Nachtrag: Public Private Partnership – Allheilmittel für die Finanzkrisen der öffentlichen Haushalte oder Risikofaktor?

Ergänzend zu den im ifo Schnelldienst 24/2006 veröffentlichten Beiträgen stellt Peter Friedrich (em.), Universität der Bundeswehr München und Universität Tartu, ein Modell zur Beurteilung der volkswirtschaftlichen Effekte eines PPP-Projektes vor, da sich seiner Meinung nach die bisherigen Untersuchungen meist nur auf die betriebswirtschaftlichen Effekte, insbesondere der Finanzierung der PPP, konzentrieren. Gerhard Picot und Sabine Kamp, PICOT Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft, Köln, unterstreichen in ihrem Beitrag, »dass PPP zwar kein Allheilmittel für die Finanzkrisen der öffentlichen Haushalte beinhaltet, da jedes staatliche Projekt im Einzelfall auf seine »PPP-Tauglichkeit« hin untersucht werden muss. PPP stellt aber eine Möglichkeit dar, um die Projektrisiken zwischen den Projektpartnern optimal zu verteilen, Effizienz zu sichern und somit den Risikofaktor für die Verwaltung gering zu halten.«Public Private Partnership, Öffentlicher Sektor, Öffentlicher Haushalt, Finanzmarktkrise, Wirtschaftliche Effizienz, Deutschland

Effect of intracellular Ca2+ concentration on endothelin-1 secretion

AbstractThe role of intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i in cellular regulation of endothelin-(ET-1) secretion was investigated in cultured porcine aortic endothelial cells of first passage. Intracellular Ca2+ concentration were adjusted between 50 nM and 1 μM using EGTA and thapsigargin, respectively. ET-1 secretion was maximal at [Ca2+]i of 190–470 nM, and reduced at low (50 and 110 nM) and high (470 nM) [Ca2+]i. The Ca2+ ionophores A23187 and ionomycin (each 1 μM), both of which raise [Ca2+]i above 1 μM, also potently inhibited ET-1 secretion under basal and stimulated conditions. The A23187-induced reduction in ET-1 secretion was not affected by NG-nitro-l-arginine (0.1 mM). Our results provide evidence that basal ET-1 secretion is regulated by Ca2+ and that Ca2+ ionophores reduce ET-1 secretion due to the inhibitory effect of high [Ca2+]i

Immune-mediated mesangial cell injury—Biosynthesis and function of prostanoids

Immune-mediated mesangial cell injury—Biosynthesis and function of prostanoids. We studied the formation of cyclo-oxygenase products in a rat model of mesangial cell injury, in order to determine a possible role of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), prostaglandin I2 (determined as 6-keto-PGF1α and thromboxane A2 (TxA2) in immune-mediated glomerular disease. Selective immune-mediated mesangial cell injury was induced by i.v. administration of a rabbit anti-rat thymocyte antiserum (ATS). Intravenous ATS leads to immune deposits in the mesangium followed by mesangiolysis and the infiltration of polymorphonuclear granulocytes and monocytes. Glomerular TxB2 formation two hours (292 ± 27 pg/mg/min) and 48 hours (396 ± 69 pg/mg/min) following antibody was significantly (P < 0.05) higher compared to animals receiving non-antibody rabbit IgG (TxB2: 2hr 143 ± 13; 48hr 171 ± 32 pg/mg/min). Treatment with cobra venom factor (CVF) and the reduction of glomerular monocyte infiltration inhibited the increase of glomerular TxB2 formation significantly. Depletion of granulocytes with a rabbit anti-rat granulocyte serum had no effect on glomerular prostanoid formation following ATS. Glomerular PGE2 and 6-keto PGF1α production was not altered following ATS. Inulin clearance in rats with immune-mediated mesangial cell injury was significantly (P < 0.001) lower at two hours (456 ± 24 µl/min/100g body wt) and 48 hours (433 ± 54 µl/min/lOO g body wt) compared to their corresponding control animals which were treated with non-antibody IgG (2 hr: 914 ± 51; 48 hr: 694 ± 79 µl/min/100g body wt). Pretreatment of rats with indomethacin (Indo) or with the thromboxane synthetase inhibitor UK 38485 prevented the decrease in inulin clearance following ATS at two hours (Indo: 800 ± 67; UK 38485: 923 ± 115) and at 48 hours (Indo: 697 ± 60; UK 38485: 654 ± 99). The data demonstrate that selective, immune-mediated mesangial cell injury in rats is associated with increased glomerular TxB2 formation. Complement and monocyte/macrophage depletion reduces TxB2 production. The fall in inulin clearance following ATS is ameliorated when the rats receive indomethacin or the Tx synthetase inhibitor UK 38485. Thus, elevated TxB2 formation might mediate the reduction in GFR in this model of glomerular immune injury

