Reviewing changing institutional conditions for private farming in Russia

The dominant organizations of agricultural production (kolkhozes and sovkhozes) have become obsolete with independence and the abolition of the Soviet era's planned economy. These organizations had to be restructured and family farms, or more generally private farms, were intended to form the new backbone of farm production. However, development since then has been difficult. Based on a literature review, this study reviews and assesses this development in terms of the changing institutional conditions. The Russian government's policies, by interchangeably supporting large-scale farming organizations or private farming, have created uncertainties for private farmers. Russian farmers were once strongly influenced by the mentality from Soviet times, but there are indications now that they are gaining strength, possibly as a consequence of a more benevolent political order, more entrepreneurial attitudes and developing organizational arrangements

Social capital in Russian agricultural production co-operatives

When the Soviet kolkhozy and sovkhozy were converted, a large number of agricultural production co-operatives was created. Most of these co-operatives still exist in Russia and some of them have a strong market position, accounting for almost one-third of the aggregate volume produced by large farms. This study explores whether social capital might be the explanation for this relative success, i.e. that members support their co-operative because they trust their fellow members as well as the leadership. Interviews with co-operative members resulted in 1401 usable answers. The results from an ordered logit model indicate that social capital plays a partial role. Members who consider co-operatives to be an efficient business form value social ties to other members, even though the leadership does not enjoy much social capital

Process Stabilization at welding Copper by Laser Power Modulation

AbstractDue to their material properties such as high electrical and thermal conductivity, copper materials are more and more demanded for industrial applications. The same material properties make laser welding of copper a challenging task. Laser welds often suffer from defective weld seams with ejections, pores and a large fluctuation in the penetration depth. In this paper the influence of laser power modulation during copper welding on weld imperfections is discussed. It is shown that a sinusoidal power modulation leads to a strong reduction of melt ejections and also to an increase in penetration depth

Evaluation der Förderung beruflicher Weiterbildung im Rahmen des ESF-BA-Programms : Wirkungsanalyse auf der Grundlage von Befragungen von Teilnehmenden und Vergleichsgruppen (Evaluation of the subsidization of further occupational training within the framework of the ESF-BA Programme : An analysis of the impact on the basis of a survey of participants and reference groups)

"The promotion of further vocational training for unemployed persons according to SGB III was supplemented by the European Social Fund (ESF) from the beginning of 2000 to autumn 2008. 80 per cent of the total of 116,000 promoted cases are allocated to the years 2000 to 2002. An impact analysis is presented in this report covering the population participating in these years. Outcomes subsequent to participation are measured, firstly, by the fact whether participants entered into employment at all and, secondly, by transition into non-subsidized employment liable to social security. Unemployed non-participants and participants without additional ESF-funding serve as comparison groups. Separate analyses were run for subgroups where possible (West/East Germans, non-recipients of benefits according to SGB III, male/female participants and, in an excursus, migrants with and without additional language courses). The analysis is empirically based on the longitudinal data from representative panel surveys of ESF-funded participants and comparison groups whose samples were drawn on the basis of exact pre-matching with process-produced data. The method of event history analysis was applied throughout the study (partly supplemented by propensity score matching, which, however, can estimate status probabilities but not probabilities of transition). First of all, transition rates for the overall observation period of six years were compared (Kaplan-Meier estimator). In the following the effect of participation was estimated in a Cox regression, taking into account further explanatory factors (such as personal characteristics, regional and program-related heterogeneity, job-seekers' behaviour). Since, other than earlier studies, this analysis was conducted with longitudinal survey data using more elaborate methods, the results of preliminary findings are obsolete now. In contrast to earlier findings, a clearly positive effect of supplementary ESF-funding on individual benefits can be found. Compared to unemployed non-participants, participants supported by the ESF were more successful on the labour market in the medium and long run (especially participants in West Germany and the group of non-recipients of statutory benefits). With reference to further vocational training without ESF-funding, the results point to positive outcomes as well." (Authors' abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Weiterbildungsförderung - Erfolgskontrolle, europäischer Sozialfonds, Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Förderungsmaßnahme, Teilnehmer, Beschäftigungseffekte, Arbeitslose, berufliche Reintegration, Sozialgesetzbuch III, Berufserfolg, Einwanderer, Beschäftigungsfähigkeit

Evaluation der Förderung beruflicher Weiterbildung im Rahmen des ESF-BA-Programms: Wirkungsanalyse auf der Grundlage von Befragungen von Teilnehmenden und Vergleichsgruppen

