Background. This study sought to determine the distribution of early-onset restrictive eating disturbances characteristic of the new DSM-5 diagnosis, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in middle childhood, as well as to evaluate the screening instrument, Eating Disturbances in Youth-Questionnaire (EDY-Q). Methods. A total of 1444 8- to 13-year-old children were screened in regular schools (3rd to 6th grade) in Switzerland using the self-report measure EDY-Q, consisting of 12 items based on the DSM-5 criteria for ARFID. Results. Forty-six children (3.2%) reported features of ARFID in the self-rating. Group differences were found for body mass index, with underweight children reporting features of ARFID more often than normal- and overweight children. The EDY-Q revealed good psychometric properties, including adequate discriminant and convergent validity. Conclusions. Early-onset restrictive eating disturbances are commonly reported in middle childhood. Because of possible negative short- and long-term impact, early detection is essential. Further studies with structured interviews and parent reports are needed to confirm this study’s findings.

Forests are more than a stand of trees in the landscape. They represent a complex, functional system of interacting and often interdependent biological, physical and chemical components (Kimmins 1997). In the past, complex interactions were increasingly recognized over time as food webs, abiotic processes and biotic feedbacks since then defined as the forest ecosystem. Trees grow in a world of multitrophic interactions (van der Putten et al. 2001). One component of this functional system is represented in several aspects by spiders and insects, as they contribute considerably to the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in forest habitats (Watt et al. 1997). There is knowledge on the community composition of several forests of different stand type or tree species composition referring to soil dwelling arthropods. Moreover, studies often highlight the orientation of single arthropod species on abiotic factors or the composition of species assemblages in case studies; these represent ecologically well described groups that can be used as indicators of habitat quality (Pearce and Venier 2006; Cardoso et al. 2004). Evidence on the scale of interactions between the species and their environment are rare. This applies particularly to examples based on fine spatial and temporal scales.

Objective: This study sought to determine the factor structure of the newly developed self-report screening questionnaire Eating Disturbances in Youth-Questionnaire (EDY-Q) as well as to report the distribution of variants of early-onset restrictive eating disturbances characteristic of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in a middle childhood population sample. Method: Using the EDY-Q, a total of 1444 children aged 8-13 years were screened in elementary schools in Switzerland via self-report. The factor analysis of the 12 items covering ARFID related symptoms was performed using a principal component analysis (PCA). Results: The PCA showed a four factor solution, with clear allocation to the scales covering three variants of early-onset restrictive eating disturbances and weight problems. Inadequate overall food intake was reported by 19.3% of the children, a limited accepted amount of food by 26.1%, and food avoidance based on a specific underlying fear by 5.0%. Discussion: The postulated factor structure of the EDY-Q was confirmed, further supporting the existence of distinct variants of early-onset restrictive eating disturbances. Avoidant/restrictive eating behavior seems to be a common experience in middle childhood, but results have to be confirmed using validated interviews.

No description available.

Forests are more than a stand of trees in the landscape. They represent a complex, functional system of interacting and often interdependent biological, physical and chemical components (Kimmins 1997). In the past, complex interactions were increasingly recognized over time as food webs, abiotic processes and biotic feedbacks since then defined as the forest ecosystem. Trees grow in a world of multitrophic interactions (van der Putten et al. 2001). One component of this functional system is represented in several aspects by spiders and insects, as they contribute considerably to the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in forest habitats (Watt et al. 1997). There is knowledge on the community composition of several forests of different stand type or tree species composition referring to soil dwelling arthropods. Moreover, studies often highlight the orientation of single arthropod species on abiotic factors or the composition of species assemblages in case studies; these represent ecologically well described groups that can be used as indicators of habitat quality (Pearce and Venier 2006; Cardoso et al. 2004). Evidence on the scale of interactions between the species and their environment are rare. This applies particularly to examples based on fine spatial and temporal scales.:Zusammenfassung 1 Summary 4 Chapter 1 General Introduction 7-19 1.1 Arthropods as a permanent component of forest ecosystems 7 1.2 Spiders and carabids in forest ecosystems 10 1.3 Are spiders and carabids in ecosystems dispensable? – functional diversity in natural antagonists 13 1.4 Objectives 20 Chapter 2 Influence of environmental parameters on small-scale distribution of soil-dwelling spiders in forests: what makes the difference, tree species or microhabitat? 23 2.1 Abstract 23 2.2 Introduction 24 2.3 Methods and materials 25 2.4 Results 32 2.5 Discussion 45 2.6 Conclusions 51 Chapter 3 Microhabitat heterogeneity in temperate forests: is distance to stems affecting ground-dwelling spider communities? 61 3.1 Abstract 61 3.2 Introduction 62 3.3 Materials and Methods 63 3.4 Results 68 3.5 Discussion 77 Chapter 4 The impacts of seasonality, forest type and succession on the community structure of temperate-forest ground beetles. 88 4.1 Abstract 88 4.2 Introduction 90 4.3 Methods and materials 92 4.4 Results 98 4.5 Discussion 113 4.6 Conclusions 120 Chapter 5 Is the age of forest habitats affecting the reproductive rate of generalist predatory ground beetle species? 129 5.1 Abstract 129 5.2 Introduction 131 5.3 Methods and materials 133 5.4 Results 138 5.5 Discussion 150 5.6 Conclusions 153 Chapter 6 General Discussion 161 6.1 Management effect 169 6.2 Future prospect 170 Liste der Veröffentlichtungen 173-174 Danksagung

Purpose – Back in the year 2000, the European Council (2000) declared in its Lisbon Agenda that the European Union should become “[…] the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.” This vision encompassed far more than just societal and economic growth in a global world; it also included educational strategies and an e-learning action plan. For example, in 2011, the European Commission mentioned the following as a key policy issue (Communication 2011): to “better exploit the potential of ICTs to enable more effective and personalised learning experiences, teaching and research methods (e.g. [sic] eLearning and blended learning) and increase the use of virtual learning platforms.” In accordance with this roadmap, higher education institutions are called on to reflect and re-engineer their educational systems, adapt them to current and future technological and didactical demands and address new generations of teachers and students. New concepts like connectivism (Siemens 2004) and the recognition of non-formal and informal learning (OECD 2016) enhance traditional formal learning settings and lead far beyond the provision of mere learning content management systems. New e-learning and blended learning arrangements like MOOCs (Cormier & Siemens 2010), collaborative learning in the virtual classroom (Tawileh, Bukvova & Schoop 2013) and flipped classroom approaches (Hussey, Fleck & Richmond 2014) are evolving and must be explored, evaluated and then strategically implemented into everyday teaching and learning processes. A comprehensive e-learning strategy should therefore address four fields: didactics, technology, organisation and economy and culture (Seufert & Euler 2004). Besides orientation on the actual trends, the strategy development should also recognise and integrate practical local experiences of early adopters and actors of e-learning in the field. Therefore, a community of knowledge experts in e-learning application has been involved in the strategy development. Design/methodology/approach – Best practice report of a comprehensive quality initiative for the sustainable improvement of everyday teaching and learning processes at a large university. The challenges of current and future trends in formal and informal learning, collaboration in virtual classrooms and internationalisation of research and teaching processes are analysed and addressed by the strategy implementation plan and a regular evaluation and improvement concept is presented and discussed. Originality/value – The e-learning strategy presented was developed, discussed and adopted in 2015. Its implementation plan is currently at the final discussion stage, having been due for adoption in January 2016. Practical implications – The e-learning strategy’s implementation plan lists targets and sub-targets, underlined by concrete measures, tools and methods, responsible institutions and persons and financial sources. Regular evaluations and improvements will give elearning providers a set of proven instruments to further improve their activities and provide the broad range of students and teachers with a set of best practices to follow, enabling them to discover the benefits of e-learning for their everyday processes.

No description available.

The contamination of rivers with potentially pathogenic bacteria poses health risks for users. This is particularly true when the bacteria are carriers of antibiotic resistance genes (ARG). Pathogenic bacteria and ARG are primarily discharged into rivers from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). There, ARG are subject to the processes of transport, retention, and degradation. Simultaneously, they can also propagate through the growth of the carrier bacteria and by horizontal gene transfer. According to the current state of knowledge, the horizontal transfer of ARG is mediated predominantly by plasmid transfer. While the transport of bacteria in rivers has been intensively investigated, the relationship between the location of the wastewater discharges and their impact on microbial (and ARG) loading in the receiving waters downstream remains largely unexplored. Process-based mathematical models have been designed in the past to specifically describe the plasmid-mediated transfer of ARG. However, these models are used with numerous pragmatic simplifications whose effects on the computational outcomes have not been systematically examined. The present work uses virtual experiments (VE) to answer crucial questions regarding the spread of ARG in rivers. On the one hand, VE are used to compare alternative configurations of WWTP (in terms of size and location) within a catchment with respect to the resulting microbial contamination in the river network. On the other hand, VE are used to quantify the biases that arise in the estimation of plasmid transfer rates from laboratory experiments when the mathematical models used for this purpose have structural deficiencies. The rates of plasmid transfer determined from laboratory experiments provide an initial basis for assessing the potential importance of the horizontal transfer of ARG occurring in the water column along rivers. The knowledge gained makes an important contribution to describing the spread of ARG in rivers in the future through mathematical models and to identifying possible mitigation measures.

Die vorliegende Dissertation stellt den ersten Teil eines Nachschlagewerks zur Tertiärflora Sachsens dar. Dieser Teil umfasst alle Taxa, die sich auf Angiospermenblätter und auf Ginkgo gründen. Auf einen Überblick zum regionalgeologischen Kenntnisstand des Tertiärs in Sachsen folgend, werden phytostratigrafische Konzepte vorgestellt und ein historischer Abriss der tertiärpaläobotanischen Forschung in Sachsen gegeben. Nach einer Erfassung aller bis Ende 2013 für das sächsische Tertiär publizierten pflanzlichen Makrofossilien und deren Fundorte (Primärdaten), welche durch projektbezogene Qualifikationsarbeiten Dritter durch zusätzliche Attribute ergänzt und vereinheitlicht wurden, werden die fossilen Taxa von Angiospermenblättern selektiert, deren Daten harmonisiert, ausgewertet und auf einen einheitlichen Forschungsstand gebracht. Für 187 von 235 untersuchten Taxa werden Datenblätter für einen Bestimmungsatlas erstellt. In diesem Atlas werden makro- und mikromorphologische Merkmale der Arten beschrieben, sowie Angaben zur Systematik, Synonymie, Paläoökologie und räumlicher und zeitlicher Verbreitung gemacht. Der beschreibende Teil wird durch Abbildungen und instruktive Zeichnungen ergänzt. Im Ergebnisteil werden die Daten nach ihrer Qualität innerhalb der Literatur begutachtet und anwendungsbezogen diskutiert. Eine Bibliografie der umfangreichen paläobotanischen Literatur für sächsische Pflanzenfossilien rundet die Arbeit ab. Um die taxon- und fundortbezogenen Daten visualisieren und effektiv verwalten zu können, werden diese in ein Open Source-Geoinformationssystem (GIS) überführt. Die im GIS implementierten Untersuchungsergebnisse ermöglichen erstmalig sowohl eine Generierung von Verbreitungs-karten für die Taxa tertiärer Angiospermenblätter und des Ginkgos in Sachsen als auch eine Abfrage von topografischen, geologischen und paläobotanischen Informationen zu den Fossilfundstellen. Ein für das Fossilmaterial entwickelter Bestimmungsschlüssel erlaubt zudem eine grobe Determination der Funde im Gelände. Das Kompendium wird in gedruckter und digitaler Version für die freie Nutzung zur Verfügung gestellt. / The thesis represents the first part of a reference book to the Tertiary flora of Saxony. All taxa based on leaves of angiosperms and on Ginkgo are included in this compendium. After an overview about the geological state of knowledge on the Tertiary in Saxony, phytostratigraphic concepts are introduced and a historical survey on the Tertiary paleobotanical research in Saxony is given. All plant macrofossils published from Saxonian Tertiary until end of 2013 and their sites of discovery (primary data) were recorded. This data were supplemented by additional attributes and unified through project-based M.Sc. theses. Subsequently, taxa of fossil leaves were selected, their data evaluated and brought to a consistent state of research. Data sheets for 187 out of 235 examined taxa were established for a determination atlas. Macro- and micromorphological attributes are described in this atlas and information are given about the systematic, synonymy, palaeoecology and spatial and temporal distribution. The describing part is illustrated by images and instructive drawings. The documented data were surveyed and discussed related to their quality within the literature in the result part. A bibliography of the extensive palaeobotanical literature for plant fossils of Saxony completes the work. The taxon and locality related data are implemented into an open source geographical information system (GIS) in order to visualize and to manage them effectively. For the first time, the results of this thesis implemented in the GIS allow the generation of distribution maps for the taxa of leaves of Tertiary angiospermes and Ginkgo in Saxony. Furthermore it enables to query topographical, geological and paleobotanical information about the fossil sites. A determination key was developed for the fossil material that allows a rough determination of the findings in the field. The compendium will be available for free use in a printed as well as in a digital version.

In einem mehrstufigen Forschungsansatz analysiert diese forstpolitikwissenschaftliche Arbeit die individuellen, betrieblichen und gesellschaftlich-politischen Bewertungs-, Abwägungs- und Entscheidungsprozesse im Verlauf der Verbreitung bleifreier Munition speziell in öffentlichen Forstbetrieben und im Jagdwesen in Deutschland. Die diskursanalytische Betrachtung von drei Kolloquien des Bundesinsitituts für Risikobewertung (BfR) in Berlin in den Jahren 2011, 2013 und 2014 beschreibt die Entwicklung des kontroversen öffentlichen Diskurses in Deutschland. Eine inhaltsanalytische Betrachtung der parlamentarischen Befassung mit der Thematik in Deutschland zeigt, dass es im Verlauf von 10 Jahren – trotz Streitigkeiten um die Gesetzgebungskompetenz zwischen Bund und Ländern – ab 2013 zu ersten politischen Entscheidungen auf Landesebene auch zur Nutzung bleifreier Büchsenmunition kam. Im empirischen Teil der Arbeit wird im Untersuchungsfeld “Mitarbeiter/innen öffentlicher Forstbetriebe in Deutschland“ ergründet, ob die Verwendung bleifreier Munition den Mustern der Diffusions- und Adoptionstheorie nach ROGERS folgt. Im Ergebnis aus 1.279 beantworteten Online-Fragebogen zeigt sich eine Nutzungsquote bleifreier Munition durch die befragten Forstangehörigen von 58%. Ein Anteil von 20% hat bleifreie Munition ausprobiert, wobei 22% noch gar keine eigenen Erfahrungen gemacht haben. Bereits fast 2/3 der Befragten unterliegen inzwischen einer Pflicht zur Nutzung bleifreier Munition. Obwohl die Thematik im Bewusstsein der Befragten eine Rolle spielt, wird bleifreie Munition von ihnen nicht als bedeutende Umweltinnovation wahrgenommen oder entspricht nicht den für sie geltenden Kriterien. Durch eine Varianzanalyse können zuvor charakterisierte „Adopter-Typen“ voneinander unterschieden werden. Im Gegensatz zum Modell nach ROGERS zeigen sich in der beobachteten Verteilung eine größere Gruppe der Innovatoren (15,9%) und eine kleine Gruppe der frühen Adoptoren (5,3%). Das Mittelfeld ist geringer besetzt und bildet mit früher und später Mehrheit nur einen Anteil von 46,2%, gegenüber einem Anteil von mehr als 2/3 im Modell. Der Anteil der Nachzügler ist fast doppelt so groß wie in der Verteilung nach ROGERS, was eine Beharrlichkeit gegenüber Veränderungen in der Forstbranche und im Jagdwesen im laufenden Adoptions- bzw. Diffusions-Zeitraum von bisher 15 Jahren bestätigt. Acht leitfadengestützten Experten-Interviews mit Leitern von Landesforstbetrieben bzw. Anstalten öffentlichen Rechts sowie den Bundesvorsitzenden eines forstlichen und eines jadlichen Verbandes ergänzen die quantitative Online-Befragung. Die Bewertung bleifreier Munition als Umweltinnovation und deren Bedeutung für die Jagd im Forstbetrieb unterscheidet sich im Wesentlichen durch den eingeschätzten Nutzen bzw. die Wirkung für den Forstbetrieb und die Wahrnehmung einer aktiven oder passiven Vorreiterrolle auch hinsichtlich der Nutzung (bzw. deren Anordnung) bleifreier Munition. Wesentlicher Treiber für eine Handlung ist die individuelle bzw. institutionelle Betroffenheit. / This scientific forestry policy document analyses, in a multilevel approach, the individual, business and social-political evaluation, consideration and decision processes in the development of the distribution of lead-free ammunition, in particular in public forestry organisations and in the hunting sector in Germany. The discourse-analytical contemplation resulting from three seminars of the Bundesinsititut für Risikobewertung (BfR - The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) in Berlin in 2011, 2013 and 2014 describes the development of the controversial discussion in Germany. A content-analytical contemplation of parliamentary involvement with this theme in Germany shows that in the course of 10 years - in spite of conflicts about legislative powers between federal and provincial (Länder) governments - the first political decisions on provincial level regarding use of lead-free rifle ammunition were taken from 2013 onwards. Spring 2016, over 15 years after the broad debate started, the national government submitted a first draft law to the preliminary parliamentary voting process. In the empirical part of the work, in the research field “Employees of public forestry organisations in Germany“ it is ascertained whether the use of lead-free ammunition follows the patterns of Rogers’ diffusion and adoption theory. The outcome of 1,279 completed online questionnaires shows that 58% of the people involved in forestry used lead-free ammunition. A proportion of 20% had tried lead-free ammunition, whereby 22% did not have any experience with it at all. Almost 2/3 of the people questioned are meanwhile obliged to use lead-free ammunition. Although the issue does play a role in the awareness of the people questioned, they do not see lead-free ammunitions as an important innovation for the environment, or it does not correspond to the criteria they apply. Previously specified “Adopter types“ can be distinguished from another by analysis of variance. Contrary to Rogers’ model, the breakdown observed shows a larger group of innovators (15.9%) and a small group of early adopters (5.3%). The midfield is less populated and - together with early and late majorities - only counts for 46.2% as opposed to over 2/3 in the model. The proportion of laggards is almost twice as high as in Rogers’ breakdown, which confirms a resistance against change in the forest enterprises and the hunting sector in the current adoption or diffusion time frame of 15 years so far. Eight guideline-based expert interviews with leading figures from provincial forestry companies or public institutions as well as the federal chairmen of a forest and a hunting organisation complete the quantitative online survey. The assessment of lead-free ammunition as innovation for the environment and what it would mean for the hunt in the forest enteprises essentially differs for the use (or obligation to use) lead-free ammunition, due to the estimated use or the way it works for the forestry sector and the perception of an active or passive pioneering role. Being personally or institutionally concerned is the major driving force for action.