Search

Mercury is a ubiquitous pollutant that accumulates in peatlands, an ecosystem highly sensitive to climate change. We examined the effects of increasing temperature and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) on the concentration of total mercury (THg) in peatland soil and porewater. This research was performed at the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) experiment, an ecosystem-scale manipulation in an ombrotrophic bog in northern Minnesota, USA, which includes five temperature levels (above- and below-ground warming), with ambient or enhanced CO2 concentration. The effect of temperature on THgporewater concentration was dependent on depth but overall, increasing temperature led to increased THgporewater concentrations. The ratio of THgpeat to THgporewater decreased, indicating that THg moved from the peat into porewater under warmer conditions. Increased temperature resulted in decreased water table height, and as the water table dropped, increased THgporewater concentrations were observed, as well as decreased THgpeat concentration. The effect of elevated CO2 on THg concentrations in peat and porewater was less clear but in the top portion of the depth profile (0 cm to -40 cm), a negative correlation between elevated CO2 and THgpeat and a positive correlation between elevated CO2 and THgporewater concentration was observed. Our findings indicate with projected climate change, we may see enhanced concentrations of mercury in peatland porewaters that are available for export to surface waters, with potential implications for bioaccumulation in downstream aquatic communities.

Agriculture now faces grand challenges, with crucial implications for the global future. These include the need to increase production of nutrient‐dense food, to improve agriculture's effects on soil, water, wildlife, and climate, and to enhance equity and justice in food and agricultural systems. We argue that certain politics of constructive collective action—and integral involvement of agricultural scientists in these politics—are essential for meeting grand challenges and other complex problems facing agriculture in the 21st century. To spur reflection and deliberation about the role of politics in the work of agricultural scientists, we outline these politics of constructive collective action. These serve to organize forceful responses to grand challenges through coordinated and cooperative action taken by multiple sectors of society. In essence, these politics entail (1) building bonds of affinity within a heterogenous network, (2) developing a shared roadmap for collective action, and (3) taking sustained action together. These emerging politics differ markedly from more commonly discussed forms of political activity by scientists, e.g., policy advisory, policy advocacy, and protest. We present key premises for our thesis, and then describe and discuss a politics of constructive collective action, the necessary roles of agricultural scientists, and an agenda for exploring and expanding their engagement in these politics.

During the past two decades interest in linking soil microbial community composition and activity with ecosystem scale field studies of nutrient cycling or plant community response to disturbances has grown. Despite its importance there are challenges in making this linkage. Foremost is the question of analytical feasibility. In general, microbiological community-level methodologies have not been readily adaptable to the large sample sizes necessary for ecosystem-scale research. As a result, it has been difficult to generate compatible microbial and ecosystem data sets. Soil lipid analysis shows potential as a middle ground between simple biomass measures and molecular profiling. However, the two protocols that have most often been followed are either rapid but indiscriminate (total lipid analysis or fatty acid methyl ester analysis; FAME), or precise but time consuming (phospholipid fatty acid analysis; PLFA). In this paper we report results from a standardized soil used test a modified extraction method (the ‘hybrid’ method) developed to balance the speed of FAME and the precision of PLFA in order to increase sample throughput. In comparing the three methods, we find that FAME and PLFA are qualitatively and quantitatively distinct. The FAME method yielded the highest fatty acid abundance, but also had high variance resulting in low precision. The PLFA method had precision, but low yield. The ‘hybrid’ method fell midway between FAME and PLFA for quantitative fatty acid yield. In addition, the hybrid extraction can be completed in a fraction of the time it takes for PLFA. The hybrid protocol appears to provide an optimal balance between effort and accuracy and therefore is a good choice for large-scale ecosystem studies.

Soil microbiota play important and diverse roles in agricultural crop nutrition and productivity. Yet, despite increasing efforts to characterize soil bacterial and fungal assemblages, it is challenging to disentangle the influences of sampling design on assessments of communities. Here, we sought to determine whether composite samples—often analyzed as a low cost and effort alternative to replicated individual samples—provide representative summary estimates of microbial communities. At three Minnesota agricultural research sites planted with an oat cover crop, we conducted amplicon sequencing for soil bacterial and fungal communities (16SV4 and ITS2) of replicated individual or homogenized composite soil samples. We compared soil microbiota from within and among plots and then among agricultural sites using both sampling strategies. Results indicated that single or multiple replicated individual samples, or a composite sample from each plot, were sufficient for distinguishing broad site-level macroecological differences among bacterial and fungal communities. Analysis of a single sample per plot captured only a small fraction of the distinct OTUs, diversity, and compositional variability detected in the analysis of multiple individual samples or a single composite sample. Likewise, composite samples captured only a fraction of the diversity represented by the six individual samples from which they were formed, and, on average, analysis of two or three individual samples offered greater compositional coverage (i.e., greater number of OTUs) than a single composite sample. We conclude that sampling design significantly impacts estimates of bacterial and fungal communities even in homogeneously managed agricultural soils, and our findings indicate that while either strategy may be sufficient for broad macroecological investigations, composites may be a poor substitute for replicated samples at finer spatial scales.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic, pruritic inflammatory skin disease. It is associated with a high personal burden of illness and economic consequences. Since AD can occur at any age, and many treatments and prevention options exist, a high diversity of health economic findings can be expected.A literature search was performed in January 2018 with the objective to report on previously published health economic analyses in AD. In total, 89 analyses were identified. Most analyses focused on the cost-of-illness (n = 34; 38%) followed by cost-utility and/or cost-effectiveness evaluations (n = 26; 29%) and cost analyses (n = 12; 13%) of treatments in AD. Further evaluations dealt with the prevention of AD (n = 13; 15%). Besides the different methods of health economic analyses, high variety was identified concerning the target population, comprised costs, effectiveness measures, comparators, and the modeling method.Given the different health-care environments and methodologies chosen, health economic analyses in AD cannot be compared with each other and cannot be related to other landscapes of care. Nevertheless, the analyses identified give hint for a high socioeconomic impact of AD on the one hand and unmet needs from the patient perspective on the other.

Background Assessment of disease severity is an essential component of psoriasis management. Moderate-to-severe disease qualifies for systemic treatment but different definitions are used. Objectives To analyse the impact of different severity definitions for psoriasis in real-world healthcare. Methods Cross-sectional data on 3274 patients with psoriasis from more than 200 dermatology offices and clinics across Germany were analysed for disease severity based on Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). The proportions of patients having moderate-to-severe disease were determined accordingly. Results The proportion of patients meeting the European consensus criteria for moderate-to-severe psoriasis (PASI AND DLQI > 10) was 14·0%, although 45·3% attained at least PASI OR DLQI > 10. Consideration of all patients on systemic drugs as being 'moderate-to-severe' increased these proportions to 56·9% and 75·2%, respectively. When only PASI > 10 was used, moderate-to-severe disease affected 35·3% and 69·3%, respectively. Conclusions The proportion of patients with psoriasis under dermatological care considered to have moderate-to-severe disease varies considerably according to how the latter is defined, resulting in uncertainty and inequity of access to systemic therapy. We propose an international standardisation in this for the sake of more reliable treatment and healthcare planning.

Background The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) is the most frequently used health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instrument for skin diseases. According to the DLQI instructions, the responses 'not relevant' and 'my skin problem has not at all affected this aspect of life' ('not at all') have to be scored as 0 = no HRQoL impairments. Objective The aim of this study was to estimate potential bias of DLQI measurements for patients with psoriasis based on items considered to be not relevant. Methods One thousand two hundred forty-three patients with psoriasis were surveyed in a cross-sectional study. Disease severity (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index, PASI) and subjective health state (EuroQoL Visual Analogue Scale, EQ VAS) were compared per DLQI item between patients who answered the respective question 'not relevant' and those who answered 'not at all'. Results Patients who declared a DLQI item to be not relevant showed a higher disease severity and a lower health state. Conclusion Results indicate that patients who declare a DLQI item to be not relevant have a higher disease-related burden than those who do not feel affected by their psoriasis in the same aspect of life. If aspects of life are considered to be not relevant due to high disease burden, this should be reflected by a HRQoL instrument.

