Sind Theater reine Subventionsgüter? Eine ökonomische Betrachtung der fiskalischen Unterstützung von Theaterbetrieben

Until 2003, public savings in the art sector have been immense. But lately there has been a tendency of increasing public expenditures in this field. Nevertheless one has to ask if these allowances are required to sustain artistic and cultural life. If, however, art cannot be financed by the contributions of their consumers, the question arises whether and to which extend the government should pay for it. In spring 2007, we realized a survey in cooperation with the “neue theater“ in Halle and the “Anhaltisches Theater Dessau“. Among other subjects, we asked the audience to evaluate the current ticket prices. As a result, we analyzed how these theatres could adjust their ticket prices in order to reduce the need of public subsidies. The conclusion of this survey is that the visitors are reacting rather weakly to moderate price increases. So it can be stated that the theatres could in fact boost their revenues by appropriately raising their ticket prices. Unfortunately, the resulting extra revenue is not sufficient to finance the performing arts without the help of public subsidies. Finally, an additional argument for subsidizing art is that not only the customers benefit from it, but also the society as a whole because of so-called positive external effects.

Optische Beobachtungen naher Isolierter Neutronensterne

In der Sonnenumgebung wurden sieben isolierte Neutronensterne entdeckt, die im Röntgenbereich beinahe thermische Strahlung abgeben. Daher bieten diese Objekte bei bekannter Entfernung die Möglichkeit, deren Radius zu bestimmen. Im optischen sind diese Neutronensterne heller als erwartet. Dieser Umstand, kann durch zwei heiße Flecken auf der Neutronenstern-Oberfläche modelliert werden, verursacht durch ein bipolares starkes Magnetfeld. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde die optische (V Band) Strahlung des isolierten Neutronensterns RX J0720.4-3125 mit dem ESO-VLT untersucht und der bereits bekannte optische Exzess bestätigt. Darüber hinaus wurde von RX J1856.5-3754 die Entfernung mit Hilfe des Hubble Weltraum Teleskops präzise zu 123 pc bestimmt und der Radius des Neutronensterns anhand verschiedener Modelle zu etwa 17km berechnet berechnet. Eine wesentlich ungenauere Entfernung von ca. 280 pc wurde für RX J0720.4-3125 bestimmt. Auch diese liefert einen Radius im Bereich von ca. 17 km. Das in der Arbeit verwendete Datenmaterial, dessen Reduktion und Auswertung sowie die Vorgehensweise bei der Entfernungsbestimmung werden in der Arbeit detailliert beschrieben. Die Ergebnisse werden mit dem bei Veröffentlichung der Arbeit aktuellen wissenschaftlichen Kenntnisstand in Beziehung gesetzt und entsprechend auf relevante Sachverhalte Angewendet. Beispiele sind die Möglichkeit der Massenbestimmung durch den Microgravitationslinseneffekt und die kinematische Altersbestimmung

Untersuchungen zur Bedeutung des antimikrobiellen Peptids "Psoriasin" im Serum von Psoriasispatienten

Das S100-Protein Psoriasin (S100A7) gehört zu der Klasse der antimikrobiellen Peptide. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde untersucht, ob Psoriasin bei Patienten mit Psoriasis vulgaris im Serum nachweisbar ist und einen Marker für die Krankheitsaktivität der Erkrankung darstellen könnte. Bei 53,9% der Psoriasis-Patienten konnten deutlich erhöhte Psoriasinkonzentrationen im Serum gemessen werden. Die Psoriasin-Serumkonzentration korrelierte bei diesen Patienten mit dem „Psoriasis Activity and Severity Index (PASI)“. Patienten mit einer erhöhten Psoriasinkonzentration wiesen einen signifikant höheren PASI auf als Patienten ohne nachweisbares Psoriasin. Anhand einer Verlaufskontrolle über mehrere Wochen konnte gezeigt werden, dass der Psoriasin-Serumspiegel mit dem Ansprechen auf eine Therapie streng korreliert. Bei Patienten mit initial erhöhtem Serumpsoriasin sank die Psoriasinkonzentration im Rahmen einer erfolgreichen Therapie in Korrelation zum PASI. Die Krankheitsaktivität einer Psoriasis und der Erfolg einer Therapie könnten somit anhand des Psoriasin-Serumspiegels unabhängig erfasst und beurteilt werden

“Two's company, more is a crowd”: the linguistic encoding of multiple-participant events

This introduction to a special issue of the journal Linguistics sketches the challenges that multiple-participant events pose for linguistic and psycholinguistic theories, and summarizes the articles in the volume

Revisiting the Parallax of the Isolated Neutron Star RX J185635-3754 Using HST/ACS Imaging

We have redetermined the parallax and proper motion of the nearby isolated neutron star RX~J185635-3754. We used eight observations with the high resolution camera of the HST/ACS taken from 2002 through 2004. We performed the astrometric fitting using five independent methods, all of which yielded consistent results. The mean estimate of the distance is 123 (+11, -15) pc (1 sigma), in good agreement with our earlier published determination

