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In 1994 a field study started at three sites in eastern Austria to investigate the impacts of mulch till and no-till on soil erosion, surface runoff, nutrient and pesticide losses. The aim of this paper is to show long-term impacts of reduced tillage on runoff, erosion and related processes. The experiments were carried out on fields of agricultural schools in Lower Austria about 100 km north and west of Vienna. Soil textures range from silt loam to silty clay loam. Average annual rainfall at the sites ranges from 621 to 916 mm with average annual air temperatures between 9.4 and 10.4 °C. The following soil tillage treatments were investigated: (1) conventional tillage system with ploughing in fall (CT), (2) mulch tillage with cover crops during winter (MT) and (3) no-till with cover crops during winter (NT). Throughout growing season event based measurements of soil erosion, surface runoff, and nutrient and carbon losses were conducted for all sites and tillage systems. Data on losses of pesticide residues are only available for a few years. The crop rotation at the sites was mainly small grains-root crop but included also other field crops. On a long-term basis reduced tillage practices decreased surface runoff from silt loam by 25–55 % (MT) and 49–60 % (NT). For the not well drained silty clay loam soil an increase by 12–21 % was observed which is related to significantly higher soil bulk densities of MT and NT in the 0−20 cm depth. Mean long-term annual erosion rates for CT ranged between 8.6 and 33.2 t ha−1, for MT between 3.6 and 5.3 t ha−1and for NT between 1.9 and 3.0 t ha−1. Compared to conventional tillage MT and NT reduced soil loss from a silty clay loam by 38 and 65 %, and from silt loam by 70–88 % and 84–93 %, respectively. 10−30% fewer erosion events occurred from MT plots and about 20 % fewer events from NT plots. Higher aggregate stabilities of MT and NT due to higher soil organic carbon contents in the 0−10 cm soil depth, higher soil cover as well as lower flow velocities are responsible for this reduction in soil loss from reduced tillage treatments. Low erosion rates from the reduced tilled plots correlated with low runoff losses of nitrogen and phosphorus. Total nitrogen losses ranged from 13.3–48.1 kg ha−1 for CT, from 4.5–18.7 kg ha−1 for MT and from 1.6–9.4 for NT. Total nitrogen losses ranged from 13.3–48.1 kg ha−1 for CT, from 4.5–18.7 kg ha−1 for MT and from 1.6–9.4 for NT. Corresponding total P losses ranged from 6.7–29.4 kg ha−1 for CT, 2.1 to 3.7 kg ha−1 for MT and from 0.7 to 2.4 kg ha−1 for NT. Low erosion rates from the reduced tilled plots correlated with low runoff losses of nitrogen and phosphorus even though N and P concentrations in runoff were greater than from CT and sediments were enriched severalfold in N and P. Conservation tillage methods reduced the SOC losses by 34–86 % for MT and by 58–89 % for NT. Other studies show that these results are not only obtained in central Europe but also in other regions worldwide. The long-term results of this study show that the use of mulch and no tillage in well-drained soils is beneficial for the farmers under central European conditions by improving soil´s aggregate stability and soil water contents and for the environment by reducing soil and nutrient losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Comprehensive analysis of country-specific boundary conditions and success factors. • National heat supply systems and incentive policies are essential. • Role of district heating utilities in Denmark for solar district heating success. • Technological solutions and best practice examples of large-scale systems. • First-hand market research on China shows higher market penetration than assumed. Large-scale solar thermal systems are a cost-efficient technology to provide renewable heat. The rapid market growth in the last decade has been concentrated on a small number of countries, with the outstanding position of Denmark followed by China, Germany and Austria. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the market and common technological solutions for large-scale solar thermal systems in these countries. Country-specific factors, including solar resources, heat supply systems, competing technologies, promotion schemes and business models, which put these countries in a leading role, are analyzed in detail using an integrated assessment framework. For each country, a best practice solar heating system is introduced. The analysis shows that heat supply by large-scale solar thermal systems is a mature technology with a broad field of applications and that mainly country-specific boundary conditions regarding the heat supply system and incentive policy are responsible for the preeminent role of these four countries. The unique role of district heating utilities in Denmark, which are subject to a national emissions trading system and often act both as investors and operators of large-scale solar thermal systems, can serve as a role model for other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Planned relocation is an emerging but underexplored topic in flood risk management. • Households often lack opportunities to express their individual needs. • Policy windows endure over timeframes of several years. • Program implementation overemphasises technical and legal compliance. • Flexibility to personal circumstances and biographical stages increases acceptance. Within the wide array of adaptive responses to flood hazards, planned relocation of residents at risk is usually only taken into account if other responses are ineffective or unavailable. Residents targeted by planned relocation are confronted with radical changes in their livelihood; therefore, relocation is highly contested within public risk discourse. The present paper assesses dynamic processes in the design and implementation of voluntary planned relocation in the Austrian Danube catchment over five decades. Using the Multiple Streams Approach, the emergence of policy windows is mapped to developments in the problem, political, policy and population streams. A mixed-methods design combines semi-structured interviews of 88 affected households and 21 decision-makers with archival research. Repeated flood events underscored that standard protection did not suffice for all riverside communities. In consequence, national authorities acted as policy entrepreneurs to advocate planned relocation and direct the discourse; by contrast, local stakeholders and residents played a mostly passive role. The relocation policy developed from ad-hoc informal arrangements towards a formalised procedure. Relocation governance evolved as incremental change over a long time span instead of immediate, radical disruption. Policy acceptance by residents depended crucially on social learning and on coincidence with personal circumstances and biographical stages. Policy windows opened for several years, when pre-signals from ongoing public debate accumulated and the different timescales in the decision-making of public administrators, elected representatives and residents aligned. Key factors were long-term perspective, flexibility, engagement and social capacity at a local level to deal with and manage planned relocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of renewable heat sources in the electricity grid represents a challenge in the energy system due to their stochastic production character. Besides, the rural district heating sector in Austria is confronted with a large number of biomass boilers reaching the end of their lifetime and thus operating unprofitably. In this context, heat pumps have a decisive role in supporting both networks and providing flexibility. However, their implementation is not yet extended in Austria. This paper shows the potential of heat pump utilization in several concrete use cases. Results determine that heat pumps can be active players in the Austrian electricity market. Energy costs can be saved by taking advantage of low prices in the day-ahead market and additional revenues can be earned in the balancing market. Offering negative balancing energy for the automatic frequency restoration reserve (aFRR) presents a potentially interesting business case since it provides a considerable reduction in the heat generation costs. Considering the complexity and uncertainty of the future market development, awareness on the most influencing factors gains great relevance. Results show that fluctuations in the biomass price and call probabilities can affect the heat pump profitability. • Heat pumps can improve the profitability of old rural district heating networks. • The optimal bidding strategy offers negative balancing energy for aFRR. • Heat generation costs are reduced by 17,7% (flue gas) and 27,5% (sewage water). • Use cases with flue gas show the best profitability (LCOE reduced by 6,7%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change will affect tourism as one of the sectors most dependent on natural resources. Due to the strong dependency of many peripheral areas on tourism, climate change has the potential to destabilize regional economies. The objective of this paper is to assess the impacts of climate change on ski tourism demand. A tourist survey (n = 1957) with a choice experiment conducted in 53 ski areas in Austria provides the data for our analyses. Results show that snow is the most important factor for destination choice. Nevertheless, preferences of respondents are heterogeneous. Measures that enhance price-performance ratio, i.e. lowering lift ticket prices and avoiding crowding, turn out to be the most suitable compensation for suboptimal snow conditions. As long as substitute ski areas with better snow conditions exist, destinations with marginal snow conditions are likely to face severe demand losses (up to 60%). Nevertheless, dynamic pricing has the potential to compensate medium snow reliability. If all destinations are affected by deteriorating snow conditions, total demand reduces by 64% if snow reliability is low. If these conditions and effects are limited to the beginning and the end of the ski season, demand is projected to decline by 18%. • Ski area demand losses in winter tourism are severe if substitute destinations with high snow reliability exist. • Medium instead of high snow reliability is economically bearable for ski destinations. • Yield management with dynamic pricing is a suitable compensation for marginal snow. • Low snow reliability and bad snow experiences could cause market-wide demand losses of 64%. • If seasonality of demand is considered, potential impacts are reduced by 18%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Lightning ground truth data analyses in the Austrian Alps during 2015, 2017 and 2018. • Atmospheric discharges are recorded at different measurement locations in Austria. • 463 negative cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes and 1527 negative CG strokes analyzed. • LLS performance parameter, location accuracy and detection efficiency are determined. • Flash multiplicity and peak currents are analyzed too. This paper presents recent ground truth data analyses in the Austrian Alps run by Graz University of Technology in cooperation with Austrian Lightning Detection and Information System (ALDIS). Atmospheric discharges are observed at different measurement locations by using a Video and Field Recording System (VFRS). This system consists of a high speed video camera (2000 frames per second) and a flat plate antenna to measure the electric field. For the present analysis a data set of the measurement periods 2015, 2017 and 2018 was used for validation of the Lightning Location System (LLS) data of ALDIS. In total 463 negative cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes and 1527 negative CG strokes were recorded in Austria during 51 days. Values for LLS location accuracy are in the range of 90 m to 130 m. LLS flash detection efficiencies in the range from 96.08% to 98.62% and stroke detection efficiencies in the range from 76.36% to 85.60% have been determined. Mean multiplicity values determined with the VFRS data are comparable to the results of previous analyses in the Austrian Alps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current transport policy objectives aiming to increase active mobility can solely be achieved by changing people's mobility behavior. To arouse interest and influence the decision process of the people, adequate information sources and services as well as appropriate incentives and motivation have to be used, but they have to be target-group specific to reach people more effectively. Influencing factors such as mobility habits, attitudes towards transport modes, shared social norms and values must be considered. Since people resemble in some characteristics, methods from social sciences are applied to identify homogeneous groups of shared mobility-related information needs and to extract appropriate group-related arguments to promote active mobility (e.g. health, environment, costs, image, or adventure). The paper describes the methodological approach and the results in form of six comprehensively defined homogeneous target groups derived from 12 qualitative focus groups. Moreover, a survey among a representative sample of 1000 persons in Austria is presented. Based on the outcomes, customized concepts for each specific target group (arguments, information needs, and preferred information channels) have been developed. The concept provides a solid basis for implementing measures to promote active mobility as prerequisite for reaching transport policy objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A breakdown of the location accuracy of the SALDN and ALDIS per year, indicating that rare large location errors still occur even as performance improves. • A methodology to fit statistical models to geographical lightning data and evaluate the quality of the fit. • The methodology is applied to lightning location system data time-correlated with ground-truth lightning events - tall tower lightning in both South Africa and Austria. • It is shown that the bivariate Students' t-distribution is a better statistical model for lightning location system errors than the bivariate Gaussian distribution. Lightning location systems geolocate lightning strokes. Given assumptions made in the geolocation models, errors in the reported locations can occur. Modelling these errors as a bivariate Gaussian distribution of historic stroke detections has found success in the form of confidence ellipses. However, the presence of outliers - strokes with large location errors - indicate that there is a better model for these errors. The Students' t-distribution is a "heavier" tailed distribution. This paper investigates whether the bivariate Students' t-distribution is a better model for such errors. A methodology for modelling and evaluating the distribution of location errors using maximum likelihood estimation, expectation-maximization and a Mahalanobis distance quality-of-fit test is described. This method is applied to stroke reports from the South African Lightning Detection Network and the Austrian Lightning Detection and Information System time-correlated with photographed lightning events to the Brixton Tower, South Africa and current measurements to the Gaisberg Tower, Austria respectively. In both cases, we find outliers in the distribution of location errors - even as the performance of the networks increase. Using the Mahalanobis test, we find the bivariate Students' t-distribution to be a better statistical model for both the South African and the Austrian events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correct quantification of soil surface and soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks is crucial for the evaluation of important soil functions, including atmospheric C sequestration. At present, soil science lacks (i) a clear definition of soil depth, (ii) consented procedures for soil sampling, as well as (iii) adequate awareness concerning pitfalls and caveats associated with quantification of soil surface area and large-scale SOC stocks in mountainous, complex landscapes. Traditional SOC stock quantification in these landscapes often did not adequately address site-specific geomorphological conditions and thus yielded incorrect results due to combination of incompatible methods for soil depth assessment, soil profile or core sampling, and soil surface area calculation. In our paper, we suggest unequivocal definitions of soil depth, horizon thickness, and SOC density, which can be applied for soils in sloping as well as flat terrain. Moreover, we quantify and discuss potential SOC (and other soil nutrient) stock assessment errors in mountainous regions, using the German Alps as case study. We present a protocol to ensure an unbiased quantification of soil surface area, as well as SOC or nutrient element stocks in mountainous landscapes. Taking into account the considerable area of sloping terrain on the global scale, and particularly in mountainous countries (e.g. Switzerland, Austria, Andes Countries, Nepal, Japan), our publication will contribute to a more accurate quantification of soil stocks of SOC and important nutrients as well as area-based C fluxes (e.g. CO 2 sequestration or release) or other surface-related biogeochemical fluxes. Unlabelled Image • High risk of biased SOC stock quantification in mountainous regions • Soil surface area in mountainous landscapes traditionally underestimated • First definition of soil depth, horizon thickness, SOC density in sloping terrain • Concept for correct SOC stock estimation for mountainous landscapes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jewish pathologist Carl Julius Rothberger (1871–1945) is undoubtedly one of the most important representatives of his field. His studies on atrial fibrillation, the bundle branch block and arrhythmia perpetua in particular secured him a place in medical history. Rothberger also gave the name to an agar used to prove the neutral red reduction of salmonella (Rothberger-Scheffler agar). While Rothberger's name is well known in pathology, his biography and his experiences of stigmatization as a Jewish university lecturer have received little attention. The latter are therefore the focus of this paper. Three central research questions need to be answered: What effect did Rothberger's Jewish origins have on his personal life and on his career at the University of Vienna in the first third of the 20th century? What personal changes resulted from the "Anschluss" ("annexation") of Austria to the German Reich (1938) and the assumption of power by the National Socialists? And finally, what role does Rothberger play in the collective memory of the city of Vienna today – does a kind of public memory exist? The current work is based on extensive primary sources from the Archives of the University of Vienna, the manuscript collection of the Archives of the Medical Faculty there and the Austrian State Archives. Some of these primary sources have been evaluated for the first time. They have been supplemented by contemporary newspaper articles and the relevant secondary literature. Although Rothberger grew up in a largely assimilated upper middle-class family in which religious practice hardly played a role, he was exposed to considerable anti-Semitic and repressive actions, especially from the 1920s onwards. However, these repressions only become apparent at second glance. Stages of increasing rights deprivation included (1) Rothberger's frustratingly unsuccessful applications for the Chair of General and Experimental Pathology, which had been vacant since 1924, (2) his forced early retirement (1936/37), (3) an exclusion order against him along with temporary imprisonment after the "annexation" (1938), and (4) the final closure of the institute which he had helped develop and shape over decades (1942). An active public debate on the victims of National Socialism has been taking place in Vienna and at its university since the turn of the millennium. In this context, Carl Julius Rothberger was officially commemorated at a ceremony in 2010 – a late attempt to rescue him and his work from collective oblivion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Recreational camps for children are a helpful measure to cope with family illness. • Camps can also help to meet the needs of young carers. • Camp should be considered as an important cornerstone of support for this group. • But should also be a trigger for discussing more sustainable support measures. Recreational camps for children play an important role in coping with the illness of a family member. This paper aims to describe the experience of a young-carer summer camp in Austria from the perspective of the attending children who care for a parent with severe physical illness as well as their diagnosed and non-diagnosed parents who remained at home. Nineteen qualitative interviews with children and their parents were conducted and analyzed according to qualitative summarizing content analysis procedure. The findings show a familial decision-making process and the ambivalent expectations and feelings of the children prior to the camp. The camp itself is a place where children feel looked after and where they can enjoy adventure activities. It is also a place where they are among themselves and can make friends and talk about their feelings in a secure and private environment. During the camp, the remaining parents try to spend most of their time focusing on themselves and their partnership. The camp also gives the children a glimpse of another way of living with new freedoms that cannot be maintained when they come home. These findings indicate that camps can make an important contribution to addressing young carers' needs but should also initiate a debate on more sustainable relief measures for children with care responsibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One month-ahead electricity prices open up a great potential for manufacturing companies that aim at reducing energy costs. On the machine level, an energy cost-oriented scheduling can be realized through determining the least electricity cost-intensive launch times for job processing during a day. To obtain reliable price information at production planning stage in advance, well-performing forecast models are required. In this paper, we apply a Weighted Nearest Neighbor (WNN) approach, a TBATS approach, and a Deep Feedforward Neural Network (DFNN) approach to forecast EPEX Spot day-ahead electricity prices of the European Energy Exchange in Germany/Austria, while accounting for a forecast horizon of up to one month. Model performances are compared by means of established error measures as well as by adjusted error measures to better interpret results from a production planner's point of view. For evaluation purposes, 1357 different forecasts were computed for each of the methods, allowing valid conclusions as to their performance. The results show that all approaches lead to acceptable accuracies. However, the DFNN outperforms WNN and TBATS, providing well-fitting forecasts even 29 days ahead. Image 1 • Artificial Neural Networks outperform TBATS and Weighted Nearest Neighbor. • Forecast results are highly applicable for mid-term production planning purposes. • Neural Network forecasts for longer terms are almost as precise as for shorter ones. • On average, only 5% of the adjusted forecasts exceed the limit of a 10.00 EUR error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: On 27 May 2005 in Prüm was signed a convention between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Austria on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration (hereinafter the Prüm Treaty) improving the exchange of information and data resulting by DNA, dactyloscopic and vehicle data to regulate forms of closer cooperation between law enforcement and judicial authorities. On 23 June 2008 the Council of the European Union adopted the Prüm Treaty under the Treaty on European Union with the Decisions 2008/615/JHA and 2008/616/JHA. On 14 July 2009 the Italian Parliament has passed the act n.85/2009 published on the Official Journal (G.U.) n.160 Supp.Ord.n.108/L G.U. General series with the title: “Adhesion of the Italian Republic to the Prüm Treaty. Establishment of national DNA database (NDNADB) and the central laboratory for the NDNADB” in order to facilitate the identification the perpetrators of crimes. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate some aspects described on the chapters of the law as the organization, the rules, the types of activities of NDNADB and the central laboratory, the categories of the person for inclusion in the DNA database, the methodology of analysis of evidence and reference sample, etc. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Although the first intermedullary fixation technique was already reported in 1886, successfully inter-medullary nailing did not start until November 1939 when Küntscher''s revolutionary technique was applied for the first time. Whereas Küntscher initially stated that his “marrow nail” was suitable for almost every fracture type as well as for other procedures including fixation of osteotomies, joint arthrodesis and pseudarthro-sis treatment he tried to develop an own nail for every possible fracture type through the years. Undoubtedly, Küntscher has to be considered one of the most influential surgeons. Nevertheless, he was never offered a university position and a lot of people did not acknowledge his brilliancy until his death in 1972. Only in Vienna the willingness to seize Küntscher''s ideas was high. Therefore, in addition to a historic overview and to fundamental knowledge referring to reamed and unreamed respectively to static and dynamic nailing Küntscher''s influence on Viennese researchers is presented in our paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper explores the issue of sustainability at the macro scale employing multi-criteria decision aid (MCDA) methods. The incommensurability of values and the essentially multi-dimensional and dynamic nature of sustainability challenge the use of composite measurement indices. This determined the choice of MCDA methods. Austria was chosen as a case study, due to the wide availability of data, especially on indicators of strong sustainability. The structure of the multi-criteria problem comprised the evolution of different sustainability dimensions over time. The process for selecting criteria included a critical assessment of institutional sustainability agendas (UN, EU and Austrian Government) and theoretical recommendations. After an assessment of MCDA methods, the NAIADE method demonstrated the most suitable properties for sustainability assessment. The application of this outranking approach was undertaken in two separate settings: long-term from 1960 to 2003 and medium-term, 1995–2003 with varying numbers of criteria. The response of results to the addition of evaluating criteria and periods was tested. The degree of credibility for accepting preference relations was also employed for sensitivity analysis. According to the results of the long-term assessment, especially in the weak sustainability setting, sustainable progress is taking place in Austria. In the medium term, in the stronger sustainability setting and, especially as the number of criteria increases, more incomparable periods appear and trends are less determined. Moreover, it is shown how results crucially depend on the methodological choices. This is one of the first applications of the multi-criteria tools to the dynamic analysis of sustainability at the macro scale. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The contract to supply Austria with a smart social insurance card has been awarded to German smart card manufacturer Giesecke & Devrient (G&D). The Central Association of Austrian Social Insurance Institutions ordered the 48 million euro e-card system as a replacement to the country''s out-of-date paper-based healthcare voucher scheme. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper discusses changes in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems caused by land use. It presents an empirical analysis of changes in land use, agricultural productivity, and socio-economic biomass metabolism in Austria during the 19th and 20th centuries, related to the process of 'industrial modernization', i.e. the transition from asociety relying entirely on solar energy to the industrial society of today based on fossil fuel use. The development of 'human appropriation of net primary production' in connection with the changes in thesocio-economic energy system are discussed for the period 1830/1995. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]