Geringe Samenbank von beweidbaren Arten für die Etablierung von Waldweiden im Schweizer Mittelland

Kipfer T. and Bosshard A. 2007. Low seed bank of herb species suitable for grazing hampers the establishment of wood pastures in the Swiss lowlands. Bot. Helv. 117: 159 - 167. Controlled forest grazing is expected to yield benefits for biodiversity conservation, landscape quality, and in some cases also for land use economy. In the Swiss lowlands, first attempts are being made to reintroduce forest grazing in productive beech forests, but methodic experience is still limited. One main issue concerns the development of the vegetation after forest stands have been thinned to improve light conditions: Will grassland vegetation establish spontaneously? The present study analyses the composition of the soil seed bank of four beech forest stands. The seed bank density ranged from 1'244 to 28'651 seeds m−2. Seed banks mainly consisted of forest and ruderal species; most abundant were Juncus effusus, Carex sylvatica, Rubus spp. and Clematis vitalba. Seeds of grassland plants were restricted to a few species, and their abundance in the seed bank decreased rapidly with increasing distance from the forest edge. These results reveal that there is little potential for grasslands to develop spontaneously from the seed bank. The introduction of grassland species of local origin using the green hay method is therefore recommended to prevent soil degradation during the first years of grazing, to fulfil minimal biodiversity requirements and to lower the risk of an establishment of neophytes and other problematic plant specie

Barfuss oder Schuhe in der Kindheit? : Unterschiede in der Entwicklung des Längsgewölbes gemessen am Fussabdruck

Entwickelt sich das Längsgewölbe im Verlaufe des Wachstums nicht ausreichend, können sich Auswirkungen auf die Statik, das Gangbild und die Anfälligkeit für Verletzungen ergeben. Barfussgehen wäre eine geeignete Massnahme, um die Entwicklung des Längsgewölbes in der frühen Kindheit zu fördern und um die oben beschriebenen Folgeschäden eines persistierenden Plattfusses in der späteren Kindheit zu verhindern. Diese Arbeit soll den Unterschied von Barfussgehen und Schuhetragen in der Kindheit auf die Entwicklung des Längsgewölbes aufzeigen. Anhand vorab definierter Ein- und Ausschlusskriterien und einer systematischen Literaturrecherche in den Datenbanken CINAHL, MEDLINE und PubMed wurden fünf passende Studien gefunden. Deren Beurteilung erfolgte mithilfe des AICA-Formulars und einem eigenen Raster. Anhand auf dem Fussabdruck basierender Assessments bestätigen alle Studien den Einfluss von Barfussgehen auf die Ausprägung des Längsgewölbes bei Kindern. Verglichen mit Kindern, die Schuhe tragen, weisen Kinder, die barfuss gehen, eine kleinere Prävalenz an Plattfüssen auf. Es zeigte sich, dass die Art des Schuhwerkes und die Dauer seines Einsatzes in den Studien ungenügend dokumentiert wurde. Neben dem Tragen von Schuhwerk wird die Ausprägung des Längsgewölbes von den Faktoren Alter, Geschlecht und Hypermobilität beeinflusst

A role for doctors in assisted dying? An analysis of legal regulations and medical professional positions in six European countries

An extensive debate about assisted suicide and euthanasia has been taking place in westernized countries during the last twenty years. Traditionally, the medical profession has maintained a clear distance from euthanasia and assisted suicide, but this distance can no longer be justified by simply referring to the law. This paper analyses the legal and, in particular, medical professional positions with respect to the doctor’s role in assisted dying in certain Western European countries (Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom) and discusses their implications for doctors

Origin of internal flow structures in columnar-jointed basalt from Hrepphólar, Iceland: I. Textural and geochemical characterization

Basalt columns from Hrepphólar (Iceland) show distinct internal structures produced by alternating brighter and darker bands through the column, locally exhibiting viscous fingering features. Here, we present geochemical and petrographic data retrieved from analyses of major and trace elements and mineral chemistry from a cross section of a single basaltic column. This is combined with petrographic descriptions and data on crystal size distributions of plagioclase. We use our data from Hrepphólar to test four existing models that have been proposed to explain banded structures inside columns: (1) deuteric alteration, (2) double-diffusive convection, (3) constitutional supercooling, and (4) crystallization-induced melt migration. We find that the internal structures at Hrepphólar represent primary magmatic features, because approximately 20% of the observed structures crosscut the column-bounding fracture for each meter along the main axis of the column. These features must thus have been formed before the column-delimiting crack advanced. Major and trace element analyses show small but significant variations across the column and strong correlation between oxides like FeO and TiO2, as well as K2O and P2O5. The geochemical variations correlate with the presence of darker/brighter bands visible on a polished surface and can be explained by a variation in the modal proportions of the main phenocryst phases (specifically variable plagioclase and titanomagnetite content). This banding enhances the internal structures apparent in the polished cross section from columnar joints at Hrepphólar. The measured variations in major and trace element geochemistry, as well as mineral chemistry, are too small to distinguish between the proposed band-forming models. Plagioclase crystal size distributions, however, display a systematic change across the column that is consistent with late-stage migration of melt inside the column (i.e., the crystallization induced melt migration hypothesis). The central part of the columns have plagioclases indicative of slow cooling and these are also more steeply oriented (i.e., subparallel to the column axis) compared with plagioclases present in the more rapidly cooled edges. This redistribution of melt within individual columns may significantly affect the cooling rate of columnar-jointed lava flows and intrusion