Wirkungen des Ökologischen Landbaus auf Bodenerosion durch Wasser

Soil erosion is still one of the major problems in relation to soil protection and it is necessary to have tools for assessment of soil losses. Changes of the farm structure like building a biogas power plant or changing the cropping system may affect soil losses. Before implementing those changes knowledge is necessary. The implemen-tation and application of an adequate tool is shown on the research farm Scheyern. The results of this model were compared with measured values for soil losses to demonstrate the applicability. Beside this attention is invited to conditions of ecological farming which have an impact on soil erosion

Calculation of mechanical and thermal influences during coiling of hot strip

Coiled steel strip is the final product from flat hot rolling processes. With increasing demand for higher quality of hot rolled strips, especially the evolution of strip flatness during and after coiling becomes a crucial aspect. The main impacts on the flatness properties of hot rolled strips result from residual stresses and “eigen-strains” induced by the last hot rolling passes, by strip cooling at the run-out table, and finally, by the mechanical and thermal conditions during and after the coiling process itself. In this paper, a mathematical model is presented, which takes into account the mechanical and thermal effects on hot rolled strip during and after the coiling process. To improve the prediction quality of the underlying process, a customized self-developed 3D finite-element model has been developed and programmed in C++, leading to a software prototype, which is highly superior to commercial FEM-packages with respect to calculation time and storage capacities. The model is based on a dynamic implicit total Lagrangian formulation. All relevant devices directly interacting with the strip, such as pinch rolls, coiler rolls and mandrel are incorporated in the calculation model. Well known and established methods in the solid-shell theory, like the EAS- and ANS-method, were applied to prevent the occurrence of locking phenomena resulting from low order interpolation functions. Selected benchmark tests were performed to evaluate the accuracy of these novel solid-shell elements in comparison to the results attained by the FEM- package ABAQUS©. The results obtained so far agree very satisfactorily. A further important topic is the contact and friction algorithm, where Coulomb’s friction law is applied. The accurate and reliable determination of the contact between strip and interacting devices as well as the aspect of self-contact was treated by applying a sophisticated two dimensional contact search algorithm, leading to a significantly reduced calculation time. The highly non-linear time-dependent system of equations is integrated by utilizing the (implicit) Newmark time-integration scheme. The developed calculation model serves as an effective tool to predict the interesting stress-distributions and local plastic deformations inside the strip, which induce residual stresses and strip unflatness (latent or even manifest waviness). Furthermore, this tool p ovides the basis for further improvements and investigations on hot rolling production lines

Wirkungen differenzierter Bodenbearbeitungssysteme im Dauerversuch Scheyern

After a 12-year differing tillage in a 7-phase crop rotation with lay, potatoes, wheat, sunflowers, lay, wheat and rye it was found, that mouldboard-ploughing (P) resulted in less weed. Crop yields were as high as in the treatment with ploughing after lay and chiselling after potatoes and sunflowers (B). Lowest yields were obtained without ploughing but using the chisel (G). Weeds, esp. grasses, resulted in a huge competition for crops esp. after lay. Profit margins were highest in B due to lower expenditures for tillage and lowest in G. Soil organic carbon amounts differed by 1,5 t/ha and earthworm biomass by 0,25 t/ha between P and G after 12 years. It can be summed up for this experiment that G was not sustainable due to weeds and declining yields, and that B resulted in best economic profit, increasing SOM content and seems to be a sustainable compromise

BIOBIO – Betriebsmanagement-Indikatoren für Biodiversität in biologischen und extensiven Anbausystemen

In dem EU FP7-Projekt „BioBio“ soll ein allgemeines Set von Indikatoren für Biodiversität in biologischen und extensiven Anbausystemen in Europa entwickelt und getestet werden. Neben direkten Indikatoren für Habitat-, Arten- und genetische Diversität werden auch indirekte Indikatoren zur Bewirtschaftung der landwirtschaftlichen Betriebe und Flächen erfasst. In Fallstudien wird der Zusammenhang zwischen den ausgewählten Indikatoren, den Betriebsystemen und direkten Indikatoren untersucht. Die Auswahl der Indikatoren erfolgte nach wissenschaftlichen Kriterien sowie nach Gesichtspunkten der Praktikabilität und Anwendbarkeit. Hauptergebnis des Projektes wird ein Handbuch mit Factsheets der ausgewählten Indikatoren sein

Anatomically Constrained Video-CT Registration via the V-IMLOP Algorithm

Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is a surgical procedure used to treat acute cases of sinusitis and other sinus diseases. FESS is fast becoming the preferred choice of treatment due to its minimally invasive nature. However, due to the limited field of view of the endoscope, surgeons rely on navigation systems to guide them within the nasal cavity. State of the art navigation systems report registration accuracy of over 1mm, which is large compared to the size of the nasal airways. We present an anatomically constrained video-CT registration algorithm that incorporates multiple video features. Our algorithm is robust in the presence of outliers. We also test our algorithm on simulated and in-vivo data, and test its accuracy against degrading initializations.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, MICCA

