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- Birkhofer, Klaus, et al.
(författare)
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General Relationships between Abiotic Soil Properties and Soil Biota across Spatial Scales and Different Land-Use Types.
- 2012
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 7:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Very few principles have been unraveled that explain the relationship between soil properties and soil biota across large spatial scales and different land-use types. Here, we seek these general relationships using data from 52 differently managed grassland and forest soils in three study regions spanning a latitudinal gradient in Germany. We hypothesize that, after extraction of variation that is explained by location and land-use type, soil properties still explain significant proportions of variation in the abundance and diversity of soil biota. If the relationships between predictors and soil organisms were analyzed individually for each predictor group, soil properties explained the highest amount of variation in soil biota abundance and diversity, followed by land-use type and sampling location. After extraction of variation that originated from location or land-use, abiotic soil properties explained significant amounts of variation in fungal, meso- and macrofauna, but not in yeast or bacterial biomass or diversity. Nitrate or nitrogen concentration and fungal biomass were positively related, but nitrate concentration was negatively related to the abundances of Collembola and mites and to the myriapod species richness across a range of forest and grassland soils. The species richness of earthworms was positively correlated with clay content of soils independent of sample location and land-use type. Our study indicates that after accounting for heterogeneity resulting from large scale differences among sampling locations and land-use types, soil properties still explain significant proportions of variation in fungal and soil fauna abundance or diversity. However, soil biota was also related to processes that act at larger spatial scales and bacteria or soil yeasts only showed weak relationships to soil properties. We therefore argue that more general relationships between soil properties and soil biota can only be derived from future studies that consider larger spatial scales and different land-use types.
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| 2. |
- Buchholz, Angela, et al.
(författare)
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Placement matching of alcohol-dependent patients based on a standardized intake assessment : rationale and design of a randomized controlled trial
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Psychiatry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-244X. ; 14, s. 286-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Despite considerable research on substance-abuse placement matching, evidence is still inconclusive. The aims of this exploratory trial are to evaluate (a) the effects of following matching guidelines on health-care costs and heavy drinking, and (b) factors affecting the implementation of matching guidelines in the treatment of alcohol-dependent patients. Methods: A total of 286 alcohol-dependent patients entering one of four participating detoxification units and having no arrangements for further treatment will be recruited. During the first week of treatment, all patients will be administered Measurements in the Addictions for Triage and Evaluation (MATE), European Quality of Life-Five Dimensions health status questionnaire (EQ-5D), and the Client Socio-Demographic and Service Receipt Inventory-European Version (CSSRI-EU). Patients who are randomly allocated to the intervention group will receive feedback regarding their assessment results, including clear recommendations for subsequent treatment. Patients of the control group will receive treatment as usual and, if requested, global feedback regarding their assessment results, but no recommendations for subsequent treatment. At discharge, treatment outcome and referral decisions will be recorded. Six months after discharge, patients will be administered MATE-Outcome, EQ-5D, and CSSRI-EU during a telephone interview. Discussion: This trial will provide evidence on the effects and costs of using placement-matching guidelines based on a standardized assessment with structured feedback in the treatment of alcohol-dependent patients. A process evaluation will be conducted to facilitate better understanding of the relationship between the use of guidelines, outcomes, and potential mediating variables.
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| 3. |
- Evengård, Birgitta, et al.
(författare)
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Climate change and water security with a focus on the Arctic
- 2011
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Ingår i: Global Health Action. - Järfälla : CoAction Publishing. - 1654-9716 .- 1654-9880. ; 4, s. 8449-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Water is of fundamental importance for human life; access to water of good quality is of vital concern for mankind. Currently however, the situation is under severe pressure due to several stressors that have a clear impact on access to water. In the Arctic, climate change is having an impact on water availability by melting glaciers, decreasing seasonal rates of precipitation, increasing evapotranspiration, and drying lakes and rivers existing in permafrost grounds. Water quality is also being impacted as manmade pollutants stored in the environment are released, lowland areas are flooded with salty ocean water during storms, turbidity from permafrost-driven thaw and erosion is increased, and the growth or emergence of natural pollutants are increased. By 2030 it is estimated that the world will need to produce 50% more food and energy which means a continuous increase in demand for water. Decisionmakers will have to very clearly include life quality aspects of future generations in the work as impact of ongoing changes will be noticeable, in many cases, in the future. This article will focus on effects of climate-change on water security with an Arctic perspective giving some examples from different countries how arising problems are being addressed.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Mast, Marcus, et al.
(författare)
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Semi-Autonomous Teleoperated Learning In-Home Service Robots for Elderly Care : A Qualitative Study on Needs and Perceptions of Elderly People, Family Caregivers, and Professional Caregivers
- 2010
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics, Varna, Bulgaria, October 1-6.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper reports the results of a user requirement study for a robotic system aiming to support independent living of the elderly. A concept is investigated where caregivers would teleoperate and teach a domestic service robot on tasks it currently cannot perform autonomously. Focus groups were carried out in three European countries with 59 participants. Results show a preference for emergency and household functions among elderly and caregivers. However, most professional caregivers stated to prefer personal contact to the assisted person and opposed the prospect of being a teleoperator. Some family caregivers welcomed teleoperation because it would free them from being bound to the elderly’s home; others showed reservations, mainly due to concerns of having even less time for themselves. Implications for the design of a robotic system are discussed.
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| 6. |
- Parkinson, Alan J., et al.
(författare)
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Climate change and infectious diseases in the Arctic : Establishment of a circumpolar working group
- 2014
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Ingår i: International Journal of Circumpolar Health. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1239-9736 .- 2242-3982. ; 73
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Arctic, even more so than other parts of the world, has warmed substantially over the past few decades. Temperature and humidity influence the rate of development, survival and reproduction of pathogens and thus the incidence and prevalence of many infectious diseases. Higher temperatures may also allow infected host species to survive winters in larger numbers, increase the population size and expand their habitat range. The impact of these changes on human disease in the Arctic has not been fully evaluated. There is concern that climate change may shift the geographic and temporal distribution of a range of infectious diseases. Many infectious diseases are climate sensitive, where their emergence in a region is dependent on climate-related ecological changes. Most are zoonotic diseases, and can be spread between humans and animals by arthropod vectors, water, soil, wild or domestic animals. Potentially climate-sensitive zoonotic pathogens of circumpolar concern include Brucella spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Trichinella spp., Clostridium botulinum, Francisella tularensis, Borrelia burgdorferi, Bacillus anthracis, Echinococcus spp., Leptospira spp., Giardia spp., Cryptosporida spp., Coxiella burnetti, rabies virus, West Nile virus, Hantaviruses, and tick-borne encephalitis viruses.
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