance sheet loss. Revenues, which are mainly generated by the transit charge, do not cover its operating expenses. This situation raises the question: What reforms could be made to make the canal generate a balance sheet profit? In this paper, we focus solely on the canal's revenue. Because the canal is a monopoly that allows, in principle, for perfect price discrimination, we contrast the current charging system with an optimal charging system based on the willingness-to-pay (WTP) approach. We devise a general approach to calculate optimal transit charges and apply it in a case study that includes four different ship types. We conclude that much higher revenues could be generated, on the order of between $5 and$45 million more per year and ship type if the transit charge were based not only on ship size but also on a ship's departure and destination ports

Validity of WTP measures under preference uncertainty

This paper establishes a new method for eliciting Willingness to Pay (WTP) in contingent valuation (CV) studies with an open-ended elicitation format: the Range-WTP method. In contrast to the traditional approach for eliciting Point-WTP, Range-WTP explicitly allows for preference uncertainty in responses. Using data from two novel large-scale surveys on the perception of solar radiation management (SRM), a little-known technique for counteracting climate change, we compare the performance of both methods in the field. In doing so, we use the criterion of theoretical validity and measure the degree to which WTP values are consistent with theoretical expectations. In addition, we analyse the test-retest reliability and stability of our results over time. Our evidence suggests that the Range-WTP method clearly outperforms the Point-WTP method

Towards a Corpus of Historical German Plays with Emotion Annotations

In this paper, we present first work-in-progress annotation results of a project investigating computational methods of emotion analysis for historical German plays around 1800. We report on the development of an annotation scheme focussing on the annotation of emotions that are important from a literary studies perspective for this time span as well as on the annotation process we have developed. We annotate emotions expressed or attributed by characters of the plays in the written texts. The scheme consists of 13 hierarchically structured emotion concepts as well as the source (who experiences or attributes the emotion) and target (who or what is the emotion directed towards). We have conducted the annotation of five example plays of our corpus with two annotators per play and report on annotation distributions and agreement statistics. We were able to collect over 6,500 emotion annotations and identified a fair agreement for most concepts around a ?-value of 0.4. We discuss how we plan to improve annotator consistency and continue our work. The results also have implications for similar projects in the context of Digital Humanities

Cohabitation and marriage in Austria

BACKGROUND Although cohabitation has spread rapidly in Austria during the past decades, it is more a prelude than an alternative to marriage. The individualization thesis serves as a conceptual framework for explaining the rise of cohabiting unions. OBJECTIVE Our aim is to understand what motivates people to cohabit and marry from an individualization perspective. The present study was designed to investigate in which ways key notions of the individualization thesis such as commitment, romantic love and risk are reflected in discourses on cohabitation and marriage. METHODS Research is based on data from eight focus group discussions (71 participants) conducted in Vienna, Austria, in 2012. This data was analyzed with the help of qualitative methods. RESULTS The focus group participants regarded cohabitation and marriage as different life course strategies. They felt that young adulthood is a period characterized by uncertain external circumstances, in which people build up commitment in cohabitation without feeling limited in terms of opportunities. As dissolving a cohabiting union entails lower costs, the risk posed by this type of union was considered low. The respondents associated marriage with security and long-term commitment and saw it as an ideal for a later stage in life. They argued that romantic love and individual satisfaction should prevail throughout the entire marriage. Core terms of the individualization thesis - commitment, romantic love, and risk - were perceived differently between cohabitation and marriage. We conclude that the individualization thesis best fits young adulthood and is less relevant for later life stages

Thermal adaptation of Thalassiosira pseudonana using experimental evolution approaches

