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SimBO is a flexible framework for optimizing discrete event-driven simulations (DES) using sequential optimization algorithms. While specifically designed for Bayesian Optimization (BO) in the context of DES, SimBO can be applied to any black-box problem with other optimization algorithms. The framework consists of four encapsulated components - the black-box problem, the sequential optimization algorithm, a database for experiment configuration and results, and a web-based graphical user interface - that communicate via well-defined interfaces. Each component can be run in different environments, allowing for cooperation between different hardware- and software configurations. In our research context, SimBO’s architecture enabled BO algorithms to be run on a high-performance cluster with GPU support, while the simulation is executed on a local Windows machine using the Simio simulation software. The framework’s flexibility also makes it suitable for evolving from a research-focused tool to a production-ready, cloud-based optimization tool for modern algorithms.
The excitement sparked by the emergence of AI open platforms has encountered significant scrutiny from educators and educational planners, who have raised valid concerns about issues such as plagiarism, testing protocols, and the authenticity of content submitted by students. While these concerns are timely and crucial, it's essential not to overlook other pressing issues that often go unnoticed in the lived educational experience of learners, particularly within the field of social sciences. This paper aims to advocate for a humanistic approach with a focus on education in the generative AI Era.
Semi-natural grasslands (SNGs) are an essential part of European cultural landscapes. They are an important habitat for many animal and plant species and offer a variety of ecological functions. Diverse plant communities have evolved over time depending on environmental and management factors in grasslands. These different plant communities offer multiple ecosystem services and also have an effect on the forage value of fodder for domestic livestock. However, with increasing intensification in agriculture and the loss of SNGs, the biodiversity of grasslands continues to decline. In this paper, we present a method to spatially classify plant communities in grasslands in order to identify and map plant communities and weed species that occur in a semi-natural meadow. For this, high-resolution multispectral remote sensing data were captured by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in regular intervals and classified by a convolutional neural network (CNN). As the study area, a heterogeneous semi-natural hay meadow with first- and second-growth vegetation was chosen. Botanical relevés of fixed plots were used as ground truth and independent test data. Accuracies up to 88% on these independent test data were achieved, showing the great potential of the usage of CNNs for plant community mapping in high-resolution UAV data for ecological and agricultural applications.
Farmland bird populations are in a deep crisis across Europe. Agri-environment schemes (AES) were implemented by the European Union to stop and reverse the general decline of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. In Germany, flower strips are one of the most common AES. Establishing high-quality perennial wildflower strips (WFS) with species-rich native forb mixtures from regional seed propagation is a recent approach, for which the effectiveness for birds has not yet been sufficiently studied. We surveyed breeding birds and vegetation on 40 arable fields with WFS (20 with single and 20 with aggregated WFS) and 20 arable fields lacking WFS as controls across Saxony-Anhalt (Germany). Additionally, vegetation composition, WFS quantity and landscape structure (e.g. distance to nearest woody element) were considered in our analyses. All WFS were established with species-rich native seed mixtures (30 forbs) in agricultural practice as AES. Arable fields with WFS had a higher species richness and territory density of birds than controls, confirming the effectiveness of this AES. A forb-rich vegetation was the main driver promoting birds. Flower strip quantity at the landscape level had positive effects only on bird densities, but also single WFS achieved benefits. A short distance from WFS to woody elements increased total bird species richness. However, the density of farmland birds, which are target species of these AES, were negatively affected by the proximity and proportion of woody elements in the vicinity. The effect of the proportion of non-intensively used open habitats and overall habitat richness was unexpectedly low in the otherwise intensively farmed landscape. Species-rich perennial WFS significantly promoted breeding birds. Successful establishment of WFS, resulting in high-quality habitats, a high flower strip quantity as well as implementation in open landscapes were shown to maximise the effectiveness for restoring declining and AES target farmland birds.
Green roofs can mitigate negative environmental effects of urban densifcation to some extent, but they are often covered by species-poor Sedum mixtures with a low value for biodiversity. By combining a habitat template and a seedprovenance approach, we review the suitability of plant species from regionally occurring dry sandy grasslands (Koelerio-Corynophoretea) for extensive roof greening in northwestern Germany. Since 2015, we have studied the effects of species introduction on vegetation dynamics on experimental mini-roofs. Treatments included sowing seeds of regional native origin in two densities (1 g and 2 g/m2) and the transfer of raked material from an ancient dry grassland area classifed as Natura 2000 site. The applied raked material contained diaspores of 27 vascular plant species (including seven threatened species) and vegetative fragments of grasslandspecifc mosses and lichens. Since 2018, we have tested more species-rich seed mixtures in a large-scale experiment on a roof of 500 m2 with different engineered green-roof substrates and layering. In 2019, a green roof of 10,200 m2 was established in cooperation with a local enterprise to support regional native biodiversity.
In this chapter, we summarise the most important results of our studies and discuss how to support regional native biodiversity on green roofs.
Methods: Systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCT). Searches were conducted in five electronic databases. Studies were selected if they included patients with NP over 18 years old treated with aerobic exercise (AE) (e.g., cycling, running, hiking, and walking). The main outcome of interest was pain intensity. Qualitative and quantitative data were extracted. The risk of bias (RoB) was determined using the Cochrane RoB Tool-2 and the overall certainty of the evidence with the GRADE recommendations.
Results: Out of 21,585 initial records screened, a total of six individual studies published in ten manuscripts were included. There was a great heterogeneity between protocols, comparisons, and studies’ results (different magnitudes and directions). When looking at the effect of aerobic exercise versus control groups or other interventions on pain intensity measured with the VAS, not statistically (nor clinical) significant differences between aerobic exercise and control groups (MD [95%CI] 5.16 mm [-6.38, 16.70]) were identified. The combined effect of AE plus other interventions seems to be effective. Strength exercise obtained better effects than aerobic exercises (MD [95%CI]: -11.34 mm [-21.6, -1.09]).
Conclusions: Aerobic exercise presented positive results to reduce pain intensity, and improving disability, and physical and emotional functioning. However, the evidence is restricted, low quality, and heterogeneous.
Methods: The searches were conducted on five electronic databases. RCTs or CTs with patients over 18 years old of both sexes with OFP diagnoses were targeted. The intervention of interest was AE (i.e., walking, cycling, and running), compared to any other conservative and non-conservative therapy. The primary outcome was pain intensity. Risk of bias (RoB) was done with the Cochrane RoB tool (RoB 2). The overall certainty of the evidence was evaluated with GRADE.
Results: Out of 21,585 initial records found in the initial database search, only one study (reported on three manuscripts) was included. The diagnosis of interest was headache plus temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Three treatment groups (strengthening (Str) exercise + manual therapy (MT) (G1); AE + MT + Str exercises (G2); AE (G3)) were compared. The main outcome was pain; the secondary outcomes included disability, strength, anxiety, and quality of life. The combined treatment (AE+MT+Str exercises) had the strongest effect to decrease pain and headache intensity in patients with OFP (SMD: 9.99 [95%CI: 7.19, 12.80].
Conclusions: a multimodal treatment strategy achieved the greatest positive effects on pain and other outcomes in the short/medium term. AE seems to be an important component of this strategy. However, the scientific evidence supporting AE’s isolated effect is limited, indicating a research gap in this scientific field.
1. Flower strips are a fundamental part of agri-environment schemes (AESs) introduced by the European Union to counteract the loss of biodiversity and related ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. Although vegetation composition of the strips is essential for most fauna groups, comprehensive studies analysing vegetation development and influencing factors are rare.
