Vom Wettermacher zum Ökosystemgestalter - Biodiversität und Klimawandel aus der Sicht der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit

Die internationale Entwicklungszusammenarbeit ist im Umbruch. Die drohenden Auswirkungen des globalen Wandels halten uns vor Augen, wie klein und verletzlich unsere Erde ist. Es wird höchste Zeit, dass die Weltgemeinschaft die Kräfte für ein koordiniertes Vorgehen zu Gunsten einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung auf allen Ebenen bündelt. Dieser Beitrag zeigt einige wesentliche Elemente der Herausforderung und entwirft eine Positionierung aus Sicht einer internationalen Entwicklungszusammenarbeit, welche der Armutsbekämpfung und der nachhaltigen Entwicklung verpflichtet ist.

Schweizerisches Kartellrecht im 13. Jahr nach dem Paradigmenwechsel.

Das schweizerische Kartellrecht hat mit der Totalrevision des Kartellgesetzes im Jahr 1995 einen Paradigmawechsel erlebt. Der vorliegende Band enthält die Vorträge, die am 19. September 2008 an der vom Institut für Recht und Wirtschaft der Universität Freiburg durchgeführten Tagung gehalten wurden. Die Themen umfassen eine wettbewerbspolitische Lagebeurteilung 13 Jahre nach der Totalrevision des KG, Grundsatzfragen im Bereich der marktbeherrschenden Unternehmen, Stand und Zukunft der schweizerischen Zusammenschlusskontrolle, spezifische Fragen zu Sanktionen und zum Kartellverwaltungsverfahren, die Praxis des Sekretariats der Wettbewerbskommission (WEKO) sowie eine Paneldiskussion zu wettbewerbsrechtlichen Fragestellungen im Lichte der Ökonomie.

Evidence based check-up: the general medical point of view

Check-up is a frequent motivation for patients to see their general practitioner. The challenge lies in the choice of screening tools to accomplish an efficient, individual and age-adapted approach. In this article we review evidence-based screening methods, whose efficacy has been demonstrated by randomized clinical trials, as well as their application in clinical practice. While cardiovascular check-up has a high grade of evidence for nearly all patients, counselling to lifestyle change except for smoking cessation has been proved with lower evidence. In contrast, relatively new is the fact that ultrasound to screen for an abdominal aortic aneurysm is useful among men smokers or past smokers between 65 and 75 years old.

Groupes sociaux

L’UDC a utilisé les instruments de la démocratie directe en déposant une initiative « contre l’immigration de masse » et en lançant une initiative de mise en œuvre pour faire appliquer sa première initiative « pour le renvoi des étrangers criminels ». – Les tours de vis apportés à la loi sur l’asile ont fait couler beaucoup d’encre. Un référendum a été lancé par les jeunes verts.– Le parlement a tenté de trouver des solutions pour faire face à la pénurie de logements touchant les requérants d’asile.– Avant de passer devant le peuple en 2013, le parlement a arrêté sa position sur le changement constitutionnel demandant un nouvel article sur la famille.– Le Conseil national a accepté de donner le droit aux partenaires de même sexe d’adopter les enfants de leur conjoint.– La politique familiale a été au centre des préoccupations du PDC qui a déposé deux initiatives visant à aider les familles.

Oxidative Stress in Hypobaric Hypoxia and Influence on Vessel-Tone Modifying Mediators

Increased pulmonary artery pressure is a well-known phenomenon of hypoxia and is seen in patients with chronic pulmonary diseases, and also in mountaineers on high altitude expedition. Different mediators are known to regulate pulmonary artery vessel tone. However, exact mechanisms are not fully understood and a multimodal process consisting of a whole panel of mediators is supposed to cause pulmonary artery vasoconstriction. We hypothesized that increased hypoxemia is associated with an increase in vasoconstrictive mediators and decrease of vasodilatators leading to a vasoconstrictive net effect. Furthermore, we suggested oxidative stress being partly involved in changement of these parameters. Oxygen saturation (Sao2) and clinical parameters were assessed in 34 volunteers before and during a Swiss research expedition to Mount Muztagh Ata (7549 m) in Western China. Blood samples were taken at four different sites up to an altitude of 6865 m. A mass spectrometry-based targeted metabolomic platform was used to detect multiple parameters, and revealed functional impairment of enzymes that require oxidation-sensitive cofactors. Specifically, the tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4)-dependent enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS) showed significantly lower activities (citrulline-to-arginine ratio decreased from baseline median 0.21 to 0.14 at 6265 m), indicating lower NO availability resulting in less vasodilatative activity. Correspondingly, an increase in systemic oxidative stress was found with a significant increase of the percentage of methionine sulfoxide from a median 6% under normoxic condition to a median level of 30% (p<0.001) in camp 1 at 5533 m. Furthermore, significant increase in vasoconstrictive mediators (e.g., tryptophan, serotonin, and peroxidation-sensitive lipids) were found. During ascent up to 6865 m, significant altitude-dependent changes in multiple vessel-tone modifying mediators with excess in vasoconstrictive metabolites could be demonstrated. These changes, as well as highly significant increase in systemic oxidative stress, may be predictive for increase in acute mountain sickness score and changes in Sao2.

Le genre comme ressource politique en Suisse. La perception de l'élite politique

Traditionnellement un monde d’homme, la politique fonctionne encore aujourd’hui selon des règles faites par et pour les hommes. Malgré cet univers hostile à la gente féminine, les femmes sont entrées en politique dès que les pays leurs ont accordés les droits politiques. Toujours minoritaire, les femmes se sont aujourd’hui faites une place dans les parlements et gouvernements du monde. L’augmentation de la proportion de femmes dans les instances politiques laisse supposer qu’être une femme ne constitue pas obligatoirement un handicap en politique. Ce livre s’intéresse à ce changement de signification du genre féminin en politique et montre, à l’exemple de la Suisse, comment les membres de l’élite politique perçoivent le rôle du genre dans les affaires publiques. Cette étude s’adresse à toute personne intéressée par les rapports de genre dans le monde du pouvoir.

Cleverer than we thought: the change in discourse of the Georgian Orthodox Church

This paper will focus on three episodes of contemporary church-state relations in Georgia, in particular, the conflicting interaction between law and religion in the public space. The first episode will be an open confrontation between the church and the state over the law on Registration of Religious Minority organizations (2011) which allowed the religious minorities to freely register; second: the Law on Self-governance (2013) which Georgian Orthodox Church considered “a threat to territorial integrity of Georgia”; and lastly: the Law on Anti-discrimination (2014) which was deemed “legitimization of Sodomic sin”. By reflecting on the three examples where for the first time after the collapse of Soviet Union, the Georgian state openly confronted the church and made a decision notwithstanding its position, I will attempt to argue that the role of the Orthodox Church in influencing the law making process is in gradual decline. However, on the other hand, by presenting the results of an ethnographic study conducted in 23 eparchies and perishes in 7 regions of Georgia in 2014, I will also show that church has adapted to its declining role over policy making, and to regain its political influence it gradually started to employ a civic rather than ethno nationalist discourse on matters of religious freedom while engaging with government. The paper will suggest that both unilateral decision-making of the state and civic shift in the discourse of the church constitute an important change in understanding church-state dynamics in the post-communist Orthodox Christianity dominated society.