Spatial scales of interactions among bacteria and between bacteria and the leaf surface.

Microbial life on plant leaves is characterized by a multitude of interactions between leaf colonizers and their environment. While the existence of many of these interactions has been confirmed, their spatial scale or reach often remained unknown. In this study, we applied spatial point pattern analysis to 244 distribution patterns of Pantoea agglomerans and Pseudomonas syringae on bean leaves. The results showed that bacterial colonizers of leaves interact with their environment at different spatial scales. Interactions among bacteria were often confined to small spatial scales up to 5-20 μm, compared to interactions between bacteria and leaf surface structures such as trichomes which could be observed in excess of 100 μm. Spatial point-pattern analyses prove a comprehensive tool to determine the different spatial scales of bacterial interactions on plant leaves and will help microbiologists to better understand the interplay between these interactions

Pengelolaan Penggunaan Lahan untuk Stabilisasi Tepian Hutan Tropis Menggunakan Agent-Based Land-Use Modelling

Tropical forest margin conversion to agriculture land in in Lore Lindu National Park has reached an alaming rate. The conversion was trigered by insufficient revenue to support minimal living standard amounted to                  Rp15.000.000,00/year/household obtained from unproductive cacao farming. Each household required another 1 ha new land to at least reach that minimal living standard. Therefore 218 ha of forest land are potentially cleared by farmerin the near future to extend their farming area. Increasing productivity using innovative agro-technolgy should be considered as one important alternative to reduce the need to clear another forest area. Due to the complexity of interrelated variable affected by using innovative agro-technolgy, a model should be used to take account every affected variable such as availability of labour and liquidity in adopting new agro-technology. In this research, agent-based modeling with mixed integer linear programming model (MILP) using MPMAS software (Mathematical Programming for Multy Agent System) was used to analyze impact of balanced fertilizing and irrigation technology to increase cacao land productivity. Balanced fertilizing was insufficient to reach minimum standard living of Rp15.000.000,00 with existing area of cacao land (1 ha/HH), due to the severe water deficit during month of January until February. Combining balanced fertilizing with irrigation water supply can increase productivity reaching minimum standard of living. It was obvious from the modeling that in the ealier period of cacao growth (1-5 year old), deficits in liquidity and labour was encountered. Interplanting cacao with maize at the earlier phase with additional income from livestock can alleviate liquidity shortage

Pengelolaan Penggunaan Lahan untuk Stabilisasi Tepian Hutan Tropis Menggunakan Agent-Based Land-Use Modelling

Tropical forest margin conversion to agriculture land in in Lore Lindu National Park has reached an alaming rate. The conversion was trigered by insufficient revenue to support minimal living standard amounted to                  Rp15.000.000,00/year/household obtained from unproductive cacao farming. Each household required another 1 ha new land to at least reach that minimal living standard. Therefore 218 ha of forest land are potentially cleared by farmerin the near future to extend their farming area. Increasing productivity using innovative agro-technolgy should be considered as one important alternative to reduce the need to clear another forest area. Due to the complexity of interrelated variable affected by using innovative agro-technolgy, a model should be used to take account every affected variable such as availability of labour and liquidity in adopting new agro-technology. In this research, agent-based modeling with mixed integer linear programming model (MILP) using MPMAS software (Mathematical Programming for Multy Agent System) was used to analyze impact of balanced fertilizing and irrigation technology to increase cacao land productivity. Balanced fertilizing was insufficient to reach minimum standard living of Rp15.000.000,00 with existing area of cacao land (1 ha/HH), due to the severe water deficit during month of January until February. Combining balanced fertilizing with irrigation water supply can increase productivity reaching minimum standard of living. It was obvious from the modeling that in the ealier period of cacao growth (1-5 year old), deficits in liquidity and labour was encountered. Interplanting cacao with maize at the earlier phase with additional income from livestock can alleviate liquidity shortage

Towards an integrated ecological-economic land-use change model

Land-use changes have transformed tropical landscapes throughout the past decades dramatically. We describe here an ecologicaleconomicland-use change model to provide an integrated, exploratory tool to analyze how tropical land use and land-use change affect ecological and socio-conomic functions. The guiding question of the model is what kind of landscape mosaic can improve the ensemble of ecosystem functioning, biodiversity and economic benefit based on the synergies and trade-offs that we have to account for. The economic submodel simulates smallholder land-use management decisions based on a profit maximization assumption and a Leontief production function. Each household determines factor inputs for all household fields and decides about land-use change based on available wealth. The ecological submodel includes a simple account of carbon sequestration in above- and belowground vegetation. Initialized with realistic or artificial land use maps, the ecological-economic model will advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the trade-offs and synergies of ecological and economic functions in tropical landscapes

Vendor-Management im GCP-Bereich: 1. Schritte : Regulatorische-, Vendorselektions- und Vertragsanforderungen

