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Aim Parallel declines in plant and insect pollinator diversity under land use intensification may occur as a result of both taxonomic groups responding similarly, but independently, to habitat change or as a consequence of interdependence as insect-pollinated plants decline due to pollinator loss. Here, we explore the relative roles of independent and interdependent declines by comparing correlations of species richness and land use intensity for different functional groups of plants. Location Austria. Methods Generalized linear and generalized linear mixed models were used to analyse trends in species richness of plant functional groups sampled along a land use intensity gradient across 100 agricultural landscapes (=625 × 625 m each). Plants were classified according to their pollination syndrome, breeding system and life span. Species numbers were related to the site-specific proportional area of semi-natural habitats as an indicator of land use intensity. Results Overall, as the level of agricultural intensification increased the proportion of outcrossing plants declined and the proportion of self-pollinating plants increased. However, while perennial plant species richness decreased under more intensive land use independently of pollination syndrome or breeding system, the richness of annuals only declined for outcrossing species requiring specialized insect pollinators but not for those pollinated by wind- or unspecialized insect pollinators. Main conclusion From these patterns we infer that land use intensification mainly drives plant species loss by excluding perennial species which suffer from the conversion of land to annually harvested crop fields. Hence, parallel declines in plant and insect richness largely result from a common response of perennials and pollinators to habitat change. Nevertheless, for annual plants with specialized pollinator requirements our data support a cascading effect of pollinator decline on species richness.

Objective There are various alternatives for the management of oral conditions that may lead to or already have lead to partial or full edentulism. Economic evaluations measure the efficiency of alternative healthcare interventions and provide useful information for decision-making and the allocation of scarce resources. Material and methods The current English literature dealing with "cost-effectiveness" of dental implant therapy versus different alternative treatment modalities, that is, complete and fixed partial dentures, root canal, and periodontal treatment, has been included in this narrative review. Due to the high heterogeneity within the literature, a meta-analysis could not be conducted. Results The available evidence from economic evaluations indicated that for the treatment of central incisors with irreversible pulpitis and coronal lesions, root canal treatments were most cost-effective initial treatment options. When initial root canal treatments failed, orthograde retreatments were most cost-effective. When root canal retreatments failed, extractions and replacement with single implant-supported crowns were more cost-effective compared to fixed or removable partial dentures. In the treatment of periodontitis in molars with Class I furcation invasion, non-surgical periodontal therapy was more effective and costed less than implant-supported single crowns. For the replacement of single missing teeth, two evaluations indicated that implant-supported single crowns provided better outcomes in terms of greater quality-adjusted tooth years or survival rates at lower costs compared to fixed partial prostheses. Another economic evaluation found that implant-supported crowns costed more, but provided greater survival rates compared to fixed partial dentures. For the restoration of edentulous mandibles, two evaluations indicated that overdentures retained by two or four implants improved oral health-related quality of life outcomes, but costed more than complete dentures. Conclusions To better assess the efficiency of implant-supported prostheses in various clinical conditions, more economic evaluations are needed that follow well-established methodologies in health economics.

Semi-natural habitats are part of agri-environment programmes throughout Europe. Little is known about activity-density and assemblage composition of carabid beetles within sown wildflower areas (SWA) compared with conventional grassy field margins and adjoining arable fields. 2 In 10 landscapes, two pairs of winter wheat fields with adjoining SWA and grassy field margin were studied. We compared activity-density, species richness, ecological traits and assemblage composition of carabids among 20 winter wheat fields, 10 adjoining grassy field margins and 10 adjoining SWA. 3 Beetle activity-density was higher in wheat fields compared with adjoining semi-natural habitats regarding total carabids, macropterous, polyphagous- carnivorous and euryoecious open habitat beetles. Although total species rich- ness (analysis of variance) did not significantly differ among habitat types, we found significantly higher species numbers in SWA than in wheat fields adjoining SWA and grassy margins when the number of recorded species was standardized to the number of individuals (rarefaction). Carabid assemblages in wheat fields differed from assemblages in adjoining SWA and grassy margins. 4 The results of the present study emphasize the important contribution of semi-natural habitats to diversify the spring carabid fauna in agroecosystems. In particular, SWA were shown to be useful to enhance carabid biodiversity conservation in agroecosystems, rather than to enhance their density-dependent functions.

