Nährstoffbilanzen für Buchen-, Eichen-, Fichten- und Kiefernbestände bei verschiedenen Nutzungsintensitäten

Für 10 Waldstandorte in Niedersachsen mit Buche, Eiche, Fichte bzw. Kiefer wurden Bilanzen des Ein- und Austrags von Calcium, Kalium, Magnesium und Stickstoff unter Berücksichtigung von 3 Nutzungsintensitäten (ohne Nutzung, Derbholz-Nutzung, Vollbaum-Nutzung) berechnet. Bereits die konventionelle Derbholz-Nutzung kann erhebliche Nährstoffverluste verursachen. Der zusätzliche Entzug einer intensivierten Nutzung wäre bei nährstoffarmen Standorten und besonders für Calcium (Fichte > Buche > Kiefer > Eiche) und Magnesium (Fichte > Kiefer > Buche > Eiche) kritisch. Bei signifikant negativen Bilanzen würde er innerhalb von 100 Jahren bei Calcium > 90 % (Eiche > Fichte > Kiefer > Buche) und bei Magnesium > 110 % (Eiche > Fichte > Buche > Kiefer) des Umfangs einer Kalkung entsprechen. Eine Intensivierung der konventionellen Derbholz-Nutzung sollte deshalb nur auf solchen Standorten erfolgen, wo nachhaltige Nährstoffkreisläufe gesichert sind

Evaluating Depressive Symptoms in Schizophrenia: A Psychometric Comparison of the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale

Background: The aim of this study was to compare two measures of depression in patients with schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorder, including patients with delusional and schizoaffective disorder, to conclude implications for their application. Sampling and Methods: A total of 278 patients were assessed using the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was also applied. At admission and discharge, a principal component analysis was performed with each depression scale. The two depression rating scales were furthermore compared using correlation and regression analyses. Results: Three factors were revealed for the CDSS and HAMD-17 factor component analysis. A very similar item loading was found for the CDSS at admission and discharge, whereas results of the loadings of the HAMD-17 items were less stable. The first two factors of the CDSS revealed correlations with positive, negative and general psychopathology. In contrast, multiple significant correlations were found for the HAMD-17 factors and the PANSS sub-scores. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that the HAMD-17 accounted more for the positive and negative symptom domains than the CDSS. Conclusions:The present results suggest that compared to the HAMD-17, the CDSS is a more specific instrument to measure depressive symptoms in schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorder, especially in acutely ill patients. Copyright (c) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

Cost Benefit Analysis of an Innovative and Modular Autonomous Vehicle: The Case of U-Shift

The study presents a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) of future implementation of “U-Shift” vehicles. “U-Shift” is an autonomous vehicle concept currently developed at the German Centre for Aerospace (DLR). The CBA was prepared in 2020 as part of a feasibility study on behalf of the German Ministry for Economy to assess the possible impacts of a hypothetical large-scale implementation of these vehicles. It compares two future scenarios for roll-out in 2040 in Stuttgart, a mid-sized city in Germany’s automotive centre, with a Base Case. Scenario 1 reflects the preferred approach for implementation pursued by DLR, where autonomous driving of vehicles is enabled by sensors as part of the road infrastructure and the vehicles’ movements are orchestrated by a central traffic management centre. Scenario 2 reflects the current approach for automation, where autonomous driving technology is part of the vehicle itself and their movements are not coordinated by a central agency. The CBA quantifies capital and recurrent costs, road safety, CO2 emissions and air pollution. Costs and benefits are quantified for one year only, 2040, a plausible year for large-scale implementation. As it only considers recurrent costs and benefits of one year, investment costs were apportioned accordingly, taken the expected asset life into account

Trap-integrated fluorescence detection based on silicon photomultipliers in a cryogenic Penning trap

