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Dissertation, RWTH Aachen University, 2021; Aachen : RWTH Aachen University 1 Online-Ressource : Illustrationen, Diagramme (2021). = Dissertation, RWTH Aachen University, 2021, Sporisorium reilianum is a biotrophic plant pathogen that causes head smut disease of maize. Symptoms include stunted growth, the formation of spores in the tassel and the cob, phyllody in the male and female organs, and formation of subapical ears caused by suppression of apical dominance of the maize ear. The effector protein SAD1 has been found to be responsible for suppressing apical dominance in maize without interfering with the auxin pathway. It interacts with ZmRGLG1 in the yeast two-hybrid library screening and causes the upregulation of abiotic stress-responsive genes in maize. To better understand how SAD1 impacts plant development, this thesis aimed to characterize the molecular interaction of SAD1 with the E3 ubiquitin ligases RGLG1 and RGLG2. With the help of a yeast secretion trap assay, I proved that SAD1 has a functional signal peptide, which suggests that SAD1 is secreted from S. reilianum into the plant. I successfully generated tagged versions of SAD1 expressing internal HA and hexahistidine tags that were able to complement the phenotype of ΔSAD1. These constructs can be used to study the in-planta localization of SAD1 in maize. Targeted yeast two-hybrid analyses showed that SAD1 interacts with ZmRGLG1 and ZmRGLG2, and their A. thaliana homologs AtRGLG1 and AtRGLG2. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation analysis showed that SAD1 interacts with all four E3 ubiquitin ligases in plant cells in the nucleus and the cytoplasm. The E3 ubiquitin ligases AtRGLG1 and AtRGLG2 are known to have a role in abiotic stress response. rglg1rglg2 double mutants of A. thaliana show loss of apical dominance. To study the role of the interaction between SAD1 and AtRGLG1/2, mCHERRY-SAD1 lacking its signal peptide was stably expressed under the control of the strong constitutive cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter (P35S:mcherry-SAD1ΔSP) in rglg1, rglg2, and Col-0 A. thaliana lines. The resulting transgenic lines displayed more secondary cauline-leaf branches and primary and secondary rosette-leaf branches. In contrast, root growth was unaffected in plate-germinated seedlings of any of the transformed lines. An in-vitro ubiquitination assay showed that SAD1 can be ubiquitinylated by RGLG1 and RGLG2 of both A. thaliana and Zea mays in the presence of the E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes UbcH5b and UbcH13. I propose that SAD1 may interfere with the interaction of RGLG1 and RGLG2 with their natural targets, such as ERF53, that is typically targeted for degradation to turn off the prolonged abiotic stress response. This would lead to increased persistence of the stress-responsive transcription factor ERF53, which in turn would lead to prolonged-expression of abiotic stress response genes and loss of apical dominance. In addition to allocating a function to the fungal effector protein SAD1, these findings offer a new understanding of apical dominance in plants. My research results point to a conserved pathway regulating apical dominance and acting in both monocot and dicot plants independent of auxin that can be affected by SAD1. A better understanding of how apical dominance in inflorescences is achieved and how it can be modulated can also lead to an advancement in applied plant science, e.g., by developing crops that carry more ears, or ornamental plants that carry more flowers., Published by RWTH Aachen University, Aachen

Introduction: Adequate nutrition during infancy and early childhood is essential to ensure the growth and development of children. Poor infant feeding practices are widespread worldwide, worse in urban areas in Maharashtra. Objectives: To study the infant and young child feeding practices in mothers of children under-3 years of age in an urban slum area. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional observational study was conducted among 470 children under-3 years of age, selected by simple random sampling from the enrollement registers maintained in anganwadis of an urban slum in Mumbai. Mothers of these children were interviewed by using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: 61.3% of children were breast fed within 1 hour of birth, while 8.1% were breast fed after 24 hours of birth. 91.1% children were given colostrums, while 14% were given prelacteals. 34.3% mothers exclusively breast fed their children for 6-9 months, followed by 24.3% Mothers for 3-6 months. rd of these deaths are often associated with inappropriate feeding practices and occur during the first year of life. (3) It is well recognized that the period from birth to two years of age is the "critical window" for the promotion of good growth, health, and behavioral and cognitive development. Therefore, optimal infant and young child feeding is crucial during this period. Optimal infant and young child feeding means that mothers are empowered to initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth, breastfeed exclusively for the first six months and continue to breastfeed for two years or more, together with nutritionally adequate, safe, age appropriate, responsive complementary feeding starting at six months. (4) The Cross-sectional Observational study was conducted among children under-3 years of age residing in an urban slum. This slum is in the catchment area of Urban Health and Training Centre of KEM hospital & Medical College, Mumbai. Anganwadi centres under ICDS programme are also estab- lished in this slum area. The sample size was 470, depending on the prevalence of underweight in children under-3 years age in India (46%) and allowable error 10% of prevalence. A list of children under-3 years was drawn from the enrolled population survey register maintained at all the anganwadis in the area. The children for the present study were uniformly selected from all the angan- wadis in the catchment area. From each anganwadi centre, 8 children were randomly selected by using random number table from the list. Mothers of these children were visited in their houses and after taking informed consent they were interviewed using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire, which included demographic information and feeding practices followed by their mothers. If any house was locked or if child's mother did not consent/was not available in the house, then that house was skipped and the next child from the list was included in the study. Results: 35.1% children in the present study were infants, 36.6% in 1-2 years age and 28.3% belonged to 2-3 years of age. There was male preponderance (57.9%) in all the age groups. Ma- jority children (73.8%) were of first and second order children in the families. 26.2% children were of higher birth order of 3 and more. 17.2% children were low birth weight babies hav- ing birth weight less than 2.5 kg. 80.7% children had their birth weight between 2.5-3.5 kg while only 2.1% of children had birth weight more than 3.5 kg. 61.3% of children were breast fed within 1 hour of birth. 18.1% children were initiated on breast feeding between 1-4 hrs of birth. 11.4% were breast fed for the first time between 4 hours to 1 day, while 8.1% were breast fed after 24 hours of birth. 86% of children were not given any prelacteal feed and 14% were given prelacteals. Among those who were given prelacteals, most common prelacteals were Cow's milk, Hon

