Bildung fester Winternutzungszentren von umgesiedelten russischen Auerhühnern in Thüringen

Von 1999 bis 2003 wurden im Thüringer Schiefergebirge im Rahmen von Ausgleichs- und Ersatzmaßnahmen für den Bau des Pumpspeicherwerkes Goldisthal und der Talsperre Leibis 145 „Wildfang – Auerhühner“ aus Russland (Raum Jaroslawl – Kostroma) umgesiedelt. Überdies wurden Habitatverbesserungen in den Lebensräumen vorgenommen. Das Überleben unter harten winterlichen Bedingungen erfordert von Tieren sowohl physiologische Anpassungen als auch Anpassungen des Verhaltens. Auerhühner ernähren sich im Winter ausschließlich von Koniferennadeln (Pinus silvestris) - einer extrem energiearmen Nahrung. Die umgesiedelten Auerhühner bevorzugten in Thüringen die Kiefer als Schlaf – und Nahrungsbaum. In den Wintern 2001/02 bis 2004/05 wurden mehr als 140 Nahrungs- und Schlafbäume von den umgesiedelten russischen Auerhühnern untersucht. Es zeigte sich, dass die Vögel schon im ersten Winter nach der Freilassung die Nutzungszentren der erloschenen autochthonen Population fanden und nutzten. Alle vier Standorte wurden von den umgesiedelten Auerhühnern jeden Winter aufgesucht. 49 % der Nahrungs – und Schlafbäume wurden jeden Winter wieder genutzt. Die Vögel zeigten also eine Vorliebe für bestimmte Bäume. Sie erschlossen sich den neuen Lebensraum schnell und entwickelten in den vier Untersuchungsjahren feste Gewohnheiten.As compensation for damaging capercaillie Tetrao urogallus habitat in Thuringia, eastern Germany, by two newly built reservoirs, an electric power company was required for both habitat improvement in the area surrounding the dam and for a translocation experiment to supplement a small remnant population of capercaillies. Capercaillies were caught in autumn near Yaroslavl and Kostroma, 400 - 600 km NE of Moscow, central Russia. 145 birds had been released between 1999 and 2003. To survive in harsh winter conditions, animals must make behavioural and physiological adaptations. The capercaillie feeds in winter on conifer needles, a superabundant but low – energy resource. Capercaillie strongly selected pine trees Pinus silvestris for nocturnal roosting and feeding. In Winters 2001/02 to 2004/05 we studied night roost and feeding tree selection. More than 140 trees had been observed. The released birds used the traditional sites of the extinct population in the release area after short time. The capercaillies always returned in winter to all four sites. Of all the trees used for nocturnal roosting and feeding 49 % had been used each winter. The birds settled rapidly in the new habitat. Within the four years they developed confirmed habits

Selection of roosting trees in Winter by capercaillie Tetrao urogallus from Russia after translocation to the Thuringian slate mountains

