BACKGROUND Epidemiologic studies have revealed a decrease in the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)infection in Western Europe.AIM To obtain data regarding the prevalence of H.pylori in Csongrád and B...BACKGROUND Epidemiologic studies have revealed a decrease in the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)infection in Western Europe.AIM To obtain data regarding the prevalence of H.pylori in Csongrád and Békés Counties in Hungary,evaluate the differences in its prevalence between urban and rural areas,and establish factors associated with positive seroprevalence.METHODS One-thousand and one healthy blood donors[male/female:501/500,mean age:40(19–65)years]were enrolled in this study.Subjects were tested for H.pylori IgG antibody positivity via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Subgroup analysis by age,gender,smoking habits,alcohol consumption,and urban vs nonurban residence was also performed.RESULTS The overall seropositivity of H.pylori was 32%.It was higher in males(34.93%vs 29.2%,P=0.0521)and in rural areas(36.2%vs 27.94%,P=0.0051).Agricultural/industrial workers were more likely to be positive for infection than office workers(38.35%vs 30.11%,P=0.0095)and rural subjects in Békés County than those in Csongrád County(43.36%vs 33.33%,P=0.0015).CONCLUSION Although the prevalence of H.pylori infection decreased in recent decades in Southeast Hungary,it remains high in middle-aged rural populations.Generally accepted risk factors for H.pylori positivity appeared to be valid for the studied population.展开更多
Pushed by the results of a preceding publication on the possibly Quaternary Jebel Waqf as Suwwan Meteorite Crater, Jordan [5], where an amazing coincidence of Rapid Climate Changes (RCCs) with Rise and Fall of Neolith...Pushed by the results of a preceding publication on the possibly Quaternary Jebel Waqf as Suwwan Meteorite Crater, Jordan [5], where an amazing coincidence of Rapid Climate Changes (RCCs) with Rise and Fall of Neolithic and Bronze Age Cultures became evident for the Near/Middle East, this paper deals with the same subject, however, relating to the complete Holocene period in the same area and, additionally, in Central Europe as well. By application of modern climatic data [6] comprising isotope analysis (δ18O, 14C, 10Be), acid and aerosol events, and greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4) Greenland ice cores as well as other astro-/geophysical and geological parameters, an overwhelming coincidence/relation/interdependence of both natural and cultural evidences becomes obvious throughout the last 15,000 years across the Northern Hemisphere. Apart from solar output and other astrophysical processes, most important climate- and Earth-related parameters are Mega-Volcanism (i.e.Santorini Greece: ~3640 yr cal. B. P.), Impact Events (i.e. during Mesolithic: ~9600 yr cal. B. P), rapid oceanic current change (DO-Events), and Plate Tectonics (possibly Atlantis-Event: ~11,500 yr cal. B.P. = Pleistocene/Holocene boundary). The most essential parameter is a significant temperature change related to more or less restricted latitude realms of the Northern Hemisphere. Thus, glacier advance/retreat controls the mobility of peoples (i.e. Nations' Migration, Teutonic Empires) and the access to ore deposits (Au, Ag, Cu, Sn, Zn, Pb, Fe) located in Alpine Mountain Ranges (i.e. End-Neolithic, Early Bronze Age). Myths like the Gilgamesh Epos and John Apocalypse convincingly reveal realistic contents relating to natural hazards like tsunamis, impact and flooding events. They unmisunderstandably make obvious that Myths may provide valuable contributions, especially to Geosciences. Some of the controlling parameters interrelate with others or present a kind of hierarchy: Mega-Volcanism/impact events à ejecta à wildfires, heat storms à cosmic wint展开更多
To mark the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the Rheinische Naturforschende Gesellschaft in 2009 and of the centennial of the Mainz Natural History Museum in 2010, we present a short account of our present knowled...To mark the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the Rheinische Naturforschende Gesellschaft in 2009 and of the centennial of the Mainz Natural History Museum in 2010, we present a short account of our present knowledge of the Eckfeld Maar after 20 years of continuous research. This paper does not attempt to include all of the detailed results on the geology of the Eckfeld site or its biota. To date, nearly 250 papers and books have been published since the start of our project. An up-to-date list of these publications can be found at www.eckfeldermaar.de.展开更多
