Soil amendment with activated charcoal can reduce dieldrin uptake by cucumbers

Organochlorine pesticides (OCP) were once applied world wide but have been banned meanwhile in most countries because of their ecotoxicity, bioaccumulation and persistence. However, residues can still be present in soils even many years after applications have been stopped and taken up by crop plants. OCP accumulation from bound residues was found to be a particular problem in Cucurbitaceae plants. Two soil surveys performed in 2002 and 2005 in Switzerland revealed that OCP residues were taken up by cucumbers grown in soils that have been converted to organic production in the meantime. Even if legal tolerance values are not exceeded, this is a serious economic problem for the farmers affected by contaminated crops, because consumers of organically grown crops are only willing to pay the higher prices for these than for conventional products because they are particularly concerned about health and environmental quality and therefore expect pristine food. One approach to address the problem would be to increase the capacity of affected soils to bind OCP residues in order to prevent their uptake by the crops. In this study, we wanted to test the potential use of activated charcoal (AC) for this purpose. In addition, we wanted to assess the possibility of using OCP sorption in soil by Tenax® beads as a predictor for the phytoavailability of these compounds to cucumbers. We performed two pot experiments in which the cash crop cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) was grown in soil with bound residues of dieldrin (70 µg/kg), pentachloroaniline (<0.01 µg/kg) and p,p-DDE. The soil was taken from a field under organic farming in which these residues were found in the 2005 survey. In the first experiment, cucumbers were grown for 12 to 13 weeks (until fruits were ripe) in soil into which AC had been mixed at concentrations of 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg and in untreated controls. In the second experiment, Tenax® beads were added to the soil and cucumbers, grown with and without AC amendment (800 mg/kg soil), were harvested after 4, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13 weeks. Dieldrin was the only pesticide detected in the sampled cucumbers and extracted from soil by the Tenax beads. Dieldrin concentrations in the cucumbers were significantly reduced in the treatments with 400 and 800 mg/kg AC. Also significantly less dieldrin was sorbed by Tenax from the soil amended with 800 mg/kg AC than from the untreated control soil. More dieldrin was found to be sorbed by Tenax in the last 3-4 weeks of the experiment, particularly in the control soil, but this trend was not significant. The correlation between the amounts of Tenax-sorbed dieldrin and dieldrin accumulation in the cucumber fruits was significant in control soil and 800 mg/kg AC soil. Hence, Tenax appeared to be suited for the assessment of dieldrin solubility in soil and of phytoavailability to cucumbers

Smart cities:engaging users and developers to foster innovation ecosystems

Increasingly, city planners and government officials understand that cities are engines of innovation and wealth creation. Equally, there is a growing understanding that the application of technology in support of Smart Cities helps grow the urban economy and deliver better services to citizens. However, often Smart City projects are top- down projects focused on improving city infrastructure using technology. We argue, and our experience over the last decade has shown, that often, citizen driven, or grass-roots based Smart City projects deliver better value and sustainable success. In this paper we report on our work to engage citizens and the technology community in smart city projects and highlight some lessons learnt from our experiences. We show how a modest investment in a Smart City Data Hub (using our IoT platform – WoTKit) plus development tools based on Node-RED helps bootstrap a Smart City innovation cluster

Online food choices : when do "recommended by" labels work?

Understanding digital menu choices in limited-option environments, such as university cafés, is crucial for promoting healthier and more sustainable food choices. We are, therefore, looking at two possible interventions or nudges-recommendation and position-and how they interact with, for example, price. In the first smartphone-based study (N = 517), participants were presented with two menu options, while the factors "recommendation", "position", and "price" were manipulated. We only found effects in relation to the choice of the more popular menu option. Specifically, when the popular meal was the expensive option, the recommendation had a negative effect on choice, but not when the popular meal was the cheaper option. The aim of the second smartphone-based study (N = 916) was to shed more light on the role of popularity or personal preference in relation to recommendations. We manipulated the differences in personal preference (small or large) using a ranking task presented before the menu choice. In Study 2, the interaction effect between recommendation and price for the more popular menu option could not be replicated. Instead, we found that the greater the difference in preference, the less pronounced the price effect was. Overall, some effects of the recommendations have been identified, but further research is needed to clarify the exact circumstances under which they arise

Menu recommendations : when do they work?

Recommendations, such as “by the chef” help promote healthier and/or more sustainable food choices. However, little is known about whether recommendations are still effective when choices are few, as is typically the case in university cafés. Moreover, it is unclear how recommendations interact with factors such as price, etc. To address these questions, participants (N = 517) in a smartphone-based online study were visually presented with two menus (Dal or Curry) from which they had to choose one, with either none recommended or one of the two (none, Dal or Curry). Additionally, we manipulated the price of the menus (expensive or cheap) and the position of the menus (top or bottom). Participants were randomly assigned to one of the resulting 12 factor-level combinations (e.g., the recommended, more expensive Curry menu was on top). The subsequent analysis (probit model with ANOVA) with recommendation, price and position as independent variables and menu choice as dependent variable showed effects only with regard to the choice of the more popular menu, in this case the Curry (chosen by 66% of the participants). Specifically, when Curry was the expensive option, recommendation (regardless of position) negatively impacted choice (only 43% chose Curry), but not when Curry was the cheap option (87%). A subsequent exploratory analysis shows that the different effects of recommendations can be attributed to the participants' interpretation of the recommendation (which was assessed at the end of the respective study). Specifically, when the cheap Curry menu was recommended, participants were more likely to perceive the recommendation as a well-intentioned nudge toward a healthier or more sustainable choice. In contrast, when the Curry menu was the expensive option, participants were more likely to interpret the recommendation as a marketing strategy to increase sales. In summary, recommendations can influence menu choice in an online environment, but their effectiveness depends on pre-existing preferences for the recommended menu and is further moderated by the price of the menu

Atelectasis in obese patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery are not increased upon discharge from Post Anesthesia Care Unit.

BACKGROUND Obese patients frequently develop pulmonary atelectasis upon general anesthesia. The risk is increased during laparoscopic surgery. This prospective, observational single-center study evaluated atelectasis dynamics using Electric Impedance Tomography (EIT) in patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery. METHODS We included adult patients with ASA physical status I-IV and a BMI of ≥40. Exclusion criteria were known severe pulmonary hypertension, home oxygen therapy, heart failure, and recent pulmonary infections. The primary outcome was the proportion of poorly ventilated lung regions (low tidal variation areas) and the global inhomogeneity (GI) index assessed by EIT before discharge from the Post Anesthesia Care Unit compared to these same measures prior to initiation of anesthesia. RESULTS The median (IQR) proportion of low tidal variation areas at the different analysis points were T1 10.8% [3.6-15.1%] and T5 10.3% [2.6-18.9%], and the mean difference was -0.7% (95% CI: -5.8% -4.5%), i.e., lower than the predefined non-inferiority margin of 5% (p = 0.022). There were no changes at the four additional time points compared to T1 or postoperative pulmonary complications during the 14 days following the procedure. CONCLUSION We found that obese patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery do not leave the Post Anesthesia Care Unit with increased low tidal variation areas compared to the preoperative period

Can carbon labels encourage green food choices?

IntroductionA conventionally grown kiwi from Spain or an organic pineapple from Ghana? Which is the more environmentally friendly option? Given that the production and distribution of food is responsible for about a quarter of our CO2e emissions and thus plays a role in climate change the answer to such questions and, accordingly, making the right food product choices is crucial. The problem, however, is that it is difficult for consumers to calculate the CO2e value of food as it depends on several specifications such as the type of food, origin, etc. Could carbon labeling of food circumvent this problem and help consumers make more environmentally friendly choices?MethodsIn an online experiment, 402 participants had to choose 20 food products from a fictitious online shop. The participants were randomly assigned to either one of three food labeling conditions (Star Rating, Green Foot, and Traffic Light Label, short TLL) or the control condition.ResultsThe labeling conditions resulted in lower overall CO2e emissions, the purchase of more green food products and fewer red food products than in the control condition. The TLL outperformed the other two labels and was also the most accepted.DiscussionThe carbon TLL is therefore a promising intervention to help consumers to not only choose more environmentally friendly foods, but also make a significant contribution to the fight against climate change

Can carbon labels encourage green food choices?

