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Physical therapy can support geriatric rehabilitation in contributing to better health status, mobility, and quality of life. However, the central focus of this contribution is not on illness-specific aspects of physical therapy but on power and stamina training. These two training methods are of special importance for geriatric rehabilitation since most patients are admitted due to related problems and these two methods do imply specific risk factors for the rehabilitation process. The spectrum of physical adaptation processes supported by power and stamina training is described and scientifically evaluated. Even in higher age groups positive training effects are possible. Adequate usage of these training methods contributes to increased competence and a minimization of risks in daily life. Die Bewegungstherapie kann in vielfältiger Weise die geriatrische Rehabilitation darin unterstützen, dem alten Menschen ein höheres Maß an Gesundheit, Mobilität und an Lebensqualität zu vermitteln. Es sollen hier jedoch weniger die speziellen Aspekte der Bewegungstherapie in der Anwendung auf einzelne Krankheitsbilder aufgezeigt werden. Vielmehr steht das Krafttraining auf der einen Seite und das Ausdauertraining auf der anderen Seite im Mittelpunkt der Betrachtungen, da sich Einweisungen in geriatrische Einrichtungen in hohem Maße auf das Herz-Kreislauf-System und den Stütz- und Bewegungsapparat beziehen. Auch sind bei diesen beiden Trainingsformen die Risiken höher als in anderen Bereichen der Bewegungstherapie. Es wird das Spektrum der physiologischen Anpassungsprozesse, die die gezielte Kräftigung der Muskulatur und das Ausdauertraining in der Bewegungstherapie hervorrufen, dargestellt und wissenschaftlich belegt. Wichtig ist eine Betonung der Trainierbarkeit auch noch im höheren Lebensalter. Bei sachgerechter Durchführung erzielen beide Trainingsarten günstige Bedingungen für das tägliche Leben des älteren Menschen bei gleichzeitiger Minimierung der Risiken.

The deciduous wood flora of southern Europe is characterized as a special “nemoral-Submediterranean element”. The distribution patterns of some representatives (total ranges and local areas in Roumania) are described and explained by recent climatic conditions. The northern limits of Submediterranean and Submediterranean-middle European deciduous forest taxa exhibit a continuous gradation, but only a few species with a wide ecological amplitude extend into the temperate zone.

The use of machine tools in flexible automation increases the requirements on spindle drives in terms of reliability and availability. Today the DC-drive with speed control is a standard solution. Brushless drives are the state of the art in servo applications. Frequency controlled asynchronous machines supplied by transistor inverters are beginning to enter the area of brushless spindle drives. Urged by the demands of high reliability, ease of servicing, simple installing, high speed and a wide range of constant power to economize gear trains, several producers offer AC spindle drives to replace the DC drives. To get the same control behaviour it is necessary to use a sophisticated control algorithm which can be handled by a microcomputer much better than by analogue circuits. This paper demonstrates the realization of an AC spindle drive with microcomputer control. The price of this product is nearly as low as the price of comparable DC drives.

The closely related Scrophulariaspecies of the Middle European flora S. auriculata, S. umbrosaand S. nodosaare remarkably different as to the distribution patterns and growth forms. Chorological and morphological studies show distinct differences in the general distribution (especially with regard to the zonal and to the oceanic-continental climatical conditions) and the vegetative characters. The westmediterranean-atlantic S. auriculatashows the least specialisation of ramification, innovation, radication, sequence of leaves and seasonal rhythm. On the other side, the species with the northernmost distribution, S. nodosa, is most advanced. The comparative study of growth forms demonstrates within the S. scorodonia-group a progression of taxa from vigorous evergreen semishrubs (in the Canaries and in the South-Western-Mediterraneis) to ever-wintergreen chamaephytical herbaceous perennials (in the oceanic parts of Southern and Middle Europe) to wintergreen hemicryptophytes (in the suboceanic-subcontinental parts of Southern and Middle Europe) and to summergreen geophytes (in Middle and Northern Europe). Probably in this series we may recognize a model of the evolution of temperate forest plants from a subtropical-meridional tertiary vegetation. The authors propose to use correlated studies of distribution patterns and growth forms as a base of ecotaxonomical research and as a material for Biological Floras.

For maintaining and developing motor mobility in old age motor activity is essential. We can take from the phylogenesis and ontogenesis of the human being how important physical activity is for personality development and for maintaining physical fitness in old age. Many phenomena, which have so far been thought to be due to natural consequences of the ageing process, can now be traced back to lack of physical activity. These findings are illustrated by examples referring to the most important subsystems of our organism (such as the central nervous system, the cardiovascular system, etc.). To keep these subsystems and with them our organism as a whole functioning as well as possible, we must improve their specific adaptability through sports and exercise. Sports and exercise for the elderly as well as gymnastics for senior citizens should therefore adequately improve co-ordinative skills, the ability of the muscles to relax, joint flexibility, muscle strength, endurance, vegetative adaptability, stress tolerance, controlling body-weight, and resistance to infections.

The aim of this study was to investigate the ecophysiological differentiation between two closely related plant species with different distribution. The areas of Carlina vulgarisa South-Central-European, and C. biebersteiniian East-European-Middle-Siberian element overlap in Central Europe, where both species could be studied in the field and in a transplant garden. Dry matter partitioning and vertical leaf area distribution are similar in both species. However, leaf structure, stomatal behaviour, rooting pattern and organ temperatures differ significantly. In C. biebersteiniileaves are more mesomorph, stomata are more sensitive to dry air and root length per unit leaf area is much smaller than in C. vulgaris. Under radiation conditions leaf and flower temperatures in C. biebersteiniiare higher than in C. vulgaris. Changes in leaf sequence are more pronounced in C. biebersteinii. Thus, C. biebersteiniishows features that appear adequate for moderate light and high humidity conditions in dense herbaceous plant canopies, whereas C. vulgarisis a typical heliophytic forb of open habitats. This corresponds with the different natural growth conditions of the two species: C. biebersteiniigrows in relatively dense canopies under conditions of a short but prevailingly humid growing season (East-European-Siberian forest step) whereas C. vulgarisis found in open pioneer habitats with periods of water-stress during a much longer growing season (Submediterranean-Central-European areas). Finally we discuss the ecological significance of the large leaf area accumulation on the flowering heads of both species with respect to gas exchange.

The most important forest communities of the West-Himalayas, in the older literature hitherto characterized only as to the combination of their tree species, are thoroughly described and represented by complete species lists and an analysis of the chorological spectrum. Special attention is paid to the sclerophyllous forests of Quercus balootand Olea ferrugineaand to the Cedrus deodaraforests growing in mediterranoid climats. The relations of these Himalayan communities to Mediterranean forest associations are discussed. In the same manner the corresponding structure and ecology of the Pinetum roxburghii and the Pinetum canariensis are elucidated.

Comparative studies of the spectra of distribution types within the forest communities described in part 2 of the present contributions showed clear differentiations with regard to the geobotanical character of the various vegetation types (fig. 60). In the whole succession of altitudinal belts there are remarkable differences between the western and the eastern part of the Western Himalayas. The altitudinal differentiation of the Eastern Himalayas shows more variety than that in the Western Himalayas, revealing, however, certain similarities in the flora and vegetation to the latter (compare table 4 and 5). In the extratropical Western Himalayas there occur, apart from a considerable number of humid Japano-Himalayan and Sino-Himalayan monsoonal elements many semihumid elements of the deciduous forest flora, as well as semiarid taxa of eumeso-gean or oldmediterranean character. Since the latter also reveal close relations with the Sino- Japanese flora from the genetical point of view the whole of the Himalayasis considered to be part of the Sino-Japanese region. Together with the mountainous areas of South West China, the Himalayas may be regarded as a Himalayan-South-West-Chinese subregion of the Sino- Japanese region.

As a basis of area type spectrums the total areas of nearly five hundred species of characteristical forest and scrub communities in the Western Himalayas are analysed. The different area forms are grouped according to their zonal and etagal behaviour and to their differentiation into humid and arid and into eastside (Monsoon) and westside (Etesien) elements. Especial attention is paid to widely distributed holarctic (and holarctic + tropic/montan) meridional· semihumid and semiarid elements with relations to the characteristic etesienflora of the Mediterraneis.