Verstehen - bewerten - gestalten : transdisziplinäres Wissen für eine nachhaltige Gesellschaft ; Memorandum zur Weiterentwicklung der sozial-ökologischen Forschung in Deutschland

Die Lösung globaler Probleme wie Klimawandel, Umweltzerstörung oder Ernährungssicherung erfordert grundlegende Transformationen unserer Gesellschaft. Um diese neuartigen und existenziellen Herausforderungen bewältigen zu können, brauchen wir neues Wissen – über die Entstehung der Probleme, über anzustrebende Lösungsansätze und über Wege zu deren Umsetzung. Mit dem Ziel, dieses Wissen zu schaffen, hat sich die transdisziplinäre sozial-ökologische Forschung entwickelt – eine innovative, praxisnahe Forschung entlang der zentralen Motive Verstehen – Bewerten – Gestalten: Komplexe Probleme zu verstehen, die erarbeitete Wissensbasis zu bewerten und Handlungsoptionen zu gestalten greifen bei diesem Forschungstypus ineinander. Die sozialökologische Forschung hat eine Pionierfunktion für die Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeitsforschung in Deutschland übernommen und wegweisende Arbeiten etwa zur Energie-, Mobilitäts- oder Ernährungswende vorgelegt. Im Förderschwerpunkt Sozial-ökologische Forschung (SÖF) hat das Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) im Jahr 2000 erstmals ein Programm zur Förderung dieses spezifischen Forschungszugangs aufgelegt. Bis zum Jahr 2012 wurden darin Verbünde und Einzelvorhaben unterstützt, etwa zu Themen wie Umwelt - Ernährung - Gesundheit: Langfriststrategien für einen nachhaltigen Konsum oder Soziale Dimensionen von Klimaschutz und Klimawandel. Mit Erfolg: Forschungsvorhaben zur Transformation stehen inzwischen prominent auf der Tagesordnung von Politik und Gesellschaft. Und auch die Wissenschaft selbst öffnet sich immer mehr für die Fragen und Methoden der sozial-ökologischen Forschung. Dieses Memorandum setzt sich dafür ein, die Basis der sozial-ökologischen Forschung in den kommenden Jahren konsequent zu vertiefen und zu verbreitern – inhaltlich, organisatorisch und institutionell. Dazu gibt das Memorandum Empfehlungen zur Förderung von Themenfeldern und von Maßnahmen der Strukturentwicklung

Lycoris -- a large-area, high resolution beam telescope

A high-resolution beam telescope is one of the most important and demanding infrastructure components at any test beam facility. Its main purpose is to provide reference particle tracks from the incoming test beam particles to the test beam users, which allows measurement of the performance of the device-under-test (DUT). \LYCORIS, a six-plane compact beam telescope with an active area of $\sim$10$\times$\SI{10}{\square\centi\metre} (extensible to 10$\times$\SI{20}{\square\centi\metre}) was installed at the \DIITBF in 2019, to provide a precise momentum measurement in a \SI{1}{\tesla} solenoid magnet or to provide tracking over a large area. The overall design of \LYCORIS will be described as well as the performance of the chosen silicon sensor. The \SI{25}{\micro\metre} pitch micro-strip sensor used for \LYCORIS was originally designed for the \SID detector concept for the International Linear Collider. It adopts a second metallization layer to route signals from strips to the bump-bonded \KPIX ASIC and uses a wire-bonded flex cable for the connection to the DAQ and the power supply system. This arrangement eliminates the need for a dedicated hybrid PCB. Its performance was tested for the first time in this project. The system has been evaluated at the \DIITBF in several test-beam campaigns and has demonstrated an average single-point resolution of \SI{7.07}{\micro\meter}.Comment: 43 pages, 37 figure

Quantum criticality in ferroelectrics

Materials tuned to the neighbourhood of a zero temperature phase transition often show the emergence of novel quantum phenomena. Much of the effort to study these new effects, like the breakdown of the conventional Fermi-liquid theory of metals has been focused in narrow band electronic systems. Ferroelectric crystals provide a very different type of quantum criticality that arises purely from the crystalline lattice. In many cases the ferroelectric phase can be tuned to absolute zero using hydrostatic pressure or chemical or isotopic substitution. Close to such a zero temperature phase transition, the dielectric constant and other quantities change into radically unconventional forms due to the quantum fluctuations of the electrical polarization. The simplest ferroelectrics may form a text-book paradigm of quantum criticality in the solid-state as the difficulties found in metals due to a high density of gapless excitations on the Fermi surface are avoided. We present low temperature high precision data demonstrating these effects in pure single crystals of SrTiO3 and KTaO3. We outline a model for describing the physics of ferroelectrics close to quantum criticality and highlight the expected 1/T2 dependence of the dielectric constant measured over a wide temperature range at low temperatures. In the neighbourhood of the quantum critical point we report the emergence of a small frequency independent peak in the dielectric constant at approximately 2K in SrTiO3 and 3K in KTaO3 believed to arise from coupling to acoustic phonons. Looking ahead, we suggest that in ferroelectric materials supporting mobile charge carriers, quantum paraelectric fluctuations may mediate new effective electron-electron interactions giving rise to a number of possible states such as superconductivity.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

1000 Genomes-based meta-analysis identifies 10 novel loci for kidney function

HapMap imputed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed >50 loci at which common variants with minor allele frequency >5% are associated with kidney function. GWAS using more complete reference sets for imputation, such as those from The 1000 Genomes project, promise to identify novel loci that have been missed by previous efforts. To investigate the value of such a more complete variant catalog, we conducted a GWAS meta-analysis of kidney function based on the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in 110,517 European ancestry participants using 1000 Genomes imputed data. We identified 10 novel loci with p-value < 5 × 10(-8) previously missed by HapMap-based GWAS. Six of these loci (HOXD8, ARL15, PIK3R1, EYA4, ASTN2, and EPB41L3) are tagged by common SNPs unique to the 1000 Genomes reference panel. Using pathway analysis, we identified 39 significant (FDR < 0.05) genes and 127 significantly (FDR < 0.05) enriched gene sets, which were missed by our previous analyses. Among those, the 10 identified novel genes are part of pathways of kidney development, carbohydrate metabolism, cardiac septum development and glucose metabolism. These results highlight the utility of re-imputing from denser reference panels, until whole-genome sequencing becomes feasible in large samples

The creatine kinase system and pleiotropic effects of creatine

The pleiotropic effects of creatine (Cr) are based mostly on the functions of the enzyme creatine kinase (CK) and its high-energy product phosphocreatine (PCr). Multidisciplinary studies have established molecular, cellular, organ and somatic functions of the CK/PCr system, in particular for cells and tissues with high and intermittent energy fluctuations. These studies include tissue-specific expression and subcellular localization of CK isoforms, high-resolution molecular structures and structure–function relationships, transgenic CK abrogation and reverse genetic approaches. Three energy-related physiological principles emerge, namely that the CK/PCr systems functions as (a) an immediately available temporal energy buffer, (b) a spatial energy buffer or intracellular energy transport system (the CK/PCr energy shuttle or circuit) and (c) a metabolic regulator. The CK/PCr energy shuttle connects sites of ATP production (glycolysis and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation) with subcellular sites of ATP utilization (ATPases). Thus, diffusion limitations of ADP and ATP are overcome by PCr/Cr shuttling, as most clearly seen in polar cells such as spermatozoa, retina photoreceptor cells and sensory hair bundles of the inner ear. The CK/PCr system relies on the close exchange of substrates and products between CK isoforms and ATP-generating or -consuming processes. Mitochondrial CK in the mitochondrial outer compartment, for example, is tightly coupled to ATP export via adenine nucleotide transporter or carrier (ANT) and thus ATP-synthesis and respiratory chain activity, releasing PCr into the cytosol. This coupling also reduces formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inhibits mitochondrial permeability transition, an early event in apoptosis. Cr itself may also act as a direct and/or indirect anti-oxidant, while PCr can interact with and protect cellular membranes. Collectively, these factors may well explain the beneficial effects of Cr supplementation. The stimulating effects of Cr for muscle and bone growth and maintenance, and especially in neuroprotection, are now recognized and the first clinical studies are underway. Novel socio-economically relevant applications of Cr supplementation are emerging, e.g. for senior people, intensive care units and dialysis patients, who are notoriously Cr-depleted. Also, Cr will likely be beneficial for the healthy development of premature infants, who after separation from the placenta depend on external Cr. Cr supplementation of pregnant and lactating women, as well as of babies and infants are likely to be of benefit for child development. Last but not least, Cr harbours a global ecological potential as an additive for animal feed, replacing meat- and fish meal for animal (poultry and swine) and fish aqua farming. This may help to alleviate human starvation and at the same time prevent over-fishing of oceans

