Environmental and Regional Problems of Contaminated Sites

Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

Influence of different soil preparation techniques on organically grown strawberries

From June 2005 till June 2007 different soil preparation techniques like chiselling and advance sowing of medicinal plants and green manuring were proofed for their influence on reducing plant losses of strawberries caused by root diseases like Phytophthora species and Verticillium dahliae. The variants were combined with potted plants and Frigos. The experiment took place on an organic fruit farm near Stuttgart, Germany, with the strawberry variety ´Elsanta´. Focused on root diseases, habit and yield chiselling combined with Frigos and green manuring combined with potted plants showed the best results. Generally the marketable yield was often below yields from conventional cultivation. This project is granted by Bundesprogramm Ökologischer Landbau (BÖL, FKZ 03OE087: 2004-2006, FKZ 06OE221: 2007-2009). It includes also experiments about cutting techniques at raspberries, plant protection at black- and gooseberries and weed control at blueberries and black currants. The part of weed control is carried out by ÖON Jork (Germany)

Ergebnisse aus dem Forschungsprojekt über den Einfluss der Schnittstärke auf den Handausdünnungsaufwand bei der Sorte ‘Elstar‘ in den Jahren 2004 und 2005

This trial took place in an organic fruit growing farm located near Lake Constance with the variety ‘Elstar’ planted in 1995. In 2004 and 2005 one variant (control) was pruned normally during the winter, the other variant was pruned more intensively to reduce the amount of flower buds. In 2004 at both variants the num-ber of apples was reduced to 165 apples/tree at the end of May. Time for thinning by hand was cut down significantly in the intensively pruned variant. In addition at harvest the number of apples with bigger diame-ters, especially 75-80 mm, increased. Moreover the number of flower buds for the next season rose by 20 %. Therefore in 2005 the yield per tree at the intensively pruned variant increased about 15 %, but also the working hours for pruning rose, too. The research project was financed by the Bundesprogramm Ökolo-gischer Landbau

PENINGKATAN KEMAMPUAN MENULIS PENGALAMAN PADA MATA PELAJARAN BAHASA INDONESIA DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN METODE FIELD TRIP: Penelitian Tindakan Kelas pada Siswa Kelas III Sekolah Dasar Negeri Simpangan 01 Kecamatan Cikarang Utara Bekasi Tahun Pelajaran 2012-2013

Penelitian ini dilatarbelakangi oleh kurangnya kemampuan siswa dalam pembelajaran menulis pengalamn sehingga siswa mengalami kesulitan untuk membuat suatu tulisan menjadi suatu karangan. Hal ini disebabkan karena guru kurang maksimal dalam menggunakan metode pembelajaran. Oleh karena itu untuk meningkatkan menulis pada siswa dalam penelitian ini akan digunakan suatu metode Field Trip. Melalui metode field trip ini siswa dapat berlatih dan menemukan ide, gagasan serta pengalaman langsung dalam suatu tulisan. Tujuan dalam penelitian ini secara umum adalah untuk meningkatkan kemampuan menulis siswa dengan menggunakan metode Field Trip. Dan secara khusus adalah (1) untuk mengetahui kemampuan siswa dalam menulis sebelum menggunakan metode field trip (2) untuk mengetahui proses pembelajaran siswa dalam menulis dengna menggunakan metode field trip (3) Dan untuk mengetahui hasil kemampuan siswa kelas III sesudah menggunakan metode field trip. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah penelitian tindakan kelas (PTK). Dengan mengambil subjek penelitian siswa kelas III SDN Simpangan 01 Kecamatan Cikarang Utara Kabupaten Bekasi tahun ajaran 2012/2013, yang berjumlah 45 orang siswa. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian diperoleh data sebagai berikut: hasil pada pra atau awal pelajaran menunjukkan nilai rata-rata yaitu 65,82, pada tindakan pertama memperoleh nilai rata-rata siklus I adalah sebesar 69,20, dan pada tindakan kedua memperoleh nilai rata-rata siklus II adalah sebesar 72,13. Dengan demikian, maka dapat diambil kesimpulan bahwa penggunaan metode field trip dapat meningkatkan kemampuan menulis siswa kelas III SDN Simpangan 01 Kecamatan Cikarang Utara Kabupaten Bekasi

Ergebnisse aus dem Forschungsprojekt über Alternativen zu Schwefelkalk bei der Blütenausdünnung in den Jahren 2004 und 2005

At the LVWO Weinsberg different agents were tested, in 2004 with the apple variety ‘Gala’ and in 2005 with the variety ‘Elstar’, both organically grown. In addition to the thinning effect its influence on yield, fruit quality (size, colour, russetting) and return bloom were investigated. An alternative to lime sulphur at the variety ‘Gala’ might be sunflower oil (thinning effect 42-62 %), but the number of blossom clusters in 2005 was up to 60 % lower than in the lime sulphur plots. In 2005 the variety ‘Elstar’ treated with fish oils also showed good thinning effects (31-42 %), but the percentage of flower buds for 2006 hasn’t been evaluated yet. However, in both years lime sulphur showed good results, too. The research project was financed by the Bundesprogramm Ökologischer Landbau

Optimizing crop loading of apples and pears - results 2004-2006 (foliar fertilizers, thinning)

Main topics of the research-project FuE 03OE088 of “Bundesprogramm Ökologischer Landbau” (30.04.2004-31.12.2006) were the testing of foliar fertilizers in organic apples and pears, optimizing lime sulphur for blossom thinning, looking for alternatives to lime sulphur for blossom thinning and looking at different combinations of thinning measures. Only the results of testing foliar fertilizers (carried out by KoGa Ahrweiler and OVB/ÖON Jork) and combinations of thinning measures (carried out by LVWO Weinsberg) are described in this article. Over three years only a small increase in yield was evaluated for the fertilizers Aminosol PS and Wuxal Ascofol (site Ahrweiler, apple variety ‘Elstar’). In Jork (apple variety ‘Holsteiner Cox’) yield could only be judged in 2005 and 2006. Wuxal Ascofol showed some advantage in comparison to the control. At pear variety ‘Conference’ no clear tendencies could be seen, the control had the highest yield. In 2005 the fruitsetting of ‘Conference’ was very low because of bad conditions during blossom

Financing technology transfer

Global policy discussions increasingly focus on innovation and the knowledge economy as a driver of long-term growth. In parallel new forms of innovation processes are emerging, notably open innovation and innovation networks stressing the importance of connections between various stakeholders. Links between universities and the business sector are of particular importance as many inventions come out of universities but have to be further developed to become economically relevant innovations. New financing instruments and attracting private investors to technology transfer (TT) are necessary but difficult as the patterns of risk and information in this “in-between area” is complex: Technology is not basic anymore and it requires large amounts of capital to be scaled up – with uncertain market prospects. This paper addresses new financial instruments for TT, building on European Investment Fund’s experience in this field.Technology Transfer; Financing; Innovation; Commercialisation; Funding gap; Patents; Licensing; Intellectual Property

Evaluierung hoheitlicher Länderrisiken

Hoheitliche Länderrisiken im hier beschriebenen Sinne sind bankbetriebliche Risiken, die im internationalen Kreditgeschaet durch die Zahlungsunfähigkeit oder -unwilligkeit der ausländischen Regierung entstehen. Länderrisiko-Analysen untersuchen folglich die Frage nach der Bonität eines Landes innerhalb eines durch die Kreditlaufzeit determinierten Planungshorizontes. Zunächst wird zur Deskription der Bedeutung der Auslandsverschuldung ein kurzer Abriß über den Stand und die Dynamik der Verschuldungslage der Entwicklungsländer gegeben. Im Anschluß daran erfolgt zur theoretischen Begründung der Notwendigkeit der Evaluation von Länderrisiken - ausgehend von dem bekannten Konstrukt des Akerlof'schen Zitronenmarktes und der Annahme eines ungebundenen Finanzkredits einer Geschäftsbank an einen Staat (Entwicklungsland) - eine Uebertragung dieses Modells auf internationale Kreditbeziehungen. Darüber hinaus wird ein Kreditrationierungsmodell angewendet, um die Reaktionen des Marktes bei asymmetrischer Informationsverteilung zu untersuchen, bevor in einem Agency-Signalling-Ansatz die Möglichkeit des Signalisierens durch den Kreditnehmer betrachtet wird. Aus den Modellen geht die besondere Bedeutung der den Kreditnehmern drohenden Strafkosten für nicht wahrheitsgemässes Signalling hervor. Die Strafkosten sind im internationalen Kreditgeschäft im Vergleich zur nationalen Kreditvergabe (z.B. im Firmenkundengeschaeft) nicht prohibitiv hoch; folglich ist ein Screening der als notwendig erachteten Informationen in Form der Länderrisiko-Analyse erforderlich. Da Länderrisiken keine objektiv festellbaren Größen und nicht direkt beobachtbar sind, muß nach stabilen Beziehungen zwischen beobachtbaren risikoverursachenden Parametern und Länderrisiken gesucht werden. Verschiedene Verfahren dazu werden hier synoptisch vorgestellt. Die in der Praxis am häufigsten eingesetzte Methode ist das Länderrating als Scoring-Modell, weshalb abschließend Rating-Beispiele aus der Praxis enumerativ aufgezeigt werden.country risk, sovereign risk, country rating, external debt, credit rationing, agency signalling

Results of a Research Project about the influence of pruning intensity on cost of thinning by hand with the Variety ’Elstar’ in 2004 and 2005

This trial took place in an organic fruit growing farm located near Lake Constance with the variety ‘Elstar’ planted in 1995. In 2004 and 2005 one variant (control) was pruned normally during the winter, the other variant was pruned more intensively to reduce the amount of flower buds. In 2004 at both variants the number of apples was reduced to 165 apples/tree at the end of May. Time for thinning by hand was cut down significantly in the intensively pruned variant. In addition at harvest the number of apples with bigger diameters, especially 75-80 mm, increased. Moreover the number of flower buds for the next season rose by 20 %. Therefore in 2005 the yield per tree at the intensively pruned variant increased about 15 %, but also the working hours for pruning rose, too. The research project was financed by the Bundesprogramm Ökologischer Landbau

Sharing of heteroplasmies between human liver lobes varies across the mtDNA genome

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heteroplasmy (intra-individual variation) varies among different human tissues and increases with age, suggesting that the majority of mtDNA heteroplasmies are acquired, rather than inherited. However, the extent to which heteroplasmic sites are shared across a tissue remains an open question. We therefore investigated heteroplasmy in two liver samples (one from each primary lobe) from 83 Europeans, sampled at autopsy. Minor allele frequencies (MAF) at heteroplasmic sites were significantly correlated between the two liver samples from an individual, with significantly more sharing of heteroplasmic sites in the control region than in the non-control region. We show that this increased sharing for the control region cannot be explained by recent mutations at just a few specific heteroplasmic sites or by the possible presence of 7S DNA. Moreover, we carried out simulations to show that there is significantly more sharing than would be predicted from random genetic drift from a common progenitor cell. We also observe a significant excess of non-synonymous vs. synonymous heteroplasmies in the protein-coding region, but significantly more sharing of synonymous heteroplasmies. These contrasting patterns for the control vs. the non-control region, and for non-synonymous vs. synonymous heteroplasmies, suggest that selection plays a role in heteroplasmy sharing