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Veröffentlichung Phylogeography of the invasive cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii(2003) Neilan, B. A.; Saker, Martin L.; Fastner, J.; Törökné, A.; Burns, P. B.Veröffentlichung Levels and predictors of urinary nickel concentrations of children in Germany: Results from the German Environmental Survey on children (GerES IV)(2013)Human biomonitoring of nickel has gained interest in environmental medicine due to its wide distribution in the environment and its allergenic potential. There are indications that the prevalence of nickel sensitization in children is increased by nickel exposure and that oral uptake of nickel can exacerbate nickel dermatitis in nickel-sensitive individuals. Urinary nickel measurement is a good indicator of exposure. However, data on nickel levels in urine of children are rare. For the first time, the German Environmental Survey on children (GerES IV) 2003-2006 provided representative data to describe the internal nickel exposure of children aged 3-14 years in Germany. Nickel was measured after enrichment in the organic phase of urine by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry with Zeeman background correction. Nickel levels (n = 1576) ranged from <0.5 to 15 ĆÊg/l. Geometric mean was 1.26 ĆÊg/l. Multivariate regression analysis showed that gender, age, socio-economic status, being overweighted, consumption of hazelnut spread, nuts, cereals, chocolate and urinary creatinine were significant predictors for urinary nickel excretion of children who do not smoke. 20.2% of the variance could be explained by these variables. With a contribution of 13.8% the urinary creatinine concentration was the most important predictor. No influence of nickel intake via drinking water and second hand smoke exposure was observed.Copyright ©2012 Published by Elsevier GmbH.Veröffentlichung Estimation of dietary intake of bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) by consumption of food in the German population(2013)In the study presented here, we evaluated the exposure of the German population aged 14-80 years tobis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) from consumption of food by means of deterministic and probabilisticestimations. The study was performed on the basis of an extensive review of literature from around theworld reporting measured data on DEHP in food, as well as official German food control data. Only datafrom individual measurements were considered and used for fitting of distributions. A wide range ofconcentrations in non-representative samples are reported in the literature. On the basis of the availableDEHP concentration data, 37 food categories were characterized which covered all major food classes.Food consumption data were taken from the diet history interviews of the German National NutritionSurvey II (Nationale Verzehrsstudie II) which was performed in 2005/2006 in a representative studypopulation of 15,371 and is the most recent data source of this kind in Germany. Average DEHP intakewas estimated deterministically using data on measured concentrations in food (medians and means)and food consumption (means). A total dietary exposure to DEHP of 3.6 (median based) and 9.3 g/kg ofBW per day (based on mean values) was estimated deterministically. In addition, distributions of bothconcentrations and consumption figures were fitted using the @RISK best fit tool for further probabilisticestimations. This approach resulted in estimates within the same range: the estimated median DEHPintake in the whole population (both non-consumers and consumers of the foods considered) was 10.2,the arithmetic mean 14.0 and the 95th percentile 28.6 g/kg of BW per day. The respective estimatesfor consumers only were 12.4, 18.7 and 36.5 g/kg of BW per day. These results demonstrate that theprobabilistic approach is able to estimate broader ranges of exposure even when using data representingan average intake. Moreover, it reflects the uncertainties of the estimation due to insufficient analyticaldata on concentrations of DEHP in food.
© 2013 Published by Elsevier GmbHVeröffentlichung German Tourism Activities in the Antarctic Area(2013) Herata, Heike; Krakau, ManuelaThe interrelationship between tourism development and polar environmentsbecame a hot topic in the last decades. Since climatic changes lead toaltered ecosystems including the alteration of species, composition in areas withprevious icy and hostile conditions, especially the use of polar landscapes, cameinto touristic focus. However, the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica has beenan exceptional destination to experience nature and follow the path of adventurerssince its discovery. To fulfill the Protocol on Environmental Protection to theAntarctic Treaty (Environmental Protocol) with the aim to protect the Antarcticarea as well as possible, the procedure of granting a permit for tourism activitiesis well developed in German legislation. For decades, Germans have accountedfor more than 10% of all tourists enjoying the special landscape during a cruiseto Antarctic coasts. This puts them in the top 3 of the world together with Americanand British tourists. Since 2000, the German Federal EnvironmentAgency recordedinformation on German tourist activities in the area of Antarctica from yearly postvisitreports. These data may support discussions on possible steps toward requiredregulations for polar tourism in the near future. Some aspects of land-based tourismon the Antarctic continent, and especially on the Antarctic Peninsula and islandsnearby, are highlighted with regard to the potential consequences within the frameof environmental protection and climate change. Due to the lack of knowledgewhich impedes thoroughly environmental assessments for all touristic activities,the German Federal Environment Agency aims to encourage research and politicalinstitutions to support the development of a concept of sustainable tourism for theAntarctic Treaty area.Quelle: German Tourism Activities in the AntarcticArea: A Governmental Perspective. In: New Issues in Polar Tourism: Communities,Environments, Politics. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013Veröffentlichung Spatial distribution of allergenic pollen through a large metropolitan area(2017) Werchan, Barbora; Werchan, Matthias; Mücke, Hans-Guido; Gauger, UlrichVeröffentlichung First mass development of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)̶its surveillance and control in Germany(2017) Becker, Norbert; Schön, Stefanie; Klein, Alexandra-Maria; Kuhn, CarolaThe Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus has undergone a dramatic expansion of its range in the last few decades. Since its first detection in 2007 in Germany at the motorway A5 coming from Italy via Switzerland to Germany, it has been continuously introduced by vehicles, most probably from Italy. After a hint from an alert gardener in an allotment garden area in Freiburg, Southwest Germany, in 2015, a surveillance programme was started focusing on the garden area and adjacent areas as well as most of the cemeteries as potential infestation areas. The surveillance programme confirmed a high infestation of the allotment garden. The container index (CI) exceeded almost 30% in August 2015. In lethal gravid Aedes traps (GATs) and BG-Sentinel traps, 4038 adults were caught. It could be proven that the Aedes population is more or less still spatially restricted to the allotment garden area which is adjacent to a train station where trucks from Novara, Italy, arrive loaded on trains. Outside the garden area, only a few breeding sites with developmental stages and adults were found within a radius of approximately 600 m from the highly infested garden area. It is most likely that Ae. albopictus females are constantly introduced as ĺblind passengers̷ to Freiburg via trucks from Italy to Freiburg, Germany. After the first detection of the mass development of Ae. albopictus immediate and comprehensive control measures were initiated to reduce or even eliminate the Aedes population. Citizen awareness, especially of the gardeners, was increased by providing thorough information about the biology and control of Ae. albopictus. Beside environmental management, tablets based on Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) were applied. The success of the control activities by the gardeners is reflected by the data gained during monthly inspection of the garden plots. The number of gardens without any container increased from 17% in July to 22% in August and 35% in September, 2015, resulting in a successful reduction of the Ae. albopictus population. The study underlines the importance of a comprehensive surveillance programme to assess the population density of Ae. albopictus as a basis for integrated control activities. Quelle: http://link.springer.comVeröffentlichung Halogenated flame retardants in tree samples applied as bioindicators for atmospheric pollution(2018) Dreyer, Annekatrin; Neugebauer, Frank; Koschorreck, Jan; Rüdel, HeinzConiferous shoots and deciduous tree leaf samples from 10 sites in Germany were taken in 2015 or 2016 within the German Environmental Specimen Bank sampling program and analysed for 24 polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and 19 additional halogenated flame retardants (HFRs). At one site, additional historic samples dating back till 2003 were also investigated. Samples were Soxhlet-extracted, cleaned-up by a non-destructive multi-step procedure involving gel permeation chromatography, and detected by GC-API-MS/MS as well as GC-MS. Besides PBDEs as classical HFRs, emerging HFRs such as Dechlorane Plus, DPTE, DBDPE, or ATE were region-wide observed demonstrating their widespread occurrence in the atmosphere. Highest concentrations in recent samples were found for DBDPE (<230-2760 pg g-1 dry weight (dw)) followed by DPTE (91-1540 pg g-1 dw), BDE209 (<156-461 pg g-1 dw), and BDE47 (<27-505 pg g-1 dw) or DP (31-122 pg g-1 dw). The overall uniform and widespread distribution as well as similar HFR levels and composition profiles observed in recent conifer shoots and corresponding deciduous tree leaves from the same area indicate a prolonged medium to long-range transport as sources. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that both tree types are generally suitable bioindicators for atmospheric pollution with HFRs, although accumulation may vary depending on HFR properties and accumulation period. The historic samples showed decreasing PBDE levels whereas no clear trend could be observed for other investigated HFRs at this site. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Veröffentlichung Burden of Disease Due to Traffic Noise in Germany(2019) Hintzsche, Matthias; Myck, Thomas; Plaß, Dietrich; Tobollik, Myriam; Wothge, JördisTraffic noise is nearly ubiquitous and thus can affect the health of many people. Using the German noise mapping data according to the Directive 2002/49/EC of 2017 and exposure-response functions for ischemic heart disease, noise annoyance and sleep disturbance assessed by the World Health Organizationâ€Ìs Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region the burden of disease due to traffic noise is quantified. The burden of disease is expressed in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and its components. The highest burden was found for road traffic noise, with 75,896 DALYs when only considering moderate evidence. When including all available evidence, 176,888 DALYs can be attributable to road traffic noise. The burden due to aircraft and railway noise is lower because fewer people are exposed. Comparing the burden by health outcomes, the biggest share is due to ischemic heart disease (90%) in regard to aircraft noise, however, the lowest evidence was expressed for the association between traffic noise and ischemic heart disease. Therefore, the results should be interpreted with caution. Using alternative input parameters (e.g., exposure data) can lead to a much higher burden. Nevertheless, environmental noise is an important risk factor which leads to considerable loss of healthy life years. Quelle: https://www.mdpi.comVeröffentlichung Occurrence and coupling of heat and ozone events and their relation to mortality rates in Berlin, Germany, between 2000 and 2014(2019) Fenner, Daniel; Holtmann, Achim; Krug, AlexanderEpisodes of hot weather and poor air quality pose significant consequences for public health. In this study, these episodes are addressed by applying the observational data of daily air temperature and ozone concentrations in an event-based risk assessment approach in order to detect individual heat and ozone events, as well as events of their co-occurrence in Berlin, Germany, in the years 2000 to 2014. Various threshold values are explored so as to identify these events and to search for the appropriate regressions between the threshold exceedances and mortality rates. The events are further analyzed in terms of their event-specific mortality rates and their temporal occurrences. The results reveal that at least 40% of all heat events during the study period are accompanied by increased ozone concentrations in Berlin, particularly the most intense and longest heat events. While ozone events alone are only weakly associated with increased mortality rates, elevated ozone concentrations during heat events are found to amplify mortality rates. We conclude that elevated air temperatures during heat events are one major driver for increased mortality rates in Berlin, but simultaneously occurring elevated ozone concentrations act as an additional stressor, leading to an increased risk for the regional population. Quelle: https://www.mdpi.comVeröffentlichung German regulations on building acoustics - The new standard DIN 4109(2019) Körper, Steffen