The effect of creatine and glycerol induced hyperhydration on running economy in moderate and hot environmental conditions

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a hyperhydration strategy on running economy in cool and hot conditions. The hyperhydration regimen consisted of a combination of Creatine and glycerol which previously has been shown to each have a hyperhydrating effect and if applied together this effect is additive. Seven well-trained athletes were invited to participate in this study which included a pre- and post-supplementation experimental trial consisting of running at an intensity of 60% VO2max for 30 minutes in moderate (Ta = 10.5 ± 0.2 °C; RH = 72.0 ± 1.1%) and another 30 minutes in hot (Ta = 34.72 ± 0.19 °C and RH = 71.5 ± 0.9%) conditions with a 30 min break in between during which subjects were given water to replace any fluid lost in the first part of the trial. Between the last two experiments subjects followed a seven-day supplementation regime, i.e. consuming a daily dose of 11.4 g of Cr∙H2O (equivalent to 10g of Creatine) and one dose of glycerol (1g•kg-1 BM) on the day of the final experiment. The measurements of total body water (TBW) indicated that not all subjects responded to the hyperhydration regimen. Hence, only the subjects considered responders were taken into analysis (n=7). In this group of subjects we found an increase of 0.8 ± .0.3 kg in BM, 0.64 ± 0.18 L in TBW of which 0.20 ± 0.12 L could be assigned to an increase in extracellular water (ECW), and 0.44 ± 0.09 L were due to an increase in intracellular water (ICW). No significant changes could be observed in thermoregulatory (core body temperature), cardiovascular (heart rate) or pulmonary responses (O2 consumption, CO2 production, minute ventilation, respiratory exchange ratio), and rating of perceived exertion. Nevertheless, in the trial after the supplementation the subjective perception of heat, i.e. thermal comfort, was significantly reduced after 5 and 10 minutes in the bout at 35°C. As no change in VO2 could be observed, we conclude that there is no negative impact of a slightly increased body weight on oxygen consumption. Compared to previous studies, this study could not achieve a hyperhydration sufficient enough to observe positive thermoregulatory and cardiovascular responses as reported by other studies investigating water pre-loading. These differences are possibly due to a change in the administration protocol of glycerol

Radiokohlenstoffdatierung der Sedimente der Grundlosen

Aus einem 815 cm langen Bohrprofil, das AVERDIECK (1.c.) aus den "Grundlosen" bei Höxter (Westfalen) geborgen hatte, wurden aus den oberen 7 m 20 Proben mit Hilfe der Radiokohlenstoff-Methode absolut datiert. Ein Teil der Ablagerungen ergab ein im Vergleich zu den darunterliegenden Schichten zu hohes Alter, was auf die Beimengung allochthonen Materials zurückzuführen ist. Die übrigen 14C-Daten dienen zur zeitlichen Einordnung des von AVERDIECK erstellten Pollendiagramms und zeigen, dass einige Grenzen von Pollenzonen im Wesertal mehrere Jahrhunderte früher liegen als in der Norddeutschen Tiefebene

Die rechts Handhabung von Gesetz und Evangelium die wichtigate Theologenkunst

Die rechts Handhabung von Gesetz und Evangelium die wichtigate Theologenkunst (The right application of Law and Gospel is the important art of theology

Essays on Corporate Tax Avoidance, Sustainability, and Tax Transparency

This thesis strives to broaden the understanding and knowledge of corporate tax avoidance by analyzing this corporate practice in the context of sustainability issues and the related topic of tax transparency. The three essays shed light on the role and consequences of corporate tax as a sustainability component and the ability of qualitative tax disclosures to reflect and alter a firm’s tax behavior. Thus, the results allow for inferences about the merits of advancing the integration of tax in the area of sustainability (for instance, through sustainability disclosures or sustainable investing regulations) or implementing tax transparency regulations, which could be of interest to legislators and regulators who aspire to curb tax avoidance. Chapter 2 addresses the research question of whether multinational enterprises [MNEs] consider corporate taxes to be part and parcel of corporate social responsibility [CSR]. While prior studies have mostly focused on tax avoidance at the group level, we provide empirical evidence on the relationship between CSR and profit shifting as a specific and important form of tax avoidance. To this end, we employ unconsolidated financial data of subsidiaries of EU and US MNEs. Our findings suggest that profit shifting and CSR are negatively related. Additional analyses show that higher performance in the social or governance dimension is associated with fewer profit-shifting activities. For US MNEs, we find that the negative relationship between CSR and profit shifting is especially pronounced if the group is less exposed to reputational risks or competitive threats. Collectively, our findings are in line with corporate culture theory. A firm that takes responsibility for CSR issues considers taxes to be complementary, so profit shifting is incompatible with such a firm’s corporate culture. Thus, we conjecture that measures fostering CSR bring the additional benefit of reduced profit-shifting activities. Chapter 3 extends the preceding chapter by considering the linkage between corporate tax and CSR and, thus, sustainability from the investor perspective. The study examines the influence of institutional investors committed to sustainable investing on the tax avoidance of investee firms. Corporate taxes have been increasingly discussed in the domain of sustainable finance and sustainable investing. I find that institutional investors that have signed the United Nations [UN] Principles for Responsible Investment [PRI] reduce investee firms’ tax avoidance, in contrast to non-sustainable institutional investors. The results suggest that this impact has evolved concurrently with efforts promoting taxes in the context of sustainable investing. Supplemental tests show, among other results, that familiarity with sustainability principles due to a longer PRI membership time enhances the effect of sustainable institutional ownership on tax avoidance. Overall, sustainable institutional investors view taxes and sustainability as complements, analogous to firms, as shown in Chapter 2. The findings imply that further measures supporting the integration of tax responsibility into sustainable finance can foster the reduction of tax avoidance exerted by the considered investor type. Chapter 4 examines the effectiveness of qualitative and public tax disclosures in reflecting firms’ tax behavior and curbing tax avoidance. We investigate the unique UK tax strategy disclosure regulation that mandates large UK firms and MNEs with a UK presence to publish information on their tax strategy for financial years starting after September 15, 2016. Using a large sample of hand-collected reports, we find that firms that previously engaged in higher levels of tax avoidance deliberately provide lower-quality tax disclosures by omitting prescribed information on tax planning, providing less information on some matters, and using uncertain language. Moreover, we find robust evidence of a decrease in affected UK firms’ tax avoidance in the post-regulation period relative to unaffected peers. Overall, the findings suggest that qualitative tax transparency regulations can be a suitable instrument to alleviate corporate tax avoidance. However, legislators or standard setters should acknowledge that tax-avoiding firms seem to exploit the leeway in formulating textual tax disclosures

