Delayed and negotiated autonomy: domestic emancipation of young Europeans

'In der Europäischen Union lebt ein signifikanter Anteil von jungen Menschen im Alter von 15 bis 29 Jahren immer noch zuhause bei ihren Eltern. Dieser Trend, die räumliche Trennung vom Elternhaus aufzuschieben, variiert von Land zu Land sowie zwischen jungen Frauen und jungen Männern. Bislang hat es zu diesem Phänomen relativ wenige Forschungen gegeben; die 'verspäteten Nesthocker' haben jedoch zunehmend die Aufmerksamkeit von Fachleuten der Familienpolitik gefunden. Denn diesen wurde bewusst, dass der Aufschub der häuslichen Emanzipation zugleich einen Aufschub der eigenen Familienbildung bedeutet. Der folgende Beitrag handelt folglich von der häuslichen Emanzipation von jungen Menschen in Europa. Er stützt sich auf die Analyse quantitativer Trends und qualitativer Interviews, die im Rahmen des EU-Projekts 'Families and Transitions in Europe' (FATE) erhoben worden sind (vgl. Bendit/ Hein 2004; Biggart et al. 2005).' (Autorenreferat)'Across the European Union, a significant proportion of young people between 15 and 29 years still live in their parental home. This trend of delaying the departure to an independent household varies from country to country and between young men and young women. Until recently, there has been comparatively little research focussing on that phenomenon, but protracted home-stayers have increasingly attracted the attention of family policy experts, since postponing household independence also means a delay of a new family formation. The following article deals with the delayed domestic emancipation of young people in Europe. It is based on the analysis of quantitative trends and qualitative interviews carried out by the EU project 'Families and Transitions in Europe'.' (author's abstract)

Aproximación al análisis cualitativo de redes sociales. Experiencias en el estudio de redes personales mediante Ego. Net. QF

El texto realiza una aproximación a la práctica de la investigación sobre redes sociales desde una perspectiva cualitativa. Dentro de este contexto destaca el uso del modelo de círculos concéntricos o tarjetas de red como principal herramienta para la visualización de las redes sociales de una persona. El presente artículo gira en torno a la aplicación e interpretación de un modelo particular de círculos concéntricos denominado Ego.Net.QF. El propósito de la discusión es analizar y reflexionar sobre los potenciales y las limitaciones de este instrumento a partir de distintas experiencias prácticas de aplicación.The contribution seeks to make an approach to the praxis of qualitative network research. Within this context, the article focuses on the application of network cards. Network cards are based on the model of concentric circles and represent the main tool to visualize the social networks of a single person. The present article pays special attention to the application and interpretation of a particular model of concentric circles called Ego.Net.QF. The purpose of the discussion is to analyze and reflect on the potentials and limitations of this instrument considering different experiences of practical application

Generation of helper virus-free adeno-associated viral vector packaging/producer cell lines based on a human suspension cell line

The emerging number of clinical trials in the gene therapy field poses the challenge to the industry to produce viral vectors in a scalable, reproducible and cost-efficient manner. To address this issue, our CAP-GT platform comprises high density, serum free suspension cell lines that enable reproducible, scalable transfection and high titer production of viral vectors. An adeno-associated virus (AAV) based vector was the first approved gene therapy product in clinical applications. Attractive features of AAV as a gene therapy vector are e.g. its lack of pathogenicity and its ability to transduce dividing and non-dividing cells. Moving away from mainly targeting ultra-rare diseases and taking more common indications into focus will need to see significant improvements concerning productivity and consistent quality of AAV vector production in order to ensure supply. For this purpose, we are developing a helper virus-free packaging cell line that can easily be turned into a producer cell line by only one additional step of cell line development. Base of this packing cell line is the generation of a cell line with stable Tet-inducible expression of Rep proteins. Extensive screening of Rep expressing single cell clones resulted in clonal cell lines which produced high AAV titers upon induction and transfection of the missing components. In a next step, the adenoviral helper functions E2A and E4orf6 are introduced, due to their toxicity also under the control of a Tet-inducible promoter. In addition, the VA RNA is encoded by the same construct. Finally, a Tet-inducible capsid function and GFP as transgene flanked by the ITRs combined on one construct will be stably integrated resulting in a proof of principle producer cell line. This approach should enable a consistent quality production of AAV vectors that abolishes the drawbacks of transient transfection concerning reproducibility, consistency and high costs for GMP-grade DNA. Process optimization in regard to process duration, feeding strategy etc. is currently ongoing for further improving the vector yields

