The relationship between resilience and sustainable development of ecological-economic systems

Resilience as a descriptive concept gives insight into the dynamic properties of a system. Sustainability as a normative concept captures basic ideas of inter- and intragenerational justice. In this paper we specify the relationship between resilience and sustainable development. Based on an ecological-economic model where two natural capital stocks provide ecosystem services that are complements for human well-being, we derive conditions on the dynamics of the ecological-economic system and the sustainability criterion, such that a) resilience of the system in a given regime is both necessary and sufficient for sustainable development, b) resilience of the system in a given regime is sufficient, but not necessary, c) resilience of the system in a given regime is necessary, but not sufficient, and d) resilience of the system in a given regime is neither necessary nor sufficient for sustainable development. We conclude that more criteria than the resilience of the current state of the system have to be taken into account when designing policies for sustainable management of ecological-economic systems.ecosystem resilience, sustainable development, management of ecological-economic systems

UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS AND COORDINATION IN AGRI-BUSINESS SUPPLY CHAINS: AN EXAMINATION OF THE NEW ZEALAND MEAT INDUSTRY

Two phenomena are occurring simultaneously within the agribusiness sector: customers are requiring tighter product specifications and agricultural chains are becoming more coordinated. However, the exact relationship between these two phenomena is not clear. This research explores that relationship. Five New Zealand fresh meat chains were the focus of multiple case-study research, which used a chain-level (multi-dyadic) approach. Chains were assessed as to the nature of product specifications demanded at the end-customer level, as well as to the nature of inter-firm relationships. Interestingly, tighter product specifications in themselves do not lead to more coordinated chains; coordination seems to be linked to the level of effort required to meet product specifications.Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

Current status of las tablas de daimiel national park wetland and actions required for conservation

Wetlands are complex ecosystems that play multiple roles. ‘Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park’ (TDNP) undoubtedly plays a role in several ecosystem services and provides a connection between nature, farmers, scientists, residents, and other stakeholders. The state of degradation and/or vulnerability of this ecosystem (with a series of socio-economic implications) have led the publication of numerous articles. The work reported here provides a description of the growing importance of this wetland within the rural landscapes of La Mancha and emphasizes its state of degradation, mainly since pedological point of view. In this way, particular attention is required to assure the conservation of the Tablas of Daimiel Wetland; thus, several measures are proposed to improve the conservation of this area as to control and prohibit any dumping of any type of waste in the park or in its vicinityThis Research was funded by Organismo Autonomo Parques Nacionales (Autonomous Organism National Parks) of Spain (OAPN

Cell division promotes efficient retrotransposition in a stable L1 reporter cell line

Background: Long interspersed element type one (L1) actively modifies the human genome by inserting new copies of itself. This process, termed retrotransposition, requires the formation of an L1 ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex, which must enter the nucleus before retrotransposition can proceed. Thus, the nuclear import of L1 RNP presents an opportunity for cells to regulate L1 retrotransposition post-translationally. The effect of cell division on L1 retrotransposition has been investigated by two previous studies, which observed varied degrees of inhibition in retrotransposition when primary cell strains or cancer cell lines were experimentally arrested in different stages of the cell cycle. However, seemingly divergent conclusions were reached. The role of cell division on retrotransposition remains highly debated. Findings: To monitor both L1 expression and retrotransposition quantitatively, we developed a stable dual-luciferase L1 reporter cell line, in which a bi-directional tetracycline-inducible promoter drives the expression of both a firefly luciferase-tagged L1 element and a Renilla luciferase, the latter indicative of the level of promoter induction. We observed an additional 10-fold reduction in retrotransposition in cell-cycle arrested cells even after retrotransposition had been normalized to Renilla luciferase or L1 ORF1 protein levels. In synchronized cells, cells undergoing two mitoses showed 2.6-fold higher retrotransposition than those undergoing one mitosis although L1 expression was induced for the same amount of time. Conclusions: Our data provide additional support for an important role of cell division in retrotransposition and argue that restricting the accessibility of L1 RNP to nuclear DNA could be a post-translational regulatory mechanism for retrotransposition

Novel aspects of cholinergic regulation of colonic ion transport

Nicotinic receptors are not only expressed by excitable tissues, but have been identified in various epithelia. One aim of this study was to investigate the expression of nicotinic receptors and their involvement in the regulation of ion transport across colonic epithelium. Ussing chamber experiments with putative nicotinic agonists and antagonists were performed at rat colon combined with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) detection of nicotinic receptor subunits within the epithelium. Dimethylphenylpiperazinium (DMPP) and nicotine induced a tetrodotoxin-resistant anion secretion leading to an increase in short-circuit current (Isc) across colonic mucosa. The response was suppressed by the nicotinic receptor antagonist hexamethonium. RT-PCR experiments revealed the expression of a2, a4, a5, a6, a7, a10, and ß4 nicotinic receptor subunits in colonic epithelium. Choline, the product of acetylcholine hydrolysis, is known for its affinity to several nicotinic receptor subtypes. As a strong acetylcholinesterase activity was found in colonic epithelium, the effect of choline on Isc was examined. Choline induced a concentration-dependent, tetrodotoxin-resistant chloride secretion which was, however, resistant against hexamethonium, but was inhibited by atropine. Experiments with inhibitors of muscarinic M1 and M3 receptors revealed that choline-evoked secretion was mainly due to a stimulation of epithelial M3 receptors. Although choline proved to be only a partial agonist, it concentration-dependently desensitized the response to acetylcholine, suggesting that it might act as a modulator of cholinergically induced anion secretion. Thus the cholinergic regulation of colonic ion transport – up to now solely explained by cholinergic submucosal neurons stimulating epithelial muscarinic receptors – is more complex than previously assumed

Nutriproteomics: technologies and applications for identification and quantification of biomarkers and ingredients

Nutrition refers to the process by which a living organism ingests and digests food and uses the nutrients therein for growth, tissue maintenance and all other functions essential to life. Food components interact with our body at molecular, cellular, organ and system level. Nutrients come in complex mixtures, in which the presence and concentration of single compounds as well as their interactions with other compounds and the food matrix influence their bioavailability and bioefficacy. Traditionally, nutrition research mainly concentrated on supplying nutrients of quality to nourish populations and on preventing specific nutrient deficiencies. More recently, it investigates health-related aspects of individual ingredients or of complete diets, in view of health promotion, performance optimisation, disease prevention and risk assessment. This review focuses on proteins and peptides, their role as nutrients and biomarkers and on the technologies developed for their analysis. In the first part of this review, we provide insights into the way proteins are currently characterised and analysed using classical and emerging proteomic approaches. The scope of the second part is to review major applications of proteomics to nutrition, from characterisation of food proteins and peptides, via investigation of health-related food benefits to understanding disease-related mechanism

Die Zukunft von Lern- und Lehrmaterialien: Wettergebnisse bei zwölf ausgewählte [ausgewählten] Thesen zur Entwicklung in den nächsten 18 Monaten

Lern- und Lehrmaterialien unterlagen in den letzten Jahren und Jahrzehnten nicht nur einen starkem Wandel, sondern werden sich absehbar - auch getrieben durch aktuelle technologische Entwicklungen - auch zukünftig wandeln. Doch wohin geht die Reise genau? "Zukunftsforschung" heißt die junge Disziplin die versucht, auch im Bereich der Bildung, Aussagen über zukünftige Entwicklungen zu erhalten. In diesem Beitrag stellen [die Autoren] dazu allgemein Methoden und Studien im Themenfeld vor. Darauf aufbauend beschreiben [sie] das Vorgehen und die Ergebnisse eines Verfahrens, das im Rahmen eines Expertentreffens im Mai 2012 durchgeführt wurde, bei dem Wetten auf die zukünftigen Entwicklungen von Lern- und Lehrmaterialien für den deutschsprachigen europäischen Raum abgeschlossen wurden. Das Vorgehen sowie die Ergebnisse werden dabei kritisch diskutiert und abschließend dargestellt, wie die Qualität der Vorhersagen zukünftig überprüft werden wird. (DIPF/Orig.

Die Zukunft von Lern- und Lehrmaterialien: Entwicklungen, Initiativen, Vorhersagen.

Wie werden sich Lern- und Lehrmaterialien zukünftig ändern? Wie ändern sich dadurch der Unterricht, Produktionsprozesse, Vertriebsprozesse oder auch Geschäftsmodelle? In einer Gesprächsreihe (L3T's TALK: http://l3t.eu/talk/) sowie in einer Fachveranstaltung zur Zukunft von Lern- und Lehrmaterialien (L3T's WORK: http://l3t.eu/zukunft/) wurden dazu Aussagen von Experten gesammelt und bewertet. Eine Auswahl dieser Aussagen und Vorhersagen finden sich in diesem Buch