Long-term studies worldwide indicate that peri-implant inflammation is a frequent finding and that the prevalence of peri-implantitis correlates with loading time. Implant loss, although less frequent, has serious oral health and economic consequences. An understanding of predictive factors for peri-implant disease and implant loss would help providers and patients make informed decisions.A cross-sectional study was performed on 96 patients with 225 implants that were placed between 1998 and 2003. Implant placement data were collected from patient records, and patients presented for a clinical and radiographic follow-up examination. Implant status and periodontal status were determined, the data were analyzed to determine the prevalence of peri-implant disease or implant loss, and a predictive model was tested.The mean follow-up time for the patients was 10.9 years. The implant survival rate was 91.6%. Peri-implant mucositis was found in 33% of the implants and 48% of the patients, and peri-implantitis occurred in 16% of the implants and 26% of the patients. Individuals with peri-implantitis were twice as likely to report a problem with an implant as individuals with healthy implants. Peri-implantitis is associated with younger ages and diabetes at the time of placement and with periodontal status at the time of follow-up. Implant loss is associated with diabetes, immediate placement, and larger-diameter implants.One in four patients and one in six implants have peri-implantitis after 11 years. The data suggest that periodontal and diabetes status of the patient may be useful for predicting implant outcomes.

The three year EU project SMARTER-SI that ends in January 2018 has tested a new concept for small lot manufacturing for SMEs which we call the Cooperative Foundry Model (CFM). During previous research, all RTOs have completed building blocks, i.e. components or parts of systems which are readily available and characterized by their high Technology Readiness Level (TRL). These building blocks are combined and integrated in so-called Application Experiments (AEs), thereby creating innovative Smart Systems that serve the SMEs' needs. Four pre defined AEs have been presented before [1] and in this paper, six additional AEs will be presented: i) a smart sensor for pneumatic combined clutch and brakes, ii) smart well plates for tissue engineering integrating continuous, non-invasive TEER iii) microclimate sensor for moisture applications, iv) LTCC-Si-Pressure Sensor, v) miniaturized capillary electrophoresis system for bio analysis, and vi) a MEMS sensor module for respiratory applications. Finally, a brief description of ongoing standardization efforts is presented.

The idea that noncrop habitat enhances pest control and represents a win–win opportunity to conserve biodiversity and bolster yields has emerged as an agroecological paradigm. However, while noncrop habitat in landscapes surrounding farms sometimes benefits pest predators, natural enemy responses remain heterogeneous across studies and effects on pests are inconclusive. The observed heterogeneity in species responses to noncrop habitat may be biological in origin or could result from variation in how habitat and biocontrol are measured. Here, we use a pest-control database encompassing 132 studies and 6,759 sites worldwide to model natural enemy and pest abundances, predation rates, and crop damage as a function of landscape composition. Our results showed that although landscape composition explained significant variation within studies, pest and enemy abundances, predation rates, crop damage, and yields each exhibited different responses across studies, sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing in landscapes with more noncrop habitat but overall showing no consistent trend. Thus, models that used landscape-composition variables to predict pest-control dynamics demonstrated little potential to explain variation across studies, though prediction did improve when comparing studies with similar crop and landscape features. Overall, our work shows that surrounding noncrop habitat does not consistently improve pest management, meaning habitat conservation may bolster production in some systems and depress yields in others. Future efforts to develop tools that inform farmers when habitat conservation truly represents a win–win would benefit from increased understanding of how landscape effects are modulated by local farm management and the biology of pests and their enemies., This work was supported through the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) National Science Foundation Award DBI-1052875 for the project “Evidence and Decision-Support Tools for Controlling Agricultural Pests with Conservation Interventions” organized by D.S.K. and R.C.-K

This article describes sensors for concentration measurement based on the electro- chemical properties of the liquid being measured. Herein two electrical methods, namely cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy, are being presented. The measurement can be performed quasi simultaneously using the same measurement medium. Further optimization of the combined methods is possible by adapting the geometric design of the electrode structure, the electrode material, the optional passivation and the electric coupling (galvanically or capacitively). In summary, by combining multiple sensory principles on a device it becomes possible to analyze mixtures of substances contained in a solution with respect to their composition.

