The use of international buffer stocks to stabilise commodity export revenue

The successful completion of negotiations on the Common Fund has not yet led to the hoped-for break-through for any of the commodity agreements belonging to the Integrated Programme for Commodities (IPC). Opposition, particularly by the industrialised countries, but also by individual producer countries, has left but little hope of a successful implementation of price stabilisation as part of an extensive programme. A principal reason for this is that in spite of detailed discussions on this matter by experts and politicians many incorrect assumptions still prevail and controversial opinions on many problems which could be solved empirically are still being discussed. One of these issues is whether price stabilisation would induce an increase or a decrease in fluctuation of the revenue of countries exporting raw materials

Climate Evolution in Central Asia during the Past Few Million Years: A Case Study from Issyk Kul

The lake Issyk Kul occupies a deep basin within the Earth’s most active intracontinental mountain belt, the Tien Shan, far from any oceanic influence. It offers a record of continental climate spanning millions of years that is likely unmatched by any other source.A three-day workshop, with the same title as this report and sponsored by the International Continental Drilling Project and German Science Foundation, was held on 12–17 June 2011 on the shore of Issyk Kul to discuss the scientific justification for and the logistical aspects of scientific drilling of the lake. A two-day geological field trip followed the workshop. Forty-five scientists from twelve countries discussed three obvious targets for paleoclimatic study, a related study of erosion, and a study of how microbial life has evolved within the basin. The conclusion was that these research topics justify further consideration of deep continental drilling at Issyk Kul

Different methods of evaluation of Monilinia laxa on apricot flowers and branches

- Organic apricot production is currently not profitable. - The main obstacle to sustainable profitability is brown rot caused by the fungus Monilinia laxa (Aderh. & Ruhl). - In the current apricot germplasm no source of total resistance has been shown, but some varieties are expressing interesting levels of tolerance. - A good evaluation of the M. laxa symptoms is essential for a precise diagnosis of the infection and to appreciate differences between tolerant and susceptible varieties and genotypes

Anorogenic plateau formation: The importance of density changes in the lithosphere

International audienceAway from active plate boundaries the relationships between spatiotemporal variations in density and geothermal gradient are important for understanding the evolution of topography in continental interiors. In this context the classic concept of the continental lithosphere as comprising three static layers of different densities (upper crust, lower crust, and upper mantle) is not adequate to assess long-term changes in topography and relief in regions associated with pronounced thermal anomalies in the mantle. We have therefore developed a one-dimensional model, which is based on thermodynamic equilibrium assemblage computations and deliberately excludes the effects of melting processes like intrusion or extrusions. Our model calculates the "metamorphic density" of rocks as a function of pressure, temperature, and chemical composition. It not only provides a useful tool for quantifying the influence of petrologic characteristics on density, but also allows the modeled "metamorphic" density to be adjusted to variable geothermal gradients and applied to different geodynamic environments. We have used this model to simulate a scenario in which the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary is subjected to continuous heating over a long period of time (130 Ma), and demonstrate how an anorogenic plateau with an elevation of 1400 m can be formed solely as a result of heat transfer within the continental lithosphere. Our results show that, beside dynamic topography (of asthenospheric origin), density changes within the lithosphere have an important impact on the evolution of anorogenic plateaus

Hydrogen isotope ratios as a Larix detector in archaeological wood samples

Identifying wood species in archaeological specimens is important for the evaluation of timber structures and the conservation of historic buildings. Microscopic wood anatomy is the most commonly used technique for species identification. However, its application is problematic for the analysis of deteriorated wood. In addition, a particular challenge is the distinction of Picea from Larix due to their similar microscopic features. Recently, an analysis of stable isotopes of cellulose has shown that Larix is characterized by significantly more depleted deuterium values compared to Picea as well as other conifers from the Alpine region. To verify if this fact can be used in archaeological studies, we obtained 36 specimens, most of which were not clearly identified as larch or spruce. The cellulose could be extracted from 20 of them. We identified Larix and non-Larix species (Picea) without ambiguity from the deuterium content, except for one sample with an intermediate value. In conclusion, the evaluation of deuterium content is a valuable tool for the study of archaeologic wood

Koronare Stent-Thrombosen: Was gibt es Neues für 2011?

