The stuff of which dreams are made: representations of the South Sea in German-language tourist brochures

The ways in which the South Pacific islands are represented in German-language tourist brochures is investigated. Our discussion of these brochure representations will examine the contrasts between tourism advertising imagery and the day-to-day interactions of tourists and locals in the islands represented. Informed by literature on motives for travel, tourist brochures, place promotion and commodification, we will discuss how German, Swiss and Austrian tourism operators depend on a deep-seated desire on the part of tourists to engage with a mythical paradisal Utopia. Common to many cultures, Utopia represents dreams of a better reality. We emphasise therefore that in addition to the now well-documented paradisal element of island tourism promotion, German-speaking tourists are enticed to the South Pacific by advertising references to it as a place where dreams may be fulfilled

HSV-1 antigens and DNA in the corneal explant buttons of patients with non-herpetic or clinically atypical herpetic stromal keratitis

Background: Little is known about the role of HSV-1 in keratitis not primarily attributed to herpetic origin. This study therefore aimed to prospectively evaluate the corneal explant buttons of patients with non-herpetic or clinically atypical herpetic stromal keratitis (experimental group: non-HSK) for the presence of HSV-1 antigens and DNA, and to compare the findings with those from individuals with typical herpetic stromal keratitis (positive control group: HSK) or non-inflammatory degenerative keratopathy (negative control group). Methods: Corneal buttons derived from 51 patients with HSK, from 72 with non-HSK and from 30 with degenerative keratopathy were prospectively collected and subjected to immunohistochemical analysis for HSV-1 antigens and to HSV-1 DNA amplification. Results: In corneal buttons derived from patients with non-HSK, viral antigens were detected immunohistochemically in 8/72 cases and DNA amplified in 16/72. Corresponding values for the HSK group were 16/51 and 11/51. Taking viral antigen and DNA findings together, HSV-1 was detected in 18/72 (25%) patients with non-HSK and in 19/51 (37%) with HSK (p=0.2), but in only 2/30 (6%) individuals with non-inflammatory degenerative keratopathy. Conclusion: Since the detection frequencies for HSV-1 antigens and DNA were comparable in the HSK and non-HSK groups, Herpes may play an underestimated and as yet undefined role in non-herpetic and clinically atypical herpetic stromal keratitis, either as a primary trigger of the disease or as a secondary contributor to it. In this category of individuals, early anti-herpetic therapy should be considered if patients do not respond in the expected manner to treatment for non-herpetic stromal keratiti

A structured LED multi linear light for groove measurement of a spectacle frame

Nowadays, eyeglasses are not only a vision aid, they also are fashion and design articles for the customers. The customer preference for various forms of spectacle frames grows and is served by the different frame manufacturers. This development leads to an increased effort for the production of adapted eyeglass lenses because of the huge range of the different designs and their manufacturing inaccuracies [1]. Therefore it is absolutely necessary to know exactly the coordinates of the ground of the spectacle groove for grinding the glasses well. One non-contact possibility is the triangulation principle. Therefore often a laser line generator is used. But also a structured LED linear light is possible. For this the linear light has to have a defined width, brightness and sharpness. The linear light on the object, here the groove of the frame, is changed by its surface and is detected by a digital image processing [2]. If more information should be detected within one image a multi linear light could be used. Due to this also a structured LED based light source is an economically priced alternative to a multi laser line generator. Consequently, the focus of this research lies on the necessary width, brightness, sharpness, length and depth of focus of the linear light generated by a LED light source for high-precision measuring. This research has been carried out by extensive computer-aided simulations. Index terms – multi linear light, structured LED ligh

Crop Pests and Predators Exhibit Inconsistent Responses to Surrounding Landscape Composition

The idea that noncrop habitat enhances pest control and represents a win–win opportunity to conserve biodiversity and bolster yields has emerged as an agroecological paradigm. However, while noncrop habitat in landscapes surrounding farms sometimes benefits pest predators, natural enemy responses remain heterogeneous across studies and effects on pests are inconclusive. The observed heterogeneity in species responses to noncrop habitat may be biological in origin or could result from variation in how habitat and biocontrol are measured. Here, we use a pest-control database encompassing 132 studies and 6,759 sites worldwide to model natural enemy and pest abundances, predation rates, and crop damage as a function of landscape composition. Our results showed that although landscape composition explained significant variation within studies, pest and enemy abundances, predation rates, crop damage, and yields each exhibited different responses across studies, sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing in landscapes with more noncrop habitat but overall showing no consistent trend. Thus, models that used landscape-composition variables to predict pest-control dynamics demonstrated little potential to explain variation across studies, though prediction did improve when comparing studies with similar crop and landscape features. Overall, our work shows that surrounding noncrop habitat does not consistently improve pest management, meaning habitat conservation may bolster production in some systems and depress yields in others. Future efforts to develop tools that inform farmers when habitat conservation truly represents a win–win would benefit from increased understanding of how landscape effects are modulated by local farm management and the biology of pests and their enemies

