The state parliaments and the emergency politics in the Corona crisis

Auch wenn Deutschlands Performanz bei den Infektions- und Todeszahlen sowie den wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Folgen in Verbindung mit COVID-19 im EU27-Vergleich als zufriedenstellend bewertet würde, stellt sich die Frage nach der Input-Legitimität durch demokratische Verfahren. Sie wird ausgehend vom Konzept der Emergency Politics von Jonathan White am Beispiel Deutschlands mit seinem Notstandsregime der Bund-Länder-Konferenz und dessen Effekten auf die 16 Landesparlamente aufgeworfen. Anschließend daran wird argumentiert, dass die während der Pandemiewellen in den Jahren 2020 und 2021 vorherrschende Entscheidungsfindung und Beschlussfassung innerhalb der föderalen Staatsordnung einen Rahmen bildete, der den Parlamentsfunktionen weitgehend den Boden entzogen hat. Zentral für die Analyse ist die Darlegung der von der Pandemie evozierten Veränderung des Mehrebenen-Regierens durch die Bund-Länder-Konferenzen. Auswirkungen dieser von der Exekutive dominierten Krisenbewältigungspolitik wird für die auf der Landesebene wichtigsten Parlamentsfunktionen, die Kontrolle durch Mitregieren, Oppositionskontrolle, Gesetzgebung sowie das Herstellen von Öffentlichkeit, diskutiert. Empirische Grundlagen bilden Presseberichte, nichtöffentliche Beschlussvorlagen und Beschlüsse der Bund-Länder-Konferenz sowie Bevölkerungsbefragungen. Der Aufsatz schließt mit der Empfehlung, zukünftige Notstandspolitik institutionell besser vorzubereiten und dabei einen Platz für den Landesparlamentarismus vorzusehen.Although Germany’s performance in terms of the number of infections and fatalities as well as the economic and social consequences associated with COVID-19 can be considered as satisfactory in an EU27 comparison, it raises the question of input legitimacy through democratic procedures. It draws on the basis of Jonathan White’s concept of emergency politics, using the example of Germany with its emergency regime of the Bund-Länder-Konferenz and its impact on the 16 state parliaments. It is then argued that the decision-making during the pandemic waves in 2020 and 2021 formed a framework within the federal state that largely removed the basis for parliamentary functions. Essential for the analysis is the outline of the change in the multi-level governance that the pandemic brought about through the conference of the Chancellor and the 16 state prime ministers. The impact of this governmental crisis management politics are discussed for the most important state parliamentary functions, the oversight through co-governance, oversight by the opposition, legislation, and the public debate. The empirical basis is provided by media reports, non-public drafts, resolutions of the Bund-Länder-Konferenz and opinion polls. The article concludes with a recommendation to better prepare future emergency politics institutionally and to give state parliamentarism a place in this process

Wyrm: A Brain-Computer Interface Toolbox in Python

In the last years Python has gained more and more traction in the scientific community. Projects like NumPy, SciPy, and Matplotlib have created a strong foundation for scientific computing in Python and machine learning packages like scikit-learn or packages for data analysis like Pandas are building on top of it. In this paper we present Wyrm (https://github.com/bbci/wyrm), an open source BCI toolbox in Python. Wyrm is applicable to a broad range of neuroscientific problems. It can be used as a toolbox for analysis and visualization of neurophysiological data and in real-time settings, like an online BCI application. In order to prevent software defects, Wyrm makes extensive use of unit testing. We will explain the key aspects of Wyrm’s software architecture and design decisions for its data structure, and demonstrate and validate the use of our toolbox by presenting our approach to the classification tasks of two different data sets from the BCI Competition III. Furthermore, we will give a brief analysis of the data sets using our toolbox, and demonstrate how we implemented an online experiment using Wyrm. With Wyrm we add the final piece to our ongoing effort to provide a complete, free and open source BCI system in Python.BMBF, 01GQ0850, Bernstein Fokus Neurotechnologie - Nichtinvasive Neurotechnologie für Mensch-Maschine InteraktionBMBF, 16SV5839, Maschinelles Lernen zur Optimierung der Kommunikation schwerstgelähmter Patienten per BC

HMF-Bestimmung und Honigqualität: Ein neues Experiment für die Schule

Der Gehalt von Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in Honig ist ein Parameter zur Beurteilung seiner Frische und einer sachgemäßen Wärmebehandlung beim Abfüllen. Die qualitative und quantitative Bestimmung von HMF werden als Schulexperimente vorgestellt

NA49 results on hadron production: indications of the onset of deconfinement ?

The NA49 experiment at the CERN SPS measured the energy and system size dependence of particle production in A+A collisions. A change of the energy dependence of several hadron production properties at low SPS energies is observed which suggests a scenario requiring the onset of deconfinement.Comment: XXXV International Symposium on Multiparticle Dynamics 200

Energy dependence of multiplicity fluctuations in heavy ion collisions

The energy dependence of multiplicity fluctuations was studied for the most central Pb+Pb collisions at 20A, 30A, 40A, 80A and 158A GeV by the NA49 experiment at the CERN SPS. The multiplicity distribution for negatively and positively charged hadrons is significantly narrower than Poisson one for all energies. No significant structure in energy dependence of the scaled variance of multiplicity fluctuations is observed. The measured scaled variance is lower than the one predicted by the grand-canonical formulation of the hadron-resonance gas model. The results for scaled variance are in approximate agreement with the string-hadronic model UrQMD

System size and centrality dependence of the balance function in A+A collisions at sqrt[sNN]=17.2 GeV

Electric charge correlations were studied for p+p, C+C, Si+Si, and centrality selected Pb+Pb collisions at sqrt[sNN]=17.2 GeV with the NA49 large acceptance detector at the CERN SPS. In particular, long-range pseudorapidity correlations of oppositely charged particles were measured using the balance function method. The width of the balance function decreases with increasing system size and centrality of the reactions. This decrease could be related to an increasing delay of hadronization in central Pb+Pb collisions

System size and centrality dependence of the balance function in A + A collisions at sqrt s NN = 17.2 GeV

Electric charge correlations were studied for p+p, C+C, Si+Si and centrality selected Pb+Pb collisions at sqrt s_NN = 17.2$ GeV with the NA49 large acceptance detector at the CERN-SPS. In particular, long range pseudo-rapidity correlations of oppositely charged particles were measured using the Balance Function method. The width of the Balance Function decreases with increasing system size and centrality of the reactions. This decrease could be related to an increasing delay of hadronization in central Pb+Pb collisions

Local Application of BMP-2 Specific Plasmids in Fibrin Glue does not Promote Implant Fixation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>BMP-2 is known to accelerate fracture healing and might also enhance osseointegration and implant fixation. Application of recombinant BMP-2 has a time-limited effect. Therefore, a gene transfer approach with a steady production of BMP-2 appears to be attractive. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of locally applied BMP-2 plasmids on the bone-implant integration in a non-weight bearing rabbit tibia model using a comparatively new non-viral copolymer-protected gene vector (COPROG).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sixty rabbits were divided into 4 groups. All of them received nailing of both tibiae. The verum group had the nails inserted with the COPROG vector and BMP-2 plasmids using fibrin glue as a carrier. Controls were a group with fibrin glue only and a blank group. After 28 and 56 days, these three groups were sacrificed and one tibia was randomly chosen for biomechanical testing, while the other tibia underwent histomorphometrical examination. In a fourth group, a reporter-gene was incorporated in the fibrin glue instead of the BMP-2 formula to prove that transfection was successful.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Implant fixation strength was significantly lower after 28 and 56 days in the verum group. Histomorphometry supported the findings after 28 days, showing less bone-implant contact.</p> <p>In the fourth group, successful transfection could be confirmed by detection of the reporter-gene in 20 of 22 tibiae. But, also systemic reporter-gene expression was found in heterotopic locations, showing an undesired spreading of the locally applied gene formula.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results underline the transfecting capability of this vector and support the idea that BMP-2 might diminish osseointegration. Further studies are necessary to specify the exact mechanisms and the systemic effects.</p

The Molecular Genetic Architecture of Self-Employment

Economic variables such as income, education, and occupation are known to affect mortality and morbidity, such as cardiovascular disease, and have also been shown to be partly heritable. However, very little is known about which genes influence economic variables, although these genes may have both a direct and an indirect effect on health. We report results from the first large-scale collaboration that studies the molecular genetic architecture of an economic variable-entrepreneurship-that was operationalized using self-employment, a widely-available proxy. Our results suggest that common SNPs when considered jointly explain about half of the narrow-sense heritability of self-employment estimated in twin data (σg2/σP2= 25%, h2= 55%). However, a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies across sixteen studies comprising 50,627 participants did not identify genome-wide significant SNPs. 58 SNPs with p<10-5were tested in a replication sample (n = 3,271), but none replicated. Furthermore, a gene-based test shows that none of the genes that were previously suggested in the literature to influence entrepreneurship reveal significant associations. Finally, SNP-based genetic scores that use results from the meta-analysis capture less than 0.2% of the variance in self-employment in an independent sample (p≥0.039). Our results are consistent with a highly polygenic molecular genetic architecture of self-employment, with many genetic variants of small effect. Although self-employment is a multi-faceted, heavily environmentally influenced, and biologically distal trait, our results are similar to those for other genetically complex and biologically more proximate outcomes, such as height, intelligence, personality, and several diseases