Variation in karyotype and chromsome numbers in CHO cell lines and subclones

Genomic rearrangements are a common phenomenon in rapidly growing cell lines such as Chinese hamster ovary cells, a feature that, while it provides the ability to adapt to different conditions and to select the rare variants with high productivity, in the final production clone may lead to batch irreproducibility and instability. Few methods exist to assess such genome wide instability. Here we use the population distribution of chromosome numbers per cell as well as chromosome painting to identify large scale chromosomal rearrangements for quantification of karyotypic variation in several CHO cell lines, including host and recombinant cell lines, both at the pool, minipool and subclone level. Apart from investigating differences between cell lines and subclones, we followed changes in chromosome number distribution and chromosome pattern over a period of 6 months for stability assessment. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Lahmheitsprävalenz und deren Risikofaktoren bei ökologisch gehaltenen Zuchtsauen in Haltungsverfahren mit Auslauf

Bundesweit 40 Betriebe wurden mit dem Ziel erhoben, die Lahmheitssituation in der ökologischen Zuchtsauenhaltung in Stallhaltungsverfahren mit Auslauf zu erfassen. Die mittlere Lahmheitsprävalenz der tragenden Sauen lag bei 6,9 % (0 – 34,8 %, Median 5,1 %) und somit auf deutlich niedrigerem Niveau als Literaturangaben für die konventionelle Zuchtsauenhaltung. Auf einzelnen Betrieben können Lahmheiten jedoch in erheblichem Umfang auftreten; ihrer Vermeidung sollte aus Tierschutz- und ökonomischen Gründen in jedem Fall Beachtung geschenkt werden. Risikofaktoranalysen mittels multivariater logistischer Regression ergaben folgende Einflussfaktoren: In Betrieben, für die die Wurfzahl der Sauen bekannt war (n=28 Betriebe, 447 Sauen), stieg mit steigender Wurfzahl bzw. mit steigender Anzahl Schwellungen, die das Einzeltier aufwies, das Risiko für das Vorliegen einer Lahmheit. Bei Berücksichtigung des gesamten Datensatzes (n=40 Betriebe, 1.111 Sauen), aber unter Ausschluss des Faktors Wurfzahl, verblieben zusätzlich zum Faktor Schwellungen die Klauenlänge (erhöhtes Risiko durch zu lange Klauen), Einschätzung der Lahmheitssituation durch den Betriebsleiter (höheres Risiko bei deutlicher Abweichung), die „Haltung der Jungsauen mit Auslauf“ (weniger Lahmheiten, wenn Auslauf vorhanden) sowie die Variable „Reinigung Haltungsbereich tragende Sauen“ (höheres Risiko bei Grundreinigung) im Endmodell. Über die Haltungsvorgaben in der ökologischen Sauenhaltung scheinen wesentliche präventive Aspekte bereits umgesetzt zu sein. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Untersuchung zeigen nichtsdestotrotz, dass das Management Einfluss auf die Lahmheitssituation nimmt. Das diesbezügliche Problembewusstsein sollte daher gefördert werden, z. B. hinsichtlich des Erkennens von Lahmheiten. Erst die Bestimmung des einzelbetrieblichen Status quo auf Grundlage tierbezogener Indikatoren ermöglicht es, Schwachstellen in Haltungsumwelt und Management aufzudecken und somit betriebsindividuelle Optimierungsmaßnahmen ableiten zu können

Erste Ergebnisse einer Untersuchung zu Lahmheiten bei ökologisch gehaltenen Zuchtsauen in Stallhaltung mit Auslauf

The aim of the study was assessing lameness prevalence in organic sows as well as identifying potential risk factors for lameness. The project focused on sows in organic farms with access to an outdoor run. Sows have been chosen since they are kept for a longer period of time as compared with fattening pigs and therefore influencing factors from the housing environment may have a greater impact on them. Furthermore, leg health is a prerequisite for productivity and longevity. In the preparatory phase, different gait scoring systems were be identified from the literature and tested with regard to reliability and feasibility in the on-farm context. Also, farms which are willing to cooperate (criteria for inclusion: minimum flock size 20 sows, certified since at least two years) were identified. 40 farms have been visited and lameness and leg health was assessed on an individual level. The final analysis is not finished yet, but this contribution shows a first overview over the lameness situation on the visited farms of organic pig breeding in Germany

Influence of material alterations and machine impairment on throughput related sensor-based sorting performance

