Trends in Austrian Resource Efficiency: An Exergy and Useful Work Analysis in Comparison to Material Use,CO2 Emissions,and Land Use

In the past few years, resource use and resource efficiency have been implemented in the European Union (EU) environmental policy programs as well as international sustainable development programs. In their programs, the EU focuses on four resource types that should be addressed: materials, energy (or carbon dioxide [CO₂] emissions), water, and land. In this article, we first discuss different perspectives on energy use and present the results of a long‐term exergy and useful work analysis of the Austrian economy for the period 1900–2012, using the methodology developed by Ayres and Warr. Second, we discuss Austrian resource efficiency by comparing the presented exergy and useful work data with material use, CO₂ emissions, and land‐use data taken from statistical sources. This comparison provides, for the first time, a long‐term analysis of Austrian resource efficiency based on a broad understanding thereof and evaluates Austrian development in relation to EU and Austrian policy targets.     

Natural occurrence of vomitoxin in Austrian and Canadian corn

Summary The trichothecene, vomitoxin, was found in two Austrian corn samples at levels of 1.3 and 7.9 ppm and in one Canadian corn sample at a level of 7.9 ppm; all three corn samples were rejected when fed to swine. Feed made from the latter corn sample contained 1.4 ppm vomitoxin.Kernels from these corn samples were examined for Fusarium graminearum. The mold was found only in the two Austrian corn samples, and four of the isolates produced vomitoxin at levels ranging from 3.7 to 16.7 ppm.The mention of firm names or trade products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture over other firms or similar products not mentioned     

Comparison of visual bird migration counts with radar estimates

In the context of an extensive study on bird migration in the Austrian Alps, we compared data from a fixed‐beam radar with data collected by visual observation to estimate the intensity of migrating birds up to a height of 150 m above the ground. Migration traffic rates calculated from visual bird counts and radar measurements were strongly correlated. Using resampling techniques, we calculated a minimum observation effort for counting birds during a 5‐week period of peak migration. We chose ±20% of the real mean as the criterion for a reliable estimation. Our results showed that at least 19 observation days are necessary to assess the mean number of migrants passing within this low altitudinal range.     

中国香菇自然种质的rDNA遗传多样性分析

测定了全国范围内的59个野生香菇菌株rDNA的ITS区域的序列。所得序列的总长度在723-727个碱基之间,G+C含量也基本稳定在57.5%左右。用Phylip3.6软件包对59个ITS序列进行DNA数据分析。结果表明59个菌株被划分到3个不同的谱系中,其中谱系Ⅰ包括11个菌株,分布较为均衡,涉及东北、西北、西南和东部沿海等地区的8个省份;谱系Ⅱ包括14菌株,以西北、西南的4个省份为主;谱系Ⅲ包括34个菌株,覆盖范围最广,除东北和西北高原地区外,其它均有涉及。地缘关系分析表明以陕、甘为主的西北高原地区的菌株涉及Ⅰ、Ⅱ两个谱系;以闽、浙、赣和台湾为主的东部沿海地区的菌株涉及Ⅰ、Ⅲ两个谱系;而以云、贵、川为主的西南地区的菌株则覆盖到了所有的3个谱系。这三个地区的香菇遗传多样性最丰富,西南地区尤为突出,是香菇种质资源保护与利用的重点区域。     

Serum amylase isozyme in three Austrian cattle breeds

Serum amylase phenotypes were determined for 1227 animals from three Austrian cattle breeds, Tyrolean Grey, Carinthian Blondvieh and Waldviertler Blondvieh. The phenotypes were determined for 450 offspring from families where both sire and dam were typed. The distribution of the 450 progeny phenotypes in which 30 of the 36 possible mating combinations occur is compatible with the hypothesis of three autosomal co-dominant alleles.
All six possible phenotypes were found in all three breed groups. Gene frequencies of amylase alleles as well as the probability of excluding wrong parentage were estimated for all three breeds.     

