Renaturierung kleiner Lössbäche – ein Beitrag der Ökologischen Landwirtschaft zum Naturschutz

As a part of the interdisciplinary research project ”Integration of nature protection goals with organic farming: an the example from the Hessian ”state domain” [Staatsdomäne] area Frankenhausen”, different restoration measures have been carried out within this site, 15 km north of Kassel. Since 1998, intensive conventional agricultural practices have been substituted with organic farming here. One intention of the agricultural restructuring was to realise nature protection goals in cooperation with sustainable organic agricultural production. The hydrologic portion of the project addresses both the implementation of restoration measures in rivers and streams and their scientific monitoring. Starting in July 2007, several restoration measures were carried out in the hydrologic systems of the Jungfernbach and Esse streams within the Frankenhausen site. Both systems are formed by typical loess streams (catchment size about 9 km2) which had been heavily degraded for several hundred years by intensive agriculture. The most important restoration measures were removal of a piped section of a tributary of the Jungfernbach at Totenhof, restoration of biological passability by removal of weirs and substitution of narrow pipes under farm paths, relocation of a section of the Jungfernbach from the edge of the floodplain to its original location in the centre, widening of narrow sections and partial raising of the deepened stream bed by means of rough ramps (stone bars) and racks made of oak wood or iron. These physical restoration measures were accompanied by a scientific monitoring programme comprising morphological, hydrochemical and biological (aquatic macrophytes, aquatic macroinvertebrates, fish and amphibians) aspects. The aim of this study was to document the original ecological conditions, the restoration measures and the early ecological effects on the stream sections for the first six months following restoration as a basis for further ecological monitoring. The restoration measures effected clear morphological changes in cross-section and passability. The chemical condition of the streams showed slight changes in some aspects following the restoration, e. g. a reduction of phosphorus, magnesium and potassium concentration. Other than macrophytic algae in the newly shaped sections, aquatic macrophytes did not develop over the winter season before the end of the monitoring phase in April 2008. Within the newly shaped stream sections of a small tributary and of the Jungfernbach, up to 14 aquatic macroinvertebrate taxa started to colonise the new habitats 6 months after restoration. Fish fauna were very poorly represented in the streams and included only a few specimens of brown trout (Salmo trutta). This did not change markedly after restoration, possibly due to the isolation of the population caused by impassable weirs downstream of the investigation area.In einem interdisziplinären „Entwicklungs- und Erprobungs-Vorhaben“ der Universität Kassel „Die Integration von Naturschutzzielen in den Ökologischen Landbau am Beispiel der Hessischen Staatsdomäne Frankenhausen“ wurden unterschiedliche Naturschutz-Maßnahmen auf dem Domänengelände durchgeführt. Seit 1998 wird die Staatsdomäne Frankenhausen, die ca. 15 km nördlich von Kassel liegt, ökologisch bewirtschaftet. Ein Aspekt bei der Umstellung auf ökologische Landwirtschaft war die Umsetzung von naturschutz-orientierten Maßnahmen, die in Kooperation mit dem landwirtschaftlichen Betrieb umgesetzt wurden. Ein gewässerökologisches Teilprojekt umfasste unterschiedliche Entwicklungsmaßnahmen an und in Bächen des Jungfernbach- und Esse-Systems auf dem Gelände der Staatsdomäne ab Juli 2007. Beide Bachsysteme (Einzugsgebietsgröße jeweils ca. 9 km2) werden von typischen lössgeprägten Bördenbächen gebildet. Löss-Gebiete zählen zu den durch intensive Landwirtschaft am tiefgreifendsten veränderten Gebieten Deutschlands. Folgende wesentliche Renaturierungsmaßnahmen wurden auf dem Domänengelände umgesetzt: Entfernung der Verrohrung, Offenlegung und Neugestaltung eines Nebenbaches des Jungfernbaches am Totenhof, Rückverlegung eines Jungfernbach-Abschnitts vom Rand der Aue in seine ursprüngliche Lage im Zentrum der Aue nach historischen Angaben, Wiederherstellung der biologischen Durchgängigkeit durch die Entfernung von Wehren und den Ersatz von unpassierbaren Wege-Durchlässen durch voluminösere Durchlässe mit durchgängiger Sohle, partielle Aufweitung enger Querprofile und Anhebung der Gewässersohle durch Stein-Riegel und Sohlrechen aus Stahl oder Eichenholz. Die Maßnahmen wurden von einem wissenschaftlichen Monitoringvorhaben begleitet. Hauptaspekte der wissenschaftlichen Begleitung waren morphologische, hydrochemische und biologische Untersuchungen aquatischer Makrophyten, des Makrozoobenthos, der Fischfauna und der Amphibien. Sie dienten der Erfassung des ökologischen Status quo der Gewässer vor Durchführung der Maßnahmen und der Dokumentation der ökologischen Situation der Gewässer im Anschluss an die Maßnahmen als Basis für die Beobachtung der künftigen Gewässerentwicklung. Die Renaturierungsmaßnahmen induzierten markante Veränderungen der morphologischen Situation der ehemals zu engen und tiefen Querprofile und verbesserten die biologische Durchgängigkeit auf dem Domänengelände. An den Sohlrechen fand während der Folgemonate nach der Renaturierung wegen zu geringer Wasserführung nur ein geringer Totholztransport und damit noch keine erkennbare Sohlanhebung statt. Die chemischen Qualitätsparameter zeigten bei einigen Wasserinhaltsstoffen (z. B. bei Phosphor, Magnesium und Kalium) einen Rückgang der Konzentrationen, der seine Ursachen im Verzicht auf mineralische Düngung mit diesen Stoffen in der ökologischen Landwirtschaft haben könnte. Bei den Wasserpflanzen traten in den neu gestalteten Gewässerabschnitten unmittelbar nach den Renaturierungsmaßnahmen Pionierbestände makrophytischer Algen wie Spirogyra, Cladophora und Vaucheria auf. Über die Herbst- und Wintermonate nach Abschluss der Maßnahmen im Oktober 2009 bis zum Ende der Monitoring-Phase im April 2008 konnten sich noch keine Makrophytenbestände in den neu gestalteten Gewässerabschnitten entwickeln. Im Gegensatz hierzu fand in diesem Zeitraum eine rasche Ansiedlung von 14 Wirbellosen-Taxa im Jungfernbach und 13 Taxa im kleinen, offengelegten und neu gestalteten Bach am Totenhof statt. In diesem Nebengewässer siedelten sich zahlreiche für Lössbache charakteristische Makroinvertebraten bachaufwärts aus dem Jungfernbach heraus an. Die sehr spärliche Fischpopulation, die aus wenigen Bachforellen in einem einzigen Gewässerabschnitt bestand, veränderte sich infolge ihrer räumlichen Isolation durch unterhalb des Untersuchungsraums gelegene Wehre nicht nennenswert

