Der Rücklagenbedarf der Versorgungsausgaben in Baden-Württemberg: Projektion und Reformoptionen

Im vorliegenden Papier werden die Ruhegehaltsausgaben am Beispiel des Landes Baden-Württemberg bis zum Jahr 2050 projiziert. Wir zeigen, dass sich im günstigsten Fall die Ruhegehaltsausgaben von heute 2,38 Mrd. Euro auf 4,68 Mrd. Euro im Jahr 2030 bzw. 6,12 Mrd. Euro im Jahr 2050 erhöhen werden. Besonders unter dem Gesichtspunkt, dass die deutschen Bundesländer ab dem Jahr 2020 gemäß den Beschlüssen der Föderalismuskommission II keine neue Kredite mehr aufnehmen dürfen, wird der starke Anstieg der Ruhegehaltsausgaben die fiskalische Handlungsfähigkeit der Politik deutlich verringern. Eine Übertragung der Reformen der Gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung kann den Anstieg der Ruhegehaltsausgaben signifikant dämpfen, jedoch reicht dies für eine Stabilisierung der Ausgaben nicht aus. --Projektion,Versorgungsausgaben,Baden-Württemberg

Callisto - A New Concept for Solar Radio Spectrometers

A new radio spectrometer, CALLISTO, is presented. It is a dual-channel frequency-agile receiver based on commercially available consumer electronics. Its major characteristic is the low price for hardware and software, and the short assembly time, both two or more orders of magnitude below existing spectrometers. The instrument is sensitive at the physical limit and extremely stable. The total bandwidth is 825 MHz, and the width of individual channel is 300 kHz. A total of 1000 measurements can be made per second. The spectrometer is well suited for solar low-frequency radio observations pertinent to space weather research. Five instruments of the type were constructed until now and put into operation at several sites, including Bleien (Zurich) and NRAO (USA). First results in the 45-870 MHz range are presented. Some of them were recorded in a preliminary setup during the time of high solar activity in October and November 200

Graphene field-effect devices at high frequencies

In this work, the high frequency response of several types of graphene field-effect transistors (GFET) is analyzed. In the first part, insulating substrates such as sapphire and hexagonal boron nitride are used to optimize device performance. In the second part, few-layer graphene is used as gate material to obtain ultra-thin GFET. Using large area CVD-grown graphene, an array of similar GFETs for improved device comparability and reproducibility is presented in the last part

High Spectral Resolution Observation ofDecimetric Radio Spikes Emitted by Solar Flares - First Results ofthe Phoenix-3 Spectrometer

A new multichannel spectrometer, Phoenix-3, is in operation having capabilities to observe solar flare radio emissions in the 0.1 - 5 GHz range at an unprecedented spectral resolution of 61.0 kHz with high sensitivity. The present setup for routine observations allows measuring circular polarization, but requires a data compression to 4096 frequency channels in the 1 - 5 GHz range and to a temporal resolution of 200 ms. First results are presented by means of a well observed event that included narrowband spikes at 350 - 850 MHz. Spike bandwidths are found to have a power - law distribution, dropping off below a value of 2 MHz for full width at half maximum (FWHM). The narrowest spikes have a FWHM bandwidth less than 0.3 MHz or 0.04% of the central frequency. The smallest half-power increase occurs within 0.104 MHz at 443.5 MHz, which is close to the predicted natural width of maser emission. The spectrum of spikes is found to be asymmetric, having an enhanced low-frequency tail. The distribution of the total spike flux is approximately an exponentia

Reactivity of Zinc Finger Cysteines: Chemical Modifications Within Labile Zinc Fingers in Estrogen Receptor

Estrogen receptor (ER, alpha isoform) is a 67 kDa zinc finger transcription factor that plays a fundamental role in both normal reproductive gland development and breast carcinogenesis, and also represents a critical molecular target for breast cancer therapy. We are investigating the structural consequences of chemical exposures thought to modify essential zinc finger cysteine residues in human ER. The current study employs mass spectrometry to probe ER zinc finger structural changes induced by a redox-reactive vitamin K3 analog, menadione; a commonly used cysteine alkylator, iodoacetic acid; and a thiol alkylating fluorophore, monobromobimane. Although they are slower to react, the sterically bulkier reagents, monobromobimane and menadione, effectively alkylate the most susceptible ER zinc finger cysteine sulfhydryl groups. Menadione arylation results first in Michael addition of the hydroquinone followed by rapid oxidation to the corresponding quinone, evidenced by a 2 Da mass loss per cysteine residue. Mass spectrometric analysis performed under MALDI conditions reveals both hydroquinone and quinone forms of arylated menadione, whereas only the quinone product is detectable under ESI conditions. Tandem mass spectrometry of a synthetic peptide encompassing the C-terminal half of the structurally more labile second zinc finger of ER (ZnF2B) demonstrates that the two nucleophilic thiols in ZnF2B (Cys-237, Cys-240) are not chemically equivalent in their reactivity to bromobimane or menadione, consistent with their unequal positioning near basic amino acids that affect thiol pKa, thereby rendering Cys-240 more reactive than Cys-237. These findings demonstrate important differential susceptibility of ER zinc finger cysteine residues to thiol reactions

A Combined Score of Circulating miRNAs Allows Outcome Prediction in Critically Ill Patients

Background and aims: Identification of patients with increased risk of mortality represents an important prerequisite for an adapted adequate and individualized treatment of critically ill patients. Circulating micro-RNA (miRNA) levels have been suggested as potential biomarkers at the intensive care unit (ICU), but none of the investigated miRNAs displayed a sufficient sensitivity or specificity to be routinely employed as a single marker in clinical practice. Methods and results: We recently described alterations in serum levels of 7 miRNAs (miR-122, miR-133a, miR-143, miR-150, miR-155, miR-192, and miR-223) in critically ill patients at a medical ICU. In this study, we re-analyzed these previously published data and performed a combined analysis of these markers to unravel their potential as a prognostic scoring system in the context of critical illness. Based on the Youden’s index method, cut-off values were systematically defined for dysregulated miRNAs, and a “miRNA survival score” was calculated. Patients with high scores displayed a dramatically impaired prognosis compared to patients with low values. Additionally, the predictive power of our score could be further increased when the patient’s age was additionally incorporated into this score. Conclusions: We describe the first miRNA-based biomarker score for prediction of medical patients’ outcome during and after ICU treatment. Adding the patients’ age into this score was associated with a further increase in its predictive power. Further studies are needed to validate the clinical utility of this score in risk-stratifying critically ill patients