α2C-Adrenoceptor polymorphism is associated with improved event-free survival in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy

Aims The sympathetic nervous system plays a central role in cardiac growth but its overstimulation is associated with increased mortality in patients with chronic heart failure. Pre-synaptic α2-adrenoceptors are essential feedback regulators to control the release of norepinephrine from sympathetic nerves. In this study we tested whether a deletion polymorphism in the human α2C-adrenoceptor gene (α2CDel322-325) affects progression of heart failure in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Methods and results We genotyped and phenotyped 345 patients presenting with DCM in the heart transplant unit of the German Heart Institute, starting in 1994. Patients were treated according to guidelines (99% ACEI, 76% β-blockers) and were followed until December 2002 or until a first event [death, heart transplantation, or implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) for a life-threatening condition] occurred. Mean follow-up time was 249 weeks (4.9 years) in event-free patients and 104 weeks (2 years) in patients with events. During follow-up, 51% of the patients exhibited an event: death (18%), implantation of LVAD as bridging for transplantation (7%), or heart transplantation (25%). By Kaplan-Meier analysis, DCM patients with the deletion variant Del322-325 in the α2C-adrenoceptor showed significantly decreased event rates (P=0.0043). Cox regression analysis revealed that the presence of the deletion was associated with reduced death rate (relative risk: 0.129, 95% CI: 0.18-0.9441, P=0.044) and event rates (relative risk: 0.167, 95% CI: 0.041-0.685, P=0.012). Conclusion α2C-Adrenoceptor deletion may be a novel, strong, and independent predictor of reduced event rates in DCM patients treated according to guideline

Neural responses to ingroup and outgroup members' suffering predict individual differences in costly helping

Little is known about the neurobiological mechanisms underlying prosocial decisions and how they are modulated by social factors such as perceived group membership. The present study investigates the neural processes preceding the willingness to engage in costly helping toward ingroup and outgroup members. Soccer fans witnessed a fan of their favorite team (ingroup member) or of a rival team (outgroup member) experience pain. They were subsequently able to choose to help the other by enduring physical pain themselves to reduce the other's pain. Helping the ingroup member was best predicted by anterior insula activation when seeing him suffer and by associated self-reports of empathic concern. In contrast, not helping the outgroup member was best predicted by nucleus accumbens activation and the degree of negative evaluation of the other. We conclude that empathy-related insula activation can motivate costly helping, whereas an antagonistic signal in nucleus accumbens reduces the propensity to help

Recruitment and Baseline Characteristics of Participants in the AgeWell.de Study: A Pragmatic Cluster-Randomized Controlled Lifestyle Trial against Cognitive Decline

Targeting dementia prevention, first trials addressing multiple modifiable risk factors showed promising results in at-risk populations. In Germany, AgeWell.de is the first large-scale initiative investigating the effectiveness of a multi-component lifestyle intervention against cognitive decline. We aimed to investigate the recruitment process and baseline characteristics of the AgeWell.de participants to gain an understanding of the at-risk population and who engages in the intervention. General practitioners across five study sites recruited participants (aged 60-77 years, Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Incidence of Dementia/CAIDE dementia risk score ≥ 9). Structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with eligible participants, including neuropsychological assessments. We analyzed group differences between (1) eligible vs. non-eligible participants, (2) participants vs. non-participants, and (3) between intervention groups. Of 1176 eligible participants, 146 (12.5%) dropped out before baseline; the study population was thus 1030 individuals. Non-participants did not differ from participants in key sociodemographic factors and dementia risk. Study participants were M = 69.0 (SD = 4.9) years old, and 52.1% were women. The average Montreal Cognitive Assessment/MoCA score was 24.5 (SD = 3.1), indicating a rather mildly cognitively impaired study population; however, 39.4% scored ≥ 26, thus being cognitively unimpaired. The bandwidth of cognitive states bears the interesting potential for differential trial outcome analyses. However, trial conduction is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring adjustments to the study protocol with yet unclear methodological consequences