Durch den Vergleich des Requisitenangebots im neuen Lebensraum und dessen Nutzung durch das Auerhuhn sollten die essenziellen Parameter der Winterlebensräume ermittelt werden, um Habitat verbessernde Maßnahmen in suboptimalen oder ungeeigneten Waldflächen zu optimieren. Außerdem war zu klären, ob sich nach der Translokation traditionelle Nächtigungszentren herausbilden, wie sie von Vögeln der autochthonen Population bekannt waren. Von 2002 bis 2005 wurden jeweils im Winterhalbjahr (Oktober –April) 120 Schlafbäume untersucht (Hähne: n= 91; Hennen: n= 29). Die Kiefer war mit 67 % die meist genutzte Baumart, gefolgt von Fichte (27 %), Lärche (3 %) und Weißtanne (2 %). Die Kiefer wurde im Untersuchungsgebiet überproportional häufig genutzt (67 %, n= 82) und gegenüber der Fichte (27 %, n= 32) bevorzugt. Die Vögel nächtigten in einem mittleren Abstand von 143 cm (50 bis 300 cm) vom Stamm entfernt. Die mittlere Höhe des Sitzastes im mittleren Kronenbereich betrug 14 m (8 bis 21 m). Die Auerhühner bevorzugten bei der Wahl der Schlafbäume Plateau- und Oberhanglagen (78 %). Die restlichen Schlafbäume standen im Mittelhang. Die meisten Schlafbäume (n= 100) befanden sich im Bereich von 1 ° bis 7 ° Hangneigung. Fast alle (98 %, n= 118) Schlafbäume befanden sich in unmittelbarer Nähe (<30 m) von Grenzlinien. Der Schlussgrad des Waldes war um die Schlafbäume signifikant niedriger (58 %) als in der Umgebung der Kontrollbäume (69 %). Freie An- und Abflugmöglichkeiten erhöhen die Wahrscheinlichkeit der Nutzung eines Baumes als Schlafplatz. Nach einem logistischen Regressionsmodell erklären die Variablen Schlussgrad des Bestandes, Kiefer als bevorzugte Baumart, Entfernung zur Grenzlinie und Baumumfang in Brusthöhe die Schlafbaumwahl zu 76,2 %. Die im Thüringer Schiefergebirge ausgewilderten russischen Auerhühner wählten ihre Winter-Schlafbäume offensichtlich sowohl nach energetischen Effekten (reduzierte Mobilität) als auch im Hinblick auf Prädatorenvermeidung.During winter (October-April) of 2002 to 2005 roosting trees of Capercaillie (n=91 males, n=29 females) in the Thuringian slate mountains were analysed. In the study area, pine Pinus silvestris was the dominating tree species (67 %,) followed by spruce Picea abies (27 %), larch Larix sudetica (3 %) and fir Abies alba (2 %). Pine was the preferred sleeping tree (83 %) as compared with spruce (10 %). Birds rested 143 (50 to 300) cm apart from the stem at a mean height of 14 (8 to 21) m. Plateau and upper slope habitats (slope 1 ° to 7 °) were preferred for resting (83 %), whereas only 17 % of the sleeping trees were found in the middle slope. 98 % of all resting trees were located near to border lines. Tree canopy closure was significantly lower at resting sites (58 %) as compared with control sites (69 %). A logistic regression model including breast height diameter of the trees, preferred tree species (pine), canopy closure and vicinity to border lines explained 76 % of the selection of resting trees. Avoidance of predators and saving of energy were assumed to determine the selection of sleeping trees. Habitat management should include: early and extended clearing operations to reduce canopy closure to 50-70 %, creation of pine forests and of gap structures

Capillary Electrochromatography – Challenges and Opportunities for Coupling with Mass Spectrometry

Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) has attracted considerable interest within recent years because of its potential to generate very high efficiencies within relatively short analysis time. Since CEC combines the attributes of both capillary electrophoresis (CE) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), neutral as well as charged analytes can be separated. Usually, CEC is performed with UV detection, but mass spectrometry (MS) is becoming a more common detection method because additional information about the molecular weight and the structure of an analyte can be obtained. Due to the low flow rates in the packed capillary and the small sample amounts that are required, CEC is ideally suited for the implementation into miniaturized systems and for coupling with MS. While numerous advantages have been made in CEC/MS, the coupling technique is still in a development and growth stage. So far, the development of the technique seems to be limited by the lack of robust and automated specially designed CEC instruments and CEC interfaces. As soon as these practical constraints have been solved, CEC/MS will be a powerful separation/detection technique with unrivaled sensitivity and specifity. This article aims at highlighting the potential of CEC as coupling technique with mass spectrometry

Situiertes Lernen im beruflichen Gymnasium für Ingenieurwissenschaften: Eine Handreichung für Curriculumentwicklung und Unterrichtspraxis Sachsen-Anhalt

Der BBP-Arbeitsbericht 91 „Situiertes Lernen im beruflichen Gymnasium für Ingenieurwissenschaften – Eine Handreichung für Curriculumentwicklung und Unterrichtspraxis“ wurde entwickelt im länderübergreifenden Innovationsprojekt „Berufliches Gymnasium für Ingenieurwissenschaften“ der Bundesländer Nordrhein-Westfalen und Sachsen-Anhal

Acute stroke treatment and outcome in the oldest old (90 years and older) at a tertiary care medical centre in Germany-a retrospective study showing safety and efficacy in this particular patient population

