Trädgårdsjordbruk i Uppsala

Uppsatsen utforskar trädgårdsjordbruket som ett alternativ för ett hållbart och resilient livsmedelssystem i syfte att höja Uppsala självförsörjningsgrad. Trädgårdsjordbruket presenteras som en lösning för att minska den ekonomiska metabolismen i livsmedelssystemet och minska de negativa externaliteter som produceras genom det marknadsdominerande tillväxtsekonomin. Kortare produktions och distributionskedjor är avgörande för att skapa hållbara livsmedelssystem för en framtid med sinande fossila resurser och mindre tillgänglig energi. Uppsatsen utforskar varför trädgårdsjordbruket är relevant, hur det kan bidra till att öka den regionala självhushållningen genom hållbara och resilienta strategier samt vilka utmaningar för trädgårdsjordbruket som existerar och behöver överkommas i Uppsala idag. För detta syfte har metoden “Research through design” använts för att designa ett alternativt livsmedelssystem i ett kvarter i Norby, Uppsala och beräknat dess produktiva potential. Därtill har jag genomfört fokusgrupper för att utforska sociala förutsättningar och utmaningar för trädgårdsjordbruket. Genom dessa metoder och genom att sammanställa existerande litteratur för att producera nya perspektiv på degrowth inom livsmedelssystem har jag presenterat trädgårdsjordbruket som ett kraftfullt alternativ till marknadsbaserade lösningar som bemöter utmaningar kopplat till minskande fossila resurser, behovet av att producera med lokala resurser och avfallsströmmar, behovet av att sluta kretslopp, regenerera lokala naturresurser samt utnyttja befintlig infrastruktur genom retrofitting för att höja uppsala självförsörjningsgrad för att möta de regionala utvecklingmålsättningarna. Jag har därtill genom designen och fokusgrupper identifierat kapacitetsbyggande av humankapital och normativa förutsättningar, socialt kapital och relationsbyggande, fysiskt och finansiellt kapital, naturkapital samt institutionella innovationer som centralt för att överkomma sociala utmaningar för trädgårdsjordbruket i Norby. Arbetet bidrar till en mer holistisk förståelse av hur Uppsala kan höja sin självförsörjningsgrad och skapa hållbara och resilienta produktionssystem. Därtill bidrar arbetet genom designen till förståelsen av hur alternativa livsmedelssystem bortom tillväxt kan gestaltas inom degrowth, något som direkt saknats och efterfrågats inom fältet. Fynden om kapacitetsbyggande och utmaningarna för trädgårdsjordbruket bidrar till en mer holistisk förståelse av vad som krävs för att främja alternativa livsmedelssystem bortom enbart policies vilket möjliggör mer effektfulla och diversifierade utvecklingsstrategier.The thesis explores garden farming as an alternative for a sustainable and resilient food system with the purpose of increasing Uppsalas level of self-sufficiency. Garden farming is presented as a solution to decrease the economic metabolism within the food system and to reduce the negative externalities produced by the market dominated growth economy. Shorter production and distribution chains are essential for creating sustainable food systems for a future with decreasing fossil resources and available energy. The thesis explores why garden farming is relevant, how it can contribute to increasing regional self-sufficiency through sustainable and resilient strategies and what challenges garden farming faces and needs to overcome in Uppsala today. For this purpose, the method “Research through design” has been used to design an alternative food system in a neighborhood in Norby, Uppsala and to calculate its productive potential. In addition, focus groups have been used to explore the social conditions and challenges of garden farming. Through these methods and by compiling existing literature to produce new perspectives on degrowth within food systems I have presented garden farming as a powerful alternative to market based solutions that faces challenges related to decreasing fossil resources, the need for production based on local resources and waste streams, the need to close production cycles, to regenerate natural resources and to through retrofitting repurpose existing infrastructure to increase Uppsala’s self-sufficiency in order to meet the regional development goals. Through the design and the focus groups I have also identified capacity building of human capital and normative conditions, social capital and relationship building, physical and financial capital, natural capital and institutional innovations as central to overcoming the social challenges facing garden farming in Norby. The thesis contributes to a more holistic understanding of how Uppsala can increase its level of self-sufficiency and create sustainable and resilient production systems. In addition, the thesis contributes through the design to how alternative food systems beyond growth could look within degrowth, something that has been lacking and directly demanded within the field. The findings about capacity building and the challenges facing garden farming contribute to a more holistic understanding of what is needed to advance alternative food systems beyond the mere use of policy which enables more effectful and diversified development strategies

