TY - JOUR A1 - Koetz, Joachim T1 - The Effect of Surface Modification of Gold Nanotriangles for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Performance JF - Nanomaterials N2 - A surface modification of ultraflat gold nanotriangles (AuNTs) with different shaped nanoparticles is of special relevance for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and the photo-catalytic activity of plasmonic substrates. Therefore, different approaches are used to verify the flat platelet morphology of the AuNTs by oriented overgrowth with metal nanoparticles. The most important part for the morphological transformation of the AuNTs is the coating layer, containing surfactants or polymers. By using well established AuNTs stabilized by a dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (AOT) bilayer, different strategies of surface modification with noble metal nanoparticles are possible. On the one hand undulated superstructures were synthesized by in situ growth of hemispherical gold nanoparticles in the polyethyleneimine (PEI)-coated AOT bilayer of the AuNTs. On the other hand spiked AuNTs were obtained by a direct reduction of Au³⁺ ions in the AOT double layer in presence of silver ions and ascorbic acid as reducing agent. Additionally, crumble topping of the smooth AuNTs can be realized after an exchange of the AOT bilayer by hyaluronic acid, followed by a silver-ion mediated reduction with ascorbic acid. Furthermore, a decoration with silver nanoparticles after coating the AOT bilayer with the cationic surfactant benzylhexadecyldimethylammonium chloride (BDAC) can be realized. In that case the ultraviolet (UV)-absorption of the undulated Au@Ag nanoplatelets can be tuned depending on the degree of decoration with silver nanoparticles. Comparing the Raman scattering data for the plasmon driven dimerization of 4-nitrothiophenol (4-NTP) to 4,4′-dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB) one can conclude that the most important effect of surface modification with a 75 times higher enhancement factor in SERS experiments becomes available by decoration with gold spikes. KW - undulated KW - spiked and crumble gold nanotriangles KW - SERS enhancement factor KW - dimerization of 4-nitrothiophenol KW - AOT bilayer KW - PEI coating Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10112187 SN - 2079-4991 VL - 10 IS - 11 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rieck, Christoph Paul Kurt A1 - Geiger, Daniel A1 - Munkert, Jennifer A1 - Messerschmidt, Katrin A1 - Petersen, Jan A1 - Strasser, Juliane A1 - Meitinger, Nadine A1 - Kreis, Wolfgang T1 - Biosynthetic approach to combine the first steps of cardenolide formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae JF - Microbiologyopen N2 - A yeast expression plasmid was constructed containing a cardenolide biosynthetic module, referred to as CARD II, using the AssemblX toolkit, which enables the assembly of large DNA constructs. The genes cloned into the vector were (a) a Δ5‐3β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase gene from Digitalis lanata, (b) a steroid Δ5‐isomerase gene from Comamonas testosteronii, (c) a mutated steroid‐5β‐reductase gene from Arabidopsis thaliana, and (d) a steroid 21‐hydroxylase gene from Mus musculus. A second plasmid bearing an ADR/ADX fusion gene from Bos taurus was also constructed. A Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain bearing these two plasmids was generated. This strain, termed “CARD II yeast”, was capable of producing 5β‐pregnane‐3β,21‐diol‐20‐one, a central intermediate in 5β‐cardenolide biosynthesis, starting from pregnenolone which was added to the culture medium. Using this approach, five consecutive steps in cardenolide biosynthesis were realized in baker's yeast. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/mbo3.925 SN - 2045-8827 VL - 8 IS - 12 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Werger, Luise A1 - Bergmann, Joana A1 - Weber, Ewald A1 - Heinze, Johannes T1 - Wind intensity affects fine root morphological traits with consequences for plant-soil feedback effects JF - Annals of Botany Plants N2 - Wind influences the development, architecture and morphology of plant roots and may modify subsequent interactions between plants and soil (plant–soil feedbacks—PSFs). However, information on wind effects on fine root morphology is scarce and the extent to which wind changes plant–soil interactions remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated the effects of two wind intensity levels by manipulating