[Instruments of management accounting in german hospitals - potentials for competitive advantage and status quo]. / Der Einsatz von Controllinginstrumenten in Krankenhäusern - Erfolgspotenziale und Status quo.

AIM: The aim of this study is to provide an analysis of the status quo for the usage of instruments of management accounting in German hospitals. METHODS: 600 managing directors of German hospitals were asked to answer a questionnaire about the usage of management accounting instruments in their hospitals. We obtained 121 usable datasets, which are evaluated in this study. RESULTS: A significant increase in the usage of management accounting instruments can be observed over time. The respondents have an overall positive perception of the usage of these instruments. Cost accounting and information systems are among the most widely used instruments, while widely discussed concepts like the balanced scorecard or clinical pathways show surprisingly low usage rates.

Mutational analysis of two PWW sequence motifs in human aminoacylase 1.

Human and porcine aminoacylase 1 (Acy1) contain two peculiar sequence motifs located near the interface between the two major domains of the Acy1 subunit. Each motif consists of the sequence PWW preceded by four strongly polar residues. In order to examine the significance of these sequences for Acy1 stability and/or catalysis, we used site-directed mutagenesis of human Acy1 to replace the tryptophan residues in either motif with alanines. Both mutants showed unchanged zinc binding and normal substrate affinity. Modification in PWW motif 1 (residues 192 -194) and motif 2 (residues 321 - 323) resulted in markedly reduced specific activity in the first case and diminished stability in either mutant. Fluorescence quenching measurements showed that all four tryptophans of the PWW motifs are solvent-accessible. We conclude that PWW motif 1 maintains the native conformation of the active site by creating the proper spatial relationship between dimerization domains and catalytic domains, while motif PWW2 is necessary for the stability of the catalytic domain.