Die Auslagerung von einzelnen Teilgebieten oder ganzen Abteilungen an Dritte, sogenannten Vendoren, ist im Bereich der klinischen Studien immer häufiger. Durch den Transfer von Aufgaben ergeben sich eine Vielzahl an Vor- und Nachteilen, welche effizient gemanagt werden müssen, um den Nutzen zu maximieren und die verbundenen Risiken und Kosten zu minimieren. Die endgültige Verantwortung für die Qualität und Integrität der Studiendaten verbleibt jedoch beim Sponsor. Aufgrund der gestiegenen Ausmaße, Komplexität und Kosten von klinischen Studien ist Vendor Management stark in den Fokus der Unternehmen und Behörden gerückt. Aus diesem Grund wurden Rechtsvorschriften und Guidelines erneuert, wodurch eine Anpassung der unternehmensinternen Prozesse zwingend notwendig ist. Alle Aspekte des Vendor-Managements müssen abgedeckt sein und die Einhaltung aller geltenden Rechtsvorschriften ist zwingend notwendig. Was sind nun die Anforderungen der zutreffenden Behörden und wie müssen diese umgesetzt werden? Welche möglichen Werkzeuge gibt es und was muss dabei beachtet werden? Der Vendor Management Prozess kann in die wesentlichen Phasen der Vendorselektion, des Vertragsmanagements und des kontinuierlichen Vendor Managements aufgeteilt werden. Die ersten beiden Schritte werden im Detail in dieser Masterarbeit behandelt. Eines der Hauptziele dieser Arbeit besteht darin, eine Zusammenfassung der derzeit geltenden regulatorischen Anforderungen im Hinblick auf Vendor Management im GCP-Bereich zu bieten. Der Schwerpunkt wird dabei auf die globalen ICH Guidelines, die EU- Verordnungen und Richtlinien als auch auf das österreichische Gesetz gelegt. Das zentrale Dokument bildet die ICH GCP E6 (R2) Guideline, für die am 14th Juni 2017 ein integriertes Addendum in Kraft getreten ist. Die Guideline legt unter anderem fest, dass die Überwachung sichergestellt und ein Qualitätsmanagementsystem implementiert werden muss. Darüber hinaus wurden die geltenden GMP-Verordnungen und Richtlinien sowie der unabhängige ISO 9001 Standard herangezogen, um einen breiteren Einblick in die Thematik zu erhalten. Für eine optimale Umsetzung der Vendor Management Prozesse, werden die in der Literatur beschriebenen gängigen Werkzeuge und Arbeitsabläufe erläutert und diskutiert. Zumeist stehen mehrere Anbieter für die ausgelagerten Tätigkeiten zur Verfügung, wobei der bestqualifizierte und geeignetste Vendor identifiziert werden sollte. Aus diesem Grund müssen neben dem Preis und der Qualität noch eine Vielzahl weiterer Kriterien berücksichtigt und analysiert werden. Der darauffolgende Vertrag ist ein kritischer Bestandteil im Verhältnis zwischen Sponsor und Vendor und verschiedenste Aspekte wie Aufgabenbereiche, Zeitfristen und Geheimhaltung, müssen vorab vereinbart und definiert werden. Die chronologischen Tätigkeiten werden durch praxisnahe Vorlagen, wie zum Beispiel einen Request for Information oder einen Vertrag, visualisiert. Der theoretische Teil schließt mit einer Gap-Analyse ab. Weiterführend zu dieser Arbeit wird das kontinuierliche Vendor Management einschließlich des Risikomanagements in der Masterarbeit „Vendor Management in a GCP environment: Covering risk management and follow-up steps for an ongoing management“ von Jennifer Kraus behandelt.Outsourcing of single tasks or even whole departments to third parties, termed vendors, is becoming increasingly popular within the field of clinical trials. With the transfer of tasks, a number of advantages and disadvantages arise, which need to be managed effectively to maximize benefits and minimize associated risks and costs. Still the ultimate responsibility for the quality and integrity of the trial data remains with the sponsor. Due to the increase in scale, complexity, and cost of clinical trials the importance of an efficient vendor management has moved in the focus of enterprises and authorities. For this reason, regulations and guidelines have been renewed, resulting in the requirement to adopt companys internal processes. All aspects of vendor management must be covered and the compliance with all applicable regulations is mandatory. So, what are the requirements of the applicable authorities and how should these be implemented? Which possible tools are there and what should be considered? The vendor management process can be split in the essential stages of vendor selection, contract management and continuous vendor management. The first two steps are discussed in detail within this master thesis. One of the main aims of this thesis is to provide a summary of the currently applicable regulatory requirements for vendor management within the GCP environment. The focus has been laid on global ICH guidelines, EU directives and regulations as well as the Austrian law. The central document is the ICH GCP E6 (R2) guideline and an integrated addendum became effective recently on the 14 June 2017. Among other things, the guideline specifies inter alia that oversight must be ensured, and a quality management system must be implemented. In addition, GMP guidelines and regulations as well as the independent ISO 9001 standard are addressed to gain a broader insight into the topic. To support an optimal implementation of vendor management processes the common tools and workflows described in the literature are addressed and discussed. Mostly multiple potential vendors are available for the outsourced tasks and the most qualified and suitable vendor should be identified. For this reason, multiple criteria beside price and quality must be considered and analysed. The subsequent contract is a critical element of the relationship between sponsor and vendor and various topics, as area of responsibilities, timelines, and confidentiality, must be agreed and defined upfront. The chronological tasks are visualized with practical draft documents, as for example a request for interest or a contract. The thesis concludes in a gap-analysis. The continuous stage of vendor management including risk management is further addressed within the aligned master thesis “Vendor Management in a GCP environment: Covering risk management and follow-up steps for an ongoing management” of Jennifer Kraus.Vorgelegt von: Wiegand KerstinAbweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des VerfassersWien, FH Campus Wien, Masterarb., 2018(VLID)284293

