Der Biotopverbund gemäß § 3 BNatSchG: Bundesrechtliche Vorgaben und Ausgestaltungsspielräume der Länder

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Mixed-Metal Tungsten Oxide Photoanode Materials Made by Pulsed-Laser in Liquids Synthesis

Globally scalable sunlight-driven devices that convert solar energy into storable fuels will require efficient light absorbers that are made of non-precious elements. Suitable photoanode materials are yet to be discovered. Here we utilised the timesaving nature of pulsed-laser in liquids synthesis and prepared a series of neat and mixed-metal tungsten oxide photoanode materials to investigate the effect of ad-metals on optical and photocurrent generation properties. We obtained sub-μm-sized materials with different colours from W, Al, Ta, or first-row transition metal targets in water or aqueous ammonium metatungstate solutions. We observed metastable polymorphs of WO3 and tungsten oxides with varying degrees of oxygen deficiency. Pulsed-laser in liquids synthesis of Ni in ammonium metatungstate solutions produced hollow spheres (with ≤ 6% Ni with respect to W). Photocurrent generation in strong aqueous acid was highest in mixed-metal tungsten oxide photoanode materials with around 5% of iron or nickel

Arbeitshilfe Produktionsintegrierte Kompensation: Empfehlungen für die Praxis aus dem Forschungsvorhaben stadt PARTHE land

Produktionsintegrierte Kompensationsmaßnahmen (PIK) sind naturschutzfachliche Maßnahmen auf landwirtschaftlich genutzten Flächen, die der Kompensation von Eingriffen in Natur und Landschaft dienen und die in landwirtschaftliche Betriebsweisen integriert werden. Sie werden als Teil der Bewirtschaftungs- und Pflegemaßnahmen durch § 15 Abs. 3 BNatSchG besonders gefördert. Auch mehr als zehn Jahre nach der Einführung dieses Paragraphen werden PIK-Maßnahmen in der Praxis bislang nur in wenigen Fällen angewendet. Im fachlichen Diskurs wird häufig noch bezweifelt, dass sie tatsächlich zu einer signifikanten Verbesserung der Biodiversität führen. Darüber hinaus werden oftmals Probleme in der Praktikabilität des Instruments als Hindernisse für eine Umsetzung benannt. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurden im Rahmen des Forschungsvorhabens stadt PARTHE land Kulturlandschaftsmanagement als Brücke zwischen Metropole und ländlichem Raum im Auftrag des BMBF von 2015 bis 2019 ausgewählte Maßnahmen im Umfeld von Leipzig zusammen mit ansässigen Agrarbetrieben erprobt und einem ökologischen Monitoring unterzogen. Zum Teil wurde dabei eine bemerkenswert deutliche Aufwertung von Natur und Landschaft festgestellt. Bei der Umsetzung ergeben sich jedoch auch zahlreiche Herausforderungen. Auf Grundlage der Erfahrungen aus dem Forschungsvorhaben stadt PARTHE land entstand diese Arbeitshilfe für die Praxis.:1 Einleitung 1.1 Naturschutz und Landwirtschaft – nur Konflikte? 1.2 Produktionsintegrierte Kompensation – Was ist das? 2 Grundlagen der naturschutzrechtlichen und städtebaulichen Eingriffsregelung 2.1 Grundprinzip und Verfahren 2.2 Berücksichtigung der Belange der Landwirtschaft 2.3 Rechtliche Anforderungen an die Kompensation 2.4 Unterschiede zwischen naturschutzrechtlicher und städtebaulicher Eingriffsregelung 2.5 Konsequenzen für die Umsetzung von PIK 3 Produktionsintegrierte Kompensation - Anforderungen und Voraussetzungen 3.1 Wann kommen PIK in Frage? 3.2 Wo machen PIK Sinn? 3.3 Verhältnis zur Guten Fachlichen Praxis in der Landwirtschaft und zur Agrarförderung 3.3.1 Abgrenzung zur guten fachlichen Praxis (GfP) 3.3.2 Abgrenzung zur Agrarförderung 3.4 Welche Mindestanforderungen sollten PIK erfüllen? 4 Die Umsetzung von Produktionsintegrierten Kompensationsmaßnahmen 4.1 Bewertung von PIK in der Eingriffs- und Ausgleichsbilanzierung 4.2 Maßnahmentypen 4.2.1 Maßnahmen auf Ackerflächen 4.2.2 Grünlandbezogene Maßnahmen; mit Säumen und Feldrainen 4.2.3 Ergänzende Maßnahmen 4.3 Rechtliche Sicherung 4.3.1 Einsatz einer Sicherungsfläche 4.3.2 Institutionelle Sicherung durch einen Rechtsnachfolger 4.4 Wechselwirkungen mit weiteren Naturschutzinstrumenten 4.5 Monitoring 4.6 Zu beteiligende Akteure 4.7 Wie teuer sind PIK? 4.7.1 Berechnung der landwirtschaftlichen Dienstleistung 4.7.2 Darstellung und Diskussion einer Gesamt-Kosten-Rechnung 4.8 Umsetzungsmanagement 5 Erfahrungen aus dem Forschungsvorhaben stadt PARTHE land 5.1 Forschungsvorhaben und Region 5.2 Ermittlung von geeigneten Erprobungsstandorten 5.3 Bereitschaft der Akteure 5.4 Erprobte Maßnahmen 5.5 Effizienz von PIK 5.5.1 Naturschutzfachliche und ökologische Wirksamkeit 5.5.2 Kosten der umgesetzten Maßnahmen 5.5.3 Integration in landwirtschaftliche Betriebsweisen 5.6 Kommunikation und fachliche Begleitung 6 Fazit und Ausblick 6.1 Gute Gründe für PIK 6.2 Hemmnisse und Herausforderungen 6.3 Förderung der Umsetzung 6.4 Ausblic

