NTRC Plays a Crucial Role in Starch Metabolism, Redox Balance, and Tomato Fruit Growth

NADPH-thioredoxin reductase C (NTRC) forms a separate thiol-reduction cascade in plastids, combining both NADPHthioredoxin reductase and thioredoxin activities on a single polypeptide. While NTRC is an important regulator of photosynthetic processes in leaves, its function in heterotrophic tissues remains unclear. Here, we focus on the role of NTRC in developing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruits representing heterotrophic storage organs important for agriculture and human diet. We used a fruit-specific promoter to decrease NTRC expression by RNA interference in developing tomato fruits by 60% to 80% compared to the wild type. This led to a decrease in fruit growth, resulting in smaller and lighter fully ripe fruits containing less dry matter and more water. In immature fruits, NTRC downregulation decreased transient starch accumulation, which led to a subsequent decrease in soluble sugars in ripe fruits. The inhibition of starch synthesis was associated with a decrease in the redox-activation state of ADP-Glc pyrophosphorylase and soluble starch synthase, which catalyze the first committed and final polymerizing steps, respectively, of starch biosynthesis. This was accompanied by a decrease in the level of ADP-Glc. NTRC downregulation also led to a strong increase in the reductive states of NAD(H) and NADP(H) redox systems. Metabolite profiling of NTRC-RNA interference lines revealed increased organic and amino acid levels, but reduced sugar levels, implying that NTRC regulates the osmotic balance of developing fruits. These results indicate that NTRC acts as a central hub in regulating carbon metabolism and redox balance in heterotrophic tomato fruits, affecting fruit development as well as final fruit size and qualit

Democracy Is Democracy Is Democracy? Changes in Evaluations of International Institutions in Academic Textbooks, 1970-2010

This article examines what democracy means when it is used in academic textbook evaluations of international institutions and how the meaning of the term "democracy” in such evaluations has changed over time. An analysis of 71 textbooks on international institutions in the policy areas of international security, environmental, and human rights politics leads us to several answers. We observe slight changes in relation to three aspects. First, the range of democracy-relevant actors expands over time, most notably in relation to nonstate actors as important participants in (or even subjects of) international policymaking. Second, representational concerns become more relevant in justifying demands for greater participation in international institutions. Third, international organizations are increasingly discussed not only as subjects that enhance the transparency and accountability of the policies of their member states, but also as the objects of democratic demands for transparency and accountability themselve

Report on the 66th meeting of the AAG on 28 and 29 May 2021 in Hamburg (digital)

Der Bericht gibt einen Überblick über die Vorträge, Datensitzungen und Diskussionen des 66. Treffens des Arbeitskreises Angewandte Gesprächsforschung (AAG) in Hamburg. Zentraler Gegenstand der Tagungsbeiträge waren Einblicke in authentische Unterrichtsinteraktion im Fachunterricht anhand von Aufzeichnungen und Transkripten bzw. die Auslotung von Möglichkeiten der Integration gesprächsanalytischer Erkenntnisse in die Hochschullehre der Fachdidaktiken. Dabei wurden sowohl die sprachlichen Anforderungen und Realisierungsformen sprachförderlichen Fachunterrichts anhand von Beispielen aus den Fächern Geographie, Biologie und Kunst als auch Konzepte zur Vermittlung gesprächslinguistischer Erkenntnisse in der Hochschullehre diskutiert.The report provides an overview of the presentations, data sessions, and discussions of the 66th meeting of the Arbeitskreis Angewandte Gesprächsforschung (AAG) in Hamburg. The central topic of the conference contributions were insights into authentic classroom interaction in subject teaching based on recordings and transcripts and the exploration of possibilities for integrating conversation analytic findings into university teaching of subject didactics. The linguistic requirements and forms of realization of language-promoting subject teaching were discussed based on examples from the subjects of geography, biology, and art, as well as concepts for the communication of conversational analysis insights in university teaching

Conservationists’ perspectives on poverty: an empirical study

1. Biodiversity conservation interventions have long confronted challenges of human poverty. The ethical foundations of international conservation, including conservation’s relationship with poverty, are currently being interrogated in animated debates about the future of conservation. However, while some commentary exists, empirical analysis of conservation practitioner perspectives on poverty, and their ethical justification, has been lacking thus far. 2. We used Q methodology complemented by more detailed qualitative analysis to examine empirically perspectives on poverty and conservation within the conservation movement, and compare these empirical discourses to positions within the literature. We sampled conservation practitioners in western headquartered organisations, and in Bolivia, China, Nepal and Uganda, thereby giving indications of these perspectives in Latin America, Asia and Africa. 3. While there are some elements of consensus, for instance the principle that the poor should not shoulder the costs of conserving a global public good, the three discourses elicited diverge in a number of ways. Anthropocentrism and ecocentrism differentiate the perspectives, but beyond this, there are two distinct framings of poverty which conservation practitioners variously adhere to. 4. The first prioritises welfare, needs and sufficientarianism, and is more strongly associated with the China, Nepal and Uganda case studies. The second framing of poverty focuses much more on the need for ‘do no harm’ principles and safeguards, and follows an internationalised human rights-oriented discourse. 5. There are also important distinctions between discourses about whether poverty is characterised as a driver of degradation, or more emphasis is placed on overconsumption and affluence in perpetuating conservation threats. This dimension particularly illuminates shifts in thinking in the 30 or so years since the Brundtland report, and reflecting new global realities. 6. This analysis serves to update, parse and clarify differing perspectives on poverty within the conservation, and broader environmental movement, in order to illuminate consensual aspects between perspectives, and reveal where critical differences remain

