Discussion: Food security and sustainable food systems: The role of soil

There is a general consensus that healthy soils are pivotal for food security. Food production is one of the main ecosystem services provided by and thus dependent on well-functioning soils. There are also intrinsic connections between the four pillars of food security: food availability, access, utilization, and stability; with how soils are managed, accessed and secured, in particular by food insecure and vulnerable populations. On the other hand, socio-political and economic processes that precipitate inequalities and heighten vulnerabilities among poor populations often increase pressure on soils due to unsustainable forms of land use and poor agricultural practises. This has often led to scenarios that can be described as: ‘poor soils, empty stomachs (hungry people) and poor livelihoods.' In 2015, in particular, as we head towards approval of the ‘Sustainable Development Goals' (SDGs), the role of Financing for Development is debated and agreed upon and a new climate pact is signed – these three political dimensions define how a new post-2015 agenda needs to be people-smart as well as resource-smart. For proposed SDG 2 (Food Security and Hunger), there can be so resolution without addressing people, policies and institutions.

Socioemotional Wealth, Ambidexterity, and Family Firm Performance: An Empirical Study

While family business literature agrees that family firms are driven by both non-economic and financial motives, it is unclear how the prioritization of socioemotional wealth (SEW) over financial considerations affects family firms' financial performance. Based on a sample of 343 family firm owners from German-speaking Europe, this study reveals a significant and positive relationship between the firm owners' SEW considerations and their family businesses' financial performance. This relationship, in turn, is found to be mediated by organizational ambidexterity. A fine-grained analysis of the different SEW dimensions indicates that this pattern may be driven by two elements of socioemotional wealth only (family members' identification with the firm and emotional attachment). Our findings demonstrate that business families do not necessarily face a trade-off when prioritizing the preservation of their SEW over stabilizing or improving the financial performance of their business. The study enriches several streams of literature and opens up numerous avenues for future research.

Design techniques and analysis of high-resolution neural recording systems targeting epilepsy focus localization

The design of a high-density neural recording system targeting epilepsy monitoring is presented. Circuit challenges and techniques are discussed to optimize the amplifier topology and the included OTA. A new platform supporting active recording devices targeting wireless and high-resolution focus localization in epilepsy diagnosis is also proposed. The post-layout simulation results of an amplifier dedicated to this application are presented. The amplifier is designed in a UMC 0.18µm CMOS technology, has an NEF of 2.19 and occupies a silicon area of 0.038 mm(2), while consuming 5.8 µW from a 1.8-V supply.

The urea transporter family (SLC14): physiological, pathological and structural aspects

Urea transporters (UTs) belonging to the solute carrier 14 (SLC14) family comprise two genes with a total of eight isoforms in mammals, UT-A1 to -A6 encoded by SLC14A2 and UT-B1 to -B2 encoded by SLC14A1. Recent efforts have been directed toward understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the regulation of UTs using transgenic mouse models and heterologous expression systems, leading to important new insights. Urea uptake by UT-A1 and UT-A3 in the kidney inner medullary collecting duct and by UT-B1 in the descending vasa recta for the countercurrent exchange system are chiefly responsible for medullary urea accumulation in the urinary concentration process. Vasopressin, an antidiuretic hormone, regulates UT-A isoforms via the phosphorylation and trafficking of the glycosylated transporters to the plasma membrane that occurs to maintain equilibrium with the exocytosis and ubiquitin-proteasome degradation pathways. UT-B isoforms are also important in several cellular functions, including urea nitrogen salvaging in the colon, nitric oxide pathway modulation in the hippocampus, and the normal cardiac conduction system. In addition, genomic linkage studies have revealed potential additional roles for SLC14A1 and SLC14A2 in hypertension and bladder carcinogenesis. The precise role of UT-A2 and presence of the urea recycling pathway in normal kidney are issues to be further explored. This review provides an update of these advances and their implications for our current understanding of the SLC14 UTs.