Prevalence of chronic urticaria in children and adults across the globe: Systematic review with meta‐analysis

Background and objectives: Urticaria is a frequent skin condition, but reliable prevalence estimates from population studies particularly of the chronic form are scarce. The objective of this study was to systematically evaluate and summarize the prevalence of chronic urticaria by evaluating population-based studies worldwide. Methods: We performed a systematic search in PUBMED and EMBASE for population-based studies of cross-sectional or cohort design and studies based on health insurance/system databases. Risk of bias was assessed using a specific tool for prevalence studies. For meta-analysis, we used a random effects model. Results: Eighteen studies were included in the systematic evaluation and 11 in the meta-analysis including data from over 86 000 000 participants. Risk of bias was mainly moderate, whereas the statistical heterogeneity (I-2) between the studies was high. Asian studies combined showed a higher point prevalence of chronic urticaria (1.4%, 95%-CI 0.5-2.9) than those from Europe (0.5%, 0.2-1.0) and Northern American (0.1%, 0.1-0.1). Women were slightly more affected than men, whereas in children < 15 years we did not find a sex-specific difference in the prevalence. The four studies that examined time trends indicated an increasing prevalence of chronic urticaria over time. Conclusions: On a global level, the prevalence of chronic urticaria showed considerable regional differences. There is a need to obtain more sex-specific population-based and standardized international data particularly for children and adolescents, different chronic urticaria subtypes and potential risk and protective factors

Mixed-Metal Tungsten Oxide Photoanode Materials Made by Pulsed-Laser in Liquids Synthesis

Globally scalable sunlight-driven devices that convert solar energy into storable fuels will require efficient light absorbers that are made of non-precious elements. Suitable photoanode materials are yet to be discovered. Here we utilised the timesaving nature of pulsed-laser in liquids synthesis and prepared a series of neat and mixed-metal tungsten oxide photoanode materials to investigate the effect of ad-metals on optical and photocurrent generation properties. We obtained sub-μm-sized materials with different colours from W, Al, Ta, or first-row transition metal targets in water or aqueous ammonium metatungstate solutions. We observed metastable polymorphs of WO3 and tungsten oxides with varying degrees of oxygen deficiency. Pulsed-laser in liquids synthesis of Ni in ammonium metatungstate solutions produced hollow spheres (with ≤ 6% Ni with respect to W). Photocurrent generation in strong aqueous acid was highest in mixed-metal tungsten oxide photoanode materials with around 5% of iron or nickel

Mechanism of Laser-Induced Bulk and Surface Defect Generation in ZnO and TiO_2 Nanoparticles: Effect on Photoelectrochemical Performance

Laser processing of neat and gold-nanoparticle-functionalized ZnO and TiO_2 nanoparticles by nanosecond–355 nm or picosecond–532 nm light enabled control of photocurrent generation under simulated sunlight irradiation in neutral aqueous electrolytes. We obtained more than 2-fold enhanced photoelectrochemical performance of TiO2 nanoparticles upon irradiation by picosecond–532 nm pulses that healed defects. Laser processing and gold nanoparticle functionalization of ZnO and TiO_2 nanomaterials resulted in color changes that did not originate from optical bandgaps or crystal structures. Two-dimensional photoluminescence data allowed us to differentiate and quantify surface and bulk defects that play a critical yet oft-underappreciated role for photoelectrochemical performance as sites for detrimental carrier recombination. We developed a detailed mechanistic model of how surface and bulk defects were generated as a function of laser processing parameters and obtained key insights on how these defects affected photocurrent production. The controlled healing of defects by pulsed-laser processing may be useful in the design of solar fuels materials

