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Unsere Sinne, in Millionen von Jahren entwickelt, sind nicht perfekt an heutige Umgebungsbedingungen angepasst. Gute Bedingungen für Räume, die geistige und körperliche Gesundheit unterstützen, lassen sich physikalisch messen oder psychologisch berücksichtigen. Gebäude stellen im Idealfall unauffällig gute Voraussetzungen bereit und tragen zu den Umweltzielen bei.

Understanding ecological complexity has stymied scientists for decades. Recent elucidation of the famously coined "devious strategies for stability in enduring natural systems" has opened up a new field of computational analyses of complex ecological networks where the nonlinear dynamics of many interacting species can be more realistically modeled and understood. Here, we describe the first extension of this field to include coupled human-natural systems. This extension elucidates new strategies for sustaining extraction of biomass (e.g., fish, forests, fiber) from ecosystems that account for ecological complexity and can pursue multiple goals such as maximizing economic profit, employment and carbon sequestration by ecosystems. Our more realistic modeling of ecosystems helps explain why simpler "maximum sustainable yield" bioeconomic models underpinning much natural resource extraction policy leads to less profit, biomass, and biodiversity than predicted by those simple models. Current research directions of this integrated natural and social science include applying artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and multiplayer online games.

Despite intensive research on species dissimilarity patterns across communities (i.e. β-diversity), we still know little about their implications for variation in food-web structures. Our analyses of 50 lake and 48 forest soil communities show that, while species dissimilarity depends on environmental and spatial gradients, these effects are only weakly propagated to the networks. Moreover, our results show that species and food-web dissimilarities are consistently correlated, but that much of the variation in food-web structure across spatial, environmental, and species gradients remains unexplained. Novel food-web assembly models demonstrate the importance of biotic filtering during community assembly by (1) the availability of resources and (2) limiting similarity in species' interactions to avoid strong niche overlap and thus competitive exclusion. This reveals a strong signature of biotic filtering processes during local community assembly, which constrains the variability in structural food-web patterns across local communities despite substantial turnover in species composition.

Peginterferon-α-2a (PEG-IFNα2a) in Kombination mit Ribavirin (RBV) ist fur die Behandlung der chronischen Hepatitis C (CHC) zugelassen. Die klinische Wirksamkeit und Sicherheit dieser Kombination ist in verschiedenen klinischen Studien evaluiert worden. Die Zielsetzung der vorliegenden nichtinterventionellen Studie war die Bewertung der Wirksamkeit und Sicherheit von PEG-IFNα2a plus RBV im taglichen Routineeinsatz in Osterreich. Alle Patienten wurden zulassungskonform behandelt. Das klinische Ansprechen wurde wahrend der Behandlung, am Behandlungsende sowie 24 Wochen danach mittels qualitativer oder quantitativer Polymerasekettenreaktion (PCR) gemessen. Die PCR-Ergebnisse wurden dokumentiert wie auch die Anzahl und der Typ unerwunschter Ereignisse („adverse events“ [AE]). Die Daten von 463 mit PEG-IFNα2a plus RBV behandelten Teilnehmern wurden hinsichtlich Wirksamkeit und Sicherheit analysiert. Die mittlere Behandlungsdauer betrug 279 Tage bei Patienten mit Genotyp 1 (GT1)- bzw. Genotyp 4 (GT4)-Erkrankung sowie 177 Tage bei solchen mit Genotyp 2 (GT2)-/Genotyp 3(GT3)-Erkrankung. Das Ansprechen nach Behandlungsende wurde bei 388 Teilnehmern (89,6 %) berichtet. Das anhaltende virologische Ansprechen wurde 24 Wochen nach Behandlungsende bei 207 Patienten evaluiert (modifizierte ITT-Analyse); 132 (63,8 %) davon erwiesen sich als krankheitsfrei. Insgesamt 205 Patienten (44,3 %) hatten mindestens ein AE. Von den 546 gemeldeten AE waren 30 (5,5 %) schwerwiegend und 516 (94,5 %) nichtschwerwiegend. Die Ergebnisse bestatigen, dass PEG-IFNα2a plus RBV in der Routineverwendung zur CHC-Therapie wirksam und gut vertraglich ist.

Living labs are spaces where public and private stakeholders work together to develop and prototype new products, technologies and services in real environments embedded in the community or market place. This paper outlines the approach chosen by AUSILIA (Assisted Unit for Simulating Independent Living Activities), a living lab established in Provincia Autonoma di Trento in 2016 to develop an innovation model for taking care of the elderly or disabled patient by fusion of technology innovation and patient centered integrated care approach. AUSILIA goal is triple: i. to provide an innovative framework based on augmented virtual reality for occupational therapy in ageing and fragile individuals; ii. to help people who are losing autonomy and independence living at home reducing care burden; iii. warrant continuous innovation through the mixed contribution of the academy and private enterprise. The paper describes the specific solutions adopted for the three objectives, reporting an implementation example for each of them.

