Netzwerke, Paradigmen, Attitüden: Der deutsche Sonderweg im Fokus; Paradigmatische Ausrichtung und politische Orientierung von deutschen und US-amerikanischen Ökonom_innen im Vergleich

Inhalt dieser Studie ist eine vergleichende Bestandsaufnahme des aktuellen Profils sowie zukünftiger Entwicklungstendenzen der Volkswirtschaftslehre in Deutschland und den USA vor dem Hintergrund der Frage nach einem deutschen Sonderweg in der Ökonomie. Mittels einer indikatorbasierten Typologisierung wurden die derzeit in den beiden Ländern wirkenden Universitätsprofessor_innen im Hinblick auf ihre thematischen und inhaltlichen Forschungsschwerpunkte sowie ihre akademischen und außeruniversitären Mitgliedschaften in wirtschaftspolitischen Institutionen und Think-Tanks untersucht. Während das Forschungsprofil in beiden Ländern weitgehend homogenisiert ist, wurden v. a. auf der Ebene des wirtschaftspolitischen Wirkungsspektrums länderspezifische Unterschiede identifiziert, die auf einen deutschen Sonderweg in der Wirtschaftspolitik hinweisen.he central subject of this study is a comparative analysis of the current state as well as development trends in German and US economics, to check the thesis of a German special path.Therefore we conducted an empirical analysis of full professors of economics in the countries chosen. The main focus of our analysis is on their publications in economic journals (research profile) as well as on their scientific and political connections (policy making). The data collection was realized through a multilevel survey, which consists of qualitative and quantitative variables. A main result of the study is that while the research profile (e. g. the paradigmatic orientation) of economists in the two countries is fairly similar, differences potentially indicating a special path of German economics can be found on the level of politico-economic networks in economic policy advice

Die VWL in Deutschland und den USA: eine ländervergleichende Analyse

Die Studie erfasst in Deutschland 569 (Vollerhebung) und in den USA 570 (Stichprobe) VWL-Universitätsprofessor_innen an 102 Standorten. Der Frauenanteil ist in Deutschland (13,36%) und in den USA (12,81%) gering. In beiden Ländern nimmt die mikroökonomisch orientierte Forschung eine dominante Stellung ein. Über 90 % der Professor_innen folgen dem ökonomischen Mainstream. Abweichende, heterodoxe Sichtweisen sind v.a. an kleinen Universitäten vertreten. Die Trennung zwischen Mainstream und Heterodoxie ist in den USA weiter fortgeschritten. Wesentliche inhaltliche und methodische Veränderungen innerhalb des Mainstreams betreffen v.a. die Verhaltensökonomie und Experimentelle Ökonomie. Die jüngere Generation in Deutschland ist noch stärker an der Mikroökonomie und am ökonomischen Mainstream orientiert; ordoliberale Ideen verlieren an Bedeutung. Die außerakademische Vernetzung erfolgt in Deutschland über Wirtschaftsforschungsinstitute. Zudem engagieren sich viele deutsche Ökonom_innen in ordo- bzw. neoliberalen Think Tanks. In den USA existiert eine klare Blockbildung aus demokratisch vs. republikanisch orientierten Ökonom_innen auf medial-politischer Ebene, wobei der demokratische Block deutlich größer ist. Demgegenüber sind konservative und libertäre Think Tanks größer und umfangreicher vernetzt. Deutsche wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Beratungsgremien weisen auf Personenebene eine ausgeprägte ordoliberale Schlagseite auf

Photocouplings of nucleon resonances with gluon and pion exchange currents

Photocouplings for the nucleon resonances most relevant to total photoabsorption are calculated in a constituent quark model including gluon and pion exchange. The sensitivity of the results to the different ingredients of the model is discussed.Comment: 23 pages including 9 tables, LaTe

Global priority areas for ecosystem restoration

Extensive ecosystem restoration is increasingly seen as being central to conserving biodiversity1 and stabilizing the climate of the Earth2. Although ambitious national and global targets have been set, global priority areas that account for spatial variation in benefits and costs have yet to be identified. Here we develop and apply a multicriteria optimization approach that identifies priority areas for restoration across all terrestrial biomes, and estimates their benefits and costs. We find that restoring 15% of converted lands in priority areas could avoid 60% of expected extinctions while sequestering 299 gigatonnes of CO2—30% of the total CO2 increase in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. The inclusion of several biomes is key to achieving multiple benefits. Cost effectiveness can increase up to 13-fold when spatial allocation is optimized using our multicriteria approach, which highlights the importance of spatial planning. Our results confirm the vast potential contributions of restoration to addressing global challenges, while underscoring the necessity of pursuing these goals synergistically.Fil: Strassburg, Bernardo B. N.. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro; Brasil. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Iribarrem, Alvaro. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Beyer, Hawthorne L.. The University of Queensland; Australia. University of Queensland; AustraliaFil: Cordeiro, Carlos Leandro. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Crouzeilles, Renato. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Brasil. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Jakovac, Catarina C.. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Braga Junqueira, André. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Lacerda, Eduardo. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro; Brasil. Universidade Federal Fluminense; BrasilFil: Latawiec, Agnieszka E.. University of East Anglia; Reino Unido. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Balmford, Andrew. University of Cambridge; Estados UnidosFil: Brooks, Thomas M.. University Of The Philippines Los Banos; Filipinas. Institute For Marine And Antarctic Studies; Australia. International Union For Conservation Of Nature And Natural Resources; SuizaFil: Butchart, Stuart H. M.. University of Cambridge; Estados UnidosFil: Chazdon, Robin L.. University Of The Sunshine Coast; Australia. University of Connecticut; Estados UnidosFil: Erb, Karl-Heinz. Universitat Fur Bodenkultur Wien; AustriaFil: Brancalion, Pedro. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Buchanan, Graeme. Royal Society For The Protection Of Birds; Reino UnidoFil: Cooper, David. Secretariat Of The Convention On Biological Diversity; CanadáFil: Díaz, Sandra Myrna. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Donald, Paul F.. University of Cambridge; Estados UnidosFil: Kapos, Valerie. United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre; Reino UnidoFil: Leclère, David. International Institute For Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg; AustriaFil: Miles, Lera. United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre; Reino UnidoFil: Obersteiner, Michael. Oxford Social Sciences Division; Reino Unido. International Institute For Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg; AustriaFil: Plutzar, Christoph. Universitat Fur Bodenkultur Wien; Austria. Universidad de Viena; AustriaFil: de M. Scaramuzza, Carlos Alberto. International Institute For Sustainability; BrasilFil: Scarano, Fabio R.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Visconti, Piero. International Institute For Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg; Austri

