Occupational upgrading and the business cycle in West Germany

"The occupational skill structure depends on the business cycle if employers respond to shortages of applicants during upturns by lowering their hiring standards. The notion and relevance of hiring standards adjustment was advanced by Reder (1955) and investigated formally in a search-theoretic framework by Mortensen (1970). Devereux (2002) implements empirical tests for these theories and finds affirmative evidence for the U.S labour market. We replicate his analysis using German employment register data. Regarding the occupational skill composition we obtain somewhat lower but qualitatively similar responses to the business cycle despite of well known institutional differences between the U.S. and German labour market. The responsiveness of occupational composition wages to the business cycle is considerably lower in Germany." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Konjunkturabhängigkeit, berufliche Qualifikation, Qualifikationsanforderungen, Personalanpassung, Personaleinstellung, Lohnhöhe, Geschlechterverteilung

Occupational upgrading and the business cycle in West Germany

"Die berufliche Qualifikationsstruktur ist konjunkturabhängig, wenn Arbeitgeber ein zu geringes Angebot von Arbeitskräften mit einer Senkung der Einstellungs- und Qualifikationsstandards beantworten. Die Bedeutung von Einstellungsstandards für Anpassungsprozesse auf dem Arbeitsmarkt wurde von Reder (1955) in die theoretische Diskussion eingeführt und von Mortensen (1970) formal im Rahmen eines suchtheoretischen Modellrahmens untersucht. Devereux (2002) implementiert empirische Tests für diese Theorien und findet mit U.S.-Daten Evidenz für diese Modelle. Wir replizieren seine Analyse mit deutschen Registerdaten. Trotz der institutionellen Unterschiede zwischen beiden Ländern, finden wir in Bezug auf die berufliche Qualifikation für Deutschland etwas geringere, aber qualitativ sehr ähnliche Effekte der Konjunktur." [Autorenreferat]The occupational skill structure depends on the business cycle if employers respond to shortages of applicants during upturns by lowering their hiring standards. The notion and relevance of hiring standards adjustment was advanced by Reder (1955) and investigated formally in a search-theoretic framework by Mortensen (1970). Devereux (2002) implements empirical tests for these theories and finds affirmative evidence for the U.S labour market. We replicate his analysis using German employment register data. Regarding the occupational skill composition we obtain somewhat lower but qualitatively similar responses to the business cycle despite of well known institutional differences between the U.S. and German labour market. The responsiveness of occupational composition wages to the business cycle is considerably lower in Germany. [auhtor's abstract

Aspectos educacionais do ensino da Filosofia

O texto discute algumas perspectivas educacionais em torno do ensino da filosofia, partindo do caráter eminentemente pedagógico da filosofia e filosófico da educação

Schwellenwerte und weitere Entscheidungshilfen bei Befall mit Zwergsteinbrand (Tilletia controversa) und Steinbrand (Tilletia caries)

Beim Zwergsteinbrand zeigte sich, dass bei günstigen Infektionsbedingungen bereits ca. 50 Sporen in 10 g Boden zu einem starken Befall am Erntegut führen. Bei den verwendeten Sorten konnten keine nennenswerten Unterschiede im Befall festgestellt werden. Ein Schwellenwert von 20 Sporen/Korn ist nach den derzeitigen Ergebnissen auch für Zwergsteinbrand ausreichend. Da ein Abschätzen der Winterwitterung schwer möglich ist, wäre ein Grenzwert für das Infektionspotenzial im Boden, vor der Weizen- oder Dinkelsaat, durchaus überlegenswert. Dieser lässt sich aber nach einem einjährigem hohen Befall noch nicht festlegen. Der Steinbrandbefall ist stark von den Auflaufbedingungen abhängig. Nach zwei vorliegenden Versuchsjahren hat sich gezeigt, dass neben einer gezielten Sortenwahl und einen späten Saattermin (Ende Oktober) der Befall am Erntegut gering gehalten werden kann. Es konnte auch nachgewiesen werden, dass die Infektion vom Boden erfolgt. Zur Aussaat sollte nur Z-Saatgut verwendet werden, denn je höher das ausgesäte Saatgut bereits mit Brandsporen befallen ist, umso höher ist der Befall im nächsten Jahr beim Erntegut. Ziel des Weizenanbaus muss sein, das Sporenpotenzial im Boden und am Erntegut so gering wie möglich zu halten. Für einen Grenzwert im Boden besteht derzeit keine Notwendigkeit, da einem Befall mit entsprechender Sortenwahl und späten Saattermin entgegengewirkt werden kann

Renal AA-amyloidosis in intravenous drug users - a role for HIV-infection?

Background: Chronic renal disease is a serious complication of long-term intravenous drug use (IVDU). Recent reports have postulated a changing pattern of underlying nephropathy over the last decades. Methods: Retrospective investigation including all patients with prior or present IVDU that underwent renal biopsy because of chronic kidney disease between 01.04.2002 and 31.03.2012 in the city of Frankfurt/Main, Germany. Results: Twenty four patients with IVDU underwent renal biopsy because of progressive chronic kidney disease or proteinuria. Renal AA-amyloidosis was the predominant cause of renal failure in 50% of patients. Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (GN) was the second most common cause found in 21%. Patients with AA-amyloidosis were more likely to be HIV infected (67 vs.17%; p=0.036) and tended to have a higher rate of repeated systemic infections (92 vs. 50%; p=0.069). Patients with AA-amyloidosis presented with progressive renal disease and nephrotic-range proteinuria but most patients had no peripheral edema or systemic hypertension. Development of proteinuria preceded the decline of GFR for approximately 1--2 years. Conclusions: AA-amyloidosis was the predominant cause of progressive renal disease in the last 10 years in patients with IVDU. The highest rate of AA-amyloidosis observed was seen in HIV infected patients with IVDU. We speculate that chronic HIV-infection as well as the associated immunosuppression might promote development of AA-amyloidosis by increasing frequency and duration of infections acquired by IVDU

Kritik der herrschenden ökonomischen Lehre: Der ökonomiekritische Diskurs des Cambridge-Ökonomen Piero Sraffa

oai:d02a386b.www.prokla.de:article/2Hans-Peter Büttner: Critique of ruling economics. The discourse of Piero Sraffa. Neoclassicaleconomic theory and its apparatus of methodological individualism, subjectivism andmarginalism is the dominant paradigm within the field of economic science. Nevertheless theresearch program of Piero Sraffa and the neo-Ricardian school has shown that neoclassicaltheory is internally inconsistent and faced with serious problems with respect to its empiricalrelevance – as a concrete and well investigated example for empirical observation, I presentneoclassical cost theory, the fundament of standard neoclassical supply function. The textdiscusses three historical debates initiated by the neo-Ricardian school against neoclassicalecomomics and shows the importance of these results for critical economic approaches

Finite quantum dissipation: the challenge of obtaining specific heat

We consider a free particle coupled with finite strength to a bath and investigate the evaluation of its specific heat. A harmonic oscillator bath of Drude type with cutoff frequency omega_D is employed to model an ohmic friction force with dissipation strength gamma. Two scenarios for obtaining specific heat are presented. The first one uses the measurement of the kinetic energy of the free particle while the second one is based on the reduced partition function. Both descriptions yield results which are consistent with the Third Law of thermodynamics. Nevertheless, the two methods produce different results that disagree even in their leading quantum corrections at high temperatures. We also consider the regime where the cutoff frequency is smaller than the friction strength, i.e. omega_D<gamma. There, we encounter puzzling results at low temperatures where the specific heat based on the thermodynamic prescription becomes negative. This anomaly is rooted in an ill-defined density of states of the damped free particle which assumes unphysical negative values when gamma/omega_D>1.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Erarbeitung von Schwellenwerten zur gezielten Bekämpfung von Zwergsteinbrand (Tilletia controversa) und Steinbrand (Tilletia caries) sowie deren praktische Umsetzung im Öko- Landbau

Dwarf bunt of wheat (Tilletia controversa) and common bunt of wheat (Tilletia caries) are the most important pathogens in organic cereal production. The aim of this research work is to find out whether a threshold value for seed is sufficient or whether the infection potential in the soil must be considered additionally. For dwarf bunt of wheat two-years-lasting field trials are performed at 3 sites with susceptible and low-susceptible wheat and spelt cultivars, 4 infection levels and 4 replications. The field trials are designed in a randomized split-block design with additional marginal-plots, so (1) sowing and harvest will be possible without greater interaction between the field plots, (2) spore contamination of the soil during harvest will be assured and (3) the determination of spore inoculum density in the soil after harvest will be enabled. Only fields with natural spore contamination are chosen. The field trials for common bunt of wheat are carried out in a similar design with 4 replicates at 4 sites with susceptible and low-susceptible wheat cultivars and two different sowing times. For an infestation with dwarf bunt of wheat, diffuse light is sufficient. The wheat cultivar Capo showed a significantly lower infestation than the cultivar Saturnus. The infestation of the spelt cultivar Franckenkorn was significantly lower than that of the cultivar Oberkulmer Rotkorn, with the infestation of spelt cultivars being in principle lower because of morphological features. The greatest significant number of infested spikes per m² was found in the variant soil infection. With the dwarf bunt of wheat results from the first year no threshold values can be determined neither for seed nor for soil. In the case of infestation with common bunt of wheat, there were no significant differences between the early and late sowing dates, nor between the cultivars Capo and Tommi. The highest bunt spore potential in the soil was found at the field trial site in Saxony; however, the highest number of infested spikes per m² was not found there

Pre- and Post-Harvest Infection of Pasteurized Pickles with Fungi and Their Pectinolytic Potential to Soften the Product

Fungi and their enzymes have long been thought to cause the softening of pasteurized gherkins; however, the exact fungal species and timing of contamination are unknown. Ready-to-sell pickle jars and blossoms of growing gherkins were inoculated with DNA-sequenced fungi isolated from rotting gherkins to cause softening at various stages of production. Ready-to-sell gherkins inoculated with Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium equiseti, Galactomyces geotrichum, Mucor circinelloides, Mucor hiemalis, Mucor fragilis, Plectosphaerella cucumerina, Alternaria sp., and Cladosporium sp. indicated a measurable texture reduction after pasteurization and 6 months of storage at room temperature. No texture changes were observed in gherkins infected during the growth phase. The fungi M. hiemalis, M. fragilis, and G. geotrichum tolerated the acidic-saline (approx. pH 4) environment in the jar for several days, thus the pectinolytic enzymes of these candidates were tested for heat and pH resistance. Although the measured endo-Polygalacturonase (PG) of M. fragilis had its optimum activity at pH < 4, all fungal enzymes were inactivated within 3 min at 80 °C corresponding to the pasteurization heat. Our study shows that conventionally occurring fungi and their enzymes have the potential to induce softening in pickles. Softening by these fungi is unlikely due to post- or pre-harvest contamination without any other influences.European agricultural fund for rural development (EAFRD)Peer Reviewe

Detection of the Filarial Parasite Mansonella streptocerca in Skin Biopsies by a Nested Polymerase Chain Reaction-Based Assay

To differentiate the skin-dwelling filariae Mansonella streptocerca and Onchocerca volvulus, a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was developed from small amounts of parasite material present in skin biopsies. One nonspecific and one specific pair of primers were used to amplify the 5S rDNA spacer region of M. streptocerca. Biopsies with different microfilaria densities obtained from 104 Ugandans living in an area endemic forM. streptocerca were tested using both the nested PCR assay and standard parasitologic assessment of microfilariae. All 82 samples from microfilaria carriers were positive when tested using the nested PCR assay. In addition, M. streptocerca DNA could be detected in 16 samples thought to be microfilaria negative. Furthermore, six days follow- ing ivermectin treatment, M. streptocerca DNA was found in 12 of 14 microfilaria-negative biopsies. Control skin samples from patients infected with O. volvulus were all negative in the nested PCR assay. This assay improves the diagnosis of M. streptocerca and will facilitate further epidemiologic studies