Background The primary goal of this pilot study was to evaluate the success of a smoking cessation programme on smoking behaviour of patients with chronic periodontitis. Secondary goals were to identify the prevalence of smoking among them, predictors of motivation for smoking cessation and for successful nicotine abstinence. Methods Smokers suffering from chronic periodontitis were offered cognitive behavioural group therapy of 10 once-weekly sessions. Smoking is reduced stepwise and complete cessation is to be achieved by the sixth session. Sociodemographic data, history of smoking and motivation for smoking cessation, subjective health status, and questionnaires on anxiety, depression, control beliefs and coping with stress were completed at study entry. Smoking behaviour was assessed at the end of the group programme and 3 months thereafter. Results Of 469 patients with periodontitis, 59 (12.6%) were smokers; 30 (50.6%) patients participated in the smoking cessation programme. Participants smoked more cigarettes/day (P = 0.03, 95% CI: −17.9/−0.89) and subjectively assessed their health as being worse than non-participants (P = 0.09, 95% CI: −0.16/2.15). In SPQ, non-participants showed more trivialization (P = 0.014, 95% CI: 0.59/4.94). Complete data were available for 15 group participants: six patients were smoke-free after 10 weeks and five after 18 weeks (33.3%); two patients had reduced their cigarette consumption by half. At the start of the programme, less successful participants showed a tendency to higher depression in HADS (P = 0.085, 95% CI: −5.25/5.76) and were more inclined to seek substitute satisfaction (P = 0.034, 95% CI: 3.24/11.23). Conclusion The rate of success in this study was comparable with other studies. More research with larger samples is needed for confirming these observations.

A developed transferable micro force sensor was evaluated by comparing its response with an industrially manufactured device. In order to pre-identify sensor properties, three-dimensional (3-D) sensor models were simulated with a vertically applied force up to 1000 µN. Then, controllable batch fabrication was performed by alternately utilizing inductively coupled plasma (ICP) reactive ion etching (RIE) and photolithography. The assessments of sensor performance were based on sensor linearity, stiffness and sensitivity. Analysis of the device properties revealed that combination of a modest stiffness value (i.e., (8.19 ± 0.07) N m−1) and high sensitivity (i.e., (15.34 ± 0.14) V N−1) at different probing position can be realized using a meander-spring configuration. Furthermore, lower noise voltage is obtained using a double-layer silicon on insulator (DL-SOI) as basic material to ensure high reliability and an excellent performance of the sensor.

Une analyse de la politique americaine a la lumiere de l’histoire de l’anti-populisme permet de comprendre la pandemie, le mouvement Black Lives Matter et la campagne presidentielle.

The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of drought stress on the metabolite profiles of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grain against the background of natural variability depending on growing location and season. Six barley genotypes were field-grown (i) under normal weather conditions at two different sites and (ii) under induced drought conditions, using a Rain-Out-Shelter. Both trials were performed in three consecutive seasons (2010–2012). Samples were subjected to a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolite profiling procedure, based on the extraction and fractionation of a broad spectrum of low molecular weight metabolites ranging from lipophilic (e.g. triglyceride-derived fatty acids, free fatty acids, fatty alcohols, sterols) to hydrophilic (e.g. sugars, sugar alcohols, acids, amino acids and amines) compounds. The comparative assessment of the profiling data by means of multivariate analyses revealed that differences in lipophilic metabolites were mainly due to seasonal impact. In contrast water deficit was strongly reflected in quantitative changes of polar metabolites, irrespective of natural variability. The impact factor growing location was differently pronounced depending on the growing season. Univariate statistical analysis revealed 17 metabolites, including the monosaccharides fructose and glucose, the trisaccharide raffinose, several organic acids and the biogenic amine γ-aminobutyric acid to be significantly (p-value < 0.01) influenced by drought stress conditions.

International audience; Farmland species provide key ecological services that support agricultural production, but are under threat from agricultural intensification and mechanization. In order to design effective measures to mitigate agricultural impact, simultaneous investigations of different taxonomic groups across several regions are required. Therefore, four contrasting taxonomic groups were investigated: plants, earthworms, spiders and bees (wild bees and bumblebees), which represent different trophic levels and provide different ecological services. To better understand underlying patterns, three community measurements for each taxonomic group were considered: abundance, species richness and species composition. In four European regions, ten potential environmental drivers of the four taxonomic groups were tested and assigned to three groups of drivers: geographic location (farm, region), agricultural management (crop type, mineral nitrogen input, organic nitrogen input, mechanical field operations and pesticide applications) and surrounding landscape in a 250 m buffer zone (diversity of habitats in the surroundings, proportion of arable fields and proportion of non-productive, non-woody habitats). First, the variation in abundance, species richness and species composition from 167 arable sites was partitioned to compare the relative contribution of the three groups of drivers (geographic location, agricultural management and surrounding landscape). Second, generalized linear mixed-effects models were applied to estimate the effect of the individual explanatory variables on abundance and species richness. Our analysis showed a dominant effect of geographic location in all four taxonomic groups and a strong influence of agricultural management on plants, spiders and bees. The effect of the surrounding landscape was of minor importance and inconsistent in our data. We conclude that in European arable fields, the avoidance of mineral nitrogen and pesticides is beneficial for biodiversity, and that species protection measures should take into account regional characteristics and the community structure of the investigated taxonomic groups.