A novel but simple approach for describing stand structure in natural and managed forests driven by small-scaled disturbances is introduced. A primeval beech forest reserve in Slovakia and two beech stands in Germany ...A novel but simple approach for describing stand structure in natural and managed forests driven by small-scaled disturbances is introduced. A primeval beech forest reserve in Slovakia and two beech stands in Germany with different management histories were studied, and their forest stand texture was analysed in terms of tree coordinates, stem diameter, and crown radius. Neigh-bouring trees of similar size with estimated contact of their crowns were assigned to tree groups. The study goal was to estimate the number and size of such homogeneous patches. In all cases, the number of tree groups in a particular diameter class decreased exponentially as group size increased. Single trees were predominant. Compared to simulated random tree distributions, the natural stand exhibited a more clumped distribution of small trees and more regular distribution of larger ones. The natural forest generally had smaller groups than the managed even aged stand, but the smallest group sizes were found in the uneven-aged selection forest. The simple analytical approach provided new spatial insights into neighbourhood relations of trees. The continuous scale from single trees to larger tree groups is an important achievement compared to other analytical methods applied in this field. The findings may even indicate a certain degree of self-organization in natural forests. Due to the limitations associated with each method or statistical models, a joint consideration of 1) gap dynamics, 2) forest developmental stages, and 3) size classes of homogeneous tree groups is recommended. Relevant to forest practitioners, the size class distributions enhance an understanding of the complex stand structures in natural forests and therewith support an emulation of natural forest dynamics in managed beech forests.展开更多
Wine production has a long-standing history in Palatinate (Southwestern Germany), dating back to Roman times. Especially “Riesling”, but also several “Pinot” varieties gained major significance. Red wine varieties...Wine production has a long-standing history in Palatinate (Southwestern Germany), dating back to Roman times. Especially “Riesling”, but also several “Pinot” varieties gained major significance. Red wine varieties gained prominence over the last 20 years only, which may be a consequence of climate change. Our objective was to review temperature and rainfall data over the last 40 years, measured “on-winery” in Hainfeld and correlate these data with grapevine growth parameters: the development of bud break, flowering, veraison and harvest dates, yields and grape sugar concentrations of “Pinot Gris”, “Pinot Noir”, “Riesling”, “Silvaner” and “Müller-Thurgau”. Since the 1970s, bud break, flowering and veraison are 11 - 15, 18 - 22 and 16 - 22 days earlier;harvest dates are 25 - 40 days earlier. Sugar concentrations increased significantly, but yields decreased. Annual rainfall has not significantly risen, while the mean annual minimum and maximum air-temperatures rose by ~0.9°C, and by ~3.4°C, respectively, resulting in an average increase of the mean annual temperature of ~2.1°C. Remarkably, both mean monthly minimum and maximum temperatures rose especially in springtime, which should have been the driver for earlier bud break and flowering. A change in the climatic conditions, therefore, appears to be one of the key reasons for more favorable grapevine production in Palatinate, especially for “Pinot Noir”, which showed the highest increase in sugar concentrations. The Huglin-index, a measure for the suitability of growing specific grapevine varieties in given environments, increased from 1685 to 2063. According to this index, the climate change may be favorable already for growing grape varieties so far rarely grown in temperate zones, such as “Cabernet Sauvignon”, “Syrah” and “Tempranillo” that are more suited to warmer, Mediterranean climates.展开更多
Identifying tree locations is a basic step in the derivation of other tree parameters using remote sensing techniques, particularly when using airborne laser scanning. There are several techniques for identifying tree...Identifying tree locations is a basic step in the derivation of other tree parameters using remote sensing techniques, particularly when using airborne laser scanning. There are several techniques for identifying tree positions. In this paper, we present a raster-based method for determining tree position and delineating crown coverage. We collected data from nine research plots that supported different mixes of species. We applied a raster-based method to raster layers with six different spatial resolutions and used terrestrial measurement data as reference data. Tree identification at a spatial resolution of 1.5 m was demonstrated to be the most accurate, with an average identification ratio (IR) of 95% and average detection ratio of 68% being observed. At a higher spatial resolution of 0.5 m, IR was overestimated by more than 600%. At a lower spatial resolution of 3 m, IR was underestimated at less than 44% of terrestrial measurements. The inventory process was timed to enable evaluation of the time efficiency of automatic methods.展开更多
An extreme warming hit Europe in summer of the year 2015. The present paper investigates the relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAO), Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and El-Nino 3.4 and heat w...An extreme warming hit Europe in summer of the year 2015. The present paper investigates the relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAO), Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and El-Nino 3.4 and heat waves that persist over the western and central Europe in the summer of 2015. The NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis daily dataset of the mean surface air temperature for the domains of the western and central Europe for summer months (June, July and August) of the year, 2015 has used. In addition, the time cross-section analysis of the daily gridded operational data for the mean surface air temperature over the western and central Europe from 1 June to 31 August 2015 has done. Moreover, daily datasets of the NAO, SOI, and El-Nino 3.4 for that period have used. The time series, time cross section, anomaly and correlation coefficient techniques are used to analyze the data sets. The results revealed that the cases of heat waves that existed over the western and central Europe through the summer season of the year 2015 were controlled distinctly by the negative phase of the NAO and positive phase of ENSO.展开更多
A femur fragment with an Early Lutetian (early Middle Eocene) age is the world’s oldest fossil record from a seal, and, is described as Praephoca bendullensis nov. gen. nov. spec. This find pushes back the earliest e...A femur fragment with an Early Lutetian (early Middle Eocene) age is the world’s oldest fossil record from a seal, and, is described as Praephoca bendullensis nov. gen. nov. spec. This find pushes back the earliest evolution of seals into the Paleocene epoch. The femur has plesiomorphic terrestrial mammal characteristics but has a morphology that is already closer to that of Miocene and present day seals. The Eocene seal femur was found at Fürstenau-Dalum in north-west Germany, in a conglomerate rich in shark teeth that was deposited in a coastal delta environment to the north-west of the central European Rhenish Massif mainland, in the southern pre-North Sea Basin. This discovery has led to a revision of the theory that phocids originated along the coastline of the North American continent. Instead they can now be interpreted to have originated in the tropical Eocene climate of central Europe. Although the fossil records of pinnipeds in Europe during the Eocene, Oligocene and Miocene are extremely sparse, they appear to have inhabited the pre- North Sea basin, within the influence of temperate and arctic upwellings. The distribution of abundant teeth from white and megatooth sharks of two different lineages appears to correlate with that of the seals, which the sharks most probably hunted;providing supporting evidence that the phocids were already adapted as shallow marine coastal inhabitants by this time.展开更多
Newly discovered remains of the early Middle Eocene (Lutetian) sirenian Protosiren (Protosirenidae) in shark tooth rich conglomerates from a coastal delta environment northwest of the European Rhenish Massif at Fü...Newly discovered remains of the early Middle Eocene (Lutetian) sirenian Protosiren (Protosirenidae) in shark tooth rich conglomerates from a coastal delta environment northwest of the European Rhenish Massif at Fürstenau (northwestern Germany), represent the most northerly occurrence of this genus whose global distribution was generally restricted to warm waters. Its presence of the remains so far north can be explained by seasonal inflow of warm Tethys surface water into the cool, upwelling-influenced, basin. The existence