A drop in the ocean?

This study aims to identify behavioral spillover effects related to travel mode decisions. In particular the effect of a shift towards environmentally friendly day-to-day commuting on occasional longer distance travel modes is explored. Therefore a natural experiment caused by the implementation of congestion charging in Stockholm and Gothenburg is exploited. In a fixed effects model with a control group, the average treatment effect on the treated is estimated by regressing the number of short-haul flight trips on a policy treatment dummy and the amount of the charge, respectively. The findings reveal predominantly positive estimates, confirmed and strengthened by various extensions, and thus point towards negative spillover effects

An innovative strategy for the establishment of physiological relevant mammalian cell lines

Aussagekräftige endotheliale in vitro Testplattformen werden in der Wirkstoffentwicklung für kardiovaskuläre Erkrankungen benötigt. Während solcher Entwicklungsprozesse ist es wichtig, möglichst frühzeitig abzuschätzen, wie sich ein Produkt in Bezug auf Wirksamkeit, Gesundheit und Umwelt auswirkt. Es besteht eine immer stärkere Notwendigkeit zellbasierte in vitro Testverfahren als Alternative zu Tierversuchen einzusetzen. Zudem sind Endothelzellen in der Forschung, der regenerativen Medizin und Zelltherapie von hohem Interesse. Den Engpass stellt die Versorgung mit genügend Zellmaterial dar, dass die physiologischen Eigenschaften des nativen Zelltyps aufweist, um aussagekräftige reproduzierbare Erkenntnisse zu generieren, die möglichst nahe der in vivo Situation sind. Das hier vorgestellte Immortalisierungsverfahren ermöglicht die Etablierung einer neuen Kategorie von Zelllinien, die zum einen die Proliferation von klassischen Linien aufweisen, zum anderen den funktionalen Phänotyp des nativen Zelltyps konservieren. Der Hypothese folgend, dass man zur Etablierung einer funktionalen Zelllinie eine zelltypspezifische Kombination an Immortalisierungsgenen benötigt, wurde in dieser Arbeit eine innovative Screeningmethode entwickelt, die zum einen die Immortalisierung ermöglichen und zum anderen den physiologisch relevanten Phänotyp konservieren. Zur Selektion dieser Genkombinationen, wurden die generierten Endothelzelllinien einer Charakterisierung unterzogen und ihre Expression endothel-spezifischer Marker und Funktionen im Vergleich zu dem Verhalten der entsprechenden primären Zellen evaluiert. Im Vergleich zu etablierten Immortalisierungsansätzen, weisen die resultierenden Zelllinien eine physiologische Funktionalität und Phänotyp auf, ermöglichen eine unkomplizierte Handhabung und generieren valide Ergebnisse.Physiological relevant endothelial in vitro testplatforms are needed in support of drug development processes for cardiovascular diseases. It is important to evaluate the efficacy of a potential drug during early stages of the process using cell based in vitro models that closely represent the in vivo environment. They promise to reduce the need for laboratory animals while simultaneously increasing the success rate of new leads. Currently, either permanent cell lines or primary cells are employed for such purposes but limiting is the supply of cell material with properties comparable to the in vivo situation. In this study a system was developed enabling the efficient establishment of novel cell lines with physiological relevant characteristics. Our hypothesis is that each cell type requires a specific combination of genes for immortalization to result in a physiological relevant cell line. The approach developed in this work, is a powerful tool to screen for such gene subsets. Our data demonstrate that the established cell lines retain cell specificity, intracellular signaling pathways and cell functionality in vitro and in vivo. This approach enables the rapid creation of novel cell lines e.g. with correct pharmacologic properties, that are patient or disease specific. Therefore, cell lines established via this approach enable convenient maintenance and obtain valid results. The unique combination of availability and functionality of these cell systems will pave the way to a better understanding of diseases, a precise drug development process and in long term also offer novel treatment options

The employment double dividend of environmental tax reforms : exploring the role of agent behaviour and social interaction

