Meadows and aesthetics : the step from the conventional lawn to ecological valuable meadows

För att säkerställa vår framtid behöver natur och ekosystemtjänster skyddas. I dagsläget riskerar vi att förlora flera ekosystemtjänster, bland annat pollinering av grödor. För att bevara tjänsten pollinering krävs insatser för att främja en större biologisk mångfald. En metod för att göra detta är att inkorporera mer ängsmarker i städerna där det idag finns konventionell gräsmatta. De senaste åren har ängsmarker börjat inkorporeras i städer, men det finns flera motgångar som förhindrar skiftet, exempelvis klagomål för dess stökiga utseende, begränsad funktion och skötselproblematik. Den här uppsatsen syftar till att undersöka hur ängsmark kan gestaltas med hög biologisk mångfald med ett ordnat städat estetiskt uttryck som smidigt ska passa in i städerna för aktiviteter, ha en smidig skötsel och etablering. Att finna olika estetiska uttryck för ängsmark är en mycket relevant fråga eftersom gröna rummen i städerna, exempelvis parker, minskar på grund av urbaniseringen. Utforskande genom design och estetik kan vara en metod för att bevara och skapa fler ängsmarker på de alltmer begränsade gröna ytorna. Undersökningens tillvägagångssätt började med en litteraturöversikt för att finna vilka kvaliteter som ängsmarker bör eftersträva. Därefter utvecklades två designprinciper, artkomposition med två karaktärsfärger och inre och yttre designramverk, för att skapa ordnade estetiska artkompositioner med ängsflora. Tre artkompositioner utformades i ett gestaltningsförslag för en gräsyta i Uppsala stadsträdgård. Gestaltningsförslagets estetiska, sociala, ekologiska och ekonomiska kvaliteter jämfördes sedan tillsammans med den konventionella gräsmattans. Alla ängskompositioner fick högre totalvärden vilket stödjer argumentet att inkorporera fler och samtidigt bevara ängsmarker i städerna. De designade ängskompositionerna är specifikt utformade för Uppsala stadsträdgårds platsförhållanden, men då förhållandena är vanligt förkommande i många andra parker och städer kan kompositionerna användas som en utgångspunkt för gestaltning med ängsmarker i andra projekt.To ensure our future, nature and its ecosystem services need to be protected. Currently we risk losing many of these services, including pollination of our crops. To preserve the service of pollination, efforts are needed to promote greater biodiversity. One method of doing the aforementioned is to incorporate more meadows in cities where there currently are conventional lawns. In recent years, meadows have begun to be incorporated into cities for this reason, however there are still several setbacks preventing the shift, such as complaints about its messy appearance, limited function, and maintenance issues. This thesis aims to investigate how it is possible to design meadows with high biodiversity in an orderly, tidy aesthetic appearance that also easily fit and work in the cities for use, maintenance, and establishment. Finding different aesthetic appearances for meadows is a very relevant challenge because the green spaces in cities, such as parks, are decreasing due to urbanization. Research with design and aesthetics can be a way to both preserve and create more meadows on the limited city surfaces. The research's approach began with a literature study to find which qualities urban meadows should strive for. Two design principles were then developed, species composition with two character-colors and internal and external design frameworks, to create orderly aesthetic species compositions with meadow flora. Three species compositions were designed in a design proposal for a conventional lawn in Uppsala City Park. The aesthetic, social, ecological, and economic qualities of the meadow compositions of the design proposal were then compared together with those of the conventional lawn. All meadow species compositions received a higher total value, which argues for incorporating and preserving urban meadow in the cities. The designed meadow compositions are specifically designed for Uppsala City Park’s site conditions, yet since as the park's site conditions are common in many other parks in different cities, the proposal can still be used as a starting point for design with urban meadows in other green spaces

Det sociale i musik hjælper – samfundsmusikterapi og interkommunikation. Et essay.

