Weiterbildung, Arbeitszeit und Lohneinkommen

This paper analyzes the determinants, work-time and income effects of continuous vocational training in West-Germany on the basis of a 70% sample of the German Microcensus 1991 - a representative 1% cross-section sampIe of all German households. Several hypotheses about the influence of qualification, demographic effects, unionization and technological progress are explicitly tested combining additional data sources, notably the Mannheim Innovation Panel, 1993. The econometric analysis refers to West-German, male employees with a professional experience between 0 and 30 years. We find the probability of further training to be positively related to the level of schooling as weIl as vocational qualification - though less significantly. Technical progress, unionization and the aging of the population excert a positive influence on the probability of individual further training. Further training leads to considerable income effects, which range from 0% to 12% depending on the type and duration of further training undertaken. They are greater for shorter further training activities. Employees participating in further training also work longer. The work-time effects amount up to 9% according to the type and duration of training undertaken. Therefore income and wage effects differ from each other. Surprisingly far employees with a university or a technical college degree income effects are much lower. --

Design optimisation of air-fed full pressurised suits

This article is a post-print version of the published article which may be accessed at the link below.The JET machine and associated facilities require significant maintenance and enhancement installation activities in support of the experimental exploitation programme. A proportion of these activities are within radiological and respiratory hazardous environments. As such, breathing air-fed one-piece pressurised suits provide workers with protection from the inhalation of both airborne tritium and beryllium dust. The design of these suits has essentially developed empirically. There is a practical necessity to improve the design to optimise worker performance, protection and thermal comfort. This paper details the complexity of modeling the three-dimensional thermofluid domain between the inner surface of the suit and under garments that includes mass as well as heat transfer, suiting geometry, human metabolism and respiration and effects of limb movements. The methods used include computational fluid dynamics (CFD), theoretical adaptations of mixed-phase turbulent flow, profile scanning of a suit and actuating life size mannequin and data processing of the images and experimental validation trials. The achievements of the current programme and collaborations are presented in the paper and future endeavors are discussed.The author gratefully acknowledges the loan of the articulated mannequin from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratories. This work was funded jointly by EPSRC and by the European Communities under the contract of Association between EURATOM and UKAEA. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. This work was carried out within the framework of EFDA

Auswirkungen unterschiedlicher Duroc-Genanteile auf die Fleisch- und Fettqualität ökologisch erzeugter Mastschweine

The aim of the present study including 190 organic fattening pigs of varying Duroc gene portion (0 %, 25 %, 50 %, and 75 %) was to analyze various meat and fat quality characteristics in order to deduce the optimal Duroc gene percentage in relation to different marketing goals. Increasing Duroc gene portions resulted (i) in increasing intramuscular fat contents, (ii) in improved meat quality characteristics (sensory properties, pH, electrical conductivity), (iii) in slightly increasing levels of saturated fatty acids, and (iv) in decreasing levels of mono-unsaturated fatty acids. It is concluded that Duroc gen portion should exceed 50 % only in marketing systems with a payment system including meat quality criteria

Alt oder Neu - Welche Rassen passen für die ökologische Schweinefleischerzeugung?

In der ökologischen Schweinemast wird immer wieder über die Eignung alter und moderner Schweinegenotypen sowie die Notwendigkeit eigener Zuchtprogramme diskutiert. Um beide Punkte beantworten zu können, sind Informationen über das Ausmaß möglicher Genotyp- Umwelt-Interaktionen bei relevanten Leistungsmerkmalen notwendig. Daher wurden 682 Schweine von 7 merkmalsdifferenzierten Genotypen auf zwei Leistungsprüfungsanstalten in jeweils ökologischer und konventioneller Haltung auf Merkmale der Mastleistung sowie Schlachtkörper- und Fleischqualität geprüft. Es zeigte sich, dass in der Mastleistung und der Schlachtkörperqualität sowohl die modernen den alten Genotypen als auch die konventionellen den ökologischen Prüfbedingungen überlegen waren. Beim intramuskulären Fettgehalt war es erwartungsgemäß genau umgekehrt. Für sämtliche Merkmale konnten signifikante bis höchstsignifikante Interaktionen zwischen Genotyp und Umwelt nachgewiesen werden. Die Interaktionen wurden vor allem durch Unterschiede zwischen den beiden Prüfumwelten hervorgerufen, die aber nicht zu einer wesentlichen Verschiebung der Rangfolge zwischen den Genotypen innerhalb der Umwelten geführt hat. Daher wird gefolgert, dass für die ökologische Schweinefleischerzeugung keine eigenständigen Zuchtprogramme entwickelt werden müssen, vor allem, wenn Kostenstruktur und Vermarktungsziel bei beiden Systemen im Wesentlichen übereinstimmen, so wie derzeit der Fall

Auswirkungen unterschiedlicher Duroc-Anteile von Endmastherkünften auf Aspekte der Mastleistung und Schlachtkörperqualität unter ökologischen Produktionsbedingungen

In der ökologischen Schweinefleischerzeugung wird immer wieder die Berücksichtigung der Rasse Duroc zur Verbesserung der Fleischqualität im Mastschwein gefordert Vor diesem Hintergrund werden unter ökologischen Produktionsbedingungen die Effekte unterschiedlich hoher Duroc-Genanteile im Mastschwein auf Mastleistung, Schlachtkörper- und Fleischqualität geprüft. Insgesamt wurden auf der Leistungsprüfungsanstalt in Rohrsen 190 Tiere in 2 Durchgängen aufgestallt. Es wurden dabei Mastschweine mit 0%, 25%, 50% und 75% Duroc-Genanteil untersucht. Die Haltung erfolgte ökokonform in einem Außenklimastall mit eingestreuten Buchten in 14 Gruppen zu je 6 Tieren und je einer Gruppe mit 5 bzw. 4 Tieren. Es wurde eine Futterration aus 100 % ökologischer sowie weitgehend betriebseigener Herkunft eingesetzt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass bei einem auf Schlachtkörperqualität, d.h. im Wesentlichen auf Muskelfleischfülle orientierten Vermarktungsziel nicht mehr als 50 % Duroc-Genanteil im Mastendprodukt enthalten sein sollte. Der Muskelfleischanteil wird mit steigendem Duroc-Genanteil signifikant geringer. Die Gruppe mit 75% Duroc-Genanteil zeigt auch eine deutlich schlechtere Futterverwertung. Mit steigendem Duroc-Genanteil wird der intramuskuläre Fettgehalt signifikant gesteigert. Schon bei einem 25 %-igen Duroc-Genanteil wird die Fleischqualität deutlich positiv beeinflusst, ohne dass die Schlachtkörperqualität leiden muss. Damit besitzt diese Variante ein deutliches Optimierungspotenzial sowohl für den ökonomischen Erfolg des Mästers als auch für die Profilierung von ökologisch erzeugtem Schweinefleisch gegenüber dem Verbraucher. Nur wenn ein Bezahlungs- bzw. Vermarktungssystem klar erhöhte intramuskuläre Fettgehalte und bessere sensorische Eigenschaften honorieren würde, ohne dabei die damit einhergehenden verminderten Schlachtkörperqualitäten mit merklichen Mali zu bestrafen, ließe sich ein 75 %-iger Duroc-Genanteil im Mastschwein und der damit verbundene geringere Fleisch- und höhere Fettanteil im Schlachtkörper rechtfertigen

Zur Genotyp-Umwelt-Interaktion von Fleischqualitätsmerkmalen bei unterschiedlichen Genotypen in ökologischer und konventioneller Schweinemast

Seven different pig breeds were kept under conventional and under organic feeding and housing conditions on two performance testing stations to analyse genotype-environment interactions for meat quality traits. Genetically controlled physical pork quality traits like pH- and EC-values are unaffected by both housing and feeding systems and no genotype-environment interaction could be found. In contrast, chemical meat characteristics like intramuscular fat content and fatty acid pattern are strongly influenced by genotype and feeding and a significant genotype-environment interaction. But no considerable reranking could be observed. The differences are caused by the differences in energy and amino acid supply between environments and variable lean meat synthesis capacity of the various genotypes. The significance is mainly generated by varying differences between environments within genotypes

Zur Genotyp-Umwelt-Interaktion in der ökologischen Schweinemast

The suitability of indigenous or modern genotypes for organic conditions and the necessity of a specific organic breeding programme are intensively discussed in the organic pig fattening scene. To clarify both items information about Genotype-Environment-Interaction (GEI) is necessary. Therefore 682 pigs of 7 different genotypes with widely spread protein synthesis capacity were tested for growth performance and carcass quality under conventional and organic environments at two performance testing stations in order to verify GEI. The modern genotypes were superior to the old ones, all genotypes achieved significantly better results within the conventional environment and there were significant interactions between genotype and environment for all criteria of growth performance and carcass quality. The interactions were mainly caused by varying differences between organic and conventional environment within genotypes, but without a shift of the ranking order within environment between genotypes. Hence no special breeding programme is necessary for organic pig fattening under relatively similar marketing systems for conventionally and organically produced pork

Instruments for reproducible setting of defects in cartilage and harvesting of osteochondral plugs for standardisation of preclinical tests for articular cartilage regeneration

Background: Standardisation is required in research, so are approval procedures for advanced therapy medical products and other procedures for articular cartilage therapies. The process of creating samples needs to be reproducible. The aim of this study was to design, create and validate instruments (1) to create reproducible and accurate defects and (2) to isolate samples in the shape of osteochondral cylinders in a quick, reliable and sterile manner. Methods: Adjustable instruments were created: a crown mill with a resolution of 0.05 mm and a front mill to create defects in articular cartilage and subchondral bone. The instruments were tested on knee joints of pigs from the slaughterhouse; 48 defects were created and evaluated. A punching machine was designed to harvest osteochondral plugs. These were validated in an in vivo animal study. Results: The instruments respect the desired depth of 0.5 and 1.5 mm when creating the defects, depending on whether the person using the instrument is highly experienced (0.451 mm; confidence interval (CI): 0.390 mm; 0.512 mm and 1.403 mm; CI: 1.305 mm; 1.502 mm) or less so (0.369 mm; CI: 0.297 mm; 0.440 mm and 1.241 mm; CI: 1.141 mm; 1.341 mm). Eighty samples were taken from knee joints of Göttingen Minipigs with this punching technique. The time needed for the harvesting of the samples was 7.52 min (±2.18 min), the parallelism of the sides of the cylinders deviated by −0.63° (CI: −1.33°; 0.08°) and the surface of the cartilage deviated from the perpendicularity by 4.86° (CI: 4.154°; 5.573°). In all assessed cases, a sterile procedure was observed. Conclusions: Instruments and procedures for standardised creation and validation of defects in articular cartilage and subchondral bone were designed. Harvesting of samples in the shape of osteochondral cylinders can now be performed in a quick, reliable and sterile manner. The presented instruments and procedures can serve as helpful steps towards standardised operating procedures in the field of regenerative therapies of articular cartilage in research and for regulatory requirements