Argumente und Möglichkeiten für eine Quantifizierung und ein Monitoring der differenzierten Landnutzung

Das Konzept der differenzierten Landnutzung wurde bereits vor 50 Jahren formuliert, um Biodiversität zu erhalten und die dazu erforderliche Landschaftsstruktur zu bewahren oder wiederherzustellen. Es ist zwar im Bundesnaturschutzgesetz verankert worden, aber es fehlt noch immer ein Monitoring seiner Umsetzung, obwohl der Sachverständigenrat für Umweltfragen dies seit 25 Jahren als notwendig einfordert. Der Beitrag argumentiert, dass die technischen Voraussetzungen für ein Monitoring der differenzierten Landnutzung heute bereitstehen, und diskutiert die dafür nötigen konzeptuellen Schritte. Es werden verschiedene Dimensionen bestimmt und entsprechende Indikatoren der Landschaftsstruktur vorgeschlagen, insbesondere zum Grad der Diversifizierung und der Durchmischung der intensiven Landnutzungen, zur Schlaggrößenverteilung intensiv genutzter Flächen, zum Flächenanteil naturnaher Flächen (mindestens 10%) und zur vernetzten Anordnung der naturnahen Flächen. Des Weiteren diskutiert der Aufsatz geeignete Bezugseinheiten und vorhandene Daten. Abschließend werden verbleibende Lücken in den Datengrundlagen identifiziert und die Frage der Definition von Zielwerten erörtert.The concept of differentiated land use was formulated already 50 years ago to preserve biodiversity and to maintain or restore the necessary landscape structure. Although it has been anchored in the Federal Nature Conservation Act, there is still no monitoring of its implementation, although the German Advisory Council on the Environment has been calling for this for 25 years. The paper argues that the technical prerequisites for monitoring the differentiated land use are ready today and discusses the conceptual steps necessary. It identifies several dimensions and proposes corresponding indicators of landscape structure, in particular the degree of diversification and the mixing of intensive land uses, the distribution of the size of intensively used areas, the proportion of semi-natural areas (at least 10%) and the interconnected arrangement of seminatural areas. Furthermore, the paper discusses suitable reference units and existing data. Finally, we identify remaining gaps in the data basis and discuss the question of defining target values

Cytokine Plasma Levels: Reliable Predictors for Radiation Pneumonitis?

BACKGROUND: Radiotherapy (RT) is the primary treatment modality for inoperable, locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but even with highly conformal treatment planning, radiation pneumonitis (RP) remains the most serious, dose-limiting complication. Previous clinical reports proposed that cytokine plasma levels measured during RT allow to estimate the individual risk of patients to develop RP. The identification of such cytokine risk profiles would facilitate tailoring radiotherapy to maximize treatment efficacy and to minimize radiation toxicity. However, cytokines are produced not only in normal lung tissue after irradiation, but are also over-expressed in tumour cells of NSCLC specimens. This tumour-derived cytokine production may influence circulating plasma levels in NSCLC patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prognostic value of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6 and TGF-beta1 plasma levels to predict radiation pneumonitis and to evaluate the impact of tumour-derived cytokine production on circulating plasma levels in patients irradiated for NSCLC. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In 52 NSCLC patients (stage I-III) cytokine plasma levels were investigated by ELISA before and weekly during RT, during follow-up (1/3/6/9 months after RT), and at the onset of RP. Tumour biopsies were immunohistochemically stained for IL-6 and TGF-beta1, and immunoreactivity was quantified (grade 1-4). RP was evaluated according to LENT-SOMA scale. Tumour response was assessed according to RECIST criteria by chest-CT during follow-up. In our clinical study 21 out of 52 patients developed RP (grade I/II/III/IV: 11/3/6/1 patients). Unexpectedly, cytokine plasma levels measured before and during RT did not correlate with RP incidence. In most patients IL-6 and TGF-beta1 plasma levels were already elevated before RT and correlated significantly with the IL-6 and TGF-beta1 production in corresponding tumour biopsies. Moreover, IL-6 and TGF-beta1 plasma levels measured during follow-up were significantly associated with the individual tumour responses of these patients. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results of this study did not confirm that cytokine plasma levels, neither their absolute nor any relative values, may identify patients at risk for RP. In contrast, the clear correlations of IL-6 and TGF-beta1 plasma levels with the cytokine production in corresponding tumour biopsies and with the individual tumour responses suggest that the tumour is the major source of circulating cytokines in patients receiving RT for advanced NSCLC