Obesity among male adolescent migrants in Vienna, Austria

Childhood overweight and obesity--especially among migrant children--are health problems in several European countries. The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among 936 migrant boys of low socio-economic status from Turkey and former Yugoslavia were compared with those of Austrian boys in Vienna. In the longitudinal study, children were measured at the ages of 6, 10 and 15 years. Weight status was estimated by means of the body mass index and percentile curves were used for weight status classification. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was high among migrant boys as well as Austrian boys at all age groups. Ten-year-old boys from Yugoslavia exhibited the highest percentage of overweight (nearly 38%). The lowest percentage of overweight was among 6-year-old Austrian boys (17.2%). Being overweight or obese at the age of 6 years increased the risk of being overweight at 10 and 15 years significantly (p<0.001). This was true of all groups independent of migrant status. The impact of migrant status on weight status at the ages of 10 and 15 was not significant. Therefore, although migrant boys from former Yugoslavia exhibited the highest rates of overweight and obesity, migrant status is not associated significantly with an increased prevalence of obesity in this sample characterized by a generally low socio-economic status. Prevention should start as early as possible for all children, since overweight tends to persist from childhood into adolescence independent of migrant status.     

Characterization of Listeria monocytogenes recovered from 41 cases of sporadic listeriosis in Austria by serotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

41 clinical Listeria monocytogenes strains recovered from seven feto-maternal and 34 non-pregnancy associated cases of human listeriosis documented between 1997 and 2000 underwent serotyping and typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) applying the enzymes AscI, ApaI and SmaI. The pulsotypes of the clinical strains were compared to the pulsotypes of three L. monocytogenes strains isolated from healthy fecal carriers and nine reference strains isolated from seven outbreaks in Europe and the USA. The 41 clinical strains of Austrian provenance showed 37 pulsotypes. Five sets of two Austrian strains each were indistinguishable by PFGE typing. Epidemiological links were absent between these indistinguishable isolates. One unique pulsotype (AB) was found in three fecal isolates. Five pulsotypes (A, Q, R, AC and AD) were distinguished among the strains associated with outbreaks. Clusters consisting of two, five and six Austrian strains each were indistinguishable from the outbreak-associated pulsotypes A, Q and R, respectively, after PFGE analysis with AscI. Three strains of AscI pulsotype Q and five strains of AscI pulsotype R could be further differentiated by restriction with ApaI and SmaI. One strain each from sporadic cases shared a combined pulsotype with the outbreak strains of pulsotypes A and R, respectively. These PFGE data suggest that a similar genetic background can be found in strains which have been contributing to outbreaks world-wide and in isolates associated with sporadic listeriosis in Austria.     

Clinal variation in Chinese height and weight: Evidence from the descendants of emigrants to Taiwan

Surveys reveal that Chinese from the southernmost provinces are, on average, consistently shorter and lighter than their peers in provinces to the north, though explanations for this variation differ. The present study helps to distinguish between genetic and developmental explanations by comparing differences in regional and provincial heights and weights of 3184 children born in Taiwan between 1975 and 1980 whose families had emigrated from different regions of China at varying times in the past, but who all lived in a relatively affluent district in Taipei at the time of measurement. Linear regression analyses adjusted heights for measurement age and relevant (and available) socioeconomic and demographic variables. Results of these analyses suggested that clinal genetic variation is an important contributor to regional differences in China. Whether entering primary school or departing middle school, children of northern Chinese ancestry living in Taipei were significantly taller (males, 25-30 mm, p0.014; females, 18 mm; p0.008) and heavier (males, 2.5-3.8 kg; p0.081; females, 0.9-3.4 kg, p0.046) than those of southern ancestry, with those from central provinces intermediate in most comparisons. Additionally, provincial backgrounds of Taipei middle school girls with family origins in 12 provinces across China and in Taiwan were significantly associated with height (n=905; p=0.003) and weight (n=900; p=0.001). The pattern of change in mean values across provinces of origin suggests that as developmental circumstances become more equal for residents of various provinces in China, already documented declines in mean height differences, particularly in some central and southern provinces, will shrink further.     

