Impulse für eine Soziologie der Nachhaltigkeit

Das Thema Nachhaltigkeit ist in der deutschen Soziologie nur selten als eigenständiger Topos der Forschung und der Theoriebildung verankert. Im Rahmen der Umweltsoziologie stehen mikrosoziologische Studien zum Verhalten von Individuen und Organisationen angesichts einer Vielzahl von Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeitskrisen im Vordergrund des Interesses, im Rahmen der Wirtschaftssoziologie werden neue Modelle einer Post-Wachstumsgesellschaft oder einer post-kapitalistischen Wirtschaftsordnung mit dem Ziel einer Nachhaltigkeitsorientierung diskursanalytisch oder normativ betrachtet. Der Beitrag vermittelt einen kurzen Überblick über die Verortung der Nachhaltigkeit in der soziologischen Literatur und entwickelt aus dieser Zusammenschau eigene Impulse für eine Ausrichtung der soziologischen Forschung und Lehre, in der Nachhaltigkeit und das Leben im Anthropozän als Eckpunkte der Analyse und als Zielpunkte einer interdisziplinären normativen Orientierung dienen. The topic of sustainability is rarely treated in German sociology as an independent topos of research and theory building. Within the framework of environmental sociology, micro-sociological studies on the behaviour of individuals and organizations in the face of a multitude of environmental and sustainability crises are in the foreground of interest; within the framework of economic sociology, new models of a post-growth society or a post-capitalist economic order with the goal of a sustainability orientation are considered predominantly by means of discourse-analysis or as a normative concept for social change. The article provides a brief overview of the status of sustainability in the sociological literature and, from this synopsis, develops its own impulses for a reform of sociological research and teaching in which sustainability and living in the Anthropocene serve as cornerstones of analysis and as target points of an interdisciplinary normative orientation

Kommunikation von Risiken und Unsicherheiten der Strahlung kabelloser Netzwerke : Ergebnisse eines Gruppendelphis zur Risikokommunikation im Rahmen des EU Projektes "Sound exposure and risk assessment of wireless network devices" (SEAWIND)

In dem dreijährigen EU-Projekt "Sound Exposure and Risk Assessment of Wireless Network Devices" (SEAWIND) (FP71ENV1200911) wurden die möglichen gesundheitsschädigenden Auswirkungen durch die Nutzung drahtloser Kommunikationstechnologien (z.B. GSM, UMTS, LTE, WiFi, WiMAX, RFID) - interdisziplinär erforscht. Das Projekt gliederte sich in drei Themenschwerpunkte: Mit Hilfe modernster Technologien und Messverfahren sollte die Strahlenexposition ermittelt werden (Kurzzeit- sowie Langzeitexpositionen), der wir durch die derzeitigen aber auch durch zukünftige drahtlose Technologien ausgesetzt sind. Zur Beurteilung der biologischen Relevanz wurden die durch die externe Exposition im menschlichen Körper induzierten Felder bestimmt. Da diese stark von Anatomie und Köperhaltung abhängen, wurden sie mit verschiedenen computerbasierten Modellen von weiblichen und männlichen Erwachsenen sowie von Kindern durchgeführt, um Aussagen zur gesamten Bevölkerung zu ermöglichen. Die biologischen Auswirkungen der im Körper induzierten Felder wurden durch Experimente mit isolierten Zelllinien und mit Tieren untersucht. Zur Erforschung sozialwissenschaftlicher Fragestellungen, wie z.B. der Frage nach dem Umgang mit den von der Gesellschaft wahrgenommenen Risiken und Unsicherheiten, wurden als integraler Teil des SEAWIND-Projekts Fokusgruppen und ein Gruppendelphi durchgeführt

Probiotics Enhance Bone Growth and Rescue BMP Inhibition: New Transgenic Zebrafish Lines to Study Bone Health

Zebrafish larvae, especially gene-specific mutants and transgenic lines, are increasingly used to study vertebrate skeletal development and human pathologies such as osteoporosis, osteopetrosis and osteoarthritis. Probiotics have been recognized in recent years as a prophylactic treatment for various bone health issues in humans. Here, we present two new zebrafish transgenic lines containing the coding sequences for fluorescent proteins inserted into the endogenous genes for sp7 and col10a1a with larvae displaying fluorescence in developing osteoblasts and the bone extracellular matrix (mineralized or non-mineralized), respectively. Furthermore, we use these transgenic lines to show that exposure to two different probiotics, Bacillus subtilis and Lactococcus lactis, leads to an increase in osteoblast formation and bone matrix growth and mineralization. Gene expression analysis revealed the effect of the probiotics, particularly Bacillus subtilis, in modulating several skeletal development genes, such as runx2, sp7, spp1 and col10a1a, further supporting their ability to improve bone health. Bacillus subtilis was the more potent probiotic able to significantly reverse the inhibition of bone matrix formation when larvae were exposed to a BMP inhibitor (LDN212854)

