East Bavaria Research Articles

Residency program under scrutiny (part 2)-How do residents prepare for emergency operations?

Postgraduate medical education in trauma and orthopedic surgery residents largely relates to learning and teaching surgery. During this crucial stage of surgical development some of the didactic challenges are caused by heterogeneous and contradictory expectations of trainees and trainers alike. So how do residents prepare for emergency surgery? To date there is neither an expert consensus nor scientific investigations in the clinical context on this topic. Between February and April 2015 questionnaires were issued to all physicians active in the field of trauma and orthopedic surgery within the Trauma Network East Bavaria (27clinics, 255 physicians). The participants were asked to rate the importance of certain elements functioning in the preparation of two emergency operations using a Likert scale. The intensity with which residents generally realize these elements of preparation was also documented. The aim was to objectify if and to what extent the presumed normal practices diverge from clinical reality. Atotal of 150 questionnaires were analyzed (return rate 59%). Discussion with the consultant (85.3%, n = 128), examination of the patient (80.0%, n = 120), surgical approach (76.0%, n = 114) and study of patient files (68.0%, n = 102) were considered to be the most important elements; however, many of the participants admitted that these elements of preparation are not sufficiently performed. The personal preparation of residents for an emergency operation should be classified as extremely important; however, the requirements and reality do not seem to hold true in the clinical environment. This seems to be most likely due to structural and organizational issues.

Residency program under scrutiny-how do residents prepare for elective operations?

A wide variety of technical, emotional and organizational aspects of the residency program are aligned with "learning and teaching operations". When aresident is assigned as an operator to the operation program, many chances are provided for teaching and learning with preparation, intraoperative and postoperative care. But the moment when aresident starts preparing for an operation, heterogeneous and partly old-fashioned attitudes as well as contradictory practices must be faced in the clinical context. In the daily practice there is no consensus about a structured preparation for an operation. There have been no scientific investigations on this topic so far. From February to April 2015 questionnaires were sent to all trauma and orthopedic surgeons in the trauma network of East Bavaria (27clinics, 255 physicians). Using Likert scales, the participants could rate the importance of certain elements of preparation for two elective operations and the intensity of how the residents succeeded in these. The aim was to objectify if and to what extent the aspirations diverge from clinical reality. A total of 150 forms could be analyzed (response rate 59%). The surgical approach, patient examinations, study of patient files, discussion with the consultant and the operation technique were considered to be the most important elements; however, approximately half of the participants stated that they did not sufficiently accomplish these elements. Gender-specific differences or differences between the age groups could only be sporadically detected. Amismatch could be recognized between aspiration and reality concerning the personal preparations of residents for operations. Hospital-specific concepts and a standardized, preoperative dialogue between residents and consultants could be an important element in asuccessful preparation for interventions.

Persistent mercury hot spot in Central Europe and Skalka Dam reservoir as a long-term mercury trap.

This study aimed to evaluate the relevance of the floodplain pollution sinks of the legacy mercury (Hg) hot spot in Kössein-Röslau river system (east Bavaria, Germany) for further mobilisation and fluvial transport of mercury in suspended particulate matter (SPM), as an important transport medium of Hg in aquatic systems. The channel belt fluvial erosion as the secondary pollution pathway was also considered. The hot spot has originated from the production of Hg compounds such as C2H5HgCN and C6H5HgCl in Chemical Factory Marktredwitz, and even more than 30years after the factory abandonment, the Kössein and the Röslau rivers still export polluted fine grained SPM (median 25-35μm) with mean annual concentrations of 17.4mg/kg. SPM sampling was performed by floating samplers, supported by floodplain drill cores and by recent channel sediments manually collected along the polluted rivers further. Based on long-term monitoring data set from state enterprise Povodí Ohře, fish in the Skalka Reservoir have had Hg concentrations in their muscles up to 6mg/kg for at least the last 14years, exceeding the European maximal limit of 0.5mg/Hg/kg. In addition, the Hg inventory in the Kössein-Röslau river stretches was therefore calculated; it produced an estimate of ca. 21tHg in a 22-km-long channel belt, prone to fluvial remobilisation during floods. Although a major portion of the fluvially transported Hg has yet been trapped by the Skalka Reservoir, the Hg content in the SPM exported farther downstream still varies between 2 and 10mg/kgHg. Due to the considerable Hg inventory in the Kössein-Röslau rivers, an improvement will not occur downstream unless specific measures target the secondary pollution mechanism(s).