"Von Anfang 2000 bis zum Herbst 2008 wurde die SGB-III-Förderung der beruflichen Weiterbildung von Arbeitslosen (FbW) aus Mitteln des Europäischen Sozialfonds (ESF) ergänzt. Von 116.000 Förderfällen entfielen rund 80 Prozent auf die Jahre 2000 bis 2002. Für die Teilnehmer/innen dieser drei Jahre wird in diesem Bericht eine Wirkungsanalyse vorgestellt. Erfolgsmaßstab nach der Teilnahme ist erstens die Aufnahme einer Erwerbstätigkeit überhaupt und zweitens der Übergang in ungeförderte sozialversicherungspflichtige Beschäftigung. Als Vergleichsgruppen werden arbeitslose Nichteilnehmer/innen herangezogen sowie Teilnehmer/innen ohne ergänzende ESF-Hilfen. Soweit möglich wurden dabei auch getrennte Analysen für Subgruppen durchgeführt (West/Ost, Nichtleistungsbezieher/innen des SGB III, Männer/Frauen und in einem Exkurs gesondert Migranten mit und ohne zusätzliche Sprachförderung). Empirische Grundlage sind die Längsschnittdaten aus repräsentativen Panel-Befragungen (2003/2004 und 2006) der ESF-geförderten Teilnehmer/innen und der Vergleichsgruppen, wobei die Stichproben der Vergleichspersonen mit einem exakten Vormatching mit Prozessdaten gezogen wurden. Durchgängig wurden für die Analysen ereignisanalytische Verfahren angewendet (nur zum Teil auch Propensity Score Matching, mit dem nur Statuswahrscheinlichkeiten, aber keine Übergangswahrscheinlichkeiten ermittelt werden können). Zunächst wurden die Übergangsraten für den maximalen Beobachtungszeitraum von sechs Jahren verglichen (Kaplan- Meier-Schätzer). Anschließend wurde der Teilnahmeeffekt modellbasiert bei Kontrolle weiterer Einflussfaktoren (u.a. personelle Merkmale, regionale und Maßnahmeheterogenität, Arbeitsuchverhalten) geschätzt (Cox-Regression). Weil die Analyse im Unterschied zu den ersten Untersuchungen der Begleitforschung jetzt mit den Längsschnittdaten aus den Befragungen und mit differenzierteren Analyseverfahren erfolgen konnte, sind die bisher vorläufigen Befunde nun überholt. Anders als zuvor kann hier als übergreifendes Ergebnis ein eindeutig positiver Befund zum individuellen Nutzen der ergänzenden ESF-Förderung festgehalten werden. Im Vergleich zu nichtteilnehmenden Arbeitslosen waren die ESF-geförderten Teilnehmer/innen (insbesondere in Westdeutschland und die Nichtleistungsbezieher/innen) in mittlerer und längerer Frist betrachtet auf dem Arbeitsmarkt erfolgreicher. Auch im Vergleich zur beruflichen Weiterbildung ohne ESF-Unterstützung sprechen die Befunde für eine positive Bilanz." (Autorenreferat)"The promotion of further vocational training for unemployed persons according to SGB III was supplemented by the European Social Fund (ESF) from the beginning of 2000 to autumn 2008. 80 per cent of the total of 116,000 promoted cases are allocated to the years 2000 to 2002. An impact analysis is presented in this report covering the population participating in these years. Outcomes subsequent to participation are measured, firstly, by the fact whether participants entered into employment at all and, secondly, by transition into non-subsidized employment liable to social security. Unemployed non-participants and participants without additional ESF-funding serve as comparison groups. Separate analyses were run for subgroups where possible (West/East Germans, non-recipients of benefits according to SGB III, male/female participants and, in an excursus, migrants with and without additional language courses). The analysis is empirically based on the longitudinal data from representative panel surveys of ESF-funded participants and comparison groups whose samples were drawn on the basis of exact pre-matching with process-produced data. The method of event history analysis was applied throughout the study (partly supplemented by propensity score matching, which, however, can estimate status probabilities but not probabilities of transition). First of all, transition rates for the overall observation period of six years were compared (Kaplan-Meier estimator). In the following the effect of participation was estimated in a Cox regression, taking into account further explanatory factors (such as personal characteristics, regional and program-related heterogeneity, job-seekers' behaviour). Since, other than earlier studies, this analysis was conducted with longitudinal survey data using more elaborate methods, the results of preliminary findings are obsolete now. In contrast to earlier findings, a clearly positive effect of supplementary ESF-funding on individual benefits can be found. Compared to unemployed nonparticipants, participants supported by the ESF were more successful on the labour market in the medium and long run (especially participants in West Germany and the group of non-recipients of statutory benefits). With reference to further vocational training without ESF-funding, the results point to positive outcomes as well." (author's abstract

