Von ethischen Verhalten und ökonomischem Kalkül.

"Tenemos motivos apremiantes para pensar si la magnitud de los estándares morales y de las formas de comportamiento en nuestra sociedad está suficientemente asegurada sin que las instituciones constitucionales y las empresas económicas, no arriesguen de modo innecesario su capacidad funcional, pero, sobre todo, su credibilidad", dijo el Presidente del Parlamento Alemán, Norbert Lammert con motivo de la concesión del Premio Max Weber por parte del Instituto de la Economía Alemana de Colonia el pasado 18 de mayo del 2010 en Berlín. Pero, al mismo tiempo, previno Lammert que la construcción de un tal sistema no se apoye solamente en las normas legales o sólo en la libre aceptación por parte de los ciudadanos

Von ethischen Verhalten und ökonomischem Kalkül.

"Tenemos motivos apremiantes para pensar si la magnitud de los estándares morales y de las formas de comportamiento en nuestra sociedad está suficientemente asegurada sin que las instituciones constitucionales y las empresas económicas, no arriesguen de modo innecesario su capacidad funcional, pero, sobre todo, su credibilidad", dijo el Presidente del Parlamento Alemán, Norbert Lammert con motivo de la concesión del Premio Max Weber por parte del Instituto de la Economía Alemana de Colonia el pasado 18 de mayo del 2010 en Berlín. Pero, al mismo tiempo, previno Lammert que la construcción de un tal sistema no se apoye solamente en las normas legales o sólo en la libre aceptación por parte de los ciudadanos

Weder machtlos noch allmächtig: Parlamentskultur in Deutschland

Der vorliegende Beitrag befasst sch mit der Parlamentskultur in Deutschland. Der Autor beginnt mit dem vermittelnden Vorschlag, dass die Behauptung vom Ableben des Parlamentarismus ebenso übertrieben ist wie die Behauptung einer unaufhaltsamen Erfolgsgeschichte und dass, wie häufig im Leben, die Wahrheit nicht so spektakulär ist wie die deswegen besonders gern zitierten Funde, sondern weniger aufregend, aber durchaus in der Nähe der Ansprüche angesiedelt, die jedenfalls die Verfassung gegenüber diesem Verfassungsorgan formuliert, und auch relativ nah zu dem, was leibhaftige Parlamentarier sich selber zutrauen und sicher auch zumuten müssen. Der Autor greift ein paar Befunde auf und illustriert seine relativierenden Thesen. (ICD2

Wer vertritt das Volk? Parlamente, Plebiszite, Populisten: 11. Februar 2018

Norbert Lammert stellt mit seiner Rede 'Wer vertritt das Volk? Parlamente, Plebiszite, Populisten' die Bedeutung demokratisch gewählter Gremien in den Mittelpunkt seiner Überlegungen. Jede und Jeder ist für Demokratie, aber die Erwartungen, wie politische Entscheidungen zustande kommen sollten, gehen doch weit auseinander. Weder Regierungen noch Parlamente erfreuen sich eines besonders hohen öffentlichen Ansehens und beinahe folgerichtig treten neben gewählten immer häufiger auch selbsternannte Volksvertreter*innen auf

Transforming our World through Software – Mapping the Sustainability Awareness Framework to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations focus on key issues for the transformation of our world towards sustainability. We argue for stronger integration of the SDGs into requirements and software engineering and for the creation of methods and tools that support the analysis of potential effects of software systems on sustainability in general and on SDGs in particular. To demonstrate one way of undertaking this integration, we report on how the Sustainability Awareness Framework (SusAF -- a tool developed by the authors of this paper) can be mapped to the SDGs, allowing the identification of potential effects of software systems on sustainability and on the SDGs. This mapping exercise demonstrates that it is possible for requirements engineers working on a specific system to consider that system's impact with respect to SDGs

Specification of Drosophila Corpora Cardiaca Neuroendocrine Cells from Mesoderm Is Regulated by Notch Signaling

