Stiftung Alfried Krupp Kolleg Greifswald

Abstract Biological soil crusts (BSCs), which are widespread in arid and semiarid regions, such as sandy deserts, strongly influence terrestrial ecosystems. Once sand‐binding vegetation has been established on sand dunes, BSCs are colonized and gradually develop from cyanobacteria dominated crusts to lichen and moss dominated crusts on dune surfaces. We conducted this study to determine if the occurrence and development of BSCs in the Tengger Desert could be used to determine sand‐binding vegetation changes via altering soil moisture and water cycling using long‐term monitoring data and field experimental observation. BSCs changed the spatiotemporal pattern of soil moisture and re‐allocation by decreasing rainfall infiltration, increasing topsoil water‐holding capacity and altering evaporation. Changes in the soil moisture pattern induced shifting of sand‐binding vegetation from xerophytic shrub communities with higher coverage (35%) to complex communities dominated by shallow‐rooted herbaceous species with low shrub coverage (9%). These results imply that BSCs can be a major factor controlling floristic and structural changes in sand‐binding vegetation and suggest that the hydrological effects of BSCs must be considered when implementing large‐scale revegetation projects in sandy deserts. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are ubiquitous communities of diminutive organisms such as cyanobacteria, green algae, lichens, mosses and others associated closely with particles of surface soil, forming a cohesive thin horizontal layer. The ecological roles of BSCs affecting soil nutrient cycling, stability and hydrological processes, influencing the germination and establishment of vascular plants, and serving as habitats for numerous arthropods and microorganism have been well documented. We tested the hypothesis that micro‐geomorphological features determine the spatial distribution of BSCs by reallocating related abiotic resources at small‐ and medium‐scales in the Tengger Desert. Our results showed that higher soil pH and higher total potassium content in topsoil positively correlated with the colonization of cyanobacteria and algae in the earliest successional stages of BSCs, while increasing dust deposition onto the topsoil enhanced the development of lichen and mosses in the later stages of BSCs. Increasing soil moisture raised the proportion of mosses and lichen in BSCs, this will possibly change the ecological functions of BSCs, such as nitrogen‐fixation by cyanobacteria, due to the conversion from a complex to relative simple type of BSC. Micro‐geomorphology has created various habitats at a small‐scale affecting colonization and development of cryptogams. This paper considers the contribution of micro‐geomorphology to biodiversity in the extreme arid desert systems. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The transpeptidase activity of the essential penicillin-binding protein 2x (PBP2x) of Streptococcus pneumoniae is believed to be important for murein biosynthesis required for cell division. To study the molecular mechanism driving localization of PBP2x in live cells, we constructed a set of N-terminal GFP-PBP2x fusions under the control of a zinc-inducible promoter. The ectopic fusion protein localized at mid-cell. Cells showed no growth defects even in the absence of the genomic pbp2x, demonstrating that GFP-PBP2x is functional. Depletion of GFP-PBP2x resulted in severe morphological alterations, confirming the essentiality of PBP2x and demonstrating that PBP2x is required for cell division and not for cell elongation. A genetically or antibiotic inactivated GFP-PBP2x still localized at septal sites. Remarkably, the same was true for a GFP-PBP2x derivative containing a deletion of the central transpeptidase domain, although only in the absence of the protease/chaperone HtrA. Thus localization is independent of the catalytic transpeptidase domain but requires the C-terminal PASTA domains, identifying HtrA as targeting GFP-PBP2x derivatives. Finally, PBP2x was positioned at the septum similar to PBP1a and the PASTA domain containing StkP protein, confirming that PBP2x is a key element of the divisome complex.

