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Dass Verrechnungspreise sich seit Langem zu einem Dauerthema in Betriebsprufungen entwickelt haben, ist unbestritten. Bereits 1997 haben Kuckhoff und Schreiber das noch immer fur den Praktiker lesenswerte Buch „Verrechnungspreise in der Betriebsprufung“ veroffentlicht. Sie konzentrieren sich dabei im Wesentlichen auf Warenlieferungen zwischen verbundenen Gesellschaften, weil diese im Mittelpunkt der damaligen Betriebsprufungspraxis standen.

Topographic effects on Cs-137 concentrations in a forested area were quantitatively examined using 58 soil core samples collected in a village in Fukushima, Japan, which was directly impacted by the radioactive plume emitted during the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident. In this study, five topographic parameters and two soil properties were evaluated as controls on the soil Cs-137 concentration using generalized additive models (GAMs), a flexible statistical method for evaluating the functional dependencies of multiple parameters. GAMs employing soil dry bulk density, mass water content, and elevation explained 54 % of the observed concentrations of Cs-137 within this landscape, whereas GAMs employing elevation, slope, and upslope distance explained 47 % of the observed concentrations, which provide strong evidence of topographic effects on Cs-137 concentrations in soils. The model fit analysis confirmed that the topographic effects are strongest when multiple topographic parameters and soil properties are included. The ability of each topographic feature to predict Cs-137 concentrations was influenced by the resolution of the digital elevation models. The movement of Cs-137 into the subsurface in this area near Fukushima was faster in comparison to regions affected by the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. These results suggest that the effects of topographic parameters should be considered carefully in the use of anthropogenic radionuclides as environmental tracers and in the assessment of current and future environmental risks due to nuclear power plant accidents.

This research collected forest soil samples from Fukushima, Japan, where the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident contaminated the land. The purpose of this study was to examine how the local topography influenced the radiocesium (Cs-137) accumulation patterns in soils over the years since the accident. As an analytical method, the general additive model (GAM) was used to determine at what percentages the topographic parameters explain Cs-137 contamination levels down to a depth of 30 cm. For comparison, topographic parameters were extracted from both 1 m and 10 m digital evaluation models (DEMs). The effects of topography were compared with the effects of the soil water content and dry soil bulk density. An additional Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD) test was conducted to determine the significance of the hillslope aspect and vegetation cover differences on concentration predictions. The results showed that, at this study site, topographic parameters extracted from the 10 m DEM better predicted Cs-137 levels. The models with a single topographic parameter did not explain Cs-137 levels higher than 30 %. However, combining the parameters improved the explanation percentages. The relative influences of topographic parameters and soil properties were similar throughout the soil depth, showing their subsurface co-functionalities for Cs-137 concentration levels. Tukey’s HSD test results showed the inter-effects of topography and vegetation cover differences. The results of this study indicate that the selection of topographic parameters, as well as the chosen methods of their extractions, have implications for physical models assessing radionuclide contamination levels.

A formal theory of vague distance predicates is presented which combines a crisp region-based geometry with a theory of vague size predicates in a supervaluation-based formal framework. In the object language of the axiomatic theory, logical and semantic properties of vague distance predicates that are context- and domain-independent are formalized. Context and domain-dependent aspects are addressed in the meta-language of the theory by incorporating context- and domain-specific restrictions on the canonical interpretations. This allows to relate the ontological and qualitative analysis in the object language to numeric values as they are commonly used in scientific discourses.

This paper presents an axiomatic formalization of a theory of top-level relations between three categories of entities: individuals, universals, and collections. We deal with a variety of relations between entities in these categories, including the sub-universal relation among universals and the parthood relation among individuals, as well as cross-categorial relations such as instantiation and membership. We show that an adequate understanding of the formal properties of such relations-in particular their behavior with respect to time-is critical for geographic information processing. The axiomatic theory is developed using Isabelle, a computational system for implementing logical formalisms. All proofs are computer verified and the computational representation of the theory is available online.

In the criminal law, the law of attempts is of comparatively recent vintage. It is part of an important contemporary legal trend towards early intervention in the criminal process. There are now a substantial number of crimes on the books that, like the crime of attempt, only require that the perpetrator start down the road to carrying out his criminal intentions and do not require him actually to have harmed (or, in some cases, even identified) his victim. Besides the law of attempts, these new crimes include conspiracy and solicitation, forgery and counterfeiting, the possession offences (drugs, burglary tools, counterfeit money, automobile master keys, etc.), even corruption of youth (children). In all these cases, the law is stepping in to forestall harm, rather than waiting until a harm has already happened.

