German Fruit Genebank – looking back 10 years after launching a national network for sustainable preservation of fruit genetic resources

Das Nationale Fachprogramm zur Erhaltung und nachhaltigen Nutzung pflanzengenetischer Ressourcen landwirtschaftlicher und gartenbaulicher Kulturpflanzen ist die Arbeitsgrundlage aller Aktivitäten auf dem Gebiet der Erhaltung obstgenetischer Ressourcen in Deutschland. Die Erhaltung obstgenetischer Ressourcen, die in Deutsch­land bereits eine sehr lange Tradition hat und bis in die frühen Jahrzehnte des 20. Jahrhunderts zurückreicht, ist die Grundlage für eine langfristige Sicherung des Obstbaus. Bereits seit dieser Zeit wird eine Vielzahl an Sorten unterschiedlicher Obstarten in staatlichen und nichtstaatlichen Sammlungen erhalten. Die Deutsche Genbank Obst (DGO) wurde als dezentrales Netzwerk vor 10 Jahren mit dem Ziel gegründet, die Erhaltung verschiedener Sammlungen von genetischen Ressourcen zu koordinieren, um somit das Risiko eines Verlustes von Obstsorten zu minimieren. Die DGO besteht zum gegenwärtigen Zeitpunkt aus sechs obstartenspezifischen Netz­werken mit insgesamt 41 Sammlungen, die von Partnern sowohl an Bundes- und Landeseinrichtungen als auch in Landkreisen und Kommunen sowie von Vereinen und Privatpersonen erhalten werden. Da der Echtheitsüberprüfung der Obstsorten höchste Priorität beigemessen wird, war es in den letzten Jahren das Ziel, in den Sammlungen der Partner Bestimmungen der Sortenechtheit sowohl pomologisch als auch molekulargenetisch durchzuführen. 75% der Apfelsorten, die für die DGO ausgewählt wurden und ca. 60% der Kirschsorten konnten bisher als sortenecht bestimmt werden. Aufbauend auf diesen Ergebnissen wurde der erste Reiseraustausch zum Aufbau von Duplikaten in den Sammlungen organisiert, um das in den Kooperationsvereinbarungen gestellte Ziel, Erhaltung der Sorten an mindestens zwei verschiedenen Standorten mit jeweils mindestens zwei Bäumen, schrittweise zu erfüllen. Die Öffentlichkeitsdarstellung der DGO erfolgt über die Webseite www.deutsche-genbank-obst.de, wobei die Datenbank mit den Sorten- und Akzessionsdaten den Schwerpunkt des Internetauftrittes bildet. Zukünftig werden schrittweise Charakterisierungs- und Evaluierungsdaten sowie Fotos für alle Sorten der Sammlungen integriert. DOI: 10.5073/JfK.2019.02-03.01, https://doi.org/10.5073/JfK.2019.02-03.01In Germany, all activities of long-term preservation, utilization, research and development of fruit genetic resources are based on the German National Program for Genetic Resources of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants. The preservation of fruit genetic resources is the basis for ensuring a sustainable fruit production in Germany. It has a long-lasting tradition, which reaches back to the early decades of the 20th century. Ever since, a multitude of cultivars of different fruit crop species is preserved in public and private germplasm collections. The German Fruit Genebank has been established as a decentralized network 10 years ago aiming at the coordination of the different germplasm collections in Germany to minimize the risk of losing fruit genetic resources. The German Fruit Genebank is organized in species-specific networks. Currently, six of those networks consisting of 41 different collections are held at federal and state governmental institutions as well as in communities and towns, non-governmental organizations, and by private individuals. Because of high priority, the first projects characterizing the genetic resources on trueness-to-type based on pomological and molecular characters were completed in the last few years. About 75% of the apple cultivars belonging to German Fruit Genebank and ~60% of the cherry cultivars could be determined as true-to-type. Based on the results exchange of plant material will be organized between the partners of the German Fruit Genebank in order to duplicate the cultivars within the established fruit-specific networks and fulfil the aim of the cooperation agreement. The German Fruit Genebank is represented at the web site www.deutsche-genbank-obst.de, including the database of the cultivars and acces­sion data as focal point. Data from systematic characterization and evaluation along with photographs will be uploaded for all the cultivars preserved in this decentralized network. DOI: 10.5073/JfK.2019.02-03.01, https://doi.org/10.5073/JfK.2019.02-03.0

Overestimation of Drinking Norms and its Association with Alcohol Consumption in Apprentices

