Farewell, welfare state – hello, welfare regions? Chances and constraints of welfare management in the German federal system

The German welfare state is in crisis. Alarming long-term demographic trends, the still not fully digested consequences of German unification and the current economic downturn in much of the Eurozone have combined to create an urgent need for welfare reform. Yet the constitutional arrangements which govern the German political system, and well-entrenched political practice, mean that any such reform process is a daunting challenge. Thus, the welfare crisis is also a crisis of German-style co-operative federalism. Current empirical evidence makes for uncomfortable reading, and triggers debate on the nature of the German federation: have the two constitutional principles of federalism and establishing equal living conditions throughout the federation become mutually exclusive? However, as much of the welfare state is centred on the best utilisation of scarce financial resources, it is debatable to what extent alterations in the functional distribution of welfare responsibilities among the territorial levels of government can be regarded as a solution for the current problems. The article concludes that in the search for long-term sustainability of the welfare state the territorial dimension is likely to remain a secondary issue.

Functional astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle in a human stem cell derived neuronal network

The development of stem cell-derived neuronal networks will promote experimental system development for drug screening, toxicological testing and disease modelling, providing that they mirror closely the functional competencies of their in vivo counterparts. The NT2 cell line is one of the best documented embryocarcinoma cell lines, and can be differentiated into neurons and astrocytes. Great focus has also been placed on defining the electrophysiological properties of these cells, and more recently we have investigated the functional properties of their associated astrocytes. We now show for the first time in a human stem cell derived co-culture model that these cultures are also metabolically competent and demonstrate a functional astrocyte neuron lactate shuttle (ANLS). The ANLS hypothesis proposes that during neuronal activity, glutamate released into the synaptic cleft is taken up by astrocytes and triggers glucose uptake which is converted into lactate and released via monocarboxylate transporters for neuronal use. Using mixed cultures of NT2 derived neurons and astrocytes we have shown that these cells modulate their glucose uptake in response to glutamate, an effect that was blocked by cytochalasin B and ouabain. Additionally we demonstrate that in response to increased neuronal activity and under hypoglycaemic conditions, co-cultures modulate glycogen turnover and increase lactate production. Similar results were also shown following treatment with glutamate, potassium, Isoproterenol and dbcAMP. Together these results demonstrate for the first time a functional ANLS in a human stem cell derived co-culture.

A cell-permeable tool for analysing APP intracellular domain function and manipulation of PIKfyve activity

The mechanisms for regulating PIKfyve complex activity are currently emerging. The PIKfyve complex, consisting of the phosphoinositide kinase PIKfyve (also known as FAB1), VAC14 and FIG4, is required for the production of phosphatidylinositol-3,5-bisphosphate (PI(3,5)P2). PIKfyve function is required for homeostasis of the endo/lysosomal system and is crucially implicated in neuronal function and integrity, as loss of function mutations in the PIKfyve complex lead to neurodegeneration in mouse models and human patients. Our recent work has shown that the intracellular domain of the Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP), a molecule central to the aetiology of Alzheimer's disease binds to VAC14 and enhances PIKfyve function. Here we utilise this recent advance to create an easy-to-use tool for increasing PIKfyve activity in cells. We fused APP's intracellular domain (AICD) to the HIV TAT domain, a cell permeable peptide allowing proteins to penetrate cells. The resultant TAT-AICD fusion protein is cell permeable and triggers an increase of PI(3,5)P2. Using the PI(3,5)P2 specific GFP-ML1Nx2 probe we show that cell-permeable AICD alters PI(3,5)P2 dynamics. TAT-AICD also provides partial protection from pharmacological inhibition of PIKfyve. All three lines of evidence show that the APP intracellular domain activates the PIKfyve complex in cells, a finding that is important for our understanding of the mechanism of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease.