According to the prevalent 'sum view' of stuffs, each portion of stuff is a mereological sum of its subportions. The purpose of this paper is to re-examine the sum view in the light of a modal temporal mereology which distinguishes between different varieties of summation relations. While admitting David Barnett's recent counter-example to the sum view (Barnett, Philos Rev 113:89-100, 2004), we show that there is nonetheless an important sense in which all portions of stuff are sums of their subportions. We use our summation relations to develop, as an alternative to the sum view, an analysis of stuffs that distinguishes between the ways in which different sorts of stuffs are sums of their subportions.

Die Vergleichbarkeitsanalyse ist ein zentraler Teil jeder Verrechnungspreisanalyse, denn in jeder Verrechnungspreisanalyse wird die Fremdublichkeit eines konzerninternen Verrechnungspreises durch einen Vergleich mit Markttransaktionen gepruft. Fur einen Vergleich sind jedoch die relevanten Vergleichskriterien zu definieren und dann auf die entsprechende Transaktion anzuwenden.

Background Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3/SHAGGY-like kinases (GSKs) are multifunctional non-receptor ser/thr kinases. Plant GSKs are involved in hormonal signaling networks and are required for growth, development, light as well as stress responses. So far, most studies have been carried out on Arabidopsis or on other eudicotyledon GSKs. Here, we evaluated the role of TaSK1 and TaSK2, two homolog wheat (Triticum aestivum) GSKs, in brassinosteroid signaling. We explored in addition the physiological effects of brassinosteroids on wheat growth and development. Results A bin2-1 like gain-of-function mutation has been inserted respectively in one of the homoeologous gene copies of TaSK1 (TaSK1-A.2-1) and in one of the homoeologous gene copies of TaSK2 (TaSK2-A.2-1). Arabidopsis plants were transformed with these mutated gene copies. Severe dwarf phenotypes were obtained closely resembling those of Arabidopsis bin2-1 lines and Arabidopsis BR-deficient or BR-signaling mutants. Expression of BR downstream genes, SAUR-AC1, CPD and BAS1 was deregulated in TaSK1.2-1 and TaSK2.2-1 transgenic lines. Severe dwarf lines were partially rescued by Bikinin beforehand shown to inhibit TaSK kinase activity. This rescue was accompanied with changes in BR downstream gene expression levels. Wheat embryos and seedlings were treated with compounds interfering with BR signaling or modifying BR levels to gain insight into the role of brassinosteroids in wheat development. Embryonic axis and scutellum differentiation were impaired, and seedling growth responses were affected when embryos were treated with Epibrassinolides, Propiconazole, and Bikinin. Conclusions In view of our findings, TaSKs are proposed to be involved in BR signaling and to be orthologous of Arabidopsis Clade II GSK3/SHAGGY-like kinases. Observed effects of Epibrassinolide, Propiconazole and Bikinin treatments on wheat embryos and seedlings indicate a role for BR signaling in embryonic patterning and seedling growth. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12870-015-0617-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This paper presents a formalized ontological framework for the analysis of multiscale classifications of geographic objects. We propose a set of logical principles that guide such geographic classifications. These principles are represented as definitions and axioms of the first-order predicate logic. Then we demonstrate an application of these principles with a practical example of the "National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units." The study presents a minimal set of entities and relation need for such formalizations and emphasizes the need to distinguish clearly between classes of ecosystems and ecosystems-individuals physically located on the Earth surface. The ontological framework proposed in the paper has the potential to be used to facilitate interoperability between such geographic classifications.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how a formal spatial theory can be used as an important tool for disambiguating the spatial information embodied in biomedical ontologies and for enhancing their automatic reasoning capabilities. Method and materials: This paper presents a formal theory of parthood and location relations among individuals, called Basic Inclusion Theory (BIT). Since biomedical ontologies are comprised of assertions about classes of individuals (rather than assertions about individuals), we define parthood and location relations among classes in the extended theory Basic Inclusion Theory for Classes (BIT+Cl). We then demonstrate the usefulness of this formal theory for making the logical structure of spatial information more precise in two ontologies concerned with human anatomy: the Foundational Model of Anatomy (FMA) and GALEN. Results: We find that in both the FMA and GALEN, class-level spatial relations with different logical properties are not always explicitly distinguished. As a result, the spatial information included in these biomedical ontologies is often ambiguous and the possibilities for implementing consistent automatic reasoning within or across ontologies are limited. Conclusion: Precise formal characterizations of all spatial relations assumed by a biomedical ontology are necessary to ensure that the information embodied in the ontology can be fully and coherently utilized in a computational environment. This paper can be seen as an important beginning step toward achieving this goal, but much more work along these lines is required.

This article applies event-study methodology to explore the economic consequences of cartelisation in Imperial Germany. By combining qualitative and quantitative sources it discusses the risk and return effects of the establishment of the allegedly most powerful cartel, the Rhenish-Westphalian Coal Syndicate (RWKS). Its findings cast doubts on the importance of the RWKS for the development of the German coal industry. The cartel did not affect the major part of a typical mine's risk-the firm-specific risk – and its moderate return effects were mostly confined to larger mines. Cartelisation did not seem to be an important pillar of ‘organised capitalism’.

In this paper a mereological theory of frames of reference is presented. It shows that mereology extended by the notion of granularity and approximation is sufficient to provide a theory for location based features of frames of reference. More complex theories, taking also into account orientation and metric properties can be built as extensions of the presented theory. In order to take the hierarchical organization of frames of reference into account we introduce the notion of stratified approximation to facilitate transformations between different levels of granularity. This paper shows that the ontological grounding of the theory of frames of reference into mereology allows us to give a clear semantics to the notion 'degree of parthood' which is central to the notion of approximation. It also shows how epistemic aspects which affect the use of frames of reference help us to understand the feature of epistemic vagueness and the way it affects the notions of approximation and of degree of parthood.

This paper deals with the representation and the processing of information about spatial objects with indeterminate location like valleys or dunes (objects subject to vagueness). The indeterminacy of the location of spatial objects is caused by the vagueness of the unity condition provided by the underlying human concepts valley and dune. We propose the notion of rough, i.e., approximate, location for representing and processing information about indeterminate location of objects subject to vagueness. We provide an analysis of the relationships between vagueness of concepts, indeterminacy of location of objects, and rough approximations using methods of formal ontology. In the second part of the paper we propose an algebraic formalization of rough location, and hence, a formal method for the representation of objects subject to vagueness on a computer. We further define operations on those representations, which can be interpreted as union and intersection operations between those objects. The discussion of vagueness of concepts, indeterminacy of location, rough location and the relationships between these notions contributes to the theory about the ontology of geographic space. The formalization presented can provide the foundation for the implementation of vague objects and their location indeterminacy in GIS.

L'A. propose une explication des experiences sur la conscience entreprises par B. Libet qui va dans le sens de l'idee selon laquelle la decision consciente de bouger entraine un processus neurophysiologique qui provoque le mouvement physique. Cette explication necessite une revision de la conception ordinaire de la conscience, a la lumiere de la theorie de la perception d'un ordre superieur (HOP) developpee par D. M. Armstrong

Background Plant Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3/ SHAGGY-like kinases (GSKs) have been implicated in numerous biological processes ranging from embryonic, flower, stomata development to stress and wound responses. They are key regulators of brassinosteroid signaling and are also involved in the cross-talk between auxin and brassinosteroid pathways. In contrast to the human genome that contains two genes, plant GSKs are encoded by a multigene family. Little is known about Liliopsida resp. Poaceae in comparison to Brassicaceae GSKs. Here, we report the identification and structural characterization of two GSK homologs named TaSK1 and TaSK2 in the hexaploid wheat genome as well as a widespread phylogenetic analysis of land plant GSKs. Results Genomic and cDNA sequence alignments as well as chromosome localization using nullisomic-tetrasomic lines provided strong evidence for three expressed gene copies located on homoeolog chromosomes for TaSK1 as well as for TaSK2. Predicted proteins displayed a clear GSK signature. In vitro kinase assays showed that TaSK1 and TaSK2 possessed kinase activity. A phylogenetic analysis of land plant GSKs indicated that TaSK1 and TaSK2 belong to clade II of plant GSKs, the Arabidopsis members of which are all involved in Brassinosteroid signaling. Based on a single ancestral gene in the last common ancestor of all land plants, paralogs were acquired and retained through paleopolyploidization events, resulting in six to eight genes in angiosperms. More recent duplication events have increased the number up to ten in some lineages. Conclusions To account for plant diversity in terms of functionality, morphology and development, attention has to be devoted to Liliopsida resp Poaceae GSKs in addition to Arabidopsis GSKs. In this study, molecular characterization, chromosome localization, kinase activity test and phylogenetic analysis (1) clarified the homologous/paralogous versus homoeologous status of TaSK sequences, (2) pointed out their affiliation to the GSK multigene family, (3) showed a functional kinase activity, (4) allowed a classification in clade II, members of which are involved in BR signaling and (5) allowed to gain information on acquisition and retention of GSK paralogs in angiosperms in the context of whole genome duplication events. Our results provide a framework to explore Liliopsida resp Poaceae GSKs functions in development.

Biomedical Ontologies are intended to integrate diverse biomedical data to enable intelligent data-mining and facilitate translation of basic research into useful clinical knowledge. We present the first version of RNAO, an ontology for integrating RNA 3D structural, biochemical and sequence data. While each 3D data file depicts the structure of a specific molecule, such data have broader significance as representatives of classes of homologous molecules, which, while differing in sequence, generally share core structural features of functional importance. Thus, 3D structure data gain value by being linked to homologous sequences in genomic data and databases of sequence alignments. Likewise genomic data can increase in value by annotation of shared structural features, especially when these can be linked to specific functions. The RNAO is being developed in line with the developing standards of the Open Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) Consortium.

