Crisis management and Organic Foods Industry: How to keep consumer confidence in times of negative media coverage

Consumer confidence is a very important basis for further development of the Organic Food Sector worldwide. But consumer confidence can be destroyed through (Organic) food crisis or scandals. That is why it is very important to be prepared as an individual company and as the sector as a whole. Crisis management like a crisis plan and issue management can minimize the reputational and financial damage

Molecular mechanisms underpinning aggregation in acidiphilium sp. C61 isolated from iron-rich pelagic aggregates

: Iron‐rich pelagic aggregates (iron snow) are hot spots for microbial interactions. Using iron snow isolates, we previously demonstrated that the iron‐oxidizer Acidithrix sp. C25 triggers Acidiphilium sp. C61 aggregation by producing the infochemical 2‐phenethylamine (PEA). Here, we showed slightly enhanced aggregate formation in the presence of PEA on different Acidiphilium spp. but not other iron‐snow microorganisms, including Acidocella sp. C78 and Ferrovum sp. PN‐J47. Next, we sequenced the Acidiphilium sp. C61 genome to reconstruct its metabolic potential. Pangenome analyses of Acidiphilium spp. genomes revealed the core genome contained 65 gene clusters associated with aggregation, including autoaggregation, motility, and biofilm formation. Screening the Acidiphilium sp. C61 genome revealed the presence of autotransporter, flagellar, and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production genes. RNA‐seq analyses of Acidiphilium sp. C61 incubations (+/− 10 μM PEA) indicated genes involved in energy production, respiration, and genetic processing were the most upregulated differentially expressed genes in the presence of PEA. Additionally, genes involved in flagellar basal body synthesis were highly upregulated, whereas the expression pattern of biofilm formation‐related genes was inconclusive. Our data shows aggregation is a common trait among Acidiphilium spp. and PEA stimulates the central cellular metabolism, potentially advantageous in aggregates rapidly falling through the water column

Insights into Autotrophic Activities and Carbon Flow in Iron-Rich Pelagic Aggregates (Iron Snow)

Pelagic aggregates function as biological carbon pumps for transporting fixed organic carbon to sediments. In iron-rich (ferruginous) lakes, photoferrotrophic and chemolithoautotrophic bacteria contribute to CO2 fixation by oxidizing reduced iron, leading to the formation of iron-rich pelagic aggregates (iron snow). The significance of iron oxidizers in carbon fixation, their general role in iron snow functioning and the flow of carbon within iron snow is still unclear. Here, we combined a two-year metatranscriptome analysis of iron snow collected from an acidic lake with protein-based stable isotope probing to determine general metabolic activities and to trace 13CO2 incorporation in iron snow over time under oxic and anoxic conditions. mRNA-derived metatranscriptome of iron snow identified four key players (Leptospirillum, Ferrovum, Acidithrix, Acidiphilium) with relative abundances (59.6–85.7%) encoding ecologically relevant pathways, including carbon fixation and polysaccharide biosynthesis. No transcriptional activity for carbon fixation from archaea or eukaryotes was detected. 13CO2 incorporation studies identified active chemolithoautotroph Ferrovum under both conditions. Only 1.0–5.3% relative 13C abundances were found in heterotrophic Acidiphilium and Acidocella under oxic conditions. These data show that iron oxidizers play an important role in CO2 fixation, but the majority of fixed C will be directly transported to the sediment without feeding heterotrophs in the water column in acidic ferruginous lakes

Non-perturbative renormalization group approach for a scalar theory in higher-derivative gravity

A renormalization group study of a scalar theory coupled to gravity through a general functional dependence on the Ricci scalar in the action is discussed. A set of non-perturbative flow equations governing the evolution of the new interaction terms generated in both local potential and wavefunction renomalization is derived. It is shown for a specific model that these new terms play an important role in determining the scaling behavior of the system above the mass of the inflaton field.Comment: 26 pages, RevTeX, five figure

Turning I into me: Imagining your future self.

A widely endorsed belief is that perceivers imagine their present selves using a different representational format than imagining their future selves (i.e., near future=first-person; distant future=third-person). But is this really the case? Responding to the paucity of work on this topic, here we considered how temporal distance influences the extent to which individuals direct their attention outward or inward during a brief imaginary episode. Using a non-verbal measure of visual perspective taking (i.e., letter-drawing task) our results confirmed the hypothesized relation between temporal distance and conceptions of the self. Whereas simulations of an event in the near future were dominated by a first-person representation of the self, this switched to a third-person depiction when the event was located in the distant future. Critically, this switch in vantage point was restricted to self-related simulations. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are considered

Überwindung der letzten Meile - Analyse innovativer Logistikkonzepte und technischer Lösungen

Die Menge der zu transportierenden Waren an Privathaushalte ist in den vergangenen Jahren stark gewachsen mit weiter steigender Tendenz. Daher sind Lösungen zur Überwindung der sog. Letzten Meile gefragt. Der Beitrag stellt die Rahmenbedingungen vor und liefert eine Klassifizierung existierender Konzepte zur Letzten Meile in der Distributionslogistik

Analyse von Technologien für die Unterstützung der digitalen Transformation in kleinen und mittelständischen Unternehmen

Die digitale Transformation bringt durch die veränderten Prozesse und den Einsatz digitaler Technologien in logistischen Prozessen viele Herausforderungen mit sich - insbesondere für kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen. Eine empirische Erhebung der Autorin zur “Analyse von Technologien für die Unterstützung der digitalen Transformation in kleinen und mittelständischen Unternehmen“ ergab, dass KMU im ländlichen Raum bei der digitalen Transformation ihrer Logistikprozesse hinter Großunternehmen zurückfallen. Aus den Erkenntnissen der Untersuchung lässt sich schluss­folgern, dass viele KMU zwar Digitalisierungsschritte in der Logistik unternommen haben, der Einsatz von IuK-Technologien – und demzufolge die Digitalisierungs­aktivitäten – jedoch nicht so stark ausgeprägt ist wie in großen Unternehmen. Digital erfolgreiche Unternehmen weisen zudem häufig einen höheren Automatisierungsgrad in ihren logistischen Prozessen auf. Hier ergeben sich Ansätze für neue Forschungsaktivitäten im Bereich der innerbetrieblichen Logistikprozesse, insbesondere in KMU im ländlichen Raum

Digitale Transformation logistischer Prozesse in kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen im ländlichen Raum

Auch für kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen spielt die Digitalisierung eine große Rolle. Der Beitrag geht auf die Besonderheiten von KMU - inbesondere im ländlichen Raum ein und schildert die Bedeutung der digitalen Transformation. Es werden technologische Voraussetzungen vorgestellt und digitale Reifegradmodelle auf ihre Eignung für die besonderen Bedingungen in KMU analysiert

Digitalisierung von logistischen Prozessen in KMU im ländlichen Raum

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