Paludiculture can support biodiversity conservation in rewetted fen peatlands.

Paludiculture, the productive use of wet or rewetted peatlands, offers an option for continued land use by farmers after rewetting formerly drained peatlands, while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from peat soils. Biodiversity conservation may benefit, but research on how biodiversity responds to paludiculture is scarce. We conducted a multi-taxon study investigating vegetation, breeding bird and arthropod diversity at six rewetted fen sites dominated by Carex or Typha species. Sites were either unharvested, low- or high-intensity managed, and were located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northeastern Germany. Biodiversity was estimated across the range of Hill numbers using the iNEXT package, and species were checked for Red List status. Here we show that paludiculture sites can provide biodiversity value even while not reflecting historic fen conditions; managed sites had high plant diversity, as well as Red Listed arthropods and breeding birds. Our study demonstrates that paludiculture has the potential to provide valuable habitat for species even while productive management of the land continues.

Rewetting does not return drained fen peatlands to their old selves.

Peatlands have been drained for land use for a long time and on a large scale, turning them from carbon and nutrient sinks into respective sources, diminishing water regulation capacity, causing surface height loss and destroying biodiversity. Over the last decades, drained peatlands have been rewetted for biodiversity restoration and, as it strongly decreases greenhouse gas emissions, also for climate protection. We quantify restoration success by comparing 320 rewetted fen peatland sites to 243 near-natural peatland sites of similar origin across temperate Europe, all set into perspective by 10k additional European fen vegetation plots. Results imply that rewetting of drained fen peatlands induces the establishment of tall, graminoid wetland plants (helophytisation) and long-lasting differences to pre-drainage biodiversity (vegetation), ecosystem functioning (geochemistry, hydrology), and land cover characteristics (spectral temporal metrics). The Paris Agreement entails the rewetting of 500,000 km2 of drained peatlands worldwide until 2050-2070. A better understanding of the resulting locally novel ecosystems is required to improve planning and implementation of peatland rewetting and subsequent management.

[Validity of ultrasound examinations of disorders of the shoulder joint]. / Validität der sonographischen Untersuchung des Schultergelenkes--Prospektive, randomisierte und doppelt blinde, arthroskopisch kontrollierte Studie an 239 Fällen.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the present study was to assess the validity of ultrasound diagnosis of shoulder disorders in relation to examiner experience. METHODS: A total of 239 patients referred to us for shoulder arthroscopy from October 2001 to June 2004 were prospectively studied by ultrasound. The following ultrasound diagnoses were evaluated: total and partial rotator cuff tears, calcific tendinitis, biceps tendon injuries and subacromial bursitis. Examiner A established the ultrasound diagnoses and examiner B performed the surgery during week A, whereas examiner B did the examinations and examiner A operated in week B. The surgeon was blinded to the ultrasound results. Examiner A conducts ultrasound training seminars for DEGUM, the German Society of Ultrasound in Medicine, and has performed over 10,000 ultrasound examinations, with an average of roughly 150 examinations per year. Examiner B completed his ultrasound training some years ago and has performed roughly 1500 examinations (50 per year). The results were analysed in a time-independent and blinded manner by the co-author (H), who neither operated nor examined the patients. RESULTS: Ultrasound correctly identified 103 of 104 complete rotator cuff tears (sensitivity: 0.99--specificity: 0.99--accuracy: 98.7%). Both examiners achieved comparable results. Moreover, 41 of 52 partial rotator cuff tears were detected preoperatively (sensitivity: 0.79--specificity: 0.91--accuracy: 88.7%). Examiner A achieved a sensitivity of 0.92, a specificity of 0.95, and an accuracy of 94.7%. The corresponding rates for examiner B were: sensitivity 0.68, specificity 0.86, and accuracy 81.3%. 16 of 23 injuries of the long biceps tendon were identified correctly (4 of 8 dislocations and 12 of 15 tears: sensitivity 0.53; specificity 0.9; accuracy 95.3%). Examiner A achieved: sensitivity 0.58; specificity 0.99; accuracy 91.7% compared to examiner B: sensitivity 0.33; specificity 0.97; accuracy 95.3%. Both examiners correctly identified all 32 cases of calcific tendinitis (sensitivity 1.0; specificity 0.98; accuracy 98.3 % examiner A: 1.0--1.0--100% examiner B: 1.0--0.96--96.2%). 22 of 28 cases of subacromial bursitis were correctly diagnosed (sensitivity 0.79; specificity 0.98; accuracy 95.8% examiner A: 0.92--0.99--98.5% examiner B: 0.69--0.97--92.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative ultrasound examination of the shoulder permits a reliable diagnosis of complete rotator cuff tears and calcium deposits (calcific tendinitis). The method is less sensitive but sufficiently reliable for the diagnosis of partial rotator cuff tears and pathology of the long biceps tendon. Examiner experience plays an important role in these special cases. Permanent continuous training in the field of ultrasound diagnosis is a prerequisite for sufficient reliability of ultrasound diagnosis of shoulder disorders.

[Periarticular calcinosis following implantation of total hip endoprostheses]. / Periartikuläre Verkalkungen nach Hüfttotalendoprothesenimplantationen.

Different factors for periarticular calcification following total hip replacement were analysed in a follow up study. The extent and location was evaluated in accordance to classification of Arcq (1973) with a grid stencil. In 68.5% of 111 THR's calcification of different degrees were to obtain. Early calcifications were to find 2 weeks and in completed form 6 month after the operation in x-ray. The most frequent location was around the Trochanter major. In dependence of operation's term male patients are more affected than females. Age, diagnosis, former operations, typ of prosthesis, secretion of wound and postoperative complications seem to have no influence on periarticular calcifications.