Estate Tax— Possession or Enjoyment under 2036—\u3ci\u3eO\u27Malley v. United States\u3c/i\u3e (F. Supp. 1963)

As of yet the courts have not been faced squarely with the question of whether in the case of income-producing property, a retained possession or enjoyment is enough to tax it to one\u27s estate under section 2036 of the Internal Revenue Code. Thus far there has either been no transfer of the property in question or the courts have found a retention of the right to the income. It is inevitable, however, that the issue will one day have to be faced. The answer is not clear, but in looking at the reasons for the joint resolution that amended the statute in 1931, and the later Congressional interpretation of the statute in the conference report of 1949, the balance is on the side of recognizing a distinction between income-producing and non-income-producing property. On the other hand, the dicta propounded by the courts thus far seems to find no distinction between income-producing and non-income-producing property so far as the possession or enjoyment section of the statute is concerned. I. The O’Malley Facts II. Possible Effects of the O’Malley Interpretation III. The History of “Right to Income” IV. Judicial Reaction to “Right to Income” V. Conclusio

From creative destruction to destruction of the creatives: innovation in walled-off ecosystems

For a long time, a prevailing view was that due to the dynamic nature of competition in digital markets intervention by antitrust authorities may do more harm than good. It was assumed that Joseph Schum- peter’s “perennial gales of creative destruction” would sufficiently discipline any incumbent digital firm as rivals were only ‘one click away’, switching costs low and network effects reversable. Based upon the economics of innovation, the article first examines the market conditions under which significant prod- uct improvement and/or disruptions from outside may develop and unfold. It then examines why such conditions are lacking where a single undertaking largely controls a digital ecosystem. The article con- cludes that the protective moats and walls that digital gatekeepers have built around their “cash cow” services significantly reduce the incentives and abilities to innovate for any participant within such eco- system and to disrupt the incumbent’s service. Due to common interests and mutual interdependencies of the operators of the largest digital ecosystems, it also cannot be presumed that the lack of innovation within ecosystems (intra-ecosystem competition) is sufficiently outbalanced by innovation across eco- systems (inter-ecosystem competition). In such a setting, competition policy may no longer assume that dynamic competition sufficiently disciplines even dominant companies and that there is a higher risk from over-enforcement than from underenforcement. Accordingly, the measures proposed, for in- stance, in the European Digital Markets Act and the American Choice and Innovation Online Act to open up markets for innovation go into the right direction

Estate Tax— Possession or Enjoyment under 2036—\u3ci\u3eO\u27Malley v. United States\u3c/i\u3e (F. Supp. 1963)

As of yet the courts have not been faced squarely with the question of whether in the case of income-producing property, a retained possession or enjoyment is enough to tax it to one\u27s estate under section 2036 of the Internal Revenue Code. Thus far there has either been no transfer of the property in question or the courts have found a retention of the right to the income. It is inevitable, however, that the issue will one day have to be faced. The answer is not clear, but in looking at the reasons for the joint resolution that amended the statute in 1931, and the later Congressional interpretation of the statute in the conference report of 1949, the balance is on the side of recognizing a distinction between income-producing and non-income-producing property. On the other hand, the dicta propounded by the courts thus far seems to find no distinction between income-producing and non-income-producing property so far as the possession or enjoyment section of the statute is concerned. I. The O’Malley Facts II. Possible Effects of the O’Malley Interpretation III. The History of “Right to Income” IV. Judicial Reaction to “Right to Income” V. Conclusio

Control of Lesion Nematodes, Pratylenchus spp., in Grapevine Nursery Material by Immersion in Fenamiphos Solutions and Hot Water

Control of Pratylenchus spp. in dormant grapevine nursery material was attempted using fenamiphos solutions and a hot-water treatment. Five months after treatment, the lesion nematodes were eradicated by all treatments. Although no visual phytotoxicity symptoms were recorded at any stage wiith any of the treatments tested, hot water significantly reduced plant growth of certain scion/rootstock combinations. Treatment with 0,1 % (a.i.) fenamiphos solution for 30 minutes at 25°C is recommended