Steep soil-mantled hillslopes are thought to be important sources of sediments and organic carbon (OC) to rivers. Minerals in these sediments may protect OC from decomposition, yet the significance of such interactions in steep upland soils remains poorly constrained particularly in relation to erosion rates. We examined a tributary basin draining to the Middle Folk Feather River in California, where knickpoint migration has created a series of hillslopes with erosion rates varying over an order of magnitude (35 to 250 mm kyr−1). This setting provides a unique opportunity to study soil OC pools and their erosional exports as a function of changes in erosion rates. Soil OC inventories were 37% lower at rapidly eroding sites relative to slowly eroding sites. This difference was driven by coarse rock contents as rapidly eroding soils had more rock fragments, limiting their capacities to store OC. Although clay contents in soils were negatively correlated with erosion rates, the total mineral specific surface area remained relatively invariant. Based on secondary phyllosilicate minerals present in the studied soils and our field observations of saprocks, we suggest that this discrepancy may have originated from different clay mineralogy (types and abundance) associated with different degrees of deep subsurface chemical weathering. Across the erosion gradient, the radiocarbon age of mineral associated organic matter (MOC) in saprock varied by a factor 2 (from 1045 to 2110 14C years), while soil turnover times estimated from soil thickness and erosion rates varied from 17 to 5.4 kyr. At the site eroding at the fastest rate, the soil turnover time approaches the 14C age of MOC, suggesting erosion can potentially limit the timescale over which MOC is replaced. We found that organic matter generally covered

Climate and topography have been widely recognized but studied separately as important factors controlling soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. Subsequently, the significance of their interplay in determining SOC storages and their pools is not well understood. Here we examined SOC storages and SOC-mineral interactions along two hillslope transects in differing climate zones (MAP = 549 mm in semi-arid eucalyptus savannah vs. 816 mm in temperate eucalyptus forest) in southeastern Australia. On eroding slopes, SOC inventories were twice as large at the wetter site (4.5 ± 0.6 vs. 2.3 ± 0.9 kg m−2), whereas depositional soils had similar SOC inventories at both locations (7.5 ± 2.0 vs.7.0 ± 2.2 kg m−2). On eroding slopes, carbon concentrations of the mineral-associated SOC fraction ( 2.0 g cm−3) increased by ~50% with increasing rainfall, which was also positively correlated to abundances of clay minerals and pedogenic iron oxides. Within individual hillslopes, carbon concentrations of the mineral-associated SOC fraction doubled from eroding to depositional soils at the drier site, but no topographic trend was observed at the wetter site. The effects of topography on SOC inventories and mineral-associated SOC were more strongly expressed under the drier climate, where vegetation was sparser and soil erosion involved mineral grain size sorting. Our results demonstrate that SOC pools and their interactions with minerals are dependent on topographic locations, emphasizing the need to include geomorphic data when assessing climatic controls of SOC.

Nitrogen losses from croplands contribute to impairment of water bodies. This laboratory experiment evaluated various C sources for use in a denitrifying bioreactor, a conservation practice designed to reduce N losses. The nitrate removal efficiency of candidate treatments (corn cobs [CC], corn cobs with modified coconut coir [CC+MC], corn cobs with modified coconut coir and modified macadamia shell biochar [CC+MC+MBC], wood chips [WC], wood chips with hardwood biochar [WC+BC], and wood chips with continuous sodium acetate addition [WC+A]) were tested with up-flow direction. Effluent was sampled after a repeated weekly flow regime with hydraulic residence times of 1.5, 8, 12, and 24 h. Column temperatures were 15°C for 14 wk (warm), 5°C for 13 wk (cold), and again 15°C for 7 wk (rewarm). Cumulative nitrate N load reduction was greatest for WC+A (80, 80, and 97% during the warm, cold, and rewarm runs, respectively). Corn cob treatments (CC, CC+MC, and CC+MC+MBC) had the second greatest cumulative load reductions for all three temperature experiments, and WC and WC+BC had the lowest performance under these conditions. The nitrate removal rate was optimum at the 1.5-h hydraulic residence time for the WC+A treatment: 43, 30, and 121 g N m⁻³ d⁻¹ for the warm, cold, and rewarm runs, respectively. Furthermore, acetate addition greatly improved wood chip performance and could be used to enhance nitrate N removal under the cold and high-flow-rate conditions of springtime drainage for the north-central United States.

Next generation sequencing of taxonomically relevant marker genes has enabled researchers to sample the richness, diversity, and composition of environmental microbiomes at previously unattainable depths. However, molecular methods may have unintended downstream consequences and the inadvertent undersampling of microbial communities may be a significant pitfall in microbiome profiling. One such procedure, dilution of the DNA template prior to polymerase chain reaction (PCR), may improve marker gene amplification by reducing chimeric read formation and decreasing PCR inhibitor concentrations. However, dilution unavoidably reduces target DNA template number per sample. We evaluated the effects of pre-PCR DNA template dilution on estimates of soil fungal microbiome diversity, composition, and species abundance distributions across a collection of 144 agricultural soil samples. Fungal DNA templates were serially diluted at 0-, 10-, 100-, and 1,000-fold and sequence data of diluted templates were compared with those of an identical set of undiluted templates. For three prairie soil samples, in addition to evaluating variation among replicates of individual samples, we serially diluted fungal DNA extracts from soil samples in triplicate and sequenced undiluted and diluted samples. DNA template dilution significantly reduced estimates of fungal richness and diversity, as compared with undiluted samples. Dilution of DNA template also resulted in reduced relative abundances of rare operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and increased relative abundances of common OTUs. Collectively, changes in OTU abundance distributions following dilution produced substantial shifts in overall fungal community composition. Our results highlight risks associated with sample dilution and point to the potential utility of quantifying pre-PCR template concentration in the estimation of microbiomes. We urge researchers to thoroughly document methods and to reconsider routine dilution of pre-PCR DNA templates particularly for low abundance microbiome samples. As efforts to profile environmental microbiomes using molecular sequencing approaches accelerate, developing an adequate understanding of potential methodological bottlenecks will increase our ability to accurately characterize and compare datasets.

Background Chronic lymphedema is characterized by a continuous need for medical treatment, many comorbidities, and impaired quality of life. In Germany, about 4.5 million patients are affected by lymphedema. Thus, lymphedema causes high direct and indirect costs, even more in case of complications such as erysipelas and ulcers. Objective The aim of this study was to determinate the costs of illness of community lymphedema patients living in the metropolitan area of Hamburg, Germany. Methods An observational cross-sectional study in patients with lymphedema and combined lipolymphedema of any origin was performed analysing direct and indirect costs for the patients, the statutory health insurance, and society. Results In total, 348 patients (90.8% female) were examined and interviewed. The mean age of the patients was 57.3 ± 14.5 years. On average, the total costs per patient and year were € 5784, of which € 4445 (76.0%) were direct costs and € 1338 indirect costs. Within the direct medical costs, € 3796 were accounted for the statutory health insurances and € 649 for the patient. The main cost drivers were costs for manual decongestive therapy and disability costs. Conclusion Chronic lymphedema is associated with high direct and indirect costs. This community based study is the first cost analysis of chronic lymph- and combined lipolymphedema giving insights to economic impact of lymphedema treatment. There is a high need for structured disease management programs in order to diagnose and treat lymphedema early and to avoid complications, thus limiting socioeconomic burden. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