PBTK modeling of the pyrrolizidine alkaloid retrorsine to predict liver toxicity in mouse and rat

Retrorsine is a hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) found in herbal supplements and medicines, food and livestock feed. Dose-response studies enabling the derivation of a point of departure including a benchmark dose for risk assessment of retrorsine in humans and animals are not available. Addressing this need, a physiologically based toxicokinetic (PBTK) model of retrorsine was developed for mouse and rat. Comprehensive characterization of retrorsine toxicokinetics revealed: both the fraction absorbed from the intestine (78%) and the fraction unbound in plasma (60%) are high, hepatic membrane permeation is dominated by active uptake and not by passive diffusion, liver metabolic clearance is 4-fold higher in rat compared to mouse and renal excretion contributes to 20% of the total clearance. The PBTK model was calibrated with kinetic data from available mouse and rat studies using maximum likelihood estimation. PBTK model evaluation showed convincing goodness-of-fit for hepatic retrorsine and retrorsine-derived DNA adducts. Furthermore, the developed model allowed to translate in vitro liver toxicity data of retrorsine to in vivo dose-response data. Resulting benchmark dose confidence intervals (mg/kg bodyweight) are 24.1–88.5 in mice and 79.9–104 in rats for acute liver toxicity after oral retrorsine intake. As the PBTK model was built to enable extrapolation to different species and other PA congeners, this integrative framework constitutes a flexible tool to address gaps in the risk assessment of PA

Standards – An important step for the (public) use of lidars

Lidar standards are needed to ensure quality and lidar product control at the interface between lidar manufacturers and lidar users. Meanwhile three lidar standards have been published by German and international standardization organizations. This paper describes the cooperation between the lidar technique inventors, lidar instrument constructors, and lidar product users to establish useful standards. Presently a backscatter lidar standard is elaborated in Germany. Key points of this standard are presented here. Two German standards were already accepted as international standards by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Hence, German and international organizations for the establishment of lidar standards are introduced to encourage a cooperative work on lidar standards by lidar scientists

Justice and conservation: The need to incorporate recognition

In light of the Aichi target to manage protected areas equitably by 2020, we ask how the conservation sector should define justice. We focus in particular on ‘recognition’, because it is the least well understood aspect of environmental justice, and yet highly relevant to conservation because of its concern with respect for local knowledge and cultures. In order to explore the meaning of recognition in the conservation context, we take four main steps. First, we identify four components of recognition to serve as our analytical framework: subjects of justice, the harms that constitute injustice, the mechanisms that produce injustices, and the responses to alleviate these. Secondly, we apply this framework to explore four traditions of thinking about recognition: Hegelian inter-subjectivity, critical theory, southern decolonial theory, and the capabilities approach. Thirdly, we provide three case studies of conservation conflicts highlighting how different theoretical perspectives are illustrated in the claims and practices of real world conservation struggles. Fourthly, we finish the paper by drawing out some key differences between traditions of thinking, but also important areas of convergence. The convergences provide a basis for concluding that conservation should look beyond a distributive model of justice to incorporate concerns for social recognition, including careful attention to ways to pursue equality of status for local conservation stakeholders. This will require reflection on working practices and looking at forms of intercultural engagement that, for example, respect alternative ways of relating to nature and biodiversity

Why Should Ecosystem Services Be Governed to Support Poverty Alleviation? Philosophical Perspectives on Positions in the Empirical Literature

In light of trade-offs related to the allocation of ecosystem services we investigate the prevalent norms that are drawn upon to justify why ecosystem governance should prioritise poverty alleviation. We are specifically concerned with poverty alleviation because we consider this an urgent problem of justice. We review empirical literature on social trade-offs in ecosystem services governance in order to identify the prevalent conceptions of justice that inform scholarly assessments of current practice. We find that empirical studies do present specific notions of justice as desirable benchmarks for ecosystem services governance but that they rarely attempt to spell out the precise meaning of these notions or what makes them desirable. For those notions of justice that we identify in this literature - sufficientarianism, egalitarianism and participatory approaches - we draw on philosophical justice literature in order to better articulate the normative arguments that could support them and to be more precise about the kind of actions and expectations that they invoke. Moreover, we point to some striking normative silences in the ecosystem services literature. We conclude that the ecosystem services justice discourse would benefit from more conceptual clarity and a broader examination of different aspects of justice

Lakselusinfestasjon på vill laksefisk langs Norskekysten i 2020 Sluttrapport til Mattilsynet