The human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae has been treated for decades with β-lactam antibiotics. Its resistance is now widespread, mediated by the expression of mosaic variants of the target enzymes, the penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs). Understanding the mode of action of β-lactams, not only in molecular detail but also in their physiological consequences, will be crucial to improving these drugs and any counterresistances. In this work, we investigate the piperacillin paradox, by which this β-lactam selects primarily variants of PBP2b, whereas its most reactive target is PBP2x. These PBPs are both essential monofunctional transpeptidases involved in peptidoglycan assembly. PBP2x participates in septal synthesis, while PBP2b functions in peripheral elongation. The formation of the "lemon"-shaped cells induced by piperacillin treatment is consistent with the inhibition of PBP2x. Following the examination of treated and untreated cells by electron microscopy, the localization of the PBPs by epifluorescence microscopy, and the determination of the inhibition time course of the different PBPs, we propose a model of peptidoglycan assembly that accounts for the piperacillin paradox.

Motivating individuals to engage in transformative behaviors aimed to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change seizes to be a large challenge of environmental social science. In particular, in remains unclear how to best promote the uptake of novel, digital technologies when it comes to efficient energy management. To contribute to this challenge, the present Perspective investigates factors associated with energy customers’ interest in smart meters, based on an exploratory pilot field experiment in Germany (n = 4,147 clients of a German energy firm). Specifically, we set up an online field experiment and vary the arguments emphasized towards its actual customers (medium to large customers) that speak in favor of using a smart meter in an advertising campaign initiated by the firm. We find that customers are particularly interested in the technology when they learn that it may enable them to realize savings (as compared to environmental, technological or legal reasons). This result crucially adds to contrary results emphasizing moral (i.e., environmental) motives, suggesting that it may be detrimental to shift focus away from financial motives when promoting digital technologies in the energy market, particular among medium to large consumers of energy.

Streptococcus pneumoniae penicillin-binding protein 2x (PBP2x) is an enzyme involved in the last stages of peptidoglycan assembly and essential for bacterial growth and survival. PBP2x localizes to the division site, a process that depends on its Penicillin-Binding Protein And Serine-Threonine-kinase Associated (PASTA) domains, which was previously demonstrated via GFP-PBP2x in living cells. During this study a mutant strain was isolated in which the GFP-PBP2x fusion protein did not localize at division sites and it contained reduced amounts of the full-length GFP-PBP2x. We now show that this defect is due to a point mutation within the C-terminal PASTA2 domain of PBP2x. The mutant protein was analyzed in detail in terms of beta-lactam binding, functionality, and localization in live cells. We demonstrate that the mutation affects the GFP-tagged PBP2x variant severely and renders it susceptible to the protease/chaperone HtrA.

The article defines human capital development components and their impact on the state’s competitive development. The study aims to determine Ukraine’s main human capital development directions in the conditions of post-war reconstruction. The study’s relevance is determined by the deterioration of human capital usage in Ukraine due to the war with Russia. Therefore, it requires effective changes in the human capital development policy by the state, enterprises, and individuals. The developed methodology determines the study’s novelty for analyzing the influencing factors on human capital. General scientific methods of cognition allowed us to identify the main elements of human capital impact. The correlation and regression analysis confirmed the hypothesis that human capital factors are population health, education, and information technology use. The analysis results show these indicators’ high levels of influence on the state development in the global environment. The results of the study show that human capital has an impact on economic growth. In Ukraine, the development of professional skills of the population and the use of information technology in production processes positively impact the economy. On the other hand, the population’s level of health negatively impacts economic development and requires health policy improvement. The discussion framework forms the development of human capital, considering the construction of public policy in this direction. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of its use in the process of developing a human capital development strategy at the state and enterprise levels.

