All you can't eat. Wie der Klimawandel das Nahrungsmittelangabot der Schweiz verändern könnte

Der Klimawandel und die Umweltzerstörung reduzieren und verändern das Nahrungsmittelangebot. Steigende Temperaturen, fehlendes Wasser und der Verlust von Biodiversität wirken sich negativ auf die Verfügbarkeit, den Zugang, die Verwendung und die Beständigkeit von Nahrungsmitteln aus. Zu diesem Schluss kommt der Weltklimarat IPCC in seinem neuesten Sonderbericht «Climate Change and Land», der im August 2019 publiziert wurde. Das Bundesamt für Umwelt BAFU geht von einem Temperaturanstieg von 3.3° bis zu 5.4° Celsius im Vergleich zur Periode 1981 – 2010 aus, wenn wir weiterhin ungebremst Kohlendioxid ausstossen. Der Weltklimarat der UNO prognostiziert, dass die globalen Weizenerträge im Jahr 2050 im Vergleich zu heute um bis zu 13% tiefer ausfallen können, wenn wir weiterhin so viel CO2 ausstossen wie heute. Wenn man bedenkt, dass die Weltbevölkerung bis im Jahr 2050 auf bis zu 9.8 Milliarden Menschen anwachsen wird, sind diese Prognosen dramatisch. Der ungenügende Umweltschutz wird also nicht nur einen Grossteil unserer Gletscher schmelzen und uns in Tropennächten schlechter schlafen lassen. Er wird auch etwas so Zentrales und Identitätsstiftendes wie unsere Ernährung fundamental verändern. Welche Nahrungsmittel wir in Zukunft essen werden, lässt sich heute schwer voraussagen. Unsere eigene Verhaltensweise sowie die Reaktion der Politik auf die Klima- und Umweltkrise sind ausschlaggebend dafür, wie stark die Auswirkungen auf die Speisekarte unseres Landes sein werden. Doch wie spricht man mit der Schweizer Bevölkerung über solch ein komplexes Thema? Die Aktion «All you can’t eat» ist ein kulinarisches Experiment. In diesem Dokument experimentieren wir an Gerichten, die in der Deutsch- und Westschweiz oft und gerne gegessen werden. Wir prognostizieren dann anhand von Studien, Berichten, Experimenten und Annahmen, wie viel schwieriger es in Zukunft in der Schweiz sein wird, die Zutaten für traditionelle Mahlzeiten anzubauen oder aus dem Ausland zu beschaffen. Wir schlagen Substitute vor, die in einer klimaveränderten Zukunft in der Schweiz erfolgreich produzierbar sein könnten. Die beiden Spitzenköche Markus Burkhard und Julien Pansier modifizieren auf Basis dieser Substitute ein klassisches Menü, welches für das veränderte Nahrungsmittelangebot der Zukunft stehen kann. Ganz plakativ sei dies am Beispiel der Kartoffel illustriert: wenn diese anzubauen durch den Klimawandel schwieriger wird – dann gelingt es vielleicht besser, Süsskartoffeln anzubauen. Müssen wir also 2050 in der Schweiz die Rösti mit Süsskartoffeln zubereiten? Wir wissen es heute noch nicht. Aber allein die Tatsache, dass wir uns das heute fragen müssen, sollte uns beunruhigen. Die Aktion «All you can’t eat» illustriert die möglichen Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf unser Nahrungsmittelangebot auf anschauliche Weise – nämlich auf unserem Teller. Wer die neu interpretierten Gerichte zuhause nachkocht, und dazu laden wir die Stimmbürgerinnen und Stimmbürger ein, erhält eine plastischere Ahnung, was Klimawandel und fehlender Umweltschutz bedeuten kann

