Reproductive behaviour of migrant women in Germany: Data, patterns and determinants

This paper examines the fertility of female migrants in Germany. After introducing major hypotheses on migrant fertility we give an overview on German datasets that are available for migrant fertility research. Finally, descriptive and multivariate analyses based on the "Sample Survey of Selected Migrant Groups in Germany (RAM)" are presented. Migrant fertility in Germany differs according to the country of origin: among major migrant groups analysed, Turkish women show the highest and Polish women the lowest fertility level. Multivariate analysis shows that the existence of children born in the country of origin has a strong increasing effect on migrant fertility. Besides, migrant women with German partners have a lower fertility than women with non-German partners. Furthermore, the fertility of Muslim women is elevated when compared with other religious groups. In contrast, emotional ties with the country of origin and the level of native and German language skills show no influence on migrants' fertility.

The Bio-Economy Concept and Knowledge Base in a Public Goods and Farmer Perspective

Currently an industrial perspective dominates the EU policy framework for a European bio-economy. The Commission’s proposal on the bio-economy emphasises greater resource-efficiency, largely within an industrial perspective on global economic competitiveness, benefiting capital-intensive industries at higher levels of the value chain. However a responsible bio-economy must initially address the sustainable use of resources. Many farmers are not only commodity producers but also providers of quality food and managers of the eco-system. A public goods-oriented bio-economy emphasises agro-ecological methods, organic and low (external) input farming systems, ecosystem services, social innovation in multi-stakeholder collective practices and joint production of knowledge. The potential of farmers and SMEs to contribute to innovation must be fully recognised. This approach recognises the importance of local knowledge enhancing local capabilities, while also accommodating diversity and complexity. Therefore the bio-economy concept should have a much broader scope than the dominant one in European Commission innovation policy. Socio-economic research is needed to inform strategies, pathways and stakeholder cooperation towards sustainability goals

Ethical principles and the revision of organic rules

Strong ethical principles are seen as a tool to evaluating the development of organic agriculture so that corrections can be made where they are considered necessary. This report explains how the EU project, Organic Revision, is expected to do just that

The role of the astrocytic and microglial aryl hydrocarbon receptor in CNS demyelination

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor which plays a key role in the regulation of immune and inflammatory responses. AhR expression in astrocytes and microglia was shown to limit central nervous system (CNS) inflammation. However, little is known about the function of AhR signaling in glial cells. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of astrocytic and microglial AhR in CNS demyelination and to investigate the impact of cell-specific AhR deletion on the therapeutic efficacy of laquinimod (LAQ) under cuprizone. Using the cuprizone mouse model of toxic demyelination, GFAP-, Aldh1l1- and CX3CR1-AhR mice were evaluated histologically after 6 weeks of 0.25% cuprizone feeding. Cell-specific deletion of AhR was confirmed by in vitro expression analysis upon stimulation with the AhR-specific ligand FICZ. Mice lacking astrocytic AhR showed a similar number of mature oligodendrocytes compared to littermate controls, while animals with AhR-deleted microglia displayed a significantly higher oligodendrocyte density after cuprizone challenge. Furthermore, cuprizone feeding for 3 weeks revealed more mature oligodendrocytes and less demyelination in CX3CR1-AhR mice. However, cuprizone-induced demyelination, microglial activation and acute axonal damage in the corpus callosum were comparable in all mouse strains and Cre-negative controls after 6 weeks of cuprizone intake. To investigate the effects of astrocyte- and microglia-specific AhR deletion on LAQ efficacy during toxic demyelination, cuprizone-fed mice were treated simultaneously with LAQ. As in control animals, administration of LAQ prevented mature oligodendrocyte apoptosis, demyelination, microglial infiltration and acute axonal damage in all three mouse strains. Using a reporter-based in vitro assay, NF-κB activation was significantly reduced in AhR-deficient astrocytes as compared to controls. Astrocytic NF-κB activity was diminished by LAQ independent of AhR. In conclusion, these data indicate that astrocytic and microglial AhR expression does not play a major role in mediating the cytotoxic effects of cuprizone treatment. Also, I demonstrate here that the efficacy of LAQ during toxic demyelination is independent of glial AhR expression. Nevertheless, given the fact that LAQ suppresses experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in an AhR-dependent manner, AhR signaling may offer a potential target for future therapeutic approaches, particularly for inflammatory diseases of the CNS.2021-10-2

Opposing Effects of CREBBP Mutations Govern the Phenotype of Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome and Adult SHH Medulloblastoma

Recurrent mutations in chromatin modifiers are specifically prevalent in adolescent or adult patients with Sonic hedgehog-associated medulloblastoma (SHH MB). Here, we report that mutations in the acetyltransferase CREBBP have opposing effects during the development of the cerebellum, the primary site of origin of SHH MB. Our data reveal that loss of Crebbp in cerebellar granule neuron progenitors (GNPs) during embryonic development of mice compromises GNP development, in part by downregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf). Interestingly, concomitant cerebellar hypoplasia was also observed in patients with Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, a congenital disorder caused by germline mutations of CREBBP. By contrast, loss of Crebbp in GNPs during postnatal development synergizes with oncogenic activation of SHH signaling to drive MB growth, thereby explaining the enrichment of somatic CREBBP mutations in SHH MB of adult patients. Together, our data provide insights into time-sensitive consequences of CREBBP mutations and corresponding associations with human diseases