Mereological relations such as part-of and its inverse has-part are fundamental to the description of the structure of living organisms. Whereas classical mereology focuses on individual entities, mereological relations in biomedical ontologies are generally asserted between classes of individuals. In general, this practice leaves some basic issues unanswered: type constraints of mereological relations, e.g., concerning artifacts and biological entities, the relation between parthood and time, inferred parts and wholes as well as a delimitation of parthood against spatial inclusion. Furthermore, mereological relations can be asserted not only between physical objects but also between biological processes and medical procedures. We analyze these ambiguities and make suggestions for a standardization of mereological relations in biomedical ontologies.

Bridging levels of “granularity” and “scale” are frequently cited as key problems for biomedical informatics. However, detailed accounts of what is meant by these terms are sparse in the literature. We argue for distinguishing two notions: “size range,” which deals with physical size, and “collectivity,” which deals with aggregations of individuals into collections, which have emergent properties and effects. We further distinguish these notions from “specialisation,” “degree of detail,” “density,” and “connectivity.” We argue that the notion of “collectivity”—molecules in water, cells in tissues, people in crowds, stars in galaxies—has been neglected but is a key to representing biological notions, that it is a pervasive notion across size ranges—micro, macro, cosmological, etc.—and that it provides an account of a number of troublesome issues including the most important cases of when the biomedical notion of parthood is, or is not, best represented by a transitive relation. Although examples are taken from biomedicine, we believe these notions to have wider application.

Scale is of great importance to the analysis of real world phenomena, be they enduring objects or perduring processes. This paper presents a new perspective on the concept of scale by considering it within two complementary ontological views. The first, called SNAP, recognizes enduring entities or objects, the other, called SPAN, perduring entities or processes. Within the meta-theory provided by the complementary SNAP and SPAN ontologies, we apply different theories of formal ontology such as mereology and granular partitions, and ideas derived from hierarchy theory. These theories are applied to objects and processes and form the framework within which we present tentative definitions of scale, which are found to differ between the two ontologies.

The effectiveness of PCR inhibitor removal by silica membranes in combination with the Amplicor Mycobacterium tuberculosis kit was analyzed for 655 respiratory and nonrespiratory specimens. The overall inhibition rate was reduced from 12.5%, when applying the Amplicor kit alone, to 1.1% with the addition of silica membrane DNA purification.

In spatial reasoning the qualitative description of relations between spatial regions is of practical importance and has been widely studied. Examples of such relations are that two regions may meet only at their boundaries or that one region is a proper part of another. This paper shows how systems of relations between regions can be extended from precisely known regions to approximate ones. One way of approximating regions with respect to a partition of the plane is that provided by rough set theory for approximating subsets of a set. Relations between regions approximated in this way can be described by an extension of the RCC5 system of relations for precise regions. Two techniques for extending RCC5 are presented, and the equivalence between them is proved. A more elaborate approximation technique for regions (boundary sensitive approximation) takes account of some of the topological structure of regions. Using this technique, an extension to the RCC8 system of spatial relations is presented.

In this paper we propose a formal theory of granular partitions (ways of dividing up or sorting or mapping reality) and we show how the theory can be applied in the geospatial domain. We characterize granular partitions at two levels: as systems of cells, and in terms of their projective relation to reality. We lay down conditions of well-formedness for granular partitions, and we define what it means for partitions to project transparently onto reality in such a way as to be structure-preserving. We continue by classifying granular partitions along three axes, according to: (a) the degree to which a partition represents the mereological structure of the domain it is projected onto; (b) the degree of completeness and exhaustiveness with which a partition represents reality; and (c) the degree of redundancy in the partition structure. This classification is used to characterize three types of granular partitions that play an important role in spatial information science: cadastral partitions, categorical coverages, and the partitions involved in folk categorizations of the geospatial domain.

Integration of GIS and hydrologic models has been a common approach for monitoring our ever-changing hydrologic system. One important issue in adapting such an approach is to ensure the right correspondence of data across databases. To reach this goal, it is necessary to develop a description of the surface hydrology concepts that is internally consistent and semantically rich. In this paper, we apply the notions of endurance and perdurance to model the semantics of hydrologic processes in surface hydrology. Three hydrologic models were examined to identify concepts used in surface hydrology. The paper demonstrates the usefulness of applying the notions of endurance and perdurance to surface hydrology. The result is a set of primitive entities, aggregate entities, and relations between these entities that are necessary to cover surface hydrology concepts.