Strafe als Vergeltung?

Die vorliegende Dissertation trägt den Titel Strafe als Vergeltung? Der Beitrag ethischer Straftheorien zur europäischen Strafrechtsphilosophie. Es geht in dieser Arbeit vorrangig um die Darstellung bzw. Beschreibung der bedeutendsten sogenannten ethischen Vergeltungstheorien, die für viele Jahre oder zum Teil auch Jahrhunderte im (zentral)europäischem Raum maßgebend waren und somit erheblichen Einfluss auf die damalige Strafrechtsphilosophie genommen haben, was bis in die heutige Zeit hineinwirkt. Zentraler Ansatzpunkt ist dabei die fundamentale und nach wie vor aktuelle Frage des Strafrechts, warum und mit welchem Recht jemand bestraft werden soll respektive darf. Aufgezeigt werden bei Behandlung dieses Themas die noch immer zeitgemäßen und beachtenswerten Aspekte innerhalb der jeweiligen Theorie, allen voran der Gedanke der bzw. die Forderung nach einer gerechten Äquivalenz zwischen Tat und Bestrafung. Weiters soll gezeigt werden, dass die meisten der hier behandelten Strafkonzepte keineswegs auf die Berücksichtigung von Zwecken verzichten und sie nicht deswegen besonders hart oder grausam sein müssen, nur weil sie den Vergeltungsgedanken in den Vordergrund rücken. Auch (zum Teil berechtigte) Kritikpunkte werden an passenden Stellen kurz behandelt und näher ausgeführt.The title of this thesis is Strafe als Vergeltung? Der Beitrag ethischer Straftheorien zur europäischen Strafrechtsphilosophie (Punishment as Retribution? The Contribution of Ethical Theories of Punishment to European Philosophy of Criminal Law). The main point is to portray and describe the most important, so called ethical, theories of retribution, which were significant for the philosophy of criminal law in (central) Europe for years and centuries. Undoubtedly, these theories had great influence in the past and are (partly) still of importance today. In this context, the starting-point is the following important question: What gives people the right to punish? The remarkable and still relevant aspects of the different theories are shown in this thesis, especially the idea of respectively the demand for equivalence of deed and penalty: Punishment shall be appropriate to the degree of culpability. Moreover it is shown that such theories, despite claiming retribution, do not have to be cruel as well as the fact that most of them do include so called relative elements like reformation and deterrence. Also (partly justified) critique will be discussed

Cerebrolysin™ efficacy in a transgenic model of tauopathy: role in regulation of mitochondrial structure.

BackgroundAlzheimer's Disease (AD) and Fronto temporal lobar dementia (FTLD) are common causes of dementia in the aging population for which limited therapeutical options are available. These disorders are associated with Tau accumulation. We have previously shown that Cerebrolysin™ (CBL), a neuropeptide mixture with neurotrophic effects, ameliorates the behavioral deficits and neuropathological alterations in amyloid precursor protein (APP) transgenic (tg) mouse model of AD by reducing hyper-phosphorylated Tau. CBL has been tested in clinical trials for AD, however it's potential beneficial effects in FTLD are unknown. For this purpose we sought to investigate the effects of CBL in a tg model of tauopathy. Accordingly, double tg mice expressing mutant Tau under the mThy-1 promoter and GSK3β (to enhance Tau phosphorylation) were treated with CBL and evaluated neuropathologically.ResultsCompared to single Tau tg mice the Tau/GSK3β double tg model displayed elevated levels of Tau phosphorylation and neurodegeneration in the hippocampus. CBL treatment reduced the levels of Tau phosphorylation in the dentate gyrus and the degeneration of pyramidal neurons in the temporal cortex and hippocampus of the Tau/GSK3β double tg mice. Interestingly, the Tau/GSK3β double tg mice also displayed elevated levels of Dynamin-related protein-1 (Drp-1), a protein that hydrolyzes GTP and is required for mitochondrial division. Ultrastructural analysis of the mitochondria in the Tau/GSK3β double tg mice demonstrated increased numbers and fragmentation of mitochondria in comparison to non-tg mice. CBL treatment normalized levels of Drp-1 and restored mitochondrial structure.ConclusionsThese results suggest that the ability of CBL to ameliorate neurodegenerative pathology in the tauopathy model may involve reducing accumulation of hyper-phosphorylated Tau and reducing alterations in mitochondrial biogenesis associated with Tau

Sgr A East as a possible high energy neutron factory in the Galactic Centre

Sgr A East is a supernova remnant located within few parsecs from the Galactic Centre (GC). There are good reasons to believe that this object is the source of the gamma-ray excess detected by HESS in the direction of the GC meaning that Sgr A East is likely to be an efficient Cosmic Ray accelerator. Some observations suggest that strong magnetic fields may be present in that region allowing the acceleration of composite nuclei in Sgr A East beyond the EeV. We show that, if this is case, EeV neutrons should be effectively produced by the photo-disintegration of Ultra High Energy nuclei onto the IR photon background (with temperature $\sim 40$ K) in which Sgr A East is embedded. Neutrons with such an energy can reach the Earth before decaying and may be detectable under the form of a CR point-like excess in the direction of the GC. We determine the expected energy spectrum and the amplitude of this signal showing that it may be measurable by the AUGER observatory.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures. Final version to appear in Astroparticle Physic

Convergence to L\'evy stable processes under some weak dependence conditions

For a strictly stationary sequence of random vectors in $\mathbb{R}^d$ we study convergence of partial sum processes to L\'evy stable process in the Skorohod space with $J_1$-topology. We identify necessary and sufficient conditions for such convergence and provide sufficient conditions when the stationary sequence is strongly mixing.Comment: Change of the title. Minor revision

The VLA-COSMOS 3 GHz Large Project : Evolution of Specific Star Formation Rates out to z similar to 5

We provide a coherent, uniform measurement of the evolution of the logarithmic star formation rate (SFR)-stellar mass (M-*) relation, called the main sequence (MS) of star-forming galaxies, for star-forming and all galaxies out to z similar to 5. We measure the MS using mean stacks of 3 GHz radio-continuum images to derive average SFRs for similar to 200,000 mass-selected galaxies at z > 0.3 in the COSMOS field. We describe the MS relation by adopting a new model that incorporates a linear relation at low stellar mass (log(M-*/M-circle dot) <10) and a flattening at high stellar mass that becomes more prominent at low redshift (z <1.5). We find that the SFR density peaks at 1.5 <z <2, and at each epoch there is a characteristic stellar mass (M-* = 1-4 x 10(10)M(circle dot)) that contributes the most to the overall SFR density. This characteristic mass increases with redshift, at least to z similar to 2.5. We find no significant evidence for variations in the MS relation for galaxies in different environments traced by the galaxy number density at 0.3 <z <3, nor for galaxies in X-ray groups at z similar to 0.75. We confirm that massive bulge-dominated galaxies have lower SFRs than disk-dominated galaxies at a fixed stellar mass at z <1.2. As a consequence, the increase in bulge-dominated galaxies in the local star-forming population leads to a flattening of the MS at high stellar masses. This indicates that "mass quenching" is linked with changes in the morphological composition of galaxies at a fixed stellar mass.Peer reviewe

Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh), Hatay, Turkey during the 2nd millennium BC: Integration of isotopic and genomic evidence

The Middle and Late Bronze Age, a period roughly spanning the 2nd millennium BC (ca. 2000–1200 BC) in the Near East, is frequently referred to as the first ‘international age’, characterized by intense and far-reaching contacts between different entities from the eastern Mediterranean to the Near East and beyond. In a large-scale tandem study of stable isotopes and ancient DNA of individuals excavated at Tell Atchana (Alalakh, located in Hatay, Turkey), we explored the role of mobility at the capital of a regional kingdom, named Mukish during the Late Bronze Age, which spanned the Amuq Valley and some areas beyond. We generated strontium and oxygen isotope data from dental enamel for 53 individuals and 77 individuals, respectively, and added ancient DNA data of 10 newly sequenced individuals to a dataset of 27 individuals published in 2020. Additionally, we improved the DNA coverage of one individual from this 2020 dataset. The DNA data revealed a very homogeneous gene pool. This picture of an overwhelmingly local ancestry was consistent with the evidence of local upbringing in most of the individuals indicated by the isotopic data, where only five were found to be non-local. High levels of contact, trade, and exchange of ideas and goods in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, therefore, seem not to have translated into high levels of individual mobility detectable at Tell Atchana

The VLA-COSMOS 3 GHz Large Project: Evolution of Specific Star Formation Rates out to z ~ 5

We provide a coherent, uniform measurement of the evolution of the logarithmic star formation rate(SFR)-stellarmass(M*)relation, called the main sequence(MS)of star-forming galaxies , for star-forming and all galaxies outto~z5. We measure the MS using mean stacks of 3 GHz radio-continuum images to derive average SFRs for∼200,000 mass-selected galaxies at z>0.3 in the COSMOSfield. We describe the MS relation by adopting anew model that incorporates a linear relation at low stellar mass(log(M*/Me)<10)and aflattening at high stellarmass that becomes more prominent at low redshift(z < 1.5).Wefind that the SFR density peaks at 1.5<z<2,and at each epoch there is a characteristic stellar mass(M*=1-4 x 1010Me)that contributes the most to theoverall SFR density. This characteristic mass increases with redshift, at least toz ∼ 2.5. Wefind no significant evidence for variations in the MS relation for galaxies in different environments traced by the galaxy numberdensity at 0.3<z<3, nor for galaxies in X-ray groups atz ∼ 0.75. We confirm that massive bulge-dominatedgalaxies have lower SFRs than disk-dominated galaxies at afixed stellar mass atz < 1.2. As a consequence, theincrease in bulge-dominated galaxies in the local star-forming population leads to aflattening of the MS at highstellar masses. This indicates that "mass quenching" is linked with changes in the morphological composition ofgalaxies at afixed stellar mass.B.G. acknowledges the support of the Australian Research Council as the recipient of a Future Fellowship (FT140101202). Y.P. acknowledges the National Key R&D Program of China, Grant 2016YFA0400702 and NSFC grant Nos. 11773001, 11721303, 1199105

Sex difference and intra-operative tidal volume: Insights from the LAS VEGAS study

BACKGROUND: One key element of lung-protective ventilation is the use of a low tidal volume (VT). A sex difference in use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) has been described in critically ill ICU patients.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether a sex difference in use of LTVV also exists in operating room patients, and if present what factors drive this difference.DESIGN, PATIENTS AND SETTING: This is a posthoc analysis of LAS VEGAS, a 1-week worldwide observational study in adults requiring intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals in 29 countries.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women and men were compared with respect to use of LTVV, defined as VT of 8 ml kg-1 or less predicted bodyweight (PBW). A VT was deemed 'default' if the set VT was a round number. A mediation analysis assessed which factors may explain the sex difference in use of LTVV during intra-operative ventilation.RESULTS: This analysis includes 9864 patients, of whom 5425 (55%) were women. A default VT was often set, both in women and men; mode VT was 500 ml. Median [IQR] VT was higher in women than in men (8.6 [7.7 to 9.6] vs. 7.6 [6.8 to 8.4] ml kg-1 PBW, P &lt; 0.001). Compared with men, women were twice as likely not to receive LTVV [68.8 vs. 36.0%; relative risk ratio 2.1 (95% CI 1.9 to 2.1), P &lt; 0.001]. In the mediation analysis, patients' height and actual body weight (ABW) explained 81 and 18% of the sex difference in use of LTVV, respectively; it was not explained by the use of a default VT.CONCLUSION: In this worldwide cohort of patients receiving intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery, women received a higher VT than men during intra-operative ventilation. The risk for a female not to receive LTVV during surgery was double that of males. Height and ABW were the two mediators of the sex difference in use of LTVV.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01601223

Measurement of the top quark forward-backward production asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric and chromomagnetic moments in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV

Abstract The parton-level top quark (t) forward-backward asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric (d̂ t) and chromomagnetic (μ̂ t) moments have been measured using LHC pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected in the CMS detector in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1. The linearized variable AFB(1) is used to approximate the asymmetry. Candidate t t ¯ events decaying to a muon or electron and jets in final states with low and high Lorentz boosts are selected and reconstructed using a fit of the kinematic distributions of the decay products to those expected for t t ¯ final states. The values found for the parameters are AFB(1)=0.048−0.087+0.095(stat)−0.029+0.020(syst),μ̂t=−0.024−0.009+0.013(stat)−0.011+0.016(syst), and a limit is placed on the magnitude of | d̂ t| &lt; 0.03 at 95% confidence level. [Figure not available: see fulltext.