Glucose induced MAPK signalling influences NeuroD1-mediated activation and nuclear localization

AbstractThe helix–loop–helix transcription factor NeuroD1 (also known as Beta2) is involved in β-cell survival during development and insulin gene transcription in adults. Here we show NeuroD1 is primarily cytoplasmic at non-stimulating glucose concentrations (i.e. 3 mM) in MIN6 β-cells and nuclear under stimulating conditions (i.e. 20 mM). Quantification revealed that NeuroD1 was in 40–45% of the nuclei at 3 mM and 80–90% at 20 mM. Treatment with the MEK inhibitor PD98059 or substitution of a serine for an alanine at a potential mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation site (S274) in NeuroD1 significantly increased the cytoplasmic level at 20 mM glucose. The rise in NeuroD1-mediated transcription in response to glucose also correlated with the change in sub-cellular localization, a response attenuated by PD98059. The data strongly suggest that glucose-stimulation of the MEK–ERK signalling pathway influences NeuroD1 activity at least partially through effects on sub-cellular localization

Untersuchungen zur Resistenz von Apera spica-venti (L.) P. Beauv. (Gemeiner Windhalm) gegenüber Herbiziden unterschiedlicher HRAC-Klassen in Hessen

Im Sommer 2014 wurden Windhalmrispen von 109 hessischen Standorten gesammelt, um die Verbreitung der Resistenz des Gemeinen Windhalms gegenüber Herbiziden der HRAC-Klassen A, B und F1/K3 im Biotest zu überprüfen. Sowohl Windhalmrispen aus angelegten Spritzfenstern als auch Rispen, die vor der Ernte in „Windhalmnestern“ innerhalb hessischer Getreidefelder auffielen, wurden in das Monitoring einbezogen. Im Dezember 2014 wurden Windhalmsamen aller Biotypen in Töpfe ausgesät und im Gewächshaus des hessischen Pflanzenschutzdienstes in Wetzlar angezogen. Die jungen Windhalmpflanzen wurden mit Herbiziden der HRAC-Klassen A, B und F1/K3 zum für das jeweilige Herbizid optimalen BBCH-Stadium behandelt. Die Wirkungsgrade wurden im Biotest ermittelt. Jede Herkunft wurde molekulargenetisch auf Mutationen untersucht, die eine Veränderung der Aminosäuresequenz der Acetolactat-Synthase (ALS) bewirken. Herkünfte, die im Biotest eine Minderwirkung gegen das Herbizid der Wirkstoffklasse A zeigten, wurden molekulargenetisch auf Mutationen untersucht, die eine Veränderung der Aminosäuresequenz der Acetyl-Coenzym-A- Carboxylase (ACCase) bewirken. Nahezu alle Windhalmherkünfte konnten durch das Herbizid der Wirkstoffklasse F1/K3 bekämpft werden. Ebenso zeigte die Wirkstoffklasse A mit wenigen Ausnahmen eine hohe Wirkungssicherheit. Dagegen wurde mit Herbiziden der Wirkstoffklasse B nur in bis zu 12 Herkünften ein Wirkungsgrad von mehr als 90 % erzielt. In 45 Herkünften wurden Mutationen festgestellt, die eine Resistenz gegenüber der Wirkstoffklasse B bewirken. In einer Herkunft wurde eine Mutation gefunden, die zu einer Veränderung der Aminosäuresequenz der ACCase führt. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung sollen als Basis für eine Folgeuntersuchung dienen, um Unterschiede in der Bewirtschaftungsweise zwischen Resistenzstandorten und sensitiven Standorten aufzudecken. Daraus sollen Beratungsempfehlungen geschaffen werden, die helfen sollen, eine Ausbreitung von Resistenzen zu verlangsamen.Investigations on Apera spica-venti (L.) P. Beauv. (loose silky-bent grass) resistance against herbicides from different HRAC-classes in HessenIn the summer of 2014, panicles from loose silky-bent grass (Apera spica-venti) were collected at 109 sites across the federal state Hessen, to analyze the level of loose silky-bent grass resistance against herbicides from HRAC-class A, B and F1/K3. Panicles from established spraying windows as well as panicles from A. spica-venti patches, which were identified at time of harvest within cereal fields, were included into the monitoring. In December 2014 the loose silky-bent grass seeds were seeded into pots and placed in the greenhouse of plant protection service Hessen in Wetzlar. The young seedlings were sprayed (repeated) with herbicides from HRAC group A, B and F1/K3 at BBCH-stages which provided optimal efficacy for each individual herbicide. Efficacy was rated. Each biotype was tested for well-known mutations, which modify the amino acid sequence of acetolactate-synthase (ALS). Biotypes, in which the herbicide from HRAC group A reached low efficacy, were tested for well-known mutations in the acetyl coenzyme a carboxylase (ACCase) gene. The treatments with the herbicide from HRAC group F1/K3 reached very high efficacy up to 100% in nearly all biotypes. The herbicide treatment with an herbicide from HRAC group A reached high efficacy in most cases. However, all herbicides from HRAC group B showed very low efficacy. Only 12 biotypes could be controlled with an efficacy of more than 90%. 45 biotypes contained several mutations in the ALS gene, which cause ALS-resistance. Only one biotype contained a mutation, which can cause ACCase resistance. These results will be used to study reasons for development of resistance in order to develop guidance information to prevent further increase of resistance