Added-value of mosquito vector breeding sites from street view images in the risk mapping of dengue incidence in Thailand

Dengue is an emerging vector-borne viral disease across the world. The primary dengue mosquito vectors breed in containers with sufficient water and nutrition. Outdoor containers can be detected from geotagged images using state-of-the-art deep learning methods. In this study, we utilize such container information from street view images in developing a risk mapping model and determine the added value of including container information in predicting dengue risk. We developed seasonal-spatial models in which the target variable dengue incidence was explained using weather and container variable predictors. Linear mixed models with fixed and random effects are employed in our models to account for different characteristics of containers and weather variables. Using data from three provinces of Thailand between 2015 and 2018, the models are developed at the sub-district level resolution to facilitate the development of effective targeted intervention strategies. The performance of the models is evaluated with two baseline models: a classic linear model and a linear mixed model without container information. The performance evaluated with the correlation coefficients, R-squared, and AIC shows the proposed model with the container information outperforms both baseline models in all three provinces. Through sensitivity analysis, we investigate the containers that have a high impact on dengue risk. Our findings indicate that outdoor containers identified from street view images can be a useful data source in building effective dengue risk models and that the resulting models have potential in helping to target container elimination interventions.     

Florentine anatomical models and the challenge of medical authority in late-eighteenth-century Vienna

This paper investigates the reception of a set of Florentine anatomical wax models on display at the medico-surgical academy Josephinum in late-eighteenth-century Vienna. Celebrated in Florence as tools of public enlightenment, in the Habsburg capital the models were criticised by physicians, who regarded the Josephinum and its surgeons as a threat to their medical authority. The controversy surrounding these models from the empire's periphery temporarily destabilised the relationship between surgeons and physicians in the Austrian capital. The debate on the utility of the Tuscan anatomical models in Vienna highlights the fact that the centre of the Habsburg empire was by no means medically homogeneous, and that the implementation of reforms could be as difficult to achieve in the capital as in the provinces.     

基于机载激光雷达的小兴安岭温带森林组分生物量反演

使用小兴安岭温带森林机载遥感-地面观测同步试验获取的机载激光雷达(light detection and ranging, Lidar)点云数据和地面实测样地数据, 估测了典型森林类型的树叶、树枝、树干、地上、树根和总生物量等组分的生物量。从激光雷达数据中提取了两组变量(树冠高度变量组和植被密度变量组)作为自变量, 并采用逐步回归方法进行自变量选择。结果表明: 激光雷达数据得到的变量与森林各组分生物量有很强的相关性; 对于针叶林、阔叶林和针阔叶混交林三种不同森林类型生物量的估测结果是: 针叶林优于阔叶林, 阔叶林优于针阔叶混交林; 不区分森林类型的各组分生物量估测与地面实测值显著相关, 模型决定系数在0.6以上; 区分森林类型进行建模可以进一步提高生物量的估测精度。     

Orientation of crustacean burrows

Most arthropod burrows show a marked preferred orientation: they are not random in alignment. A recent burrow made by Jaxea nocturna Nardo is compared to three fossil burrows from the Austrian Tertiary. In each system very steep and very flat burrow sections can be distinguished. In three cases, including the Recent one, flat burrow sections dominate in length. In all burrow sections the distribution of trend angles is also not uniform but indicate preferred directions. In those cases where two mean vectors exist their position is nearly orthogonal, in systems with three mean vectors they form angles of nearly 60°. A relationship between these preferred directions to coastline orientation and current direction is likely.     

