Apprentice pay in Britain, Germany and Switzerland: Institutions, market forces and market power

This is the accepted version of the original publication in the European Journal of Industrial Relations, which is available online at http://ejd.sagepub.com/content/19/3/201.The pay of metalworking apprentices is high in Britain, middling in Germany and low in Switzerland. We analyse these differences using fieldwork evidence and survey data, drawing on both economic and institutionalist theories. Several institutional attributes influence apprentice pay, partly by affecting supply and demand in markets for training places. Institutional support for apprenticeship training appears to involve important complementarities in both Germany and Switzerland, in contrast to Britain’s less coherent and more market-driven approach.We thank the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Anglo-German Foundation, SKOPE (Oxford), the Swiss federal government (OPET/SERI) and WZB (Berlin) for financial support

Upscaling the shallow water model with a novel roughness formulation

This study presents a novel roughness formulation to conceptually account for microtopography and compares it to four existing roughness models from literature. The aim is to increase the grid size for computational efficiency, while capturing subgrid scale effects with the roughness formulation to prevent the loss in accuracy associated with coarse grids. All roughness approaches are implemented in the Hydroinformatics Modeling System and compared with results of a high resolution shallow water model in three test cases: rainfall-runoff on an inclined plane with sinewave shaped microtopography, ow over an inclined plane with random microtopography and rainfall-runoff in a small natural catchment. Although the high resolution results can not be reproduced exactly by the coarse grid model, e.g. local details of ow processes can not be resolved, overall good agreement between the upscaled models and the high resolution model has been achieved. The proposed roughness formulation generally shows the best agreement of all compared models. It is further concluded that the accuracy increases with the number of calibration parameters available, however the calibration process becomes more difficult. Using coarser grids results in significant speedup in comparison with the high resolution simulation. In the presented test cases the speedup varies from 20 up to 2520, depending on the size and complexity of the test case and the difference in cell sizes.The authors thank the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation for the Humboldt Research Fellowship granted to Dr. Dongfang Liang.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12665-015-4726-7

Reversal of hepatorenal syndrome type 1 with terlipressin plus albumin vs. placebo plus albumin in a pooled analysis of the OT-0401 and REVERSE randomised clinical studies

Background The goal of hepatorenal syndrome type 1 (HRS-1) treatment is to improve renal function. Terlipressin, a synthetic vasopressin analogue, is a systemic vasoconstrictor used for the treatment of HRS-1, where it is available. Aim To compare the efficacy of terlipressin plus albumin vs. placebo plus albumin in patients with HRS-1. Methods Pooled patient-level data from two large phase 3, randomised, placebo-controlled studies were analysed for HRS reversal [serum creatinine (SCr) value ≤133 μmol/L], 90-day survival, need for renal replacement therapy and predictors of HRS reversal. Patients received intravenous terlipressin 1–2 mg every 6 hours plus albumin or placebo plus albumin up to 14 days. Results The pooled analysis comprised 308 patients (terlipressin: n = 153; placebo: n = 155). HRS reversal was significantly more frequent with terlipressin vs. placebo (27% vs. 14%; P = 0.004). Terlipressin was associated with a more significant improvement in renal function from baseline until end of treatment, with a mean between-group difference in SCr concentration of −53.0 μmol/L (P \u3c 0.0001). Lower SCr, lower mean arterial pressure and lower total bilirubin and absence of known precipitating factors for HRS were independent predictors of HRS reversal and longer survival in terlipressin-treated patients. Conclusions Terlipressin plus albumin resulted in a significantly higher rate of HRS reversal vs. albumin alone in patients with HRS-1. Terlipressin treatment is associated with improved renal function

Remote Sensing of Coniferous Forest Leaf Area

Many important ecological questions concern ecosystem processes occurring over large areas. However, our understanding o f ecosystem functions is derived primarily from research executed on small, intensively studied sites, and extrapolation to large areas is difficult

Modeling deficit irrigation in alfalfa production

A conceptual agronomic model EPIC was extended to consider the effects of salinity in alfalfa production under optimal and water stress irrigation conditions. The extended model was calibrated and validated with observed lysimeter data. The model parameters that affected alfalfa yield and soil salinity the most were wilting point, field capacity, hydraulic conductivity, nitrate concentration, biomass energy ratio, seeding rate, average soil salinity EC e at which crop yield is reduced by 50% ( EC50 ), and initial soil gypsum concentration. The calibrated and validated model was then applied to an alfalfa deficit irrigation study. The four irrigation treatments included optimum check, minimum stress, short stress, and long stress, each of which produced differential alfalfa yields. The purpose of summer deficit irrigation was to ascertain how much agricultural water at what cost could be made available for urban water uses during water shortfalls. The results of model simulation were found to be satisfactory under all irrigation treatments though the model slightly overestimated the yields and underestimated the soil EC e at the end of short and long stress treatments. An economic component is included to determine the appropriate compensation for farmers undergoing a range of deficit irrigations