Molekularno-genetička analiza osteogenesis imperfecta u kliničkoj praksi

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is characterized by fractures with minimal or absent trauma, representing a continuum ranging from perinatal lethality through individuals with severe skeletal deformities to nearly asymptomatic individuals with mild predisposition to fractures. Diagnosis of OI is an interdisciplinary task based on family and/or patient history of fractures combined with characteristic physical fi ndings. Radiographic examination reveals fractures of varying ages and stages of healing, wormian bones, and osteopenia. As there is no defi nitive test for OI, molecular genetic testing by next generation sequencing (NGS) of COL1A1 and COL1A2 and up to 12 other genes is essential to confi rm the genetic background. Therefore, we designed a NGS gene panel comprising 12 genes involved in OI or severe osteoporosis. Here we report results in a cohort of 11 apparently sporadic young patients with OI, all off spring of unaff ected parents, who were referred to orthopaedic surgery at Sv. Katarina Special Hospital (Zabok/Zagreb, Croatia). Ten of these 11 patients could be classifi ed genetically. Overall, three genes with diff erent percent relating to the whole cohort were involved: COL1A1 (63.6%), COL1A2 (18.18%) and WNT1 (9.09%).Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) je obilježena prijelomima uz minimalnu ili odsutnu traumu i predstavlja kontinuum u rasponu od perinatalne smrtnosti, osobe s teškim skeletnim deformitetima do gotovo asimptomatskih osoba s niskom sklonošću prijelomima. Dijagnosticiranje OI je interdisciplinski zadatak koji se temelji na obiteljskoj i/ili bolesnikovoj povijesti prijeloma u kombinaciji sa znakovitim fi zičkim nalazima. Radiografsko snimanje otkriva prijelome različite starosti i stadija zaraštanja, Wormove kosti i osteopeniju. Kako nema konačnog testa za OI, molekularno genetsko testiranje pomoću next generation sequencing (NGS) gena COL1A1 i COL1A2 te do 12 drugih gena bitno je za potvrdu genetske podloge. Stoga smo izradili NGS genski panel koji sadrži 12 gena uključenih u OI ili tešku osteoporozu. Prikazujemo rezultate dobivene u nizu od 11 očito sporadičnih mladih bolesnika s OI, svi potomci nezahvaćenih roditelja, koji su bili upućeni na ortopedsku kirurgiju u Specijalnoj bolnici sv. Katarina u Zaboku/Zagrebu. Deset od tih 11 bolesnika mogli smo genetski klasifi cirati. Sveukupno, uključena su bila tri gena u različitim postocima u našem nizu bolesnika: COL1A1 (63,6%), COL1A2 (18,18%) i WNT1 (9,09%)

Inducing Increased Bioplastic Production in \u3ci\u3eR. palustris\u3c/i\u3e CGA009

PHA’s (polyhydroxyalkanoates) are important bio polymers in different industries such as petroleum, medicine, and nano technology. In the microorganisms in which they are produced, they serve as an energy storage material by storing both carbon and usable electrons. This is useful in environments where the organisms are nutrient starved. PHA’s have a practical use especially in the medical field as bio-plastics because they are biodegradable and bio-compatible. Rhodopseudomonas. palustris, a common soil bacterium, is notable for its uncommon metabolic flexibility. Its diverse metabolism means that it can fix CO 2 and grow on many lignin based monomers in both aerobic and anaerobic environments. Currently, R. palustris already produces PHB (polyhydroxybutyrate), but there are other PHA’s and co polymers that have superior processing characteristics and applications. Our research will investigate the effect of the PHA production genes from Paraburkholderia sacchari DSM 17165 and Cupriavidus necator DSM 545 when introduced into R. palustris and potentially R. palustris strains with their native PHA production genes knocked out Both P. sacchari and C. necator produce higher titers of PHA’s as well as co polymers with improved processing characteristics and more applications than R. palustris ’ current PHB production. Our research will work to combine the metabolic flexibility of R. palustris with the higher PHA and co polymer production of P sacchari and C. necator by introducing genes for PhaA, PhaB, and PhaC production into R. palustris

Angst, Depressivität und Allgemeinbeschwerden bei Patienten mit Reizdarmsyndrom im Vergleich zu Patienten mit chronisch entzündlichen Darmerkrankungen und psychosomatischen Patienten

