Potenziale der kommunalen Energiewende im RVR-Gebiet: Ergebnisse einer Befragung von Kommunen und Stadtwerken im Projekt CultNature

Das Problembewusstsein für die Energiewende ist vorhanden, die Kommunen haben Klimaschutzmanager oder Klimaschutzbeauftragte eingesetzt. Die Potenziale erneuerbarer Energien werden hoch eingeschätzt. In zwei Drittel der befragten Kommunen gibt es konkrete Planungen für den Einsatz neuer Anlagen für erneuerbare Energien innerhalb der nächsten beiden Jahre. Das Thema Stadtentwicklung hat neben den Themen Mobilität und Gebäudeentwicklung einen hohen Stellenwert. Deshalb kommt das Konzept Cult-Nature vorhandenen Zielorientierungen entgegen. Die bisher ungenutzten Flächen ehemaliger Bergbauflächen werden damit zu Chancen, den Ausbau erneuerbarer Energien zu fördern und gleichzeitig attarktive Flächen für Freizeit, Wohnen, Gewerbe und Industrie zu schaffen. Die Angaben der befragten Kommunen zum Anteil der erneuerbaren Energien am Gesamtstromverbrauch fallen wesentlich positiver aus, als andere Erhebungen darlegen

The soil-dwelling earthworm Allolobophora chlorotica modifies its burrowing behaviour in response to carbendazim applications

Carbendazim-amended soil was placed above or below unamended soil. Control tests comprised two layers of unamended soil. Allolobophora chlorotica earthworms were added to either the upper or the unamended soil. After 72 h vertical distributions of earthworms were compared between control and carbendazim-amended experiments. Earthworm distributions in the carbendazim-amended test containers differed significantly from the ‘normal’ distribution observed in the control tests. In the majority of the experiments, earthworms significantly altered their burrowing behaviour to avoid carbendazim. However, when earthworms were added to an upper layer of carbendazim-amended soil they remained in this layer. This non-avoidance is attributed to (1) the earthworms’ inability to sense the lower layer of unamended soil and (2) the toxic effect of carbendazim inhibiting burrowing. Earthworms modified their burrowing behaviour in response to carbendazim in the soil. This may explain anomalous results observed in pesticide field trials when carbendazim is used as a control substance

Зарубежные подходы к формированию государственной экологической политики

В современных условиях хозяйствования вопросы экологии и экологической политики приобретают особый статус. В связи с этим автором проведен сравнительный анализ отечественного опыта реализации экологической политики и разработаны рекомендации по внедрению в отечественную экологическую политику.In modern conditions of management issues of ecology and environmental policy acquire a special status. In this connection, the author carried out a comparative analysis of domestic experience in the implementation of environmental policy and developed recommendations on the introduction of domestic environmental policy

Functional expression of PHO1 to the Golgi and trans-Golgi network and its role in export of inorganic phosphate.

Arabidopsis thaliana PHO1 is primarily expressed in the root vascular cylinder and is involved in the transfer of inorganic phosphate (Pi) from roots to shoots. To analyze the role of PHO1 in transport of Pi, we have generated transgenic plants expressing PHO1 in ectopic A. thaliana tissues using an estradiol-inducible promoter. Leaves treated with estradiol showed strong PHO1 expression, leading to detectable accumulation of PHO1 protein. Estradiol-mediated induction of PHO1 in leaves from soil-grown plants, in leaves and roots of plants grown in liquid culture, or in leaf mesophyll protoplasts, was all accompanied by the specific release of Pi to the extracellular medium as early as 2-3 h after addition of estradiol. Net Pi export triggered by PHO1 induction was enhanced by high extracellular Pi and weakly inhibited by the proton-ionophore carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone. Expression of a PHO1-GFP construct complementing the pho1 mutant revealed GFP expression in punctate structures in the pericycle cells but no fluorescence at the plasma membrane. When expressed in onion epidermal cells or in tobacco mesophyll cells, PHO1-GFP was associated with similar punctate structures that co-localized with the Golgi/trans-Golgi network and uncharacterized vesicles. However, PHO1-GFP could be partially relocated to the plasma membrane in leaves infiltrated with a high-phosphate solution. Together, these results show that PHO1 can trigger Pi export in ectopic plant cells, strongly indicating that PHO1 is itself a Pi exporter. Interestingly, PHO1-mediated Pi export was associated with its localization to the Golgi and trans-Golgi networks, revealing a role for these organelles in Pi transport

Coordination between zinc and phosphate homeostasis involves the transcription factor PHR1, the phosphate exporter PHO1, and its homologue PHO1;H3 in Arabidopsis.