Introducing a Novel Experimental Model for Osseo-Disintegration of Titanium Dental Implants Induced by Monobacterial Contamination: An In-Vivo Feasibility Study

Background and Objectives: The aim of the current study was to establish an osseo-disintegration model initiated with a single microorganism in mini-pigs. Materials and Methods: A total of 36 titanium dental implants (3.5 mm in diameter, 9.5 mm in length) was inserted into frontal bone (n: 12) and the basis of the corpus mandible (n: 24). Eighteen implants were contaminated via inoculation of Enterococcus faecalis. Six weeks after implant insertion, bone-to-implant contact (BIC) ratio, interthread bone density (ITBD), and peri-implant bone density (PIBD) were examined. In addition to that, new bone formation was assessed via fluorescence microscopy, histomorphometry, and light microscopical examinations. Results: Compared to the sterile implants, the contaminated implants showed significantly reduced BIC (p < 0.001), ITBD (p < 0.001), and PBD (p < 0.001) values. Around the sterile implants, the green and red fluorophores were overlapping and surrounding the implant without gaps, indicating healthy bone growth on the implant surface, whereas contaminated implants were surrounded by connective tissue. Conclusions: The current experimental model could be a feasible option to realize a significant alteration of dental-implant osseointegration and examine novel surface decontamination techniques without impairing local and systemic inflammatory complications

Structure from Motion (SfM) Photogrammetry with Drone Data: A Low Cost Method for Monitoring Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Forests in Developing Countries

ArticleThis is the final version of the article. Available from MDPI via the DOI in this record.Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry applied to photographs captured from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platforms is increasingly being utilised for a wide range of applications including structural characterisation of forests. The aim of this study was to undertake a first evaluation of whether SfM from UAVs has potential as a low cost method for forest monitoring within developing countries in the context of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). The project evaluated SfM horizontal and vertical accuracy for measuring the height of individual trees. Aerial image data were collected for two test sites; Meshaw (Devon, UK) and Dryden (Scotland, UK) using a Quest QPOD fixed wing UAV and DJI Phantom 2 quadcopter UAV, respectively. Comparisons were made between SfM and airborne LiDAR point clouds and surface models at the Meshaw site, while at Dryden, SfM tree heights were compared to ground measured tree heights. Results obtained showed a strong correlation between SfM and LiDAR digital surface models (R2 = 0.89) and canopy height models (R2 = 0.75). However, at Dryden, a poor correlation was observed between SfM tree heights and ground measured heights (R2 = 0.19). The poor results at Dryden were explained by the fact that the forest plot had a closed canopy structure such that SfM failed to generate enough below-canopy ground points. Finally, an evaluation of UAV surveying methods was also undertaken to determine their usefulness and cost-effectiveness for plot-level forest monitoring. The study concluded that although SfM from UAVs performs poorly in closed canopies, it can still provide a low cost solution in those developing countries where forests have sparse canopy cover (<50%) with individual tree crowns and ground surfaces well-captured by SfM photogrammetry. Since more than half of the forest covered areas of the world have canopy cover <50%, we can conclude that SfM has enormous potential for forest mapping in developing countries.Leon DeBell flew the QPOD Quest UAV at Meshaw as part of flight testing for the QuestEarthWater project, which was funded by the UK Technology Strategy Board and NERC, and we are also grateful for the field assistance of Naomi Gatis and David Luscombe at this site. The NERC Tellus SouthWest project is acknowledged for providing the LiDAR data used at Meshaw. The authors would also like to thank Mark Buie, Bruce Gittings and Alasdair Mac Arthur for helping out with the UAV fieldwork at Dryden Farm

A Possible Detection of Occultation by a Proto-planetary Clump in GM Cephei

GM Cep in the young (~4 Myr) open cluster Trumpler 37 has been known to be an abrupt variable and to have a circumstellar disk with very active accretion. Our monitoring observations in 2009-2011 revealed the star to show sporadic flare events, each with brightening of < 0.5 mag lasting for days. These brightening events, associated with a color change toward the blue, should originate from an increased accretion activity. Moreover, the star also underwent a brightness drop of ~1 mag lasting for about a month, during which the star became bluer when fainter. Such brightness drops seem to have a recurrence time scale of a year, as evidenced in our data and the photometric behavior of GM Cep over a century. Between consecutive drops, the star brightened gradually by about 1 mag and became blue at peak luminosity. We propose that the drop is caused by obscuration of the central star by an orbiting dust concentration. The UX Orionis type of activity in GM Cep therefore exemplifies the disk inhomogeneity process in transition between grain coagulation and planetesimal formation in a young circumstellar disk.Comment: In submission to the Astrophysical Journal, 4 figure