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Virus-infected cells are eliminated by cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which recognize viral epitopes displayed on major histocompatibility complex class I molecules at the cell surface. Herpesviruses have evolved sophisticated strategies to escape this immune surveillance. During the lytic phase of EBV infection, the viral factor BNLF2a interferes with antigen processing by preventing peptide loading of major histocompatibility complex class I molecules. Here we reveal details of the inhibition mechanism of this EBV protein. We demonstrate that BNLF2a acts as a tail-anchored protein, exploiting the mammalian Asna-1/WRB (Get3/Get1) machinery for posttranslational insertion into the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, where it subsequently blocks antigen translocation by the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP). BNLF2a binds directly to the core TAP complex arresting the ATP-binding cassette transporter in a transport-incompetent conformation. The inhibition mechanism of EBV BNLF2a is distinct and mutually exclusive of other viral TAP inhibitors.
The E3 ubiquitin ligase MYCBP2 negatively regulates neuronal growth, synaptogenesis, and synaptic strength. More recently it was shown that MYCBP2 is also involved in receptor and ion channel internalization. We found that mice with a MYCBP2-deficiency in peripheral sensory neurons show prolonged thermal hyperalgesia. Loss of MYCBP2 constitutively activated p38 MAPK and increased expression of several proteins involved in receptor trafficking. Surprisingly, loss of MYCBP2 inhibited internalization of transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1 (TRPV1) and prevented desensitization of capsaicin-induced calcium increases. Lack of desensitization, TRPV internalization and prolonged hyperalgesia were reversed by inhibition of p38 MAPK. The effects were TRPV-specific, since neither mustard oil-induced desensitization nor behavioral responses to mechanical stimuli were affected. In summary, we show here for the first time that p38 MAPK activation can inhibit activity-induced ion channel internalization and that MYCBP2 regulates internalization of TRPV1 in peripheral sensory neurons as well as duration of thermal hyperalgesia through p38 MAPK.
Host cell invasion by the facultative intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes requires the invasion protein InlB in many cell types. InlB consists of an N-terminal internalin domain that binds the host cell receptor tyrosine kinase Met and C-terminal GW domains that bind to glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Met binding and activation is required for host cell invasion, while the interaction between GW domains and GAGs enhances this effect. Soluble InlB elicits the same cellular phenotypes as the natural Met ligand hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF), e.g. cell scatter. So far, little is known about the central part of InlB, the B-repeat. Here we present a structural and functional characterization of the InlB B-repeat. The crystal structure reveals a variation of the β-grasp fold that is most similar to small ubiquitin-like modifiers (SUMOs). However, structural similarity also suggests a potential evolutionary relation to bacterial mucin-binding proteins. The B-repeat defines the prototype structure of a hitherto uncharacterized domain present in over a thousand bacterial proteins. Generally, this domain probably acts as a spacer or a receptor-binding domain in extracellular multi-domain proteins. In cellular assays the B-repeat acts synergistically with the internalin domain conferring to it the ability to stimulate cell motility. Thus, the B-repeat probably binds a further host cell receptor and thereby enhances signaling downstream of Met.
This paper compares the shareholder-value-maximizing capital structure and pricing policy of insurance groups against that of stand-alone insurers. Groups can utilise intra-group risk diversification by means of capital and risk transfer instruments. We show that using these instruments enables the group to offer insurance with less default risk and at lower premiums than is optimal for standalone insurers. We also take into account that shareholders of groups could find it more difficult to prevent inefficient overinvestment or cross-subsidisation, which we model by higher dead-weight costs of carrying capital. The tradeoff between risk diversification on the one hand and higher dead-weight costs on the other can result in group building being beneficial for shareholders but detrimental for policyholders.
Depending on the point of time and location, insurance companies are subject to different forms of solvency regulation. In modern regulation regimes, such as the future standard Solvency II in the EU, insurance pricing is liberalized and risk-based capital requirements will be introduced. In many economies in Asia and Latin America, on the other hand, supervisors require the prior approval of policy conditions and insurance premiums, but do not conduct risk-based capital regulation. This paper compares the outcome of insurance rate regulation and risk-based capital requirements by deriving stock insurers’ best responses. It turns out that binding price floors affect insurers’ optimal capital structures and induce them to choose higher safety levels. Risk-based capital requirements are a more efficient instrument of solvency regulation and allow for lower insurance premiums, but may come at the cost of investment efforts into adequate risk monitoring systems. The paper derives threshold values for regulator’s investments into risk-based capital regulation and provides starting points for designing a welfare-enhancing insurance regulation scheme.
Background: Patients with cancer have an increased risk of VTE. We compared VTE rates and bleeding complications in 1) cancer patients receiving LMWH or UFH and 2) patients with or without cancer.
Patients with cancer have an increased risk of VTE. We compared VTE rates and bleeding complications in 1) cancer patients receiving LMWH or UFH and 2) patients with or without cancer.
Methods: Acutely-ill, non-surgical patients ≥70 years with (n = 274) or without cancer (n = 2,965) received certoparin 3,000 UaXa o.d. or UFH 5,000 IU t.i.d. for 8-20 days.
Results: 1) Thromboembolic events in cancer patients (proximal DVT, symptomatic non-fatal PE and VTE-related death) occurred at 4.50% with certoparin and 6.03% with UFH (OR 0.73; 95% CI 0.23-2.39). Major bleeding was comparable and minor bleedings (0.75 vs. 5.67%) were nominally less frequent. 7.5% of certoparin and 12.8% of UFH treated patients experienced serious adverse events. 2) Thromboembolic event rates were comparable in patients with or without cancer (5.29 vs. 4.13%) as were bleeding complications. All cause death was increased in cancer (OR 2.68; 95%CI 1.22-5.86). 10.2% of patients with and 5.81% of those without cancer experienced serious adverse events (OR 1.85; 95% CI 1.21-2.81).
Conclusions: Certoparin 3,000 UaXa o.d. and 5,000 IU UFH t.i.d. were equally effective and safe with respect to bleeding complications in patients with cancer. There were no statistically significant differences in the risk of thromboembolic events in patients with or without cancer receiving adequate anticoagulation.
Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00451412
Depending on the point of time and location, insurance companies are subject to different forms of solvency regulation. In modern regulation regimes, such as the future standard Solvency II in the EU, insurance pricing is liberalized and risk-based capital requirements will be introduced. In many economies in Asia and Latin America, on the other hand, supervisors require the prior approval of policy conditions and insurance premiums, but do not conduct risk-based capital regulation. This paper compares the outcome of insurance rate regulation and riskbased capital requirements by deriving stock insurers’ best responses. It turns out that binding price floors affect insurers’ optimal capital structures and induce them to choose higher safety levels. Risk-based capital requirements are a more efficient instrument of solvency regulation and allow for lower insurance premiums, but may come at the cost of investment efforts into adequate risk monitoring systems. The paper derives threshold values for regulator’s investments into risk-based capital regulation and provides starting points for designing a welfare-enhancing insurance regulation scheme.
Solving the problem of consciousness remains one of the biggest challenges in modern science. One key step towards understanding consciousness is to empirically narrow down neural processes associated with the subjective experience of a particular content. To unravel these neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) a common scientific strategy is to compare perceptual conditions in which consciousness of a particular content is present with those in which it is absent, and to determine differences in measures of brain activity (the so called "contrastive analysis"). However, this comparison appears not to reveal exclusively the NCC, as the NCC proper can be confounded with prerequisites for and consequences of conscious processing of the particular content. This implies that previous results cannot be unequivocally interpreted as reflecting the neural correlates of conscious experience. Here we review evidence supporting this conjecture and suggest experimental strategies to untangle the NCC from the prerequisites and consequences of conscious experience in order to further develop the otherwise valid and valuable contrastive methodology.
RcsF, a proposed auxiliary regulator of the regulation of capsule synthesis (rcs) phosphorelay system, is a key element for understanding the RcsC-D-A/B signaling cascade, which is responsible for the regulation of more than 100 genes and is involved in cell division, motility, biofilm formation, and virulence. The RcsC-D-A/B system is one of the most complex bacterial signal transduction pathways, consisting of several membrane-bound and soluble proteins. RcsF is a lipoprotein attached to the outer membrane and plays an important role in activating the RcsC-d-A/B pathway. The exact mechanism of activation of the rcs phosphorelay by RcsF, however, remains unknown. We have analyzed the sequence of RcsF and identified three structural elements: 1) an N-terminal membrane-anchored helix (residues 3-13), 2) a loop (residues 14-48), and 3) a C-terminal folded domain (residues 49-134). We have determined the structure of this C-terminal domain and started to investigate its interaction with potential partners. Important features of its structure are two disulfide bridges between Cys-74 and Cys-118 and between Cys-109 and Cys-124. To evaluate the importance of this RcsF disulfide bridge network in vivo, we have examined the ability of the full-length protein and of specific Cys mutants to initiate the rcs signaling cascade. The results indicate that the Cys-74/Cys-118 and the Cys-109/Cys-124 residues correlate pairwise with the activity of RcsF. Interaction studies showed a weak interaction with an RNA hairpin. However, no interaction could be detected with reagents that are believed to activate the rcs phosphorelay, such as lysozyme, glucose, or Zn(2+) ions.