surrounding vegetation height in a grassland PSF field experiment. We grew four common plant species (two grasses and two non-leguminous forbs) with soil biota either previously conditioned by these or other species and tested the effect of wind on root:shoot ratio, fine root morphological traits as well as the outcome for PSFs. Wind intensity did not affect biomass allocation (i.e. root:shoot ratio) in any species. However, fine-root morphology of all species changed under high wind intensity. High wind intensity increased specific root length and surface area and decreased root tissue density, especially in the two grasses. Similarly, the direction of PSFs changed under high wind intensity in all four species, but differences in biomass production on the different soils between high and low wind intensity were marginal and most pronounced when comparing grasses with forbs. Because soils did not differ in plant-available nor total nutrient content, the results suggest that wind-induced changes in root morphology have the potential to influence plant–soil interactions. Linking wind-induced changes in fine-root morphology to effects on PSF improves our understanding of plant–soil interactions under changing environmental conditions. KW - Wind KW - root traits KW - root morphology KW - specific root length KW - plant–soil feedback Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plaa050 SN - 2041-2851 VL - 12 IS - 5 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Knudsen, Erlend Moster A1 - Heinold, Bernd A1 - Dahlke, Sandro A1 - Bozem, Heiko A1 - Crewell, Susanne A1 - Gorodetskaya, Irina V. A1 - Heygster, Georg A1 - Kunkel, Daniel A1 - Maturilli, Marion A1 - Mech, Mario A1 - Viceto, Carolina A1 - Rinke, Annette A1 - Schmithusen, Holger A1 - Ehrlich, Andre A1 - Macke, Andreas A1 - Lüpkes, Christof A1 - Wendisch, Manfred T1 - Meteorological conditions during the ACLOUD/PASCAL field campaign near Svalbard in early summer 2017 JF - Atmospheric chemistry and physics N2 - The two concerted field campaigns, Arctic CLoud Observations Using airborne measurements during polar Day (ACLOUD) and the Physical feedbacks of Arctic planetary boundary level Sea ice, Cloud and AerosoL (PASCAL), took place near Svalbard from 23 May to 26 June 2017. They were focused on studying Arctic mixed-phase clouds and involved observations from two airplanes (ACLOUD), an icebreaker (PASCAL) and a tethered balloon, as well as ground-based stations. Here, we present the synoptic development during the 35-day period of the campaigns, using near-surface and upper-air meteorological observations, as well as operational satellite, analysis, and reanalysis data. Over the campaign period, short-term synoptic variability was substantial, dominating over the seasonal cycle. During the first campaign week, cold and dry Arctic air from the north persisted, with a distinct but seasonally unusual cold air outbreak. Cloudy conditions with mostly low-level clouds prevailed. The subsequent 2 weeks were characterized by warm and moist maritime air from the south and east, which included two events of warm air advection. These synoptical disturbances caused lower cloud cover fractions and higher-reaching cloud systems. In the final 2 weeks, adiabatically warmed air from the west dominated, with cloud properties strongly varying within the range of the two other periods. Results presented here provide synoptic information needed to analyze and interpret data of upcoming studies from ACLOUD/PASCAL, while also offering unprecedented measurements in a sparsely observed region. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17995-2018 SN - 1680-7316 SN - 1680-7324 VL - 18 IS - 24 SP - 17995 EP - 18022 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Runge, Alexandra A1 - Grosse, Guido T1 - Mosaicking Landsat and Sentinel-2 Data to Enhance LandTrendr Time Series Analysis in Northern High Latitude Permafrost Regions JF - Remote Sensing N2 - Permafrost is warming in the northern high latitudes, inducing highly dynamic thaw-related permafrost disturbances across the terrestrial Arctic. Monitoring and tracking of permafrost disturbances is important as they impact surrounding landscapes, ecosystems and infrastructure. Remote sensing provides the means to detect, map, and quantify these changes homogeneously across large regions and time scales. Existing Landsat-based algorithms assess different types of disturbances with similar spatiotemporal requirements. However, Landsat-based analyses are restricted in northern