Wir wollen uns beim Menuplan von der Natur leiten lassen

Das Eco-Hôtel L’Aubier in Montézillon NE ist vielen ein Begriff. Doch «L’Aubier» ist mehr als ein Öko-Hotel. Was sich sonst noch alles dahinter verbirgt, verraten Rédouane Boukhari, Küchenchef, und Christoph Cordes, Geschäftsführer

Zwei Bergler im Vorstand und viele zurückgewiesene Anträge

An ihrer Delegiertenversammlung in Olten wählten die Delegierten von Bio Suisse mit Claudio Gregori aus Bergün und Wendel Odermatt aus Wolfenschiessen zwei Vertreter aus dem Berggebiet in den Vorstand. Die zwei Kandidaten aus dem Flachland hatten das Nachsehen. In den weiteren Geschäften zeigte sich, dass die Delegierten Vorbehalte haben gegen neue Vorschriften: Sie wollen vorderhand weder ein Obligatorium für raufutterfokussierte Rindviehfütterung gemäss Bundesprogramm noch eine Verschärfung der Einsatzmöglichkeiten von Biogasgülle. Ebenso klar abgelehnt wurden einheitliche soziale Anforderungen für Angestellte. Angenommen wurde einzig ein Verbot für GVO-haltige Tiermedikamente

Italianità in der Genfer Banlieue

Seit einem Jahr stellt Giuliana Citton in Thônex GE frische Glacen ohne Zusatzstoffe her und verkauft sie in ihrer Boulangerie-Patisserie Puro Gelato. Dabei setzt sie auf Knospe-Produkte-Küche. Wo sie für die Herstellung Bioprodukte verwendet, kann sie diese ausloben

«Mit Qualitätsbio kann man nicht die ganze Welt ernähren»

FiBL-Direktor Urs Niggli betrachtet die Diskussionen um Bio 3.0 zurzeit lediglich als Gedankenspiele, warnt die Biobewegung aber vor dem Ausruhen auf den Lorbeeren. Konkurrenzlabels hätten aufgeholt und drohten Bio zu überholen, sagt er im Gespräch. Zur Lösung der globalen Ernährungsprobleme schlägt er unterschiedliche, an die örtlichen Verhältnisse angepasste Biostandards vor

Angiogenesis as Therapeutic Target in Metastatic Prostate Cancer – Narrowing the Gap Between Bench and Bedside

Angiogenesis in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) has been extensively investigated as a promising druggable biological process. Nonetheless, targeting angiogenesis has failed to impact overall survival (OS) in patients with mCRPC despite promising preclinical and early clinical data. This discrepancy prompted a literature review highlighting the tumor heterogeneity and biological context of Prostate Cancer (PCa). Narrowing the gap between the bench and bedside appears critical for developing novel therapeutic strategies. Searching clinicaltrials.gov for studies examining angiogenesis inhibition in patients with PCa resulted in n=20 trials with specific angiogenesis inhibitors currently recruiting (as of September 2021). Moreover, several other compounds with known anti-angiogenic properties – such as Metformin or Curcumin – are currently investigated. In general, angiogenesis-targeting strategies in PCa include biomarker-guided treatment stratification – as well as combinatorial approaches. Beyond established angiogenesis inhibitors, PCa therapies aiming at PSMA (Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen) hold the promise to have a substantial anti-angiogenic effect – due to PSMA´s abundant expression in tumor vasculatur

Effects of positive end-expiratory pressure on respiratory function and hemodynamics in patients with acute respiratory failure with and without intra-abdominal hypertension: a pilot study

INTRODUCTION: To investigate the effects of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) on respiratory function and hemodynamics in patients with acute lung injury (ALI) or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with normal intra-abdominal pressure (IAP or= 12 mmHg) during lung protective ventilation and a decremental PEEP, a prospective, observational clinical pilot study was performed. METHODS: Twenty patients with ALI/ARDS with normal IAP or IAH treated in the surgical intensive care unit in a university hospital were studied. The mean IAP in patients with IAH and normal IAP was 16 +/- 3 mmHg and 8 +/- 3 mmHg, respectively (P < 0.001). At different PEEP levels (5, 10, 15, 20 cmH2O) we measured respiratory mechanics, partitioned into its lung and chest wall components, alveolar recruitment, gas-exchange, hemodynamics, extravascular lung water index (EVLWI) and intrathoracic blood volume index (ITBVI). RESULTS: We found that ALI/ARDS patients with IAH, as compared to those with normal IAP, were characterized by: a) no differences in gas-exchange, respiratory mechanics, partitioned into its lung and chest wall components, as well as hemodynamics and EVLWI/ITBVI; b) decreased elastance of the respiratory system and the lung, but no differences in alveolar recruitment and oxygenation or hemodynamics, when PEEP was increased at 10 and 15cmH2O; c) at higher levels of PEEP, EVLWI was lower in ALI/ARDS patients with IAH as compared with those with normal IAP. CONCLUSIONS: IAH, within the limits of IAP measured in the present study, does not affect interpretation of respiratory mechanics, alveolar recruitment and hemodynamics

Quaternary refugia of the sweet chestnut ( Castanea sativa Mill.): an extended palynological approach

Knowledge about the glacial refugia of the thermophilous European Castanea sativa Mill. (sweet chestnut) is still inadequate. Its original range of distribution has been masked by strong human impact. Moreover, under natural conditions the species was probably admixed with other taxa (such as Quercus, Fraxinus, Fagus, Tilia) and thus possibly represented by low percentages in pollen records. In this paper we try to overcome the difficulties related to the scarcity and irregularity of chestnut pollen records by considering 1471 sites and extending the palynological approach to develop a Castanea refugium probability index (IRP), aimed at detecting possible chestnut refugia where chestnuts survived during the last glaciation. The results are in close agreement with the current literature on the refugia of other thermophilous European trees. The few divergences are most probably due to the large amount of new data integrated in this study, rather than to fundamental disagreements about data and data interpretation. The main chestnut refugia are located in the Transcaucasian region, north-western Anatolia, the hinterland of the Tyrrhenian coast from Liguria to Lazio along the Apennine range, the region around Lago di Monticchio (Monte Vulture) in southern Italy, and the Cantabrian coast on the Iberian peninsula. Despite the high likelihood of Castanea refugia in the Balkan Peninsula and north-eastern Italy (Colli Euganei, Monti Berici, Emilia-Romagna) as suggested by the IRP, additional palaeobotanical investigations are needed to assess whether these regions effectively sheltered chestnut during the last glaciation. Other regions, such as the Isère Département in France, the region across north-west Portugal and Galicia, and the hilly region along the Mediterranean coast of Syria and Lebanon were classified as areas of medium refugium probability. Our results reveal an unexpected spatial richness of potential Castanea refugia. It is likely that other European trees had similar distribution ranges during the last glaciation. It is thus conceivable that shelter zones with favourable microclimates were probably more numerous and more widely dispersed across Europe than so far assumed. In the future, more attention should be paid to pollen traces of sporadic taxa thought to have disappeared from a given area during the last glacial and post-glacial perio