Predicting bee community responses to land-use changes: Effects of geographic and taxonomic biases

Land-use change and intensification threaten bee populations worldwide, imperilling pollination services. Global models are needed to better characterise, project, and mitigate bees' responses to these human impacts. The available data are, however, geographically and taxonomically unrepresentative; most data are from North America and Western Europe, overrepresenting bumblebees and raising concerns that model results may not be generalizable to other regions and taxa. To assess whether the geographic and taxonomic biases of data could undermine effectiveness of models for conservation policy, we have collated from the published literature a global dataset of bee diversity at sites facing land-use change and intensification, and assess whether bee responses to these pressures vary across 11 regions (Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern Europe; North, Central and South America; Australia and New Zealand; South East Asia; Middle and Southern Africa) and between bumblebees and other bees. Our analyses highlight strong regionally-based responses of total abundance, species richness and Simpson's diversity to land use, caused by variation in the sensitivity of species and potentially in the nature of threats. These results suggest that global extrapolation of models based on geographically and taxonomically restricted data may underestimate the true uncertainty, increasing the risk of ecological surprises

Crop pests and predators exhibit inconsistent responses to surrounding landscape composition

The idea that noncrop habitat enhances pest control and represents a win–win opportunity to conserve biodiversity and bolster yields has emerged as an agroecological paradigm. However, while noncrop habitat in landscapes surrounding farms sometimes benefits pest predators, natural enemy responses remain heterogeneous across studies and effects on pests are inconclusive. The observed heterogeneity in species responses to noncrop habitat may be biological in origin or could result from variation in how habitat and biocontrol are measured. Here, we use a pest-control database encompassing 132 studies and 6,759 sites worldwide to model natural enemy and pest abundances, predation rates, and crop damage as a function of landscape composition. Our results showed that although landscape composition explained significant variation within studies, pest and enemy abundances, predation rates, crop damage, and yields each exhibited different responses across studies, sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing in landscapes with more noncrop habitat but overall showing no consistent trend. Thus, models that used landscape-composition variables to predict pest-control dynamics demonstrated little potential to explain variation across studies, though prediction did improve when comparing studies with similar crop and landscape features. Overall, our work shows that surrounding noncrop habitat does not consistently improve pest management, meaning habitat conservation may bolster production in some systems and depress yields in others. Future efforts to develop tools that inform farmers when habitat conservation truly represents a win–win would benefit from increased understanding of how landscape effects are modulated by local farm management and the biology of pests and their enemies

Water export from Deep Cove, Fiordland: Implications for national park values : Written report submitted to the Centre for Resource Management in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Diploma in Natural Resources

Worldwide the transshipment of fresh water of fresh water for commercial utilisation has received increasing attention in recent years. At present freshwater trade constitutes a comparatively insignificant industry. However, growing freshwater demand for drinking, irrigation and industrial purposes may in the future expand the already existing market. As the quality groundwater supplies are becoming scarcer - a tendency which has been reported from countries such as West Germany - some industrial nations may experience further drinking water shortage. With its plentiful supply of high quality freshwater, New Zealand is in a good market position to cater for the potential overseas demand. The proposition to trade natural water on a commercial basis therefore appears an attractive option, which could stimulate the country's export market. Natural water is a renewable resource, which as a common property is shared by the people New Zealand. Any trading proposal therefore has to ensure that the public interest is s guarded when export decisions are made. In a practical sense this requires decision makers to ensure that the social benefits from water trade are maximized, while environmental costs are kept to a minimum. This report is concerned with the proposal by Triune Resources Corporation, Delaware, United States, to export water from Deep Cove, Doubtful Sound to overseas destinations. The location of the proposed project in the centre of New Zealand's largest National Park makes a careful assessment of environmental implications a priority planning requirement. This report aims to contribute towards such assessment by investigating the impact of the proposal on aesthetic, recreational and conservational values associated with Fiordland National Park