Drosophila neuroendocrine cells comprising the corpora cardiaca (CC) are essential for systemic glucose regulation and represent functional orthologues of vertebrate pancreatic α-cells. Although Drosophila CC cells have been regarded as developmental orthologues of pituitary gland, the genetic regulation of CC development is poorly understood. From a genetic screen, we identified multiple novel regulators of CC development, including Notch signaling factors. Our studies demonstrate that the disruption of Notch signaling can lead to the expansion of CC cells. Live imaging demonstrates localized emergence of extra precursor cells as the basis of CC expansion in Notch mutants. Contrary to a recent report, we unexpectedly found that CC cells originate from head mesoderm. We show that Tinman expression in head mesoderm is regulated by Notch signaling and that the combination of Daughterless and Tinman is sufficient for ectopic CC specification in mesoderm. Understanding the cellular, genetic, signaling, and transcriptional basis of CC cell specification and expansion should accelerate discovery of molecular mechanisms regulating ontogeny of organs that control metabolism

Budesonide orodispersible tablets maintain remission in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of patients with eosinophilic esophagitis

Background & Aims: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic inflammatory disorder. Swallowed topical-acting corticosteroids are effective in bringing active EoE into remission. However, it is not clear whether these drugs are effective for long-term maintenance of remission. Methods: We performed a double-blind trial to compare the efficacy and safety of 2 dosages of a budesonide orodispersible tablet (BOT) vs placebo in maintaining remission of EoE. Maintenance of remission was defined as absence of clinical and histologic relapse and no premature withdrawal for any reason. Two hundred and four adults with EoE in clinical and histologic remission, from 29 European study sites, were randomly assigned to groups given BOT 0.5 mg twice daily (n = 68), BOT 1.0 mg twice daily (n = 68), or placebo twice daily (n = 68) for up to 48 weeks. Results: At end of treatment, 73.5% of patients receiving BOT 0.5 mg twice daily and 75% receiving BOT 1.0 mg twice daily were in persistent remission compared with 4.4% of patients in the placebo group (P < .001 for both comparisons of BOT with placebo). Median time to relapse in the placebo group was 87 days. The frequency of adverse events was similar in the BOT and placebo groups. Morning serum levels of cortisol were in the normal range at baseline and did not significantly change during treatment. Four patients receiving BOT developed asymptomatic, low serum levels of cortisol. Clinically manifested candidiasis was suspected in 16.2% of patients in the BOT 0.5 mg group and in 11.8% of patients in the BOT 1.0 mg group; all infections resolved with treatment. Conclusions: In a phase 3 trial, up to 48 weeks of treatment with BOT (0.5 mg or 1.0 mg twice daily) was superior to placebo in maintaining remission of EoE. Both dosages were equally effective and well tolerated. EudraCT number; 2014-001485-99; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02434029

Efficacy of Budesonide Orodispersible Tablets as Induction Therapy for Eosinophilic Esophagitis in a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Swallowed topical-acting corticosteroids are recommended as first-line therapy for eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). Asthma medications not optimized for esophageal delivery are sometimes effective, although given off-label. We performed a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to assess the effectiveness and tolerability of a budesonide orodispersible tablet (BOT), which allows the drug to be delivered to the esophagus in adults with active EoE. METHODS: We performed a double-blind, parallel study of 88 adults with active EoE in Europe. Patients were randomly assigned to groups that received BOT (1 mg twice daily; n = 59) or placebo (n = 29) for 6 weeks. The primary end point was complete remission, based on clinical and histologic factors, including dysphagia and odynophagia severity ≤2 on a scale of 0-10 on each of the 7 days before the end of the double-blind phase and a peak eosinophil count <5 eosinophils/high power field. Patients who did not achieve complete remission at the end of the 6-week double-blind phase were offered 6 weeks of open-label treatment with BOT (1 mg twice daily). RESULTS: At 6 weeks, 58% of patients given BOT were in complete remission compared with no patients given placebo (P < .0001). The secondary end point of histologic remission was achieved by 93% of patients given BOT vs no patients given placebo (P < .0001). After 12 weeks, 85% of patients had achieved remission. Six-week and 12-week BOT administration were safe and well tolerated; 5% of patients who received BOT developed symptomatic, mild candida, which was easily treated with an oral antifungal agent. CONCLUSIONS: In a randomized trial of adults with active EoE, we found that budesonide oral tablets were significantly more effective than placebo in inducing clinical and histologic remission. Eudra-CT number 2014-001485-99; ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT02434029