From 1934 to 1945, 350,000-400,000 human beings were sterilised by force in the German Reich. Forced sterilisation was based on the Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses (Law for the Prevention ...of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring). The Heil- und Pflegeanstalt (State Hospital) Günzburg was one of the institutions where compulsory sterilisation was practised.
Data evaluation was based on patient documents and annual reports of the archives of today's district hospital at Günzburg. Patient records were analysed with respect to predefined criteria. The municipal archives of Günzburg provided further historical sources and data.
Between 1934 and 1943, 366 patients were sterilised in the Heil- und Pflegeanstalt (State Hospital) Günzburg. Age, sex and diagnosis were found to be criteria relevant for selection of patients for sterilisation.
The study was able to show the active involvement of the Heil- und Pflegeanstalt (State Hospital) Günzburg in the compulsory sterilisation programme.
Bioaerosols pose risks to human health and agriculture and may influence the evolution of mixed-phase clouds and the hydrological cycle on local and regional scales. The availability and reliability ...of methods and data on the abundance and properties of atmospheric bioaerosols, however, are rather limited. Here we analyze and compare data from different real-time ultraviolet laser/light-induced fluorescence (UV-LIF) instruments with results from a culture-based spore sampler and offline molecular tracers for airborne fungal spores in a semi-arid forest in the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Commercial UV-APS (ultraviolet aerodynamic particle sizer) and WIBS-3 (wideband integrated bioaerosol sensor, version 3) instruments with different excitation and emission wavelengths were utilized to measure fluorescent aerosol particles (FAPs) during both dry weather conditions and periods heavily influenced by rain. Seven molecular tracers of bioaerosols were quantified by analysis of total suspended particle (TSP) high-volume filter samples using a high-performance anion-exchange chromatography system with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD). From the same measurement campaign, Huffman et al. (2013) previously reported dramatic increases in total and fluorescent particle concentrations during and immediately after rainfall and also showed a strong relationship between the concentrations of FAPs and ice nuclei (Huffman et al., 2013; Prenni et al., 2013). Here we investigate molecular tracers and show that during rainy periods the atmospheric concentrations of arabitol (35.2 ± 10.5 ng m−3) and mannitol (44.9 ± 13.8 ng m−3) were 3–4 times higher than during dry periods. During and after rain, the correlations between FAP and tracer mass concentrations were also significantly improved. Fungal spore number concentrations on the order of 104 m−3, accounting for 2–5 % of TSP mass during dry periods and 17–23 % during rainy periods, were obtained from scaling the tracer measurements and from multiple analysis methods applied to the UV-LIF data. Endotoxin concentrations were also enhanced during rainy periods, but showed no correlation with FAP concentrations. Average mass concentrations of erythritol, levoglucosan, glucose, and (1 → 3)-β-D-glucan in TSP samples are reported separately for dry and rainy weather conditions. Overall, the results indicate that UV-LIF measurements can be used to infer fungal spore concentrations, but substantial development of instrumental and data analysis methods appears to be required for improved quantification.
Bioaerosols are relevant for public health and may play an important role in the climate system, but their atmospheric abundance, properties, and sources are not well understood. Here we show that ...the concentration of airborne biological particles in a North American forest ecosystem increases significantly during rain and that bioparticles are closely correlated with atmospheric ice nuclei (IN). The greatest increase of bioparticles and IN occurred in the size range of 2–6 μm, which is characteristic for bacterial aggregates and fungal spores. By DNA analysis we found high diversities of airborne bacteria and fungi, including groups containing human and plant pathogens (mildew, smut and rust fungi, molds, Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonadaceae). In addition to detecting known bacterial and fungal IN (Pseudomonas sp., Fusarium sporotrichioides), we discovered two species of IN-active fungi that were not previously known as biological ice nucleators (Isaria farinosa and Acremonium implicatum). Our findings suggest that atmospheric bioaerosols, IN, and rainfall are more tightly coupled than previously assumed.
Zusammenfassung
Hintergrund
Von 1934 bis 1945 wurden im Deutschen Reich auf Grundlage des Gesetzes zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses (GzVeN) ca. 350.000 bis 400.000 Zwangssterilisationen ...vorgenommen. Die Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Günzburg war in dem betreffenden Zeitraum eine der Anstalten, die zur Durchführung von Sterilisationen berechtigt waren.