For over a century the nervous system of decapod crustaceans has been a workhorse for the neurobiology community. Many fundamental discoveries including the identification of electrical and inhibitory synapses, lateral and pre-synaptic inhibition, and the Na + /K + -pump were made using lobsters, crabs, or crayfish. Key among many advantages of crustaceans for neurobiological research is the unique access to large, accessible, and identifiable neurons, and the many distinct and complex behaviors that can be observed in lab settings. Despite these advantages, recent decades have seen work on crustaceans hindered by the lack of molecular and genetic tools required for unveiling the cellular processes contributing to neurophysiology and behavior. In this perspective paper, we argue that the recently sequenced marbled crayfish, Procambarus virginalis , is suited to become a genetic model system for crustacean neuroscience. P. virginalis are parthenogenetic and produce genetically identical offspring, suggesting that germline transformation creates transgenic animal strains that are easy to maintain across generations. Like other decapod crustaceans, marbled crayfish possess large neurons in well-studied circuits such as the giant tail flip neurons and central pattern generating neurons in the stomatogastric ganglion. We provide initial data demonstrating that marbled crayfish neurons are accessible through standard physiological and molecular techniques, including single-cell electrophysiology, gene expression measurements, and RNA-interference. We discuss progress in CRISPR-mediated manipulations of the germline to knock-out target genes using the ‘Receptor-mediated ovary transduction of cargo’ (ReMOT) method. Finally, we consider the impact these approaches will have for neurophysiology research in decapod crustaceans and more broadly across invertebrates.

Introduction At the cellular level, acute temperature changes alter ionic conductances, ion channel kinetics, and the activity of entire neuronal circuits. This can result in severe consequences for neural function, animal behavior and survival. In poikilothermic animals, and particularly in aquatic species whose core temperature equals the surrounding water temperature, neurons experience rather rapid and wide-ranging temperature fluctuations. Recent work on pattern generating neural circuits in the crustacean stomatogastric nervous system have demonstrated that neuronal circuits can exhibit an intrinsic robustness to temperature fluctuations. However, considering the increased warming of the oceans and recurring heatwaves due to climate change, the question arises whether this intrinsic robustness can acclimate to changing environmental conditions, and whether it differs between species and ocean habitats. Methods We address these questions using the pyloric pattern generating circuits in the stomatogastric nervous system of two crab species, Hemigrapsus sanguineus and Carcinus maenas that have seen a worldwide expansion in recent decades. Results and discussion Consistent with their history as invasive species, we find that pyloric activity showed a broad temperature robustness (>30°C). Moreover, the temperature-robust range was dependent on habitat temperature in both species. Warm-acclimating animals shifted the critical temperature at which circuit activity breaks down to higher temperatures. This came at the cost of robustness against cold stimuli in H. sanguineus , but not in C. maenas . Comparing the temperature responses of C. maenas from a cold latitude (the North Sea) to those from a warm latitude (Spain) demonstrated that similar shifts in robustness occurred in natural environments. Our results thus demonstrate that neuronal temperature robustness correlates with, and responds to, environmental temperature conditions, potentially preparing animals for changing ecological conditions and shifting habitats.

Abstract This article is a case study of Kaliningrad's political elite's attempts to make Kaliningrad the ‘Baltic Republic within the Russian Federation’, and the fact that this regional programme was perceived by observers from Moscow and neighbours as leading to the creation of the ‘Fourth Baltic Republic’. The geopolitical and historical peculiarities of Kaliningrad, and their impact on Kaliningrad's regional programme, are also discussed. The article will conclude by arguing that although the Baltic Republic slogan is fading, Kaliningrad's ambitions and desire to remain an ‘actor’ are not.

This study explores the analysis of the policy of EU countries regarding immigrants under the impact corruption may have had on the formulation and implementation of migration policies. The analysis shall proceed through three steps. First, authors shall describe our position within the theoretical discourse about corruption theory. Authors shall then move on to compare the shifts in levels of corruption in select EU Member States for some crucial years during the period between 2006 and 2015. Third, researchers shall look into the core factors behind these shifts and identify links to migration policies.

Visual representations (photographs, diagrams, etc.) play crucial roles in scientific processes. They help, for example, to communicate research results and hypotheses to scientific peers as well as to the lay audience. In genuine research activities they are used as evidence or as surrogates for research objects which are otherwise cognitively inaccessible. Despite their important functional roles in scientific practices, philosophers of science have more or less neglected visual representations in their analyses of epistemic methods and tools of reasoning in science. This book is meant to fill this gap. It presents a detailed investigation into central conceptual issues and into the epistemology of visual representations in science.

Purpose. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the theoretical, methodological and methodical foundations for the formation of the system of accounting, analysis and information base of food losses and waste in Ukraine. Methodology / approach. The collection of information for conducting a scientific study was carried out using qualitative (literature review, research of ideas and experience on research issues) and quantitative (study of quantitative indicators of food losses in production and sales chains in Ukraine) methods based on the description of secondary research (synthesis of existing knowledge and analysis of established trends). Data analysis was carried out using thematic analysis (systematization of scientific results from research issues), statistical method (construction of a trend line and determination of forecast data), the method of comparisons (selection of a specific system based on qualitative analysis) and generalizations (substantiation of proposals and formation of conclusions). Results. The need to introduce in Ukraine the accounting methodology for food losses and waste, recommended by FAO is determined; the expediency of using the mass flow analysis method is substantiated; systematized data sources of information provision for food losses and waste monitoring. As a result of a critical analysis of theoretical, methodological and methodical principles regarding the formation of a system of accounting, analysis and information base of food losses and waste in Ukraine, the authors proposed a system of accounting, analysis and information provision of food losses and waste in Ukraine. The proposed system includes 1) a methodological basis for accounting for food losses and waste, 2) a method of analysis in the accounting system food losses and waste, and 3) information support for accounting and analysis of the process of food losses and waste. Originality / scientific novelty. For the first time, a study of the methodology of accounting for food losses and waste, methods of analysis and information provision of this process in the EU was conducted, based on the results of which approaches to the formation of a corresponding system in Ukraine were proposed. Practical value / implications. The application of a unified methodology of the food losses and waste accounting system will allow accurate quantitative assessment of food losses and waste in Ukraine, which will be suitable for international comparison, tracking progress in achieving the target indicators of the SDG12, developing relevant policies and applying effective frameworks for reduction of food losses and waste in Ukraine. This work emphasizes the need for further empirical research aimed at the quantitative analysis of food losses and waste in Ukraine, as well as the assessment of the losses caused by the russian federation in the agricultural sector and the reduction of the food potential of our country, which is a significant component of reparations and contributions from the aggressor state.

We study the role of co-benefits – positive effects of climate change mitigation projects in addition to CO 2 reduction – in motivating individuals to donate to such projects. In two artefactual field experiments conducted with large population samples ( n = 2400 in total), we test how the existence and specific nature of co-benefits affect donations. In both experiments, we find that co-benefits have a positive impact on participants' willingness to donate. Moreover, our second experiment shows that contributions respond to the nature of co-benefits, and these responses seem to be driven by individuals' preferences for specific types of co-benefits. We further observe that co-benefits also increase donations when making carbon footprints and thus individual responsibility for environmental externalities more salient. In sum, our study provides a comprehensive picture of the potential of co-benefits for increasing donations to climate change mitigation projects and has several implications for the provision of co-benefits information in practice.

This study explores the analysis of convergence process of EU countries. The analysis shall proceed through three steps. Firstly, we shall describe our position within the theoretical discourse about convergence theory. Then we shall move on to compare the indicators of monetary and fiscal discipline in select EU Member States. Thirdly, we shall analyse whether a convergence of financial development takes place within the group of European countries.

Purpose. The purpose of our study is to assess the extent to which food losses and waste affect the level of deficit in the consumption of milk and meat products by the population of Ukraine, which will allow us to identify the regions of Ukraine for which measures and policies to reduce food losses and waste should be developed. Methodology / approach. The empirical research was conducted using primary and secondary data. Primary data were used to calculate food losses and waste according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) methodology. Secondary data were used for correlation and regression analysis. Correlation and regression analysis were conducted for each of the six types of products: meat and milk. Factorial features are food losses and waste per capita. The result feature of the correlation and regression analysis is the share of consumption deficit resulting from food losses and waste. The sample was formed based on data from 24 regions of Ukraine. Results. According to the results of the correlation and regression analysis, the assumption of the absence of a relationship is not confirmed; all factors are significant. It has been proven that food losses and waste of milk and meat are a significant factor in the formation of a deficit in the consumption of milk and meat by the population of Ukraine. It was determined that milk losses and waste have a somewhat higher impact on the deficit of product consumption than meat losses and waste. It was established that the share of the deficit in milk and meat consumption, which arises as a result of food losses and waste, is higher in those areas that traditionally specialise in the production of livestock products. The feasibility of developing and implementing differentiated measures to reduce the deficit of milk and meat consumption in certain regions is substantiated. Originality / scientific novelty. For the first time, the degree of impact of food losses and waste of milk and meat production on the deficit of consumption of these products by the population of Ukraine has been scientifically proven and quantified. Practical value / implications. The results of this empirical study are the basis for the development of state and regional programmes and the implementation of the necessary actions to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 12 (SDG 2, 12) in Ukraine.

During the 1550s, humanists at the University of Wittenberg in Germany first suggested that Wallachians from present-day Romania had migrated to the Baltic Sea, settled in Livonia and became the ancestors of Estonians and Latvians. This colonization allegedly took place at some time in the 5th or 6th century AD. Although such a theory seems bizarre from a modern point of view, it was considered a perfectly reasonable hypothesis by contemporary scholars. For approximately 150 years, up to the early 18th century, the idea of a Wallachian colonization of Livonia retained its place in the historiography of the region, before it was refuted by the more sober-minded approach of enlightenment historians. The paper provides an overview of the scholarly theories on a kinship between Wallachians, Estonians and Latvians that were formulated between 1550 and 1700. Although these fanciful hypotheses are not supported by any discernible historical facts, they provide important insights on the position of Wallachia and Livonia in the symbolic geography and the mental maps of the early modern res publica litterarum.

We study the two algebras of complemented subsets that were introduced in the constructive development of the Daniell approach to measure and integration within Bishop-style constructive mathematics. We present their main properties both for the so-called here categorical complemented subsets and for the extensional complemented subsets. We translate constructively the classical bijection between subsets and Boolean-valued, total functions by establishing a bijection between complemented subsets (categorical or extensional) and Boolean-valued, partial functions (categorical or extensional). The role of Myhill’s axiom of non-choice in the equivalence between categorical and extensional subsets is discussed. We introduce swap algebras of type (I) and (II) as an abstract version of Bishop’s algebras of complemented subsets of type (I) and (II), respectively, and swap rings as an abstract version of the structure of Boolean-valued partial functions on a set. Our examples of swap algebras and swap rings together with the included here results indicate that their theory is a certain generalisation of the theory of Boolean algebras and Boolean rings, a fact which we find interesting both from a constructive and a classical point of view.

Alben haben eine faszinierende Materialpräsenz, variable Gattungstypologie und -geschichte und eine grundsätzlich offene und bewegliche Form. Alles was sich zwischen zwei Buchdeckeln flachdrücken lässt, kann in den portablen Sammelbüchern archiviert werden. Literarische, musikalische, bildkünstlerische Einträge, Klebeobjekte, Souvenirs dokumentieren Begegnungen auf Reisen und vermitteln ein Wissen über Praktiken und Formen des Schaffens von Zugehörigkeiten in der mobilen Welt (vgl. Pfaff-Czarnecka 2010).

HOW ANCIENT GREEKS AND ROMANS REPRESENTED THEIR PAST: A NEW VOLUME ON ANCIENT MEMORY - (M.) De Marre, (R.K.) Bhola (edd.) Making and Unmaking Ancient Memory. Pp. xvi + 324, ills. London and New York: Routledge, 2022. Cased, £120, US$160. ISBN: 978-0-367-37144-9. - Volume 74 Issue 1