Aquatic ecosystem services are important for human wellbeing, but they are much less studied than terrestrial ecosystem services. The objectives of this study are to broaden, itemize and exemplify the human-nature interactions in modeling the future provision of aquatic ecosystem services. We include shared socioeconomic and representative concentration pathways, used extensively in climate research, as drivers of change for the future development of the Baltic Sea. Then we use biogeochemical and ecosystem models to demonstrate the future development of exemplary supporting, provisioning and cultural ecosystem services for two distinct combinations of regionally downscaled global climate and socioeconomic futures. According to the model simulations, the two global futures ("Sustainable well-being" vs. "Fossil-fuelled development") studied lead to clearly deviating trajectories in the provision of marine ecosystem services. Under the "Sustainable well-being"-scenario primary production decreases by 20%, catches of demersal fish increases and the recreation opportunities increase significantly by the end of the ongoing century. Under the "fossil-fuelled development"-scenario primary production doubles, fisheries focus on less valued pelagic fish and the recreation possibilities will decrease. Long-term projections of aquatic ecosystem services prepared for alternative global socioeconomic futures can be used by policy makers and managers to adaptively and iteratively adjust mitigation and adaptation effort with plausible future changes in the drivers of water pollution.

Like other fisheries models, multispecies models are subject to various sources of error. However, with regard to their use for ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) between model errors are likely to be most important. As multispecies models are by definition many-dimensional, comparing them is potentially a complex task. The paper uses a simple approach. This is to calculate the Jacobian matrix of long term steady state catch by species with respect to the fishing mortality relative to status quo levels on all species. This enables the comparison of the relative strength of species interactions among models both within and between regions. This Jacobian matrix approach to comparing multispecies models is applied to available models for the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and from Icelandic waters. Moreover, this information is used to provide the basis for estimating a multidimensional quadratic yield surface for each model in the near field. Used this way it is possible to compare different model estimations of fishing mortality rate changes needed to approach yield-related management goals. The results suggest considerable variation between models in their detailed results but more coherence in suggesting directions for changing fishing mortality rate. Thus the approach is of considerable importance in specifying the confidence with which it is possible to make multispecies predictions for EBFM.

To identify potentially suitable areas for the mostly alpine ecological guild of nivicolous (snowbank) myxomycetes, the worldwide distribution of a distinct morphospecies, Physarum albescens, was modelled with a correlative spatial approach using the software MaxEnt from 537 unique occurrence points. Three models were developed, first with only the 19 bioclimatic variables plus elevation from the WorldClim database, second with regularization to correct for pseudo-absence, and third with additional categorical environmental layer on snow cover. All three models showed high mean AUC (area under the curve) values (>0.970). Output maps were comparable, with the third model perhaps the most realistic. For this model, snow cover, precipitation of the coldest quarter (of the year), and elevation predicted best the distribution of Ph. albescens. Elevation alone is a good predictor only in some regions, since (i) elevation of the occurrence points decreases with increasing latitude, and (ii) elevation wrongly predicts the species’ occurrence in arid mountain ranges. The model showed mountains in humid climates with highest incidence, which confirmed field studies: a long-lasting snow cover fluctuating with comparatively mild summers is the decisive factor. As such, the model can serve as a predictive map where fructifications of nivicolous myxomycetes can be expected. Limitations of the model are discussed: cryptic speciation within a morphospecies, including the evolution of reproductively isolated units which may lead to local adaptation and niche differentiation, and wider ranges for myxamoebal populations.

Der aktuelle Entwicklungsstand des Europarechts erschließt sich nicht allein aus den Vorschriften der Verträge, sondern erst aus der Rechtsprechung, die grundlegende Rechtsinstitute und Prinzipien herausgearbeitet hat. Die Fallsammlung enthält die wichtigsten Entscheidungen des EuGH und des EuG, deutscher und österreichischer Obergerichte sowie des EGMR. Studenten und Referendare erhalten so auf anschauliche Weise ein profundes Verständnis des Europarechts. Zur Neuauflage In einem Online-Anhang zum Buch, der sich auf der Seite www.europarecht-in-faellen.nomos.de bei der Buchanzeige unter „Service zum Buch“ findet, geht die Neuauflage ganz aktuell auf die jüngsten Entscheidungen des Bundesverfassungsgerichts zum EZB-Anleihenkaufprogramm sowie auf die Entscheidungen zum „Recht auf Vergessen“ ein. Im Werk wird neben dem Rechtsstaatsverfahren gegen Polen anlässlich des Brexit ausführlich die Austrittsmöglichkeit des Art. 50 EUV sowie das neue Datenschutzrecht erörtert. Ferner wurde die Entscheidung des EuGH zur Pkw-Maut aufgenommen. Zum Inhalt Knapp 200 Entscheidungen sind als so genannte "große Fälle" didaktisch speziell aufbereitet. Sie enthalten eingangs Rechts- und Verständnisfragen, die den Leser auf die Grundprobleme der nachfolgenden Entscheidung hinweisen. Fälle "zweiter Kategorie" werden in der Regel nur mit den tragenden Entscheidungsgründen und dem Tenor des Urteils zitiert. Ein Stichwortverzeichnis, ein Urteilsregister und eine Konkordanztabelle erleichtern den schnellen Zugriff. Die Neuerungen im EU-Gerichtssystem durch den Vertrag von Lissabon werden in einer einführenden Darstellung erläutert.

