DOMESTIC FAIR TRADE IM ÖKOLOGISCHEN LANDBAU: UNTERNEHMERISCHES HANDELN IM SPANNUNGSFELD ZWISCHEN MARKT UND MORAL

Die Erschließung neuer Absatzkanäle im konventionellen Lebensmitteleinzelhandel hat ein rasantes Wachstum des Marktes für ökologische Lebensmittel ermöglicht. Neben positiven Effekten dieses Wachstums, wie einem erhöhten Absatz von Bio-Produkten und umfassenden Professionalisierungseffekten ist unternehmerisches Handeln heute auch in der Bio-Branche von steigendem Preisdruck sowie einer erhöhten Komplexität und Anonymität der Handelsbeziehungen geprägt. In diesem Zusammenhang wird diskutiert, inwiefern eine Rückbesinnung auf die Grundwerte des Ökologischen Landbaus notwendig ist – unter anderem dem Prinzip der Fairness (IFOAM, 2005). Geht man davon aus, dass ethische Aspekte, wie artgerechte Tierhaltung, regionale Erzeugung und faire Erzeugerpreise wichtige Motive für den Kauf von Öko-Produkten darstellen (ZANDER & HAMM, 2010), ist eine ethische Untermauerung von „Bio-Marken“ im Sinne der Produktdifferenzierung von Bio- Waren wichtig. Vor diesem Hintergrund beschäftigen sich Verbände und einige Unternehmen des Ökologischen Landbaus mit der Thematik fairer Handelsbeziehungen im globalen Norden (SCHÄFER & KRÖGER, 2011). Bisher besteht jedoch keine Einigkeit über Begrifflichkeiten und Konzepte. Ziel dieses Beitrages ist es, nach einer begrifflichen Eingrenzung fairer Handelsbeziehungen im globalen Norden unter dem Schlagwort „Domestic Fair Trade“ (DFT) eine konzeptionelle Einordung dieses Ansatzes in den sozio-ökonomischen Erklärungsrahmen ausgewählter markt- sowie ethisch-orientierter Theorien vorzunehmen.Domestic Fair Trade, Transaktionskosten, Sustainable Supply Chain Management, Relational Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility, Agribusiness,

Sample size justifications in Gait & Posture

BACKGROUND: Context regarding how researchers determine the sample size of their experiments is important for interpreting the results and determining their value and meaning. Between 2018 and 2019, the journal Gait & Posture introduced a requirement for sample size justification in their author guidelines. RESEARCH QUESTION: How frequently and in what ways are sample sizes justified in Gait & Posture research articles and was the inclusion of a guideline requiring sample size justification associated with a change in practice? METHODS: The guideline was not in place prior to May 2018 and was in place from 25th July 2019. All articles in the three most recent volumes of the journal (84-86) and the three most recent, pre-guideline volumes (60-62) at time of preregistration were included in this analysis. This provided an initial sample of 324 articles (176 pre-guideline and 148 post-guideline). Articles were screened by two authors to extract author data, article metadata and sample size justification data. Specifically, screeners identified if (yes or no) and how sample sizes were justified. Six potential justification types (Measure Entire Population, Resource Constraints, Accuracy, A priori Power Analysis, Heuristics, No Justification) and an additional option of Other/Unsure/Unclear were used. RESULTS: In most cases, authors of Gait & Posture articles did not provide a justification for their study's sample size. The inclusion of the guideline was associated with a modest increase in the percentage of articles providing a justification (16.6-28.1%). A priori power calculations were the dominant type of justification, but many were not reported in enough detail to allow replication. SIGNIFICANCE: Gait & Posture researchers should be more transparent in how they determine their sample sizes and carefully consider if they are suitable. Editors and journals may consider adding a similar guideline as a low-resource way to improve sample size justification reporting

GlnK Facilitates the Dynamic Regulation of Bacterial Nitrogen Assimilation

Ammonium assimilation in Escherichia coli is regulated by two paralogous proteins (GlnB and GlnK), which orchestrate interactions with regulators of gene expression, transport proteins, and metabolic pathways. Yet how they conjointly modulate the activity of glutamine synthetase, the key enzyme for nitrogen assimilation, is poorly understood. We combine experiments and theory to study the dynamic roles of GlnB and GlnK during nitrogen starvation and upshift. We measure time-resolved in vivo concentrations of metabolites, total and posttranslationally modified proteins, and develop a concise biochemical model of GlnB and GlnK that incorporates competition for active and allosteric sites, as well as functional sequestration of GlnK. The model predicts the responses of glutamine synthetase, GlnB, and GlnK under time-varying external ammonium level in the wild-type and two genetic knock-outs. Our results show that GlnK is tightly regulated under nitrogen-rich conditions, yet it is expressed during ammonium run-out and starvation. This suggests a role for GlnK as a buffer of nitrogen shock after starvation, and provides a further functional link between nitrogen and carbon metabolisms

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