A diagnostic procedure for applying the social-ecological systems framework in diverse cases

The framework for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological systems (SES) framework of Elinor Ostrom is a multitier collection of concepts and variables that have proven to be relevant for understanding outcomes in diverse SES. The first tier of this framework includes the concepts resource system (RS) and resource units (RU), which are then further characterized through lower tier variables such as clarity of system boundaries and mobility. The long-term goal of framework development is to derive conclusions about which combinations of variables explain outcomes across diverse types of SES. This will only be possible if the concepts and variables of the framework can be made operational unambiguously for the different types of SES, which, however, remains a challenge. Reasons for this are that case studies examine other types of RS than those for which the framework has been developed or consider RS for which different actors obtain different kinds of RU. We explore these difficulties and relate them to antecedent work on common-pool resources and public goods. We propose a diagnostic procedure which resolves some of these difficulties by establishing a sequence of questions that facilitate the step-wise and unambiguous application of the SES framework to a given case. The questions relate to the actors benefiting from the SES, the collective goods involved in the generation of those benefits, and the action situations in which the collective goods are provided and appropriated. We illustrate the diagnostic procedure for four case studies in the context of irrigated agriculture in New Mexico, common property meadows in the Swiss Alps, recreational fishery in Germany, and energy regions in Austria. We conclude that the current SES framework has limitations when applied to complex, multiuse SES, because it does not sufficiently capture the actor interdependencies introduced through RS and RU characteristics and dynamics

Increasing the reuse of wood in bulky waste using artificial intelligence and imaging in the VIS, IR, and terahertz ranges

Bulky waste contains valuable raw materials, especially wood, which accounts for around 50% of the volume. Sorting is very time-consuming in view of the volume and variety of bulky waste and is often still done manually. Therefore, only about half of the available wood is used as a material, while the rest is burned with unsorted waste. In order to improve the material recycling of wood from bulky waste, the project ASKIVIT aims to develop a solution for the automated sorting of bulky waste. For that, a multi-sensor approach is proposed including: (i) Conventional imaging in the visible spectral range; (ii) Near-infrared hyperspectral imaging; (iii) Active heat flow thermography; (iv) Terahertz imaging. This paper presents a demonstrator used to obtain images with the aforementioned sensors. Differences between the imaging systems are discussed and promising results on common problems like painted materials or black plastic are presented. Besides that, pre-examinations show the importance of near-infrared hyperspectral imaging for the characterization of bulky waste

Making the UN Ocean Decade work? The potential for, and challenges of, transdisciplinary research and real‐world laboratories for building towards ocean solutions

1. Due to the strong interconnectedness between the ocean and our societies worldwide, improved ocean governance is essential for sustainable development in the context of the UN Ocean Decade. However, a multitude of different perspectives—ecological, societal, political, economic—and relations between these have to be understood and taken into consideration to foster transformative pathways towards marine sustainability. 2. A core challenge that we are facing is that the ‘right’ response to complex societal issues cannot be known beforehand as abilities to predict complex systems are limited. Consequently, societal transformation is necessarily a journey towards the unknown and therefore requires experimental approaches that must enable the involvement of everyone with stakes in the future of our marine environment and its resources. 3. A promising transdisciplinary research method that fulfils both criteria—being participatory and experimental—are real-world laboratories. Here, we discuss how real-world labs can serve as an operational framework in the context of the Ocean Decade by facilitating and guiding successful knowledge exchange at the interface of science and society. The core element of real-world labs is transdisciplinary experimentation to jointly develop potential strategies leading to targeted real-world interventions, essential for achieving the proposed ‘Decade Outcomes’. 4. The authors specifically illustrate how deploying the concept of real-world labs can be advantageous when having to deal with multiple, overlapping challenges in the context of ocean governance and the blue economy. 5. Altogether, we offer a first major contribution to synthesizing knowledge on the potentials of marine real-world labs, considering how they act as a way of exploring options for sustainable ocean futures. Indeed, in the marine context, real-world labs are still under-explored but are a tangible way for addressing the societal challenges of working towards sustainability transformations over the coming UN Ocean Decade and beyond.BMBF CREATEBMBF MariscoVolkswagen Foundation ‘Niedersächsisches Vorab’BMBF ‘Innovation and structural change—WIR!’Peer Reviewe