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a potentially life-threatening complication, usually iatrogenic after ovulation induction. OHSS is a very rare event in spontaneously conceived pregnancies. Only few cases have been reported in literature to the best of our knowledge. We report a very rare case of spontaneous critical OHSS (according to classification of severity of OHSS as mentioned in Greentop guidelines no. 5, 2006) associated with triplet pregnancy in a 26-year-old woman suffering from severe abdominal pain, distension, and dyspnea. Our case highlights the importance of a strong suspicion for OHSS when a clinical presentation could not be explained by common medical conditions.

Indonesia's adopted development model has proved to be the most successful in alleviating poverty and benefiting workers in developing countries. The government's development efforts focused on agriculture, education, and transport infrastructure. It emphasized providing productive employment opportunities and gradually improving the labor quality through education and training. The wage, employment, and income growth rates were left to market forces. Although the rapid growth of labor-intensive manufacturing has led to more jobs and higher wages benefiting workers, workers employed in these industries have expressed growing dissatisfaction. They complain about problems of child labor, the denial of centrally mandated wages and benefits to workers, poor working conditions, and the abuse of young female workers. The government has tried to improve worker's wages and working conditions by centrally mandating higher labor standards, relying principally on minimum wages. Enforcement has improved and, despite low compliance, minimum wages are beginning to bite. Indonesians are debating whether they need labor intensive industries and whether it is a mistake to base Indonesia's growth on cheap labor. They argue that if labor is more expensive, manufacturers must substitute some capital for labor. However, if labor-intensive industries are rejected, the capacity of the economy to absorb plentiful workers will be reduced. The main alternatives are to push up wages now, or to let wages be determined by market forces and strengthen institutions that could improve working conditions, such as labor unions. The author recommends maintaining flexible labor markets and allowing market forces to set the pace of change, while strengthening labor unions.

Indonesia's labor market in the 1990s is characterized by rising labor costs, reduced worker productivity, and increasing industrial unrest. The main problem is generous, centrally mandated, but unenforceable worker benefits. Legislation encouraging enterprise-level collective bargaining might help reduce some of the costs associated with worker unrest. Policy measures Indonesia adopted in 1986 led to a boom in manufacturing exports and foreign direct investment and put Indonesia on the path to rapid export-oriented, labor-intensive growth. In the second half of the 1980s, because of abundant cheap labor, real labor costs did not rise but worker productivity did, partly through improved education and training of the workforce. There are increasing signs that in the early 1990s Indonesia's competitiveness is being eroded by several factors: rising labor costs, low worker productivity, and increasing industrial unrest. One problem is generous, centrally mandated benefits, detailed in the new social security law. The estimated cost of the government-mandated benefits package would be a hefty 12 percent of the wage bill. The other problem is that the government has greatly limited organized labor, viewing it as a threat to political and economic stability. This approach of mandating benefits centrally through legislation without empowering workers to enforce compliance with the legislation (or negotiate their own benefits packages with employers) is beginning to strain industrial relations in Indonesia. Policymakers should consider allowing effective, democratic plant-level worker organizations. Legislation to encourage collective bargaining at the enterprise level would enable workers and managers to negotiate outcomes that might improve worker productivity. Improving dispute resolution mechanisms and the workers'ability to be heard in the workplace could reduce the incidence of illegal or wildcat strikes. But more than legislative changes are needed. Changes in approaches to industrial relations, deregulation, and increased competition in product markets could make unions'roles more positive, while limiting their"negative"role.