The transmission of inequality across multiple generations: testing recent theories with evidence from Germany

This article shows that across multiple generations, the persistence of occupational and educational attainment in Germany is larger than estimates from two generations suggest. We consider two recent interpretations. First, we assess Gregory Clark's hypotheses that the true rate of intergenerational persistence is higher than the observed rate, as high as 0.75, and time-invariant. Our evidence supports the first but not the other two hypotheses. Second, we test for independent effects of grandparents. We show that the coefficient on grandparent status is positive in a wide class of Markovian models and present evidence against its causal interpretation.Jan Stuhler gratefully acknowledges support from the Ministerio Economía y Competitividad (Spain, MDM 2014-0431 and ECO2014-55858-P) and Comunidad de Madrid (MadEco-CM S2015/HUM-3444)

Territoriality, Border Controls and the Mobility of Persons in a Globalised World

Der vorliegende Artikel beschäftigt sich mit dem Zusammenhang von Territorialgrenzen, Personenkontrollen und Staatlichkeit. Im Zentrum der Betrachtung stehen der Wandel des Nationalstaates alter Prägung sowie die Veränderung der staatlichen Grenz- und Personenkontrolle unter den Bedingungen der Globalisierung. Unter Globalisierung wird üblicherweise die Zunahme grenzüberschreitender Transaktionen und die Abschwächung der Kontrollfähigkeit des Staates für ein ganzes Spektrum von Faktoren und Ressourcen verstanden. Diese Behauptung wird für den Bereich der Personenmobilität auf Basis einer Sekundäranalyse empirischer Studien überprüft, wobei zugleich hinterfragt wird, ob eine Zunahme an Grenzüberschreitungen mit einer Abnahme staatlicher Kontrolle gleichgesetzt werden kann. In der Debatte zur Globalisierung stehen Thesen zur abnehmenden Kontrollkapazität des Staates und zum Bedeutungsverlust von Grenzen konträren Thesen über eine anhaltend wichtige Rolle nationalstaatlicher Grenzen und Grenzkontrollen gegenüber. In Abgrenzung dazu deuten unsere gesammelten Hinweise darauf hin, dass diese allgemeinen Thesen zu kurz greifen, um die Breite der Entwicklungen zu beschreiben. Die Reaktionen des Staates auf Veränderungen im Kontext der Globalisierung scheinen den ersten Befunden nach vielfältiger zu sein als oftmals behauptet wird: Wir finden eine Gleichzeitigkeit von Öffnung und selektiver Schließung, was auf eine Ausdifferenzierung der Grenzkontrollfunktion hindeutet. Zugleich wenden Staaten sowohl Strategien zwischenstaatlicher Kooperation und Makroterritorialisierung von Grenzen bei gleichzeitig erhöhtem Einsatz technischer Mittel und neuer Technologien als auch integrierte Ansätze der inneren und äußeren Sicherheit an. Ein allgemeiner Kontrollverlust des Staates kann auf der Basis unserer Erkenntnisse nicht ausgemacht werden, vielmehr zeigt sich eine Veränderung der Formen und Inhalte staatlicher Grenzregime

Change impact and risk analysis (CIRA) : combining the CPM/PDD theory and FMEA-methodology for an improved engineering change management

The change process is one of the most critical tasks of the product development process. Misinterpretation or lack of knowledge about impacts or risks of changes can cause serious disadvantages to companies, e.g. high failure or change costs or image losses caused by products with a quality that is unacceptable. Supervising the change process is a challenging task; an important part of this task is the analysis and assessment of risks and impacts of changes. This contribution presents an approach to support the process of analysing and assessing the effects of changes in the product development process. The approach is based on two methods: First on the CPM/PDD theory developed at the Institute of Engineering Design/CAD in order to synthesise potential solutions to change requests and to ana-lyse their impacts; second on the common Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)-method in order to assess the risks and impacts of changes and to document the analysis

Comparison of knowledge representation in PDM and by semantic networks

\u27Nowadays, computer-aided tools have enabled the creation of electronic design documents on an unprecedented scale, while determining and finding what can be reused for a new design is like searching for a \u27needle in a haystack\u27. (…) The availability of such extensive knowledge resources is creating new challenges as well as opportunities for research on how to retrieve and reuse the knowl-edge from existing designs.\u27 [1] If the requested knowledge is implicit (which means that it is only in the minds of the employees of a company) the retrieval and reuse of knowledge is even more com-plicated. By representing the (engineering) data backbone of a company, PDM systems are the software implementation which should support the designer to retrieve information about existing and successful design projects. This paper shows that the known data classification approaches of common PDM systems are not applicable to represent implicit (tacit) knowledge. Furthermore a new approach to knowledge representation is introduced by using Semantic Networks. The feasibility of the presented work is shown by a use-case scenario in which the conventional PDM system supported product development process is compared with the proposed way by using the soft-ware \u27The Semaril\u27 — a software tool developed at the Institute of Engineering Design/CAD based on Semantic Networks [2]

An integrative clinical database and diagnostics platform for biomarker identification and analysis in ion mobility spectra of human exhaled air

