Soil moisture retrieval by SMOS: a global feasibility study

International audienc

New generation of knowledge: Towards an inter- and transdisciplinary framework for sustainable pathways of palm oil production

The production and expansion of palm oil have emerged as a major and controversial issue in political and public debates in the North and the South on sustainable food and agriculture. Scientific research has played a marginal role in these debates that are characterized by black and white views on palm oil as a good, bad or even ugly crop, and by solutions that are limited in scope. Our first argument is that new conceptualization of the complexity and dynamics of the palm oil sector can revitalize debate on sustainable palm oil and be used to identify sustainable pathways for palm oil production. For this purpose, we develop an interdisciplinary framework, conceptualizing the palm oil sector as consisting of systems, flows and networks. Our second argument is that a transdisciplinary approach is need to identify and develop sustainable pathways. We present six ideas on how to do so. Given the controversy in debates on the production and expansion of palm oil, we consider switchers as critical actors for shaping sustainable pathways, both in the palm oil sector and at the science-policy interface

"Jairus, His Daughter, and the Haemorrhaging Woman (Mk. 5:21-43; Mt. 9:18-26; Lk. 8:40-56): Research Survey of a Gospel Story about People in Distress."

This article examines the history of interpretation of the pericope of the healing of the haemorrhaging woman and the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mk 5.21-43; Mt. 9.18-26; Lk. 8.40-56). It starts with the earliest attempts to harmonize the synoptic accounts, and reviews medieval allegorical interpretations, historical-critical theories, including the apparent death (coma) theory, D.F. Strauss and mythical interpretation, form-criticism, the question of sources, literary and narrative approaches, socio-critical (feminist) interpretation, psychoanalytical criticism, and contextual (poststructural) readings

Eosinophils: Biological properties and role in health and disease

Eosinophils are pleiotropic multifunctional leukocytes involved in initiation and propagation of diverse inflammatory responses, as well as modulators of innate and adaptive immunity. In this review, the biology of eosinophils is summarized, focusing on transcriptional regulation of eosinophil differentiation, characterization of the growing properties of eosinophil granule proteins, surface proteins and pleiotropic mediators, and molecular mechanisms of eosinophil degranulation. New views on the role of eosinophils in homeostatic function are examined, including developmental biology and innate and adaptive immunity (as well as their interaction with mast cells and T cells) and their proposed role in disease processes including infections, asthma, and gastrointestinal disorders. Finally, strategies for targeted therapeutic intervention in eosinophil-mediated mucosal diseases are conceptualized