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Monika Baumann ist seit 2019 Co-Geschäftsleiterin der Getreidezüchtung Peter Kunz (GZPK). Die Pioniere der Biozüchtung arbeiten seit Beginn eng mit dem FiBL zusammen.

Dal 2019 Monika Baumann è codirettrice della Getreidezüchtung Peter Kunz (GZPK). Sin dall’inizio i pionieri della selezione biologica collaborano strettamente con il FiBL.

Monika Baumann est depuis 2019 codirectrice de la Sélection Céréalière de Peter Kunz (GZPK). Ces pionniers de la sélection bio collaborent avec le FiBL dès le début.

(1) Background: To improve hearing-aid rehabilitation, the Danish ‘Better hEAring Rehabilitation’ (BEAR) project recently developed methods for individual hearing loss characterization and hearing-aid fitting. Four auditory profiles differing in terms of audiometric hearing loss and supra-threshold hearing abilities were identified. To enable auditory profile-based hearing-aid treatment, a fitting rationale leveraging differences in gain prescription and signal-to-noise (SNR) improvement was developed. This report describes the translation of this rationale to clinical devices supplied by three industrial partners. (2) Methods: Regarding the SNR improvement, advanced feature settings were proposed and verified based on free-field measurements made with an acoustic mannikin fitted with the different hearing aids. Regarding the gain prescription, a clinically feasible fitting tool and procedure based on real-ear gain adjustments were developed. (3) Results: Analyses of the collected real-ear gain and SNR improvement data confirmed the feasibility of the clinical implementation. Differences between the auditory profile-based fitting strategy and a current ‘best practice’ procedure based on the NAL-NL2 fitting rule were verified and are discussed in terms of limitations and future perspectives. (4) Conclusion: Based on a joint effort from academic and industrial partners, the BEAR fitting rationale was transferred to commercially available hearing aids.

Introduction A growing body of evidence suggests that hearing loss is a significant and potentially modifiable risk factor for cognitive impairment. Although the mechanisms underlying the associations between cognitive decline and hearing loss are unclear, listening effort has been posited as one of the mechanisms involved with cognitive decline in older age. To date, there has been a lack of research investigating this association, particularly among adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods and analysis 15-25 cognitively healthy participants and 15-25 patients with MCI (age 40-85 years) will be recruited to participate in an exploratory study investigating the association between cognitive functioning and listening effort. Both behavioural and objective measures of listening effort will be investigated. The sentence-final word identification and recall (SWIR) test will be administered with single talker non-intelligible speech background noise while monitoring pupil dilation. Evaluation of cognitive function will be carried out in a clinical setting using a battery of neuropsychological tests. This study is considered exploratory and proof of concept, with information taken to help decide the validity of larger-scale trials. Ethics and dissemination Written approval exemption was obtained by the Scientific Ethics Committee in the central region of Denmark (De Videnskabsetiske Komiteer i Region Hovedstaden), reference 19042404, and the project is registered pre-results at clinicaltrials.gov, reference NCT04593290, Protocol ID 19042404. Study results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and conferences.

INTRODUCTION: A growing body of evidence suggests that hearing loss is a significant and potentially modifiable risk factor for cognitive impairment. Although the mechanisms underlying the associations between cognitive decline and hearing loss are unclear, listening effort has been posited as one of the mechanisms involved with cognitive decline in older age. To date, there has been a lack of research investigating this association, particularly among adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). METHODS AND ANALYSIS: 15-25 cognitively healthy participants and 15-25 patients with MCI (age 40-85 years) will be recruited to participate in an exploratory study investigating the association between cognitive functioning and listening effort. Both behavioural and objective measures of listening effort will be investigated. The sentence-final word identification and recall (SWIR) test will be administered with single talker non-intelligible speech background noise while monitoring pupil dilation. Evaluation of cognitive function will be carried out in a clinical setting using a battery of neuropsychological tests. This study is considered exploratory and proof of concept, with information taken to help decide the validity of larger-scale trials. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Written approval exemption was obtained by the Scientific Ethics Committee in the central region of Denmark (De Videnskabsetiske Komiteer i Region Hovedstaden), reference 19042404, and the project is registered pre-results at clinicaltrials.gov, reference NCT04593290, Protocol ID 19042404. Study results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and conferences.