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MIt has been long debated whether environmental tax reform (ETR), i.e. a revenue-neutral shift of the tax burden from labour to carbon emissions, can have a double dividend, in terms of climate and economic goals. So far this question has been addressed in public finance and environmental economics using models with rational and representative agents. Here we examine the relevance of deviating from these standard behavioural assumptions. Our motivation is that research from other fields indicates that impacts of both environmental and income taxation on households are sensitive to behavioural biases, such as habits, imitation or status seeking. A related feature is that consumers and firms are heterogeneous with respect to many characteristics, some of which are crucial for the distributional effects of a tax reform. We combine insights from social psychology and behavioural, evolutionary and labour economics to identify behavioural cases in which the impacts of an ETR is likely to differ significantly from those in the traditional framework. Our findings show that households' time use patterns and the distinction between extensive and intensive labour supply are relevant and deserve more attention

Investigation of the Influence of Silicon Oxide Content on Electrolyte Degradation, Gas Evolution, and Thickness Change in Silicon Oxide/Graphite Composite Anodes for Li-Ion Cells Using Operando Techniques

This research paper investigates the influence of varying silicon oxide (SiO_) content on the performance and aging of lithium-ion cells. In-depth investigations encompass charge and discharge curves, thickness changes, electrolyte degradation, gas evolution, and chemical analysis of cells with different silicon oxide proportions in the anode and their associated cathodes. The results show that a higher silicon oxide content in the anode increases the voltage hysteresis between charge and discharge. Moreover, the first-cycle efficiencies decrease with a higher silicon oxide content, attributed to irreversible Li_Si_ formation and the subsequent loss of active lithium from the cathode during formation. The anodes experience higher thickness changes with increased silicon oxide content, and peaks in differential voltage curves can be correlated with specific anode active materials and their thickness change. A gas analysis reveals conductive salt and electrolyte intermediates as well as silicon-containing gaseous fragments, indicating continuous electrolyte decomposition and silicon oxide aging, respectively. Additionally, a chemical analysis confirms increased silicon-derived products and electrolyte degradation on electrode surfaces. These findings underscore the importance of a holistic aging investigation and help understand the complex chemical changes in electrode materials for designing efficient and durable lithium-ion cells

Factorial calculation of calcium and phosphorus requirements of growing dogs

Calcium and phosphorus requirements for growing dogs can be calculated by different methods. The current standard feeding recommendations are based on experimental data derived from young giant breed puppies. In order to determine the absolute requirement, an extrapolation via metabolisable energy requirement is recommended. Another approach is to calculate the requirement factorially, taking into account the endogenous losses and the amount of calcium and phosphorus retained due to tissue accretion during growth as well as the expected availability of these nutrients. The working hypothesis was that both methods are valid and lead to comparable results in young puppies of a high mature body weight (BW). Yet, deviations for other age and mature BW groups were expected. Thus, the aim of the present study was to compare the results of both methods using exemplary puppies of different age and mature BW groups. The hypotheses could be verified for calcium. The extrapolated requirements overestimate the factorial requirements by up to 59.7% for puppies 6 months of age. In case of phosphorus requirement, the deviations between both methods are overall very high in all stages. Taking into account the potentially harmful effects of calcium and phosphorus excess, the feeding recommendations based on the extrapolation should be reconsidered

Maternal sensitivity and intrusiveness in early childhood as predictors of children's weight at school age

Background While previous research indicates that low maternal sensitivity in mother-child interactions puts children at risk of overweight and obesity, maternal intrusiveness has rarely been investigated in association with children's weight. We investigated whether maternal sensitivity and intrusiveness in early childhood predict children's increased body mass index standard deviation scores (BMI-SDS) at school age. BMI-SDS are standardized for age and gender with respect to a reference standard. Methods At baseline (t1), we assessed maternal sensitivity and (non-)intrusiveness of 116 mothers with their children (48.3% female) aged 5–47 months (M = 24.00, SD = 11.36) using the emotional availability scales. We obtained anthropometric data for mothers at t1 by measuring height and weight in the laboratory and for children at birth assessed by medical staff. Six years later (t2) we obtained anthropometric data for children in the laboratory or based on parental report. Linear regression analyses were run with child BMI-SDS at t2 as outcome and sensitivity and (non-)intrusiveness as predictors, adjusting for confounders and exploring child age and gender as moderators. Results Maternal sensitivity only negatively predicted children's BMI-SDS in girls, while maternal intrusiveness predicted higher child BMI-SDS at school age regardless of child gender. The effect of maternal non-intrusiveness remained significant when controlling for confounders. Conclusion Maternal intrusiveness in early childhood seems to represent a risk factor for increased BMI-SDS in children, while lower maternal sensitivity tends to be a risk factor for increased BMI-SDS in girls. This may have implications for prevention or intervention programmes