1.1. Zusammenfassung Hintergrund: Das Reizdarmsyndrom wird als eine chronisch funktionelle Darmerkrankung angesehen und kann entsprechend der S3-Leitlinie wie auch nach den ROME-Kriterien definiert werden. Unklar ist, wie nah das RDS den somatoformen Störungen steht und wie stark psychische Faktoren eine Rolle bei der Krankheitsentstehung, dem Krankheitsempfinden sowie dem Krankheitsverlauf spielen. Die Patienten unterliegen einem hohen Leidensdruck aufgrund eines häufig langwierigen diagnostischen Prozesses sowie der meist chronischen und belastenden Symptomatik. Daher ist das Reizdarmsyndrom mit erheblichen Kosten für das Gesundheitssystem und die Gesellschaft verbunden. Vorliegende Daten zeigen, dass die Erkrankung oft mit psychopathologischen Störungen, insbesondere Depression, Angst und Somatisierung, korreliert. Die Patienten profitieren daher von einer frühzeitigen Diagnose sowie Therapie. Bislang liegen nur wenige Daten hinsichtlich des Vergleichs von organspezifischen Beschwerden, Allgemeinbeschwerden sowie Angst und Depressivität zwischen RDS-Patienten und weiteren psychisch bzw. somatisch erkrankten Patienten vor. Methodik: Es wurden insgesamt 372 Patienten/ Probanden eingeschlossen. Untersucht wurden 4 Patientenstichproben, RDS-Patienten (n=65), Patienten, die an einer chronisch entzündlichen Darmerkrankung (CED) leiden (n=74), Patienten mit muskuloskelettalen Beschwerden (n=72) und Patienten mit einer psychosomatischen Erkrankung (n=45) sowie eine Probandengruppe aus Medizinstudenten (n=116). Zur Beurteilung der organspezifischen Beschwerden in Bezug auf den Gastrointestinaltrakt wurde sowohl die Skala Magenbeschwerden der Kurzversion des Gießener Beschwerdebogens (GBB-24) als auch der Reizdarmfragebogen (RDF) genutzt. Die Symptomausprägung von Angst und Depressivität wurde mit Hilfe des HADS-D und die Allgemeinbeschwerden wurden mit Hilfe des GBB-24 erfasst. Es wurde der Mittelwert der jeweiligen Patienten- bzw. Probandengruppe in den jeweiligen Fragebögen miteinander verglichen. Die statistische Auswertung erfolgte mit SPSS Version 20 für Windows. Ergebnisse: Das erste wichtige Ergebnis unserer Studie ist die Bestätigung der höheren Belastung der RDS-Patienten durch Angst und Depressivität im Vergleich zu den CED-Patienten, den Patienten mit muskuloskelettalen Schmerzen und der studentischen Kontrollgruppe. RDS-Patienten zeigten eine vergleichbare Ausprägung von Angst und Depressivität wie psychosomatische Patienten. Ein weiteres wichtiges Ergebnis ist, dass RDS-Patienten stärker an organspezifischen Beschwerden leiden als CED-Patienten. Es bestand keine Korrelation zwischen organspezifischen Beschwerden und Angst sowie Depressivität bei den RDS-Patienten. Es zeigte sich jedoch eine bedeutsame Korrelation zwischen organspezifischen Beschwerden und Angst sowie Depressivität in der Gruppe der CED-Patienten und der Gruppe der psychosomatischen Patienten. Zu erkennen war ebenfalls eine signifikante Korrelation zwischen den Allgemeinbeschwerden und Angst sowie Depressivität in sämtlichen Gruppen. Schlussfolgerung: Zusammenfassend bestätigt diese Arbeit zum Großteil die Ergebnisse bereits vorgestellter Studien, dass Patienten mit einem RDS an Angst und Depressivität leiden und sogar eine ähnliche Symptomausprägung dieser beider Krankheitsbilder zeigen wie Patienten, die an einer Angststörung und Depression erkrankt sind. Die Ergebnisse unterstreichen die Notwendigkeit der Diagnose und Behandlung von Angst und Depressivität bei RDS-Patienten um den Krankheitsverlauf sowie das Krankheitsempfinden positiv zu beeinflussen.1.2. Summary Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic functional bowel disease and counts among the somatoform disorders. It can be defined according to the S3 guidelines in Germany as well as according to the ROME criteria. It is associated with significantly high costs for patients, for the healthcare system and for society. Numerous studies about IBS have shown that IBS is associated with significant psychopathological disorders especially depression, anxiety and somatization. An analysis regarding the direct comparison in relation to the organ-specific complaints, general complaints as well as anxiety and depression between IBS patients and other physically or mentally ill patients does not exist to our knowledge. Methods: A total of 372 patients / subjects were enrolled. The study included 3 patient groups, IBS patients (n = 65), patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (n = 74), patients with musculoskeletal complaints (n = 72), and patients with psychosomatic disorders (n = 45), as well as a healthy study population consisting of medical student (n=116). To assess the organ-specific complaints with respect to the gastrointestinal tract, both the scale gastric disorder of the short version of the Gießener Beschwerdefragebogen (GBB-24) and the German version of the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale – Irritable Bowel Syndrome (GSRS–IBS), the Reizdarmfragebogen (RDF), were used. The symptoms of anxiety and depression were recorded using the German version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D) and general complaints using the GBB-24. The middle value of the subject group in the respective questionnaires was compared. Statistical evaluation was done with SPSS version 20 for Windows. Results: The first important result of our study is the confirmation of the higher burden of anxiety and depression in IBS patients in comparison to IBD patients, patients with musculoskeletal pain and the student control group. Moreover, the results show that the level of anxiety and depression in the IBS patients and the psychosomatic patients is comparable. Another important finding is that IBS patients suffer from higher organspecific complaint than IBD patients. There is no correlation between organ-specific symptoms and anxiety and depression in IBS patients. However, there was a significant correlation between organ-specific symptoms and anxiety as well as depression in the group of IBD patients and the group of psychosomatic patients. A significant correlation between general complaints and anxiety as well as depression in all groups is also recognized. Conclusion: This work largely confirms the results of previous studies that IBS patients suffer from anxiety and depression and shows that in IBS patients the severity of these two conditions is even similar to those patients who suffer from anxiety and depression. The results underline the need to search and treat anxiety and depression in IBS patients

