The State\u27s Liability in Damages for Administrative Action

This Essay looks at the state of the law in England as it was when Lord Gordon Slynn of Hadley was practicing at the bar. The Essay then considers state liability in the context of the European Union ( EU ) and finally concludes by looking at the current English law governing state liability

A simple Hidden Markov Model for midbrain dopaminergic neurons

Poster presentation: Introduction Dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain show a variety of firing patterns, ranging from very regular firing pacemaker cells to bursty and irregular neurons. The effects of different experimental conditions (like pharmacological treatment or genetical manipulations) on these neuronal discharge patterns may be subtle. Applying a stochastic model is a quantitative approach to reveal these changes. ..

A model for the joint evaluation of burstiness and regularity in oscillatory spike trains

Poster presentation: Introduction The ability of neurons to emit different firing patterns is considered relevant for neuronal information processing. In dopaminergic neurons, prominent patterns include highly regular pacemakers with separate spikes and stereotyped intervals, processes with repetitive bursts and partial regularity, and irregular spike trains with nonstationary properties. In order to model and quantify these processes and the variability of their patterns with respect to pharmacological and cellular properties, we aim to describe the two dimensions of burstiness and regularity in a single model framework. Methods We present a stochastic spike train model in which the degree of burstiness and the regularity of the oscillation are described independently and with two simple parameters. In this model, a background oscillation with independent and normally distributed intervals gives rise to Poissonian spike packets with a Gaussian firing intensity. The variability of inter-burst intervals and the average number of spikes in each burst indicate regularity and burstiness, respectively. These parameters can be estimated by fitting the model to the autocorrelograms. This allows to assign every spike train a position in the two-dimensional space described by regularity and burstiness and thus, to investigate the dependence of the firing patterns on different experimental conditions. Finally, burst detection in single spike trains is possible within the model because the parameter estimates determine the appropriate bandwidth that should be used for burst identification. Results and Discussion We applied the model to a sample data set obtained from dopaminergic substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area neurons recorded extracellularly in vivo and studied differences between the firing activity of dopaminergic neurons in wildtype and K-ATP channel knock-out mice. The model is able to represent a variety of discharge patterns and to describe changes induced pharmacologically. It provides a simple and objective classification scheme for the observed spike trains into pacemaker, irregular and bursty processes. In addition to the simple classification, changes in the parameters can be studied quantitatively, also including the properties related to bursting behavior. Interestingly, the proposed algorithm for burst detection may be applicable also to spike trains with nonstationary firing rates if the remaining parameters are unaffected. Thus, the proposed model and its burst detection algorithm can be useful for the description and investigation of neuronal firing patterns and their variability with cellular and experimental conditions

The Objectivity of Nihilism

The discourse on nihilism in the German-speaking world continues to take its orientation primarily from Friedrich Nietzsche’s understanding of nihilism as a historical movement of the decline of values. This means that the aspects of nihilism that are not tied to specific epochs and cultures are not accorded due importance (I). In order to make a reappraisal of nihilism that does justice to these objective contents, I will present a classification of types of nihilism and of arguments that support it. The discussion of the typology of the principal meanings of nihilism points to a loss in relevance of conceptions that take their orientation from Nietzsche (II). The discussion of the arguments testifies to the importance of objective knowledge in the justification of nihilism (III)

Dynamische Simulationen zur Flexibilitätssteigerung konventioneller Anlagen. Forschungsseminar zum Thema Flexibilisierung konventioneller Kraftwerke (SS 2013)

Im Zuge der fortschreitenden Energiewende in Deutschland und anderen Teilen Europas und der damit einhergehenden steigenden, vorrangigen Einspeisung von regenerativen Energien in das Stromnetz müssen konventionelle Anlagen, die seinerzeit als Grund- oder Mittellast-Kraftwerke konzipiert wurden, zunehmend starke und zahlreiche Lastwechsel abfahren. Da diese Anlagen hierfür nicht ausgelegt sind, müssen für Bestands- und Neuanlagen Konzepte zu deren Flexibilisierung erarbeitet werden. Hierfür bietet sich insbesondere die dynamische Kraftwerkssimulation an. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wird der Stand der Forschung bezüglich dynamischer Simulationen zur Flexibilisierung von Kraftwerken dargelegt und aufgearbeitet. Dabei wird im Speziellen auf die simulative Optimierung des Anfahrvorgangs, die Analyse von flexibilisierenden Betriebsstrategien (insbesondere zur Regelenergiebereitstellung) sowie auf die simulative Ermittlung der Bauteilschädigung bei Lastwechseln eingegangen

Nanotechnology and Nature: On Two Criteria for Understanding Their Relationship

Two criteria are proposed for characterizing the diverse and not yet perspicuous relations between nanotechnology and nature. They assume a concept of nature as that which is not made by human action. One of the criteria endorses a distinction between natural and artificial objects in nanotechnology; the other allows for a discussion of the potential nanotechnological modification of nature. Insofar as current trends may be taken as indicative of future development, nanotechnology might increasingly use the model of nature as a point of orientation, while many of its products will continue to be clearly distinguished from natur