Vertretung von Kunden durch Versicherungsvermittler im freien europäischen Dienstleistungsverkehr

OECD und EU empfehlen Österreich immer wieder, viele Bereiche seines Dienstleistungssektors an ein Umfeld mit stärkerem Wettbewerb anzupassen. Nur so können Investitionen in diesem Sektor gesteigert werden. Die berufsrechtliche Praxis in Österreich sieht oft anders aus. Partikularinteressen einzelner Berufe werden höher bewertet als volkswirtschaftliche Vorteile. Folgendes praktische Beispiel wird juristisch analysiert: Dürfen alle Versicherungsvermittler in Österreich ihre Kunden gegenüber anderen Rechtspersonen vertreten, oder steht eine solche Berechtigung nur Versicherungsmaklern zu? Die EU-Richtlinie Versicherungsvermittllung entscheidet die Frage: Werden die Ausübungsvorschriften dieser Richtlinie eingehalten, sind Differenzierungen zwischen verschiedenen nationalen Versicherungsvermittlungsberufen nicht zulässig

Folgerechtsvergütung und Kunstmarkt in Österreich: Die Periode 2005-2010 ; Studie im Auftrag Fachverband Finanzdienstleister, Bundesgremium des Juwelen-, Uhren-, Kunst-, Antiquitäten- und Briefmarkenhandels der Wirtschaftskammer Österreich

aus dem Inhaltsverzeichnis: Einleitung; Kunstmarkt in Österreich; Markt Folgerecht pflichtiger Werke in Österreich; Aufwand zur Administration des Folgerechts; Aufwand für KMU's im Kunst- und Antiquitätenhandel; Die Folgerechts-RL und der globale Kunstmarkt; Studienergebnis

Activity Following Total Hip Arthroplasty: Which Patients Are Active, and Is Being Active Safe?

BACKGROUND Younger and physically active patients demand a return to sport after total hip arthroplasty (THA). However, because of the risk of implant wear and loosening, high-impact activities are often not recommended. The current study evaluates predictive factors and revision rates in patients with higher activity levels. METHODS This retrospective study included 4152 hips in 3828 patients aged 45-75 that underwent primary THA for primary osteoarthritis between 2009 and 2019 with a minimum follow-up of 2 years. Pain and Lower Extremity Activity Scale (LEAS) were assessed before and 2 years after surgery. Activity was classified as low (LEAS 1-6), moderate (LEAS 7-13), or high (LEAS 14-18). RESULTS Pain and LEAS improved from preoperative to 2-years postoperative (p < 0.001). The activity level was low in 6.2%, moderate in 52.9%, and high in 40.9% of the patients. Younger age, lower BMI, ASA, and CCI, male sex, and higher preoperative LEAS correlated with higher activity at 2 years (p < 0.001). The predicted revision-free survival rates between the activity groups were better for more highly active patients (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS High physical activity 2 years following THA, with participating in sports like jogging several times a week, did not increase the risk of revision surgery. THA patients should not be prevented from a highly active lifestyle

Detailed analysis of metagenome datasets obtained from biogas-producing microbial communities residing in biogas reactors does not indicate the presence of putative pathogenic microorganisms

Background: In recent years biogas plants in Germany have been supposed to be involved in amplification and dissemination of pathogenic bacteria causing severe infections in humans and animals. In particular, biogas plants are discussed to contribute to the spreading of Escherichia coli infections in humans or chronic botulism in cattle caused by Clostridium botulinum. Metagenome datasets of microbial communities from an agricultural biogas plant as well as from anaerobic lab-scale digesters operating at different temperatures and conditions were analyzed for the presence of putative pathogenic bacteria and virulence determinants by various bioinformatic approaches. Results: All datasets featured a low abundance of reads that were taxonomically assigned to the genus Escherichia or further selected genera comprising pathogenic species. Higher numbers of reads were taxonomically assigned to the genus Clostridium. However, only very few sequences were predicted to originate from pathogenic clostridial species. Moreover, mapping of metagenome reads to complete genome sequences of selected pathogenic bacteria revealed that not the pathogenic species itself, but only species that are more or less related to pathogenic ones are present in the fermentation samples analyzed. Likewise, known virulence determinants could hardly be detected. Only a marginal number of reads showed similarity to sequences described in the Microbial Virulence Database MvirDB such as those encoding protein toxins, virulence proteins or antibiotic resistance determinants. Conclusions: Findings of this first study of metagenomic sequence reads of biogas producing microbial communities suggest that the risk of dissemination of pathogenic bacteria by application of digestates from biogas fermentations as fertilizers is low, because obtained results do not indicate the presence of putative pathogenic microorganisms in the samples analyzed

