Bark beetles - between pest species and ecosystem engineers

Scolytids have been studied more than any other forest insect group, but most investigations have been restricted to only a few species and mainly to their role as pests. The thesis here aimed to expand these studies to on the one hand the role of pest species as ecosystem engineers and thereby their influence on biodiversity and on the other hand to the whole subfamily of Scolytinae to improve the understanding why some are abundant and some are rare as well why some species occur as pests and other do not

The „Rothenbuch concept of dead wood and habitat trees“ and its effects on the diversity of structures and biodiversity of beech-forests

In einem ausgedehnten Laubwaldgebiet im Hochspessart (Nordwestbayern, Bezirk Unterfranken) wurde 2006 untersucht, ob sich alte Rot-Buchenbestände, die seit mehr als 15 Jahren nach dem „Rothenbucher Totholz- und Biotopbaumkonzept“ bewirtschaftet werden, hinsichtlich Struktur-, und Artenvielfalt, von vergleichbaren Beständen ohne ein derartiges Konzpt unterscheiden. Qualitätsziele des Konzeptes sind: Schutz von Horstbäumen, Belassen von 10 ökologisch besonders wertvollen Bäumen pro Hektar, Erhalt und Akkumulation von durchschnittlich 10 m3 Totholz (ohne Stockholz und Kronentotholz) ab 20 Zentimeter pro Hektar auf der gesamten Fläche. Die Umsetzung erfolgt nach dem Grundsatz, dass bei der Auswahl jedes zu entnehmenden Altbaums stets zwischen dem zu erwartenden Holzertrag, der waldbaulichen Notwendigkeit und dem ökologischen Wert abzuwägen ist. Der Vergleich erfolgte in Rothenbuch, und in einem unmittelbar angrenzenden Gebiet ohne entsprechendes Konzept bei Altenbuch, in jeweils 30 ein Hektar großen Gitterfeldern sowie in je 25 Probekreisen (0,1 Hektar). Vögel wurden zur Brutzeit im Rahmen einer quantitativen Gitterfeldkartierung erhoben. Xylobionte Käfer wurden mit Hilfe von Kreuzfensterfallen und zeitstandardisierten Handfängen auf je 25 Probekreisen gefangen. Die Mollusken und Holz bewohnenden Pilze wurden auf je 15 Probekreisen durch standardisierte Aufsammlungen erfasst. In Wirtschaftswäldern seltene Strukturen, die zudem meist geklumpt auftreten (stehendes Totholz, Mulmhöhlen- und sonstige Biotopbäume), wurden auf den 60 Hektarrastern, häufigere und regelmäßiger verteilte Strukturen wie Stockholz oder liegendes Totholz wurden in den Probekreisen aufgenommen. Folgende Hypothesen wurden getestet: 1. Das Rothenbucher Totholz- und Biotopbaumkonzept hat bisher keine Auswirkungen auf Quantität und Qualität von liegendem und stehendem Totholz und Biotopbäumen. 2. Das Rothenbucher Totholz- und Biotopbaumkonzept hat bisher keine Auswirkungen auf Abundanzen und Artenreichtum von Indikatorgruppen. 3. Das Rothenbucher Totholz- und Biotopbaumkonzept hat bisher keine Auswirkungen auf Abundanzen und Artenreichtum an Habitat- und Strukturtradition gebundener und gefährdeter Arten. Es konnte kein Unterschied bei der Anzahl von Biotopbäumen in beiden Gebieten festgestellt werden. Signifikante Unterschiede zugunsten von Rothenbuch ergaben sich bei den Mengen an liegendem und stehendem Totholz und dem Angebot an Totholz stärkerer Dimensionen. Es wurden in Rothenbuch signifikant mehr Vogelarten und Individuen als in Altenbuch registriert. Besonders deutlich im Vergleich der Avizönosen war der Unterschied bei Höhlenbrütern, während die Werte für Vogelarten mit Bindung an Holzstrukturen nur einen Trend ergaben. Die Artenindikatoranalyse ergab folgende Arten als signifikant häufiger und stetiger im totholzreicheren Rothenbuch: Mittelspecht, Kohlmeise, Rotkehlchen, Grauspecht, Halsband- und Trauerschnäpper, Sumpfmeise und Mönchsgrasmücke. Nur der Buchfink (der im bayerischen Wirtschaftwald häufigste Vogel) erwies sich als Charakterart für Altenbuch. Die Artenzahl und Abundanzen der Mollusken lag in Rothenbuch signifikant über den Werten von Altenbuch. Auch die Anzahl gefährdeter Weichtierarten und die entsprechenden Individuenzahlen waren in Rothenbuch höher. Bei xylobionten Käferarten wurden in Rothenbuch signifikant höhere Artenzahlen aller Arten und der gefährdeten Arten festgestellt. Auch die Registrierungen und Artenzahlen von Holz bewohnenden Pilzen pro Probekreis lagen in Rothenbuch signifikant höher. Damit konnte gezeigt werden, dass bezüglich der Totholzmengen bereits nach etwa 15 Jahren deutliche Erfolge erzielt werden können. Das Fehlen von Unterschieden bei Biotopbäumen und wichtiger Indikatorarten der übergeordneten Großlandschaft Spessart in den untersuchten Beständen zeigt aber auch, dass ein Zeitraum von 15 Jahren für die Entstehung hochwertiger Biotopbäume nicht ausreicht. Die Dichte der Totholzstrukturen ist noch unzureichend, um den im Spessart reliktär vorhandenen, an Urwaldstrukturen gebundenen xylobionten Arten eine Wiederbesiedlung auf größerer Fläche zu ermöglichen. Inzwischen geht das Schutzkonzept der Bayrischen Staatsforsten (NEFT 2006) konsequent einen Schritt weiter, nämlich das Erreichen einer Gesamttotholzmenge von mindestens 40 m³ Totholz pro Hektar für über 140jährige Buchenbestände und Bestände älter als 180 gänzlich aus der Nutzung zu nehmen.Investigations were performed in the New Red Sandstone region of the High Spessart in north-west Bavaria (Lower Franconia District), which is famous for extensive beech (Fagus sylvatica) forests on historical woodland sites with continuous tradition of broadleaved tree-cover. Under cool-humid and mild-winter upland conditions (submontane/oceanic) the beech achieves its maximum competitive power and tends to form pure stands of acidic beech forest (Luzuloluzuloidis-Fagetum, upland-form). The main goal was to evaluate the effects of the Rothenbuch concept, only 15 years after its implementation, on the diversity of structures and biodiversity. For this purpose mature stands of Beech (located in Rothenbuch) managed according to the guidelines of the concept were compared with conventionally managed stands (located in Altenbuch). Targets of the concept are protection of trees occupied by eyries of tree-breeding birds, retention of at least 10 ecologically valuable trees per hectare, conservation and accumulation of an average 10 m3 dead wood of over 20 centimeters dbh per hectare (excluding stumps and canopy dead wood). Implementation of the concept in forest management follows the principle “before an old tree is removed, a balance must be made between the estimated yield of timber, silvicultural necessity and the trees ecologicalvalue”. In Rothenbuch and Altenbuch 30 grids of 1ha (bird study; rare forest structures with a clustered distribution) and 25 circular plots of 0.1ha (other groups and more frequent structures) were installed. Birds were surveyed at the time of incubation by quantitative grid mapping. Saproxylic beetles were sampled by flight-interception traps and time-based manual capture. Snails and wood-inhabiting fungi were surveyed by standardized collections on 15 of the 25 circular sample plots. Three null hypotheses were tested: (i) Rothenbuch concept has as yet had no effect on quality and quantity of lying and standing deadwood structures and habitat trees (ii) Rothenbuch concept has as yet had no effects on abundances and species richness of floral and faunal species indicator groups (iii) Rothenbuch concept has as yet had no effects on abundances and species richness of endangered species dependent on temporal continuity of tradition in habitats and structures The follow up study revealed no significant differences between the two sites in terms of the quantity of habitat trees (i.e. living trees with mulm- and rot-holes, rotten crown sections and dead knots, crevices etc.). However, we recorded increased deadwood resources at the Rothenbuch site: lying stems, standing snags and larger diameters. Consequently, more bird species and individuals were present there. We found a particularly pronounced difference in hole-nesters, whereas for birds linked to particular wood structures only a trend was observed. According to a species indicator analysis the following sensitive bird species were found to be significantly more frequent and constantly present at Rothenbuch: middle-spotted woodpecker, great tit, redbreast, grey woodpecker, pied and collared flycatcher, marsh tit and blackcap. On the other hand only common chaffinch proved to be a faithful species in Altenbuch. Species numbers and abundances of terrestrial molluscs and saproxylic beetles were also significantly increased at Rothenbuch, including endangered species listed in red-data books. Moreover, higher numbers of species and abundance of wood-inhabiting fungi were recorded. The results correlated with the increased deadwood resources in Rothenbuch. However, the unchanged low numbers of habitat trees and the lack of important indicator species prove that the period of 15 years was not sufficient for the appearance of habitat trees with suitable microstructures. The frequency of deadwood is furthermore still inadequate for a broader re-colonization by the scattered relict species of virgin forest which are considered to be closely associated with primeval structures and features. In the meantime the concept of the Bavarian state forestry organisation (NEFT 2006) has gone one step further in setting a target dead wood volume of at least 40 m3 per hectare for beech stands older than 140 years, and complete removal of stands older than 180 years from utilization