Dimensional Reduction, Hard Thermal Loops and the Renormalization Group

We study the realization of dimensional reduction and the validity of the hard thermal loop expansion for lambda phi^4 theory at finite temperature, using an environmentally friendly finite-temperature renormalization group with a fiducial temperature as flow parameter. The one-loop renormalization group allows for a consistent description of the system at low and high temperatures, and in particular of the phase transition. The main results are that dimensional reduction applies, apart from a range of temperatures around the phase transition, at high temperatures (compared to the zero temperature mass) only for sufficiently small coupling constants, while the HTL expansion is valid below (and rather far from) the phase transition, and, again, at high temperatures only in the case of sufficiently small coupling constants. We emphasize that close to the critical temperature, physics is completely dominated by thermal fluctuations that are not resummed in the hard thermal loop approach and where universal quantities are independent of the parameters of the fundamental four-dimensional theory.Comment: 20 pages, 13 eps figures, uses epsfig and pstrick

Social capital in Russian agricultural production co-operatives

When the Soviet kolkhozy and sovkhozy were converted, a large number of agricultural production co-operatives was created. Most of these co-operatives still exist in Russia and some of them have a strong market position, accounting for almost one-third of the aggregate volume produced by large farms. This study explores whether social capital might be the explanation for this relative success, i.e. that members support their co-operative because they trust their fellow members as well as the leadership. Interviews with co-operative members resulted in 1401 usable answers. The results from an ordered logit model indicate that social capital plays a partial role. Members who consider co-operatives to be an efficient business form value social ties to other members, even though the leadership does not enjoy much social capital

A cationic cysteine-hydrazide as an enrichment tool for the mass spectrometric characterization of bacterial free oligosaccharides

In Campylobacterales and related ε-proteobacteria with N-linked glycosylation (NLG) pathways, free oligosaccharides (fOS) are released into the periplasmic space from lipid-linked precursors by the bacterial oligosaccharyltransferase (PglB). This hydrolysis results in the same molecular structure as the oligosaccharide that is transferred to a protein to be glycosylated. This allowed for the general elucidation of the fOS-branched structures and monosaccharides from a number of species using standard enrichment and mass spectrometry methods. To aid characterization of fOS, hydrazide chemistry has often been used for chemical modification of the reducing part of oligosaccharides resulting in better selectivity and sensitivity in mass spectrometry; however, the removal of the unreacted reagents used for the modification often causes the loss of the sample. Here, we develop a more robust method for fOS purification and characterize glycostructures using complementary tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis. A cationic cysteine hydrazide derivative was synthesized to selectively isolate fOS from periplasmic fractions of bacteria. The cysteine hydrazide nicotinamide (Cyhn) probe possesses both thiol and cationic moieties. The former enables reversible conjugation to a thiol-activated solid support, while the latter improves the ionization signal during MS analysis. This enrichment was validated on the well-studied Campylobacter jejuni by identifying fOS from the periplasmic extracts. Using complementary MS/MS analysis, we approximated data of a known structure of the fOS from Campylobacter concisus. This versatile enrichment technique allows for the exploration of a diversity of protein glycosylation pathways

Nabelvenenkatheter- und periphere zentrale katheterassoziierte Komplikationen bei Frühgeborenen mit einem Geburtsgewicht < 1250 g : Ergebnisse einer Umfrage in Österreich und Deutschland