We developed numerical simulations of potential future ecological states of the Baltic Sea ecosystem at the end of century under five scenarios. We used a spatial food web (Ecospace) model, forced by a physical–biogeochemical model. The scenarios are built on consistent storylines that describe plausible developments of climatic and socioeconomic factors in the Baltic Sea region. Modelled species diversity and fish catches are driven by climate- and nutrient load-related changes in habitat quality and by fisheries management strategies. Our results suggest that a scenario including low greenhouse gas concentrations and nutrient pollution and ecologically focused fisheries management results in high biodiversity and catch value. On the other hand, scenarios envisioning increasing societal inequality or economic growth based on fossil fuels, high greenhouse gas emissions and high nutrient loads result in decreased habitat quality and diminished biodiversity. Under the latter scenarios catches are high but they predominantly consist of lower-valued fish. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-019-01229-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Long-term scenario analyses can be powerful tools to explore plausible futures of human development under changing environmental, social, and economic conditions and to evaluate implications of different approaches to reduce pollution and resource overuse. Vulnerable ecosystems like the Baltic Sea in North-Eastern Europe tend to be under pressure from multiple, interacting anthropogenic drivers both related to the local scale (e.g. land use change) and the global scale (e.g. climate change). There is currently a lack of scenarios supporting policy-making that systematically explore how global and regional developments could concurrently impact the Baltic Sea region. Here, we present five narratives for future development in the Baltic Sea region, consistent with the global Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) developed for climate research. We focus on agriculture, wastewater treatment, fisheries, shipping, and atmospheric deposition, which all represent major pressures on the Baltic Sea. While we find strong links between the global pathways and regional pressures, we also conclude that each pathway may very well be the host of different sectoral developments, which in turn may have different impacts on the ecosystem state. The extended SSP narratives for the Baltic Sea region are intended as a description of sectoral developments at regional scale that enable detailed scenario analysis and discussions across different sectors and disciplines, but within a common context. In addition, the extended SSPs can readily be combined with climate pathways for integrated scenario analysis of regional environmental problems.

We analyze how a reduction in retirement age affects pre-retirement sickness absences and health problems. We examine a policy change in pension eligibility in the Swiss construction sector, which lowered retirement age from 65 to 60. While the reform was intended to improve workers' health, it resulted in the opposite outcome. We find that sickness absences for 56–60-year-old construction workers increase by 33% when working until 60 instead of 65, and their probability of self-reported health problems increases by 54%. We also find a negative but less pronounced effect for the 61–65 age group. Our results imply that lowering the retirement age has not only material costs but also unintended immaterial costs. If the effect is symmetric, it implies that increasing retirement age has immaterial benefits by improving pre-retirement health of older workers.

Different ecosystem models often provide contrasting predictions (model uncertainty), which is perceived to be a major challenge impeding their use to support ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM). The focus of this manuscript is to examine the extent of model disagreements which could impact management advice for EBFM in the central Baltic Sea. We compare how much three models (EwE, Gadget and a multispecies stock production model) differ in 1) their estimates of fishing mortality rates (Fs) satisfying alternative hypothetical management scenario objectives and 2) the outcomes of those scenarios in terms of performance indicators (spawning stock biomasses, catches, profits). Uncertainty in future environmental conditions affecting fish was taken into account by considering two seal population growth scenarios and two nutrient load scenarios. Differences in the development of the stocks, yields and profits exist among the models but the general patterns are also sufficiently similar to appear promising in the context of strategic fishery advice. Thus, we suggest that disagreements among the ecosystem models will not impede their use for providing strategic advice on how to reach management objectives that go beyond the traditional maximum yield targets and for informing on the potential consequences of pursuing such objectives. This is especially true for scenarios aiming at exploiting forage fish sprat and herring, for which the agreement was the largest among our models. However, the quantitative response to altering fishing pressure differed among models. This was due to the diverse environmental covariates and the different number of trophic relationships and their functional forms considered in the models. This suggests that ecosystem models can be used to provide quantitative advice only after more targeted research is conducted to gain a deeper understanding into the relationship between trophic links and fish population dynamics in the Baltic Sea.

Seal populations are recovering in many regions around the world and, consequently, they are increasingly interacting with fisheries. We used an Ecopath with Ecosim model for the offshore Central Baltic Sea to investigate the interactions between the changes in fish stocks and grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) population under different fishing and environmental scenarios for the twenty-first century. The assumed climate, eutrophication and cod (Gadus morhua) fisheries scenarios modified seal predation impacts on fish. Fish biomass and catches are more affected by fishing mortality and the environment than by seal predation. Our results highlight that the impacts of the increasing seal population on lower trophic levels are complex; thus, we emphasize the need to consider a range of possible ecosystem contexts when evaluating potential impacts of top predators. Finally, we suggest that an increasing seal population is not likely to hinder the preservation of the main Baltic fish stocks. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-018-1131-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The concept that diversity promotes reliability of ecosystem function depends on the pattern that community-level biomass shows lower temporal variability than species-level biomasses. However, this pattern is not universal, as it relies on compensatory or independent species dynamics. When in contrast within--trophic level synchronization occurs, variability of community biomass will approach population-level variability. Current knowledge fails to integrate how species richness, functional distance between species, and the relative importance of predation and competition combine to drive synchronization at different trophic levels. Here we clarify these mechanisms. Intense competition promotes compensatory dynamics in prey, but predators may at the same time increasingly synchronize, under increasing species richness and functional similarity. In contrast, predators and prey both show perfect synchronization under strong top-down control, which is promoted by a combination of low functional distance and high net growth potential of predators. Under such conditions, community-level biomass variability peaks, with major negative consequences for reliability of ecosystem function.

The aim of our study was to examine the influence of dyadic attachment, owner and dog personality, and owner gender on stress hormone dynamics in owner–dog dyads. We hypothesized that owner persona...

Indoor mesocosm experiments were conducted to test for potential climate change effects on the spring succession of Baltic Sea plankton. Two different temperature (Delta 0 A degrees C and Delta 6 A degrees C) and three light scenarios (62, 57 and 49 % of the natural surface light intensity on sunny days), mimicking increasing cloudiness as predicted for warmer winters in the Baltic Sea region, were simulated. By combining experimental and modeling approaches, we were able to test for a potential dietary mismatch between phytoplankton and zooplankton. Two general predator-prey models, one representing the community as a tri-trophic food chain and one as a 5-guild food web were applied to test for the consequences of different temperature sensitivities of heterotrophic components of the plankton. During the experiments, we observed reduced time-lags between the peaks of phytoplankton and protozoan biomass in response to warming. Microzooplankton peak biomass was reached by 2.5 day A degrees C-1 earlier and occurred almost synchronously with biomass peaks of phytoplankton in the warm mesocosms (Delta 6 A degrees C). The peak magnitudes of microzooplankton biomass remained unaffected by temperature, and growth rates of microzooplankton were higher at Delta 6 A degrees C (mu(a dagger 0 A degrees C) = 0.12 day(-1) and mu(a dagger 6 A degrees C) = 0.25 day(-1)). Furthermore, warming induced a shift in microzooplankton phenology leading to a faster species turnover and a shorter window of microzooplankton occurrence. Moderate differences in the light levels had no significant effect on the time-lags between autotrophic and heterotrophic biomass and on the timing, biomass maxima and growth rate of microzooplankton biomass. Both models predicted reduced time-lags between the biomass peaks of phytoplankton and its predators (both microzooplankton and copepods) with warming. The reduction of time-lags increased with increasing Q(10) values of copepods and protozoans in the tritrophic food chain. Indirect trophic effects modified this pattern in the 5-guild food web. Our study shows that instead of a mismatch, warming might lead to a stronger match between protist grazers and their prey altering in turn the transfer of matter and energy toward higher trophic levels.

We investigated the effects of warming on a natural phytoplankton community from the Baltic Sea, based on six mesocosm experiments conducted 2005–2009. We focused on differences in the dynamics of three phytoplankton size groups which are grazed to a variable extent by different zooplankton groups. While small-sized algae were mostly grazer-controlled, light and nutrient availability largely determined the growth of medium- and large-sized algae. Thus, the latter groups dominated at increased light levels. Warming increased mesozooplankton grazing on medium-sized algae, reducing their biomass. The biomass of small-sized algae was not affected by temperature, probably due to an interplay between indirect effects spreading through the food web. Thus, under the higher temperature and lower light levels anticipated for the next decades in the southern Baltic Sea, a higher share of smaller phytoplankton is expected. We conclude that considering the size structure of the phytoplankton community strongly improves the reliability of projections of climate change effects.

1. Models aim to predict phytoplankton dynamics based on observed initial conditions and a set of equations and parameters. However, our knowledge about initial conditions in nature is never perfect. Thus, if phytoplankton dynamics are sensitive to small variations in initial conditions, they are difficult to predict. 2. We used time-series data from indoor mesocosm experiments with natural phyto- and zooplankton communities to quantify the extent to which small initial differences in the species, functional group and community biomass in parallel treatments were amplified or buffered over time. We compared the differences in dynamics between replicates and among all mesocosms of 1 year. 3. Temperature-sensitive grazing during the exponential growth phase of phytoplankton caused divergence. In contrast, negative density dependence caused convergence. 4. Mean differences in biomass between replicates were similar for all hierarchical levels. This indicates that differences in their initial conditions were amplified to the same extent. Even though large differences in biomass occasionally occurred between replicates for a short time, dynamics returned to the same path at all hierarchical levels. This suggests that internal feedback mechanisms make the spring development of phytoplankton highly predictable.