Urwaldrelikt-Arten - Xylobionte Käfer als Indikatoren für Strukturqualität und Habitattradition

On the basis of the list of saproxylic beetles of Germany, the authors present a definition and list of “Urwald relict species”, comprising 115 beetles that are considered to be associated with primeval forest (“Urwald”) structures and features. We use the term “habitat tradition” to describe a continuity in supply of old growth dead wood and forest structures. The selection of species is made on behalf of the following criteria: relict records in Central Europe; attachment to continuity of deadwood resources and habitat tradition; continuity of old growth stand features like tree and deadwood maturity and di-versity; absence from cultivated Central European forest.Urwaldrelikt-Arten - Xylobionte Käfer als Indikatoren für Strukturqualität und Habitattradition Auf der Basis der Liste xylobionter Käfer Deutschlands legen die Autoren eine Definition und Liste von 115 Käferarten vor, die in Deutschland als Urwaldreliktarten bezeichnet werden können. Wir definieren die Kontinuität eines Bestandes hinsichtlich Totholzangebot und Bestandsstruktur als „Habitattradition“. Die Auswahl der Arten erfolgt anhand folgender Kriterien: Reliktäres Vorkommen in Mitteleuropa; Bindung an Strukturkontinuität bzw. Habitattradition sowie Kontinuität der Alters- und Zerfallsphase; hohe Ansprüche an Totholzqualitäten und –quantitäten; aus den kultivierten Wäldern Mitteleuropas verschwindend oder schon verschwunden

Neue Perzentilen für ALT, AST und GGT im Kindes- und Jugendalter - beeinflusst von Alter, Geschlecht, Pubertät und BMI

Neue Perzentilen zu den Transaminasen ALT, AST und GGT im Kindes- und Jugendalter wurden erstellt; Diese sind signifikant von Alter, Geschlecht, Pubertät und BMI abhängig.:I Abkürzungsverzeichnis II Abbildungsverzeichnis III Tabellenverzeichnis 1 Vorbemerkungen 1.1 Vorbemerkungen zum Studienprojekt 1.2 Vorbemerkungen zu LIFE CHILD 2 Einführung in die Thematik 2.1 Die nicht-alkoholische Fettlebererkrankung im Kindes- und Jugendalter 2.1.1 NAFLD: Definition, Epidemiologie und klinisches Erscheinungsbild 2.1.2 NAFLD: Histologie und Pathogenese 2.1.3 NAFLD: Screening und Diagnostik 2.2 Die Bedeutung der Transaminasen ALT, AST und GGT im Kindes- und Jugendalter 2.2.1 Charakteristika und Assoziationen der Transaminasen ALT, AST und GGT 2.2.2 Die Rolle von ALT, AST und GGT in Screening und Diagnostik von NAFLD 2.3 Pädiatrische Referenzwerte von ALT, AST und GGT 2.3.1 Anforderungen an pädiatrische Referenzwerte 2.3.2 Aktuelle Datenlage: Pädiatrische Referenzwerte von ALT, AST und GGT 2.4 Problemstellung und Zielsetzung der Arbeit 3 Fragestellungen und Hypothesen 4 Publikation 5 Zusammenfassung der Arbeit 6 Literaturverzeichnis IV Anlagen IV. A Anlagen zur Dissertation IV. B Ergänzungsmaterial zur wissenschaftlichen Publikation V Darstellung des eigenen Beitrags VI Erklärung über die eigenständige Abfassung der Arbei