Transcriptomic buffering of cryptic genetic variation contributes to meningococcal virulence

Ampattu BJ, Hagmann L, Liang C, et al. Transcriptomic buffering of cryptic genetic variation contributes to meningococcal virulence. BMC Genomics. 2017;18(1): 282.Background: Commensal bacteria like Neisseria meningitidis sometimes cause serious disease. However, genomic comparison of hyperinvasive and apathogenic lineages did not reveal unambiguous hints towards indispensable virulence factors. Here, in a systems biological approach we compared gene expression of the invasive strain MC58 and the carriage strain alpha 522 under different ex vivo conditions mimicking commensal and virulence compartments to assess the strain-specific impact of gene regulation on meningococcal virulence. Results: Despite indistinguishable ex vivo phenotypes, both strains differed in the expression of over 500 genes under infection mimicking conditions. These differences comprised in particular metabolic and information processing genes as well as genes known to be involved in host-damage such as the nitrite reductase and numerous LOS biosynthesis genes. A model based analysis of the transcriptomic differences in human blood suggested ensuing metabolic flux differences in energy, glutamine and cysteine metabolic pathways along with differences in the activation of the stringent response in both strains. In support of the computational findings, experimental analyses revealed differences in cysteine and glutamine auxotrophy in both strains as well as a strain and condition dependent essentiality of the (p) ppGpp synthetase gene relA and of a short non-coding AT-rich repeat element in its promoter region. Conclusions: Our data suggest that meningococcal virulence is linked to transcriptional buffering of cryptic genetic variation in metabolic genes including global stress responses. They further highlight the role of regulatory elements for bacterial virulence and the limitations of model strain approaches when studying such genetically diverse species as N. meningitidis

The novel oligopeptide utilizing species Anaeropeptidivorans aminofermentans M3/9T, its role in anaerobic digestion and occurrence as deduced from large-scale fragment recruitment analyses

Research on biogas-producing microbial communities aims at elucidation of correlations and dependencies between the anaerobic digestion (AD) process and the corresponding microbiome composition in order to optimize the performance of the process and the biogas output. Previously, Lachnospiraceae species were frequently detected in mesophilic to moderately thermophilic biogas reactors. To analyze adaptive genome features of a representative Lachnospiraceae strain, Anaeropeptidivorans aminofermentans M3/9T was isolated from a mesophilic laboratory-scale biogas plant and its genome was sequenced and analyzed in detail. Strain M3/9T possesses a number of genes encoding enzymes for degradation of proteins, oligo- and dipeptides. Moreover, genes encoding enzymes participating in fermentation of amino acids released from peptide hydrolysis were also identified. Based on further findings obtained from metabolic pathway reconstruction, M3/9T was predicted to participate in acidogenesis within the AD process. To understand the genomic diversity between the biogas isolate M3/9T and closely related Anaerotignum type strains, genome sequence comparisons were performed. M3/9T harbors 1,693 strain-specific genes among others encoding different peptidases, a phosphotransferase system (PTS) for sugar uptake, but also proteins involved in extracellular solute binding and import, sporulation and flagellar biosynthesis. In order to determine the occurrence of M3/9T in other environments, large-scale fragment recruitments with the M3/9T genome as a template and publicly available metagenomes representing different environments was performed. The strain was detected in the intestine of mammals, being most abundant in goat feces, occasionally used as a substrate for biogas production.Peer Reviewe

Characterization of Bathyarchaeota genomes assembled from metagenomes of biofilms residing in mesophilic and thermophilic biogas reactors

Maus I, Rumming M, Bergmann I, et al. Characterization of Bathyarchaeota genomes assembled from metagenomes of biofilms residing in mesophilic and thermophilic biogas reactors. Biotechnology for Biofuels. 2018;11(1): 167