Small-scale habitat use of black grouse (Tetrao tetrix L.) and rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta helvetica Thienemann) in the Austrian Alps

We investigated the small-scale habitat use of two grouse species, black grouse (Tetrao tetrix L.) and rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta helvetica Thienemann) in a study area in the Austrian Central Alps in summer. To build habitat suitability models, we applied multiple logistic regression using presence–absence data from fieldwork as the response variable and a set of habitat characteristics as explanatory variables, respectively. To gain a better understanding of the mechanisms that drive habitat selection, we tested for two-way interaction terms before excluding any variables from the initial variable set. Four explanatory variables significantly contributed to the black grouse model: dwarf shrub cover, dwarf shrub height, patchiness and ant hills. The final model for rock ptarmigan contained three explanatory variables: dwarf shrub cover, rock cover and dwarf shrub height. Most notably, the interaction terms dwarf shrub cover × patchiness in the black grouse model and dwarf shrub cover × dwarf shrub height, rock cover × dwarf shrub height in the rock ptarmigan model point out trade-off mechanisms between food, cover and overview providing features. Thus, our models do not only identify the parameters that mainly drive habitat selection, but also deepen our understanding about the causal relationships between these factors. Therefore, the information gained in this study allows for a deduction of appropriate habitat management strategies and supports conservation efforts of local stakeholders.     

Leptospirosis: Morbidity,mortality, and spatial distribution of hospitalized cases in Ecuador. A nationwide study 2000-2020

BackgroundIn Ecuador, leptospirosis surveillance involves a mandatory notification of all cases and a hospitalization for severe illness. Morbidity and mortality are, nevertheless, underestimated and contribute directly to the status of leptospirosis as a neglected disease. Leptospira spp. is zoonotic in Ecuador with established endemic transmission in the Tropics. Here, we review retrospective national data within the country to aid in control strategies.Methodology/Principal findingsIn a population-based nationwide study, we analysed morbidity, mortality, and spatial distribution on confirmed hospital-discharged leptospirosis cases from 2000–2020 from a publicly accesible National Database, including males and females of all ages. We computed data for the 24 provinces across the four-geoclimatic regions of Ecuador based on seasonal and monthly variations and calculated rates according to age and sex. The spatial distribution was estimated at the level of ecoregions, provinces, and cantons. A total of 2,584 hospitalizations were recorded over all three continental regions in 22 provinces, except Carchi province and the Galapagos Islands. The annual incidence varied from 0.27 to 2.45 cases per 100,000 inhabitants with ages ranging from 1 to 98 years-old and an overall male/female ratio of 1.92:1. Most hospitalizations and deaths occurred in males ages 25–34 years. We registered 79 fatalities (3.06%); the highest mortality rate was 0.05 per 100,000 inhabitants. More cases clustered in the tropical cantons of central and north of the Coast and in the southern Amazon when compared to the Andes.Conclusions and significanceOur findings evidence leptospirosis endemicity and pinpoint the highest incidence within resource-poor tropical settings. The highest incidence occurred in males of adult age, with those also exhibiting the highest mortality. The national incidence rate was stable, but peaks occurred intermittently during the rainy seasons. Thus, strategies aimed at leptospirosis monitoring and control involving the application of preventive measures should consider this season and the aforementioned high-risk groups.     

Molecular Identification of Adult and Juvenile Linyphiid and Theridiid Spiders in Alpine Glacier Foreland Communities

In glacier forelands spiders constitute a large proportion of the invertebrate community. Therefore, it is important to be able to determine the species that can be found in these areas. Linyphiid and theridiid spider identification is currently not possible in juvenile specimens using traditional morphological based methods, however, a large proportion of the population in these areas are usually juveniles. Molecular methods permit identification of species at different life stages, making juvenile identification possible. In this study we tested a molecular tool to identify the 10 most common species of Linyphiidae and Theridiidae found in three glacier foreland communities of the Austrian Alps. Two multiplex PCR systems were developed and over 90% of the 753 field-collected spiders were identified successfully. The species targeted were found to be common in all three valleys during the summer of 2010. A comparison between the molecular and morphological data showed that although there was a slight difference in the results, the overall outcome was the same independently of the identification method used. We believe the quick and reliable identification of the spiders via the multiplex PCR assays developed here will aid the study of these families in Alpine habitats.     

