Happy growers! Relationship quality in the German organic apple chain

Relational factors between supply chain actors have been acknowledged to contribute significantly to competitiveness. With the example of the German market for organic apples the suitability of the concept of the Relational View for explaining competitiveness was investigated. Structured interviews were conducted with selected actors of the supply chain. Actors at all levels of the supply chain proved to be highly committed and described their business relations as satisfying and trustful. Strong vertical and horizontal collaboration was found. Thus, the Relational View proved to be highly suitable to explain competitiveness in the market for organic apples.

First-principles electronic theory of non-collinear magnetic order in transition-metal nanowires

The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of one-dimensional 3d transition-metal (TM) monoatomic chains having linear, zigzag and ladder geometries are investigated in the frame-work of first-principles density-functional theory. The stability of long-range magnetic order along the nanowires is determined by computing the corresponding frozen-magnon dispersion relations as a function of the 'spin-wave' vector q. First, we show that the ground-state magnetic orders of V, Mn and Fe linear chains at the equilibrium interatomic distances are non-collinear (NC) spin-density waves (SDWs) with characteristic equilibrium wave vectors q that depend on the composition and interatomic distance. The electronic and magnetic properties of these novel spin-spiral structures are discussed from a local perspective by analyzing the spin-polarized electronic densities of states, the local magnetic moments and the spin-density distributions for representative values q. Second, we investigate the stability of NC spin arrangements in Fe zigzag chains and ladders. We find that the non-collinear SDWs are remarkably stable in the biatomic chains (square ladder), whereas ferromagnetic order (q =0) dominates in zigzag chains (triangular ladders). The different magnetic structures are interpreted in terms of the corresponding effective exchange interactions J(ij) between the local magnetic moments μ(i) and μ(j) at atoms i and j. The effective couplings are derived by fitting a classical Heisenberg model to the ab initio magnon dispersion relations. In addition they are analyzed in the framework of general magnetic phase diagrams having arbitrary first, second, and third nearest-neighbor (NN) interactions J(ij). The effect of external electric fields (EFs) on the stability of NC magnetic order has been quantified for representative monoatomic free-standing and deposited chains. We find that an external EF, which is applied perpendicular to the chains, favors non-collinear order in V chains, whereas it stabilizes the ferromagnetic (FM) order in Fe chains. Moreover, our calculations reveal a change in the magnetic order of V chains deposited on the Cu(110) surface in the presence of external EFs. In this case the NC spiral order, which was unstable in the absence of EF, becomes the most favorable one when perpendicular fields of the order of 0.1 V/Å are applied. As a final application of the theory we study the magnetic interactions within monoatomic TM chains deposited on graphene sheets. One observes that even weak chain substrate hybridizations can modify the magnetic order. Mn and Fe chains show incommensurable NC spin configurations. Remarkably, V chains show a transition from a spiral magnetic order in the freestanding geometry to FM order when they are deposited on a graphene sheet. Some TM-terminated zigzag graphene-nanoribbons, for example V and Fe terminated nanoribbons, also show NC spin configurations. Finally, the magnetic anisotropy energies (MAEs) of TM chains on graphene are investigated. It is shown that Co and Fe chains exhibit significant MAEs and orbital magnetic moments with in-plane easy magnetization axis. The remarkable changes in the magnetic properties of chains on graphene are correlated to charge transfers from the TMs to NN carbon atoms. Goals and limitations of this study and the resulting perspectives of future investigations are discussed.

Lokalisation und Funktion von Mitgliedern der Familie der short-chain Dehydrogenasen/Reduktasen in Dictyostelium discoideum

Dictyostelium discoideum wird als Modellorganismus für diverse Krankheitsbilder benutzt. Darunter zählen lysosomale, neurodegenerative Störungen sowie Stoffwechselerkrankungen. Werden diese Amöben mit einer Fettsäure gefüttert, so wird die Biogenese von lipid droplets (LDs) initiiert. Diese dynamischen Organellen dienen der Neutrallipidspeicherung. Das Proteom der LDs konnte für D. discoideum entschlüsselt werden. Unter den rund 70 Proteinen, befinden sich ca. 15, die eine Funktion im Lipidstoffwechsel haben. Darunter befinden sich auch Mitglieder der Enzymklasse der short-shain Dehydrogenasen/Reduktasen. Diese zeigen, wie viele andere LD-Proteine auch, eine duale Lokalisation im Endoplasmatischen Retikulum (ER) und auf LDs. In dieser Arbeit konnten die Sequenzen, die den Wechsel von einer doppelte Phospholipidschicht (ER) auf eine einfache Membran (LDs) möglich machen, entschlüsselt werden. Im Fall der Proteine SdrB/C/D/E/F handelt es sich dabei um ein membranständiges N-terminales Peptid gefolgt von einer Membrandomäne. Helix-brechende Aminosäuren wie Prolin und Glycin in diesen Domänen erzeugen einen Knick, sodass sowohl die C- als auch N-Termini fusioniert an ein Reporterprotein cytoplasmatisch lokalisieren können. Direkt nach der Membrandomäne befindet sich ein kurzer Abschnitt mit basischen, positiv geladenen Aminosäuren, die mit der negativ geladenen Oberfläche der LDs interagieren. Die Membrandomäne allein ist zwar für eine ER-Lokalisation ausreichend, eine LD-Verteilung kann jedoch nur in Kombination mit dem basischen Abschnitt erfolgen. Des Weiteren konnte die Lokalisation von SdrG aufgeklärt werden. Dieses Protein lokalisiert sowohl im ER, als auch auf LDs und den Peroxisomen. Die knockouts einzelner Sdr-Gene zeigten keinen Phänotyp. Auch der Doppel-knockout von SdrB und SdrC blieb Phänotyp-frei. Aus diesem Grund wurden die tandemartig im Genom vorliegenden Gene SdrD-F in einem Triple-knockout untersucht, ebenso wie ein Penta-knockout der Gene SdrB-F. Weiterhin konnten keine Auswirkungen auf die Phagocytose bzw. auf die Verwertung von Fettsäuren und die Mitoserate festgestellt werden. Ebenfalls verläuft der Aufbau und die Degradation von lipid droplets wildtypisch. Mittels Gaschromatographie gekoppelter Massenspektrometrie konnte jedoch ein geringer Unterschied in der Fettsäurekomposition der LDs festgestellt werden. Sobald diese fünf Proteine nicht mehr vorhanden sind, werden 5% weniger 18:1 Δ11 Fettsäuren gebildet und es verbleiben mehr 16:0 Fettsäuren in den LDs. Eine Übernahme der Funktion als Δ9 Desaturase, nach dem Abschnüren der LDs vom Endoplasmatischen Retikulum ist wahrscheinlich.

Diversity and nutritional properties of Pakistani dates: implications for sustainable value chain and decent living perspectives of rural households

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) occupies almost three percent of the total worldwide cultivated area, with an annual production of seven million tonnes (t). Pakistan is an ideal place for the cultivation of date palm due to its sandy loam soil and semi-arid climate. In 2012, Pakistan produced 600,000 t of dates, on an area of 95,000 ha. Baluchistan province is the country’s top date producer, followed by Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) provinces. More than 300 date varieties are known to exist in Pakistan and some commercially important cultivars are: Karbalaen, Aseel, Muzawati, Fasli, Begum Jhangi, Hillawi, Dashtiari, Sabzo, Koharaba, Jaan Swore, Rabai and Dhakki. Six districts from the four provinces of Pakistan (Jhang, Muzaffargarh and Bahawalpur (Punjab), Dera Ismail Khan (KPK), Khairpur (Sindh) and Panjgur (Baluchistan)) with largest area under date palm cultivation were selected to conduct socio-economic surveys including the income sources of date palm growers. A structured questionnaire with open-ended and closed questions was used for face-to-face interviews of 170 date palm growers. At each location after selection of a first farmer through a local guide, the former was requested to provide names and addresses of three other date growers in his area. From these three names, one was randomly selected for the next sampling. Additionally, date palm fronds and fruits of all available cultivars were collected for morphological and nutritional analyses. Soil samples were collected from the groves for subsequent chemical and physical analyses. Almost all farmers used dates as a food item for their families and some were using low quality dates as a feed for their livestock. Apart from dates, other date palm components (trunk, spadix, frond, inflorescence and seed) were used by date palm growers as a raw material for making many by-products for their families. Date palm had a major contribution in the income of households, 24% received 91-100% of their income from date palms. More than half of the surveyed farmers had date palm groves, but scattered plantations, home gardens and intercropping systems with cereal and other fruits were also present. Dhakki, Muzawati, Aseel, and Karbalaen were the most important commercial cultivars grown in the provinces of KPK, Baluchistan, and Sindh. Aseel, Karoch, Haleni, Karbalaen, and Muzawati cultivars had the most firm fruit and good total soluble sugar, calcium and magnesium contents. The amount of magnesium found in dates of studied cultivars ranged from 0.143 to 0.876 mg g-1. A great variation in frond morphology was recorded among the cultivars. Fruit length and fruit weight was highest in Dhakki date, making it visually more attractive for customers in addition to its good nutritional properties. The seed weight of the studied cultivars ranged from 0.7-2.0 g, while Desi dates had largest seed, making them less attractive for marketing. However, in terms of nutritional value and fruit size, most of the investigated varieties can compete with globally important commercial dates.