Controlling the abundance of a native invasive plant does not affect species richness or functional diversity of wet grasslands

Aim: In this study, we tested plant community-based management methods to reduce the abundance of the invasive native plant Jacobaea aquatica (marsh ragwort). As J. aquatica mainly occurs in species-rich wet grasslands, our aim was to define management measures that do not reduce the conservation value of the resident communities. Location: Data were collected from 20 independent sites which varied in productivity and management intensity across the pre-alpine Allgäu region (South Germany). Methods: We monitored effects of temporary abandonment and decreased mowing intensity in very low- and low-productive sites, as well as of decreased mowing and fertilization at moderately productive sites. Abundances of J. aquatica and the co-occurring species were recorded at start and end of two experiments (2018–2021: very low- and low-productive conservation grasslands; 2017–2020: moderately productive agricultural grasslands), while functional traits data of all species were gathered from the literature and specific databases. Generalized linear mixed-effects models (GLMMs) were used to analyse the effects of management intensity on the abundance of J. aquatica, functional diversity and species richness of the resident communities. Results: At all productivity levels, the abundance of J. aquatica declined under reduced management. Changes in community composition and species richness of the resident community were less pronounced than the reduction of J. aquatica, but species richness declined under lowest management intensities. Thus, moderate reduction in management intensity provided the most benefits in terms of reduction of J. aquatica, and maintenance of species richness and composition of the resident plant community. Conclusions: Reducing management intensity in wet grasslands decreases the abundance of J. aquatica and thus is a suitable method to control this species. As plant community responses were only partially consistent, management plans must account for the productivity of invaded sites. To avoid negative effects on grassland biodiversity, only moderate suppression of J. aquatica is recommended.Controlling the abundance of a native invasive plant does not affect species richness or functional diversity of wet grasslandspublishedVersio

Functional reorganization of monoamine transport systems during villous trophoblast differentiation: evidence of distinct differences between primary human trophoblasts and BeWo cells.

BACKGROUND Three primary monoamines-serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine-play major roles in the placenta-fetal brain axis. Analogously to the brain, the placenta has transport mechanisms that actively take up these monoamines into trophoblast cells. These transporters are known to play important roles in the differentiated syncytiotrophoblast layer, but their status and activities in the undifferentiated, progenitor cytotrophoblast cells are not well understood. Thus, we have explored the cellular handling and regulation of monoamine transporters during the phenotypic transitioning of cytotrophoblasts along the villous pathway. METHODS Experiments were conducted with two cellular models of syncytium development: primary trophoblast cells isolated from the human term placenta (PHT), and the choriocarcinoma-derived BeWo cell line. The gene and protein expression of membrane transporters for serotonin (SERT), norepinephrine (NET), dopamine (DAT), and organic cation transporter 3 (OCT3) was determined by quantitative PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. Subsequently, the effect of trophoblast differentiation on transporter activity was analyzed by monoamine uptake into cells. RESULTS We present multiple lines of evidence of changes in the transcriptional and functional regulation of monoamine transporters associated with trophoblast differentiation. These include enhancement of SERT and DAT gene and protein expression in BeWo cells. On the other hand, in PHT cells we report negative modulation of SERT, NET, and OCT3 protein expression. We show that OCT3 is the dominant monoamine transporter in PHT cells, and its main functional impact is on serotonin uptake, while passive transport strongly contributes to norepinephrine and dopamine uptake. Further, we show that a wide range of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors affect serotonin cellular accumulation, at pharmacologically relevant drug concentrations, via their action on both OCT3 and SERT. Finally, we demonstrate that BeWo cells do not well reflect the molecular mechanisms and properties of healthy human trophoblast cells. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, our findings provide insights into the regulation of monoamine transport during trophoblast differentiation and present important considerations regarding appropriate in vitro models for studying monoamine regulation in the placenta

Statusbericht Land- und Ernährungswirtschaft - Land und Ernährungswirtschaft im Freistaat Sachsen - Statusbericht 2008

