Compound-specific stable isotope analyses of fatty acids indicate feeding zones of zooplankton across the water column of a subalpine lake.

Spatial and temporal zooplankton feeding dynamics across the water column of lakes are key for understanding site-specific acquisition of diet sources. During this 6-week lake study, we examined stable carbon (δC) and nitrogen (δN) isotopes and conducted compound-specific fatty acid (FA) stable isotope analysis (CSIA) of edible seston in the epi-, meta-, and hypolimnion, and zooplankton of Lake Lunz, Austria. We predicted that CSIA of essential FA can discern the foraging grounds of zooplankton more accurately than the commonly used bulk stable isotopes.

Response of stable isotopes (δH, δC, δN, δO) of lake water, dissolved organic matter, seston, and zooplankton to an extreme precipitation event.

Lake ecosystems process and cycle organic substrates, thus serving as important bioreactors in the global carbon cycle. Climate change is predicted to increase extreme weather and precipitation events that can flush nutrients and organic matter from soils to streams and lakes. Here we report changes in stable isotopes (δH, δC, δN, or δO) of water, dissolved organic matter (DOM), seston, and zooplankton in a subalpine lake at short time resolution following an extreme precipitation event between early July to mid-August 2021.

Longevity of a solitary mole-rat species and its implications for the assumed link between sociality and longevity in African mole-rats (Bathyergidae).

Sociality and cooperative breeding are associated with enhanced longevity in insects and birds, but whether this is also true for mammals is still subject to debate. African mole-rats (Bathyergidae) have recently been claimed to be the only mammalian family in which such an association may exist because cooperatively breeding bathyergids seem to be substantially longer lived than solitary bathyergids. However, although ample longevity data are available for several social bathyergids, almost nothing is known about mortality distribution and lifespan in solitary bathyergids.

Testing procedures for abdominal muscles using the muscle dynamometer SD02.

The aim of this study was to compare two tests both frequently used for determination of the state of the lumbar spine muscle system during static and dynamic loads. The sit-up test is a commonly used terrain test, while the diaphragm test is a more exact laboratory procedure. For both tests, measurements conducted by the muscular dynamometer SD02 were used to assure congruency in evaluation.

Technical means for objectification of medical treatments in the area of the deep stabilisation spinal system.

Information regarding two versions of an instrument called a muscle dynamometer, which enables detailed information about muscle activity in the deep stabilisation spinal system (DSSS), presented in this article. The MD01 (muscle dynamometer ver. 01) is a simple electromechanical instrument that allows measurement of muscle activity in two areas of the lumbar spine region.

The objectification of therapeutical methods used for improvement of the deep stabilizing spinal system.

Objective: Despite the ever ongoing development in the examination procedures, it is still impossible to exactly diagnose a large percentage of patients with vertebral and back (low-back and neck) pains. This is due to an insufficiently clear connection between symptoms, pathological changes and results from the imaging techniques. Besides a morphological and neurological examination, a grave diagnostic attention should be given to a possible muscular dysfunction.