Effects of Moderate Nitrate and Low Sulphate Depositions on the Status of Soil Base Cation Pools and Recent Mineral Soil Acidification at Forest Conversion Sites with European Beech (“Green Eyes”) Embedded in Norway Spruce and Scots Pine Stands

High N depositions of past decades brought changes to European forests including impacts on forest soil nutrition status. However, the ecosystem responses to declining atmospheric N inputs or moderate N depositions attracted only less attention so far. Our study investigated macronutrient (N, S, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ ) pools and fluxes at forest conversion sites over 80 years old in Central Germany with European beech (so-called “Green Eyes” (GE)). The GE are embedded in large spruce and pine stands (coniferous stands: CS) and all investigated forest stands were exposed to moderate N deposition rates (6.8 ± 0.9 kg ha−1 yr−1 ) and acidic soil conditions (pHH2O 59%) and CS (>66%). The litter fall base cation return at GE (59 ± 6 kg ha−1 yr−1 ) is almost twice as large as the base cation deposition (30 ± 5 kg ha−1 yr−1 ) via throughfall and stemflow. At CS, base cation inputs to the topsoil via litter fall and depositions are at the same magnitude (24 ± 4 kg ha−1 yr−1 ). Macronutrient turnover is higher at GE and decomposition processes are hampered at CS maybe through higher N inputs. Due to its little biomass and only small coverage, the herbaceous layer at GE and CS do not exert a strong influence on macronutrient storage. Changes in soil base cation pools are tree species-, depth- and might be time-dependent, with recently growing forest floor stocks. An ongoing mineral soil acidification seems to be related to decreasing mineral soil base cation stocks (through NO3 − and especially SO4 2− leaching as well as through tree uptake)

MIFA: Metadata, Incentives, Formats, and Accessibility guidelines to improve the reuse of AI datasets for bioimage analysis

Artificial Intelligence methods are powerful tools for biological image analysis and processing. High-quality annotated images are key to training and developing new methods, but access to such data is often hindered by the lack of standards for sharing datasets. We brought together community experts in a workshop to develop guidelines to improve the reuse of bioimages and annotations for AI applications. These include standards on data formats, metadata, data presentation and sharing, and incentives to generate new datasets. We are positive that the MIFA (Metadata, Incentives, Formats, and Accessibility) recommendations will accelerate the development of AI tools for bioimage analysis by facilitating access to high quality training data.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figure

Community-developed checklists for publishing images and image analysis

Images document scientific discoveries and are prevalent in modern biomedical research. Microscopy imaging in particular is currently undergoing rapid technological advancements. However for scientists wishing to publish the obtained images and image analyses results, there are to date no unified guidelines. Consequently, microscopy images and image data in publications may be unclear or difficult to interpret. Here we present community-developed checklists for preparing light microscopy images and image analysis for publications. These checklists offer authors, readers, and publishers key recommendations for image formatting and annotation, color selection, data availability, and for reporting image analysis workflows. The goal of our guidelines is to increase the clarity and reproducibility of image figures and thereby heighten the quality of microscopy data is in publications.Comment: 28 pages, 8 Figures, 3 Supplmentary Figures, Manuscript, Essential recommendations for publication of microscopy image dat

Time inconsistency and overdraft use: evidence from transaction data and behavioral measurement experiments

Households regularly fail to make optimal financial decisions. But what are the underlying reasons for this? Using two conceptually distinct measures of time inconsistency based on bank account transaction data and behavioral measurement experiments, we show that the excessive use of bank account overdrafts is linked to time inconsistency. By contrast, there is no correlation between a survey-based measure of financial literacy and overdraft usage. Our results indicate that consumer education and information may not suffice to overcome mistakes in households’ financial decision-making. Rather, behaviorally motivated interventions targeting specific biases in decision-making should also be considered as effective policy tools

Measuring time inconsistency using financial transaction data

Improving financial conditions of individuals requires an understanding of the mechanisms through which bad financial decision-making leads to worse financial outcomes. From a theoretical point of view, a key candidate inducing mistakes in financial decision-making are so called present-biased preferences, which are one of the cornerstones of behavioral economics. According to theory, present-biased households should behave systematically different when it comes to consumption and saving decisions, as they should be more prone to spending too much and saving too little. In this policy letter we show how high frequency financial transaction data available in digitized form allows to precisely categorize individual financial-decision making to be present-biased or not. Using this categorization, we find that one out of five individuals in our sample exhibits present-bias and that this present-biased behavior is associated with a stronger use of overdrafts. As overdrafts represent a particularly expensive way of short-term borrowing, their systematic use can be interpreted as a measure of suboptimal financial-decision making. Overall, our results indicate that the combination of economic theory and Big Data is able to generate valuable insights with applications for policy makers and businesses alike

Einfluss von Achsdeformitäten und deren Korrektur auf die Arthroseentstehung und -progression

A cornerstone in the treatment of osteoarthritis in young patients is the evaluation and correction of the leg axis. The combination of a joint injury (meniscus, cartilage, ligament) and an axis deviation inevitably, depending on its extent and the patient's comorbidities such as obesity, leads to progressive osteoarthritis of the knee after a few years. In addition to the precise deformity analysis for osteotomy planning, it is important to know the normal ranges of the corresponding angles and to define a target value for axis correction. Reflecting the repertoire of different osteotomy options around the knee (open vs. closed, tibial vs. femoral, medial vs. lateral), the side effects in relation to patellofemoral maltracking, ligamentary balancing and leg length should then be assessed. Especially with regard to possible (and probable) prosthetic operations at some time in the future of young patients, new bony deformities or ligamentous insufficiencies, which potentially arise from overcorrection, must be avoided

Sports-Related Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Germany

BACKGROUND Knowledge about causes of sports-related sudden cardiac arrest (SrSCA) may influence national strategies to prevent such events. Therefore, we established a prospective registry on SrSCA to estimate the incidence and in particular describe the etiologies of SrSCA in the general population in Germany. METHODS The registration of SrSCA based upon 4 pillars: a web-based platform to record SrSCA cases in competitive and recreational athletes, media-monitoring, cooperation with the German Resuscitation Registry, and 15 institutes of forensic medicine. RESULTS After an observation period of 6 years, a total of 349 cases was recorded (mean age 48.0 ± 12.7 years); 109 subjects survived. Most of the cases occurred during nonelite competitive or recreational sports. Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated in 262 cases (75%); however, rhythm analysis and defibrillation (if indicated) was mainly performed by medical services. In patients ≤ 35 years of age, premature coronary artery disease (CAD) and sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) prevailed, followed by myocarditis. In athletes ≥ 35 years of age, CAD predominated. CONCLUSIONS Country-specific registries are necessary to define the national screening and prevention strategy optimally. In Germany, premature CAD, SADS, and myocarditis are the leading causes of SrSCA in young athletes, reinforcing the great disparity of the prevalence of cardiac diseases among different countries. Extension of on-site SCD-prevention campaigns, with training of CPR and explanation of the efficient use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), may decrease the burden of SrSCD