About the situation of spruce plantations in the South-East region of the State Forest Management Centre

Bakalaureusetöö Metsanduse õppekavalBakalaureusetöö eesmärgiks on uurida erineva juurekavaga hariliku kuuse taimede kordaminekut ja juurdekasvu Võrumaa metskonnas. Täpsemalt annab töö ülevaate kuusekultuuride kordaminekust, kus erinevateks teguriteks on taime kõrgus ja juurdekasv, istutusmaterjali tüüp, kasvukohatüüp, istutusaasta ning parameetriteks kõrgus, juurdekasv ja arvukus. Viimase sajandi vältel on Eestis olnud kasutusel peamiselt paljasjuursed männija kuusetaimed. Põhjamaades on tänapäeval kasutuses peamiselt konteinertaimed. Uuritavad alad asusid Võrumaa metskonnas, kus sai kokku mõõdetud 11 eraldist. Eraldistel oli istutusmaterjalideks avajuursed taimed ning potitaimed. Mõõdetavatel aladel esines peamiselt kaks kasvukohatüüpi: jänesekapsa ja jänesekapsa-mustika kasvukohatüüp. Kuuse taimed olid istutatud 2014., 2015. ning 2016. Aastal. Mõõtmistööd viidi läbi 2016. aastal, taimede kasvuperioodi lõppedes, oktoobris ja novembris. Mõõtmiste käigus uuriti taimede kõrguseid, juurdekasvu ning selle seost istutusmaterjali tüübiga, kasvukohatüübiga, istutusaastaga. Tulemustest selgus, avajuursed taimed olid kõrgemad, kuid väiksema juurdekasvuga kui potitaimed. Kuusetaimede juurdekasv võrreldes eelneva kasvuaasta juurdekasvuga suurenes. Kasvukohatüüpide võrdluses ei ilmnenud antud töös selget mõju taimedele. Võrumaa metskonnas esines kuusekultuuridest kõige enam 2014. aastal istutatud avajuurseid taimi. Potitaimedest oli samuti kõige arvukam 2014. aasta. Töö tulemuste põhjal ei saa teha kindlaid järeldusi, milline oleks sobiv või parem kasvukohatüüp kuuse kultuuride rajamisel. Selge on see, et avajuursed taimed on kõrgemad, potitaimed parema juurdekasvuga ning juurdekasv suureneb kasvuaastate möödudes.The aim of the thesis is to compare growth and success of seedlings of different root systems of spruce plantation in wooldlands of Võru county. The thesis gives an overview about success of seedlings of different root systems of spruce plantation, which proceeds a factors of the spruce plants height, growth, root systems, forest site type, the date of planting and also the amount of plants per hectare. Mostly spruce and pine bare root seedlings have been commonly used in Estonia for reforestration for the last century. Nowadays in Nordic countries most of the forest planting stock has been taken over by containerized planting stock. The areas examined were choosen from from woodlands in Võru county. There were 11 measured forest allocations. There were bare-root and containerized plants in the areas examined. The areas examined were mainly oxalis and oxalis vaccinium myrtillus forest site type. The spruce plantations were planted in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The measures had been taken in october and november 2016, when the plants growth period was ended. In the process of measuring got examineed the heights, growth and its relation of different root systems, forest site type and the date of planting. The results show that the bare-root spruce plantations were higher, but the growth were lower than containerized plants. The growth of spruce plantations went higher year by year. The comparing of the forest site tipes did not gave any perspicuous results of impact to plantations. The biggest amounts of plantations in Võru woodlands were covered by bare-root plants and containerized spruce plants, which were planted in 2014

Schwingungsspektroskopische Untersuchungen zur Biomineralisation

Die Schwingungsspektroskopie, besonders die Raman-Spektroskopie, stellt ein wichtiges Werkzeug für Untersuchungen von Biomineralien dar. Raman-Spektroskopie wurde zur Untersuchung der organischen und anorganischen Bestandteile von Schwammskeletten eingesetzt. Die Raman-Spektroskopie trug auch zur Charakterisierung von biomimetischen Silikat-Präzipitaten bei. Durch ortsaufgelöste Raman-Spektroskopie konnte erstmalig die Verteilung von organischem Material in den extrahierten Silikatzellwänden von Kieselalgen nachgewiesen werden. Die ortsaufgelöste Raman-Spektroskopie wurde ebenfalls zur Untersuchung des SERS-Effekts an Zellwänden von Kieselalgen an die Silber-Nanopartikel gekoppelt waren eingesetzt

Welding-base metal investigation Final report, 27 Jun. 1964 - 28 Jul. 1965

Weld defects associated with aluminum alloys - monitoring weld shielding gas purit

Leveraging Accelerometer Data for Lameness Detection in Dairy Cows: A Longitudinal Study of Six Farms in Germany

