Der Einfluss von Kosten auf die Vorteilhaftigkeit der Riester-Rente

Die Riester-Rente steht auf Grund der großen Bedeutung einer zusätzlichen privaten Vorsorge für die Zeit nach dem Berufsleben immer wieder im Fokus der öffentlichen Wahrnehmung. Oftmals werden dabei neben den zu erwartenden Renditechancen die Kosten der Riestergeförderten Anlageprodukte kritisiert. Dieser Beitrag zeigt dem entgegentretend anhand von simulierten Altersvorsorgevermögen unter Beachtung von Steuer- und Kosteneffekten, dass sich eine Riester-geförderte Altersvorsorge einer nicht geförderten privaten Vorsorge auch und besonders unter Einbezug von Kosten als überlegen erweisen kann

[μ-3,3′-Bis(tri­hydro­bor­yl)[3]ferroceno­phane]bis­(chlorido­zirconocene)

The title compound, [FeZr2(C5H5)4Cl2(C13H18B2)], is a heteronuclear complex that consists of a [3]ferrocenophane moiety substituted at each cyclo­penta­dienyl (Cp) ring by a BH3 group; the BH3 group is bonded via two H atoms to the Zr atom of the zirconocene chloride moiety in a bidentate fashion. The two Cp rings of the [3]ferrocenophane moiety are aligned at a dihedral angle of 8.9 (4)° arising from the strain of the propane-1,3-diyl bridge linking the two Cp rings. [One methyl­ene group is disordered over two positions with a site-occupation factor of 0.552 (18) for the major occupied site.] The dihedral angles between the Cp rings at the two Zr atoms are 50.0 (3) and 51.7 (3)°. The bonding Zr(...)H distances are in the range 1.89 (7)–2.14 (7) Å. As the two Cp rings of the ferrocene unit are connected by an ansa bridge, the two Zr atoms approach each other at 6.485 (1) Å. The crystal packing features C—H(...)Cl inter­actions

Dynamics of a quantum two-state system in a linearly driven quantum bath

When an open quantum system is driven by an external time-dependent force, the coupling of the driving to the central system is usually included whereas the impact of the driving field on the bath is neglected. We investigate the effect of a quantum bath of linearly driven harmonic oscillators on the relaxation dynamics of a quantum two-level system which itself is not directly driven. In particular, we calculate the frequency-dependent response of the system when the bath is subject to a Dirac and a Gaussian driving-pulse. We show that a time-retarded effective force on the system is induced by the driven bath which depends on the full history of the perturbation and the spectral characteristics of the underlying bath. In particular, when a structured Ohmic bath with a pronounced Lorentzian peak is considered, the dynamical response of the system to a driven bath is qualitatively different as compared to the undriven bath. Specifically, additional resonances appear which can be directly associated to a Jaynes-Cummings-like effective energy spectrum.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure

Cognition in contests: mechanisms, ecology, and evolution

Animal contests govern access to key resources and are a fundamental determinant of fitness within populations. Little is known about the mechanisms generating individual variation in strategic contest behavior or what this variation means for population level processes. Cognition governs the expression of behaviors during contests, most notably by linking experience gained with decision making, but its role in driving the evolutionary ecological dynamics of contests is only beginning to emerge. We review the kinds of cognitive mechanisms that underlie contest behavior, emphasize the importance of feedback loops and socio-ecological context, and suggest that contest behavior provides an ideal focus for integrative studies of phenotypic variation

Emergence of the mitochondrial reticulum from fission and fusion dynamics

Mitochondria form a dynamic tubular reticulum within eukaryotic cells. Currently, quantitative understanding of its morphological characteristics is largely absent, despite major progress in deciphering the molecular fission and fusion machineries shaping its structure. Here we address the principles of formation and the large-scale organization of the cell-wide network of mitochondria. On the basis of experimentally determined structural features we establish the tip-to-tip and tip-to-side fission and fusion events as dominant reactions in the motility of this organelle. Subsequently, we introduce a graph-based model of the chondriome able to encompass its inherent variability in a single framework. Using both mean-field deterministic and explicit stochastic mathematical methods we establish a relationship between the chondriome structural network characteristics and underlying kinetic rate parameters. The computational analysis indicates that mitochondrial networks exhibit a percolation threshold. Intrinsic morphological instability of the mitochondrial reticulum resulting from its vicinity to the percolation transition is proposed as a novel mechanism that can be utilized by cells for optimizing their functional competence via dynamic remodeling of the chondriome. The detailed size distribution of the network components predicted by the dynamic graph representation introduces a relationship between chondriome characteristics and cell function. It forms a basis for understanding the architecture of mitochondria as a cell-wide but inhomogeneous organelle. Analysis of the reticulum adaptive configuration offers a direct clarification for its impact on numerous physiological processes strongly dependent on mitochondrial dynamics and organization, such as efficiency of cellular metabolism, tissue differentiation and aging

Country-of-origin effects in industrial goods markets: Do country-of-origin image effects differ for different buying center members?

Most of the past findings regarding COO (country-of-origin) effects refer to consumer decision-making. While their purchase decisions are taken by the consumers themselves individually, industrial purchases are mostly conducted by organizational buying centers. This raises the question if and to what extent the impact of COO effects varies between the different members of a buying center - an issue unaddressed in research so far. Based on construal level theory we answer this question by applying a multiple mediation analysis to the empirical data, which we collected through interviews at a truck trade show. Main findings confirm the general relevance of COO effects for the purchase decision making for these industrial goods. However, the significance of this COO effect was found to be of lesser importance for product users than for non-users. On the basis of our findings, practitioners can achieve higher marketing impact through the differentiation of their marketing activities

Identification of the Drosophila melanogaster homolog of the human spastin gene

The human SPG4 locus encodes the spastin gene, which is responsible for the most prevalent form of autosomal dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia (AD-HSP), a neurodegenerative disorder. Here we identify the predicted gene product CG5977 as the Drosophila homolog of the human spastin gene, with much higher sequence similarities than any other related AAA domain protein in the fly. Furthermore we report a new potential transmembrane domain in the N-terminus of the two homologous proteins. During embryogenesis, the expression pattern of Drosophila spastin becomes restricted primarily to the central nervous system, in contrast to the ubiquitous expression of the vertebrate spastin genes. Given this nervous system-specific expression, it will be important to determine if Drosophila spastin loss-of-function mutations also lead to neurodegeneratio

Cascaded Parametric Amplification for Highly Efficient Terahertz Generation

A highly efficient, practical approach to high-energy terahertz (THz) generation based on spectrally cascaded optical parametric amplification (THz-COPA) is introduced. The THz wave initially generated by difference frequency generation between a strong narrowband optical pump and optical seed (0.1-10% of pump energy) kick-starts a repeated or cascaded energy down-conversion of pump photons. This helps to greatly surpass the quantum-defect efficiency and results in exponential growth of THz energy over crystal length. In cryogenically cooled periodically poled lithium niobate, energy conversion efficiencies >8% for 100 ps pulses are predicted. The calculations account for cascading effects, absorption, dispersion and laser-induced damage. Due to the coupled nonlinear interaction of multiple triplets of waves, THz-COPA exhibits physics distinct from conventional three-wave mixing parametric amplifiers. This in turn governs optimal phase-matching conditions, evolution of optical spectra as well as limitations of the nonlinear process.Comment: 5 pages, double colum

Дослідження впливу фосфатів на біопродуктивність Chlorella vulgaris

Підвищений вміст фосфору у водоймах є основною причиною їхньої евтрофікації. Евтрофікація – процес зростання водної рослинності, який відбувається внаслідок перевищення балансу поживних речовин. Він супроводжується надмірним розвитком водоростей, особливо зелених, синьо-зелених і діатомових, переважанням небажаних видів планктону, порушенням життєдіяльності риб. Продукти метаболізму водоростей дають воді неприємний запах, можуть викликати шкірні алергічні реакції і шлунково-кишкові захворювання у людей і тварин. Після відмирання водорості виділяють у воду поліпептиди, аміак і проміжні продукти білкового розпаду. Це може призводити до підвищення вмісту фенолів, які мають канцерогенні властивості