A distal femoral extension osteotomy with patellar tendon advancement (DFEO+PTA) is a common treatment for individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) who walk in crouch. Musculoskeletal modeling suggests that the typical patella baja position post-DFEO+PTA may limit one's abilities to perform sit-to-stand (STS) tasks; however, STS function has not been assessed. Our purpose was to compare how well individuals who received a DFEO+PTA can perform a 5-times STS test (FTSST) eight or more years after surgery compared to their peers who did not receive a DFEO+PTA (non-DFEO+PTA group). Twenty-one participants completed the task (12 DFEO+PTA, 9 non-DFEO+PTA). Three-dimensional kinematics and kinetics were captured. Kinetics were non-dimensionalized to facilitate group comparisons. Non-DFEO+PTA participants performed the FTSST moderately faster than the DFEO+PTA group (median(IQR), 14.6(9.3) seconds vs. 20.3(10.1) seconds, non-parametric effect size ɣ=0.97, p=0.241). Peak negative knee power was larger for the non-DFEO+PTA group (Mean±SD, -0.063±0.025 vs. -0.048± 0.020, Cohen's d=0.66, p=0.165). A similar but weaker trend was observed for negative hip power (median(IQR) -0.120(0.066) vs. -0.105(0.044), ɣ=0.43, p=0.671). Both groups used their hips approximately twice as much as their knees to perform the task. The functional deficit among DFEO+PTA participants may be due to patella baja decreasing the knee extensor moment arm, which concurs with the modeling prediction. The group differences may also be due to the non-DFEO+PTA group being slightly higher functioning. Future research is warranted to determine if optimizing patella position during a DFEO+PTA may improve unaided STS function without compromising gait improvements.

Zusammenfassung Ziel Das vorliegende gesundheitsökonomische Modell wurde entwickelt, um in Deutschland standardmäßig Therapien im Bereich chronische Wunden systematisch und vergleichend zu analysieren. In der zugrunde liegenden Analyse wurden die gesundheitsökonomischen Parameter von Patienten mit einem Ulcus cruris venosum/mixtum, die zusätzlich zur Standardversorgung (SV) mit einer azellulären synthetischen Matrix (ASM) behandelt wurden, berechnet und mit denen von Patienten verglichen, die nur eine Standardversorgung erhalten haben. Methodik Zunächst wurde in den (Standard-)Literaturdatenbanken systematisch nach einem gesundheitsökonomischen Modell gesucht. Die Ergebnisse dieser Literatursuche werden in einer anderen Publikation zur Methodik und Modellbeschreibung ausführlich diskutiert. Angesichts des Fehlens eines publizierten, akzeptierten und für Deutschland adäquaten Modells wurde in Form eines Discrete-Event-Simulations-Modells (DES-Modell) ein neues gesundheitsökonomisches Modell für den Bereich chronische Wunden entwickelt. Auf Basis des DES-Modells wurde eine Kosteneffektivitätsanalyse aus Sicht der Gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung (GKV) durchgeführt. Für die Kostendaten wurden GKV-Routinedaten genutzt. Patienten aus dem Deutschen Register chronischer Wunden (DRCW), die nur mit der SV behandelt wurden und ähnliche Patientencharakteristika aufwiesen, wurden mit Patienten aus einer einarmigen multizentrischen Phase-II-Studie einer azellulären synthetischen Matrix (ASM) verglichen. Die Wirksamkeit der Behandlung (1-Jahres-Vorhersage) wurde mittels Kaplan-Meier-Kurven für die 12-Wochen-Heilungszeit der SV + ASM im Vergleich zur alleinigen Behandlung mit der SV berechnet. Die Modellergebnisse wurden mittels einer probabilistischen Sensitivitätsanalyse für ulzerationsfreie Tage validiert und die Ergebnisse jeweils in einem Scatterplot der geschätzten gemeinsamen Dichte der inkrementellen Kosten und der inkrementellen Effekte der SV versus der SV + ASM sowie in einer Kosteneffektivitäts-Akzeptanz-Kurve dargestellt. Ergebnisse Die Kosteneffektivitätsanalyse zeigte, dass eine auf SV + ASM basierende Therapie gemäß dem Modell effektiver (0,008 inkrementeller Effekt ambulant; −0,045 inkrementeller Effekt stationär) und kostensparender (−321,14 €) ist und somit aus gesundheitsökonomischer Sicht als dominant gegenüber der SV angesehen werden kann. Zusätzlich zeigten sich die Therapien in der Versorgungssäule Facharzt gegenüber denen in der Versorgungssäule Hausarzt als zumindest gleich effektiv und kosteneinsparend und somit dominant. Bei Berücksichtigung der ambulanten Pflege in Verbindung mit dem jeweiligen Arzt war die hausärztliche Versorgung zwar gleich effektiv, aber kostensparender (129,40 € vs. 187,20 € = −57,80 €) als die fachärztliche Versorgung und somit dominant. Die Dominanz nach Hausarzt und Facharzt sowie mit ambulanter Pflege war konsistent zu der, die sich aus der Kosteneffektivität ergibt. Schlussfolgerung Die azelluläre synthetische Matrix (ASM) bestätigte in einer klinischen Studie ihre signifikanten Heilungschancen, die in das gesundheitsökonomische Modell zur chronischen Wunde eingeflossen sind. Unter den zugrunde liegenden Modellannahmen bekräftigt das Modell angesichts von Kosteneinsparungen in allen Behandlungspfaden eines Ulcus cruris venosum/mixtum die Wirtschaftlichkeit einer möglichen Verordnung der ASM im deutschen Kontext.

Human activities affect both tree species composition and diversity in forested ecosystems. This in turn alters the species diversity of plant litter and litter quality, which may have cascading effects on soil microbial communities and their functions for decomposition and nutrient cycling. We tested microbial responses to litter species diversity in a leaf litter decomposition experiment including monocultures, 2-, and 4-species mixtures in the subtropical climate zone of southeastern China. Soil microbial community composition was assessed by lipid analysis, and microbial functions were measured using extracellular enzyme activity and gross rates of nitrogen mineralization. We observed a positive relationship between litter species diversity and abundances of mycorrhizal fungi and actinomycetes. Alternatively, enzyme activities involved in carbon and phosphorus acquisition, and enzyme indices of relative carbon limitation, were higher only in the 4-species mixtures. This suggests that the minimum basal substrate level for enzyme production was reached, or that limitation was higher, at the highest diversity level only. Responses to litter diversity also changed over time, where phosphatase responses to litter diversity were strongest early in decomposition and the indices of carbon limitation relative to other nutrients showed stronger responses later in decomposition. Enzyme activities were related to lipid biomarker data and the mass of litter remaining at the third time point, but relationships between enzyme activity and the mass of litter remaining were not consistent across other time points. We conclude that litter species richness will likely only reduce microbial functions at key intervals of diversity loss while microbial growth is more sensitive to incremental diversity loss, with no clear relationships between them or to ecosystem functions. The observed litter diversity effects on soil microbial biomass and enzyme activity indicate interactions of aboveground and belowground communities, and together with environmental conditions they are important for maintaining ecosystem functions.

In brachioradial pruritus and notalgia paraesthetica, the 8% capsaicin patch is a novel and effective, but cost-intense, therapy. Routine data for 44 patients were collected 6 months retrospectively and prospectively to first patch application. The cost to health insurance and the patient, and patient-reported outcomes were analysed (visual analogue scale, numerical rating scale, verbal rating scale for pruritus symptoms, Dermatological Life Quality Index, and Patient Benefit Index). Mean inpatient treatment costs were reduced by €212.31, and mean outpatient treatment and medication costs by €100.74 per patient (p.p.). However, these reductions did not offset the high cost of the patch itself (€767.02 p.p.); thus the total cost to health insurance increased by €453.97 p.p. (p ≤ 0.01). The additional costs of therapy to the patient decreased by €441.06, thus the overall cost p.p. remained approximately the same (€3,306.03 vs. €3,318.94). Capsaicin patch therapy resulted in reduced pruritus, improved quality of life and greater patient benefit, thus long-term cost-efficiency analyses are necessary.

While the relationship between plant and microbial diversity has been well studied in grasslands, less is known about similar relationships in forests, especially for obligately symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. To assess the effect of varying tree diversity on microbial alpha- and beta-diversity, we sampled soil from plots in a high-density tree diversity experiment in Minnesota, USA, 3 years after establishment. About 3 of 12 tree species are AM hosts; the other 9 primarily associate with ectomycorrhizal fungi. We used phospho- and neutral lipid fatty acid analysis to characterize the biomass and functional identity of the whole soil bacterial and fungal community and high throughput sequencing to identify the species-level richness and composition of the AM fungal community. We found that plots of differing tree composition had different bacterial and fungal communities; plots with conifers, and especially Juniperus virginiana, had lower densities of several bacterial groups. In contrast, plots with a higher density or diversity of AM hosts showed no sign of greater AM fungal abundance or diversity. Our results indicate that early responses to plant diversity vary considerably across microbial groups, with AM fungal communities potentially requiring longer timescales to respond to changes in host tree diversity.

The North Central Education and Research Activity Committee (NCERA-59) was formed in 1952 to address how soil organic matter formation and management practices affect soil structure and productivity. It is in this capacity that we comment on the science supporting soil quality and associated soil health assessment for agricultural lands with the goal of hastening progress in this important field. Even though the suite of soil quality indicators being applied by U.S. soil health efforts closely mirrors the “minimum data set” we developed and recommended in the mid-1990s, we question whether the methods or means for their selection and development are sufficient to meet current and emerging soil health challenges. The rush to enshrine a standard suite of dated measures may be incompatible with longer-term goals. Legitimate study of soil health considers soil change accrued over years to decades that influence on- and off-site function. Tailoring of methods to local conditions is needed to effectively apply and interpret indicators for different soil resource regions and land uses. Adherence to a set suite of methods selected by subjective criteria should be avoided, particularly when we do not yet have adequate data or agreed upon interpretive frameworks for many so-called “Tier 1” biological indicators used in soil health assessment. While pooling data collected by producer-groups is one of the most exciting new trends in soil health, standardizing methods to meet broad inventory goals could compromise indicator use for site or application-specific problem solving. Changes in our nation's research landscape are shifting responsibility for soil stewardship from national and state government backed entities to public-private partnerships. As a result, it is critical to ensure that the data needed to assess soil health are generated by reproducible methods selected through a transparent process, and that data are readily available for public and private sector use. Appropriate methods for engagement need to be applied by public-private research partnerships as they establish and expand coordinated research enterprises that can deliver fact-based interpretation of soil quality indicators within the type of normative soil health framework conceived by USDA over 20 years ago. We look to existing examples as we consider how to put soil health information into the hands of practitioners in a manner that protects soils' services.

Background Atopic eczema (AE) is a common and burdensome chronic skin disease. Clinical guidelines suggest an evidence-based, personalized and stepwise treatment approach. Only few studies have so far focused on the specific patient needs in treatment. Objectives To characterize therapeutic needs of patients with AE in routine care. Methods Nationwide cross-sectional study in 91 dermatology practices and outpatient clinics. Descriptive statistics were used for valuation. Comparisons of HRQoL and general health status were performed including subgroups (age, gender and disease duration). Group comparisons of patient needs were performed for age groups, gender and disease duration. Correlations between patients' needs (PNQ) and HRQoL, generic health status and severity were tested. In addition, a hierarchical regression analysis was performed to determine which variables contribute to explain the variance in patient needs. Results Analysis of 1678 patients (60.5% female, mean age 38.35 ± 15.92 years) revealed a high disease burden with mean SCORAD of 42.26 ± 18.63, mean DLQI of 8.49 ± 6.45 and mean EQ VAS of 63.62 ± 21.98. Among the patient needs that were most frequently rated as 'quite important'/'very important' were as follows: 'to be free of itching' (96.0%), 'to get better skin quickly' (87.7%) and 'to be healed of all skin defects' (85.7%). In general, older people, women and patients who had been diagnosed with AE for 1 year or less rated the treatment needs as more important than younger patients, men and patients who had been diagnosed with AE for more than 1 year. Major determinants of higher needs were skin-related quality of life impairments, higher disease severity and higher age. Conclusions Patients with AE show a high number and variety of therapeutic needs related to disease signs and symptoms, which are associated with individual disease burden. The patient needs vary substantially according to patient characteristics. Identification of patient-specific needs may support personalized, patient-centred care and shared decision-making.

Tractable practices for soil microbial restoration in tallgrass prairies reclaimed from agriculture are a critical gap in traditional ecological restoration. Long-term fertilization and tilling permanently alter soil bacterial and fungal communities, requiring microbe-targeted restoration methods to improve belowground ecosystem services and carbon storage in newly restored prairies. These techniques are particularly important when restoring for climate-ready ecosystems, adapted to altered temperature regimes. To approach these issues, we conducted a multi-factorial greenhouse experiment to test the effects of plant species richness, soil amendment and elevated temperature on soil microbial diversity, growth, and function. Treatments consisted of three seedlings of one plant species (Andropogon gerardii) or one seedling each of three plant species (A. gerardii, Echinacea pallida, Coreopsis lanceolata). Soil amendments included cellulose addition, inoculation with a microbial community collected from an undisturbed remnant prairie, and a control. We assessed microbial communities using extracellular enzyme assays, Illumina sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene, predicted bacterial metabolic pathways from sequence data and phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA), which includes both bacterial and fungal lipid abundances. Our results indicate that addition of cellulose selects for slow-growing bacterial taxa (Verrucomicrobia) and fungi at ambient temperature. However, at elevated temperature, selection for slow-growing bacterial taxa is enhanced, while selection for fungi is lost, indicating temperature sensitivity among fungi. Cellulose addition was a more effective means of altering soil community composition than addition of microbial communities harvested from a remnant prairie. Soil water content was typically higher in the A. gerardii treatment alone, regardless of temperature, but at ambient temperature only, predicted metagenomics pathways for bacterial carbon metabolism were more abundant with A. gerardii. In summary, these results from a mesocosm test case indicate that adding cellulose to newly restored soil and increasing the abundance of C4 grasses, such as A. gerardii, can select for microbial communities adapted for slow growth and carbon storage. Further testing is required to determine if these approaches yield the same results in a field-level experiment.

International audience; The continuously increasing concentration of atmospheric CO2 has considerably altered ecosystem functioning. However, few studies have examined the long-term (i.e. over a decade) effect of elevated CO2 on soil microbial communities. Using 16S rRNA gene amplicons and a GeoChip microarray, we investigated soil microbial communities from a Californian annual grassland after 14 years of experimentally elevated CO2 (275 ppm higher than ambient). Both taxonomic and functional gene compositions of the soil microbial community were modified by elevated CO2. There was decrease in relative abundance for taxa with higher ribosomal RNA operon (rrn) copy number under elevated CO2, which is a functional trait that responds positively to resource availability in culture. In contrast, taxa with lower rrn copy number were increased by elevated CO2. As a consequence, the abundance-weighted average rrn copy number of significantly changed OTUs declined from 2.27 at ambient CO2 to 2.01 at elevated CO2. The nitrogen (N) fixation gene nifH and the ammonium-oxidizing gene amoA significantly decreased under elevated CO2 by 12.6% and 6.1%, respectively. Concomitantly, nitrifying enzyme activity decreased by 48.3% under elevated CO2, albeit this change was not significant. There was also a substantial but insignificant decrease in available soil N, with both nitrate (NO3) (-27.4%) and ammonium (NH4+) (-15.4%) declining. Further, a large number of microbial genes related to carbon (C) degradation were also affected by elevated CO2, whereas those related to C fixation remained largely unchanged. The overall changes in microbial communities and soil N pools induced by long-term elevated CO2 suggest constrained microbial N decomposition, thereby slowing the potential maximum growth rate of the microbial community.

A better understanding of the linkages between aboveground and belowground biotic communities is needed for more accurate predictions about how ecosystems may be altered by climate change, land management, or biodiversity loss. Soil microbes are strongly affected by multiple factors including local abiotic environmental conditions and plant characteristics. To find out how soil microbial communities respond to multiple facets of the local soil and plant environment, we analysed soil lipid profiles associated with three-year-old monocultures of 29 tree species. These species are native of the diverse subtropical forests of southeast China and greatly vary in functional traits, growth or biomass characteristics, and phylogenetic relatedness. Along with the traits of each tree species, we also determined the soil and plot characteristics in each monoculture plot and tested for phylogenetic signals in tree species-specific microbial indicators. Microbial community structure and biomass were influenced by both soil properties and plant functional traits, but were not related to the phylogenetic distances of tree species. Specifically, total microbial biomass, indicators for fungi, bacteria, and actinomycetes were positively correlated with soil pH, soil organic nitrogen, and soil moisture. Our results also indicate that leaf dry matter content and the leaf carbon to nitrogen ratio influence multivariate soil microbial community structure, and that these factors and tree growth traits (height, crown or basal diameter) positively promote the abundances of specific microbial functional groups. At the same time, a negative correlation between leaf nitrogen content and Gram positive bacterial abundance was detected, indicating plant–microbial competition for nitrogen in our system. In conclusion, even at early stages of tree growth, soil microbial community abundance and structure can be significantly influenced by plant traits, in combination with local soil characteristics.

Seasonal dynamics of microbial community under frequently fluctuating oxidized and reduced conditions in floodplain soils are poorly understood, but are considered to be important for understanding microbial community and carbon cycling dynamics in these ecosystems. We determined the microbial community structure using phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA) of three different floodplain soils (Eutric Gleysol = GLe, Eutric Fluvisol = FLe, and Mollic Fluvisol = FLm) at the Elbe River, Germany, for 17 months. Flood duration, soil moisture, soil temperature were also monitored, and hot and cold water extractable carbon (C HWE , C CWE ) were determined. Flood duration seems to have a negative impact on total PLFA biomass which increased in the order GLe HWE , C CWE in our soils.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form symbioses with roots that can enhance plant nutrition. While AMF have been shown to have a role in soil nitrogen (N) cycling, it is unclear whether AMF affect N cycling microbes such as ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA), which convert ammonium into nitrite in the first step of nitrification. In this study, we examined the effects of AMF on AOA and AOB abundances within the corn rhizosphere and bulk soil of conventional (corn-soybean rotation with inorganic fertilizer) and diversified (corn-soybean-oats/alfalfa-oats rotation with composted manure) systems. We hypothesized that AMF would decrease AOA and AOB abundances in a cropping-system dependent manner, possibly due to competition for ammonium. We grew corn deficient or proficient in AMF symbiosis in microcosms for 10 weeks. At the end of the experiment, both soils planted with the AMF-proficient corn genotype had higher ammonium and lower nitrate pool sizes compared to the same soils planted with the AMF-deficient corn genotype. Likewise, total plant N was higher in the AMF-proficient genotype compared to the AMF-deficient genotype. Despite changes in soil inorganic N pool sizes, AOA and AOB abundances were unaffected by plant AMF-proficiency. Instead, AOA abundance was greater in the rhizosphere than in the bulk soil regardless of cropping system, and AOB abundance was greater in the conventional than the diversified cropping system soil regardless of proximity to the root. These data indicate that 1) AMF did not affect AOA or AOB abundance in these N-rich soils but other factors such as root proximity and inorganic fertilization did and 2) AOA and AOB have differing ecological niches within rhizosphere and bulk soil that should be considered when managing for nitrogen losses.

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a native perennial grass identified as a promising biofuel crop for production on marginal agricultural lands. As such, research into switchgrass fertility and the switchgrass rhizosphere microbiome has been ongoing in an effort to increase production sustainability. We examined the effects of cultivar and phosphorus (P) fertilization on biomass yield, P removal, and rhizosphere bacterial and fungal community structure in three switchgrass cultivars: Sunburst, Shawnee, and Liberty. The Liberty cv. is the first lowland-type bioenergy switchgrass adapted to USDA hardiness zones 4, 5, and 6. On a medium soil test P clay loam soil, biomass yield response to applied P was linear, increasing 135 kg ha−1 for every kilogram of P applied prior to establishment. Average post-frost biomass yield was 9.6 Mg ha−1 year−1 when unfertilized, and maximum biomass yield was 10.3 Mg ha−1 year−1 when fertilized at 58.6 kg ha−1 P, suggesting that P application on medium soil test P soils is beneficial for switchgrass establishment and early growth. Switchgrass cv. Shawnee was more productive than cvs. Liberty or Sunburst (11.3, 10.2, and 8.6 Mg ha−1 year−1, respectively). Both bacterial and fungal communities were significantly shaped by cultivar. These shifts, while inconsistent between year and cultivar, may reflect a selection of the microbial community from that present in soil to maximize total nutrient uptake, regardless of additional P amendments. Phosphorus fertilization did not affect microbial community structure. Results of this study suggest that the cultivar-associated selection of particular microbial taxa may have implications for increased productivity.

Mandy Gutknecht,1 Marthe-Lisa Schaarschmidt,1,2 Marion Danner,3 Christine Blome,1 Matthias Augustin1 1German Center for Health Services Research in Dermatology (CVderm), Institute for Health Services Research in Dermatology and Nursing (IVDP), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany; 2Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; 3Institute for Health Economics and Clinical Epidemiology (IGKE), University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany Background: Psoriasis affects different aspects of health-related quality of life (eg, physical, psychological, and social impairments); these health domains can be of different importance for patients. The importance of domains can be measured with the Patient Benefit Index (PBI). This questionnaire weights the achievement of treatment goals by Likert scales (0, “not important at all” to 4, “very important”) using the Patient Needs Questionnaire (PNQ). Treatment goals assessed with the PBI have been assigned to five health domains; the importance of each domain can be calculated as the average importance of the respective treatment goals. In this study, the PBI approach of deriving importance weights is contrasted to a discrete choice experiment (DCE), in order to determine the importance of health domains in psoriasis, and to find if the resulting weights will differ when derived from these two methods.Methods: Adult patients with psoriasis completed both questionnaires (PNQ, DCE). The PBI domains were used as attributes in the DCE with the levels “did not help at all”, “helped moderately”, and “helped a lot”.Results: Using DCE, “improving physical functioning” was the most important health domain, followed by “improving psychological well-being”. Using PNQ, these domains were ranked in position two and three following “strengthening confidence in the therapy and in a possible healing”. The latter was least important using DCE. The only agreement of ranking was shown in “reducing impairments due to therapy” (position four). “Improving social functioning” was ranked in position three (DCE) and five (PNQ).Conclusion: Health domains have different importance to patients with psoriasis. Using PNQ or DCE to determine the importance of domains results in markedly different rankings; both approaches can thus not be considered equivalent. However, in this study, importance was assessed at the domain level in DCE and at the single item level in PNQ, which may have added to the differences. Keywords: conjoint analysis, Patient Benefit Index, patient-reported outcomes, preferences