GMA: A Pareto Optimal Distributed Resource-Allocation Algorithm

To address the rising demand for strong packet delivery guarantees in networking, we study a novel way to perform graph resource allocation. We first introduce allocation graphs, in which nodes can independently set local resource limits based on physical constraints or policy decisions. In this scenario we formalize the distributed path-allocation (PAdist) problem, which consists in allocating resources to paths considering only local on-path information -- importantly, not knowing which other paths could have an allocation -- while at the same time achieving the global property of never exceeding available resources. Our core contribution, the global myopic allocation (GMA) algorithm, is a solution to this problem. We prove that GMA can compute unconditional allocations for all paths on a graph, while never over-allocating resources. Further, we prove that GMA is Pareto optimal with respect to the allocation size, and it has linear complexity in the input size. Finally, we show with simulations that this theoretical result could be indeed applied to practical scenarios, as the resulting path allocations are large enough to fit the requirements of practically relevant applications

Quantitation of Guggenheimella bovis and treponemes in bovine tissues related to digital dermatitis

Digital dermatitis is an inflammation of uncertain aetiology in the skin of the foot of cattle. In 2005, a novel microorganism, Guggenheimella bovis, was isolated from the advancing front of digital dermatitis lesions, suggesting a possible role in pathogenesis. In the present study, tissue samples of 20 affected cows were examined by quantitative PCR for G. bovis, treponemes and the total eubacterial load. High numbers of eubacteria and treponemes were found in most lesions, whereas only a few lesions contained Guggenheimella, and only at low concentrations. The results argue against the relevance of G. bovis in the aetiology of digital dermatitis in cattle, but are consistent with a role for treponeme

Augmented Reality in Higher Education: Considerations for a Future-Oriented Teacher Education

Augmented Reality (AR) ist eine Technologie zur Ergänzung und Überlagerung der realen Welt mit virtuellen Informationen. Hierzu stehen verschiedene Technologien zur Verfügung. Zu diesen zählen nebst Smartphones auch Smartbrillen, Head-Mounted Displays und weitere Geräte. In den letzten Jahren erfuhr AR im Bildungsbereich vermehrt Beachtung. Obwohl die Anzahl an Projekten und Publikationen hierzu inzwischen immens gestiegen ist, bestehen immer noch Forschungslücken in Bezug auf generelle didaktische Aspekte von AR im Unterricht sowie zur Lehrpersonenbildung. Dies ist ein bedeutendes Defizit, da Lehrpersonen der entscheidende Faktor für eine hochgradige Integration digitaler Medien in den schulischen Unterricht darstellen und damit die Digitalisierung der Volksschule konkret beeinflussen. Der Beitrag widmet sich deshalb diesem Thema und beschäftigt sich mit dem Lehren und Lernen mit AR-Anwendungen im Rahmen der Lehrpersonenbildung. Es wird vorerst eine Begriffsklärung sowie ein Überblick über die zentralen Erkenntnisse zu AR im Bildungsbereich erarbeitet und erläutert, welches Potenzial und welche Herausforderungen der Technologie zugeschrieben werden. Darauf aufbauend werden didaktische Überlegungen und konkrete Bildungsziele für den Einsatz von AR in der Lehrpersonenbildung dargelegt. Der Beitrag soll damit eine anregende Grundlage bieten, um den Einsatz von AR in der Lehrpersonenbildung zu reflektieren und weiterzuentwickeln.Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that supplements and overlays the real world with virtual information. Various technologies are available for this purpose. These include smartphones, smart glasses, head-mounted displays, and other devices. In recent years, AR has received increased attention in the field of education. Although the number of projects and publications has increased considerably, there are still research gaps regarding didactic aspects of AR in teaching in general and in the field of teacher education. This is a crucial shortcoming, as teachers are the decisive factor for a high level of integration of digital media into school teaching and thus have a substantial influence on the digitisation of public schools. This article is therefore dedicated to this topic and deals with teaching and learning with AR applications in the context of teacher education. Initially, a clarification of concepts and an overview of the central findings on AR in education will be provided and the potential and challenges attributed to the technology will be outlined. Building on this, didactic considerations and concrete educational goals for the use of AR in teacher education are illustrated. The article is intended to provide a stimulating basis for reflecting on and further developing the use of AR in teacher education

Fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy and the influence of oral lutein/zeaxanthin supplementation on macular pigment (FLOS) - A pilot study.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Oral lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) supplementation enhances macular pigment optical density (MPOD) and plays a protective role in the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) is a novel in vivo retinal imaging method that has been shown to correlate to classical MPOD measurements and might contribute to a metabolic mapping of the retina in the future. Our aim was to show that oral supplementation of L and Z affects the FLIO signal in a positive way in patients with AMD. METHODS This was a prospective, single center, open label cohort study. Patients with early and intermediate AMD received oral L and Z supplementation during three months, and were observed for another three months after therapy termination. All visits included measurements of clinical parameters, serum L and Z concentration, MPOD measurements using heterochromatic flicker photometry, dual wavelength autofluorescence imaging, and FLIO. Correlation analysis between FLIO and MPOD were performed. RESULTS Twenty-one patients completed the follow up period. Serum L and Z concentrations significantly increased during supplementation (mean difference 244.8 ng/ml; 95% CI: 81.26-419.9, and 77.1 ng/ml; 95% CI: 5.3-52.0, respectively). Mean MPOD units significantly increased (mean difference 0.06; 95% CI: 0.02-0.09; at 0.5°, 202; 95% CI: 58-345; at 2°, 1033; 95% CI: 288-1668; at 9° of eccentricity, respectively) after three months of supplementation with macular xanthophylls, which included L and Z. Median FLIO lifetimes in the foveal center significantly decreased from 277.3 ps (interquartile range 230.2-339.1) to 261.0 ps (interquartile range 231.4-334.4, p = 0.027). All parameters returned to near-normal values after termination of the nutritional supplementation. A significant negative correlation was found between FLIO and MPOD (r2 = 0.57, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS FLIO is able to detect subtle changes in MPOD after L and Z supplementation in patients with early and intermediate AMD. Our findings confirm the previous described negative correlation between FLIO and MPOD. Macular xanthophylls seem to contribute to short foveal lifetimes. This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier number NCT04761341)

G-SINC: Global Synchronization Infrastructure for Network Clocks

Many critical computing applications rely on secure and dependable time which is reliably synchronized across large distributed systems. Today's time synchronization architectures are commonly based on global navigation satellite systems at the considerable risk of being exposed to outages, malfunction, or attacks against availability and accuracy. This paper describes a practical instantiation of a new global, Byzantine fault-tolerant clock synchronization approach that does not place trust in any single entity and is able to tolerate a fraction of faulty entities while still maintaining synchronization on a global scale among otherwise sovereign network topologies. Leveraging strong resilience and security properties provided by the path-aware SCION networking architecture, the presented design can be implemented as a backward compatible active standby solution for existing time synchronization deployments. Through extensive evaluation, we demonstrate that over 94% of time servers reliably minimize the offset of their local clocks to real-time in the presence of up to 20% malicious nodes, and all time servers remain synchronized with a skew of only 2 ms even after one year of reference clock outage

Pre-ischemic Lactate Levels Affect the Post-ischemic Recovery in an Isolated Rat Heart Model of Donation After Circulatory Death (DCD)

Introduction: Donation after circulatory death (DCD) could substantially improve donor heart availability. In DCD, the heart is not only exposed to a period of warm ischemia, but also to a damaging pre-ischemic phase. We hypothesized that the DCD-relevant pre-ischemic lactate levels negatively affect the post-ischemic functional and mitochondrial recovery in an isolated rat heart model of DCD. Methods: Isolated, working rat hearts underwent 28.5′ of global ischemia and 60′ of reperfusion. Prior to ischemia, hearts were perfused with one of three pre-ischemic lactate levels: no lactate (0 Lac), physiologic lactate (0.5 mM; 0.5 Lac), or DCD-relevant lactate (1 mM; 1 Lac). In a fourth group, an inhibitor of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter was added in reperfusion to 1 Lac hearts (1 Lac + Ru360). Results: During reperfusion, left ventricular work (heart rate-developed pressure product) was significantly greater in 0.5 Lac hearts compared to 0 Lac or 1 Lac. In 1 vs. 0.5 Lac hearts, in parallel with a decreased function, cellular and mitochondrial damage was greater, tissue calcium content tended to increase, while oxidative stress damage tended to decrease. The addition of Ru360 to 1 Lac hearts partially abrogated the negative effects of the DCD-relevant pre-ischemic lactate levels (greater post-ischemic left ventricular work and less cytochrome c release in 1 Lac+Ru360 vs. 1 Lac). Conclusion: DCD-relevant levels of pre-ischemic lactate (1 mM) reduce contractile, cellular, and mitochondrial recovery during reperfusion compared to physiologic lactate levels. Inhibition of mitochondrial calcium uptake during early reperfusion improves the post-ischemic recovery of 1 Lac hearts, indicating calcium overload as a potential therapeutic reperfusion target for DCD hearts

