An Aggregated Stakeholder Perspective on Potential Benefits and Challenges

How can buildings be combined with agricultural production and what are the major potential benefits and challenges for the introduction of zero-acreage farming (ZFarming) in Berlin from the relevant stakeholders’ perspectives? These questions were explored through a series of interviews and stakeholder workshops held between 2011 and 2013. The aim was to identify the most suitable building-integrated farming model for the Berlin metropolitan area and to develop guidelines for the model’s successful and sustainable implementation through a stakeholder-driven approach. This paper provides an aggregated synthesis of the outcomes derived from the qualitative interviews and stakeholder workshops. As the results reveal, the stakeholders perceive potential benefits and challenges related to the issue of ZFarming in all dimensions (economic, social, environmental and political). They largely agreed on the importance of focusing on local resources, using energy- efficient production—including social and educational aspects—and developing new market structures when introducing ZFarming to the city of Berlin. The stakeholders identified urban rooftop greenhouses (RTG) as the most promising farming model for Berlin. In a joint collaboration of all stakeholders, a manual for RTG was developed within the participatory innovation process that addresses the identified problems and challenges associated with future implementation and governance of RTG in Berlin and beyond

Farming in and on urban buildings: present practice and specific novelties of Zero-Acreage Farming (ZFarming)

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Considering global trends such as climate change and resource scarcity, a major challenge of future cities will be to reduce urban footprints. Moreover, cities have to become or remain livable for their inhabitants and offer social and economic opportunities. Thus, reconnecting food production and cities offers promising potential. The diffusion of urban farming reflects a rising awareness of how food and farming can shape our cities. A growing number of urban farming projects exist in and on urban buildings, including open rooftop farms, rooftop greenhouses and indoor farming. These projects are characterized by the non-use of land or acreage for farming activities. We use the term ‘Zero-Acreage Farming’ (ZFarming) to represent these farms. The objective of this paper is to: (1) illustrate and systemize present practices of ZFarming and (2) discuss specific novelties of ZFarming in the wider context of urban agriculture. We analyzed 73 ZFarms in cities of North America, Asia, Australia and Europe using a set of criteria, and developed a typology of ZFarming, complemented by in-depth interviews with pioneers in rooftop farming in New York. The results illustrate that ZFarming generates innovative practices that may contribute to a sustainable urban agriculture. Besides growing food, it produces a range of non-food and non-market goods. It involves new opportunities for resource efficiency, new farming technologies, specific implementation processes and networks, new patterns of food supply and new urban spaces

Dependence of potato yield on weed infestation

Results of the research were based on a field experiment carried out in 2007–2009 at the Experimental Plant of the IHAR-PIB in Jadwisin, on podzolic soil with a granulometric composition of loamy sand. The experiment was established by means of a random sub-block method in a dependent split-plot pattern, in triplicate. The first order factor were the potato cultivars: ‘Irga’ and ‘Fianna’, the second order factor were the methods of weeds regulation: 1) control − without chemical protection; 2) extensive mechanical treatments (every 2 weeks) from planting to closing the rows; 3) Sencor 70 WG – 1 kg ha-1 before potato emergence; 4) Sencor 70 WG – 1 kg ha-1 + Titus 25 WG – 40 g ha-1 + Trend 90 EC – 0.1% before potato emergence; 5) Sencor 70 WG – 0.5 kg ha-1 after potato emergence; 6) Sencor 70 WG – 0.3 kg ha-1 + Titus 25 WG – 30 g ha-1 + Trend 90 EC – 0.1% after potato emergence; 7) Sencor 70 WG – 0.3 kg ha-1 + Fusilade Forte 150 EC – 2 dm3 ha-1 after potato emergence; 8) Sencor 70 WG – 0.3 kg ha-1 + Apyros 75 WG 26.5 g ha-1 + Atpolan 80 SC – 1 dm3 ha-1 after potato emergence. The number, floristic compositions, fresh weight and dry matter of weeds were determined. A high, yield-protective effect of herbicides was obtained as a result of limited competition of weeds. Mechanical care contributed to the increase in the total potato yield by 36.2%, and the marketable yield by 45.7%, as compared to the control object

Shape Isomerism at N = 40: Discovery of a Proton Intruder in 67Co

The nuclear structure of 67Co has been investigated through 67Fe beta-decay. The 67Fe isotopes were produced at the LISOL facility in proton-induced fission of 238U and selected using resonant laser ionization combined with mass separation. The application of a new correlation technique unambiguously revealed a 496(33) ms isomeric state in 67Co at an unexpected low energy of 492 keV. A 67Co level scheme has been deduced. Proposed spin and parities suggest a spherical (7/2-) 67Co ground state and a deformed first excited (1/2-) state at 492 keV, interpreted as a proton 1p-2h prolate intruder state.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, preprint submitted to Physical Review Letter

Emergence of Anti-Cancer Drug Resistance: Exploring the Importance of the Microenvironmental Niche via a Spatial Model