Design and validation of a German version of the GSRS-IBS - an analysis of its psychometric quality and factorial structure

Background: Currently, a suitable questionnaire in German language is not available to monitor the progression and evaluate the severity of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Therefore, this study aimed to translate the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (GSRS-IBS) into German and to evaluate its psychometric qualities and factorial structure. Methods: This study is based on a total sample of 372 participants [62.6% female, mean age = 41 years (SD = 17 years)]. 17.5% of the participants had a diagnosis of IBS, 19.9% were receiving treatment for chronic inflammatory bowel disease, 12.1% of the participants were recruited from a psychosomatic clinic, and 50.5% belonged to a control group. All participants completed the German version of GSRS-IBS (called Reizdarm-Fragebogen, RDF), as well as the Gießen Subjective Complaints List (GBB-24) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - German version (HADS-D). Results: The internal consistency of the RDF total scale was at least satisfactory in all subsamples (Cronbach’s Alpha between .77 and .92), and for all subscales (Cronbach’s Alpha between .79 and .91). The item difficulties (between .25 and .73) and the item-total correlations (between .48 and .83) were equally satisfactory. Principal axis analysis revealed a four-factorial structure of the RDF items, which mainly resembled the structure of the English original. Convergent validity was established based on substantial and significant correlations with the stomach-complaint scale of the GBB-24 (r = .71; p < .01) and the anxiety (r = .42; p < .01) and depression scales (r = .43; p < .01) of the HADS-D. Conclusion: The German version of the GSRS-IBS RDF proves to be an effective, reliable, and valid questionnaire for the assessment of symptom severity in IBS, which can be used in clinical practice as well as in clinical studies

Evidence for the interaction of Endophilin A3 with endogenous K(Ca)2.3 channels in PC12 cells

Background/Aims: Small-conductance calcium-activated (SK) channels play an important role by controlling the after-hyperpolarization of excitable cells. The level of expression and density of these channels is an essential factor for controlling different cellular functions. Several studies showed a co-localization of KCa2.3 channels and Endophilin A3 in different tissues. Endophilin A3 belongs to a family of BAR- and SH3 domain containing proteins that bind to dynamin and are involved in the process of vesicle scission in clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Methods: Using the yeast two-hybrid system and the GST pull down assay we demonstrated that Endophilin A3 interacts with the N-terminal part of KCa2.3 channels. In addition, we studied the impact of this interaction on channel activity by patch clamp measurements in PC12 cells expressing endogenous KCa2.3 channels. KCa2.3 currents were activated by using pipette solutions containing 1 µM free Ca(2+). Results: Whole-cell measurements of PC12 cells transfected with Endophilin A3 showed a reduction of KCa2.3 specifc Cs(+) currents indicating that the interaction of Endophilin A3 with KCa2.3 channels also occurs in mammalian cells and that this interaction has functional consequences for current flowing through KCa2.3 channels. Since KCa2.3 specific currents could be increased in PC12 cells transfected with Endophilin A3 with DC-EBIO (30 µM), a known SK-channel activator, these data also implicate that Endophilin A3 did not significantly remove KCa2.3 channels from the membrane but changed the sensitivity of the channels to Ca(2+) which could be overcome by DC-EBIO. Conclusion: This interaction seems to be important for the function of KCa2.3 channels and might therefore play a significant role in situations where channel activation is pivotal for cellular function