Wirtschaftlichkeit von Grünguthäcksel: Eine risikoorientierte Systembewertung

The enhancement and improvement of soil fertility is one of the principal aims of or-ganic agriculture. The practical realization needs a multi-annual, complex approach as well as the economic valuation. Exemplarily, it is shown for the use of green chop with wide C/N ratio in field beans. The cost-benefits-analysis is done with results from field trials and data from real farms. It includes the yield effects on beans and the following grain. Additional impacts like weed suppression and nitrogen fixation are estimated, too. The results show that the gross margin difference for beans is averaged 27 to 55 €/ha (depending on application techniques), but for grains +176 €/ha. Overall, the farms can gain +1 to +13 €/ha in average by using green chop to improve soil fertility. A risk analysis regarding yield variability of beans and grains shows a surplus for farms in 70 to 75 % of cases

Correlation of passivity symptoms and dysfunctional visuomotor action monitoring in psychosis

Passivity experiences are hallmark symptoms of schizophrenia that can be characterized by the belief that one's thoughts or actions are controlled by an external agent. It has recently been suggested that these psychotic experiences result from defective monitoring of one's own actions, i.e. disturbed comparison of actions and perceived outcomes. In this study, we examined the function of the previously characterized action monitoring network of the inferior parietal lobule (IPL), medial (mPFC) and lateral prefrontal cortices in patients with different levels of passivity symptoms with an fMRI task. The visuomotor fMRI task demanded control of visually perceived object movements by alternating button presses with the left and the right index finger. In the monitoring condition of this task subjects stopped their actions whenever they detected visuomotor incongruence. fMRI and behavioural data from 15 patients were tested for correlation with passivity symptoms using standardized Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS)- and AMDP- passivity symptom ratings. Both types of data were tested for differences between the patients group and 15 healthy controls. In the patient group we found the expected correlation of passivity symptoms and visuomotor monitoring performance. There was a significant positive correlation of passivity symptoms with increased latency of incongruence detection and a negative correlation of SAPS-passivity with the number of detected events. fMRI data revealed correlations of passivity symptoms with activation in bilateral IPL, primary motor and sensory cortices in the action monitoring condition. A correlation of passivity symptoms with the main experimental effect (actions with - actions without monitoring) was found in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and in the left IPL. No group differences or group by task interactions were found within the visuomotor-action-monitoring network. Our results demonstrate the association between passivity symptoms and the dysfunction of visuomotor action monitoring and support the idea that psychotic passivity experiences result from dysfunctions of central action monitoring mechanisms: According to pre-existing concepts of parietal cortex function, IPL-hyperactivation may represent an increase in false detections of visuomotor incongruence while the correlation between passivity and the differential effect of monitoring on PCC-activation assumedly represents greater self-monitoring effort in passivity experience

Correlation of passivity symptoms and dysfunctional visuomotor action monitoring in psychosis

Passivity experiences are hallmark symptoms of schizophrenia that can be characterized by the belief that one's thoughts or actions are controlled by an external agent. It has recently been suggested that these psychotic experiences result from defective monitoring of one's own actions, i.e. disturbed comparison of actions and perceived outcomes. In this study, we examined the function of the previously characterized action monitoring network of the inferior parietal lobule (IPL), medial (mPFC) and lateral prefrontal cortices in patients with different levels of passivity symptoms with an fMRI task. The visuomotor fMRI task demanded control of visually perceived object movements by alternating button presses with the left and the right index finger. In the monitoring condition of this task subjects stopped their actions whenever they detected visuomotor incongruence. fMRI and behavioural data from 15 patients were tested for correlation with passivity symptoms using standardized Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS)- and AMDP- passivity symptom ratings. Both types of data were tested for differences between the patients group and 15 healthy controls. In the patient group we found the expected correlation of passivity symptoms and visuomotor monitoring performance. There was a significant positive correlation of passivity symptoms with increased latency of incongruence detection and a negative correlation of SAPS-passivity with the number of detected events. fMRI data revealed correlations of passivity symptoms with activation in bilateral IPL, primary motor and sensory cortices in the action monitoring condition. A correlation of passivity symptoms with the main experimental effect (actions with – actions without monitoring) was found in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and in the left IPL. No group differences or group by task interactions were found within the visuomotor-action-monitoring network. Our results demonstrate the association between passivity symptoms and the dysfunction of visuomotor action monitoring and support the idea that psychotic passivity experiences result from dysfunctions of central action monitoring mechanisms: According to pre-existing concepts of parietal cortex function, IPL-hyperactivation may represent an increase in false detections of visuomotor incongruence while the correlation between passivity and the differential effect of monitoring on PCC-activation assumedly represents greater self-monitoring effort in passivity experiences

Expiratory automatic endotracheal tube compensation reduces dynamic hyperinflation in a physical lung model

INTRODUCTION: The effect of expiratory endotracheal tube (ETT) resistance on dynamic lung inflation is unknown. We hypothesized that ETT resistance causes dynamic lung hyperinflation by impeding lung emptying. We further hypothesized that compensation for expiratory ETT resistance by automatic tube compensation (ATC) attenuates dynamic lung hyperinflation. METHODS: A ventilator equipped with the original ATC mode and operating in a pressure-targeted mode was connected to a physical lung model that consists of four equally sized glass bottles filled with copper wool. Inspiratory pressure, peak expiratory flow, trapped lung volume and intrinsic positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) were assessed at combinations of four inner ETT diameters (7.0, 7.5, 8.0 and 8.5 mm), four respiratory rates (15, 20, 25 and 30/minute), three inspiratory pressures (3.0, 4.5 and 6.0 cmH2O) and four lung compliances (113, 86, 58 and 28 ml/cmH2O). Intrinsic PEEP was measured at the end of an expiratory hold manoeuvre. RESULTS: At a given test lung compliance, inspiratory pressure and ETT size, increasing respiratory rates from 15 to 30/minutes had the following effects: inspiratory tidal volume and peak expiratory flow were decreased by means of 25% (range 0% to 51%) and 11% (8% to 12%), respectively; and trapped lung volume and intrinsic PEEP were increased by means of 25% (0% to 51%) and 26% (5% to 45%), respectively (all P < 0.025). At otherwise identical baseline conditions, introduction of expiratory ATC significantly attenuated (P < 0.025), by approximately 50%, the respiratory rate-dependent decreases in inspiratory tidal volume and the increases in trapped lung volume and intrinsic PEEP. CONCLUSIONS: In a lung model of pressure-targeted ventilation, expiratory ETT resistance caused dynamic lung hyperinflation during increases in respiratory rates, thereby reducing inspiratory tidal volume. Expiratory ATC attenuated these adverse effects

GREIT is sensitive to training targets near boundary

It has been observed that the distribution of the training targets used to calculate the GREIT reconstruction matrix has a strong impact on its chief figure of merit, the amplitude response (AR). We found that uniform AR requires a minimum target distance to the domain boundary, and target density gradient toward the centre has less impact on uniform AR

TUG Test Instrumentation for Parkinson’s disease patients using Inertial Sensors and Dynamic Time Warping

The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test is a clinical tool widely used to evaluate balance and mobility, e.g. in Parkinson’s disease (PD). This test includes a sequence of functional activities, namely: sit-to-stand, 3-meters walk, 180° turning, walk back, and turn-to-sit. The work introduces a new method to instrument the TUG test using a wearable inertial sen-sor unit (DynaPort Hybrid, McRoberts B.V., NL) attached on the lower back of the person. It builds on Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) for detection and duration assessment of associated state transitions. An automatic assessment to sub-stitute a manual evaluation with visual observation and a stopwatch is aimed at to gain objective information about the patients. The algorithm was tested on data of 10 healthy individuals and 20 patients with Parkinson's disease (10 pa-tients for early and late disease phases respectively). The algorithm successfully extracted the time information of the sit-to-stand, turn and turn-to-sit transitions

Körnerleguminosen und Bodenfruchtbarkeit - Strategien für einen erfolgreichen Anbau

Der Boden ist eine der wichtigsten Grundlagen unseres Lebens, das erkannte bereits der Bodenkundler und Jurist Friedrich Albert Fallou. Um der großen Bedeutung des Bodens gerecht zu werden, schrieb das „Bundesprogramm Ökologischer Landbau und andere Formen nachhaltiger Landwirtschaft“ (BÖLN*) eine interdisziplinäre Bekanntmachung aus, um praxisnahe Anbaustrategien zu entwickeln, um die Bodenfruchtbarkeit und Pflanzenernährung im Körnerleguminosenanbau zu verbessern. So wurde das interdisziplinäre Bodenfruchtbarkeitsprojekt ins Leben gerufen, in dem Wissenschaft, Beratung und Praxis eng verzahnt waren. Im Laufe des fünfjährigen Projektes kristallisierten sich viele praxisrelevante Erkenntnisse heraus, die nun in der Praxisbroschüre "Körnerleguminosen und Bodenfruchtbarkeit - Strategien für einen erfolgreichen Anbau" nachgelesen werden können