Mechanism of Laser-Induced Bulk and Surface Defect Generation in ZnO and TiO_2 Nanoparticles: Effect on Photoelectrochemical Performance

Laser processing of neat and gold-nanoparticle-functionalized ZnO and TiO_2 nanoparticles by nanosecond–355 nm or picosecond–532 nm light enabled control of photocurrent generation under simulated sunlight irradiation in neutral aqueous electrolytes. We obtained more than 2-fold enhanced photoelectrochemical performance of TiO2 nanoparticles upon irradiation by picosecond–532 nm pulses that healed defects. Laser processing and gold nanoparticle functionalization of ZnO and TiO_2 nanomaterials resulted in color changes that did not originate from optical bandgaps or crystal structures. Two-dimensional photoluminescence data allowed us to differentiate and quantify surface and bulk defects that play a critical yet oft-underappreciated role for photoelectrochemical performance as sites for detrimental carrier recombination. We developed a detailed mechanistic model of how surface and bulk defects were generated as a function of laser processing parameters and obtained key insights on how these defects affected photocurrent production. The controlled healing of defects by pulsed-laser processing may be useful in the design of solar fuels materials

First record of Phaenoglyphis villosa (Hartig, 1841) in Brazil (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae: Charipinae)

Phaenoglyphis villosa (Hartig, 1841) (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Charipinae) is a secondary endoparasitoid of Aphidiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a subfamily which are important primary parasitoids of aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae). It is here registered for the first time in Brazil, collected from primary parasitoids in field-exposed aphids. Phaenoglyphis villosa was recorded during wheat crop season (winter and spring), emerging from Rhopalosiphum padi (Linnaeus, 1758) mummies (n = 35♀). It was also recorded from Sitobion avenae (Fabricius, 1775) mummies, in wheat crop season (late winter) (n = 13♀) and black oat crop season (late autumn) (n = 1♀). We suggest three possible primary braconid parasitoids as hosts to this hyperparasitoid: Aphidius platensis Brèthes, 1913, Aphidius rhopalosiphi de Stefani-Perez, 1902, and Aphidius uzbekistanicus Luzhetzki, 1960

Performance of thin film composite membranes for ammonium removal and reuse of ammonium-enriched solution for plant growth

Ammonium is known to be one of the most significant pollutants in water bodies. The presence of ammonium in water is mainly originated from agricultural activities, domestic sewage and industrial effluent. This study evaluates the performance of two commercial thin film composite (TFC) membranes, i.e., NF270 and XLE from FilmTec™ for ammonium removal using synthetic wastewater and domestic sewage. The filtration experiment was conducted at different feed ammonium concentrations, humic acid concentrations, pHs and pressure. Results showed that the membrane rejection against ammonium increased dramatically with increasing ammonium concentration. However, the membrane flux was slightly compromised at higher ammonium concentration. With respect to pH, highest ammonium removal rate was able to be achieved at an optimum pH of 10. Besides, the permeation flux increased gradually with increasing feed pressure. From the results, the XLE membrane outperformed the NF270 membrane in terms of ammonium rejection. The retentate of XLE membrane filtration process was found to be useful as liquid fertiliser for plant growth. The results indicated that the TFC membrane process is not only able to produce permeate with an ammonium concentration below the acceptable limit of 10 mg/L but also able to produce retentate with enriched ammonium for plant growth

Local Literature Bias in Genetic Epidemiology: An Empirical Evaluation of the Chinese Literature

BACKGROUND: Postulated epidemiological associations are subject to several biases. We evaluated whether the Chinese literature on human genome epidemiology may offer insights on the operation of selective reporting and language biases. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We targeted 13 gene-disease associations, each already assessed by meta-analyses, including at least 15 non-Chinese studies. We searched the Chinese Journal Full-Text Database for additional Chinese studies on the same topics. We identified 161 Chinese studies on 12 of these gene-disease associations; only 20 were PubMed-indexed (seven English full-text). Many studies (14–35 per topic) were available for six topics, covering diseases common in China. With one exception, the first Chinese study appeared with a time lag (2–21 y) after the first non-Chinese study on the topic. Chinese studies showed significantly more prominent genetic effects than non-Chinese studies, and 48% were statistically significant per se, despite their smaller sample size (median sample size 146 versus 268, p < 0.001). The largest genetic effects were often seen in PubMed-indexed Chinese studies (65% statistically significant per se). Non-Chinese studies of Asian-descent populations (27% significant per se) also tended to show somewhat more prominent genetic effects than studies of non-Asian descent (17% significant per se). CONCLUSION: Our data provide evidence for the interplay of selective reporting and language biases in human genome epidemiology. These biases may not be limited to the Chinese literature and point to the need for a global, transparent, comprehensive outlook in molecular population genetics and epidemiologic studies in general