A review of the neural basis underlying the acoustic startle response with a focus on recent developments in mammals

The startle response consists of whole-body muscle contractions, eye-blink, accelerated heart rate, and freezing in response to a strong, sudden stimulus. It is evolutionarily preserved and can be observed in any animal that can perceive sensory signals, indicating the important protective function of startle. Startle response measurements and its alterations have become a valuable tool for exploring sensorimotor processes and sensory gating, especially in the context of pathologies of psychiatric disorders. The last reviews on the neural substrates underlying acoustic startle were published around 20 years ago. Advancements in methods and techniques have since allowed new insights into acoustic startle mechanisms. This review is focused on the neural circuitry that drives the primary acoustic startle response in mammals. However, there have also been very successful efforts to identify the acoustic startle pathway in other vertebrates and invertebrates in the past decades, so at the end we briefly summarize these studies and comment on the similarities and differences between species

Habituation and prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle in rodents

The acoustic startle response is a protective response, elicited by a sudden and intense acoustic stimulus. Facial and skeletal muscles are activated within a few milliseconds, leading to a whole body flinch in rodents. Although startle responses are reflexive responses that can be reliably elicited, they are not stereotypic. They can be modulated by emotions such as fear (fear potentiated startle) and joy (joy attenuated startle), by non-associative learning processes such as habituation and sensitization, and by other sensory stimuli through sensory gating processes (prepulse inhibition), turning startle responses into an excellent tool for assessing emotions, learning, and sensory gating. The primary pathway mediating startle responses is very short and well described, qualifying startle also as an excellent model for studying the underlying mechanisms for behavioural plasticity on a cellular/molecular level. We here describe a method for assessing short-term habituation, long-term habituation and prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle responses in rodents. Habituation describes the decrease of the startle response magnitude upon repeated presentation of the same stimulus. Habituation within a testing session is called short-term habituation (STH) and is reversible upon a period of several minutes without stimulation. Habituation between testing sessions is called long-term habituation (LTH). Habituation is stimulus specific. Prepulse inhibition is the attenuation of a startle response by a preceding non-startling sensory stimulus. The interval between prepulse and startle stimulus can vary from 6 to up to 2000 ms. The prepulse can be any modality, however, acoustic prepulses are the most commonly used. Habituation is a form of non-associative learning. It can also be viewed as a form of sensory filtering, since it reduces the organisms\u27 response to a non-threatening stimulus. Prepulse inhibition (PPI) was originally developed in human neuropsychiatric research as an operational measure for sensory gating. PPI deficits may represent the interface of psychosis and cognition as they seem to predict cognitive impairment. Both habituation and PPI are disrupted in patients suffering from schizophrenia, and PPI disruptions have shown to be, at least in some cases, amenable to treatment with mostly atypical antipsychotics. However, other mental and neurodegenerative diseases are also accompanied by disruption in habituation and/or PPI, such as autism spectrum disorders (slower habituation), obsessive compulsive disorder, Tourette\u27s syndrome, Huntington\u27s disease, Parkinson\u27s disease, and Alzheimer\u27s Disease (PPI). Dopamine induced PPI deficits are a commonly used animal model for the screening of antipsychotic drugs, but PPI deficits can also be induced by many other psychomimetic drugs, environmental modifications and surgical procedures

Identifying Value-adding Users in Enterprise Social Networks

Enterprise Social Networks (ESN) have been gaining increasing attention both in academia and practice. In previous works, different user types were identified in ESN. However, there is no clear definition of value-adding users, their characteristics and how this type of user can be identified. Based on a literature review, we show that value-adding users are defined in different ways in respect to different objectives, for example spreading knowledge, vivacity of the network or real-time feedback. Each of the value-adding users shows different characteristics that are allocated to the following dimensions: network structure, message, behavior, and social network affinity. Based on the objectives and characteristics, we conduct a single case study, analyze a dataset of a cooperating company, conduct several interviews, and thereby identify value-adding users with respect to objectives. So, we can show that our approach is applicable, useful and that it is a valuable means to take decisions

Strategic Research Agenda for organic food and farming

The TP Organics Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) was finalised in December 2009. The purpose of the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) is to enable research, development and knowledge transfer that will deliver relevant outcomes – results that will contribute to the improvement of the organic sector and other low external input systems. The document has been developed through a dynamic consultative process that ran from 2008 to 2009. It involved a wide range of stakeholders who enthusiastically joined the effort to define organic research priorities. From December 2008 to February; the expert groups elaborated the first draft. The consultative process involved the active participation of many different countries. Consultation involved researchers, advisors, members of inspection/certification bodies, as well as different users/beneficiaries of the research such as farmers, processors, market actors and members of civil society organisations throughout Europe and further afield in order to gather the research needs of the whole organic sector

Das Migrationspotenzial aus der GUS in die Europäische Union

Der Forschungsbericht 17 analysiert das Migrationspotenzial aus der GUS in die Europäische Union. Dafür werden datengestützt die demographischen, wirtschaftlichen, politischen und ökologischen Entwicklungsdifferenzen zwischen den Regionen GUS und EU sowie der Einfluss der Migrantenbevölkerung in den EU-Staaten und die aktuellen Migrationsbewegungen untersucht.Research Report 17 analyses the migration potential from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to the European Union. To this end, the differences in the demographic, economic, political and ecological development between the CIS and EU regions, as well as the influence of the migrant population in the EU States, and the current migration movements, are examined on the basis of data