Zusammenfassung: Stent-Thrombosen (ST) stellen eine schwerwiegende Komplikation der perkutanen Behandlung der koronaren Herzkrankheit dar und sind mit einer hohen Sterblichkeitsrate von bis zu 45% verbunden. Bare-Metal-Stents (BMS) und Drug-Eluting-Stents (DES) haben eine ähnliche Inzidenz für frühe (0,6-1,2%) und späte (0,3-0,4%) ST. Sehr späte ST (über 1Jahr nach Stent-Implantation) weisen einen unabhängigen pathogenetischen Mechanismus auf und werden fast ausschließlich nach der Implantation von DES der 1. Generation mit einer Rate von 0,6% Ereignissen/Jahr beobachtet. Starke Determinanten für das Auftreten früher und später ST sind eine unzureichende Thrombozytenaggregationshemmertherapie, ein akutes Koronarsyndrom, Auftreten von Komplikationen während des Eingriffs, das unmittelbare postprozedurale Resultat sowie Begleiterkrankungen des Patienten. Sehr späte ST haben eine eigenständige Pathogenese - eine direkt medikamentös bedingte Hemmung der Reendothelialisierung und eine durch das Medikament oder das Polymer des Stent verursachte chronische Entzündung der Gefäßwand mit in der Folge gestörter Reendothelialisierung, welche zu einem positivem Remodelling der Arterienwand mit sekundärer Malapposition des Stent führt. In der Prävention der ST spielt die duale Thrombozytenaggregationshemmertherapie eine zentrale Rolle. Das vorzeitige Absetzen dieser Therapie in den ersten 6Monaten nach Stent-Implantation führt zu einer erhöhten Inzidenz von ST. Zur Prävention gehört auch der Fortschritt. Erfreulicherweise haben die Verwendung von DES der 2. Generation und neue Thrombozytenaggregationshemmertherapien die Inzidenz der ST signifikant verringer

Komposteinsatz als Pflanzenschutzmassnahme im Obstbau

Inhalt - Kompost generell - Komposteinsatz zur Vorbeugung gegen Apple Replant Disease/Bodenmüdigkeit - Aktuelle Forschung am FiBL über die Kompostmikrobiologi

OpenGenomeBrowser: a versatile, dataset-independent and scalable web platform for genome data management and comparative genomics.

BACKGROUND As the amount of genomic data continues to grow, there is an increasing need for systematic ways to organize, explore, compare, analyze and share this data. Despite this, there is a lack of suitable platforms to meet this need. RESULTS OpenGenomeBrowser is a self-hostable, open-source platform to manage access to genomic data and drastically simplifying comparative genomics analyses. It enables users to interactively generate phylogenetic trees, compare gene loci, browse biochemical pathways, perform gene trait matching, create dot plots, execute BLAST searches, and access the data. It features a flexible user management system, and its modular folder structure enables the organization of genomic data and metadata, and to automate analyses. We tested OpenGenomeBrowser with bacterial, archaeal and yeast genomes. We provide a docker container to make installation and hosting simple. The source code, documentation, tutorials for OpenGenomeBrowser are available at opengenomebrowser.github.io and a demo server is freely accessible at opengenomebrowser.bioinformatics.unibe.ch . CONCLUSIONS To our knowledge, OpenGenomeBrowser is the first self-hostable, database-independent comparative genome browser. It drastically simplifies commonly used bioinformatics workflows and enables convenient as well as fast data exploration

Analysis of Bisphenol-A contamination in fish liver and muscle tissue : a method development and first assessment of BPA contamination in invasive round goby Neogobius melanostomus in the Swiss Rhine river (Basel, Switzerland)

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are of growing concern in aquatic ecosystems due to the potential of modulating the endocrine system in aquatic species by interfering with reproduction and developmental processes. Bisphenol-A (BPA) belongs to the EDCs and has been documented to induce estrogenic effects in fish. This study aimed to develop a reliable method based on molecularly imprinted polymers solid phase extraction (SPE MIPs) and LC-MS/MS for the analysis of BPA in liver and muscle samples in invasive round goby Neogobius melanostomus sampled in the river Rhine in Basel, Switzerland. Additionally, all fish samples were analysed for the liver protein vitellogenin to provide an unspecific indication of EDC induced endocrine effects. The study also aimed to investigate any sex- and size-specific differences in BPA contamination and the overall condition of the target species, by documenting condition indicators including total length, total weight, liver weight and hepatosomatic index (HSI). BPA contamination of the sampled round goby was below limit of quantification. A further improvement of the method is needed to detect low contaminations especially in liver samples, where high matrix interferences occurred. Vitellogenin measurements indicated the presence of EDCs

Neue Möglichkeiten der Kontrolle von Kohleule im Eistadium

This work, which is part of a project called Biocomes (www.biocomes.eu), is financially supported by the European Union and it focuses on the control of the cabbage moth Mamestra brassicae (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) through mass release of the egg parasitoid Telenomus sp. (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae)