Ethics of Respect and Human Dignity. A Responsive Reading

One of the key concepts in recent moral debates is respect. The paper establishes the thesis that respect must first be understood as a responsive deontic demand. This occurs if beyond a universalisation of the practical law it keeps open the connection to the various pronominal versions and is shaped as response to a call which does not follow classical schemes of mere reciprocity but which takes into account the asymmetry of the other. For this reason main accounts of respect in contexts of human dignity (Immanuel Kant, Axel Honneth, Rainer Forst and others) are questioned in the horizon of the philosophy of Bernhard Waldenfels

On the comparison of incompatibility of split systems across different taxa sizes

The concept of $k$-compatibility measures how many phylogenetic trees it would take to display all splits in a given set. A set of trees that display every single possible split is termed a \textit{universal tree set}. In this note, we find $A(n)$, the minimal size of a universal tree set for $n$ taxa. By normalising the $k$-compatibility using $A(n)$, one can then compare incompatibility of split systems across different taxa sizes. We demonstrate this application by comparing two SplitsTree networks of different sizes derived from archaeal genomes.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

An Efficient Method for the In Vitro Production of Azol(in)e-Based Cyclic Peptides

Heterocycle-containing cyclic peptides are promising scaffolds for the pharmaceutical industry but their chemical synthesis is very challenging. A new universal method has been devised to prepare these compounds by using a set of engineered marine-derived enzymes and substrates obtained from a family of ribosomally produced and post-translationally modified peptides called the cyanobactins. The substrate precursor peptide is engineered to have a non-native protease cleavage site that can be rapidly cleaved. The other enzymes used are heterocyclases that convert Cys or Cys/Ser/Thr into their corresponding azolines. A macrocycle is formed using a macrocyclase enzyme, followed by oxidation of the azolines to azoles with a specific oxidase. The work is exemplified by the production of 17 macrocycles containing 6–9 residues representing 11 out of the 20 canonical amino acids

Catalytic Determinants of Alkene Production by the Cytochrome P450 Peroxygenase OleTJE.

The Jeotgalicoccus sp. peroxygenase cytochrome P450 OleTJE (CYP152L1) is a hydrogen peroxide-driven oxidase that catalyzes oxidative decarboxylation of fatty acids, producing terminal alkenes with applications as fine chemicals and biofuels. Understanding mechanisms that favor decarboxylation over fatty acid hydroxylation in OleTJE could enable protein engineering to improve catalysis or to introduce decarboxylation activity into P450s with different substrate preferences. In this manuscript, we have focused on OleTJE active site residues Phe79, His85 and Arg245 to interrogate their roles in substrate binding and catalytic activity. His85 is a potential proton donor to reactive iron-oxo species during substrate decarboxylation. The H85Q mutant substitutes a glutamine found in several peroxygenases that favor fatty acid hydroxylation. H85Q OleTJE still favors alkene production, suggesting alternative protonation mechanisms. However, the mutant undergoes only minor substrate binding-induced heme iron spin-state shift towards high-spin by comparison with WT OleTJE, indicating His85's key role in this process. Phe79 interacts with His85, and Phe79 mutants showed diminished affinity for shorter chain (C10-C16) fatty acids and weak substrate-induced high-spin conversion. F79A OleTJE is least affected in substrate oxidation, while the F79W/Y mutants exhibit lower stability and cysteine thiolate protonation on reduction. Finally, Arg245 is crucial for binding the substrate carboxylate, and R245E/L mutations severely compromise activity and heme content, although alkene products are formed from some substrates, including stearic acid (C18:0). The results identify crucial roles for the active site amino acid trio in determining OleTJE catalytic efficiency in alkene production, and in regulating protein stability, heme iron coordination and spin-state

Substanzwertrechnung bei Leasingunternehmen im Stresstest

Aufgrund der typischen asymmetrischen Aufwands- und Ertragsverteilung bei Leasingunternehmen spiegelt das bilanzielle Eigenkapital den Unternehmenswert nur unzureichend wider. Um seitens Refinanzierungspartnern ein realitäsnäheres Bild der Unternehmenssituation zu erhalten, werden in der Substanzwertrechung zusätzlich zum Eigenkapital auch zukünftige, noch nicht realisierte Erträge einbezogen. Dabei werden zu erwartende Verluste in Form von Risikoabschlägen berücksichtigt. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wird die Ausfallwahrscheinlichkeit von Unternehmen in den als Leasingnehmer wichtigen Branchen Bau, Verkehr und Gesundheit in Abhängigkeit der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung modelliert. Unter Verwendung des Modells wird mittels einer Monte-Carlo-Simulation ein Stresstest durchgeführt. Auf diese Weise wird untersucht, wie stark sich die erwarteten Verluste ändern. Dies impliziert eine vergleichbare Veränderung des Unternehmenswertes und gibt Aufschluss über die Aussagekraft des Substanzwertes

Cicerón : el decorum y la moralidad de la Retórica.

Christian Felipe Pineda Pérez (Traductor