Rückenwind für Klimaneutralität

RÜCKENWIND FÜR KLIMANEUTRALITÄT Rückenwind für Klimaneutralität / Rosenkranz, Gerd (Rights reserved) ( -

Risikofaktoren für Probleme mit exzessiver Computer- und Internetnutzung von 14- bis 17-jährigen Jugendlichen in Deutschland: Ergebnisse einer deutschlandweiten Repräsentativerhebung

"In dem vorliegenden Artikel wird zunächst ein Modell vorgestellt, mit Hilfe dessen Probleme mit exzessiver Computer- und Internetnutzung von Jugendlichen aus drei Perspektiven abgebildet werden können: die wissenschaftlichobjektive Perspektive, die subjektive Perspektive der Eltern und die subjektive Perspektive der Jugendlichen. Datengrundlage bildet eine Repräsentativerhebung von 1744 Jugendlichen zwischen 14 und 17 Jahren in Deutschland sowie jeweils einem dazugehörigen Elternteil. Des Weiteren werden mit einer logistischen Regression Risikofaktoren wie Geschlecht, Sozialstatus, Familienklima und Nutzungszeiten dahingehend untersucht, inwieweit sie die Wahrscheinlichkeit erhöhen können, zur problematischsten Gruppe zu gehören." (Autorenreferat)"The article begins with the introduction of a model that intends to capture the problems resulting from excessive computer and internet use by adolescents. The model contains three perspectives: the scientific-objective perspective, the subjective perspective of parents and the subjective perspective of adolescents. The data basis for this is a representative survey of 1744 adolescents in Germany (aged 14 to 17) including one parent per adolescent. In addition, the article uses a logistic regression to investigate if riskfactors like gender, social state, emotional family environment and amount of adolescent’s internet use might enhance the probability of being part of the most problematic sub-group." (author's abstract

Three QTL in the honey bee Apis mellifera L. suppress reproduction of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor

Varroa destructor is a highly virulent ectoparasitic mite of the honey bee Apis mellifera and a major cause of colony losses for global apiculture. Typically, chemical treatment is essential to control the parasite population in the honey bee colony. Nevertheless a few honey bee populations survive mite infestation without any treatment. We used one such Varroa mite tolerant honey bee lineage from the island of Gotland, Sweden, to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling reduced mite reproduction. We crossed a queen from this tolerant population with drones from susceptible colonies to rear hybrid queens. Two hybrid queens were used to produce a mapping population of haploid drones. We discriminated drone pupae with and without mite reproduction, and screened the genome for potential QTL using a total of 216 heterozygous microsatellite markers in a bulk segregant analysis. Subsequently, we fine mapped three candidate target regions on chromosomes 4, 7, and 9. Although the individual effect of these three QTL was found to be relatively small, the set of all three had significant impact on suppression of V. destructor reproduction by epistasis. Although it is in principle possible to use these loci for marker-assisted selection, the strong epistatic effects between the three loci complicate selective breeding programs with the Gotland Varroa tolerant honey bee stock

Cognitive mechanisms associated with auditory sensory gating

Sensory gating is a neurophysiological measure of inhibition that is characterised by a reduction in the P50 event-related potential to a repeated identical stimulus. The objective of this work was to determine the cognitive mechanisms that relate to the neurological phenomenon of auditory sensory gating. Sixty participants underwent a battery of 10 cognitive tasks, including qualitatively different measures of attentional inhibition, working memory, and fluid intelligence. Participants additionally completed a paired-stimulus paradigm as a measure of auditory sensory gating. A correlational analysis revealed that several tasks correlated significantly with sensory gating. However once fluid intelligence and working memory were accounted for, only a measure of latent inhibition and accuracy scores on the continuous performance task showed significant sensitivity to sensory gating. We conclude that sensory gating reflects the identification of goal-irrelevant information at the encoding (input) stage and the subsequent ability to selectively attend to goal-relevant information based on that previous identification

Do managed bees drive parasite spread and emergence in wild bees?

Bees have been managed and utilised for honey production for centuries and, more recently, pollination services. Since the mid 20th Century, the use and production of managed bees has intensified with hundreds of thousands of hives being moved across countries and around the globe on an annual basis. However, the introduction of unnaturally high densities of bees to areas could have adverse effects. Importation and deployment of managed honey bee and bumblebees may be responsible for parasite introductions or a change in the dynamics of native parasites that ultimately increases disease prevalence in wild bees. Here we review the domestication and deployment of managed bees and explain the evidence for the role of managed bees in causing adverse effects on the health of wild bees. Correlations with the use of managed bees and decreases in wild bee health from territories across the globe are discussed along with suggestions to mitigate further health reductions in wild bees

Temporal Analysis of the Honey Bee Microbiome Reveals Four Novel Viruses and Seasonal Prevalence of Known Viruses, Nosema, and Crithidia

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) play a critical role in global food production as pollinators of numerous crops. Recently, honey bee populations in the United States, Canada, and Europe have suffered an unexplained increase in annual losses due to a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Epidemiological analysis of CCD is confounded by a relative dearth of bee pathogen field studies. To identify what constitutes an abnormal pathophysiological condition in a honey bee colony, it is critical to have characterized the spectrum of exogenous infectious agents in healthy hives over time. We conducted a prospective study of a large scale migratory bee keeping operation using high-frequency sampling paired with comprehensive molecular detection methods, including a custom microarray, qPCR, and ultra deep sequencing. We established seasonal incidence and abundance of known viruses, Nosema sp., Crithidia mellificae, and bacteria. Ultra deep sequence analysis further identified four novel RNA viruses, two of which were the most abundant observed components of the honey bee microbiome (∼1011 viruses per honey bee). Our results demonstrate episodic viral incidence and distinct pathogen patterns between summer and winter time-points. Peak infection of common honey bee viruses and Nosema occurred in the summer, whereas levels of the trypanosomatid Crithidia mellificae and Lake Sinai virus 2, a novel virus, peaked in January

Abstracts from the 8th International Conference on cGMP Generators, Effectors and Therapeutic Implications

This work was supported by a restricted research grant of Bayer AG