Session B1: German Participatory Forum on Fish Protection and Downstream Migration

Abstract Fish protection and downstream fish migration has been an item of intensive and often controversial discussions in recent years in Germany, both from an environmental policy perspective and a technical point of view. In response, the Federal Environment Agency, with support from Ecologic Institute, initiated a Forum on Fish Protection and Downstream Fish Migration in 2012. The Forum includes participants from federal and regional water resource management authorities, nature and angler NGOs, consultancies, water managers and hydropower. More than 200 stakeholders have engaged in a dialogue process on the following jointly-identified key topics: environmental policy and legal framework; river basin-related strategies; applied behavioral and population biology; technical measures for fish protection and downstream migration; monitoring. The Forum has hosted a series of interactive workshops and conferences to foster dialogue and has achieved the exchange of information and experiences on the various topics put on the table. To increase acceptability and engagement of participants in the process, the Forum has not actively sought to reach consensus. In the outcomes of discussion on conflicting topics, both common and differing opinions have been taken on board. In addition, a common understanding has been developed on the current state of knowledge and technology that needs to be taken into account for fish protection, downstream fish migration and the conservation and establishment of fish populations. Next to the identification of key problem areas, the Forum experts proposed initial solutions and identified needs for further research and practical action. In 2014, the Forum produced a synthesis as a result of the discussions taking place so far during the workshops. The Forum participants have highlighted the improvement that has taking place in the debate culture on the topic of fish protection and downstream migration within Germany due to the Forum events. The participants highly recommended continuing this type of dialogue process

How Do Elderly Poor Prognosis Patients Tolerate Palliative Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy for Locally Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer Stage III? A Subset Analysis From a Clinical Phase III Trial