Det sociale i musik hjælper – samfundsmusikterapi og interkommunikation. Et essay

Disruption of physiological labour : a population register-based study among nulliparous women at term

Objectives: Current labour practices have seen an acceleration in interventions to either initiate, monitor, accelerate, or terminate the physiological process of pregnancy and childbirth. This study aimed to describe and analyse the use of interventions in childbirth in Denmark over almost two decades (2000–2017). We also examined the extent to which contemporary care adheres to current international recommendations towards restricted use of interventions. Study design: A national retrospective Danish register-based cohort study including all nulliparous women with term births with singleton pregnancy and a foetus in cephalic between the years 2000 and 2017 (n = 380,326 births). Multivariate regression analyses with adjustment for change in population were performed. Main outcome measures: Induction of labour, epidural analgesia, and augmentation of labour. Results: Between 2000/2001 and 2016/2017, the prevalence increased for induction of labour from 5.1% to 22.8%, AOR 4.84, 95% CI [4.61–5.10], epidural analgesia from 10.5% to 34.3% (AOR 4.10, 95% CI [3.95–4.26]), and augmentation of labour decreased slightly from 40.1% to 39.3% (AOR 0.84, 95% CI [0.81–0.86]). Having more than one of the three mentioned interventions increased from 12.8% in to 30.9%. Conclusions: The number of interventions increased during the study period as well as the number of interventions in each woman. As interventions may interfere in physiological labour and carry the risk of potential short- and long-term consequences, the findings call for a careful re-evaluation of contemporary maternity care with a “first, do no harm” perspective

Routine induction in late-term pregnancies : follow-up of a Danish induction of labour paradigm

Objectives For many years, routine elective induction of labour at gestational week (GW) 42+0 has been recommended in Denmark. In 2011, a more proactive protocol was introduced aimed at reducing stillbirths, and practice changed into earlier routine induction, i.e. between 41+3 and 41+5 GW. The present study evaluates a national change in induction of labour regime. The trend of maternal and neonatal consequences are monitored in the preintervention period (2000-2010) compared with the postintervention period (2012-2016). Design A national retrospective register-based cohort study. Setting Denmark. Participants All births in Denmark 41+3 to 45+0 GWs between 2000 and 2016 (N = 152 887). Outcome measures Primary outcomes: stillbirths, perinatal death, and low Apgar scores. Additional outcomes: birth interventions and maternal outcomes. Results For the primary outcomes, no differences in stillbirths, perinatal death, and low Apgar scores were found comparing the preintervention and postintervention period. Of additional outcomes, the trend changed significantly postintervention concerning use of augmentation of labour, epidural analgesia, induction of labour and uterine rupture (all p<0.05). There was no significant change in the trend for caesarean section and instrumental birth. Most notable for clinical practice was the increase in induction of labour from 41% to 65% (p<0.01) at 41+3 weeks during 2011 as well as the rare occurrence of uterine ruptures (from 2.6 to 4.2 per thousand, p<0.02). Conclusions Evaluation of a more proactive regimen recommending induction of labour from GW 41+3 compared with 42+0 using national register data found no differences in neonatal outcomes including stillbirth. The number of women with induced labour increased significantly. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ

Validación durante cuatro años de un sistema experto para optimizar el uso de herbicidas en cereales de invierno en condiciones agronómicas españolas

CPOWeeds is a version of Danish Crop Protection online adjusted to conditions in North-eastern Spain. The predicted efficacies and the yield obtained with CPOWeeds were validated in winter cereal field trials from 2010 to 2013. The predictions from CPOWeeds were compared to the actually achieved efficacies in the field trials for the nine weed species at different developmental stages and for 84.2% of the comparisons the obtained efficacies were equal to or higher than predicted. It was concluded that the use of CPOWeeds allowed optimisation of the herbicide application with a very high robustness. The recommendations were satisfactorily for the conditions of the Northeast of Spain and have the potential to decrease the amount of applied herbicides by at least 30%. Therefore, it can be an important tool in Integrated Weed Management.El CPOWeeds es una versión del Crop Protection Online danés puesto a punto para las condiciones del noroeste (NE) de España. Las eficacias predichas por el programa se han validado en ensayos en cereal de invierno desde 2010 a 2013. Las predicciones dadas por el CPOWeeds se han comprobado para nueve especies de malas hierbas en diferentes estadios fenológicos y en el 84,2% de los casos las eficacias han sido iguales o superiores a las predichas. Se concluye que el uso del CPOWeeds permite optimizar la aplicación de herbicidas con una gran robustez. Las recomendaciones son satisfactorias para el NE de España y se puede disminuir la cantidad de herbicidas aplicados hasta en un 30%. Por tanto, se trata de una herramienta muy importante en el Manejo Integrado de Malas Hierbas

