Guideline for the description of soils in the Berlin metropolitan area: an extension for surveying and mapping anthropogenic and natural soils in urban environments within the German soil classification system

Journal of Soils and Sediments - In urban areas, humans shape the surface, (re-)deposit natural or technogenic material, and thus become the dominant soil formation factor. The 2015 edition of the...     

Effect of fertilizers and irrigation on multi-configuration electromagnetic induction measurements

Electromagnetic induction (EMI) data are often used to investigate spatial and temporal patterns of soil texture, soil water content and soil salinity. We hypothesized that the EMI methodology might thus also offer potential to detect agricultural legacy effects originating from fertilizer application and irrigation of different fields. Therefore, we performed EMI measurements on two long-term field experiments (LTFE) at Thyrow near Berlin (Germany) that differed in agricultural management with regard to long-term irrigation in combination with mineral (NPK and lime) and organic amendments (straw and farmyard manure). Two different rigid-boom multi-coil EMI instruments were used to measure simultaneously the apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) over nine different depth ranges to study the entire soil profile from topsoil to deep subsoil. Additionally, soil samples were taken from the different treatments to ground-truth the measurements and disentangle the nutrient application or irrigation effects from natural soil heterogeneity. The soil samples indicated a rather homogenous soil and the correlation between soil parameters or states were not significant. However, the treatments showed significant differences in measured ECa values. In general, ECa values were largest on regularly irrigated as well as on mineral and organic fertilized plots, with regular irrigation exhibiting the largest impact on EMI records even though the last application was months before the EMI measurement. Overall, this study reveals that EMI data can support the classical in situ assessment of agricultural management effects within LTFE, while offering new potentials in detecting and understanding legacy effects of agricultural management on spatial soil properties at farm level.     

Clinico-chemical blood parameters in foals in the first two months of life]

Eighteen healthy foals were studied from birth until 2 months of age. Blood samples were obtained at the following times: presuckle, 30 hours, 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 weeks of age. Changes in serum P, Mg, Ca, Na, K, Cl, iron, AP, ASAT, ALAT, GGT, GLDH, CK, lipase, urea, creatinine, cholesterol, triglyceride, uric acid, protein and fibrinogen and in plasma total solids were examined and the values compared to reference values of adult horses. There were characteristic age related changes in several parameters. Single measurements should be interpreted cautiously to allow for individual variations.     

The connections between structure, pharmacokinetics and effects of glucocorticoids

Corticosteroids above all have an influence on the metabolism of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates. Inflammatory and immunological reactions are suppressed. The effects are based on the induction of both primary and secondary responses. Examples in catabolic and anabolic reactions are described. The significance of bioavailability is illustrated and hints to discriminate the types of corticosteroids for therapeutic requirement are given.     

Pathological findings in lentivirus infected cats

This report describes the necropsy findings in 3 cats with a natural T-lymphotropic Lentivirus (FTLV) infection. The changes are compared with the "immunodeficiency syndrome" of humans and monkeys. Furthermore, the pathogenicity of the FTLV and the significance of a dual infection with FTLV and Spumavirus is discussed.