Experiments with sensor-based sorting (SBS) machinery provide insight into the effect of throughput rate and input composition on the sorting performance. For this purpose, material mixtures with certain compositions and particle size distributions were created from waste fractions and sorted at various throughput rates. To evaluate the sorting performance of the SBS unit (using near infrared technology) in dependence of the applied load, four assessment factors concerning the output fractions were studied: yield, product purity, recovery/product quantity and incorrectly discharged share of reject particles. The influences on the assessment parameters of light twodimensional (2D) particles in the input of a sorting stage and failing air valves in an SBS unit were evaluated for various input compositions at different throughput rates. It was found that a share of approximately 5 wt% 2D particles in the input had a similar negative effect on the yield as the malfunction of 20% of all air valves in an SBS machine at high throughput rates. Additionally, the failure of the air valves reduced the product purity of the sorting stage at increased throughput rates. Furthermore, qualitative observations concerning systematic effects of prior studies could be confirmed. Resulting graphs for a specific input composition of an SBS unit at varying throughput rates could be used to adjust the throughput rate to meet the exact demands for a sorting stage

Late glacial 14C ages from a floating, 1382-ring pine chronology

Author Posting. © Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona, 2004. This article is posted here by permission of Dept. of Geosciences, University of Arizona for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Radiocarbon 46 (2004): 1203-1209.We built a floating, 1382-ring pine chronology covering the radiocarbon age interval of 12,000 to 10,650 BP. Based on the strong rise of Δ14C at the onset of the Younger Dryas (YD) and wiggle-matching of the decadal-scale Δ14C fluctuations, we can anchor the floating chronology to the Cariaco varve chronology. We observe a marine reservoir correction higher than hitherto assumed for the Cariaco site, of up to 650 yr instead of 400 yr, for the full length of the comparison interval. The tree-ring Δ14C shows several strong fluctuations of short duration (a few decades) at 13,800; 13,600; and 13,350 cal BP. The amplitude of the strong Δ14C rise at the onset of the YD is about 40‰, whereas in the marine data set the signal appears stronger due to a re-adjustment of the marine mixed-layer Δ14C towards the atmospheric level.B K and M F received funding for this work from the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, DEKLIM program) and from the German Research Foundation (DFG; KU 592/29-1)

Basin-scale pCO2 maps estimated from ARGO float data: A model study

A novel method for mapping surface pCO(2) on a basin scale using ARGO floats is presented and tested in the framework of an eddy-resolving biogeochemical model of the North Atlantic. Voluntary observing ship (VOS) and ARGO float coverage of the year 2005 is applied to the model to generate synthetic "observations." The model-generated VOS line &quot;observations'' of pCO(2), SST, and SSS form a training data set for a self-organizing neural network. The trained neural network is subsequently applied locally to estimate pCO(2) from the model-generated ARGO float SST and SSS data. The local pCO(2) estimates at the simulated float positions are extrapolated using objective mapping. The accuracy of the nearly basinwide pCO(2) estimates is assessed by comparing against the pCO(2) output of the model that serves as synthetic &quot;ground truth.'' For an ARGO float coverage of the year 2005, the resulting monthly mean pCO(2) maps cover 70% of the considered area (15 degrees N to 65 degrees N) with an RMS error of 15.9 mu atm. Compared to remote sensing-based estimates that suffer from large regional gaps in optical satellite data coverage, the RMS error in reproducing the annual cycle of pCO(2) can be reduced by 42% when the more evenly distributed ARGO float-based data are used

Seroprevalence of Measles-, Mumps-, and Rubella-specific antibodies in the German adult population – cross-sectional analysis of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1)

Background: The WHO European Region targets the elimination of measles, rubella, and the congenital rubella syndrome and welcomes mumps elimination via the joint MMR vaccine. In a push towards this elimination goal, Germany introduced a recommendation on MMR vaccination for adults in 2010 to prevent increasing numbers of measles cases among adults and to strengthen herd immunity. Methods: The prevalence of anti-measles, -mumps, and -rubella IgG antibodies was analysed in 7,115 participants between the ages of 18 and 79 years in the German Health Interview and Examination Survey. Risk factors of seronegativity of adults born 1970 or later were determined. Findings: The seroprevalence of anti-measles IgG antibodies was more than 97% in adults born before 1965 and less than 90% in adults born afterwards. Prevalence and GMTs declined with later years of birth. Seronegativity was associated with two-sided migration background and region of residence in East Germany. For anti-mumps IgG antibodies, the seroprevalence was less than 90% in almost all age groups. Prevalence and GMTs declined with later years of birth. Seronegativity was not associated with any socio-demographic factor. Anti-rubella IgG seropositivity was found in more than 90% of adults born before 1985. GMTs declined in younger age groups. Seronegativity was associated with birth between 1980 and 1993 and male gender. High socio-economic status lowered the odds of being seronegative. Interpretation: These data reinforce the implementation of the vaccination recommendation for adults and provide the basis for further evaluation of this measure. Funding: The Federal Ministry of Health, Germany.Peer Reviewe