Orbital apex syndrome caused by aspergilloma in an immunocompromised patient with cutaneous lymphoma: A case report of a rare entity

A 57-year-old man with a history of chemotherapy because of cutaneous lymphoma presented with an orbital apex syndrome. The cranial computed tomography scan revealed a tumour in the orbital apex, extending intradurally. With a suspected diagnosis of a neoplastic lesion, the patient underwent orbital surgery with optic nerve decompression. Histology revealed an aspergilloma. No other foci were seen and treatment with antifungals was started. In immunocompromised patients with intracranial tumours, infection is always a major consideration in the differential diagnosis, even if the reason for immunosuppression (in this case chemotherapy) dates back several months. Misdiagnosing an orbital apex lesion as a cancer and treating patients primarily with corticosteroids can be life threatening. Removal or biopsy of such lesions is essential in further treatment since antifungals have to be administered as fast as possible

Bodennutzung in Kleingärten

Gärtnern ist für viele Menschen in Deutschland ein Hobby. So hat der „Bundesverband Deutscher Gartenfreunde e.V.“, die Dachorganisation vieler Kleingartenvereine, 947.137 Mitglieder, die auf einer Fläche von 460 km² gärtnern (1). Diese Zahl gilt lediglich für Kleingärtner und nicht für Menschen, die einen Hausgarten oder eine Ackerfläche bewirtschaften oder in einem Urban Gardening Projekt aktiv sind. Im Jahr 2016 haben 8,4 Millionen Menschen in Deutschland mehrmals in der Woche gegärtnert, weitere 14,2 Millionen gaben an, mehrmals im Monat im Garten aktiv zu sein (2). Dies zeigt, dass Gärtnern eine beliebte Freizeitbeschäftigung ist. Im Zuge dieser Freizeitbeschäftigung befassen sich die Gärtner auf freiwilliger Basis mit dem Ressourcenkomplex „Garten“, der sich aus den Faktoren Boden, Pflanzen, Wissen, Bearbeitungspraktiken und im Falle der Kleingartenorganisationen auch aus Regeln zusammensetzt. Bisher ist jedoch wenig bekannt, ob bei den Gärtnern Bodenwissen vorhanden ist und wie sie mit dem Boden umgehen. Die Forschungsfragen lauten daher: Wie nutzen die Kleingärtner den Boden in ihren Parzellen? Können sie Bodenarten unterscheiden? Befassen sie sich mit Bodenqualität? Wie wird die Bodenqualität eingeschätzt? In zwei Regionen Baden-Württembergs wurden Gärtner mithilfe eines Fragebogens befragt. Um einen Vergleich zwischen ländlichen und städtischen Gebieten ziehen zu können, fand die Befragung in der Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart und im ländlichen Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg-Kreis statt. Hierbei war das Ziel, Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede zwischen den Regionen herauszuarbeiten. Zusätzlich wurden in jedem Verein Bodenproben genommen, um die subjektive Bodenwahrnehmung der Gärtner in den Kontext bodenkundlicher Ergebnisse zu stellen

Waters. Conference Proceedings for “Waters as a Resource” of the SFB 1070 ResourceCultures and DEGUWA (Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Unterwasserarchäologie e.V.)

This volume contains the conference contributions of scientists of the SFB 1070 presented at the conference 'Waters as a Resource', which was organized in cooperation with DEGUWA (Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Unterwasserarchäologie e.V.) and took place in Tübingen from March 15th to 18th 2018. The conference proceedings focus on different resources provided by waters or on the ResourceComplexes connected to them. After a brief reflection on theories and methods used within the SFB 1070 to study and understand resources, conceptions of water bodies in cultural anthropology and archaeology are compared using the examples of the Guadalquivir and Syr Darya Rivers. The third contribution investigates water management on islands and its influences on the identity of the islanders. The fourth chapter shows how seclusion on islands can be an important resource for island communities in the Strait of Sicily. Waters as means for identity formation in medieval monasteries is the focus of the fifth chapter, which is followed by a contribution that investigates the impact of maritime food sources on Viking Life. The last study analyses Greek settlements in the Black Sea. All contributions illustrate how a new perspective on resources opens up new possibilities for interpretation