Secretins are a family of large bacterial outer membrane protein complexes mediating the transport of complex structures, such as type IV pili, DNA and filamentous phage, or various proteins, such as extracellular enzymes and pathogenicity determinants. PilQ of the thermophilic bacterium Thermus thermophilus HB27 is a member of the secretin family required for natural transformation. Here we report the isolation, structural, and functional analyses of a unique PilQ from T. thermophilus. Native PAGE, gel filtration chromatography, and electrophoretic mobility shift analyses indicated that PilQ forms a macromolecular homopolymeric complex that binds dsDNA. Electron microscopy showed that the PilQ complex is 15 nm wide and 34 nm long and consists of an extraordinary stable "cone" and "cup" structure and five ring structures with a large central channel. Moreover, the electron microscopic images together with secondary structure analyses combined with structural data of type II protein secretion system and type III protein secretion system secretins suggest that the individual rings are formed by conserved domains of alternating α-helices and β-sheets. The unprecedented length of the PilQ complex correlated well with the distance between the inner and outer membrane of T. thermophilus. Indeed, PilQ was found immunologically in both membranes, indicating that the PilQ complex spans the entire cell periphery of T. thermophilus. This is consistent with the hypothesis that PilQ accommodates a PilA4 comprising pseudopilus mediating DNA transport across the outer membrane and periplasmic space in a single-step process.
The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) plays a key role in adaptive immunity by translocating proteasomal degradation products from the cytosol into the endoplasmic reticulum lumen for subsequent loading onto major histocompatibility (MHC) class I molecules. For functional and structural analysis of this ATP-binding cassette complex, we established the overexpression of TAP in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. Screening of optimal solubilization and purification conditions allowed the isolation of the heterodimeric transport complex, yielding 30 mg of TAP/liter of culture. Detailed analysis of TAP function in the membrane, solubilized, purified, and reconstituted states revealed a direct influence of the native lipid environment on activity. TAP-associated phospholipids, essential for function, were profiled by liquid chromatography Fourier transform mass spectrometry. The antigen translocation activity is stimulated by phosphatidylinositol and -ethanolamine, whereas cholesterol has a negative effect on TAP activity.
Dichlorido(3-phenylindenylidene)bis(triphenylphosphane)ruthenium(II) tetrahydrofuran disolvate
(2011)
The RuII atom in the title compound, [RuCl2(C15H10)(C18H15P)2]·2C4H8O, has a distorted square-pyramidal conformation. The P and Cl atoms are at the base of the pyramid and the Ru-Cindenylidene bond is in the axial position. The two Cl ligands and the two phosphane ligands are in trans positions. The Cl-Ru-Cl and P-Ru-P angles are 157.71 (2) and 166.83 (2)°, respectively. The two independent tetrahydrofuran (THF) solvent molecules are disordered. One THF molecule was refined using a split-atom model. The second THF molecule was accounted for by using program PLATON/SQUEEZE [Spek (2009). Acta Cryst. D65, 148-155]. The molecular conformation shows three intramolecular C-H...Cl contacts and two C-H...[pi] interactions while the crystal packing features an intermolecular C-H...Cl contact and two very weak intermolecular C-H...[pi] contacts.
The title compound, C30H16N4O4, reveals \overline1 crystallographic and molecular symmetry and accordingly the asymmetric unit comprises one half-molecule. The dihedral angle between the planes of the two geminal benzoxazole rings is 74.39 (5)°. The packing features weak C-H...N and [pi]-[pi] interactions [centroid-centroid distance = 3.652 (1) Å].
To examine their luminescence behavior, two air-stable BN addition compounds were synthesized by the reaction of 5-fluoro-2-(2′-pyridyl)indole with 1,4- and 1,3-bis(bromo(methyl)boryl)benzene, respectively. Both BN adducts are luminescent. Their emission maxima (1,3-substituted BN adduct: 495 nm; 1,4-substituted BN adduct: 497 nm) are comparable with the value (490 nm) of the related mono-borylated benzene species, which is composed of a BPh2 fragment and a 5-fluoro-2-(2′-pyridyl) indole unit. The starting materials 1,4- and 1,3-bis(bromo(methyl)boryl)benzene were accessible by treatment of 1,4- or 1,3-bis(dibromoboryl)benzene with two equivalents of SnMe4. In addition, the results of the X-ray structure analyses of the B,B′-bis-5-fluoro-2-(2′-pyridyl)indolyl-complexed meta-bismethylborylbenzene fragment (9, triclinic, P1̅) as well as of 5-chloro-2-(2′-pyridyl)indole (2, monoclinic, P21/c) and 5-fluoro-2-(2′-pyridyl)indole (1, orthorhombic, Pca21) are reported. The pyridylindole derivatives of this approach were synthesized by an optimized two-step procedure from 2-acetylpyridine and 4-fluoro- or 4-chlorophenylhydrazine hydrochloride.
Single crystals suitable for X-ray diffraction of (tBu2P)3Ga (monoclinic, space group Cc) were obtained from GaCl3 and two equivalents of Li[PtBu2] at room temperature in benzene. The phosphanylgallane (tBu2P)3Ga was also produced via a one-pot approach by reaction of GaCl3 with three or more than three equivalents of Li[PtBu2]. However, treatment of one equivalent of GaCl3 with one equivalent of Li[PtBu2] and subsequent protolysis yielded [tBu2PH2][tBu2P(GaCl3)2 - Li(Cl3Ga)2PtBu2]. Single crystals of this phosphonium salt (monoclinic, space group Cc) were obtained from benzene at room temperature.
The avian magnetic compass was analyzed by testing migratory birds, using their orientation as an indicator. These tests revealed some remarkable properties of the avian magnetic compass: (1) It is an inclination compass’, (2) it is light-dependent, with (3) receptors located in the right eye. These characteristics are in agreement with the Radical Pair model proposed by Ritz et al. (2000). Using the same experimental set-up, we tested the model by behavioral spectroscopy’, exposing migratory birds to radiofrequency fields of different frequencies and intensities. Such fields affected the orientation only when applied at an angle to the field lines. Tests with different frequencies led to an estimate of the life time of the crucial radical pair between 2-10 μs. We also could identify an extremely sensitive resonance at the Larmor frequency, which implies specific properties of the radical pair. Cryptochromes, a blue-light absorbing photopigment, has been proposed to be the receptor-molecule; it has been found to be present in the retina of birds.
ATP-binding cassette (ABC) systems translocate a wide range of solutes across cellular membranes. The thermophilic Gram-negative eubacterium Thermus thermophilus, a model organism for structural genomics and systems biology, discloses ∼46 ABC proteins, which are largely uncharacterized. Here, we functionally analyzed the first two and only ABC half-transporters of the hyperthermophilic bacterium, TmrA and TmrB. The ABC system mediates uptake of the drug Hoechst 33342 in inside-out oriented vesicles that is inhibited by verapamil. TmrA and TmrB form a stable heterodimeric complex hydrolyzing ATP with a Km of 0.9 mm and kcat of 9 s−1 at 68 °C. Two nucleotides can be trapped in the heterodimeric ABC complex either by vanadate or by mutation inhibiting ATP hydrolysis. Nucleotide trapping requires permissive temperatures, at which a conformational ATP switch is possible. We further demonstrate that the canonic glutamate 523 of TmrA is essential for rapid conversion of the ATP/ATP-bound complex into its ADP/ATP state, whereas the corresponding aspartate in TmrB (Asp-500) has only a regulatory role. Notably, exchange of this single noncanonic residue into a catalytic glutamate cannot rescue the function of the E523Q/D500E complex, implicating a built-in asymmetry of the complex. However, slow ATP hydrolysis in the newly generated canonic site (D500E) strictly depends on the formation of a posthydrolysis state in the consensus site, indicating an allosteric coupling of both active sites.
The anaerobic acetogenic bacterium Acetobacterium woodii employs a novel type of Na+-motive anaerobic respiration, caffeate respiration. However, this respiration is at the thermodynamic limit of energy conservation, and even worse, in the first step, caffeate is activated by caffeyl-CoA synthetase, which hydrolyzes ATP to AMP and pyrophosphate. Here, we have addressed whether or not the energy stored in the anhydride bond of pyrophosphate is conserved by A. woodii. Inverted membrane vesicles of A. woodii have a membrane-bound pyrophosphatase that catalyzes pyrophosphate hydrolysis at a rate of 70–120 milliunits/mg of protein. Pyrophosphatase activity was dependent on the divalent cation Mg2+. In addition, activity was strictly dependent on Na+ with a Km of 1.1 mm. Hydrolysis of pyrophosphate was accompanied by 22Na+ transport into the lumen of the inverted membrane vesicles. Inhibitor studies revealed that 22Na+ transport was primary and electrogenic. Next to the Na+-motive ferredoxin:NAD+ oxidoreductase (Fno or Rnf), the Na+-pyrophosphatase is the second primary Na+-translocating enzyme in A. woodii.
Pattern recognition approaches, such as the Support Vector Machine (SVM), have been successfully used to classify groups of individuals based on their patterns of brain activity or structure. However these approaches focus on finding group differences and are not applicable to situations where one is interested in accessing deviations from a specific class or population. In the present work we propose an application of the one-class SVM (OC-SVM) to investigate if patterns of fMRI response to sad facial expressions in depressed patients would be classified as outliers in relation to patterns of healthy control subjects. We defined features based on whole brain voxels and anatomical regions. In both cases we found a significant correlation between the OC-SVM predictions and the patients' Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), i.e. the more depressed the patients were the more of an outlier they were. In addition the OC-SVM split the patient groups into two subgroups whose membership was associated with future response to treatment. When applied to region-based features the OC-SVM classified 52% of patients as outliers. However among the patients classified as outliers 70% did not respond to treatment and among those classified as non-outliers 89% responded to treatment. In addition 89% of the healthy controls were classified as non-outliers.
Event-related potentials (ERPs) are widely used in basic neuroscience and in clinical diagnostic procedures. In contrast, neurophysiological insights from ERPs have been limited, as several different mechanisms lead to ERPs. Apart from stereotypically repeated responses (additive evoked responses), these mechanisms are asymmetric amplitude modulations and phase-resetting of ongoing oscillatory activity. Therefore, a method is needed that differentiates between these mechanisms and moreover quantifies the stability of a response. We propose a constrained subspace independent component analysis that exploits the multivariate information present in the all-to-all relationship of recordings over trials. Our method identifies additive evoked activity and quantifies its stability over trials. We evaluate identification performance for biologically plausible simulation data and two neurophysiological test cases: Local field potential (LFP) recordings from a visuo-motor-integration task in the awake behaving macaque and magnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings of steady-state visual evoked fields (SSVEFs). In the LFPs we find additive evoked response contributions in visual areas V2/4 but not in primary motor cortex A4, although visually triggered ERPs were also observed in area A4. MEG-SSVEFs were mainly created by additive evoked response contributions. Our results demonstrate that the identification of additive evoked response contributions is possible both in invasive and in non-invasive electrophysiological recordings.
IL-22 is an immunoregulatory cytokine displaying pathological functions in models of autoimmunity like experimental psoriasis. Understanding molecular mechanisms driving IL-22, together with knowledge on the capacity of current immunosuppressive drugs to target this process, may open an avenue to novel therapeutic options. Here, we sought to characterize regulation of human IL22 gene expression with focus on the established model of Jurkat T cells. Moreover, effects of the prototypic immunosuppressant cyclosporin A (CsA) were investigated. We report that IL-22 induction by TPA/A23187 (T/A) or αCD3 is inhibited by CsA or related FK506. Similar data were obtained with peripheral blood mononuclear cells or purified CD3(+) T cells. IL22 promoter analysis (-1074 to +156 bp) revealed a role of an NF-AT (-95/-91 nt) and a CREB (-194/-190 nt) binding site for gene induction. Indeed, binding of CREB and NF-ATc2, but not c-Rel, under the influence of T/A to those elements could be proven by ChIP. Because CsA has the capability to impair IκB kinase (IKK) complex activation, the IKKα/β inhibitor IKKVII was evaluated. IKKVII likewise reduced IL-22 induction in Jurkat cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Interestingly, transfection of Jurkat cells with siRNA directed against IKKα impaired IL22 gene expression. Data presented suggest that NF-AT, CREB, and IKKα contribute to rapid IL22 gene induction. In particular the crucial role of NF-AT detected herein may form the basis of direct action of CsA on IL-22 expression by T cells, which may contribute to therapeutic efficacy of the drug in autoimmunity.
Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic variations near the IL28B gene which are strongly associated with spontaneous and treatment-induced clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Protective IL28B variations are strongly associated with on-treatment viral kinetics and approximately 2-fold increased sustained virologic response (SVR) rates in HCV genotype 1 and 4 patients. In HCV genotype 1 patients, IL28B variations were shown to be the strongest pre-treatment predictor of virologic response. In the treatment of HCV genotype 2 and 3 infected patients, IL28B variations play only a minor role. Preliminary data indicate that IL28B variations are also associated with treatment outcome of regimens, including directly acting antiviral (DAA) agents, though their impact seems to be attenuated compared to standard treatment. Here, we review these important findings and discuss possible implications for clinical decision making in the treatment of HCV infection.
Nosocomial infectious diseases (e.g. influenza, pertussis) are a threat particularly for immunocompromised and vulnerable patients. Although vaccination of healthcare workers (HCWs) constitutes the most convenient and effective means to prevent nosocomial transmissions, vaccine uptake among HCWs remains unacceptably low. Worldwide, numerous studies have demonstrated that nurses have lower vaccination rates than physicians and that there is a relationship between receipt of vaccination by HCWs and knowledge. Measures to improve vaccination rates need to be profession-sensitive as well as specific in their approach in order to achieve sustained success.
Herb induced liver injury (HILI) is a particular challenge that also applies to purported cases presumably caused by black cohosh (BC), an herb commonly used to treat menopausal symptoms. We analyzed and reviewed all published case reports and spontaneous reports of initially alleged BC hepatotoxicity regarding quality of case details and causality assessments. Shortcomings of data quality were more evident in spontaneous reports of regulatory agencies compared to published case reports, but assessments with the scale of CIOMS (Council for the International Organizations of Sciences) or its updated version revealed lack of causality for BC in all cases. The applied causality methods are structured, quantitative, and liver specific with clear preference over an ad hoc causality method or the liver unspecific Naranjo scale. Reviewing the case data and the reports dealing with quality specifications of herbal BC products, there is general lack of analysis with respect to authentication of BC in the BC products used by the patients. However, in one single regulatory study, there was a problem of BC authentication in the analysed BC products, and other reports addressed the question of impurities and adulterants in a few BC products. It is concluded that the use of BC may not exert an overt hepatotoxicity risk, but quality problems in a few BC products were evident that require additional regulatory quality specifications.
Rapidity and transverse momentum dependence of inclusive J/ψ production in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV
(2011)
The ALICE experiment at the LHC has studied inclusive J/ψ production at central and forward rapidities in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV. In this Letter, we report on the first results obtained detecting the J/ψ through the dilepton decay into e+e− and μ+μ− pairs in the rapidity ranges |y|<0.9 and 2.5<y<4, respectively, and with acceptance down to zero pT. In the dielectron channel the analysis was carried out on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity Lint=5.6 nb−1 and the number of signal events is NJ/ψ=352±32(stat.)±28(syst.); the corresponding figures in the dimuon channel are Lint=15.6 nb−1 and NJ/ψ=1924±77(stat.)±144(syst.). The measured production cross sections are σJ/ψ(|y|<0.9)=10.7±1.0(stat.)±1.6(syst.)−2.3+1.6(syst.pol.)μb and σJ/ψ(2.5<y<4)=6.31±0.25(stat.)±0.76(syst.)−1.96+0.95(syst.pol.)μb. The differential cross sections, in transverse momentum and rapidity, of the J/ψ were also measured.
Fragment mass distributions for fission after full momentum transfer were measured in the reactions of 30Si,34,36 S,31P,40Ar + 238U at bombarding energies around the Coulomb barrier. Mass distributions change significantly as a function of incident beam energy. The asymmetric fission probability increases at sub-barrier energy. The phenomenon is interpreted as an enhanced quasifission probability owing to orientation effects on fusion and/or quasifission. The evaporation residue (ER) cross sections were measured in the reactions of 30Si + 238U and 34S + 238U to obtain information on fusion. In the latter reaction, significant suppression of fusion was implied. This suggests that fission events different from compound nucleus are included in the masssymmetric fragments. The results are supported by a model calculation based on a dynamical calculation using Langevin equation, in which the mass distribution for fusion-fission and quasifission fragments are separately determined.
We give a brief overview of recent work examining the presence of α-clusters in light nuclei within the Skyrme-force Hartree-Fock model. Of special signif cance are investigations into α-chain structures in carbon isotopes and 16O. Their stability and possible role in fusion reactions are examined in static and time-dependent Hartree-Fock calculations. We f nd a new type of shape transition in collisions and a centrifugal stabilization of the 4α chain state in a limited range of angular momenta. No stabilization is found for the 3α chain.
The present limits of the upper part of the nuclear map are rather close to the beta stability line while the unexplored area of heavy neutron rich nuclides (also those located along the neutron closed shell N = 126 to the right hand side of the stability line) is extremely important for nuclear astrophysics investigations and, in particular, for the understanding of the r-process of astrophysical nucleogenesis. For elements with Z > 100 only neutron deficient isotopes (located to the left of the stability line) have been synthesized so far. The “north-east” area of the nuclear map can be reached neither in fusion–fission reactions nor in fragmentation processes widely used nowadays for the production of new nuclei. Multi-nucleon transfer processes in near barrier collisions of heavy ions seem to be the only reaction mechanism allowing us to produce and explore neutron rich heavy nuclei including those located at the superheavy island of stability. Neutron capture process can be also considered as an alternative method for the production of long-lived neutron rich superheavy nuclei. Strong neutron fluxes might be provided by nuclear reactors and nuclear explosions in laboratory frame and by supernova explosions in nature.
