Beyond the 'Grid-Lock' in Electricity Interconnectors: The Case of Germany and Poland

The common European electricity market requires both market integration and transmission grid expansion, including trans-border interconnectors. Although the benefits of increased interconnectivity are widely acknowledged, expansion of interconnectors is often very slow. This paper gathers insights on the reasons behind this grid-lock drawing on the study of the German-Polish border. Although two interconnectors already exist, the trade is blocked by unplanned electricity loop flows. A third interconnector has been discussed for years, but saw little progress in spite of declarations of support on both sides. Drawing on the existing literature on the topic of grid expansion we identify four hypotheses for the grid-lock: inadequate financing; diverging interests; governance and administration problems; and different actors' motivations, trust and security perceptions. We evaluate them using the empirical material gathered through document analysis and stakeholder interviews conducted in Germany and Poland. None of the hypotheses on its own can explain the gridlock. However, while financing has not been a major obstacle, divergent interests had an impact on the project delay, administrative and governance problems are a great hindrance on the technical level, while motivations influence interstate political relations and policy shaping. EU support and closer bilateral cooperation provide opportunities to address these challenges

Toward the Globalization of Psychology. The Congresses Around the World (1974–1998)

This book introduces the history of psychology during the past hundred years, mainly through conferences/congresses. In fact, for psychologists, the creation of international conferences was seen as a useful step in exchanging and promoting psychology as a science. Since the first international congress in 1889, psychologists from all over the world have met regularly at congresses with more and more attendees and many interesting topics to discuss.2019-2

Complete Genome Sequence of Mycoplasma suis and Insights into Its Biology and Adaption to an Erythrocyte Niche

Mycoplasma suis, the causative agent of porcine infectious anemia, has never been cultured in vitro and mechanisms by which it causes disease are poorly understood. Thus, the objective herein was to use whole genome sequencing and analysis of M. suis to define pathogenicity mechanisms and biochemical pathways. M. suis was harvested from the blood of an experimentally infected pig. Following DNA extraction and construction of a paired end library, whole-genome sequencing was performed using GS-FLX (454) and Titanium chemistry. Reads on paired-end constructs were assembled using GS De Novo Assembler and gaps closed by primer walking; assembly was validated by PFGE. Glimmer and Manatee Annotation Engine were used to predict and annotate protein-coding sequences (CDS). The M. suis genome consists of a single, 742,431 bp chromosome with low G+C content of 31.1%. A total of 844 CDS, 3 single copies, unlinked rRNA genes and 32 tRNAs were identified. Gene homologies and GC skew graph show that M. suis has a typical Mollicutes oriC. The predicted metabolic pathway is concise, showing evidence of adaptation to blood environment. M. suis is a glycolytic species, obtaining energy through sugars fermentation and ATP-synthase. The pentose-phosphate pathway, metabolism of cofactors and vitamins, pyruvate dehydrogenase and NAD+ kinase are missing. Thus, ribose, NADH, NADPH and coenzyme A are possibly essential for its growth. M. suis can generate purines from hypoxanthine, which is secreted by RBCs, and cytidine nucleotides from uracil. Toxins orthologs were not identified. We suggest that M. suis may cause disease by scavenging and competing for host' nutrients, leading to decreased life-span of RBCs. In summary, genome analysis shows that M. suis is dependent on host cell metabolism and this characteristic is likely to be linked to its pathogenicity. The prediction of essential nutrients will aid the development of in vitro cultivation systems

Oorlog en de media

Over de rol van de media tijdens oorlogen, conflict- en rampsituaties citeerde NRC Handelsblad op 7 maart 1995 de toenmalige minister van Defensie Joris Voorhoeve: "Pas als televisiecamera's het leed in de huiskamer brengen, komt de internationale gemeenschap op gang". En, zo vervolgde hij ietwat somber: "Dat is vaak te laat". Maar weinig mensen zullen het met deze opvatting van de minister oneens zijn. Immers, voordat de publieke opinie kan worden gemotiveerd hulp te bieden en voordat iiberhaupt kan worden bepaald welke hulp noodzakelijk is, onverschillig of dat bij een natuurramp of een gewapend treffen is, zal er eerst bekendheid aan zo'n gebeurtenis moeten worden gegeven. De rol van de media is daarbij meervoudig: zij confronteren en verbinden het westerse geweten met het lijden in ramp- en oorlogsgebieden, en zij zijn zodoende degene die het menselijk leed dat voortvloeit uit zo'n ramp, ongeluk of oorlog op de publieke agenda plaatsen