high latitudes due to the long repeat interval and frequent clouds, in particular at Arctic coastal sites. We therefore propose to combine Landsat and Sentinel-2 data for enhanced data coverage and present a combined annual mosaic workflow, expanding currently available algorithms, such as LandTrendr, to achieve more reliable time series analysis. We exemplary test the workflow for twelve sites across the northern high latitudes in Siberia. We assessed the number of images and cloud-free pixels, the spatial mosaic coverage and the mosaic quality with spectral comparisons. The number of available images increased steadily from 1999 to 2019 but especially from 2016 onward with the addition of Sentinel-2 images. Consequently, we have an increased number of cloud-free pixels even under challenging environmental conditions, which then serve as the input to the mosaicking process. In a comparison of annual mosaics, the Landsat+Sentinel-2 mosaics always fully covered the study areas (99.9–100 %), while Landsat-only mosaics contained data-gaps in the same years, only reaching coverage percentages of 27.2 %, 58.1 %, and 69.7 % for Sobo Sise, East Taymyr, and Kurungnakh in 2017, respectively. The spectral comparison of Landsat image, Sentinel-2 image, and Landsat+Sentinel-2 mosaic showed high correlation between the input images and mosaic bands (e.g., for Kurungnakh 0.91–0.97 between Landsat and Landsat+Sentinel-2 mosaic and 0.92–0.98 between Sentinel-2 and Landsat+Sentinel-2 mosaic) across all twelve study sites, testifying good quality mosaic results. Our results show that especially the results for northern, coastal areas was substantially improved with the Landsat+Sentinel-2 mosaics. By combining Landsat and Sentinel-2 data we accomplished to create reliably high spatial resolution input mosaics for time series analyses. Our approach allows to apply a high temporal continuous time series analysis to northern high latitude permafrost regions for the first time, overcoming substantial data gaps, and assess permafrost disturbance dynamics on an annual scale across large regions with algorithms such as LandTrendr by deriving the location, timing and progression of permafrost thaw disturbances KW - time series analysis KW - data fusion KW - disturbance tracking KW - permafrost KW - permafrost thaw Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12152471 SN - 2072-4292 VL - 12 IS - 15 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - He, Hai A1 - Höper, Rune A1 - Dodenhöft, Moritz A1 - Marlière, Philippe A1 - Bar-Even, Arren T1 - An optimized methanol assimilation pathway relying on promiscuous formaldehyde-condensing aldolases in E. coli JF - Metabolic Engineering N2 - Engineering biotechnological microorganisms to use methanol as a feedstock for bioproduction is a major goal for the synthetic metabolism community. Here, we aim to redesign the natural serine cycle for implementation in E. coli. We propose the homoserine cycle, relying on two promiscuous formaldehyde aldolase reactions, as a superior pathway design. The homoserine cycle is expected to outperform the serine cycle and its variants with respect to biomass yield, thermodynamic favorability, and integration with host endogenous metabolism. Even as compared to the RuMP cycle, the most efficient naturally occurring methanol assimilation route, the homoserine cycle is expected to support higher yields of a wide array of products. We test the in vivo feasibility of the homoserine cycle by constructing several E. coli gene deletion strains whose growth is coupled to the activity of different pathway segments. Using this approach, we demonstrate that all required promiscuous enzymes are active enough to enable growth of the auxotrophic strains. Our findings thus identify a novel metabolic solution that opens the way to an optimized methylotrophic platform. KW - Pathway design KW - Promiscuous enzymes KW - Formaldehyde assimilation KW - Serine cycle KW - Growth selection Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymben.2020.03.002 SN - 1096-7176 SN - 1096-7184 VL - 60 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - He, Hai A1 - Noor, Elad A1 - Ramos-Parra, Perla A. A1 - García-Valencia, Liliana E. A1 - Patterson, Jenelle A. A1 - Díaz de la Garza, Rocío I. A1 - Hanson, Andrew D. A1 - Bar-Even, Arren T1 - In Vivo Rate of Formaldehyde Condensation with Tetrahydrofolate JF - Metabolites N2 - Formaldehyde is a highly reactive compound that participates in multiple spontaneous reactions, but these are mostly