Züchterische Bearbeitung von Süßlupinen für den ökologischen Landbau - Variabilität wichtiger Inhaltsstoffe in Abhängigkeit vom Standort -

Lupines are used as protein-rich feeding stuff with high quality for the organic farming. Therefore important quality parameters are estimated in different cultivars and breed-ing lines of blue lupins in relation to location. Protein content, amino acid composition, fat and fatty acid composition, as well as antinutritive substances (raffinose oligosac-charides and alkaloids) were often more different between locations than cultivars. The reason for differences in content and composition of the ingredients is caused probably by diverse environmental conditions especially soil acidity (pH-value)

Disarming Prejudice: How Ease of Use Mitigates the Detrimental Effect of IT-Based Stereotype Threat on the IT Task Performance of Older Adults

We propose that although just an oversimplified picture, the stereotype that older adults cannot use IT turns into a real threat to older adults on IT tasks. We find in an experiment with 96 older adults on a municipality website that the stereotype of not being able to use IT creates a toxic cognitive load in the minds of older adults, which in turn significantly impairs their information search on the website. Based on cognitive load as a theoretical leverage point for an intervention against IT-based stereotype threat, our results furthermore highlight that increasing a website’s ease of use effectively protects older adults against the stereotype about their inability in the IS domain. We offer in this paper a theoretically-grounded starting point for disarming prejudice in the digital transformation of societies

What does the global mean OH concentration tell us?

International audienceThe global mean OH concentration ([OH]GM ) has been used as an indicator of the atmospheric oxidizing efficiency or its changes over time. It is also used for evaluating the performance of atmospheric chemistry models by comparing with other models or with observationally-based reference [OH]GM levels. We contend that the treatment of this quantity in the recent literature renders it problematic for either of these pur-poses. Several different methods have historically been used to compute [OH]GM: weighting by atmospheric mass or volume, or by the reaction with CH4 or CH3CCl3. In addition, these have been applied over different domains to represent the troposphere. While it is clear that this can lead to inconsistent [OH]GM values, to date there has been no careful assessment of the differences expected when [OH]GM is computed using various weightings and domains. Here these differences are considered using four different 3D OH distributions, along with the weightings mentioned above applied over various atmospheric domains. We find that the [OH]GM values computed based on a given distribution but using different domains for the troposphere can result in differences of 10% or more, while different weightings can lead to differences of up to 30%, comparable to the uncertainty which is commonly stated for [OH]GM or its trend. Thus, at present comparing [OH]GM values or trends from different studies does not provide clearly interpretable information about whether the OH amounts are actually similar or not, except in the few cases where the same weighting and domain have been used in both studies. Furthermore, we find that the only direct indicator of the global atmospheric oxidizing efficiency of OH with respect to a particular gas (e.g. CH4 or CH3CCl3 ) is the [OH]GM value weighted by the reaction with that gas; the mass-weighted and volume-weighted [OH]GM values, in contrast, are generally poor indicators of the atmospheric oxidizing efficiency on a global basis (regionally they are better). We recommend that in future studies the [OH]GM value weighted by the reaction with CH4 , along with the CH4 turnover time, be given as the primary indicators of the atmospheric oxidizing efficiency, and that serious evaluations of modeled OH concentrations be done with air mass weighted [OH]GM broken down into atmospheric sub-compartments, especially focusing on the tropics, where the atmospheric oxidizing efficiency is greatest

The effects of lightning-produced NO_x and its vertical distribution on atmospheric chemistry: sensitivity simulations with MATCH-MPIC

The impact of different assumptions concerning the source magnitude as well as the vertical placement of lightning-produced nitrogen oxides is studied using the global chemistry transport model MATCH-MPIC. The responses of NO_x, O₃, OH, HNO₃ and peroxyacetyl-nitrate (PAN) are investigated. A marked sensitivity to both parameters is found. NO_x burdens globally can be enhanced by up to 100% depending on the vertical placement and source magnitude strength. In all cases, the largest enhancements occur in the tropical upper troposphere, where lifetimes of most trace gases are longer and where they thus become more susceptible to long-range transport by large-scale circulation patterns. Comparison with observations indicate that 0 and 20 Tg(N)/yr production rates of NO_x from lightning are too low and too high, respectively. However, no single intermediate production rate or vertical distribution can be singled out as best fitting the observations, due to the large scatter in the datasets. This underscores the need for further measurement campaigns in key regions, such as the tropical continents