Practically, all chemotherapeutic agents lead to drug resistance. Clinically, it is a challenge to determine whether resistance arises prior to, or as a result of, cancer therapy. Further, a number of different intracellular and microenvironmental factors have been correlated with the emergence of drug resistance. With the goal of better understanding drug resistance and its connection with the tumor microenvironment, we have developed a hybrid discrete-continuous mathematical model. In this model, cancer cells described through a particle-spring approach respond to dynamically changing oxygen and DNA damaging drug concentrations described through partial differential equations. We thoroughly explored the behavior of our self-calibrated model under the following common conditions: a fixed layout of the vasculature, an identical initial configuration of cancer cells, the same mechanism of drug action, and one mechanism of cellular response to the drug. We considered one set of simulations in which drug resistance existed prior to the start of treatment, and another set in which drug resistance is acquired in response to treatment. This allows us to compare how both kinds of resistance influence the spatial and temporal dynamics of the developing tumor, and its clonal diversity. We show that both pre-existing and acquired resistance can give rise to three biologically distinct parameter regimes: successful tumor eradication, reduced effectiveness of drug during the course of treatment (resistance), and complete treatment failure

Measurement of psychological entitlement in 28 countries

This article presents the cross-cultural validation of the Entitlement Attitudes Questionnaire, a tool designed to measure three facets of psychological entitlement: active, passive, and revenge entitlement. Active entitlement was defined as the tendency to protect individual rights based on self-worthiness. Passive entitlement was defined as the belief in obligations to and expectations toward other people and institutions for the fulfillment of the individual’s needs. Revenge entitlement was defined as the tendency to protect one’s individual rights when violated by others and the tendency to reciprocate insults. The 15-item EAQ was validated in a series of three studies: the first one on a general Polish sample (N = 1,900), the second one on a sample of Polish students (N = 199), and the third one on student samples from 28 countries (N = 5,979). A three-factor solution was confirmed across all samples. Examination of measurement equivalence indicated partial metric invariance of EAQ for all national samples. Discriminant and convergent validity of the EAQ was also confirmed

Stable Maintenance of Multiple Plasmids in E. coli Using a Single Selective Marker

Plasmid-based genetic systems in Escherichia coli are a staple of synthetic biology. However, the use of plasmids imposes limitations on the size of synthetic gene circuits and the ease with which they can be placed into bacterial hosts. For instance, unique selective markers must be used for each plasmid to ensure their maintenance in the host. These selective markers are most often genes encoding resistance to antibiotics such as ampicillin or kanamycin. However, the simultaneous use of multiple antibiotics to retain different plasmids can place undue stress on the host and increase the cost of growth media. To address this problem, we have developed a method for stably transforming three different plasmids in E. coli using a single antibiotic selective marker. To do this, we first examined two different systems with which two plasmids may be maintained. These systems make use of either T7 RNA polymerase-specific regulation of the resistance gene or split antibiotic resistance enzymes encoded on separate plasmids. Finally, we combined the two methods to create a system with which three plasmids can be transformed and stably maintained using a single selective marker. This work shows that large-scale plasmid-based synthetic gene circuits need not be limited by the use of multiple antibiotic resistance genes

Transcription activation depends on the length of the RNA polymerase II C‐terminal domain

Eukaryotic RNA polymerase II (Pol II) contains a tail‐like, intrinsically disordered carboxy‐terminal domain (CTD) comprised of heptad‐repeats, that functions in coordination of the transcription cycle and in coupling transcription to co‐transcriptional processes. The CTD repeat number varies between species and generally increases with genome size, but the reasons for this are unclear. Here, we show that shortening the CTD in human cells to half of its length does not generally change pre‐mRNA synthesis or processing in cells. However, CTD shortening decreases the duration of promoter‐proximal Pol II pausing, alters transcription of putative enhancer elements, and delays transcription activation after stimulation of the MAP kinase pathway. We suggest that a long CTD is required for efficient enhancer‐dependent recruitment of Pol II to target genes for their rapid activation

Computed Tomography and Ultrasonic Testing of Urania Fuel Pellets

Natural uranium dioxide nuclear fuel for irradiation in CANDU reactors is manufactured by General Electric Canada. To ensure the fuel does not rupture,pellet chipping and cracking is controlled. While not apparent in the green compact stage chips and cracks are readily observed after sintering and are generally located at the ends of the pellets</p

The Chromatin Modifier MSK1/2 Suppresses Endocrine Cell Fates during Mouse Pancreatic Development

Type I diabetes is caused by loss of insulin-secreting beta cells. To identify novel, pharmacologically-targetable histone-modifying proteins that enhance beta cell production from pancreatic progenitors, we performed a screen for histone modifications induced by signal transduction pathways at key pancreatic genes. The screen led us to investigate the temporal dynamics of ser-28 phosphorylated histone H3 (H3S28ph) and its upstream kinases, MSK1 and MSK2 (MSK1/2). H3S28ph and MSK1/2 were enriched at the key endocrine and acinar promoters in E12.5 multipotent pancreatic progenitors. Pharmacological inhibition of MSK1/2 in embryonic pancreatic explants promoted the specification of endocrine fates, including the beta-cell lineage, while depleting acinar fates. Germline knockout of both Msk isoforms caused enhancement of alpha cells and a reduction in acinar differentiation, while monoallelic loss of Msk1 promoted beta cell mass. Our screen of chromatin state dynamics can be applied to other developmental contexts to reveal new pathways and approaches to modulate cell fates