2. From 2017 to 2019, we investigated the vegetation composition of 40 perennial wildflower strips (WFSs) implemented in 2015 or 2016, and 20 cereal fields without WFS across Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. We analysed environmental factors on plot (cover of grasses, shading, soil fertility) and four landscape-scale levels (habitat diversity, proportion of WFS and open habitats). The provision of nectar and pollen resources was estimated by the newly developed Pollinator Feeding Index (PFI). All strips had been implemented by farmers as AES with species- rich seed mixtures comprising 30 native forbs.
3. In all study years, forb species richness, cover and related nectar and pollen supply were much higher on WFSs than on controls, confirming the effectiveness of this AES. Although sown native forbs contributed the most to the high PFI values, spontaneously established forbs expanded the total range of species considerably, especially in winter and spring. While sown forb communities remained similar over time, spontaneous forbs showed a higher species turnover. Altogether, shading and grass cover had the greatest negative effect on the performance of the sown forbs. Landscape variables had only minor effects and were inconsistent in their importance across scale levels and years.
4. Synthesis and applications. Successfully established perennial wildflower strips (WFSs) sown with species-rich native seed mixtures provided a forb-rich and diverse vegetation throughout the AES funding period of 5 years. By supplying feeding resources for pollinators under various landscape situations, WFSs have significant potential to promote farmland biodiversity and related ecosyste services. We recommend the mandatory use of species-rich wildflower mixtures for perennial flower strips and to avoid their creation in heavily shaded field edges. Advisory services for farmers are necessary to prevent failures in WFS implementation and management and to improve their ecological effectiveness.
Green roofs are known to mitigate the negative effects of urban consolidation by offering diverse ecosystem functions compared to non-vegetated roofs. However, the support for native biodiversity might be improved by using native plant species. In a mesocosm experiment, we studied the suitability of three commercial green-roof growth substrates for the establishment of 27 native plant species from dry sandy grasslands of northwestern Germany over the course of four years. The substrates were mineral-based, but differed in the layering of organic matter. Total establishment rates reached 44–59% in Year 4, indicating the general suitability of the substrates. During the first weeks after seeding, with light irrigation, the vascular plant cover was greater in the similar substrates Zincolit® Plus (Z) and Zincolit® Plus-Leicht (ZL) with their compost-based organic mulch layers than in the substrate Sedumteppich (ST) with its organic matter evenly admixed with the mineral aggregates. In Years 2 and 3, however, the vascular plant cover was greater in the ST substrate, likely due to the better availability of water and nutrients from the organic matter compared to the dry surface-mulch layer variants Z and ZL. After severe drought events, the decline in plant cover was more pronounced in the ST substrate, likely representing a trade-off between lush growth and a susceptibility to drought. An indicator-species analysis revealed differences in species composition between the ST and Z/ZL substrates. Annual plant species were indicators of the ST substrate. Perennials, such as Thymus pulegioides and Achillea millefolium, were typical of the Z and ZL substrates. In addition to the general suitability of the tested standard substrates for target species establishment, the study indicated that a combination of different layers of substrate components resulted in different vegetation patterns that may have a positive effect on green-roof biodiversity.
Are natural floods accelerators for streambank vegetationdevelopment in floodplain restoration?
(2021)
Riverbanks are very dynamic habitats for riparian vegetation strongly influenced byfluvial and geomorphic processes. This habitat type was severely reduced in the pastby river straightening and bank stabilisation. Restoration and establishment of newfloodplain streams promote this habitat, but a directed succession to later stages wasobserved many times. Our study aimed to analyse whether the often observeddirected succession of the streambank vegetation after restoration implementationcould be reversed by a natural flood along a newly created floodplain stream. Weinvestigated the effects of a natural flood in 2013 and different prerestorationconditions on species development in the riparian zone. Vegetation was studiedalong 12 transects in four different sections from 2011 to 2014. Species composi-tion differed strongly between the sections. Species richness was lowest in a newlydug steep section with high morphological dynamics and highest on wider flatstreambanks. Changes during the years reflecting different hydrological eventsvaried between sections. The high natural flood in 2013 reduced the cover of theherb layer and increased bare ground, which led in most sections to a loss of non-target species. Total target species richness did not change due to the natural flood,while target species showed a high turnover rate. In the following year, however,the flood‐induced development of species composition, in general, was reversed.Natural floods changed abiotic and biotic conditions along the streambank, but theydid not accelerate ecological restoration towards predefined target ecosystems.However, they were necessary to preserve the needed dynamic vegetation changesand species turnover to hinder the succession to later stages dominated by a fewspecies. Our study shows that riparian vegetation near the streambank can bemonitored most effectively in cross‐profile transects, both in the long‐term andevent‐related.
Establishment of calcareous grassland on ex-arable fields by introducing target species is one of the most frequently used methods to restore the species assemblages of this highly endangered habitat type. The present study evaluates the long-term success of calcareous grassland restoration on former arable land in the vicinity of one of the oldest nature reserves in Bavaria, the “Garchinger Heide”. The restoration experiment combined different measures like topsoil removal, transfer of freshly cut seed-containing hay and additional sowing to the following variants in a 21-year experiment: (1) No topsoil removal, no hay transfer (control), (2) no topsoil removal with immediate hay transfer, (3) topsoil removal with immediate hay transfer and (4) topsoil removal with hay transfer 10 years after the start of restoration. Eleven Red List species which had not been transferred successfully were additionally sown after 9 to 19 years. Due to a limited availability of seeds, sowing of these species was mainly restricted to areas with topsoil removal, where better establishment was expected due to low vegetation cover. Five rare species with abundant seed production were also sown to plots without topsoil removal and hay transfer. The nature reserve served both as the donor area of the target species and as the reference to evaluate restoration success. Regarding aboveground biomass and total vegetation cover, greatest similarity to the donor site was observed on plots without topsoil removal. In contrast, the highest numbers of target species occurred on plots with topsoil removal, hay transfer and additional sowing. Similarity in species composition between restoration sites and the reference area increased over time, but species composition of restored sites did not fully reflect the reference after 21 years. One reason for the remaining dissimilarity was probably that topsoil removal favored stress tolerant species which were less common on the mature and more fine-grained soils of the nature reserve. Plots without topsoil removal still differed from the reference by their high vegetation cover and a significantly higher proportion of mesophytic grassland species. The study also showed that 19 Red List species were successfully established on the former arable fields, eight of them presumably by sowing. Nevertheless, various other rare species have not been observed yet. Results on functional traits characterizing environmental adaptation and reproduction also underlined the differences between restoration plots and the reference site. Our study presents a ʽdynamic restoration approachʼ where managers evaluated the original factorial treatments after a decade and modified them by additional treatments where development was sub-optimal. Such additional treatments may have confounded the experimental design, but from a management perspective proved to be a promising option to establish species rich grassland of high conservation value with a reasonable expenditure of time.
Within the frame of the EU Common Agricultural Policy, most countries subsidise the establishment and maintenance of perennial flower strips on arable land within Agri-Environmental Schemes to provide foraging habitats and refuges for wildlife.
In a replicated field experiment, we studied the effects of different types of seed mixtures on the establishment and maintenance of perennial flower strips on fertile arable land in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany over seven years. The seed mixtures were commonly applied within recent Common Agricultural Policy funding periods: (1) a low-diversity cultivar standard seed mixture (CULTIVAR), (2) a high-diversity cultivar and native plant mixture (MIX), and (3) a high-diversity native plant mixture (WILDFLOWER). All plots were mulched every year in March and at the beginning of August.
The low success of CULTIVAR triggered the massive encroachment of spontaneously established perennial grasses. In MIX, too, cultivars have disappeared after the first year. Both wildflower variants were successful in maintaining a high cover of sown perennial native forbs and a high ratio of established sown species, even after seven years. WILDFLOWER always tended to show better values than MIX. Furthermore, spontaneously establishing species began to spread their cover in MIX in the fifth year, with a very strongly increasing tendency, whereas in WILDFLOWER cover of spontaneously immigrating species stayed satisfyingly low.