Manipulatív marketing: fogyasztói észlelések és reakciók

A marketing koncepciónak kezdetektől fogva a vevőorientáció az egyik kulcsfogalma. Tulajdonképpen annak a szemléletváltásnak köszönheti felemelkedését és más menedzsmentdiszciplínától való elhatárolását is, amellyel a vevői igényeket helyezte a vállalati gondolkodás középpontjába. Későbbiekben azonban a kutatók rájöttek arra, hogy maguk az igények az üzleti gyakorlat során nagymértékben kontrollálhatók, és az eladói oldal azóta is él ezekkel a lehetőségekkel. A kutatás arra volt kíváncsi, hogy a vállalatok manipulációs gyakorlata hogyan csapódik le a fogyasztókban, melyek azok a manipulációs eszközök, amelyeket észlelnek, és azokra milyen válaszreakciókat adnak. Azonosíthatók-e tipikus gondolkodási sémák, magatartási mintázatok, amelyek jól jellemzik egyes vevők viszonyát a vállalati manipulációval. A tanulmány feltáró interjúkra épít, amely segít megérteni a fogyasztókban végbe menő komplex mechanizmusokat. Az eredmények azt sugallják, hogy kétfajta folyamat játszódik le a vevői oldalon Egyrészt a fogyasztók idővel rutinszerű magatartásmintákat vesznek fel, amely során a manipulációs eszközök érvényesülése nem tudatos, és a vállalatoknak kedvező reakciókat vált ki. Másrészt, a fogyasztói társadalom is egyfajta érési folyamaton megy át, aminek hatására megtanulják a vállalatok gondolkodásmódját, és – bár a kognitív korlátok miatt azokat nem tudják teljes mértékben lekövetni – igyekeznek önvédő heurisztikákat beépíteni a követett magatartásukba. A kutatás alapján hipotetikusan öt vevőtípust azonosítottunk, akiket egymástól eltérő reakciók jellemeznek. Customer orientation has been the key concept of marketing since the beginning. As a matter of fact, the emergence of marketing and the conceptual distinction between marketing and the related management disciplines can be attributed to this new approach, which put customer needs in the focus of company attention. Later, researchers revealed that the needs themselves can be controlled to a greater extent and sellers have been taking advantage of it since then. The main focus of the research concentrated on the effects of manipulation practices of companies on consumers, which manipulation tools are recognised and how consumers react to them. Furthermore the research also investigated whether typical cognitive, emotional and behavioural patterns, which reflect the relationship between consumers and the manipulation practices of companies, can be identified. The study relies on explorative interviews, which help understand the complex mechanisms of consumer attitudes. The results indicates that the opposite process occur on the consumer side. On the one hand, consumers tend to follow behavioural routines after a while, which help manipulation tools work in an unconscious way that triggers reactions for the favour of companies. On the other hand, the generations of consumers are getting more and more mature and learning the companies’ mentality and, despite having cognitive limitations to identify all the tricks and deceptive attempts, they try to develop and follow defensive heuristics. Based on the data explored we identified five customer types and we described their diverse reactions to manipulation.

Social network structure as a critical success condition for open source software project communities

In recent years, a surprising new phenomenon has emerged in which globally-distributed online communities collaborate to create useful and sophisticated computer software. These open source software groups are comprised of generally unaffiliated individuals and organizations who work in a seemingly chaotic fashion and who participate on a voluntary basis without direct financial incentive. ^ The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between the social network structure of these intriguing groups and their level of output and activity, where social network structure is defined as (1) closure or connectedness within the group, (2) bridging ties which extend outside of the group, and (3) leader centrality within the group. Based on well-tested theories of social capital and centrality in teams, propositions were formulated which suggest that social network structures associated with successful open source software project communities will exhibit high levels of bridging and moderate levels of closure and leader centrality. ^ The research setting was the SourceForge hosting organization and a study population of 143 project communities was identified. Independent variables included measures of closure and leader centrality defined over conversational ties, along with measures of bridging defined over membership ties. Dependent variables included source code commits and software releases for community output, and software downloads and project site page views for community activity. A cross-sectional study design was used and archival data were extracted and aggregated for the two-year period following the first release of project software. The resulting compiled variables were analyzed using multiple linear and quadratic regressions, controlling for group size and conversational volume. ^ Contrary to theory-based expectations, the surprising results showed that successful project groups exhibited low levels of closure and that the levels of bridging and leader centrality were not important factors of success. These findings suggest that the creation and use of open source software may represent a fundamentally new socio-technical development process which disrupts the team paradigm and which triggers the need for building new theories of collaborative development. These new theories could point towards the broader application of open source methods for the creation of knowledge-based products other than software. ^