Interactions between zinc (Zn) and phosphate (Pi) nutrition in plants have long been recognized, but little information is available on their molecular bases and biological significance. This work aimed at examining the effects of Zn deficiency on Pi accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana and uncovering genes involved in the Zn-Pi synergy. Wild-type plants as well as mutants affected in Pi signalling and transport genes, namely the transcription factor PHR1, the E2-conjugase PHO2, and the Pi exporter PHO1, were examined. Zn deficiency caused an increase in shoot Pi content in the wild type as well as in the pho2 mutant, but not in the phr1 or pho1 mutants. This indicated that PHR1 and PHO1 participate in the coregulation of Zn and Pi homeostasis. Zn deprivation had a very limited effect on transcript levels of Pi-starvation-responsive genes such as AT4, IPS1, and microRNA399, or on of members of the high-affinity Pi transporter family PHT1. Interestingly, one of the PHO1 homologues, PHO1;H3, was upregulated in response to Zn deficiency. The expression pattern of PHO1 and PHO1;H3 were similar, both being expressed in cells of the root vascular cylinder and both localized to the Golgi when expressed transiently in tobacco cells. When grown in Zn-free medium, pho1;h3 mutant plants displayed higher Pi contents in the shoots than wild-type plants. This was, however, not observed in a pho1 pho1;h3 double mutant, suggesting that PHO1;H3 restricts root-to-shoot Pi transfer requiring PHO1 function for Pi homeostasis in response to Zn deficiency

High expression of micro RNA-135A in hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with recurrence within 12 months after resection

Cox Regression analysis subgroup T1 or T2. Table S2. Sequences of target miRNAs used in qPCR analysis. Figure S1. Kaplan-Meier curve subgroup analysis T1 and T2 tumors. Recurrence free survival (RFS) of patients with T1 and T2 tumor status stratified by high vs. low expression of miR-135a in HCC tissue. Cox regression p=0.146, n=16. Abbreviations: HR, hazard ratio; CI, confidence interval. (DOCX 237 kb

STRATEGY IN ENVIRONMENTS OF HIGH UNCERTAINTY: THE EXAMPLE OF IRAN?S OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

Research Project (M.B.A.) - Simon Fraser Universit

Return customers: foraging site fidelity and the effect of environmental variability in wide-ranging Antarctic fur seals

Strategies employed by wide-ranging foraging animals involve consideration of habitat quality and predictability and should maximise net energy gain. Fidelity to foraging sites is common in areas of high resource availability or where predictable changes in resource availability occur. However, if resource availability is heterogeneous or unpredictable, as it often is in marine environments, then habitat familiarity may also present ecological benefits to individuals. We examined the winter foraging distribution of female Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazelle, over four years to assess the degree of foraging site fidelity at two scales; within and between years. On average, between-year fidelity was strong, with most individuals utilising more than half of their annual foraging home range over multiple years. However, fidelity was a bimodal strategy among individuals, with five out of eight animals recording between-year overlap values of greater than 50%, while three animals recorded values of less than 5%. High long-term variance in sea surface temperature, a potential proxy for elevated long-term productivity and prey availability, typified areas of overlap. Within-year foraging site fidelity was weak, indicating that successive trips over the winter target different geographic areas. We suggest that over a season, changes in prey availability are predictable enough for individuals to shift foraging area in response, with limited associated energetic costs. Conversely, over multiple years, the availability of prey resources is less spatially and temporally predictable, increasing the potential costs of shifting foraging area and favouring long-term site fidelity. In a dynamic and patchy environment, multi-year foraging site fidelity may confer a long-term energetic advantage to the individual. Such behaviours that operate at the individual level have evolutionary and ecological implications and are potential drivers of niche specialization and modifiers of intra-specific competition

Coordination between zinc and phosphate homeostasis involves the transcription factor PHR1, the phosphate exporter PHO1, and its homologue PHO1;H3 in Arabidopsis

Phosphate over-accumulates in shoots in response to Zn deprivation. Results shown in this article suggest key roles of PHR1 and PHO1 and a counteractive function of PHO1;H3 in controlling root-to-shoot phosphate translocation in Arabidopsi