Importance of biological control for tropical Africa

Obwohl die Begleituntersuchungen zur biologischen Schädlingsbekämpfung zu den am besten dokumentierten ökologischen Studien zählen, wird die Entscheidung, ob ein exotischer Nützling eingesetzt werden darf, oft auch durch diffuse Ängste vor Fremdorganismen bestimmt. Dabei basiert unsere Landwirtschaft zu einem großen Anteil auf solchen Exoten; andere verhalten sich meist unauffällig und fügen sich bleibend in die Ökosysteme und nur wenige führen zu Schäden. Den letzteren wird am besten mit der Einfuhr von angepassten Prädatoren aus dem Ursprungsgebiet, d.h. der klassischen biologischen Schädlingsbekämpfung, entgegengewirkt. An dieser Stelle werden vier solche Projekte aus dem tropischen Afrika vorgestellt, welche alle von der Einfuhr von Parasitoiden und Prädatoren bis zum ausgewiesenen ökonomischen Nutzen dokumentiert worden sind: Maniokschmierlaus, Mangoschmierlaus, Grüne Maniokmilbe und Wasserhyazinthe. Es werden allgemein interessante Schlüsse aus diesen Projekten gezogen, der sehr hohe Nutzen dieser Projekte wird aufgezeigt, und die verschiedenen Formen von Einflüssen auf andere Organismen werden diskutiert.Though studies in biological control belong to the best documented research in ecology the actual decision to release a beneficial organism is often influenced by diffuse fears of anything foreign. Yet, agriculture is largely based on exotics; others remain inconspicuous and integrate themselves without problems into the existing ecosystems; and only few actually cause damage. It is against this latter group that the introduction of adapted predators from the region of origin, so-called classical biological control, offers most promise. Here we present four projects from tropical Africa, which were documented throughout all stages from the introduction of predators and parasitoids to the calculations of economic benefits: cassava mealybug, mango mealybug, cassava green mite, and waterhyacinth. Apart from specific conclusions, the high returns of these projects and the various impacts on non-target organisms are discussed

Herausforderungen und Zukunftsperspektiven in der Arbeitsintegration

Die Arbeitswelt hat sich in den letzten Jahrzehnten stark verändert und verlangt zunehmend nach gut ausgebildeten Fachkräften. Gleichzeitig haben die Anforderungen der Geldgeber*innen zugenommen. Wie können sich die Anbieter*innen von Integrationsmassnahmen in diesem Spannungsfeld behaupten? Der Leiter des Kompetenzzentrums Arbeit der Stadt Bern liefert Antworten

Assessment of glued timber integrity by limited-angle microfocus X-ray computed tomography

Glued timber products have an extensive range of applications in construction. In this work a Microfocus X-ray Computed Tomography method was developed to inspect gluing defects in timber samples and was applied successfully on experimental data. The bonding plane was segmented into glued and non-glued regions and imaged with 5mm resolution. Moreover, the gap topology between timber lamellas was precisely characterised. Alimited-angle reconstruction with anisotropic frame binning together with a specific glue line readout method efficiently filters out undesired wood structure highlighting the information of the adhesive joint. This method imposes limitations on the size of the specimen in only one dimension. The presence and absence of glue could be detected for glue line thicknesses over 50μm and air gaps larger than 150μm could be characterised. Several information reduction approaches were combined in the reconstruction process to implement the assessment of a 100×100mm2 bonding plane in less than 40

Neural synchrony in cortical networks : history, concept and current status

Following the discovery of context-dependent synchronization of oscillatory neuronal responses in the visual system, the role of neural synchrony in cortical networks has been expanded to provide a general mechanism for the coordination of distributed neural activity patterns. In the current paper, we present an update of the status of this hypothesis through summarizing recent results from our laboratory that suggest important new insights regarding the mechanisms, function and relevance of this phenomenon. In the first part, we present recent results derived from animal experiments and mathematical simulations that provide novel explanations and mechanisms for zero and nero-zero phase lag synchronization. In the second part, we shall discuss the role of neural synchrony for expectancy during perceptual organization and its role in conscious experience. This will be followed by evidence that indicates that in addition to supporting conscious cognition, neural synchrony is abnormal in major brain disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. We conclude this paper with suggestions for further research as well as with critical issues that need to be addressed in future studies

Neural synchrony in cortical networks : history, concept and current status

Following the discovery of context-dependent synchronization of oscillatory neuronal responses in the visual system, the role of neural synchrony in cortical networks has been expanded to provide a general mechanism for the coordination of distributed neural activity patterns. In the current paper, we present an update of the status of this hypothesis through summarizing recent results from our laboratory that suggest important new insights regarding the mechanisms, function and relevance of this phenomenon. In the first part, we present recent results derived from animal experiments and mathematical simulations that provide novel explanations and mechanisms for zero and nero-zero phase lag synchronization. In the second part, we shall discuss the role of neural synchrony for expectancy during perceptual organization and its role in conscious experience. This will be followed by evidence that indicates that in addition to supporting conscious cognition, neural synchrony is abnormal in major brain disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. We conclude this paper with suggestions for further research as well as with critical issues that need to be addressed in future studies

Intragenic deletion in the gene encoding L -gulonolactone oxidase causes vitamin C deficiency in pigs

The absence of L-ascorbic acid (L-AA, or AA) synthesis in scurvy-prone organisms, including humans, other primates, guinea pigs, and flying mammals, was traced to the lack of L-gulonolactone oxidase (GULO) activity. GULO is a microsomal enzyme that catalyzes the terminal step in the biosynthesis of L-AA. Clinical cases of scurvy were described in a family of Danish pigs. This trait is controlled by a single autosomal recessive allele designated od (osteogenic disorder). Here we demonstrate that the absence of GULO activity and the associated vitamin C deficiency in od/od pigs is due to the occurrence of a 4.2-kbp deletion in the GULO gene. This deletion includes 77 bp of exon VIII, 398 bp of intron 7 and 3.7 kbp of intron 8, which leads to a frame shift. The mutant protein is truncated to 356 amino acids, but only the first 236 amino acids are identical to the wild-type GULO protein. In addition, the od allele seems to be less expressed in deficient and heterozygous pigs compared with the normal allele in heterozygous and wild-type animals as determined by ribonuclease protection assay. We also developed a DNA-based test for the diagnosis of the deficient allele. However, we failed to identify the mutated allele in other pig population

Wirkungen von Integrationsprogrammen messen

Der Geschäftsbereich Arbeitsintegration der Stadt Zürich bietet Programme zur beruflichen und sozialen Integration für verschiedene Zielgruppen an. Die Wirkungen dieser Programme misst seit Anfang 2018 ein Instrument, das die BFH zusammen mit der Firma socialdesign ag entwickelt hat

Air-coupled ultrasound as an accurate and reproducible method for bonding assessment of glued timber

Glued timber products are widely used in construction; therefore, it is necessary to develop non-destructive bonding quality assessment methods for long-term structural health monitoring. Air-coupled ultrasound (ACU) inspection is a novel technique, with phenomenal improvements in reproducibility compared to traditional contact ultrasonics, unlimited scanning possibilities, and a high potential for delamination detection in wood products. As part of an ongoing project, glued timber samples of 10mm thickness with artificial glue line defects were inspected. A normal through-transmission set-up with 120kHz transducers allowed for successful and accurate imaging of the geometry of glued and non-glued areas in all inspected objects. The influence of wood heterogeneity and the reproducibility of ACU amplitude measurements were analysed in detail, identifying the main sources of variation. Future work is planned for the inspection of more complex glued timber object