Phenology and flock size of migrating Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) during autumn migration in central North Rhine-Westphalia

Während über Brutbestandsentwicklung und Phänologie rastender Kormorane viel bekannt ist, gibt es kaum Angaben zum aktiven Zug der Art abseits der Küsten. Die wenigen Arbeiten stammen meist aus älteren Untersuchungen, als der Kormoran augrund geringer europäischer Brutbestände noch ein seltener Durchzügler war. Anhand von Zugvogelplanbeobachtungen mit langer jahreszeitlicher und tageszeitlicher Ausdehnung aus den Jahren 2001 und 2003 wird der jahreszeitliche und tageszeitliche Ablauf des Wegzuges über Mittelwestfalen beschrieben. Auch Angaben zu Truppstärken ziehender Kormorane werden gemacht. Dabei zeigt sich, dass Kormorane jahreszeitlich etwas später, weiter über den Tag verteilt und offenbar auch in größeren Trupps durch das Binnenland ziehen als an der Küste. Insgesamt können somit einige Wissenslücken über den aktiven Zugverlauf abseits der Küsten geschlossen werden.The recent increase in the breeding population and the phenology of roosting Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) are well described, but little is known about their migration patterns away from coastal areas. The few published data are based on older investigations, when the Cormorant was a rare breeding bird in Europe and thus a very rare migratory bird in inland parts of Central Europe. As a result of daily migration counts carried out in central North Rhine-Westphalia from mid-August to mid-November during 2001 and 2003, I describe migration patterns both throughout the autumn and within a day. Additionally, flock sizes are shown. Inland Cormorants migrate later in the season, seem to migrate in bigger flocks, and do not concentrate their movements to a particular time of the day, compared to birds at the coast. The presented data provide a valuable insight into the migration of these birds within Central Europe

Successful breeding of a Common Buzzard Buteo buteo in a cliff nest inside a quarry in Northwest Germany

Im Jahre 2005 wurde in einem Steinbruch in Geseke in Nordrhein-Westfalen eine Felsbrut eines Mäusebussards Buteo buteo entdeckt. Während Felsnester in Großbritannien und den Alpen zumindest gebietsweise vorkommen und teilweise sogar häufig sind, werden für Mitteleuropa außerhalb der Alpen lediglich einige Bodenbruten beschrieben, jedoch keine Bruten auf Felsen. Obwohl ein Uhupaar Bubo bubo seit einigen Jahren im selben Teil des Steinbruches brütet, wurden drei junge Mäusebussarde flügge.In 2005, an occupied cliff nest of a Common Buzzard was found in a quarry near Geseke in North Rhine-Westphalia, Northwest Germany. Cliff nests are common in Great Britain and parts of the Alps, but in Central Europe tree nests are the rule. The relevant literature describes only a few nests on the ground, but none on cliffs. Despite the breeding of a pair of Eagle Owls Bubo bubo in the same area of the quarry for some years, three young Buzzards fledged

Between Great Transformation and Politics as Usual: Formal and Informal Security Governance in EU Counterterrorism Policy

Debates about EU counterterrorism policy commonly oscillate between promises of a supranational 'great transformation' and reminders regarding the realities of intergovernmental 'politics as usual'. Yet, the paper argues that post-9/11 EU counterterrorism has come to encompass a broader set of formal and informal policies and structures that extends beyond this dichotomy. The emerging system of security governance aims to reconcile a common interest in cooperation and coordination with member states' reluctance to delegate substantial competences and resources. The paper draws on the security governance concept to grasp the ensuing complexity and offer a broader conceptual basis for the analysis EU counterterrorism cooperation. First, it identifies four key dimensions of security governance based on the existing literature. Second, it maps EU counterterrorism cooperation along these four dimensions, points to the variation of formal and informal security governance, and identifies some overall trends. Third, it identifies three main dynamics driving the emergence of formal and informal security governance by lining out a power-based, a functional, and a knowledge-based perspective

Bimodal activation of different neuron classes with the spectrally red-shifted channelrhodopsin chimera C1V1 in Caenorhabditis elegans

The C. elegans nervous system is particularly well suited for optogenetic analyses of circuit function: Essentially all connections have been mapped, and light can be directed at the neuron of interest in the freely moving, transparent animals, while behavior is observed. Thus, different nodes of a neuronal network can be probed for their role in controlling a particular behavior, using different optogenetic tools for photo-activation or –inhibition, which respond to different colors of light. As neurons may act in concert or in opposing ways to affect a behavior, one would further like to excite these neurons concomitantly, yet independent of each other. In addition to the blue-light activated Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), spectrally red-shifted ChR variants have been explored recently. Here, we establish the green-light activated ChR chimera C1V1 (from Chlamydomonas and Volvox ChR1′s) for use in C. elegans. We surveyed a number of red-shifted ChRs, and found that C1V1-ET/ET (E122T; E162T) works most reliable in C. elegans, with 540–580 nm excitation, which leaves ChR2 silent. However, as C1V1-ET/ET is very light sensitive, it still becomes activated when ChR2 is stimulated, even at 400 nm. Thus, we generated a highly efficient blue ChR2, the H134R; T159C double mutant (ChR2-HR/TC). Both proteins can be used in the same animal, in different neurons, to independently control each cell type with light, enabling a further level of complexity in circuit analyses

Investitionszeitpunktentscheidungen bei Veräußerungsgewinnbesteuerung

Ob ein Unternehmen auch langfristig betrachtet erfolgreich ist, hängt maßgeblich von den organisationalen Fähigkeiten der Unternehmensführung ab. Ambidextere Unternehmen halten die Balance zwischen Investitionen in sowohl traditionelle, effiziente Geschäftsfelder als auch in neue, zukunftsweisende Geschäftsfelder. Dabei spielt nicht zuletzt der Zeitpunkt, zu dem eine Investition durchgeführt werden soll, eine entscheidende Rolle. In diesem Zusammenhang ist es für den Investor wertvoll, den Investitionszeitpunkt flexibel wählen zu können. Diese Flexibilität können sog. Hedgingunternehmen oder Venture-Capital- Gesellschaften bieten, indem sie das finanzielle Risiko in der frühen Phase eines Investitionsvorhabens - beispielsweise in der Forschungs- und Entwicklungsphase neuer Produkte - übernehmen. Je nach Entwicklung kann das abgesicherte Unternehmen entscheiden, ob es das Investitionsprojekt zurückkauft. Die Absicherung durch Hedgingunternehmen kann mit Hilfe von Realoptionen abgebildet werden. Neben der Möglichkeit, die Investitionszeitpunkte flexibel wählen zu können, beziehe ich die Besteuerung in das Kalkül des Investors ein. Ich zeige, dass eine Erhöhung des Veräußerungsgewinnsteuersatzes frühe Investitionen gegenüber später beginnenden Investitionen bevorteilen kann. Dieser unerwartete Wirkungszusammenhang erklärt sich durch das unterschiedliche Wachstum der Zahlungsströme der Investitionsalternativen. Dadurch fällt die Bemessungsgrundlage der Veräußerungsgewinnbesteuerung unterschiedlich hoch aus und ist entscheidend dafür, wie sich die Besteuerung auf die Investitionszeitpunktentscheidung auswirkt.Investments with exit flexibility require decisions regarding both the investment and holding period. Because selling an investment often leads to taxable capital gains, which crucially depend on the duration of an investment, we investigate the impact of capital gains taxation on exit timing under different tax systems. We observed that capital gains taxation delays exit decisions but loses its decision relevance for very long holdings. Often the optimal exit time, which indicates the maximal present value of future cashflows, cannot be determined analytically. However, we identify the breakeven exit time that guarantees present values exceeding those of an immediate sale. While, after-taxes, an immediate sale is often optimal, long holding periods might also be attractive for investors depending on the degreeof income and corporate tax integration. A classic corporate tax system often indicates holdings over more than 100 periods. By contrast, a shareholder relief system indicates the earliest breakeven exit time and thus the highest level of exit timing flexibility. Surprisingly, high retention rates are likely to accelerate sales under a classic corporate system. Additionally, the worst exit time, which should be avoided by investors, differs tremendously across tax systems. For an integrated tax system with full imputation, the worst time is reached earlier than under partial or non-integrated systems. These results could help to predict investors behavior regarding changes in capital gains taxation and thus are of interest for both investors and tax policymakers. Furthermore, the results emphasize the need to control forthe underlying tax system in cross-country empirical studies.vorgelegt von Annika HegemannTag der Verteidigung: 02.06.2016Universität Paderborn, Fakultät für Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Univ., Dissertation, 201

Risk Adjustment and Reinsurance: A Work Plan for State Officials

Outlines the decisions and actions states need to take to implement the risk adjustment and reinsurance provisions of the 2010 health reform law, including risk adjustment model, reinsurance parameters, stakeholder engagement, and program administration

Macroscopic control of plasma polymerization processes

Plasma polymerization covers a broad range of plasma deposits from soft to hard coatings. Nanoscale coatings are formed within a dry and eco-friendly process on different substrate materials and structures. To gain a deeper insight into plasma polymerization, a macroscopic approach using the concept of chemical quasi-equilibria might be useful. Following this macroscopic approach, the reaction parameter power input per gas flow W/F, which represents the specific energy invested per particle within the active plasma zone, solely determines the mass deposition rate. Hence, plasma polymerization can be described by measuring the deposited mass and examining the power input and gas flow which contributes to it. Thus, the control, investigation, and up-scaling of plasma polymerization processes are enabled. Different examples are given to make use of the macroscopic approac

Collective exchange processes reveal an active site proton cage in bacteriorhodopsin

Proton translocation across membranes is vital to all kingdoms of life. Mechanistically, it relies on characteristic proton flows and modifications of hydrogen bonding patterns, termed protonation dynamics, which can be directly observed by fast magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR. Here, we demonstrate that reversible proton displacement in the active site of bacteriorhodopsin already takes place in its equilibrated dark-state, providing new information on the underlying hydrogen exchange processes. In particular, MAS NMR reveals proton exchange at D85 and the retinal Schiff base, suggesting a tautomeric equilibrium and thus partial ionization of D85. We provide evidence for a proton cage and detect a preformed proton path between D85 and the proton shuttle R82. The protons at D96 and D85 exchange with water, in line with ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. We propose that retinal isomerization makes the observed proton exchange processes irreversible and delivers a proton towards the extracellular release site

Alexander's Law in Patients with Acute Vestibular Tone Asymmetry—Evidence for Multiple Horizontal Neural Integrators

Alexander's law (AL) states that the slow-phase velocity of spontaneous nystagmus of peripheral vestibular origin is dependent on horizontal gaze position, with greater velocity when gaze is directed in the fast-phase direction. AL is thought to be a compensatory reaction resulting from adaptive changes in the horizontal ocular motor neural integrator. Until now, only horizontal eye movements have been investigated with respect to AL. Because spontaneous nystagmus usually includes vertical and torsional components, we asked whether horizontal gaze changes would have an effect on the 3D drift of spontaneous nystagmus and, thus, on the vertical/torsional neural integrator. We hypothesized that AL reduces all nystagmus components proportionally. Moreover, we questioned the classical theory of a single bilaterally organized horizontal integrator and searched for nonlinearities of AL implying a network of multiple integrators. Using dual scleral search coils, we measured AL in 17 patients with spontaneous nystagmus. Patients followed a pulsed laser dot at eye level jumping in 5° steps along the horizontal meridian between 25° right and left in otherwise complete darkness. AL was observed in 15 of 17 patients. Whereas individual patients typically showed a change of 3D-drift direction at different horizontal eye positions, the average change in direction was not different from zero. The strength of AL (= rate of change of total velocity with gaze position) correlated with nystagmus slow-phase velocity (Spearman's rho = 0.5; p < 0.05) and, on average, did not change the 3D nystagmus drift direction. In general, eye velocity did not vary linearly with eye position. Rather, there was a stronger dependence of velocity on horizontal position when subjects looked in the slow-phase direction compared to the fast-phase direction. We conclude that the theory of a simple leak of a single horizontal neural integrator is not sufficient to explain all aspects of A