Migrant Entrepreneurs in Germany from 2005 to 2014 Their Extent, Economic Impact and Influence in Germany’s Länder. Bertelsmann Stiftung Inclusive Growth for Germany|5

The increasing gaps in income and wealth observed in developed economies around the globe are indicators of problems with inclusive growth. To be sure, the extent of these gaps varies across and within these economies, including Germany. The OECD has found that certain population groups benefit disproportionately from this group, while others are left behind (OECD 2015: 9 and 17). This is not a purely monetary phenomenon, but rather is closely related to the distribution of participation opportunities (e.g., with regard to working life) in a society

Is China’s increased diplomatic and economic influence in Oceania a threat to American good governance goals in the region?

This paper examines the impact of investment by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the Pacific Island nations and assesses whether it is a threat to U.S. goals in the region. Specifically, it attempts to find correlation between changes in PRC infrastructure investment under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and changes in governance as measured by 13 indices over the period of 1996-2020. Good governance, defined as increased transparency, accountability, and effectiveness, is a U.S. strategic goal in Oceania. Most sources assume that PRC investment fosters corruption by circumventing typical lending procedures and by offering “no strings attached” loans, however, evidence had not been sufficiently examined to see if this was the case. This paper concludes that PRC investment in Oceania has not automatically decreased governance. As such, the U.S. need not resist all PRC infrastructure projects in the region. With proper controls and oversight, nations can extract considerable benefit from these projects without sacrificing their good governance. This opens the door for mutually beneficial projects or joint investment, while allowing the U.S.and its allies to expend resources on positive competition

Exploring the Role(S) of Community Colleges in Addressing Wicked Problems Through Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration: An Entrepreneurial Approach to Sustainability

For years, scientists, policymakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs have warned of social, environmental, and economic risks throughout society. Although researchers have explored the role of baccalaureate-granting institutions in addressing wicked problems of sustainability through multi-stakeholder initiatives, the role of community colleges in addressing wicked problems of sustainability through multi-stakeholder initiatives was largely unknown. Additionally, a research gap existed regarding how the mission of community colleges is aligned with addressing wicked problems of sustainability, such as poverty, inequality, hunger, homelessness, and climate change. This qualitative case study aimed to answer two research questions: (1) How do leaders of multi-stakeholder initiatives describe the role of community colleges in entrepreneurship, economic development, and addressing wicked problems of sustainability? (2) How do community college leaders in multi-stakeholder initiatives describe how the mission of community colleges is aligned with addressing wicked problems of sustainability? Purposive sampling was used to recruit twenty-eight participants, including thirteen program leaders of MSIs and fifteen community college MSI leaders. The program leaders have (a) addressed social, economic, and environmental wicked problems of sustainability, (b) included community colleges or trade schools as stakeholders, (c) yielded impressive measurable outcomes that are documented, and (d) incorporated entrepreneurialism and/or entrepreneurial problem-solving. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews, along with retrieval of artifacts in the form of research studies, government reports, and related websites and/or entrepreneurial problem-solving. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews, along with retrieval of artifacts in the form of research studies, government reports, and related websites. Findings indicated the community college roles include educator, strategic leader, local convener, economic development partner, and grant partner. Findings also indicated that the mission of community colleges is aligned with addressing wicked problems of sustainability (SDGs). The value created by the entrepreneurial programs served to strengthen the mission alignment through increased access, student success, economic development partnerships, and support for local communities. The study concluded with a recommendation for policymakers, funders, and community college leaders to allocate pilot funding for the creation of a community college plan for SDG localization, as well as a community college systemic innovation lab (I-Lab) to further develop and execute the plan. The overarching goal of the I-Lab is to address wicked problems aligned with the community college mission through open-access, scalable, localized, and data-driven strategies

Micro- and Nanostructured Microfluidic Devices for Localized Protein Immobilization and Other Biomedical Applications

A new immobilization method for the localized adsorption of proteins on thermoplastic surfaces is introduced. Artificial three-phase interfaces were realized by surface structuring to control the wetting behavior which lead to a preferred adsorption in these modified areas. Additionally, different fabrication methods were analyzed to determine mass fabrication capabilities. These fabrication methods also allowed the production of fully structured microchannels to tune the fluids behavior within

Investigation of the role of BAM9 in starch metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana

Beta-amylases play an essential role in night time starch degradation in leaves. There are nine known beta-amylases (BAMs) in Arabidopsis thaliana. This research is focused on BAM9, which is localized in the chloroplasts but is unique compared to active BAM proteins. First, alignments of BAM9 orthologs and catalytically active paralogs suggest that BAM9 may not be catalytically active and may not bind to starch, but it may bind to another molecule at a remote site. Secondly, microarray data shows a peak of BAM9 expression at the dark/light transition which is contradictory to what one would expect for an active BAM protein. We propose that BAM9 is not directly involved in starch degradation. Starch quantification results show a starch accumulation phenotype in a bam9 knockout mutant compared to the wild type (WT), implying that BAM9 is functional in starch metabolism. Amylase assays using pure BAM9 protein expressed in E. coli confirmed that BAM9 is catalytically inactive with starch, maltotriose, maltopentose, and maltohexose as the substrates. However, assays of crude leaf extracts from bam9 knockout mutants reveal greater amylase activity than WT, suggesting that BAM9 may play a regulatory role at the transcriptional or the post-transcriptional level. The transcriptional regulation hypothesis was rejected after observing that the expression of BAM3 in the bam9 mutant background was not different than WT. BAM1 and -3 are known to be phosphorylated and there is a chloroplast kinase that causes a starch accumulation phenotype when knocked out. We hypothesize that BAM9 acts upstream of this kinase, which may inactivate both BAM3 during the day and BAM1 during the night

Micro- and Nanostructured Microfluidic Devices for Localized Protein Immobilization and Other Biomedical Applications

A new immobilization method for the localized adsorption of proteins on thermoplastic surfaces is introduced. Artificial three-phase interfaces were realized by surface structuring to control the wetting behavior which lead to a preferred adsorption in these modified areas. Additionally, different fabrication methods were analyzed to determine mass fabrication capabilities. These fabrication methods also allowed the production of fully structured microchannels to tune the fluids behavior within

Scheduling in Mohs Micrographic Surgery Clinics

Mohs Micrographic Surgery (MMS) is a surgical method used for the excision of aggressive skin cancers in areas of high cosmetic importance, such as the face and hands. The practice has been gaining popularity worldwide for its low recurrence rates and cosmetic results. Current clinics though are plagued by extreme wait times and an overall poor patient experience. In this paper we look to explore this problem by applying systems engineering principles including optimization and scheduling with the goal of improving the patient experience. Currently, little literature exists exploring the difficulties associated with scheduling for MMS clinic which primarily revolve around patient recirculation for an unknown number of repetitions with little predictive ability. By developing a simulation model depicting current clinic operations, we have explored the current practice of clinics through several important performance measures while being able to determine an optimal number of patients to be scheduled. We have also explored the impact of changing re-entrant probability on the nature of the patient schedules. We have developed a set of qualitativescheduling constraints for on-the-fly physician application and a sequential scheduling policy to produce optimal patient schedules for maximizing the patient experience

Die Hohenheimer Box: Entwicklung einer Methode zur Vor-Ort-Massenzucht der Erzwespe Lariophagus distinguendus gegen Vorratsschädlinge

Biological pest control is an important tool in stored products protection. To improve the biological control of the granary weevil Sitophilus granarius L. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a rearing box for the parasitic wasp Lariophagus distinguendus (Förster) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) has been developed. The box contains breeding substrate as well as populations of hosts and parasitoids and is placed directly in the storage site. A special outlet prevents hosts from leaving the box while freshly emerged parasitoids are released continuously over several months. A repeated shipment of wasps has thereby become obsolete

Storage conditions and storage pests in grain stores of ecological farming in Baden-Württemberg

Im Ökologischen Landbau sind zur Bekämpfung von Schädlingen nur umweltfreundliche Methoden erlaubt. Entsprechend gibt es eine Reihe von etablierten biologischen oder physikalischen Methoden zum Schutz von Nutzpflanzen auf dem Acker oder in Gewächshäusern. Nutzpflanzen sind aber auch nach der Ernte im Vorratslager und bei der Verarbeitung von Schädlingen bedroht. In diesem Bereich gibt es allerdings nur wenige etablierte umweltfreundliche Bekämpfungsverfahren. Dazu zählen die Bekämpfung von Motten in Vorratslagern, Bäckereien und Haushalten mit Wespen der Gattung Trichogramma (SCHÖLLER & PROZELL 2003) und die kürzlich eingeführte Kontrolle des Kornkäfers Sitophilus granarius L. mit der Lagererzwespe Lariophagus distinguendus FÖRSTER (STEIDLE & REICHMUTH 2003). Ein Problem bei der Entwicklung neuer, umweltfreundlicher Methoden der Schädlingsbekämpfung im Vorratsschutz besteht darin, dass nur wenig über die Bedingungen bekannt ist, unter denen die Lagerung stattfindet. Um diese Wissenslücke zu schließen, wurden die Lagerbedingungen im Ökologischen Landbau am Beispiel von Getreidelagern in Baden-Württemberg untersucht. Im Mittelpunkt standen die Art und die Größe der Lagerstrukturen, die eingelagerten Güter, die Identität der vorherrschenden Schädlinge sowie die momentan durchgeführten Maßnahmen zur Befallsvorsorge und Schädlingsbekämpfung.As basic requirement for the development of environmentally friendly methods of pest control, storage conditions were determined in grain stores of ecological farming in Baden-Württemberg / Southern Germany. The survey reveals that many different types of storage devices are used, with capacities ranging from 25 kg to 550 t. The main storage commodities are different types of grain with wheat, triticale and German wheat being most abundant. Almost all stores contained storage pests. Granary weevils and Indian meal moth were found to be the most abundant primary pests. Important secondary pests were mites, psocids, Cryptolestes sp. and Oryzaephilus surinamensis. The implications of the results are discussed with respect to the biological control of pests in grain stores