deleterious and damage cellular components. In contrast, the spontaneous condensation of formaldehyde with tetrahydrofolate (THF) has been proposed to contribute to the assimilation of this intermediate during growth on C1 carbon sources such as methanol. However, the in vivo rate of this condensation reaction is unknown and its possible contribution to growth remains elusive. Here, we used microbial platforms to assess the rate of this condensation in the cellular environment. We constructed Escherichia coli strains lacking the enzymes that naturally produce 5,10-methylene-THF. These strains were able to grow on minimal medium only when equipped with a sarcosine (N-methyl-glycine) oxidation pathway that sustained a high cellular concentration of formaldehyde, which spontaneously reacts with THF to produce 5,10-methylene-THF. We used flux balance analysis to derive the rate of the spontaneous condensation from the observed growth rate. According to this, we calculated that a microorganism obtaining its entire biomass via the spontaneous condensation of formaldehyde with THF would have a doubling time of more than three weeks. Hence, this spontaneous reaction is unlikely to serve as an effective route for formaldehyde assimilation. KW - one-carbon metabolism KW - spontaneous reaction KW - auxotrophy KW - serine cycle KW - phenotypic phase plane Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo10020065 SN - 2218-1989 VL - 10 IS - 65 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shcherbakov, Robert A1 - Zhuang, Jiancang A1 - Zöller, Gert A1 - Ogata, Yosihiko T1 - Forecasting the magnitude of the largest expected earthquake JF - Nature Communications N2 - The majority of earthquakes occur unexpectedly and can trigger subsequent sequences of events that can culminate in more powerful earthquakes. This self-exciting nature of seismicity generates complex clustering of earthquakes in space and time. Therefore, the problem of constraining the magnitude of the largest expected earthquake during a future time interval is of critical importance in mitigating earthquake hazard. We address this problem by developing a methodology to compute the probabilities for such extreme earthquakes to be above certain magnitudes. We combine the Bayesian methods with the extreme value theory and assume that the occurrence of earthquakes can be described by the Epidemic Type Aftershock Sequence process. We analyze in detail the application of this methodology to the 2016 Kumamoto, Japan, earthquake sequence. We are able to estimate retrospectively the probabilities of having large subsequent earthquakes during several stages of the evolution of this sequence. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11958-4 SN - 2041-1723 VL - 10 PB - Nature Publishing Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Figueroa Campos, Gustavo A. A1 - Sagu Tchewonpi, Sorel A1 - Saravia Celis, Pedro A1 - Rawel, Harshadrai Manilal T1 - Comparison of batch and continuous wet-processing of coffee BT - changes in the main compounds in beans, by-products and wastewater JF - Foods N2 - Many technical challenges still need to be overcome to improve the quality of the green coffee beans. In this work, the wet Arabica coffee processing in batch and continuous modus were investigated. Coffee beans samples as well as by-products and wastewaters collected at different production steps were analyzed in terms of their content in total phenols, antioxidant capacity, caffeine content, organic acids, reducing sugars, free amino group and protein content. The results showed that 40% of caffeine was removed with pulp. Green coffee beans showed highest concentration of organic acids and sucrose (4.96 ± 0.25 and 5.07 ± 0.39 g/100 g DW for the batch and continuous processing). Batch green coffee beans contained higher amount of phenols. 5-caffeoylquinic Acid (5-CQA) was the main constituent (67.1 and 66.0% for the batch and continuous processing, respectively). Protein content was 15 and 13% in the green coffee bean in batch and continuous processing, respectively. A decrease of 50 to 64% for free amino groups during processing was observed resulting in final amounts of 0.8 to 1.4% in the processed beans. Finally, the batch processing still revealed by-products and wastewater with high nutrient content encouraging a better concept for valorization. KW - Arabica coffee beans KW - coffee by-products KW - batch process KW - continuous process KW - nutritional characteristics Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9081135 