Lameness in dairy cows poses a significant challenge to improving animal well-being and optimizing economic efficiency in the dairy industry. To address this, employing automated animal surveillance for early lameness detection and prevention through activity sensors proves to be a promising strategy. In this study, we analyzed activity (accelerometer) data and additional cow-individual and farm-related data from a longitudinal study involving 4860 Holstein dairy cows on six farms in Germany during 2015–2016. We designed and investigated various statistical models and chose a logistic regression model with mixed effects capable of detecting lameness with a sensitivity of 77%. Our results demonstrate the potential of automated animal surveillance and hold the promise of significantly improving lameness detection approaches in dairy livestock

Falling through the social safety net? Analysing non‐take‐up of minimum income benefit and monetary social assistance in Austria

Non‐take‐up of means tested benefits is a widespread phenomenon in European welfare states. The paper assesses whether the reform that replaced the monetary social assistance benefit by the minimum income benefit in Austria in 2010/11 has succeeded in increasing take up rates. We use EU‐SILC register data together with the tax‐benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD/SORESI. The results show that the reform led to a significant decrease of non‐take‐up from 53 to 30% in terms of the number of households and from 51 to 30% in terms of expenditure. Following the three‐t's (threshold, trigger, and trade‐off) introduced by Van Oorschot, estimates of a two‐stage Heckman selection model as well as expert interviews indicate that the taken measures include both threshold and trade‐off characteristics. Elements such as the higher degree of anonymity within the claiming process, the provision of health insurance, binding minimum standards, the limitation of the maintenance obligations, new regulations related to the liquidation of wealth, as well as the general coverage of the benefit reform in the media and in public discussions led to an improved access to the benefit

Sham or real—Post hoc estimation of stimulation condition in a randomized transcranial magnetic stimulation trial

Selecting a suitable sham condition within the frame of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment trials is a central issue. On the one hand, the ideal sham condition should not have a real stimulation effect; on the other hand, it should not be recognized as sham by patients, particularly when considering that real stimulation conditions come along with rTMS specific side effects. Within the course of a multi-centre trial assessing the antidepressant effects of rTMS, patients were randomized to sham or real stimulation, in both cases using a standard stimulation coil. In one centre, patients (n = 33) were asked about their impression whether they received the sham or the real treatment, and if they would recommend the treatment to others. 29 patients returned the questionnaires and were included into the analysis. From 15 subjects with real stimulation, 11 suggested to have obtained real, and 4 to have obtained sham. From 14 sham stimulated subjects, 9 suggested to have obtained the real condition and 5 to have been sham stimulated. This difference was not significant (p = 0.60, chi square test). In addition, the major part of patients in both stimulation conditions would recommend rTMS to others. In both conditions, real and sham, the majority of subjects believed to have obtained the real condition. This implies suitability of the sham condition used since subjects appeared not to be able to identify the condition. The results imply the feasibility of a valid sham condition with a “real” coil

One-year outcomes in a multicentre cohort study of incident rare diffuse parenchymal lung disease in children (ChILD)

We performed a prospective, observational, cohort study of children newly diagnosed with children's interstitial lung disease (ChILD), with structured follow-up at 4, 8, 12 weeks and 6 and 12 months. 127 children, median age 0.9 (IQR 0.3-7.9) years had dyspnoea (68%, 69/102), tachypnoea (75%, 77/103) and low oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) median 92% (IQR 88-96). Death (n=20, 16%) was the most common in those <6 months of age with SpO(2)<94% and developmental/surfactant disorders. We report for the first time that ChILD survivors improved multiple clinical parameters within 8-12 weeks of diagnosis. These data can inform family discussions and support clinical trial measurements

Abnormal CTLA-4 function in T cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Jury, E.C., Flores‐Borja, F., Kalsi, H.S., Lazarus, M., Isenberg, D.A., Mauri, C. and Ehrenstein, M.R. (2010), Abnormal CTLA‐4 function in T cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Eur. J. Immunol., 40: 569-578. doi:10.1002/eji.200939781, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/eji.200939781. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived VersionsCTLA‐4 is a critical gatekeeper of T‐cell activation and immunological tolerance and has been implicated in patients with a variety of autoimmune diseases through genetic association. Since T cells from patients with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) display a characteristic hyperactive phenotype, we investigated the function of CTLA‐4 in SLE. Our results reveal increased CTLA‐4 expression in FOXP3− responder T cells from patients with SLE compared with other autoimmune rheumatic diseases and healthy controls. However, CTLA‐4 was unable to regulate T‐cell proliferation, lipid microdomain formation and phosphorylation of TCR‐ζ following CD3/CD28 co‐stimulation, in contrast to healthy T cells. Although lupus T cells responded in vitro to CD3/CD28 co‐stimulation, there was no parallel increase in CTLA‐4 expression, which would normally provide a break on T‐cell proliferation. These defects were associated with exclusion of CTLA‐4 from lipid microdomains providing an anatomical basis for its loss of function. Collectively our data identify CTLA‐4 dysfunction as a potential cause for abnormal T‐cell activation in patients with SLE, which could be targeted for therapy.This study was supported by the ArthritisResearch Campaign (arc). E.C.J. is an arc Career DevelopmentFellow (grant numbers 17319, 18106); F.F.B. is supported by the arc (grant numbers 16309, 17707); M.L. is an arc Clinical Fellow(grant number I.7989)