A Comprehensive Investigation on Common Polymorphisms in the MDR1/ABCB1 Transporter Gene and Susceptibility to Colorectal Cancer

ATP Binding Cassette B1 (ABCB1) is a transporter with a broad substrate specificity involved in the elimination of several carcinogens from the gut. Several polymorphic variants within the ABCB1 gene have been reported as modulators of ABCB1-mediated transport. We investigated the impact of ABCB1 genetic variants on colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. A hybrid tagging/functional approach was performed to select 28 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were genotyped in 1,321 Czech subjects, 699 CRC cases and 622 controls. In addition, six potentially functional SNPs were genotyped in 3,662 German subjects, 1,809 cases and 1,853 controls from the DACHS study. We found that three functional SNPs (rs1202168, rs1045642 and rs868755) were associated with CRC risk in the German population. Carriers of the rs1202168_T and rs868755_T alleles had an increased risk for CRC (Ptrend = 0.016 and 0.029, respectively), while individuals bearing the rs1045642_C allele showed a decreased risk of CRC (Ptrend = 0.022). We sought to replicate the most significant results in an independent case-control study of 3,803 subjects, 2,169 cases and 1,634 controls carried out in the North of Germany. None of the SNPs tested were significantly associated with CRC risk in the replication study. In conclusion, in this study of about 8,800 individuals we show that ABCB1 gene polymorphisms play at best a minor role in the susceptibility to CRC

Modelling human choices: MADeM and decision‑making

Research supported by FAPESP 2015/50122-0 and DFG-GRTK 1740/2. RP and AR are also part of the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics FAPESP grant (2013/07699-0). RP is supported by a FAPESP scholarship (2013/25667-8). ACR is partially supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)

L’impact des constructions routières sur la fragmentation du territoire en Suisse (1885-2002) : quelles leçons retenir ?

Les passages et les corridors fauniques suscitent un intérêt croissant au Canada, où il existe un besoin grandissant pour de telles infrastructures. On assiste aujourd’hui à une hausse constante du taux de fragmentation du territoire, causée notamment par la construction de routes. Ces constructions menacent la survie de plusieurs espèces animales, d’où l’importance d’adopter des mesures préventives lors de l’aménagement du territoire. La Suisse, contrairement au Québec, est avancée dans la réalisation de telles mesures : ce pays a instauré sur son territoire un réseau de corridors fauniques protégés. Le présent article résume les recommandations qui se sont dégagées d’une récente étude du morcellement des écosystèmes helvétiques de 1885 à 2002

MODELING THE EFFECTS OF ROAD NETWORK PATTERNS ON POPULATION PERSISTENCE: RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF TRAFFIC MORTALITY AND 'FENCE EFFECT'

Abstract: Roads affect animals in three adverse ways. They act as barriers to movement ('fence effect'), enhance mortality due to collisions with traffic, and decrease habitat size. We study the relative importance of the first two effects using a spatially explicit individual-based model of population dynamics. We discuss our results with respect to the suitability of fences along roads as a measure to reduce road mortality. The results reveal a much stronger effect of road mortality than of the 'fence effect'; the influence of traffic mortality is always much more significant when the proportions of individuals avoiding the road and those that are killed on the road (in relation to the number of individuals encountering roads) in the two situations compared are the same. The results indicate that putting up fences along roads might be a useful interim mitigation measure until more suitable measures will be applied. However, fences must be used with caution because they could increase extinction risk for species that have large area requirements and small population sizes. In the second part of this paper, we outline a comparison of different configurations of road networks. We ask if different spatial arrangements of the same amount of roads (e.g., 'bundling' of roads) have consequences for the strength of both the 'fence effect' and road mortality. The model results indicate longer times to extinction in case of a 'bundling' of roads but the proportion of populations going extinct within 500 time steps does not change significantly