Optical Astronomy from Orbiting Observatories

Atmospheric extinction, seeing, and light pollution £re the most significant factors affecting the quality of observations obtained from ground-based optical telescopes, degrading resolution and limiting reach. In addition, the earth\u27s atmosphere is opaque to radiation shorter than 0.3 microns preventing the ultraviolet from being observed in detail from the ground. The solution to these problems has been to move astronomical telescopes into earth orbit. Initially these orbiting observatories carried instruments sensitive to ultraviolet and higher energy radiation since it was otherwise unobservable. The success of the first series of these orbiting observatories, the Orbiting Astronomical Observatories (OAO), established these satellites as one of a new generation of tools for exploring the universe. Another orbiting observatory, the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), is unique among the current orbiting observatories in that it is in a geosynchronous orbit and provides a guest observer facility serving the international community. IUE has had a significant impact on observational astronomy. Nearly 10 percent of all observational papers published JLi the Astrophysical Journal in 1980 reported or used observations made by IUE. The figure for all astronomical satellites is about 3 times higher and continues to rise. With the orbiting of the Space Telescope in the mid 1980s by the Space Shuttle, observational astronomy will enter a new era. For the first time, astronomers will have access to a large (2.4 meter) high-resolution telescope unhindered by the earth f s atmosphere. With the potential such an instrument offers, there is little doubt that the near future will see a large fraction of observational astronomy performed from orbiting observatories

Draft genome of Rosenbergiella nectarea strain 8N4T provides insights into the potential role of this species in its plant host.

Background:Rosenbergiella nectarea strain 8N4T, the type species of the genus Rosenbergiella, was isolated from Amygdalus communis (almond) floral nectar. Other strains of this species were isolated from the floral nectar of Citrus paradisi (grapefruit), Nicotiana glauca (tobacco tree) and from Asphodelus aestivus. R. nectarea strain 8N4T is a Gram-negative, oxidase-negative, facultatively anaerobic bacterium in the family Enterobacteriaceae. Results:Here we describe features of this organism, together with its genome sequence and annotation. The DNA GC content is 47.38%, the assembly size is 3,294,717 bp, and the total number of genes are 3,346. The genome discloses the possible role that this species may play in the plant. The genome contains both virulence genes, like pectin lyase and hemolysin, that may harm plant cells and genes that are predicted to produce volatile compounds that may impact the visitation rates by nectar consumers, such as pollinators and nectar thieves. Conclusions:The genome of R. nectarea strain 8N4T reveals a mutualistic interaction with the plant host and a possible effect on plant pollination and fitness

Draft genome sequences of Bradyrhizobium shewense sp nov ERR11(T) and Bradyrhizobium yuanmingense CCBAU 10071(T)

The type strain of the prospective Bradyrhizobium shewense sp. nov. ERR11(T), was isolated from a nodule of the leguminous tree Erythrina brucei native to Ethiopia. The type strain Bradyrhizobium yuanmingense CCBAU 10071(T), was isolated from the nodules of Lespedeza cuneata in Beijing, China. The genomes of ERR11(T) and CCBAU 10071(T) were sequenced by DOE-JGI and deposited at the DOE-JGI genome portal as well as at the European Nucleotide Archive. The genome of ERR11(T) is 9,163,226 bp in length and has 102 scaffolds, containing 8548 protein-coding and 86 RNA genes. The CCBAU 10071(T) genome is arranged in 108 scaffolds and consists of 8,201,522 bp long and 7776 protein-coding and 85 RNA genes. Both genomes contain symbiotic genes, which are homologous to the genes found in the complete genome sequence of Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA110(T). The genes encoding for nodulation and nitrogen fixation in ERR11(T) showed high sequence similarity with homologous genes found in the draft genome of peanut-nodulating Bradyrhizobium arachidis LMG 26795(T). The nodulation genes nolYAnodD2D1YABCSUIJ-nolO-nodZ of ERR11(T) and CCBAU 10071(T) are organized in a similar way to the homologous genes identified in the genomes of USDA110(T), Bradyrhizobium ottawaense USDA 4 and Bradyrhizobium liaoningense CCBAU 05525. The genomes harbor hupSLCFHK and hypBFDE genes that code the expression of hydrogenase, an enzyme that helps rhizobia to uptake hydrogen released by the N2-fixation process and genes encoding denitrification functions napEDABC and norCBQD for nitrate and nitric oxide reduction, respectively. The genome of ERR11(T) also contains nosRZDFYLX genes encoding nitrous oxide reductase. Based on multilocus sequence analysis of housekeeping genes, the novel species, which contains eight strains formed a unique group close to the B. ottawaense branch. Genome Average Nucleotide Identity (ANI) calculated between the genome sequences of ERR11(T) and closely related sequences revealed that strains belonging to B. ottawaense branch (USDA4 and CCBAU15615), were the closest strains to the strain ERR11(T) with 95.2% ANI. Type strain ERR11(T) showed the highest DDH predicted value with CCBAU15615 (58.5%), followed by USDA 4 (53.1%). Nevertheless, the ANI and DDH values obtained between ERR11(T) and CCBAU 15615 or USDA 4 were below the cutoff values (ANI = 96.5%; DDH = 70%) for strains belonging to the same species, suggesting that ERR11(T) is a new species. Therefore, based on the phylogenetic analysis, ANI and DDH values, we formally propose the creation of B. shewense sp. nov. with strain ERR11(T) (HAMBI 3532(T)= LMG 30162(T)) as the type strain.Peer reviewe