Jesus the Judge of the World

I dem Chistus palam rediturus est, ut iudicet vivos et mortuos. Thus our fathers confess in the third article of the Augsburg Confession. They repeat therewith the words of the Apostles\u27 Creed. Except for corresponding sentences in the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds and brief, withal plain and forceful statements in the discussions of the Large Catechism on the Second and the Third Article of the Creed and the explanation of the Seventh Petition, there is in the whole Book of Concord only one single article which expressly deals with eschatology. This is Article XVII of the Augsburg Confession and its Apology

Studies on the dynamics of heterotrophic flagellates on biofilm communities

The importance of biofilms for the self-purification of streams and the high availability of nutrients in biofilms was recognised during the last decades. The knowledge of the colonisation of microorganisms (rotifers, protozoans, bacteria) on biofilms, especially of heterotrophic flagellates, is still limited. Until now most studies are dealing with ciliate communities or determine only the abundance of heterotrophic flagellates but not the taxonomic diversity on riverine biofilms. One important factor determining the colonisation process of microorganisms is the flow velocity. In undisturbed rivers pool and riffle sections are created by different flow velocity conditions due to a heterogenic substrate at the river bed. An anthropogenic enlargement of these sections, especially pool sections, is caused by weirs. Another important parameter influencing the dynamics of microorganisms (e.g. growth rate, division rate and mortality) in biofilms is the temperature which may influence the colonisation speed and carrying capacity on riverine biofilms, too. Detailed investigations on the dynamics of biofilm-dwelling heterotrophic flagellates are still scarce even though these organisms often show the highest abundance compared to other protozoans on riverine biofilms. Field and laboratory experiments were conducted to answer the question on how colonisation and dynamics of heterotrophic flagellates are affected by environmental parameters. Different flow conditions (reservoir and outflow) were created by weirs in field experiments (River Ilm, Thuringia, Germany). The abundance and diversity of heterotrophic flagellates were determined during short-term (between 1 and 14 days) and long-term (14 days) exposures under these different flow velocity conditions. For a detailed insight in the question on how flagellates are affected by different flow velocities (between 0 and 1.2 m s-1) a new method was developed for direct observations under laboratory conditions. In a second series of laboratory experiments, the impact of temperature on the population dynamics of the benthic heterotrophic flagellate, Entosiphon sulcatum, was investigated. Here, a new method was designed to directly determine the mortality of this flagellate. The euglenid Entosiphon was chosen as a model organism due to the fact that the thick pellicle of this species remains after death and its cell does not burst like the other protozoans. The field investigations revealed that the abundance of heterotrophic flagellates was higher in a riffle section than at both weir sites of a river. At flow velocities higher than 0.5 m s-1, abundances of heterotrophic flagellates were significantly lower than abundances at velocities under 0.5 m s-1. In pool sections as well as in riffle sections, ten groups of heterotrophic flagellates were observed during the field experiments (Ancyromonadida, Cercomonadida, Choanoflagellida, Chrysomonadida, Euglenida, Kinetoplastida, Thaumatomonadida, Apusomonadida, Ciliophryida and Cryptomonadida). In the laboratory experiments regarding the behaviour of flagellates under different flow velocities, Entosiphon sulcatum (a gliding euglenid) had the highest resistance towards higher flow velocities. Cercomonas crassicauda (crawling cercomonad) showed the weakest resistance. Laboratory experiments confirmed the field observations regarding the impact of flow velocity on the different morphotypes of heterotrophic flagellates. Investigations of population dynamics regarding the model organism (Entosiphon) revealed a continuous division at temperatures ranging between 0 and 40°C. The division rate at higher temperatures between 25 and 40°C was much higher than the growth rate. This may lead to a significant underestimation of production due to high mortality. The results of this thesis show that flow velocity as well as temperature may influence the colonisation and population dynamic parameters of biofilm-dwelling heterotrophic flagellates. These studies may serve as first steps for a better understanding of the dynamics of heterotrophic flagellates on riverine biofilm