6sterreichische Wasser- und Abfallwirtschaft / Grundlegende Erkenntnisse im Rahmen des Pilotprojekt Bad Deutsch-Altenburg : Die Bedeutung der Stromsohle und Uferzonen f\ufcr \uf6kologische Prozesse und Artengemeinschaften an einem stark regulierten Fluss, der Donau

Fl\ufcsse ben\uf6tigen f\ufcr eine langfristige \uf6kologische Stabilit\ue4t \u2013 Bereiche, die bei verschiedenen Abflusssituationen als hoch produktive Lebensr\ue4ume verf\ufcgbar sind und entsprechend mit dem Fluss in Austausch stehen. Diese Retentionsbereiche oder bioaktive Zonen sind wichtig f\ufcr die flusseigene Tierwelt als Refugialr\ue4ume (z. B. Makrozoobenthos und Fische) oder bestimmte Entwicklungsstadien (z. B. Jungfische), dienen benthischen Algengemeinschaften zum Aufbau von Biomasse und sind damit Grundlage f\ufcr das Nahrungsnetz des Flusses sowie den Stoffr\ufcckhalt und Umbau (z. B. N\ue4hrstoffaufnahme). Vor allem w\ue4hrend Niederwasser sind die Uferbereiche und die Stromsohle selbst von wesentlicher Bedeutung, aber in ihrer Auspr\ue4gung durch Regulierungsma fnahmen deutlich eingeschr\ue4nkt. Ein grundlegendes Verst\ue4ndnis der Abl\ue4ufe und funktionalen Zusammenh\ue4nge ist erforderlich, damit im Rahmen von wasserbaulichen Ma fnahmen negative Konsequenzen hintangehalten werden k\uf6nnen bzw. der \uf6kologische Zustand wieder verbessert werden kann. Im Rahmen des Pilotprojekts Bad Deutsch-Altenburg an der Donau \uf6stlich von Wien ist daher nicht nur ein Monitoring der flussbaulichen Ma fnahmenumsetzung erforderlich, sondern auch ein wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisgewinn \ufcber grundlegende Zusammenh\ue4nge und biologische Abl\ue4ufe, um optimierte Ma fnahmen zum Einsatz bringen zu k\uf6nnen. In diesem Artikel werden Ergebnisse mehrj\ue4hriger Forschungsarbeiten in den Tiefenzonen der Donau und typischen Uferzonenlebensr\ue4umen f\ufcr die Organismengruppen benthische Algen, Makrozoobenthos und Fische pr\ue4sentiert.To ensure a long-term ecological stability, rivers need areas that are available at different discharge situations as highly productive habitats which are connected with the river. These retention areas or biologically active zones are important for the riverine communities as refuge (e.g. benthic macroinvertebrates and fish) or the development of benthic algae communities as basis for the riverine food web as well as retention zones to perform various ecosystem services (e.g. nutrient retention). Especially during low water level situations, the river shorelines and the river bed itself are of significant importance, but highly degraded in intensely regulated river systems such as the Danube River. A basic understanding of the processes and functional correlations is required to avoid negative consequences of engineering measures applied and to improve the ecological conditions. In the framework of the pilot project Bad Deutsch-Altenburg in the Danube River east of Vienna not only monitoring the implementation of engineering measures is required, but also scientific knowledge gained about basic ecological relationships and potential responses of riverine communities. This article presents results of several years of investigations on the distribution and development of three organism groups (benthic algae, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish) along different riparian structures and in the river bed of the Danube River

6sterreichische Wasser- und Abfallwirtschaft / Integrierte gew\ue4sser\uf6kologische Modellans\ue4tze zur Beurteilung von Gew\ue4sservernetzungsvarianten am Beispiel der Unteren Lobau

Weltweit z\ue4hlen Flie fgew\ue4ssersysteme und Auenlandschaften zu den gef\ue4hrdetsten 6kosystemen. Flussregulierungs- und Verbauungsma fnahmen haben diese Systeme von ihren nat\ufcrlichen Wasserstandsschwankungen bzw. dem Wasseraustausch mit dem Fluss entkoppelt und f\ufchren damit zu einer Verlandung ehemaliger hochdynamischer Habitate. Gezielte Managementma fnahmen k\uf6nnen diesen Entwicklungen entgegenwirken, m\ufcssen vor Umsetzung aber auf ihre Auswirkungen hin \ufcberpr\ufcft werden. Grunds\ue4tzlich initiieren alle Restaurationsma fnahmen grundlegende Prozesse im Fluss-Auensystem, auf die Arten mit unterschiedlichen Habitatanspr\ufcchen und unterschiedlichem Schutzstatus verschieden reagieren k\uf6nnen. Eine M\uf6glichkeit einer wissenschaftlich fundierten Prognose von hydrologischen Managementma fnahmen wird in diesem Artikel am Beispiel der Verwendung von Habitatmodellen f\ufcr eine Studie in der Unteren Lobau vorgestellt. Die Untere Lobau ist eine Auenlandschaft im Osten von Wien, n\uf6rdlich der Donau. Sie ist Teil des Nationalparks Donau-Auen und gesch\ufctzter FFH-Lebensraum. Vor der Donauregulierung Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts war die Untere Lobau ein dynamisches Auengebiet, aber die heute vorherrschenden Verlandungsprozesse bedrohen dieses in Europa selten gewordene 6kosystem. F\ufcr dieses Gebiet wurden drei Managementvarianten untersucht: 1) Nullvariante \u2013 Das Ausbleiben jeglicher Ma fnahmen mit einer Fortsetzung der Verlandungsprozesse; 2) Dotation \u2013 Die Zufuhr einer gerade ausreichenden Menge an Wasser, um Wasserfl\ue4chen gem\ue4 f dem Status quo zu erhalten; 3) Anbindung \u2013 Das Herstellen einer stromaufw\ue4rtigen Verbindung zum Hauptstrom der Donau, was eine Rheophilisierung des Systems und zumindest eine Ann\ue4herung an historische Verh\ue4ltnisse darstellt. Auf Basis modellierter Umweltdaten und Habitatpr\ue4ferenzen wurden mittels bin\ue4r-logistischer Regressionen von ausgew\ue4hlten Arten verschiedenster Gruppen potenzielle Habitatfl\ue4chen (Weighted Usable Areas) berechnet. Die Qualit\ue4t der Modellergebnisse konnte unterstreichen, dass die Modellierungen die hydrologischen Ma fnahmen mit ihrem Einfluss auf die Bioz\uf6nose gut beschreiben und damit eine wertvolle Hilfe in der Entscheidungsfindung im Gew\ue4ssermanagement sein k\uf6nnen.Floodplains and wetlands are among the most endangered ecosystems worldwide. River-regulation and flood protection measures cut off these formerly highly dynamic systems from their natural water level fluctuations and water exchange conditions leading to siltation processes. Restoration measures to counteract these developments need to be assessed for the effect on currently established habitats and communities in order to estimate their effects, as species with different habitat preferences and different protection status do react distinctly different. This article will present how habitat modelling was used in a case study of the Untere Lobau to assess and predict the effects of potential management measures. The Untere Lobau is a wetland ecosystem of the Danube east of Vienna. It is part of the national park Donau-Auen and a protected area according to the EU habitat-directive. Prior to the river regulation, at the end of the 19th century, the Untere Lobau was a dynamic floodplain. Today, siltation processes endanger especially the status of the aquatic habitats. Three management options were investigated: 1) business as usual \u2013 No implementation of additional hydrological measures, thus siltation processes are not mitigated; 2) a water enhancement scheme \u2013 A small amount of water is supplied to preserve the water bodies at the current status quo; 3) partly reconnection \u2013 An upstream reconnection of the floodplain to the main channel of the Danube, leading to a more rheophilic characteristic of the system moving towards conditions prior regulation. Based on a model approach and calculating habitat preferences via binary logistic regressions of selected species from different organism groups, an increase or decrease of available suitable habitat area (weighted usable areas) could be estimated. This study proofed clearly that models can assess the effects of hydrological management measures on the biocenosis and that they are a valuable tool for supporting the decision taking process in wetland management

Strategies to rescue the consequences of inducible arginase-1 deficiency in mice

Arginase-1 catalyzes the conversion of arginine to ornithine and urea, which is the final step of the urea cycle used to remove excess ammonia from the body. Arginase-1 deficiency leads to hyperargininemia in mice and man with severe lethal consequences in the former and progressive neurological impairment to varying degrees in the latter. In a tamoxifen-induced arginase-1 deficient mouse model, mice succumb to the enzyme deficiency within 2 weeks after inducing the knockout and retain <2 % enzyme in the liver. Standard clinical care regimens for arginase-1 deficiency (low-protein diet, the nitrogen-scavenging drug sodium phenylbutyrate, ornithine supplementation) either failed to extend lifespan (ornithine) or only minimally prolonged lifespan (maximum 8 days with low-protein diet and drug). A conditional, tamoxifen-inducible arginase-1 transgenic mouse strain expressing the enzyme from the Rosa26 locus modestly extended lifespan of neonatal mice, but not that of 4-week old mice, when crossed to the inducible arginase-1 knockout mouse strain. Delivery of an arginase-1/enhanced green fluorescent fusion construct by adeno-associated viral delivery (rh10 serotype with a strong cytomegalovirus-chicken beta-actin hybrid promoter) rescued about 30% of male mice with lifespan prolongation to at least 6 months, extensive hepatic expression and restoration of significant enzyme activity in liver. In contrast, a vector of the AAV8 serotype driven by the thyroxine-binding globulin promoter led to weaker liver expression and did not rescue arginase-1 deficient mice to any great extent. Since the induced arginase-1 deficient mouse model displays a much more severe phenotype when compared to human arginase-1 deficiency, these studies reveal that it may be feasible with gene therapy strategies to correct the various manifestations of the disorder and they provide optimism for future clinical studies

A framework for applying natural language processing in digital health interventions

BACKGROUND: Digital health interventions (DHIs) are poised to reduce target symptoms in a scalable, affordable, and empirically supported way. DHIs that involve coaching or clinical support often collect text data from 2 sources: (1) open correspondence between users and the trained practitioners supporting them through a messaging system and (2) text data recorded during the intervention by users, such as diary entries. Natural language processing (NLP) offers methods for analyzing text, augmenting the understanding of intervention effects, and informing therapeutic decision making. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to present a technical framework that supports the automated analysis of both types of text data often present in DHIs. This framework generates text features and helps to build statistical models to predict target variables, including user engagement, symptom change, and therapeutic outcomes. METHODS: We first discussed various NLP techniques and demonstrated how they are implemented in the presented framework. We then applied the framework in a case study of the Healthy Body Image Program, a Web-based intervention trial for eating disorders (EDs). A total of 372 participants who screened positive for an ED received a DHI aimed at reducing ED psychopathology (including binge eating and purging behaviors) and improving body image. These users generated 37,228 intervention text snippets and exchanged 4285 user-coach messages, which were analyzed using the proposed model. RESULTS: We applied the framework to predict binge eating behavior, resulting in an area under the curve between 0.57 (when applied to new users) and 0.72 (when applied to new symptom reports of known users). In addition, initial evidence indicated that specific text features predicted the therapeutic outcome of reducing ED symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The case study demonstrates the usefulness of a structured approach to text data analytics. NLP techniques improve the prediction of symptom changes in DHIs. We present a technical framework that can be easily applied in other clinical trials and clinical presentations and encourage other groups to apply the framework in similar contexts

Cosmic rays in the surroundings of SNR G35.6-0.4

HESS J1858+020 is a TeV gamma-ray source that was reported not to have any clear cataloged counterpart at any wavelength. However, it has been recently proposed that this source is indirectly associated with the radio source, re-identified as a supernova remnant (SNR), G35.6-0.4. The latter is found to be middle-aged ($\sim 30$ kyr) and to have nearby molecular clouds (MCs). HESS J1858+020 was proposed to be the result of the interaction of protons accelerated in the SNR shell with target ions residing in the clouds. The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) First Source Catalog does not list any source coincident with the position of HESS J1858+020, but some lie close. Here, we analyse more than 2 years of data obtained with the Fermi-LAT for the region of interest, and consider whether it is indeed possible that the closest LAT source, 1FGL J1857.1+0212c, is related to HESS J1858+020. We conclude it is not, and we impose upper limits on the GeV emission originating from HESS J1858+020. Using a simplified 3D model for the cosmic-ray propagation out from the shell of the SNR, we consider whether the interaction between SNR G35.6-0.4 and the MCs nearby could give rise to the TeV emission of HESS J1858+020 without producing a GeV counterpart. If so, the pair of SNR/TeV source with no GeV detection would be reminiscent of other similarly-aged SNRs, such as some of the TeV hotspots near W28, for which cosmic-ray diffusion may be used to explain their multi-frequency phenomenology. However, for HESS J1858+020, we found that although the phase space in principle allows for such GeV--TeV non-correlation to appear, usual and/or observationally constrained values of the parameters (e.g., diffusion coefficients and cloud-SNR likely distances) would disfavor it.Comment: In press in MNRA

Fermi Large Area Telescope Constraints on the Gamma-ray Opacity of the Universe

The Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) includes photons with wavelengths from ultraviolet to infrared, which are effective at attenuating gamma rays with energy above ~10 GeV during propagation from sources at cosmological distances. This results in a redshift- and energy-dependent attenuation of the gamma-ray flux of extragalactic sources such as blazars and Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The Large Area Telescope onboard Fermi detects a sample of gamma-ray blazars with redshift up to z~3, and GRBs with redshift up to z~4.3. Using photons above 10 GeV collected by Fermi over more than one year of observations for these sources, we investigate the effect of gamma-ray flux attenuation by the EBL. We place upper limits on the gamma-ray opacity of the Universe at various energies and redshifts, and compare this with predictions from well-known EBL models. We find that an EBL intensity in the optical-ultraviolet wavelengths as great as predicted by the "baseline" model of Stecker et al. (2006) can be ruled out with high confidence.Comment: 42 pages, 12 figures, accepted version (24 Aug.2010) for publication in ApJ; Contact authors: A. Bouvier, A. Chen, S. Raino, S. Razzaque, A. Reimer, L.C. Reye