We found that a true ternary fission with formation of a heavy third fragment (a new kind of radioactivity) is quite possible for superheavy nuclei due to the strong shell effects leading to a three-body clusterization with the two doubly magic tin-like cores. The three-body quasifission process could be even more pronounced for giant nuclear systems formed in collisions of heavy actinide nuclei. In this case a three-body clusterization might be proved experimentally by detection of two coincident lead-like fragments in low-energy U+U collisions.
Dass Universitätsbauten in Frankfurt stilbildend sind, sieht jeder Besucher auf dem Campus Westend. Auch auf dem Riedberg, wo die Naturwissenschaftler ihren Campus haben, lernen die Studenten in hochwertigen Gebäuden. 152,4 Millionen Euro kosteten die drei Gebäude der zweiten Bauphase. Gestern wurden sie eingeweiht.
Viel Komfort hinter Gittern
(2011)
Das Kriegserlebnis im für und wider : "Im Westen nichts Neues" von Erich Maria Remarque (1929)
(2011)
Der nationale und internationale Erfolg deutet darauf hin, dass "Im Westen nichts Neues" zehn Jahren nach Kriegsende den Nerv der Nachkriegszeit getroffen haben musste, indem er einen im angloamerikanischen Raum inzwischen etablierten Kriegs- und Nachkriegsmythos der "verlorenen Generation" aufgriff, nach Deutschland importierte, ihm eine neue deutsche Eigenart verlieh und in dieser bereicherten und neuen Form wieder exportierte. Der Roman hat eine aktuelle politische Bedeutung und eine spätere Langzeitwirkung.
Dem bemerkenswerten wissenschafts- und ästhetikgeschichtlichen Interesse an Friedrich Theodor Vischers Werk in der Gegenwart lässt sich ein weiterer Akzent hinzufügen, wenn man Vischers repräsentative Rolle sowohl im Vormärz wie im Nachmärz rekonstruiert und dabei vor allem auf seine Selbstkorrekturen und Revisionen die Aufmerksamkeit lenkt. In wissenschaftshistorischen Studien der jüngsten Zeit gewinnt die 'Historische Epistemologie' an Kontur.
Je nach Wirtschaftszweig und Betriebsgröße reagierten die Betriebe mit unterschiedlichen Kombinationen von Arbeitszeitinstrumenten, um ihre betriebliche Beschäftigungssituation an die konjunkturellen Veränderungen anzupassen. Betriebe des Verarbeitendes Gewerbes verringerten mit dem beginnenden Aufschwung ihre durchschnittliche Wochenarbeitszeit überdurchschnittlich. Der Anteil der Betriebe mit Kurzarbeit blieb mit Beginn des Aufschwungs unverändert.
Das Baugewerbe zeichnete sich dadurch aus, dass es den höchsten Anteil an Betrieben mit Überstunden im Jahr 2009 aufwies, was angesichts der konjunkturellen Förderprogramme nicht erstaunt. Darüber hinaus war in 85 Prozent der Betriebe die bedarfsabhängige Einbeziehung des Samstags als weiteres Flexibilisierungsinstrument üblich. Betriebe mit Vertrauensarbeitszeit verdreifachten sich fast innerhalb von zwei Jahren. Der Anteil der Betriebe mit Kurzarbeit verringerte sich bis Mitte 2010 im Baugewerbe am stärksten. Der Wirtschaftszweig Handel/ Reparatur stand 2009 bezüglich der geleisteten Überstunden an letzter Stelle. Der Anteil der Betriebe, der Arbeitszeitkonten einsetzte, verringerte sich in diesem Sektor zwischen 2009 und 2010 um 50Prozent. Weiterhin zeichnete sich diese Branche dadurch aus, dass in 68 Prozent der Betriebe ständig oder regelmäßig samstags gearbeitet wurde. Der Dienstleistungssektor zeichnete sich durch einen unterdurchschnittlich hohen Anteil an Betrieben mit Überstunden während der Krise aus. Die konjunkturelle Erholung führte dazu, dass der Dienstleistungssektor als einziger Wirtschaftszweig einen Anstieg der durchschnittlichen Wochenarbeitszeit verzeichnete. Gleichzeitig hatte die Vertrauensarbeitszeit in dieser Branche eine hohe Bedeutung. Der Anteil der Kleinst- und Kleinbetriebe, in denen Überstunden geleistet wurden, verringerte sich nur geringfügig während der Krise. In keiner anderen Betriebsgrößenklasse lag der Anteil der Beschäftigten, der Überstunden ausbezahlt bekam, so hoch wie in den Kleinstbetrieben. Die kleinen Betriebe (10 bis 49 Beschäftigte) verzeichneten den stärksten Rückgang bezüglich des Einsatzes von Arbeitszeitkonten im Jahr 2010. Bei den Kleinst- und Kleinbetrieben fand mit der wirtschaftlichen Erholung auch eine Erhöhung der durchschnittlichen Wochenarbeitszeit statt. Der Anteil der mittleren und großen Betriebe, in denen Überstunden geleistet wurden, verringerte sich überdurchschnittlich im Jahr 2009. Nach dem Ende der Krise reduzierten die mittleren und großen Betriebe, im Gegensatz zu den Kleinst- und Kleinbetrieben, ihre durchschnittliche Wochenarbeitszeit. Die Großbetriebe nutzten das breite Spektrum der Arbeitszeitsteuerungen, das von ständiger Samstagsarbeit bis zu Vertrauensarbeitszeit und Arbeitszeitkorridoren reicht. Der Anteil der Großbetriebe, der Kurzarbeit einsetzte, halbierte sich nahezu zwischen 2009 und 2010
Mit Beginn des Aufschwungs und der Zunahme der Beschäftigung veränderten sich in Rheinland-Pfalz die verschiedenen atypischen Beschäftigungsverhältnisse in unterschiedlichem Ausmaß. Die Leiharbeit, die während der Krise einen Einbruch verzeichnete, erreichte bis Mitte 2010 fast wieder ihren Rekordwert, den sie vor der Wirtschaftskrise erzielt hatte. Der ansteigende Trend der Leiharbeit setzt sich somit weiter fort. Gemessen an den Gesamtbeschäftigten spielt sie jedoch bislang eine geringe Rolle.
Drei Viertel aller Leiharbeitskräfte werden im Produzierenden Gewerbe eingesetzt. Die wichtigsten Gründe für den Einsatz von Leiharbeit sind weiterhin die voraussichtlich geringe Dauer des Einsatzes sowie die schnelle Verfügbarkeit der Arbeitskräfte. Andere Gründe, die zu einem längerfristigen Verbleib in der Leiharbeit führen können, vor allem die Vermeidung von Kosten für den Aufwand von Personalakquise und Trennung, sind jedoch ebenfalls von Bedeutung. Auf geringfügige Beschäftigung griffen Betriebe ebenfalls in den vergangenen Jahren verstärkt zurück. Obwohl ihr Anteil an den Gesamtbeschäftigten nach einem Anstieg während der Krise mit Beginn des Aufschwungs stagnierte, zeigt sich im längerfristigen Trend ein langsamer, aber stetiger Anstieg der geringfügigen Beschäftigung. Trotz des leichten Anstiegs der Midi-Jobs seit 2005 offenbart die Entwicklung der Midi-Jobs insgesamt einen vergleichsweise konstanten Verlauf, der durch die Krise und den beginnenden Aufschwung kaum beeinflusst wurde. Obwohl zu erwarten gewesen wäre, dass sich Teilzeitjobs mit Zeitverlauf nur langsam verändern, da sie überwiegend von Frauen in Anspruch genommen werden, um Beruf und familiäre Verpflichtung in Einklang zu bringen, stieg der Anteil der Teilzeitbeschäftigten an den Gesamtbeschäftigten nach der Krise deutlich an. Seit dem Beginn des Panels in Rheinland-Pfalz fand somit ein langsamer und stetiger Anstieg der Teilzeitarbeit statt, dessen Ende nicht absehbar ist. Die befristete Beschäftigung, die durch einen Rückgang während der Krisen gekennzeichnet war, erreichte mit der Belebung der Konjunktur einen neuen Rekordwert. Der Trend einer anhaltend steigenden Befristung der Arbeitsverhältnisse scheint somit ungebrochen. Der beginnende konjunkturelle Aufschwung nach der Wirtschaftskrise zeichnet sich somit durch differenzierte Auswirkungen auf die verschiedenen atypischen Beschäftigungsformen aus. Sie gewinnen zunehmend an Bedeutung; das Normalarbeitsverhältnis steht jedoch weiter im Vordergrund.
Zusammenfassend lässt sich festhalten, dass der Trend zu immer größerer Flexibilisierung bei den Beschäftigungs‐ und Personalmaßnahmen in Hessen auch 2010 eine Fortsetzung fand. Der Anteil der befristeten Neueinstellungen nahm nochmals zu und liegt mittlerweile bei fast 50 Prozent. Mit anderen Worten: Fast die Hälfte aller Neueingestellten bekam zunächst nur einen befristeten Vertrag. Auch die Leiharbeit hat sich als Flexibilisierungsinstrument in Hessen etabliert, wenn auch auf niedrigerem Niveau: Nur in sieben Prozent der hessischen Betriebe finden sich Leiharbeitskräfte, diese machen derzeit rund zwei Prozent aller Beschäftigten aus. Vor allem in der Produktion (Verarbeitendes und Baugewerbe) ist Leiharbeit verbreitet, wobei die schnelle Verfügbarkeit der Beschäftigten und der zeitlich begrenzte Bedarf die Hauptgründe für deren Einsatz sind. Neben diesen langfristig wirksamen Entwicklungen war 2010 von besonderem Interesse, wie sich kurzfristige konjunkturelle Effekte auf die Personalbewegungen und die Personalpolitik auswirken.
Als Reaktion auf die Wirtschaftskrise setzten die Betriebe auf unterschiedlichste Maßnahmen, vor allem auf den Abbau von Überstunden und das Zurückstellen von Neueinstellungen. Der beginnende Aufschwung des Jahres 2010 spiegelte sich hingegen noch nicht durchgängig wieder. Die Zahl der Neueinstellungen blieb trotz Konjunkturbelebung auf vergleichsweise niedrigem Niveau; da zugleich auch recht wenig Entlassungen zu verzeichnen waren, konnte auch im Jahr 2010 in Hessen nur eine geringe Arbeitsmarktdynamik beobachtet werden. Allerdings gibt es auch Bereiche, in denen es 2010 zu einem deutlichen Aufwärtstrend kam. So stieg die Zahl der offenen Stellen um etwa 10.000 an, wobei vor allem der Dienstleistungsbereich eine höhere Nachfrage zeigte. Interessant ist hier, dass entgegen früherer Entwicklungen eine erhöhte Nachfrage vor allem nach einfachen Tätigkeiten bestand, während die Suche nach qualifizierten Beschäftigten noch verhalten blieb. Diese Momentaufnahme sollte aber nicht den Blick verstellen für das bereits bestehende Problem, Stellen für qualifizierte Arbeitskräfte nicht besetzen zu können. Dies betraf 2010 etwa sieben Prozent der hessischen Betriebe, in denen rund 23.500 qualifizierte Stellen nicht besetzt werden konnten. Gefragt, was die zentrale personalpolitische Herausforderung der nächsten Jahre sei, nennen die Betriebe folgerichtig die Rekrutierung von Fachkräften, während zu hohe Lohnkosten weniger bedeutsam sind als in der Vergangenheit. Der drohende Fachkräftemangel ist demnach ein übergreifendes Problem, dem durch gemeinsame Anstrengungen der Bildungs‐ und Arbeitsmarktakteure zu begegnen ist.
Die Finanzmarkt‐ und Wirtschaftskrise hat auch bei den betrieblichen Arbeitszeiten in Hessen Spuren hinterlassen. So ist der langfristige Trend zu längeren Arbeitszeiten zunächst unterbrochen worden: Die durchschnittliche vereinbarte Wochenarbeitszeit lag 2010 bei durchschnittlich 39,1 Stunden. Dies ist eine knappe halbe Stunde weniger als noch vor zwei Jahren. Insbesondere hat der Anteil der Betriebe, in denen weniger als 36 Stunden gearbeitet werden, zugenommen, während weiterhin in einer Mehrheit der hessischen Betriebe eine Arbeitszeit von über 40 Stunden gilt. Ebenfalls rückläufig war die Zahl der Betriebe, die anfallende Mehrarbeit mit Überstunden begegnete, wobei vor allem Mittel‐ und Großbetriebe dies seltener nutzten. Kompensiert werden Überstunden weiterhin vor allem durch Freizeitausgleich; die kostenintensivere Bezahlung spielt eine geringere Rolle. Am deutlichsten zeigte sich der Kriseneffekt erwartungsgemäß bei dem Instrument, dass unmittelbar zur Dämpfung von konjunkturellen Schwankungen vorgesehen ist: der betrieblichen Kurzarbeit. Während im Jahr 2006 nur 0,8 Prozent der hessischen Betriebe Kurzarbeit einsetzte, traf dies in den Jahren 2009 und 2010 auf rund fünf Prozent zu. Betroffen hiervon waren kumuliert im ersten Halbjahr 2010 hochgerechnet noch immer 107.000 Beschäftigte, mehrheitlich aus dem Verarbeitenden Gewerbe, das besonders stark unter der Krise litt. Neben diesen Bereichen, in denen kurzfristige konjunkturelle Einflüsse zu verzeichnen sind, gibt es jedoch einige Aspekte der betrieblichen Arbeitszeiten, in denen die Entwicklung langfristig und strukturell wirksam ist bzw. die generell eine hohe Konstanz aufweist. Dies gilt beispielsweise für das Instrument der individuellen Arbeitszeitkonten, das weiterhin von nur etwa jedem vierten hessischen Betrieb genutzt wird, wobei es vor allem in den Dienstleistungsbranchen sowie den kleineren Betrieben kaum zur Anwendung kommt. Andere Flexibilitätsinstrumente der Arbeitszeitsteuerung, wie z.B. Samstagsarbeit oder versetzte Arbeitszeiten, finden häufigere Anwendung, wobei auch hier nur geringe Veränderungen im Zeitverlauf zu beobachten sind. Der Anteil der Betriebe, die Teilzeitkräfte beschäftigen, hat 2010 wieder zugenommen und liegt in etwa auf dem hohen Niveau der letzten Jahre. Gleiches gilt für die Teilzeitquote, die weiterhin vor allem in Kleinbetrieben und dem Dienstleistungsbereich hoch ist. Die Ergebnisse lassen den Schluss zu, dass die Arbeitszeitinstrumente von den Betrieben flexibel eingesetzt werden, um konjunkturelle Effekte abzufedern; langfristige Trends bleiben hiervon meist unberührt.
Als Leitfrage wurde eingangs formuliert, ob die Wirtschaftskrise auch im Jahr 2010 noch Auswirkungen auf die hessischen Betriebe hatte. Dies kann zusammenfassend bestätigt werden; bei fast allen untersuchten Indikatoren, die konjunkturellen Einflüssen unterliegen, liegt die Vermutung nahe, dass 2010 noch Kriseneffekte zu spüren sind, wenn diese auch häufig moderat ausfallen. Eine unmittelbare Bestätigung findet dieser Befund, wenn man die krisenbetroffenen Betriebe nach dem gegenwärtigen Status befragt. Für nicht einmal jeden zehnten Betrieb ist die Krise vollständig überwunden. Fast 30 Prozent befinden sich nach eigenen Angaben noch inmitten der Wirtschaftskrise, und für fast zwei Drittel der Betroffenen sind die Auswirkungen noch spürbar. Einschränkend ist hierbei festzuhalten, dass nur eine Minderheit der hessischen Betriebe direkt von der Krise betroffen war. Falls dies der Fall war, waren die Auswirkungen in der Regel negativ, insbesondere im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe sowie den exportorientierten Betrieben. Es gibt jedoch auch „Krisengewinner“, die von der konjunkturellen Lage und den Krisenmaßnahmen profitieren konnten, dies gilt vor allem für das Baugewerbe. Die betriebliche Einschätzung der Ertragslage des Geschäftsjahres 2009 liegt unter den Vorjahreswerten, aber noch immer deutlich besser als in den Jahren 2001 bis 2005. Die Erwartungen waren für 2010 eindeutig positiv: in Umkehrung der letztjährigen Daten rechnen deutlich mehr Betriebe mit einem steigenden Geschäftsvolumen im nächsten Jahr, besonders häufig im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe. Auch der Wettbewerbsdruck, dem sich die hessischen Betriebe ausgesetzt sehen, hat gegenüber 2009 abgenommen, wird aber noch immer höher empfunden als im Vorkrisenjahr 2008. Für hochgerechnet knapp 18.300 hessische Betriebe ist der Konkurrenzdruck derart hoch, dass er nach Einschätzung der Betriebe den Fortbestand gefährdet; dies sind knapp 4.000 weniger als im Vorjahr. Ein Rückgang an betrieblichen Aktivitäten lässt sich rückblickend bei den Investitionen beobachten. Der Anteil der investierenden Betriebe lag im Jahr 2009 auf dem niedrigsten Wert der langfristigen Betrachtung, wobei im Jahr der Krise vor allem die Investitionen in Anlagen und Betriebsausstattung zurückgingen. Die Investitionsplanungen sehen je doch für 2010 bei vielen Betrieben eine Erhöhung des Investitionsvolumens vor. Relativ unbeeinflusst von konjunkturellen Einflüssen zeigt sich allein das Innovationsverhalten der hessischen Betriebe. Sowohl der Anteil der innovativen Betriebe als auch die Art der Innovationen und organisatorischen Änderungen liegen innerhalb der langjährigen Beobachtung.