The Chiral Switch of Metolachlor: The Development of a Large-Scale Enantioselective Catalytic Process

The development of an enantioselective catalytic process for the technical preparation of chiral agrochemicals is illustrated by the case history of the herbicide (S)-metolachlor (trade name Dual Magnum®). Four synthetic routes were investigated in some detail. The key step for the technical process of the enantiomerically enriched compound is the asymmetric hydrogenation of an imine intermediate made possible by a new iridium ferrocenyl diphosphine catalyst system. Using optimized conditions, the isolated imine can be hydrogenated at a hydrogen pressure of 80 bar and 50°C with a substrate-to-catalyst ratio of &gt;1'000'000. Complete conversion is reached within 4 h with an enantioselectivity of 79% with an initial turnover frequency (tof) exceeding 1'800'000 h-1. This sets a new standard for the technical application of enantioselective catalysts. Important aspects and results for the different phases of the process development of the catalyst system as well as minimal prerequisites for the use of enantioselective catalysts for the production of agrochemicals are discussed

Whole proteome analyses on Ruminiclostridium cellulolyticum show a modulation of the cellulolysis machinery in response to cellulosic materials with subtle differences in chemical and structural properties

Lignocellulosic materials from municipal solid waste emerge as attractive resources for anaerobic digestion biorefinery. To increase the knowledge required for establishing efficient bioprocesses, dynamics of batch fermentation by the cellulolytic bacterium Ruminiclostridium cellulolyticum were compared using three cellulosic materials, paper handkerchief, cotton discs and Whatman filter paper. Fermentation of paper handkerchief occurred the fastest and resulted in a specific metabolic profile: it resulted in the lowest acetate-to-lactate and acetate-to-ethanol ratios. By shotgun proteomic analyses of paper handkerchief and Whatman paper incubations, 151 proteins with significantly different levels were detected, including 20 of the 65 cellulosomal components, 8 non-cellulosomal CAZymes and 44 distinct extracytoplasmic proteins. Consistent with the specific metabolic profile observed, many enzymes from the central carbon catabolic pathways had higher levels in paper handkerchief incubations. Among the quantified CAZymes and cellulosomal components, 10 endoglucanases mainly from the GH9 families and 7 other cellulosomal subunits had lower levels in paper handkerchief incubations. An in-depth characterization of the materials used showed that the lower levels of endoglucanases in paper handkerchief incubations could hypothetically result from its lower crystallinity index (50%) and degree of polymerization (970). By contrast, the higher hemicellulose rate in paper handkerchief (13.87%) did not result in the enhanced expression of enzyme with xylanase as primary activity, including enzymes from the xyl-doc cluster. It suggests the absence, in this material, of molecular structures that specifically lead to xylanase induction. The integrated approach developed in this work shows that subtle differences among cellulosic materials regarding chemical and structural characteristics have significant effects on expressed bacterial functions, in particular the cellulolysis machinery, resulting in different metabolic patterns and degradation dynamics.This work was supported by a grant [R2DS 2010-08] from Conseil Regional d'Ile-de-France through DIM R2DS programs (http://www.r2ds-ile-de-france.com/). Irstea (www.irstea.fr/) contributed to the funding of a PhD grant for the first author. The funders provided support in the form of salaries for author [NB], funding for consumables and laboratory equipment, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Omics Services provided support in the form of salaries for authors [VS, MD], but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors [NB, VS, MD] are articulated in the 'author contributions' section.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio