The long-term effect of low and moderate doses of ionizing radiation on the lens is still a matter of debate and needs to be evaluated in more detail. We conducted a detailed histological analysis of eyes from B6C3F1 mice cohorts after acute gamma irradiation (60Co source; 0.063 Gy/min) at young adult age of 10 weeks with doses of 0.063, 0.125, and 0.5 Gy. Sham irradiated (0 Gy) mice were used as controls. To test for...

The purpose of the present review is to report the incidence and characteristics of healthcare-associated urinary tract infections (HAUTIs) in urology with their microbiological and resistance patterns. Urinary tract infections are the main type of healthcare-associated infection in patients hospitalized in a urology ward. Patients admitted to urology departments report a high prevalence of urinary tract catheterization, up to 75% during the hospitalization period, and up to 20% had a urinary catheter before admission. An...

Aim: Environmental niche tracking is linked to the species ability to disperse. While well investigated on large spatial scales, dispersal constraints also influence small-scale processes and may explain the difference between the potential and the realized niche of species at small-scales. Here we test whether niche size and niche fill differ systematically according to dispersal syndrome within isolated oceanic islands. We expect species with higher dispersal abilities (anemochorous or endozoochorous) will have a higher niche...

Questions: Habitat islands are often characterized by the presence of more or less sharp boundaries to adjacent matrix habitats. However, knowledge on boundaries of natural habitat islands is scarce, especially regarding patterns of beta diversity and its two underlying components: species turnover and nestedness. We therefore aim to quantify the effects of fine-scaled and sharp boundaries of quartz islands (quartz-gravel covered soils) on the different components of plant beta diversity and how they are linked...

Objective: To explore the occurrence of diseases and symptoms in the five years prior to diagnosis in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a case-control study. Methods: Using ambulatory claims data we systematically assessed differences in the occurrence of diseases and symptoms in the five years prior to first diagnosis in patients with MS (n=10,262) as compared to patients with two other autoimmune diseases – Crohn’s disease (n=15,502) and psoriasis (n=98,432) - and individuals without...

Most current patterns of production and consumption follow a linear “extract, produce, consume, dispose” model. According to the Circular Gap Report 2020, the global economy is just 9% circular. This economic model is contributing to a massive transgression of “planetary boundaries” and the destabilisation of ecosystems and factors essential to human life such as the climate system and biodiversity. As a result, there is currently much discussion of a paradigm shift in the industrial value...

Gypsy moth outbreaks cause severe defoliation in Holarctic forests, both in North America where it is invasive, and in its native range in Eurasia. Severe defoliation can hamper timber production and impact ecological communities and processes. Aerial insecticide applications are regularly performed in outbreak areas to mitigate economic losses. These operations can be financially costly and harmful to non-target species and may disrupt species interaction networks. However, replicated studies of the relative impacts of gypsy...

In a nuclear or radiological event, an early diagnostic tool is needed to distinguish the worried well from those individuals who may later develop life-threatenFing hematologic acute radiation syndrome. We examined the contribution of the peripheral blood's cell populations on radiation-induced gene expression (GE) changes. EDTA-whole-blood from six healthy donors was X-irradiated with 0 and 4Gy and T-lymphocytes, B-lymphocytes, NK-cells and granulocytes were separated using immunomagnetic methods. GE were examined in cell populations and whole...

The opportunities and challenges associated with public food forest initiatives in small municipalities are understudied compared to large metropolitan counterparts. Research in small population centers is needed to identify and understand factors affecting the growth of public food forests where resources more commonly available in cities often are lacking. To study these factors, we surveyed mayors in Virginia, United States serving communities with populations under 25,000. Out of 176 mayors who received a paper survey...

Heutige Produktions- und Konsummuster folgen weitgehend einer linearen Logik: abbauen, herstellen, konsumieren, entsorgen. Nur neun Prozent der Weltwirtschaft sind laut Circular Gap Report 2020 kreislaufgeführt. Doch dieses Wirtschaftsprinzip trägt zu einer massiven Überschreitung der „Planetaren Grenzen“ und damit zu einer Destabilisierung der Ökosysteme und Lebensgrundlage der Menschen bei, wie etwa des Klimasystems und der Artenvielfalt. Demzufolge wird derzeit viel über einen Paradigmenwechsel in der Logik industrieller Wertschöpfung diskutiert – weg von einem ressourcenintensiven hin zu...

Heutige Produktions- und Konsummuster folgen weitgehend einer linearen Logik: abbauen, herstellen, konsumieren, entsorgen. Nur neun Prozent der Weltwirtschaft sind laut Circular Gap Report 2020 kreislaufgeführt. Doch dieses Wirtschaftsprinzip trägt zu einer massiven Überschreitung der „Planetaren Grenzen“ und damit zu einer Destabilisierung der Ökosysteme und Lebensgrundlage der Menschen bei, wie etwa des Klimasystems und der Artenvielfalt. Demzufolge wird derzeit viel über einen Paradigmenwechsel in der Logik industrieller Wertschöpfung diskutiert – weg von einem ressourcenintensiven hin zu...

The global impacts of biodiversity loss and climate change are interlinked but the feedbacks between them are rarely assessed. Areas with greater tree diversity tend to be more productive, providing a greater carbon sink, and biodiversity loss could reduce these natural C sinks. Here, we quantify how tree and shrub species richness could affect biomass production at biome, national and regional scales. We find that greenhouse gas mitigation could help maintain tree diversity and thereby...

In a nuclear or radiological event, an early diagnostic tool is needed to distinguish the worried well from those individuals who may later develop life-threatenFing hematologic acute radiation syndrome. We examined the contribution of the peripheral blood's cell populations on radiation-induced gene expression (GE) changes. EDTA-whole-blood from six healthy donors was X-irradiated with 0 and 4Gy and T-lymphocytes, B-lymphocytes, NK-cells and granulocytes were separated using immunomagnetic methods. GE were examined in cell populations and whole...

This dataset consists of 1495 relative spectral power distributions (SPD) collected by the partners and collaborators of project EMPIR 15SIB07 PhotoLED - Future Photometry Based on Solid-State Lighting Products. The SPDs of LED products of different types were measured; including AC- and DC-operated bulbs, spots, tubes, street lamps, LED strips, downlight luminaires, prints and textures by a large number of manufacturers. The measurements of the products were carried out in various laboratories, including manufacturers of...

The long-term effect of low and moderate doses of ionizing radiation on the lens is still a matter of debate and needs to be evaluated in more detail. We conducted a detailed histological analysis of eyes from B6C3F1 mice cohorts after acute gamma irradiation (60Co source; 0.063 Gy/min) at young adult age of 10 weeks with doses of 0.063, 0.125, and 0.5 Gy. Sham irradiated (0 Gy) mice were used as controls. To test for...

Recent meta-analyses assessing the impact of organic farming on plant species diversity showed that positive effects mainly occurred at a small scale while benefits at the farm or landscape level were less pronounced. The studies also detected that common species were more favored by organic farming than rare ones. In a farm scale study in southern Bavaria, Germany, we analyzed how the conversion to organic farming changed arable plant communities over a 23-years period and...

Establishment of calcareous grassland on ex-arable fields by introducing target species is one of the most frequently used methods to restore the species assemblages of this highly endangered habitat type. The present study evaluates the long-term success of calcareous grassland restoration on former arable land in the vicinity of one of the oldest nature reserves in Bavaria, the “Garchinger Heide”. The restoration experiment combined different measures like topsoil removal, transfer of freshly cut seed-containing hay...

1. Climate and land-use change are key drivers of environmental degradation in the Anthropocene, but too little is known about their interactive effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Long-term data on biodiversity trends are currently lacking. Furthermore, previous ecological studies have rarely considered climate and land use in a joint design, did not achieve variable independence or lost statistical power by not covering the full range of environmental gradients. 2. Here, we introduce a multi-scale...

Epidemiological studies show an increasing number of patients worldwide suffering from chronic kidney diseases (CKD), which are associated with a risk for progression to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). CKD patients stage 2–5, patients with regular chronic dialysis treatment (hemo- or peritoneal dialysis), and patients suffering from kidney allograft dysfunction are at high risk to develop infections, e.g. urinary tract infections (UTI) and/or sepsis (urosepsis). These groups show metabolic disturbance, chronic inflammation, and impaired immunocompetence. Escherichia...

Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from Kazak individuals with normal glucose tolerance (KNGT) significantly reduces plasma glycolipid levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus db/db mice. However, the mechanism behind this effect has not been reported. To study the mechanism of improved glycolipid disorders in db/db mice by FMT from a KNGT donor. The normal diet group consisted of db/m mice orally administered 0.2 mL phosphate buffer saline (PBS) (db/m + PBS). For the db/db + PBS...

Bundles of stiff filaments are ubiquitous in the living world, found both in the cytoskeleton and in the extracellular medium. These bundles are typically held together by smaller cross-linking molecules. We demonstrate, analytically, numerically, and experimentally, that such bundles can be kinked, that is, have localized regions of high curvature that are long-lived metastable states. We propose three possible mechanisms of kink stabilization: a difference in trapped length of the filament segments between two cross-links,...

In a nuclear or radiological event, an early diagnostic or prognostic tool is needed to distinguish the worried well from low-exposed and those individuals who may later develop life-threatening hematologic acute radiation syndrome (H-ARS). In previous studies, we identified and validated genes in peripheral blood for this purpose. To gain a deeper understanding and to make methodological improvements, we examined the contribution of the peripheral blood´s cell populations on radiation-induced gene expression changes. EDTA whole...

Tropical montane forests in the Andes are subjected to deforestation and subsequent transformation into pastures. Abandoned pastures are frequently reforested by planting monoculture timber plantations, resulting in reduced aboveground diversity and changes in soil characteristics compared to primary forests. In this study, we evaluated differences in soil properties (litter layer thickness, pH, water content and C-to-N ratio) between degraded primary montane forest and monoculture pine (Pinus patula) and alder (Alnus acuminata) plantations and their effect...