Dr. Brill + Dr. Steinmann (Germany)

Abstract This study examines empirically how a company’s corporate tax strategy (CTS) impacts its recruitment success. Applying a factorial survey experiment, we show that applicants (i.) regard companies that evade or aggressively avoid taxation as significantly less desirable employers and (ii.) are significantly less likely to accept a job offer from employers who employ such strategies. Our analysis indicates that the fairness of the corporate tax system, applicants’ tax morale and their personal attitude toward tax avoidance moderate the main effect of a CTS on recruitment success. These findings suggest that a company’s CTS serves as a signal to applicants, who anticipate the potential impact of a company’s CTS on their self-concept when considering that company as a possible employer. Our results are highly relevant to researchers and practitioners who need to assess the non-tax costs that the recruitment process carries as a result of specific CTSs and shed light on how applicants make judgments about potential employers.

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C’est dans le contexte d’une réflexion autour de la coproduction de la culture populaire judéo-musulmane du nord de l’Afrique que j’ai entamé une étude d’anthropologie culturelle nommée « Zouj » (deux ou paire en arabe maghrébin ou darija) en parcourant cent ans de culture populaire et humoristique et en suivant des « paires » d’acteurs, de chanteurs et de spécialistes du stand-up juifs et musulmans et judéo-musulmans du Maghreb ou originaires du Maghreb. L’article brosse un tableau de trois couples/duos/tandems (zouj) suivant un plan chronologique, avec des exemples extraits d’entretiens, de spectacles, d’enregistrements, de lectures et de diffusions visuelles, tout en privilégiant une réflexion autour des représentations de genre, de l’altérité, du trans-localisme maghrébin et des recompositions historiques de la théâtralité humoristique. Il s’agit d’une méthodologie de l’anthropologie socio-culturelle (dont celle de feu Hadj Miliani, à qui cet article est dédié, qui fut un des précurseurs en Algérie) qui se soucie d’un procédé qui relève tantôt d’ « une ébauche d’archéologie », tantôt d’ « un essai de généalogie » ancré dans les systèmes symboliques des dires, des pratiques, et des créations populaires.

“Easy to learn” is the title of a Tibetan-Mongolian dictionary composed by Гomboǰab (Cl. Mo. mGonbo skyabs) et al. in 1737 for the purpose of teaching the Tibetan language to Mongols. Through a comparative analysis of its macro- and microstructures with related dictionaries, this paper finds that this dictionary was composed based on a Sanskrit and Tibetan lexicography, describes its distinctive lexicographic methodology, and illustrates how this source represents the Mongolian and Tibetan lexicographic relationships.

Abstract Background Long-term use of indwelling urethral catheters is associated with high risk of urinary tract infection (UTI) and blockage. Microbial biofilms are a common cause of catheter blockage, reduce their lifetime and significantly increase morbidity of UTIs. A 0.02% polyhexanide irrigation solution developed for routine mechanical rinsing shows potential for bacterial decolonization of suprapubic and indwelling urethral catheters and has the potential to reduce or prevent biofilm formation. Methods Using a practice-like in vitro assay and standard silicon catheters, artificially contaminated with clinically relevant bacteria, assays were carried out to evaluate the biofilm reduction and prevention potential of polyhexanide vs. no intervention (standard approach) and irrigation with saline solution (NaCl 0.9%). The biofilm mass was measured by crystal violet staining and fluorescence microscopy. Results Irrigation with a 0.02% polyhexanide solution reduced the biofilm mass by approx. 85% vs. non-treated catheters. Standard 0.9% saline solution was able to reduce the biofilm mass by approx. 50%. Fluorescence microscopy showed that polyhexanide is able to destroy bacteria in the biofilm, albeit only those cells on the upper layers. Conclusions The polyhexanide and standard saline solutions are able to reduce bacterial biofilm from urinary catheters, showing a combination of mechanical and antibacterial effects. The data supports a prevention strategy to avoid the formation of a thick biofilm, which is characteristically difficult to be efficiently removed. Further research is required to evaluate the long-term tolerability and efficacy of polyhexanide in clinical practice.

The Arctic ecosystem, a reservoir of genetic microbial diversity, represents a virtually unlimited source of microorganisms that could interact with human beings. Despite continuous exploration of Arctic habitats and description of their microbial communities, bacterial phenotypes commonly associated with pathogenicity, such as hemolytic activity, have rarely been reported. In this study, samples of snow, fresh and marine water, soil, and sediment from several habitats in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard were collected during Summer, 2017. Bacterial isolates were obtained after incubation on oligotrophic media at different temperatures and their hemolytic potential was assessed on sheep blood agar plates. Partial (α) or true (β) hemolysis was observed in 32 out of 78 bacterial species. Genes expressing cytolytic compounds, such as hemolysins, likely increase the general fitness of the producing microorganisms and confer a competitive advantage over the availability of nutrients in natural habitats. In environmental species, the nutrient-acquisition function of these compounds presumably precedes their function as toxins for mammalian erythrocytes. However, in the light of global warming, the presence of hemolytic bacteria in Arctic environments highlights the possible risks associated with these microorganisms in the event of habitat melting/destruction, ecosystem transition, and re-colonization.

BackgroundThe use of disinfectant wipes in hospitals is increasing over the last years. These wipes should be able to inactivate microorganisms including viruses on environmental surfaces and to prevent their transfer to clean areas.The European norm (EN) 16615:2015 describes a wiping process over four fields starting on the contaminated field 1 followed by fields 2–4 and back to the starting point (4-field test). This test method exclusively describes killing and transfer of vegetative bacteria and fungi by disinfectant wipes without measuring virucidal activities. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to use the existing test methodology additionally to evaluate virus inactivation by wipes.MethodsThe 4-field test was performed with four commercially available disinfectant wipes including the examination of the active solutions of these wipes with a reference wipe. Murine norovirus (MNV) as surrogate of human noroviruses, adenovirus (AdV) type 5 and polyomavirus SV40 (SV40) were chosen as test viruses.ResultsThe per acetic acid (PAA)-based wipe (wipe A) was able to inactivate all three test viruses resulting in a four log10 reduction on test field 1, whereas the quaternary ammonium compound (QAC)-based products (wipes B and C) failed to reach such reduction. Both QAC-based wipes were able to inactivate SV40 and only the active solution of wipe B was effective against MNV. Another wipe with 2-propanol as active ingredient (wipe D) was not able to show a sufficient efficacy against all three test viruses. There was a good agreement between the results of the wipes and the corresponding fluids showing no influence of the material of wipes.Tests with the 2-propanol-based wipe D showed a transfer of all test viruses to the non-contaminated test fields 2–4. SV40 was additionally transferred by the QAC-based wipe C with 0.78% active ingredients to these additional fields. In all other cases no virus transfer to test fields 2–4 was observed. Finally, no virus could be detected in the PAA-based wipe A after usage in the 4-field test in contrast to the other wipes examined.ConclusionsThe successful performance of a 4-field test with viruses demonstrated that the existing wiping method with bacteria and fungi can be used in addition for measuring virucidal efficacy. The virus-inactivating properties of surface disinfectants could be evaluated therefore with a test simulating practical conditions with mechanical action resulting in more reliable data than the existing quantitative suspension tests and/or a carrier test without any mechanical action.