Ausgangsfrage des Reports war, ob das Ausbildungsverhalten der Betriebe in Hessen 2010 noch unter den Folgen der Wirtschaftskrise litt oder schon vom beginnenden Aufschwung geprägt war. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass der Ausbildungsmarkt tatsächlich ein Spätindikator der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung ist: Das Ausbildungsverhalten der Betriebe reagiert mit Verzögerung auf negative konjunkturelle Effekte, weswegen 2010 viele Ausbildungskennziffern noch unter dem Einfluss der Wirtschaftskrise stehen. Im Einzelnen trifft dies sowohl auf die Ausbildungsbeteiligung, die Ausbildungsintensität sowie die Übernahmebereitschaft der Betriebe zu, die allesamt etwas niedriger sind als im Jahr zuvor. Die Veränderungen sind jedoch nicht so massiv, dass von großen konjunkturellen Effekten auszugehen ist; insgesamt ist der Ausbildungsmarkt von strukturellen Faktoren und langfristigen Entwicklungen geprägt. Der Anteil der hessischen Betriebe, der 2010 ausbildete, lag bei nur noch 31 Prozent und damit vier Prozentpunkte niedriger als zwei Jahre zuvor. Insbesondere im Dienstleistungsbereich bilden viele Betriebe nicht aus, wobei das ungenutzte Potenzial, d.h. der Anteil der Betriebe, der trotz Berechtigung nicht ausbildet, im von der Krise besonders betroffenen Produzierenden Gewerbe noch höher liegt. Die Zahl der Auszubildenden insgesamt ging 2010 ebenfalls zurück, erneut vor allem im Produzierenden Gewerbe. Da zugleich die Zahl der sozialversicherungspflichtig Beschäftigten wieder anstieg, lag die Ausbildungsquote Hessens bei nur noch 4,9 Prozent und somit einen ganzen Prozentpunkt unter dem Vergleichswert von Westdeutschland.
Verantwortlich für den geringeren Anteil an Auszubildenden war unter anderem der Rückgang des Angebots an Ausbildungsstellen. 2010 boten hessische Betriebe deutlich weniger Ausbildungsplätze an als noch 2009. Zudem konnten nur knapp 83 Prozent dieser Stellen auch be‐
setzt werden, was den niedrigsten Wert seit Beginn der Panelbeobachtung darstellt. Besonders groß waren die Besetzungsprobleme bei den Kleinbetrieben und in den Bereichen Handel und Sonstigen Dienstleistungen. Ob hier bereits erste Anzeichen für die Effekte des demografischen Wandels zu verzeichnen sind, wir sich in den nächsten Jahren zeigen. Als weiterer Grund für die geringere Zahl an Auszubildenden ist schließlich die hohe Zahl an erfolgreichen Ausbildungsabschlüssen zu nennen. 2010 beendeten rund 36.500 Auszubildende ihre Ausbildung, was langfristig betrachtet ein sehr hoher Wert ist. Rund 51 Prozent hiervon waren Frauen, womit die weiblichen Auszubildenden zum zweiten Male die Majorität der erfolgreichen Absolventen stellen. Von diesen Absolventen wurden jedoch nur 58 Prozent in den Betrieb übernommen, was den niedrigsten Wert der letzten Jahre darstellt. Hierbei ist anzumerken, dass die Gründe häufig bei den Auszubildenden selbst zu suchen sind, die eine andere berufliche Orientierung suchen. Wirtschaftliche Gründe seitens der Betriebe sind nur recht selten maßgeblich für die Nicht‐Übernahme. Zusammenfassend lässt sich festhalten, dass auf dem hessischen Ausbildungsmarkt die Krise 2010 noch nicht überwunden war. Für die Zukunft sollte bei anhaltendem Wachstum jedoch wieder mit positiveren Zahlen zu rechnen sein.
Eine differenzierte Analyse der Stellenbesetzungsprobleme nach Berufsgruppen in der Region Rhein-Main hat gezeigt, dass in einigen Bereichen die Stellenbesetzungsproblematik gegen über dem Jahr 2009 deutlich zugenommen hat. Dies gilt tendenziell für fast alle hier unterschiedenen Berufsgruppen, in besonderem Maße jedoch für Naturwissenschaftler, Ingenieure und Informatiker sowie für Fachkräfte im Fertigungsbereich. Etwas erstaunlich ist, dass inzwischen scheinbar auch im geringqualifizierten Bereich bei einigen Betrieben Probleme bestehen, offene Stellen zu besetzen. Wie bereits im letzten IWAK-Report berichtet (vgl. IWAK-Report 2/2011), erwarten inzwischen fast 30 Prozent der Betriebe in der Region Rhein-Main Auswirkungen aufgrund des demographisch bedingten Rückgangs an Arbeitskräften. Betriebliche Strategien dagegen konzentrieren sich auf verstärkte betriebliche Aus- und Weiterbildung, innerbetriebliche Reorganisationsmaßnahmen sowie der verstärkten Rekrutierung von Arbeitskräften aus dem Ausland. Die differenzierte Analyse im vorliegenden Report zeigte, dass die Betriebe je nach Wirtschaftzweigzugehörigkeit sehr unterschiedliche Strategien bevorzugen. Das Baugewerbe und der Bereich Verkehr und Lagerei setzen überwiegend auf eine Rekrutierung von Arbeitskräften aus dem Ausland, die Finanzbranche fast ausschließlich auf verstärkte Ausbildung, der öffentliche Sektor verstärkt auf innerbetriebliche Reorganisation. Zudem wurde deutlich, dass ein hoher „Problemdruck“ seitens der Betriebe nicht automatisch zu der Entwicklung von Maßnahmen und Aktivitäten zur Reduktion eines befürchteten Arbeitskräftemangels führt. Einen möglichen Fachkräftemangel durch einen effektiveren Einsatz bislang unterwertig Beschäftigter zu reduzieren, scheint aus betrieblicher Sicht nur bedingt möglich. Nur recht wenige Betriebe sind der Ansicht, dass ein Teil ihrer Beschäftigten für ihre aktuelle Tätigkeit überqualifiziert seien. Untersuchungen anhand der Befragung von Erwerbstätigen kommen allerdings zu teilweise anderen Schlüssen (vgl.OECD 2011).
Insgesamt zeigt sich für die Gesamtheit der Betriebe in Rheinland-Pfalz hinsichtlich der Einschätzung der Ertragslage eine positive Entwicklung. Seit Beginn des Panels schätzten die Betriebe in Rhein-land-Pfalz die Ertragslage nie so positiv ein wie 2010. Rund 44 Pro-zent der Betriebe beurteilten ihre Ertragslage als sehr gut oder gut. Dies ist ein Anstieg um 12 Prozentpunkte im Vergleich zum Krisen-jahr 2009. Am positivsten bewertete der Bausektor seine Ertragslage im Jahr 2010, was vor allem auf die Konjunkturprogramme zurückzuführen sein dürfte. Das Verarbeitende Gewerbe, das sich offensichtlich noch nicht ganz von der Krise erholt hat, beurteilte die Ertragslage am negativ-sten. Betriebe mit Stellenbesetzungsproblemen weisen vergleich-bare Werte wie die Gesamtheit der Betriebe auf. Hingegen liegt der Anteil der Betriebe ohne Stellenbesetzungsprobleme, der seine Ertrags-lage als sehr gut oder gut einstuft, mit 71 Prozent weit über dem Durch-schnitt.Somit belegt die Auswertung, dass auch im Bereich der Ge-schäftspolitik, der Innovation, der Investitionen sowie der Planungen in verschiedenen Bereichen sich die Betriebe ohne Stellenbesetzungs probleme durch ein größeres Engagement, eine stärkere Zukunfts orientierung und eine höhere Innovationskraft auszeichnen. Möglicher-weise tragen diese in ihrer Gesamtheit dazu bei, dass die erwarteten
Fachkräfteprobleme deutlich besser zu bewältigt werden.
Wilhelm Raabe gehört zu den literarischen Experten, die dem durch beschleunigte Temporalisierungsprozesse bedingten neuen Stellenwert von Kuriositäten schreibend ihre Aufmerksamkeit widmen und dem Plunder bzw. Abfall eine bislang wenig bekannte poetische Seite abgewinnen. Raabe ist ein historistisch geschulter Virtuose in der Adaption und Transformation vorgegebener literarischer Dingdarstellungen. Er weiß die im Rokoko geschulte Koketterie mit dem Minutiösen und Seltenen, mit der Enthüllung und Verhüllung der Dinge zu nutzen, er greift auf die in der Empfindsamkeit betriebene emotionale Aufladung der Dinge zurück, er bedient sich der Traditionen exotischer Amulette und Fetische und er reizt das Erinnerungspotential der Dinge aus. Rezeptionspsychologisch kennt er die poetischen Möglichkeiten des Spiels und Widerspiels von Projektion auf die Dinge und Resonanz der Dinge, das heißt er weiß den Appell- und Signalcharakter der Dinge einzusetzen. Insbesondere vermag er die Dinge als narrative Kerne zu inszenieren, das
heißt sie so erzählerisch zu arrangieren, dass das noch nicht Erzählte oder nicht Erzählbare vom Leser substituiert wird. Zusammenfassend kann man sagen, Wilhelm Raabe ist ein virtuoser erzählerischer Choreograph, der die gesamte Breite an poetischen Dingsuggestionen vom Gebrauchsding zum Fetisch und von der Kuriosität bis zum Abfall, von der traditionellen Locke und dem empfindsamen Taschentuch bis zur modischen Vase aufzurufen weiß.
Es gibt ihn, den komplexen, vielschichtigen, eigenständigen Berlin-Roman des Vormärz. Zweifelsfrei kann ein solcher Roman nicht auf einen eigenen elaborierten Stadtdiskurs zurückgreifen, wie er in Paris spätestens seit Sebastien Merciers "Tableaux de Paris" ausgearbeitet wurde. Aber es wäre naiv zu glauben dieses 'know how' würde gleichsam an Paris kleben und sei nicht produktiv auf andere Städte transferierbar. In gewisser Weise ist man sogar berechtigt zu behaupten, die Schwäche Berlins, über einen erst sich nach 1800 allmählich herausbildenden eigenständigen publizistischen Stadtdiskurs zu verfügen ist seine potenzielle Stärke. Die erzähltechnische und poetologische Virtuosität dieses ersten bedeutenden Berlinromans gilt es im Folgenden zu belegen.
When taking into consideration the demographic and socio-economic trends in most European countries, the demand for domestic services will be increasing in the next decades. This development could be used for creating formal employment opportunities in private households for unskilled and low-skilled labour. However, it is not an easy task since it entails devising a strategy for reducing the high share of informal labour in as well as overcoming the current fragmentation of the domestic services sector. Both on the national and EU level there is a need for policy advice on how to best integrate the diverse but yet interrelated needs and interests of the households, the employees and the firms as providers of domestic services into one coherent strategy. So far, such a comprehensive strategy can be found only in France where the BorlooPlan systematically integrated measures and tools from all relevant fields of politics. Thus it led to a significant growth of the domestic services sector and a substantial increase of formal employment. This brochure presents the Generalised Model, a tool for devising a similarly comprehensive and coherent strategy. It was constructed by drawing on the successful French strategy of creating more formal employment relationships through the systematic development of the domestic services sector. The brochure demonstrates how other countries can learn from the French experience by analysing their current situation and using the Generalised Model to create a strategy fitting their specific circumstances. By studying the situations in Germany, Austria, Italy and Poland and considering how to create strategies fitting the different national settings in these countries it is shown how the Generalised Model can put into practice. These case studies were conducted in the EU Project “Labour Market Instruments for Reducing Illegal Employment in Private Households of the Elderly”, supported by DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. The brochure intends to initiate and stimulate discourses on fostering the creation of formal employment in EU Member States. Therefore, it addresses different stakeholders such as policymakers on the national, regional and EU level, representatives of local administrations, providers of domestic services, domestic workers, trade unions or welfare associations, labour administration, placement services as well as providers of education and training.
Der vorliegende Abschlussbericht fasst die Ergebnisse der Studie „Berufliche Weiterbildung von Teilzeitkräften“ zusammen. Der Projektzeitraum erstreckte sich vom 15.06.2010 bis zum 31.03.2011, Gefördert wurde die Studie durch das Hessische Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Verkehr und Landesentwicklung (HMWVL) und den Europäischen Sozialfonds (ESF).
After the events of 1989 pupils exit German language schools with a degree of German language proficiency which is much lower than research suggests it should be, given the amount of exposure to the language they had throughout their years of schooling. Generally, the only reason put forward for this relative lack of success in acquiring the language is the loss of the ethnic German population, which would have, on the one hand, provided the bulk of learners, and on the other hand, offered a rich linguistic environment to the few pupils of other ethnicities who are not native German speakers. In the present work I intend to challenge this mono-causal explanation by presenting the complexity of variables discussed in SLA research.
Über Treue und Untreue in der Übersetzung : von den Belles Infidèles zum feministischen Paradigma
(2011)
The following paper tries to offer a short outlook on certain aspects of the feminist paradigm in translation theory such as it has emerged from the gender studies and to point out some of the limitations of this paradigm. After outlining the anti-feminist characteristics of the general discourse in translation studies in western culture, the paper discusses the contribution of the so called belles infidèles in the 18th century to the consolidation of a gender discriminating attitude towards translation. The feminist paradigm has been trying to offer an alternative approach, viewing the translation not as a mere copy of the original, but as a creation in itself and the translator as a creator equally important to the author of the source text. It leaves open the question wether it would be acceptable from an ethical point of view to replace the male dominated theoretical discourse in translation studies with an equally ideologically framed one.
Starting from the generally acknowledged fact that exact translation is not possible, this article presents the difficulties of translation between legal systems in general, which appear on different levels and are of such extent, that it has often been spoken about the untranslatability of law. The idea of untranslatability is a controversed one in the specialized literature, as some authors show that it is no case of absolute untranslatability, but one of relative untranslatability, since the translator – who has to bridge the gap between the source and the target legal system – must find a surrogate solution for the missing legal term.
The German film Offset (2005) is one of an increasing number of films which for various reasons can be called intercultural films or intercultural cinema. This contribution, while pleading for a more extended use of the term “intercultural cinema”, aims to focus on some of those features present in movies of this “genre”. The chosen example Offset serves as a starting point : Especially the notions of different languages used in such films (“multilingual” film) and the different purposes they can serve will be highlighted; secondly, such aspects of interculturalism that become visible in the production of the film itself, and for the purpose of audience building, which also make use of intercultural aspects in the present example will be analyzed. The transcultural film analysis of this movie will also deal with and reveal stereotypes and clichés that are part of the German-Romanian culture clash which is depicted in Offset.
This essay examines the emancipatory possibilities of interculturalism. The aim is to evaluate whether the philosophical discourse of interculturalism, which is still parasitic on a vocabulary of modernism, can achieve its emancipatory role in a postmodern world by trying to empower difference through consensus. Further, this essay aims to propose a way out of modernist dialecticism and towards a truly postmodern theory of interculturalism.
This article is a critical presentation of the study Der Zauber des fernen Königreichs. Carmen Sylvas Pelesch-Märchen/Farmecul regatului îndepãrtat. Poveştile Peleşului, (The Magic of the Faraway Kingdom. Carmen Sylva’s Tales of the Pelesh), edited at the Ibidem publishing house in Frankfurt this year. The author proves that – contrary to some opinions in current literary criticism, according to which the works of the queen poet were but recorded and retold Romanian folk tales and legends – Carmen Sylva’s writings are personal works with intrinsic literary value, where themes and motifs from the folklore and mythology or from the Romanian and occidental literature are used only as pre-texts. Silvia Zimmermann’s merit is a significant one, namely that of rediscovering Carmen Sylva who has not only been a creator, but also an important mediator between the Romanian and the German culture.
Starting from the peculiar presentation of the geographic spreading of the surname Lutsch in Germany (see the map), based on telephone books from 1995, the aim of the present paper is to reconstruct the history of this last name. Lutsch has its origin in the hypocoristic Lu(t)z(erm. Lud [wig]), it is a German surname specific to Transylvania, being spread especially in its south-western area. The fact that this surname is so rare today (Sibiu, Cindy, Apoldu de Sus, Slimnic, Sebeș, Gârbova, Pianu de Jos, Hunedoara, isolatedly and Brașov, Târgu Secuiesc, Bistrița) is due first of all to the settling of the German ethnics in The Federal Republic of Germany between 1970-1990. It is a coincidence that the name Lutsch can be found today especially in the south of Germany, overlapping with the spreading area of the surname Lutz, for the persons who have this surname do not represent the native population of Southern Germany, but the German emigrants from Transylvania.
The reviewed tome gathers 25 studies written by Germanists, historians and German, Austrian, Romanian, Czechoslovak and Hungarian writers. These studies are focused onto the German literature in the South-Western Europe and aim to reveal the background in which various prosperous literary center appeared in several regions of the above mentioned geographic area, but also the characteristic features, the main ways of development and the contribution of some outstanding
personalities.
The present paper focuses upon a translatological perspective of the cultureme theory, as initially presented by Els Oksaar and developed later by other linguists. By examining a few expressions from a novel of the Romanian-German writer Aglaja Veteranyi and their translations into Romanian, the paper illustrates the categories micro- and macro-cultureme.
The article presents 11 idiom workbooks (some of them displaying a comparative approach) of the 1990s as well as their underlying methodological-didactic concept. The workbooks examined, a number of which have been previously critically assessed by the phraseo-didactic literature, are presented in the chronological order of their publication.
This article is meant as a token of appreciation for the germanist, poet and translator Liana Corciu who taught for a long time at the University of Bucharest, German Department, then emigrated in the USA where she continued her work as a germanist and teacher of German and where she died in 2008. As a germanist she left us an original dissertation on the lyric poetry of Bertolt Brecht and a series of scientific articles, as a poet a number of thematically and stylistically very relevant poems, as a translator some valuable translations of literary texts from German into Romanian.
This article deals with the representation of motherdaughter relationships in novels by Herta Müller, Aglaja Veteranyi, Carmen Francesca Banciu and Gabriela Adamesteanu, all of them born in Romania. Herta Müller and Aglaja Veterani constantly wrote in German, while Carmen Francesca Banciu changed her language after emigrating to Germany and Gabriela Adameºteanu’s language has always been Romanian. Mother-daughter relationships are analysed in regard of female genealogy, but also considering their complexity and ambiguity. It is shown that representations of mother-daughter-relationships are depending rather on individual and psychological criteria than the author’s cultural or ethnic affiliation. Maybe a larger study, which could not be made in this article, could reveal more detailed results.