Low R2 in ecology: Bitter, or B-side?

Low coefficient of determination (R2) is a basic source of the pains ubiquitous in ecology, since its emergences in assessing numerous ecological indicators often mean the bitter disasters. Our theoretical rethinking about it suggested that one of its key causes is the universal diversity of individual subjective adaptability, always combating with the ecological principle of pursuing generality. This inference inspired us to reversely reason that low R2 in ecology may mirror the B-side of this generality. With the diversity of individual subjective adaptability considered, we proposed two related B-sides – functional diversity and plant intelligence, and their case studies validated our reasoning. For seeking more B-sides, we devised exploratory analysis regression as the supportable methodological paradigm, for future study. Overall, when meeting low R2 in ecology, people should not just feel bitter but positively take advantage of it for expandingly making new cross-disciplinary discoveries. Our perspective, with philosophy conversion and paradigm innovation for converting low R2 from an assessor of ecological indicators to a novel ecological indicator, is of extensive implication on initiating new ecology-enlightened avenues for promoting many other fields

PENGELOLAAN PENGGUNAAN LAHAN UNTUK STABILISASI TEPIAN HUTAN TROPIS MENGGUNAKAN AGENT-BASED LAND-USE MODELLING

Tropical forest margin conversion to agriculture land in in Lore Lindu National Park has reached an alaming rate. The conversion was trigered by insufficient revenue to support minimal living standard amounted to Rp15.000.000,00/year/household obtained from unproductive cacao farming. Each household required another 1 ha new land to at least reach that minimal living standard. Therefore 218 ha of forest land are potentially cleared by farmerin the near future to extend their farming area. Increasing productivity using innovative agro-technolgy should be considered as one important alternative to reduce the need to clear another forest area. Due to the complexity of interrelated variable affected by using innovative agro-technolgy, a model should be used to take account every affected variable such as availability of labour and liquidity in adopting new agro-technology. In this research, agent-based modeling with mixed integer linear programming model (MILP) using MPMAS software (Mathematical Programming for Multy Agent System) was used to analyze impact of balanced fertilizing and irrigation technology to increase cacao land productivity. Balanced fertilizing was insufficient to reach minimum standard living of Rp15.000.000,00 with existing area of cacao land (1 ha/HH), due to the severe water deficit during month of January until February. Combining balanced fertilizing with irrigation water supply can increase productivity reaching minimum standard of living. It was obvious from the modeling that in the ealier period of cacao growth (15 year old), deficits in liquidity and labour was encountered. Interplanting cacao with maize at the earlier phase with additional income from livestock can alleviate liquidity shortage

Production and robustness of a Cacao agroecosystem: effects of two contrasting types of management strategies.

Ecological intensification, i.e. relying on ecological processes to replace chemical inputs, is often presented as the ideal alternative to conventional farming based on an intensive use of chemicals. It is said to both maintain high yield and provide more robustness to the agroecosystem. However few studies compared the two types of management with respect to their consequences for production and robustness toward perturbation. In this study our aim is to assess productive performance and robustness toward diverse perturbations of a Cacao agroecosystem managed with two contrasting groups of strategies: one group of strategies relying on a high level of pesticides and a second relying on low levels of pesticides. We conducted this study using a dynamical model of a Cacao agroecosystem that includes Cacao production dynamics, and dynamics of three insects: a pest (the Cacao Pod Borer, Conopomorpha cramerella) and two characteristic but unspecified beneficial insects (a pollinator of Cacao and a parasitoid of the Cacao Pod Borer). Our results showed two opposite behaviors of the Cacao agroecosystem depending on its management, i.e. an agroecosystem relying on a high input of pesticides and showing low ecosystem functioning and an agroecosystem with low inputs, relying on a high functioning of the ecosystem. From the production point of view, no type of management clearly outclassed the other and their ranking depended on the type of pesticide used. From the robustness point of view, the two types of managements performed differently when subjected to different types of perturbations. Ecologically intensive systems were more robust to pest outbreaks and perturbations related to pesticide characteristics while chemically intensive systems were more robust to Cacao production and management-related perturbation