Functional response of the soil microbial community to biochar applications

Biochar has the potential to mitigate the impacts of climate change and soil degradation by simultaneously sequestering C in soil and improving soil quality. However, the mechanism of biochar's effect on soil microbial communities remains unclear. Therefore, we conducted a global meta-analysis, where we collected 2,110 paired observations from 107 published papers and used structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the effects of biochar on microbial community structure and function. Our result indicated that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal abundance, microbial biomass C, and functional richness increased with biochar addition regardless of loads, time since application, and experiment types. Results from mixed linear model analysis suggested that soil respiration and actinomycetes (ACT) abundance decreased with biochar application. With the increase of soil pH, the effect of biochar on fungal abundance and C metabolic ability was lessened. Higher biochar pH associated with higher pyrolysis temperatures reduced the abundance of bacteria, fungi, ACT, and soil microbes feeding on miscellaneous C from Biolog Eco-plate experiments. SEM that examined the effect of biochar properties, load, and soil properties on microbial community indicated that fungal abundance was the dominant factor affecting the response of the bacterial abundance to biochar. The response of bacterial abundance to biochar addition was soil dependent, whereas fungi abundance was mostly related to biochar load and pyrolysis temperature. Based on soil conditions, controlling biochar load and production conditions would be a direct way to regulate the effect of biochar application on soil microbial function and increase the capacity to sequester C

The van Niel International Prize for Studies in Bacterial Systematics, awarded in 2020 to Tanja Woyke

The Senate of The University of Queensland, on the recommendation of the Executive Board of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes, is pleased to present the van Niel International Prize for Studies in Bacterial Systematics for the triennium 2017–2020 to Dr Tanja Woyke in recognition of her contributions made to the field of bacterial systemat-ics. The award, established in 1986 by Professor V. B. D. Skerman of The University of Queensland, honours the contribution of scholarship in the field of microbiology by Professor Cornelis Bernardus van Niel

Genome sequencing suggests diverse secondary metabolism in coral-associated aquimarina megaterium

We report here the genome sequences of three Aquimarina megaterium strains isolated from the octocoral Euniceila labiata. We reveal a coding potential for versatile carbon metabolism and biosynthesis of natural products belonging to the polyketide, nonribosomal peptide, and terpene compound classes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Structure of the Proline Utilization A Proline Dehydrogenase Domain Inactivated by \u3ci\u3eN\u3c/i\u3e-propargylglycine Provides Insight into Conformational Changes Induced by Substrate Binding and Flavin Reduction

Proline utilization A (PutA) from Escherichia coli is a flavoprotein that has mutually exclusive roles as a transcriptional repressor of the put regulon and a membrane-associated enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of proline to glutamate. Previous studies have shown that the binding of proline in the proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) active site and subsequent reduction of the FAD trigger global conformational changes that enhance PutA-membrane affinity. These events cause PutA to switch from its repressor to enzymatic role, but the mechanism by which this signal is propagated from the active site to the distal membrane-binding domain is largely unknown. Here, it is shown that N-propargylglycine irreversibly inactivates PutA by covalently linking the flavin N(5) atom to the ε-amino of Lys329. Furthermore, inactivation locks PutA into a conformation that may mimic the proline reduced, membrane-associated form. The 2.15 Å resolution structure of the inactivated PRODH domain suggests that the initial events involved in broadcasting the reduced flavin state to the distal membrane binding domain include major reorganization of the flavin ribityl chain, severe (35 degree) butterfly bending of the isoalloxazine ring, and disruption of an electrostatic network involving the flavin N(5), Arg431, and Asp370. The structure also provides information about conformational changes associated with substrate binding. This analysis suggests that the active site is incompletely assembled in the absence of the substrate, and the binding of proline draws together conserved residues in helix 8 and the β1-αl loop to complete the active site