Integrating Ecological,Social and Cultural Dimensions in the Implementation of the Landscape Convention

Implementation of the European Landscape Convention requires new tools that link ecological, social and cultural dimensions in practical planning. Here, we propose connectivity as a conceptual tool to include different dimensions into landscape and spatial planning. We present a short review of the connectivity concept in relation to ecological, social and cultural dimensions and illustrate it by examples from a real landscape planning case.     

Gallium gradients in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin‐film solar cells

The gallium gradient in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) layers, which forms during the two industrially relevant deposition routes, the sequential and co‐evaporation processes, plays a key role in the device performance of CIGS thin‐film modules. In this contribution, we present a comprehensive study on the formation, nature, and consequences of gallium gradients in CIGS solar cells. The formation of gallium gradients is analyzed in real time during a rapid selenization process by in situ X‐ray measurements. In addition, the gallium grading of a CIGS layer grown with an in‐line co‐evaporation process is analyzed by means of depth profiling with mass spectrometry. This gallium gradient of a real solar cell served as input data for device simulations. Depth‐dependent occurrence of lateral inhomogeneities on the µm scale in CIGS deposited by the co‐evaporation process was investigated by highly spatially resolved luminescence measurements on etched CIGS samples, which revealed a dependence of the optical bandgap, the quasi‐Fermi level splitting, transition levels, and the vertical gallium gradient. Transmission electron microscopy analyses of CIGS cross‐sections point to a difference in gallium content in the near surface region of neighboring grains. Migration barriers for a copper‐vacancy‐mediated indium and gallium diffusion in CuInSe₂ and CuGaSe₂ were calculated using density functional theory. The migration barrier for the In_Cu antisite in CuGaSe₂ is significantly lower compared with the Ga_Cu antisite in CuInSe₂, which is in accordance with the experimentally observed Ga gradients in CIGS layers grown by co‐evaporation and selenization processes. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthese und Konformationsanalyse von Pyranophanonen und Pyrylophanium-Verbindungen mit intraannularen Substituenten

Synthesis and Conformational Analysis of Pyranophanones and Pyrylophanium Compounds with Intraannular Substituents The synthesis of [3.3]dithiapyranophanone 6 and 11 is accomplished by use of the two-components-dilution-principle. Pyrolysis of their bis(sulfones) 7 and 12 gives the [2.2]pyranophanones 8 , 9 and 13 . Under preservation of conformation the intraannular carbonyl-function is used for the synthesis of methylpyranophanoles 14 , 16 and 17 . The synthesis of pyrylophanium compounds 15 and 18 is possible by elimination in trifluoroacetic acid. 6 exhibits anti-conformation within its crystal-structure and like 7 reveals temperature-dependent behavior in solution. Using 6 as an example, a combination of ¹³C-NMR-spectroscopy, forcefield-calculation and computer-simulation is applied for the first time to give evidence for molecular-dynamic processes of cyclophanes. 8 and 9 are the syn- and anti-conformers of the desired product, as shown by X-ray structural analysis. 13 reveals anti-conformation within its crystal structure as well as in solution. The conformational analysis of other new phanes described here is based on the ¹H-NMR-spectra of these pyrolysis products. As expected the intraannular substituents of Pyrylophanium-lons 15 and 18 show the characteristic upfield-shift within their ¹H-NMR-spectra.     

Novel Derivatives of Biogenic α-Aminoacids by ring transformations with lactam derivatives

Binucleophilic biogenic α-aminoacids 1 such as cysteine, penicillamine, serine, and threonine react with lactam acetals 2 by condensation to bridged α-amidinoacids 3 or by condensation/ring transformation to 2-(ω-aminoalkyl)-1,3-azoline-4-carboxylic acids 6. Corresponding reactions with lactim ethers 7 afford analogous α-amidinoacids 8 , condensed imidazolones 10 as their derivatives, ω-aminoalkyl-1,3-azolines 13 and, by further reaction with lactim ether 7 , modified ω-amidinoalkyl-1,3-azolines 14 .     

Functional Characterization of the Solute Carrier LAT-1 (SLC7A5/SLC2A3) in Human Brain Capillary Endothelial Cells with Rapid UPLC-MS/MS Quantification of Intracellular Isotopically Labelled L-Leucine

The solute carrier L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT-1/SLC7A5) is a viable target for drug delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) and tumors due to its high abundance at the blood–brain barrier and in tumor tissue. LAT-1 is only localized on the cell surface as a heterodimer with CD98, which is not required for transporter function. To support future CNS drug-delivery development based on LAT-1 targeting, we established an ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) assay for stable isotopically labeled leucine ([¹³C₆, ¹⁵N]-L-leucine), with a dynamic range of 0.1–1000 ng/mL that can be applied for the functional testing of LAT-1 activity when combined with specific inhibitors and, consequently, the LAT-1 inhibition capacity of new compounds. The assay was established in a 96-well format, facilitating high-throughput experiments, and, hence, can support the screening for novel inhibitors. Applicable recommendations of the US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency for bioanalytical method validation were followed to validate the assay. The assay was applied to investigate the IC₅₀ of two well-known LAT-1 inhibitors on hCMEC/D3 cells: the highly specific LAT-1 inhibitor JPH203, which was also used to demonstrate LAT-1 specific uptake, and the general system L inhibitor BCH. In addition, the [¹³C₆, ¹⁵N]-L-leucine uptake was determined on two human brain capillary endothelial cell lines (NKIM-6 and hCMEC/D3), which were characterized for their expressional differences of LAT-1 at the protein and mRNA level and the surface amount of CD98. The IC₅₀ values of the inhibitors were in concordance with previously reported values. Furthermore, the [¹³C₆, ¹⁵N]-L-leucine uptake was significantly higher in hCMEC/D3 cells compared to NKIM-6 cells, which correlated with higher expression of LAT-1 and a higher surface amount of CD98. Therefore, the UPLC-MS/MS quantification of ([¹³C₆, ¹⁵N]-L-leucine is a feasible strategy for the functional characterization of LAT-1 activity in cells or tissue.     

Development of gluten-free fresh egg pasta based on oat and teff flour

Due to increased awareness of consumers about the relationship between food and health as well as the requirements of people following a gluten-free diet, the production of cereal products from raw materials other than wheat is of interest. However, the elimination of the visco-elastic gluten protein represents a technological challenge. During this study, response surface methodology was applied to determine optimal formulations for the production of egg pasta from oat and teff flour. Wheat flour was used as a control. The resulting products were characterised regarding firmness and elasticity, stickiness and cooking loss. The results showed that the mechanical texture of oat and teff pasta was comparable to wheat pasta, however, elasticity was significantly reduced. Compositional analysis was carried out on flour raw materials as well as on the final pasta products, showing that regarding fibre and mineral content, oat and teff samples are nutritionally superior to wheat. In addition, the microstructure was investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy, allowing also the observation of structural changes occurring during cooking. Upon cooking, a distinct outer layer can be observed, resulting from protein denaturation and starch gelatinisation. This structural feature is clearly visible for cooked wheat pasta and but is less apparent for teff and oat pasta.