Introduction: A conventionally grown kiwi from Spain or an organic pineapple from Ghana? Which is the more environmentally friendly option? Given that the production and distribution of food is responsible for about a quarter of our CO2e emissions and thus plays a role in climate change the answer to such questions and, accordingly, making the right food product choices is crucial. The problem, however, is that it is difficult for consumers to calculate the CO2e value of food as it depends on several specifications such as the type of food, origin, etc. Could carbon labeling of food circumvent this problem and help consumers make more environmentally friendly choices? Methods: In an online experiment, 402 participants had to choose 20 food products from a fictitious online shop. The participants were randomly assigned to either one of three food labeling conditions (Star Rating, Green Foot, and Traffic Light Label, short TLL) or the control condition. Results: The labeling conditions resulted in lower overall CO2e emissions, the purchase of more green food products and fewer red food products than in the control condition. The TLL outperformed the other two labels and was also the most accepted. Discussion: The carbon TLL is therefore a promising intervention to help consumers to not only choose more environmentally friendly foods, but also make a significant contribution to the fight against climate change

Sorting of chromosomes by magnetic separation

Chromosomes were isolated from Chinese hamster x human hybrid cell lines containing four and nine human chromosomes. Human genomic DNA was biotinylated by nick translation and used to label the human chromosomes by in situ hybridization in suspension. Streptavidin was covalently coupled to the surface of magnetic beads and these were incubated with the hybridized chromosomes. The human chromosomes were bound to the magnetic beads through the strong biotin-streptavidin complex and then rapidly separated from nonlabeled Chinese hamster chromosomes by a simple permanent magnet. The hybridization was visualized by additional binding of avidin-FITC (fluorescein) to the unoccupied biotinylated human DNA bound to the human chromosomes. After magnetic separation, up to 98% of the individual chromosomes attached to magnetic beads were classified as human chromosomes by fluorescence microscopy

Forschungsbericht in Erfüllung des Postulats 14.4077/Hefti

Digitale Brillen, deren prominenteste Vertreterin wohl Google Glass sein dürfte, stehen an der Schwelle, ein verbreitetes Konsumentenprodukt zu werden – spätestens dann, wenn sich das System auch mit vorhandenen Brillen kombinieren lässt. Als erweitertes Display eines Smartphones versprechen solche Systeme, Informationen «auf einen Blick» quasi nebenbei zu präsentieren, spontan Bilder und Filme der eigenen Umgebung festzuhalten und persönliche Textnachrichten ad hoc lesen und beantworten zu können. Die Integration ortsbezogener Informationen ermöglicht darüber hinaus – neben der Abbildung von Navigationsinformationen – den Einbezug lokaler Informationen, beispielsweise zu Sehenswürdigkeiten oder zu in der nahen Umgebung verfügbaren Produkten. Es dürfte nicht unwahrscheinlich sein, dass die Nutzung von digitalen Brillen auch während der aktiven Teilnahme am Strassenverkehr stattfindet, was folglich einen Einfluss auf das Verhalten im Strassenverkehr impliziert. Zu klären ist, welche Qualität diese Einwirkung besitzt und ob in der Gesamtbilanz von einer eher positiven oder negativen Wirkung auf die Verkehrssicherheit zu erwarten ist. Der Blick richtet sich dabei vorwiegend auf allfällige Effekte in der Rolle als Fahrzeuglenkende, Ableitungen mit Bezug auf den Langsamverkehr sind – eingeschränkt – jedoch möglich