Co-operative Nordic Research

This report has a two-fold objective. -To identify the changing risk management needs in the private and public sectors and the corresponding needs for development of risk analysis methods and related practices. -To list examples of projects where Nordic co-operation between industry, authorities and universities can be effective for increasing the contribution of risk management to industrial growth and a sustainable society. A Nordic expert group, funded by the Nordic Industrial Fund, identified the urgent need for co-operative Nordic risk management research and suggested a structure for co-operation and cross-disciplinary research and for dissemination of knowledge and implementation. The group also specified research areas and project ideas for future development into actual research projects. A workshop with participants from the Nordic countries was one source of ideas. The expert group in addition identified a number of basic resource areas necessary for the development of more efficient risk management industry and which would benefit from Nordic co-operation. A Nordic risk management academy and a Nordic risk management network should be formed. Also a Nordic graduate school on safety and risk management for PhD students should be organized on a Nordic basis in order to ensure competence at all Institutes of Technology, all Business Schools and other education bodies of importance for risk management

The State of Soil in Europe : A contribution of the JRC to the European Environment Agency’s Environment State and Outlook Report— SOER 2010

This report presents a pan-European perspective on the state soil in Europe in light of available data held within the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC) and the research activities within the Joint Research Centre’s Soil Action. Managed by the JRC on behalf of EU institutions, the ESDAC operates as a focal point for pan-European data and information on soil. The core of this report was prepared as the Soil Assessment (EEA, 2010f) of the ‘Environment — state and outlook 2010 Report’, generally referred to as the SOER 2010. Coordinated by the European Environment Agency, the SOER series is aimed primarily at policymakers, in Europe and beyond, involved with framing and implementing policies that could support environmental improvements in Europe. The information also helps European citizens to better understand, care for and improve Europe's environment. The soil assessment was one of a set of 13 Europe-wide thematic assessments of key environmental themes and the only one coordinated by the JRC. The initial contribution from the JRC to the SOER exercise has been updated with additional material that could not be included in the SOER due to space restrictions, together with supplementary information that was not available at the time of the publication of the original text. The report describes the knowledge and understanding of the state of soil in Europe and the main trends, outlook and policy responses for the key processes affecting soil resources in Europe. Unfortunately, our knowledge base on many of the key functions of soil that deliver vital environmental services and goods are still poorly developed. This aspect will be a key focus of the activities of the Soil Action for the next SOER, foreseen for 2015. A set of pertinent issues and facts from the assessment are presented in the Key Messages section that can be found at the start of this report. Much more information and data can be found that the web sites of the ESDAC (http://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu) or the JRC Soil Action (http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu). All SOER 2010 outputs are available on the SOER 2010 website: www.eea.europa.eu/soer.JRC.H.5-Land Resources Managemen

The Coastal Observing System for Northern and Arctic Seas (COSYNA)

The Coastal Observing System for Northern and Arctic Seas (COSYNA) was established in order to better understand the complex interdisciplinary processes of northern seas and the Arctic coasts in a changing environment. Particular focus is given to the German Bight in the North Sea as a prime example of a heavily used coastal area, and Svalbard as an example of an Arctic coast that is under strong pressure due to global change. The COSYNA automated observing and modelling system is designed to monitor real-time conditions and provide short-term forecasts, data, and data products to help assess the impact of anthropogenically induced change. Observations are carried out by combining satellite and radar remote sensing with various in situ platforms. Novel sensors, instruments, and algorithms are developed to further improve the understanding of the interdisciplinary interactions between physics, biogeochemistry, and the ecology of coastal seas. New modelling and data assimilation techniques are used to integrate observations and models in a quasi-operational system providing descriptions and forecasts of key hydrographic variables. Data and data products are publicly available free of charge and in real time. They are used by multiple interest groups in science, agencies, politics, industry, and the public

Impacts of 1.5°C Global Warming on Natural and Human Systems

An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate povert

Shared genetic risk between eating disorder- and substance-use-related phenotypes:Evidence from genome-wide association studies

First published: 16 February 202

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements