Rice-Infecting Pseudomonas Genomes Are Highly Accessorized and Harbor Multiple Putative Virulence Mechanisms to Cause Sheath Brown Rot

Sheath rot complex and seed discoloration in rice involve a number of pathogenic bacteria that cannot be associated with distinctive symptoms. These pathogens can easily travel on asymptomatic seeds and therefore represent a threat to rice cropping systems. Among the rice-infecting Pseudomonas, P. fuscovaginae has been associated with sheath brown rot disease in several rice growing areas around the world. The appearance of a similar Pseudomonas population, which here we named P. fuscovaginae-like, represents a perfect opportunity to understand common genomic features that can explain the infection mechanism in rice. We showed that the novel population is indeed closely related to P. fuscovaginae. A comparative genomics approach on eight rice-infecting Pseudomonas revealed heterogeneous genomes and a high number of strain-specific genes. The genomes of P. fuscovaginae-like harbor four secretion systems (Type I, II, III, and VI) and other important pathogenicity machinery that could probably facilitate rice colonization. We identified 123 core secreted proteins, most of which have strong signatures of positive selection suggesting functional adaptation. Transcript accumulation of putative pathogenicity-related genes during rice colonization revealed a concerted virulence mechanism. The study suggests that rice-infecting Pseudomonas causing sheath brown rot are intrinsically diverse and maintain a variable set of metabolic capabilities as a potential strategy to occupy a range of environments.

Schulwege in den beiden deutschen Staaten. Kinder- und Jugendkulturen zwischen Elternhaus und Schule

Der Schulweg ist ein Intermedium zwischen dem Zuhause und der Schule. Hier findet die Transformation vom Kind bzw. Jugendlichen zum Schüler oder Schülerin statt. Auf diesem Weg bilden sich einzigartige Kinder- und Jugendkulturen. Gerade diese „space-time“ fand in der erziehungswissenschaftlichen Forschung bisher kaum Beachtung. Denn Untersuchungen zum Schulweg befassen sich oftmals mit dem Weg als physikalische Größe oder Fragen aus psychologischer Perspektive nach Problemen wie Angstzuständen. Hintergrund ist dabei immer, den Schulweg für die Kinder angenehmer und schöner zu gestalten. Nicht beachtet wird, dass er von den Erwachsenen in der Regel nicht kontrolliert wird. Die vorliegende Studie blickt aus historischer Perspektive auf Schulwege in den beiden deutschen Staaten der 1970er Jahren. Es wird herausgearbeitet, wie sich Kinder- und Jugendkulturen in der Bundesrepublik und in der DDR auf Schulwegen konstituiert haben. (DIPF/Orig.)

Silicon Promotes Exodermal Casparian Band Formation in Si-Accumulating and Si-Excluding Species by Forming Phenol Complexes

We studied the effect of Silicon (Si) on Casparian band (CB) development, chemical composition of the exodermal CB and Si deposition across the root in the Si accumulators rice and maize and the Si non-accumulator onion. Plants were cultivated in nutrient solution with and without Si supply. The CB development was determined in stained root cross-sections. The outer part of the roots containing the exodermis was isolated after enzymatic treatment. The exodermal suberin was transesterified with MeOH/BF3 and the chemical composition was measured using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (LA-ICP-MS) was used to determine the Si deposition across root cross sections. Si promoted CB formation in the roots of Si-accumulator and Si non-accumulator species. The exodermal suberin was decreased in rice and maize due to decreased amounts of aromatic suberin fractions. Si did not affect the concentration of lignin and lignin-like polymers in the outer part of rice, maize and onion roots. The highest Si depositions were found in the tissues containing CB. These data along with literature were used to suggest a mechanism how Si promotes the CB development by forming complexes with phenols.

Hans Siebert - zur erziehungsgeschichtlichen Spur eines emigrierten politischen Pädagogen

Hans Siebert war als exponierter SED-Funktionär der wirkungsstärkste Vertreter stalinistischer Erziehungsauffassungen in der SBZ und frühen DDR. Die nachstehende biographische Recherche erhellt insbesondere die Entstehungsgeschichte seiner Auffassungen im englischen Exil. Dabei wird den bislang kaum beachteten Erziehungs- und Schulungsunternehmungen der KPD nachgegangen. Es wird deutlich, daß Siebert, der besonders eng an sowjetische Vorbilder gebunden war, nur bis in die fünfziger Jahre tatsächlich Einfluß auf die Bildungspolitik hatte und danach in eine Außenseiterposition geriet. (DIPF/Orig.)

Participatory Patterns in an International Air Quality Monitoring Initiative

The issue of sustainability is at the top of the political and societal agenda, being considered of extreme importance and urgency. Human individual action impacts the environment both locally (e.g., local air/water quality, noise disturbance) and globally (e.g., climate change, resource use). Urban environments represent a crucial example, with an increasing realization that the most effective way of producing a change is involving the citizens themselves in monitoring campaigns (a citizen science bottom-up approach). This is possible by developing novel technologies and IT infrastructures enabling large citizen participation. Here, in the wider framework of one of the first such projects, we show results from an international competition where citizens were involved in mobile air pollution monitoring using low cost sensing devices, combined with a web-based game to monitor perceived levels of pollution. Measures of shift in perceptions over the course of the campaign are provided, together with insights into participatory patterns emerging from this study. Interesting effects related to inertia and to direct involvement in measurement activities rather than indirect information exposure are also highlighted, indicating that direct involvement can enhance learning and environmental awareness. In the future, this could result in better adoption of policies towards decreasing pollution.

Plant Size as Determinant of Species Richness of Herbivores, Natural Enemies and Pollinators across 21 Brassicaceae Species

Large plants are often more conspicuous and more attractive for associated animals than small plants, e.g. due to their wider range of resources. Therefore, plant size can positively affect species richness of associated animals, as shown for single groups of herbivores, but studies usually consider intraspecific size differences of plants in unstandardised environments. As comprehensive tests of interspecific plant size differences under standardised conditions are missing so far, we investigated effects of plant size on species richness of all associated arthropods using a common garden experiment with 21 Brassicaceae species covering a broad interspecific plant size gradient from 10 to 130 cm height. We recorded plant associated ecto-and endophagous herbivores, their natural enemies and pollinators on and in each aboveground plant organ, i.e. flowers, fruits, leaves and stems. Plant size (measured as height from the ground), the number of different plant organ entities and their biomass were assessed. Increasing plant size led to increased species richness of associated herbivores, natural enemies and pollinating insects. This pattern was found for ectophagous and endophagous herbivores, their natural enemies, as well as for herbivores associated with leaves and fruits and their natural enemies, independently of the additional positive effects of resource availability (i.e. organ biomass or number of entities and, regarding natural enemies, herbivore species richness). We found a lower R-2 for pollinators compared to herbivores and natural enemies, probably caused by the high importance of flower characteristics for pollinator species richness besides plant size. Overall, the increase in plant height from 10 to 130 cm led to a 2.7-fold increase in predicted total arthropod species richness. In conclusion, plant size is a comprehensive driver of species richness of the plant associated arthropods, including pollinators, herbivores and their natural enemies, whether they are endophagous or ectophagous or associated with leaves or fruits.

Die Koranschule. Eine Alternative zur öffentlichen Grundschule in einem laizistischen Staat? Ein Fallbeispiel: Die Republik Senegal

In Anbetracht der sich eher verschlechternden Lage des öffentlichen Schulwesens in den Ländern Schwarzafrikas sucht man in den internationalen und nationalen Diskussionen u.a. nach alternativen, auf traditionelle und private Bildungsformen aufbauenden Strategien zur Förderung der Grundbildung. Das sich verändernde islamische Bildungswesen in der zu über 90% muslimischen Republik Senegal könnte für einen großen Teil der Bevölkerung zu einer solchen Alternative werden, weil nur 48% der Kinder im Primarschulalter die öffentliche Schule besuchen, die sich am französischen Vorbild orientiert. (DIPF/Orig.)

Phenotypic and Genotypic Characteristics of Members of the Genus Streptobacillus

The genus Streptobacillus (S.) remained monotypic for almost 90 years until two new species were recently described. The type species, S. moniliformis, is one of the two etiological agents of rat bite fever, an under-diagnosed, worldwide occurring zoonosis. In a polyphasic approach field isolates and reference strains of S. moniliformis, S. hongkongensis, S. felis as well as divergent isolates were characterized by comparison of molecular data (n = 29) and from the majority also by their physiological as well as proteomic properties (n = 22). Based on growth-independent physiological profiling using VITEK2-compact, API ZYM and the Micronaut system fastidious growth-related difficulties could be overcome and streptobacilli could definitively be typed despite generally few differences. While differing in their isolation sites and dates, S. moniliformis isolates were found to possess almost identical spectra in matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Spectroscopic methods facilitated differentiation of S. moniliformis, S. hongkongensis and S. felis as well as one divergent isolate. Sequencing of 16S rRNA gene as well as functional genes groEL, recA and gyrB revealed only little intraspecific variability, but generally proved suitable for interspecies discrimination between all three taxa and two groups of divergent isolates.

Literarische Sozialisation. Wie kann das Lesen von Geschichten zur Persoenlichkeitsentwicklung beitragen?

Ausgehend von einer Differenzierung des Konzeptes „literarische Sozialisation" zeigt der Aufsatz die Entwicklungsbedeutsamkeit des Umgehens mit fiktionalen Texten anhand der Sozialisations-„Produkte" Imaginationsfähigkeit und emotionale Schemata auf. Das Umgehen mit fiktionalen Gechichten kann beitragen zur Entstehung einer imaginativen, entwerfenden Haltung, zur Entwicklung von Empathie, Phantasie, Ich-Beteiligung sowie zur Erprobung eigener Welt- und Selbstentwürfe. Erlebnis- und Denkformen werden erweitert, vertieft und flexibilisiert, und zwar auch in kulturspezifischer und gesellschaftlich erwünschter Weise. Geschichten vermitteln kulturelle Gefühlsschablonen, in denen sich allgemeine Werthierarchien, Sinnentwürfe und normative Erwartungen ausdrücken. (DIPF/Orig.)

Degradation of Biofumigant Isothiocyanates and Allyl Glucosinolate in Soil and Their Effects on the Microbial Community Composition

Brassicales species rich in glucosinolates are used for biofumigation, a process based on releasing enzymatically toxic isothiocyanates into the soil. These hydrolysis products are volatile and often reactive compounds. Moreover, glucosinolates can be degraded also without the presence of the hydrolytic enzyme myrosinase which might contribute to bioactive effects. Thus, in the present study the stability of Brassicaceae plant-derived and pure glucosinolates hydrolysis products was studied using three different soils ( model biofumigation). In addition, the degradation of pure 2-propenyl glucosinolate was investigated with special regard to the formation of volatile breakdown products. Finally, the influence of pure glucosinolate degradation on the bacterial community composition was evaluated using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rRNA gene amplified from total community DNA. The model biofumigation study revealed that the structure of the hydrolysis products had a significant impact on their stability in the soil but not the soil type. Following the degradation of pure 2-propenyl glucosinolate in the soils, the nitrile as well as the isothiocyanate can be the main degradation products, depending on the soil type. Furthermore, the degradation was shown to be both chemically as well as biologically mediated as autoclaving reduced degradation. The nitrile was the major product of the chemical degradation and its formation increased with iron content of the soil. Additionally, the bacterial community composition was significantly affected by adding pure 2-propenyl glucosinolate, the effect being more pronounced than in treatments with myrosinase added to the glucosinolate. Therefore, glucosinolates can have a greater effect on soil bacterial community composition than their hydrolysis products.

Gesundheitserziehung in Schule und Unterricht

Der folgende Beitrag gibt einen Überblick zum Forschungsstand empirischer Untersuchungen zur Gesundheitserziehung in Schule und Unterricht. Dafür werden zunächst einige wichtige Besonderheiten des (gesundheitsrelevanten) Erlebens und Verhaltens dieser Altersgruppe dargestellt und die Frage beantwortet, ob Schule überhaupt ein geeigneter Ort für Gesundheitserziehung ist. Anschließend werden unterschiedliche schulische Präventions- und Interventionsmöglichkeiten mit Bezug auf Evaluationskriterien nach den tatsächlich erreichten Wirkungen diskutiert. Konsequenzen für die Gestaltung weiterer Maßnahmen und insbesondere für konkretes Lehrerhandeln stehen am Schluß. (DIPF/Orig.)

NK Cells of Kidney Transplant Recipients Display an Activated Phenotype that Is Influenced by Immunosuppression and Pathological Staging

To explore phenotype and function of NK cells in kidney transplant recipients, we investigated the peripheral NK cell repertoire, capacity to respond to various stimuli and impact of immunosuppressive drugs on NK cell activity in kidney transplant recipients. CD56(dim) NK cells of kidney transplanted patients displayed an activated phenotype characterized by significantly decreased surface expression of CD16 (p=0.0003), CD226 (p<0.0001), CD161 (p=0.0139) and simultaneously increased expression of activation markers like HLA-DR (p=0.0011) and CD25 (p=0.0015). Upon in vitro stimulation via Ca++-dependent signals, down-modulation of CD16 was associated with induction of interferon (IFN)-gamma expression. CD16 modulation and secretion of NFAT-dependent cytokines such as IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-10 and IL-31 were significantly suppressed by treatment of isolated NK cells with calcineurin inhibitors but not with mTOR inhibitors. In kidney transplant recipients, IFN-gamma production was retained in response to HLA class I-negative target cells and to non-specific stimuli, respectively. However, secretion of other cytokines like IL-13, IL-17, IL-22 and IL-31 was significantly reduced compared to healthy donors. In contrast to suppression of cytokine expression at the transcriptional level, cytotoxin release, i.e. perforin, granzyme A/B, was not affected by immunosuppression in vitro and in vivo in patients as well as in healthy donors. Thus, immunosuppressive treatment affects NK cell function at the level of NFAT-dependent gene expression whereby calcineurin inhibitors primarily impair cytokine secretion while mTOR inhibitors have only marginal effects. Taken together, NK cells may serve as indicators for immunosuppression and may facilitate a personalized adjustment of immunosuppressive medication in kidney transplant recipients.

Schulische Gesundheitsförderung im Kontext von Klassenklima und sozialem Rückhalt durch die Lehrer. Wirkungen eines Präventivprogramms auf gesundheitsrelevantes Wissen und auf Erwartungen und Verhalten

Berichtet wird über die Evaluation eines schulischen Gesundheitsförderungsprogramms, wobei es spezifisch um Wechselwirkungen zwischen Programmeffekten und schulklimatischen Bedingungskonstellationen (Klassenklima/Lehrerrückhalt) auf Wissen über, Erwartungen an und Konsum von Zigaretten geht. An der Untersuchung waren 388 Schüler und Schülerinnen achter und neunter Klassen beteiligt. Im Rahmen eines quasi-experimentellen Untersuchungsdesigns wurde in der Hälfte der Schulklassen ein 28stündiges Unterrichtsprogramm zur Gesundheitsförderung durchgeführt, während die andere Hälfte als Kontrollgruppe ohne Treatment diente. In der Interventionsgruppe zeigten sich Wissenszuwächse sowie positive Veränderungen in den Ergebniserwartungen, zum Teil in Abhängigkeit von den Klassenklimavariablen. Positive Veränderungen im Konsumverhalten als Folge der Intervention ergaben sich bei jüngeren Raucher/innen, und es zeigten sich Zusammenhänge zwischen Veränderungen in den Erwartungen an den Zigarettenkonsum und solchen im Konsumverhalten. (DIPF/Orig.)

Parameter Identification in a Tuberculosis Model for Cameroon

A deterministic model of tuberculosis in Cameroon is designed and analyzed with respect to its transmission dynamics. The model includes lack of access to treatment and weak diagnosis capacity as well as both frequency-and density-dependent transmissions. It is shown that the model is mathematically well-posed and epidemiologically reasonable. Solutions are non-negative and bounded whenever the initial values are non-negative. A sensitivity analysis of model parameters is performed and the most sensitive ones are identified by means of a state-of-the-art Gauss-Newton method. In particular, parameters representing the proportion of individuals having access to medical facilities are seen to have a large impact on the dynamics of the disease. The model predicts that a gradual increase of these parameters could significantly reduce the disease burden on the population within the next 15 years.

Spiroacetals in the Colonization Behaviour of the Coffee Berry Borer: A 'Push-Pull' System

Coffee berries are known to release several volatile organic compounds, among which is the spiroacetal, conophthorin, an attractant for the coffee berry borer Hypothenemus hampei. Elucidating the effects of other spiroacetals released by coffee berries is critical to understanding their chemo-ecological roles in the host discrimination and colonization process of the coffee berry borer, and also for their potential use in the management of this pest. Here, we show that the coffee berry spiroacetals frontalin and 1,6-dioxaspiro [4.5] decane (referred thereafter as brocain), are also used as semiochemicals by the coffee berry borer for host colonization. Bioassays and chemical analyses showed that crowding coffee berry borers from 2 to 6 females per berry, reduced borer fecundity, which appeared to correlate with a decrease in the emission rates of conophthorin and frontalin over time. In contrast, the level of brocain did not vary significantly between borer-uninfested and infested berries. Brocain was attractive at lower doses, but repellent at higher doses while frontalin alone or in a blend was critical for avoidance. Field assays with a commercial attractant comprising a mixture of ethanol and methanol (1:1), combined with frontalin, confirmed the repellent effect of this compound by disrupting capture rates of H. hampei females by 77% in a coffee plantation. Overall, our results suggest that the levels of frontalin and conophthorin released by coffee berries determine the host colonization behaviour of H. hampei, possibly through a 'push-pull' system, whereby frontalin acts as the 'push' (repellent) and conophthorin acting as the 'pull' (attractant). Furthermore, our results reveal the potential use of frontalin as a repellent for management of this coffee pest.