Using native wildflowers to establish perennial wildflower strips was very effective in maintaining high species diversity within the Agri-Environmental Schemes funding period of five years and beyond. WILDFLOWER was especially successful. On the other hand, CULTIVAR failed completely. On fertile soils in regions with rather low yearly precipitation, mulching twice a year supported the maintenance of perennial wildflower strips.
Extensive green roofs (EGRs) offer several beneficial ecosystem services for sustainable urban development. However, most standard green roofs have been designed with species-poor plant mixtures containing non-native species. Aiming to increase the nature conservation values of EGRs, we developed and tested a vascular plant seed mixture including regionally occurring native sandy dry grassland species in experimental miniature roofs in Northwestern Germany (temperate oceanic climate) over 4 years. We tested the mixture at two seed densities (1 and 2 g/m2). Additionally, we tested seeding at 1 g/m2 and introducing raked plant material collected from an ancient dry grassland. The total establishment rates of sown species reached 92–96% in the first year, but dropped to 40–60% in the last 2 years, with the highest values for the plots with raked material. Twenty-four additional species (11 vascular, 7 lichen, and 6 moss species, including 7 red-list species) typical of sandy dry grasslands were introduced through the raked material. Vascular plants reached 60–70% cover in the second year. Severe drought periods in the third and the fourth year led to a strong decline of vascular plant cover then. As this cover was higher in the plots with raked material, we assume facilitative effects through the well-developed cryptogam layer containing a mix of pleurocarpous and acrocarpous mosses and lichens. Spontaneously establishing acrocarpous mosses in sown plots did not seem to provide this same function. We conclude that EGRs designed with regionally occurring sandy dry grassland plant species and especially the application of raked plant material from ancient grassland is a fruitful approach to increase the value of green roofs for native phytodiversity.
Diet can influence healthy aging through anti- or proinflammatory effects, partly by modulating the gut microbiome composition. This study investigated the relationships between the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII), the gut microbiome, and nutritional status in elderly individuals. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included 114 home-dwelling individuals aged over 70 years. The Energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) was calculated from 3-day food diaries, and blood samples were taken to measure micronutrient status, glucose, and lipid metabolism. Body composition was assessed using bioimpedance, and fecal gut microbiome composition was analyzed through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The participants were categorized into maintaining an anti-inflammatory diet (AD) and a pro-inflammatory diet (PD) based on the median E-DII score. The associations of E-DII groups with blood markers and microbial diversity and composition were examined using the analysis of covariance, permutational analysis of variance, and multivariate linear models. Results: The AD (n = 57, 76 ± 3.83 years) and PD (n = 57, 75 ± 5.21 years) groups were similar in age but differed in sex distribution, with a higher proportion of females in the AD group (p = 0.02). When compared to the PD group and adjusted for sex, the AD group had a lower body mass index, fat mass, fasting insulin level, HOMA-IR (Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance), fasting triglycerides, and serum uric acid concentration (all p < 0.05), with higher concentrations of high-density lipoprotein, red-blood-cell folate (RBC), and Omega-3 index (all p < 0.05). While the microbial diversity and composition did not differ between the DII groups, folate concentrations were negatively associated with Agathobacter and positively associated with Bacteroides abundance (both q = 0.23). Lower uric acid concentrations were associated with a higher abundance of Bifidobacterium (q = 0.09) and lower abundance of Phocaeicola (q = 0.11). Discussion: The study suggests that following an anti-inflammatory diet is associated with improved nutritional status in the elderly. Dietary blood markers, rather than E-DII, were found to be associated with the gut microbiome, suggesting a potential link between the microbiome and changes in nutritional markers independent of diet. Further studies are needed to explore the causal relationship between dietary inflammatory potential, gut microbiome, and healthy aging.
Advances in high-throughput DNA sequencing have propelled research into the human microbiome and its link to metabolic health. We explore microbiome analysis methods, specifically emphasizing metabolomics, how dietary choices impact the production of microbial metabolites, providing an overview of studies examining the connection between enterotypes and diet, and thus, improvement of personalized dietary recommendations. Acetate, propionate, and butyrate constitute more than 95% of the collective pool of short-chain fatty acids. Conflicting data on acetate’s effects may result from its dynamic signaling, which can vary depending on physiological conditions and metabolic phenotypes. Human studies suggest that propionate has overall anti-obesity effects due to its well-documented chemistry, cellular signaling mechanisms, and various clinical benefits. Butyrate, similar to propionate, has the ability to reduce obesity by stimulating the release of appetite-suppressing hormones and promoting the synthesis of leptin. Tryptophan affects systemic hormone secretion, with indole stimulating the release of GLP-1, which impacts insulin secretion, appetite suppression, and gastric emptying. Bile acids, synthesized from cholesterol in the liver and subsequently modified by gut bacteria, play an essential role in the digestion and absorption of dietary fats and fat-soluble vitamins, but they also interact directly with intestinal microbiota and their metabolites. One study using statistical methods identified primarily two groupings of enterotypes Bacteroides and Ruminococcus. The Prevotella-dominated enterotype, P-type, in humans correlates with vegetarians, high-fiber and carbohydrate-rich diets, and traditional diets. Conversely, individuals who consume diets rich in animal fats and proteins, typical in Western-style diets, often exhibit the Bacteroides-dominated, B-type, enterotype. The P-type showcases efficient hydrolytic enzymes for plant fiber degradation but has limited lipid and protein fermentation capacity. Conversely, the B-type features specialized enzymes tailored for the degradation of animal-derived carbohydrates and proteins, showcasing an enhanced saccharolytic and proteolytic potential. Generally, models excel at predictions but often struggle to fully elucidate why certain substances yield varied responses. These studies provide valuable insights into the potential for personalized dietary recommendations based on enterotypes
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the enabler for new innovations in several domains. It allows the connection of digital services with physical entities in the real world. These entities are devices of different categories and sizes range from large machinery to tiny sensors. In the latter case, devices are typically characterized by limited resources in terms of computational power, available memory and sometimes limited power supply. As a consequence, the use of security algorithms requires of them to work within the limited resources. This means to find a suitable implementation and configuration for a security algorithm, that performs properly on the device, which may become a challenging task. On the other side, there is the desire to protect valuable assets as strong as possible. Usually, security goals are recorded in security policies, but they do not consider resource availability on the involved device and its power consumption while executing security algorithms. This paper presents an IoT security configuration tool that helps the designer of an IoT environment to experiment with the trade-off between maximizing security and extending the lifetime of a resource constrained IoT device. The tool is controlled with high-level description of security goals in the form of policies. It allows the designer to validate various (security) configurations for a single IoT device up to a large sensor network.
Reconnection of floodplains to rivers to enhance fluvial dynamics is a favored method of floodplain restoration in Europe. It is believed that the restoration of hydrological conditions of the floodplain facilitates natural dispersal of target species, and hence the reestablishment, of typical plant communities. The aim of our study was to investigate whether floodplain target species could reach restoration sites via hydrochorous dispersal. We analyzed seed inflow from the river and seed dispersal in different sectors of a new watercourse in the Danube floodplain. Seeds were captured using 27 seed traps during three sampling periods of 3 weeks each from summer 2011 to spring 2012. After germination seedlings were identified, we detected a total of almost 39,000 seeds of 176 species, including 80 target species of riparian habitats. We found significant differences between seasons (most seeds in autumn/winter) and between stream sectors. Fewer seeds came in from the Danube (2,800 seeds) than were transported within the floodplain. Several new floodplain target species were detected, which had not been found in the aboveground vegetation or soil seed bank before the start of the restoration. Seeds of nonnative species did not disperse further than approximately 1 km. Our results indicated that hydrochorous seed dispersal from upstream habitats along the new watercourse was important for the establishment of target species and hence for the success of floodplain restoration. Technical water diversion weirs must be traversable for seeds, and small donor sectors upstream might enhance the reestablishment of target vegetation along new sectors downstream.