To define treatment benefit, the Patient Benefit Index contains a weighting of patient-relevant treatment goals using the Patient Needs Questionnaire, which includes a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (“not important at all”) to 4 (“very important”). These treatment goals have been assigned to five health dimensions. The importance of each dimension can be derived by averaging the importance ratings on the Likert scales of associated treatment goals. As the use of a Likert scale does not allow for a relative assessment of importance, the objective of this study was to estimate relative importance weights for health dimensions and associated treatment goals in patients with psoriasis by using the analytic hierarchy process and to compare these weights with the weights resulting from the Patient Needs Questionnaire. Furthermore, patients’ judgments on the difficulty of the methods were investigated. Dimensions of the Patient Benefit Index and their treatment goals were mapped into a hierarchy of criteria and sub-criteria to develop the analytic hierarchy process questionnaire. Adult patients with psoriasis starting a new anti-psoriatic therapy in the outpatient clinic of the Institute for Health Services Research in Dermatology and Nursing at the University Medical Center Hamburg (Germany) were recruited and completed both methods (analytic hierarchy process, Patient Needs Questionnaire). Ratings of treatment goals on the Likert scales (Patient Needs Questionnaire) were summarized within each dimension to assess the importance of the respective health dimension/criterion. Following the analytic hierarchy process approach, consistency in judgments was assessed using a standardized measurement (consistency ratio). At the analytic hierarchy process level of criteria, 78 of 140 patients achieved the accepted consistency. Using the analytic hierarchy process, the dimension “improvement of physical functioning” was most important, followed by “improvement of social functioning”. Concerning the Patient Needs Questionnaire results, these dimensions were ranked in second and fifth position, whereas “strengthening of confidence in the therapy and in a possible healing” was ranked most important, which was least important in the analytic hierarchy process ranking. In both methods, “improvement of psychological well-being” and “reduction of impairments due to therapy” were equally ranked in positions three and four. In contrast to this, on the level of sub-criteria, predominantly a similar ranking of treatment goals could be observed between the analytic hierarchy process and the Patient Needs Questionnaire. From the patients’ point of view, the Likert scales (Patient Needs Questionnaire) were easier to complete than the analytic hierarchy process pairwise comparisons. Patients with psoriasis assign different importance to health dimensions and associated treatment goals. In choosing a method to assess the importance of health dimensions and/or treatment goals, it needs to be considered that resulting importance weights may differ in dependence on the used method. However, in this study, observed discrepancies in importance weights of the health dimensions were most likely caused by the different methodological approaches focusing on treatment goals to assess the importance of health dimensions on the one hand (Patient Needs Questionnaire) or directly assessing health dimensions on the other hand (analytic hierarchy process).

In psoriasis, several patient-relevant treatment goals must be met to be able to consider a treatment beneficial. To assess treatment benefit, the validated questionnaire Patient Benefit Index (PBI) can be used. Its global score summarizes the degree of patient-relevant treatment goals achieved after treatment, weighted by their individual importance on rating scales. These treatment goals have empirically been assigned to five dimensions. While the weighting procedure of the PBI provides information about the importance patients attach to treatment goals on a rating scale from 0 to 4, methods of preference elicitation provide information on how patients would trade off certain treatment goals against each other. However, since the treatment goals defined in the PBI often overlap conceptually, the dimensions of the PBI might be more suitable for exploration in preference elicitation methods. We used an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to generate preference-based importance weights for the PBI dimensions, and compared these weights to those derived from the rating scales. We were further interested in the effect of importance weights on the calculation of the PBI score. A total of 120 patients with psoriasis completed a questionnaire at baseline, including AHP, DCE and the rating scales, and at follow-up, regarding the attainment of treatment goals, to calculate the PBI score. In contrast to the results derived from the average rating scores, use of AHP and DCE resulted in both similar importance weights and rankings of dimensions. Presumably, patients rated treatment goals differently than the respective dimension they belong to. However, the differently calculated importance weights led to similar values of the PBI score. Our findings nevertheless provide clear evidence that, regardless of the method used, the importance of treatment goals differs between psoriasis patients, and this should be reflected in treatment decisions.

Background: Insect venom allergy is common and greatly impairs patients’ quality of life. Additionally, low compliance with carrying emergency medication is reported. The aim of our study was to analyze the disease burden, levels of anxiety and depression, and to evaluate attitudes towards the set of emergency medication in affected patients. Methods: Between April 2016 and January 2017, patients ≥18 years visiting our department because of an insect venom allergy were asked to complete a paper-based questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed willingness to pay (WTP), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), subjective anxiety levels, willingness to carry the set of emergency medication, self-assurance in using it, compliance with carrying it, and reasons for not always carrying it. Results: 55 patients (81.8% wasp allergy) were included. On average, WTP for a complete cure was EUR 1,727 (median: 500). Using the HADS, 14.5% showed definite anxiety disorders while 5.5% had significant depression disorders. Most patients stated to carry the emergency medication “always” (25.5%) or “almost always” (47.3%). “Forgetfulness” (36.4%) was reported as the main reason for not always carrying the medication, followed by “too big” (18.2%). Conclusions: In our patient cohort, insect venom allergy was associated with a moderate disease burden and a good compliance with carrying the emergency medication. However, several of our participants demonstrated borderline or significant anxiety and/or depression disorders. In this regard, this study highlights the necessity to regularly ask the patient about the psychological well-being to identify patients needing psychological support.

Background We examined long-term outcomes across the domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for 2 groups of participants with cerebral palsy who demonstrated crouch gait at clinical gait analysis. One group underwent a distal femoral extension osteotomy with patellar tendon advancement (DFEO + PTA). The other group received other treatments (non-DFEO + PTA). Methods Fifty-one participants returned for a long-term gait analysis, physical examination, energy consumption test, knee radiographs, and questionnaires (median, 13 years post-DFEO + PTA or post-baseline [range, 8 to 21 years]). A subset of participants in the DFEO + PTA group also had a short-term analysis (9 to 24 months postoperatively). Results Participants were reasonably well-matched at baseline, although the DFEO + PTA group demonstrated greater crouch: minimum knee flexion, a median of 37° (width of the interquartile range, 12°) compared with 27° (9°); and knee flexion contracture, a median of 15° (10°) compared with 10° (5°). The gait deviation index (GDI) and sagittal plane knee kinematics were most improved at short term for the DFEO + PTA participants, with a subsequent slight decline at long-term analysis. Fewer DFEO + PTA participants were in crouch at long term (37% compared with 65%). At the long-term assessment, group scores for function, mobility, participation, quality of life, and most pain questionnaires were similar. Knee pain and osteoarthritis ratings did not differ between the groups. Conclusions At long-term analysis, DFEO + PTA improves stance phase knee extension and knee flexion contracture compared with conventional treatment, but these benefits do not translate to improved activity, participation, or knee pain in early adulthood. Level of evidence Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Split-thickness skin grafting is a common procedure to treat different kinds of wounds. This systematic, multicentre, observational, cross-sectional study of adult patients with split-thickness skin graft (STSG) donor site wounds was conducted to evaluate quality of life (QoL) impairments caused by donor site wounds following split-thickness skin grafting. Therefore, 112 patients from 12 wound centres in Germany were examined based on patient and physician questionnaires as well as a physical examination of the donor site wound. Most indications for skin grafting were postsurgical treatment (n = 51; 42.5%) and chronic wounds (n = 47; 39.2%). European QoL visual analoque scale (EQ VAS) averaged 64.7 ± 23.3, European QoL 5 dimensions (EQ-5D) averaged 77.4 ± 30.0. Wound-QoL (range: 0-4) was rated 0.8 ± 0.8 post-surgery and 0.4 ± 0.6 at the time of survey (on average 21 weeks between the time points). Compared to averaged Wound-QoL scores of chronic wounds donor site-related QoL impairments in split-thickness skin-graft patients were less pronounced. There were significant differences in patient burden immediately after surgery compared to the time of the survey, with medium effect sizes. This supports the hypothesis that faster healing of the donor site wound leads to more favourable patient-reported outcomes.