of two discrete centers of sirenian evolution can be explained by the opening of the Atlantic and the upwelling that separated the North American warm water faunal province from those of Africa and Eurasia. A slightly modified evolutionary model is presented in which the oldest Early Eocene manatee sirenians evolved in the Caribbean of Central America. Protosiren, however, appears to have developed polyphyletically along the African coastline of the Tethys, and represents the oldest known dugong ancestor. Younger (Oligocene) European sirenian skeletons of Halitherium and Anomotherium are included in the phylostratigraphic model in which sirenians had generally reduced their teeth by 28 Ma as an adaptation for feeding on sea-plants (macroalgae/seagrass). Teeth from early megatooth sharks, which preyed on sirenians, have been recorded from shallow marine Eocene and Oligocene coastlines of the southern proto-North Sea Basin, and shark bite marks have been found on sirenian skeletons.展开更多
文摘BACKGROUND Epidemiologic studies have revealed a decrease in the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)infection in Western Europe.AIM To obtain data regarding the prevalence of H.pylori in Csongrád and Békés Counties in Hungary,evaluate the differences in its prevalence between urban and rural areas,and establish factors associated with positive seroprevalence.METHODS One-thousand and one healthy blood donors[male/female:501/500,mean age:40(19–65)years]were enrolled in this study.Subjects were tested for H.pylori IgG antibody positivity via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Subgroup analysis by age,gender,smoking habits,alcohol consumption,and urban vs nonurban residence was also performed.RESULTS The overall seropositivity of H.pylori was 32%.It was higher in males(34.93%vs 29.2%,P=0.0521)and in rural areas(36.2%vs 27.94%,P=0.0051).Agricultural/industrial workers were more likely to be positive for infection than office workers(38.35%vs 30.11%,P=0.0095)and rural subjects in Békés County than those in Csongrád County(43.36%vs 33.33%,P=0.0015).CONCLUSION Although the prevalence of H.pylori infection decreased in recent decades in Southeast Hungary,it remains high in middle-aged rural populations.Generally accepted risk factors for H.pylori positivity appeared to be valid for the studied population.
文摘Pushed by the results of a preceding publication on the possibly Quaternary Jebel Waqf as Suwwan Meteorite Crater, Jordan [5], where an amazing coincidence of Rapid Climate Changes (RCCs) with Rise and Fall of Neolithic and Bronze Age Cultures became evident for the Near/Middle East, this paper deals with the same subject, however, relating to the complete Holocene period in the same area and, additionally, in Central Europe as well. By application of modern climatic data [6] comprising isotope analysis (δ18O, 14C, 10Be), acid and aerosol events, and greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4) Greenland ice cores as well as other astro-/geophysical and geological parameters, an overwhelming coincidence/relation/interdependence of both natural and cultural evidences becomes obvious throughout the last 15,000 years across the Northern Hemisphere. Apart from solar output and other astrophysical processes, most important climate- and Earth-related parameters are Mega-Volcanism (i.e.Santorini Greece: ~3640 yr cal. B. P.), Impact Events (i.e. during Mesolithic: ~9600 yr cal. B. P), rapid oceanic current change (DO-Events), and Plate Tectonics (possibly Atlantis-Event: ~11,500 yr cal. B.P. = Pleistocene/Holocene boundary). The most essential parameter is a significant temperature change related to more or less restricted latitude realms of the Northern Hemisphere. Thus, glacier advance/retreat controls the mobility of peoples (i.e. Nations' Migration, Teutonic Empires) and the access to ore deposits (Au, Ag, Cu, Sn, Zn, Pb, Fe) located in Alpine Mountain Ranges (i.e. End-Neolithic, Early Bronze Age). Myths like the Gilgamesh Epos and John Apocalypse convincingly reveal realistic contents relating to natural hazards like tsunamis, impact and flooding events. They unmisunderstandably make obvious that Myths may provide valuable contributions, especially to Geosciences. Some of the controlling parameters interrelate with others or present a kind of hierarchy: Mega-Volcanism/impact events à ejecta à wildfires, heat storms à cosmic wint
基金supported by the Government of Rhineland-PalatinateThe German Science Foundation and the Stiftung Rheinland-Pfalz fur Innovation have financially supported several projects and for this we are grateful.
文摘To mark the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the Rheinische Naturforschende Gesellschaft in 2009 and of the centennial of the Mainz Natural History Museum in 2010, we present a short account of our present knowledge of the Eckfeld Maar after 20 years of continuous research. This paper does not attempt to include all of the detailed results on the geology of the Eckfeld site or its biota. To date, nearly 250 papers and books have been published since the start of our project. An up-to-date list of these publications can be found at www.eckfeldermaar.de.
文摘A novel but simple approach for describing stand structure in natural and managed forests driven by small-scaled disturbances is introduced. A primeval beech forest reserve in Slovakia and two beech stands in Germany with different management histories were studied, and their forest stand texture was analysed in terms of tree coordinates, stem diameter, and crown radius. Neigh-bouring trees of similar size with estimated contact of their crowns were assigned to tree groups. The study goal was to estimate the number and size of such homogeneous patches. In all cases, the number of tree groups in a particular diameter class decreased exponentially as group size increased. Single trees were predominant. Compared to simulated random tree distributions, the natural stand exhibited a more clumped distribution of small trees and more regular distribution of larger ones. The natural forest generally had smaller groups than the managed even aged stand, but the smallest group sizes were found in the uneven-aged selection forest. The simple analytical approach provided new spatial insights into neighbourhood relations of trees. The continuous scale from single trees to larger tree groups is an important achievement compared to other analytical methods applied in this field. The findings may even indicate a certain degree of self-organization in natural forests. Due to the limitations associated with each method or statistical models, a joint consideration of 1) gap dynamics, 2) forest developmental stages, and 3) size classes of homogeneous tree groups is recommended. Relevant to forest practitioners, the size class distributions enhance an understanding of the complex stand structures in natural forests and therewith support an emulation of natural forest dynamics in managed beech forests.
文摘Wine production has a long-standing history in Palatinate (Southwestern Germany), dating back to Roman times. Especially “Riesling”, but also several “Pinot” varieties gained major significance. Red wine varieties gained prominence over the last 20 years only, which may be a consequence of climate change. Our objective was to review temperature and rainfall data over the last 40 years, measured “on-winery” in Hainfeld and correlate these data with grapevine growth parameters: the development of bud break, flowering, veraison and harvest dates, yields and grape sugar concentrations of “Pinot Gris”, “Pinot Noir”, “Riesling”, “Silvaner” and “Müller-Thurgau”. Since the 1970s, bud break, flowering and veraison are 11 - 15, 18 - 22 and 16 - 22 days earlier;harvest dates are 25 - 40 days earlier. Sugar concentrations increased significantly, but yields decreased. Annual rainfall has not significantly risen, while the mean annual minimum and maximum air-temperatures rose by ~0.9°C, and by ~3.4°C, respectively, resulting in an average increase of the mean annual temperature of ~2.1°C. Remarkably, both mean monthly minimum and maximum temperatures rose especially in springtime, which should have been the driver for earlier bud break and flowering. A change in the climatic conditions, therefore, appears to be one of the key reasons for more favorable grapevine production in Palatinate, especially for “Pinot Noir”, which showed the highest increase in sugar concentrations. The Huglin-index, a measure for the suitability of growing specific grapevine varieties in given environments, increased from 1685 to 2063. According to this index, the climate change may be favorable already for growing grape varieties so far rarely grown in temperate zones, such as “Cabernet Sauvignon”, “Syrah” and “Tempranillo” that are more suited to warmer, Mediterranean climates.