Der Statusbericht 2008 zur Land- und Ernährungswirtschaft in Sachsen beschreibt die wirtschaftliche Bedeutung der Land- und Ernährungswirtschaft sowie ihre volkswirtschaftliche Einordnung. Die Bruttowertschöpfung der sächsischen Land- und Forstwirtschaft stieg 2007 aufgrund guter Markt- und Preisbedingungen auf 830 Mio. Euro. Zusammen mit dem Ernährungsgewerbe wurde eine Bruttowertschöpfung von 2,1 Mrd. Euro erzielt. Das ist ein Anteil von 2,5 % an der gesamten Wertschöpfung Sachsens und entspricht etwa der Wertschöpfung der wichtigen Wirtschaftszweige Maschinenbau (2,0 Mrd. Euro) oder Fahrzeugbau (2,25 Mrd. Euro). Die Landwirtschaft ist eng mit vor- und nachgelagerten Wirtschaftsbereichen verflochten. Sie ist einerseits Abnehmer von Betriebsmitteln, Investitionsgütern und Dienstleistungen, andererseits Produzent und Lieferant von Erzeugnissen für die industrielle und handwerkliche Verarbeitung oder den Direktabsatz. Das Agrarbusiness beschäftigt insgesamt mindestens 87.700 Erwerbstätige. Somit sind fünf Prozent aller sächsischen Beschäftigten im Agrarbusiness tätig, d.h. jeder 20. Arbeitsplatz steht direkt oder indirekt mit der Agrarwirtschaft in Verbindung

Excitations in cubic BaSnO3_{3}: a consistent picture revealed by combining theory and experiment

Among the transparent conducting oxides, the perovskite barium stannate is most promising for various electronic applications due to its outstanding carrier mobility achieved at room temperature. Most important characteristics however, $i.e.$, its band gap, effective masses, and absorption edge remain controversial. Here, we provide a fully consistent picture by combining state-of-the-art $ab~initio$ methodology with forefront electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and optical absorption measurements. On- and off-axis valence EELS spectra, featuring signals originating from band gap transitions, are acquired on defect-free sample regions of a BaSnO$_{3}$ single crystal. These high-energy-resolution measurements are able to capture also very weak excitations below the optical gap, attributed to indirect transitions. By temperature-dependent optical absorption measurements, we assess band-gap renormalization effects induced by electron-phonon coupling. Overall, we find for the effective electronic mass, the direct and the indirect gap, the optical gap as well as the absorption onsets and spectra excellent agreement between both experimental techniques and the theoretical many-body results, supporting also the picture of a phonon-mediated mechanism where indirect transitions are activated by phonon-induced symmetry lowering. This work demonstrates a fruitful connection between different high-level theoretical and experimental methods for exploring the characteristics of advanced materials

Verkehr - Mobilität - Raum - Gesellschaft: Zum Selbstverständnis des Arbeitskreises

In diesem einführenden Beitrag gehen die Autorinnen und Autoren zunächst kurz auf die Zusammen- und Zielsetzung des Arbeitskreises ein. In diesem Kontext werden auch jene Aspekte benannt, auf die sich der Arbeitskreis nicht konzentrieren konnte. Inhaltlich wird knapp der Zusammenhang zwischen ökonomischen, technologischen, ökologischen und sozialen Aspekten in ihrer Auswirkung auf die Mobilität und die Siedlungsentwicklung skizziert. Dieses heterogene Feld ruft eine Reihe von Fragen an die wissenschaftliche Analyse und das politisch-planerische praktische Handeln auf, die hier angerissen, in den einzelnen Beiträgen in der Folge aber aufgenommen und bestmöglich beantwortet oder eingeordnet werden. Eine knappe Einordnung und Darstellung der folgenden Beiträge bildet den Abschluss.In this introductory article, the authors first briefly discuss the aims and objectives of the working group. In this context, those aspects are also mentioned on which the working group could not concentrate. In terms of content, the connection between economic, technological, ecological and social aspects in their impact on mobility and settlement development is briefly outlined. This heterogeneous field calls up a series of questions for scientific analysis and practical political-planning action, which are touched upon here, but are subsequently included in the individual contributions and answered or classified in the best possible way. The conclusion is a concise classification and presentation of the following contributions

Dimerization of visinin-like protein 1 is regulated by oxidative stress and calcium and is a pathological hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

