Auswirkungen des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns auf Praktikumsverhältnisse

Die vorliegende Studie untersucht auf Basis von wissenschaftlicher Literatur, unstrukturierten Online-Daten und Fachgesprächen die Auswirkungen des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns auf Praktikumsverhältnisse. Ob ein Praktikum dem Mindestlohngesetz unterliegt oder nicht, hängt von dessen Art und Dauer ab. Die Analyse legt nahe, dass Praktika im Zuge der Mindestlohneinführung in ihrer Struktur teilweise so angepasst wurden, dass sie nicht dem Mindestlohngesetz unterliegen. Praktika, die nicht in den Anwendungsbereich des Mindestlohns fallen, scheinen im Vergleich zu mindestlohnpflichtigen Praktika von Arbeitgebendenseite häufiger angeboten und oft (deutlich) geringer vergütet zu werden. Das gilt besonders für Pflichtpraktika. Dabei zeigen sich - vor ebenso wie nach der Mindestlohneinführung im Jahr 2015 - deutliche Unterschiede zwischen den Branchen. In mittleren und großen Unternehmen hat der gesetzliche Mindestlohn die Praktikumsvergütung tendenziell erhöht. Die Auswirkungen des Mindestlohns auf die Anzahl an Praktikumsplätzen insgesamt bleiben mangels entsprechender Datengrundlage unbestimmt. Seit der Mindestlohneinführung an Bedeutung verloren hat die Debatte um die „Generation Praktikum“. Es sind aber diverse Ausweichreaktionen zur Umgehung des Mindestlohns zu beobachten, deren Ausmaß nicht bekannt ist und von denen einige nicht rechtskonform sind. Das komplexe Regelwerk des Mindestlohngesetzes in Bezug auf Praktika hat vor allem arbeitgebendenseitig zu Beratungsbedarf und Verunsicherung geführt.This study examines the effects of the statutory minimum wage on internships in Germany based on scientific literature, unstructured online data, and expert interviews. Whether an internship is subject to minimum wage legislation or not depends on its type and duration. The analysis suggests that while the minimum wage was being introduced, the structure of internships was partially adjusted to ensure they would not be subject to minimum wage legislation. Employers seem to offer internships that do not fall in the scope of minimum wage more frequently compared to minimum wage-paying internships. And internships that are not subject to minimum wage legislation often seem to be remunerated at a (substantially) lower rate. This is especially true for compulsory internships. There are clear differences between different sectors, both before and after the introduction of the minimum wage in 2015. In medium-sized and large companies, the minimum wage has tended to increase the remuneration for internships. The impact of the minimum wage on the total number of internships remains uncertain because of the lack of a corresponding data base. Since the introduction of the minimum wage in Germany, debate about the "internship generation" has lost its significance. However, various reactions to bypass the minimum wage can be observed. The extent of these reactions is not known and some of them do not legally comply. The complex set of rules that make up the minimum wage legislation referring to internships has, in particular, led to a need for advice and uncertainty on the part of employers

Gesamtbericht zur Evaluation desallgemeinen gesetzlichen Mindestlohnsnach § 23 Mindestlohngesetz

Das Gesetz zur Regelung eines allgemeinen Mindestlohns (MiLoG) ist zum 1. Januar 2015 in Kraft getreten und hat für Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer in Deutschland eine bindende Lohnuntergrenze eingeführt. Mittlerweile liegen zahlreiche Studien zu den Auswirkungen des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns vor, die für die vorliegende Gesamtevaluation nach §23 MiLoG systematisch ausgewertet wurden. Die Mindestlohnforschung umfasst neben quantitativen Kausalanalysen auch deskriptive undqualitative Untersuchungen und nutzt dabei verschiedene Datengrundlagen. Nach derzeitigem Forschungsstand hat der Mindestlohn seit seiner Einführung zum Schutz der Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer vor Niedrigstlöhnen beigetragen, war dabei weitgehend beschäftigungsneutral und hatte kaum Auswirkungen auf den Wettbewerb zwischen Unternehmen. Reduzierte Arbeitszeiten deuten allerdings darauf hin, dass Betriebebzw. Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmerinfolge der Mindestlohneinführung einen alternativen Anpassungskanal zur Steuerung ihres Arbeitsvolumens genutzt haben. Die identifizierten Effekte resultieren im Wesentlichen aus der Einführung, nicht aus der Erhöhung des Mindestlohns. Kaum messbar ist bislang das Ausmaß der Nichteinhaltung: Der gesetzliche Mindestlohn wird in einer unbekannten Zahl an Betrieben mit teilweise rechtswidrigen Praktiken umgangen. Hier, ebenso wie mit Blick auf die mittel- und langfristigen Auswirkungen des Mindestlohns, besteht weiterer Forschungsbedarf.On January 1, 2015, a law governing a general minimum wage (MiLoG) introduced a mandatory lower wage limit for employees in Germany. In the meantime,there have been numerous studies on the effects of the statutory minimum wage that were systematically evaluated for the current full-scale evaluation according to Section 23 of the MiLoG. In addition to quantitative causal analysis research on the minimum wage covers descriptive as well as qualitative studies and uses different data sets. According to currentstate ofresearch, the minimum wage has contributed to protecting workers from the lowest wages, has been largely employment-neutral, and has had little impact on competition between companies. However, reduced working hours indicate that, as a result of the introduction of the minimum wage, employersor employeeshave been rerouting, using an alternative channel to control the volume of work.The effects identified mainly result from the introduction of the minimum wage and not from its increase. The extent of non-compliance can hardly be quantified: The statutory minimum wage is being circumvented by an unknown number of companies using partially illegal practices. In this respect further research is neededas well as with regard to the medium and long-term effects of the minimum wage

Technical pitfalls and proposed modifications of instructions for use for endovascular aortic aneurysm repair using the Gore Excluder conformable device in angulated and short landing zones

We describe a case of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and angulated proximal neck treated with a Gore Excluder conformable endoprosthesis and show relevant technical pitfalls in the deployment of the graft main body. An 82-year-old man presented with a 71-mm asymptomatic AAA with an angulated infrarenal proximal neck (75°) and was referred to our unit. The patient was treated with a 26-mm Gore Excluder conformable device, which was deployed slightly above the renal arteries after precatheterization of the lowest renal artery. The graft was then repositioned with support of the introducer sheath and a stiff guide wire. The proximal sealing zone was ballooned before the endograft delivery system was retrieved to avoid distal migration. Technical success was achieved. The patient was discharged with no complications. No type Ia endoleak was present on the 6-month computed tomography scan. Endovascular treatment of an AAA with a severe angulated proximal neck can be effective with a conformable stent graft if technical measures are used during deployment of the main body to optimize the seal.</p

Dopamine and Glutamate in Antipsychotic-Responsive Compared With Antipsychotic-Nonresponsive Psychosis: A Multicenter Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study (STRATA)

The variability in the response to antipsychotic medication in schizophrenia may reflect between-patient differences in neurobiology. Recent cross-sectional neuroimaging studies suggest that a poorer therapeutic response is associated with relatively normal striatal dopamine synthesis capacity but elevated anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) glutamate levels. We sought to test whether these measures can differentiate patients with psychosis who are antipsychotic responsive from those who are antipsychotic nonresponsive in a multicenter cross-sectional study. 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) was used to measure glutamate levels (Glucorr) in the ACC and in the right striatum in 92 patients across 4 sites (48 responders [R] and 44 nonresponders [NR]). In 54 patients at 2 sites (25 R and 29 NR), we additionally acquired 3,4-dihydroxy-6-[18F]fluoro-L-phenylalanine (18F-DOPA) positron emission tomography (PET) to index striatal dopamine function (Kicer, min−1). The mean ACC Glucorr was higher in the NR than the R group after adjustment for age and sex (F1,80 = 4.27; P = .04). This was associated with an area under the curve for the group discrimination of 0.59. There were no group differences in striatal dopamine function or striatal Glucorr. The results provide partial further support for a role of ACC glutamate, but not striatal dopamine synthesis, in determining the nature of the response to antipsychotic medication. The low discriminative accuracy might be improved in groups with greater clinical separation or increased in future studies that focus on the antipsychotic response at an earlier stage of the disorder and integrate other candidate predictive biomarkers. Greater harmonization of multicenter PET and 1H-MRS may also improve sensitivity

Synthetic Multivalent Ligands as Probes of Signal Transduction

Cell-surface receptors acquire information from the extracellular environment and coordinate intracellular responses. Many receptors do not operate as individual entities, but rather as part of dimeric or oligomeric complexes. Coupling the functions of multiple receptors may endow signaling pathways with the sensitivity and malleability required to govern cellular responses. Moreover, multireceptor signaling complexes may provide a means of spatially segregating otherwise degenerate signaling cascades. Understanding the mechanisms, extent, and consequences of receptor co-localization and interreceptor communication is critical; chemical synthesis can provide compounds to address the role of receptor assembly in signal transduction. Multivalent ligands can be generated that possess a variety of sizes, shapes, valencies, orientations, and densities of binding elements. This Review focuses on the use of synthetic multivalent ligands to characterize receptor function.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/50669/1/2348_ftp.pd