AbstractBackgroundIn a phase III trial of patients with unresectable, locally advanced, stage III non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a poor prognosis, palliative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) provided a significantly better outcome than chemotherapy alone, except among performance status (PS) 2 patients. In the present subgroup analysis, we evaluated the effect on patients aged ≥ 70 years (42% of all included) compared with patients aged < 70 years enrolled in the trial.Patients and MethodsAll patients received 4 courses of intravenous carboplatin and oral vinorelbine. The experimental arm also received radiotherapy (42 Gy in 15 fractions). The included patients were required to have large tumors (> 8 cm), weight loss (> 10% within the previous 6 months) and/or PS 2.ResultsThe overall survival was increased among the CRT patients in both age groups, but the difference was significant only in patients aged < 70 years (median survival, 14.8 vs. 9.7 months; P = .001; age ≥ 70 years, median survival, 10.2 vs. 9.1 months; P = .09). Patients aged ≥ 70 years experienced better preserved health-related quality of life (QOL) and significantly less hematologic toxicity. The 2- and 3-year survival was significantly increased in both age groups receiving CRT.ConclusionElderly patients aged ≥ 70 years with unresectable, stage III, locally advanced, NSLCL and a poor prognosis can tolerate CRT with the doses adjusted to age and palliative intent. These results indicate that CRT can provide both survival and QOL benefits in elderly patients, except for those with PS 2 or worse. The male predominance in the ≥ 70-year-age group and the reduced chemotherapy intensity for the patients aged > 75 years might explain the lack of significant survival improvement among those patients aged ≥ 70 years

Neddylation regulates excitatory synaptic transmission and plasticity

Post-translational modifications, like phosphorylation, ubiquitylation, and sumoylation, have been shown to impact on synaptic neurotransmission by modifying pre- and postsynaptic proteins and therefore alter protein stability, localization, or protein-protein interactions. Previous studies showed that post-translational modifications are essential during the induction of synaptic plasticity, defined by a major reorganization of synaptic proteins. We demonstrated before that neddylation, a post-translational modification that covalently binds Nedd8 to lysine-residues, strongly affects neuronal maturation and spine stability. We now analysed the consequences of inhibiting neddylation on excitatory synaptic transmission and plasticity, which will help to narrow down possible targets, to make educated guesses, and test specific candidates. Here, we show that acute inhibition of neddylation impacts on synaptic neurotransmission before morphological changes occur. Our data indicate that pre- and postsynaptic proteins are neddylated since the inhibition of neddylation impacts on presynaptic release probability and postsynaptic receptor stabilization. In addition, blocking neddylation during the induction of long-term potentiation and long-term inhibition abolished both forms of synaptic plasticity. Therefore, this study shows the importance of identifying synaptic targets of the neddylation pathway to understand the regulation of synaptic transmission and plasticity.Fil: Brockmann, Marisa M.. Universitat Bonn; Alemania. Max Planck Institute Of Psychiatry; AlemaniaFil: Döngi, Michael. Universitat Bonn; AlemaniaFil: Einsfelder, Ulf. Universitat Bonn; AlemaniaFil: Körber, Nils. Universitat Bonn; AlemaniaFil: Refojo, Damian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires - Instituto Partner de la Sociedad Max Planck; ArgentinaFil: Stein, Valentin. Universitat Bonn; Alemani

Concurrent palliative chemoradiation leads to survival and quality of life benefits in poor prognosis stage III non-small-cell lung cancer: a randomised trial by the Norwegian Lung Cancer Study Group

Background: The palliative role of chemoradiation in the treatment of patients with locally advanced, inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer stage III and negative prognostic factors remains unresolved. Methods: Patients not eligible for curative radiotherapy were randomised to receive either chemoradiation or chemotherapy alone. Four courses of intravenous carboplatin on day 1 and oral vinorelbin on days 1 and 8 were given with 3-week intervals. Patients in the chemoradiation arm also received radiotherapy with fractionation 42 Gy/15, starting at the second chemotherapy course. The primary end point was overall survival; secondary end points were health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and toxicity. Results: Enrolment was terminated due to slow accrual after 191 patients from 25 Norwegian hospitals were randomised. Median age was 67 years and 21% had PS 2. In the chemotherapy versus the chemoradiation arm, the median overall survival was 9.7 and 12.6 months, respectively (Po0.01). One-year survival was 34.0% and 53.2% (Po0.01). Following a minor decline during treatment, HRQOL remained unchanged in the chemoradiation arm. The patients in the chemotherapy arm reported gradual deterioration during the subsequent months. In the chemoradiation arm, there were more hospital admissions related to side effects (Po0.05). Conclusion: Chemoradiation was superior to chemotherapy alone with respect to survival and HRQoL at the expense of more hospital admissions due to toxicity