Methoden
Die Auswertung erfolgte anhand von Patientenakten und Jahresberichten aus dem Archiv des heutigen Bezirkskrankenhauses in Günzburg. Die Patienteninformationen wurden mittels eines standardisierten Fragebogens auf das Vorliegen zuvor festgelegter Kriterien untersucht. Archivalien des Stadtarchivs Günzburg ergänzen die Quellenbasis.
Ergebnisse
Zwischen 1935 und 1943 wurden 366 Patienten in der Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Günzburg sterilisiert. Alter, Geschlecht und Diagnose der Patienten wurden als relevante Kriterien für die Indikationsstellung zur Sterilisation herausgearbeitet.
Schlussfolgerungen
Die Beteiligung der Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Günzburg an der Durchführung der NS-Zwangssterilisationen konnte in der Arbeit nachgewiesen werden.
Perennial herbaceous plants such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) are being evaluated as cellulosic bioenergy crops. Two major concerns have been the net energy efficiency and economic ...feasibility of switchgrass and similar crops. All previous energy analyses have been based on data from research plots (<5 m²) and estimated inputs. We managed switchgrass as a biomass energy crop in field trials of 3-9 ha (1 ha = 10,000 m²) on marginal cropland on 10 farms across a wide precipitation and temperature gradient in the midcontinental U.S. to determine net energy and economic costs based on known farm inputs and harvested yields. In this report, we summarize the agricultural energy input costs, biomass yield, estimated ethanol output, greenhouse gas emissions, and net energy results. Annual biomass yields of established fields averaged 5.2 -11.1 Mg·ha⁻¹ with a resulting average estimated net energy yield (NEY) of 60 GJ·ha⁻¹·y⁻¹. Switchgrass produced 540% more renewable than nonrenewable energy consumed. Switchgrass monocultures managed for high yield produced 93% more biomass yield and an equivalent estimated NEY than previous estimates from human-made prairies that received low agricultural inputs. Estimated average greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cellulosic ethanol derived from switchgrass were 94% lower than estimated GHG from gasoline. This is a baseline study that represents the genetic material and agronomic technology available for switchgrass production in 2000 and 2001, when the fields were planted. Improved genetics and agronomics may further enhance energy sustainability and biofuel yield of switchgrass.
Low-carbon biofuel sources are being developed and evaluated in the United States and Europe to partially offset petroleum transport fuels. Current and potential biofuel production systems were ...evaluated from a long-term continuous no-tillage corn (Zea mays L.) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) field trial under differing harvest strategies and nitrogen (N) fertilizer intensities to determine overall environmental sustainability. Corn and switchgrass grown for bioenergy resulted in near-term net greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of -29 to -396 grams of CO2 equivalent emissions per megajoule of ethanol per year as a result of direct soil carbon sequestration and from the adoption of integrated biofuel conversion pathways. Management practices in switchgrass and corn resulted in large variation in petroleum offset potential. Switchgrass, using best management practices produced 3919±117 liters of ethanol per hectare and had 74±2.2 gigajoules of petroleum offsets per hectare which was similar to intensified corn systems (grain and 50% residue harvest under optimal N rates). Co-locating and integrating cellulosic biorefineries with existing dry mill corn grain ethanol facilities improved net energy yields (GJ ha-1) of corn grain ethanol by >70%. A multi-feedstock, landscape approach coupled with an integrated biorefinery would be a viable option to meet growing renewable transportation fuel demands while improving the energy efficiency of first generation biofuels.
Demand for corn (Zea mays L.) stover as forage or as a cellulosic biofuel has increased the importance of determining the effects of stover removal on biomass production and the soil resource. Our ...objectives were to evaluate grain yield, soil organic C (SOC), and total soil N (0 to 150 cm) in a 10-year, irrigated, continuous corn study under conventional disk tillage (CT) and no-till (NT) with variable corn stover removal rates (none, medium, high). Natural abundance C isotope compositions were used to determine C additions by corn (C4-C) to the soil profile and to evaluate the retention of residual C3-C. After ten years of management treatments, mean grain yields were 7.5% to 8.6% higher for NT when residue was removed compared with no stover removal, while grain yields were similar for CT in all stover removal treatments. Turnover of SOC occurred as C3-C stocks were replaced by C4-C in the 0- to 120-cm soil profile. Total SOC and N stocks changed mainly in surface soils (0 to 30 cm), with no detectable cumulative changes at 0 to 150 cm. Specifically, SOC declined after 10 yr under CT at 0 to 15 cm and was affected by residue management at 15 to 30 cm. Total soil N was greater when no stover was removed (P = 0.0073) at 0 to 15 cm and from residue management at 15 to 30 cm. Total soil N was greatest when no residue was removed (P=0.0073) compared to high stover removal at 0 to 15 cm. Long-term NT ameliorated medium stover removal effects by maintaining near-surface SOC levels. Results support the need to evaluate SOC cycling processes below near-surface soil layers.
Dedicated energy crops and crop residues will meet herbaceous feedstock demands for the new bioeconomy in the Central and Eastern USA. Perennial warm-season grasses and corn stover are well-suited to ...the eastern half of the USA and provide opportunities for expanding agricultural operations in the region. A suite of warm-season grasses and associated management practices have been developed by researchers from the Agricultural Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and collaborators associated with USDA Regional Biomass Research Centers. Second generation biofuel feedstocks provide an opportunity to increase the production of transportation fuels from recently fixed plant carbon rather than from fossil fuels. Although there is no “one-size-fits-all” bioenergy feedstock, crop residues like corn (
Zea mays
L.) stover are the most readily available bioenergy feedstocks. However, on marginally productive cropland, perennial grasses provide a feedstock supply while enhancing ecosystem services. Twenty-five years of research has demonstrated that perennial grasses like switchgrass (
Panicum virgatum
L.) are profitable and environmentally sustainable on marginally productive cropland in the western Corn Belt and Southeastern USA.
Incorporating native perennial grasses adjacent to annual row crop systems managed on marginal lands can increase system resiliency by diversifying food and energy production. This study evaluated ...(1) soil organic C (SOC) and total N stocks (TN) under warm-season grass (WSG) monocultures and a low diversity mixture compared to an adjacent no-till continuous-corn system, and (2) WSG total above-ground biomass (AGB) in response to two levels of N fertilization from 2012 to 2017 in eastern Nebraska, USA. The WSG treatments consisted of (1) switchgrass (SWG), (2) big bluestem (BGB), and (3) low-diversity grass mixture (LDM; big bluestem, Indiangrass, and sideoat grama). Soils were sampled at fixed depth increments (0–120 cm) in the WSG plots and in the adjacent corn experiment in 2012 and 2017. Soil stocks (Mg ha−1) of SOC and TN were calculated on an equivalent soil mass (ESM) basis and compared within the three WSG treatments as well as between experiments (corn compared to the mean of all WSGs). Soil organic C and TN stocks within soil layers and cumulative stocks responded to the main effect of WSG (PWSG < 0.05) but were no different when comparing the WSGs to corn (Pexpt = NS). Both SOC/TN stocks and cumulative stocks were generally greater in the LDM compared to the BGB. Neither SOC nor TN changed over time under either the WSGs or corn. Warm-season grass AGB responded to a three-way interaction of year, N rate, and WSG (p = 0.0007). Decreases in AGB over time were significant across WSGs and N levels except for SWG at 56 kg N ha−1 and LDM at 112 kg N ha−1. Above-ground biomass was generally greater in the LDM after the first harvest year (2013). Results suggest that incorporating WSGs into marginal cropland can maintain SOC and TN stocks while providing a significant source of biomass to be used in energy production or in integrated livestock systems.
Information on temporal and spatial variation in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) biomass composition as it affects ethanol yield (L Mg−1) at a biorefinery and ethanol production (L ha−1) at the ...field-scale has previously not been available. Switchgrass biomass samples were collected from a regional, on-farm trial and biomass composition was determined using newly developed near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) prediction equations and theoretical ethanol yield (100% conversion efficiency) was calculated. Total hexose (cell wall polysaccharides and soluble sugars) concentration ranged from 342 to 398 g kg−1 while pentose (arabinose and xylose) concentration ranged from 216 to 245 g kg−1 across fields. Theoretical ethanol yield varied significantly by year and field, with 5 yr means ranging from 381 to 430 L Mg−1. Total theoretical ethanol production ranged from 1749 to 3691 L ha−1 across fields. Variability (coefficient of variation) within established switchgrass fields ranged from 1 to 4% for theoretical ethanol yield (L Mg−1) and 14 to 38% for theoretical ethanol production (L ha−1). Most fields showed a lack of spatial consistency across harvest years for theoretical ethanol yield or total theoretical ethanol production. Switchgrass biomass composition from farmer fields can be expected to have significant annual and field-to-field variation in a production region, and this variation will significantly affect ethanol or other liquid fuel yields per ton or hectare. Cellulosic biorefineries will need to consider this potential variation in biofuel yields when developing their business plans.
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