Background and objective Umbilical venous catheters (UVC) and peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) are commonly used in preterm infants but have been associated with a number of serious complications. We performed a survey in Austria and Germany to assess the use of UVCs and PICCs in preterm infants with a birth weight < 1250 g and associated rates of catheter-related adverse events. Methods Electronic survey of participating centers of the NeoVitaA trial. Main outcome parameter was the reported rates of UVC- and PICC-associated complications (infection, thrombosis, emboli, organ injury, arrhythmia, dislocation, miscellaneous). Results In total, 20 neonatal intensive care units (NICU) providing maximal intensive care in Austria and Germany (level I) were contacted, with a senior neonatologist response rate of 12/20 (60%). The reported rates for UVC with a dwell time of 1–10 days were bacterial infection: 4.2 ± 3.4% (range 0–10%); thrombosis: 7.3 ± 7.1% (0–20%); emboli: 0.9 ± 2.0% (0–5%); organ injury: 1.1 ± 1.9% (0–5%); cardiac arrhythmia: 2.2 ± 2.5% (0–5%); and dislocation: 5.4 ± 8.7% (0–30%); and for PICCs with a dwell time of 1–14 days bacterial infection: 15.0 ± 3.4% (range 2.5–30%); thrombosis; 4.3 ± 3.5% (0–10%); emboli: 0.8 ± 1.6% (0–5%); organ injury: 1.5 ± 2.3% (0–5%); cardiac arrhythmia: 1.5 ± 2.3% (0–5%), and dislocation: 8.5 ± 4.6% (0–30%). Conclusion The catheter-related complication rates reported in this survey differed between UVCs and PICCs and were higher than those reported in the literature. To generate more reliable data on this clinically important issue, we plan to perform a large prospective multicenter randomized controlled trial investigating the non-inferiority of a prolonged UVC dwell time (up to 10 days) against the early change (up to 5 days) to a PICC.Hintergrund und Ziel Nabelvenenkatheter („umbilical venous catheters“ [UVC]) und periphere zentrale Venenkatheter (PICC) werden häufig bei Frühgeborenen eingesetzt, sind jedoch mit einer Reihe von schwerwiegenden Komplikationen verbunden. In Österreich und Deutschland wurde eine Umfrage durchgeführt, um die Verwendung von UVC und PICC bei Frühgeborenen mit einem Geburtsgewicht < 1250 g und die damit verbundenen Raten von katheterbedingten unerwünschten Ereignissen zu bewerten. Methoden Elektronische Befragung der teilnehmenden Zentren der NeoVitaA-Studie. Hauptergebnisparameter waren die gemeldeten Raten von UVC- und PICC-assoziierten Komplikationen (Infektion, Thrombose, Embolie, Organverletzung, Arrhythmie, Dislokation, Sonstiges). Ergebnisse Insgesamt wurden 20 neonatale Intensivstationen (NICU) mit maximaler Intensivpflege in Österreich und Deutschland (Level I) kontaktiert, wobei 12/20 (60 %) von leitenden Neonatologen beantwortet wurden. Die gemeldeten Raten für UVC mit einer Verweildauer von 1 bis 10 Tagen waren bakterielle Infektionen: 4,2 ± 3,4 % (Bereich: 0–10 %); Thrombose: 7,3 ± 7,1 % (0–20 %); Embolie: 0,9 ± 2,0 % (0–5 %); Organverletzung: 1,1 ± 1,9 % (0–5 %); Herzrhythmusstörungen: 2,2 ± 2,5 % (0–5 %); und Dislokation: 5,4 ± 8,7% (0–30 %); und bei PICC mit einer Verweildauer von 1 bis 14 Tagen bakterielle Infektionen: 15,0 ± 3,4 % (Bereich: 2,5–30 %); Thrombose: 4,3 ± 3,5 % (0–10 %); Embolie: 0,8 ± 1,6 % (0–5 %); Organverletzung: 1,5 ± 2,3 % (0–5 %); Herzrhythmusstörungen: 1,5 ± 2,3 % (0–5 %) und Verrenkungen: 8,5 ± 4,6 % (0–30 %). Schlussfolgerung Die in dieser Umfrage berichteten katheterbedingten Komplikationsraten unterschieden sich zwischen UVC und PICC und waren höher als die in der Literatur berichteten. Um zuverlässigere Daten zu diesem klinisch wichtigen Thema zu erhalten, ist eine große prospektive, multizentrische, randomisierte, kontrollierte Studie geplant, in der die Nichtunterlegenheit einer verlängerten UVC-Verweildauer (bis zu 10 Tage) gegenüber dem frühen Wechsel (bis zu 5 Tage) zu einem PICC untersucht werden soll

Multi-dimensional modeling and simulation of semiconductor nanophotonic devices

Self-consistent modeling and multi-dimensional simulation of semiconductor nanophotonic devices is an important tool in the development of future integrated light sources and quantum devices. Simulations can guide important technological decisions by revealing performance bottlenecks in new device concepts, contribute to their understanding and help to theoretically explore their optimization potential. The efficient implementation of multi-dimensional numerical simulations for computer-aided design tasks requires sophisticated numerical methods and modeling techniques. We review recent advances in device-scale modeling of quantum dot based single-photon sources and laser diodes by self-consistently coupling the optical Maxwell equations with semiclassical carrier transport models using semi-classical and fully quantum mechanical descriptions of the optically active region, respectively. For the simulation of realistic devices with complex, multi-dimensional geometries, we have developed a novel hp-adaptive finite element approach for the optical Maxwell equations, using mixed meshes adapted to the multi-scale properties of the photonic structures. For electrically driven devices, we introduced novel discretization and parameter-embedding techniques to solve the drift-diffusion system for strongly degenerate semiconductors at cryogenic temperature. Our methodical advances are demonstrated on various applications, including vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, grating couplers and single-photon sources