Association of lung function with declining ambient air pollution.

Recent studies have found a declining prevalence of respiratory infections in East German children, along with a tremendous improvement of air pollution since 1990. The present study evaluates the effects of improved air quality on lung function. Three consecutive cross-sectional surveys of schoolchildren ages 11-14 years from three communities in East Germany were performed in 1992-1993, 1995-1996, and 1998-1999. Lung function tests were available from 2,493 children. The annual mean of total suspended particulates (TSP) declined from 79 to 25 micro g/m(3), whereas levels for sulfur dioxide declined from 113 to 6 micro g/m(3). Mean forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV(1)) of the children increased from 1992-1993 to 1998-1999. The adjusted percent change of the geometric mean of FVC was 4.7% for a 50 micro g/m(3) decrease of TSP (p = 0.043) and 4.9% for a decrement of 100 micro g/m(3) SO(2) (p = 0.029). Effects on FEV(1) were smaller and not statistically significant. Our study indicates that a reduction of air pollution in a short time period may improve children's lung function

Preschool children's health and its association with parental education and individual living conditions in East and West Germany

BACKGROUND: Social inequalities in health exist globally and are a major public health concern. This study focus on a systematic investigation into the associations between health indicators, living conditions and parental educational level as indicator of the social status of 6-year-old children living in West and East Germany in the decade after re-unification. Explanations of observed associations between parental education and health indicators were examined. METHODS: All boys and girls entering elementary school and living in predefined areas of East and West Germany were invited to participate in a series of cross-sectional surveys conducted between 1991 and 2000. Data of 28,888 German children with information on parental education were included in the analysis. Information about educational level of the parents, individual living conditions, symptoms and diagnoses of infectious diseases and allergies were taken from questionnaire. At the day of investigation, atopic eczema was diagnosed by dermatologists, blood was taken for the determination of allergen-specific immuno-globulin E, height and weight was measured and lung function tests were done in subgroups. Regression analysis was applied to investigate the associations between the health indicators and parental educational level as well as the child's living conditions. Gender, urban/rural residency and year of survey were used to control for confounding. RESULTS: Average response was 83% in East Germany and 71% in West Germany. Strong associations between health indicators and parental education were observed. Higher educated parents reported more diagnoses and symptoms than less educated. Children of higher educated parents were also more often sensitized against grass pollen or house dust mites, but had higher birth weights, lower airway resistance and were less overweight at the age of six. Furthermore, most of the health indicators were significantly associated with one or more living conditions such as living as a single child, unfavourable indoor air, damp housing condition, maternal smoking during pregnancy or living near a busy road. The total lung capacity and the prevalence of an atopic eczema at the day of investigation were the only health indicators those did not show associations with any of the predictor variables. CONCLUSION: Despite large differences in living conditions and evidence that some poor health outcomes were directly associated with poor living conditions, only few indicators demonstrated poorer health in social disadvantaged children. These were in both parts of Germany increased levels of overweight, higher airway resistance and, in East Germany only, reduced height in children with lower educated parents compared to those of higher education. In both East and West Germany, higher prevalence of airway symptoms was associated with a damp housing condition, and lower birth weight, reduced height and increased airway resistance at the age of six were associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy. The latter explained to a large extent the difference in birth weight and airway resistance between the educational groups

A taxonomic backbone for the global synthesis of species diversity in the angiosperm order Caryophyllales

The Caryophyllales constitute a major lineage of flowering plants with approximately 12500 species in 39 families. A taxonomic backbone at the genus level is provided that reflects the current state of knowledge and accepts 749 genera for the order. A detailed review of the literature of the past two decades shows that enormous progress has been made in understanding overall phylogenetic relationships in Caryophyllales. The process of re-circumscribing families in order to be monophyletic appears to be largely complete and has led to the recognition of eight new families (Anacampserotaceae, Kewaceae, Limeaceae, Lophiocarpaceae, Macarthuriaceae, Microteaceae, Montiaceae and Talinaceae), while the phylogenetic evaluation of generic concepts is still well underway. As a result of this, the number of genera has increased by more than ten percent in comparison to the last complete treatments in the Families and genera of vascular plants” series. A checklist with all currently accepted genus names in Caryophyllales, as well as nomenclatural references, type names and synonymy is presented. Notes indicate how extensively the respective genera have been studied in a phylogenetic context. The most diverse families at the generic level are Cactaceae and Aizoaceae, but 28 families comprise only one to six genera. This synopsis represents a first step towards the aim of creating a global synthesis of the species diversity in the angiosperm order Caryophyllales integrating the work of numerous specialists around the world

Luftfracht und Luftverkehrslogistik: "Einkaufen weltweit - wie funktioniert das ?". Vortag gehalten auf der Informationsveranstaltung des Forums Flughafen & Region, Kelsterbach, 12.09.2015

Lebensmittel, Textilien oder Unterhaltungselektronik - es ist selbstverständlich geworden, dass uns als Verbraucher jederzeit ein breites Angebot an Konsumgütern zur Verfügung steht. Bis sie bei uns ankommen, haben die Produkte unter Umständen schon eine weite Reise hinter sich - Obst und Gemüse aus Übersee, Smartphones aus China, Arznei aus Indien etc. Doch wie kommen die Waren in den Supermarkt um die Ecke und zu uns als Endverbraucher? Wie funktioniert es, dass ein heute im Internet bestelltes Produkt morgen bei uns zu Hause ist? Ein weltweit agierendes Logistiknetz aus Speditionen, Transporteuren und Dienstleistern macht es möglich. Täglich werden die unterschiedlichsten Produkte schnell und auf kurzen Wegen vom Herstellungsort zum Endverbraucher transportiert. Der Vortrag "Luftfracht und Luftverkehrslogistik" gibt einen Überblick am Beispiel des internationalen Luftverkehrs, was Logistik bedeutet und wie sie funktioniert

Luftfracht als Wirtschafts- und Standortfaktor: Verkehrsträger und Verkehrsverhalten im Wandel

Im Vergleich zum Passagierverkehr stellt Luftfracht einen komplett anders strukturierten und organisierten Markt dar. Hinsichtlich der wirtschaftlichen Bedeutung ist Luftfracht essentielle Teilkomponente der globalen Logistik. Luftfracht-verkehre ermöglichen die Optimierung globaler Supply Chains und Distribution Networks. Standortbezogen verzeichnet Luftfracht eine extrem hohe Konzentration des Aufkommens auf sehr wenige Flughäfen weltweit. Der Vorteil räumlicher Nähe von Industrie- und Logistikregionen zu Luftfracht-standorten ist vergleichsweise gering ausgeprägt. Innerhalb der Luftverkehrswirtschaft steht Luftfracht als Wirtschafts- und Standortfaktor im Schatten des Passagierverkehrs, deren Wertschöpfung und Umsätze sind weitaus geringer. Eine große Rolle spielen jedoch gegenseitige Vorteile aus der kombinierten Beförderung von Fracht und Passagieren (Beiladung als Koppelprodukt) im Hinblick auf Strecken-angebote, Frequenzen und Auslastung der Verkehre. Auch innerhalb des Logistikmarktes ist Luftfracht umsatzbezogen nur ein sehr kleines Segment. Dennoch ist Luftfracht sowohl im Luftverkehrsmarkt als auch im Logistikmarkt von hoher Bedeutung. Der Warenwert der transportierten Güter ist extrem hoch, der Anteil der Transportmengen im Vergleich zu anderen Verkehrsträgern sehr gering. Die im Vergleich sehr viel höheren Kosten der Luftfracht sorgen gleichzeitig dafür, dass Versender den Lufttransport sinnvoll vermeiden. Damit stellt die wirtschaftliche Auslastung von Kapazitäten und Infrastrukturen eine große Herausforderung dar. Aus Sicht der Logistik und des Luftverkehrs sind an Flughäfen die Prozesse und Infrastrukturen für Luftfracht zu optimieren und aus-zubauen, Effizienz und Nachhaltigkeit die wichtigsten Ziele