Studies of planning behavior of aircraft pilots in normal, abnormal and emergency situations

A methodology for the study of planning is presented and the results of applying the methodology within two experimental investigations of planning behavior of aircraft pilots in normal, abnormal, and emergency situations are discussed. Beyond showing that the methodology yields consistent results, these experiments also lead to concepts in terms of a dichotomy between event driven and time driven planning, subtle effects of automation on planning, and the relationship of planning to workload and flight performance

Reduction of slaughterhouse stress in beef cattle by facilitating animal tameness

The relationship between animals and humans is important for animal husbandry and welfare. Loosehousing and grazing systems with low management input often result in frail relationships between humans and animals. This study investigated whether a positive handling, applied during the first days of the animals’ life, had a calming and stress reducing effect on suckler beef calves at slaughter

Vergleich der muttergebundenen und der künstlichen Aufzucht in Bezug auf Gesundheit, Gewichtsentwicklung und chronischen Stress bei Milchviehkälbern

In artificial rearing, calves are separated from their dam usually within 24h after birth and any further social contacts to the mother are prevented. Although this is common in practice we expect severe consequences on the health state, weight gain and stress response of the young calf. Two groups of calves suckled by their mother (unrestricted contact, n=14; contact twice daily for 15 minutes each before milking, n=15) were compared to two control groups that were both fed via automatic milk feeder (maximal six times daily, n=14; twice daily, n=14). The calves of the four treatment groups were kept in the same barn and cows were milked twice daily. All calves were weaned at 13 weeks of age. The calves were weighed weekly until 3 weeks after weaning. The health state of each animal was assessed daily and all veterinary treatments were recorded until weaning. Stress response to a long-term stressor (absence of the mother) was assessed by stimulation of the HPA axis by ACTH administration (at 11 weeks of age). For statistical analyses, linear mixed-effects models were used. The health state of both suckled groups was poorer (p=0.046, caused by diarrhoea), but the number of animals that had to be treated by a veterinarian did not differ. During the milk feeding period, weight gain was better in suckled calves (p<0.001). After weaning, the weight gain of all treatment groups was diminished, especially in suckled calves (p<0.001). Cortisol response to ACTH administration was reduced in calves fed via an automatic milk feeder (p<0.001). The higher weight gain in suckled calves before weaning can be explained by the large milk amounts the calves received. These results suggest that suckled calves show fewer signs of chronic stress. We conclude that rearing without contact with the mother causes chronic stress in young calves in terms of desensitization of the HPA axis

Was positives Handling bei Rindern in den ersten Lebenstagen bewirkt

In dieser Studie wurde untersucht, wie sich ein positives Handling, durchgeführt innerhalb der ersten vier Lebenswochen an Kälbern aus der Mutterkuhhaltung, auf ihr Verhalten gegenüber Menschen und stressanzeigenden Parametern am Tag der Schlachtung auswirkt. Dazu wurden 27 Limousinkreuzungskälber jeweils direkt nach der Geburt in entweder eine Handling (HG)- oder in eine Kontrollgrupp(KG) eingeteilt. Kälber der Handlinggruppe erhielten an 6 Tagen ein positives Handling nach der TTouch®-Methode. Um die Auswirkungen des Handlings auf das Verhalten der Tiere gegenüber Menschen zu testen, wurde mit jedem Kalb 6 Mal ein Ausweichdistanztest (AWD-Test) durchgeführt und am Schlachthof innerhalb der Betäubungsfalle das Verhalten jedes einzelnen Tieres gegenüber dem Betäuber erfasst. Um eine Aussage zu stressanzeigenden Parametern auf physiologischer Ebene treffen zu können, wurden von allen Tieren Blutproben während des Entblutens aufgefangen, um die Konzentrationen an Cortisol, Glukose und Laktat bestimmen zu können. An Fleischproben des Musculus longissimus dorsi (langer Rückenmuskel)wurden drei Fleischqualitätsuntersuchungen vorgenommen: Messungen der Fleischfarbe, des Garverlusts und der Scherkraft. Tiere der Handlinggruppe zeigten signifikant geringere Ausweichdistanzen und weniger Abwehrverhalten gegenüber dem Betäuber am Schlachthof. Außerdem hatte diese Gruppe tendenziell geringere Cortisolkonzentrationen im Stichblut und signifikant geringere Scherkraftwerte bei den Fleischanalysen. Diese Ergebnisse zeigen, dass ein positives Handling, durchgeführt an noch sehr jungen Kälbern, weitreichende und vor allem anhaltende Effekte hinsichtlich der verminderten Scheu der Tiere gegenüber Menschen hat und dass sich dies auch in einer verbesserten Fleischqualität äußern kann

Auswirkungen eines positiven Handlings auf die Ausweichdistanz und die Fleischqualität von Mastrindern aus der Mutterkuhhaltung

This research investigated the effect of a handling treatment in beef cattle on stress related parameters. Ten 15 months old Limousin beef cattle (crossbreds) were divided in a handling group (HG) and a control group (KG) by pairing animals with similar avoidance distances. The back-region handlings were carried out 10 times for 8 min during 5 weeks before slaughter. Before and after all handling sessions, each animal was tested by an avoidance distance test (AWD). From each carcass, samples of M. longissimus dorsi were analysed for meat quality (cooking loss, shear force and meat colour). Differences between first and second avoidance distance test were greater in HG animals. Avoidance distance got much lower in HG animals than in KG animals. Shear force tended to be lower in meat from HG animals than in CG animals’ meat samples

Stress Reduction in Beef Cattle by Improving Human-Animal-Relationships

Farms keeping suckler cows often face the problem of wild behaviour of their animals. Especially loose-housing and grazing systems with low management input cause frail relationships between humans and animals

The SASSCAL contribution to climate observation, climate data management and data rescue in Southern Africa

A major task of the newly established "Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management" (SASSCAL; www.sasscal.org) and its partners is to provide science-based environmental information and knowledge which includes the provision of consistent and reliable climate data for Southern Africa. Hence, SASSCAL, in close cooperation with the national weather authorities of Angola, Botswana, Germany and Zambia as well as partner institutions in Namibia and South Africa, supports the extension of the regional meteorological observation network and the improvement of the climate archives at national level. With the ongoing rehabilitation of existing weather stations and the new installation of fully automated weather stations (AWS), altogether 105 AWS currently provide a set of climate variables at 15, 30 and 60 min intervals respectively. These records are made available through the SASSCAL WeatherNet, an online platform providing near-real time data as well as various statistics and graphics, all in open access. This effort is complemented by the harmonization and improvement of climate data management concepts at the national weather authorities, capacity building activities and an extension of the data bases with historical climate data which are still available from different sources. These activities are performed through cooperation between regional and German institutions and will provide important information for climate service related activities

Epidemiology, comorbidities, and healthcare utilization of patients with chronic urticaria in Germany

Abstract Background Comprehensive data on the epidemiology and comorbidities of chronic urticaria (CU) in Germany are either limited, or not contemporary. Objectives To investigate the epidemiology of CU, overall comorbidities and healthcare resource utilized by patients with CU in Germany, using an anonymized statutory health insurance (SHI) database. Methods Anonymized SHI claims research database of the Institute for Applied Health Research, Berlin [InGef] (01 January 2015–30 September 2018) was used to analyse insured individuals with a confirmed diagnosis of CU (ICD‐10‐GM codes). Twelve‐month diagnosed prevalence and incidence, comorbidities (vs. atopic dermatitis and psoriasis), and healthcare utilization by patients with CU were investigated. Results Of 4 693 772 individuals of all ages listed in the database, 3 538 540 were observable during 2017. Overall, 17 524 patients (˜0.5%) were diagnosed with CU; chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU: 71.2%), chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU: 19.7%), CSU+CIndU (9.1%). Females, vs. males, had higher diagnosed prevalence (0.62% vs. 0.37%) and diagnosed incidence (0.18% vs. 0.11%) of CU among all patients. Patients most frequently visited general practitioners (41.3% of total visits). Hypertensive diseases (43.5%), lipoprotein metabolism disorders (32.1%) and affective disorders (26.0%) were the most frequently reported comorbidities of special interest. Rates of most comorbidities of special interests were similar to atopic dermatitis and psoriasis patients, and all higher vs. overall population. More than half (54.1%) of all CU patients were not prescribed any treatment. Second‐generation H 1 ‐antihistamines were the most commonly prescribed medication for adult (17.9%) and paediatric (27.9%) patients. Patients with CIndU (paediatric, 15.5%; adult, 7.8%) were more often hospitalized versus patients with CSU (paediatric, 9.9%; adult, 4.6%). Conclusions In Germany, prevalence of CU along with multiple comorbidities may pose increased burden on the healthcare system. Awareness of adhering to treatment guidelines, and aiming for complete control of urticaria, needs to be driven and may improve outcomes

Generalized E(7(7)) coset dynamics and D=11 supergravity

The hidden on-shell E(7(7)) symmetry of maximal supergravity is usually discussed in a truncation from D=11 to four dimensions. In this article, we reverse the logic and start from a theory with manifest off-shell E(7(7)) symmetry inspired by West's coset construction. Following de Wit's and Nicolai's idea that a 4+56 dimensional "exceptional geometry" underlies maximal supergravity, we construct the corresponding Lagrangian and the supersymmetry variations for the 56 dimensional subsector. We prove that both the dynamics and the supersymmetry coincide with D=11 supergravity in a truncation to d=7 in the expected way.Comment: 42 pages, v2: references adde

Kann bei Rindern Stress bei der Schlachtung durch ein positives Handling in den ersten Lebenstagen vermindert werden?

Die vorliegende Studie untersuchte, ob ein positives Handling innerhalb der ersten Lebenstage bei Mutterkuhkälbern einen stressreduzierenden Effekt auf die Tiere bei der Schlachtung hat