Non-thermal effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields

We explored the non-thermal effects of radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields and established a theoretical framework to elucidate their electrophysiological mechanisms. In experiments, we used a preclinical treatment device to treat the human colon cancer cell lines HT-29 and SW480 with either water bath heating (WB-HT) or 13.56 MHz RF hyperthermia (RF-HT) at 42 degrees C for 60 min and analyzed the proliferation and clonogenicity. We elaborated an electrical model for cell membranes and ion channels and estimated the resulting ion fluxes. The results showed that, for both cell lines, using RF-HT significantly reduced proliferation and clonogenicity compared to WB-HT. According to our model, the RF electric field component was rectified and smoothed in the direction of the channel, which resulted in a DC voltage of similar to 1 mu V. This may induce ion fluxes that can potentially cause relevant disequilibrium of most ions. Therefore, RF-HT creates additional non-thermal effects in association with significant ion fluxes. Increasing the understanding of these effects can help improve cancer therapy

European Freshwater Ecosystem Assessment: Cross-walk between the Water Framework Directive and Habitats Directive types, status and pressures

The EU policies on the freshwater environment and nature and biodiversity are closely linked. The aims of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Habitat Directive (HD) are to achieve good status for water bodies (WFD) and for habitats and species (HD) respectively. The types of rivers and lakes and their ecological status and pressures under the WFD are not directly comparable to the conservation status and threats for freshwater habitats and species under the HD (EC 2011a). The objective of this study has been to explore the possibilities of linking WFD and HD information on types of water bodies and habitats, and their status, pressures and measures, using WISE WFD information on types, ecological status, pressures and measures (EEA 2012, ETC-ICM 2012) and HD information on habitat types, conservation status and threats (EC 2007). The results may be used as input to the EEA Freshwater Ecosystem Assessment in 2015, and also for future European assessments of specific objectives, status and trends for various types of rivers and lakes after the reporting of the WFD 2nd RBMPs and the next HD article 17 reporting. The outcome may also be used as a basis for discussions of the potential and limitations for WFD and HD synergies in terms of monitoring programmes, assessment systems and measures to improve status. The general methodology used in this report is to analyse data and information reported by Member States on WFD types, ecological status and pressures in river and lake water bodies and on Habitats Directive freshwater habitats and their conservation status and threats. The major data sources used are the WISE-WFD database and the HD Article 17 databaseJRC.H.1-Water Resource

The Fragmentation-Coherence Paradox in Twente

In this chapter, we will concentrate on the Dutch water authority of Vechtstromen, more specifically the region of Twente part of Vechtstromen. The Twente region has some 135,000 ha and about 630,000 inhabitants. Though most of the Netherlands is flat and the highly artificial system of waterways often enables to let water in from outside each region, a substantial part of the Twente region does not have this option and is thus fully dependent on rainwater and groundwater. Apart from the wetland nature areas, especially the northeast of the region is for this reason relatively vulnerable for water scarcity and droughts

SIRT1 decreases Lox-1-mediated foam cell formation in atherogenesis

Aims Endothelial activation, macrophage infiltration, and foam cell formation are pivotal steps in atherogenesis. Our aim in this study was to analyse the role of SIRT1, a class III deacetylase with important metabolic functions, in plaque macrophages and atherogenesis. Methods and results Using partial SIRT1 deletion in atherosclerotic mice, we demonstrate that SIRT1 protects against atherosclerosis by reducing macrophage foam cell formation. Peritoneal macrophages from heterozygous SIRT1 mice accumulate more oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL), thereby promoting foam cell formation. Bone marrow-restricted SIRT1 deletion confirmed that SIRT1 function in macrophages is sufficient to decrease atherogenesis. Moreover, we show that SIRT1 reduces the uptake of oxLDL by diminishing the expression of lectin-like oxLDL receptor-1 (Lox-1) via suppression of the NF-κB signalling pathway. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate protective effects of SIRT1 in atherogenesis and suggest pharmacological SIRT1 activation as a novel anti-atherosclerotic strategy by reducing macrophage foam cell formatio