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If a political organization is not yet established (i .e ., represented in federal or regional parliaments), it needs to go through a formal application process, led by the federal returning officer and the federal election committee, to prove the sincerity of its participation in the election and its status as a political party. As documented here the preparation process for federal elections is based purely on habits and lacks legal security and transparency. As a remedy, the author suggests multiple measures. For example, the president of the federal statistical office could be officially nominated as federal returning officer, as has been common practice without legal basis for the last 100 years. Furthermore, it is recommended to reform the proportional representation of the established political parties in the federal election committee. The number of members could be increased to include experts with interdisciplinary expertise. The undefined process for the formal application of non-established political parties ought to be improved by providing a clearly defined framework for the information and documents that are to be handed in for the application.

AbstractOzonation is a powerful technique to remove micropollutants from wastewater. As chemical oxidation of wastewater comes with the formation of varying, possibly persistent and toxic by-products, post-treatment of the ozonated effluent is routinely suggested. This study explored an enzymatic treatment of ozonation products using the laccase from Trametes versicolor. A high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-HRMS) analysis revealed that the major by-products were effectively degraded by the enzymatic post-treatment. The enzymatic removal of the by-products reduced the ecotoxicity of the ozonation effluent, as monitored by the inhibition of Aliivibrio fischeri. The ecotoxicity was more effectively reduced by enzymatic post-oxidation at pH 7 than at the activity maximum of the laccase at pH 5. A mechanistic HPLC-HRMS and UV/Vis spectroscopic analysis revealed that acidic conditions favored rapid conversion of the phenolic by-products to dead-end products in the absence of nucleophiles. In contrast, the polymerization to harmless insoluble polymers was favored at neutral conditions. Hence, coupling ozonation with laccase-catalyzed post-oxidation at neutral conditions, which are present in wastewater effluents, is suggested as a new resource-efficient method to remove persistent micropollutants while excluding the emission of potentially harmful by-products.
Graphical abstract

"Die Modernisierung der Wirtschaft wird nur erfolgreich sein, wenn die Beschäftigten und ihre Interessenvertretungen in diesen Prozess einbezogen werden. Das setzt voraus, dass die betriebliche Interessenvertretung und die Mitbestimmung als Gestaltungsprinzip den neuen Gegebenheiten angepaßt und gestärkt werden." Der Schwerpunkt des Heftes liegt deshalb auf der Reform der Betriebsverfassung. Inhaltsverzeichnis: 1. Ursula Engelen-Kefer: Mitbestimmung ist ein Standortvorteil (187-201); 2. Walther Müller-Jentsch: Mitbestimmung - Wirtschaftlicher Erfolgsfaktor oder Bürgerrecht? (202-211); 3. Wolfgang Däubler: Die Betriebsverfassung im historischen und rechtlichen Kontext (212-220); 4. Ulrike Wendeling-Schröder: Arbeitsrechtliche Aspekte der Novellierung des Betriebsverfassungsgesetzes (221-228); 5. Norbert Kluge: "Wilde Ehen"? Mitbestimmungspraxis und -bedarf in der New Economy (229-236); 6. Claus Schnabel/Joachim Wagner: Die betriebsratsfreie Zone aus ökonomischer Sicht (237-243); 7. Frank Havinghorst/Martin Jäger/Reino von Neumann-Cosel: Welchen Wert hat Mitbestimmung? Die Reform des BetrVG aus Sicht der Beratungspraxis (244-255). (IAB2)