Network analysis examines the role of species in ecological communities. The most common approach involves measurement of centrality of species or other groups of individuals based on their topological positions in food webs, followed by establishing the rank order of importance of these groups. However, ranking may differ considerably with indices of centrality and therefore comparison of rank orders is essential to obtain more meaningful results on species performance. Since ranking ignores absolute differences between centrality values, species orders may neglect important structural information in food webs. Consequently, simultaneous examination of the distribution of index values is inevitable. Hierarchical clustering and consensus generation revealed that rank orders of centrality exhibit a similar pattern over six example food webs, while distributions differ not only with indices because their relationships are largely inconsistent with food webs as well. Therefore, optimal analysis of networks and the selection of keystone species in any ecological study should rely upon both of these procedures. Similar conclusions are drawn from the detailed evaluation of a sample food web from the Florida Bay.

We previously showed (Kotrschal et al., 2009) that owner personality and human–dog relationship predicted the performance of a human–dog dyad in a practical task. Based on the same data set we presently investigate the effects of individual and social factors on the social attraction of dogs to their owners. Twenty-two male and female owners and their intact male dogs were observed during a “picture viewing” test, where we diverted the owner’s attention away from their dog whilst it was permitted to move freely around the room. Owner personality axis “neuroticism” and dog personality axis “vocal and aggressive” were, respectively, positively and negatively related to the time the dog stayed in proximity to the owner. Quality of relationship and attachment also had significant effects on this proximity. We conclude that personality and the nature of the human–dog relationship may all influence dogs’ social attraction to their owners. Keywords: companion animals; dog–human attachment; dyadic relationships; human-animal interactions; human–dog attachment; human–dog relationship; human–dog social interactions; personality; pets

In the paper we investigate how owner personality, attitude and gender influence dog behavior, dyadic practical functionality and the level of dog salivary cortisol. In three meetings, 12 female and 10 male owners of male dogs answered questionnaires including the Neo-FFI human personality inventory. Their dyadic behavior was video-taped in a number of test situations, and saliva samples were collected. Owners who scored highly in neuroticism (Neo-FFI dimension one) viewed their dogs as social supporters and spent much time with them. Their dogs had low baseline cortisol levels, but such dyads were less successful in the operational task. Owners who scored highly in extroversion (Neo-FFI dimension two) appreciated shared activities with their dogs which had relatively high baseline cortisol values. Dogs that had female owners were less sociable-active (dog personality axis 1) than dogs that had male owners. Therefore, it appears that owner gender and personality influences dyadic interaction style, dog behavior and dyadic practical functionality.

At least two different approaches have been used to quantitatively assess the importance of species in communities. One approach is to derive relatively simple, structural importance indices from network analysis. This assumes that well-connected species are more important. Another approach is to derive functional importance indices using dynamical simulations. We performed both kinds of analysis, and we ranked the species of the Prince William Sound food web based on 13 structural and 5 functional importance indices. We then compared the rank correlation between structural and functional indices. Our results show that different approaches to quantifying importance give different results; unweighted structural indices never correlate significantly with functional ones, but certain weighted structural indices correlate reasonably well with simulated function. This line of research could help in improving our understanding of the usefulness of structural approaches in quantifying the importance of species and understanding biological communities in general. The results strongly indicate the fundamental importance of indirect effects in governing ecosystem dynamics and the need to account for them in structural approaches. Conversely, it generally verifies the usefulness of functional approaches to the investigation of biological communities that account for indirect effects, whether they are modelling or direct empirical studies.

Mate choice is a critical part of sexual selection. One constituent of mate choice is attractiveness, which serves as a projection surface for traits signalling quality and condition to prospective reproductive partners. In guinea pigs, females generally decide whom they will select as partner and when to switch to a new one. The aim of this study was to investigate for universality in male traits possibly associated with female preference. Characteristics of stress response were chosen, as they are relatively stable in their behavioural and physiological expression. Two consecutive experiments were done on isosexually kept males. In the first experiment, behavioural performance in a forced swim-test was noted, after basal endocrine status had been documented with three samples per individual. In a second experiment, the same males were presented to females in a round-robin choice paradigm. A discriminant analysis confirmed a categorization of males into groups that were preferred by different females either two times [more preferred (MP), n = 6] or less than that [less preferred (LP), n = 12]. Mean basal cortisol levels were comparable, but mean basal testosterone (T) was significantly higher in LP. This points at a scenario where higher T might be advantageous in male-male competition but perhaps less important for the formation of male-female bonds. Behaviourally, MP completed the swim-test significantly faster than LP, which may indicate greater goal directedness and motivation. We conclude that traits associated with stress responses may be components of male attractiveness, their stability perhaps reflecting adaptive qualities.

