Economic impacts of the RES Obligations in Austria – an Application of the Macro-Econometric Model e3.at

The year 2008 started in January (Jan 23, 2008) with ambitious European initiatives on climate change when the European Commission suggested a climate packages with new targets for energy from renewable sources (RES), for the design of the third phase of the emission trading system, for a directive on carbon capture and storage systems (CCS), for the fuel directive, and a directive on CO2 limit for new vehicles. Several of these proposed directives have been an issue of fierce discussion during the year, especially as the extent of the financial crisis gradually came to the fore and the fears of a worldwide economic crisis grew. At the end of 2008, however, the package passed the European parliament (Dec. 17, 2008) though several concessions had to be made concerning the emission trading system or the vehicle directive. However, seemingly unaffected by current fears and therefore largely unaltered the directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources in Europe passed with a rather high amount of “yes” votes of the whole package, indicating that the support for energy from renewable sources still seems strong. The Directive “establishes a common framework for the promotion of energy from renewable sources. It sets mandatory national targets for the overall share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy and for the share of energy from renewable sources in transport.” (COM(2008)0019 – C6-0046/2008 – 2008/0016(COD) The national overall targets are set individually for each country and the required increases compared to 2005 are as low as 22% (Sweden, Latvia) or as high as more than 1000% in the case of the UK (c.f. full table in the Appendix). Each country will have to develop a strategy for a sustainable pathway to reach the target. Though the strategic decisions will be on the national levels for each country, the knowledge of the targets for the European Community provides useful information to back the decision. Domestic support of RES technologies can induce a lead market and create international export opportunities. Observing the strategies of the other EC member states will affect the choice of the national efficient and effective policy mix. Austria is an interesting case study insofar as it already uses renewable energy to a large extent (23.3% in 2005) and still has to increase it by almost 50% to 34% by 2020. This increase will come with large necessary investments and will require a combined energyefficiency strategy. To answer the question how and at what overall economic costs in terms of GDP and employment effects the targets can be reached a scenario has to be developed and tested with the help of a model that reflects the economic and environmental interdependences. Therefore, to analyze the overall effects a highly interdependent resource economic modeling approach is needed. The macro-econometric model e3.at has been developed to answer such questions. The article is organized as following. Section 2 describes the model e3.at. Section 3 suggests an energy-efficiency scenario that meets the EC’s targets. Section 4 presents modeling results and section 5 concludes.Austria, Macro-Econometric Model, e3.at, Economic impacts, RES Obligations

Towards a Continuous Manufacturing Process of Protein-Loaded Polymeric Nanoparticle Powders

To develop a scalable and efficient process suitable for the continuous manufacturing of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles containing ovalbumin as the model protein. PLGA nanoparticles were prepared using a double emulsification spray-drying method. Emulsions were prepared using a focused ultrasound transducer equipped with a flow cell. Either poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) or poloxamer 407 (P-407) was used as a stabilizer. Aliquots of the emulsions were blended with different matrix excipients and spray dried, and the yield and size of the resuspended nanoparticles was determined and compared against solvent displacement. Nanoparticle sizes of spray-dried PLGA/PVA emulsions were independent of the matrix excipient and comparable with sizes from the solvent displacement method. The yield of the resuspended nanoparticles was highest for emulsions containing trehalose and leucine (79%). Spray drying of PLGA/P-407 emulsions led to agglomerated nanoparticles independent of the matrix excipient. PLGA/P-407 nanoparticles pre-formed by solvent displacement could be spray dried with limited agglomeration when PVA was added as an additional stabilizer. A comparably high and economically interesting nanoparticle yield could be achieved with a process suitable for continuous manufacturing. Further studies are needed to understand the robustness of a continuous process at commercial scale

Human Skin Permeation Enhancement Using PLGA Nanoparticles Is Mediated by Local pH Changes

The steady improvement and optimization of transdermal permeation is a constant and challenging pharmaceutical task. In this study the influence of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles on the dermal permeation of the anti-inflammatory drug flufenamic acid (FFA) was investigated. For this aim, different vehicles under non-buffered and buffered conditions and different skin models (human heat separated epidermis and reconstructed human epidermis equivalents) were tested. Permeation experiments were performed using static Franz diffusion cells under infinite dosing conditions. Already the presence of drug-free nanoparticles increased drug permeation across the skin. Drug permeation was even enhanced when applying drug-loaded nanoparticles. In contrast, buffered vehicles with different pH values (pH 5.4–7.4) revealed the influence of the pH on the permeation of FFA. The change of the surrounding pH of the biodegradable nanoparticulate system was demonstrated and visualized using pH-sensitive fluorescent probes. While a potential contribution of hair follicles could be ruled out, our data suggest that the enhanced permeation of FFA through human skin in the presence of PLGA nanoparticles is mediated by a locally decreased pH during hydrolytic degradation of this polymer. This hypothesis is supported by the observation that skin permeation of the weak base caffeine was not affected

Lichtgesteuerte Konstruktion und Zerstörung: Schaltung zwischen zwei unterschiedlich zusammengesetzten käfigartigen Komplexen

Wir berichten über zwei regioisomere Diazocinliganden1 und 2, die beide mit violettem und grünem Lichtzwischenden E- undZ Konfigurationen geschaltet werden können. Die Selbstorganisationder vier Spezies(1-Z,1-E,2-Z,2-E) mit CoII-Ionen wurde nach Änderung der Koordinationsvektoren in Abhängigkeit von der Ligandenkonfiguration (Evs.Z) und dem Regioisomer (1vs.2) untersucht. Mit1-Zbildetsich Co2(1-Z)3, während mit 2-Z ein undefiniertes Gemisch verschiedener Spezies(Oligomere) beobachtet wurde. Bei Belichtung der E-Konfigurationen mit 385 nm wurde die gegenteilige Situation beobachtet, wobei 1-E Oligomere und 2-Eden KomplexCo2(2-E) 3 bildete.Der lichtgesteuerte Abbau/Aufbau wurdein einem Ligandenverdrängungsexperiment mit substöchiometrischen Mengen von CoII-Ionen demonstriert. Die abwechselnde Bestrahlung mit violettem undg rünem Licht führte zu einer reversiblen Umwandlung zwischenCo2(1-Z) 3 und Co2(2-E) 3 übermehrere Zyklen hinweg ohne signifikante Ermüdung

Multiphoton microscopy for the investigation of dermal penetration of nanoparticle-borne drugs

Multiphoton microscopy of a dually fluorescence-labeled model system in excised human skin is employed for high resolution three dimensional visualization in order to study the release, accumulation and penetration properties of drugs released from nanoscale carrier particles in dermal administration. Polymer particles were covalently labeled with fluorescein while Texas Red as a drug-model was dissolved in the particle to be released to the formulation matrix. Single nanoparticles on skin could easily be localized and imaged with diffraction limited resolution. The temporal evolution of the fluorescent drug-model concentration in various skin compartments over more than five hours was investigated by multiphoton spectral imaging of the same area of the specimen. The three dimensional penetration profile of the drug-model in correlation with skin morphology and particle localization information are obtained by a multiple laser line excitation experiment. Multiphoton microscopy combined with spectral imaging was found to allow non invasive long term studies of particle-borne drug-model penetration into the skin with sub cellular resolution. By dual color labeling a clear discrimination between particle-bound and released drug-model was possible. The introduced technique was shown to be a powerful tool in revealing the dermal penetration properties and pathways of drugs and nanoscale drug vehicles on microscopic level

Copper‐Free One‐Pot Sonogashira‐Type Coupling for the Efficient Preparation of Symmetric Diarylalkyne Ligands for Metal‐Organic Cages**

The often time-consuming and challenging multi-step synthesis of ligands for metal-organic cages is a limiting factor for the discovery and application of new cages. We report a highly efficient copper-free one-pot Sonogashira-type coupling for the preparation of symmetric diarylalkyne ligands on both a small and large scale; bipyridine- and benzimidazole-based ligands for the self-assembly of Co 4 L 6 cages were synthesized in short reaction times and high isolated yields directly from aryl halide precursors. This one-pot method reduces the synthetic burden of ligand synthesis and will facilitate the preparation of ligands with additional functionality for applications of their corre- sponding cages

A Paramagnetic NMR Spectroscopy Toolbox for the Characterisation of Paramagnetic/Spin-Crossover Coordination Complexes and Metal-Organic Cages

The large paramagnetic shifts and short relaxation times resulting from the presence of a paramagnetic centre complicate NMR data acquisition and interpretation in solution. As a result, NMR analysis of paramagnetic complexes is limited in comparison to diamagnetic compounds and often relies on theoretical models. We report a toolbox of 1D (1H, proton-coupled 13C, selective 1H-decoupling 13C, steady-state NOE) and 2D (COSY, NOESY, HMQC) paramagnetic NMR methods that enables unprecedented structural characterisation and in some cases, provides more structural information than would be observable for a diamagnetic analogue. We demonstrate the toolbox's broad versatility for fields from coordination chemistry and spin-crossover complexes to supramolecular chemistry through the characterisation of CoII and high-spin FeII mononuclear complexes as well as a Co4L6 cage

Die Modelle ASTRA und PANTA RHEI zur Abschätzung gesamtwirtschaftlicher Wirkungen umweltpolitischer Instrumente - ein Vergleich

Zur Abschätzung der ökonomischen Wirkungen umweltpolitischer Instrumente werden oft komplexe gesamtwirtschaftliche Modelle eingesetzt, um die vielfältigen Anpassungsreaktionen der Volkswirtschaft auf Preisänderungen, Investitionsimpulse, geänderte Exporttätigkeiten und andere ökonomische Stellgrößen in ihrer Gesamtheit abzubilden. Der erstmalige direkte Vergleich der zur Abschätzung energiepolitischer Fragestellungen eingesetzten Modelle ASTRA (FhG-ISI) und PANTA RHEI (GWS) trägt dazu bei, die Kommunikation der jeweiligen Ergebnisse zu vereinfachen. Die Modelle werden anhand verschiedener Kriterien (Datenstand, Modellansatz, Modellphilosophie) zunächst gegenübergestellt. In einem nächsten Vergleichsschritt werden die quantitativen Ergebnisse verschiedener bereits durchgeführter Modellierungsarbeiten für Deutschland und die EU verglichen und schließlich parallele Simulationen unter gleichen Vorgaben gerechnet. Der Modellvergleich zwischen PANTA RHEI und ASTRA zeigt, dass beide Modelle zuverlässige und auf nationaler, sowie europäischer Ebene bereits vielfach angewandte Werkzeuge zur Abschätzung der ökonomischen Wirkungen umweltpolitischer Maßnahmen sind. PANTA RHEI bildet dabei den Energieverbrauch des Wohnungssektors sowie der Industrie und die erneuerbaren Energien detaillierter ab, ASTRA den des Verkehrssektors.Modellvergleich, Abschätzung umweltpolitischer Instrumente, Simulationsrechnung

Model-Based Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Infections, Hospitalization and Outcome in Germany, the Federal States and Districts

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic challenged many national health care systems, with hospitals reaching capacity limits of intensive care units (ICU). Thus, the estimation of acute local burden of ICUs is critical for appropriate management of health care resources. In this work, we applied non-linear mixed effects modeling to develop an epidemiological SARS-CoV-2 infection model for Germany, with its 16 federal states and 400 districts, that describes infections as well as COVID-19 inpatients, ICU patients with and without mechanical ventilation, recoveries, and fatalities during the first two waves of the pandemic until April 2021. Based on model analyses, covariates influencing the relation between infections and outcomes were explored. Non-pharmaceutical interventions imposed by governments were found to have a major impact on the spreading of SARS-CoV-2. Patient age and sex, the spread of variant B.1.1.7, and the testing strategy (number of tests performed weekly, rate of positive tests) affected the severity and outcome of recorded cases and could reduce the observed unexplained variability between the states. Modeling could reasonably link the discrepancies between fine-grained model simulations of the 400 German districts and the reported number of available ICU beds to coarse-grained COVID-19 patient distribution patterns within German regions

Ein Methodenrepertoire für die paramagnetische NMR‐Spektroskopie zur Charakterisierung von paramagnetischen/Spin‐Crossover‐ Komplexen und Metall‐organischen Käfigverbindungen

Eine „Werkzeugkiste“ für die paramagnetische NMR‐Spektroskopie ermöglicht die Strukturanalyse von paramagnetischen mononuklearen Komplexen und Metall‐organischen Käfigverbindungen. Die breite Anwendbarkeit des Methodenrepertoires wurde anhand der Charakterisierung von mononuklearen CoII‐ und High‐Spin‐FeII‐Komplexen sowie eines CoII4L6‐Käfigs unter Beweis gestellt.Paramagnetische Zentren erschweren aufgrund von großen paramagnetischen Verschiebungen und kurzen Relaxationszeiten die Analytik in Lösung mittels NMR Spektroskopie. Die NMR‐Analytik von paramagnetischen Komplexen ist damit im Vergleich zu diamagnetischen Komplexen deutlich limitierter und stützt sich oftmals auf theoretische Modelle und Berechnungen. Wir präsentieren hier eine “Werkzeugkiste” für 1D (1H, Protonen‐gekoppelt 13C, 13C mit selektiver Protonen‐Entkopplung, Sättigungs‐NOE) und 2D (COSY, NOESY, HMQC) paramagnetische NMR‐Methoden, die eine bisher beispiellose Strukturaufklärung bietet und in manchen Fällen zusätzliche strukturelle Informationen liefert, welche in diamagnetischen Analoga nicht beobachtet werden könnten. Durch die Charakterisierung von mononuklearen CoII‐ und high‐spin FeII‐Komplexen und einer Co4L6‐Käfigverbindung zeigen wir, dass die Techniken vielseitig und in verschiedenen Bereichen einsetzbar sind, beispielsweise in der Koordinationschemie, für Spin‐Crossover‐Komplexe und in der supramolekularen Chemie