Alpha-decay damage and recrystallization in zircon: evidence for an intermediate state from infrared spectroscopy

α-decay damage and recrystallization in natural zircon (with dose ranging from 0.06 to 23.3×1018 α-events g -1) were studied using polarized reflection infrared spectroscopy. The experimental results show that α-decay damage leads to a gradual decrease in reflectivity and a loss of anisotropy of IR spectra. Recrystallization of damaged zircon is found as a multi-stage process with a strong dependence on the initial degree of damage. In weakly and moderately damaged samples the major recrystallization takes place near 1000 K. Annealed samples recrystallize epitaxially along their original crystallographic orientations. A highly damaged zircon with radiation dose of 15.9×1018 α-events g -1 decomposes into SiO2 and ZrO2 near 1100 K. In this sample the growth of ZrSiO4 from the binary oxides occurs between 1400 and 1500 K. An additional IR signal peaked near 790 cm -1 is detected in moderately damaged samples annealed at temperatures higher than 800 K. This peak is sharp and isotropic. The peak tends to disappear at temperatures above 1400 K. This signal may be related to an unknown intermediate phase caused by heating of radiation-damaged zircon. Alternatively, the signal may be due to the structural distortions near the boundaries between the amorphized and crystalline regions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/48885/2/c02410.pd

Impact of process temperature and organic loading rate on cellulolytic/hydrolytic biofilm microbiomes during biomethanation of ryegrass silage revealed by genome-centered metagenomics and metatranscriptomics

Background: Anaerobic digestion (AD) of protein-rich grass silage was performed in experimental two-stage two-phase biogas reactor systems at low vs. increased organic loading rates (OLRs) under mesophilic (37 °C) and thermophilic (55 °C) temperatures. To follow the adaptive response of the biomass-attached cellulolytic/hydrolytic biofilms at increasing ammonium/ammonia contents, genome-centered metagenomics and transcriptional profiling based on metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) were conducted. Results: In total, 78 bacterial and archaeal MAGs representing the most abundant members of the communities, and featuring defined quality criteria were selected and characterized in detail. Determination of MAG abundances under the tested conditions by mapping of the obtained metagenome sequence reads to the MAGs revealed that MAG abundance profiles were mainly shaped by the temperature but also by the OLR. However, the OLR effect was more pronounced for the mesophilic systems as compared to the thermophilic ones. In contrast, metatranscriptome mapping to MAGs subsequently normalized to MAG abundances showed that under thermophilic conditions, MAGs respond to increased OLRs by shifting their transcriptional activities mainly without adjusting their proliferation rates. This is a clear difference compared to the behavior of the microbiome under mesophilic conditions. Here, the response to increased OLRs involved adjusting of proliferation rates and corresponding transcriptional activities. The analysis led to the identification of MAGs positively responding to increased OLRs. The most outstanding MAGs in this regard, obviously well adapted to higher OLRs and/or associated conditions, were assigned to the order Clostridiales (Acetivibrio sp.) for the mesophilic biofilm and the orders Bacteroidales (Prevotella sp. and an unknown species), Lachnospirales (Herbinix sp. and Kineothrix sp.) and Clostridiales (Clostridium sp.) for the thermophilic biofilm. Genome-based metabolic reconstruction and transcriptional profiling revealed that positively responding MAGs mainly are involved in hydrolysis of grass silage, acidogenesis and/or acetogenesis. Conclusions: An integrated-omics approach enabled the identification of new AD biofilm keystone species featuring outstanding performance under stress conditions such as increased OLRs. Genome-based knowledge on the metabolic potential and transcriptional activity of responsive microbiome members will contribute to the development of improved microbiological AD management strategies for biomethanation of renewable biomass. © 2020 The Author(s)