AbstractRedox control of proteins that form disulfide bonds upon oxidative challenge is an emerging topic in the physiological and pathophysiological regulation of protein function. We have investigated the role of the neuronal calcium sensor protein visinin-like protein 1 (VILIP-1) as a novel redox sensor in a cellular system. We have found oxidative stress to trigger dimerization of VILIP-1 within a cellular environment and identified thioredoxin reductase as responsible for facilitating the remonomerization of the dimeric protein. Dimerization is modulated by calcium and not dependent on the myristoylation of VILIP-1. Furthermore, we show by site-directed mutagenesis that dimerization is exclusively mediated by Cys187. As a functional consequence, VILIP-1 dimerization modulates the sensitivity of cells to an oxidative challenge. We have investigated whether dimerization of VILIP-1 occurs in two different animal models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and detected soluble VILIP-1 dimers to be significantly enriched in the spinal cord from phenotypic disease onset onwards. Moreover, VILIP-1 is part of the ALS-specific protein aggregates. We show for the first time that the C-terminus of VILIP-1, containing Cys187, might represent a novel redox-sensitive motif and that VILIP-1 dimerization and aggregation are hallmarks of ALS. This suggests that VILIP-1 dimers play a functional role in integrating the cytosolic calcium concentration and the oxidative status of the cell. Furthermore, a loss of VILIP-1 function owing to protein aggregation in ALS could be relevant in the pathophysiology of the disease

QTL analysis of early stage heterosis for biomass in Arabidopsis

The main objective of this study was to identify genomic regions involved in biomass heterosis using QTL, generation means, and mode-of-inheritance classification analyses. In a modified North Carolina Design III we backcrossed 429 recombinant inbred line and 140 introgression line populations to the two parental accessions, C24 and Col-0, whose F1 hybrid exhibited 44% heterosis for biomass. Mid-parent heterosis in the RILs ranged from −31 to 99% for dry weight and from −58 to 143% for leaf area. We detected ten genomic positions involved in biomass heterosis at an early developmental stage, individually explaining between 2.4 and 15.7% of the phenotypic variation. While overdominant gene action was prevalent in heterotic QTL, our results suggest that a combination of dominance, overdominance and epistasis is involved in biomass heterosis in this Arabidopsis cross

Land- und Ernährungswirtschaft in Sachsen: Statusbericht 2013: Land- und Ernährungswirtschaft - Statusbericht 2013 zum Stand der Entwicklung der Land- und Ernährungswirtschaft im Freistaat Sachsen

Der Statusbericht 2013 bietet einen Überblick zur wirtschaftlichen Bedeutung sowie volkswirtschaftlichen Einordnung der Land- und Ernährungswirtschaft in Sachsen. Die Bruttowertschöpfung der Land- und Forstwirtschaft stieg 2012 auf 1.103 Mio. €. Zusammen mit dem Ernährungsgewerbe wurde eine Bruttowertschöpfung von rd. 2,1 Mrd. € erzielt. Das ist ein Anteil von 2,4 % an der gesamten Wertschöpfung Sachsens. Darüber hinaus bestehen zahlreiche Verflechtungen zwischen der Landwirtschaft und deren vor- und nachgelagerten Bereichen. Zusammengefasst unter der Bezeichnung Agrarbusiness konnten mind. 78.500 Beschäftigte (d. h. jeder 25. sächsische Arbeitsplatz) diesem Bereich zugeordnet werden und damit mehr als doppelt so viel wie den Wirtschaftszweigen Maschinenbau (38.440 Erwerbstätige) und Fahrzeugbau (27.583 Erwerbstätige)

3D-визуализация в ультразвуковой дефектоскопии

На сегодняшний день существует множество средств визуализации ультразвуковых данных, но все они, как правило, интегрированы в дефектоскопы. Когда у нас возникает потребность извлечь данные сканирования, произвести собственную обработку, и представить в трехмерном изображении, то мы оказываемся лишенными возможности визуализации. Предложенное программное обеспечение на основе алгоритма SAFT позволяет произвести постобработку данных сканирования (А-сканов) и двумерную и трехмерную визуализацию