Hydration of Atmospheric Molecular Clusters III : Procedure for Efficient Free Energy Surface Exploration of Large Hydrated Clusters

Sampling the shallow free energy surface of hydrated atmospheric molecular clusters is a significant challenge. Using computational methods, we present an efficient approach to obtain minimum free energy structures for large hydrated clusters of atmospheric relevance. We study clusters consisting of two to four sulfuric acid (sa) molecules and hydrate them with up to five water (w) molecules. The structures of the "dry" clusters are obtained using the ABCluster program to yield a large pool of low-lying conformer minima with respect to free energy. The conformers (up to ten) lowest in free energy are then hydrated using our recently developed systematic hydrate sampling technique. Using this approach, we identify a total of 1145 unique (sa)(2-4)(w)(1-5) cluster structures. The cluster geometries and thermochemical parameters are calculated at the omega B97X-D/6-31++G(d,p) level of theory, at 298.15 K and 1 atm. The single-point energy of the most stable clusters is calculated using a high-level DLPNO-CCSD(T-0)/aug-cc-pVTZ method. Using the thermochemical data, we calculate the equilibrium hydrate distribution of the clusters under atmospheric conditions and find that the larger (sa)(3) and (sa)(4) clusters are significantly more hydrated than the smaller (sa)(2) cluster or the sulfuric acid (sa)(1) molecule. These findings indicate that more than five water molecules might be required to fully saturate the sulfuric acid clusters with water under atmospheric conditions. The presented methodology gives modelers a tool to take the effect of water explicitly into account in atmospheric particle formation models based on quantum chemistry.Peer reviewe

Knowledge of learning disabilities: the relationship with choice, duty of care and non-aversive approaches

The present study examines the relationship between the knowledge of the diagnostic criteria for a learning disability (based on DSM IV criteria), care practices and experience in health care and social care staff. Responses to a questionnaire were analysed in terms of participants emphasis on: recognizing duty of care; enabling choice; non-aversive and aversive strategies. Results indicated that the knowledge of the criteria for a learning disability was limited, with only I6% of the sample correctly identifying all three criteria. There were no significant differences between the two groups in relation to experience or level of knowledge. No clear cut differences were found between the groups in relation to tendency to emphasize a particular management approach, with the strategies adopted appearing to be influenced by vignettes used in this study. Participants tended to give responses that identified both a recognition of their duty of care to clients and the need to enable choice. Limitations of this study are discussed

Application of a new Internet-based decision support model for integrated weed management in winter wheat and maize (DSS-IWM) - experiences from practical applications