Edible insect processing pathways and implementation of emerging technologies

The processing of insects is paramount to deliver safe and high quality raw materials, ingredients and products for large-scale food and feed applications. Depending upon the nature of the initial material and the desired end product, the processing pathways vary and may include several unit operations currently already used in food and feed processing. Insect processing pathways can involve harvesting, pre-processing, decontamination, further processing, packaging and storage. Several traditional and industrial decontamination methods have been proposed for edible insects, which include smoking, drying, blanching/boiling, marination, cooking, steaming, toasting and their combinations. Further processing steps are employed to produce insect meal, insect flour or extracted insect fractions. Each operation will have a different impact on the chemical and microbiological properties of the final product. Novel food processing technologies (e.g. high pressure processing, pulsed electric field, ultrasound and cold plasma) have shown potential to modify, complement or replace the conventional processing steps in insect processing. These technologies have been tested for microbial decontamination, enzyme inactivation, drying and extraction. Further, these are considered to be environmentally friendly and may be implemented for versatile applications to improve the processing efficiency, safety and quality of insect based products. Future research focuses in insect processing are development of efficient, environmentally friendly and low-cost processes; waste minimisation and incorporation of by-products/co-products

Extraction of fragments and waves after impact damage in particle-based simulations

The analysis of simulation results and the verification against experimental data is essential to develop and interpret simulation models for impact damage. We present two visualization techniques to post-process particle-based simulation data, and we highlight new aspects for the quantitative comparison with experimental data. As the underlying simulation model we consider the particle method Peridynamics, a non-local generalization of continuum mechanics. The first analysis technique is an extended component labeling algorithm to extract the fragment size and the corresponding histograms. The distribution of the fragment size can be obtained by real-world experiments as demonstrated in Schram and Meyer (Simulating the formation and evolution of behind armor debris fields. ARL-RP 109, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, 2005), Vogler et al. (Int J Impact Eng 29:735–746, 2003). The second approach focuses on the visualization of the stress after an impact. Here, the particle-based data is re-sampled and rendered with standard volume rendering techniques to address the interference pattern of the stress wave after reflection at the boundary. For the extraction and visual analysis, we used the widely-used Stanford bunny as a complex geometry. For a quantitative study with a simple geometry, the edge-on impact experiment (Schradin, Scripts German Acad Aeronaut Res 40:21–68, 1939; Strassburger, Int J Appl Ceram Technol 1:1:235–242, 2004; Kawai et al., Procedia Eng 103:287–293, 2015) can be applied. With these new visualization approaches, new insights for the quantitative comparison of fragmentation and wave propagation become intuitively accessible

Effect of Cereal α-Amylase/Trypsin Inhibitors on Developmental Characteristics and Abundance of Digestive Enzymes of Mealworm Larvae (Tenebrio molitor L.)

The objective of this work was to investigate the potential effect of cereal α-amylase/trypsin inhibitors (ATIs) on growth parameters and selective digestive enzymes of Tenebrio molitor L. larvae. The approach consisted of feeding the larvae with wheat, sorghum and rice meals containing different levels and composition of α-amylase/trypsin inhibitors. The developmental and biochemical characteristics of the larvae were assessed over feeding periods of 5 h, 5 days and 10 days, and the relative abundance of α-amylase and selected proteases in larvae were determined using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Overall, weight gains ranged from 21% to 42% after five days of feeding. The larval death rate significantly increased in all groups after 10 days of feeding (p < 0.05), whereas the pupation rate was about 25% among larvae fed with rice (Oryza sativa L.) and Siyazan/Esperya wheat meals, and only 8% and 14% among those fed with Damougari and S35 sorghum meals. As determined using the Lowry method, the protein contents of the sodium phosphate extracts ranged from 7.80 ± 0.09 to 9.42 ± 0.19 mg/mL and those of the ammonium bicarbonate/urea reached 19.78 ± 0.16 to 37.47 ± 1.38 mg/mL. The total protein contents of the larvae according to the Kjeldahl method ranged from 44.0 and 49.9 g/100 g. The relative abundance of α-amylase, CLIP domain-containing serine protease, modular serine protease zymogen and C1 family cathepsin significantly decreased in the larvae, whereas dipeptidylpeptidase I and chymotrypsin increased within the first hours after feeding (p < 0.05). Trypsin content was found to be constant independently of time or feed material. Finally, based on the results we obtained, it was difficult to substantively draw conclusions on the likely effects of meal ATI composition on larval developmental characteristics, but their effects on the digestive enzyme expression remain relevant

Plasma applications for the treatment of bean sprouts : safety, quality and nutritional assessments under aqueous and gaseous set-ups

Sprouts are particularly prone to microbial contamination due to their high nutrient content and the warm temperatures and humid conditions needed for their production. Therefore, disinfection is a crucial step in food processing as a means of preventing the transmission of bacterial, parasitic and viral pathogens. In this study, a dielectric coplanar surface barrier discharge (DCSBD) system was used for the application of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), plasma activated water (PAW) and their combination on mung bean seeds. Overall, it was found that the combined seed treatment with direct air CAP (350 W) and air PAW had no negative impact on mung bean seed germination and growth, nor the concentration of secondary metabolites within the sprouts. These treatments also reduced the total microbial population in sprouts by 2.5 log CFU/g. This research reports for first time that aside from the stimulatory effect of plasma discharge on seed surface disinfection, sustained plasma treatment through irrigation of treated seeds with PAW can significantly enhance seedling growth. The positive outcome and further applications of different forms, of plasma i.e., gaseous and aqueous, in the agro-food industry is further supported by this research.peer-reviewe

Aqueous and gaseous plasma applications for the treatment of mung bean seeds

Sprouts are particularly prone to microbial contamination due to their high nutrient content and the warm temperatures and humid conditions needed for their production. Therefore, disinfection is a crucial step in food processing as a means of preventing the transmission of bacterial, parasitic and viral pathogens. In this study, a dielectric coplanar surface barrier discharge (DCSBD) system was used for the application of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), plasma activated water (PAW) and their combination on mung bean seeds. Germination assessments were performed in a test tube set-up flled with glass beads and the produced irrigation water. Overall, it was found that the combined seed treatment with direct air CAP (350W) and air PAW had no negative impact on mung bean seed germination and growth, nor the concentration of secondary metabolites within the sprouts. These treatments also reduced the total microbial population in sprouts by 2.5 log CFU/g. This research reports for frst time that aside from the stimulatory efect of plasma discharge on seed surface disinfection, sustained plasma treatment through irrigation of treated seeds with PAW can signifcantly enhance seedling growth. The positive outcome and further applications of diferent forms, of plasma i.e., gaseous and aqueous, in the agro-food industry is further supported by this research.peer-reviewe

Plasma applications for the treatment of bean sprouts : safety, quality and nutritional assessments under aqueous and gaseous set-ups

Sprouts are particularly prone to microbial contamination due to their high nutrient content and the warm temperatures and humid conditions needed for their production. Therefore, disinfection is a crucial step in food processing as a means of preventing the transmission of bacterial, parasitic and viral pathogens. In this study, a dielectric coplanar surface barrier discharge (DCSBD) system was used for the application of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), plasma activated water (PAW) and their combination on mung bean seeds. Overall, it was found that the combined seed treatment with direct air CAP (350 W) and air PAW had no negative impact on mung bean seed germination and growth, nor the concentration of secondary metabolites within the sprouts. These treatments also reduced the total microbial population in sprouts by 2.5 log CFU/g. This research reports for first time that aside from the stimulatory effect of plasma discharge on seed surface disinfection, sustained plasma treatment through irrigation of treated seeds with PAW can significantly enhance seedling growth. The positive outcome and further applications of different forms, of plasma i.e., gaseous and aqueous, in the agro-food industry is further supported by this research.peer-reviewe