Einfluss der Agrarpolitik auf die regionalen landwirtschaftlichen Produktionsstrukturen in der EU : Analyse auf der Grundlage eines regional differenzierten Agrarsektormodells

Die europäische Landwirtschaft ist durch große regionale Gegensätze gekennzeichnet, die unter anderem zu unterschiedlichen Auswirkungen politischer Eingriffe führen. Oft sind auch die agrarpolitischen Instrumente selbst regional differenziert, so dass die regionalen Unterschiede bei Analysen des europäischen Agrarsektors nicht außer acht gelassen werden dürfen. Zur Deckung des hier bestehenden Analysebedarfs, wird in dieser Arbeit in einem geschlossenen Ansatz eine regional differenzierte ex post und ex ante Analyse der Auswirkungen der Agrarpolitik auf die regionalen landwirtschaftlichen Produktionsstrukturen in der EU durchgeführt. Dazu wird auf das regionalisierte Agrarsektormodell CAPRI (Common Agricultural Policy Regional Impact) zurückgegriffen, mit dem in internationaler Kooperation die europäische Landwirtschaft auf Ebene der NUTS II Gebiete (195 Regionen) abgebildet wird. Einen ersten Analyseschritt stellt die Spezifizierung der CAPRI-Datenbasis dar, die nach dem Prinzip des aktivitätsanalytisch differenzierten Gesamtrechnungsansatzes aufgebaut ist. Den 55 abgebildeten landwirtschaftlichen Produktionsverfahren werden die relevanten Politikinstrumente (z. B. Prämien) direkt zugeordnet. Als Ausgangspunkt und Konsistenzrahmen bei der Datenbankerstellung dient die SPEL/EU-Datenbasis. Dadurch können im top-down-Verfahren aus den wenigen verfügbaren regionalen Werten (Flächennutzung, Viehbestände und Erträge) die regionalen Datentabellen gefüllt werden. Nur bei der Bestimmung der regionalen Futterrationen und des Handelsdüngereinsatzes wird alternativ auf die Maximum Entropie Methode zurückgegriffen. Die Nachteile, die sich durch die notwendige, jedoch wenig zielgerechte Orientierung an administrativen Einheiten ergeben, werden in dieser Arbeit z.T. durch die Neugruppierung ähnlicher Regionen mit Hilfe der Clusteranalyse aufgehoben. Es werden neun klar unterscheidbare Regionstypen gebildet. Als Kriterien für die Ähnlichkeit der Regionen dienen dabei die Produktionsanteile bestimmter Produktgruppen und der Grünlandanteil an der LF. In der ex post und ex ante Analyse werden die Cluster sowohl zur Beschreibung der Agrarstruktur als auch zur Interpretation der Modellergebnisse verwendet. Die Untersuchungen konzentrieren sich dabei auf die politisch wichtigsten Produktgruppen, d. h. auf die Entwicklung der Getreide-, Ölsaaten- und Rindfleischproduktion. Am Beispiel dieser Produktionsbereiche werden die Vorteile des gewählten Ansatzes bei der Erklärung von Entwicklungen und bei der Einordnung von Modellergebnissen deutlich. Aus den Analysen bezüglich Getreide und Ölsaaten geht hervor, dass ihr Anbauverhältnis vor allem durch den Kleinerzeugeranteil, den Ölsaatenertrag und die Prämienrelation von Getreide zu Ölsaaten beeinflusst wird. Die Erlösentwicklungen haben dagegen nur einen geringen Einfluss auf die regional unterschiedlichen Veränderungen. Bei der Analyse der Rinderhaltung zeigt sich, dass ihre regionale Verteilung ex post vor allem durch die natürlichen Standortfaktoren und weniger durch politische Maßnahmen gesteuert wurde. Die politischen Instrumente in der Milchproduktion und in der Mutterkuhhaltung wirkten eher auf den Gesamtumfang der Rinderhaltung bzw. der Rindfleischproduktion. Die ex ante Analyse macht zudem deutlich, dass die neuen Quotenregelungen in der Agenda 2000 die Rinderhaltung zukünftig sehr stark steuern werden und so regionale Unterschiede in den Hintergrund treten lassen. Insgesamt gesehen, bestimmt die Ausrichtung der Politikinstrumente aber vor allem die regionale Verteilung der Direktzahlungen. Wirkungsanalysen in dieser Richtung können daher wichtige Informationen für die Weiterentwicklung der Agrarpolitik liefern.The impact of the Common Agricultural Policy on regional agricultural production structures in the EU - Analysis based on a regionalized agricultural sector model European agriculture is marked by huge regional contrasts, which among other things lead to the various political interventions impacting in different ways. Very often the agricultural policy instruments themselves are regionally differentiated and therefore careful consideration must be given to these differences when analysing the European agricultural sector. In order to cover the existing need for analysis in this area, this paper examines both ex post and ex ante the effects of the EU Common Agricultural Policy on regional agricultural production structures in Europe. These analyses are carried out with the help of the regionalized agricultural sector model CAPRI (Common Agricultural Policy Regional Impact), which in international cooperation includes European agriculture at NUTS II areas level (195 regions). The first step of the analyses is the specification of the CAPRI database. This database is built on the Activity Based Accounting System and differentiates between 55 agricultural production processes, to which a large part of the relevant policy-instruments (e. g. premiums) can be directly assigned. The starting point and consistency framework for the specifying of the data base are represented by the SPEL/EU data base, with which using the top-down procedure the regional data tables can be filled from the few available regional values (land utilisation, herd sizes and yields). One exception to this is the fixing of regional feed rations and the use of commercial fertilizers, with the Maximum Entropy Method being taken as the basis. The disadvantages resulting from the necessary yet little targeted focus of administrative units are partly offset by the fact that using the cluster analysis groups of similar regions can be marked out. They are combined into nine clearly distinguishable region types. The criterion for determining the similarity of the regions is the production structure, which is described in terms of specific product-groups as part of the relevant overall regional production and the portion of grassland in the agricultural area. In the ex post and ex ante analysis the clusters are used both to describe the agricultural structure and to interpret the model results. The analyses focus on the most important product groups in terms of policy, i. e. on the development of cereal, oilseed and beef production. Taking these production areas as an example, the advantages of the approach chosen to explain the developments and to classify the model results become obvious.Investigations in the area of cereals and oilseeds show that the proportion of the land devoted to these two crop groups is determined primarily by three factors. These are the portion of small producers, the oilseed yield and the relation in premiums between cereals and oilseeds. On the other hand, developments in return have only a slight impact on the changes varying from region to region. An analysis of cattle breeding shows that its regional spread ex post was primarily controlled by natural location factors and less by political measures. The policy instruments relating to milk production and suckler cows had more of an effect on the full extent of cattle breeding and beef production respectively. The ex ante analysis also demonstrated that the quota systems contained in Agenda 2000 will have in the future a very strong effect on cattle breeding at national level and in turn push regional differences into the background. On the whole however, the regional spread of direct payments will primarily be influenced by how the political instruments are geared. It can be concluded that analyses of the effects along these lines will consequently provide important information in terms of the future development of agricultural policy

Generation of distributed supervisors for parallel compilers

This paper presents a new approach towards solving the combination and communication problems between different compiler tasks. As optimizations may generate as well as destroy application conditions of other tasks a carefully chosen application order is important for the effectiveness of the compiler system. Each task is solved by exactly one implementation (engine) and is characterized by its input-output behaviour and an optional heuristics. The specification of all tasks in this manner allows the generation of distributed supervisors for the whole compilation system. The result is a clear semantics of the compiler behaviour during compilation and the separation of algorithm and communication. Software engineering advantages are the easy integration of independently developed parts and the reusability of code. The flexibility of such a compiler system results in high portability even across hardware architectures and topologies

The Headphone and Loudspeaker Test-Part II: A comprehensive method for playback device screening in Internet experiments

HALT (The Headphone and Loudspeaker Test) Part II is a continuation of HALT Part I. The main goals of this study (HALT Part II) were (a) to develop screening tests and strategies to discriminate headphones from loudspeakers, (b) to come up with a methodological approach to combine more than two screening tests, and (c) to estimate data quality and required sample sizes for the application of screening tests. Screening Tests A and B were developed based on psychoacoustic effects. In a first laboratory study (N = 40), the two tests were evaluated with four different playback devices (circumaural and intra-aural headphones; external and laptop loudspeakers). In a final step, the two screening tests A and B and a previously established test C were validated in an Internet-based study (N = 211). Test B showed the best single-test performance (sensitivity = 80.0%, specificity = 83.2%, AUC = .844). Following an epidemiological approach, the headphone prevalence (17.67%) was determined to calculate positive and negative predictive values. For a user-oriented, parameter-based selection of suitable screening tests and the simple application of screening strategies, an online tool was programmed. HALT Part II is assumed to be a reliable procedure for planning and executing screenings to detect headphone and loudspeaker playback. Our methodological approach can be used as a generic technique for optimizing the application of any screening tests in psychological research. HALT Part I and II complement each other to form a comprehensive overall concept to control for playback conditions in Internet experiments

Improved identification of enriched peptide–RNA cross-links from ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs) by mass spectrometry

Direct UV cross-linking combined with mass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful tool to identify hitherto non-characterized protein–RNA contact sites in native ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs) such as the spliceosome. Identification of contact sites after cross-linking is restricted by: (i) the relatively low cross-linking yield and (ii) the amount of starting material available for cross-linking studies. Therefore, the most critical step in such analyses is the extensive purification of the cross-linked peptide–RNA heteroconjugates from the excess of non-crosslinked material before MS analysis. Here, we describe a strategy that combines small-scale reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) of UV-irradiated and hydrolyzed RNPs, immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) to enrich cross-linked species and their analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation (MALDI) MS(/MS). In cases where no MS/MS analysis can be performed, treatment of the enriched fractions with alkaline phosphatase leads to unambiguous identification of the cross-linked species

Wrapped into sound: Development of the Immersive Music Experience Inventory (IMEI)

Although virtual reality, video entertainment, and computer games are dependent on the three-dimensional reproduction of sound (including front, rear, and height channels), it remains unclear whether 3D-audio formats actually intensify the emotional listening experience. There is currently no valid inventory for the objective measurement of immersive listening experiences resulting from audio playback formats with increasing degrees of immersion (from mono to stereo, 5.1, and 3D). The development of the Immersive Music Experience Inventory (IMEI) could close this gap. An initial item list (N = 25) was derived from studies in virtual reality and spatial audio, supplemented by researcher-developed items and items extracted from historical descriptions. Psychometric evaluation was conducted by an online study (N = 222 valid cases). The N = 222 Participants (female = 112, mean age = 38.6) were recruited via mailing lists (n = 34) and via a panel provider (n = 188). Based on controlled headphone playback, participants listened to four songs/pieces, each in the three formats of mono, stereo, and binaural 3D audio. The latent construct “immersive listening experience” was determined by probabilistic test theory (item response theory, IRT) and by means of the many-facet Rasch measurement (MFRM). As a result, the specified MFRM model showed good model fit (62.69% of explained variance). The final one-dimensional inventory consists of 10 items and will be made available in English and German

The Headphone and Loudspeaker Test – Part I: Suggestions for controlling characteristics of playback devices in internet experiments

In internet experiments on auditory perception, playback devices may be a confounding variable reducing internal validity. A procedure to remotely test multiple characteristics of playback devices does not currently exist. Thus, the main goals of this study were to (i) develop and (ii) evaluate a comprehensive, efficient, and easy-to-handle test procedure for the reliable control and identification of playback device characteristics in online experiments. Based on a counting task paradigm, the first part of the Headphone and Loudspeaker Test (HALT–Part I) was developed with which researchers can standardize sound level adjustments, detect stereo/mono playback, and assess lower frequency limits. In a laboratory study (N = 40), HALT–Part I was evaluated with four playback devices (circumaural and intra-aural headphones; external and laptop loudspeakers). Beforehand, the acoustical properties of all playback devices had been measured (e.g., sound pressure level, frequency response, total harmonic distortion). The analysis suggested that HALT–Part I has high test–retest reliability (rtt =.90 for level adjustment and rtt =.79 for stereo/mono detection) and is an efficient (3.5 minutes for completion) method to remotely test playback devices and listening conditions (sound level, stereo/mono playback). The procedure can help improve data quality in internet experiments. © 2022, The Author(s)

Towards predicting immersion in surround sound music reproduction from sound field features

When evaluating surround sound loudspeaker reproduction, perceptual effects are commonly analyzed in relationship to different loudspeaker configurations. The presented work contributes to this by modeling perceptual effects based on acoustic properties of various reproduction formats. A model of immersion in music listening is derived from the results of an experimental study analyzing the psychological construct of immersive music experience. The proposed approach is evaluated with respect to the relationship between immersion ratings and sound field features obtained from re-recordings of the stimuli using a spherical microphone array at the listening position. Spatial sound field parameters such as inter-aural cross-correlation (IACC), diffuseness and directivity are found to be of particular relevance. Further, immersion is observed to reach a point of saturation with greater numbers of loudspeakers, which is confirmed to be predictable from the physical properties of the sound field. Although effects related to participants and musical pieces outweigh the impact of sound field features, the proposed approach is found to be suitable for predicting population-average ratings, i.e. immersion experienced by an average listener for unknown content. The proposed method could complement existing research on multichannel loudspeaker reproduction by establishing a more generalizable framework independent of particular speaker setups

Mast Cells Control Neutrophil Recruitment during T Cell–Mediated Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity Reactions through Tumor Necrosis Factor and Macrophage Inflammatory Protein 2

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) characterize the pathology of T cell–mediated autoimmune diseases and delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions (DTHRs) in the skin, joints, and gut, but are absent in T cell–mediated autoimmune diseases of the brain or pancreas. All of these reactions are mediated by interferon γ–producing type 1 T cells and produce a similar pattern of cytokines. Thus, the cells and mediators responsible for the PMN recruitment into skin, joints, or gut during DTHRs remain unknown. Analyzing hapten-induced DTHRs of the skin, we found that mast cells determine the T cell–dependent PMN recruitment through two mediators, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and the CXC chemokine macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP-2), the functional analogue of human interleukin 8. Extractable MIP-2 protein was abundant during DTHRs in and around mast cells of wild-type (WT) mice but absent in mast cell–deficient WBB6F1-KitW/KitW-v (KitW/KitW-v) mice. T cell–dependent PMN recruitment was reduced >60% by anti–MIP-2 antibodies and >80% in mast cell–deficient KitW/KitW-v mice. Mast cells from WT mice efficiently restored DTHRs and MIP-2–dependent PMN recruitment in KitW/KitW-v mice, whereas mast cells from TNF−/− mice did not. Thus, mast cell–derived TNF and MIP-2 ultimately determine the pattern of infiltrating cells during T cell–mediated DTHRs

Orthorhombic versus monoclinic symmetry of the charge-ordered state of NaV2O5

High-resolution X-ray diffraction data show that the low-temperature superstructure of alpha-NaV2O5 has an F-centered orthorhombic 2a x 2b x 4c superlattice. A structure model is proposed, that is characterized by layers with zigzag charge order on all ladders and stacking disorder, such that the averaged structure has space group Fmm2. This model is in accordance with both X-ray scattering and NMR data. Variations in the stacking order and disorder offer an explanation for the recently observed devils staircase of the superlattice period along c.Comment: REVTEX, 4 pages including 2 figures, shortened, submitted to PR