Human Deep Tissue Infection with an Entomopathogenic Beauveria Species

Beauveria spp. are ubiquitous fungal entomopathogens that are commercially distributed as biological insecticides worldwide. In this paper we describe the clinical manifestation, diagnosis, and therapy of the first documented human deep tissue infection with an entomopathogenic Beauveria species in a patient receiving immunosuppressive therapy and describe the morphological and molecular characterization of the mold

Procedural times in early non-intubated VATS program - a propensity score analysis

Background!#!Non-intubated video-assisted thoracic surgery (NiVATS) has been introduced to surgical medicine in order to reduce the invasiveness of anesthetic procedures and avoid adverse effects of intubation and one-lung ventilation (OLV). The aim of this study is to determine the time effectiveness of a NiVATS program compared to conventional OLV.!##!Methods!#!This retrospective analysis included all patients in Leipzig University Hospital that needed minor VATS surgery between November 2016 and October 2019 constituting a NiVATS (n = 67) and an OLV (n = 36) group. Perioperative data was matched via propensity score analysis, identifying two comparable groups with 23 patients. Matched pairs were compared via t-Test.!##!Results!#!Patients in NiVATS and OLV group show no significant differences other than the type of surgical procedure performed. Wedge resection was performed significantly more often under NiVATS conditions than with OLV (p = 0,043). Recovery time was significantly reduced by 7 min (p = 0,000) in the NiVATS group. There was no significant difference in the time for induction of anesthesia, duration of surgical procedure or overall procedural time.!##!Conclusions!#!Recovery time was significantly shorter in NiVATS, but this effect disappeared when extrapolated to total procedural time. Even during the implementation phase of NiVATS programs, no extension of procedural times occurs

Development of a large active area beam telescope based on the SiD microstrip sensorI

A beam telescope as one of the most important and often requested test beam equipment provides particle tracking to test beamusers. At the DESY II test beam facility, a new beam telescope called Lycoris based on a microstrip sensor has been designed toaddress the user demands for momentum measurement in a 1 T solenoid magnet or large area tracking with limited space (3:5 cmbetween the potential user device and the magnet inner wall). Lycoris is designed to provide a high-precision resolution of at least10 µm along the bending direction, and a large active area of 1010 cm2 to cover at least 90% of the beam particles at energies of1-6 GeV. The microstrip sensor was originally designed for the Silicon Detector (SiD) at the International Linear Collider (ILC),which adopted a hybrid-less design, i.e. a second metallization layer is used to route signals from strips to the bump-bonded ASIC,and from the ASIC to a wire-bond pad to the outside. This hybrid-less arrangement eliminates the need for a complex hybriddesign, and its functioning is first-time tested in this project. The performance of the sensor modules was firstly tested in the labthen at the DESY II test beam facility in August/September 2018, and the results will be presented here. In addition, a summarywill be given at the end with an overview of the ongoing test beam campaign of the Lycoris prototype in February 2019