El joven Nietzsche y la ciencia: El caso de Demócrito

The young Nietzsche introduces Democritus as the first absolute incarnation of scientism and rationalism. How can we understand this in tune with Nietzsche’s criticism of scientific optimism and of rationality in general? How can we understand Nietzsche’s suggestion that the rationalistic Democritus is no more the summit of Greek thought, but Heraclitus, that kind of «intuitive man»? When intending to bring to the fore the knot that links these texts beyond their apparent contradiction, we would like to contribute to the revaluation of Nietzsche’s reception of pre-Platonic philosophers.El joven Nietzsche presenta a Demócrito como la primera encarnación completa de la cientificidad y del racionalismo. ¿Cómo compaginar esto con la crítica de Nietzsche del optimismo científico y de la racionalidad en general? ¿Cómo se entiendeque Nietzsche sugiera que ya no es el racionalista Demócrito la cumbre del pensamiento griego, sino Heráclito, ese tipo de «hombre intuitivo»? Al proponernos traer a la luz el lazo que une estos textos más allá de su aparente contradicción, quisiéramos contribuir a la revalorización de la recepción nietzscheana de los filósofos preplatónico

Geldsendungen von Migranten - "Manna" für die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung?

Remittances - finanzielle Rücküberweisungen von Migranten in ihre Heimatländer - haben in der letzten Dekade spektakuläre Wachstumsraten erlebt und dadurch eine internationale "Remittance-Euphorie" ausgelöst. Zahlreiche Reports und Konferenzen haben sich dem Thema gewidmet, und in den Augen mancher Regierender scheinen die Geldüberweisungen von Migranten an ihre zu Hause gebliebenen Familien wie Manna vom Himmel zu fallen. Migranten werden zunehmend als neue Akteure der Entwicklungsförderung entdeckt und auf nationaler und internationaler Ebene sind Initiativenergriffen worden, den Entwicklungsbeitrag der Rücküberweisungen zu fördern. Ein differenzierter Blick auf die Wirkungsweisen von Remittances zeigt, dass sie durchaus das Potential haben, wirtschaftliche Entwicklung zu beschleunigen. Dieses zum Tragen zu bringen, stellt jedoch die Politik in den Sende- ebenso wie in den Empfängerländern vor große Herausforderungen. (GIGA

FADS1 FADS2 Gene Cluster, PUFA Intake and Blood Lipids in Children: Results from the GINIplus and LISAplus Studies

BACKGROUND: Elevated cholesterol levels in children can be a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases in later life. In adults, it has been shown that blood lipid levels are strongly influenced by polymorphisms in the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) gene cluster in addition to nutritional and other exogenous and endogenous determinants. Our aim was to investigate whether lipid levels are determined by the FADS genotype already in children and whether this association interacts with dietary intake of n-3 fatty acids. METHODS: The analysis was based on data of 2006 children from two German prospective birth cohort studies. Total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides were measured at 10 years of age. Six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the FADS gene cluster were genotyped. Dietary n-3 fatty acid intake was assessed by food frequency questionnaire. Linear regression modeling was used to assess the association between lipid levels, n-3 fatty acid intake and FADS genotype. RESULTS: Individuals carrying the homozygous minor allele had lower levels of total cholesterol [means ratio (MR) ranging from 0.96 (p = 0.0093) to 0.98 (p = 0.2949), depending on SNPs] and LDL [MR between 0.94 (p = 0.0179) and 0.97 (p = 0.2963)] compared to homozygous major allele carriers. Carriers of the heterozygous allele showed lower HDL levels [β between -0.04 (p = 0.0074) to -0.01 (p = 0.3318)] and higher triglyceride levels [MR ranging from 1.06 (p = 0.0065) to 1.07 (p = 0.0028)] compared to homozygous major allele carriers. A higher n-3 PUFA intake was associated with higher concentrations of total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and lower triglyceride levels, but these associations did not interact with the FADS1 FADS2 genotype. CONCLUSION: Total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglyceride concentrations may be influenced by the FADS1 FADS2 genotype already in 10 year old children. Genetically determined blood lipid levels during childhood might differentially predispose individuals to the development of cardiovascular diseases later in life

Global maps of soil temperature

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km² resolution for 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e., offset) between in-situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km² pixels (summarized from 8500 unique temperature sensors) across all the world’s major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (-0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in-situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications

Global maps of soil temperature.

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km2 resolution for 0-5 and 5-15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e. offset) between in situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km2 pixels (summarized from 8519 unique temperature sensors) across all the world's major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (-0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications

A Gender Perspective on Public Finances

Die Studie analysiert die erfolgten und die möglichen Schritte der Umsetzung von Gender Mainstreaming in einem bereits abgeschlossenen Gesetzesvorhaben. Sie bietet sowohl im rechtlich materiellen Sinne als auch zu dem Prozess der Entwicklung von Gesetzesvorhaben Alternativen, die zu einer stärkeren Gleichstellung der Geschlechter durch die Familienförderung beitragen würden.The study analyses possible steps as well as steps taken for the implementation of gender mainstreaming in an already completed legislative project. It offers up alternatives, both in the concrete legal sense as well as alternatives to the process of developing legislative projects, which would contribute to strengthening the equal treatment of the sexes through family aid