Aims: To investigate associations of normative misperceptions and drinking behaviors in apprentices, complementing the previous literature on university students. Methods: A survey in a defined region of northern Germany was carried out among 1124 apprentices attending vocational schools. Using items from the short form of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C), drinking behaviors and normative perceptions of drinking in the reference group of same-gender apprentices were assessed. Demographic, smoking- and drinking-related predictors for normative misperceptions were explored. Results: Personal drinking behavior was positively correlated with perceived norms, both for drinking frequency (males: Kendall's τ=0.33, P<0.01; females: τ=0.22, P<0.01) and drinking quantity (males: Kendall's τ=0.39, P<0.01; females: τ=0.25, P<0.01). Alcohol use disorders according to AUDIT-C cut-offs were more prevalent in subjects who overestimated drinking quantity in their reference group than in those who correctly estimated or underestimated drinking quantity (male: P<0.01; relative risk (RR) 1.78; female: P<0.01; RR 1.65). Concerning drinking frequency, this difference was only found in males (P<0.01; RR 1.49). Male gender and higher alcohol use were positively associated with normative misperceptions of both drinking quantity and frequency. Conclusion: Interventions correcting alcohol use misperceptions might be effective in reducing problem drinking in adolescents with heterogeneous educational level

10 years of Fruit Gene Bank at Dresden-Pillnitz under federal responsibility

Auf Empfehlung des Wissenschaftsrates und auf gemeinsamen Beschluss der damaligen Bundesministerien für Wissenschaft und Technologie sowie Verbraucherschutz, Ernährung und Landwirtschaft wurde zum 1. Januar 2003 die Obstgenbank in das Obstzüchtungsinstitut in Dresden-Pillnitz integriert. Die Obstgenbank hat sich in den vergangenen 10 Jahren zu einem Partner für Wissenschaft und Praxis auf nationaler und internationaler Ebene entwickelt. Sie ist mit ihren Obstsortensammlungen im natio­nalen dezentralen Netzwerk der Deutschen Genbank Obst als sammlungshaltender Partner fest verankert. Die enge Vernetzung der Aktivitäten beim Management obstgene­tischer Ressourcen und deren Inwertsetzung im Rahmen der Züchtungsforschung mit den obstartenspezifischen Zuchtprogrammen schaffen optimale Voraussetzungen, die gegenwärtigen und zukünftigen Aufgaben der Obstzüchtung am Standort Dresden-Pillnitz zu meistern. Die Erhaltungsstrategien in der Obstgenbank, die Ergebnisse der Evaluierungsarbeiten sowie die Inwertsetzung der obstgenetischen Ressourcen sollen nach 10 Jahren Arbeit in diesem Beitrag zusammenfassend dargestellt werden. DOI: 10.5073/JfK.2014.04.01, https://doi.org/10.5073/JfK.2014.04.01Based on the recommendation of the scientific council and the common decision of the former Federal Ministries of Science and Technology as well as Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture the Fruit gene bank was incorpo­rated into the Fruit Breeding Institute at Dresden-Pillnitz from January 1st, 2003. In the last ten years the Fruit gene bank has been developed at the international and national level as a partner for science and practice. The gene bank is tightly integrated into the national decentralized network of the German Fruit Gene Bank as a collection holding partner. The close networking between management of fruit gene­tic resources, its utilization in the frame of breeding research, and exploitation in fruit specific breeding programs are the best precondition to solve present and future tasks of fruit breeding at Dresden-Pillnitz. Summarizing ten years, the conservation strategies of the gene bank, the results of evaluation and the utilization of fruit genetic resources will be presented. DOI: 10.5073/JfK.2014.04.01, https://doi.org/10.5073/JfK.2014.04.0

Russisch-Deutsche Kaukasusexpedition 2011

Vom 22. August bis 4. September 2011 fand eine gemeinsame Sammelreise von Wissenschaftlern des Julius Kühn-Institutes (JKI) und russischen Wissenschaftlern des Nikolai I. Vavilov Forschungsinstitutes für Pflanzenbau (VIR) im nördlichen Kaukasus statt. Ziel der Expedition war es, genetische Ressourcen von im Kaukasus vorkommenden Obstarten zu sammeln und diese in die Genbanken der beteiligten Institute zu überführen. Das gesammelte Material wird von den beteiligten Partnern gleichermaßen evaluiert und auf das Vorkommen wertgebender Eigenschaften geprüft, um nachfolgend neues Ausgangsmaterial für künftige Züchtungsarbeiten bereitzustellen und Core-Kollektionen für die Obstarten abzuleiten. Stichwörter: Apfel, Birne, Malus orientalis, Pyrus caucasica, Russland, genetische Ressourcen, ObstartenRussian-German expedition into the Caucasus 2011SummaryFrom August 22nd to September 4th, 2011 a joint expedition of scientists from Germany and Russia of the Julius Kühn-Institute (JKI) and the Nikolaj I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) into North Caucasus has been taken place. The expedition was aimed on collection of fruit genetic resources in this region and their introduction into national collections for fruit genetic resources of both countries. Subsequently, the collected material will be evaluated by the participating partners regarding sources of agronomical important traits in order to provide new resources for breeding purposes, and aid in determining accessions for core collections of the fruit species.Keywords: apple, pear, Malus orientalis, Pyrus caucasica, Russia, fruit species, genetic resource