Der hohe Krankheitsdruck im Schweizer Rebbau durch den Echten und den Falschen Mehltau führt im Vergleich zum kleinen Anteil an der Landwirtschaftsfläche zu sehr hohen Pflanzen-schutzmittel-Einsätzen. Aktuelle Entwicklungen in Gesellschaft und Politik zeigen, dass der Einsatz von Pflanzenschutzmitteln immer kritischer beurteilt wird. Pilzwiderstandsfähige Rebsorten bieten sich dabei als die optimale Lösung an. Diese Sorten entstehen durch Kreuzungszüchtung und vereinen die Weinqualität der Europäersorten mit den Resistenzen von amerikanischen oder asiatischen Reben. Neben den ökologischen haben diese Sorten auch ökonomische Vorteile aufgrund der viel geringeren Ausgaben für Pflanzenschutzmittel und der Einsparung von Arbeits- und Maschinen-Ressourcen. Trotz diesen Vorteilen werden bloss auf 1.92% der gesamten Rebfläche in der Schweiz Piwis angebaut. Die Gründe liegen weniger bei den Konsumenten, als bei der geringen Akzeptanz dieser neuen Sorten in der Branche. In dieser Arbeit werden Massnahmen zur Förderung der Akzeptanz von Piwis in der Weinbranche vorgeschlagen. In einem ersten Teil werden die Gründe für den geringen Piwi-Anbau aufgrund der Literatur erforscht und darauf basierend Fördermassnahmen ausformuliert. Diese werden einerseits quantitativ mittels einer Live-Befragung von über 150 Fachleuten an den Wädenswiler Weintagen auf deren Nutzen beurteilt. Andererseits erfolgt eine qualitative Beurteilung durch Experten-Interviews mit 11 Wein-Fachleuten aus den Bereichen Produktion, Handel und Bildung. Die grösste Herausforderung wird aufgrund der fehlenden Erfahrung mit der andersartigen Weinstilistik in der Vinifikation gesehen. Gefolgt von der Vermarktung von neuen, unbekannten Sorten und der Unsicherheit bei der Sortenwahl. Als nützlichste Förder-massnahme wird der Praxisaustausch mit Fachdegustationen eingeschätzt. Das Zurverfügungstellen von Infomaterial und die Thematisierung in der Bildung werden als weitere wichtige Massnahmen bewertet. Für die Vermarktu, The high disease pressure in Swiss viticulture from powdery mildew and downy mildew leads to very high pesticide use compared to the small proportion of agricultural land. Current developments in society and politics show that the use of pesticides is being assessed more and more critically. Fungus-resistant grape varieties are the optimal solution. These varieties are created by cross-breeding and combine the wine quality of European varieties with the resistance of American or Asian vines. In addition to the ecological advantages, these varieties also have economic advantages due to the much lower expenditure on pesticides and the saving of labour and machine resources. Despite these advantages, only 1.92% of the total vineyard area in Switzerland is planted with piwis. The reasons lie less with the consumers than with the low acceptance of these new varieties in the industry. This paper proposes measures to promote the acceptance of piwis in the wine industry. In a first part, the reasons for the low piwi cultivation are researched on the basis of the literature and based on this, promotional measures are formulated. On the one hand, these will be quantitatively assessed by means of a live survey of over 150 experts at the Wädenswil Wine Days. On the other hand, a qualitative assessment is carried out through expert interviews with 11 wine experts from the areas of production, trade and education. The greatest challenge is seen in vinification due to the lack of experience with different wine styles. Followed by the marketing of new, unknown varieties and uncertainty in the choice of varieties. The most useful support measure is considered to be the practical exchange with expert tastings. The provision of information material and the thematisation in education are seen as further important measures. For marketing purposes, the term "new varieties" is preferred to "piwi" or other designations. Wine of very high quality is cited as the most important sal