Annealing of -decay damage in zircon: a Raman spectroscopic study

Recrystallization and structural recovery in -decay damage in zircon samples have been studied using Raman spectroscopy. Fifteen zircon samples with different degrees of radiation damage have been thermally annealed between 600 K and 1800 K for up to 28 days and 8 hours. The experimental results from this study reveal that recrystallization in the damaged zircon samples is a multi-stage process that depends on the degree of initial damage of the samples. In partially damaged samples the lattice recovery of damaged crystalline ZrSiO4 takes place at temperatures as low as about 700 K, as shown by a remarkable band-sharpening and a significant increase in the frequencies of 1 and 3 Si-O stretching vibrations together with the external band near 357 cm-1 with increasing temperature. A dramatic increase of Raman scattering intensity of ZrSiO4 occurs in partially damaged samples near 1000 K due to a recrystallization process involving epitaxial growth. Heavily damaged samples tend to decompose into ZrO2 and SiO2 at high temperatures. Tetragonal ZrO2 has been observed under annealing between 1125 K and about 1600 K in heavily damaged samples while monoclinic ZrO2 appears above 1600 K. Weak signals from ZrSiO4 were detected at 1125 K in highly metamict zircon although the main recrystallization appears to occur near 1500 K accompanied by a decrease of the volumes of ZrO2 as well as SiO2 . This suggests that this recrystallization is associated with the reaction of ZrO2 with SiO2 to form ZrSiO4 . A possible intermediate phase has been observed, for the first time, by Raman spectroscopy in damaged zircons annealed at temperatures between 800 K and 1400 K. This phase is characterized by strong, broad Raman signals near 670, 798 and 1175 cm-1 . Prolonged isothermal annealing at 1050 K results in a decrease of these characteristic bands and eventually the disappearance of this intermediate phase.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/48882/2/c01321.pd

Transforming Growth Factor β1 Oppositely Regulates the Hypertrophic and Contractile Response to β-Adrenergic Stimulation in the Heart

BACKGROUND: Neuroendocrine activation and local mediators such as transforming growth factor-β₁ (TGF-β₁) contribute to the pathobiology of cardiac hypertrophy and failure, but the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. We aimed to characterize the functional network involving TGF-β₁, the renin-angiotensin system, and the β-adrenergic system in the heart. METHODS: Transgenic mice overexpressing TGF-β₁ (TGF-β₁-Tg) were treated with a β-blocker, an AT₁-receptor antagonist, or a TGF-β-antagonist (sTGFβR-Fc), were morphologically characterized. Contractile function was assessed by dobutamine stress echocardiography in vivo and isolated myocytes in vitro. Functional alterations were related to regulators of cardiac energy metabolism. RESULTS: Compared to wild-type controls, TGF-β₁-Tg mice displayed an increased heart-to-body-weight ratio involving both fibrosis and myocyte hypertrophy. TGF-β₁ overexpression increased the hypertrophic responsiveness to β-adrenergic stimulation. In contrast, the inotropic response to β-adrenergic stimulation was diminished in TGF-β₁-Tg mice, albeit unchanged basal contractility. Treatment with sTGF-βR-Fc completely prevented the cardiac phenotype in transgenic mice. Chronic β-blocker treatment also prevented hypertrophy and ANF induction by isoprenaline, and restored the inotropic response to β-adrenergic stimulation without affecting TGF-β₁ levels, whereas AT₁-receptor blockade had no effect. The impaired contractile reserve in TGF-β₁-Tg mice was accompanied by an upregulation of mitochondrial uncoupling proteins (UCPs) which was reversed by β-adrenoceptor blockade. UCP-inhibition restored the contractile response to β-adrenoceptor stimulation in vitro and in vivo. Finally, cardiac TGF-β₁ and UCP expression were elevated in heart failure in humans, and UCP--but not TGF-β₁--was downregulated by β-blocker treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our data support the concept that TGF-β₁ acts downstream of angiotensin II in cardiomyocytes, and furthermore, highlight the critical role of the β-adrenergic system in TGF-β₁-induced cardiac phenotype. Our data indicate for the first time, that TGF-β₁ directly influences mitochondrial energy metabolism by regulating UCP3 expression. β-blockers may act beneficially by normalizing regulatory mechanisms of cellular hypertrophy and energy metabolism