Improvements of L\"uscher's local bosonic fermion algorithm

We discuss the application of hybrid over-relaxation, even-odd preconditioning and a modified local updating procedure to the local bosonic fermion algorithm. Studies on autocorrelation times and the tuning of the parameters of the algorithm are done on various lattice sizes simulating SU(2)-LGT with 2 flavours of Wilson quarks. A substantial decrease of the computational cost could be achieved.Comment: 20 pages, uuencoded compressed postscrip

Processing of Industrially Relevant Non Metals with Laser Pulses in the Range Between 10Ps and 50Ps

The interest in ps-laser pulses for industrial applications has significantly increased in the last few years. Today, available ps-lasers are industrially applicable turnkey systems, set up in a MOPA arrangement with rod or disk amplifiers and mostly have pulse durations of about 10ps. The change to fiber based amplifier technologies would help to build more compact systems but with pulse durations between 20ps and 50ps. It has been shown, that the ablation efficiency of a material is mainly given by the threshold fluence and the energy penetration depth. For steel and copper both parameters depend on the number of pulses applied and the pulse duration as well. Unfortunately this influence will lead to a significant drop of the ablation efficiency and quality if the pulse duration rises from 10ps to 50ps. This behavior, also expected for other metals, may reduce the attractiveness of the fiber based systems by having to make use of stretcher power amplifier compressor designs to achieve shorter pulses. However, for industrially relevant non-metals like polycrystalline diamond or ceramic materials the situation is unclear. New results of a systematic study about the influence of the pulse duration onto the ablation efficiency and quality will be presented

Physikalischer Bodenschutz im Wald- Datengrundlagen und Umsetzungsstrategie

Mit der Typisierung von Fahrspuren steht für den Vollzug des physikalischen Bodenschutzes ein Instrument zur Verfügung, mit welchem Beeinträchtigungen des Waldbodens durch mechanische Belastung beurteilt und bewertet werden können. Ein ökologischer Schaden entsteht, wenn eine langfristige Bodenveränderung nach erheblicher Belastung vorliegt

Performance Tests of the Kramers Equation and Boson Algorithms for Simulations of QCD

We present a performance comparison of the Kramers equation and the boson algorithms for simulations of QCD with two flavors of dynamical Wilson fermions and gauge group $SU(2)$. Results are obtained on $6^312$, $8^312$ and $16^4$ lattices. In both algorithms a number of optimizations are installed.Comment: uuencoded postscript file, no figures, 10 page

Coincident Pre- and Postsynaptic Activation Induces Dendritic Filopodia via Neurotrypsin-Dependent Agrin Cleavage

SummaryThe synaptic serine protease neurotrypsin is essential for cognitive function, as its deficiency in humans results in severe mental retardation. Recently, we demonstrated the activity-dependent release of neurotrypsin from presynaptic terminals and proteolytical cleavage of agrin at the synapse. Here we show that the activity-dependent formation of dendritic filopodia is abolished in hippocampal neurons from neurotrypsin-deficient mice. Administration of the neurotrypsin-dependent 22 kDa fragment of agrin rescues the filopodial response. Detailed analyses indicated that presynaptic action potential firing is necessary for the release of neurotrypsin, whereas postsynaptic NMDA receptor activation is necessary for the neurotrypsin-dependent cleavage of agrin. This contingency characterizes the neurotrypsin-agrin system as a coincidence detector of pre- and postsynaptic activation. As the resulting dendritic filopodia are thought to represent precursors of synapses, the neurotrypsin-dependent cleavage of agrin at the synapse may be instrumental for a Hebbian organization and remodeling of synaptic circuits in the CNS

"On-site" prevention and education to improve cardiac pre-competition screening in competitive amateur athletes

STUDY/PRINCIPLES: To assess the effects of an "on-site" prevention and education programme to improve the cardiac screening in competitive amateur athletes. METHODS: We integrated an "on-site prevention and education programme" at the 2012 edition of the Swiss Alpine Marathon in Davos, Switzerland. After a specific lecture, the athletes could visit a "Sports-Cardiology-Section" at the official "medical-park". On an anonymised questionnaire, they could state their intention for a screening programme in general and after our "on-site" intervention. RESULTS: Among the 150 athletes who attended the medical day (3.3% of 4,500 finishers) the response rate was 82%. While 39 (31.7%) athletes were aware of "exercise related SCD", more than twice as many (64.2%) were not. 72.4% of the participants (n = 89) reported that they never had taken part in cardiac screening examinations. 70.7% (n = 87) runners were convinced that they would benefit from such a screening. 65.9% (n = 81) of the runners stated that our "on-site" prevention concept influenced their decision to consider a cardiac screening in the future. CONCLUSION: An "on-site prevention and education" concept for the prevention of SCD in competitive amateur athletes is feasible and successfully increased the athletes' awareness of the issue. The vast majority of athletes felt to have benefited from such a programme. The current study confirms that there is an alarming lack of preventive measures in the very large group of ambitious, competitive, amateur athletes that are frequently underprepared for challenging sports events

Grassland systems in Switzerland with a main focus on sown grasslands

Grasslands dominate Swiss agriculture and cover nearly 80% of the country’s agriculturally utilised area. They form the basis for ruminant livestock production through the provision of high-quality roughage which accounts for three quarters of the total dry matter of dairy cow rations, as averaged over the whole country. While permanent grasslands dominate in mountainous and less favourable regions, sown grasslands form an important part of the crop rotation (1/3) in the lowlands. Sown grasslands for intensive forage production typically consist of mixtures of 3 to 7 grass and legume species, taking advantage of increased dry matter yield through overyielding or transgressive overyielding, complementary forage quality of the different species, weed suppression and symbiotic N2 fixation. The Swiss-Standard-Mixtures System involves development and testing of species mixtures adapted to a broad range of purposes and environmental conditions. These mixtures rely on the availability of high yielding cultivars with appropriate competitive ability and optimal forage quality. Switzerland’s forage crop breeding programme targets the improvement of the twelve prevalent forage grass and legume species including ryegrasses, fescues and clovers. Breeding research focusing on elucidating the genetic control of important traits and the development of genomics-assisted breeding tools ensures efficient breeding of improved cultivars. Continuation of the intense collaboration in research for forage plant breeding and grassland management, with involvement of all the actors, will be key to adapt sown grasslands to future challenges and demands