Topical issue on strategy contributions to cognitive aging

Although some cognitive decline with healthy aging appears inevitable, previous research on strategy instruction and training has repeatedly demonstrated that older adults can substantially improve their cognitive performance through effective strategies. At the same time, age-related changes in strategy repertoire, distribution, execution, and selection have also been documented and, in part, been shown to contribute to the observed age-related deficits in cognitive performance. Authored by researchers from France, Germany, Italy, and the U.S., the nine articles of this Topical Issue on Strategy Contributions to Cognitive Aging provide novel insights on age-related differences (and similarities) in strategies across a variety of cognitive domains (episodic [item, source, event] memory, metamemory, decision making, and numeracy), ranging from new insights on traditional memory-encoding strategies such as self-generation to the discovery of novel strategies involved in event memory, metamemory, and numerosity comparison. Further, a review of event segmentation training and two novel training studies demonstrate much potential for the improvement of older adults’ cognitive performance, transferring beyond the trained task—but also identify for whom cognitive strategy training may be less beneficial, necessitating a more intensive or different training approach. All in all, this Topical Issue provides a comprehensive picture of age-related changes in cognitive strategies and means to improve older adults’ strategic approach to cognitive tasks

High resolution coherent population trapping on a single hole spin in a semiconductor

We report high resolution coherent population trapping on a single hole spin in a semiconductor quantum dot. The absorption dip signifying the formation of a dark state exhibits an atomic physics-like dip width of just 10 MHz. We observe fluctuations in the absolute frequency of the absorption dip, evidence of very slow spin dephasing. We identify this process as charge noise by, first, demonstrating that the hole spin g-factor in this configuration (in-plane magnetic field) is strongly dependent on the vertical electric field, and second, by characterizing the charge noise through its effects on the optical transition frequency. An important conclusion is that charge noise is an important hole spin dephasing process

European ectoparasitoids of two classical weed biological control agents released in North America

The ceutorhynchine weevils Hadroplontus litura (F.) and Microplontus edentulus (Schultze) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), are established in North America as biological control agents for Canada thistle, Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop., and scentless chamomile, Tripleurospermum perforatum (Mérat) M. Lainz (Asteraceae), respectively. In North America, both weeds occur sympatrically and in similar habitats as another ceutorhynchine, Ceutorhynchus obstrictus (Marsham) (cabbage seedpod weevil), an important pest of canola, Brassica napus L., and Brassica rapa L. (Brassicaceae). Ceutorhynchinae weevils released to control weeds in cultivated crops may serve as alternate hosts if agents released for biological control of C. obstrictus are not specific to that species. Parasitoids associated with M. edentulus and H. litura inflict similar levels of mortality on their hosts, yet a single species was associated with the latter host, whereas 13 species attacked the former. The stem-mining M. edentulus appears to be at some risk but not the root-crown feeding H. litura, should the parasitoids Trichomalus perfectus (Walker) and Mesopolobus morys (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) be introduced as biological control agents of the silique-feeding C. obstrictus. These findings suggest that feeding niche may be an important criterion for developing a nontarget species test list for host-range testing of potential biological control agent

Larval phenologies and parasitoids of two seed-feeding weevils associated with hoary cress and shepherd's purse (Brassicaceae) in Europe

In Europe, Ceutorhynchus turbatus Schultze and Ceutorhynchus typhae (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) feed on seeds from hoary cress and shepherd's purse (Cardaria draba (L.) Desv. and Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik.); both plants are invasive in North America. In North America, C. turbatus is a candidate for biological control of hoary cress, C. typhae is adventive, and both are sympatric with cabbage seedpod weevil (Ceutorhynchus obstrictus (Marsham)), an invasive alien pest of canola (Brassica napus L. and Brassica rapa L., Brassicaceae). We investigated host associations among C. turbatus, C. typhae, and their parasitoids in Europe. Of particular interest was host specificity of Trichomalus perfectus (Walker) and Mesopolobus morys (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), candidates for biological control of C. obstrictus in North America. We found no evidence that T. perfectus attacks C. turbatus or C. typhae; however, M. morys was the most common parasitoid associated with C. turbatu

Memory and metamemory for social interactions: Evidence for a metamemory expectancy illusion

People do not always have accurate metacognitive awareness of the conditions that lead to good source memory. In Experiment1, participants studied words referring to bathroom and kitchen items that were either paired with an expected or unexpectedroom as the source. Participants provided judgments of item and source learning after each item–source pair. In line with previousstudies, participants incorrectly predicted their memory to be better for expected than for unexpected sources. Here, we show thatthis metamemory expectancy illusion generalizes to socially relevant stimuli. In Experiment2, participants played a prisoner’sdilemma game with trustworthy-looking and untrustworthy-looking partners who either cooperated or cheated. After each roundof the game, participants provided metamemory judgments about how well they were going to remember the partner’sfaceandbehavior. On average, participants predicted their source memory to be better for behaviors that were expected based on the facialappearances of the partners. This stands in contrast to the established finding that veridical source memory is better for unex-pected than expected information. Asking participants to provide metamemory judgments at encoding selectively enhancedsource memory for the expected information. These results are consistent with how schematic expectations affect source memoryand metamemory for nonsocial information, suggesting that both are governed by general rather than by domain-specificprinciples. Differences between experiments may be linked to the fact that people may have special beliefs about memory forsocial stimuli, such as the belief that cheaters are particularly memorable (Experiment3)