Collecting fruit genetic resources in the North Caucasus region

Vom 22. August bis 4. September 2011 fand eine gemein­same Sammelreise von Wissenschaftlern des Julius Kühn-Institutes (JKI) und russischen Wissenschaftlern des Nikolai I. Vavilov Forschungsinstitutes für Pflanzenbau (VIR) im nördlichen Kaukasus statt. Ziel der Expedition war es, genetische Ressourcen von im Kaukasus vorkommenden Obstarten zu sammeln und diese in die Genbanken der beteiligten Institute zu überführen. Anschließend soll das gesammelte Material von den beteiligten Partnern gleicher­maßen evaluiert und auf das Vorkommen wertgebender Eigenschaften geprüft werden, um nachfolgend neues Ausgangsmaterial für künftige Züchtungsarbeiten bereitstellen zu können. &nbsp; &nbsp;From August 22 to September 4, 2011 a joint expedition of scientists from Germany and Russia of the Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI) and the Nikolaj I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) into North Caucasus has been taken place. The expedition was aimed on collection of fruit genetic resources in this region and their introduction into national collections for fruit genetic resources of both countries. Subsequently, the collected material will be evaluated by the participating partners regarding sources of agronomical important traits in order to provide new resources for breeding purposes. &nbsp; &nbsp

Relation between awareness of circulatory disorders and smoking in a general population health examination

BACKGROUND: Little is known about proportions of smokers who maintain smoking after they are aware of a circulatory disorder. The goal was to analyze the extent to which the number of circulatory disorders may be related to being a current smoker. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey study with a probability sample of residents in Germany investigated in health examination centers. Questionnaire data of 3,778 ever smoking participants aged 18 – 79 were used, questions included whether the respondent had ever had hypertension, myocardial infarction, other coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, other cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, and venous thrombosis. Logistic regression was calculated for circulatory disorders and their number with current smoking as the dependent variable, and odds ratios (OR) are presented adjusted for physician contact, inpatient treatment, smoking cessation counseling, heavy smoking, exercise, overweight and obesity, school education, sex and age. RESULTS: Among ever smokers who had 1 circulatory disorder, 52.1 % were current smokers and among those who reported that they had 3 or more circulatory disorders 28.0 % were current smokers at the time of the interview. The adjusted odds of being a current smoker were lower for individuals who had ever smoked in life and had 2 or more central circulatory disorders, such as myocardial infarction, heart failure or stroke, than for ever smokers without central circulatory disorder (2 or more disorders: adjusted OR 0.6, 95 % confidence interval, CI, 0.4 to 0.8). CONCLUSION: Among those with central circulatory disorders, there is a substantial portion of individuals who smoke despite their disease. The data suggest that only a portion of smokers among the general population seems to be discouraged from smoking by circulatory disorders or its accompanying cognitive or emotional processes

Atomic-scale confinement of optical fields

In the presence of matter there is no fundamental limit preventing confinement of visible light even down to atomic scales. Achieving such confinement and the corresponding intensity enhancement inevitably requires simultaneous control over atomic-scale details of material structures and over the optical modes that such structures support. By means of self-assembly we have obtained side-by-side aligned gold nanorod dimers with robust atomically-defined gaps reaching below 0.5 nm. The existence of atomically-confined light fields in these gaps is demonstrated by observing extreme Coulomb splitting of corresponding symmetric and anti-symmetric dimer eigenmodes of more than 800 meV in white-light scattering experiments. Our results open new perspectives for atomically-resolved spectroscopic imaging, deeply nonlinear optics, ultra-sensing, cavity optomechanics as well as for the realization of novel quantum-optical devices

Knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and serological status related to Chagas disease among Latin American migrants in Germany: A cross-sectional study in six German cities

BackgroundLittle is known about knowledge, attitudes and behaviors concerning Chagas disease (CD) among Latin American migrants in Germany to inform public health decision making.MethodsA cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted between March 2014 and October 2019 among Latin American migrants in six cities in Germany to obtain information on migration history, socioeconomic and insurance status, knowledge about CD, potential risk factors for Trypanosoma cruzi infection, and willingness to donate blood or organs.Results168 participants completed the questionnaire. The four countries with the highest proportion of participants contributing to the study population were Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Ecuador. Before migrating to Europe, the majority of the study population resided in an urban setting in houses made of stone or concrete, had higher academic education and was integrated into the German healthcare and healthcare insurance system. The majority of all study participants were also willing to donate blood and organs and a quarter of them had donated blood previously. However, many participants lacked basic knowledge about symptoms and modes of transmission of Chagas disease. One out of 56 serologic tests (1.8%) performed was positive. The seropositive female participant born in Argentina had a negative PCR test and no signs of cardiac or other organ involvement.ConclusionsThe study population does not reflect the population structure at risk for T. cruzi infection in endemic countries. Most participants had a low risk profile for infection with T. cruzi. Although the sample size was small and sampling was not representative of all persons at risk in Germany, the seroprevalence found was similar to studies previously conducted in Europe. As no systematic screening for T. cruzi in Latin American blood and organ donors as well as in women of child-bearing age of Latin American origin is implemented in Germany, a risk of occasional transmission of T. cruzi remains