Tree diversity improves forest productivity Experimental studies in grasslands have shown that the loss of species has negative consequences for ecosystem functioning. Is the same true for forests? Huang et al. report the first results from a large biodiversity experiment in a subtropical forest in China. The study combines many replicates, realistic tree densities, and large plot sizes with a wide range of species richness levels. After 8 years of the experiment, the findings suggest strong positive effects of tree diversity on forest productivity and carbon accumulation. Thus, changing from monocultures to more mixed forests could benefit both restoration of biodiversity and mitigation of climate change. Science , this issue p. 80

Systemic antipsoriatic treatment options are increasing rapidly. The aim of this nationwide discrete choice experiment was to compare patients’ (n = 222) and physicians’ (n = 78) preferences for outcome and process attributes of systemic antipsoriatics using Relative Importance Scores (RIS). Both groups considered Psoriasis Area and Severity Index 90 (PASI 90) to be most important (RIS 21.4 and 20.8, respectively). Moreover, patients were highly concerned about mild and severe adverse events (RIS = 18.2 and 14.2), physicians about severe adverse events (RIS = 14.9) and cost (RIS = 13.8). Compared to physicians, patients worried more about mild adverse events and treatment location, but less about cost and frequency of laboratory tests. Physicians’ preferences were influenced by work experience and percentage of biological prescriptions, patients’ preferences by age, disease duration and severity. Older and less severely affected patients recruited via a patient organization focused more on safety, but less on efficacy and time until response than did patients from study centres. In conclusion, these differences in trade-offs should be integrated into a shared decision-making.

Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) research has extended its scope from communities that are short-lived or reshape their structure annually to structurally complex forest ecosystems. The establishment of tree diversity experiments poses specific methodological challenges for assessing the multiple functions provided by forest ecosystems. In particular, methodological inconsistencies and nonstandardized protocols impede the analysis of multifunctionality within, and comparability across the increasing number of tree diversity experiments. By providing an overview on key methods currently applied in one of the largest forest biodiversity experiments, we show how methods differing in scale and simplicity can be combined to retrieve consistent data allowing novel insights into forest ecosystem functioning. Furthermore, we discuss and develop recommendations for the integration and transferability of diverse methodical approaches to present and future forest biodiversity experiments. We identified four principles that should guide basic decisions concerning method selection for tree diversity experiments and forest BEF research: (1) method selection should be directed toward maximizing data density to increase the number of measured variables in each plot. (2) Methods should cover all relevant scales of the experiment to consider scale dependencies of biodiversity effects. (3) The same variable should be evaluated with the same method across space and time for adequate larger-scale and longer-time data analysis and to reduce errors due to changing measurement protocols. (4) Standardized, practical and rapid methods for assessing biodiversity and ecosystem functions should be promoted to increase comparability among forest BEF experiments. We demonstrate that currently available methods provide us with a sophisticated toolbox to improve a synergistic understanding of forest multifunctionality. However, these methods require further adjustment to the specific requirements of structurally complex and long-lived forest ecosystems. By applying methods connecting relevant scales, trophic levels, and above- and belowground ecosystem compartments, knowledge gain from large tree diversity experiments can be optimized. Biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) research has extended its scope from communities that are short‐lived or reshape their structure annually to structurally complex forest ecosystems. The establishment of tree diversity experiments poses specific methodological challenges for assessing the multiple functions provided by forest ecosystems. In particular, methodological inconsistencies and nonstandardized protocols impede the analysis of multifunctionality within, and comparability across the increasing number of tree diversity experiments. By providing an overview on key methods currently applied in one of the largest forest biodiversity experiments, we show how methods differing in scale and simplicity can be combined to retrieve consistent data allowing novel insights into forest ecosystem functioning. Furthermore, we discuss and develop recommendations for the integration and transferability of diverse methodical approaches to present and future forest biodiversity experiments. We identified four principles that should guide basic decisions concerning method selection for tree diversity experiments and forest BEF research: (1) method selection should be directed toward maximizing data density to increase the number of measured variables in each plot. (2) Methods should cover all relevant scales of the experiment to consider scale dependencies of biodiversity effects. (3) The same variable should be evaluated with the same method across space and time for adequate larger‐scale and longer‐time data analysis and to reduce errors due to changing measurement protocols. (4) Standardized, practical and rapid methods for assessing biodiversity and ecosystem functions should be promoted to increase comparability among forest BEF experiments. We demonstrate that currently available methods provide us with a sophisticated toolbox to improve a synergistic understanding of forest multifunctionality. However, these methods require further adjustment to the specific requirements of structurally complex and long‐lived forest ecosystems. By applying methods connecting relevant scales, trophic levels, and above‐ and belowground ecosystem compartments, knowledge gain from large tree diversity experiments can be optimized.

Terrestrial ecosystems experience simultaneous shifts in multiple drivers of global change, which can interactively affect various resources. The concept that different resources co-limit plant productivity has been well studied. However, co-limitation of soil microbial communities by multiple resources has not been as thoroughly investigated. Specifically, it is not clearly understood how microbial communities respond to shifts in multiple interacting resources such as water, temperature, and nitrogen (N), in the context of global change. To test the effects of these various resources on soil microorganisms, we established a field experiment with temperature and N manipulation in three grasslands of northern China, where there is a decrease in precipitation from east to west across the region. We found that microbial responses to temperature depended upon seasonal water regimes in these temperate steppes. When there was sufficient water present, warming had positive effects on soil microorganisms, suggesting an interaction between water and increases in temperature enhanced local microbial communities. When drought or alternating wet–dry stress occurred, warming had detrimental effects on soil microbial communities. Our results also provide clear evidence for serial co-limitation of microorganisms by water and N at the functional group and community levels, where water is a primary limiting factor and N addition positively affects soil microorganisms only when water is sufficient. We predict that future microbial responses to changes in temperature and N availability could be seasonal or exist only in non-drought years, and will strongly rely on future precipitation regimes.

It is increasingly recognized that a detailed understanding of the impacts of land use on soil carbon pools and microbially mediated carbon dynamics is required in order to accurately describe terrestrial carbon budgets and improve soil carbon retention. Toward this understanding, we analyzed the levels of biomarkers including phospholipid fatty acids, amino acids, monosaccharides, amino sugars, and several indicators of labile and stabilized carbon in soil samples from a long-term agricultural field experiment. Our results imply that the composition of soil organic carbon (SOC) strongly depends on both the applied fertilization regime and the cultivated crop. In addition, our approach allowed us to identify possible mechanisms of microbial growth and contributions to soil carbon storage under different long-term agricultural management regimes. Amino acids and monosaccharides were quantitatively the most dominant biomarkers and their levels correlated strongly positively with microbial biomass. The relative contributions of the studied biomarkers to the total SOC varied only slightly among the treatments except in cases of extreme fertilization and without any fertilizer. In case of extreme fertilization and with alfalfa as crop type, we found evidence for accumulation of microbially derived monosaccharides and amino acids within the labile OC pool, probably resulting from soil C saturation. Interestingly, we also found an accumulation of microbially derived monosaccharides and amino acids in completely unfertilized plots, which we assumed to be caused by the smaller pore space volume and subsequent oxygen limitation for microbial growth. Mineral fertilization also had substantial effects on soil organic N when applied to plots containing alfalfa, a leguminous plant. Our results demonstrate that over-fertilization, fertilizer type, and the cultivated crop type can have major impacts on the turnover and composition of soil organic carbon, and should be considered when assessing management effects on soil C dynamics.