SN - 2304-8158 VL - 9 IS - 8 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schiro, Gabriele A1 - Colangeli, Pierluigi A1 - Müller, Marina E. H. T1 - A Metabarcoding Analysis of the Mycobiome of Wheat Ears Across a Topographically Heterogeneous Field JF - Frontiers in microbiology KW - Fusarium KW - microclimate KW - canopy KW - fungal community KW - Alternaria KW - spatially induced variance Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.02095 SN - 1664-302X VL - 10 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Brust, Henrike A1 - Orzechowski, Slawomir A1 - Fettke, Jörg T1 - Starch and Glycogen Analyses BT - Methods and Techniques JF - Biomolecules N2 - For complex carbohydrates, such as glycogen and starch, various analytical methods and techniques exist allowing the detailed characterization of these storage carbohydrates. In this article, we give a brief overview of the most frequently used methods, techniques, and results. Furthermore, we give insights in the isolation, purification, and fragmentation of both starch and glycogen. An overview of the different structural levels of the glucans is given and the corresponding analytical techniques are discussed. Moreover, future perspectives of the analytical needs and the challenges of the currently developing scientific questions are included KW - starch KW - glycogen KW - analytics Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/biom10071020 SN - 2218-273X VL - 10 IS - 7 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bielcik, Milos A1 - Aguilar-Trigueros, Carlos A. A1 - Lakovic, Milica A1 - Jeltsch, Florian A1 - Rillig, Matthias C. T1 - The role of active movement in fungal ecology and community assembly JF - Movement Ecology N2 - Movement ecology aims to provide common terminology and an integrative framework of movement research across all groups of organisms. Yet such work has focused on unitary organisms so far, and thus the important group of filamentous fungi has not been considered in this context. With the exception of spore dispersal, movement in filamentous fungi has not been integrated into the movement ecology field. At the same time, the field of fungal ecology has been advancing research on topics like informed growth, mycelial translocations, or fungal highways using its own terminology and frameworks, overlooking the theoretical developments within movement ecology. We provide a conceptual and terminological framework for interdisciplinary collaboration between these two disciplines, and show how both can benefit from closer links: We show how placing the knowledge from fungal biology and ecology into the framework of movement ecology can inspire both theoretical and empirical developments, eventually leading towards a better understanding of fungal ecology and community assembly. Conversely, by a greater focus on movement specificities of filamentous fungi, movement ecology stands to benefit from the challenge to evolve its concepts and terminology towards even greater universality. We show how our concept can be applied for other modular organisms (such as clonal plants and slime molds), and how this can lead towards comparative studies with the relationship between organismal movement and ecosystems in the focus. KW - Filamentous fungi KW - Microbial community KW - Active movement KW - Modular organisms KW - Interference competition KW - Fungal space searching algorithms KW - Fungal foraging KW - Fungal highways KW - Clonal plants KW - Slime molds Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-019-0180-6 SN - 2051-3933 VL - 7 IS - 1 PB - BMC CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rosso, Enrico T1 - Ein „Zusammengehen ohne Zusammenkommen“. Der Entstehungsprozess des intellektuellen Netzwerkes um die Zeitschrift Die Kreatur JF - Naharaim N2 - Eine Gruppe, gar eine innerlich verbundene Gemeinschaft, können Intellektuelle im Normalfall nur bilden, soweit sie von gleichem Denken und Wollen bewegt werden […]. Wo dagegen die von den Intellektuellen vertretenen Ansichten weit divergieren, da kann es nur unter sehr kritischen Umständen geschehen, daß die verschieden gearteten (sozialen, politischen, rechtlichen, kulturellen, religiösen) Standpunkte und Anliegen – auf Zeit – sich zusammenfinden […]. Das polemische Element, das kritischen Intellektuellen ja wesensmäßig zu eigen ist, bringt am ehesten eine gemeinsame Front zwischen ihnen zustande. N2 - This research article aims to deliver an analytical representation of the intellectual environment of the culture journal Die Kreatur (1926-1930), a religious-dialogical quarterly edited by Martin Buber, Joseph Wittig, and Viktor von Weizsacker and enlivened by some of the most prominent figures of German-Jewish interwar culture (among others W. Benjamin, H. S. Bergman, E. Rosenstock-Huessy, F. Rosenzweig, E. Simon, and L. Strauss). Building on a recognition of the problematic relationship between the dialogical model claimed in the programmatic foreword of the journal and the group narratives enacted by its key contributors, the study attempts to outline the formation process of the intellectual plexus of the journal and to provide a differentiated analysis of its singular constituents via a sociologically informed framework. The representation of the intellectual network of Die Kreatur in accordance with the model of a "circle of circles" provides insight into the elusive dialectic of interaction and divergence that determines the relations between the main actors of the journal and thus contributes to unfold the interplay of biographical intersections and conceptual synergies, as well as incongruities, frictions, and contradictory instances that determines its editorial and philosophical profile. T2 - A "Going Together without Coming Together". The Process of Creating the intellectual Network around the magazine Die Kreatur KW - German-Jewish Literature KW - Cultural Journal KW - Buber KW - Martin KW - Rosenzweig KW - Franz KW - Die Kreatur Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1515/naha-2019-0006 SN - 1862-9148 SN - 1862-9156 VL - 13 IS - 1-2 SP - 73 EP - 97 PB - De Gruyter CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwarz, Anja T1 - Melancholia JF - Cultural studies review Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5130/csr.v25i2.6918 SN - 1837-8692 VL - 25 IS - 2 SP - 259 EP - 261 PB - Melbourne Univ. Press CY - Sydney ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ziesemer, Florence A1 - Hüttel, Alexandra A1 - Balderjahn, Ingo T1 - Anti-Consumption JF - Sustainability N2 - Transcending the conventional debate around efficiency in sustainable consumption, anti-consumption patterns leading to decreased levels of material consumption have been gaining importance. Change agents are crucial for the promotion of such patterns, so there may be lessons for governance interventions that can be learnt from the every-day experiences of those who actively implement and promote sustainability in the field of anti-consumption. Eighteen social innovation pioneers, who engage in and diffuse practices of voluntary simplicity and collaborative consumption as sustainable options of anti-consumption share their knowledge and personal insights in expert interviews for this research. Our qualitative content analysis reveals drivers, barriers, and governance strategies to strengthen anti-consumption patterns, which are negotiated between the market, the state, and civil society. Recommendations derived from the interviews concern entrepreneurship, municipal infrastructures in support of local grassroots projects, regulative policy measures, more positive communication to strengthen the visibility of initiatives and emphasize individual benefits, establishing a sense of community, anti-consumer activism, and education. We argue for complementary action between top-down strategies, bottom-up initiatives, corporate activities, and consumer behavior. The results are valuable to researchers, activists, marketers, and policymakers who seek to enhance their understanding of materially reduced consumption patterns based on the real-life experiences of active pioneers in the field. KW - social innovation KW - sufficiency KW - collaborative consumption KW - expert interview KW - consumer behavior KW - sustainability KW - innovation policy KW - governance for sustainable development KW - consumer education Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236663 SN - 2071-1050 VL - 11 IS - 23 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ozcelikay, Goksu A1 - Kurbanoglu, Sevinc A1 - Zhang, Xiaorong A1 - Söz, Çağla Kosak A1 - Wollenberger, Ulla A1 - Ozkan, Sibel A. A1 - Yarman, Aysu A1 - Scheller, Frieder W. T1 - Electrochemical MIP Sensor for Butyrylcholinesterase JF - Polymers N2 - Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) mimic the binding sites of antibodies by substituting the amino acid-scaffold of proteins by synthetic polymers. In this work, the first MIP for the recognition of the diagnostically relevant enzyme butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) is presented. The MIP was prepared using electropolymerization of the functional monomer o-phenylenediamine and was deposited as a thin film on a glassy carbon electrode by oxidative potentiodynamic polymerization. Rebinding and removal of the template were detected by cyclic voltammetry using ferricyanide as a redox marker. Furthermore, the enzymatic activity of BuChE rebound to the MIP was measured via the anodic oxidation of thiocholine, the reaction product of butyrylthiocholine. The response was linear between 50 pM and 2 nM concentrations of BuChE with a detection limit of 14.7 pM. In addition to the high sensitivity for BuChE, the sensor responded towards pseudo-irreversible inhibitors in the lower mM range. KW - molecularly imprinted polymers KW - biomimetic sensors KW - butyrylcholinesterase KW - o-phenylenediamine KW - rivastigmine Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11121970 SN - 2073-4360 VL - 11 IS - 12 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Niven, Robert K. A1 - Abel, Markus A1 - Schlegel, Michael A1 - Waldrip, Steven H. T1 - Maximum Entropy Analysis of Flow Networks: Theoretical Foundation and Applications JF - Entropy N2 - The concept of a "flow network"-a set of nodes and links which carries one or more flows-unites many different disciplines, including pipe flow, fluid flow, electrical, chemical reaction, ecological, epidemiological, neurological, communications, transportation, financial, economic and human social networks. This Feature Paper presents a generalized maximum entropy framework to infer the state of a flow network, including its flow rates and other properties, in probabilistic form. In this method, the network uncertainty is represented by a joint probability function over its unknowns, subject to all that is known. This gives a relative entropy function which is maximized, subject to the constraints, to determine the most probable or most representative state of the network. The constraints can include "observable" constraints on various parameters, "physical" constraints such as conservation laws and frictional properties, and "graphical" constraints arising from uncertainty in the network structure itself. Since the method is probabilistic, it enables the prediction of network properties when there is insufficient information to obtain a deterministic solution. The derived framework can incorporate nonlinear constraints or nonlinear interdependencies between variables, at the cost of requiring numerical solution. The theoretical foundations of the method are first presented, followed by its application to a variety of flow networks. KW - maximum entropy analysis KW - flow network KW - probabilistic inference Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/e21080776 SN - 1099-4300 VL - 21 IS - 8 SP - 776 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schütze, Franziska A1 - Fürst, Steffen A1 - Mielke, Jahel A1 - Steudle, Gesine A. A1 - Wolf, Sarah A1 - Jäger, Carlo C. T1 - The Role of Sustainable Investment in Climate Policy JF - Sustainability N2 - Reaching the Sustainable Development Goals requires a fundamental socio-economic transformation accompanied by substantial investment in low-carbon infrastructure. Such a sustainability transition represents a non-marginal change, driven by behavioral factors and systemic interactions. However, typical economic models used to assess a sustainability transition focus on marginal changes around a local optimum, whichby constructionlead to negative effects. Thus, these models do not allow evaluating a sustainability transition that might have substantial positive effects. This paper examines which mechanisms need to be included in a standard computable general equilibrium model to overcome these limitations and to give a more comprehensive view of the effects of climate change mitigation. Simulation results show that, given an ambitious greenhouse gas emission constraint and a price of carbon, positive economic effects are possible if (1) technical progress results (partly) endogenously from the model and (2) a policy intervention triggering an increase of investment is introduced. Additionally, if (3) the investment behavior of firms is influenced by their sales expectations, the effects are amplified. The results provide suggestions for policy-makers, because the outcome indicates that investment-oriented climate policies can lead to more desirable outcomes in economic, social and environmental terms. KW - climate policy KW - green growth KW - macroeconomic models KW - sustainable investment KW - technical progress KW - expectations KW - 1.5 degrees C Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/su9122221 SN - 2071-1050 VL - 9 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weisshuhn, Peter A1 - Reckling, Moritz A1 - Stachow, Ulrich A1 - Wiggering, Hubert T1 - Supporting Agricultural Ecosystem Services through the Integration of Perennial Polycultures into Crop Rotations JF - Sustainability N2 - This review analyzes the potential role and long-term effects of field perennial polycultures (mixtures) in agricultural systems, with the aim of reducing the trade-offs between provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. First, crop rotations are identified as a suitable tool for the assessment of the long-term effects of perennial polycultures on ecosystem services, which are not visible at the single-crop level. Second, the ability of perennial polycultures to support ecosystem services when used in crop rotations is quantified through eight agricultural ecosystem services. Legume-grass mixtures and wildflower mixtures are used as examples of perennial polycultures, and compared with silage maize as a typical crop for biomass production. Perennial polycultures enhance soil fertility, soil protection, climate regulation, pollination, pest and weed control, and landscape aesthetics compared with maize. They also score lower for biomass production compared with maize, which confirms the trade-off between provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. However, the additional positive factors provided by perennial polycultures, such as reduced costs for mineral fertilizer, pesticides, and soil tillage, and a significant preceding crop effect that increases the yields of subsequent crops, should be taken into account. However, a full assessment of agricultural ecosystem services requires a more holistic analysis that is beyond the capabilities of current frameworks. KW - agroecosystem KW - assessment KW - legume-grass mixture KW - wildflower mixture KW - perennial crop KW - mixed cropping Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/su9122267 SN - 2071-1050 VL - 9 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Posovszky, Carsten A1 - Roesler, Vreni Helen A1 - Becker, Sebastian A1 - Iven, Enno A1 - Hudert, Christian A1 - Ebinger, Friedrich A1 - Calvano, Claudia A1 - Warschburger, Petra T1 - Roles of Lactose and Fructose Malabsorption and Dietary Outcomes in Children Presenting with Chronic Abdominal Pain JF - Nutrients N2 - Intolerance to lactose or fructose is frequently diagnosed in children with chronic abdominal pain (CAP). However, the causal relationship remains a matter of discussion. A cohort of 253 patients, aged 7-12 years, presenting with unexplained CAP received standardized diagnostics. Additional diagnostic tests were performed based on their medical history and physical and laboratory investigations. Fructose and lactose hydrogen breath tests (H2BT) as well as empiric diagnostic elimination diets were performed in 135 patients reporting abdominal pain related to the consumption of lactose or fructose to evaluate carbohydrate intolerance as a potential cause of CAP. Carbohydrate malabsorption by H2BT was found in 55 (41%) out of 135 patients. An abnormal increase in H2BT was revealed in 30% (35/118) of patients after fructose consumption and in 18% (20/114) of patients after lactose administration. Forty-six percent (25/54) reported pain relief during a diagnostic elimination diet. In total, 17 patients had lactose malabsorption, 29 fructose malabsorption, and nine combined carbohydrate malabsorption. Carbohydrate intolerance as a cause of CAP was diagnosed at follow-up in only 18% (10/55) of patients with malabsorption after the elimination of the respective carbohydrate. Thus, carbohydrate malabsorption appears to be an incidental finding in children with functional abdominal pain disorders, rather than its cause. Therefore, testing of carbohydrate intolerance should only be considered in children with a strong clinical suspicion and with the goal to prevent long-term unnecessary dietary restrictions in children suffering from CAP. KW - chronic abdominal pain KW - children KW - fructose malabsorption KW - lactose intolerance KW - hydrogen breath test KW - functional abdominal pain disorders Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11123063 SN - 2072-6643 VL - 11 IS - 12 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER -