Rechtlicher Handlungsrahmen und Instrumente für die Erhaltung der Biodiversit?t in Kulturlandschaften

Die Erhaltung der Biodiversit?t in Kulturlandschaften h?ngt wesentlich davon ab, ob es gelingt, eine naturvertr?gliche Landwirtschaft sicherzustellen. Der folgende Beitrag informiert über den rechtlichen Handlungsrahmen und die eingesetzten Instrumente zur Steuerung der Landwirtschaft durch den Staat.     

Strategien und institutionelle Perspektiven nach der Verfassungskrise: „Funktionalistische” und „institutionalistische” Wege zu einem neuen europäischen Verhandlungspaket

The European Council today is the only institution which has the potential and the possibility to lead the EU out of its current “valley of uncertainty”. Under the leadership of a new generation of heads of state, the conclusion of a European package deal may be expected from 2007 onwards, containing three central elements: 1. a “Europe of projects”, identifying policies and projects of common interest, 2. the “flexibilisation” of the EU in order to facilitate European politics among the member states and 3. institutional or constitutional reforms of the European polity, for which the constitutional treaty will remain the single most important point of reference. However, no simple, “optimal” road for the future development of the EU may be anticipated.     

Etienne Laspeyres' History of the Economic Thought of the Netherlanders: A Law & Economics Classic?

Etienne Laspeyres (1834–1913) is today best known for the price index number formula named after him, but arguably his main contribution to economic literature is his Geschichte der Volkswirthschaftlichen Anschauungen der Niederländer und ihrer Litteratur zur Zeit der Republik (1863). This sketch sets out to consider whether this work, the contents of which will be briefly outlined and placed into context, can be considered a Law & Economics classic, in the sense of the biographical part of the Elgar Companion to Law and Economics (1999), as well. While interesting in its own right, the discussion of this question also serves as an inroad into the discussion of exactly what type of combination of law and economics is necessary to be considered part of Law & Economics as a specific mode of scholarly inquiry.     

Forensic applications of stable isotope analysis: Case studies of the origins of water in mislabeled beer and contaminated diesel fuel

This paper describes the use of oxygen (¹⁸O) isotope analysis of water contained in two different materials — beer and diesel fuel — involved in the resolution of two separate cases. In the first case study, it was possible to demonstrate that a sample of beer labelled as premium brand in fact belonged to a cheap brand. The second case related to the contamination of diesel fuel from a service station. The diesel fuel contained visible amounts of water, which caused vehicles that had been filled up with it to become defective. For insurance purposes, it was necessary to determine the source of water. The δ¹⁸O values for the water of nearly all samples of diesel was close to the δ¹⁸O of local tap water at the filling station.     

Naturschutzrecht im Zeichen des Klimawandels

Zusammenfassung  Der Aufsatz er?rtert naturschutzrechtliche Problembereiche, die im Hinblick auf die Adaption an den Klimawandel von besonderer Bedeutung sind. Hierzu z?hlen die Anpassung und Dynamisierung der Schutzgebietskonzepte und des Schutzes von Natur in der Fl?che, die Realisierung von Biotopverbünden als Infrastrukturen zur Anpassung wie auch der Umgang mit gebietsfremden Arten. Um den Anpassungsbedarf des Naturschutzrechts besser absch?tzen zu k?nnen, stellt der Aufsatz einleitend die m?glichen klimatischen Folgen für Natur und Landschaft dar.     

Der verfahrene Feiertag

Die Vorschriften über die Ablaufhemmung verfahrensrechtlicher Fristen orientieren sich – wie im Übrigen auch jene über die Anberaumung von Verhandlungen – an den allgemeinen Feiertagsregelungen. Diese bilden im Wesentlichen die religiösen Bedürfnisse der Bevölkerungsmehrheit ab, lassen aber Raum für solche einzelner religiöser Minderheiten. Eine Überprüfung anhand des Gleichheitssatzes fördert verfassungsrechtliche Bedenken zutage, die durch eine kleine gesetzgeberische Korrektur ausgeräumt werden könnten.     

Unusual suicides of young women with tentative cuts and fatal neck injuries by chain saw and circular saw

Suicides with chain saws and circular saws are extreme exceptions, in particular with regard to females and concerning the neck region. We report two of such rare cases involving young women. A 30-year-old female with a known schizoaffective psychosis killed herself with an electric chain saw. The autopsy revealed a deep saw cut of the neck and shoulder with partial transection of the cervical spine. Several tentative saw cuts were present on the right lower jaw. A 29-year-old woman suffering from depression committed suicide by use of a circular saw. She inflicted herself fatal neck injuries with at least three separate cutting procedures. Our cases were characterized by the following features: female sex, young adulthood, no occupational experience with saws, psychiatric disorders, absence of alcohol or drugs, use of an aggressive method of suicide, focus of saw injuries on the right side of the neck, detection of tentative saw cuts or several trials, identical causes of death (exsanguination and blood aspiration).     

Instability of calcium channel antagonists during sample preparation for LC-MS-MS analysis of serum samples

1,4-Dihydropyridines calcium channel antagonists (1,4-DHP CCAs) are photolabile and the products of their photodecomposition have no pharmaceutical activity. In our previous work we have presented a screening procedure for eleven 1,4-DHPs in plasma by LC-MS-MS using multiple reaction motoring. The laboratory process includes preparation and storage of stock solutions, plasma storage, solid-phase extraction, reconstitution of extracts and storage time in an autosampler for LC-MS-MS analysis. Prior to validation of the analytical procedure, we have tested the stability of these compounds by exposure to light. Methanolic solutions have been exposed to laboratory and UV light and the stability of the compounds in plasma was tested by exposure of spiked plasma samples to laboratory light at room temperature. Stability during freeze-thaw cycles and stability during 2 month storage at -20 degrees C have been tested as well. Products of photodecomposition have been identified after forced degradation and the degree of degradation has been quantified using LC-UV-DAD and LC-MS-MS, respectively. A 96% degradation after only 2h has been observed when solutions of nifedipine or nisoldipine were exposed to laboratory light in clear glass vials. In plasma samples degradation was 25% in only 2h for both compounds. The main degradation product was produced by oxidation of the dihydropyridinic ring resulting in the pyridine analogue that has been described as the first metabolite in the metabolic pathway. Only minor degradation was found for the other tested compounds after 2h light exposure in methanolic solutions. Furthermore, lercanidipine and nicardipine were also degradated by esterhydrolysis. Several additional minor degradation products were found for the other tested 1,4-DHPs, however, some of them could not be identified. Preconditions for storage and handling of plasma samples prior to and during analysis for 1,4-DHP CCAs are suggested in order to avoid photodecomposition of the analytes.