Harmonisation and Standardisation in Multi-National Environmental Statistics – Mission Impossible?

Multi-national statistics are frequently based on data, whichoriginate from national surveys. The systems of nomenclatureapplied for key attributes often show national differences.Different error sources which are incorporated in multi-nationalstatistics are discussed. The paper presents approaches forharmonisation and standardisation of multi-nationalenvironmental statistics and gives examples from the forestrysector. The effect of differences of national forest areaestimates on multi-national figures is quantified. An examplefrom forest health surveys is presented that shows the impact ofdifferent interpretation and application of the attribute crown transparency that is already harmonised on theEuropean level.     

Progress in herbicide determination with the thylakoid bioassay

Chloroplast thylakoids are used as biological units to determine herbicides in different kinds of water samples as well as in aqueous extracts of compost, soil or food samples. The thylakoid bioassy shows clearly inhibition of fluorescence yield in the presence of photosystem II specific herbicides. Due to this method the ecotoxicological effect of samples with unknown pollutants can be tested fast and cost effective. It has been proven that all photosynthetic active compounds are recorded at the same time because only additive interactions occur. Therefore, the contamination level can be expressed as cumulative parameter for photosystem II active substances. Application was improved clearly by the addition of the radical scavenger sodium ascorbate to the isolation media and by a higher concentration of the measuring medium. A new data evaluation method is described yielding in a lower detection limit of 0.4 μg diuron/1. The guidelines for the quality of water for human consumption with an allowable concentration of pesticides in groups is 0,5 μg/1 [1,2] and can be controlled with the thylakoid bioassay without performing any preconcentration steps.     

Phytoplankton can bypass nutrient reductions in eutrophic coastal water bodies

The EU-water framework directive aims at nutrient reductions, since anthropogenically induced eutrophication is a major threat for coastal waters. However, phytoplankton biomass in southern Baltic Sea coastal water bodies (CWB) remains high and the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Therefore, a CWB data set was analysed regarding changes in phytoplankton biomass and nutrient concentration of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from 2000 to 2014. It was expected to find imbalances between produced phytoplankton biomass and total nutrient concentrations. Inner CWB were cyanobacteria-dominated and showed up to five times higher chlorophyll a-concentrations compared to outer CWB with similar total phosphorus-concentrations. Phytoplankton tended to be P-limited during spring and N-limited during summer. Phytoplankton biomass and nutrient concentrations were even higher during very humid years, which indicated a close coupling of the CWB with their catchment areas. This study suggests that re-mesotrophication efforts need to consider the importance of changed phytoplankton composition and nutrient availabilities.     

Genetic diagnosis and clinical evaluation of severe fetal akinesia syndrome

Objective

In this retrospective study, we describe the clinical course, ultrasound findings and genetic investigations of fetuses affected by fetal akinesia.

Materials and Methods

We enrolled 22 eukaryotic fetuses of 18 families, diagnosed with fetal akinesia between 2008 and 2016 at the Department of Obstetrics and Feto-Maternal Medicine at the Medical University of Vienna. Routine genetic evaluation included karyotyping and chromosomal microarray analysis. Retrospectively, exome sequencing was performed in the index case of 11 families, if stored DNA was available. Confirmation analyses and genetic diagnosis of siblings were performed by using Sanger sequencing.

Results

Whole exome sequencing identified pathogenic variants of CNTN1, RYR1, NEB, GLDN, HRAS and TNNT3 in six cases of 11 families. In three of these families, the variants were confirmed in the respective sibling.

Conclusions

The present study demonstrates a high diagnostic yield of exome sequencing in fetuses affected by akinesia syndrome, especially if family history is positive. Still, in a large part the underlying genetic cause remained unknown, whereas precise clinical evaluation in combination with exome sequencing shows to be the best tool to find the disease causing variants.     

Re-evaluation of the yield response to phosphorus fertilization based on meta-analyses of long-term field experiments

Phosphorus (P) fertilizer recommendations in most European countries are based on plant-available soil P contents and long-term field experiments. Site-specific conditions are often neglected, resulting in excessive P fertilizer applications. P fertilization experiments including relevant site and soil parameters were evaluated in order to analyze the yield response. The database comprises about 2000 datasets from 30 field experiments from Germany and Austria. Statistical evaluations using a classification and regression tree approach, and multiple linear regression analysis indicate that besides plant-available soil P content, soil texture and soil organic matter content have a large influence on the effectiveness of P fertilization. This study methodology can be a basis for modification and specification of existing P fertilization recommendations and thus contribute to mitigate environmental impacts of P fertilization.