F/D Ratios in Hyperon Beta Decays and Spin Distribution in the Nucleon

It is shown that hyperon beta decay data can be well accommodated within the framework of Cabbibo's SU(3) symmetric description if one allows for a small SU(3) symmetry breaking proportional to the mass difference between strange and nonstrange quarks. The F/D ratio does not depend sensitively on the exact form of the symmetry-breaking, and the best fits are close to the value previously used in the analysis of deep inelastic scattering of electrons or muons on polarized nucleons. The total quark helicity and strange quark polarization in the nucleon are discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 3 eps figures, use epsfig.st

Solulin reduces infarct volume and regulates gene-expression in transient middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Thrombolysis after acute ischemic stroke has only proven to be beneficial in a subset of patients. The soluble recombinant analogue of human thrombomodulin, Solulin, was studied in an <it>in vivo </it>rat model of acute ischemic stroke.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Male SD rats were subjected to 2 hrs of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO). Rats treated with Solulin intravenously shortly before reperfusion were compared to rats receiving normal saline i.v. with respect to infarct volumes, neurological deficits and mortality. Gene expression of IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, MMP-9, CD11B and GFAP were semiquantitatively analyzed by rtPCR of the penumbra.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>24 hrs after reperfusion, rats were neurologically tested, euthanized and infarct volumes determined. Solulin significantly reduced mean total (p = 0.001), cortical (p = 0.002), and basal ganglia (p = 0.036) infarct volumes. Hippocampal infarct volumes (p = 0.191) were not significantly affected. Solulin significantly downregulated the expression of IL-1β (79%; p < 0.001), TNF-α (59%; p = 0.001), IL-6 (47%; p = 0.04), and CD11B (49%; p = 0.001) in the infarcted cortex compared to controls.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Solulin reduced mean total, cortical and basal ganglia infarct volumes and regulated a subset of cytokines and proteases after tMCAO suggesting the potency of this compound for therapeutic interventions.</p

Dynamics of Co-Transcriptional Pre-mRNA Folding Influences the Induction of Dystrophin Exon Skipping by Antisense Oligonucleotides

Antisense oligonucleotides (AONs) mediated exon skipping offers potential therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. However, the identification of effective AON target sites remains unsatisfactory for lack of a precise method to predict their binding accessibility. This study demonstrates the importance of co-transcriptional pre-mRNA folding in determining the accessibility of AON target sites for AON induction of selective exon skipping in DMD. Because transcription and splicing occur in tandem, AONs must bind to their target sites before splicing factors. Furthermore, co-transcriptional pre-mRNA folding forms transient secondary structures, which redistributes accessible binding sites. In our analysis, to approximate transcription elongation, a “window of analysis” that included the entire targeted exon was shifted one nucleotide at a time along the pre-mRNA. Possible co-transcriptional secondary structures were predicted using the sequence in each step of transcriptional analysis. A nucleotide was considered “engaged” if it formed a complementary base pairing in all predicted secondary structures of a particular step. Correlation of frequency and localisation of engaged nucleotides in AON target sites accounted for the performance (efficacy and efficiency) of 94% of 176 previously reported AONs. Four novel insights are inferred: (1) the lowest frequencies of engaged nucleotides are associated with the most efficient AONs; (2) engaged nucleotides at 3′ or 5′ ends of the target site attenuate AON performance more than at other sites; (3) the performance of longer AONs is less attenuated by engaged nucleotides at 3′ or 5′ ends of the target site compared to shorter AONs; (4) engaged nucleotides at 3′ end of a short target site attenuates AON efficiency more than at 5′ end

Identification of miRNA-103 in the Cellular Fraction of Human Peripheral Blood as a Potential Biomarker for Malignant Mesothelioma – A Pilot Study

Background: To date, no biomarkers with reasonable sensitivity and specificity for the early detection of malignant mesothelioma have been described. The use of microRNAs (miRNAs) as minimally-invasive biomarkers has opened new opportunities for the diagnosis of cancer, primarily because they exhibit tumor-specific expression profiles and have been commonly observed in blood of both cancer patients and healthy controls. The aim of this pilot study was to identify miRNAs in the cellular fraction of human peripheral blood as potential novel biomarkers for the detection of malignant mesothelioma. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using oligonucleotide microarrays for biomarker identification the miRNA levels in the cellular fraction of human peripheral blood of mesothelioma patients and asbestos-exposed controls were analyzed. Using a threefold expression change in combination with a significance level of p,0.05, miR-103 was identified as a potential biomarker for malignant mesothelioma. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used for validation of miR-103 in 23 malignant mesothelioma patients, 17 asbestos-exposed controls, and 25 controls from the general population. For discrimination of mesothelioma patients from asbestos-exposed controls a sensitivity of 83 % and a specificity of 71 % were calculated, and for discrimination of mesothelioma patients from the general population a sensitivity of 78 % and a specificity of 76%