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of European propolis

Three propolis samples from Austria, Germany and France were investigated by GC/MS, where eleven compounds were being new for propolis. The samples showed some similarities in their qualitative composition. Phenylethyl-trans-caffeate, benzyl ferulate and galangin were predominant in German propolis. Benzyl caffeate was predominant in French sample. Pinocembrin was predominant in French and Austrian propolis and trans-p-coumaric acid was predominant in all samples. The antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus; Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans was evaluated. German propolis showed the highest antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. While Austrian propolis has the highest activity against Candida albicans. French propolis was effective against all pathogens but less than German and Austrian propolis.     

The MHC2TA -168A>G gene polymorphism is not associated with rheumatoid arthritis in Austrian patients

An association between susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and a common -168A>G polymorphism in the MHC2TA gene with differential major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II molecule expression was recently reported in a Swedish population. The objective of the present study was to replicate this finding by examining the -168A>G polymorphism in an Austrian case-control study. Three hundred and sixty-two unrelated RA cases and 351 sex-matched and age-matched controls as well as 1,709 Austrian healthy individuals were genotyped. All participants were from the same ethnic background. Genotyping was performed using 5' allelic discrimination assays. The association between susceptibility to RA and the -168A>G single nucleotide polymorphism was examined by chi-square test. Comparison was made assuming a dominant effect (AG + GG genotypes versus AA genotype). In contrast to the primary report, the frequency of MHC2TA -168G allele carriers was not significantly different between patients and controls in the Austrian cohort. The homozygous MHC2TA -168 GG genotype was more frequent in matched controls than in Austrian RA patients. There was no association between the presence of RA-specific autoantibodies and the MHC2TA -168 GG genotype. In this cohort of Austrian patients, no association between the MHC2TA polymorphism and RA was found.     

四川凉山彝族的人体测量学

本文调查了402例(男197例,女205例)彝族成人的68项体质指标,计算了20项体质指数,对凉山彝族体质进行了初步分析。结果表明:1)四川凉山彝族头面部主要特征为圆头型、中鼻型、狭面型。体部特征为中躯干型、中骨盆型,彝族男性为亚中等型身材,女性为中等型身材;2)四川彝族与广西、云南彝族比较,头宽、额最小宽、形态面高值最大;头长值小;口裂宽、鼻宽居中;面宽值接近,鼻型均为中鼻型。四川彝族男性身高与云南彝族接近,明显高于广西彝族(p<0.01),四川彝族女性身材明显高于云南彝族和广西彝族(p<0.01);3)四川凉山彝族体质特征与阿昌族、怒族、仡佬族等南方少数民族较接近,与四川汉族最接近。     

Influential Factors on the Relative Age Effect in Alpine Ski Racing

The relative age effect (RAE), which refers to an over-representation of selected athletes born early in the selection year, was proven to be present in alpine ski racing in all age categories at both national and international levels. However, the influential factors on, or the causal mechanisms of, the RAE are still unknown. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine three possible influential factors on the relative age effect in alpine skiing: physical performance, anthropometric characteristics and biological maturational status. The study included the investigation of 282 elite Austrian youth ski racers and 413 non-athletes (comparison group) of the same age (10–13 years) and region. Six physical performance tests were performed, body mass and height were assessed, and the age at peak height velocity (APHV) was calculated. A significant RAE was present in the ski racers. No differences were shown in the physical performance characteristics or in the calculated APHV between the relative age quarters. These results suggest that ski racers born in the last quarter can counteract the relative age disadvantages if they already present the same level of physical performance and maturational status as those born at the beginning of the year. The height and weight of ski racers born at the beginning of the year were significantly higher compared to the non-athletes, and ski racers born in relative age quarter 1 were taller and heavier compared to the ski racers of the other quarters. This indicates that the anthropometric characteristics influence the selection process in alpine ski racing, and that relatively older athletes are more likely to be selected if they exhibit advanced anthropometric characteristics.