We present a fluorescence-detection system for laser-cooled 9Be+ ions based on silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) operated at 4 K and integrated into our cryogenic 1.9 T multi-Penning-trap system. Our approach enables fluorescence detection in a hermetically-sealed cryogenic Penning-trap chamber with limited optical access, where state-of-the-art detection using a telescope and photomultipliers at room temperature would be extremely difficult. We characterize the properties of the SiPM in a cryocooler at 4 K, where we measure a dark count rate below 1/s and a detection efficiency of 2.5(3) %. We further discuss the design of our cryogenic fluorescence-detection trap, and analyze the performance of our detection system by fluorescence spectroscopy of 9Be+ ion clouds during several runs of our experiment.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figure

Bodenvorräte & Bilanzen von Makronährstoffen als Indikatoren für die ökologische Bewertung intensiver Biomassenutzung im Wald

Die mögliche Nutzungsintensität von Waldbeständen wird häufig anhand einzelner Indikatoren wie den Nährstoffvorräten im effektiven Wurzelraum (AKe), dem Nährstoffentzugsindex oder der Stoffbilanz bewertet. Dabei ergeben sich für die hier untersuchten Flächen des Intensiven Umweltmonitorings für Kalium und Magnesium große Differenzen zwischen den betrachteten Indikatoren, dagegen für Calcium ein eher undifferenziertes Bild. Aufgrund der uneinheitlichen Ergebnisse ist es erforderlich, die Indikatoren hinsichtlich ihrer Aussage genau zu überprüfen. Gleichzeitig sollte die Ableitung von standortspezifischen Empfehlungen für eine angemessene Nutzungsintensität und den Bedarf an Kompensationsmaßnahmen (z. B. Kalkung) unbedingt unter Berücksichtigung aller potenziellen Indikatoren erfolgen

Renal sympathetic denervation restores aortic distensibility in patients with resistant hypertension: data from a multi-center trial

Renal sympathetic denervation (RDN) is under investigation as a treatment option in patients with resistant hypertension (RH). Determinants of arterial compliance may, however, help to predict the BP response to therapy. Aortic distensibility (AD) is a well-established parameter of aortic stiffness and can reliably be obtained by CMR. This analysis sought to investigate the effects of RDN on AD and to assess the predictive value of pre-treatment AD for BP changes. We analyzed data of 65 patients with RH included in a multicenter trial. RDN was performed in all participants. A standardized CMR protocol was utilized at baseline and at 6-month follow-up. AD was determined as the change in cross-sectional aortic area per unit change in BP. Office BP decreased significantly from 173/92 ± 24/16 mmHg at baseline to 151/85 ± 24/17 mmHg (p < 0.001) 6 months after RDN. Maximum aortic areas increased from 604.7 ± 157.7 to 621.1 ± 157.3 mm2 (p = 0.011). AD improved significantly by 33% from 1.52 ± 0.82 to 2.02 ± 0.93 × 10-3 mmHg-1 (p < 0.001). Increase of AD at follow-up was significantly more pronounced in younger patients (p = 0.005) and responders to RDN (p = 0.002). Patients with high-baseline AD were significantly younger (61.4 ± 10.1 vs. 67.1 ± 8.4 years, p = 0.022). However, there was no significant correlation of baseline AD to response to RDN. AD is improved after RDN across all age groups. Importantly, these improvements appear to be unrelated to observed BP changes, suggesting that RDN may have direct effects on the central vasculature

Induction level determines signature of gene expression noise in cellular systems

Noise in gene expression, either due to inherent stochasticity or to varying inter- and intracellular environment, can generate significant cell-to-cell variability of protein levels in clonal populations. We present a theoretical framework, based on stochastic processes, to quantify the different sources of gene expression noise taking cell division explicitly into account. Analytical, time-dependent solutions for the noise contributions arising from the major steps involved in protein synthesis are derived. The analysis shows that the induction level of the activator or transcription factor is crucial for the characteristic signature of the dominant source of gene expression noise and thus bridges the gap between seemingly contradictory experimental results. Furthermore, on the basis of experimentally measured cell distributions, our simulations suggest that transcription factor binding and promoter activation can be modelled independently of each other with sufficient accuracy

Exceedance of critical loads and of critical limits impacts tree nutrition across Europe

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