Background Stroke is among the most common causes of death and disability worldwide. Despite the relevance of stroke-related disease burden, which is constantly increasing due to the demographic change in industrialized countries with an ageing population and consecutively an increase in age-associated diseases, there is sparse evidence concerning acute stroke treatment and treatment-related outcome in the elderly patient group. This retrospective study aimed at analysing patient characteristics, therapy-related complications and functional outcome in stroke patients aged 90 years or older who underwent acute stroke treatment (i.e. intravenous thrombolysis, mechanical thrombectomy, or both). Methods We identified files of all inpatient stays at the Department of Neurology at Saarland University Medical Center (tertiary care level with a comprehensive stroke unit) between June 2011 and December 2018 and filtered for subjects aged 90 years or older at the time of admission. We reviewed patient files for demographic data, symptoms upon admission, (main) diagnoses, comorbidities, and administered therapies. For patients admitted due to acute stroke we reviewed files for therapy-related complications and functional outcome. We compared the modified Rankin scale (mRS) scores upon admission and at discharge for these patients. Results We identified 566 inpatient stays of subjects aged 90 years or older. Three hundred sixty-seven of the 566 patients (64.8%) were admitted and discharged due to symptoms indicative of stroke. Two hundred eleven patients received a diagnosis of ischaemic stroke. These 211 patients were analysed subsequently. Sixty-four patients qualified for acute stroke treatment (intravenous thrombolysis n = 22, mechanical thrombectomy n = 26, intravenous thrombolysis followed by mechanical thrombectomy n = 16) and showed a significant improvement in their functional status as measured by change in mRS score (admission vs. discharge, p 0.001) with 7 (10.9%) observed potentially therapy-related complications (relevant drop in haemoglobin n = 2, subarachnoidal haemorrhage n = 1, cerebral haemorrhage n = 3, extracranial bleeding n = 1). One intravenous thrombolysis was stopped because of an uncontrollable hypertensive crisis. Patients who did not qualify for these treatments (including those declining acute treatment) did not show a change of their functional status between admission and discharge (p 0.064). Conclusion Our data indicate that acute stroke treatment is effective and safe in the oldest old. Age alone is no criterion to withhold an acute intervention even in oldest old stroke patients

Short-chain fatty acids and intestinal inflammation in multiple sclerosis: modulation of female susceptibility by microbial products?

Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune-mediated disease of the central nervous system. Experi mental data suggest a role of intestinal microbiota and microbial products such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the pathogenesis of MS. A recent clinical study reported benefcial efects (mediated by immunomodulatory mecha nisms) after oral administration of the SCFA propionate in MS patients. Based on available evidence, we investigated whether SCFAs and the fecal infammation marker calprotectin are altered in MS. Methods: 76 subjects (41 patients with relapsing–remitting MS and 35 age-matched controls) were investigated in this case–control study. All subjects underwent clinical assessment with established clinical scales and provided fecal samples for a quantitative analysis of fecal SCFA and fecal calprotectin concentrations. Fecal markers were com pared between MS patients and controls, and were analyzed for an association with demographic as well as clinical parameters. Results: Median fecal calprotectin concentrations were within normal range in both groups without any group-spe cifc diferences. Fecal SCFA concentrations showed a non-signifcant reduction in MS patients compared to healthy subjects. Female subjects showed signifcantly reduced SCFA concentrations compared to male subjects. Conclusions: In our cohort of MS patients, we found no evidence of an active intestinal infammation. Yet, the vast majority of the investigated MS patients was under immunotherapy which might have afected the outcome meas ures. The sex-associated diference in fecal SCFA concentrations might at least partially explain female predominance in MS. Large-scale longitudinal studies including drug-naïve MS patients are required to determine the role of SCFAs in MS and to distinguish between disease-immanent efects and those caused by the therapeutic regime

Consecutive Eyeball Pressure Tests Reflect Clinically Relevant Vagal Dysfunction and Recovery in a Patient With Guillain-Barré-Syndrome With Tenacious Cardiac Dysautonomia

Cardiac dysautonomia is a potentially life-threatening complication of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Proper and prompt recognition of patients at risk and subsequent intensive care unit (ICU) monitoring are mandatory to prevent fatal outcome. Eyeball pressure testing (EP) has been suggested as an easy applicable bedside test for vagal overreactivity in GBS and thus identifying patients at risk. Yet, there is only sparse follow-up data concerning the course of EP findings in GBS. We report a 25 years-old male patient with GBS who underwent consecutive EP (n = 11) during his ICU stay over a period of 11 weeks. The series of tests performed in this patient (and corresponding clinical events) show that EP data might represent an approximation of vagal dysfunction and vagal recovery in GBS. Interestingly, we observed a much longer duration of pathological EP compared to a previous report. The tenacious cardiac dysautonomia in this patient necessitated long-term application of a transvenous temporary pacemaker