基金supported by the Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education,Science,Research and Sport of the Slovak Republicthe Slovak Academy of Sciences under Project No.1/0953/13:‘‘Geographic information on forest and forest landscape:creation and utilization of particularity’’
文摘Identifying tree locations is a basic step in the derivation of other tree parameters using remote sensing techniques, particularly when using airborne laser scanning. There are several techniques for identifying tree positions. In this paper, we present a raster-based method for determining tree position and delineating crown coverage. We collected data from nine research plots that supported different mixes of species. We applied a raster-based method to raster layers with six different spatial resolutions and used terrestrial measurement data as reference data. Tree identification at a spatial resolution of 1.5 m was demonstrated to be the most accurate, with an average identification ratio (IR) of 95% and average detection ratio of 68% being observed. At a higher spatial resolution of 0.5 m, IR was overestimated by more than 600%. At a lower spatial resolution of 3 m, IR was underestimated at less than 44% of terrestrial measurements. The inventory process was timed to enable evaluation of the time efficiency of automatic methods.
文摘An extreme warming hit Europe in summer of the year 2015. The present paper investigates the relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAO), Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and El-Nino 3.4 and heat waves that persist over the western and central Europe in the summer of 2015. The NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis daily dataset of the mean surface air temperature for the domains of the western and central Europe for summer months (June, July and August) of the year, 2015 has used. In addition, the time cross-section analysis of the daily gridded operational data for the mean surface air temperature over the western and central Europe from 1 June to 31 August 2015 has done. Moreover, daily datasets of the NAO, SOI, and El-Nino 3.4 for that period have used. The time series, time cross section, anomaly and correlation coefficient techniques are used to analyze the data sets. The results revealed that the cases of heat waves that existed over the western and central Europe through the summer season of the year 2015 were controlled distinctly by the negative phase of the NAO and positive phase of ENSO.
文摘A femur fragment with an Early Lutetian (early Middle Eocene) age is the world’s oldest fossil record from a seal, and, is described as Praephoca bendullensis nov. gen. nov. spec. This find pushes back the earliest evolution of seals into the Paleocene epoch. The femur has plesiomorphic terrestrial mammal characteristics but has a morphology that is already closer to that of Miocene and present day seals. The Eocene seal femur was found at Fürstenau-Dalum in north-west Germany, in a conglomerate rich in shark teeth that was deposited in a coastal delta environment to the north-west of the central European Rhenish Massif mainland, in the southern pre-North Sea Basin. This discovery has led to a revision of the theory that phocids originated along the coastline of the North American continent. Instead they can now be interpreted to have originated in the tropical Eocene climate of central Europe. Although the fossil records of pinnipeds in Europe during the Eocene, Oligocene and Miocene are extremely sparse, they appear to have inhabited the pre- North Sea basin, within the influence of temperate and arctic upwellings. The distribution of abundant teeth from white and megatooth sharks of two different lineages appears to correlate with that of the seals, which the sharks most probably hunted;providing supporting evidence that the phocids were already adapted as shallow marine coastal inhabitants by this time.
文摘Newly discovered remains of the early Middle Eocene (Lutetian) sirenian Protosiren (Protosirenidae) in shark tooth rich conglomerates from a coastal delta environment northwest of the European Rhenish Massif at Fürstenau (northwestern Germany), represent the most northerly occurrence of this genus whose global distribution was generally restricted to warm waters. Its presence of the remains so far north can be explained by seasonal inflow of warm Tethys surface water into the cool, upwelling-influenced, basin. The existence of two discrete centers of sirenian evolution can be explained by the opening of the Atlantic and the upwelling that separated the North American warm water faunal province from those of Africa and Eurasia. A slightly modified evolutionary model is presented in which the oldest Early Eocene manatee sirenians evolved in the Caribbean of Central America. Protosiren, however, appears to have developed polyphyletically along the African coastline of the Tethys, and represents the oldest known dugong ancestor. Younger (Oligocene) European sirenian skeletons of Halitherium and Anomotherium are included in the phylostratigraphic model in which sirenians had generally reduced their teeth by 28 Ma as an adaptation for feeding on sea-plants (macroalgae/seagrass). Teeth from early megatooth sharks, which preyed on sirenians, have been recorded from shallow marine Eocene and Oligocene coastlines of the southern proto-North Sea Basin, and shark bite marks have been found on sirenian skeletons.
