Chemische und biologische Untersuchungen im Zusammenhang mit der romanischen Bilderdecke von Zillis

The famous romanesque painted ceiling of the church of Zillis consists of a wooden framework. Various defects at the painting made microbiological and chemical examinations indispensible to enable a professional restoration. Chemical analysis of binding media was carried out and attacking microorganisms were determined. Now it is possible to restore the paintings with knowledge about ancient binding materials and possibilities to stop biodeterioration by use of suitable microbicides

Wie vollständig ist der biologische Abbau: Ermittlung und Analytik refraktärer Verbindungen am Beispiel von linearem Alkylbenzolsulfonat (LAS)

Linear alkylbenzenesulfonate (LAS) is the worldwide most used synthetic surfactant. Its elimination in activated sludge goes nearly to completion. But in laboratory test systems a well primary but no total biodegradation, measured by removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), has been found till now. On a new test system to detect refractory organic carbon (ROC) a commercial LAS yields > 5% of ROC. With HPLC and GC/MS analysis the refractory organic compounds are determined as different isomers of sulfophenylcarboxylates and carboxylated dialkyltetralinesulfonates. Dialkyltetralinesulfonates are beside branched alkylbenzenesulfonates known impurities in commercial LAS. These impurities undergo a complete primary biodegradation in the used test system. It is estimated, that the detected refractory sulfophenylcarboxylates derived from branched alkylbenzenesulfonates and not from LAS. The test to detect ROC effects on the base of a trickling filter, where the test substance is dissolved in a mineral salt solution and trickles over activated sludge, which is fixed on a support. Eluate derived from the trickling filter is readded with new test substrate and fed again to the filter. Readdition is repeated till the content of nondegraded parts in the eluate is high enough. Then the eluate is fed to the filter without substrate readdition as long as the remaining organic carbon in the eluate is constant. The residual DOC is called refractory

Neogene fluvial landscape evolution in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert

Dating of extensive alluvial fan surfaces and fluvial features in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert, Chile, using cosmogenic nuclides provides unrivalled insights about the onset and variability of aridity. The predominantly hyperarid conditions help to preserve the traces of episodic climatic and/or slow tectonic change. Utilizing single clast exposure dating with cosmogenic 10Be and 21Ne, we determine the termination of episodes of enhanced fluvial erosion and deposition occurring at ~19, ~14, ~9.5 Ma; large scale fluvial modification of the landscape had ceased by ~2–3 Ma. The presence of clasts that record pre-Miocene exposure ages (~28 Ma and ~34 Ma) require stagnant landscape development during the Oligocene. Our data implies an early onset of (hyper-) aridity in the core region of the Atacama Desert, interrupted by wetter but probably still arid periods. The apparent conflict with interpretation that favour a later onset of (hyper-) aridity can be reconciled when the climatic gradients within the Atacama Desert are considered

Scaling Erica arborea transpiration from trees up to the stand using auxiliary micrometeorological information in a wax myrtle-tree heath cloud forest (La Gomera, Canary Islands)

We investigate evapotranspiration, sap flow and top soil water content variations in a wax myrtle-tree heath ('fayal-brezal' in Spanish) cloud forest in the Garajonay National Park (La Gomera, Canary Islands) over a 1-year period. We provide transpiration estimates for one of the representative species, the shrubby needle-like Erica arborea L., present in this relict subtropical forest. An ad hoc tree up to the stand scaling method that combines the sap flow and auxiliary reference evapotranspiration data is illustrated, showing to be useful when sap flow in a limited number of trees has been monitored. Individual dailybased scaling curves of the Gompertz type were necessary to explain the observed sap flow variability in E. arborea during the 1-year period investigated (r 2 ≥ 0.953 with mode of r 2 = 0.9999). The mean daily sap flow of an E. arborea individual amounted to 8.37 ± 5.65 kg day −1 tree −1 , with a maximum of 20.48 kg day −1 tree −1 , yielding an annual total of 3052.89 kg tree −1 . A comparison of the computed daily transpiration with the continuous micrometeorological time series monitored in the studied plot suggested that solar radiation was the main driving force of transpiration in E. arborea (cross correlation index = 0.94). Fog may also affect tree transpiration via its reduction of radiation and temperature, such that during foggy periods the mean daily water loss estimate of E. arborea was 5.35 ± 4.30 kg day −1 tree −1 , which sharply contrasted with the 2.4-fold average transpiration values obtained for fog-free days, i.e., 12.81 ± 4.33 kg day −1 tree −1 . The annual water balance rendered a 288 mm year −1 water input to the forest and evidenced the need for accurately quantifying the contribution of fog water dripping from the canopy

The Relationship of Left Ventricular Trabeculation to Ventricular Function and Structure Over a 9.5-Year Follow-Up The MESA Study

Left ventricular (LV) trabeculation is highly variable among individuals and is increased in some diseases (e.g., congenital heart disease or cardiomyopathies), but its significance in population-representative individuals is unknown

IMF Surveillance in Europe

The International Monetary Fund has significantly improved its surveillance of the EU and the euro area, along the lines suggested by the Fund’s 2011 Triennial Surveillance Review and in application of its 2012 Integrated Surveillance Decision. Nonetheless, there is still margin for further enhancing IMF surveillance of the EU and the euro area. This report by the Task Force on IMF Issues of the International Relations Committee of the European System of Central Banks was prepared with the aim of contributing to the preparation of and debate on the 2014 IMF Triennial Surveillance Review

Hegel, Adorno and the origins of immanent criticism

‘Immanent criticism' has been discussed by philosophers of quite different persuasions, working in separate areas and in different traditions of philosophy. Almost all of them agree on roughly the same story about its origins: It is that Hegel invented immanent criticism, that Marx later developed it, and that the various members of the Frankfurt School, particularly Adorno, refined it in various ways, and that they are all paradigmatic practitioners of immanent criticism. I call this the Continuity Thesis. There are four different claims that interest me. (i) Hegel is the originator of immanent criticism. (ii) Hegel's dialectical method is that of immanent criticism. (iii) Adorno practises immanent criticism and endorses the term as a description of his practice. (iv) Adorno's dialectical method is fundamentally Hegelian. In this article, I offer an account of immanent criticism, on the basis of which, I evaluate these four claims and argue that the Continuity Thesis should be rejected