Pharmacology of MDMA- and Amphetamine-Like New Psychoactive Substances

New psychoactive substances (NPS) with amphetamine-, aminoindan-, and benzofuran basic chemical structures have recently emerged for recreational drug use. Detailed information about their psychotropic effects and health risks is often limited. At the same time, it emerged that the pharmacological profiles of these NPS resemble those of amphetamine or 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Amphetamine-like NPS induce psychostimulation and euphoria mediated predominantly by norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) transporter (NET and DAT) inhibition and transporter-mediated release of NE and DA, thus showing a more catecholamine-selective profile. MDMA-like NPS frequently induce well-being, empathy, and prosocial effects and have only moderate psychostimulant properties. These MDMA-like substances primarily act by inhibiting the serotonin (5-HT) transporter (SERT) and NET, also inducing 5-HT and NE release. Monoamine receptor interactions vary considerably among amphetamine- and MDMA-like NPS. Clinically, amphetamine- and MDMA-like NPS can induce sympathomimetic toxicity. The aim of this chapter is to review the state of knowledge regarding these substances with a focus on the description of the in vitro pharmacology of selected amphetamine- and MDMA-like NPS. In addition, it is aimed to provide links between pharmacological profiles and in vivo effects and toxicity, which leads to the conclusion that abuse liability for amphetamine-like NPS may be higher than for MDMA-like NPS, but that the risk for developing the life-threatening serotonin syndrome may be increased for MDMA-like NPS

Applying Machine Learning Algorithms for Automatic Detection of Swallowing from Sound

Despite the severe consequences of dysfunctional swallowing, there is no simple method of monitoring swallowing outside of clinical settings. People who cannot swallow cannot eat safely, resulting in profound changes in quality of life and risk of death from aspiration pneumonia. A non-invasive swallowing detector may have widespread impact in both clinical care and research. Detection of swallowing from laryngeal sounds could become an ideal assessment tool because sounds are simple to record, quantifiable, and amenable to software analysis. The focus of this paper is to achieve high accuracy binary swallowing detection from sound recordings. A dataset with 2500 swallow sound samples and 1700 mixed laryngeal noise samples from 15 healthy adults was used to train and test three supervised machine learning algorithms. A decision tree, support vector machine (SVM), and neural network trained with the scaled conjugate gradient (SCG) method had areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.970, 0.961, and 0.971 and average accuracies of 93.2 percent, 86.2 percent, and 93.7 percent respectively. While further work needs to be done to further optimize these algorithms and validate their efficacy, these initial results suggest machine learning strategies may be helpful to improve accuracy of swallowing detection

4-methyl benzylamine stimulates food consumption and counteracts the hypophagic effects of amphetamine acting on brain Shaker-like Kv1.1 channels

1. 4-methyl benzylamine (4-MBZ; 28 μg, 231 nmol) elicits a hyperphagic response in starved mice in contrast to the hypophagia induced by the parent compound benzylamine (BZ; 33 μg, 231 nmol) or by amphetamine (AMPH, 2 μg). 2. In mice starved for only 4 h, and therefore with little stimulation to eat, the maximal increase in food consumption induced by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.)-injected 4-MBZ was 190% over that of the controls (ED(50) 8.3±2.7 μg mouse(−1); 68±22 nmol mouse(−1)), whereas after i.p. administration, these values were 160% and approximately 129 mg kg(−1), respectively. 3. The hyperphagic effect of 4-MBZ was reduced by more than 60% in mice pretreated with antisense oligodeoxyribonucleotide (aODN(1)) previously found to selectively inhibit (over 50%) the expression of Shaker-like Kv1.1 channels. 4. In mice highly stimulated to eat after 12-h fasting, 4-MBZ (28 μg) significantly reduced (to about 70%) the hypophagic response by AMPH (2 μg) or BZ (33 μg). Conversely, these two compounds reduced (respectively, by 69 and 44%) the hyperphagic response of 4-MBZ in 4-h fasting mice. 5. 4-MBZ (28 μg) also reduced the hypermotility and the stimulation of inspection activity elicited by AMPH in mice and the release of DA stimulated by AMPH (2 μg) from the nucleus accumbens of rats. 6. We hypothesize that 4-MBZ elicits hyperphagic effects probably by opening Shaker-like Kv1.1 subtypes in the brain, whereas AMPH and BZ are hypophagic by blocking these channels