Microelectronics and Unemployment in Austria

This paper presents the methodological background and some results of a study "Applications, Diffusion and Socio-Economic effects of Microelectronics in Austria", which was financed by the Austrian Ministry of Science and Research. The paper consists of two parts: (1) The description of the methodology how to measure the impact of technical change caused by microelectronics on the Austrian economy. For this purpose a mathematical simulation model was constructed which consists of an input-output-model, an econometric demand model and a model for linking technology and economy. (2) By means of socio.-political scenarios the simulation model was used to produce conditional forecasts for the years 1985 and 1990 for the main economic indicators. Some of the results, in particular unemployment figures, are presented. Although the presented approach was developed for the analysis of microelectronics, a special type of technology, the method could easily be used for any other type of technological change, robots etc., if this technology can be explicitly connected with certain economic indicators, like productivity, manpower, material inputs and outputs

Development of novel methods for the analysis of root exudates

Die vorliegende Arbeit präsentiert zwei neuartige Methoden für die Analyse von zwei bedeutenden Pflanzenmetaboliten freie proteinogene Aminosäuren und Phytosiderophoren in Wurzelexsudaten. Die Einleitung setzt sich mit der Aufgabenstellung und den Herausforderungen der Metabolomik im Allgemeinen und der Pflanzenmetabolomik im Speziellen auseinander. Ein Überblick der analytischen Strategien und Techniken dient dazu verschiedene Probenvorbereitungsmethoden, diverse GC-MS-und LC-MS-Konfigurationen, NMR sowie Herangehensweisen an die Datenauswertung und statistische Datenverarbeitung miteinander zu vergleichen. Ein Schwerpunkt ist der hydrophilen Interaktionschromatographie (HILIC) gewidmet sowie der ICP-MS (induktiv gekoppeltes Plasma Massenspektrometrie), da die in den beiden Publikationen beschriebenen Methoden zum Teil auf diesen speziellen Verfahren beruhen. Eine kurze Einführung in die Thematik der Wurzelexsudate und deren möglichen Funktionen in der Rhizosphäre soll einen Einblick in die Beschaffenheit der untersuchten Proben gewähren. Publikation I beschreibt eine neue LC-MS Methode für die Analyse von underivatisierten, freien proteinogenen Aminosäuren. Die im Zuge der Dissertation entwickelte Trennung von 16 Aminosäuren via HILIC und Detektion mittels entweder einem Triple Quadrupole Massenanalysator im multiplen Reaktionsmonitoring Modus oder einer Ionenfalle wird dargestellt und verschiedene analytische Bewertungskriterien dieser Methode diskutiert. Ferner wird ein Anreicherungsverfahren mithilfe von Festphasenextraktion für Aminosäuren in Nährlösungen evaluiert und die Anwendung der beschriebenen LC-MS Methode für die Bestimmung von Tyrosin in Bodenadsorptionsproben gezeigt. Publikation II präsentiert eine neue kapillarelektrophoretische Trennung verschiedener Phytosiderophore und deren Metall-Komplexe unter Verwendung eines MS-kompatiblen Hintergrundelektrolyten. Die Detektion mittels ESI-MS für die freien Liganden und mittels ICP-MS für die komplexierten Metalle wird beschrieben und die Anwendbarkeit der ICP-MS Methode für die quantitative Analyse diskutiert. Darüber hinaus wird die Ermittlung von relativen Komplexbildungskonstanten anhand der beschriebenen Methode gezeigt.This work presents two novel methods for the analysis of two important plant metabolites free proteinaceous amino acids and phytosiderophores in root exudates. Introductory, tasks and challenges of metabolomics in general and plant metabolomics in particular are described including definitions of relevant terms and the classification of these research areas within systems biology. In this context an overview of the analytical strategies and techniques is given comparing different sample preparation methodologies, various GC-MS and LC-MS instrumental set-ups and NMR as well as data evaluation and statistical approaches. Emphasis is devoted to hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), since the methods of choice of the presented publications rely partly on these special techniques. In order to characterize the nature of the investigated samples, an introduction to the topic of root exudates and its putative functions in the rhizosphere is presented. Publication I deals with the development of an LC-MS method for the analysis of underivatized, free proteinaceous amino acids. Prefatory, challenges and the state of the art of amino acid analysis in general are outlined. Subsequently the developed separation of 16 amino acids via HILIC and their detection using either a triple quadrupole mass analyzer in multiple reaction monitoring mode or an ion trap mass analyzer are described and various analytical figures of merit of the presented method are discussed. Moreover, an enrichment procedure based on solid phase extraction for amino acids in nutrient solutions is evaluated. Finally, the application of the proposed method to the analysis of tyrosine in samples obtained from soil adsorption experiments is illustrated.. Publication II presents a novel capillary electrophoretic separation of different phytosiderophores and their complexes with various metals employing a mass spectrometry-compatible background electrolyte. The detection via ESI-MS and ICP-MS for the free ligands and the metal complexes, respectively, is described and the applicability of the CE-ICP-MS method to quantitative analysis is discussed. In addition, the determination of relative complex stability constants using this method is explained.submitted by Madeleine Dell'mourAbweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des VerfassersZsfassung in dt. SpracheWien, Univ. für Bodenkultur, Diss., 2010OeBB(VLID)193057

Tests on the locomotion of the elongate and limbless reptile Ophisaurus apodus (Sauna: Anguidae)

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71675/1/j.1469-7998.1990.tb04731.x.pd

Development of a method for the analysis of underivatized amino acids by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry: Application on Standard Reference Material 1649a (urban dust)

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analytical procedure has been developed for the detection and quantitative determination of underivatized amino acids at low concentrations in a Standard Reference Material - urban dust. In order to minimize interferences of other compounds, an accelerated solvent extraction followed by a solid phase extraction on two different cartridges was applied prior to LC-MS-MS. Fourteen amino acids were separated by high resolution liquid chromatography, detected and quantified by multiple reaction monitoring on a triple quadrupole. The proposed methodology has been applied for the first time on Standard Reference Material 1649a (urban dust) from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, that does not report certification values for these compounds. This methodology avoids the derivatization step and allows the amino acid quantification in a complex matrix, such as that of atmospheric particulate matter, and represent a good method suitable to analyze this class of compounds in atmospheric aerosol. The selected strategy demonstrated to be fit-for-purpose, by applying it to a real atmospheric sample with the aim to verify the efficacy of the study and to provide information about the organic matter content. © 2013 Elsevier B.V