Taking blood samples is a common method in biomedical and biological research using guinea pigs. However, most blood sampling techniques are complicated and highly invasive and may therefore not be appropriate for certain research topics concerning stress and reproduction. Thus, a non-invasive method to measure steroid hormones is critically needed. The aim of this study was the biological validation of corresponding enzyme immunoassays for the measurement of fecal cortisol, progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone metabolites in guinea pigs. We examined the effect of subcutaneous injections of ACTH or saline on fecal cortisol metabolites to investigate the suitability of fecal samples to monitor adrenocortical activity. Furthermore, we investigated whether fecal sex steroid metabolites accurately reflected endocrine changes observed in plasma samples during female estrous cycles and male puberty, respectively. In addition, we compared fecal testosterone metabolites of intact males, castrated males, and females to investigate the reliability of fecal samples in discriminating gonadal status of males. Concentrations of fecal cortisol metabolites were significantly increased following ACTH challenge, indicating that adrenocortical activity can be monitored via fecal samples. Secondly, in females, plasma and fecal gonadal steroids were significantly correlated in most subjects. The assay for testosterone metabolites, on the other hand, could not clearly discriminate between test groups. From these findings we conclude that fecal samples can be used for the non-invasive assessment of adrenocortical and female reproductive status in guinea pigs. Testosterone metabolism seems to be more complex and further investigations are needed to establish a more suitable assay.

Polygynous mating systems can inflict considerable costs on males, often causing the emergence of alternative mating strategies to ensure reproductive success. These strategies can lead to different morphs of color, size, or behavior. The present work was done on guinea pigs, a polygynous rodent species. Some males can show a reduced readiness for conflict, perhaps employing an alternative mating strategy. To test this hypothesis, a two-stage experiment was set up, with males (N = 16) and females (N = 16) initially living in isosexual groups. Visual and olfactory contact was possible through a wire mesh. Male agonistic behavior was observed for 15 days, confirming the existence of less-conflict-involved (LCI, N = 7) and more-conflict-involved males (MCI, N = 9). Significant differences were found for a conditional parameter, body mass, and a morphometric one, testis width: LCI consistently surpassed MCI. Hormonally, cortisol was comparable, while testosterone was distinctly higher in MCI. Next, males and females were joined and observed for further 24 days. Males initially lost weight but reached original mass towards the end of the experiment. Testis width patterns were similar. Again, LCI had higher body mass. Cortisol was comparable, but testosterone release 3 days after merging was significantly higher in LCI. Behaviorally, LCI exhibited significantly less male–male aggression and more socio-sexual behavior than MCI. The former were more successful, with 57% capable of accessing females, in contrast to 11% of MCI. The existence of two distinct behavioral phenotypes in guinea pig males suggests that different reproductive strategies may exist in this species.

Background. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between personality and quality of life during the course of geriatric rehabilitation, against the background of Cloninger's biosocial theory of personality.Methods. All consecutive patients of a geriatric rehabilitation clinic during one year were evaluated at admission and discharge () by means of the ‘‘Vienna List’’ (a newly developed questionnaire for the assessment of quality of life in patients with severe dementia), and two variants of the Temperament and Character Inventory.Results. Self-directedness showed the most general and highest impact on quality of life and successful rehabilitation.Conclusions. It is probable in old and very old individuals who are on their highest level of maturity that the character represents the most important regulatory system in the encounter with challenges of daily life, which necessitates rehabilitation.

The reason for the study was to investigate the discriminative, content- and criterion-related validity of the 'Vienna List', a newly developed proxy-rating measurement for quality of life in very old and severely demented persons. The total population of patients of a geriatric rehabilitation clinic of one year (from November 2001 to October 2002; n = 687) was evaluated at admission and discharge by means of this proxy rating method together with the mini mental state examination, the timed up and go test, the Tinetti measure, the Barthel Index, and the Katz activities of daily living list. Differences, mainly on factors communication, mobility, aggression, and negative affect, appeared between seven diagnostic groups as well between several care-related categories and destination after discharge. The five factors of the measurement explained a significant amount of variance with a high specificity and more than 50% of the Barthel Index scores. The 'Vienna List', originally developed for the assessment of quality of life in severely demented patients, proved to be a useful, differentiating, less time-consuming and practical tool for the documentation of the outcome of geriatric inpatient rehabilitation, as well.

Quality of life (QoL) appears as an adequate outcome measure of geriatric rehabilitation since it reflects its major goals in terms of improvement in self-service, mobility, interpersonal behavior and communication. The objective of the present study was the application of a newly developed instrument, the 'Vienna List', in this context. Its sensitivity to detect changes during geriatric rehabilitation and the ability to differentiate between various diseases and disturbances of functional abilities has been investigated. The total population of patients of one geriatric rehabilitation clinic of 1 year (from November 2001 to October 2002; N=683) was evaluated at admission and discharge by means of this proxy rating. Several reasonable differences appeared between seven diagnostic groups as well as between admission and discharge concerning crucial areas, which are the focus of geriatric rehabilitation such as communication and mobility and which reflect an improved QoL. On the other hand, some factors remained mostly unaffected, e.g. negative affect and bodily contact. The 'Vienna List' which was originally developed for the assessment of QoL in severely demented patients, proved to be a useful, differentiating, less time-consuming and practical tool for the documentation of the outcome of geriatric inpatient rehabilitation.

An unexpectedly extensive recruitment of B cells and plasma blasts to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in a patient with Toscana virus (TOSV) encephalitis is described. Acute infection by TOSV was demonstrated by serological methods and by detection of TOSV-specific nucleic acid in the CSF by real-time polymerase chain reaction and sequencing.

Die Ergebnisse einer Vergleichsuntersuchung von deutschen und schwedischen Krankenschwestern werden dargestellt. Die Grundlage bildet die Fallbeschreibung mit drei Varianten verfügbarer Informationen über den Willen des Patienten. Schwedische Krankenschwestern tendieren allgemein zu weniger aggressiven Behandlungsalternativen und würden seltener gegen den schriftlich geäußerten Willen des Patienten Wiederbelebungsmaßnahmen realisieren als die deutschen. Schwestern beider Gruppen sind mehr compliant, je mehr sie die Patientenverfügung als Entscheidungshilfe wahrnehmen können. Der beobachtete Demenzgrad eines Patienten erweist sich als wesentlicher Prädiktor für Behandlungsentscheidungen in beiden Gruppen. Kontinuierliche Schulungen und Trainings von Krankenschwestern hinsichtlich ethischer Haltungen und des Umgangs mit ethischen Problemsituationen bei der Behandlung älterer Menschen scheinen dringend notwendig, um die Autonomie von Patienten zu fördern.

Behandlungsentscheidungen bei inkompetenten, schwerkranken Patienten stellen den Arzt vor viele schwierige medizinische, ethische und rechtliche Probleme. Krankenschwestern stellen die Gruppe des medizinischen Personals dar, die den engsten Kontakt zu den Patienten hat und die Entscheidungen und Anweisungen in wesentlichen Teilen realisieren mussen. Behandlungsentscheidungen und deren Determinanten werden mittels eines Fragebogens mit einer Fallbeschreibung mit drei verschiedenen Niveaus der Verfugbarkeit von Informationen uber den Patientenwillen (keine, DNR-Anweisung, Patientendirektive) erfast. Daten von 191 Arzten und 182 Krankenschwestern derselben Kliniken wurden ausgewertet. Ethische Faktoren und die Wunsche des Patienten werden von beiden Gruppen am bedeutsamsten fur ihre Entscheidungen bewertet. Mit zunehmendem Informationsgrad uber den Patientenwillen nimmt in beiden Gruppen die Compliance zu, bei den Schwestern ausgepragter als bei den Arzten. Je wichtiger der Willen des Patienten eingeschatzt wird, desto weniger Schwierigkeiten bereiten Entscheidungen, desto weniger intensive Behandlungsniveaus werden gewahlt, desto seltener erfolgt Wiederbelebung gegen den Willen des Patienten und desto hilfreicher werden Informationen uber den Willen des Patienten fur die eigene Behandlungsentscheidung erlebt. Diese bedeutsamen Zusammenhange lassen sich vor allem fur die Gruppe der Krankenschwestern nachweisen. Auch das Alter und der Demenzgrad der Patienten steht im Zusammenhang mit diesen Entscheidungen, wenn auch die Wichtigkeit dieser Faktoren geringer eingeschatzt wird. Je wichtiger juristische Aspekte bewertet werden, desto aggressiver ist das gewahlte Behandlungsniveau. Kostenfaktoren werden eher als unwichtig eingestuft und beeinflussen die Entscheidungen nicht. Die Ergebnisse weisen deutlich darauf hin, das die verstarkte Nutzung von Patientendirektiven (Patiententestamente) die Patientenautonomie fordern und gleichzeitig das medizinische Personal entlasten konnte. Umfassende und tiefgrundige Schulung sowohl des medizinischen Personals als auch der Bevolkerung wird gefordert.

In einer leistungsorientierten Gesellschaft ist fur Regeneration vermeintlich keine Zeit, bzw. wird das gesundheitsfordernde Potential von Entspannungsmethoden unterschatzt; dieses kann nur erkannt werden, wenn ein grundlegendes Wissen uber die Steuerungsvorgange im menschlichen Organismus vorhanden ist. Die wenigsten Menschen verfugen jedoch uber fundierte medizinische und psychologische Kenntnisse, wodurch die Fahigkeiten begrenzt sind, einen Beitrag zur Erhaltung der eigenen Gesundheit zu leisten. In unserem Versorgungssystem gibt es hierfur ausreichend Spezialisten – diese werden jedoch in der Regel erst dann aufgesucht, wenn massive gesundheitliche Beschwerden vorliegen und die Lebensqualitat bereits beeintrachtigt ist. Oft sind dann langwierige Behandlungen mit entsprechenden Ausfallzeiten und die dauerhafte Einnahme von Medikamenten erforderlich.

