Filtern
Erscheinungsjahr
Dokumenttyp
Sprache
- Englisch (525) (entfernen)
Volltext vorhanden
- ja (525) (entfernen)
Schlagworte
- Stress (27)
- Modellierung (20)
- Fernerkundung (18)
- Optimierung (18)
- Deutschland (16)
- Hydrocortison (13)
- Satellitenfernerkundung (13)
- Cortisol (9)
- Europäische Union (9)
- Finanzierung (9)
- cortisol (9)
- stress (9)
- Meereis (8)
- Atmosphärische Grenzschicht (7)
- COVID-19 (7)
- China (7)
- Englisch (7)
- Lernen (7)
- Partielle Differentialgleichung (7)
- Stressreaktion (7)
- Amtliche Statistik (6)
- Approximation (6)
- Entrepreneurship (6)
- Maschinelles Lernen (6)
- Motivation (6)
- Nachhaltigkeit (6)
- Neuroendokrines System (6)
- Physiologische Psychologie (6)
- Statistik (6)
- Arctic (5)
- Arktis (5)
- Aufmerksamkeit (5)
- Depression (5)
- Funktionalanalysis (5)
- Germany (5)
- Japan (5)
- Klima (5)
- Klimaänderung (5)
- Kognition (5)
- Luxemburg (5)
- Mathematik (5)
- Pandemie (5)
- Psychotherapie (5)
- Religion (5)
- Remote Sensing (5)
- Rheinland-Pfalz (5)
- Risikokapital (5)
- Shape Optimization (5)
- Stichprobe (5)
- Therapieerfolg (5)
- remote sensing (5)
- Analysis (4)
- Anpassung (4)
- Approximationstheorie (4)
- Boden (4)
- Degradation (4)
- Elektroencephalographie (4)
- Evaluation (4)
- Familienbetrieb (4)
- Funktionelle NMR-Tomographie (4)
- Funktionentheorie (4)
- Gedächtnis (4)
- Gestaltoptimierung (4)
- Gesundheit (4)
- Grenzgebiet (4)
- Höhlensalamander (4)
- Kanada (4)
- Knowledge (4)
- Langzeitgedächtnis (4)
- Laptewsee (4)
- Learning (4)
- Lebensmittel (4)
- Literatur (4)
- MODIS (4)
- Memory (4)
- Meta-Analysis (4)
- Monte-Carlo-Simulation (4)
- Nichtlineare Optimierung (4)
- Numerische Strömungssimulation (4)
- Prognose (4)
- Salamander (4)
- Schmerz (4)
- Schätzung (4)
- Selbstbild (4)
- Simulation (4)
- Unternehmen (4)
- Unternehmensgründung (4)
- Wissen (4)
- fMRI (4)
- survey statistics (4)
- Affekt (3)
- Aggression (3)
- Aktienmarkt (3)
- Algorithmus (3)
- Ambivalenz (3)
- Antarktis (3)
- Arbeitsgedächtnis (3)
- Arbeitsplatz (3)
- Biomonitoring (3)
- Bodenerosion (3)
- Bodenmikrobiologie (3)
- Covid-19 (3)
- Crowdfunding (3)
- Deep learning (3)
- Diskriminierung (3)
- Einstellung (3)
- Emotionsregulation (3)
- Entrepreneurial Finance (3)
- Erhebungsverfahren (3)
- Europe (3)
- Film (3)
- Gefühl (3)
- Gehirn (3)
- Genetische Variabilität (3)
- Geschlechtsunterschied (3)
- Griechenland (3)
- Hadamard product (3)
- Haushalt (3)
- Hochwasser (3)
- Hydrologie (3)
- Identität (3)
- Immunsystem (3)
- Individuum (3)
- Information (3)
- Interaktion (3)
- Internet (3)
- Investor (3)
- Katabatischer Wind (3)
- Kombinatorische Optimierung (3)
- Kompositionsoperator (3)
- Landsat (3)
- Landwirtschaft (3)
- Laptev Sea (3)
- Lidar (3)
- Modell (3)
- Navier-Stokes-Gleichung (3)
- Niederschlag (3)
- Numerische Mathematik (3)
- Operatortheorie (3)
- Optimale Kontrolle (3)
- Parameterschätzung (3)
- Partnerwahl (3)
- Persönlichkeitsstörung (3)
- Polargebiete (3)
- Polynja (3)
- Psychobiologie (3)
- Quadratische Optimierung (3)
- Regressionsmodell (3)
- Remote sensing (3)
- Rutschung (3)
- SARS-CoV-2 (3)
- Schätztheorie (3)
- Selbsteinschätzung (3)
- Selbstregulation (3)
- Sequentielle quadratische Optimierung (3)
- Stadt (3)
- Strahlstrom (3)
- Taiwan (3)
- Therapieabbruch (3)
- USA (3)
- Umfrage (3)
- Universalität (3)
- Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit (3)
- Visualisierung (3)
- Wald (3)
- Waldinventur (3)
- Wasserversorgung (3)
- atmospheric boundary layer (3)
- behavioral genetics (3)
- climate change (3)
- episodic memory (3)
- long-term memory (3)
- low-level jets (3)
- optimal control (3)
- proper orthogonal decomposition (3)
- regional climate model (3)
- sea ice (3)
- 20th Century (2)
- Abfluss (2)
- Abfrageverarbeitung (2)
- Abwasser (2)
- Adaptation (2)
- Adjungierte Differentialgleichung (2)
- Aerodynamic Design (2)
- Affektive Bindung (2)
- Alter (2)
- Ambivalence (2)
- Angola (2)
- Angststörung (2)
- Anlageverhalten (2)
- Antarctic (2)
- Argania spinosa (2)
- Asien (2)
- Aufsatzsammlung (2)
- Augenfolgebewegung (2)
- Automatentheorie (2)
- Beschäftigung (2)
- Big Data (2)
- Bildverarbeitung (2)
- Binomialverteilung (2)
- Biodiversität (2)
- Biogeographie (2)
- Bodenverschmutzung (2)
- Bodenwasser (2)
- Border Studies (2)
- Brustkrebs (2)
- CCLM (2)
- COSMO-CLM (2)
- Calibration (2)
- Chemische Analyse (2)
- Chinesisch (2)
- Cluster-Analyse (2)
- Datenassimilation (2)
- Datenerhebung (2)
- Deutschland / Geschichte 1871-1918 (2)
- Digitalisierung (2)
- Discrete optimization (2)
- Diskursanalyse (2)
- Distractor-Response Binding (2)
- Diversifikation (2)
- Dopamin (2)
- Drift (2)
- Einzugsgebiet (2)
- Elektroencephalogramm (2)
- Emotion (2)
- Emotionales Verhalten (2)
- Energiepflanzen (2)
- Entscheidungsfindung (2)
- Episodisches Gedächtnis (2)
- Ereigniskorreliertes Potenzial (2)
- Essstörung (2)
- Europa (2)
- European Union (2)
- Evaluative Konditionierung (2)
- Evapotranspiration (2)
- Experiment (2)
- Fallbasiertes Schließen (2)
- Family firm (2)
- Fettsucht (2)
- Feuchtgebiet (2)
- Fibromyalgie (2)
- Filmprogramm (2)
- Filmtheater / Publikum (2)
- Finanzierungsmuster (2)
- Folter (2)
- Forst (2)
- Frau (2)
- Froschlurche (2)
- Führungskraft (2)
- GPU (2)
- Geldpolitik (2)
- Genanalyse (2)
- Generationsbeziehung (2)
- Genetik (2)
- Genexpression (2)
- Geoinformation Processing (2)
- Geschlecht (2)
- Ghana (2)
- Glucocorticosteroide (2)
- Glucocorticosteroidrezeptor (2)
- Gravity Model (2)
- Gravitätsmodell (2)
- Greenland (2)
- Grenzüberschreitende Kooperation (2)
- Grönland (2)
- HPA (2)
- HPA axis (2)
- Hadamard, Jacques (2)
- Hadamardprodukt (2)
- Handlungsorientierung (2)
- Herztransplantation (2)
- Hochschule (2)
- Homologische Algebra (2)
- Humangenetik (2)
- Humus (2)
- Hybrid entrepreneurship (2)
- Hyperzyklizität (2)
- Hypothalamus-Hypophysen-Nebennierenrinden-Achse (2)
- Illegale Einwanderung (2)
- Imperial Germany (2)
- Information Retrieval (2)
- Infrarotthermographie (2)
- Insulin (2)
- Integration (2)
- Intelligenz (2)
- Interozeption (2)
- Investitionsentscheidung (2)
- Jugend (2)
- Kaiserreich (2)
- Kapitalstruktur (2)
- Kind (2)
- Kinoprogramm (2)
- Kirche (2)
- Kognitive Psychologie (2)
- Kognitive Verhaltenstherapie (2)
- Konvexe Optimierung (2)
- Kriging (2)
- Kultur (2)
- Land Degradation (2)
- Landdegradation (2)
- Landnutzung (2)
- Larve (2)
- Law of the European Union (2)
- Leistungsmotivation (2)
- Long-term memory (2)
- Luftbild (2)
- Lyrik (2)
- MODIS ice surface temperatures (2)
- Mageninhalt (2)
- Marokko (2)
- Matching (2)
- Mensch (2)
- Messung (2)
- Metaanalyse (2)
- Methode (2)
- Mittelmeerraum (2)
- Mittelstand (2)
- Mixed-integer optimization (2)
- Monitoring (2)
- Männlichkeit (2)
- Nahrung (2)
- Nanopartikel (2)
- Navier-Stokes equations (2)
- Netzwerkanalyse (2)
- Neuronales Netz (2)
- Nichtkonvexe Optimierung (2)
- Numerical Optimization (2)
- Näherungsverfahren (2)
- OBDD (2)
- OBDDs (2)
- Official Statistics (2)
- One-Shot (2)
- Operations Research (2)
- Ozon (2)
- Parameteridentifikation (2)
- Patient (2)
- Perfect competition (2)
- Phänologie (2)
- Politisches System (2)
- Polynya (2)
- Portfoliomanagement (2)
- Private Equity (2)
- Psychological stress (2)
- Psychology (2)
- Psychometrie (2)
- Psychosoziale Situation (2)
- Psychotherapeut (2)
- Recht der Europäischen Union (2)
- Reduktion (2)
- Regulierung (2)
- Religionsgemeinschaft (2)
- Religionsrecht (2)
- Risikofaktor (2)
- Risikomanagement (2)
- Robust optimization (2)
- Räumliche Statistik (2)
- Rückmeldung (2)
- Salamanders (2)
- Schizophrenie (2)
- Schreckreaktion (2)
- Schule (2)
- Schulleistung (2)
- Schätzfunktion (2)
- Schüler (2)
- Selbstkontrolle (2)
- Selbstwirksamkeit (2)
- Self-Regulation (2)
- Sexualität (2)
- Shape Spaces (2)
- Sharing Economy (2)
- Silber (2)
- Social Media (2)
- Social entrepreneurship (2)
- Sodar (2)
- Southeast Asia (2)
- Sozialpsychologie (2)
- Spanien (2)
- Staatsgrenze (2)
- Stereotyp (2)
- Stiftungsunternehmen (2)
- Stimme (2)
- Strafrecht (2)
- Strafverfahren (2)
- Stressor (2)
- Struktur (2)
- Strömungsmechanik (2)
- Student (2)
- Stummfilm (2)
- Sustainability (2)
- Synchronisierung (2)
- Teilzeitselbstständigkeit (2)
- Temperatur (2)
- Test (2)
- Thailand (2)
- Topologieoptimierung (2)
- Toxizität (2)
- Trier (2)
- Trockenwald (2)
- Trust-Region-Algorithmus (2)
- Umweltüberwachung (2)
- Universität (2)
- Unsicherheit (2)
- Unternehmenskauf (2)
- Unternehmenswachstum (2)
- Unternehmernachfolge (2)
- Validierung (2)
- Vegetation (2)
- Vegetatives Nervensystem (2)
- Venture Capital (2)
- Verfassungsrecht (2)
- Vergessen (2)
- Verhalten (2)
- Verhaltensökonomie (2)
- Vermeidung (2)
- Vernehmung (2)
- Verschwörungstheorie (2)
- Verstärkung (2)
- Visualization (2)
- Vorwissen (2)
- Wachstum (2)
- Wartezeit (2)
- Wasserbilanz (2)
- Weddellmeer (2)
- Weibliches Publikum (2)
- Weinbau (2)
- Wirtschaft (2)
- Wirtschaftspolitik (2)
- Wissenserwerb (2)
- Wissensgraph (2)
- Wohlbefinden (2)
- Working memory (2)
- Zeitreihe (2)
- Zuhause (2)
- academic self-concept (2)
- affective startle modulation (2)
- alternative Transkriptionsvarianten (2)
- alternative transcription variant (2)
- ambivalence (2)
- attitudes (2)
- audience studies (2)
- basal area increment (2)
- binomial (2)
- border (2)
- churches (2)
- criminal law (2)
- cross-border cooperation (2)
- culture (2)
- data assimilation (2)
- deep learning (2)
- depression (2)
- digitalization (2)
- directed forgetting (2)
- dopamine (2)
- drought (2)
- early cinema (2)
- empirical taxonomy (2)
- evaluative conditioning (2)
- female cinema audience (2)
- fibromyalgia (2)
- financing patterns (2)
- forest (2)
- frühes Kino (2)
- functional analysis (2)
- gender (2)
- glucocorticoid receptor (2)
- gypsum plaster (2)
- hyperspectral (2)
- image segmentation (2)
- immune system (2)
- intervention (2)
- katabatic winds (2)
- lacunary approximation (2)
- law on religion (2)
- leads (2)
- machine-learning (2)
- mating preferences (2)
- numerical analysis (2)
- obesity (2)
- official statistics (2)
- ozone (2)
- pain (2)
- para-Phenylendiamin (PPD) (2)
- partial integro-differential equations (2)
- physical activity (2)
- programming strategies (2)
- psychology (2)
- religion (2)
- religious communities (2)
- selective attention (2)
- shape optimization (2)
- silent film (2)
- small area estimation (2)
- stable boundary layer (2)
- stem detection (2)
- structured products (2)
- time series analysis (2)
- tree inclination (2)
- universality (2)
- verification (2)
- weibliches Kinopublikum (2)
- Ökologie (2)
- Ökonometrisches Modell (2)
- Ökosystemdienstleistung (2)
- (ADHD (1)
- (general) boustrophedon (returning) finite automata (1)
- (general) jumping finite automata (1)
- (regular : regular) array grammars (1)
- (regulär: regulär) Array-Grammati (1)
- 15N (1)
- 20. Jh. (1)
- 2D DIGE (1)
- 5' UTR (1)
- ACC (1)
- AFLP (1)
- ALS (1)
- ANS (1)
- APSIM model (1)
- APSIM-Modell (1)
- APT (1)
- ASEAN (1)
- ASEAN Plus Three (1)
- Abbruchregel (1)
- Abfall (1)
- Abhängigkeit (1)
- Ablagerung (1)
- Aborigines (1)
- Abschiebung (1)
- Abundanz (1)
- Abwasserreinigung (1)
- Academic Achievement (1)
- Accra (1)
- Acetylcholin (1)
- Achtsamkeit (1)
- Acidobacteria (1)
- Actinobacteria (1)
- Action control (1)
- Action vs. State Orientation (1)
- Adaptive Cluster Sampling (1)
- Adaptives System (1)
- Adaptives Verfahren (1)
- Adaptivregelung (1)
- Adjoint Equation (1)
- Adjoint Method (1)
- Adjoint Methods (1)
- Administrative Documents (1)
- Adoption (1)
- Advection-dispersion equation (1)
- Advektion-Diffusionsgleichung (1)
- Affect (1)
- Affektive Schreckreiz-Modulation (1)
- Affektive Startle Modulation (1)
- Affektstörung (1)
- African American Literature (1)
- African American Satire (1)
- Afrika (1)
- Afroamerikanische Literatur (1)
- Age Diversity (1)
- Ageing Workforce (1)
- Agency (1)
- Ah-Rezeptor (1)
- AhR (1)
- Airline (1)
- Aktienanlage (1)
- Aktienbörse (1)
- Aktienrendite (1)
- Aktivierung (1)
- Akzent (1)
- Akzeptanz (1)
- Alar (1)
- Algorithmische Lerntheorie (1)
- Allokation (1)
- Allozym-Elektrophorese (1)
- Alterität (1)
- Alternativkino (1)
- Alternierende Projektionen (1)
- Amazonas-Gebiet (1)
- American (1)
- Amnestie (1)
- Amortisierte Laufzeitanalyse (1)
- Amortized run time analysis (1)
- Analyse (1)
- Analysis on fractals (1)
- Analytisches Funktional (1)
- Anatolien / Süd (1)
- Andosol (1)
- Anemometrie (1)
- Anglistik (1)
- Animal behaviour (1)
- Anime (1)
- Annäherung (1)
- Annäherungs-Vermeidungs-Motivation (1)
- Anonymisierung (1)
- Anorexia nervosa (1)
- Anstrengung (1)
- Anthropocene (1)
- Anthropogene Klimaänderung (1)
- Anthropometrie (1)
- Anthropozän (1)
- Antibiotikum (1)
- Antiparasitäres Mittel (1)
- Anura (1)
- Anurans (1)
- Aposeris foetida (1)
- Approach-avoidance motivation (1)
- Aquatisches Ökosystem (1)
- Arbeit (1)
- Arbeitslosenversicherung (1)
- Arbeitsrecht (1)
- Arbeitsweg (1)
- Arbeitsökonomie (1)
- Arbitrage-Pricing-Theorie (1)
- Areal (1)
- Arealgrenzen (1)
- Artificial Intelligence (1)
- Artificial Neural Network (1)
- Arzneimittel (1)
- Arztserie (1)
- Ascaridol (1)
- Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1)
- Asia (1)
- Asia Pacific (1)
- Assistance System (1)
- Assisted Suicide (1)
- Association of South-East Asian Nations (1)
- Assoziatives Lernen (1)
- Asylbewerberunterkunft (1)
- Atmosphärische Turbulenz (1)
- Attitude Formation (1)
- Audiovisuelle Medien (1)
- Aufmerksamkeits-Defizit-Syndrom (1)
- Ausdauer (1)
- Ausdauernde Pflanzen (1)
- Ausdehnungsoperator (1)
- Ausgangsgestein (1)
- Ausgangssperre (1)
- Ausländische Direktinvestitionen (1)
- Auslöschung (1)
- Auslöser (1)
- Ausnahme (1)
- Ausrottung (1)
- Austalischer Busch (1)
- Australian Literature (1)
- Australian bush (1)
- Australien (1)
- Australien <Nordost> (1)
- Australienforschung (1)
- Auswahl (1)
- Auswirkung (1)
- Autismus (1)
- Autobiographie (1)
- Autokorrelation (1)
- Automata Theory (1)
- Automation of Simulation (1)
- Autonomie (1)
- Außenhandel (1)
- Außenpolitik (1)
- Außenwirtschaft (1)
- BAYES (1)
- BCI (1)
- BMAP (1)
- BRDF (1)
- BWL (1)
- Bacteria phyla (1)
- Banach Algebras (1)
- Banach space (1)
- Banach-Algebra (1)
- Banach-Raum (1)
- Bankenkrise (1)
- Banking Crises (1)
- Baroreflex (1)
- Bauchfett (1)
- Baum (1)
- Baumart (1)
- Baumwollpflanze (1)
- Bayes (1)
- Bayes-Inferenz (1)
- Bayes-Regel (1)
- Bayesian analysis (1)
- Bayesianische Analyse (1)
- Bedingte logistische Regression (1)
- Bedrohung (1)
- Bedürfnisbefriedigung (1)
- Beeinflussung (1)
- Begabtenförderung (1)
- Behalten (1)
- Behandlungstechnologien (1)
- Behavioral model (1)
- Behavioural methods (1)
- Belarus (1)
- Belebtschlamm (1)
- Belt and Road Initiative (1)
- Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) (1)
- Benzo[a]pyrene (1)
- Berechnungskomplexität (1)
- Beregnung (1)
- Bergman space (1)
- Berry-Esseen (1)
- Berufstätigkeit (1)
- Beteiligungsfinanzierung (1)
- Bethell (1)
- Beurteilungsfehler (1)
- Bevölkerungsökonomie (1)
- Bewaldung (1)
- Bewegungsmessung (1)
- Beweidung (1)
- Bewertung (1)
- Bewältigung (1)
- Beziehung (1)
- Bhagavad Gita (1)
- Bias-Korrektur (1)
- Big Five personality traits (1)
- Bildung (1)
- Bildungswesen (1)
- Bildungsökonomik (1)
- Binge-eating Disorder (1)
- Binomial (1)
- Bioakkumulation (1)
- Biogasgewinnung (1)
- Biogeochemie (1)
- Biogeography (1)
- Bioindication (1)
- Bioindikation (1)
- Biological control (1)
- Biological wastewater treatment (1)
- Biologischer Pflanzenschutz (1)
- Biomasse (1)
- Bipolar Disorder (1)
- Bipolare Störung (1)
- Birth weight (1)
- Bischof (1)
- Bishop (1)
- Black Rapist (1)
- Blattflächenindex (1)
- Blaue Berge <Australien> (1)
- Blinkreflex (1)
- Blinzelreflex (1)
- Blutegel (1)
- Bodenaggregate (1)
- Bodenbakterien (1)
- Bodenbearbeitung (1)
- Bodenfruchtbarkeit (1)
- Bodennahe Luftschicht (1)
- Bodenpilze (1)
- Bodenschutz (1)
- Bodentiere (1)
- Bodenwiderstand (1)
- Borderline Personality Disorder (1)
- Borderline-Persönlichkeitsstörung (1)
- Boundaries (1)
- Brackwasser (1)
- Brain (1)
- Branch-and-Bound-Methode (1)
- Branching Diffusion (1)
- Brandverhalten (1)
- Bregman distance (1)
- Bregman-Distanz (1)
- Brownian Motion (1)
- Brownsche Bewegung (1)
- Bruch (1)
- Brutpflege (1)
- Buehler, Robert J. (1)
- Bulimie (1)
- Burg Turaida (1)
- Burnout (1)
- Burnout-Syndrom (1)
- Buschballade (1)
- Business Angel (1)
- Business Angels (1)
- Business data (1)
- Bündel-Methode (1)
- Bürgerrechtsbewegung (1)
- C15orf53 (1)
- CAPE (1)
- CASL (1)
- CBG (1)
- CBT (1)
- CC-Chemokinrezeptor 2 (CCR2) (1)
- CCR2 (1)
- COMT Val158Met (1)
- COVID-19 pandemic (1)
- CPI; revision; substitution bias; distortion; official statistics; terms of trade; time series; free digital products; consumer value; count models (1)
- Canadian Literature (1)
- Cancellation (1)
- Capital structure (1)
- Carcinogenese (1)
- Care (1)
- Carrier-Proteine (1)
- Case-Based Reasoning (1)
- Cash holdings (1)
- Catecholmethyltransferase <Catechol-0-Methyltransferase> (1)
- Cauchy transforms (1)
- Cauchy-Transformierte (1)
- Cave (1)
- Cech cohomology of leafwise constant functions (1)
- Cech-de Rham cohomology (1)
- Census (1)
- Central Nervous System (1)
- Chain Hotel (1)
- Change (1)
- Chaotisches System (1)
- Characteristic (1)
- Cheever, John (1)
- Chemische Kommunikation (1)
- China (Nordwest) (1)
- Chinesen (1)
- Chinesisch-kanadische Literatur (1)
- Chlorophyll (1)
- Chromosom 15 (1)
- Chromosom 22 (1)
- Cingulum (1)
- Cingulum Cerebri (1)
- Client-server-Konzept (1)
- Climate Change (1)
- Cluster (1)
- Cluster Datenanalyse (1)
- Coastal Erosion (1)
- Codebuch (1)
- Cognition (1)
- Cold Pressor Test (1)
- Collexeme Analysis (1)
- Column generation (1)
- Combinatorial Optimization (1)
- Coming-out (1)
- Common Liability (1)
- Common Noise (1)
- Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) (1)
- Complex survey data (1)
- Composition algebra (1)
- Composition operator (1)
- Computation and Language (1)
- Computational Fluid Dynamics (1)
- Computational Statistics (1)
- Computational complexity (1)
- Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (1)
- Computerspiel (1)
- Computerunterstützte Kommunikation (1)
- Computerunterstütztes Lernen (1)
- Conceptual Endophenotypes (1)
- Conduct disorder (1)
- Constraint-Erfüllung (1)
- Constraints to Growth (1)
- Construal Level Theorie (1)
- Construal Level Theory (1)
- Construction Grammar (1)
- Consumer confidence (1)
- Consumer need for uniqueness (1)
- Contemporary Anglo-Canadian Literature (1)
- Continuity (1)
- Control theory (1)
- Convergence (1)
- Coping strategies (1)
- Coposititive, Infinite Dimension (1)
- Corporate Governance (1)
- Corticosteroid-bindendes Globulin (1)
- Corticosteroidrezeptor (1)
- Cortisol-Aufwach-Reaktion (1)
- Counter-Globalization (1)
- Couple constraints (1)
- Covid-19 Lockdowns (1)
- Crop classification (1)
- Cross-border Investment (1)
- Crowdinvesting (1)
- Cuvelai Etoscha Becken (1)
- Cuvelai Etosha-basin (1)
- Cytokine (1)
- Cäsium-134 (1)
- Cäsium-137 (1)
- DDT (1)
- DNA isolation (1)
- DNS-Sequenz (1)
- DSGE (1)
- Dachschiefer (1)
- Dalit (1)
- Darlehen (1)
- Das circadiane System (1)
- Data anonymization (1)
- Datenfusion (1)
- Datensammlung (1)
- Datenspeicherung (1)
- Datenstruktur (1)
- David Malouf (1)
- David Malour (1)
- DeLillo, Don (1)
- Debugging (1)
- Decision-making behavior (1)
- Decomposition (1)
- Deflation (1)
- Dekomposition (1)
- Demokratie (1)
- Demökologie (1)
- Dendrochronologie (1)
- Dendroklimatologie (1)
- Density Estimation (1)
- Deposit (1)
- Derivat <Wertpapier> (1)
- Desertification (1)
- Desertifikation (1)
- Detektion (1)
- Deutsch (1)
- Deutschland, Bundesrepublik (1)
- Deutschland, DDR (1)
- Development (1)
- Development Economics (1)
- Diagnostische Urteilskompetenz (1)
- Diaspora (1)
- Die Korrekturen (1)
- Dienstleistungsinnovation (1)
- Diet (1)
- Difference (1)
- Differentialgeometrie (1)
- Differentialgleichung (1)
- Differentielle Genexpression (1)
- Diffusionsprozess (1)
- Digital transformation (1)
- Digitale Revolution (1)
- Directed Graphs (1)
- Direkte numerische Simulation (1)
- Disambiguierung von Personennamen (1)
- Discontinuous Galerkin (1)
- Discrete Optimization, Linear Programming, Integer Programming, Extended Formulation, Graph Theory, Branch & Bound (1)
- Discrete-Time Impulse Control (1)
- Discrimination (1)
- Diskontinuierliche Galerkin-Methode (1)
- Diskretisierung (1)
- Dispersal (1)
- Dissonance (1)
- Distraktor-Reaktionsbindung (1)
- Distraktor-Verarbeitung (1)
- Distraktorverarbeitung (1)
- Distributed Systems (1)
- Distribution (1)
- Distribution <Funktionalanalysis> (1)
- Disturbance Index (1)
- Dokumentverarbeitung (1)
- Domain Decomposition (1)
- Dose-response relationship (1)
- Dosis-Wirkungs-Beziehung (1)
- Drohung (1)
- Drought (1)
- Dynamic Capabilities (1)
- Dynamische Modellierung (1)
- E-learning (1)
- E-marketing (1)
- EEG (1)
- ERP (1)
- EU Taxonomy (1)
- Early Warning (1)
- Early warning signals (1)
- East Asia (1)
- Ecological Momentary Assessment (1)
- Ecology (1)
- Economics (1)
- Ecosystem Services (1)
- Ecosystem services (1)
- Ecotoxicology (1)
- Edmond (1)
- Education (1)
- Effektivität (1)
- Ehescheidung (1)
- Eigenschaft (1)
- Eigenschaften der vorbehandelte Abfälle (1)
- Eigentum (1)
- Eindruck (1)
- Einfluss (1)
- Einkommensverteilung (1)
- Einstellungsforschung (1)
- Einstrahlung (1)
- Einwanderung (1)
- Einzelinvestor (1)
- Einzugsgebietsmanagement (1)
- Eisbildung (1)
- Eisen (1)
- Eisenhydroxide (1)
- Eisenoxide (1)
- Eiszeit (1)
- Electricity market equilibrium models (1)
- Elektroenzephalogramm (1)
- Elektrokardiogramm (1)
- Elektronische Bibliothek (1)
- Ellesmere Island (1)
- Eltern (1)
- Emotions (1)
- Empfindung (1)
- Empirische Sozialforschung (1)
- Empirische Taxonomy (1)
- Encodierung (1)
- Endemic Centre (1)
- Endemitenzentren (1)
- Energie (1)
- Energiemarkt (1)
- Energy markets (1)
- English studies (1)
- Entfremdung (1)
- Entire Function (1)
- Entsalzung (1)
- Entscheidung (1)
- Entscheidung bei Risiko (1)
- Entscheidung bei Unsicherheit (1)
- Entscheidungsverhalten (1)
- Entwaldung (1)
- Entwicklung (1)
- Entwicklungsländer (1)
- Entwicklungspolitik (1)
- Entwicklungszusammenarbeit (1)
- Environment (1)
- Environmental Monitoring (1)
- Enzym (1)
- Enzymatic reactions (1)
- Enzyme (1)
- Enzyme inhibition (1)
- Enzyme kinetics (1)
- Enzymes (1)
- Enzymimmunassay (1)
- Enzymkinetik (1)
- Epigenetik (1)
- Epistemology of Simulation (1)
- Equilibrium computation (1)
- Equity Crowdfunding (1)
- Equity Premium Puzzle (1)
- Eradication (1)
- Erbkrankheit (1)
- Erde (1)
- Ereigniskorreliertes Potential (1)
- Erfahrungsbreite (1)
- Ergebnis (1)
- Ergussgestein (1)
- Ernte (1)
- Ernährungssicherung (1)
- Erosion (1)
- Erregung (1)
- Error function (1)
- Ersatzmodellierung (1)
- Erwarteter Nutzen (1)
- Erwartung (1)
- Erweiterung (1)
- Erwerbstätigkeitsstatistik (1)
- Erzbergbau (1)
- Erzählung (1)
- Essgewohnheit (1)
- Essverhalten (1)
- Ethnische Identität (1)
- Ethnographic methods (1)
- Ethnosoziologie (1)
- Eugenol (1)
- Eulerian trails (1)
- Euro <Währung> (1)
- Europarecht (1)
- European Convention on Human Rights (1)
- European Court of Human Rights (1)
- European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (1)
- European Union Law (1)
- Europäische Union / Wasserrahmenrichtlinie (1)
- Europäische Union Verordnung zur Überprüfung ausländischer Direktinvestitionen (1)
- Eutrophierung (1)
- Event file (1)
- Event-File (1)
- Evolution (1)
- Exact Algorithms (1)
- Exakte Algorithmen (1)
- Exchange Rates (1)
- Exekuitive Funktion (1)
- Exekutive Funktionen (1)
- Exemptions (1)
- Existence (1)
- Experimentelle Wirtschaftsforschung (1)
- Experiments, Teamwork, Fundraising, Privacy Concerns (1)
- Expertise (1)
- Exponental time algorithms (1)
- Exponentialzeit Algorithmen (1)
- Exposure time (1)
- Extensionsoperatoren (1)
- Extraversion (1)
- Extremwert (1)
- Extremwertanalyse (1)
- F0 (1)
- FKBP51 (1)
- Faber operator, Faber set, Polynomial approximation, Harmonic approximation, Dirichlet-problem (1)
- Faber-Operator, Faber-Menge, Polynomielle Approximation, Harmonische Approximation, Dirichlet-Problem (1)
- Fahrassistenzsystem (1)
- Fahrerassistenzsystem (1)
- Fahrzeugverhalten (1)
- Faktorenanalyse (1)
- Faltungsoperator (1)
- Familienroman (1)
- Familienunternehmen (1)
- Family business (1)
- Fan (1)
- Fantasy (1)
- Faser (1)
- Faunal migration (1)
- Faunenmigration (1)
- Fear (1)
- Feedback (1)
- Fehleranalyse (1)
- Fehlerfunktion (1)
- Fehlzeiten (1)
- Feinkartierung (1)
- Feldforschung (1)
- Feldfrucht (1)
- Fernsehen (1)
- Fertilitätsstörung (1)
- Fetus (1)
- Feuchtwiese (1)
- Feuer (1)
- Feuersalamander (1)
- Fichte (1)
- Financial Cycle (1)
- Financing SMEs (1)
- Finanzkrise (1)
- Finanzmathematik (1)
- Finanzzyklus (1)
- Finite-Elemente-Methode (1)
- Firm performance (1)
- Firm survival (1)
- Fischerei (1)
- Fish (1)
- Fiskalpolitik (1)
- Fissurisation (1)
- Fitness (1)
- Fjord (1)
- Flechten (1)
- Fledermäuse (1)
- Flexibilität (1)
- Flugkörper (1)
- Fluoreszenzmikroskopie (1)
- Food pictures (1)
- Foreign Direct Investment (1)
- Foreign Exchange Reserves (1)
- Forest evapotranspiration (1)
- Forest hydrology (1)
- Forestry (1)
- Formal Verification (1)
- Formal languages (1)
- Formenräume (1)
- Formoptimierung (1)
- Forschung (1)
- Forstlicher Standort (1)
- Forstwirtschaft (1)
- Fragebogen (1)
- Fragmentation of Production (1)
- Fragmentierung (1)
- Fraktal (1)
- Frame Mathematik (1)
- Frankreich (1)
- Franzen, Jonathan (1)
- Frauenbewegung (1)
- Frauenforschung (1)
- Frauenlyrik (1)
- Fremdsprachenlernen (1)
- Fremdstoffmetabolismus (1)
- Frequenzbandkopplungen (1)
- Friedrich Wilhelm <Preußen (1)
- Fruchtbildung (1)
- Fréchet-Algebra (1)
- Functional soil biodiversity (1)
- Functor (1)
- Fungizid (1)
- Funktionalität (1)
- Funktionelle Biodiversität (1)
- Funktionelle Kernspintomographie (1)
- Funktor (1)
- Furcht (1)
- Fähigkeitsselbstkonzepte (1)
- GEOBIA (1)
- GPS (1)
- GR (1)
- Gamification (1)
- Ganzzahlige Optimierung (1)
- Gas Chromatography (1)
- Gasaustausch (1)
- Gauja spillway valley (1)
- Gaussian measures (1)
- Gauß-Maß (1)
- Gebietszerlegung (1)
- Gebietszerlegungsmethode (1)
- Gebirge (1)
- Gebirgswald (1)
- Gedächtnisrepräsentation (1)
- Gedächtnistest (1)
- Gefühlsreaktion (1)
- Gegen-Globalisierung (1)
- Gegenstimulation (1)
- Gehirn-Computer-Schnittstelle (1)
- Geistiges Eigentum (1)
- Gemeinde (1)
- Gemischt-ganzzahlige Optimierung (1)
- Genauigkeit (1)
- Gender (1)
- Generalized Variance Functions (1)
- Generationsverhältnis (1)
- Genesung (1)
- Geneva Emotional Competence Test (1)
- Genre (1)
- Geodatenverarbeitung (1)
- Geoelektrik (1)
- Geoinformationssystem (1)
- Geowissenschaften (1)
- Gerechtigkeit (1)
- Gerichteter Graph (1)
- German Federal Constitution (1)
- German criminal law (1)
- German-Polish border (1)
- Geschichte 2500 v. Chr.-2000 (1)
- Geschlechterrolle Motiv (1)
- Gesellschaft (1)
- Gesichtsfeld (1)
- Gesundheitsschutz (1)
- Gesundheitsverhalten (1)
- Gesundheitsökonomie (1)
- Getreide (1)
- Gewalt (1)
- Gewerkschaft (1)
- Gewitter (1)
- Gips (1)
- Gipsplatte (1)
- Girls Love (1)
- Gittererzeugung (1)
- Glaziale Refugien (1)
- Gleichgewichtstheorie (1)
- Globale Konvergenz (1)
- Globale Optimierung (1)
- Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR) (1)
- Glucocorticoidrezeptor (1)
- Glucocorticoids (1)
- Glukokortikoidrezeptor (1)
- Governance (1)
- Graph Minors (1)
- Graph Rewriting (1)
- Graph Visualization (1)
- Graphen mit Eulerschen Pfaden (1)
- Graphentheorie (1)
- Graphikprozessor (1)
- Graphvisualisierung (1)
- Grasslands (1)
- Greater Region (1)
- Greater Region SaarLorLux (1)
- Greedy-Algorithmus (1)
- Green Finance (1)
- Grenzarbeitnehmer (1)
- Grenzpolitische Kontrolle (1)
- Grenzüberschreitung (1)
- Grey's Anatomy (1)
- Großbritannien (1)
- Großregion (1)
- Grundfrequenz (1)
- Grundschullehrer (1)
- Grundwasserbildung (1)
- Grundwasserstrom (1)
- Gruppe (1)
- Gruppierung (1)
- Gründerinnen (1)
- Grünland (1)
- Gyrifikation (1)
- Gärung (1)
- HEXAGON (1)
- HPA-Achse (1)
- HPC (1)
- Habitatfragmentierung (1)
- Habituation (1)
- Hadamard cycle (1)
- Hadamardzyklus (1)
- Haftung (1)
- Handel (1)
- Handlungsregulation (1)
- Handlungstheorie (1)
- Hang (1)
- Hapten (1)
- Hardy space (1)
- Hassler Whitney (1)
- Hauptkomponentenanalyse (1)
- Haut (1)
- Hautzelle (1)
- Health Literacy (1)
- Heart rate (1)
- Heimat (1)
- Hemisphärendominanz (1)
- Hemopump (1)
- Herpetology (1)
- Herzkrankheit (1)
- Heteronormativity (1)
- Heteronormativität Motiv (1)
- Heuschrecken (1)
- Hidden Champions (1)
- Higher Education (1)
- Hippocampus (1)
- Hippocampus Aktivierung (1)
- Hippocampus Atrophie (1)
- Hippocampus Volumen (1)
- Hirnforschung (1)
- Hirnfunktion (1)
- Hochmoorgelbling (1)
- Hong Kong (1)
- Hongkong (1)
- Human (1)
- Human behaviour (1)
- Humankapital (1)
- Hybrid Modelling (1)
- Hybridisierung (1)
- Hybridkrieg (1)
- Hydrodynamik (1)
- Hydrogeologie (1)
- Hydrological Modeling (1)
- Hydrology (1)
- Hypercyclicity (1)
- Hypergeometrische Funktionen (1)
- Hyperhidrose (1)
- Hyperlink-Proposals (1)
- Hyperspectral (1)
- Hyperspektraldaten (1)
- Hyperspektraler Sensor (1)
- Hypoelliptischer Operator (1)
- Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (1)
- Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (1)
- Hypothesis Testing (1)
- Häufigkeit (1)
- Höhle (1)
- IV.> (1)
- Ice production (1)
- Identity (1)
- Identitätsentwicklung (1)
- Identitätsfindung (1)
- Image Processing (1)
- Imagination (1)
- Immundefekt (1)
- Immunfunktion (1)
- Immunglobulintherapie (1)
- Immunisation (1)
- Immunisierung (1)
- Immunoglobulin (1)
- Impact Investing (1)
- Implizites Lernen (1)
- Implizites Motiv (1)
- Implizites Sequenzlernen (1)
- Implizites Wissen (1)
- Impulsivität (1)
- In aller Freundschaft (1)
- In-vitro-Kultur (1)
- Indian Philosophy (1)
- Indien (1)
- Individualisierte Medizin (1)
- Individualisierung (1)
- Individuenbasiertes Modell (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Indonesien (1)
- Induktiver Limes (1)
- Industrielle Beziehungen (1)
- Information Seeking (1)
- Information Visualization (1)
- Informationsverarbeitung (1)
- Informationsverhalten (1)
- Informationsvisualisierung (1)
- Infrarot (1)
- Infusion (1)
- Inhalation (1)
- Inhalation Toxicology (1)
- Inhibition (1)
- Inhibitorische Kontrolle (1)
- Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) (1)
- Inkongruenz (1)
- Innere-Punkte-Methode (1)
- Innovation (1)
- Insektizid (1)
- Insel-Verdriftungen (1)
- Instruktion (1)
- Integraloperator (1)
- Integrated Circuits (1)
- Integration <Politik> (1)
- Integrierbarkeit (1)
- Integrodifferentialgleichung (1)
- Intelligence Structure Battery (1)
- Intelligence profiles (1)
- Intelligenztest (1)
- Intention (1)
- Intention Enactment (1)
- Interaction (1)
- Intergenerational knowledge transfer (1)
- Interkulturalität (1)
- International Trade (1)
- Internet statistics (1)
- Internetdienst (1)
- Interoception (1)
- Interpersonal conflict (1)
- Interpersonale Kommunikation (1)
- Intersektionalität (1)
- Intervallalgebra (1)
- Intranasal insulin (1)
- Intrusionen (1)
- Inversion (1)
- Investition (1)
- Investmentfonds (1)
- Investorenkommunikation (1)
- Invisible Man (1)
- Iran (1)
- Iron (1)
- Islamic Banking (1)
- Islamic Finance (1)
- Islamic State (1)
- Islamische Bank (1)
- Islamischer Staat (1)
- Islamisches Finanzwesen (1)
- Island-drifts (1)
- Isoeugenol (1)
- Isolation <Soziologie> (1)
- Italien (1)
- J.C. (1)
- Jahrtausendwende (1)
- Jamsession (1)
- Japanese popular culture (1)
- Japanese studies (1)
- Japanologie (1)
- Japanology (1)
- Jazz (1)
- Jews (1)
- Jonathan Franzen (1)
- Juden (1)
- Judenverfolgung (1)
- Junge Frau (1)
- KMU (1)
- KMU-Finanzierung (1)
- Kakuma (1)
- Kalkulationsverfahren (1)
- Kaltwasserstresstest (1)
- Kaltwasssertest (1)
- Kanadische Literatur (1)
- Kanadistik (1)
- Kanon / Literatur (1)
- Kapitalanlage (1)
- Kapitalertrag (1)
- Karbon (1)
- Kardiovaskuläre Krankheit (1)
- Karst (1)
- Karte (1)
- Kartierung (1)
- Kassenhaltung (1)
- Kastration (1)
- Kaulquappe (1)
- Kegel (1)
- Kenia (1)
- Kenya (1)
- Kerala (1)
- Keralite women (1)
- Keratiniozyten (1)
- Keratinocytes (1)
- Kernspintomographie (1)
- Kiefer (1)
- Kieselerden (1)
- Kirchen (1)
- Klassiche Lidschlagkonditionierung (1)
- Klassifikation (1)
- Klassische Konditionierung (1)
- Klein- und Mittelbetrieb (1)
- Kleinman (1)
- Klient (1)
- Klimamodell (1)
- Klimawandel (1)
- Koerperwahrnehmung (1)
- Kognitive Entwicklung (1)
- Kognitive Kompetenz (1)
- Kognitive Psychotherapie (1)
- Kohlendioxidsenke (1)
- Kom (1)
- Kommunikation (1)
- Komplexe Netzwerke (1)
- Komplexe Systeme (1)
- Komplexität (1)
- Komplikation (1)
- Kompositionsalgebra (1)
- Konditionierung (1)
- Konfidenzbereich (1)
- Konfliktregelung (1)
- Konfluente hypergeometrische Funktion (1)
- Konformitätsprüfung (1)
- Konservierende Bodenbearbeitung (1)
- Konsumentenvertrauen (1)
- Kontaktdermatitis (1)
- Kontamination (1)
- Kontrastive Linguistik (1)
- Kontrollierte Therapiestudie (1)
- Kontrolltheorie (1)
- Konvektions-Diffusionsgleichung (1)
- Konvergenz (1)
- Konvergenztheorie (1)
- Konzeptuelle Endophänotypen (1)
- Kopplungs- und Mutationsanalysen (1)
- Korea (1)
- Korean Civil Code (1)
- Kortex (1)
- Kosten-Nutzen-Analyse (1)
- Kriegsfotografie (1)
- Krylov subspace methods (1)
- Krylov-Verfahren (1)
- Kulturvergleich (1)
- Kunststoff (1)
- Kurtosis (1)
- König (1)
- Körper (1)
- Körpererfahrung (1)
- Körpertherapie (1)
- Künstliche Intelligenz (1)
- Künstliches Fließgewässer (1)
- Küstenmeer (1)
- LAI (1)
- LAP (1)
- LB-Algebra (1)
- LG children (1)
- Labour economics (1)
- Lagerung (1)
- Lam Dong (1)
- Landsat-8 OLI (1)
- Langeweile (1)
- Laplace-Differentialgleichung (1)
- Laptev See (1)
- Larva (1)
- Later-stage ventures (1)
- Laubwald (1)
- Lauris (1)
- Leaf Area Index (1)
- League of Legends (1)
- Leben (1)
- Lebensalter (1)
- Lebensereignis (1)
- Lebenskrise (1)
- Lebensplan (1)
- Lebensqualität (1)
- Lebenszyklusanalyse (1)
- Leech (1)
- Legalisierung (1)
- Leistungsmessung (1)
- Leistungstest (1)
- Lerntechnik (1)
- Lesvos (1)
- Lettland / Verfassung <1991> (1)
- Level Set Methode (1)
- Level constraints (1)
- Lexikologie (1)
- Lexikostatistik (1)
- LiDAR (1)
- Lichens (1)
- Life Cycle Assessment (1)
- Liminalität (1)
- Limnology (1)
- Linear complementarity problems (1)
- Lineare Dynamik (1)
- Lineare Funktionalanalysis (1)
- Linearer partieller Differentialoperator (1)
- Linguistik (1)
- Literary discourse (1)
- Literaturproduktion (1)
- Logischer Entwurf (1)
- Lohnfortzahlung (1)
- Luftverschmutzung (1)
- Lunge (1)
- Lurche (1)
- Lymphozyt (1)
- Lynching (1)
- Längsschnittuntersuchung (1)
- Lückenapproximation (1)
- M&A decision criteria (1)
- M&A process (1)
- MALDI-TOF MS (1)
- MBA-Technologie (1)
- MBT technology (1)
- MCP-1 (1)
- MLC1 (1)
- MOSAiC (1)
- MR (1)
- Machine Learning (1)
- Macht (1)
- Macroeconomics (1)
- Madagascar (1)
- Mais (1)
- Maisanbau (1)
- Maissilage (1)
- Makrophage (1)
- Makroökonomisches Modell (1)
- Managementstrategien (1)
- Manga (1)
- Mangrove (1)
- Mann (1)
- Marke (1)
- Marketing (1)
- Markov Inkrement (1)
- Markov Jump Process (1)
- Markov-Kette (1)
- Markov-Prozess (1)
- Marktführer (1)
- Marktmechanismus (1)
- Mary (1)
- Maskerade <Motiv> (1)
- Maskerade von Charakter und Text (1)
- Maskulinität (1)
- Masquerade of Characters and Text (1)
- Mass Customization (1)
- Massendaten (1)
- Matching polytope (1)
- Mathematische Lerntheorie (1)
- Mathematisches Modell (1)
- Matrixcone (1)
- Matrixzerlegung (1)
- Matroidtheorie (1)
- Mean Field Games (1)
- Measure & Conquer (1)
- Meat Consumption (1)
- Meat Paradox (1)
- Mechanical and biological treatment (1)
- Mechanisch-biologische Abfallbehandlung (1)
- Mechanisch-biologische Verfahren (1)
- Mechanische Eigenschaft (1)
- Mechanismen (1)
- Mechanismus-Design-Theorie (1)
- Medien (1)
- Medien / Wandel (1)
- Medienwissenschaft (1)
- Mediterrane Rangelands (1)
- Mediterranean (1)
- Mediterranean Rangelands (1)
- Meeresströmung (1)
- Mehrgitterverfahren (1)
- Mellin transformation (1)
- Mellin-Transformierte (1)
- Menschenbild (1)
- Menschenrecht (1)
- Menstruationszyklus (1)
- Mergelyan (1)
- Mesh Generation (1)
- Mesh Quality (1)
- Messenger-RNS (1)
- Meta-Analyse (1)
- Meta-analysis (1)
- Metabolism (1)
- Metadaten (1)
- Meteorologie (1)
- Meteorologische Messung (1)
- Methode der kleinsten Quadrate (1)
- Methode der logarithmischen Barriere (1)
- Methodologie (1)
- Methodologies (1)
- Methylierung und SNPs (1)
- Methylphenidat (1)
- Middle Ages (1)
- Middleware (1)
- Mietpreis (1)
- Migration (1)
- Migrationspolitik (1)
- Mikrofaser (1)
- Mikrosatelliten (1)
- Mikrozensus (1)
- Milde Depression (1)
- MinION (1)
- Mindesthaltbarkeitsdatum (1)
- Minecraft (1)
- Mineral (1)
- Mineralogie (1)
- Mineralokortikoidrezeptor (1)
- Minor <Graphentheorie> (1)
- Mischung (1)
- Mischverteilungs VAR (1)
- Missing Data (1)
- Mitgefühl (1)
- Mitochondria (1)
- Mittag-Leffler Funktion (1)
- Mittag-Leffler function (1)
- Mittelalter (1)
- Mittelgebirge (1)
- Mittelmoseltal (1)
- Mixed Local-Nonlocal PDE (1)
- Mixed Models (1)
- Mixture VAR (1)
- Mixture-Model (1)
- MoDC (1)
- MoDZ (1)
- Mobile Networks (1)
- Mobile Telekommunikation (1)
- Mobility (1)
- Mobilität (1)
- Modelling (1)
- Modellprädiktive Regelung (1)
- Moderator (1)
- Moderators and mediators (1)
- Moderner Roman (1)
- Modernity (1)
- Modulation (1)
- Mohrenfalter (1)
- Monozyt (1)
- Monozyten-chemotaktische Protein 1 (MCP-1) (1)
- Monte Carlo Simulation (1)
- Monte-Carlo Methods (1)
- Monte-Carlo simulation (1)
- Moor (1)
- Moose (1)
- Moria (1)
- Morphologie (1)
- Morphologie 〈Linguistik〉 (1)
- Mortality Salience (1)
- Mortalitätssalienz (1)
- Mosses (1)
- Motif of Disguise (1)
- Motiv (1)
- Motor mimicry (1)
- MouseTracker (1)
- Multi-Level Modelling (1)
- Multi-Source Estimation (1)
- Multiculturalism (1)
- Multilineare Algebra (1)
- Multinomial (1)
- Multiplikationssatz (1)
- Multispektralfotografie (1)
- Multithreading (1)
- Mund-Nasen-Schutz (1)
- Muromachi (1)
- Musikerlebnis (1)
- Muster <Struktur> (1)
- Mutation (1)
- Mykotoxin (1)
- Männlichkeit Motiv (1)
- N-Acetyltransferase 1 (NAT1) (1)
- N-acetyltransferase 1 (NAT1) (1)
- NMR-Spektroskopie (1)
- NOAA AVHRR (1)
- NP-hartes Problem (1)
- Nadelwald (1)
- Nahrungsaufnahme (1)
- Nares-Straße (1)
- Nash–Cournot competition (1)
- Nationalpark Hunsrück-Hochwald (1)
- Nationalstaat (1)
- Natur (1)
- Naturbilder (1)
- Nature and society (1)
- Naturgefahr (1)
- Nebenbedingung (1)
- Neid (1)
- Neptungras (1)
- Nervennetz (1)
- Netzwerk (1)
- Neumann-Problem (1)
- Neuropattern (1)
- Neuseeland (1)
- Neuzeit / Geschichte 1450-1650 (1)
- New Zealand (1)
- Newton (1)
- Newton-Verfahren (1)
- Nichtfortsetzbare Potenzreihe (1)
- Nichtglatte Optimierung (1)
- Nichtlineare Dynamik (1)
- Nichtlokalität (1)
- Nische (1)
- Nitrogen Deposition (1)
- Nominalphrase (1)
- Non-economic goals (1)
- Nonlinear Optimization (1)
- Nonlocal (1)
- Nonlocal Diffusion (1)
- Nonlocal convection-diffusion (1)
- Nordterritorium <Australien> (1)
- Nordwestchina (1)
- Normalverteilung (1)
- North Water Polynya (1)
- Norwegen (1)
- Nostalgie (1)
- Novel (1)
- Nuklearrezeptoren (1)
- Numerical Methods (1)
- Numerics (1)
- Numerisches Verfahren (1)
- Nutzpflanzen (1)
- Nutzwertanalyse (1)
- Nährstoffverlust (1)
- Oberflächenströmung (1)
- Oberflächentemperatur (1)
- Obermosel-Gebiet (1)
- One-Belt-One-Road-Initiative (1)
- OpenStreetMap (1)
- Optimal Control on Unbounded Space Domains (1)
- Optimal Multivariate Allocation (1)
- Optimierung bei nichtlinearen partiellen Differentialgleichungen (1)
- Optimierung unter Unsicherheiten (1)
- Optimization under Uncertainty (1)
- Opting out of School Obligations for Religious Reasons (1)
- Optionen (1)
- Optionspreis (1)
- Orbicularis-oculi-Reflex (1)
- Ordered Binary Decision Diagrams (1)
- Organic phosphorus compounds (1)
- Organisation (1)
- Organisational learning (1)
- Organisationswandel (1)
- Organization (1)
- Orientierung (1)
- Orthogonale Zerlegung (1)
- Orthoptera (1)
- Oxford Nanopore Technologies (1)
- Ozon-Phytotoxizität (1)
- Ozonbelastung (1)
- Ozone flux model (1)
- Ozonflussmodell (1)
- P-Glykoprotein (1)
- P-Konvexität für Träger (1)
- P-Konvexität für singuläre Träger (1)
- P-convexity for singular supports (1)
- P-convexity for supports (1)
- PBMC (1)
- PDE Beschränkungen (1)
- PDE Constraints (1)
- PDE-constrained optimization (1)
- PERIOD Gene (1)
- PERIOD gene (1)
- PERIOD genes (1)
- PIDE constrained Optimal Control (1)
- POD-Methode (1)
- PPD (1)
- PTSD (1)
- Pakistan (1)
- Paleogenetics (1)
- Parameter dependence of solutions of linear partial differential equations (1)
- Parameterabhängige Lösungen linearer partieller Differentialgeichungen (1)
- Parameterabhängigkeit (1)
- Parameterisierte Algorithmen (1)
- Parameterized Algorithms (1)
- Parametric Bootstrap (1)
- Parametrische Optimierung (1)
- Parametrisierte Approximation (1)
- Parapatrie (1)
- Parapatry (1)
- Parasitism (1)
- Parasitismus (1)
- Patagonia (1)
- Patagonien Süd (1)
- Patagonien, Süd (1)
- Pathogener Mikroorganismus (1)
- Patienteninformation (1)
- Patientenorientierte Medizin (1)
- Patientin (1)
- Patients (1)
- Patrick White (1)
- Patriotismus (1)
- Pedotransfer Functions (1)
- Peer-Review (1)
- Peer-to-Peer-Netz (1)
- Penalized Maximum Likelihood (1)
- Penalty-Methode (1)
- Penman-Monteith equation (1)
- Perfektionismus (1)
- Performance (1)
- Perfusion (1)
- Periodic Queues (1)
- Personalentwicklung (1)
- Personalisierte Psychotherapie (1)
- Personalisierung (1)
- Personalized Medicine (1)
- Personalized mental health (1)
- Personenname (1)
- Persönlichkeit (1)
- Persönlichkeitsfaktor (1)
- Peru (1)
- Pesticide, Agrochemical, Wall lizard, Podarcis muralis, Biomarker, Buccal Swab, Reptile, Squamata (1)
- Pesticides (1)
- Pestizid-Anwendungen (1)
- Pestizidbelastung (1)
- Pflanzenbau (1)
- Pflanzenschutzmitteln (1)
- Pflanzenwachstum (1)
- Pfälzerwald (1)
- Pharmazeutika (1)
- Phasen-Amplituden-Kopplung (1)
- Phonologie (1)
- Phosphatelimination (1)
- Phosphatgips (1)
- Phosphor elimination (1)
- Phosphororganische Verbindungen (1)
- Phylogenetic analysis (1)
- Phylogenie (1)
- Phylogeographie (1)
- Physical activity (1)
- Physikalisch-chemische Eigenschaft (1)
- Physikalische Eigenschaft (1)
- Physiologische Psychotherapie (1)
- Phänomenologische Soziologie (1)
- Phänotyp (1)
- Plant pathogen repression (1)
- Plasmaersatz (1)
- Plazenta (1)
- Pokémon (1)
- Polen (1)
- Politisches Handeln (1)
- Polychlorierte Biphenyle (1)
- Polyeder (1)
- Polymorphismus (1)
- Pop-Kultur (1)
- Population Ecology (1)
- Populationsgenetik (1)
- Populationsmodellierung (1)
- Portfolio Selection (1)
- Posidonia oceanica fibers (1)
- Positive affect (1)
- Positiver Affekt (1)
- Post-colonialism (1)
- Postcolonialism (1)
- Postmoderne (1)
- Postpostmoderne (1)
- Posttraumatisches Stresssyndrom (1)
- Potential theory (1)
- Power Motivation (1)
- Precautionary saving (1)
- Precision mental health (1)
- Predation (1)
- Prediction (1)
- Preis (1)
- Preistheorie (1)
- Pressorezeptor (1)
- Primary photon fluence rates (1)
- Principal-agent model (1)
- Principle of Rhythmic Alternation (1)
- Private Banking (1)
- Privatisierung (1)
- Privatrecht (1)
- Problemlösen (1)
- Process benchmarking (1)
- Process-Oriented Case-Based Reasoning (1)
- Product estimator (1)
- Produktschätzer (1)
- Prognosis (1)
- Programm (1)
- Projective Limit (1)
- Projektiver Limes (1)
- Proliferation (1)
- Promotorregion (1)
- Property Law (1)
- Propriety (1)
- Prosa (1)
- Prosocial behavior (1)
- Proteomanalyse (1)
- Provinz Copperbelt (1)
- Provinz Golestan (1)
- Provokation (1)
- Proximal-Punkt-Verfahren (1)
- Prozessanalyse (1)
- Prozessbenchmarking (1)
- Prozessmanagement (1)
- Prozessor (1)
- Prädetermination <Linguistik> (1)
- Präferenz (1)
- Präferenzieller Fluss (1)
- Präpulsinhibierung (1)
- Präsentismus (1)
- Prüfungsangst (1)
- Pseudogley (1)
- Psychiatric genetics (1)
- Psychische Belastung (1)
- Psychische Störung (1)
- Psychisches Trauma (1)
- Psychologie (1)
- Psychologiestudierende (1)
- Psychologiestudium (1)
- Psychologische Diagnostik (1)
- Psychologische Distanz (1)
- Psychometrischer Intelligenztest (1)
- Psychophysiology (1)
- Psychotherapeutische Versorgung (1)
- Pufferspeicher (1)
- Pulsatilität (1)
- Pyroklastit (1)
- Pädagogische Diagnostik (1)
- Q-sort method (1)
- Qualitative Comparative Analysis (1)
- Qualitative Komparative Analyse (1)
- Qualitätssicherung (1)
- Quantisierung (1)
- Quantisierungkugel (1)
- Quantisierungsradius (1)
- Quantization (1)
- Quelle (1)
- Querschnittsrendite (1)
- Queues (1)
- RCT (1)
- Racism (1)
- Radar (1)
- Radikalismus (1)
- Radiometrie (1)
- Raketenabwehr (1)
- Ralph Ellison (1)
- Randmeer (1)
- Rasse (1)
- Rassenmischung (1)
- Rassentrennung (1)
- Rassismus (1)
- Rassismus <Motiv> (1)
- Raum (1)
- Raumordnung (1)
- Reaktion (1)
- Real Estate Investment Trusts (1)
- Rebel Governance (1)
- Recht <Motiv> (1)
- Rechte Hemisphäre (1)
- Rechteckwahrscheinlichkeit (1)
- Rechtsphilosophie (1)
- Rechtspolitik (1)
- Rechtsradikalismus (1)
- Rechtsreform (1)
- Rechtsstaatsprinzip (1)
- Rechtstheorie (1)
- Rechtsvergleichung (1)
- Reduktionssystem (1)
- Reflectance Modeling (1)
- Reflexionsmodellierung (1)
- Reflexionsspektroskopie (1)
- Reform (1)
- Reforms (1)
- Refugee camps (1)
- Regenwurmgang (1)
- Regierung (1)
- Regionalentwicklung (1)
- Regression (1)
- Regression Kriging (1)
- Regression estimator, household surveys, calibration, weighting, integrated weighting (1)
- Regression models (1)
- Regressionsanalyse (1)
- Regret and benign envy (1)
- Regular Expressions (1)
- Regularisierung (1)
- Regularisierungsverfahren (1)
- Regulärer Ausdruck (1)
- Reihenfolgeproblem (1)
- Reisebericht (1)
- Reiz-Reaktions Bindung (1)
- Reizantwort (1)
- Reizverarbeitung (1)
- Relatives Alter (1)
- Reliabilität (1)
- Religionsausübung (1)
- Religionsgemeinschaften (1)
- Religionsunterricht (1)
- Religious Instruction (1)
- Religiöse Identität (1)
- Repertoire (1)
- Reproduction (1)
- Request-Prediction (1)
- Resilienz (1)
- Response Surface Analysis (1)
- Ressourcen-Konkurrenz (1)
- Ressourcenpolitik (1)
- Retirement, Fertility, Sexuality (1)
- Reue (1)
- Revue (1)
- Revuetheater (1)
- Rhizosphäre (1)
- Riemannsche Geometrie (1)
- Right-Wing Extremism (1)
- Risiko-Aufnahme Kanal (1)
- Risikoanalyse (1)
- Risikomaß (1)
- Risk-Taking Channel (1)
- Robust Statistics (1)
- Robust methods (1)
- Robuste Schätzung (1)
- Robuste Statistik (1)
- Robustheit (1)
- Rollentheorie (1)
- Rollenverhalten (1)
- Roman (1)
- Routine outcome monitoring (1)
- Ruhestand (1)
- Rundungsfehler (1)
- Russian invasion (1)
- Russisch-Ukrainischer Krieg (1)
- Ruthenium-106 (1)
- Räumliche Anordnung (1)
- Räumliche Verteilung (1)
- SAR (1)
- SARS‐CoV‐2 (1)
- SME (1)
- SME financing (1)
- SNP (1)
- SODAR (1)
- SODAR/RASS (1)
- Saar-Lor-Lux (1)
- Sakkade (1)
- Salzgehalt (1)
- Sambia (1)
- Samen (1)
- Samenkeimung (1)
- Sardinien (1)
- Sasaki Dōyo (1)
- Satellit (1)
- Satire (1)
- Satiriker (1)
- Satirischer Roman (1)
- Saving behaviour (1)
- Scan Statistik (1)
- Schafweide (1)
- Scharia (1)
- Schelfeis (1)
- Schiefe (1)
- Schizophrenia (1)
- Schmetterlinge (1)
- Schnittebenen (1)
- School (1)
- Schreckreflex (1)
- Schriftstellerin (1)
- Schudra (1)
- Schulbildung (1)
- Schulbuchstreit (1)
- Schullaufbahn (1)
- Schullaufbahnempfehlung (1)
- Schulzeugnis (1)
- Schuyler (1)
- Schwangersch (1)
- Schwangerschaft (1)
- Schwarze (1)
- Schweiz (1)
- Schweizer Alpen (1)
- Schweißabsonderung (1)
- Schwermetall (1)
- Schwitzen (1)
- Schädling (1)
- Schäferspiel (1)
- Science, technology and society (1)
- Sea ice (1)
- Sediment (1)
- Seed germination (1)
- Segregation (1)
- Sekundarstufe (1)
- Sekundärkrankheit (1)
- Selbst-Concordanz (1)
- Selbstkonzept (1)
- Selbstorganisation (1)
- Selbstorganisierende Karte (1)
- Selbstständigkeit (1)
- Selbstwert (1)
- Selbstwertgefühl (1)
- Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung (1)
- Selbstüberwachung (1)
- Selective attention (1)
- Selektion (1)
- Selektivität (1)
- Self-Organizing Maps (1)
- Self-organizing Maps (1)
- Semiinfinite Optimierung (1)
- Sensibilisierung <Immunologie> (1)
- Sequenzanalyse (1)
- Sequenzanalyse / Chemie (1)
- Service (1)
- Service Innovation (1)
- Sewernaja Semlja (1)
- Sexualdimorphismus (1)
- Shallow Water Equations (1)
- Shape Calculus (1)
- Shape Kalkül (1)
- Shape Optimiztion (1)
- Shape SQP Methods (1)
- Shareholder-Value-Analyse (1)
- Sharia (1)
- Sheep (1)
- Shifting cultivation (1)
- Siamese Graph Neural Networks (1)
- Sicherheit und Ordnung (1)
- Sicherheitspolitik (1)
- Silver Nanoparticles (1)
- Silver nanoparticles (1)
- Simulation Studies (1)
- Simulation study (1)
- Sinonatrix (1)
- Sistānbecken (1)
- Skill Variety (1)
- Sklaverei (1)
- Small Area (1)
- Small Area Estimation (1)
- Small Area Verfahren (1)
- Small area estimation (1)
- Smoking) (1)
- Social Capital (1)
- Social Enterprise (1)
- Social Entrepreneurship (1)
- Social Innovation (1)
- Social anxiety disorder (1)
- Socialism, Socialist values and attitudes, Socialist legacy, Literature review, Entrepreneurship intention, Business takeover, Career choice reasons, and TPB model. (1)
- Sociology (1)
- Software Visualization (1)
- Softwarearchitektur (1)
- Softwarevisualisierung (1)
- Soil (1)
- Soil microbial community (1)
- Soil parameterization (1)
- Soil texture (1)
- Solar thermal desalination technique (1)
- Solarthermische Entsalzungstechnologie (1)
- Somatic experiencing (1)
- Source Code Augmentation (1)
- Southern Africa (1)
- Sozialangst (1)
- Soziale Ungleichheit (1)
- Soziale Unterstützung (1)
- Sozialer Stress (1)
- Sozialinnovation (1)
- Sozialismus (1)
- Sozialkapital (1)
- Sozialverhalten (1)
- Sozialwesen (1)
- Sozialökologie (1)
- Soziolinguistik (1)
- Sparverhalten (1)
- Spatial (1)
- Spatial Ramsey Model (1)
- Spatial autocorrelation (1)
- Spatial correlation (1)
- Spatial learning (1)
- Speichel (1)
- Speicherdirektzugriff (1)
- Spektrale Emissivität (1)
- Spektroradiometrie (1)
- Spektroskopie (1)
- Spektrum <Mathematik> (1)
- Speleomantes (1)
- Spitzbergen (1)
- Spline (1)
- Splitting (1)
- Sprachverarbeitung (1)
- Staatsanleihe (1)
- Stabile Isotope (1)
- Stability (1)
- Stable Isotopes (1)
- Stadtplanung (1)
- Stagnosols (1)
- Stamm Botanik (1)
- Standard ML (1)
- Standortplanung (1)
- Stanley (1)
- Stark stetige Halbgruppe (1)
- Startle modulation (1)
- Startle reflex (1)
- Statistical Learning (1)
- Statistical Matching (1)
- Statistical Mechanics of complex networks (1)
- Statistical Properties (1)
- Statistische Mechanik komplexer Netze (1)
- Statistisches Modell (1)
- Status (1)
- Steilhang (1)
- Sterbehilfe (1)
- Sterbehilfe Italien (1)
- Sterbehilfe italienische Perspektive (1)
- Steroidhormonrezeptor (1)
- Stichprobenfehler (1)
- Stichprobennahme (1)
- Stickstoffdeposition (1)
- Stickstoffoxide (1)
- Stillen (1)
- Stimulus-Response binding (1)
- Stimulus-response learning (1)
- Stipendiat (1)
- Stirnhirn (1)
- Stochastic Differential Equation (1)
- Stochastische Approximation (1)
- Stochastische Differentialgleichungen (1)
- Stochastische Optimierung (1)
- Stochastische Quantisierung (1)
- Stochastische optimale Kontrolle (1)
- Stochastischer Prozess (1)
- Stofftransport (1)
- Stomach (1)
- Stomatal conductance (1)
- Stomatäre Leitfähigkeit (1)
- Stopping rule (1)
- Strafbarkeit (1)
- Strafjustiz (1)
- Strahlstrom Meteorologie (1)
- Strategie (1)
- Strategische Planung (1)
- Strategy (1)
- Stratified sampling (1)
- Stream of (1)
- Stresstest (1)
- Strontium-85 (1)
- Strontium-90 (1)
- Stroop Task (1)
- Structural Equation Modelling (1)
- Structured Eurobonds (1)
- Strukturierte Produkt (1)
- Strukturierte Produkte (1)
- Strukturoptimierung (1)
- Students (1)
- Studienleistung (1)
- Sturm (1)
- Subarachnoidalblutung (1)
- Subjective income uncertainty (1)
- Subsaharisches Afrika (1)
- Subset Selection (1)
- Suche (1)
- Sulfadiazin (1)
- Surface Lifted Index (1)
- Survey Methodology (1)
- Survey Statistics (1)
- Survey statistics (1)
- Surveys (1)
- Switzerland (1)
- Sympathikus (1)
- Syntaktische Analyse (1)
- Synthetic micro data generation (1)
- Synthetische Daten (1)
- Systematik (1)
- Südafrika <Staat> (1)
- Südkorea (1)
- Südostasien (1)
- THP-1 (1)
- TSST-VR (1)
- Takeover (1)
- Takeover defenses, Covid-19, firm value, exogenous shocks, family firm, family involvement, crisis (1)
- Tarifverhandlung (1)
- Tawada, Yōko (1)
- Taxonomie (1)
- Taylor Shift Operator (1)
- Taylor shift operator (1)
- Teamwork (1)
- Technologiepolitik (1)
- Teilzeitbeschäftigung (1)
- Telekommunikationsnetz (1)
- Television, social media, habit formation (1)
- Terpene (1)
- Terrestrisches Laserscanning (1)
- Terrestrisches ükosystem (1)
- Test-retest (1)
- Testen (1)
- Testergebnis (1)
- Testosteron (1)
- Thalamus (1)
- The Corrections (1)
- The Hobbit or There and back again (1)
- The Illustrated London news (1)
- The Lord of the Rings (1)
- Theatre (1)
- Theoretische Informatik (1)
- Theorie (1)
- Therapeut (1)
- Thermal stresses (1)
- Thermales Infrarot (1)
- Thermalluftbild (1)
- Thin Sea Ice (1)
- Thread (1)
- Tiermodell (1)
- Time dependant Weibull-distribution (1)
- Time series analysis (1)
- Tolkien, J.R.R. (1)
- Tomografie (1)
- Topological Algebra (1)
- Topologische Algebra (1)
- Topologische Algebra mit Gewebe (1)
- Topologische Sensitivität (1)
- Total Survey Error (1)
- Tourism (1)
- Tourismus (1)
- Touroperator (1)
- Toxicity (1)
- Toxikologie (1)
- Trade (1)
- Trademarks (1)
- Transaction Pattern (1)
- Transaktionskosten (1)
- Transculturalism (1)
- Transfer (1)
- Transfer function model (1)
- Transfer learning (1)
- Transitionssystem (1)
- Transitivität (1)
- Transkript (1)
- Transkription <Genetik> (1)
- Transkulturalismus (1)
- Transmissionsmechanismus (1)
- Trauma (1)
- Trier Social Stress Test (1)
- Trockengebiet (1)
- Trockenheit (1)
- Trockenstress Detektion (1)
- Trophic interactions (1)
- Tsunami (1)
- Turkey (1)
- Türkei (1)
- UAV (1)
- UNCCD (1)
- Ukraine (1)
- Ultradistribut (1)
- Umgangsformen (1)
- Umwelt (1)
- Umweltbewusstsein (1)
- Umweltfaktor (1)
- Umweltgerechtigkeit (1)
- Umweltprobe (1)
- Unbewegliche Sache (1)
- Uncertainty (1)
- Uncle Tom (1)
- Unemployment benefits (1)
- Uniqueness (1)
- Universal Eating Monitor (1)
- Universal functions (1)
- Universal overconvergence (1)
- Universal power series (1)
- Universelle Funktionen (1)
- Universelle Potenzreihen (1)
- Universelle Überkonvergenz (1)
- Unterforderung (1)
- Unterkörper Unterdruck (1)
- Unternehmensbewertung (1)
- Unternehmensdaten (1)
- Unternehmer (1)
- Unterrichtsbefreiung (1)
- Unterrichtsfach (1)
- Unvollkommene Information (1)
- Ursula (1)
- Usage-based linguistics (1)
- Utility analysis (1)
- Utopie (1)
- Vaccination (1)
- Vagus (1)
- Value at Risk (1)
- Variationsungleichung (1)
- Vater (1)
- Vegetarianism (1)
- Vegetation Index (1)
- Vegetationsindex (1)
- Venture Capital (VC) (1)
- Venture Debt, Entrepeneeurial Finance (1)
- Venture capital (1)
- Verarbeitendes Gewerbe (1)
- Verb (1)
- Verbesserung (1)
- Verbraucherverhalten (1)
- Verbreitung (1)
- Verbreitungsökologie (1)
- Verbundwerkstoff (1)
- Vergangenheitsbewältigung (1)
- Vergewaltigung (1)
- Verhaltensgenetik (1)
- Verhaltensmuster (1)
- Verhaltensstörung (1)
- Verifikation (1)
- Verkettung (1)
- Verkleidung <Motiv> (1)
- Verkleidungs-Motiv (1)
- Verlangen (1)
- Vermögen (1)
- Vermögensverwaltung (1)
- Verpackung (1)
- Verschwendung (1)
- Versorgungsnetz (1)
- Versroman (1)
- Versuchsplanung (1)
- Verteiltes System (1)
- Verteilungsgerechtigkeit (1)
- Vertrauen (1)
- Verwaltungshandeln (1)
- Verwitterung (1)
- Verzerrung (1)
- Videospiel (1)
- Virtual Reality (1)
- Virtuelle Realität (1)
- Virtuelle Umgebung (1)
- Visceral perception (1)
- Visuelle Aufmerksamkeit (1)
- Visuelle Kommunikation (1)
- Viszerale Wahrnehmung (1)
- Vorbild (1)
- Vorkonditionierung (1)
- Vorsichtssparen (1)
- Vorsorge (1)
- WWW (1)
- Wachtelweizen (1)
- Wahnsinn <Motiv> (1)
- Waldboden (1)
- Waldtyp (1)
- Wandel (1)
- Wapshot Chronicle (1)
- War in Ukraine (1)
- Warteschlangentheorie (1)
- Waschmittel (1)
- Wasser (1)
- Wasserhaushalt (1)
- Wassermangel (1)
- Wassernattern (1)
- Wasserstress (1)
- Water Framework Directive (1)
- Water balance simulation (1)
- Watershed modelling (1)
- Wealth surveys (1)
- Web-Applications (1)
- Webbed Spaces (1)
- Wechselkurs (1)
- Wechselwarme (1)
- Weibull-Verteilung (1)
- Weighted Regression (1)
- Weingärung (1)
- Weißklee (1)
- Weltbankkonditionalität (1)
- Wertpapie (1)
- Wertschöpfung (1)
- Western (1)
- Western Film (1)
- White clover (1)
- Whitney jets (1)
- Whitney's extension problem (1)
- Whitneys Extensionsproblem (1)
- Widerstand (1)
- Willenskraft (1)
- Wind (1)
- Windfeld (1)
- Windkraftwerk (1)
- Wirkung (1)
- Wissenschaftlich Zeitschrift (1)
- Wissensvermittlung (1)
- Wohlfahrtstheorie (1)
- Wolke (1)
- Work Stress (1)
- Workplace (1)
- World Bank Conditionality (1)
- World Wide Web (1)
- Wright (1)
- Wuchsmodellierung (1)
- Wurzelraum (1)
- Währungsreserve (1)
- Währungsunion (1)
- Wärmeanomalie (1)
- Wärmestrahlung (1)
- Wüstenkonvention (1)
- XML (1)
- XOR Parity (1)
- Xenobiotics (1)
- Yuri (1)
- Z (1)
- Zeami (1)
- Zebrabärbling (1)
- Zeit (1)
- Zeitallokation (1)
- Zeitreihenanalyse (1)
- Zeitschrifteninhaltsanalyse (1)
- Zellzyklus (1)
- Zellzyklus-Regulation (1)
- Zentralaustralien (1)
- Zentralnervensystem (1)
- Ziel (1)
- Zoologie (1)
- Zuckergehalt (1)
- Zufallsgraph (1)
- Zugang (1)
- Zugehörigkeit (1)
- Zytokin (1)
- abiotic factors (1)
- abiotische Faktoren (1)
- absenteeism (1)
- abundance (1)
- academic article (1)
- acetylcholine (1)
- acid mine drainage (1)
- acquisition (1)
- action control (1)
- action versus state orientation, self-regulation, self-access, alienation, mindfulness meditation, social support, PSI theory (1)
- activity cycle (1)
- actual evapotranspiration (1)
- adaptive hypermedia (1)
- adherence (1)
- adolescents (1)
- advanced heart failure (1)
- aerial imagery (1)
- affect (1)
- age stereotypes (1)
- agricultural dust (1)
- airborne LiDAR (1)
- akademisches Selbstkonzept (1)
- algorithm analysis (1)
- allozyme electrophoresis (1)
- alternating projections (1)
- amnesty (1)
- analysistransplantation (1)
- analytic functional (1)
- anterior cingulate (1)
- antibiotic (1)
- argan tree (1)
- arterial spin labeling (1)
- ascaridol (1)
- associative learning (1)
- asymptotic analysis (1)
- asymptotically optimal codebooks (1)
- asymptotisch optimale Codebücher (1)
- atmospheric modeling (1)
- atmospheric modelling (1)
- atmospheric pollution (1)
- atmospheric water balance (1)
- attitude formation (1)
- autobiography (1)
- automatische Handlungsplanung (1)
- automatische Reizverarbeitung (1)
- auxiliary problem principle (1)
- baroreceptor (1)
- barriers (1)
- behavioural ecology (1)
- best before (1)
- bias correction (1)
- biases in judgement (1)
- binary (1)
- biodiversity (1)
- biodiversity hotspots (1)
- biogas (1)
- biomethantion (1)
- blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) contrast (1)
- body composition (1)
- border closure (1)
- border dynamics (1)
- border protection (1)
- border shifts (1)
- bottom-up-therapy (1)
- boundaries (1)
- brain (1)
- branch-and-bound (1)
- britische medien (1)
- british media (1)
- bulimia (1)
- bundle-method (1)
- burrows (1)
- business surveys (1)
- cache behavior (1)
- calibration (1)
- canon formation (1)
- canopy surface resistance (1)
- career formation (1)
- catchment management (1)
- cave (1)
- cell culture (1)
- cell cycle (1)
- central adiposity (1)
- cerebral blood flow (1)
- change mapping (1)
- characteristics of pre-treated waste (1)
- chemical communication (1)
- chemical weathering (1)
- chemometrics (1)
- choice-based conjoint analysis (1)
- chronic stress (1)
- chronischer Stress (1)
- circadian clock genes (1)
- circadian clock system (1)
- civil law (1)
- cluster analysis (1)
- clustering (1)
- co-registration (1)
- cognition (1)
- cognitive control (1)
- cognitive linguistics (1)
- cold pressor (1)
- combinatorial optimization (1)
- coming out (or disclosure) (1)
- common law (1)
- common variable immunodeficiency (1)
- community-based production (1)
- commuting (1)
- competitive analysis (1)
- completely positive (1)
- completely positive cone (1)
- complex dynamics (1)
- complex networks (1)
- complex systems (1)
- complexity (1)
- complexity reduction (1)
- complimentarity (1)
- composite materials (1)
- composition operator (1)
- computational complexity (1)
- computational fluid dynamics (1)
- confidence region (1)
- confluent hypergeometric function (1)
- conformance checking (1)
- conservation value (1)
- conspiracy myths (1)
- conspiracy theories (1)
- controlled queueing system (1)
- convalescent plasma (1)
- convergence (1)
- convergence theory (1)
- convolution operator (1)
- copositive cone (1)
- coronavirus (1)
- corpus linguistics (1)
- correction factor (1)
- cortex (1)
- corticosteroid receptor (1)
- cortisol response to awakening (1)
- counter-stimulation (1)
- criminal liability (1)
- critical boundary work (1)
- crop stress (1)
- cross-border cooperation project (1)
- cross-border labor market (1)
- cross-border spatial development (1)
- cross-border trade union (1)
- cross-country (1)
- cross-cultural (1)
- cross-frequency coupling (1)
- cross-sectional returns (1)
- crowdfunding (1)
- crystallized abilities (1)
- customer loyalty (1)
- cutting planes (1)
- cytokine (1)
- cytokines (1)
- dACC (1)
- daily mobility (1)
- data quality (1)
- date labeling (1)
- de Rham cohomology (1)
- decision making (1)
- decision making pattern (1)
- decision-making (1)
- degradation (1)
- dendritic cells (1)
- dendritische Zellen (1)
- design of experiments (1)
- detergents (1)
- development (1)
- diasporic identity (1)
- diasporische identität (1)
- diatomaceous earth (1)
- die circadiane Uhr-Gene (1)
- difference-in-differences (1)
- differentiated instruction (1)
- digital library (1)
- dilute particle suspension (1)
- directness (1)
- disagreement (1)
- disciplinary borders (1)
- discipline (1)
- discourse analysis (1)
- dispersal (1)
- distractor processing (1)
- distress (1)
- diversity (1)
- domain decomposition (1)
- domestic food waste (1)
- driver assistance system (1)
- dropout (1)
- dry tropical forest (1)
- drylands (1)
- dual task interference (1)
- dynamics of mammal population (1)
- early change (1)
- early life adversity (1)
- early modern (1)
- early response (1)
- eating behavior (1)
- eating behaviour (1)
- ecological modelling (1)
- ecological momentary assessment (1)
- ecological niche (1)
- ecology (1)
- ectotherms (1)
- education (1)
- education aid (1)
- educational assessment (1)
- effectiveness (1)
- efficacy (1)
- eigenfunction expansion (1)
- electrocardiogram (1)
- electroencephalogram (1)
- emergency remote teaching (1)
- emissivity (1)
- emotion regulation (1)
- emotional intelligence (1)
- empirical evaluation (1)
- employment (1)
- employment estimation (1)
- empowerment-in-cinema (1)
- encoding (1)
- endliche Boustrophedon-Automaten (1)
- entomopathogene Pilze (1)
- entomopathogenic fungi (1)
- entrepreneurial opportunities (1)
- entrepreneurship (1)
- environmental impact (1)
- epidermal dendritic cells (1)
- epidermale dendritische Zellen (1)
- epigenetic programming (1)
- equal distribution (1)
- erosion measurement (1)
- ethnicity (1)
- ethnizität (1)
- eugenol (1)
- eukaryotes (1)
- evaluation (1)
- evaluation framework (1)
- evapotranspiration (ET) modeling (1)
- event file (1)
- event log preprocessing (1)
- event reconstruction (1)
- executive functions (1)
- exekutive Funktionen (1)
- experimental design (1)
- extension operator (1)
- extrem positive Rendite (1)
- extreme positive returns (1)
- extreme value analysis (1)
- eye-tracking (1)
- eyeblink conditioning (1)
- fMRT (1)
- factor analysis (1)
- familial risk (1)
- family (1)
- family business (1)
- family management (1)
- family novel (1)
- fathers (1)
- faunmap database (1)
- female entrepreneurship (1)
- female identity formation (1)
- fillers (1)
- financial crisis (1)
- financial derivatives (1)
- fine mapping (1)
- finite element method (1)
- fire performance (1)
- fissurization (1)
- fitness tracker (1)
- flood (1)
- floods (1)
- flow control (1)
- fluid abilities (1)
- flushing (1)
- foliated manifolds (1)
- food preference (1)
- food security (1)
- foreign policy (1)
- forensic voice comparison (1)
- forest degradation (1)
- forest inventory (1)
- forestry (1)
- forests (1)
- formal verification (1)
- foss (1)
- fractional Poisson equation (1)
- frame errors (1)
- frequency effects (1)
- fructification (1)
- functional MRI (1)
- functional specialisation of hemispheres (1)
- fungicides (1)
- funktionelle NMR-Tomographie (1)
- games (1)
- games, experimental (1)
- ganze Funktion (1)
- gap flow (1)
- gene expression (1)
- generational stage (1)
- genetic diversity (1)
- genetics (1)
- genetische Struktur (1)
- genomic structure (1)
- geobia (1)
- geography of knowledge (1)
- geometric (1)
- gewöhnliche Differentialgleichungen (1)
- glacial refugia (1)
- glucocorticoids (1)
- glycaemic index (1)
- grammatical inference (1)
- graph embedding (1)
- growth mixture modeling (1)
- growth modelling (1)
- habitat fragmentation (1)
- harvest dates (1)
- hazard mitigation (1)
- health (1)
- health economics (1)
- heart failure (1)
- heart transplant (1)
- heavy metal (1)
- herpetology (1)
- hesitations (1)
- high-resolution (1)
- hippocampal atrophy (1)
- hippocampal volume assessment (1)
- historical metadata (1)
- history textbook dispute (1)
- hobbit (1)
- hochauflösend (1)
- home (1)
- homological algebra (1)
- homological methods (1)
- homologische Methoden (1)
- homosexuality (1)
- human capital (1)
- human rights (1)
- hybrid (1)
- hybrid organizations (1)
- hybridization (1)
- hydraulic modelling (1)
- hydrodynamics (1)
- hydrogeological modeling (1)
- hypercyclicity (1)
- hypergeometric functions (1)
- hyperspektral (1)
- hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (1)
- hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal-axis (1)
- hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (1)
- ice shelves (1)
- ice thickness (1)
- identity (1)
- idiosyncratic volatility (1)
- idiosynkratische Volatilität (1)
- imaging spectroscopy (1)
- immunity (1)
- immunoglobulin replacement (1)
- implicit learning (1)
- impulsivity (1)
- in vitro (1)
- inclusion (1)
- inclusive education (1)
- incompressible Newtonian fluid (1)
- indisches Kino (1)
- individual based model (1)
- individual investor (1)
- individual tree detection (1)
- inexact (1)
- inexact Gauss-Newton methods (1)
- information processing (1)
- inhibitory control (1)
- initial coin offering (1)
- innovation (1)
- insect conservation (1)
- insecticides (1)
- integration (1)
- intellectual property rights (1)
- interference (1)
- intergenerational programs (1)
- intergenerational programs, evaluation, adolescents, older adults, age stereotypes, ageism, youthism (1)
- internationale Kooperation (1)
- internet intervention (1)
- interoception (1)
- intersection non-emptiness (1)
- intrusions (1)
- inversion (1)
- investor communication (1)
- invisible deviating events (1)
- isamophobia (1)
- isoeugenol (1)
- judgement accuracy (1)
- jumping endliche Automaten (1)
- just transition (1)
- k-Anonymity (1)
- k-Means-Algorithmus (1)
- katabatic wind (1)
- knowledge formation (1)
- kognitive Kontrolle (1)
- kombinatorische Optimierung (1)
- komplexe Dynamik (1)
- konvexe Reforumlierungen (1)
- kopositiver Kegel (1)
- land cover classification (1)
- land degradattion (1)
- land use (1)
- landslides (1)
- language processing (1)
- large scale problems (1)
- late quaternary (1)
- law reform commissions (1)
- learning (1)
- legalisation (1)
- lengthening (1)
- linear dynamics (1)
- linkage and mutational analysis (1)
- local limit (1)
- local quantization error (1)
- local wastewater planning (1)
- logarithmic-quadratic distance function (1)
- logarithmisch-quadratische Distanzfunktion (1)
- lokaler Quantisierungsfehler (1)
- long DNA barcodes (1)
- lord of the rings (1)
- lower body negative pressure (1)
- lung (1)
- lymphocytes (1)
- machine learning (1)
- macrophages (1)
- management (1)
- manager (1)
- mangrove (1)
- markov increment (1)
- mate choice (1)
- maternal care (1)
- mean field approximation (1)
- mean vector length (1)
- media effects (1)
- mediated traumatization (1)
- membrane glucocorticoid receptor (1)
- membraner Glucocorticoidrezeptor (1)
- memory (1)
- memory distance (1)
- memory representation (1)
- menstrual cycle (1)
- meta-research (1)
- metabarcoding (1)
- metabolism (1)
- metahistorical (1)
- metahistorisch (1)
- meteorology (1)
- methylation and SNPs (1)
- methylphenidate (1)
- microorganisms (1)
- microrefugia (1)
- midcingulate cortex (1)
- migration (1)
- mineralocorticoid receptor (1)
- mineralogy (1)
- miombo woodland (1)
- mircrosatellite (1)
- miscegenation (1)
- mismatch negativity (1)
- missile defense (1)
- missing data (1)
- mixing (1)
- mobile Telekommunikation (1)
- model evaluation (1)
- model order reduction (1)
- model performance (1)
- model predictive control (1)
- model-based estimation (1)
- modulation (1)
- modulation index (1)
- monocytes (1)
- monotone (1)
- motion energy analysis (1)
- motive disposition (1)
- mountain topography (1)
- multi-level (1)
- multiculturalism (1)
- multigrid (1)
- multikulturalismus (1)
- multilevel Toeplitz (1)
- multilinear algebra (1)
- multilingual (1)
- multimedia (1)
- multinomial (1)
- multispectral (1)
- mutation (1)
- mycotoxin degradation (1)
- n.a. (1)
- naming practices (1)
- nationalism (1)
- natural killer cells (1)
- nature imagery (1)
- natürliche Killerzellen (1)
- neuroendocrine system (1)
- neuroimaging (1)
- nicht-genomische Effekte (1)
- nichtlinearer VAR (1)
- nichtnegativ (1)
- nitrogen oxides (1)
- noh (1)
- non-convex (1)
- non-family business (1)
- non-finite complement clauses (1)
- non-genomic effects (1)
- non-linear VAR (1)
- nonlinear optimization (1)
- nonnegative (1)
- nonverbal synchrony (1)
- norepinephrine (1)
- norm mineral calculation (1)
- normal approximation (1)
- northwestern China (1)
- nostalgia (1)
- novel of the 20th century (1)
- nuclear receptor (1)
- nucleus accumbens (1)
- numerical models (1)
- nutrient demands (1)
- nutrient exports (1)
- older adults (1)
- online presentation (1)
- open data (1)
- open science (1)
- open-canopy woodland (1)
- optimal continuity estimates (1)
- optimal quantization (1)
- optimale Quantisierung (1)
- optimale Stetigkeitsabschätzungen (1)
- optimization (1)
- options (1)
- ordinary differential equations (1)
- organization theory (1)
- overloading of criminal justice (1)
- p-glycoprotein (1)
- paleotropis (1)
- pandemic (1)
- para-phenylenediamine (PPD) (1)
- parameter dependence (1)
- parameter estimation (1)
- parameter identification (1)
- parameterised approximation (1)
- paraverbal behavior (1)
- parental care (1)
- part-time entrepreneurship (1)
- partial differential equations (1)
- partial differential operators of first order as generators of C0-semigroups (1)
- partial integro-differential equation (1)
- particulate matter (1)
- partielle Differentialgleichungen (1)
- partielle Differentialoperatoren erster Ordnung als Erzeuger von C0-Halbgruppen (1)
- partielle Integro Differentialgleichung (1)
- partielle Integro-Differentialgleichungen (1)
- partielle Integrodifferentialgleichungen (1)
- partitioning (1)
- pastoral (1)
- patents (1)
- patient-focused psychotherapy research (1)
- patienten-orientierte Psychotherapieforschung (1)
- peak-over-threshold (1)
- peer-reviewed journal (1)
- penalty (1)
- perception (1)
- performance (1)
- periodic catatonia (1)
- periodische Katatonie (1)
- peripheren mononukleären Blutzellen (PBMC) (1)
- person name disambiguation (1)
- personal trust (1)
- personalized psychotherapy (1)
- pest species (1)
- pesticide application (1)
- pharmaceuticals (1)
- phase-amplitude coupling (1)
- phenology (1)
- phosphogypsum (1)
- phototropism (1)
- phyllites (1)
- phylogeography (1)
- physico-mechanical properties (1)
- physiological parameters (1)
- placenta (1)
- plant adaptation mechanisms (1)
- plant architecture (1)
- plastic (1)
- platform economy (1)
- poetry (1)
- point set registration (1)
- pointer year (1)
- polynomial spline (1)
- polynyas (1)
- population genetics (1)
- population modelling (1)
- port-Hamiltonian (1)
- post-transcriptional regulation (1)
- post-transkriptionelle Regulierung (1)
- post-traumatic stress disorder (1)
- postkolonialismus (1)
- postnatal stress factors (1)
- postnatale Stressfaktoren (1)
- posttraumatic stress disorder (1)
- practice (1)
- pre-acquisition phase (1)
- preconditioning (1)
- predeterminer adjective phrases (1)
- preferential flow (1)
- premature harvest (1)
- prenatal adversity (1)
- prenatal programming (1)
- prenatal stress (1)
- prenatal stress factors (1)
- prenatal tobacco exposure (1)
- prepulse inhibition (1)
- preregistration (1)
- presenteeism (1)
- press photography (1)
- pretreated waste (1)
- pricing (1)
- primärer Photonenfluss (1)
- principal component analysis (1)
- private banking (1)
- process mining (1)
- promoter region (1)
- proof of concept study (1)
- proteomics (1)
- provocation (1)
- pränatale Programmierung (1)
- pränatale Risikofaktoren (1)
- pränatale Stressfaktoren (1)
- pränatale Tabakexposition (1)
- pränataler Stress (1)
- psychological distance (1)
- psychologische Beratung (1)
- psychology and behaviorsocial isolation (1)
- psychology students (1)
- psychometric validation (1)
- public perception (1)
- public sphere (1)
- pulsatility (1)
- quantitative Linguistik (1)
- quantitative linguistics (1)
- quantitative sensory testing (1)
- quantization ball (1)
- quantization radius (1)
- questionnaires (1)
- race (1)
- rain (1)
- rape (1)
- rapport (1)
- reception patterns (1)
- rectangular probabilities (1)
- recurring events (1)
- reduced order modelling (1)
- reduced-order modelling (1)
- regeneration (1)
- region growing (1)
- rental prices (1)
- reordering (1)
- reproducibility (1)
- resilience (1)
- resistivity tomography (1)
- resource competition (1)
- resource governance (1)
- retrieval practice (1)
- rhizosphere (1)
- ribosomal (1)
- risk assessment (1)
- risk factors (1)
- risk measure (1)
- role theory (1)
- roof slates (1)
- routine care (1)
- saccade (1)
- salamander (1)
- salamanders (1)
- salivary alpha-amylase (1)
- salt (1)
- sampling frame (1)
- satellite TIR mission (1)
- scan statistics (1)
- scholarship students (1)
- school (1)
- school performance (1)
- school subject (1)
- sea-ice (1)
- second language acquisition (1)
- second order cone (1)
- secondary party (1)
- security policy (1)
- segmentation (1)
- selection (1)
- selective forgetting (1)
- selectivity (1)
- selektive Aufmerksamkeit (1)
- self-concept (1)
- self-concodrance (1)
- self-efficacy (1)
- self-esteem (1)
- self-perception (1)
- self-potential mapping (1)
- sentinel 1 (1)
- sentinel-2 (1)
- series expansion (1)
- sexual size dimorphism (1)
- shales (1)
- shape calculus (1)
- sharing economies (1)
- sick pay (1)
- similarity-based retrieval (1)
- simulation study (1)
- skin (1)
- skin sensitization (1)
- slope stability modelling (1)
- smoking (1)
- social boundaries (1)
- social contactssurvival (1)
- social entrepreneurs (1)
- social innovation (SI) (1)
- social innovation networks (1)
- social self-concept (1)
- social service organizations (1)
- social sustainability (1)
- socio-nature relations (1)
- soil contamination (1)
- soil microbial activity (1)
- soil microbial biomass (1)
- soil microhabitats (1)
- soil surface resistance (1)
- soil water content (1)
- solidarity (1)
- somatische Komorbiditäten (1)
- soziale Selbstkonzepte (1)
- spaces of opportunity (1)
- spatial planning (1)
- spectral emissivity (1)
- speech recognition (1)
- splitting (1)
- stable carbon isotope (1)
- statistical modelling (1)
- statistics (1)
- stochastic Predictor-Corrector-Scheme (1)
- stochastic partial differential algebraic equation (1)
- strategic acquisition (1)
- stream of consciousness (1)
- stress hyporesponsive period (1)
- stress reaction (1)
- structural optimization (1)
- structure (1)
- structure-preserving (1)
- sub-Saharan Africa (1)
- subarachnoid haemorrhage (1)
- subjektive Einkommensunsicherheit (1)
- subprime mortgage (1)
- substance abuse (1)
- sulfadiazine (1)
- surrogate modeling (1)
- sustainability (1)
- synchronizing automata (1)
- synergetic linguistics (1)
- synergetische Linguistik (1)
- system trust (1)
- target screening and selection (1)
- teacher judgement (1)
- teachers (1)
- temperature (1)
- tensor methods (1)
- terrestrial laser scanning (1)
- testing (1)
- text memory (1)
- thermal infrared (1)
- thermal infrared (TIR) (1)
- thermal infrared remote sensing (1)
- thermal remote sensing (1)
- threat, stress, trigger, needs (1)
- threshold (1)
- thunderstorm (1)
- time complexity (1)
- time series (1)
- tolkien (1)
- topographic flow (1)
- topological derivative (1)
- topology optimization (1)
- toxicity (1)
- trademarks (1)
- transaction costs (1)
- transcultural (1)
- transgenerational intention (1)
- transition (1)
- transitivity (1)
- trauma therapy (1)
- traumatische Erfahrungen (1)
- tree density (1)
- tree matching (1)
- tree-ring analysis (1)
- trust-region method (1)
- trust-region methods (1)
- turbulence parameterization (1)
- uncertainty (1)
- uncoupling protein (1)
- uncritical patriotism (1)
- underdetermined nonlinear least squares problem (1)
- underlying stocks (1)
- uniqueness seeking (1)
- universal power series (1)
- urban and rural boundaries (1)
- user modeling (1)
- utilization pathways (1)
- utopia (1)
- vagus (1)
- vegetation index (1)
- video games (1)
- visceral awareness (1)
- visual change detection (1)
- visual communication (1)
- visual empathy (1)
- visuelle Wahrnehmung (1)
- visueller Mismatch (1)
- viszerale Empfindung (1)
- viticulture (1)
- voice (1)
- volcanic (1)
- vollständig positiv (1)
- vollständig positiver Kegel (1)
- vorbehandelter Abfälle (1)
- vorbeugender Hochwasserschutz (1)
- wastewater (1)
- water stress (1)
- water stress detection (1)
- water use (1)
- waterlogging (1)
- weighting (1)
- well-being (1)
- wetland conservation (1)
- wind erosion (1)
- wine fermentation (1)
- women's poetry (1)
- women's writing (1)
- woody cover (1)
- workplace (1)
- xenobiotic metabolism (1)
- zerebraler Blutfluss (1)
- zugrunde liegende Aktien (1)
- zurückkehrende(RFA) (1)
- Ästuar (1)
- Ätiologie (1)
- Öffentliche Schule (1)
- Öffentlichkeit (1)
- Ökoeffizienz (1)
- Ökologische Dienstleistungen (1)
- Ökosystemdienstleistungen (1)
- Überflutung (1)
- Überforderung (1)
- Überkonvergenz (1)
- Überlastung (1)
- Überleben (1)
- Überstunde (1)
- Überstunden (1)
- Übung (1)
- ükosystem (1)
Institut
- Raum- und Umweltwissenschaften (99)
- Psychologie (94)
- Fachbereich 4 (57)
- Mathematik (47)
- Fachbereich 6 (39)
- Wirtschaftswissenschaften (29)
- Fachbereich 1 (25)
- Informatik (19)
- Anglistik (14)
- Rechtswissenschaft (14)
During and after application, pesticides enter the atmosphere by volatilisation and by wind erosion of particles on which the pesticide is sorbed. Measurements at application sites revealed that sometimes more than half of the amount applied is lost into the atmosphere within a few days. The atmosphere is an important part of the hydrologic cycle that can transport pesticides from their point of application and deposit them into aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems far from their point of use. In the region of Trier pesticides are widely used. In order to protect crops from pests and increase crop yields in the viniculture, six to eight pesticide applications take place between May and August. The impact that these applications have on the environmental pollution of the region is not yet well understood. The present study was developed to characterize the atmospheric presence, temporal patterns, transport and deposition of a variety of pesticides in the atmosphere of the area of Trier. To this purpose, rain samples were weekly collected at eight sites during the growing seasons 2000, 2001 and 2002, and air samples (gas and particle phases) were collected during the growing season 2002. Multiresidue analysis methods were developed to determine multiple classes of pesticides in rain water, particle- and gas-phase samples. Altogether 24 active ingredients and 3 metabolites were chosen as representative substances, focussing mainly on fungicides. Twenty-four of the 27 measured pesticides were detected in the rain samples; seventeen pesticides were detected in the air samples. The most frequently detected pesticides and at the highest concentrations, both in rain and air, were compounds belonging to the class of fungicides. The insecticide methyl parathion was also detected in several rain samples as well as two substances that are banned in Germany, such as the herbicides atrazine and simazine. Concentration levels varied during the growing season with the highest concentrations being measured in the late spring and summer months, coinciding with application times and warmer months. Concentration levels measured in the rain samples were, generally, in the order of rnng l-1. Though average concentrations for single substances were less than 100 ng l-1, total concentrations were considerable and in some instances well above the EU drinking water quality standard of 500 ng l-1 for total pesticides. Compared to the amounts applied for pest control, the amounts deposited by rain resulted between 0,004% and 0,10% of the maximum application rates. These low pesticide inputs from precipitation to surface-water bodies is not of concern in vinicultural areas where the impact of other sources, such as superficial runoff inputs from the treated areas and cleaning of field crop sprayers, is more important. However, the potential impacts of these aerial pesticide inputs to non-target sites, such as organic crops, and sensitive ecosystems are as yet not known. Concentration levels in the air samples were in the order of ng m-3 at sites close to the fields were pesticides were applied, while lower values, in the order of pg m-3, were detected at the site located further away from fields where applications were performed. The measured air concentration levels found in this study do not represent a concern for human health in terms of acute risk. Inhalation toxicity studies have shown that an acute potential risk only arises at air concentrations in the range of g m-3. Finally, it must be kept in mind that only a small number of chemicals that were applied in the area were analysed for in this study. In order to gain a better evaluation of the local atmospheric load of pesticides, a wider spectrum of applied substances (including metabolites) needs to be investigated.
For the first time, the German Census 2011 will be conducted via a new method the register based census. In contrast to a traditional census, where all inhabitants are surveyed, the German government will mainly attempt to count individuals using population registers of administrative authorities, such as the municipalities and the Federal Employment Agency. Census data that cannot be collected from the registers, such as information on education, training, and occupation, will be collected by an interview-based sample survey. Moreover, the new method reduces citizens' obligations to provide information and helps reduce costs significantly. The use of sample surveys is limited if results with a detailed regional or subject-matter breakdown have to be prepared. Classical estimation methods are sometimes criticized, since estimation is often problematic for small samples. Fortunately, model based small area estimators serve as an alternative. These methods help to increase the information, and hence the effective sample size. In the German Census 2011 it is possible to embed areas on a map in a geographical context. This may offer additional information, such as neighborhood relations or spatial interactions. Standard small area models, like Fay-Herriot or Battese-Harter-Fuller, do not account for such interactions explicitly. The aim of our work is to extend the classical models by integrating the spatial information explicitly into the model. In addition, the possible gain in efficiency will be analyzed.
Stress and pain are common experiences in human lives. Both, the stress and the pain system have adaptive functions and try to protect the organism in case of harm and danger. However, stress and pain are two of the most challenging problems for the society and the health system. Chronic stress, as often seen in modern societies, has much impact on health and can lead to chronic stress disorders. These disorders also include a number of chronic pain syndromes. However, pain can also be regarded as a stressor itself, especially when we consider how much patients suffer from long-lasting pain and the impact of pain on life quality. In this way, the effects of stress on pain can be fostered. For the generation and manifestation of chronic pain symptoms also learning processes such as classical conditioning play an important role. Processes of classical conditioning can also be influenced by stress. These facts illustrate the complex and various interactions between the pain and the stress systems. Both systems communicate permanently with each other and help to protect the organism and to keep a homeostatic state. They have various ways of communication, for example mechanisms related to endogenous opioids, immune parameters, glucocorticoids and baroreflexes. But an overactivation of the systems, for example caused by ongoing stress, can lead to severe health problems. Therefore, it is of great importance to understand these interactions and their underlying mechanisms. The present work deals with the relationship of stress and pain. A special focus is put on stress related hypocortisolism and pain processing, stress induced hypoalgesia via baroreceptor related mechanisms and stress related cortisol effects on aversive conditioning (as a model of pain learning). This work is a contribution to the wide field of research that tries to understand the complex interactions of stress and pain. To demonstrate the variety, the selected studies highlight different aspects of these interactions. In the first chapter I will give a short introduction on the pain and the stress systems and their ways of interaction. Furthermore, I will give a short summary of the studies presented in Chapter II to V and their background. The results and their meaning for future research will be discussed in the last part of the first chapter. Chronic pain syndromes have been associated with chronic stress and alterations of the HPA axis resulting in chronic hypocortisolism. But if these alterations may play a causal role in the pathophysiology of chronic pain remains unclear. Thus, the study described in Chapter II investigated the effects of pharmacological induced hypocortisolism on pain perception. Both, the stress and the pain system are related to the cardiovascular system. Increase of blood pressure is part of the stress reaction and leads to reduced pain perception. Therefore, it is important for the usage of pain tests to keep in mind potential interferences from activation of the cardiovascular system, especially when pain inhibitory processes are investigated. For this reason we compared two commonly and interchangeably used pain tests with regard to the triggered autonomic reactions. This study is described in chapter III. Chapter IV and V deal with the role of learning processes in pain and related influences of stress. Processes of classical conditioning play an important role for symptom generation and manifestation. In both studies aversive eyeblink conditioning was used as a model for pain learning. In the study described in Chapter IV we compared classical eyeblink conditioning in healthy volunteers to patients suffering from fibromyalgia, a chronic pain disorder. Also, differences of the HPA axis, as part of the stress system, were taken in account. The study of Chapter V investigated effects of the very first stress reaction, particularly rapid non-genomic cortisol effects. Healthy volunteers received an intravenous cortisol administration immediately before the eyeblink conditioning. Rapid effects have only been demonstrated on a cellular level and on animal behavior so far. In general, the studies presented in this work may give an impression of the broad variety of possible interactions between the pain and the stress system. Furthermore, they contribute to our knowledge about theses interactions. However, more research is needed to complete the picture.
The subject of this thesis is a homological approach to the splitting theory of PLS-spaces, i.e. to the question for which topologically exact short sequences 0->X->Y->Z->0 of PLS-spaces X,Y,Z the right-hand map admits a right inverse. We show that the category (PLS) of PLS-spaces and continuous linear maps is an additive category in which every morphism admits a kernel and a cokernel, i.e. it is pre-abelian. However, we also show that it is neither quasi-abelian nor semi-abelian. As a foundation for our homological constructions we show the more general result that every pre-abelian category admits a largest exact structure in the sense of Quillen. In the pre-abelian category (PLS) this exact structure consists precisely of the topologically exact short sequences of PLS-spaces. Using a construction of Ext-functors due to Yoneda, we show that one can define for each PLS-space A and every natural number k the k-th abelian-group valued covariant and contravariant Ext-functors acting on the category (PLS) of PLS-spaces, which induce for every topologically exact short sequence of PLS-spaces a long exact sequence of abelian groups and group morphisms. These functors are studied in detail and we establish a connection between the Ext-functors of PLS-spaces and the Ext-functors for LS-spaces. Through this connection we arrive at an analogue of a result for Fréchet spaces which connects the first derived functor of the projective limit with the first Ext-functor and also gives sufficient conditions for the vanishing of the higher Ext-functors. Finally, we show that Ext^k(E,F) = 0 for a k greater or equal than 1, whenever E is a closed subspace and F is a Hausdorff-quotient of the space of distributions, which generalizes a result of Wengenroth that is itself a generalization of results due to Domanski and Vogt.
Legalisation cannot be fully explained by interest politics. If that were the case, the attitudes towards legalisation would be expected to be based on objective interests and actual policies in France and Germany would be expected to be more similar. Nor can it be explained by institutional agency, because there are no hints that states struggle with different normative traditions. Rather, political actors seek to make use of the structures that already exist to guar-antee legitimacy for their actions. If the main concern of governmental actors really is to accumulate legitimacy, as stated in the introduction, then politicians have a good starting position in the case of legalisation of illegal foreigners. Citizens" negative attitudes towards legalisation cannot be explained by imagined labour market competition; income effects play only a secondary role. The most important explanatory factor is the educational level of each individual. Objective interests do not trigger attitudes towards legalisation, but rather a basic men-tal predisposition for or against illegal immigrants who are eligible for legalisation. Politics concerning amnesties are thus not tied to an objectively given structure like the socio-economic composition of the electorate, but are open for political discretion. Attitudes on legalising illegal immigrants can be regarded as being mediated by beliefs and perceptions, which can be used by political agents or altered by political developments. However, politicians must adhere to a national frame of legitimating strategies that cannot be neglected without consequences. It was evident in the cross-country comparison of political debates that there are national systems of reference that provide patterns of interpretation. Legalisation is seen and incorporated into immigration policy in a very specific way that differs from one country to the next. In both countries investigated in this study, there are fundamental debates about which basic principles apply to legalisation and which of these should be held in higher esteem: a legal system able to work, humanitarian rights, practical considerations, etc. The results suggest that legalisation is "technicized" in France by describing it as an unusual but possible pragmatic instrument for the adjustment of the inefficient rule of law. In Germany, however, legalisation is discussed at a more normative level. Proponents of conservative immigration policies regard it as a substantial infringement on the rule of law, so that even defenders of a humanitarian solution for illegal immigrants are not able to challenge this view without significant political harm. But the arguments brought to bear in the debate on legalisation are not necessarily sound because they are not irrefutable facts, but instruments to generate legitimacy, and there are enough possibilities for arguing and persuading because socio-economic factors play a minor role. One of the most important arguments, the alleged pull effect of legalisation, has been subjected to an empirical investigation. In the political debate, it does not make any dif-ference whether this is true or not, insofar as it is not contested by incontrovertible findings. In reality, the results suggest that amnesties indeed exert a small attracting influence on illegal immigration, which has been contested by immigration friendly politicians in the French par-liament. The effect, however, is not large; therefore, some conservative politicians may put too much stress on this argument. Moreover, one can see legalisation as an instrument to restore legitimacy that has slipped away from immigration politics because of a high number of illegally residing foreigners. This aspect explains some of the peculiarities in the French debate on legalisation, e.g. the idea that the coherence of the law is secured by creating exceptional rules for legalising illegal immigrants. It has become clear that the politics of legalisation are susceptible to manipulation by introducing certain interpretations into the political debate, which become predominant and supersede other views. In this study, there are no signs of a systematic misuse of this constellation by any certain actor. However, the history of immigration policy is full of examples of symbolic politics in which a certain measure has been initiated while the actors are totally aware of its lack of effect. Legalisation has escaped this fate so far because it is a specific instrument that is the result of neglecting populist mechanisms rather than an ex-ample of a superficial measure. This result does not apply to policies concerning illegal immi-gration in general, both with regard to concealing a lack of control and flexing the state- muscles.
This thesis introduces a calibration problem for financial market models based on a Monte Carlo approximation of the option payoff and a discretization of the underlying stochastic differential equation. It is desirable to benefit from fast deterministic optimization methods to solve this problem. To be able to achieve this goal, possible non-differentiabilities are smoothed out with an appropriately chosen twice continuously differentiable polynomial. On the basis of this so derived calibration problem, this work is essentially concerned about two issues. First, the question occurs, if a computed solution of the approximating problem, derived by applying Monte Carlo, discretizing the SDE and preserving differentiability is an approximation of a solution of the true problem. Unfortunately, this does not hold in general but is linked to certain assumptions. It will turn out, that a uniform convergence of the approximated objective function and its gradient to the true objective and gradient can be shown under typical assumptions, for instance the Lipschitz continuity of the SDE coefficients. This uniform convergence then allows to show convergence of the solutions in the sense of a first order critical point. Furthermore, an order of this convergence in relation to the number of simulations, the step size for the SDE discretization and the parameter controlling the smooth approximation of non-differentiabilites will be shown. Additionally the uniqueness of a solution of the stochastic differential equation will be analyzed in detail. Secondly, the Monte Carlo method provides only a very slow convergence. The numerical results in this thesis will show, that the Monte Carlo based calibration indeed is feasible if one is concerned about the calculated solution, but the required calculation time is too long for practical applications. Thus, techniques to speed up the calibration are strongly desired. As already mentioned above, the gradient of the objective is a starting point to improve efficiency. Due to its simplicity, finite differences is a frequently chosen method to calculate the required derivatives. However, finite differences is well known to be very slow and furthermore, it will turn out, that there may also occur severe instabilities during optimization which may lead to the break down of the algorithm before convergence has been reached. In this manner a sensitivity equation is certainly an improvement but suffers unfortunately from the same computational effort as the finite difference method. Thus, an adjoint based gradient calculation will be the method of choice as it combines the exactness of the derivative with a reduced computational effort. Furthermore, several other techniques will be introduced throughout this thesis, that enhance the efficiency of the calibration algorithm. A multi-layer method will be very effective in the case, that the chosen initial value is not already close to the solution. Variance reduction techniques are helpful to increase accuracy of the Monte Carlo estimator and thus allow for fewer simulations. Storing instead of regenerating the random numbers required for the Brownian increments in the SDE will be efficient, as deterministic optimization methods anyway require to employ the identical random sequence in each function evaluation. Finally, Monte Carlo is very well suited for a parallelization, which will be done on several central processing units (CPUs).
Stress is a common phenomenon for animals living in the wild, but also for humans in modern societies. Originally, the body's stress response is an adaptive reaction to a possibly life-threatening situation, and it has been shown to impact on energy distribution and metabolism, thereby increasing the chance of survival. However, stress has also been shown to impact on mating behaviour and reproductive strategies in animals and humans. This work deals with the effect of stress on reproductive behavior. Up to now, research has only focused on the effects of stress on reproduction in general. The effects of stress on reproduction may be looked at from two points of view. First, stress affects reproductive functioning by endocrine (e.g. glucocorticoid) actions on the reproductive system. However, stress can also influence reproductive behavior, i.e. mate choice and mating preferences. Animals and humans do not mate randomly, but exhibit preferences towards mating partners. One factor by which animals and humans choose their mating partners is similarity vs. dissimilarity: Similar mates usually carry more of one's own genes and the cooperation between similar mates is, at least theoretically, less hampered by expressing diverse behaviors. By mating with dissimilar mates on the other hand one may acquire new qualities for oneself, but also for one's offspring, useful to cope with environmental challenge. In humans we usually find a preference for similar mates. Due to the high costs of breeding, variables like cooperation and life-long partnerships may play a greater role than the acquaintance of new qualities.The present work focuses on stress effects on mating preferences of humans and will give a first answer to the question whether stress may affect our preference for similar mates. Stress and mating preferences are at the centre of this work. Thus, in the first Chapter I will give an introduction on stress and mating preferences and link these topics to each other. Furthermore, I will give a short summary of the studies described in Chapter II - Chapter IV and close the chapter with a general discussion of the findings and directions for further research on stress and mating preferences. Human mating behavior is complex, and many aspects of it may not relate to biology but social conventions and education. This work will not focus on those aspects but rather on cognitive and affective processing of erotic and sexually-relevant stimuli, since we assume that these aspects of mating behaviour are likely related to psychobiological stress mechanisms. Therefore, a paradigm is needed that measures such aspects of mating preferences in humans. The studies presented in Chapter II and Chapter III were performed in order to develop such a paradigm. In these studies we show that affective startle modulation may be used to indicate differences in sexual approach motivation to potential mating partners with different similarity levels to the participant. In Chapter IV, I will describe a study that aimed to investigate the effects of stress on human mating preferences. We showed that stress reverses human mating preferences: While unstressed individuals show a preference for similar mates, stressed individuals seem to prefer dissimilar mates. Overall, the studies presented in this work showed that affective startle modulation can be employed to measure mating preferences in humans and that these mating preferences are influenced by stress.
We are living in a connected world, surrounded by interwoven technical systems. Since they pervade more and more aspects of our everyday lives, a thorough understanding of the structure and dynamics of these systems is becoming increasingly important. However - rather than being blueprinted and constructed at the drawing board - many technical infrastructures like for example the Internet's global router network, the World Wide Web, large scale Peer-to-Peer systems or the power grid - evolve in a distributed fashion, beyond the control of a central instance and influenced by various surrounding conditions and interdependencies. Hence, due to this increase in complexity, making statements about the structure and behavior of tomorrow's networked systems is becoming increasingly complicated. A number of failures has shown that complex structures can emerge unintentionally that resemble those which can be observed in biological, physical and social systems. In this dissertation, we investigate how such complex phenomena can be controlled and actively used. For this, we review methodologies stemming from the field of random and complex networks, which are being used for the study of natural, social and technical systems, thus delivering insights into their structure and dynamics. A particularly interesting finding is the fact that the efficiency, dependability and adaptivity of natural systems can be related to rather simple local interactions between a large number of elements. We review a number of interesting findings about the formation of complex structures and collective dynamics and investigate how these are applicable in the design and operation of large scale networked computing systems. A particular focus of this dissertation are applications of principles and methods stemming from the study of complex networks in distributed computing systems that are based on overlay networks. Here we argue how the fact that the (virtual) connectivity in such systems is alterable and widely independent from physical limitations facilitates a design that is based on analogies between complex network structures and phenomena studied in statistical physics. Based on results about the properties of scale-free networks, we present a simple membership protocol by which scale-free overlay networks with adjustable degree distribution exponent can be created in a distributed fashion. With this protocol we further exemplify how phase transition phenomena - as occurring frequently in the domain of statistical physics - can actively be used to quickly adapt macroscopic statistical network parameters which are known to massively influence the stability and performance of networked systems. In the case considered in this dissertation, the adaptation of the degree distribution exponent of a random, scale-free overlay allows - within critical regions - a change of relevant structural and dynamical properties. As such, the proposed scheme allows to make sound statements about the relation between the local behavior of individual nodes and large scale properties of the resulting complex network structures. For systems in which the degree distribution exponent cannot easily be derived for example from local protocol parameters, we further present a distributed, probabilistic mechanism which can be used to monitor a network's degree distribution exponent and thus to reason about important structural qualities. Finally, the dissertation shifts its focus towards the study of complex, non-linear dynamics in networked systems. We consider a message-based protocol which - based on the Kuramoto model for coupled oscillators - achieves a stable, global synchronization of periodic heartbeat events. The protocol's performance and stability is evaluated in different network topologies. We further argue that - based on existing findings about the interrelation between spectral network properties and the dynamics of coupled oscillators - the proposed protocol allows to monitor structural properties of networked computing systems. An important aspect of this dissertation is its interdisciplinary approach towards a sensible and constructive handling of complex structures and collective dynamics in networked systems. The associated investigation of distributed systems from the perspective of non-linear dynamics and statistical physics highlights interesting parallels both to biological and physical systems. This foreshadows systems whose structures and dynamics can be analyzed and understood in the conceptual frameworks of statistical physics and complex systems.
Aggression is one of the most researched topics in psychology. This is understandable, since aggression behavior does a lot of harm to individuals and groups. A lot is known already about the biology of aggression, but one system that seems to be of vital importance in animals has largely been overlooked: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Menno Kruk and Jószef Haller and their research teams developed rodent models of adaptive, normal, and abnormal aggressive behavior. They found the acute HPA axis (re)activity, but also chronic basal levels to be causally relevant in the elicitation and escalation of aggressive behavior. As a mediating variable, changes in the processing of relevant social information is proposed, although this could not be tested in animals. In humans, not a lot of research has been done, but there is evidence for both the association between acute and basal cortisol levels in (abnormal) aggression. However, not many of these studies have been experimental of nature. rnrnOur aim was to add to the understanding of both basal chronic levels of HPA axis activity, as well as acute levels in the formation of aggressive behavior. Therefore, we did two experiments, both with healthy student samples. In both studies we induced aggression with a well validated paradigm from social psychology: the Taylor Aggression Paradigm. Half of the subjects, however, only went through a non-provoking control condition. We measured trait basal levels of HPA axis activity on three days prior. We took several cortisol samples before, during, and after the task. After the induction of aggression, we measured the behavioral and electrophysiological brain response to relevant social stimuli, i.e., emotional facial expressions embedded in an emotional Stroop task. In the second study, we pharmacologically manipulated cortisol levels 60min before the beginning of the experiment. To do that, half of the subjects were administered 20mg of hydrocortisone, which elevates circulating cortisol levels (cortisol group), the other half was administered a placebo (placebo group). Results showed that acute HPA axis activity is indeed relevant for aggressive behavior. We found in Study 1 a difference in cortisol levels after the aggression induction in the provoked group compared to the non-provoked group (i.e., a heightened reactivity of the HPA axis). However, this could not be replicated in Study 2. Furthermore, the pharmacological elevation of cortisol levels led to an increase in aggressive behavior in women compared to the placebo group. There were no effects in men, so that while men were significantly more aggressive than women in the placebo group, they were equally aggressive in the cortisol group. Furthermore, there was an interaction of cortisol treatment with block of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm, in that the cortisol group was significantly more aggressive in the third block of the task. Concerning basal HPA axis activity, we found an effect on aggressive behavior in both studies, albeit more consistently in women and in the provoked and non-provoked groups. However, the effect was not apparent in the cortisol group. After the aggressive encounter, information processing patterns were changed in the provoked compared to the non-provoked group for all facial expressions, especially anger. These results indicate that the HPA axis plays an important role in the formation of aggressive behavior in humans, as well. Importantly, different changes within the system, be it basal or acute, are associated with the same outcome in this task. More studies are needed, however, to better understand the role that each plays in different kinds of aggressive behavior, and the role information processing plays as a possible mediating variable. This extensive knowledge is necessary for better behavioral interventions.
Recently, optimization has become an integral part of the aerodynamic design process chain. However, because of uncertainties with respect to the flight conditions and geometrical uncertainties, a design optimized by a traditional design optimization method seeking only optimality may not achieve its expected performance. Robust optimization deals with optimal designs, which are robust with respect to small (or even large) perturbations of the optimization setpoint conditions. The resulting optimization tasks become much more complex than the usual single setpoint case, so that efficient and fast algorithms need to be developed in order to identify, quantize and include the uncertainties in the overall optimization procedure. In this thesis, a novel approach towards stochastic distributed aleatory uncertainties for the specific application of optimal aerodynamic design under uncertainties is presented. In order to include the uncertainties in the optimization, robust formulations of the general aerodynamic design optimization problem based on probabilistic models of the uncertainties are discussed. Three classes of formulations, the worst-case, the chance-constrained and the semi-infinite formulation, of the aerodynamic shape optimization problem are identified. Since the worst-case formulation may lead to overly conservative designs, the focus of this thesis is on the chance-constrained and semi-infinite formulation. A key issue is then to propagate the input uncertainties through the systems to obtain statistics of quantities of interest, which are used as a measure of robustness in both robust counterparts of the deterministic optimization problem. Due to the highly nonlinear underlying design problem, uncertainty quantification methods are used in order to approximate and consequently simplify the problem to a solvable optimization task. Computationally demanding evaluations of high dimensional integrals resulting from the direct approximation of statistics as well as from uncertainty quantification approximations arise. To overcome the curse of dimensionality, sparse grid methods in combination with adaptive refinement strategies are applied. The reduction of the number of discretization points is an important issue in the context of robust design, since the computational effort of the numerical quadrature comes up in every iteration of the optimization algorithm. In order to efficiently solve the resulting optimization problems, algorithmic approaches based on multiple-setpoint ideas in combination with one-shot methods are presented. A parallelization approach is provided to overcome the amount of additional computational effort involved by multiple-setpoint optimization problems. Finally, the developed methods are applied to 2D and 3D Euler and Navier-Stokes test cases verifying their industrial usability and reliability. Numerical results of robust aerodynamic shape optimization under uncertain flight conditions as well as geometrical uncertainties are presented. Further, uncertainty quantification methods are used to investigate the influence of geometrical uncertainties on quantities of interest in a 3D test case. The results demonstrate the significant effect of uncertainties in the context of aerodynamic design and thus the need for robust design to ensure a good performance in real life conditions. The thesis proposes a general framework for robust aerodynamic design attacking the additional computational complexity of the treatment of uncertainties, thus making robust design in this sense possible.
Large scale non-parametric applied shape optimization for computational fluid dynamics is considered. Treating a shape optimization problem as a standard optimal control problem by means of a parameterization, the Lagrangian usually requires knowledge of the partial derivative of the shape parameterization and deformation chain with respect to input parameters. For a variety of reasons, this mesh sensitivity Jacobian is usually quite problematic. For a sufficiently smooth boundary, the Hadamard theorem provides a gradient expression that exists on the surface alone, completely bypassing the mesh sensitivity Jacobian. Building upon this, the gradient computation becomes independent of the number of design parameters and all surface mesh nodes are used as design unknown in this work, effectively allowing a free morphing of shapes during optimization. Contrary to a parameterized shape optimization problem, where a smooth surface is usually created independently of the input parameters by construction, regularity is not preserved automatically in the non-parametric case. As part of this work, the shape Hessian is used in an approximative Newton method, also known as Sobolev method or gradient smoothing, to ensure a certain regularity of the updates, and thus a smooth shape is preserved while at the same time the one-shot optimization method is also accelerated considerably. For PDE constrained shape optimization, the Hessian usually is a pseudo-differential operator. Fourier analysis is used to identify the operator symbol both analytically and discretely. Preconditioning the one-shot optimization by an appropriate Hessian symbol is shown to greatly accelerate the optimization. As the correct discretization of the Hadamard form usually requires evaluating certain surface quantities such as tangential divergence and curvature, special attention is also given to discrete differential geometry on triangulated surfaces for evaluating shape gradients and Hessians. The Hadamard formula and Hessian approximations are applied to a variety of flow situations. In addition to shape optimization of internal and external flows, major focus lies on aerodynamic design such as optimizing two dimensional airfoils and three dimensional wings. Shock waves form when the local speed of sound is reached, and the gradient must be evaluated correctly at discontinuous states. To ensure proper shock resolution, an adaptive multi-level optimization of the Onera M6 wing is conducted using more than 36, 000 shape unknowns on a standard office workstation, demonstrating the applicability of the shape-one-shot method to industry size problems.
This work addresses the algorithmic tractability of hard combinatorial problems. Basically, we are considering \NP-hard problems. For those problems we can not find a polynomial time algorithm. Several algorithmic approaches already exist which deal with this dilemma. Among them we find (randomized) approximation algorithms and heuristics. Even though in practice they often work in reasonable time they usually do not return an optimal solution. If we constrain optimality then there are only two methods which suffice for this purpose: exponential time algorithms and parameterized algorithms. In the first approach we seek to design algorithms consuming exponentially many steps who are more clever than some trivial algorithm (who simply enumerates all solution candidates). Typically, the naive enumerative approach yields an algorithm with run time $\Oh^*(2^n)$. So, the general task is to construct algorithms obeying a run time of the form $\Oh^*(c^n)$ where $c<2$. The second approach considers an additional parameter $k$ besides the input size $n$. This parameter should provide more information about the problem and cover a typical characteristic. The standard parameterization is to see $k$ as an upper (lower, resp.) bound on the solution size in case of a minimization (maximization, resp.) problem. Then a parameterized algorithm should solve the problem in time $f(k)\cdot n^\beta$ where $\beta$ is a constant and $f$ is independent of $n$. In principle this method aims to restrict the combinatorial difficulty of the problem to the parameter $k$ (if possible). The basic hypothesis is that $k$ is small with respect to the overall input size. In both fields a frequent standard technique is the design of branching algorithms. These algorithms solve the problem by traversing the solution space in a clever way. They frequently select an entity of the input and create two new subproblems, one where this entity is considered as part of the future solution and another one where it is excluded from it. Then in both cases by fixing this entity possibly other entities will be fixed. If so then the traversed number of possible solution is smaller than the whole solution space. The visited solutions can be arranged like a search tree. To estimate the run time of such algorithms there is need for a method to obtain tight upper bounds on the size of the search trees. In the field of exponential time algorithms a powerful technique called Measure&Conquer has been developed for this purpose. It has been applied successfully to many problems, especially to problems where other algorithmic attacks could not break the trivial run time upper bound. On the other hand in the field of parameterized algorithms Measure&Conquer is almost not known. This piece of work will present examples where this technique can be used in this field. It also will point out what differences have to be made in order to successfully apply the technique. Further, exponential time algorithms for hard problems where Measure&Conquer is applied are presented. Another aspect is that a formalization (and generalization) of the notion of a search tree is given. It is shown that for certain problems such a formalization is extremely useful.
In this thesis, three studies investigating the impact of stress on the protective startle eye blink reflex are reported. In the first study a decrease in prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex was observed after intravenous low dose cortisol application. In the second study a decrease in reflex magnitude of the startle reflex was observed after pharmacological suppression of endogenous cortisol production. In the third study, a higher reflex magnitude of the startle reflex was observed at reduced arterial and central venous blood pressure. These results can be interpreted in terms of an adaption to hostile environments.
Abstracts book of oral presentations and poster contributions for the mid-term conference of the Interreg IVB NWE project ForeStClim. The international conference took place in Nancy (France) from 20. to 22. September 2010. The topics of the conference sessions were as follows:rnSession 1: Projecting forest sites and stand shiftsrnSession 2: Climate change and water: modelling across spatial and temporal scalesrnSession 3: Addressing climate change in practical silvicultural decision support
Mechanical and Biological Treatment (MBT) generally aims to reduce the amount of solid waste and emissions in landfills and enhance the recoveries. MBT technology has been studied in various countries in Europe and Asia. Techniques of solid waste treatment are distinctly different in the study areas. A better understanding of MBT waste characteristics can lead to an optimization of the MBT technology. For a sustainable waste management, it is essential to determine the characteristics of the final MBT waste, the effectiveness of the treatment system as well as the potential application of the final material regarding future utilization. This study aims to define and compare the characteristics of the final MBT materials in the following countries: Luxembourg (using a high degree technology), Fridhaff in Diekirch/Erpeldange, Germany (using a well regulated technology), Singhofen in Rhein-Lahn district, Thailand (using a low cost technology): Phitsanulok in Phitsanulok province. The three countries were chosen for this comparative study due to their unique performance in the MBT implementation. The samples were taken from the composting heaps of the final treatment process prior to sending them to landfills, using a random sampling standard strategy from August 2008 onwards. The size of the sample was reduced to manageable sizes before characterization. The size reduction was achieved by the quartering method. The samples were first analyzed for the size fraction on the day of collection. They were screened into three fractions by the method of dry sieving: small size with a diameter of <10 mm, medium size with a diameter of 10-40 mm and large size with a diameter of >40 mm. These fractions were further analyzed for their physical and chemical parameters such as particle size distribution (total into 12 size fractions), particle shape, porosity, composition, water content, water retention capacity and respiratory activity. The extracted eluate was analyzed for pH-value, heavy metals (lead, cadmium and arsenic), chemical oxygen demand, ammonium, sulfate and chloride. In order to describe and evaluate the potential application of the small size material as a final cover of landfills, the fraction of small size samples were tested for the geotechnical properties as well. The geotechnical parameters were the compaction test, permeability test and shear strength test. The detailed description of the treatment facilities and methods of the study areas were included in the results. The samples from the three countries are visibly smaller than waste without pretreatment. Maximum particle size is found to be less than 100 mm. The samples are found to consist of dust to coarse fractions. The small size with a diameter of <10 mm was highest in the sample from Germany (average 60% by weight), secondly in the sample from Luxembourg (average 43% by weight) and lowest in the sample from Thailand (average 15% by weight). The content of biodegradable material generally increased with decreasing particle sizes. Primary components are organic, plastics, fibrous materials and inert materials (glass and ceramics). The percentage of each components greatly depends on the MBT process of each country. Other important characteristics are significantly reduced water content, reduced total organic carbon and reduced potential heavy metals. The geotechnical results show that the small fraction is highly compact, has a low permeability and lot of water adsorbed material. The utilization of MBT material in this study shows a good trend as it proved to be a safe material which contained very low amounts of loadings and concentrations of chemical oxygen demand, ammonium, and heavy metals. The organic part can be developed to be a soil conditioner. It is also suitably utilized as a bio-filter layer in the final cover of landfill or as a temporary cover during the MBT process. This study showed how to identify the most appropriate technology for municipal solid waste disposal through the study of waste characterization.
N-acetylation by N-acetyltransferase 1 (NAT1) is an important biotransformation pathway of the human skin and it is involved in the deactivation of the arylamine and well-known contact allergen para-phenylenediamine (PPD). Here, NAT1 expression and activity were analyzed in antigen presenting cells (monocyte-derived dendritic cells, MoDCs, a model for epidermal Langerhans cells) and human keratinocytes. The latter were used to study exogenous and endogenous NAT1 activity modulations. Within this thesis, MoDCs were found to express metabolically active NAT1. Activities were between 23.4 and 26.6 nmol/mg/min and thus comparable to peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These data suggest that epidermal Langerhans cells contribute to the cutaneous N-acetylation capacity. Keratinocytes, which are known for their efficient N-acetylation, were analyzed in a comparative study using primary keratinocytes (NHEK) and different shipments of the immortalized keratinocyte cell line HaCaT, in order to investigate the ability of the cell line to model epidermal biotransformation. N-acetylation of the substrate para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) was 3.4-fold higher in HaCaT compared to NHEK and varied between the HaCaT shipments (range 12.0"44.5 nmol/mg/min). Since B[a]P induced cytochrome p450 1 (CYP1) activities were also higher in HaCaT compared to NHEK, the cell line can be considered as an in vitro tool to qualitatively model epidermal metabolism, regarding NAT1 and CYP1. The HaCaT shipment with the highest NAT1 activity showed only minimal reduction of cell viability after treatment with PPD and was subsequently used to study interactions between NAT1 and PPD in keratinocytes. Treatment with PPD induced expression of cyclooxygenases (COX) in HaCaT, but in parallel, PPD N-acetylation was found to saturate with increasing PPD concentration. This saturation explains the presence of the PPD induced COX induction despite the high N-acetylation capacities. A detailed analysis of the effect of PPD on NAT1 revealed that the saturation of PPD N-acetylation was caused by a PPD-induced decrease of NAT1 activity. This inhibition was found in HaCaT as well as in primary keratinocytes after treatment with PPD and PABA. Regarding the mechanism, reduced NAT1 protein level and unaffected NAT1 mRNA expression after PPD treatment adduced clear evidences for substrate-dependent NAT1 downregulation. These results expand the existing knowledge about substrate-dependent NAT1 downregulation to human epithelial skin cells and demonstrate that NAT1 activity in keratinocytes can be modulated by exogenous factors. Further analysis of HaCaT cells from different shipments revealed an accelerated progression through the cell cycle in HaCaT cells with high NAT1 activities. These findings suggest an association between NAT1 and proliferation in keratinocytes as it has been proposed earlier for tumor cells. In conclusion, N-acetylation capacity of MoDCs as well as keratinocytes contribute to the overall N-acetylation capacity of human skin. NAT1 activity of keratinocytes and consequently the detoxification capacities of human skin can be modulated by the presence of exogenous NAT1 substrates and endogenous by the cell proliferation status of keratinocytes.
1.The Discursive Construction of Black Masculinity: Intersections of Race, Gender, and Sexuality
1.1.The Plight of Black Men: A History of Lynchings and Castrations
1.2.The Discursive Construction of the Black Man as Otherrn
1.3.Black Corporeality and the Scopic Regime of Racism
2. Ralph Ellison's 'Invisible man'
2.1.Invisible Black Men: Between Emasculation and Hypermasculinityrn
2.2.Transcending Invisibility
In recent years, Islamic banking has been one of the fastest growing markets in the financial world. Even to German banks, Islamic finance is not as 'foreign' as one might think. Indeed, several banks are already operating so-called "Islamic windows" in various Arab countries. However, German banks are still reluctant to offer 'Islamic' products in Germany, despite the fact that approximately 3.5 million Muslims currently live there. Potential reasons for this reluctance include widespread misunderstanding of Islamic banking in Germany and prevailing cultural prejudice towards Islam generally. The author seeks to address these concerns and to take an objective approach towards understanding the potential for Islamic banking in Germany. Legally, Islamic law cannot be the governing law of any contract in Germany. Therefore, the aim must be to draft contracts that are both enforceable under German law and consistent with the principles of Shari'a " the Islamic law. In this paper, the author gives a detailed legal analysis of the most common Islamic banking products and how they could be given effect under German law, while attempting to address widespread concerns about arbitration or parallel Shari'a courts. This publication is one of the first legal analysis of Islamic banking products in Germany. As such, its goal is not to be the final word, but rather to begin the conversation about potential problems and conflicts of Islamic banking in Germany that require further investigation.
The 22nd annual conference of the European Consortium for Church and State Research took place from 11 to 14 November 2010 in Trier, Germany. Founded in 1989, the Consortium unites experts of law and religion of all Member States of the European Union. In annual meetings, various topics of the relations between religions and states within the European Union are discussed. This year- conference was dedicated to the topic "Religion in Public Education". Scholars from 27 European countries discussed inter alia the role of religion in the European member states" educational systems, opting out of school obligations for religious reasons, home schooling as well as religious dress and symbols in public schools. The present proceedings contain the opening lectures, all country reports and a report on the European Union law.
In a case of robbery, some people actually use violence to steal - but others may supply information or weapons, make the plans, act as lookouts, provide transport. Certainly the actual robbers are guilty - but what of the others? How does Hong Kong's version of the common law answer this question now? How should the question be answered in the future?
The article deals with the untenable overloading of German criminal trial court judges presenting the overloading in detail and analyzing its reasons and consequences. In this context, serious failures by the German federal and state executive and legislative organs as well as undesirable developments of the Federal Constitutional Court's (BVerfG and the Federal Supreme Court of Justice's BGH) case law.
The overall objective of this thesis was to gain a deeper understanding of the antecedents, processes, and manifestations of uniqueness-driven consumer behavior. To achieve this goal, five studies have been conducted in Germany and Switzerland with a total of 1048 participants across different demographic and socio-economic backgrounds. Two concepts were employed in all studies: Consumer need for uniqueness (CNFU) and general uniqueness perception (GUP). CNFU (Tian, Bearden, & Hunter, 2001), a mainly US"based consumer research concept, measures the individual need, and thus the motivation to acquire, use, and dispose consumer goods in order to develop a unique image. GUP, adapted from the two-component theory of individuality (Kampmeier, 2001), represents a global and direct measure of self-ascribed uniqueness. Study #1 looked at the interrelation of the uniqueness-driven concepts. Therefore, GUP and CNFU were employed in the study as potential psychological factors that influence and predict uniqueness-driven consumer behavior. Different behavioral measures were used: The newly developed possession of individualized products (POIP), the newly developed products for uniqueness display (PFUD), and the already established uniqueness-enhancing behaviors (UEB). Analyses showed that CNFU mediates the relationship between GUP and the behavioral measures in a German speaking setting. Thus, GUP (representing self-perception) was identified as the driver behind CNFU (representing motivation) and the actual consumer behavior. Study #2 examined further manifestations of uniqueness-driven consumer behavior. For this purpose, an extreme form of uniqueness-increasing behavior was researched: Tattooing. The influence of GUP and CNFU on tattooing behavior was investigated using a sample derived from a tattoo exhibition. To do so, a newly developed measure to determine the percentage of the body covered by tattoos was employed. It was revealed that individuals with higher GUP and CNFU levels indeed have a higher tattooing degree. Study #3 further explored the predictive possibilities and limitations of the GUP and CNFU concepts. On the one hand, study #3 specifically looked at the consumption of customized apparel products as mass customization is said to become the standard of the century (Piller & Müller, 2004). It was shown that individuals with higher CNFU levels not only purchased more customized apparel products in the last six months, but also spend more money on them. On the other hand, uniqueness-enhancing activities (UEA), such as travel to exotic places or extreme sports, were investigated by using a newly developed 30-item scale. It was revealed that CNFU partly mediates the GUP and UEA relationship, proving that CNFU indeed predicts a broad range of consumer behaviors and that GUP is the driver behind the need and the behavior. Study #4, entered a new terrain. In contrast to the previous three studies, it explored the so termed "passive" side of uniqueness-seeking in the consumer context. Individuals might feel unique because business companies treat them in a special way. Such a unique customer treatment (UCT) involves activities like customer service or customer relationship management. Study #4 investigated if individuals differ in their need for such a treatment. Hence, with the need for unique customer treatment (NFUCT) a new uniqueness-driven consumer need was introduced and its impact on customer loyalty examined. Analyses, for example, revealed that individuals with high NFUCT levels receiving a high unique customer treatment (UCT) showed the highest customer loyalty, whereas the lowest customer loyalty was found among those individuals with high NFUCT levels receiving a low unique customer treatment (UCT). Study #5 mainly examined the processes behind uniqueness-driven consumer behavior. Here, not only the psychological influences, but also situational influences were examined. This study investigated the impact of a non-personal "indirect" uniqueness manipulation on the consumption of customized apparel products by simultaneously controlling for the influence of GUP and CNFU. Therefore, two equal experimental groups were created. Afterwards, these groups either received an e-mail with a "pro-individualism" campaign or a "pro-collectivism" campaign especially developed for study #5. The conducted experiment revealed that, individuals receiving a "pro-individualism" poster campaign telling the participants that uniqueness is socially appropriate and desired were willing to spend more money on customization options compared to individuals receiving a "pro-collectivism" poster campaign. Hence, not only psychological antecedents such as GUP and CNFU influence uniqueness-driven consumer behavior, but also situational factors.
Extension of inexact Kleinman-Newton methods to a general monotonicity preserving convergence theory
(2011)
The thesis at hand considers inexact Newton methods in combination with algebraic Riccati equation. A monotone convergence behaviour is proven, which enables a non-local convergence. Above relation is transferred to a general convergence theory for inexact Newton methods securing the monotonicity of the iterates for convex or concave mappings. Several application prove the pratical benefits of the new developed theory.
Variational inequality problems constitute a common basis to investigate the theory and algorithms for many problems in mathematical physics, in economy as well as in natural and technical sciences. They appear in a variety of mathematical applications like convex programming, game theory and economic equilibrium problems, but also in fluid mechanics, physics of solid bodies and others. Many variational inequalities arising from applications are ill-posed. This means, for example, that the solution is not unique, or that small deviations in the data can cause large deviations in the solution. In such a situation, standard solution methods converge very slowly or even fail. In this case, so-called regularization methods are the methods of choice. They have the advantage that an ill-posed original problem is replaced by a sequence of well-posed auxiliary problems, which have better properties (like, e.g., a unique solution and a better conditionality). Moreover, a suitable choice of the regularization term can lead to unconstrained auxiliary problems that are even equivalent to optimization problems. The development and improvement of such methods are a focus of current research, in which we take part with this thesis. We suggest and investigate a logarithmic-quadratic proximal auxiliary problem (LQPAP) method that combines the advantages of the well-known proximal-point algorithm and the so-called auxiliary problem principle. Its exploration and convergence analysis is one of the main results in this work. The LQPAP method continues the recent developments of regularization methods. It includes different techniques presented in literature to improve the numerical stability: The logarithmic-quadratic distance function constitutes an interior point effect which allows to treat the auxiliary problems as unconstrained ones. Furthermore, outer operator approximations are considered. This simplifies the numerical solution of variational inequalities with multi-valued operators since, for example, bundle-techniques can be applied. With respect to the numerical practicability, inexact solutions of the auxiliary problems are allowed using a summable-error criterion that is easy to implement. As a further advantage of the logarithmic-quadratic distance we verify that it is self-concordant (in the sense of Nesterov/Nemirovskii). This motivates to apply the Newton method for the solution of the auxiliary problems. In the numerical part of the thesis the LQPAP method is applied to linearly constrained, differentiable and nondifferentiable convex optimization problems, as well as to nonsymmetric variational inequalities with co-coercive operators. It can often be observed that the sequence of iterates reaches the boundary of the feasible set before being close to an optimal solution. Against this background, we present the strategy of under-relaxation, which robustifies the LQPAP method. Furthermore, we compare the results with an appropriate method based on Bregman distances (BrPAP method). For differentiable, convex optimization problems we describe the implementation of the Newton method to solve the auxiliary problems and carry out different numerical experiments. For example, an adaptive choice of the initial regularization parameter and a combination of an Armijo and a self-concordance step size are evaluated. Test examples for nonsymmetric variational inequalities are hardly available in literature. Therefore, we present a geometric and an analytic approach to generate test examples with known solution(s). To solve the auxiliary problems in the case of nondifferentiable, convex optimization problems we apply the well-known bundle technique. The implementation is described in detail and the involved functions and sequences of parameters are discussed. As far as possible, our analysis is substantiated by new theoretical results. Furthermore, it is explained in detail how the bundle auxiliary problems are solved with a primal-dual interior point method. Such investigations have by now only been published for Bregman distances. The LQPAP bundle method is again applied to several test examples from literature. Thus, this thesis builds a bridge between theoretical and numerical investigations of solution methods for variational inequalities.
This thesis centers on formal tree languages and on their learnability by algorithmic methods in abstractions of several learning settings. After a general introduction, we present a survey of relevant definitions for the formal tree concept as well as special cases (strings) and refinements (multi-dimensional trees) thereof. In Chapter 3 we discuss the theoretical foundations of algorithmic learning in a specific type of setting of particular interest in the area of Grammatical Inference where the task consists in deriving a correct formal description for an unknown target language from various information sources (queries and/or finite samples) in a polynomial number of steps. We develop a parameterized meta-algorithm that incorporates several prominent learning algorithms from the literature in order to highlight the basic routines which regardless of the nature of the information sources have to be run through by all those algorithms alike. In this framework, the intended target descriptions are deterministic finite-state tree automata. We discuss the limited transferability of this approach to another class of descriptions, residual finite-state tree automata, for which we propose several learning algorithms as well. The learnable class by these techniques corresponds to the class of regular tree languages. In Chapter 4we outline a recent range of attempts in Grammatical Inference to extend the learnable language classes beyond regularity and even beyond context-freeness by techniques based on syntactic observations which can be subsumed under the term 'distributional learning', and we describe learning algorithms in several settings for the tree case taking this approach. We conclude with some general reflections on the notion of learning from structural information.
This dissertation focuses on the link between labour market institutions and precautionary savings. It is evaluated whether private households react to changes in social insurance provision such as the income replacement in case of unemployment by increased savings for precautionary reasons. The dissertation consists of three self-contained chapters, each focusing on slightly different aspects of the topic. The first chapter titled "Precautionary saving and the (in)stability of subjective earnings uncertainty" empirically looks at the influence of future income uncertainty on household saving behavior. Numerous cross-section studies on precautionary saving use subjective expectations regarding the income variance one year ahead as a proxy for income uncertainty. Using such proxies observed only at one point in time, however, may give rise to biased estimates for precautionary wealth if expectations are not stable over time. Survey data from the Dutch DNB Household Survey suggest that subjective future income distributions are not stable over the mid-term. Moreover, in this study I contrast estimates of precautionary wealth using the variation coefficient observed at one point in time with those using a simple mid-term average. Estimates of precautionary wealth based on the average are about 40% to 80% higher than the estimates using the variation coefficient observed only once. In addition to that, wealth accumulation for precautionary reasons is estimated for different parts of the income distribution. The share of precautionary wealth is highest for households at the center of the income distribution. By linking saving behaviour with unemployment insurance, the following chapters then shed some light on an issue that has largely been neglected in the literature on labour market institutions so far. Whereas the third chapter models the relevance of unemployment insurance for income uncertainty and intertemporal decision making during institutional reform processes, chapter 4 seeks to establish empirically a relationship between saving behavior and unemployment insurance. Social insurance, especially unemployment insurance, provides agents with income insurance against not marketable income risks. Since the early 1990s, reform measures like more activating policies as suggested by the OECD Jobs Study in 1994 have been observed in Europe. In the third chapter it is argued that such changes in unemployment insurance reduce public insurance and increase income uncertainty. Moreover, a simple three period model is discussed which shows a link between a welfare state reform and agents' saving decisions as one possible reaction of agents to self-insure against income risk. Two sources of uncertainty seem to be important in this context: (1) uncertain results of the reform process concerning the replacement rate, and (2) uncertainty regarding the timing of information about the content of the reform. It can be shown that the precautionary motive for saving explains an increased accumulation of capital in times of reform activities. In addition to that, early information about the expected replacement rate increases agents' utility and reduces under and oversaving. Following the argument of the previous chapters, that an important feature of labour market institutions in modern welfare states is to provide cash transfers as income replacement in case of unemployment, it is hypothesised that unemployment benefits reduce the motive to save for precautionary reasons. Based on consumer sentiment data from the European Commission's Consumer Survey, chapter four finally provides some evidence that aggregate saving intentions are significantly influenced by unemployment benefits. It can be shown that higher benefits lower the intention to save.
Stress represents a significant problem for Western societies inducing costs as high as 3-4 % of the European gross national products, a burden that is continually increasing (WHO Briefing, EUR/04/5047810/B6). The classical stress response system is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis which acts to restore homeostasis after disturbances. Two major components within the HPA axis system are the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR). Cortisol, released from the adrenal glands at the end of the HPA axis, binds to MRs and with a 10 fold lower affinity to GRs. Both, impairment of the HPA axis and an imbalance in the MR/GR ratio enhances the risk for infection, inflammation and stress related psychiatric disorders. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterised by a variety of symptoms, however, one of the most consistent findings is the hyperactivity of the HPA axis. This may be the result of lower numbers or reduced activity of GRs and MRs. The GR gene consists of multiple alternative first exons resulting in different GR mRNA transcripts whereas for the MR only two first exons are known to date. Both, the human GR promoter 1F and the homologue rat Gr promoter 1.7 seem to be susceptible to methylation during stressful early life events resulting in lower 1F/1.7 transcript levels. It was proposed that this is due to methylation of a NGFI-A binding site in both, the rat promoter 1.7 and the human promoter 1F. The research presented in this thesis was undertaken to determine the differential expression and methylation patterns of GR and MR variants in multiple areas of the limbic brain system in the healthy and depressed human brain. Furthermore, the transcriptional control of the GR transcript 1F was investigated as expression changes of this transcript were associated with MDD, childhood abuse and early life stress. The role of NGFI-A and several other transcription factors on 1F regulation was studied in vitro and the effect of Ngfi-a overexpression on the rat Gr promoter 1.7 in vivo. The susceptibility to epigenetic programming of several GR promoters was investigated in MDD. In addition, changes in methylation levels have been determined in response to a single acute stressor in rodents. Our results showed that GR and MR first exon transcripts are differentially expressed in the human brain, but this is not due to epigenetic programming. We showed that NGFI-A has no effect on endogenous 1F/1.7 expression in vitro and in vivo. We provide evidence that the transcription factor E2F1 is a major element in the transcriptional complex necessary to drive the expression of GR 1F transcripts. In rats, highly individual methylation patterns in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) suggest that this is not related to the stressor but can rather be interpreted as pre-existing differences. In contrast, the hippocampus showed a much more uniform epigenetic status, but still is susceptible to epigenetic modification even after a single acute stress suggesting a differential "state‟ versus "trait‟ regulation of the GR gene in different brain regions. The results of this thesis have given further insight in the complex transcriptional regulation of GR and MR first exons in health and disease. Epigenetic programming of GR promoters seems to be involved in early life stress and acute stress in adult rats; however, the susceptibility to methylation in response to stress seems to vary between brain regions.
The brain is the central coordinator of the human stress reaction. At the same time, peripheral endocrine and neural stress signals act on the brain modulating brain function. Here, three experimental studies are presented demonstrating this dual role of the brain in stress. Study I shows that centrally acting insulin, an important regulator of energy homeostasis, attenuates the stress related cortisol secretion. Studies II and III show that specific components of the stress reaction modulate learning and memory retrieval, two important aspects of higher-order brain function.
During pregnancy every eighth woman is treated with glucocorticoids. Glucocorticoids inhibit cell division but are assumed to accelerate the differentiation of cells. In this review animal models for the development of the human fetal and neonatal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are investigated. It is possible to show that during pregnancy in humans, as in most of the here-investigated animal models, a stress hyporesponsive period (SHRP) is present. In this period, the fetus is facing reduced glucocorticoid concentrations, by low or absent fetal glucocorticoid synthesis and by reduced exposure to maternal glucocorticoids. During that phase, sensitive maturational processes in the brain are assumed, which could be inhibited by high glucocorticoid concentrations. In the SHRP, species-specific maximal brain growth spurt and neurogenesis of the somatosensory cortex take place. The latter is critical for the development of social and communication skills and the secure attachment of mother and child. Glucocorticoid treatment during pregnancy needs to be further investigated especially during this vulnerable SHRP. The hypothalamus and the pituitary stimulate the adrenal glucocorticoid production. On the other hand, glucocorticoids can inhibit the synthesis of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) in the hypothalamus and of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in the pituitary. Alterations in this negative feedback are assumed among others in the development of fibromyalgia, diabetes and factors of the metabolic syndrome. In this work it is shown that the fetal cortisol surge at the end of gestation is at least partially due to reduced glucocorticoid negative feedback. It is also assumed that androgens are involved in the control of fetal glucocorticoid synthesis. Glucocorticoids seem to prevent masculinization of the female fetus by androgens during the sexual gonadal development. In this work a negative interaction of glucocorticoids and androgens is detectable.
Cortisol is a stress hormone that acts on the central nervous system in order to support adaptation and time-adjusted coping processes. Whereas previous research has focused on slow emerging, genomic effects of cortisol likely mediated by protein synthesis, there is only limited knowledge about rapid, non-genomic cortisol effects on in vivo neuronal cell activity in humans. Three independent placebo-controlled studies in healthy men were conducted to test effects of 4 mg cortisol on central nervous system activity, occurring within 15 minutes after intravenous administration. Two of the studies (N = 26; N = 9) used continuous arterial spin labeling as a magnetic resonance imaging sequence, and found rapid bilateral thalamic perfusion decrements. The third study (N = 14) revealed rapid cortisol-induced changes in global signal strength and map complexity of the electroencephalogram. The observed changes in neuronal functioning suggest that cortisol may act on the thalamic relay of non-relevant background as well as on task specific sensory information in order to facilitate the adaptation to stress challenges. In conclusion, these results are the first to coherently suggest that a physiologically plausible amount of cortisol profoundly affects functioning and perfusion of the human CNS in vivo by a rapid, non-genomic mechanism.
By rodent studies it has been shown that the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is a candidate gene for the investigation of cognitive functions comparable to human executive function. The present work addresses the question if polymorphisms in the MR gene can act as a "probe" to explain a part of the interindividual variance of human executive functions. For this purpose, 72 healthy young participants were assigned to four equally sized groups, concerning their particular MR genotype for two common MR polymorphisms. They were investigated in an electroencephalogram (EEG) test session, accomplishing two cognitive tests while delivering saliva samples for subsequent cortisol measures. The two tests chosen for the assessment of executive functions were the Attention Network Task (ANT) and a modified version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST).Chapter 1 of the present work reports of the rational bases for the empirical approach, which were built up on a broad theoretical background presented in Chapter 2. In the third chapter, the investigation and results of the statistical analysis for behavioral data (i.e. reaction times, accuracy/error rates) are presented. No association with MR polymorphisms was found for the reaction times of both tests. For the accuracy rate, differences between genotype groups were found for ANT and WCST, indicating an association of MR polymorphisms and accuracy in the Alertness and Executive Control network of the ANT and during the detection of an intradimensional shift in the WCST. Data acquisition and the results for EEG data analyses are presented in Chapter 4. The results show that groups differing for MR genotype show different activity over prefrontal motor areas during the process of answering to the ANT. Those group differences again were prominent for the Alertness and Executive Control network. A tendency for further significant group differences was found for activity on frontopolar positions in extradimensional rule switching. Chapter 5 summarizes the findings for the analysis of salivary free cortisol, showing a tendency for an association between MR polymorphisms and a mildly stimulated Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis during the test situation. The results of the different measures are integrated and discussed in Chapter 6 within the scope of novel findings in investigating the functionality of the chosen MR polymorphisms. Finally, Chapter 7 gives an outlook on the methodology and constraints of future research strategies to further describe the role of the MR in human cognitive function.
On the Influence of Ignored Stimuli: Generalization and Application of Distractor-Response Binding.
(2011)
In selection tasks where target stimuli are accompanied by distractors, responses to target stimuli, target stimuli and the distractor stimuli can be encoded together as one episode in memory. Subsequent repetition of any aspect of such an episode can lead to the retrieval of the whole episode including the response. Thus, repeating a distractor can retrieve responses given to previous targets; this mechanism was labeled distractor-response binding and has been evidenced in several visual setups. Three experiments of the present thesis implemented a priming paradigm with an identification task to generalize this mechanism to auditory and tactile stimuli as well as to stimulus concepts. In four more experiments the possible effect of distractor-response binding on drivers' reactions was investigated. The same paradigm was implemented using more complex stimuli, foot responses, go/no-go responses, and a dual task setup with head-up and head-down displays. The results indicate that distractor-response binding effects occur with auditory and tactile stimuli and that the process is mediated by a conceptual representation of the distractor stimuli. Distractor-response binding effects also revealed for stimuli, responses, and framework conditions likely to occur in a driving situation. It can be concluded that the effect of distractor-response binding needs to be taken into account for the design of local danger warnings in driver assistance systems.
Recent non-comparative studies diverge in their assessments of the extent to which German and Japanese post-Cold War foreign policies are characterized by continuity or change. While the majority of analyses on Germany find overall continuity in policies and guiding principles, prominent works on Japan see the country undergoing drastic and fundamental change. Using an explicitly comparative framework for analysis based on a role theoretical approach, this study reevaluates the question of change and continuity in the two countries" regional foreign policies, focusing on the time period from 1990 to 2010. Through a qualitative content analysis of key foreign policy speeches, this dissertation traces and compares German and Japanese national role conceptions (NRCs) by identifying policymakers" perceived duties and responsibilities of their country in international politics. Furthermore, it investigates actual foreign policy behavior in two case studies about German and Japanese policies on missile defense and on textbook disputes. The dissertation examines whether the NRCs identified in the content analysis are useful to understand and explain each country- particular conduct. Both qualitative content analysis and case studies demonstrate the influence of normative and ideational variables in foreign policymaking. Incremental adaptations in foreign policy preferences can be found in Germany as well as Japan, but they are anchored in established normative guidelines and represent attempts to harmonize existing preferences with the conditions of the post-Cold War era. The dissertation argues that scholars have overstated and misconstrued the changes underway by asserting that Japan is undergoing a sweeping transformation in its foreign policy.
In addition to the well-recognised effects of both, genes and adult environment, it is now broadly accepted that adverse conditions during pregnancy contribute to the development of mental and somatic disorders in the offspring, such as cardiovascular disorders, endocrinological disorders, metabolic disorders, schizophrenia, anxious and depressive behaviour and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Early life events may have long lasting impact on tissue structure and function and these effects appear to underlie the developmental origins of vulnerability to chronic diseases. The assumption that prenatal adversity, such as maternal emotional states during pregnancy, may have adverse effects on the developing infant is not new. Accordant references can be found in an ancient Indian text (ca. 1050 before Christ), in biblical texts and in documents originating during the Middle Ages. Even Hippocrates stated possible effects of maternal emotional states on the developing fetus. Since the mid-1950s, research examining the effects of maternal psychosocial stress during pregnancy appeared in the literature. Extensive research in this field has been conducted since the early 1990s. Thus, the relationship between early life events and long-term health outcomes was already postulated over 20 years ago. David Barker and colleagues demonstrated that children of lower birth weight - which represents a crude marker of an adverse intrauterine environment - were at increased risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disorders, and type-2 diabetes later in life. These provocative findings led to a large amount of subsequent research, initially focussing on the role of undernutrition in determining fetal outcomes. The phenomenon of prenatal influences that determine in part the risk of suffering from chronic disease later in life has been named the "fetal origins of health and disease" paradigm. The concept of "prenatal programming" has now been extended to many other domains, such as the effects of prenatal maternal stress, prenatal tobacco exposure, alcohol intake, medication, toxins, as well as maternal infection and diseases. During the process of prenatal programming, environmental agents are transmitted across the placenta and act on specific fetal tissues during sensitive periods of development. Thus, developmental trajectories are changed and the organisation and function of tissue structure and organ system is altered. The biological purpose of those "early life programming" may consist in evolutionary advantages. The offspring adapts its development to the expected extrauterine environment which is forecast by the clues available during fetal life. If the fetus receives signals of a challenging environment, e.g. due to maternal stress hormones or maternal undernutrition, its survival may be promoted due to developmental adaptation processes. However, if the expected environment does not match with the real environment, maladapation and later disease risk may result. For example, a possible indicator of a "response ready" trait, such as hyperactivity/inattention may have been advantageous in an adverse ancient environment. However, it is of disadvantage when the postnatal environment demands oppositional skills, such as attention and concentration " e.g. in the classroom, at school, to achieve academic success. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a prevalent psychiatric disorder, characterized by impulsivity, affective instability, dysfunctional interpersonal relationships and identity disturbance. Although many studies report different risk factors, the exact etiologic mechanisms are not yet understood. In addition to the well-recognised effects of genetic components and adverse childhood experiences, BPD may potentially be co-determined by further environmental influences, acting very early in life: during pre- and perinatal period. There are several hints that may suggest possible prenatal programming processes in BPD. For example, patients with BPD are characterized by elevated stress sensitivity and reactivity and dysfunctions of the neuroendocrine stress system, such as the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. Furthermore, patients with BPD show a broad range of somatic comorbidities " especially those disorders for which prenatal programming processes have been described. During infancy and childhood, BPD patients already show behavioural and emotional abnormalities as well as pronounced temperamental traits, such as impulsivity, emotional dysregulation and inattention that may potentially be co-determined by prenatal programming processes. Such temperamental traits - similar to those, seen in patients with ADHD - have been described to be associated with low birthweight which indicates a suboptimal intrauterine environment. Moreover, the functional and structural alterations in the central nervous system (CNS) in patients with BPD might also be mediated in part by prenatal agents, such as prenatal tobacco exposure. Prenatal adversity may thus constitute a further, additional component in the multifactorial genesis of BPD. The association between BPD and prenatal risk factors has not yet been studied in such detail. We are not aware of any further study that assessed pre- and perinatal risk factors, such as maternal psychoscocial stress, smoking, alcohol intake, obstetric complications and lack of breastfeeding in patients with BPD.
The demand for reliable statistics has been growing over the past decades, because more and more political and economic decisions are based on statistics, e.g. regional planning, allocation of funds or business decisions. Therefore, it has become increasingly important to develop and to obtain precise regional indicators as well as disaggregated values in order to compare regions or specific groups. In general, surveys provide the information for these indicators only for larger areas like countries or administrative divisions. However, in practice, it is more interesting to obtain indicators for specific subdivisions like on NUTS 2 or NUTS 3 levels. The Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS) is a hierarchical system of the European Union used in statistics to refer to subdivisions of countries. In many cases, the sample information on such detailed levels is not available. Thus, there are projects such as the European Census, which have the goal to provide precise numbers on NUTS 3 or even community level. The European Census is conducted amongst others in Germany and Switzerland in 2011. Most of the participating countries use sample and register information in a combined form for the estimation process. The classical estimation methods of small areas or subgroups, such as the Horvitz-Thompson (HT) estimator or the generalized regression (GREG) estimator, suffer from small area-specific sample sizes which cause high variances of the estimates. The application of small area methods, for instance the empirical best linear unbiased predictor (EBLUP), reduces the variance of the estimates by including auxiliary information to increase the effective sample size. These estimation methods lead to higher accuracy of the variables of interest. Small area estimation is also used in the context of business data. For example during the estimation of the revenues of specific subgroups like on NACE 3 or NACE 4 levels, small sample sizes can occur. The Nomenclature statistique des activités économiques dans la Communauté européenne (NACE) is a system of the European Union which defines an industry standard classification. Besides small sample sizes, business data have further special characteristics. The main challenge is that business data have skewed distributions with a few large companies and many small businesses. For instance, in the automotive industry in Germany, there are many small suppliers but only few large original equipment manufacturers (OEM). Altogether, highly influential units and outliers can be observed in business statistics. These extreme values in connection with small sample sizes cause severe problems when standard small area models are applied. These models are generally based on the normality assumption, which does not hold in the case of outliers. One way to solve these peculiarities is to apply outlier robust small area methods. The availability of adequate covariates is important for the accuracy of the above described small area methods. However, in business data, the auxiliary variables are hardly available on population level. One of several reasons for that is the fact that in Germany a lot of enterprises are not reflected in business registers due to truncation limits. Furthermore, only listed enterprises or companies which trespass specific thresholds are obligated to publish their results. This limits the number of potential auxiliary variables for the estimation. Even though there are issues with available covariates, business data often include spatial dependencies which can be used to enhance small area methods. Next to spatial information based on geographic characteristics, group-specific similarities like related industries based on NACE codes can be used. For instance, enterprises from the same NACE 2 level, e.g. sector 47 retail trade, behave more similar than two companies from different NACE 2 levels, e.g. sector 05 mining of coal and sector 64 financial services. This spatial correlation can be incorporated by extending the general linear mixed model trough the integration of spatially correlated random effects. In business data, outliers as well as geographic or content-wise spatial dependencies between areas or domains are closely linked. The coincidence of these two factors and the resulting consequences have not been fully covered in the relevant literature. The only approach that combines robust small area methods with spatial dependencies is the M-quantile geographically weighted regression model. In the context of EBLUP-based small area models, the combination of robust and spatial methods has not been considered yet. Therefore, this thesis provides a theoretical approach to this scientific and practical problem and shows its relevance in an empirical study.
The role of cortisol and cortisol dynamics in patients after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage
(2011)
Spontaneous aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a form of stroke which constitutes a severe trauma to the brain and often leads to serious long-term medical and psychosocial sequels which persist for years after the acute event. Recently, adrenocorticotrophic hormone deficiency has been identified as one possible consequence of the bleeding and is assumed to occur in around 20% of all survivors. Additionally, a number of studies report a high prevalence of post-SAH symptoms such as lack of initiative, fatigue, loss of concentration, impaired quality of life and psychiatric symptoms such as depression. The overlap of these symptoms and those of patients with untreated partial or complete hypopituitarism lead to the suggestion that neuroendocrine dysregulations may contribute to the psychosocial sequels of SAH. Therefore, one of the aims of this work is to gain insights into the role of neuroendocrine dysfunction on quality of life and the prevalence of psychiatric sequels in SAH-patients. Additionally, as data on cortisol dynamics after SAH are scarce, diurnal cortisol profiles are investigated in patients in the acute and chronic phase, as well as the cortisol awakening response and feedback sensitivity in the chronic phase after SAH. As a result, it can be shown that some SAH patients exhibit lower serum cortisol levels but at the same time a higher cortisol awakening response in saliva than healthy controls. Also, patients in the chronic phase after SAH do have a stable diurnal cortisol rhythm while there are disturbances in around 50% of all patients in the acute phase, leading to the conclusion that a single baseline measurement of cortisol is of no substantial use for diagnosing cortisol dysregulations in the acute phase after SAH. It is assumed that in SAH patients endocrine changes occur over time and that a combination of adrenal exhaustion and a subsequent downregulation of corticosteroid binding globulin may be the most probable causes for the dissociation of serum cortisol concentrations and salivary cortisol profiles in the investigated SAH patients. These changes may be an emergency response after SAH and, as elevated free cortisol levels are connected to a better psychosocial outcome in patients in the chronic phase after SAH, this reaction may even be adaptive.
Psychiatric/Behavioral disorders/traits are usually polygenic in nature, where a particular phenotype is the manifestation of multiple genes. However, the existence of large families with numerous members who are affected by these disorders/traits steers us towards a Mendelian (or monogenic) possibility, where the phenotype is caused by a single gene. In order to better understand the genetic architecture of general psychiatric/behavioral disorders/traits, this thesis investigates large pedigrees that display a Mendelian pattern for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Numerous challenges in the field of psychiatric and behavioral sciences have impeded the genetic investigation of such disorders/traits. Examples include frequent cross-disorders, genetic heterogeneity across subjects as well as the use of diagnostic tools that can be subjective at times. To overcome these challenges, this thesis investigates large multi-generational pedigrees, which comprise a significant number of members who exhibit specific psychiatric/behavioral phenotypes. These pedigrees provide high-resolution experimental setups that can dissect the genetic complexities of psychiatric/behavioral disorders/traits. This thesis adopts a classical two-stage genetic approach to investigate the various psychiatric/behavioral disorders/traits in large pedigrees. The classical two-stage genetic approach is commonly used by many human geneticists to study a wide spectrum of human physiological disorders but is only being applied to the field of psychiatric and behavioral genetics recently. Through the study of large pedigrees, this thesis discovers the genomic regions that may play a causative role in the expression of certain psychiatric/behavioral disorders/traits within the vast genome.
This work is concerned with two kinds of objects: regular expressions and finite automata. These formalisms describe regular languages, i.e., sets of strings that share a comparatively simple structure. Such languages - and, in turn, expressions and automata - are used in the description of textual patterns, workflow and dependence modeling, or formal verification. Testing words for membership in any given such language can be implemented using a fixed - i.e., finite - amount of memory, which is conveyed by the phrasing finite-automaton. In this aspect they differ from more general classes, which require potentially unbound memory, but have the potential to model less regular, i.e., more involved, objects. Other than expressions and automata, there are several further formalisms to describe regular languages. These formalisms are all equivalent and conversions among them are well-known.However, expressions and automata are arguably the notions which are used most frequently: regular expressions come natural to humans in order to express patterns, while finite automata translate immediately to efficient data structures. This raises the interest in methods to translate among the two notions efficiently. In particular,the direction from expressions to automata, or from human input to machine representation, is of great practical relevance. Probably the most frequent application that involves regular expressions and finite automata is pattern matching in static text and streaming data. Common tools to locate instances of a pattern in a text are the grep application or its (many) derivatives, as well as awk, sed and lex. Notice that these programs accept slightly more general patterns, namely ''POSIX expressions''. Concerning streaming data, regular expressions are nowadays used to specify filter rules in routing hardware.These applications have in common that an input pattern is specified in form a regular expression while the execution applies a regular automaton. As it turns out, the effort that is necessary to describe a regular language, i.e., the size of the descriptor,varies with the chosen representation. For example, in the case of regular expressions and finite automata, it is rather easy to see that any regular expression can be converted to a finite automaton whose size is linear in that of the expression. For the converse direction, however, it is known that there are regular languages for which the size of the smallest describing expression is exponential in the size of the smallest describing automaton.This brings us to the subject at the core of the present work: we investigate conversions between expressions and automata and take a closer look at the properties that exert an influence on the relative sizes of these objects.We refer to the aspects involved with these consideration under the titular term of Relative Descriptional Complexity.
There is a lot of evidence for the impact of acute glucocorticoid treatment on hippocampus-dependent explicit learning and memory (memory for facts and events). But there have been few studies, investigating the effect of glucocorticoids on implicit learning and memory. We conducted three studies with different methodology to investigate the effect of glucocorticoids on different forms of implicit learning. In Study 1, we investigated the effect of cortisol depletion on short-term habituation in 49 healthy subjects. 25 participants received oral metyrapone (1500 mg) to suppress endogenous cortisol production, while 24 controls received oral placebo. Eye blink electromyogram (EMG) responses to 105 dB acoustic startle stimuli were assessed. Effective endogenous cortisol suppression had no effect on short-term habituation of the startle reflex, but startle eye blink responses were significantly increased in the metyrapone group. The latter findings are in line with previous human studies, which have shown that excess cortisol, sufficient to fully occupy central nervous system (CNS) corticosteroid receptors, may reduce startle eye blink. This effect may be mediated by CNS mechanisms controlling cortisol feedback. In Study 2, we investigated delay or trace eyeblink conditioning in a patient group with a relative hypocortisolism (30 patients with fibromyaligia syndrome/FMS) compared to 20 healthy control subjects. Conditioned eyeblink response probability was assessed by EMG. Morning cortisol levels, ratings of depression, anxiety and psychosomatic complaints as well as general symptomatology and psychological distress were assessed. As compared to healthy controls FMS patients showed lower morning cortisol levels, and trace eyeblink conditioning was facilitated whereas delay eyeblink conditioning was reduced. Cortisol measures correlate significantly only with trace eyeblink conditioning. Our results are in line with studies of pharmacologically induced hyper- and hypocortisolism, which affected trace eyeblink conditioning. We suggest that endocrine mechanisms affecting hippocampus-mediated forms of associative learning may play a role in the generation of symptoms in these patients.rnIn Study 3, we investigated the effect of excess cortisol on implicit sequence learning in healthy subjects. Oral cortisol (30 mg) was given to 29 participants, whereas 31 control subjects received placebo. All volunteers performed a 5-choice serial reaction time task (SRTT). The reaction speed of every button-press was determined and difference-scores were calculated as a proof of learning. Compared to the control group, we found a delayed learning in the cortisol group at the very beginning of the task. This study is the first human investigation, indicating impaired implicit memory function after exogenous administration of the stress hormone cortisol. Our findings support a previous neuroimaging study, which suggested that the medial temporal lobe (including the hippocampus) is also active in implicit sequence learning, but our results may also depend on the engagement of other brain structures.
The main research question of this thesis was to set up a framework to allow for the identification of land use changes in drylands and reveal their underlying drivers. The concept of describing land cover change processes in a framework of global change syndrome was introduced by Schellnhuber et al. (1997). In a first step the syndrome approach was implemented for semi-natural areas of the Iberian Peninsula based on time series analysis of the MEDOKADS archive. In the subsequent study the approach was expanded and adapted to other land cover strata. Furthermore, results of an analysis of the relationship of annual NDVI and rainfall data were incorporated to designate areas that show a significant relationship indicating that at least a part of the variability found in NDVI time series was caused by precipitation. Additionally, a first step was taken towards the integration of socio-economic data into the analysis; population density changes between 1961 and 2008 were utilized to support the identification of processes related to land abandonment accompanied by cessation of agricultural practices on the one hand and urbanization on the other. The main findings of the studies comprise three major land cover change processes caused by human interaction: (i) shrub and woody vegetation encroachment in the wake of land abandonment of marginal areas, (ii) intensification of non-irrigated and irrigated, intensively used fertile regions and (iii) urbanization trends along the coastline caused by migration and the increase of mass tourism. Land abandonment of cultivated fields and the give-up of grazing areas in marginal mountainous areas often lead to the encroachment of shrubs and woody vegetation in the course of succession or reforestation. Whereas this cover change has positive effects concerning soil stabilization and carbon sequestration the increase of biomass involves also negative consequences for ecosystem goods and services; these include decreased water yield as a result of increased evapotranspiration, increasing fire risk, decreasing biodiversity due to landscape homogenization and loss of aesthetic value. Arable land in intensively used fertile zones of Spain was further intensified including the expansion of irrigated arable land. The intensification of agriculture has also generated land abandonment in these areas because less people are needed in the agricultural labour sector due to mechanization. Urbanization effects due to migration and the growth of the tourism sector were mapped along the eastern Mediterranean coast. Urban sprawl was only partly detectable by means of the MEDOKADS archive as the changes of urbanization are often too subtle to be detected by data with a spatial resolution of 1 km-². This is in line with a comparison of a Landsat TM time series and the NOAA AVHRR archive for a study area in the Greece that showed that small scale changes cannot be detected based on this approach, even though they might be of high relevance for local management of resources. This underlines the fact that land degradation processes are multi-scale problems and that data of several spatial and temporal scales are mandatory to build a comprehensive dryland observation system. Further land cover processes related to a decrease of greenness did not play an important role in the observation period. Thus, only few patches were identified, suggesting that no large-scale land degradation processes are taking place in the sense of decline of primary productivity after disturbances. Nevertheless, the land cover processes detected impact ecosystem functioning and using the example of shrub encroachment, bear risks for the provision of goods and services which can be valued as land degradation in the sense of a decline of important ecosystem goods and services. This risk is not only confined to the affected ecosystem itself but can also impact adjacent ecosystems due to inter-linkages. In drylands water availability is of major importance and the management of water resources is an important political issue. In view of climate change this topic will become even more important because aridity in Spain did increase within the last decades and is likely to further do so. In addition, the land cover changes detected by the syndrome approach could even augment water scarcity problems. Whereas the water yield of marginal areas, which often serve as headwaters of rivers, decreases with increasing biomass, water demand of agriculture and tourism is not expected to decline. In this context it will be of major importance to evaluate the trade-offs between different land uses and to take decisions that maintain the future functioning of the ecosystems for human well-being.
Religion, churches and religious communities have growing importance in the Law of the European Union. Since long a distinct law on religion of the European Union is developing.rnThis collection of those norms of European Union Law directly concerning religion mirrors today's status of this dynamic process.
The main topic of this treatise is the solution of two problems from the general theory of linear partial differential equations with constant coefficients. While surjectivity criteria for linear partial differential operators in spaces of smooth functions over an open subset of euclidean space and distributions were proved by B. Malgrange and L. Hörmander in 1955, respectively 1962, concrete evaluation of these criteria is still a highly non-trivial task. In particular, it is well-known that surjectivity in the space of smooth functions over an open subset of euclidean space does not automatically imply surjectivity in the space of distributions. Though, examples for this fact all live in three or higher dimensions. In 1966, F. Trèves conjectured that in the two dimensional setting surjectivity of a linear partial differential operator on the smooth functions indeed implies surjectivity on the space of distributions. An affirmative solution to this problem is presented in this treatise. The second main result solves the so-called problem of (distributional) parameter dependence for solutions of linear partial differential equations with constant coefficients posed by J. Bonet and P. Domanski in 2006. It is shown that, in dimensions three or higher, this problem in general has a negative solution even for hypoelliptic operators. Moreover, it is proved that the two dimensional case is again an exception, because in this setting the problem of parameter dependence always has a positive solution.
In this thesis, we mainly investigate geometric properties of optimal codebooks for random elements $X$ in a seperable Banach space $E$. Here, for a natural number $ N $ and a random element $X$ , an $N$-optimal codebook is an $ N $-subset in the underlying Banach space $E$ which gives a best approximation to $ X $ in an average sense. We focus on two types of geometric properties: The global growth behaviour (growing in $N$) for a sequence of $N$-optimal codebooks is described by the maximal (quantization) radius and a so-called quantization ball. For many distributions, such as central-symmetric distributions on $R^d$ as well as Gaussian distributions on general Banach spaces, we are able to estimate the asymptotics of the quantization radius as well as the quantization ball. Furthermore, we investigate local properties of optimal codebooks, in particular the local quantization error and the weights of the Voronoi cells induced by an optimal codebook. In the finite-dimensional setting, we are able to proof for many interesting distributions classical conjectures on the asymptotic behaviour of those properties. Finally, we propose a method to construct sequences of asymptotically optimal codebooks for random elements in infinite dimensional Banach spaces and apply this method to construct codebooks for stochastic processes, such as fractional Brownian Motions.
One of the main tasks in mathematics is to answer the question whether an equation possesses a solution or not. In the 1940- Thom and Glaeser studied a new type of equations that are given by the composition of functions. They raised the following question: For which functions Ψ does the equation F(Ψ)=f always have a solution. Of course this question only makes sense if the right hand side f satisfies some a priori conditions like being contained in the closure of the space of all compositions with Ψ and is easy to answer if F and f are continuous functions. Considering further restrictions to these functions, especially to F, extremely complicates the search for an adequate solution. For smooth functions one can already find deep results by Bierstone and Milman which answer the question in the case of a real-analytic function Ψ. This work contains further results for a different class of functions, namely those Ψ that are smooth and injective. In the case of a function Ψ of a single real variable, the question can be fully answered and we give three conditions that are both sufficient and necessary in order for the composition equation to always have a solution. Furthermore one can unify these three conditions to show that they are equivalent to the fact that Ψ has a locally Hölder-continuous inverse. For injective functions Ψ of several real variables we give necessary conditions for the composition equation to be solvable. For instance Ψ should satisfy some form of local distance estimate for the partial derivatives. Under the additional assumption of the Whitney-regularity of the image of Ψ, we can give sufficient conditions for flat functions f on the critical set of Ψ to possess a solution F(Ψ)=f.
The 23rd Annual Congress of the European Consortium for Church and State Research took place in Oxford, United Kingdom from 29 September to 2 October 2011. Founded in 1989, the Consortium unites experts in law and religion from Member States of the European Union. The Oxford conference took as its theme Religion and Discrimination Law focusing on the manner in which State governments had sought to implement the non-discrimination policy of the EU by legislation and through courts and tribunals. The proceedings comprise three introductory papers considering the historical, cultural and social background; the prohibition on discrimination, and the exemptions to the general prohibition. This is followed by national reports from twenty-three countries describing the reach of discrimination law in the field of religion. These are supplemented by further papers analysing the jurisprudence of the Strasbourg Court and the background to EU Directive 2000/78/EC and by some concluding reflections. The proceedings begin with the text of a public lecture given at the opening of the Congress by Sir Nicolas Bratza, President of the European Court of Human Rights on the subject of freedom of religion under Article 9 of the Convention.
In this thesis, in order to shed light on the biological function of the membrane-bound Glucocorticoid Receptor (mGR), proteomic changes induced by 15 min in vivo acute stress and by short in vitro activation of the mGR were analyzed in T-lymphocytes. The numerous overlaps between the two datasets suggest that the mGR mediates physiologically relevant actions and participates in the early stress response, triggering rapid early priming events that pave the way for the slower genomic GC activities. In addition, a new commercially available method with suitable sensitivity to detect the human mGR is reported and the transcriptional origin of this protein investigated. Our results indicates that specific GR-transcripts, containing exon 1C and 1D, are associated with the expression of this membrane isoform.
The stress hormone cortisol as the end-product of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been found to play a crucial role in the release of aggressive behavior (Kruk et al., 2004; Böhnke et al., 2010). In order to further explore potential mechanisms underlying the relationship between stress and aggression, such as changes in (social) information processing, we conducted two experimental studies that are presented in this thesis. In both studies, acute stress was induced by means of the Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Test (SECP) designed by Schwabe et al. (2008). Stressed participants were classified as either cortisol responders or nonresponders depending on their rise in cortisol following the stressor. Moreover, basal HPA axis activity was measured prior to the experimental sessions and EEG was recorded throughout the experiments. The first study dealt with the influence of acute stress on cognitive control processes. 41 healthy male participants were assigned to either the stress condition or the non-stressful control procedure of the SECP. Before as well as after the stress induction, all participants performed a cued task-switching paradigm in order to measure cognitive control processes. Results revealed a significant influence of acute and basal cortisol levels, respectively, on the motor preparation of the upcoming behavioral response, that was reflected in changes in the magnitude of the terminal Contingent Negative Variation (CNV). In the second study, the effect of acute stress and subsequent social provocation on approach-avoidance motivation was examined. 72 healthy students (36 males, 36 females) took part in the study. They performed an approach-avoidance task, using emotional facial expressions as stimuli, before as well as after the experimental manipulation of acute stress (again via the SECP) and social provocation realized by means of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (Taylor, 1967). Additionally to salivary cortisol, testosterone samples were collected at several points in time during the experimental session. Results indicated a positive relationship between acute testosterone levels and the motivation to approach social threat stimuli in highly provoked cortisol responders. Similar results were found when the testosterone-to-cortisol ratio at baseline was taken into account instead of acute testosterone levels. Moreover, brain activity during the approach-avoidance task was significantly influenced by acute stress and social provocation, as reflected in reductions of early (P2) as well as of later (P3) ERP components in highly provoked cortisol responders. This may indicate a less accurate, rapid processing of socially relevant stimuli due to an acute increase in cortisol and subsequent social provocation. In conclusion, the two studies presented in this thesis provide evidence for significant changes in information processing due to acute stress, basal cortisol levels and social provocation, suggesting an enhanced preparation for a rapid behavioral response in the sense of a fight-or-flight reaction. These results confirm the model of Kruk et al. (2004) proposing a mediating role of changed information processes in the stress-aggression-link.
Magnet Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Electroencephalography (EEG) are tools used to investigate the functioning of the working brain in both humans and animal studies. Both methods are increasingly combined in separate or simultaneous measurements under the assumption to benefit from their individual strength while compensating their particular weaknesses. However, little attention has been paid to how statistical analyses strategies can influence the information that can be retrieved from a combined EEG fMRI study. Two independent studies in healthy student volunteers were conducted in the context of emotion research to demonstrate two approaches of combining MRI and EEG data of the same participants. The first study (N = 20) applied a visual search paradigm and found that in both measurements the assumed effects were absent by not statistically combining their results. The second study (N = 12) applied a novelty P300 paradigm and found that only the statistical combination of MRI and EEG measurements was able to disentangle the functional effects of brain areas involved in emotion processing. In conclusion, the observed results demonstrate that there are added benefits of statistically combining EEG-fMRI data acquisitions by assessing both the inferential statistical structure and the intra-individual correlations of the EEG and fMRI signal.
The complicated human alternative GR promoter region plays a pivotal role in the regulation of GR levels. In this thesis, both genomic and environmental factors linked with GR expression are covered. This research showed that GR promoters were susceptible to silencing by methylation and the activity of the individual promoters was also modulated by SNPs. E2F1 is a major element to drive the expression of GR 1F transcripts and single CpG dinucleotide methylation cannot mediate the inhibition of transcription in vitro. Also, the distribution of GR first exons and 3" splice variants (GRα and GR-P) is expressed throughout the human brain with no region-specific alternative first exon usage. These data mirrored the consistently low levels of methylation in the brain, and the observed homogeneity throughout the studied regions. Taken together, the research presented in this thesis explored several layers of complexity in GR transcriptional regulation.
Optimal control problems are optimization problems governed by ordinary or partial differential equations (PDEs). A general formulation is given byrn \min_{(y,u)} J(y,u) with subject to e(y,u)=0, assuming that e_y^{-1} exists and consists of the three main elements: 1. The cost functional J that models the purpose of the control on the system. 2. The definition of a control function u that represents the influence of the environment of the systems. 3. The set of differential equations e(y,u) modeling the controlled system, represented by the state function y:=y(u) which depends on u. These kind of problems are well investigated and arise in many fields of application, for example robot control, control of biological processes, test drive simulation and shape and topology optimization. In this thesis, an academic model problem of the form \min_{(y,u)} J(y,u):=\min_{(y,u)}\frac{1}{2}\|y-y_d\|^2_{L^2(\Omega)}+\frac{\alpha}{2}\|u\|^2_{L^2(\Omega)} subject to -\div(A\grad y)+cy=f+u in \Omega, y=0 on \partial\Omega and u\in U_{ad} is considered. The objective is tracking type with a given target function y_d and a regularization term with parameter \alpha. The control function u takes effect on the whole domain \Omega. The underlying partial differential equation is assumed to be uniformly elliptic. This problem belongs to the class of linear-quadratic elliptic control problems with distributed control. The existence and uniqueness of an optimal solution for problems of this type is well-known and in a first step, following the paradigm 'first optimize, then discretize', the necessary and sufficient optimality conditions are derived by means of the adjoint equation which ends in a characterization of the optimal solution in form of an optimality system. In a second step, the occurring differential operators are approximated by finite differences and the hence resulting discretized optimality system is solved with a collective smoothing multigrid method (CSMG). In general, there are several optimization methods for solving the optimal control problem: an application of the implicit function theorem leads to so-called black-box approaches where the PDE-constrained optimization problem is transformed into an unconstrained optimization problem and the reduced gradient for these reduced functional is computed via the adjoint approach. Another possibilities are Quasi-Newton methods, which approximate the Hessian by a low-rank update based on gradient evaluations, Krylov-Newton methods or (reduced) SQP methods. The use of multigrid methods for optimization purposes is motivated by its optimal computational complexity, i.e. the number of required computer iterations scales linearly with the number of unknowns and the rate of convergence, which is independent of the grid size. Originally multigrid methods are a class of algorithms for solving linear systems arising from the discretization of partial differential equations. The main part of this thesis is devoted to the investigation of the implementability and the efficiency of the CSMG on commodity graphics cards. GPUs (graphic processing units) are designed for highly parallelizable graphics computations and possess many cores of SIMD-architecture, which are able to outperform the CPU regarding to computational power and memory bandwidth. Here they are considered as prototype for prospective multi-core computers with several hundred of cores. When using GPUs as streamprocessors, two major problems arise: data have to be transferred from the CPU main memory to the GPU main memory, which can be quite slow and the limited size of the GPU main memory. Furthermore, only when the streamprocessors are fully used to capacity, a remarkable speed-up comparing to a CPU is achieved. Therefore, new algorithms for the solution of optimal control problems are designed in this thesis. To this end, a nonoverlapping domain decomposition method is introduced which allows the exploitation of the computational power of many GPUs resp. CPUs in parallel. This algorithm is based on preliminary work for elliptic problems and enhanced for the application to optimal control problems. For the domain decomposition into two subdomains the linear system for the unknowns on the interface is solved with a Schur complement method by using a discrete approximation of the Steklov-Poincare operator. For the academic optimal control problem, the arising capacitance matrix can be inverted analytically. On this basis, two different algorithms for the nonoverlapping domain decomposition for the case of many subdomains are proposed in this thesis: on the one hand, a recursive approach and on the other hand a simultaneous approach. Numerical test compare the performance of the CSMG for the one domain case and the two approaches for the multi-domain case on a GPU and CPU for different variants.
This study focuses on the representation of British South Asian identities in contemporary British audiovisual media. It attempts to answer the question, whether these identities are represented as hybrid, heterogeneous and ambivalent, or whether these contemporary representations follow in the tradition of colonial and postcolonial racialism. Racialised depictions of British South Asians have been the norm not only in the colonial but also in the postcolonial era until the rise of the Black British movement, whose successes have been also acknowledged in the field of representation. However these achievements have to be scrutinized again, especially in the context of the post 9/11 world, rising Islamophobia, and new forms of institutionalized discrimination on the basis of religion. Since the majority of British Muslims are of South Asian origin, this study tries to answer the question whether the marker of religious origin is racial belonging, i.e. skin colour, and old stereotypes associated with the racialised representation are being perpetuated into current depictions through an examination of the varied genre of popular audio visual media texts.
The contribution of three genes (C15orf53, OXTR and MLC1) to the etiology of chromosome 15-bound schizophrenia (SCZD10), bipolar disorder (BD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were studied. At first, the uncharacterized gene C15orf53 was comprehensively analyzed. Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in bipolar disorder samples have identified an association signal in close vicinity to C15orf53 on chromosome 15q14. This gene is located in exactly the genomic region, which is segregating in our SCZD10 families. An association study with bipolar disorder (BD) and SCZD10 individual samples did not reveal any association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in C15orf53. Mutational analysis of C15orf53 in SCZD10-affected individuals from seven multiplex families did not show any mutations in the 5'-untranslated region, the coding region and the intron-exon boundaries. Gene expression analysis revealed that C15orf53 was expressed in a subpopulation of leukocytes, but not in human post-mortem limbic brain tissue. Summarizing these studies, C15orf53 is unlikely to be a strong candidate gene for the etiology of BD or SCZD10. The second investigated gene was the human oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR). Five well described SNPs located in the OXTR gene were taken for a transmission-disequilibrium test (TDT) in parents-child trios with ASD-affected children. Neither in the complete sample nor in a subgroup with children that had an intelligence quotient (IQ) above 70, association was found, independent from the application of Haploview or UNPHASED for analysis. The third gene, MLC1, was investigated with regards to its implication in the etiology of SCZD10. Mutations in the MLC1 gene lead to megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts (MLC) and one variant coding for the amino acid methionine (Met) instead of leucine (Leu) at position 309 was identified to segregate in a family affected with SCZD10. For further investigation of MLC1 and its possible implication in the etiology of SCZD10, a constitutive Mlc1 knockout mouse model should be created. Mouse embryonic stem cells (mES) were electroporated with a knockout vector construct and analyzed with respect to homologous recombination of the knockout construct with the genomic DNA (gDNA) of the mES. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on the available stem cell clones did not reveal any homologous recombined ES. Additionally, we conducted experiments to knockdown MLC1 and using microRNAs. The 3'-untranslated region of the MLC1 gene was analyzed with the bioinformatics tool TargetScan to screen for potential microRNA target sites. In the 3'-untranslated region of the MLC1 gene, a potential binding site for miR-137 was identified. The gene expression level of genes that had been linked to psychiatric disorders and carried a predicated miR-137 binding site has been proven to be immediately responsive to miR-137. Thus, there is new evidence that MLC1 is a candidate gene for the etiology of SCZD10.
The main objective of the present thesis was to investigate whether antibody effects observed in earlier in vitro studies can translate into the protection against chemical carcinogenesis in vivo as the basis of an immunoprophylactic approach against carcinogens. As model for chemical carcinogenesis, we selected B[a]P the prototype polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), an environmental pollutant emanating from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Many in vivo models conveniently use high doses of carcinogens mostly given as single bolus, which provides simple surrogate readouts, but poorly reflects chronic exposure to the low concentrations found in the environment. In addition, these concentrations cannot be matched with equimolar antibody concentrations obtained by immunisation. However, low B[a]P concentrations do not permit to directly measure chemical carcinogenesis. Therefore, in the present thesis, the pharmacokinetic, metabolism and B[a]P mediated immunotoxicity were chosen as experimental read-outs. B[a]P conjugate vaccines based on ovalbumin, tetanus toxoid and diphtheria toxoid (DT) as carrier proteins were developed to actively immunise mice against B[a]P. B[a]P-DT conjugate induced the most robust immune response. The antibodies reacted not only with B[a]P but also with the proximate carcinogen 7,8-diol-B[a]P. Antibodies modulated the bioavailability of B[a]P and its metabolic activation in a dose-dependent manner by sequestration in the blood. In order to further improve the vaccination, we replaced the protein carrier by promiscuous T-helper cell epitopes to induce higher antibody titer with increased specificity for the B[a]P hapten. We hypothesised that a reduction of B cell binding sites on the carrier, compared to whole protein carrier, should favour the activation of B cells recognising the hapten instead of the carrier protein. An internal processing of the carrier and cleavage of the B[a]P-BA and subsequent presentation of the carrier peptide by MHC II molecules to T cell receptor should induce a B cell dependent immune response by activating B cells capable to recognise B[a]P. We demonstrated that a vaccination against B[a]P using promiscuous T-helper cell epitopes as a carrier is feasible and some tested peptide conjugates were more immunogenic as whole protein conjugates with increased specificity. We showed that vaccination against B[a]P reduces immunotoxicity. B[a]P suppressed the proliferative response of both T and B cells after a sub-acute administration, an effect that was completely reversed by vaccination. In immunized mice the immunotoxic effect of B[a]P on IFN-γ, Il-12, TNF-ï¡ production and B cell activation was restored. In addition, specific antibodies inhibited the induction of Cyp1a1 by B[a]P in lymphocytes and Cyp1b1 in the liver, enzymes that are known to convert the procarcinogen B[a]P to the ultimate DNA-adduct forming metabolite, a major risk factor of chemical carcinogenesis. In order to replace Freund adjuvant and to improve the immunisation strategy in terms of antibody quantity and quality, several adjuvants that are potentially compatible with their use in humans were tested. In combination with Freund adjuvant, the conjugate-vaccine induced high levels of B[a]P-specific antibodies. We showed that all adjuvants tested induced specific antibodies against B[a]P and 7,8-diol-B[a]P, its carcinogenic metabolite. The highest antibody levels were obtained with Quil A, MF-59 and Alum. Biological activity in terms of enhanced retention of B[a]P was confirmed in mice immunised with Quil A, Montanide, Alum and MF-59. Our findings demonstrate that a vaccination against B[a]P is feasible in combination with adjuvants licensed in humans. Based on these results and with the current understanding of the mechanisms of chemical carcinogenesis of the ubiquitous carcinogen B[a]P and of the effects of specific antibodies, an immunoprophylactic approach against chemical carcinogenesis is absolutely warranted. Nevertheless, the direct effects of B[a]P-specific antibodies on the different stages of carcinogenesis (e.g. adduct formation) and whether these effects may translate into long-term protective effect against tumourigenesis needs to be proven in further experiments.
Time series archives of remotely sensed data offer many possibilities to observe and analyse dynamic environmental processes at the Earth- surface. Based on these hypertemporal archives, which offer continuous observations of vegetation indices, typically at repetition rates from one to two weeks, sets of phenological parameters or metrics can be derived. Examples of such parameters are the beginning and end of the annual growing period, as well as its length. Even though these parameters do not correspond exactly to conventional observations of phenological events, they nevertheless provide indications of the dynamic processes occurring in the biosphere. The development of robust algorithms for the derivation of phenological metrics can be challenging. Currently, such algorithms are most commonly based on digital filters or the Fourier analysis of time series. Polynomial spline models offer a useful alternative to existing methods. The possibilities of using spline models in the analytical description of time series are numerous, and their specific mathematical properties may help to avoid known problems occurring with the more common methods for deriving phenological metrics. Based on a selection of different polynomial spline models suitable for the analysis of remotely sensed time series of vegetation indices, a method to derive various phenological parameters from such time series was developed and implemented in this work. Using an example data set from an intensively used agricultural area showing highly dynamic variations in vegetation phenology, the newly developed method was verified by a comparison of the results of the spline based approach to the results of two alternative, well established methods.
This dissertation focuses on e-marketing strategy's effective elements in tourism industry. As case study, research focus is on Airlines, tour operator, chain hotels in Iran and Germany. It aims to show various possibilities to enhance the company- e-marketing strategy and successfully performance e-marketing strategies with recognition effective elements and their important during the strategy designing and implementation process. For the purpose of this research due to the nature of the research, Explanatory -exploratory-applicable; after studying and consulting, Delphi technique has been chosen. In results, we have some effective elements and their important according the Delphi and AHP method. For example between elements "Tourists' Needs, Experience and Expects" with the importance coefficient of %204 is the most remarkable elements and "Customer satisfactions' elements group" with average value 5.54 according the research results have more important than other groups.
Arctic and Antarctic polynya systems are of high research interest since extensive new ice formation takes place in these regions. The monitoring of polynyas and the ice production is crucial with respect to the changing sea-ice regime. The thin-ice thickness (TIT) distribution within polynyas controls the amount of heat that is released to the atmosphere and has therefore an impact on the ice-production rates. This thesis presents an improved method to retrieve thermal-infrared thin-ice thickness distributions within polynyas. TIT with a spatial resolution of 1 km × 1 km is calculated using the MODIS ice-surface temperature and atmospheric model variables within the Laptev Sea polynya for the winter periods 2007/08 and 2008/09. The improvement of the algorithm is focused on the surface-energy flux parameterizations. Furthermore, a thorough sensitivity analysis is applied to quantify the uncertainty in the thin-ice thickness results. An absolute mean uncertainty of -±4.7 cm for ice below 20 cm of thickness is calculated. Furthermore, advantages and drawbacks using different atmospheric data sets are investigated. Daily MODIS TIT composites are computed to fill the data gaps arising from clouds and shortwave radiation. The resulting maps cover on average 70 % of the Laptev Sea polynya. An intercomparison of MODIS and AMSR-E polynya data indicates that the spatial resolution issue is essential for accurately deriving polynya characteristics. Monthly fast-ice masks are generated using the daily TIT composites. These fast-ice masks are implemented into the coupled sea-ice/ocean model FESOM. An evaluation of FESOM sea-ice concentrations is performed with the result that a prescribed high-resolution fast-ice mask is necessary regarding the accurate polynya location. However, for a more realistic simulation of other small-scale sea-ice features further model improvements are required. The retrieval of daily high-resolution MODIS TIT composites is an important step towards a more precise monitoring of thin sea ice and sea-ice production. Future work will address a combined remote sensing " model assimilation method to simulate fully-covered thin-ice thickness maps that enable the retrieval of accurate ice production values.
Religion, churches and religious communities have growing importance in the Law of the European Union. Since long a distinct law on religion of the European Union is developing. This collection of those norms of European Union Law directly concerning religion mirrors today's status of this dynamic process.
In his article, the author asks how legitimacy of law and the concept of rules of law can be described taking into account the interaction between aspects of philosophy and sociology as well as the will of the state in states' constitutions. As the rule of law, versus other kinds of rules in our society, should be regarded as a rule of &amp;quot;three-dimensionality&amp;quot; " an interaction between the will of the state, the social, historical, and economic factors, and the idea or concept of justice ", the author focuses his interest on the examination of these three factors always taking into account that law is the will of the state, but that not every decision of the state can be considered as law.
Cortisol exhibits typical ultradian and circadian rhythm and disturbances in its secretory pattern have been described in stress-related pathology. The aim of this thesis was to dissect the underlying structure of cortisol pulsatility and to develop tools to investigate the effects of this pulsatility on immune cell trafficking and the responsiveness of the neuroendocrine system and GR target genes to stress. Deconvolution modeling was set up as a tool for investigation of the pulsatile secretion underlying the ultradian cortisol rhythm. This further allowed us to investigate the role of the single cortisol pulses on the immune cell trafficking and the role of induced cortisol pulses on the kinetics of expression of GR target genes. The development of these three tools, would allow to induce and investigate in future the significance of single cortisol pulses for health and disease.
Copositive programming is concerned with the problem of optimizing a linear function over the copositive cone, or its dual, the completely positive cone. It is an active field of research and has received a growing amount of attention in recent years. This is because many combinatorial as well as quadratic problems can be formulated as copositive optimization problems. The complexity of these problems is then moved entirely to the cone constraint, showing that general copositive programs are hard to solve. A better understanding of the copositive and the completely positive cone can therefore help in solving (certain classes of) quadratic problems. In this thesis, several aspects of copositive programming are considered. We start by studying the problem of computing the projection of a given matrix onto the copositive and the completely positive cone. These projections can be used to compute factorizations of completely positive matrices. As a second application, we use them to construct cutting planes to separate a matrix from the completely positive cone. Besides the cuts based on copositive projections, we will study another approach to separate a triangle-free doubly nonnegative matrix from the completely positive cone. A special focus is on copositive and completely positive programs that arise as reformulations of quadratic optimization problems. Among those we start by studying the standard quadratic optimization problem. We will show that for several classes of objective functions, the relaxation resulting from replacing the copositive or the completely positive cone in the conic reformulation by a tractable cone is exact. Based on these results, we develop two algorithms for solving standard quadratic optimization problems and discuss numerical results. The methods presented cannot immediately be adapted to general quadratic optimization problems. This is illustrated with examples.
The startle response in psychophysiological research: modulating effects of contextual parameters
(2013)
Startle reactions are fast, reflexive, and defensive responses which protect the body from injury in the face of imminent danger. The underlying reflex is basic and can be found in many species. Even though it consists of only a few synapses located in the brain stem, the startle reflex offers a valuable research method for human affective, cognitive, and psychological research. This is because of moderating effects of higher mental processes such as attention and emotion on the response magnitude: affective foreground stimulation and directed attention are validated paradigms in startle-related research. This work presents findings from three independent research studies that deal with (1) the application of the established "affective modulation of startle"-paradigm to the novel setting of attractiveness and human mating preferences, (2) the question of how different components of the startle response are affected by a physiological stressor and (3) how startle stimuli affect visual attention towards emotional stimuli. While the first two studies treat the startle response as a dependent variable by measuring its response magnitude, the third study uses startle stimuli as an experimental manipulation and investigates its potential effects on a behavioural measure. The first chapter of this thesis describes the basic mechanisms of the startle response as well as the body of research that sets the foundation of startle research in psychophysiology. It provides the rationale for the presented studies, and offers a short summary of the obtained results. Chapter two to four represent primary research articles that are published or in press. At the beginning of each chapter the contribution of all authors is explained. The references for all chapters are listed at the end of this thesis. The overall scope of this thesis is to show how the human startle response is modulated by a variety of factors, such as the attractiveness of a potential mating partner or the exposure to a stressor. In conclusion, the magnitude of the startle response can serve as a measure for such psychological states and processes. Beyond the involuntary, physiological startle reflex, startle stimuli also affect intentional behavioural responses, which we could demonstrate for eye movements in a visual attention paradigm.
This study examines the relationship between media content, its production, and its reception in Japanese popular culture with the example of the so-called yuri ("lily") genre that centers on representations of intimate relationships between female characters. Based on contemporary genre theory, which posits that genres are not inherent properties of texts, the central question of this study is how the yuri genre is discursively produced in Japan. To examine this question, the study takes a variety of sources into consideration: Firstly, it discusses ten exemplary texts from the 1910s to 2010s that in the Japanese discourse on the yuri genre are deemed the milestone texts of the yuri genre's historical development (Hana monogatari, Otome no minato, Secret Love, Shiroi heya no futari, BishÅjo senshi Sailor Moon, Maria-sama ga miteru, ShÅjo Sect, Aoi hana, Yuru yuri, and Yuri danshi). Secondly, interviews with ten editors working for Japanese manga magazines shed light on their assessment of the yuri genre. Finally, the results of an online survey among Japanese fans of the yuri genre, which returned 1,352 completed questionnaires, question hitherto assumptions about the fans and their reasons for liking the yuri genre. The central argument of this study is that the yuri genre is for the most part constructed not through assignments on part of the genre's producers but through interpretations on part of the genre's fans. The intimacy portrayed in the texts ranges from "friendship" to "love," and often the ideas of "innocence" and "beauty" are emphasized. Nevertheless, the formation of the yuri genre occurs outside the bounds of the texts, most importantly in fan works, i.e. derivative texts created by fans. The actual content of the originals merely serves as a starting point for these interpretations. Located at the intersection of Japanese studies, cultural studies, media studies, and sociology, this study contributes to our understanding of contemporary Japanese popular culture by showing the mutual dependencies between media content, production, and reception. It provides a deeper look at these processes through first-hand accounts of both producers and fans of the yuri genre.
This work investigates the industrial applicability of graphics and stream processors in the field of fluid simulations. For this purpose, an explicit Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin method in arbitrarily high order is implemented completely for the hardware architecture of GPUs. The same functionality is simultaneously realized for CPUs and compared to GPUs. Explicit time steppings as well as established implicit methods are under consideration for the CPU. This work aims at the simulation of inviscid, transsonic flows over the ONERA M6 wing. The discontinuities which typically arise in hyperbolic equations are treated with an artificial viscosity approach. It is further investigated how this approach fits into the explicit time stepping and works together with the special architecture of the GPU. Since the treatment of artificial viscosity is close to the simulation of the Navier-Stokes equations, it is reviewed how GPU-accelerated methods could be applied for computing viscous flows. This work is based on a nodal discontinuous Galerkin approach for linear hyperbolic problems. Here, it is extended to non-linear problems, which makes the application of numerical quadrature obligatory. Moreover, the representation of complex geometries is realized using isoparametric mappings. Higher order methods are typically very sensitive with respect to boundaries which are not properly resolved. For this purpose, an approach is presented which fits straight-sided DG meshes to curved geometries which are described by NURBS surfaces. The mesh is modeled as an elastic body and deformed according to the solution of closest point problems in order to minimize the gap to the original spline surface. The sensitivity with respect to geometry representations is reviewed in the end of this work in the context of shape optimization. Here, the aerodynamic drag of the ONERA M6 wing is minimized according to the shape gradient which is implicitly smoothed within the mesh deformation approach. In this context a comparison to the classical Laplace-Beltrami operator is made in a Stokes flow situation.
Design and structural optimization has become a very important field in industrial applications over the last years. Due to economical and ecological reasons, the efficient use of material is of highly industrial interest. Therefore, computational tools based on optimization theory have been developed and studied in the last decades. In this work, different structural optimization methods are considered. Special attention lies on the applicability to three-dimensional, large-scale, multiphysic problems, which arise from different areas of the industry. Based on the theory of PDE-constraint optimization, descent methods in structural optimization require knowledge of the (partial) derivatives with respect to shape or topology variations. Therefore, shape and topology sensitivity analysis is introduced and the connection between both sensitivities is given by the Topological-Shape Sensitivity Method. This method leads to a systematic procedure to compute the topological derivative by terms of the shape sensitivity. Due to the framework of moving boundaries in structural optimization, different interface tracking techniques are presented. If the topology of the domain is preserved during the optimization process, explicit interface tracking techniques, combined with mesh-deformation, are used to capture the interface. This techniques fit very well the requirements in classical shape optimization. Otherwise, an implicit representation of the interface is of advantage if the optimal topology is unknown. In this case, the level set method is combined with the concept of the topological derivative to deal with topological perturbation. The resulting methods are applied to different industrial problems. On the one hand, interface shape optimization for solid bodies subject to a transient heat-up phase governed by both linear elasticity and thermal stresses is considered. Therefore, the shape calculus is applied to coupled heat and elasticity problems and a generalized compliance objective function is studied. The resulting thermo-elastic shape optimization scheme is used for compliance reduction of realistic hotplates. On the other hand, structural optimization based on the topological derivative for three-dimensional elasticity problems is observed. In order to comply typical volume constraints, a one-shot augmented Lagrangian method is proposed. Additionally, a multiphase optimization approach based on mesh-refinement is used to reduce the computational costs and the method is illustrated by classical minimum compliance problems. Finally, the topology optimization algorithm is applied to aero-elastic problems and numerical results are presented.
Krylov subspace methods are often used to solve large-scale linear equations arising from optimization problems involving partial differential equations (PDEs). Appropriate preconditioning is vital for designing efficient iterative solvers of this type. This research consists of two parts. In the first part, we compare two different kinds of preconditioners for a conjugate gradient (CG) solver attacking one partial integro-differential equation (PIDE) in finance, both theoretically and numerically. An analysis on mesh independence and rate of convergence of the CG solver is included. The knowledge of preconditioning the PIDE is applied to a relevant optimization problem. The second part aims at developing a new preconditioning technique by embedding reduced order models of nonlinear PDEs, which are generated by proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), into deflated Krylov subspace algorithms in solving corresponding optimization problems. Numerical results are reported for a series of test problems.
In politics and economics, and thus in the official statistics, the precise estimation of indicators for small regions or parts of populations, the so-called Small Areas or domains, is discussed intensively. The design-based estimation methods currently used are mainly based on asymptotic properties and are thus reliable for large sample sizes. With small sample sizes, however, this design based considerations often do not apply, which is why special model-based estimation methods have been developed for this case - the Small Area methods. While these may be biased, they often have a smaller mean squared error (MSE) as the unbiased design based estimators. In this work both classic design-based estimation methods and model-based estimation methods are presented and compared. The focus lies on the suitability of the various methods for their use in official statistics. First theory and algorithms suitable for the required statistical models are presented, which are the basis for the subsequent model-based estimators. Sampling designs are then presented apt for Small Area applications. Based on these fundamentals, both design-based estimators and as well model-based estimation methods are developed. Particular consideration is given in this case to the area-level empirical best predictor for binomial variables. Numerical and Monte Carlo estimation methods are proposed and compared for this analytically unsolvable estimator. Furthermore, MSE estimation methods are proposed and compared. A very popular and flexible resampling method that is widely used in the field of Small Area Statistics, is the parametric bootstrap. One major drawback of this method is its high computational intensity. To mitigate this disadvantage, a variance reduction method for parametric bootstrap is proposed. On the basis of theoretical considerations the enormous potential of this proposal is proved. A Monte Carlo simulation study shows the immense variance reduction that can be achieved with this method in realistic scenarios. This can be up to 90%. This actually enables the use of parametric bootstrap in applications in official statistics. Finally, the presented estimation methods in a large Monte Carlo simulation study in a specific application for the Swiss structural survey are examined. Here problems are discussed, which are of high relevance for official statistics. These are in particular: (a) How small can the areas be without leading to inappropriate or to high precision estimates? (b) Are the accuracy specifications for the Small Area estimators reliable enough to use it for publication? (c) Do very small areas infer in the modeling of the variables of interest? Could they cause thus a deterioration of the estimates of larger and therefore more important areas? (d) How can covariates, which are in different levels of aggregation be used in an appropriate way to improve the estimates. The data basis is the Swiss census of 2001. The main results are that in the author- view, the use of small area estimators for the production of estimates for areas with very small sample sizes is advisable in spite of the modeling effort. The MSE estimates provide a useful measure of precision, but do not reach in all Small Areas the level of reliability of the variance estimates for design-based estimators.
The present thesis addresses the validity of Binge Eating Disorder (BED) as well as underlying mechanisms of BED from three different angles. Three studies provide data discriminating obesity with BED from obesity without BED. Study 1 demonstrates differences between obese individuals with and without BED regarding eating in the natural environment, psychiatric comorbidity, negative affect as well as self reported tendencies in eating behavior. Evidence for possible psychological mechanisms explaining increased intake of BED individuals in the natural environment was given by analyzing associations of negative affect, emotional eating, restrained eating and caloric intake in obese BED compared to NBED controls. Study 2 demonstrated stress-induced changes in the eating behavior of obese individuals with BED. The impact of a psychosocial stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST, Kirschbaum, Pirke, &amp;amp; Hellhammer, 1993), on behavioral patterns of eating behavior in laboratory was investigated. Special attention was given to stress-induced changes in variables that reflect mechanisms of appetite regulation in obese BED individuals compared to controls. To further explore by which mechanisms stress might trigger binge eating, study 3 investigated differences in stress-induced cortisol secretion after a socially evaluated cold pressure test (SECPT, Schwabe, Haddad, &amp;amp; Schachinger, 2008) in obese BED as compared to obese NBED individuals.
In a paper of 1996 the british mathematician Graham R. Allan posed the question, whether the product of two stable elements is again stable. Here stability describes the solvability of a certain infinite system of equations. Using a method from the theory of homological algebra, it is proved that in the case of topological algebras with multiplicative webs, and thus in all common locally convex topological algebras that occur in standard analysis, the answer of Allan's question is affirmative.
In this thesis, global surrogate models for responses of expensive simulations are investigated. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have become an indispensable tool in the aircraft industry. But simulations of realistic aircraft configurations remain challenging and computationally expensive despite the sustained advances in computing power. With the demand for numerous simulations to describe the behavior of an output quantity over a design space, the need for surrogate models arises. They are easy to evaluate and approximate quantities of interest of a computer code. Only a few number of evaluations of the simulation are stored for determining the behavior of the response over a whole range of the input parameter domain. The Kriging method is capable of interpolating highly nonlinear, deterministic functions based on scattered datasets. Using correlation functions, distinct sensitivities of the response with respect to the input parameters can be considered automatically. Kriging can be extended to incorporate not only evaluations of the simulation, but also gradient information, which is called gradient-enhanced Kriging. Adaptive sampling strategies can generate more efficient surrogate models. Contrary to traditional one-stage approaches, the surrogate model is built step-by-step. In every stage of an adaptive process, the current surrogate is assessed in order to determine new sample locations, where the response is evaluated and the new samples are added to the existing set of samples. In this way, the sampling strategy learns about the behavior of the response and a problem-specific design is generated. Critical regions of the input parameter space are identified automatically and sampled more densely for reproducing the response's behavior correctly. The number of required expensive simulations is decreased considerably. All these approaches treat the response itself more or less as an unknown output of a black-box. A new approach is motivated by the assumption that for a predefined problem class, the behavior of the response is not arbitrary, but rather related to other instances of the mutual problem class. In CFD, for example, responses of aerodynamic coefficients share structural similarities for different airfoil geometries. The goal is to identify the similarities in a database of responses via principal component analysis and to use them for a generic surrogate model. Characteristic structures of the problem class can be used for increasing the approximation quality in new test cases. Traditional approaches still require a large number of response evaluations, in order to achieve a globally high approximation quality. Validating the generic surrogate model for industrial relevant test cases shows that they generate efficient surrogates, which are more accurate than common interpolations. Thus practical, i.e. affordable surrogates are possible already for moderate sample sizes. So far, interpolation problems were regarded as separate problems. The new approach uses the structural similarities of a mutual problem class innovatively for surrogate modeling. Concepts from response surface methods, variable-fidelity modeling, design of experiments, image registration and statistical shape analysis are connected in an interdisciplinary way. Generic surrogate modeling is not restricted to aerodynamic simulation. It can be applied, whenever expensive simulations can be assigned to a larger problem class, in which structural similarities are expected.
The Hadamard product of two holomorphic functions which is defined via a convolution integral constitutes a generalization of the Hadamard product of two power series which is obtained by pointwise multiplying their coefficients. Based on the integral representation mentioned above, an associative law for this convolution is shown. The main purpose of this thesis is the examination of the linear and continuous Hadamard convolution operators. These operators map between spaces of holomorphic functions and send - with a fixed function phi - a function f to the convolution of phi and f. The transposed operator is computed and turns out to be a Hadamard convolution operator, too, mapping between spaces of germs of holomorphic functions. The kernel of Hadamard convolution operators is investigated and necessary and sufficient conditions for those operators to be injective or to have dense range are given. In case that the domain of holomorphy of the function phi allows a Mellin transform of phi, certain (generalized) monomials are identified as eigenfunctions of the corresponding operator. By means of this result and some extract of the theory of growth of entire functions, further propositions concerning the injectivity, the denseness of the range or the surjectivity of Hadamard convolution operators are shown. The relationship between Hadamard convolution operators, operators which are defined via the convolution with an analytic functional and differential operators of infinite order is investigated and the results which are obtained in the thesis are put into the research context. The thesis ends with an application of the results to the approximation of holomorphic functions by lacunary polynomials. On the one hand, the question under which conditions lacunary polynomials are dense in the space of all holomorphic functions is investigated and on the other hand, the rate of approximation is considered. In this context, a result corresponding to the Bernstein-Walsh theorem is formulated.
A big challenge for agriculture in the 21st century is the provision of food safety to fast growing world- population, which not only demands the well utilisation of the available agricultural resources but also to develop new advancements in the mass production of food crops. Wheat is the third largest food crop of the world and Pakistan is the eighth largest wheat producing country globally. Rice is the second most important staple food of Pakistan after wheat, grown in all provinces of the country. Maize is the world- top ranking food crop followed by wheat and rice. The harvested produts have to be stored in different types of storage structures on small or large scale for food as well as seed purpose. In Pakistan, the harvested grains are stored for the whole year till the introduction of fresh produce in order to ensure the regular food supply throughout the year. However, it is this extended storage period making the commodity more vulnerable to insect attacks. Rhyzopertha dominica (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae), Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Laemophloeidae), Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and Liposcelis spp. (Psocoptera: Liposcelididae) are the major and most damaging insect pests of stored products all around the world. Various management strategies have been adopted for stored grain insect pests mostly relying upon the use of a broad spectrum of insecticides, but the injudicious use of these chemicals raised various environmental and human health related issues, which necessitate the safe use of the prevailing control measures and evaluation of new and alternative control methods. The application of new chemical insecticides, microbial insecticides (particularly entomopathogenic fungi) and the use of inert dusts (diatomaceous earths) is believed amongst the potential alternatives to generally used insecticides in stored grain insect management system. In the current investigations, laboratory bioassays conducted to evaluate the effects of combining Imidacloprid (new chemistry insecticide) with and without Protect-It (diatomaceous earth formulation) against R. dominica, L. paeta, C. ferrugineus and T. castaneum, on three different grain commodities (i.e. wheat, maize and rice) revealed differences in adult mortality levels among grains and insect species tested. Individually, Imidacloprid was more effective as compared with Protect-It alone and the highest numbers of dead adults were recorded in wheat. The insecticidal efficacy of B. bassiana with Protect-It and DEBBM was also assessed against all test insect species under laboratory conditions. The findings of these studies revealed that the more extended exposure period and the higher combined application rate of B. bassiana and DEs provided the highest mortality of the test insect species. The progeny emergence of each insect species was also greatly suppressed where the highest dose rates of the combined treatments were applied. The residual efficacy of all three control measures Imidacloprid, B. bassiana and DEBBM formulation was also evaluated against all test insect species. The bioassays were carried out after grain treatments and monthly for 6 months. The results indicated that the adult mortality of each test insect species was decreased within the six month storage period, and the integarted application of the test grain protectants enhanced the mortality rates than their alone treatments. The maximum mortality was noted in the combined treatment of DEBBM with Imidacloprid. At the end, the effectiveness of B. bassiana, DEBBM and Imidacloprid applied alone as well as in combinations, against all above mentioned test insect species was also evaluated under field conditions in trials conducted in four districts of Punjab, Pakistan. For each district, a significant difference was observed between treatments, while the combined treatments gave better control of test species as compared with them alone. The least number of surviving adults and minimum percentage of grain damage was observed for the DEBBM and Imidacloprid combination, but DEBBM with B. bassiana provided the best long-term protection as compared with the remaining treatments.
Chemical communication in the reproductive behaviour of Neotropical poison frogs (Dendrobatidae)
(2013)
Chemical communication is the evolutionary oldest communication system in the animal kingdom that triggers intra- and interspecific interactions. It is initiated by the emitter releasing either a signal or a cue that causes a reaction of the receiving individual. Compared to other animals there are relatively few studies regarding chemical communication in anurans. In this thesis the impact of chemical communication on the behaviour of the poison frog Ranitomeya variabilis (Dendrobatidae) and its parental care performance was investigated. This species uses phytotelmata (small water bodies in plants) for both clutch and tadpole depositions. Since tadpoles are cannibalistic, adult frogs do not only avoid conspecifics when depositing their eggs but also transport their tadpoles individually into separated phytotelmata. The recognition of already occupied phytotelmata was shown to be due to chemical substances released by the conspecific tadpoles. In order to gain a deeper comprehension about the ability of adult R. variabilis to generally recognize and avoid tadpoles, in-situ pool choice experiments were conducted, offering chemical substances of tadpole of different species to the frogs (Chapter I). It turned out that they were able to recognize all species and avoid their chemical substances for clutch depositions. However, for tadpole depositions only dendrobatid tadpoles occurring in phytotelmata were avoided, while those species living in rivers were not. Additionally, the chemical substances of a treefrog tadpole (Hylidae) were recognized by R. variabilis. Yet, they were not avoided but preferred for tadpole depositions; thus these tadpoles might be recognized as a potential prey for the predatory poison frog larvae. One of the poison frog species which was avoided for both tadpole and clutch depositions, was the phytotelmata breeding Hyloxalus azureiventris. The chemical substances released by its tadpoles were analysed together with those of the R. variabilis tadpoles (Chapter II). After finding a suitable solid-phase extraction sorbent (DSC-18), the active chemical compounds from the water of both tadpole species were extracted and fractionated. In order to determine which fractions triggered the avoidance behaviour of the frogs, in-situ bioassays were conducted. It was found that the biologically active compounds differed between both species. Since the avoidance of the conspecific tadpoles is not advantageous to the releaser tadpoles (losing a potential food resource) the chemicals released by them might be defined as chemical cues. However, as it turned out that the avoidance of the heterospecific tadpoles was not triggered by a mere byproduct based on the close evolutionary relationship between the two species, the chemical compounds released by H. azureiventris tadpoles might be defined as chemical signals (being advantageous to the releasing tadpoles) or, more specifically as synomones, interspecificly acting chemicals that are advantageous for both emitter and receiver (since R. variabilis avoids a competition situation for its offspring, too). Another interspecific communication system investigated in this thesis was the avoidance of predator kairomones (Chapter III). Using chemical substances from damselfly larvae, it could be shown that R. variabilis was unable to recognize and avoid kairomones of these tadpole predators. However, when physically present, damselfly larvae were avoided by the frogs. For the recognition of conspecific tadpoles in contrast, chemical substances were necessary, since purely visible artificial tadpole models were not avoided. If R. variabilis is also capable to chemically communicate with adult conspecifics was investigated by presenting chemical cues/signals of same-sex or opposite-sex conspecifics to the frogs (Chapter IV). It was suggested that males would be attracted to chemical substances of females and repelled by those of conspecific males. But instead all individuals showed avoidance behaviour towards the conspecific chemicals. This was suggested to be an artefact due to confinement stress of the releaser animals, emitting disturbance cues that triggered avoidance behaviour in their conspecifics. The knowledge gained about chemical communication in parental care thus far, was used to further investigate a possible provisioning behaviour in R. variabilis. In-situ pool-choice experiments with chemical cues of conspecific tadpoles were carried out throughout the change from rainy to dry season (Chapter V). With a changepoint analysis, the exact seasonal change was defined and differences between frogs" choices were analysed. It turned out that R. variabilis does not avoid but prefer conspecific cues during the dry season for tadpole depositions, what might be interpreted as a way to provide their tadpoles with food (i.e. younger tadpoles) in order to accelerate their development when facing desiccation risk. That tadpoles were also occasionally fed with fertilized eggs could be shown in a comparative study, where phytotelmata that contained a tadpole deposited by the frogs themselves received more clutch depositions than freshly erected artificial phytotelmata containing unfamiliar tadpoles (i.e. their chemical cues; Chapter VI). Conducting home range calculations with ArcGIS, it turned out that R. variabilis males showed unexpectedly strong site fidelity, leading to the suggestion that they recognize their offspring by phytotelmata location. However, in order to test if R. variabilis is furthermore able to perform chemical offspring recognition, frogs were confronted in in-situ pool-choice experiments with chemical cues of single tadpoles that were found in their home ranges (Chapter VII). Genetic kinship analyses were conducted between those tadpoles emitting the chemical cues and those deposited together with or next to them. The results, however, indicated that frogs did not choose to deposit their offspring with or without another tadpole due to relatedness, i.e. kin recognition by chemical cues could not be confirmed in R. variabilis.
Evaluative conditioning (EC) refers to changes in liking that are due to the pairing of stimuli, and is one of the effects studied in order to understand the processes of attitude formation. Initially, EC had been conceived of as driven by processes that are unique to the formation of attitudes, and that occur independent of whether or not individuals engage in conscious and effortful propositional processes. However, propositional processes have gained considerable popularity as an explanatory concept for the boundary conditions observed in EC studies, with some authors going as far as to suggest that the evidence implies that EC is driven primarily by propositional processes. In this monograph I present research which questions the validity of this claim, and I discuss theoretical challenges and avenues for future EC research.
The presented research aims at providing a first empirical investigation on lexical structure in Chinese with appropriate quantitative methods. The research objects contain individual properties of words (part of speech, polyfunctionality, polysemy, word length), the relationships between properties (part of speech and polyfunctionality, polyfunctionality and polysemy, polysemy and word length) and the lexical structure composed by those properties. Some extant hypotheses in QL, such as distributions of polysemy and the relationship between word length and polysemy, are tested on the data of Chinese, which enrich the applicability of the laws with a language not tested yet. Several original hypotheses such as the distribution of polyfunctionality and the relationship between polyfunctionality and polysemy are set up and inspected.
Stress related disorders increase continuously. It is not yet clear if stress also promotes breast cancer. This dissertation provides an analyses of the current state of research and focuses on the significance of pre-/postnatal stress factors and chronic stress. The derived hypotheses are empirically examined on breast cancer patients. The clinical study investigates the links between those factors and prognosis and outcome.
This thesis deals with economic aspects of employees' sickness. In addition to the classical case of sickness absence, in which an employee is completely unable to work and hence stays at home, there is the case of sickness presenteeism, in which the employee comes to work despite being sick. Accordingly, the thesis at hand covers research on both sickness states, absence and presenteeism. The first section covers sickness absence and labour market institutions. Chapter 2 presents theoretical and empirical evidence that differences in the social norm against benefit fraud, so-called benefit morale, can explain cross country diversity in the generosity of statutory sick pay entitlements between developed countries. In our political economy model, a stricter benefit morale reduces the absence rate, with counteracting effects on the politically set sick pay replacement rate. On the one hand, less absence caused by a stricter norm, makes the tax-financed insurance cheaper, leading to the usual demand side effect and hence to more generous sick pay entitlements. On the other hand, being less likely to be absent due to a stricter norm, the voters prefer a smaller fee over more insurance. We document both effects in a sample of 31 developed countries, capturing the years from 1981 to 2010. In Chapter 3 we investigate the relationship between the existence of works councils and illness-related absence and its consequences for plants. Using individual data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we find that the existence of a works council is positively correlated with the incidence and the annual duration of absence. Additionally, linked employer-employee data (LIAB) suggests that employers are more likely to expect personnel problems due to absence in plants with a works council. In western Germany, we find significant effects using a difference-in-differences approach, which can be causally interpreted. The second part of this thesis covers two studies on sickness presenteeism. In Chapter 4, we empirically investigate the determinants of the annual duration of sickness presenteeism using the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS). Work autonomy, workload and tenure are positively related to the number of sickness presenteeism days, while a good working environment comes with less presenteeism. In Chapter 5 we theoretically and empirically analyze sickness absence and presenteeism behaviour with a focus on their interdependence. Specifically, we ask whether work-related factors lead to a substitutive, a complementary or no relationship between sickness absence and presenteeism. In other words, we want to know whether changes in absence and presenteeism behaviour incurred by work-related characteristics point in opposite directions (substitutive), the same direction (complementary), or whether they only affect either one of the two sickness states (no relationship). Our theoretical model shows that the relationship between sickness absence and presenteeism with regard to work-related characteristics is not necessarily of a substitutive nature. Instead, a complementary or no relationship can emerge as well. Turning to the empirical investigation, we find that only one out of 16 work-related factors, namely the supervisor status, leads to a substitutive relationship between absence and presenteeism. Few of the other determinants are complements, while the large majority is either related to sickness absence or presenteeism.
Every day we are exposed to a large set of appetitive food cues, mostly of high caloric, high carbohydrate content. Environmental factors like food cue exposition can impact eating behavior, by triggering anticipatory endocrinal responses and reinforcing the reward value of food. Additionally, it has been shown that eating behavior is largely influence by neuroendocrine factors. Energy homeostasis is of great importance for survival in all animal species. It is challenged under the state of food deprivation which is considered to be a metabolic stressor. Interestingly, the systems regulating stress and food intake share neural circuits. Adrenal glucocorticoids, as cortisol, and the pancreatic hormone insulin have been shown to be crucial to maintain catabolic and anabolic balance. Cortisol and insulin can cross the blood-brain barrier and interact with receptors distributed throughout the brain, influencing appetite and eating behavior. At the same time, these hormones have an important impact on the stress response. The aim of the current work is to broaden the knowledge on reward related food cue processing. With that purpose, we studied how food cue processing is influenced by food deprivation in women (in different phases of the menstrual cycle) and men. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of the stress/metabolic hormones, insulin and cortisol, at neural sites important for energy metabolism and in the processing of visual food cues. The Chapter I of this thesis details the underlying mechanisms of the startle response and its application in the investigation of food cue processing. Moreover, it describes the effects of food deprivation and of the stress-metabolic hormones insulin and cortisol in reward related processing of food cues. It explains the rationale for the studies presented in Chapter II-IV and describes their main findings. A general discussion of the results and recommendations for future research is given. In the study described in Chapter II, startle methodology was used to study the impact of food deprivation in the processing of reward related food cues. Women in different phases of the menstrual cycle and men were studied, in order to address potential effects of sex and menstrual cycle. All participants were studied either satiated or food deprived. Food deprivation provoked enhanced acoustic startle (ASR) response during foreground presentation of visual food cues. Sex and menstrual cycle did not influence this effect. The startle pattern towards food cues during fasting can be explained by a frustrative nonreward effect (FNR), driven by the impossibility to consume the exposed food. In Chapter III, a study is described, which was carried out to explore the central effects of insulin and cortisol, using continuous arterial spin labeling to map cerebral blood flow patterns. Following standardized periods of fasting, male participants received either intranasal insulin, oral cortisol, both, or placebo. Intranasal insulin increased resting regional cerebral blood flow in the putamen and insular cortex, structures that are involved in the regulation of eating behavior. Neither cortisol nor interaction effects were found. These results demonstrate that insulin exerts an action in metabolic centers during resting state, which is not affected by glucocorticoids. The study described in Chapter IV uses a similar pharmacological manipulation as the one presented in Chapter III, while assessing processing of reward related food cues through the startle paradigm validated in Chapter II. A sample of men was studied during short-term food deprivation. Considering the importance of both cortisol and insulin in glucose metabolism, food pictures were divided by glycemic index. Cortisol administration enhanced ASR during foreground presentation of "high glycemic" food pictures. This result suggests that cortisol provokes an increase in reward value of high glycemic food cues, which is congruent with previous research on stress and food consumption. This thesis gives support to the FNR hypothesis towards food cues during states of deprivation. Furthermore, it highlights the potential effects of stress related hormones in metabolism-connected neuronal structures, and in the reward related mechanisms of food cue processing. In a society marked by increased food exposure and availability, alongside with increased stress, it is important to better understand the impact of food exposition and its interaction with relevant hormones. This thesis contributes to the knowledge in this field. More research in this direction is needed.
Chapter 2: Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, this study examines the relation-ship between immigrant residential segregation and immigrants" satisfaction with the neighbor-hood. The estimates show that immigrants living in segregated areas are less satisfied with the neighborhood. This is consistent with the hypothesis that housing discrimination rather than self-selection plays an important role in immigrant residential segregation. Our result holds true even when controlling for other influences such as household income and quality of the dwelling. It also holds true in fixed effects estimates that account for unobserved time-invariant influences. Chapter 3: Using survey data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, this study shows that immigrants living in segregated residential areas are more likely to report discrimination because of their ethnic background. This applies to both segregated areas where most neighbors are immigrants from the same country of origin as the surveyed person and segregated areas where most neighbors are immigrants from other countries of origin. The results suggest that housing discrimination rather than self-selection plays an important role in immigrant residential segregation. Chapter 4: Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and administrative data from 1996 to 2009, I investigate the question whether or not right-wing extremism of German residents is affected by the ethnic concentration of foreigners living in the same residential area. My results show a positive but insignificant relationship between ethnic concentration at the county level and the probability of extreme right-wing voting behavior for West Germany. However, due to potential endogeneity issues, I additionally instrument the share of foreigners in a county with the share of foreigners in each federal state (following an approach of Dustmann/Preston 2001). I find evidence for the interethnic contact theory, predicting a negative relationship between foreign-ers" share and right-wing voting. Moreover, I analyze the moderating role of education and the influence of cultural traits on this relationship. Chapter 5: Using data from the Socio-Economic Panel from 1998 to 2009 and administrative data on regional ethnic diversity, I show that ethnic diversity inhibits significantly people- political interest and participation in political organizations in West Germany. People seem to isolate themselves from political participation if exposed to more ethnic diversity which is particularly relevant with respect to the ongoing integration process of the European Union and the increasing transfer of legislative power from the national to European level. The results are robust if an instrumental variable strategy suggested by Dustmann and Preston (2001) is used to take into account that ethnic diversity measured on a local spatial level could be endogenous due to residential sorting. Interestingly, participation in non-political organizations is positively affected by ethnic diversity if selection bias is corrected for.
Stress has been considered one of the most relevant factors promoting aggressive behavior. Animal and human pharmacological studies revealed the stress hormones corticosterone in rodents and cortisol in humans to constitute a particularly important neuroendocrine determinate in facilitating aggression and beyond that, assumedly in its continuation and escalation. Moreover, cortisol-induced alterations of social information processing, as well as of cognitive control processes, have been hypothesized as possible influencing factors in the stress-aggression link. So far, the immediate impact of a preceding stressor and thereby stress-induced rise of cortisol on aggressive behavior as well as higher-order cognitive control processes and social information processing in this context have gone mostly unheeded. The present thesis aimed to extend the hitherto findings of stress and aggression in this regard. For this purpose two psychophysiological studies with healthy adults were carried out, both using the socially evaluated-cold pressor test as an acute stress induction. Additionally to behavioral data and subjective reports, event related potentials were measured and acute levels of salivary cortisol were collected on the basis of which stressed participants were divided into cortisol-responders and "nonresponders. Study 1 examined the impact of acute stress-induced cortisol increase on inhibitory control and its neural correlates. 41 male participants were randomly assigned to the stress procedure or to a non-stressful control condition. Beforehand and afterwards, participants performed a Go Nogo task with visual letters to measure response inhibition. The effect of acute stress-induced cortisol increase on covert and overt aggressive behavior and on the processing of provoking stimuli within the aggressive encounter was investigated in study 2. Moreover, this experiment examined the combined impact of stress and aggression on ensuing affective information processing. 71 male and female participants were either exposed to the stress or to the control condition. Following this, half of each group received high or low levels of provocation during the Taylor Aggression Paradigm. At the end of the experiment, a passive viewing paradigm with affective pictures depicting positive, negative, or aggressive scenes with either humans or objects was realized. The results revealed that men were not affected by a stress-induced rise in cortisol on a behavioral level, showing neither impaired response inhibition nor enhanced aggressive behavior. In contrast, women showed enhanced overt and covert aggressive behavior under a surge of endogenous cortisol, confirming previous results, albeit only in case of high provocation and only up to the level of the control group. Unlike this rather moderate impact on behavior, cortisol showed a distinct impact on neural correlates of information processing throughout inhibitory control, aggression-eliciting stimuli, and emotional pictures for both men and women. At this, stress-induced increase of cortisol resulted in enhanced N2 amplitudes to Go stimuli, whereas P2 amplitudes to both and N2 to Nogo amplitudes retained unchanged, indicating an overcorrection and caution of the response activation in favor of successful inhibitory control. The processing of aggression-eliciting stimuli during the aggressive encounter was complexly altered by stress differently for women and men. Under increased cortisol levels, the frontal or parietal P3 amplitude patterns were either diminished or reversed in the case of high provocation compared to the control group and to cortisol-nonresponders, indicating a desensitization towards aggression-eliciting stimuli in males, but a more elaborate processing of those in women. Moreover, stress-induced cortisol and provocation jointly altered subsequent affective information processing at early as well as later stages of the information processing stream. Again, increased levels of cortisol led opposite directed amplitudes in the case of high provocation relative to the control group and cortisol-nonresponders, with enhanced N2 amplitudes in men and reduced P3 and LPP amplitudes in men and women for all affective pictures, suggesting initially enhanced emotional reactivity in men, but ensuing reduced motivational attention and enhanced emotion regulation in both, men and women. As a result, these present findings confirm the relevance of HPA activity in the elicitation and persistence of human aggressive behavior. Moreover, they reveal the significance of compensatory and emotion regulatory strategies and mechanisms in response to stress and provocation, indorsing the relevance of social information and cognitive control processes. Still, more research is needed to clarify the conditions which lead to the facilitation of aggression and by which compensatory mechanisms this is prevented.
This dissertation includes three research articles on the portfolio risks of private investors. In the first article, we analyze a large data set of private banking portfolios in Switzerland of a major bank with the unique feature that parts of the portfolios were managed by the bank, and parts were advisory portfolios. To correct the heterogeneity of individual investors, we apply a mixture model and a cluster analysis. Our results suggest that there is indeed a substantial group of advised individual investors that outperform the bank managed portfolios, at least after fees. However, a simple passive strategy that invests in the MSCI World and a risk-free asset significantly outperforms both the better advisory and the bank managed portfolios. The new regulation of the EU for financial products (UCITS IV) prescribes Value at Risk (VaR) as the benchmark for assessing the risk of structured products. The second article discusses the limitations of this approach and shows that, in theory, the expected return of structured products can be unbounded while the VaR requirement for the lowest risk class can still be satisfied. Real-life examples of large returns within the lowest risk class are then provided. The results demonstrate that the new regulation could lead to new seemingly safe products that hide large risks. Behavioral investors who choose products based only on their official risk classes and their expected returns will, therefore, invest into suboptimal products. To overcome these limitations, we suggest a new risk-return measure for financial products based on the martingale measure that could erase such loopholes. Under the mean-VaR framework, the third article discusses the impacts of the underlying's first four moments on the structured product. By expanding the expected return and the VaR of a structured product with its underlying moments, it is possible to investigate each moment's impact on them, simultaneously. Results are tested by Monte Carlo simulation and historical simulation. The findings show that for the majority of structured products, underlyings with large positive skewness are preferred. The preferences for variance and for kurtosis are ambiguous.
Das erste Kapitel "ECOWAS" capability and potential to overcome constraints to growth and poverty reduction of its member states" diskutiert die Analyse wirtschaftlicher und sozialer Barrieren für ökonomisches Wachstum " eine der Hauptelemente für Entwicklungs- und Armutsreduktionsstrategien in Entwicklungsländern. Die Form der länderspezifischen Analyse von Wachstumsbarrieren wurde nach dem Scheitern der auf alle Länder generalisierten Entwicklungsstrategie des Washington Consensus insbesondere durch den Ansatz der "Growth Diagnostics" der Harvard Professoren Hausman, Rodrik und Velasco eingeführt. Es zeigt sich jedoch, dass bisher der Fokus rein auf den länderspezifischen Analysen bzw. Strategieentwicklungen liegt. Diese Arbeit erweiterte die Diskussion auf die regionale Ebene, indem es beispielhaft an der Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) die länderspezifischen Wachstumsbarrieren mit den regionalen Wachstumsbarrieren vergleicht. Dies erfolgt mittels einer Darstellung der in Studien und Strategien bereits identifizierten, länderspezifischen Wachstumsbarrieren in den jeweiligen Ländern sowie mit der Auswertung der regionalen Strategien der ECOWAS. Dazu wird ermittelt, inwieweit auf der regionalen Ebene auch messbare Ergebnisse bei der Bekämpfung von Wachstumsbarrieren erzielt werden. Es zeigt sich, dass ,trotz der wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Diversität der Region, die ECOWAS den Großteil der in den Ländern identifizierten Wachstumsbarrieren ebenfalls auflistet und darüber hinaus sogar mit messbaren Ergebnissen dazu beiträgt, Veränderungen des Status Quo zu erreichen. Die Erweiterung des Ansatzes der Growth Diagnostics auf die regionale Ebene sowie die Erweiterung um das vergleichende Element von länderspezifischen und regionalen Wachstumsbarrieren zeigen sich als praktikabler Weg, Entwicklungsstrategien auf regionaler Ebene zu prüfen und subsidiär weiterzuentwickeln. Das zweite Kapitel "Simplifying evaluation of potential causalities in development projects using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)" diskutiert die Methode der qualitativen komperativen Analyse (QCA) als Evaluierungsmethodik für Projekte der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit. Hierbei stehen die adäquate Messung sowie die verständliche Darstellung der Wirkung von Entwicklungszusammenarbeit im Vordergrund. Dies ist ein Beitrag zu der intensiv geführten Diskussion, wie Wirkung von Hilfe in Entwicklungsländern gemessen und daraus für weitere Projekte gelernt werden kann. Mit der beispielhaften Anwendung der QCA auf einen Datensatz der deutschen Entwicklungszusammenarbeit im Senegal wird erstmalig diese Methode für die Entwicklungszusammenarbeit in der Praxis angewandt. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf der Überprüfung von bestimmten Programmtheorien, d.h. der Annahme bestimmter Zusammenhänge zwischen eingesetzten Mitteln, äußeren Umständen und den Projektergebnissen bei der Implementierung von Projekten. Während solche Programmtheorien in dem Großteil der Projektskizzen der deutschen Entwicklungszusammenarbeit enthalten sind, werden die wenigsten dieser Programmtheorien geprüft. Diese Arbeit zeigt QCA als eine effiziente Methode für diese Überprüfung. Eine eindeutige Bestätigung oder Falsifizierung dieser Theorien ist mittels dieser Methodik möglich. Dazu können die Ergebnisse bei den beiden einfacheren Formen der QCA, der crisp-set sowie der multi-value QCA, leicht nachvollziehbar vermittelt werden. Des Weiteren zeigt die Arbeit, dass QCA ebenfalls die Weiterentwicklung einer Programmtheorie ermöglicht, allerdings ist diese Weiterentwicklung nur begrenzt effizient und stark von den vorliegenden Daten sowie der Datenstruktur abhängig. Die Arbeit zeigt somit das Potential der QCA insbesondere für den Test von Programmtheorien auf und stellt die praktische Anwendung für mögliche Replizierung beispielhaft dar. Das dritte und letzte Kapitel der Doktorarbeit "The regional trade dynamics of Turkey: a panel data gravity model" analysiert den türkischen Handel, um die Veränderungen der letzten Jahrzehnte aufzuzeigen und daran zu diskutieren, inwieweit sich die Türkei als aufstrebendes Schwellenland von den bestehenden Handelsstrukturen loslöst. Diese Arbeit ist ein Beitrag zur Diskussion der sich Verschiebenden Machtkonstellationen durch das wirtschaftliche Aufholen der Schwellenländer. Bei der Türkei ist diese Diskussion zusätzlich interessant, da die Frage, ob die Türkei sich von der westlichen Welt, Nordamerika und Europa, abwendet, berücksichtigt wird. Mittels Dummy-Variablen für verschiedene Regionen in einem Gravitätsmodell werden die türkischen Handelsdaten zuerst insgesamt und nach Sektoren analysiert und die Veränderungen über verschieden Perioden des türkischen Außenhandels betrachtet. Es zeigt sich, dass in den türkischen Handelsbeziehungen eine Regionalisierung und eine Diversifizierung der Handelspartner stattfinden. Allerdings geht dies nicht mit einer Abkehr von westlichen Handelspartnern einher.
Attitudes are "the most distinctive and indispensable concept in contemporary social psychology" (Allport, 1935, p. 798). This outstanding position of the attitude concept in social cognitive research is not only reflected in the innumerous studies focusing on this concept but also in the huge number of theoretical approaches that have been put forth since then. Yet, it is still an open question, what attitudes actually are. That is, the question of how attitude objects are represented in memory cannot be unequivocally answered until now (e.g., Barsalou, 1999; Gawronski, 2007; Pratkanis, 1989, Chapter 4). In particular, researchers strongly differ with respect to their assumptions on the content, format and structural nature of attitude representations (Ferguson & Fukukura, 2012). This prevailing uncertainty on what actually constitutes our likes and dislikes is strongly dovetailed with the question of which processes result in the formation of these representations. In recent years, this issue has mainly been addressed in evaluative conditioning research (EC). In a standard EC-paradigm a neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus, CS) is repeatedly paired with an affective stimulus (unconditioned stimulus, US). The pairing of stimuli then typically results in changes in the evaluation of the CS corresponding to the evaluative response of the US (De Houwer, Baeyens, & Field, 2005). This experimental approach on the formation of attitudes has primarily been concerned with the question of how the representations underlying our attitudes are formed. However, which processes operate on the formation of such an attitude representation is not yet understood (Jones, Olson, & Fazio, 2010; Walther, Nagengast, & Trasselli, 2005). Indeed, there are several ideas on how CS-US pairs might be encoded in memory. Notwithstanding the importance of these theoretical ideas, looking at the existing empirical work within the research area of EC (for reviews see Hofmann, De Houwer, Perugini, Baeyens, & Crombez, 2010; De Houwer, Thomas, & Baeyens, 2001) leaves one with the impression that scientists have skipped the basic processes. Basic processes hereby especially refer to the attentional processes being involved in the encoding of CSs and USs as well as the relation between them. Against the background of this huge gap in current research on attitude formation, the focus of this thesis will be to highlight the contribution of selective attention processes to a better understanding of the representation underlying our likes and dislikes. In particular, the present thesis considers the role of selective attention processes for the solution of the representation issue from three different perspectives. Before illustrating these different perspectives, Chapter 1 is meant to envision the omnipresence of the representation problem in current theoretical as well as empirical work on evaluative conditioning. Likewise, it emphasizes the critical role of selective attention processes for the representation question in classical conditioning and how this knowledge might be used to put forth the uniqueness of evaluative conditioning as compared to classical conditioning. Chapter 2 then considers the differential influence of attentional resources and goal-directed attention on attitude learning. The primary objective of the presented experiment was thereby to investigate whether attentional resources and goal-directed attention exert their influence on EC via changes in the encoding of CS-US relations in memory (i.e., contingency memory). Taking the findings from this experiment into account, Chapter 3 focuses on the selective processing of the US relative to the CS. In particular, the two experiments presented in this chapter were meant to explore the moderating influence of the selective processing of the US in its relation to the CS on EC. In Chapter 4 the important role of the encoding of the US in relation to the CS, as outlined in Chapter 3, is illuminated in the context of different retrieval processes. Against the background of the findings from the two presented experiments, the interplay between the encoding of CS-US contingencies and the moderation of EC via different retrieval processes will be discussed. Finally, a general discussion of the findings, their theoretical implications and future research lines will be outlined in Chapter 5.
The distractor-response binding effect (Frings & Rothermund, 2011; Frings, Rothermund, & Wentura, 2007; Rothermund, Wentura, & De Houwer, 2005) is based on the idea that irrelevant information will be integrated with the response to the relevant stimuli in an episodic memory trace. The immediate re-encounter of any aspect of this saved episode " be it relevant or irrelevant " can lead to retrieval of the whole episode. As a consequence, the previously executed and now retrieved response may influencing the response to the current relevant stimulus. That is, the current response may either be facilitated or be impaired by the retrieved response, depending on whether it is compatible or incompatible to the currently demanded response. Previous research on this kind of episodic retrieval focused on the influence on action control. I examined if distractor response binding also plays a role in decision making in addition to action control. To this end I adapted the distractor-to-distractor priming paradigm (Frings et al., 2007) and conducted nine experiments in which participants had to decide as fast as possible which disease a fictional patient suffered from. To infer the correct diagnosis, two cues were presented; one did not give any hint for a disease (the irrelevant cue), whereas the other did (the relevant cue). Experiments 1a to 1c showed that the distractor-response binding effect is present in deterministic decision situations. Further, experiments 2a and 2b indicate that distractor-response binding also influences decisions under uncertainty. Finally, experiments 3a to 3d were conducted to test some constraints and underlying mechanisms of the distractor-response binding effect in decision making under uncertainty. In sum, these nine experiments provide strong evidence that distractor-response binding influences decision making.
Fast and Slow Effects of Cortisol on Several Functions of the Central Nervous System in Humans
(2014)
Cortisol is one of the key substances released during stress to restore homeostasis. Our knowledge of the impact of this glucocorticoid on cognition and behavior in humans is, however, still limited. Two modes of action of cortisol are known, a rapid, nongenomic and a slow, genomic mode. Both mechanisms appear to be involved in mediating the various effects of stress on cognition. Here, three experiments are presented that investigated fast and slow effects of cortisol on several functions of the human brain. The first experiment investigated the interaction between insulin and slow, genomic cortisol effects on resting regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in 48 young men. A bilateral, locally distinct increase in rCBF in the insular cortex was observed 37 to 58 minutes after intranasal insulin admission. Cortisol did not influence rCBF, neither alone nor in interaction with insulin. This finding suggests that cortisol does not influence resting cerebral blood flow within a genomic timeframe. The second experiment examined fast cortisol effects on memory retrieval. 40 participants (20 of them female) learned associations between neutral male faces and social descriptions and were tested for recall one week later. Cortisol administered intravenously 8 minutes before retrieval influenced recall performance in an inverted U-shaped dose-response relationship. This study demonstrates a rapid, presumably nongenomic cortisol effect on memory retrieval in humans. The third experiment studied rapid cortisol effects on early multisensory integration. 24 male participants were tested twice in a focused cross-modal choice reaction time paradigm, once after cortisol and once after placebo infusion. Cortisol acutely enhanced the integration of visual targets and startling auditory distractors, when both stimuli appeared in the same sensory hemi-field. The rapidity of effect onset strongly suggests that cortisol changes multisensory integration by a nongenomic mechanism. The work presented in this thesis highlights the essential role of cortisol as a fast acting agent during the stress response. Both the second and the third experiment provide new evidence of nongenomic cortisol effects on human cognition and behavior. Future studies should continue to investigate the impact of rapid cortisol effects on the functioning of the human brain.
The influence of affect on vocal parameters has been well investigated in speech portrayed by actors, but little is known about affect expression in more natural or authentic speech behavior. This is partly due to the difficulty of generating speech samples that represent authentic expression of speaker affect. The present work investigates the influence of speaker affect on the vocal fundamental frequency (F0) in comparatively authentic speech samples. Three well-documented psychophysiological research methods were applied for the induction of affective states in German native speakers in order to obtain speech samples with authentic affect expression: the Cold Pressor Test (CPT), the Stroop Color-Word Test (SCWT) and the presentation of slides from the International Affective Pictures System (IAPS). The here reported results show that the influence of affect on F0 is differentially modulated by psychophysiological processes as well as socio-cultural influences. They also indicate that this approach may be useful for future research and further to gain a deeper understanding of authentic vocal affect expression. Moreover, F0 may constitute an additional non-invasive, easy to obtain measure for the established psychophysiological research methodology.
In splitting theory of locally convex spaces we investigate evaluable characterizations of the pairs (E, X) of locally convex spaces such that each exact sequence 0 -> X -> G -> E -> 0 of locally convex spaces splits, i.e. either X -> G has a continuous linear left inverse or G -> E has a continuous linear right inverse. In the thesis at hand we deal with splitting of short exact sequences of so-called PLH spaces, which are defined as projective limits of strongly reduced spectra of strong duals of Fréchet-Hilbert spaces. This class of locally convex spaces contains most of the spaces of interest for application in the theory of partial differential operators as the space of Schwartz distributions , the space of real analytic functions and various spaces of ultradifferentiable functions and ultradistributions. It also contains non-Schwartz spaces as B(2,k,loc)(Ω) and spaces of smooth and square integrable functions that are not covered by the current theory for PLS spaces. We prove a complete characterizations of the above problem in the case of X being a PLH space and E either being a Fréchet-Hilbert space or a strong dual of one by conditions of type (T ). To this end, we establish the full homological toolbox of Yoneda Ext functors in exact categories for the category of PLH spaces including the long exact sequence, which in particular involves a thorough discussion of the proper concept of exactness. Furthermore, we exhibit the connection to the parameter dependence problem via the Hilbert tensor product for hilbertizable locally convex spaces. We show that the Hilbert tensor product of two PLH spaces is again a PLH space which in particular proves the positive answer to Grothendieck- problème des topologies. In addition to that we give a complete characterization of the vanishing of the first derivative of the functor proj for tensorized PLH spectra if one of the PLH spaces E and X meets some nuclearity assumptions. To apply our results to concrete cases we establish sufficient conditions of (DN)-(Ω) type and apply them to the parameter dependence problem for partial differential operators with constant coefficients on B(2,k,loc)(Ω) spaces as well as to the smooth and square integrable parameter dependence problem. Concluding we give a complete solution of all the problems under consideration for PLH spaces of Köthe type.
Geographic ranges of species and their determinants are of great interest in the field of biogeography and are often studied in terms of the species" ecological niches. In this context, the range of a species is defined by the accessibility of an area, abiotic factors and biotic interactions, which affect a species" distributions with different intensities across spatial scales. Parapatry describes a distributional pattern in which the ranges of two species meet along sharp range limits with narrow contact zones. Such parapatric range limits are determined by changing abiotic conditions along sharp environmental gradients or can result from interspecific resource competition. However, it has been shown that often the interplay of abiotic conditions and species interactions determine parapatry. The geographic ranges of the land salamanders, Salamandra salamandra and S. atra, narrowly overlap in the European Alps with only few syntopic localities and to date, the cause of parapatry is unknown. The goal of this thesis was thus to identify the importance of abiotic and biotic factors for their parapatric range limits at different spatial scales. On a broad spatial scale, the role of climate for the parapatric range limits of the species was investigated within three contact zones in Switzerland. Climatic conditions at species" records were analysed and species distribution modelling techniques were used to explore the species" climatic niches and to quantify the interspecific niche overlap. Furthermore, it was tested whether the parapatric range limit coincides with a strong climatic gradient. The results revealed distinct niches for the species as well as the presence of strong climatic gradients which could explain the parapatric range limits of the species. Yet, there was a moderate interspecific niche overlap in all contact zones indicating that the species may co-occur and interact with each other in areas where they both find adequate conditions. Comparison among contact zones revealed geographic variation in the species" niches as well as in the climatic conditions at their records suggesting that the species can occur in a much wider range of conditions than they actually do. These findings imply that climate represents a main factor for the species" parapatric range limits. Yet, interspecific niche overlap and the geographic variation provide indirect evidence that interspecific interaction may also affect their spatial distribution. To test whether competition restricts the species" ranges on the habitat scale and to understand local syntopic co-occurrence of the salamanders within their contact zones, site-occupancy modelling was used. This approach allowed to find the habitat predictors that best explain the species" local distribution. While the slope of the site positively affected the occupancy probability of S. salamandra, no tested predictor explained that of S. atra. Also, there was no effect of the occurrence of one species on the occupancy probability of the other providing no evidence for competition. Should competition occur, it does not lead to spatial segregation of the species on this scale. Because biotic interactions most significantly affect the ranges of species on small spatial scales, the microhabitat conditions at locations of the species within syntopic contact zones were compared and a null model analysis was applied to determine their niche overlap. Resource selection probability function models were used to assess those attributes that affect the species" habitat selections. The results revealed species-specific microhabitat preferences related to leaf litter cover, tree number and that the species were active at different temperatures as well as times of the day. The high degree of diurnal activity of S. atra may be due to its preference of forest floor microhabitats that long remain suitable during daytime. Besides, there was a great niche overlap for shelters indicating that the species may compete for this resource. Differential habitat selection and the use of the available shelters at different times of the day may minimize species interactions and allow their local co-occurrence within contact zones. To identify whether the potential infection with the pathogenic chytrid fungus could serve as an alternative biotic explanation for the range margins of S. atra, several populations throughout its range were screened for infection. Since the occurrence of this pathogen was detected mostly at lower altitudes of the Alps, it may confine the range of S. atra to higher elevations. Because chytrid was not detected in any of the samples, the pathogen unlikely plays a role in determining its range limits. Overall, these findings underline the complexity of mechanisms that determine the range margins of parapatric species and provide an important basis for subsequent studies regarding the determinants of the parapatric distribution of the two salamander species.
High-resolution projections of the future climate are required to assess climate change realistically at a regional scale. This is in particular important for climate change impact studies since global projections are much too coarse to represent local conditions adequately. A major concern is thereby the change of extreme values in a warming climate due to their severe impact on the natural environment, socio-economical systems and the human health. Regional climate models (RCMs) are, however, able to reproduce much of those local features. Current horizontal resolutions are about 18-25km, which is still too coarse to directly resolve small-scale processes such as deep-convection. For this reason, projections of a possible future climate were simulated in this study with the regional climate model COSMO-CLM at horizontal resolutions of 4.5km and 1.3km for the region of Saarland-Lorraine-Luxemburg and Rhineland-Palatinate for the first time. At a horizontal scale of about 1km deep-convection is treated explicitly, which is expected to improve particularly the simulation of convective summer precipitation and a better resolved orography is expected to improve near surface fields such as 2m temperature. These simulations were performed as 10-year long time-slice experiments for the present climate (1991"2000), the near future (2041"2050) and the end of the century (2091"2100). The climate change signals of the annual and seasonal means and the change of extremes are analysed with respect to precipitation and 2m temperature and a possible added value due to the increased resolution is investigated. To assess changes in extremes, extreme indices have been applied and 10- and 20-year return levels were estimated by "peak-over-threshold" models. Since it is generally known that model output of RCMs should not directly be used for climate change impact studies, the precipitation and temperature fields were bias-corrected with several quantile-matching methods. Among them is a new developed parametric method which includes an extension for extreme values and is hence expected to improve the correction. In addition, the impact of the bias-correction on the climate change signals and on the extreme value statistics was investigated. The results reveal a significant warming of the annual mean by about +1.7 -°C until 2041"2050 and +3.7 -°C until 2091"2100, but considerably stronger signals of up to +5 -°C in summer in the Rhine Valley. Furthermore, the daily variability increases by about +0.8 -°C in summer but decreases by about -0.8 -°C in winter. Consequently, hot extremes increase moderately until the mid of the century but strongly thereafter, in particular in the Rhine Valley. Cold extremes warm continuously in the complete domain in the next 100 years but strongest in mountainous areas. The change signals with regard to annual precipitation are of the order -±10% but not significant. Significant, however, are a predicted increase of +32% of the seasonal precipitation in autumn until 2041"2050 and a decrease of -28% in summer until 2091-2100. No significant changes were found for days with intensities > 20 mm/day, but the results indicate that extremes with return periods ≤2 years increase as well as the frequency and duration of dry periods. The bias-corrections amplified positive signals but dampened negative signals and considerably reduced the power of detection. Moreover, absolute values and frequencies of extremes were altered by the correction but change signals remained approximately constant. The new method outperformed other parametric methods, in particular with regard to extreme value correction and related extreme indices and return levels. Although the bias correction removed systematic errors, it should be treated as an additional layer of uncertainty in climate change studies. Finally, the increased resolution of 1.3km improved predominantly the representation of temperature fields and extremes in terms of spatial heterogeneity. The benefits for summer precipitation were not as clear due to a severe dry-bias in summer, but it could be shown that in principle the onset and intensity of convection improves. This work demonstrates that climate change will have severe impacts in this investigation area and that in particular extremes may change considerably. An increased resolution provides thereby an added value to the results. These findings encourage further investigations, for other variables as for example near-surface wind, which will be more feasible with growing computing resources. These analyses should, however, be repeated with longer time series, different RCMs and anthropogenic scenarios to determine the robustness and uncertainty of these results more extensively.
Mankind has dramatically influenced the nitrogen (N) fluxes between soil, vegetation, water and atmosphere " the global N cycle. Increasing intensification of agricultural land use, caused by the growing demand for agricultural products, has had major impacts on ecosystems worldwide. Particularly nitrogenous gases such as ammonia (NH3) have increased mainly due to industrial livestock farming. Countries with high N deposition rates require a variety of deposition measurements and effective N monitoring networks to assess N loads. Due to high costs, current "conventional"-deposition measurement stations are not widespread and therefore provide only a patchy picture of the real extent of the prevailing N deposition status over large areas. One tool that allows quantification of the exposure and the effects of atmospheric N impacts on an ecosystem is the use of bioindicators. Due to their specific physiology and ecology, especially lichens and mosses are suitable to reflect the atmospheric N input at ecosystem level. The present doctoral project began by investigating the general ability of epiphytic lichens to qualify and quantify N deposition by analysing both lichens and total N and δ15N along a gradient of different N emission sources and severity. The results showed that this was a viable monitoring method, and a grid-based monitoring system with nitrophytic lichens was set up in the western part of Germany. Finally, a critical appraisal of three different monitoring techniques (lichens, mosses and tree bark) was carried out to compare them with national relevant N deposition assessment programmes. In total 1057 lichen samples, 348 tree bark samples, 153 moss samples and 24 deposition water samples, were analysed in this dissertation at different investigation scales in Germany.The study identified species-specific ability and tolerance of various epiphytic lichens to accumulate N. Samples of tree bark were also collected and N accumulation ability was detected in connection with the increased intensity of agriculture, and according to the presence of reduced N compounds (NHx) in the atmosphere. Nitrophytic lichens (Xanthoria parietina, Physcia spp.) have the strongest correlations with high agriculture-related N deposition. In addition, the main N sources were revealed with the help of δ15N values along a gradient of altitude and areas affected by different types of land use (NH3 density classes, livestock units and various deposition types). Furthermore, in the first nationwide survey of Germany to compare lichens, mosses and tree bark samples as biomonitors for N deposition, it was revealed that lichens are clearly the most meaningful monitor organisms in highly N affected regions. Additionally, the study shows that dealing with different biomonitors is a difficult task due to their variety of N responses. The specific receptor surfaces of the indicators and therefore their different strategies of N uptake are responsible for the tissue N concentration of each organism group. It was also shown that the δ15N values depend on their N origin and the specific N transformations in each organism system, so that a direct comparison between atmosphere and ecosystems is not possible.In conclusion, biomonitors, and especially epiphytic lichens may serve as possible alternatives to get a spatially representative picture of the N deposition conditions. Furthermore, bioindication with lichens is a cost-efficient alternative to physico-chemical measurements to comprehensively assess different prevailing N doses and sources of N pools on a regional scale. They can at least support on-site deposition instruments by qualification and quantification of N deposition.
A sustainable development of forests and their ecosystem services requires the monitoring of the forests" state and changes as well as the prediction of their future development. To achieve the latter, eco-physiological forest growth models are usually applied. These models require calibration and validation with forestry reference data. This data includes forest structural parameters such as tree height or stem diameter which are easy to measure and can be used to estimate the core model parameters, i.e. the tree- biomass pools. The methods traditionally applied to derive the structural parameters are mainly manual and time-consuming. Hence, the in situ data acquisition is inefficient and limited in its ability to capture the vertical and horizontal variability in stand structure. Ground-based remote sensing bears the potential to overcome the limitations of the traditional methods. As they can be automated, ground-based remote sensing methods allow a much more efficient data acquisition and a larger spatial coverage. They are also able to capture forest structure in its three dimensions. Nevertheless, at present further research is required, in particular with respect to the practical integration of ground-based remote sensing data into forest growth models as well as regarding factors influencing the structural parameter retrieval from this data. Therefore, the goal of this PhD thesis was to investigate the influencing factors of two ground-based remote sensing methods (terrestrial laser scanning and hemispherical photography), which have not or only scarcely been studied to date. In addition, the use of forest structural parameters derived from these methods for the calibration of a forest growth model was assessed. Both goals were achieved. The results of this thesis could contribute significantly to a comprehensive assessment of ground-based remote sensing and its potential to derive the forest structural parameters. However, the use of these methods to calibrate forest growth models proved to be limited. An optimized data sampling design is expected to eliminate the major limitations, though. Furthermore, the combination of ground-based, airborne, and satellite remote sensing sensors was suggested to provide an optimized framework for the general integration of remotely sensed data into forest growth models. This combination of remote sensing observations at different scales will contribute greatly to a modern forest management with the purpose of warranting a sustainable forest development even under growing economic and ecological pressures.
Evaluation of desalination techniques for treating the brackish water of Olushandja sub-basin
(2014)
The groundwater of Olushandja sub-basin as part of Cuvelai basin in central-northern Namibia is saline with TDS content varying between 4,000ppm to 90,000ppm. Based on climatic conditions, this region can be classified as a semi-arid to arid region with an annual rainfall during summer time varying between 200mm to 500mm. The mean annual evaporation potential is about 2,800mm, which is much higher than the annual rainfall. The southern block of this sub-basin is of low population density. It has not been covered by the supply networks for electricity and water. Therefore, the inhabitants are forced to use the untreated groundwater from the hand-dug wells for their daily purposes. This groundwater is not safe for human consumption and therefore needs to be desalinated for that purpose. The goal of this thesis has been to select a suitable desalination technology for that region. The technology to be selected is from those which use renewable energy sources, which have capacity of production from 10m3 to 100m3 per day, which are simple and robust against existing harsh environmental conditions and have already been implemented successfully in some place. Based on these criteria, the technologies which emerged from the literature are: multistage flashing (MSF), multi effect distillation (MED), multi effect humidification (MEH), membrane distillation (MD), reverse osmosis (RO) and electro dialysis reversed (ED). Out of these technologies, RO &amp; ED are based on membrane techniques and MSF, MED &amp; MEH use thermal processes whereas MD technology uses a hybrid process of thermal and membrane techniques for desalinating the water. For evaluation of technical performance, environmental sustainability and financial feasibility of the above mentioned desalination techniques, the following criteria have been used: gained output ratio, recovery rate, pretreatment requirements, sensitivity to feed water quality, post treatment, operating temperature, operating pressure, scaling and fouling potential, corrosion susceptibility, brine disposal, prime energy requirement, mechanical and electrical power output, heat energy, running costs and water generation costs. The data regarding the performance standards of the successfully implemented desalination techniques have been obtained from the literature of performance benchmarks. The Utility Value Analysis Tool of the Rafter-Group of Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) has been used for measuring the performance score of a technology. To perform the utility analysis, an evaluation matrix has to be constructed through the following procedures: selection of the decision options (or assessment groups), identification of the evaluation criteria, measurement of performance and transformation of the units. Then the criteria under the objective groups are assigned a level of importance for determining their weights.To perform the sensitivity analysis the level of importance of a criterion is changed by giving more weight or rate to the assessment group of interest (or study). Within the assessment group of interests, the best performing desalination technology has been selected according to the outcome of the sensitivity analysis. The important conclusions of this study are the identification of the capabilities of thermal and membrane based small scale desalination technologies and their applicability based on site specific needs. The sensitivity analysis indicates that the MED technology is the most environmental friendly technology that uses minimum energy and produces least concentrated brine for disposal. The ED technology has emerged to be technically suitable, but it is only applicable when source water has less than 12.000 ppm salt content. The MSF process has favorable thermal efficiency and it is insensitive to feed water quality. Its major drawbacks are energy needs and post treatment requirements that affected its net score. The MD and MSF process have scored the lowest for the technical and economic assessment groups and are concluded not to be suitable for Olushandja sub-basin. The MEH process is cheaper and technically more appropriate than the MED in the two assessment groups. Based on the above mentioned evaluations, this study concluded that Olushandja sub-basin needs more data collection on the geological profile, distinctive identification of aquifers and evidence on the interaction between the aquifers. From the best available data obtained, it could not be established with certainty where the highest level of salinity can be found in the profile, or how the geological profile is layered. More data on ground water quality for spatial overview of the trends and pattern of the sub-basin will be useful in drawing better conclusion on the specific desalination technology needed which is suitable for a specified village or living space.
Comparing the results of the phylogeographies of the four species included in this thesis, some accordances have been found, even though certain patterns are only represented in one or two species. In all cases, the findings of the studied species strongly support the existence of forests or forest-like ecosystems beyond the classic forest refugia in the Mediterranean areas (Iberian, Apennine and Balkan peninsulas) during glacial times. However, evidence of glacial refugial areas in Southeastern Europe, especially the Balkans, have been found in this study as well. The analysed populations of Aposeris foetida, Melampyrum sylvaticum and Erebia euryale showed high genetic diversity values and mostly higher private fragments in this area, which is a strong indicator for centres of glacial survival during Würm and, regarding the results of M. sylvaticum, even during the Riss ice age. Three of the analysed species (A. foetida, M. sylvaticum and Colias palaeno) supported a second main glacial refuge area located along the Northern Alps. Again, high genetic diversity values and the uniqueness of the populations living in this region today prove the importance of this area as a glacial centre of survival. Those results confirm several recently published studies on forest species and strongly indicate the persistence of forest-like structures or even forests during the ice ages along the foothills of the Northern Alps. Additionally, the persistence of C. palaeno in this area furthermore supports the existence of peatlands north of the Alps, at least during the last glacial. The results of M. sylvaticum and E. euryale further indicate the vicinity of the Tatra Mountains as core areas for glacial survival. However, the genetic patterns found for E. euryale are ambiguous. Due to an intermediate position of two genetic lineages (originating in the Eastern Alps and Southeastern Europe), the Tatras could also reflect a postglacial mixture zone of those lineages. Moreover, the glacial and postglacial importance of this area for woodland species was accentuated, supporting other phylogeographic studies published. Besides the congruities among the results of the study species, some unique patterns and therefore further potential glacial refugia have also been illuminated in this thesis. For instance, the calcicole species, A. foetida, most probably had further survival area at both sides of the Dinaric Alps, supported by high genetic diversity values and a high number of private fragments found in Croatian populations. Furthermore, the surroundings of the German Uplands and the margin of the Southern Alps provided suitable conditions for glacial survival for M. sylvaticum, while the Eastern and Southeastern Alpine region most probably sheltered the Large Ringlet E. euryale during ice ages. Additionally, this butterfly species survived at least the glaciation along the foothills of the Massif Central, whose present populations showed a unique genetic lineage and their genetic diversity values have been measurably higher than in other populations for this species. Finally, a large and continuous Würm distribution is highly likely south of the Fennoscandian glaciers in Central Europe for C. palaeno, which might indicate extended peatland areas during Würm glacial. With all the patterns found in this study, the understanding of glacial persistence of forest, respectively forest-like structures and peatlands during Würm or even Riss glacial in Europe could be advanced. The congruencies among the analysed woodland and bog species illustrate the importance and location of extra-Mediterranean refugia for European mountain forests and the glacial presence of Central European peatlands. Thus, already postulated theories could be supported and further pieces of the overall puzzle could be added. The varieties of the different survival centres once more clarified that further phylogeographic studies on mountain forest of different habitat requirements and especially peatland species have to be implemented to get a clearer picture of the glacial history of these habitats.
Veterinary antibiotics are released to arable agricultural soil together with manure, including nutrients, organic matter, and microorganisms. Previously, the effects of antibiotic-contaminated manure on soil microbial community activity, function, structure, and resistance have been reported under controlled experimental conditions. This thesis further evaluated the antimicrobial effects as influenced by different manure compositions, soil microhabitats and moisture regimes, plants, and different distances to roots. Microbial community responses were determined by phenotypic phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and genotypic 16S rRNA gene fragment analyses. (Chapter 3) demonstrates that medication of pigs with difloxacin (DIF) and sulfadiazine (SDZ) alters the molecular-chemical pattern of slurries, confounding the detection of a consistent antibiotic effect in bulk and respective rhizosphere soil. This was evaluated in a 63-day mesocosm experiment considering typical agricultural manure applications to maize planted soil. Fecal bacteria were detected even 14 days after manure amendment. Manure of DIF- and SDZ-medicated pigs clearly affected the microbial community in mesocosm bulk and rhizosphere soil, temporarily matching antibiotic effects reported in previous studies. (Chapter 4) discusses the influences of different soil microhabitats on antibiotic fate and the effects on soil microflora. Total extractable SDZ was more than two-fold larger in earthworm burrows and soil macroaggregate surfaces compared to bulk soil or the interior fraction of aggregates. Furthermore, soil microbial communities were affected by a combination of soil microhabitat and treatment, which was reflected by different structural and functional community responses to SDZ in laboratory and under field conditions. (Chapter 5) evaluates if SDZ effects on microbial communities are more pronounced in soils which undergo periodic changes in soil moisture by drying-rewetting dynamics compared to soils without such moisture fluctuations. This was tested in a 49-day climate chamber soil pot experiment grown with grass. Manure-amended pots without or with SDZ contamination were incubated under a dynamic moisture regime with repeated drying and rewetting changes of more than twenty percent maximum water holding capacity compared to the control moisture regime. The microbial biomass, but less pronouncedly the community structure, showed an increased responsiveness to the combined stress of SDZ and dynamic moisture changes in the laboratory. Similar responses were documented under field conditions. (Chapter 6) indicated adverse effects of SDZ on root geotropism, number of lateral roots, and water uptake by plants in a 40-day greenhouse experiment with willow and maize grown in soil with environmentally relevant and worst-case antibiotic contamination. (Chapter 7) showed that the associated microbial community responded to a combination of plant species, distance to the root, and antibiotic spiking concentration. In highly antibiotic-contaminated soils, the structural and functional responses of the microbial community were dominated by indirect antibiotic effects on plants and roots.
The present study covers the period from the late-ninth to the early-sixteenth centuries. Within this period, the late-thirteenth to mid-fourteenth centuries marked the decisive turning point, shaped more by attitudes and actions among the Christian majority than among Jewish agents. Our findings indicate an intensification of anti-Jewish tendencies, rooted in religious developments in Western Christendom. According to circumstances, however, these tendencies had a very varying impact across time and space. The frequent religious and ecclesiastical reform movements of Western Europe offer cases in point. In the 'German' Empire north of the Alps the monastic reforms of Saint Maximin and Gorze were by no means confined to the realm of monasticism; they were essential for shaping the historical circumstances in which the foundations of Ashkenazic Judaism were laid in the tenth and early-eleventh centuries. The concept of 'honor' was used by leading ecclesiastics such as bishop Rudiger of Speyer in 1084 to justify the settlement of Jews, but also by civic authorities such as those of Regensburg later on. It is significant for the long-term tendency, therefore, that the late-medieval expulsions from cities like Trier, Cologne, and Regensburg were eventually also legitimized by reference to the idea of honor.
Both water scarcity and flood risk are increasingly turning into safety concerns for many urban dwellers and, consequently, become increasingly politicised. This development involves a reconfiguration of the academic land- scape around urban risk, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change research. This paper is a literature assessment of concepts on disaster risk, vulnerability and adaptation and their applicability to the context of studying water in an African city. An overview on water-related risk in African cities is presented and concepts and respective disciplinary backgrounds reviewed. Recent debates that have emerged from the application of risk, vulnerability and adaptation concepts in research and policy practice are presented. Finally the applicability of these concepts as well as the relevance and implications of recent debates for studying water in African cities is discussed. ‘Riskscape’ is proposed as a conceptual frame for close and integrated analysis of water related risk in an African city.
This working paper outlines analytical pathways that could contribute to deepening the understanding of water inequalities in cities of the Global South. It brings together the status quo of research on water inequalities in Accra, the capital of Ghana, and studies on Environmental Justice. In doing so, it argues for the need to analytically distinguish between the terms ‘(in)equality’ and ‘(in)justice’. Studying everyday water practices and per- spectives on water (in)justice of different stakeholders would be a suitable entry point for an in-depth ethnographic study that analytically separates water inequalities and water injustices but considers their interlinkages. The working paper is based on a literature review conducted in 2015 in the scope of the WaterPower project.
The classic Capital Asset Pricing Model and the portfolio theory suggest that investors hold the market portfolio to diversify idiosyncratic risks. The theory predicts that expected return of assets is positive and that reacts linearly on the overall market. However, in reality, we observe that investors often do not have perfectly diversified portfolios. Empirical studies find that new factors influence the deviation from the theoretical optimal investment. In the first part of this work (Chapter 2) we study such an example, namely the influence of maximum daily returns on subsequent returns. Here we follow ideas of Bali et al. (2011). The goal is to find cross-sectional relations between extremely positive returns and expected average returns. We take account a larger number of markets worldwide. Bali et al. (2011) report with respect to the U.S. market a robust negative relation between MAX (the maximum daily return) and the expected return in the subsequent time. We extent substantially their database to a number of other countries, and also take more recent data into account (until end of 2009). From that we conclude that the relation between MAX and expected returns is not consistent in all countries. Moreover, we test the robustness of the results of Bali et al. (2011) in two time-periods using the same data from CRSP. The results show that the effect of extremely positive returns is not stable over time. Indeed we find a negative cross-sectional relation between the extremely positive returns and the average returns for the first half of the time series, however, we do not find significant effects for the second half. The main results of this chapter serve as a basis for an unpublished working paper Yuan and Rieger (2014b). While in Chapter 2 we have studied factors that prevent optimal diversification, we consider in Chapter 3 and 4 situations where the optimal structure of diversification was previously unknown, namely diversification of options (or structured financial products). Financial derivatives are important additional investment form with respect to diversification. Not only common call and put options, but also structured products enable investors to pursue a multitude of investment strategies to improve the risk-return profile. Since derivatives become more and more important, diversification of portfolios with dimension of derivatives is of particularly practical relevance. We investigate the optimal diversification strategies in connection with underlying stocks for classical rational investors with constant relative risk aversion (CRRA). In particular, we apply Monte Carlo method based on the Black-Scholes model and the Heston model for stochastic volatility to model the stock market processes and the pricing of the derivatives. Afterwards, we compare the benchmark portfolio which consists of derivatives on single assets with derivatives on the index of these assets. First we compute the utility improvement of an investment in the risk-free assets and plain-vanilla options for CRRA investors in various scenarios. Furthermore, we extend our analysis to several kinds of structured products, in particular capital protected notes (CPNs), discount certificates (DCs) and bonus certificates (BCs). We find that the decision of an investor between these two diversification strategies leads to remarkable differences. The difference in the utility improvement is influenced by risk-preferences of investors, stock prices and the properties of the derivatives in the portfolio. The results will be presented in Chapter 3 and are the basis for a yet unpublished working paper Yuan and Rieger (2014a). To check furthermore whether underlyings of structured products influence decisions of investors, we discuss explicitly the utility gain of a stock-based product and an index-based product for an investor whose preferences are described by cumulative prospect theory (CPT) (Chapter 4, compare to Yuan (2014)). The goal is that to investigate the dependence of structured products on their underlying where we put emphasis on the difference between index-products and single-stock-products, in particular with respect to loss-aversion and mental accounting. We consider capital protected notes and discount certificates as examples, and model the stock prices and the index of these stocks via Monte Carlo simulations in the Black-Scholes framework. The results point out that market conditions, particularly the expected returns and volatility of the stocks play a crucial role in determining the preferences of investors for stock-based CPNs and index-based CPNs. A median CPT investor prefers the index-based CPNs if the expected return is higher and the volatility is lower, while he prefers the stock-based CPNs in the other situation. We also show that index-based DCs are robustly more attractive as compared to stock-based DCs for CPT investors.
In the first part of this work we generalize a method of building optimal confidence bounds provided in Buehler (1957) by specializing an exhaustive class of confidence regions inspired by Sterne (1954). The resulting confidence regions, also called Buehlerizations, are valid in general models and depend on a designated statistic'' that can be chosen according to some desired monotonicity behaviour of the confidence region. For a fixed designated statistic, the thus obtained family of confidence regions indexed by their confidence level is nested. Buehlerizations have furthermore the optimality property of being the smallest (w.r.t. set inclusion) confidence regions that are increasing in their designated statistic. The theory is eventually applied to normal, binomial, and exponential samples. The second part deals with the statistical comparison of pairs of diagnostic tests and establishes relations 1. between the sets of lower confidence bounds, 2. between the sets of pairs of comparable lower confidence bounds, and 3. between the sets of admissible lower confidence bounds in various models for diverse parameters of interest.
Part-time entrepreneurship has become increasingly popular and is a rather new field of research. Two important research topics are addressed in this dissertation: (a) the impact of culture on part-time and full-time entrepreneurship and (b) the motivational aspects of the transition from part-time to full-time entrepreneurship. Specifically, this dissertation advances prior research by highlighting the direct and indirect differential impact of macro-level societal culture on part-time and full-time entrepreneurship. Gender egalitarianism, uncertainty avoidance and future orientation have a significantly stronger impact on full-time than on part-time entrepreneurship. Furthermore the moderating impact of societal culture on micro-level relationships for both forms of entrepreneurship is explored. The age-old and well-established relationship between education and entrepreneurial activity is moderated by different forms of collectivism for part-time and full-time entrepreneurship. Regarding the motivation of part-time entrepreneurs to transition to full-time entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurial motives of self-realization and independence are significantly positively associated with the transition, whereas the entrepreneurial motives of income supplementation and recognition are significantly negatively associated with the transition. This dissertation advances academic research by indicating conceptual differences between part-time and full-time entrepreneurship in a multi country setting and by showing that both forms of entrepreneurship are impacted through different cultural mechanisms. Based on the findings, policy makers can identify the direct and indirect impact of societal culture on part-time and full-time entrepreneurship. As a result, policy makers can better target support and transition programs to foster entrepreneurial activity.