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Context: Vocational education and training (VET) plays a crucial role in the social inclusion of refugees. The aim of this paper is to examine how the VET systems of Austria, Denmark and Germany responded to the arrival of young refugees since 2015. VET in these countries is categorised as system of collective skill formation, which offers apprenticeships in addition to school-based training. The article examines and juxtaposes the legal rights, the actual opportunities and the barriers to refugees' participation in and completion of VET at upper secondary level in the three selected countries. Methods: The study is based on reviews of literature and an analysis of refugee policies in the three countries. The literature search used a snowballing strategy and included policy documents, research publications and grey literature from organisations of civil society. The literature review employed a narrative, issue-focused approach to explore and compare key categories relating to the research question. To elaborate, refine and structure the categories for each of the three countries we used an input-process-output model and a combination of deductive and inductive analysis procedure. Findings: The findings of the study are divided into six categories that structure the analysis: Admission requirements, validation of prior learning, vocational guidance and preparation, language training, social support measures and access to apprenticeships. The analysis reveals that both asylum seekers and recognised refugees have more opportunities in Germany than in the other two countries regarding the key categories. The findings show no major differences in the position of the social partners in the three countries in relation to refugees' participation in VET, however the national governments reacted differently to the influx of refugees. In Austria and Denmark, governments with strong anti-immigration agendas took office and reduced the access to and participation in VET for asylum seekers and refugees. At the same time, the German government introduced various integration measures for refugees in cooperation with employers with the aim of making VET more accessible to refugees. Conclusion: To access and complete VET, refugees depend on supporting measures to overcome a variety of barriers, e.g. regarding language training and access to apprenticeships. Overall, reforms in Germany demonstrate promising initiatives to overcome the barriers to the integration of refugees in VET, while reforms in Austria and Denmark have limited refugees' opportunities to access and complete VET.

Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are redox-enzymes involved in biomass degradation. All characterized LPMOs possess an active site of two highly conserved histidine residues coordinating a copper ion (the histidine brace), which are essential for LPMO activity. However, some protein sequences that belong to the AA9 LPMO family display a natural N-terminal His to Arg substitution (Arg-AA9). These are found almost entirely in the phylogenetic fungal class Agaricomycetes, associated with wood decay, but no function has been demonstrated for any Arg-AA9. Through bioinformatics, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses we present data, which suggest that Arg-AA9 proteins could have a hitherto unidentified role in fungal degradation of lignocellulosic biomass in conjunction with other secreted fungal enzymes. We present the first structure of an Arg-AA9, LsAA9B, a naturally occurring protein from Lentinus similis The LsAA9B structure reveals gross changes in the region equivalent to the canonical LPMO copper-binding site, whereas features implicated in carbohydrate binding in AA9 LPMOs have been maintained. We obtained a structure of LsAA9B with xylotetraose bound on the surface of the protein although with a considerably different binding mode compared with other AA9 complex structures. In addition, we have found indications of protein phosphorylation near the N-terminal Arg and the carbohydrate-binding site, for which the potential function is currently unknown. Our results are strong evidence that Arg-AA9s function markedly different from canonical AA9 LPMO, but nonetheless, may play a role in fungal conversion of lignocellulosic biomass.

In recent decades, a range of policy measures to support young people's school-to-work transitions has been initiated across Europe. However, these transition policies have rarely been studied systematically, particularly from a comparative perspective. Thus, the aim of this article is to compare Swedish, Danish and Finnish policies for supporting young people's educational and school-to-work transitions. Synthesising and analysing recent research, the article critically draws on Walther's (2006) classification of transition regimes that recognises a Nordic universalistic regime of youth transitions characterised by emphasis on collective social responsibility, individual motivation and personal development. We conclude that significant policy changes have occurred during the last two decades. Coercive measures have been adopted and social support reduced, making young people more individually responsible for the success of their transitions. Hence, current transition policies diverge in many respects from qualities traditionally ascribed to the Nordic transition regime. We also find significant differences between the three countries' transition policies, which in some cases indicate policy trade-offs. In addition, we conclude that transition policies are generally weakly coordinated across policy domains, which increases the risk of unintended consequences of these policies.

Aim: Bergman patterns, the tendency of organisms to be larger at higher latitudes and lower temperatures, are a well‐studied biogeographic pattern. Yet, there is no consensus on the driver or underlying mechanisms. We aim to scrutinize the influence of several key proposed drivers of Bergmann patterns (temperature, seasonal light availability, prey size and seasonal abundance) on optimal body size in planktivorous fishes across high latitudes in the Northeast Atlantic. Location: Northeast Atlantic between 55 and 75° N, with implications for high‐latitude oceans globally. Time period: Present day. Major taxa studied: Pelagic planktivorous fishes, with Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) as model organism. Methods: We use a model that incorporates explicit mechanisms for vision‐based feeding and temperature‐dependent physiology of a planktivorous fish to explore how intrinsic and extrinsic constraints affect energy budgeting and thereby expected optimal body size based on bioenergetics. We run the model at latitudes with increasing seasonality and test the individual and joint effects of relevant drivers. Results: A Bergmann pattern emerges from the interaction between visual feeding opportunities and temperature‐dependent physiology. Small individuals profit from faster energy processing at higher temperatures in the south, whereas large individuals benefit from a lower metabolic cost at colder temperatures and more daylight hours for feeding in the north. In isolation temperature, daylight hours, and prey size each produced Bergmann patterns, but the most pronounced pattern arose from all drivers combined. Main conclusions: Studying biogeographic body size patterns requires a holistic view, accounting for interactions between drivers and both intrinsic and extrinsic constraints on energy budgeting. Across latitudes, temperature effects on digestion and metabolism interact with effects of light availability, prey size and abundance on food accessibility, and thereby shape the optimal size. Our study highlights how details of ecological mechanisms and lifestyles are important for improving predictive ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upper secondary vocational education in Denmark is based on the apprenticeship model, which is recognised as a valuable route to employment for young people, who are not aiming for higher education. However, the apprenticeship model has a major weakness: it does not provide eligibility for higher education. The purpose of this article is to examine this problem in a historical perspective. The article builds on a combination of policy studies, statistical cohort studies and interview studies. First, the article explores why progression from apprenticeship to higher education has become a major policy problem in Denmark. Secondly, it explores political initiatives taken to "build bridges" to higher education. Thirdly, it examines the development of technical higher vocational education, which has been a main destination for the former apprentices. Lastly, it examines changes in the transition patterns from apprenticeships to higher education in recent decades and examines why the transition rate has declined. Explanations for the decline are identified at the structural, the institutional and the individual levels. It concludes by pointing at a dilemma behind the policies pursued: Trying to strengthen the links from apprenticeship to higher education involves a risk of weakening the current strong links to the labour market.