Diatoms contribute about 50% of global primary production and are on of the most diverse phytoplankton groups. Additionally, they form the basis of most marine food webs and play an important role in elemental cycles such as carbon and silica. Global warming impacts the diversity and productivity of marine ecosystems as temperature is considered a strong selecting agent underpinning global diversity patterns of marine phytoplankton. In order to gain insights into diatom distribution and diversity in the Atlantic Ocean, we analysed 18S rDNA ribotypes over a broad spatial scale from the Fram Strait to the South Atlantic. Diversity patterns were related to environmental metadata in order to identify main drivers. Our results indicate that salinity had a negative effect on diatom diversity in the Fram Strait transect with stations showing low diversity at high salinities. In contrast, diatom diversity in the Atlantic Ocean was negatively correlated to temperature with high temperature showing low diatom diversity. The order of Coscinodiscales showed a, formerly unknown, cosmopolitan distribution and was the overall most abundant species. With this study we provided an updated estimate of diatom distribution and diversity in the Atlantic Ocean. Phytoplankton physiology is highly temperature dependent and despite the importance of temperature as a major driver of marine phytoplankton evolution, the molecular mechanisms of adaptive evolution under temperature selection are largely unknown but instrumental for predicting how marine phytoplankton will respond to a changing ocean. Here we provide evidence, based on experimental evolution experiments with the marine model diatom Thalassisoria pseudonana that thermal tolerance can rapidly evolve within 300 generations. Our results indicate that upper and lower temperature limits were fixed, however temperature optima for growth shifted towards the selection temperature. Furthermore, temperature had a significant impact on average cell diameter, bSi content and cellular stoichiometry (C:N:P). Physiological adaptation to high temperature was underpinned by differential expression of genes related to protein metabolism (protein binding and folding), and down-regulation of mismatch repair mechanisms potentially causing a high number of SNPs in the genome. Furthermore, several transposable elements showed strong, temperature specific up-regulation suggesting epigenetic enabled genome plasticity. Our results highlight the relation of adaptive pheno- and genotypes driven by temperature selection. This knowledge is key to our understanding of how the environment shapes the evolution of microbes and the biogeochemical processes they drive

Failed state = failed support?

Nach 9/11 richtete sich der Blick der internationalen Gemeinschaft auf fragile und gescheiterte Staaten. Die Notwendigkeit für die Sicherheit in der Welt zu sorgen und die moralische Verpflichtung den Bewohnern dieser Länder zu helfen, sollen das Engagement in diesen Staaten rechtfertigen. Im Rahmen der MDGs wird die Halbierung der Armut an erste Stelle gesetzt. Wie werden diese Richtungen vereinbart? Wie kann man Armut in fragilen Staaten reduzieren? Zur Beantwortung wird umfangreiches Literaturmaterial von wissenschaftlichen Texten, internationalen Studien und offiziellen, politischen Dokumenten ausgewertet. Die Ausarbeitungen erfolgen anhand des Fallbeispiels Côte d'Ivoire. Die Untersuchungen der sechs Kernfunktionen eines Staates identifizieren die Côte d’Ivoire als fragil. Mit Hilfe von Weltbank, UNO und Freedom House Statistiken wird die Multidimensionalität von Armut im Beispielland konkretisiert. Nach einer umfassenden Ursachenanalyse von Armut in der Côte d’Ivoire werden Überlegungen zu Armutsreduktionsstrategien formuliert: Zur Strategie der Dezentralisierung dienen die Ergebnisse einer OECD Studie, nach denen festgestellt wird, dass die Côte d’Ivoire nicht die Voraussetzungen für eine erfolgreiche Implementierung erfüllt. Mikrofinanzen werden durch die erfolgreichen internationalen Studienergebnisse als potentielle Armutsreduktionsstrategie definiert. Da die pro-poor Wirksamkeit jedoch nur durch die Einbettung in nationale Regierungsprogramme den größten Erfolg erzielen, ist dieser Strategie durch die Fragilität des Staates Grenzen gesetzt. Die Landreform ist die aussichtsreichste Maßnahme, weil sie sowohl zur Stabilität, als auch zur Armutsreduktion beiträgt. Sie wird aber als unmittelbare Armutsreduktionsstrategie ausgeschlossen, da es zu bewaffneten Konflikten und Machtverlust kommen kann. Eine Darstellung zu den Profiten von Bildung zeigt, dass es sich nicht um eine Strategie, sondern um ein Menschenrecht handelt, in das es sich lohnt zu investieren. Jede einzelne Strategie ist mindestens von einer anderen abhängig. Den Staat umgehen um Armut zu senken ist keine langfristige Lösung, sondern bekämpft nur Symptome. Die wirksamste Armutsreduktionsstrategie ist daher ein Umdenken und Handeln der Regierung zur Stabilität des Staates und Versorgung der Bevölkerung