The H I chronicles of LITTLE THINGS blue compact dwarf galaxies

Star formation occurs when the gas (mostly atomic hydrogen; H I) in a galaxy becomes disturbed, forming regions of high density gas, which then collapses to form stars. In dwarf galaxies it is still uncertain which processes contribute to star formation and how much they contribute to star formation. Blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies are low mass, low shear, gas rich galaxies that have high star formation rates when compared to other dwarf galaxies. What triggers the dense burst of star formation in BCDs but not other dwarfs is not well understood. It is often suggested that BCDs may have their starburst triggered by gravitational interactions with other galaxies, dwarf-dwarf galaxy mergers, or consumption of intergalactic gas. However, there are BCDs that appear isolated with respect to other galaxies, making an external disturbance unlikely.^ Here, I study six apparently isolated BCDs from the LITTLE THINGS sample in an attempt to understand what has triggered their burst of star formation. LITTLE THINGS is an H I survey of 41 dwarf galaxies. Each galaxy has high angular and velocity resolution H I data from the Very Large Array (VLA) telescope and ancillary stellar data. I use these data to study the detailed morphology and kinematics of each galaxy, looking for signatures of starburst triggers. In addition to the VLA data, I have collected Green Bank Telescope data for the six BCDs. These high sensitivity, low resolution data are used to search the surrounding area of each galaxy for extended emission and possible nearby companion galaxies.^ The VLA data show evidence that each BCD has likely experienced some form of external disturbance despite their apparent isolation. These external disturbances potentially seen in the sample include: ongoing/advanced dwarf-dwarf mergers, an interaction with an unknown external object, and external gas consumption. The GBT data result in no nearby, separate H I companions at the sensitivity of the data. These data therefore suggest that even though these BCDs appear isolated, they have not been evolving in isolation. It is possible that these external disturbances may have triggered the starbursts that defines them as BCDs.^

Social Network Structure as a Critical Success Condition for Open Source Software Project Communities

In recent years, a surprising new phenomenon has emerged in which globally-distributed online communities collaborate to create useful and sophisticated computer software. These open source software groups are comprised of generally unaffiliated individuals and organizations who work in a seemingly chaotic fashion and who participate on a voluntary basis without direct financial incentive. The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between the social network structure of these intriguing groups and their level of output and activity, where social network structure is defined as 1) closure or connectedness within the group, 2) bridging ties which extend outside of the group, and 3) leader centrality within the group. Based on well-tested theories of social capital and centrality in teams, propositions were formulated which suggest that social network structures associated with successful open source software project communities will exhibit high levels of bridging and moderate levels of closure and leader centrality. The research setting was the SourceForge hosting organization and a study population of 143 project communities was identified. Independent variables included measures of closure and leader centrality defined over conversational ties, along with measures of bridging defined over membership ties. Dependent variables included source code commits and software releases for community output, and software downloads and project site page views for community activity. A cross-sectional study design was used and archival data were extracted and aggregated for the two-year period following the first release of project software. The resulting compiled variables were analyzed using multiple linear and quadratic regressions, controlling for group size and conversational volume. Contrary to theory-based expectations, the surprising results showed that successful project groups exhibited low levels of closure and that the levels of bridging and leader centrality were not important factors of success. These findings suggest that the creation and use of open source software may represent a fundamentally new socio-technical development process which disrupts the team paradigm and which triggers the need for building new theories of collaborative development. These new theories could point towards the broader application of open source methods for the creation of knowledge-based products other than software.