Coarse Woody Debris Management with Ambiguous Chance Constrained Robust Optimization

Coarse woody debris (deadwood) serves as a dwelling space for many rare species, and is therefore a most important factor to ensure diversity in forest ecosystems. However, wood from forest ecosystems is also needed for construction and heating. Therefore, a forest enterprise has to simultaneously incorporate the provision of suitable habitats, as well as the production of wood into their long-term management plans. If the owner wants to fulfil such multiple objectives in an effective way, the providing of ecosystem services can be included in economic planning. Applying computer aided robust optimization techniques, we optimized the provision of deadwood for two exemplary enterprises in East Bavaria, Germany. The results show that high amounts of deadwood provision can cause severe opportunity costs for the forest owner. These costs highly depend on the tree species, the sorting strategy and the time horizon, in which the deadwood objective is reached. Low deadwood targets up to 5 m 3 h a − 1 can be provided most cost-effectively with crown material, while higher targets (20 m 3 h a − 1 and more) are better achieved with heavy timber grades or the provision of total trees. The novelty of our research is the inclusion of deadwood targets in a risk-considering optimization tool on enterprise level. Instead of calculating the economic loss of commercially not-used timber assortments we show a way of deriving the impact of such decisions at stand level on the economic performance of the whole forest enterprise. We were able to derive optimized opportunity costs. These costs can be used as guidelines for necessary incentives to encourage forest owners to incorporate the provision of deadwood into their management.

The new Early Miocene bat records from the Molasse sites of South Germany

Abstract Fossil bats are described from deposits of the Upper Freshwater Molasse of the Forsthart and Rembach sites in East Bavaria of South Germany (MN 4). The material comprises 13 fragments, representing at least six different species, all belonging to Vespertilionidae. A fossil form from Rembach, close to the Oriental clade of Hesperoptenus, represents the first and oldest fossil record of this clade in Europe. The assignment of bat records to extant Oriental clades Hesperoptenus and Submyotodon in Rembach, as well as different forms of Miostrellus in Forsthart indicate considerable diversity in Early Miocene vespertilionid bats, and have exciting palaeobiogeographic implications. Fossils are discussed in regards to taxonomic, stratigraphic and palaeoecological significance.

Lightning Density Distribution and Hazard in an Alpine Region

Due to the expected climate change driven increase of extreme weather events, damage risks for infrastructure and buildings are rising. Hence spatial decision-support material is necessary to enhance risk management and planning strategies. The presented study contributes to this topic by means of an analysis of cloud-to-ground lightning patterns and their impact on structural facilities using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Lightning records from 1998 to 2009, ascertained by the European Cooperation for Lightning Detection (EUCLID), were utilized in order to apply three different lightning density approaches to an alpine area comprising the Austrian federal province of Salzburg and south- east Bavaria, Germany. Based on the derived lightning density distribution maps and an elevation model, spatial coherences between lightning activity and various topographic properties such as altitude or surface curvature were evaluated. In order to subsequently estimate the lightning hazard to buildings in the city of Salzburg, the frequencies of hazardous lightning events were estimated in GIS using a European lightning protection standard (EN62305-2 Risk Management) as a foundation. Thereby, the prototypical realization was based on the lightning density, a cadastral dataset, and elevation data. The lighting density results obtained show high lightning activity with more than 3 yearly flashes per square kilometer along the northern edge of the Alps. The hazard analysis in the city of Salzburg showed high hazards for buildings due to electromagnetic induction (up to one dangerous event in each year) and comparatively low hazards due to direct lightning strikes (one dangerous event every 10 to 2200 years).

Black soils, sediments and brown calcic luvisols: A pedological description of a newly discovered neolithic ring ditch system at Stephansposching, Eastern Bavaria, Germany

Because soils reflect past physical and chemical formation conditions, they are valuable geoarchives, but the knowledge of past soil patterns is restricted. Thus, buried soils of different ages are often used to reconstruct soil development stages. Soils were analyzed at a newly discovered and excavated Neolithic ring ditch system that was constructed some 6700 years ago in east Bavaria, Germany. Sediments and newly formed soils trapped in the former 2.5 m deep ditch are compared with adjacent sediments and in situ soils. Field descriptions, thin sections and extensive laboratory analysis, together with some geophysical measurements were applied for material characterization. At the bottom of the ditch are the remnant sediments of a fully developed Calcic Luvisol, which was the main soil type about 6700 years ago at the study site. Black sediments in the upper parts of the ditch, identified as Luvic Phaeozems, might be the result of anthropogenic fire management techniques. They are termed anthropo-thermal Luvic Phaeozems. No evidence of former Chernozems, other than in positions close to the floodplain of the Danube River, were found. The formation of black soils and black sediments adjacent to brown Calcic Luvisols is documented.

Stratigraphy and Chronology of Late Quaternary Floodplain Sediments in a Historic Mining Area, Vils River Valley, East Bavaria, Germany

Analysis of 288 percussion drillings from depths of up to seven meters and a 120 m long excavated section provide new and detailed information on the Late Quaternary to Late Holocene floodplain evolution from the most important Central European iron-mining region of the 15th century. The generalized sequence of the Vils River floodplain is built of five units representing facies of different genesis (rock/saprolite, gravel, sand, loam, peat) that are identified by physical, chemical, and mineralogical parameters (grain size, clast shape, and content, TOC, bulk mineralogy). Along the 87 km length of the valley, different units/facies are found at the Upper Vils River (UVR 1-5) and at the Lower Vils River (LVR 1-4b). In both river sections, fine-grained material (flood loam) forms the major part (up to 4 m) of the alluvial sequence. 29 age determinations (24 14C, 4 IRSL, 1 tree-ring analysis) show increasing accumulation of flood loam in the last millennium. The data correlate with the beginning of mining at the Vils River and hence suggest a causal connection with mining activities in the catchment—both on the slopes and in the floodplain—with intense deposition of flood loams.

Using evidence of non-linear induced polarization for detecting extended ore mineralizations

The discrimination between electrolytic and electronic conductors is highly relevant to geological modelling as it allows conclusions to be drawn about the formation and mineral composition of rocks. The induced polarization (IP) method, which compares the electric current injected into the ground with the corresponding earth potential differences can be used for this purpose. This paper describes a new method based on the theory that non-linear electrochemical processes on the surface of electronic conductors are responsible for non-linear IP (NLIP) phenomena. This results in multiples of the fundamental frequency being observed in the telluric voltage spectra when a monochromatic current signal is fed into the ground. The non-linearity of the current–voltage characteristic is most effectively described by a spectral method. A laboratory experiment was carried out, using an electrolytic trough with a small graphite cylinder serving as an electronic conductor, which clearly demonstrated the validity of the method. A field experiment was undertaken at a borehole of approximately 450 m depth, located in the transition zone of the Tepla-Barrandium and Moldanubicum in East Bavaria. A sinusoidal current was injected into the ground using a logging tool at depths varying between 150 and 450 m. The corresponding potential differences were simultaneously observed along a profile on the surface. Field and laboratory results show a striking similarity. It can be concluded that an extensive electronic conductor—probably graphite—is steeply dipping southwards meeting the borehole at approximately 310 m depth.

A new octocoral from the Upper Cretaceous of east Bavaria

A new octocoral from the Upper Cretaceous of east Bavaria

HDR Experiments at Falkenberg/Bavaria

A test site for HDR experiments has been set up in granite in the Bohemian massif in east Bavaria. A large fracture was stimulated by hydraulic fracturing in a depth of 250 m. The orientation of the fracture was investigated by seismo-acoustic recording during the frac-experiments and by examining the fracture pattern initiated in the injection interval of the borehole by an impression packer and by acoustic televiewer measurements. Geoelectric measurements for fracture location at the surface were also tested before attempting to drill through the fracture. The fracture has now been intersected by 6 additional boreholes at distances between 2 m and 70 m from the initiation interval. According to the results of seismo-acoustic recording, temperature logging and acoustic televiewer measurements in the intersection boreholes, a single plane artificial fracture has been produced, striking E-W and dipping 50°S. The orientation of the fracture, which should be normal to the least compressive principal stress, and the value of the normal stress on the fracture are not consistent with the direction and the values of the principal stresses determined by wire line hydraulic fracturing stress measurements. Various hydraulic experiments were performed in the different boreholes to investigate the mechanical reaction of the fracture due to varying fluid pressure, the hydraulic properties of the fracture, the fluid losses and the heat exchange within the fracture. The models developed to interpret the results make it possible to translate the results to greater depth and higher flow rates.