Polyunsaturated fatty acids in fishes increase with total lipids irrespective of feeding sources and trophic position

Trophic transfer and retention of dietary compounds are vital for somatic development, reproduction, and survival of aquatic consumers. In this field study, stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes, and fatty acids (FA) contents in invertebrates and fishes of pre-alpine Lake Lunz, Austria, were used to (1) identify the resource use and trophic level of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus), pike (Esox lucius), perch (Perca fluviatilis), brown trout (Salmo trutta), roach (Rutilus rutilus), and minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) and (2) examine how polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; i.e., omega-3 and -6 PUFA) are related to total lipid status, littoral-pelagic reliance, and trophic position. Stable isotope data suggest that pike, perch, and minnow derived most of their energy from littoral resources, but minnows differed from pike and perch in their trophic position and PUFA composition. The co-occurrence of cyprinids, percids, and pike segregated these fishes into more lipid-rich (roach, minnow) and lipid-poor (pike, percids) species. Although the relatively lipid-poor pike and percids occupied a higher trophic position than cyprinids, there was a concurrent, total lipid-dependent decline in omega-3 and -6 PUFA in these predatory fishes. Results of this lake food-web study demonstrated that total lipids in fish community, littoral-pelagic reliance, and trophic position explained omega-3 and -6 PUFA in dorsal muscle tissues. Omega-3 and -6 PUFA in these fishes decreased with increasing trophic position, demonstrating that these essential FAs did not biomagnify with increasing trophic level. Finally, this lake food-web study provides evidence of fish community-level relationship between total lipid status and PUFA or stable isotope ratios, whereas the strength of such relationships was less strong at the species level.Peer reviewe

Langzeituntersuchung der Kohlenstoff- und Stickstoffkreisläufe eines intensiven ökologischen Betriebssystems – am Beispiel des Versuchsgutes Scheyern

Carbon, nitrogen and energy flows are considered as an appropriate basis to characterize farming systems and to evaluate the environmental effects. Using the model REPRO the carbon and nitrogen flows of the experimental farm “Klostergut Scheyern” have been evaluated since 1991 on the basis of complete cultivation data as well as with the help of detailed site and weather data. Thus “Scheyern” is characterised as an intensive organic farming system with a high turnover of C and N

Comparisons of reproductive function and fatty acid fillet quality between triploid and diploid farm Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Triploidy could prevent escaped farm salmon breeding in the wild, while also improving nutrient quality within farmed fillets. Despite these potential advantages, triploid Atlantic salmon have not been widely used in aquaculture, and their reproductive function has yet to be fully evaluated. Here, we compare reproductive function and fillet composition between triploid and diploid farm salmon under standard aquaculture rearing conditions. We show that female triploids are sterile and do not develop gonads. By contrast, males produce large numbers of motile spermatozoa capable of fertilizing wild salmon eggs. However, compared with diploids, reproductive development and survival rates of eggs fertilized by triploid males were significantly reduced, with less than 1% of eggs sired by triploid males reaching late-eyed stages of development. Analyses of fillets showed that total lipid and fatty acid quantities were significantly lower in triploid than in diploid Atlantic salmon fillets. However, when fatty acids were normalized to total lipid content, triploid fillets had significantly higher relative levels of important omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Our results show that: (i) escaped triploid farm salmon are very unlikely to reproduce in the wild and (ii) if able to match diploid fillet lipid content, triploid farm salmon could achieve better fillet quality in terms of essential fatty acids

Using advanced quantitative methods to study the prevention of social problems

Social work has embraced prevention as one of its grand challenges-recognising the need to understand risk and protective factors for social problems that, if addressed, may prevent social disadvantage and mental health problems from occurring. To best study prevention, social workers must become fluent in understanding and using advanced methodologies that illuminate developmental processes, depict individual and subgroup differences, and rule out potential confounds so as to shed light on important risk and protective factors. The purpose of this article is to provide a simple introduction to four advanced methods: latent growth curves (LGM), mediation models, latent class/profile models and propensity score models. Latent growth curve models are helpful for understanding changes in the developmental course of a risk factor over time. Mediation models are useful tools for understanding how risk and protective factors may affect outcomes. Latent class and latent profile models allow researchers to understand how combinations of risk factors may be linked to youth outcomes. Propensity score models allow researchers to reduce the effects of selection bias on their estimates of the relationships between risk factors and outcomes. We discuss the research questions appropriate for each type of model, the type of data required, and the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. We also include suggestions for further reading