Nests of the yellow meadow ant ( Lasius flavus ) occur at high densities in grasslands worldwide. Although many studies have shown that L . flavus nests influence soil nutrient contents, little is known about their effect on soil nutrient cycling rates. The aim of this study was to examine the role of nest-mounds inhabited by L. flavus as potential ‘hot spots’ for soil nutrient cycling. Six pairs of nest-mounds and control soils were selected at a grassland site at the plateau of the Alter Gleisberg (Thuringia, Central Germany). L. flavus significantly modified the soil environment within the nest. In comparison to the control soils, nest-mounds were characterized by slightly higher soil temperatures during the summer months. In addition, we found that nests were related to decreased potential C mineralization rates and increased potential net N mineralization rates. Nest-mound soil exhibited lower amounts of SOC, hot-water extractable DOC and DN, and higher concentrations of leachable DOC and DN. Moreover, ants promoted the enrichment of base cations in the nest. Differences in the soil environment between nests and control soils were possibly a result of the burrowing activity of ants, soil mixing, accumulation of aphid honeydew, and decreased plant-derived nutrient inputs into the nest-mound soil. In conclusion, L. flavus nest-mounds had a significant but element dependent effect on the soil nutrient cycling and may represent cold spots for C cycling and hot spots for N cycling. Thus, L. flavus nests increase the spatial heterogeneity of soil properties and create unique micro-sites within grassland ecosystems.

Forest ecosystems contribute substantially to global terrestrial primary productivity and climate regulation, but, in contrast to grasslands, experimental evidence for a positive biodiversity-productivity relationship in highly diverse forests is still lacking1. Here, we provide such evidence from a large forest biodiversity experiment with a novel design2 in subtropical China. Productivity (stand-level tree basal area, aboveground volume and carbon and their annual increment) increased linearly with the logarithm of tree species richness. Additive partitioning3 showed that increasing positive complementarity effects combined with weakening negative selection effects caused a strengthening of the relationship over time. In 2-species mixed stands, complementary effects increased with functional distance and selection effects with vertical crown dissimilarity between species. Understorey shrubs reduced stand-level tree productivity, but this effect of competition was attenuated by shrub species richness, indicating that a diverse understorey may facilitate overall ecosystem functioning. Identical biodiversity-productivity relationships were found in plots of different size, suggesting that extrapolation to larger scales is possible. Our results highlight the potential of multi-species afforestation strategies to simultaneously contribute to mitigation of climate change and biodiversity restoration.

Microbial communities are important drivers and regulators of ecosystem processes. To understand how management of ecosystems may affect microbial communities, a relatively precise but effort-intensive technique to assay microbial community composition is phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. PLFA was developed to analyze phospholipid biomarkers, which can be used as indicators of microbial biomass and the composition of broad functional groups of fungi and bacteria. It has commonly been used to compare soils under alternative plant communities, ecology, and management regimes. The PLFA method has been shown to be sensitive to detecting shifts in microbial community composition. An alternative method, fatty acid methyl ester extraction and analysis (MIDI-FA) was developed for rapid extraction of total lipids, without separation of the phospholipid fraction, from pure cultures as a microbial identification technique. This method is rapid but is less suited for soil samples because it lacks an initial step separating soil particles and begins instead with a saponification reaction that likely produces artifacts from the background organic matter in the soil. This article describes a method that increases throughput while balancing effort and accuracy for extraction of lipids from the cell membranes of microorganisms for use in characterizing both total lipids and the relative abundance of indicator lipids to determine soil microbial community structure in studies with many samples. The method combines the accuracy achieved through PLFA profiling by extracting and concentrating soil lipids as a first step, and a reduction in effort by saponifying the organic material extracted and processing with the MIDI-FA method as a second step.

Objective: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a ubiquitous member of the herpes virus family with a prevalence of between 50-100% in the human population and lifelong persistence. While usually clinically benign, severe cases are observed in neonates and immunocompromised patients. CMV has been associated with various tumors, including glioblastoma (GBM). The aim of this study is to clarify the interrelationship between CMV and GBM, as to elucidate its contribution to GBM progression. Methods: Pericytes, proneural (PN) and mesenchymal (MES) human GBM cell lines were assessed via flow cytometry for permissiveness to CMV (Towne Strain) infection. The transcriptome of infected cells was assessed using RT-qPCR and RNA-Seq analysis. Transwell migration and endothelial tube formation were evaluated in co-culture experiments. C57BL/6 mice were infected with murine CMV (MCMV-Δm157) at P2 and syngeneic GL261 tumor cells were implanted at week 14 after latency was established. Tumor composition was analyzed using flow cytometry. Murine and human brain sections were analyzed by immunofluorescence staining. Results: CMV was found to closely co-localize with tumor vessels in patient derived GBM specimens. In vitro studies confirmed a high permissiveness of pericytes for CMV infection. GBM cells, permissive for CMV infection had a proneural, rather than a mesenchymal signature. The transcription of pro-angiogenic cytokines such as IL-6, TGF-beta and angiogenesis inducing receptor PAR-1 were up-regulated upon CMV infection. Transwell assays revealed increased migration towards CMV infected cells after 48h (GBM cells towards infected pericytes: 1.5-fold (p=0.07); pericytes towards infected GBM cells: 1.48-fold (p=0.009)). Further, co-culture of human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) and infected PN cells led to the establishment of larger (160%, p=

Background Though psoriasis poses a substantial chronic socio-economic burden, few studies have addressed the economic impact in Germany. Objectives The objective was to evaluate the annual costs of psoriasis in Germany from the societal perspective. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed in randomly selected German dermatology practices and clinics in 2013/2014 using standardised questionnaires of illness-related costs. Costs were grouped by perspective and category as well as analysed by sex and age. Group differences were tested by non-parametric tests. Results Complete data were obtained from 1,158 patients in 132 centres. Annual average costs for patients with psoriasis: Total costs € 5,543 ± € 8,044, systemic treatment costs (paid by the statutory health insurances (SHI)) € 3,733 ± € 7,322, out-of-pocket costs € 224 ± € 406, total SHI costs € 4,940 ± € 7,533, direct costs € 5,164 ± € 7,581 and indirect costs € 379 ± € 2,087. Significant higher costs in male and significant lower costs in 65+-year-old patients were found. Conclusions Psoriasis induces a considerable economic burden. Between 2003 and 2014, costs have markedly shifted from hospital, out-of-pocket and indirect costs towards systemic drug costs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Living roots and their rhizodeposits affect microbial activity and soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) mineralization. This so-called rhizosphere priming effect (RPE) has been increasingly recognized recently. However, the magnitude of the RPE and its driving mechanisms remain elusive. Here we investigated the RPE of two plant species (soybean and sunflower) grown in two soil types (a farm or a prairie soil) and sampled at two phenological stages (vegetative and mature stages) over an 88-day period in a greenhouse experiment. We measured soil C mineralization using a continuous 13C-labeling method, and quantified gross N mineralization with a 15N-pool dilution technique. We found that living roots significantly enhanced soil C mineralization, by 27–245%. This positive RPE on soil C mineralization did not vary between the two soils or the two phenological stages, but was significantly greater in sunflower compared to soybean. The magnitude of the RPE was positively correlated with rhizosphere respiration rate across all treatments, suggesting the variation of RPE among treatments was likely caused by variations in root activity and rhizodeposit quantity. Moreover, living roots stimulated gross N mineralization rate by 36–62% in five treatments, while they had no significant impact in the other three treatments. We also quantified soil microbial biomass and extracellular enzyme activity when plants were at the vegetative stage. Generally, living roots increased microbial biomass carbon by 0–28%, β-glucosidase activity by 19–56%, and oxidative enzyme activity by 0–46%. These results are consistent with the positive rhizosphere effect on soil C (45–79%) and N (10–52%) mineralization measured at the same period. We also found significant positive relationships between β-glucosidase activity and soil C mineralization rates and between oxidative enzyme activity and gross N mineralization rates across treatments. These relationships provide clear evidence for the microbial activation hypothesis of RPE. Our results demonstrate that root–soil–microbial interactions can stimulate soil C and N mineralization through rhizosphere effects. The relationships between the RPE and rhizosphere respiration rate and soil enzyme activity can be used for explicit representations of RPE in soil organic matter models.