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Inducible epigenetic changes in eukaryotes are believed to enable rapid adaptation to environmental fluctuations. We have found distinct regions of the Arabidopsis genome that are susceptible to DNA (de)methylation in response to hyperosmotic stress. The stress-induced epigenetic changes are associated with conditionally heritable adaptive phenotypic stress responses. However, these stress responses are primarily transmitted to the next generation through the female lineage due to widespread DNA glycosylase activity in the male germline, and extensively reset in the absence of stress. Using the CNI1/ATL31 locus as an example, we demonstrate that epigenetically targeted sequences function as distantly-acting control elements of antisense long non-coding RNAs, which in turn regulate targeted gene expression in response to stress. Collectively, our findings reveal that plants use a highly dynamic maternal ‘short-term stress memory’ with which to respond to adverse external conditions. This transient memory relies on the DNA methylation machinery and associated transcriptional changes to extend the phenotypic plasticity accessible to the immediate offspring.

The diurnal cycle exerts influences on various aspects of plant biology. Here, the authors generate and compare diurnal transcriptomics data from nine members of Archaeplastida representing major clades.

Human sound evaluations not only depend on the characteristics of the sound but are also driven by factors related to the listener and the situation. Our research aimed to investigate crucial factors influencing the perception of low-level sounds as they—in addition to the often-researched loud-level sounds—might be decisive to people’s quality of life and health. We conducted an online study in which 1,301 participants reported on up to three everyday situations in which they perceived low-level sounds, resulting in a total of 2,800 listening situations. Participants rated the sounds’ perceived loudness, timbre, and tonality. Additionally, they described the listening situations employing situational eight dimensions and reported their affective states. All sounds were then assigned to the categories natural, human, and technical. Linear models suggest a significant difference of annoyance ratings across sound categories for binary loudness levels. The ability to mentally fade-out sound was the most crucial situational variable after valence, arousal, and the situation dimensions positivity and negativity. We ultimately selected the most important factors from a large number of independent variables by applying the percentile least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) regularization method. The resulting linear regression showed that this novel machine-learning variable-selection technique is applicable in hypothesis testing of noise effects and soundscape research. The typical problems of overfitting and multicollinearity that occur when many situational and personal variables are involved were overcome. This study provides an extensive database of evaluated everyday sounds and listening situations, offering an enormous test power. Our machine learning approach, whose application leads to comprehensive models for the prediction of sound perception, is available for future study designs aiming to model sound perception and evaluation.

Spring applied graminicides often show an insufficient efficacy against dicotyledonous weeds. Therefore tankmix partners are used to gain more control against these weeds. Development trials were conducted in Germany, France and the United Kingdom from 2014 to 2017 to test the biological compatibility of Zypar™ herbicide and different graminicides against Alopecurus myosuroides (ALOMY), Apera spica-venti (APESV) and Bromus sterilis (BROST). The herbicide Zypar™ provides a broad efficacy against dicotyledonous weeds and because of its auxinic like active ingredient and its OD-formulation it also proved to be an ideal tankmix partner for graminicides. In addition, the adjuvant (MSO-Type) incorporated in Zypar™ increases the efficacy against broadleaf weeds and grasses. No antagonisms between Zypar™ and graminicides were observed in the field trials. In some cases the mixture of Zypar™ and a graminicide even provided a higher efficacy against grasses compared to the graminicide applied alone. The safener Cloquintocet-Mexyl which is incorporated in the formulation of Zypar™ enhances the metabolisation of Arylex™ active in the crop. In some cases the selectivity of graminicides could be significantly improved by the addition of Zypar™ even when liquid ammonium urea fertilizer was added to those mixtures.

ViperTM Compact herbicide consists of the three active ingredients penoxsulam (15 g/L), florasulam (3.75 g/L) and diflufenican (100 g/L). It is a broad-spectrum herbicide used to control loose silky-bent (Apera spica venti), mono- and dicotyledonous weeds in winter wheat, winter barley, winter rye and winter triticale in the autumn. Penoxsulam and florasulam belong to the HRAC group B (ALS inhibitor), diflufenican to the HRAC group F1. Many loose silky-bent populations have a high risk of developing resistance to herbicides in the HRAC group B. For an effective resistance management, it is necessary to use herbicides from low resistance risk groups as mixing partner. A common mixing partner is the active substance flufenacet from the HRAC group K3. In 2015, mixtures of ViperTM Compact (0.5 - 0.75 L/ha) with flufenacet (125-240 g/ha) were tested in field trials. While ViperTM Compact is able to control sensitive grass populations, the addition of flufenacet was able to successfully control less sensitive Apera spica-venti (APESV) biotypes. Furthermore, with the increased flufenacet application rate of 240 g/ha + ViperTM Compact, blackgrass was also controlled successfully. Overall the mixture was selective in the tested cultures. The tank mix of ViperTM Compact + flufenacet thus offers a high effectiveness against grasses and weeds, while at the same time reducing the risk of resistance development.

In recent years, various Geranium species have increased their significance in many important crops in Germany. The most important reason for this situation is the increased use of no-till farming as well as a smaller selection of herbicides used to control weeds. Dow AgroSciences has recently developed two cereal herbicides containing the new active Arylex™ (halauxifen-methyl), Zypar™ und Pixxaro™ EC. Dow AgroSciences initiated trials in Germany to investigate the potential of both products to control Geranium species to recommend the most effective products to farmers. Trials were carried out in greenhouses and in the field. Both products controlled various Geranium species and controlled Geranium pusillum and G. dissectum particularly well. The most difficult to control of the Geranium species was Geranium molle.

With the introduction of the new auxinic herbicide halauxifen-methyl into the oilseed rape (Brassica napus) market, there is a need to understand how this new molecule interacts with indigenous plant hormones (e.g., IAA) in terms of crop response. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular background by using different growth conditions under which three different auxinic herbicides were administered. These were halauxifen-methyl (Hal), alone and together with aminopyralid (AP) as well as picloram (Pic). Three different hormone classes were determined, free and conjugated indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), aminocyclopropane carboxylic acid (ACC) as a precursor for ethylene, and abscisic acid (ABA) at two different temperatures and growth stages as well as over time (2–168 h after treatment). At 15 °C growth temperature, the effect was more pronounced than at 9 °C, and generally, the younger leaves independent of the developmental stage showed a larger effect on the alterations of hormones. IAA and ACC showed reproducible alterations after auxinic herbicide treatments over time, while ABA did not. Finally, a transcriptome analysis after treatment with two auxinic herbicides, Hal and Pic, showed different expression patterns. Hal treatment leads to the upregulation of auxin and hormone responses at 48 h and 96 h. Pic treatment induced the hormone/auxin response already after 2 h, and this continued for the other time points. The more detailed analysis of the auxin response in the datasets indicate a role for GH3 genes and genes encoding auxin efflux proteins. The upregulation of the GH3 genes correlates with the increase in conjugated IAA at the same time points and treatments. Also, genes for were found that confirm the upregulation of the ethylene pathway.

In the process of continual change from the hand axe to the factory and now to industrial production 4.0, technology has had, and still has, two basically invariable functions: control and rationalisation. Each of these two terms is to be understood in a very comprehensive sense, in technical, engineering, commercial, legal and also social terms. This tenet also applies to television and to information technology. In my lecture, the terms “above” and “below” stand for a model of social stratification; they stand for capital and labour. The terms “outside” and “inside” stand for the external conditions of the class struggle from “above” and “below”. The external conditions mean the social and the inside conditions mean the psychological environment. Both television and information technology rely on content and organisational forms that run from above to below (from top to bottom). Moreover, contrary to Gutenberg’s invention of moving letters, today innovations in the media and IT fields no longer run from the bottom up, but only from the top down. While television conditions the individual from outside, users of social media internalise that same conditioning as a liberation from constraints.

The media neither start wars, nor can they end them. Communicating media can however have an increasingly positive influence on processes of social communication and societal change. The influence of the media is always multi-causal and long-lasting. In terms of crisis prevention and the treatment of conflicts, media influence requires institutional backing in the form of a controversial public presence, the opportunity for variety and pluralism, media rights as a condition of the rule of law and journalistic ethics codices as a regulating factor for responsible activities on an individual level. When dealing with projects to do with media work on crisis prevention and the treatment of conflicts, the following problems and dilemmas must be recognized: (1) the relationship between violence and cultural autonomy, (2) the relationship between inside and outside, (3) the relationship between social learning and technological intervention, (4) the relationship between NGOs and the state and government and (5) the relationship between getting involved and staying clear. As part of what was known as development communication, the discussions in the 1970s and 1980s provide a good starting point for new tasks. The old approach of social work through media should be revitalized and thought through anew along the lines of the prevention of violence by media. New forms of media should be placed alongside radio and video as suitable for the prevention of violence. In order to be successful, but also so as to bring to the forefront a necessary new political moral stance in development cooperation, it is recommended that a new social network with interested NGOs be founded and have these committed to the following four formal project principles: (1) An orientation towards the needs of the target group has overriding priority. (2) Intensive cooperation and coordination on a local basis with all other projects (especially from other countries and "competing" sponsors) is welcome and necessary. (3) Each project must be professionally evaluated by outside observers (before, during, after). (4) Transparency with regard to project financing, the political clients and the project goals should be as great as possible. Although principles such as these are unspecific for media projects in the field of crisis prevention and conflict treatment, but in this area in particular there ought to be harmony between the goal and the means: the means are the end. Furthermore, because they have rarely been undertaken, because they are designed to last, because they form part of the infrastructure rather than being a form of first aid and because they are easier to organize (at an early stage) than media projects during or after a war/conflict, making one's mark with media projects in the preventative field is actually recommended. Preventive projects are at a disadvantage in terms of methodology in that one can never really ascertain in hindsight whether they prevented a conflict worsening; they do however have the advantage that one operates in advance of a manifest conflict, in other words can do much less wrong than in the hustle and bustle and dynamics of a manifest conflict or under the extremely difficult conditions of a post-conflict situation.