This study deals with two works, from the perspective of “magic realism”: Cronica unei morþi anunþate by Gabriel Garcia Márquez and Der Fürst der Welt by Erika Mitterer. Magic realism is mostly associated with Latin American literature, especially with the style of Gabriel Garcia Márquez, the 1982 Nobel Prize laureate in Literature. Magic realism techniques are used by the Viennese author Erika Mitterer in the abovementioned historical novel too, in order to render a “camouflaged” writing for avoiding the National Socialist censorship.
The nine stories of Kehlmann’s novel Ruhm. Ein Roman in neun Geschichten (2009) are contentwise independent, yet they are manifoldly linked up by several apparently coincidental elements. Modern means of communication as mobile phones or access to internet, initially invented to bring people together, have now the function to engulf people in misery and isolate them from each other. An analysis on Kehlmann’s social criticism of modern way of life and communication in his literary work is not so easy because of a special character of the novel: it is the fictional writer who ironically questions literature itself and its ethical function.
This work analyses the research done by the German-speaking researchers Pauline and Adolf Schullerus in Transylvania, especially in the field of Romanian fairy-tales. At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century several German-speaking scholars started to collect Romanian fairy tales and to translate them into German. Pauline Schullerus was one of them. Adolf Schullerus collected fairy tales himself and sorted them accordingly to the classification system developed by Antti Aarne. The borders of the verbal fixation were easily transgressed by storytellers. While collecting fairy tales, researchers became interested in the interethnic relations between the populations.
The Bucharest author Oscar Walter Cisek (1897-1966) does not write about the interests of the German minority in Romania to which he himself belongs, but describes the life of the Romanian, Turkish and Tartar population in the first half of the twentieth century. The aim of the present article is to determine foreign-cultural signs in the German versions of the novella Die Tatarin (1928/29) and to analyse how an internal linguistic cultural transfer is achieved. From the evaluation of the reviews to the novella Die Tatarin appeared in the German press between 1929-1930 arise three aspects of ”otherness”: the exotic space, the foreign culture and the oriental woman. The present article analyses especially the representation of the foreign culture in Cisek’s novella.
The present paper reflects upon the relevance of certain criteria that are decisive for the quality of a dictionary and interrelates them with the current bilingual lexicographic practice in Romania concerned with German language. The focus lies here on the lexicographic registration and presentation of phraseologisms in a general bilingual dictionary, which, contrary to phraseological dictionaries, is known not to be specialized in the codification of the phraseological stock. For illustration purpose the author provides a critical analysis of the new edition of the German-Romanian Comprehensive Dictionary published by the Romanian Academy (2007). The paper aims at showing to what extent the description of the selected phraseologisms is adequate with regard to potential users and the specifics of phraseological phenomena.
The importance of Transylvanian records of court proceedings from the end of the 17th century relies, in terms of content, on preserving the day by day life of ordinary people in Transylvania such as craftsmen, tradesmen, and peasants. Regarding linguistics, they are challenging due to the specific tension between feigned orality and literacy, when historical “spoken” language is documented. The research question pertains to describe, from a qualitative point of view, the complex sentences structure. Thereby, we look upon the different ways to construct complex sentences and their specific use according to the communicative functions of text parts: Which is the proportion between hypotaxis and parataxis in combining clauses? How deep is the hierarchy of subordinate clauses? Which subordinate clause functions are most used? Which composition types are relevant for complex sentence structure?
We start from the premise that the 240 Transylvanian-Saxon dialects in the Transylvanian-Saxon dictionary are treated according to scientific principles, while the Northern Transylvanian-Saxon dictionary documents the 48 Northern dialects. When reviewing the vocabulary of both dictionaries it could be noted that they complement each other with respect to vocabulary and meaning, especially as far as the “grammatical category of the verb” is concerned. Case in point is my research of the verbs meaning “to rummage for, to search, to dig” which I have grouped and analyzed according to specific criteria.
The present paper is part of an ample research in a field, which was so far mainly in the limelight of the historical analysis. It relates about the dignities and titles in the Romanian Principalities in the Middle Ages and focuses on the linguistic, etymological and historical point of view of the topic. The denominations borrowed from German are particularly highlighted in this paper.
Sibiu was in the 19th century an important centre, with a vivid cultural life, despite of the difficult political context in Transylvania. The close cohabitation of the Romanian and German people leads to a very important multicultural experience. The study deals with the ways of reception of German culture in the Romanian press of the 19th century reflected in the three most important publications of the time: Telegraful Român, Tribuna and Transilvania. The results of the research are presented in thematic groups (translations, theatre and concert announcements, reviews, travel literature, aphoristic or biographical writings).
The paper focuses on the way Romanians perceive their co-nationals of German origin and analyses the building up of auto-stereotypes and foreign-stereotypes. Starting point of the essay and corpus is an online-petition to back up the German Mayor of Sibiu as the Prime Minister of Romania in the autumn of 2009, a proposal made by a coalition of several political parties. The arguments of the petitioners for their support are being interpreted by using instruments and principles of imagology. The patterns of perception discovered show the interesting ways Romanians relate to their own ethnicity and their perceptions of ethnic minorities.
The purpose of the paper is to provide an overview of the situation of language teaching in the German-speaking schools in Transylvania during their historic evolution. The paper gives information especially on the qualifications of the teachers, on teaching methodology and language classes. The focus of the analysis are the teaching materials used, illustrated by means of a comparative approach based on two class books. The paper also emphasizes the importance of school for the continuity of this group.
The following essay is based on the narrative Die schiefe Fassade der Kindheit. Erfundene Familienkunde written by Eginald Schlattner. The action takes place in Transylvania, a region where several nations live together. The key concepts are identity and alterity, because only by analysing the other one can find and understand one’s own identify. The traits of the communities living together are portraited by Aunt Maly, a strong supporter of the German traditions and by Grisi, the grandmother, who presents the mentality of her people as opposed to the Romanian people. The story also reveals the conflicts between these two ethnical groups. Nevertheless life in Transylvania can be seen as an example of how people belonging to different cultures can peacefully live together.
The present article studies the language plays within the German poetry in Romania and Romanian Poetry during the 1970s. The paper focuses on the language plays resulting from both intertextuality and hypertextuality as well as on the deconstruction of language in poetry by the use of language in rhyme, alliteration, homophony and homonymy in order to find similarities between the verse of two literatures written within a decade. The study researches what significance language plays have for the German poetry of Romania and for the Romanian poetry during 1970s, how and why they manifest resemblances respectively differences.
Das Märchen Savia aus dem Band Das verlorene Land der Roma-Schriftstellerin Luminiţa Cioabă stellt den Versuch dar, den bei vielen Roma-Gemeinschaften eingetretenen Identitätsverlust durch Integration in die Lebenswelt des rumänischen Umfeldes auf dichterische Weise zu erklären. Die Untersuchung dieser Problematik im Rahmen einer literaturwissenschaftlichen Tagung beruht auf dem Verständnis, dass Literaturwissenschaft gleichermaßen auch kulturwissenschaftliche Aspekte untersucht.
The article focuses on Herta Müller and Mircea Cãrtãrescu, two authors from the same generation, who in their respective novels Herztier and Orbitor gave different accounts on the situation in Romania during the 70s, the 80s, of the terror during the Ceaușescu-dictatorship, and on the December revolution. Multiple factors allow a parallelized and comparative description of these two novels: biographical and work-immanently factors. A similarly described world, marked by Kafkaesque elements – Romania amid the dictatorship of Ceauºescu, as well as similarly handling elements of oppression, fear, humiliation, forms of survival, description of the totalitarian state representatives, accurate highlights of the December revolution connect the two autobiographical novels. While the reader can sense in Müllers book the fear and the terror very deeply, as the death and the emigration are solely alternatives for the protagonists, Cãrtãrescu’s universe has signs of grotesqueness and ridiculousness. Cãrtãrescu doesn’t accentuate the terror, the hopelessness, the fear, but mocks the reality, and he laughs at Ceausescu’s stupidity. The author satisfies his desire of revenge for his stolen youth in the communist period.
The paper deals with letters of the publicist, poet and translator Viktor Orendi-Hommenau addressed in 1944 to Rudolf Spek (1893-1953), the director of the Brukenthal-Museum in Sibiu. The letters are preserved in the handwritings collection of the Museum’s Library. Before the 23rd of August 1944, when Romania was an ally of the Axis in WWII, Orendi-Hommenau enjoyed high esteem, but when the country changed sides and joined the Allies, the German minority was considered the “Fifth Column” of Nazi Germany and consequently had to suffer. The poet became so poor, that he was forced to ask Spek for help in order to survive. In 1946 the worst was overcome and Orendi-Hommenau became optimistic again.
The paper attempts at outlining some aspects of experienced intercultural phenomena in Transsylvania starting with the late 50ies and deals with the question of cultural and linguistic choice of an individual born into a multilinguistic and multicultural family. The close connection between mother tongue and identity is analysed under the particular circumstances of the author’s biographical background. The paper should be read as an autobiographical statement which the author considers necessary for the understanding of her legitimate status within present day German literature written in Romania.