How two business models respond to current chalenges of agrowood production: the case of Brandenburg, Germany

PosterThe agrowood acreage in Brandenburg has increased fifteen-fold since 2008 reaching in 2013 1819ha (Ministerium für Infrastruktur und Landwirtschaft 2013) and therefore the leading position of all federal states in Germany. Despite of the constant rise and the chances associated with the production of agrowood, potential producers have to face a wide range of challenges: uncertainties about yields, high initial investments, a fixation of land for the 20 years` lifetime of an agrowood plantation and an irregular cash flow all 3 or 5 years. A non-transparent market in addition to lacking long term experiences and machinery available, affects the decision-making process of potential producers negatively. In Brandenburg this innovative crop, growing even under harsh conditions, matches the unfavorable agricultural conditions (Murach et al. 2008). Our subjects of investigation are the two prevailing business models in the agrowood sector in Brandenburg: comprehensive cooperation agreements and independent farming. They coexist and mutually interact with synergies as well as obstructions. We combine a qualitative method with guided interviews focusing on planting decision making processes with a modeling approach using different risk levels and yield expectations to analyze transaction and opportunity costs of those two models. Thereby the characteristics and effects of the business models are compared and analyzed. Our results show that cooperation agreements have effects on the actor`s decision by motivating farmers to decide in favor of agrowood. They also contribute to an expansion of agrowood acreage accounting for almost 40% of the total area in Brandenburg in 2012 (Ehm 2013). Furthermore cooperation agreements are affirmed by interviewees to overcome economic, trade and machinery related constraints of agrowood, secure long-term incomes and increase creditworthiness of producers. In contrast, independent producers are acknowledged to have the burden of higher risks, but may benefit from governmental support programs, which not apply for contract farmers

Sex differences in HIV effects on visual memory among substance-dependent individuals

HIV’s effects on episodic memory have not been compared systematically between male and female substance-dependent individuals. We administered the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test–Revised (BVMT–R) to 280 substance-dependent HIV+ and HIV– men and women. Groups were comparable on demographic, substance use, and comorbid characteristics. There were no significant main effects of sex or HIV serostatus on BVMT–R performance, but HIV+ women performed significantly more poorly on delayed recall. This effect was most prominent among cocaine-dependent HIV+ women. Our findings are consistent with recent speculation that memory impairment may be more common among HIV+ women, particularly those with a history of cocaine dependence

Einfluss der Messunsicherheit auf die Diagnose Diabetes mellitus: Verlässliche Minimal Difference von Plasma Glukose Messungen

Die Diagnostik des Diabetes mellitus erfolgt mit Hilfe festgelegter diagnostischer Grenzwerte für bestimmte Biomarker, z.B. für die Plasmaglukosekonzentration. Die DDG empfiehlt in ihrer Praxisempfehlung zur Definition, Klassifizierung und Diagnose von Diabetes mellitus, die Impräzision der Plasmaglukosekonzentrationsbestimmung mit Hilfe der Minimal Difference (MD) anzugeben. Sie leitet sich von der SD ab und beschreibt die kleinste Differenz zwischen zwei Messwerten, die erforderlich ist, um diese als voneinander verschieden zu bezeichnen. Die MD der Glukosekonzentrationsbestimmung soll 0.7 mmol/L bei einer Konzentration von 7.0 mmol/L nicht überschreiten, wenn das Ergebnis für die Diagnose des DM eingesetzt wird. Um verlässliche MD-Werte zu erhalten, wurden in der vorliegenden Studie zwei Ansätze verfolgt: 1. Langzeitauswertung von QK-Daten aus der Krankenversorgung über zehn Jahre Zeitraum Januar 2009 bis Dezember 2018 sowie 2. Kurzzeitauswertung mittels intensiviertem Schema, mit stündlichen Messungen von QK-Material über eine Woche im September 2012. Die MD der für die Diagnose von DM relevanten Glukosekonzentration wurde in beiden Ansätzen berechnet und verglichen. Die Impräzision der Langzeitauswertung, ausgedrückt als MDcut-off 7.0, betrug 0.44 mmol/L und lag daher deutlich unter dem empfohlenen Grenzwert von 0.7 mmol/L. Stündliche Messungen über einen Zeitraum von einer Woche bestätigen diese Ergebnisse und veranschaulichen das MD-Konzept. Die von QK gemessene Impräzision ist über viele Jahre bemerkenswert stabil. Die derzeitige Impräzionsbewertung konzentriert sich auf einzelne Instrumente, wohingegen klinisch tätige Ärzte die kombinierte analytische Leistung aller Instrumente, die für eine bestimmten Messgröße in einem Labor verwendet werden, beurteilen. Aus diesem Grund wäre zu empfehlen, den MDcut-off aus allen Instrumenten und Kontrollzyklen abzuleiten, die für die Verwendung der Patientenversorgung in einem bestimmten medizinischen Labor herangezogen werden. Hier lagen nach ungefähr 30 unabhängigen Kontrollzyklen, bzw. einem Jahr, stabile Ergebnisse für MDcut-off 7.0 vor. Die Einrichtung einer kontinuierlichen Überwachung der MDcut-off kann die traditionelle Qualitätssicherung ergänzen.Introduction The diagnosis of diabetes mellitus is based on suitable cut-off values of specific biomarkers, such as the concentration of glucose in plasma. The German Diabetes Association has very recently published a clinical practice guideline on the definition, classification and diagnosis of diabetes mellitus that recommends measurements of plasma glucose concentration have an imprecision defined as a minimal difference (MD) of at a fasting plasma glucose concentration of 7.0 mmol/L. To obtain reliable values for the MD, we investigated long-term and short-term measurement uncertainty. Methods The imprecision was determined by two approaches: (1) a long-term dataset with imprecision based on the Guideline of the German Medical Association on Quality Assurance in Medical Laboratory Examinations (Rili-BAEK), in a medical laboratory operating 24/7, using internal quality control (IQC) data for four concentrations during a 10-year period; and (2) a detailed short-term dataset with imprecision assessed by hourly measurements of control materials. These datasets were used to calculate the MD cut-off (MDcut-off) as: MDcut-off= k x SD = 2 , where SD is the standard deviation and k = 2 represents a confidence level of 95%. Results The MDcut-off of ≤ 0.7 mmol/L at a fasting plasma glucose concentration of 7.0 mmol/L (MDcut-off 7.0) for the long-term and the short-term approaches were 0.44 and 0.40 mmol/L, respectively. The MDcut-off 7.0 from both approaches was therefore below the recommended value of 0.7 mmol/L. It was noted that the variability in performance within and between instruments can be covered by reporting the long-term MDcut-off 7.0 across all connected instruments. In this study, stable results for the MDcut-off 7.0 were obtained after 1 year. Conclusion Imprecision as measured by IQC data is remarkably stable over many years of operation. Current imprecision assessment usually focuses on only single instruments, whereas clinicians perceive the measurement as the result of the combined analytical performance of all instruments used for a certain assay. In the clinical setting, the MD may be a more useful measure of imprecision, and we suggest deriving the MDcut-off combined from all instruments and control cycles that are used in the patient care setting for a given analyte

Inter-Rater Reliability of Historical Data Collected by Non-Medical Research Assistants and Physicians in Patients with Acute Abdominal Pain

OBJECTIVES: In many academic emergency departments (ED), physicians are asked to record clinical data for research that may be time consuming and distracting from patient care. We hypothesized that non-medical research assistants (RAs) could obtain historical information from patients with acute abdominal pain as accurately as physicians.METHODS: Prospective comparative study conducted in an academic ED of 29 RAs to 32 resident physicians (RPs) to assess inter-rater reliability in obtaining historical information in abdominal pain patients. Historical features were independently recorded on standardized data forms by a RA and RP blinded to each others' answers. Discrepancies were resolved by a third person (RA) who asked the patient to state the correct answer on a third questionnaire, constituting the "criterion standard." Inter-rater reliability was assessed using kappa statistics (kappa) and percent crude agreement (CrA).RESULTS: Sixty-five patients were enrolled (mean age 43). Of 43 historical variables assessed, the median agreement was moderate (kappa 0.59 [Interquartile range 0.37-0.69]; CrA 85.9%) and varied across data categories: initial pain location (kappa 0.61 [0.59-0.73]; CrA 87.7%), current pain location (kappa 0.60 [0.47-0.67]; CrA 82.8%), past medical history (kappa 0.60 [0.48-0.74]; CrA 93.8%), associated symptoms (kappa 0.38 [0.37-0.74]; CrA 87.7%), and aggravating/alleviating factors (kappa 0.09 [-0.01-0.21]; CrA 61.5%). When there was disagreement between the RP and the RA, the RA more often agreed with the criterion standard (64% [55-71%]) than the RP (36% [29-45%]).CONCLUSION: Non-medical research assistants who focus on clinical research are often more accurate than physicians, who may be distracted by patient care responsibilities, at obtaining historical information from ED patients with abdominal pain