Unter Berücksichtigung der allgemeinen Grundsätze des Integrierten Pflanzenschutzes (Richtlinie 2009/128/EG Anhang III) wurde im Rahmen eines dreijährigen europäischen ERA-Net-Projektes (Co-ordinated Integrated Pest Management in Europe - C-IPM) ein Internet-gestütztes Entscheidungshilfemodell für die Unkrautbekämpfung in Winterweizen und Mais entwickelt (DSS-IWM). Der Prototyp dieses DSS-Modells, IPMwise, wurde Rahmen des Projektes in drei europäischen Ländern erarbeitet, geprüft und verbessert. Die Behandlungsvorschläge des Programms richten sich nach der aktuellen Verunkrautung der Fläche und beruhen auf Dosis-Wirkungsdaten und spezifischen Ziel-Wirksamkeiten. Das Programm soll sowohl Landwirte als auch Berater verlässlich dabei unterstützen, Unkräuter zum richtigen Zeitpunkt mit den geeignetsten Herbiziden in optimierter Aufwandmenge zu bekämpfen und somit dazu beitragen, den Herbizidaufwand zu reduzieren, ohne Ertragseinbußen zu riskieren. In die Entscheidungen werden lokale Bedingungen, Schadensschwellen und ökonomische Berechnungen der Behandlungen einbezogen. Das Programm soll zukünftig auch als Tablet- oder Smartphone-Version dem Anwender zur Verfügung stehen. Validierungsversuche an verschiedenen Standorten in Deutschland zeigten, dass Wirkungsgrade sowohl im Mais als auch im Winterweizen nach Behandlungsvorschlägen des DSS-Programms im Mittel etwas niedriger waren als nach der lokalen Standardbehandlung, an einzelnen Standorten aber gleich hoch. Der Behandlungsindex in wurde in den DSS-Varianten bis zu 50 % verringert, wodurch Kosteneinsparungen für Herbizide von 50 % bis 60 % möglich waren. Das Programm ist demnach geeignet, um ökologische und ökonomische Ziele der Unkrautregulierung im Rahmen der Integrierten Unkrautbekämpfung zu fördern.In accordance with the general principles of Integrated Pest Management (Directive 2009/128/EC Annex III), an Internet-based decision support model for weed control in winter wheat and maize (DSS-IWM) was developed as part of a three-year European ERA-Net project (Co-ordinated Integrated Pest Management in Europe - C-IPM). The prototype of this DSS model, IPMwise, was developed, tested and improved in three European countries. The treatment suggestions of the program are based on the current weed infestation of the field, on dose-response data and on specific target efficiencies. The program will provide reliable support to both farmers and advisors in controlling weeds at the right time with the most appropriate herbicides in optimised application rates, thus helping to reduce herbicide use without risking yield losses. Decisions are based on local conditions, damage thresholds and economic calculations of treatments. In future, the program will also be available to users as a tablet or smartphone version. Validation trials at various sites in Germany showed that the average efficacy in both maize and winter wheat according to treatment suggestions of the DSS program was slightly lower than according to the local standard treatments, but at many sites it exceeded 90%. The treatment index in the DSS variants was reduced by up to 50%, resulting in cost savings for herbicides of 50% to 60%. The program is therefore suitable for supporting the ecological and economic objectives of weed control within the framework of Integrated Weed Control

Neochloris oleoabundans cell walls have an altered composition when cultivated under different growing conditions

The impact that environmental factors have on the intracellular components of microalgae has been the focus of research for a number of decades. Despite that, their effects on the cell wall have received very little attention. In this study, we investigated how different growing conditions affect the cell walls of N. oleoabundans. The results revealed that the cell wall composition varied in that the modifications were different in the four cultivation media: freshwater nitrogen-replete (optimum culture) and -depleted conditions, and seawater nitrogen-replete and -depleted conditions. Nitrogen deficiency in freshwater cultivation was the only condition that significantly (p <.05) increased the total content of carbohydrates in the cell wall. The three most abundant components of freshwater-cultivated cell wall polysaccharides were rhamnose, galactose and glucuronic acid whereas in seawater media the main components of cell wall polysaccharides were rhamnose, glucose and galactose. The combined results of the biochemical analyses and monoclonal antibodies epitope-binding revealed that N. oleoabundans cell walls are likely composed of sulphated polysaccharides enriched in mannose, β-(1 → 4)-D-mannans, and glucose as they grow in seawater. Salinity and nitrogen deficiency also had an impact on the nitrogenous components of the cell wall. Under these conditions we observed a decrease in glucosamine in the cell wall. The analysis of specific binding of monoclonal antibodies, revealed that the cell wall of N. oleoabundans is possibly enriched in arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs). Under salinity and nitrogen deficiency N. oleoabundans increased the proportion of the non-polar to polar amino acids in the cell walls. An increase of leucine in the cell walls may suggest that N. oleoabundans contains leucine-rich repeat proteins which are known to play a vital role in stress responses. This report provides new insights into microalgae cell wall biology and how cell walls are remodelled when growing under different conditions.</p