Ecosystem functioning is affected by horizontal (within trophic groups) and vertical (across trophic levels) biodiversity. Theory predicts that the effects of vertical biodiversity depend on consumer specialization. In a microcosm experiment, we investigated ciliate consumer diversity and specialization effects on algal prey biovolume, evenness and composition, and on ciliate biovolume production. The experimental data was complemented by a process-based model further analyzing the ecological mechanisms behind the observed diversity effects. Overall, increasing consumer diversity had no significant effect on prey biovolume or evenness. However, consumer specialization affected the prey community. Specialist consumers showed a stronger negative impact on prey biovolume and evenness than generalists. The model confirmed that this pattern was mainly driven by a single specialist with a high per capita grazing rate, consuming the two most productive prey species. When these were suppressed, the prey assemblage became dominated by a less productive species, consequently decreasing prey biovolume and evenness. Consumer diversity increased consumer biovolume, which was stronger for generalists than for specialists and highest in mixed combinations, indicating that consumer functional diversity, i.e. more diverse feeding strategies, increased resource use efficiency. Overall, our results indicate that consumer diversity effects on prey and consumers strongly depend on species-specific growth and grazing rates, which may be at least equally important as consumer specialization in driving consumer diversity effects across trophic levels. Synthesis In a microcosm experiment, we investigated multitrophic consumer diversity and specialization effects using ciliate consumers and microalgal prey. Consumer diversity increased consumer biovolume, which was highest in combinations containing both generalists and specialists. Specialist consumers showed a stronger negative effect on prey biovolume and evenness than generalists. These experimental data were supported by a process-based model, indicating that the large effect of the specialists was based on high per capita grazing rate on the two most productive prey species. Species-specific traits such as growth and grazing rates were equally important for multitrophic diversity effects than consumer specialization.

Die Analyse ausgewählter Beispiele aus der Kontroversliteratur der Reformationszeit soll rhetorik- und politikgesehichtliche Prolegomena zu einer Theorie und Praxis der Rhetorik des Streitens liefem. Es wird vorgeführt, wie sich Philipp Melanchthons Ziel, die altgläubigen Gegner von der Wahrheit der evangelischen Lehre zu überzeugen, und entsprechende Gesprächsstrategien in seiner Rhetorik und Dialektik niederschlugen und worin die von den konfessionellen Widersaehern diagnostizierten Mängel seiner Überzeugungsstrategie bestanden. Mit Hilfe der modernen Kommunikationstheorie wird der aktuelle Verlauf der Religionsverhandlungen von 1521 bis 1541 ais Dreischrittfolge vom machtbestimmten, ungleichgewichtigen Diskurs über die Vision eines herrsehaftsfreien Diskurses bis zum Scheitern einer Verständigung zugunsten der Spraehe der Macht nachgezeichnet. Drei Kommunikationsversuehe zwischen Protestanten und Katholiken, die hier hauptsäehlieh aus der Perspektive Melanchthons rekonstruiert werden, dienen zur lllustration: A: Die Condamnatio lutheriseher Thesen von Pariser Theologen 1521; B: Die Confessio Augustana, ihre katholische Confutatio, der Recessus des Kaisers im Reichstagsabschied, Melanchthons Apologia confessionis 1530/31 und Johann Coehlaeus' Philippiken gegen die Apologia; C: Die Stellungrwhmen Melanchthons und seiner katholischen Opponenten zum Regensburger Buch 1541

We have compared the binding of affinity-purified anti-PlA1 IgG from seven nonrelated donors with chimeric integrin subunit beta 3 molecules expressed in the baculovirus-Spodoptera frugiperda insect cell system. Beta 3 chimeras were engineered to include segments of antigenic human beta 3 sequences spliced to intervening segments of nonantigenic Xenopus beta 3 sequence. Our results clearly show that antibodies from all seven donors will bind to nondenatured molecules containing the antigenic human beta 3 Cys26-Cys38 loop only when it is presented in a correct orientation that must be maintained by noncontiguous human sequences. Key downstream sequences are located within the region beta 3(288–490), flanking either side of the putative long-range disulfide at Cys435. Although our results confirm unambiguously that the Leu/Pro polymorphism at position 33 in human beta 3 is necessary for the expression of PlA epitopes, they also indicate that this polymorphic sequence alone is not sufficient. The requirement for additional human beta 3 sequence transcends the need to maintain a correct orientation within the Cys26-Cys38 loop itself, because the murine monoclonal antibody SZ21, which recognizes the sequence beta 3(28–35) contained within the Cys26-Cys38 loop, binds to all chimeras containing this loop, even if the same chimeras are not recognized by anti-PlA1. Our results indicate that additional noncontiguous residues encompassed by the sequence 288–490 either directly contribute to the composition of the PlA1 epitope or, more likely, maintain the Cys26-Cys38 loop in a proper orientation with respect to the remainder of the beta 3 molecule and thereby maintain proper antigenic presentation of the sequences in that loop.

This article serves as an introduction to this special issue of Marine Biology, but also as a review of the key findings of the AQUASHIFT research program which is the source of the articles published in this issue. AQUASHIFT is an interdisciplinary research program targeted to analyze the response of temperate zone aquatic ecosystems (both marine and freshwater) to global warming. The main conclusions of AQUASHIFT relate to (a) shifts in geographic distribution, (b) shifts in seasonality, (c) temporal mismatch in food chains, (d) biomass responses to warming, (e) responses of body size, (f) harmful bloom intensity, (f), changes of biodiversity, and (g) the dependence of shifts to temperature changes during critical seasonal windows.