Imaginários da morte: poética das imagens em cemitérios brasileiros

The thesis presented is committed to a poetic reading that results in the creation of meaning and images of the death from the various cultural practices and symbolic representations exposed in urban cemeteries in some Brazilian cities, aiming to give visibility to new understandings about the imaginary of the in the contemporary scene. Death, therefore, will be seen as a imagining condition of anthroposwhen starts itself from the prerogative of the human consciousness of death (MORIN, 1970), in other words, this awareness that man has he will die and that triggers reflections about their existence allows the emergence of a number of practices such as: mourning, funeral rituals and the creation of several impregnated representations of human emotions emerged from the death facing the man and present, in a more evident form in cemeterial spaces. For this, it focuses on the conflictuous dimension that man establishes with death, because the cultural practices and symbolic representations observed in the research field are the result of this conflict and allow the expansion of the senses about this issue, to the extent that these are coated with a fantastic aura, mystical, secret, spooky, fearful, religious, building a complex imagination. The general plan of this study is to discuss and create, from a phenomenology of imagination and materials / dynamics imagination, as well as along the lines treated by Gaston Bachelard, images of death, from a field experience in cemeteries in Brazil. For this, it is assumed, to observe the cultural practices and symbolic representations in these spaces, a posture able to make the experience into the search field a moment of symbolic exchanges and creation. Thus, it was used observation, conversations with visitors and employees of the cemeteries and the capture of photographic records. The data produced as a fragment of a conversation, a tearful outburst about the loss of a relative, a melancholic epitaph, a flower on the grave or a cry captured by photography were seen as detonators of meanings and a poetic of the imagination.

Imaginários da morte: poética das imagens em cemitérios brasileiros

The thesis presented is committed to a poetic reading that results in the creation of meaning and images of the death from the various cultural practices and symbolic representations exposed in urban cemeteries in some Brazilian cities, aiming to give visibility to new understandings about the imaginary of the in the contemporary scene. Death, therefore, will be seen as a imagining condition of anthroposwhen starts itself from the prerogative of the human consciousness of death (MORIN, 1970), in other words, this awareness that man has he will die and that triggers reflections about their existence allows the emergence of a number of practices such as: mourning, funeral rituals and the creation of several impregnated representations of human emotions emerged from the death facing the man and present, in a more evident form in cemeterial spaces. For this, it focuses on the conflictuous dimension that man establishes with death, because the cultural practices and symbolic representations observed in the research field are the result of this conflict and allow the expansion of the senses about this issue, to the extent that these are coated with a fantastic aura, mystical, secret, spooky, fearful, religious, building a complex imagination. The general plan of this study is to discuss and create, from a phenomenology of imagination and materials / dynamics imagination, as well as along the lines treated by Gaston Bachelard, images of death, from a field experience in cemeteries in Brazil. For this, it is assumed, to observe the cultural practices and symbolic representations in these spaces, a posture able to make the experience into the search field a moment of symbolic exchanges and creation. Thus, it was used observation, conversations with visitors and employees of the cemeteries and the capture of photographic records. The data produced as a fragment of a conversation, a tearful outburst about the loss of a relative, a melancholic epitaph, a flower on the grave or a cry captured by photography were seen as detonators of meanings and a poetic of the imagination.

Provocative feature deletion: a syntactic model of agreement alternations in noun incorporation contexts

The relationship between noun incorporation (NI) and the agreement alternations that occur in such contexts (NI Transitivity Alternations) remains inadequately understood. Three interpretations of these alternations (Baker, Aranovich & Golluscio 2005; Mithun 1984; Rosen 1989) are shown to be undermined by foundational or mechanical issues. I propose a syntactic model, adopting Branigan's (2011) interpretation of NI as the result of “provocative” feature valuation, which triggers generation of a copy of the object that subsequently merges inside the verb. Provocation triggers a reflexive Refine operation that deletes duplicate features from chains, making them interpretable for Transfer. NI Transitivity Alternations result from variant deletion preferences exhibited during Refine. I argue that the NI contexts discussed (Generic NI, Partial NI and Double Object NI) result from different restrictions on phonetic and semantic identity in chain formation. This provides us with a consistent definition of NI Transitivity Alternations across contexts, as well as a new typology that distinguishes NI contexts, rather than incorporating languages.

A docência na educação superior: narrativas das diferenças políticas de sujeitos surdos

Deaf teachers presence at superior education triggers a series of reactions due to cultural differences. They feel the discomfort. The cultural difference defies the established power relations. From that emerge the trading spaces with their constant shocks about problems that affect the deaf teacher participation. The thesis goes through practice, resistance, resilience and political thinking of the deaf teacher at the Superior Education. Authors like: Foucault (2004), Hall (2009), Bhabha (1998), Touraine (2009) and Veiga-Netto (2010) underlie the concept of power relations that permeate this study. Perlin (2003); Ladd (2002) subsidize with the cultural focus. The investigation came from the question: How deaf teachers make their political stands in power relations established to the construction of their narratives at Superior Education? It had the goal of identify and chart the deaf teachers narratives at Superior Education. Leaving from the interview-narrative qualitative approach it was constituted a corpus with the collected narratives. These narratives were identified in order to achieve a thematic map express in the last chapter where the constant facts of the trading spaces of Superior Education shocks unfolds. The results point to an infinity of debates. The deaf teachers do not only present initial conditions of distress, doubt and difficulty at Superior Education, but also the disposition to discuss more the everyday power chains, waged by trading spaces. The identification of the narratives was vitally important to confirm the value of cultural and linguistic recognition as strategy for new politics to the structural power relations at the university context.

Preeclampsia : an accelerator–brake defect disorder

Life's perfect partnership starts with the placenta. If we get this right, we have the best chance of healthy life. In preeclampsia, we have a failing placenta. Preeclampsia kills one pregnant woman every minute and the life expectancy of those who survive is greatly reduced. Preeclampsia is treated roughly the same way it was when Thomas Edison was making the first silent movie. Globally, millions of women risk death to give birth each year and almost 300,000 lose their lives in this process. Over half a million babies around the world die each year as a consequence of preeclampsia. Despite decades of research, we lack pharmacological agents to treat it. Maternal endothelial dysfunction is a central phenomenon responsible for the clinical signs of preeclampsia. In the late nineties, we discovered that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) stimulated nitric oxide release. This led us to suggest that preeclampsia arises due to the loss of VEGF activity, possibly due to a rise in soluble Flt-1 (sFlt-1), the natural antagonist of VEGF. Researchers have shown that high sFlt-1 elicits preeclampsia-like signs in pregnant rats and sFlt-1 increases before the clinical signs of preeclampsia in pregnant women. We demonstrated that removing or reducing this culprit protein from preeclamptic placenta restored the angiogenic balance. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1 or Hmox1) that generates carbon monoxide (CO), biliverdin (rapidly converted to bilirubin) and iron is cytoprotective. We showed that the Hmox1/CO pathway prevents human placental injury caused by pro-inflammatory cytokines and suppresses sFlt-1 and soluble endoglin release, factors responsible for preeclampsia phenotypes. The other key enzyme we identified is the hydrogen sulfide generating cystathionine-gamma-lyase (CSE or Cth). These are the only two enzyme systems shown to suppress sFlt-1 and to act as protective pathways against preeclampsia phenotypes in animal models. We also showed that when hydrogen sulfide restores placental vasculature, it also improves lagging fetal growth. These molecules act as the inhibitor systems in pregnancy and when they fail, this triggers preeclampsia. Discovering that statins induce these enzymes led us to an RCT to develop a low-cost therapy (StAmP Trial) to prevent or treat preeclampsia. If you think of pregnancy as a car then preeclampsia is an accelerator–brake defect disorder. Inflammation, oxidative stress and an imbalance in the angiogenic milieu fuel the ‘accelerator’. It is the failure in the braking systems (the endogenous protective pathway) that results in the ‘accelerator’ going out of control until the system crashes, manifesting itself as preeclampsia.

True real-time change data capture with web service database encapsulation

This research is investigating the claim that Change Data Capture (CDC) technologies capture data changes in real-time. Based on theory, our hypothesis states that real-time CDC is not achievable with traditional approaches (log scanning, triggers and timestamps). Traditional approaches to CDC require a resource to be polled, which prevents true real-time CDC. We propose an approach to CDC that encapsulates the data source with a set of web services. These web services will propagate the changes to the targets and eliminate the need for polling. Additionally we propose a framework for CDC technologies that allow changes to flow from source to target. This paper discusses current CDC technologies and presents the theory about why they are unable to deliver changes in real-time. Following, we discuss our web service approach to CDC and accompanying framework, explaining how they can produce real-time CDC. The paper concludes with a discussion on the research required to investigate the real-time capabilities of CDC technologies. © 2010 IEEE.

"Double Rainbow," "Appalachiana," and "'The Invisible Mass': Exploring Compositional Technique in Alfred Schnittke's Second Symphony"

This dissertation consists of three distinct components: (1) “Double Rainbow,” a notated composition for an acoustic ensemble of 10 instruments, ca. 36 minutes. (2) “Appalachiana”, a fixed-media composition for electro-acoustic music and video, ca. 30 minutes, and (3) “'The Invisible Mass': Exploring Compositional Technique in Alfred Schnittke’s Second Symphony”, an analytical article.

(1) Double Rainbow is a ca. 36 minute composition in four movements scored for 10 instruments: flute, Bb clarinet (doubling on bass clarinet), tenor saxophone (doubling on alto saxophone), french horn, percussion (glockenspiel, vibraphone, wood block, 3 toms, snare drum, bass drum, suspended cymbal), piano, violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Each of the four movements of the piece explore their own distinct character and set of compositional goals. The piece is presented as a musical score and as a recording, which was extensively treated in post-production.

(2) Appalachiana, is a ca. 30 minute fixed-media composition for music and video. The musical component was created as a vehicle to showcase several approaches to electro-acoustic music composition –fft re-synthesis for time manipulation effects, the use of a custom-built software instrument which implements generative approaches to creating rhythm and pitch patterns, using a recording of rain to create rhythmic triggers for software instruments, and recording additional components with acoustic instruments. The video component transforms footage of natural landscapes filmed at several locations in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia into a surreal narrative using a variety of color, lighting, distortion, and time-manipulation video effects.

(3) “‘The Invisible Mass:’ Exploring Compositional Technique in Alfred Schnittke’s Second Symphony” is an analytical article that focuses on Alfred Schnittke’s compositional technique as evidenced in the construction of his Second Symphony and discussed by the composer in a number of previously untranslated articles and interviews. Though this symphony is pivotal in the composer’s oeuvre, there are currently no scholarly articles that offer in-depth analyses of the piece. The article combines analyses of the harmony, form, and orchestration in the Second Symphony with relevant quotations from the composer, some from published and translated sources and others newly translated by the author from research at the Russian State Library in St. Petersburg. These offer a perspective on how Schnittke’s compositional technique combines systematic geometric design with keen musical intuition.

Differential impacts of elevated CO2 and acidosis on the energy budget of gill and liver cells from Atlantic cod

Ocean acidification impacts fish and other marine species through increased seawater PCO2 levels (hypercapnia). Knowledge of the physiological mechanisms mediating effects in various tissues of fish is incomplete. Here we tested the effects of extracellular hypercapnia and acidosis on energy metabolism of gill and liver cells of Atlantic cod. Exposure media mimicked blood conditions in vivo, either during normo- or hypercapnia and at control or acidic extracellular pH (pHe). We determined metabolic rate and energy expenditure for protein biosynthesis, Na+/K+-ATPase and H+-ATPase and considered nutrition status by measurements of metabolic rate and protein biosynthesis in media with and without free amino acids (FAA). Addition of FAA stimulated hepatic but not branchial oxygen consumption. Normo- and hypercapnic acidosis as well as hypercapnia at control pHe depressed metabolic stimulation of hepatocytes. In gill cells, acidosis depressed respiration independent of PCO2 and FAA levels. For both cell types, depressed respiration was not correlated with the same reduction in energy allocated to protein biosynthesis or Na+/K+-ATPase. Hepatic energy expenditure for protein synthesis and Na+/K+- ATPase was even elevated at acidic compared to control pHe suggesting increased costs for ion regulation and cel- lular reorganization. Hypercapnia at control pHe strongly reduced oxygen demand of branchial Na+/K+-ATPase with a similar trend for H+-ATPase. We conclude that extracellular acidosis triggers metabolic depression in gill and metabolically stimulated liver cells. Additionally, hypercapnia itself seems to limit capacities for metabolic usage of amino acids in liver cells while it decreases the use and costs of ion regulatory ATPases in gill cells.