In urban areas, open space including brownfields often became rare due to increasing urbanisation. Urban brownfields can be important for biodiversity, but especially brownfields in early successional stages seem to be refused by urban residents due to their sparse vegetation and less aesthetic appearance. The aim of this study was to revegetate a young demolition site in the city core of Osnabrück, Germany and thereby to support native plant diversity and aesthetic values. We developed two seed mixtures of native plant species and tested them in a large-scale field experiment over two growing seasons.
Both seed mixtures developed towards structurally diverse and flower-rich vegetation. Establishment rates of sown species were consistently larger than 75%. Revegetation of the predominantly bare anthropogenically transformed soil by introduced species occurred fast. Vascular plant cover and vegetation height were higher on sown plots than in controls, but did not differ between the seed mixtures. Seeding did not increase plant species richness and did not reduce the establishment of a potentially invasive non-native plant species. The cover of Red-List species from the spontaneous vegetation was significantly higher in control plots. Our results indicate that not all aims can be reached on one restoration site. It has to be discussed if it is better to invest a restoration budget for measures aiming to increase acceptance of endangered pioneer plant species from the spontaneous vegetation or to introduce more attractive and more competitive species of later successional stages.
Species dispersal, establishment, and assembly are crucial stages of the life history of plants, and clear understanding ofthe governing forces and rules that shape species composition in a particular community is vital for successful ecologicalrestoration. In this article, we focus on five aspects of seed dispersal and plant establishment, which should be consideredduring habitat restoration actions. In the first two sections, we discuss the success of spontaneous dispersal and establishmenton restoration based on either spatial dispersal or local seed banks. In the third section, we assess the possibilities ofspecies introduction and assisted dispersal. In the fourth section, we introduce some possibilities for the improvement ofestablishment success of spontaneously dispersed or introduced species. Finally, we highlight issues influencing long-termpersistence and sustainability of restored habitats, related to the alteration of management type and intensity, climate change,and spread of non-native species. With the present article, we introduce the special issue entitled “Seed dispersal and soil seedbanks – promising sources for ecological restoration” containing 15 papers by 62 authors from 10 countries arranged in theabovementioned five topics.
Soil seed banks have a high potential for vegetation re-establishment in restoration projects. We studied the soil seed bank in an oxbow system of a disconnected floodplain of the Danube River in Southern Germany. The aim of the study was to analyze if floodplain target species were still present in the seed bank after more than 150 years of embankment and disconnection from fluvial dynamics. In this context we investigated seed density, seed bank species richness and species composition in four broad habitat types with and without water-level fluctuations during the time of embankment (permanent water, fluctuating water, reed bed, hardwood floodplain forest). In addition, the similarity between seed bank and above-ground vegetation in these habitat types was studied in order to predict the success of future restoration measures. In total, 124 vascular plant species were determined in the seed bank samples. More than 50 % (66 species) were target species typical for floodplain habitats and 26 of these target species were lost or very rare in the above-ground vegetation. The four habitat types differed significantly in mean seed density and mean species richness. Mean species richness and the number of target species in the seed bank as well as the mean seed density were greatest in the habitats with fluctuating water level whereas mean seed density was much lower in the parts with more or less stable conditions like permanently standing water and hardwood floodplain forest. Sørensen similarity between seed bank and above-ground vegetation was very low in habitats with more or less stable water levels and desirable floodplain target species were very rare or completely absent. Our results indicate that the soil seed bank can be an important seed reservoir for the ecological restoration of floodplain plant communities especially for habitats with unstable environmental conditions during the period of disconnection. Restoration of water level dynamics is important to maintain the seed bank of populations of floodplain target species.
The break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 triggered cropland abandonment on a continental scale, which in turn ledto carbon accumulation on abandoned land across Eurasia. Previous studies have estimated carbon accumulationrates across Russia based on large-scale modelling. Studies that assess carbon sequestration on abandoned land basedon robust field sampling are rare. We investigated soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks using a randomized samplingdesign along a climatic gradient from forest steppe to Sub-Taiga in Western Siberia (Tyumen Province). In total, SOCcontents were sampled on 470 plots across different soil and land-use types. The effect of land use on changes in SOCstock was evaluated, and carbon sequestration rates were calculated for different age stages of abandoned cropland.While land-use type had an effect on carbon accumulation in the topsoil (0–5 cm), no independent land-use effectswere found for deeper SOC stocks. Topsoil carbon stocks of grasslands and forests were significantly higher thanthose of soils managed for crops and under abandoned cropland. SOC increased significantly with time sinceabandonment. The average carbon sequestration rate for soils of abandoned cropland was 0.66 Mg C ha1yr1(1–20 years old, 0–5 cm soil depth), which is at the lower end of published estimates for Russia and Siberia. Therewas a tendency towards SOC saturation on abandoned land as sequestration rates were much higher for recentlyabandoned (1–10 years old, 1.04 Mg C ha1yr1) compared to earlier abandoned crop fields (11–20 years old,0.26 Mg C ha1yr1). Our study confirms the global significance of abandoned cropland in Russia for carbonsequestration. Our findings also suggest that robust regional surveys based on a large number of samples advancemodel-based continent-wide SOC prediction.
German farmers are required by law to regularly self-assess the welfare of their animals. The project Q Check is aiming at developing a system that will assist farmers to objectively assess animal health and welfare in dairy cows. For this reason, a quarterly report will be compiled from animal-based key indicators to give an overview of the on-farm situation. The anonymised and aggregated reports can also be used for national animal welfare monitoring: Continuous collection of these key indicators enables the summary and publication of figures reflecting the current animal health and welfare status and progressions at federal state and at national level. Q Check is based on four data recording and analysis systems, which are already established in Germany and implemented on a national level. Out of these systems, the most suitable indicators to describe herd health have been selected by 215 experts within a twostage Delphi study. In addition, over 50 face-to-face interviews with stakeholders related to the German dairy sector have been performed in order to take into account the socio-scientific point of view. To complete the process, the selected indicators are currently being checked against mass data and hence tested for suitability regarding monitoring purposes. An automatic farm-specific evaluation of animal health, based on verified indicators, will provide support to farmers in fulfilling their legal requirements and in identifying weak points on the individual farms. A benchmarking system will be set up which will allow tracking the individual herd health indicators in the same farm in their course over time and compared with similar farms. These routinely provided horizontal and vertical statistics will facilitate targeted intervention and support objectified management decisions, implying that dairy farmers can benefit in several respects. In the course of the project, new tools for determining the risk of ketosis in the scope of milk recording will also be validated and implemented at national level to enhance monitoring of this major disease complex. The results of these nationwide, systematic investigations will contribute substantially to objectifying the discussion about the health and welfare situation of dairy cows.
Dairy farming has been the subject of public debate on animal welfare for a number of years now. Animal welfare discussions on dairy farming often include the demand for more nature connectedness in this area. This study focuses on the divergent perspectives of consumers and scientists on the importance of more nature connectedness for animal welfare strategies in German dairy farming. Within Europe, Germany is the main producer of cow’s milk and an important industry in many rural areas in Germany is dairy farming. The insights presented are based on qualitative interviews with dairy farming and livestock researchers from Germany and Austria. A key finding of this study is that we need to look more closely at the actual content of nature claims in animal welfare debates. The scientists interviewed tend to see idealized conditions in animal welfare discussions with images of nature which in fact seldom lead to improved conditions in dairy farming and, even then, only to a limited extent. The scientists interviewed rate calls for more nature connectedness in dairy farming from the nonagricultural public as anti-modern, complexity-reducing, and normative. Nevertheless, some of the scientists interviewed did have valuable insights into the nonagricultural public’s criticism of dairy farming practices. These scientists argued, however, that animal welfare needs to differentiate between nature connectedness and the innate needs of cattle when it comes to animal welfare strategies. An important conclusion of the study is that more discussion formats are needed to promote the exchange of ideas between different social groups attempting to understand animal welfare in dairy farming.
Restoring depleted soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks of arable land to remove carbon from the atmosphere and offset fossil fuel emissions is a promising strategy for the mitigation of climate change. In agroecosystems conservational tillage practices and the abandonment of formerly plowed fields (ex-arable land) are shown to have the highest potential to sequester SOC. Nevertheless reported sequestration rates vary and the effects of environmental site conditions remain poorly understood. Our results are based on a meta-analysis of 273 paired SOC estimates from 65 publications which included only mineral soils from the temperate zone. SOC stocks of ex-arable grasslands with an average of 14 years since abandonment were 18% larger compared to the SOC of arable land. Likewise, SOC stocks of never-plowed grassland plots were 11% larger than the SOC stocks of abandoned fields. The average sequestration rate was 0.72 t C ha− 1 yr− 1. Semi-arid and sub-humid climate as well as low initial SOC stocks positively affected proportional SOC gains suggesting that the recovery of carbon stocks is not limited by low primary production. Therefore, the northward shift of cultivation areas in the temperate zone will lead to the abandonment of soils with high SOC recovery potential. However, if native soils are opened up elsewhere to compensate for yield losses due to abandonment the surplus of SOC in ex-arable land can easily be overcompensated by cultivation losses.
Despite the high significance of the Western Siberian grain belt for crop production in Russia, its weed communities are largely unknown. In this region spring wheat is grown on fertile Chernozem soils with large field sizes but land-use intensity per area is low compared to Central Europe. By usin a randomized sampling design we studied arable weed assemblages in the northern forest-steppe zone of Tyumen region on 99 within-field sampling plots of 100 m² size. Surprisingly, with average of 9.8 ± 3.8 species 100 m-2 species richness was low when compared with low-input farming in Central Europe and did not differ between areas of different land-use intensity. Against expectations species composition was not predominantly controlled by soil characteristics and climate, most likely due to short natural gradients. Instead, management factors such as fertilization and tillage intensity seemed to be important factors. Except for two species the Tyumen weed flora consisted mainly of species that are widespread throughout the temperate zone. We found only 10 species with an origin or core area in North Asia or Eastern Europe. The species pool was generally small and with 26% the proportion of non-native spe cies (archaeophytes) was low, when compared to Central European weed communities. Given that weed communities with higher species richness are described from neighboring Bashkiria, we conclude that arable land-use intensity in Tyumen region is high enough to reduce community species richness within arable fields estimated by a randomized sampling design. Since measured soil nutrient values did not affect species richness, herbicide use is most likely the crucial management factor. Furthermore, species-richness was vitally restricted by the small species pool. The low proportion of thermophilous arable weed species that originate from the Mediterranean or Middle-Eastern area and contribute signif icantly to the Central European weed diversity indicate that climatic dispersal limitations may be re sponsible for the small number of weed species in the Tyumen flora. An additional constraint was the short history of arable farming in Western Siberia, where considerable arable land use was started only by the end of the 17th century.
Between Ekaterinburg and Nowosibirsk, in the Western Siberian grain belt, spring wheat is grown on fertileChernozem soils. Field and farm sizes are large but the land-use intensity per area is low compared to CentralEurope. Fertilizers and pesticides are applied only in low to moderate quantities and yields range between 10and 20 dt ha-1 . We studied the arable weed flora in the northern forest steppe zone of Tyumen region using arandomized sampling design. Surprisingly, the species richness was only moderate, on average 9.8 ± 3.8species per 100 m². Compared to weed communities of Bashkiria (Southern Ural) and less intensively usedarable land of Central Europe these numbers are rather low. Moreover, most of the recorded species werecosmopolitans or widely distributed throughout the temperate zone. We suggest that the land use intensitywas high enough to reduce the density of a number of weed species in a way that they were not registered byour random sampling design. The limited conservational value of the weed vegetation of large grain fields inTyumen leads to the conclusion that if intensification of land use is unavoidable, it should be directed to arableland and not to ex-arable land or ancient grassland, which is of higher conservation value.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 around 45 million hectares
of arable land became abandoned across Russia. Our study focused on the recovery
potential and conservation value of grassland vegetation on ex-arable land in the Tyumen
region of the Western Siberian grain belt. We compared ex-arable grasslands of different
successional stages with ancient grasslands as reference for the final stage of succession
along a climatic gradient from the pre-taiga to the forest steppe zone. Plant community
composition and species richness of ex-arable land clearly developed towards reference
sites over time, but even after 24 years of abandonment, the grassland vegetation had not
totally recovered. The c-diversity of vascular plants was slightly higher on ex-arable land
than in ancient grasslands but the mean a-diversity was still moderately lower. A significant proportion of the vegetation of ex-arable land still consisted of ruderal and mesic
grassland species and the number and cover of meadow-steppe species was significantly
lower than in ancient grasslands. Grazing and time since abandonment positively affected
the reestablishment of target grassland species, whereas it was negatively affected by the
cover of grasses. In contrast to ex-arable land, the conservation value of arable land is only
modest. Therefore, future intensification of land use is most likely less harmful if directed
to existing arable land. Re-cultivation of ex-arable land and grassland improvement operations such as seeding of competitive grass species are major threats for the biodiversity of secondary grasslands on ex-arable land in the forest steppe zone of Western Siberia.
Ecological restoration of an urban demolition site through introduction of native forb species
(2020)
Urban brownfields can provide habitats for endangered native plant species but may also support invasive non native species. The aim of our study was to develop and test different measures for the ecological restoration of an urban brownfield. We aimed to enhance native plant species richness by seeding two native forb seed mix tures containing 25 (HD-mixture) and 13 species (LD-mixture), respectively, without affecting spontaneously colonizing plant species of nature conservation value. Additionally, we tested the effects of species introduction and mowing on the establishment of invasive non-native plant species, woody species development, and per ennial grass dominance.
With establishment rates of 84% (HD) and 92% (LD) in the first study year and about 60% for both seed mixtures in the fourth year, species introduction was successful and led to rapid re-vegetation of the formerly bare brownfield. Although seeding did not result in increased species richness using either seed mixture, the dominance of perennial grasses was significantly reduced by the establishment of forb species from the HD mixture. Overall, we observed the spontaneous establishment of ten plant species of conservation value; seeding affected these species only temporarily, in the second year. Seeding (with either seed mixture) and mowing both resulted in reduced cover of woody species and a lower frequency of the invasive non-native Robinia pseudoa cacia.
Our study demonstrated the high nature conservation value of dry and nutrient-poor urban brownfields for spontaneously occurring threatened plant species. Further studies have to evaluate if the reduced cover of grasses and woody species through introduction of site-specific native forb species might increase these sites’ aesthetic value and broader acceptance of brownfields by urban residents.
World-wide, the degradation and destruction of both natural and traditionally used semi-natural ecosystems is drastically increasing. Unfortunately, commercial seed mixtures, consisting of non-native species and genetically uniform cultivars, are widely used in grassland restoration, often with negative effects on biodiversity. Therefore, native species should be used in the ecological restoration of natural and semi-natural vegetation. This book compiles results from recent studies presented at a Special Session “Native seed production and use in restoration projects”, which was organised during the 8th European Conference on Ecological Restoration in České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
The authors review the ecological and genetic aspects of seed propagation and species introduction both from a European and an American perspective, and discuss implications for the development of seed zones and for native seed production. Examples from different countries focus on native seed production in practice, and suggest different approaches for the certification of seed provenance.
Best practice examples from Europe and the United States are used to indicate the advantages of using native seeds for ecological restoration of grasslands, field margins and sagebrush steppe. Finally, this volume also provides guidelines for the successful implementation of restoration projects for local authorities, landscape planners and NGOs in order to bridge gaps between research and practice.
This study identifies and evaluates factors for success in innovation work in the Bavarian dairy farming industry. The research is based on an analysis of innovation system theories and a comparison with innovation work in the Dutch dairy sector. Dutch dairy farming is characterized by high productivity and technical efficiency at the farm level. Moreover, important developments in dairy farming have originated in the Netherlands. Therefore, this study delves into the systemic background of the successful innovation work in the Netherlands and makes a comparison with Bavaria. The main result of this study is that innovation work in the Bavarian dairy farming sector is lacking in two respects: end-user (farmer) integration and within-sector cooperation.
After foundation of the Wadden Sea National Park, grazing and artificial drainage was ceased or reduced on large areas of the salt marshes at the Schleswig-Holstein mainland coast (Northern Germany). The effect of grazing cessation versus intensive and moderate grazing on vegetation diversity was studied on small (plant species richness on plots between 0.01 and 100 m2) and large scale (vegetation type richness per hectare) over 18 to 20 years by analysing data from long-term monitoring programs. Plant species richness and vegetation type richness increased strongly over time in all management regimes, because grazing-sensitive species increased first in ungrazed marshes and later dispersed to and established in intensively grazed marshes. Dominance of the tall, late-successional grass Elymus athericus on 7% to 52% of all moderately and ungrazed (primarily high marsh) plots led to a decrease in species richness. After 18 to 20 years, species richness was highest in moderately and intensively grazed high marshes. Differences were significant only on small plots of up to 4 m2. On the large scale, vegetation type richness in the low marsh was higher without grazing, while no differences were found in the high marsh. Our results indicate that grazing effects differ between spatial scales and that different spatial scales have to be considered for monitoring and evaluation of vegetation diversity in salt marshes. To conserve vegetation diversity on all scales, a large-scale mosaic of different management regimes should be maintained.
A floodplain-restoration project along the Danube between Neuburg and Ingolstadt (Germany) aims to bring back water and sediment dynamic to the floodplain. The accompanied long-term monitoring has to document the changes in biodiversity related to this new dynamics. Considerations on and results of the vegetation monitoring concept are documented in this paper. In a habitat rich ecosystem like a floodplain different habitats (alluvial forest, semi-aquatic/aquatic sites) have different demands on the sampling methods.
Therefore, different monitoring designs (preferential, random, systematic, stratified random and transect sampling) are discussed and tested for their use in different habitat types of the floodplain. A stratified random sampling is chosen for the alluvial forest stands, as it guarantees an equal distribution of the monitoring plots along the main driving factors, i.e. influence of water. The parameters distance to barrage, ecological flooding, height above thalweg and distance to the new floodplain river are used for stratifying and the plots are placed randomly into these strata, resulting in 117 permanent plots. Due to small changes at the semi-aquatic/aquatic sites a transect sampling was chosen. Further, a rough stratification (channel bed, river bank adjacent floodplain) was implemented, which was only possible after the start of the restoration project. To capture the small-scale changes due to the restoration measures on the vegetation, 99 additional plots completed the transect sampling. We conclude that hetereogenous study areas need different monitoring approaches, but, later on, a joint analysis must be possible.
Using eye-tracking, this study investigates fixation duration of students viewing pictures of pigs, which systematically vary in the facial expression of the pig and in the barn setting. The aim of this study is to analyze which picture elements are viewed and for how long, as well as how fixation times vary with a change of the expression of the pig and the barn type. The results show clear effects of picture composition: pig expression and pen type affect fixation durations of different areas of interest with the influence of the pig being considerably larger. Face regions are viewed longer in the “happy” pig, while floor/bedding and the eyes are viewed longer in pictures showing the “unhappy” pig which might be a hint for infor-mation search. The power of facial expressions, also for the depiction of farm animals, is a new finding of this paper, which might be of importance when select-ing agricultural pictures for different purposes.
This research project focused on the consumers' acceptance of a newly developed apple in order to encourage the purchase behavior in the supermarket. It was enriched with selenium via biofortification in order to address the undersupply with the trace element in the German population. The study included online surveys and a market test in food retail. The results were used as preparation for the design of a marketable apple product. In the online pretest, the most popular apple cultivars, the most popular health benefits of selenium, as well as the respondents' preferences for the name of the new apple: Selstar® were detected. These results were included in an online survey which encompassed n=1042 interviews from German households. The sample was recruited according to national representative distribution of age groups, gender, and regions. The results show that the majority of the respondents were not sure what exactly selenium is and what it is used or needed for. Therefore, the product package included information about the health benefits of selenium, for e.g. the immune system. The stepwise approach of the research and the implementation of the results helped the targeted navigation of the market launch of the Selstar®.
Background: Singers belong to the group of professional voice users with the highest demands regarding voice quality and vocal load. Thus, they also have a high risk of developing a voice disorder, which in return has major impact on their ability to work. Besides voice disorders caused by organic changes, there are functional voice disorders caused by, e.g., a hypertonia of the larynx, shoulder and neck muscles or insufficient breathing patterns. In these cases, physiotherapy can be one component of a multidisciplinary approach to treatment.
The purpose of this presentation is, based on anatomical considerations and current evidence, to inform about and demonstrate physiotherapy techniques for treating singers with functional voice disorders.
Approach of Presentation: A case from a special physiotherapy outpatient clinic for vocalists will be described. Based on this example, information on the evidence of physiotherapy approaches for functional voice disorders will be provided. Afterwards, some practical hands-on techniques will be demonstrated for participants to try.
Content of Presentation: This workshop will focus on the physiotherapy treatment for a vocalist with functional voice disorders. The vocalist experienced changed pitch and hypertonia in both the muscles of the shoulder-neck region and the extrinsic laryngeal muscles. Paralaryngeal manual techniques, in addition to posture and breathing exercises, will be demonstrated with the purpose of mobilizing the larynx and relaxing the hypertonic muscles.
Conclusions and Practical Relevance: This workshop highlights the special potential of physical therapy in the treatment of functional voice disorders in singers.
Oleamide is used as a lubricant in the manufacturing and application of polypropylene (PP) medical devices. Samples of PP were prepared with 0, 1500, and 15 000 ppm oleamide content as lubricant. The samples were either left non-sterile, sterilized with ethylene oxide (ETO), γ-radiation (γ) or autoclaved (A) and stored for up to 4 weeks. To determine the oleamide bulk-to-surface distribution depending on sterilization method and storage time an extraction method and a washing technique were applied. The oleamide content was determined by gas chromatography (GC-FID) and compared with the coefficient of friction (COF). The COF dependent on the measured lubricant content at the surface. The content of lubricant on the surface depends on the type of sterilization: ETO increased the lubricant content to some extent, γ-sterilization and autoclaving reduced it. After storage, no migration of the lubricant to the surface could be detected.
The biennial plant Gentianella bohemica is a subendemic of the Bohemian Massif, where it occurs in seminatural grasslands. It has become rare in recent decades as a result of profound changes in land use. Using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) fingerprint data, we investigated the genetic structure within and among populations of G. bohemica in Bavaria, the Czech Republic, and the Austrian border region. The aim of our study was (1) to analyze the genetic structure among populations and to discuss these findings in the context of present and historical patterns of connectivity and isolation of populations, (2) to analyze genetic structure among consecutive generations (cohorts of two consecutive years), and (3) to investigate relationships between intrapopulational diversity and effective population size (Ne) as well as plant traits. (1) The German populations were strongly isolated from each other (pairwise FST= 0.29–0.60) and from all other populations (FST= 0.24–0.49). We found a pattern of near panmixis among the latter (FST= 0.15–0.35) with geographical distance explaining only 8% of the genetic variance. These results were congruent with a principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and analysis using STRUCTURE to identify genetically coherent groups. These findings are in line with the strong physical barrier and historical constraints, resulting in separation of the German populations from the others. (2) We found pronounced genetic differences between consecutive cohorts of the German populations (pairwise FST= 0.23 and 0.31), which can be explained by local population history (land use, disturbance). (3) Genetic diversity within populations (Shannon index, HSh) was significantly correlated with Ne (RS= 0.733) and reflected a loss of diversity due to several demographic bottlenecks. Overall, we found that the genetic structure in G. bohemica is strongly influenced by historical periods of high connectivity and isolation as well as by marked demographic fluctuations in declining populations.
15 δ N signals in plant and soil material integrate over a number of biogeochemical processes
related to nitrogen (N) and therefore provide information on net effects of multiple
processes on N dynamics. In general little is known in many grassland restoration projects
on soil–plant N dynamics in relation to the restoration treatments. In particular, 15 δ N signals
may be a useful tool to assess whether abiotic restoration treatments have produced the
desired result. In this study we used the range of abiotic and biotic conditions provided
by a restoration experiment to assess to whether the restoration treatments and/or plant
functional identity and legume neighborhood affected plant 15 δ N signals. The restoration
treatments consisted of hay transfer and topsoil removal, thus representing increasing
restoration effort, from no restoration measures, through biotic manipulation to major
abiotic manipulation. We measured 15 δ N and %N in six different plant species (two nonlegumes and four legumes) across the restoration treatments. We found that restoration
treatments were clearly reflected in 15 δ N of the non-legume species, with very depleted
15 δ N associated with low soil N, and our results suggest this may be linked to uptake of
ammonium (rather than nitrate). The two non-legume species differed considerably in their
15 δ N signals, which may be related to the two species forming different kinds of mycorrhizal
symbioses. Plant 15 δ N signals could clearly separate legumes from non-legumes, but our
results did not allow for an assessment of legume neighborhood effects on non-legume
15 δ N signals. We discuss our results in the light of what the 15 δ N signals may be telling
us about plant–soil N dynamics and their potential value as an indicator for N dynamics in
restoration.
Objectives:
The purpose of this study was to determine the motor function of the abdominal muscles in singers with and without functional voice disorders and to examine them for possible differences. Additionally, the breathing behaviour and posture control was investigated.
Study Design
Observational study.
Methods:
Female subjects (n = 20) with differing levels of professional competence were used to provide the data for analysis. By using the Singing Voice Handicap Index (SVHI) the grade of dysphonia could be measured, and the subjects were organized in groups. The change of muscle thickness of the M. transversus abdominis (TVA) and the M. obliquus internus abdominis (OIA) during different singing tasks was measured by using ultrasound. The subjects were then asked to perform the Abdominal Hollowing Test (AHT) with the STABILIZER. Finally, the subjects were all filmed while singing. The videos recordings of the singing sessions were analysed by an independent clinical expert regarding breathing and secondary motor activities (SMA). For the statistical analysis, the Mann-Whitney-U Test and the Chi-Square-Test was mainly used.
Results:
The results showed a significantly thinner TVA in the group with dysphonia in comparison to the group without dysphonia. Ultrasound measurements showed significantly higher changes of muscle thickness of the TVA during singing tasks in the group with dysphonia. Regarding the AHT there was a significant difference between the two groups. The group with dysphonia was not able to increase the pressure by 15mmHg. Furthermore, the healthy subjects demonstrated abdominal breathing, while the group with dysphonia present with thoracic breathing. Additionally, it was noted that the subjects with dysphonia showed a higher level of associated movements especially at and/or on the lumbar spine, cervical spine and the left arm and shoulder.
Conclusion:
Differences in TVA-recruitment, breathing behaviour and secondary motor activities while singing were found. This study sparks new ideas for neuromusculoskeletal assessments and therapy.
Key Words
Transversus abdominis, Abdominal muscles, Dysphonia, Ultrasound, Singing voice, Singers
rationale: Musculoskeletal problems are widespread in performing artists and are due to the special demands of instrument playing, singing or dancing. Additionally, various other factors might contribute to performance-related musculoskeletal problems. In order to provide a specific physiotherapeutic management for performing artists, it is important to gain information about the performing art, the individual (biomechanical) demands and contributing factors. The subjective examination is the basis of the clinical reasoning process and the hypothesis forming, which is important for goal setting in further clinical examination and biomechanical analysis. In the present protocol, the subjective examination consists of a questionnaire based section and an interview based section and is part of the evaluation process of the neuromusculoskeletal examination of a performing artist specific reference laboratory.
purpose: The aim of this study was to develop a standardized protocol for an interview based subjective examination of performing artists with musculoskeletal problems. The results of this section of the subjective examination will be combined with the results of the questionnaire based subjective examination , in order to gather as much relevant information as possible to specifically address the individual’s musculoskeletal health status.
methods: A common physiotherapeutic recording of findings which addresses the relevant questions of the subjective examination of musculoskeletal problems was used. In order to adapt the anamnesis to performing-related musculoskeletal problems, questions specific to instrument playing, singing and dancing were selected on the basis of a literature search and the expertise of the research group.
results: The protocol is based on the five aspects of clinical practice described by Maitland and the Musculoskeletal Clinical Translation Framework by Mitchell et al. (2017) .The performing art specific questions especially address (1) performing art specific considerations including style, genre, education and professional level, practice habits, repertoire, and external factors, e.g. concert conditions, (2) performing art specific physical and psychosocial contributing factors, and (3) performing art specific activities which trigger the musculoskeletal problems and help to form hypotheses for the following clinical examination. Individual tracks lead through the subjective examination so that irrelevant questions are skipped depending on the kind of musculoskeletal problem and the performing art practiced by the individual client.
conclusions: A pretest of this standardized anamnesis protocol is ongoing in a special physiotherapy clinic for performing artists since spring 2022. In an iterative approach, the protocol will be continuously improved based on patient feedback and clinical considerations.
The aim of this European interprofessional Health Informatics (HI) Summer School was (i) to make advanced healthcare students familiar with what HI can offer in terms of knowledge development for patient care and (ii) to give them an idea about the underlying technical and legal mechanisms. According to the students’ evaluation, interprofessional education was very well received, problem-based learning focussing on cases was rated positively and the learning goals were met. However, it was criticised that the online material provided was rather detailed and comprehensive and could have been a bit overcharging for beginners. These drawbacks were obviously compensated by the positive experience of working in international and interprofessional groups and a generally welcoming environment.
During recent decades, many studies have shown that the successful restoration of species-rich grasslands is often seed-limited because of depleted seed banks and limited seed dispersal in modern fragmented landscapes. In Europe, commercial seed mixtures, which are widely used for restoration measures, mostly consist of species and varieties of non-local provenance. The regional biodiversity of a given landscape, however, can be preserved only when seeds or plants of local provenance are used in restoration projects. Furthermore, the transfer of suitable target species of local provenance can strongly enhance restoration success.
We review and evaluate the success of currently used near-natural methods for the introduction of target plant species (e.g. seeding of site-specific seed mixtures, transfer of fresh seed-containing hay, vacuum harvesting, transfer of turves or seed-containing soil) on restoration sites, ranging from dry and mesic meadows to floodplain grasslands and fens. Own data combined with literature findings show species establishment rates during the initial phase as well as the persistence of target species during long-term vegetation development on restoration sites.
In conclusion, our review indicates that seed limitation can be overcome successfully by most of the reviewed measures for species introduction. The establishment of species-rich grasslands is most successful when seeds, seed-containing plant material or soil are spread on bare soil of ex-arable fields after tilling or topsoil removal, or on raw soils, e.g. in mined areas. In species-poor grasslands without soil disturbance and on older ex-arable fields with dense weed vegetation, final transfer rates were the lowest. For future restoration projects, suitable measures have to be chosen carefully from case to case as they differ considerably in costs and logistic effort. Long-term prospects for restored grassland are especially good when management can be incorporated in agricultural systems.
The aim of this study is to assess the development of plant species diversity and species composition
over a seven-year period in two calcareous grasslands abandoned for nearly 20 years and to find out
which factors influence vegetation dynamics. In the Abava River valley, Latvia, different calcareous
grasslands were studied, one on the south-west facing slope and another on the north-east facing slope.
Vegetation analyses on permanent plots showed that dry calcareous grasslands can be resistant to deterioration for a long period of time – succession was slower than reported in many cases for Central and
Western Europe. None of the studied communities showed a decrease neither in total species number
recorded per community nor in average species richness per plot. Vascular plant species richness even
increased by 3–4 species per 1-m² plot in the grassland on the south-west facing slope. An unexpected
result of the research was that Calamagrostis epigeios did not expand in this grassland. This fact can be
explained by the influence of disturbances (drought, tree cutting) and local differences in soil parameters
and topography. In parts of the north-east exposed grassland, with deeper soils and better water availability, species diversity (Shannon index) decreased significantly in areas overgrown by Aegopodium
podagraria.
Background and Aims
Early identification of nerve lesions and associated neuropathic pain in spine-related pain disorders is important for tailored treatment. Management may consist of surgical intervention for compressive neural lesions.
With a growing waitlist for public surgical outpatient clinics in Western Australia and wait times exceeding the recommended wait time for initial assessment (Category 1 – assessment within 1 months, Category 2 within 3 months, category 3 within 12 months), a call to support new models of care has been made1, including the evaluation and expansion of workforce models supporting advanced skills in allied health.1
An Advanced Scope Physiotherapy (ASP) led Neurosurgery Spinal Clinic operates at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Western Australia. The ASPs (2FTE) examine patients from the neurosurgery waitlist for their suitability for spinal surgery. Recommendation of either further investigation and possible assessment by a neurosurgeon or appropriate non-surgical management of the patients’ pain condition is suggested. Patient assessment is conducted either ‘in person’ at the hospital or via telehealth due to the remoteness of some rural patients. Patient cases are discussed with a neurosurgery consultant on a weekly basis. The aim of this project is to evaluate the ASP service in the year 2022.
Method
A retrospective descriptive analysis of patient data captured in 2022 was performed.
Results
In 2022, 1337 new patient referrals were managed plus 267 follow-ups from the previous year. Category 1 patients (n=81) waited on average 31 days for their first appointment, Category 2 patients (n=394) waited 76 days and Category 3 patients (n=854) waited 376 days.
287 (18%) referrals were discharged without physical assessment of the patient (DNA, cancellations, declined). Of the 1317 patients physically assessed by the ASPs (57%) were discharged directly after assessment, for 290 patients (22%) their outcome was still pending at time of analysis (March 2023) and 281 (22%) patients were referred for review with a neurosurgeon. Of the 229 patients assessed by a neurosurgeon (including patients from 2022), 103 patients (45%) were offered surgery, 52 (23%) were not offered surgery, 46 ( 20%) patients had to be reviewed, and for the remaining (n=18) their outcome was unknown.
Conclusion
Of the 1604 patients managed in the Neurosurgery Spinal Clinic, only 17% needed to see a neurosurgeon. The conversion rate to surgery of 45% is higher compared to an estimated 5%-10% in a non-triaged clinic.
The ASP model of care has proved invaluable to (i) provide access of patient care within the recommended wait times (ii) optimize neurosurgeons’ time, (iii) educate patients and, in case of non-suitability for surgery, advise and refer them for alternative appropriate management.
Relevance for Patient Care
The Advanced Scope Physiotherapy model of care at the Neurosurgery Spinal Clinic allows timely assessment of patients with spine-related disorders and supports targeted management of their condition.
Ethical Permissions
This project is registered as a Quality Improvement Project at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (QI35728) and as per the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research was exempt from review by the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Human Research and Ethics Committee
References
1Sustainable Health Review (2019). Sustainable Health Review: Final report to the Western Australian Government of Health, Western Australia
Workshop: “‘Sciatica’: neuropathic or not and does it matter? Outcomes from a NeuPSIG working group”
(2023)
The identification of neuropathic pain in persons with spine-related leg pain is important as this information guides treatment and management, including self-management. The NeuPSIG neuropathic pain grading system was developed to assist clinicians and researchers in determining whether patients have neuropathic pain and the level of confidence associated with that decision. Based on clinical and laboratory examination findings, patients are classified as having no neuropathic pain, possible, probable or definite neuropathic pain. Whereas this grading system works nicely in people with systemic neuropathies where sensory findings and diagnostic tests are mostly present, its application in patients with spine-related leg pain, particular in radicular pain, can be challenging. For example, in the absence of sensory changes and MRI findings, patients with radicular pain would at best reach a classification of possible neuropathic pain according to the current neuropathic pain grading system.
In this presentation I will explain the adaptations to the neuropathic pain grading system for spine-related leg pain recommended by the NeuPSIG working group. I will demonstrate its application in clinical practice using case studies and provide clarity for how the system can be incorporated in clinical trials. This will be an interactive session with audience participation.
Purpose
Sedentary behaviour (SED) and low level of physical activity (PA) might be associated with the development or worsening of pain. Still, studies assessing physical behaviours by accelerometry in individuals with orofacial pain are limited. This study aims to assess whether women with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) present different patterns of physical behaviours in days with (DWP) or without pain (DWoP).
Methods
Twenty-nine out of forty-four women (mean age 29.21 sd 7.96) were diagnosed with TMD and monitored over seven days using a thigh-worn accelerometer. DWP was determined when subjects presented pain in one of the craniocervical regions (head, jaw and neck) with intensity of at least 3 in the numerical rating scale. To be considered a DWoP, the individual presented less than 3 points in the three regions. Daily time-use compositions were described in terms of SED in short (<30 min) and long (≥30 min) bouts, light PA (LPA), moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), and time-in-bed. Isometric log-ratios (ilr) were calculated to express the ratio of time-in-bed to time spent awake, SED relative to LPA and MVPA, SED in short relative to long bouts, and LPA relative to MVPA. Differences between DWP and DWoP were examined using MANOVA, followed by univariate post-hoc tests of pairwise differences.
Results
During DWP, women with TMD spent more time in SED in short (239 min) and long bouts (419 min), less time in LPA (245 min), MVPA (68 min), and in bed (468 min) compared with DWoP (235, 378, 263, 70 and 493 min, respectively). The MANOVA showed that all sets of ilrs did not differ statistically (ηp2 = 0.19, p = 0.25). Still, the post-hoc tests showed a trend that time spent SED relative to LPA and MVPA was larger in DWP than in DWoP (Cohen’s d = 0.36, p = 0.05).
Conclusions
Women with TMD did not show different patterns of physical behaviours in DWP or DWoP. However, there is a trend of more sedentary behaviour and less physical activity in DWP compared to DWoP. Future studies should consider other pain intensity cut-offs, isolated pain locations, and larger sample sizes to confirm these results.