Cosmesis and body image after single-port laparoscopic or conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a multicenter double blinded randomised controlled trial (SPOCC-trial)

BACKGROUND: Emerging attempts have been made to reduce operative trauma and improve cosmetic results of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. There is a trend towards minimizing the number of incisions such as natural transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) and single-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SPLC). Many retrospective case series propose excellent cosmesis and reduced pain in SPLC. As the latter has been confirmed in a randomized controlled trial, patient's satisfaction on cosmesis is still controversially debated. METHODS/DESIGN: The SPOCC trial is a prospective, multi-center, double blinded, randomized controlled study comparing SPLC with 4-port conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy (4PLC) in elective surgery. The hypothesis and primary objective is that patients undergoing SPLC will have a better outcome in cosmesis and body image 12 weeks after surgery. This primary endpoint is assessed using a validated 8-item multiple choice type questionnaire on cosmesis and body image. The secondary endpoint has three entities: the quality of life 12 weeks after surgery assessed by the validated Short-Form-36 Health Survey questionnaire, postoperative pain assessed by a visual analogue scale and the use of analgesics. Operative time, surgeon's experience with SPLC and 4PLC, use of additional ports, conversion to 4PLC or open cholecystectomy, length of stay, costs, time of work as well as intra- and postoperative complications are further aspects of the secondary endpoint. Patients are randomly assigned either to SPLC or to 4PLC. Patients as well as treating physicians, nurses and assessors are blinded until the 7th postoperative day. Sample size calculation performed by estimating a difference of cosmesis of 20% (alpha = 0.05 and beta = 0.90, drop out rate of 10%) resulted in a number of 55 randomized patients per arm. DISCUSSION: The SPOCC-trial is a prospective, multi-center, double-blind, randomized controlled study to assess cosmesis and body image after SPLC

Hochwasserschutz Sihl, Zürichsee, Limmat - Einlaufbauwerk Entlastungsstollen Thalwil

Aufsatz veröffentlicht in: "Wasserbau-Symposium 2021: Wasserbau in Zeiten von Energiewende, Gewässerschutz und Klimawandel, Zurich, Switzerland, September 15-17, 2021, Band 2" veröffentlicht unter: https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-00049975

Monoamine reuptake inhibition and mood-enhancing potential of a specified oregano extract

A healthy, balanced diet is essential for both physical and mental well-being. Such a diet must include an adequate intake of micronutrients, essential fatty acids, amino acids and antioxidants. The monoamine neurotransmitters, serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline, are derived from dietary amino acids and are involved in the modulation of mood, anxiety, cognition, sleep regulation and appetite. The capacity of nutritional interventions to elevate brain monoamine concentrations and, as a consequence, with the potential for mood enhancement, has not been extensively evaluated. The present study investigated an extract from oregano leaves, with a specified range of active constituents, identified via an unbiased, high-throughput screening programme. The oregano extract was demonstrated to inhibit the reuptake and degradation of the monoamine neurotransmitters in a dose-dependent manner, and microdialysis experiments in rats revealed an elevation of extracellular serotonin levels in the brain. Furthermore, following administration of oregano extract, behavioural responses were observed in mice that parallel the beneficial effects exhibited by monoamine-enhancing compounds when used in human subjects. In conclusion, these data show that an extract prepared from leaves of oregano, a major constituent of the Mediterranean diet, is brain-active, with moderate triple reuptake inhibitory activity, and exhibits positive behavioural effects in animal models. We postulate that such an extract may be effective in enhancing mental well-being in human