Source at https://www.hi.no/Overvåkingsprogrammet for lakselus på vill laksefisk (NALO) er i 2020 gjennomført på oppdrag fra Mattilsynet (MT) og Nærings- og Fiskeridepartementet (NFD). En hydrodynamisk spredningsmodell som beregner tetthet av infektive lakseluskopepoditter i vannmassene ble som tidligere år kjørt ukentlig for hele Norskekysten. Innsatsen på overvåking av utvandrende postsmolt laks er holdt på samme nivå som i 2019. På sjøørret er innsatsen i overvåkingen i 2020 differensiert mellom tradisjonell tilstandsbekreftelse og utvidet overvåking i seks fokusområder langs kysten. Som en konsekvens av dette er det undersøkt færre stasjoner i 2020 enn tidligere år, mens overvåkingen i fokusområdene er intensivert. Vaktbur ble i 2020 kun benyttet i Hardangerfjordsystemet. I tillegg ble det forsøkt å benytte spesialbyggede ruser til fangst av utvandrende laks ved to lokaliteter. Det ble gjort undersøkelser med en eller flere av ovennevnte metoder i samtlige 13 produksjonsområder langs kysten. Feltarbeidet i NALO startet 27. april i Sør-Norge og ble avsluttet 26 juli i Øst-Finnmark. Resultatene er presentert med kart, tabeller og figurer for hvert av de 13 produksjonsområdene fra sør til nord. I tillegg er mer detaljerte resultater oppgitt i tabeller i et eget appendiks til rapporten. Den etablerte grensen for begynnende negativ fysiologisk effekt fra lakselus er på 0,1 lus per gram kroppsvekt, og er illustrert i de fleste figurene. I oppsummeringen er det gjort en helhetlig vurdering av lusesituasjonene på vill laksefisk langs hele kysten både i 2020 og i et litt lengre perspektiv. Vurdering av risiko for vill laksefisk er ikke gjort i denne rapporten. Begrepene lite, moderat og mye benyttes for å illustrere forskjeller i tid og rom og er derfor ikke definert kvantitativt. Resultatene er vist for hvert av de 13 produksjonsområdene, mens oppsummeringen er mer generell. I tillegg blir det gitt en kort presentasjon om utvikling av effektindikator for lakselus på sjøørret og en statusoppdatering på datainnsamling i forbindelse med evaluering av nasjonale laksefjorder.The surveillance program for salmon lice on wild salmonids (NALO) was carried out in 2020 on behalf of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (MT) and the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries (NFD). As in previous years, a hydrodynamic dispersal model that calculates the density of infectious salmon lice in the water was run weekly for the entire Norwegian coast. Efforts to monitor migrating post-smolt salmon have been kept at the same level as in 2019. For sea trout, surveillance efforts have been differentiated between traditional situation confirmation and an extended surveillance in six focus areas along the coast in 2020. As a result, fewer stations were sampled in 2020 than in previous years, while monitoring in the focus areas has been intensified. In 2020, sentinel cages were only used in the Hardangerfjord system. In addition, attempts were made to use specially built fyke nets to catch migrating salmon at two localities. Investigations were carried out using one or more of the above methods in all 13 production areas along the coast. The fieldwork in NALO started on 27 April in southern Norway and ended on 26 July in eastern Finnmark. Results are presented with maps, tables and figures for each of the 13 production areas from south to north. In addition, more detailed results are given in tables in a separate appendix. The established threshold for the set off for negative physiological effect from salmon lice is 0.1 lice per gram of body weight and this is illustrated in most figures. In the summary, a comprehensive assessment has been made of the lice situations on wild salmonids along the entire coast both in 2020 and in a slightly longer perspective. An assessment of the risk of wild salmonids has not been made in this report. The terms small, moderate and high are used to illustrate differences in time and space and are therefore not defined quantitatively. The results are shown for each of the 13 production areas, while the summary is more general. In addition, a short presentation is given on the development of an effect indicator for salmon lice on sea trout and a status update on data collection in connection with the evaluation of national salmon fjords

Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Pathogenic Mechanisms and Clinical Translation

The Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn’s Disease (CD) are characterised by chronic non-resolving gut mucosal inflammation involving innate and adaptive immune responses. Neutrophils, usually regarded as first responders in inflammation, are a key presence in the gut mucosal inflammatory milieu in IBD. Here, we review the role of neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation as a potential effector disease mechanism. NETs are extracellular webs of chromatin, microbicidal proteins and oxidative enzymes that are released by neutrophils to contain pathogens. NETs contribute to the pathogenesis of several immune-mediated diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis; and recently, as a major tissue damaging process involved in the host response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. NETs are pertinent as a defence mechanism at the gut mucosal interphase exposed to high levels of bacteria, viruses and fungi. On the other hand, NETs can also potentiate and perpetuate gut inflammation. In this review, we discuss the broad protective vs. pathogenic roles of NETs, explanatory factors that could lead to an increase in NET formation in IBD and how NETs may contribute to gut inflammation and IBD-related complications. Finally, we summarise therapeutic opportunities to target NETs in IBD