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History is more than facts and figures, people and places, wars and politics, deaths and disasters. Stories are never fixed in stone; they continue to morph and evolve with every retelling. Author Simon Maier casts himself in the role of a hotelier who has worked in different cities around the world over the last 60 years. Wry, witty and sharp, history is told through a refreshing point of view. As the narrator chronicles key events of the 20th and 21st centuries, he provides details of the atmosphere, and recounts tales from people on the ground, along with sketches of the mood and beliefs of the time. Such details infuse the biggest and most important occasions of modern times with insight, precision and warmth. This book is a fascinating mix of fact and fiction; of what did happen and what might have happened. History is scattered with many great changes; some planned, most sudden; some shocking, others happy. We see the front view of the occasion, the announcement, the television footage, the moment in lights. We see the stage that is put before us - but what about behind the scenes? What insights can we find on the other side of history?

Intro -- Contents -- List of Tables -- List of Figures -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1: The Challenge of Metropolitan Governance in the Federal Americas -- Chapter 2: Metropolitan Governance in Canada -- Chapter 3: Metropolitan Governance in the United States -- Chapter 4: Metropolitan Governance in Brazil -- Chapter 5: Metropolitan Governance in Mexico -- Chapter 6: Argentina -- Chapter 7: Venezuela -- Chapter 8: Directions and Dynamics of Change, and the Prospects for Metropolitan Governance in the Americas -- Bibliography -- About the Contributors -- Index.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder. In an attempt to extend earlier neurochemical findings, we organized a magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) study as part of a large, government-funded, prospective, randomized, multicenter clinical trial comparing the effectiveness of specific psychotherapy with counseling and stimulant treatment with placebo treatment (Comparison of Methylphenidate and Psychotherapy Study). We report the baseline neurochemical data for the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the cerebellum in a case–control setting. For the trial, 1,480 adult patients were contacted for participation, 518 were assessed for eligibility, 433 were randomized, and 187 were potentially eligible for neuroimaging. The control group included 119 healthy volunteers. Single-voxel proton MRS was performed. In the patient group, 113 ACC and 104 cerebellar spectra fulfilled all quality criteria for inclusion in statistical calculations, as did 82 ACC and 78 cerebellar spectra in the control group. We did not find any significant neurometabolic differences between the ADHD and control group in the ACC (Wilks' lambda test: p = 0.97) or in the cerebellum (p = 0.62). Thus, we were unable to replicate earlier findings in this methodologically sophisticated study. We discuss our findings in the context of a comprehensive review of other MRS studies on ADHD and a somewhat skeptical neuropsychiatric research perspective. As in other neuropsychiatric disorders, the unclear nosological status of ADHD might be an explanation for false-negative findings.

In the course of the transformation to a greenhouse gas-neutral society in the second half of the 21st century, the use of synthetic energy carriers based on renewable electricity or biomass is under discussion. This project evaluates the environmental impacts of technical and logistical options for the generation of such energy carriers on the basis of environmental impact categories such as global warming potential, acidification or land use. The production of five products (Fischer-Tropsch fuels, methanol, synthetic natural gas, biomethane and hydrogen) was examined based on various process steps/procedures and their current and future technical data. By using regional factors for Germany, Europe, and the Mediterranean region - like the availability of renewable energy carriers such as wind or PV and of raw materials such as carbon or water as well as transport routes to Germany - these processes were combined to form supply paths for these energy carriers. Using the method of life cycle assessment, the environmental effects were analysed for today and 2050. In addition, the costs for plant construction and operation were estimated. The results show that synthetic energy carriers generally have a significantly lower global warming potential than today's fossil reference products due to the use of renewable energies. However, the production of electricity generation plants and associated economic processes - such as steel and cement production - can still make a relevant contribution to the global warming potential if they are not also greenhouse neutral. At the same time, it is this production of the necessary plants that leads to (sometimes significantly) increased burdens compared with the fossil reference in almost all other impact categories, most notably in terms of water and land use. This study therefore also provides indications of which environmental impacts must be further reduced in the future.