Guiding Neutral Atoms with a Wire

We demonstrate guiding of cold neutral atoms along a current carrying wire. Atoms either move in Kepler-like orbits around the wire or are guided in a potential tube on the side of the wire which is created by applying an additional homogeneous bias field. These atom guides are very versatile and promising for applications in atom optics.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PR

BMP Signaling Regulates Bone Morphogenesis in Zebrafish through Promoting Osteoblast Function as Assessed by Their Nitric Oxide Production

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) control many developmental and physiological processes, including skeleton formation and homeostasis. Previous studies in zebrafish revealed the crucial importance of proper BMP signaling before 48 h post-fertilization (hpf) for cartilage formation in the skull. Here, we focus on the involvement of the BMP pathway between 48 and 96 hpf in bone formation after 96 hpf. Using BMP inhibitors and the expression of a dominant-negative BMP receptor, we analyze whether the loss of BMP signaling affects osteoblastogenesis, osteoblast function and bone mineralization. To this end, we used the transgenic zebrafish line Tg(osterix:mCherry), detection of nitric oxide (NO) production, and alizarin red staining, respectively. We observed that inhibition of BMP signaling between 48 and 72 hpf led to a reduction of NO production and bone mineralization. Osteoblast maturation and chondrogenesis, on the other hand, seemed unchanged. Osteoblast function and bone formation were less affected when BMP signaling was inhibited between 72 and 96 hpf. These results suggest that for the onset of bone formation, proper BMP signaling between 48 and 72 hpf is crucial to ensure osteoblast function and ossification. Furthermore, detection of NO in developing zebrafish larvae appears as an early indicator of bone calcification activity

Detection of nitric oxide by diaminofluorescein visualizes the skeleton in living zebrafish.

Several in vivo stainings, such as Calcein, Alizarin Red and Quercetin are commonly used to visualize ossification in living teleost specimen. These staining techniques represent important tools for bone research in fish, but do not visualize cartilage. In the present study, we show that nitric oxide (NO) labelling by DAF-FM DA visualizes both bone and cartilage in vivo during zebrafish skeletogenesis. NO detection performed in Tg(osterix:mCherry) or in combination with Alizarin Red in wild-type zebrafish reveals that intense staining through NO labelling colocalizes with the appearance of osteoblasts and characterizes ossified structures. Cartilage structures are clearly distinguished in the living larvae, although the labelling is less intensive when compared to ossified structures. This method is the first and easy to handle alternative to cartilage and bone double stainings on fixed samples. In contrast to most live skeletal stainings, which only stain the mineralized bone structures, this protocol in addition allows in vivo visualization of cartilage

A novel col10a1:nlGFP transgenic line displays osteoblast precursors at the medaka notochordal sheath prior to mineralization.

In teleosts, such as medaka, ossification of the vertebral column starts with the mineralization of the notochordal sheath in a segmental pattern. This establishes the chordal centrum, which serves as the basis for further ossifications by sclerotome derived osteoblasts generating the vertebral body. So far, it is unclear which cells produce the notochordal sheath and how a segmental pattern of mineralization is established in teleosts. Here, we use a transgenic medaka line that expresses nlGFP under the control of the col10a1 promoter for in vivo analysis of vertebral body formation. We show that col10a1:nlGFP expression recapitulates endogenous col10a1 expression. In the axial skeleton, col10a1:nlGFP cells appear prior to the mineralization of the notochordal sheath in a segmental pattern. These cells remain on the outer surface of the chordal centra during mineralization as well as subsequent perichordal ossification of the vertebral bodies. Using twist1a1:dsRed and osx:mCherry transgenic lines we show that a subset of col10a1:nlGFP cells is derived from sclerotomal precursors and differentiates into future osteoblasts. For the first time, this shows a segmental occurrence of putative osteoblast precursors in the vertebral centra prior to ossification of the notochordal sheath. This opens the possibility that sclerotome derived cells in teleosts are implicated in the establishment of the mineralized vertebral column in a similar manner as previously described for tetrapods