Over the last decade the evaluation of odors and vapors in human breath has gained more and more attention, particularly in the diagnostics of pulmonary diseases. Ion mobility spectrometry coupled with multi-capillary columns (MCC/IMS), is a well known technology for detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air. It is a comparatively inexpensive, non-invasive, high-throughput method, which is able to handle the moisture that comes with human exhaled air, and allows for characterizing of VOCs in very low concentrations. To identify discriminating compounds as biomarkers, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the detailed composition of human breath. Therefore, in addition to the clinical studies, there is a need for a flexible and comprehensive centralized data repository, which is capable of gathering all kinds of related information. Moreover, there is a demand for automated data integration and semi-automated data analysis, in particular with regard to the rapid data accumulation, emerging from the high-throughput nature of the MCC/IMS technology. Here, we present a comprehensive database application and analysis platform, which combines metabolic maps with heterogeneous biomedical data in a well-structured manner. The design of the database is based on a hybrid of the entity-attribute-value (EAV) model and the EAV-CR, which incorporates the concepts of classes and relationships. Additionally it offers an intuitive user interface that provides easy and quick access to the platform's functionality: automated data integration and integrity validation, versioning and roll-back strategy, data retrieval as well as semi-automatic data mining and machine learning capabilities. The platform will support MCC/IMS-based biomarker identification and validation. The software, schemata, data sets and further information is publicly available at \urlhttp://imsdb.mpi-inf.mpg.de

On the Nature of the Debye-Process in Monohydroxy Alcohols: 5-Methyl-2-Hexanol Investigated by Depolarized Light Scattering and Dielectric Spectroscopy

The slow Debye-like relaxation in the dielectric spectra of monohydroxy alcohols is a matter of long standing debate. In the present work, we probe reorientational dynamics of 5-methyl-2-hexanol with dielectric spectroscopy and depolarized light scattering (DDLS) in the supercooled regime. While in a previous study of a primary alcohol no indication of the Debye peak in the DDLS spectra was found, we now for the first time report clear evidence of a Debye contribution in a monoalcohol in DDLS. A quantitative comparison between the dielectric and DDLS manifestation of the Debye peak reveals that while the dielectric Debye process represents fluctuations in the end-to-end vector dipole moment of the transient chains, its occurrence in DDLS shows a more local signature and is related to residual correlations which occur due to a slight anisotropy of the $\alpha$-relaxation caused by the chain formation.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures; accepted in Phys. Rev. Let

Accept Me as I Am or See Me Go: A Qualitative Analysis of User Acceptance of Self-Sovereign Identity Applications

Self-sovereign identity represents a novel phenomenon aiming to innovate how entities interact with, manage, and prove identity-related information. As with any emerging phenomenon, user acceptance represents a major challenge for the adoption of Self-sovereign identity. Since previous initiatives for digital identity management solutions have not been successfully adopted while at the same time their benefits are largely driven by network effects, user acceptance research is of particular importance for Self-sovereign identity. Therefore, we investigate the user acceptance of Self-sovereign identity by conducting a qualitative interview study. We contribute novel variables to existing theory and offer guidelines for building Self-sovereign identity systems

The Influence of Molecular Architecture on the Dynamics of H-Bonded Supramolecular Structures in Phenyl-Propanols

The relaxation behaviour of monohydroxy alcohols (monoalcohols) in broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) is usually dominated by the Debye process. This process is regarded as a signature of the dynamics of transient supramolecular structures formed by H-bonding. In phenyl propanols the steric hindrance of the phenyl ring is assumed to influence chain formation and thereby to decrease or even suppress the intensity of the Debye process. In the present paper we study this effect in a systematic series of structural isomers of phenyl-1-propanol in comparison with 1-propanol. It turns out that by combining BDS, Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (PCS) and calorimetry the dynamics of supramolecular structures can be uncovered. While light scattering spectra show the same spectral shape of the main relaxation for all investigated monoalcohols, the dielectric spectra differ in the Debye contribution. Thus it becomes possible for the first time to unambiguously disentangle both relaxation modes in the dielectric spectra. It turns out that the Debye relaxation gets weaker the closer the position of phenyl ring is to the hydroxy group, in accordance with the analysis of the Kirkwood-Fr\"ohlich correlation factor. Even in 1-phenyl-1-propanol, which has the phenyl group attached at the closest position to the hydroxy group, we can separate a Debye-contribution in the dielectric spectrum. From this we conclude that hydrogen bonds are not generally suppressed by the increased steric hindrance of the phenyl ring, but rather an equilibrium of ring and chain-like structures is shifted towards ring-like shapes on shifting the phenyl ring closer to the hydroxy group. Moreover, the shape of the alpha-relaxation as monitored by PCS and BDS remains unaffected by the degree of hydrogen bonding and is the same among the investigated alcohols.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Challenging futures of biodiversity offsets and banking : Critical issues for robust forms of biodiversity conservation

The underlying project “Innovation in Governance” (Grant No. 01UU0906) from which this publication derives is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany.The interactive and anticipatory assessment exercise on which this report is based was part of a broader research project that focused on the innovation dynamics of governance instruments in the areas of environmental markets, public participation methods and sustainability transition management. By circulating these workshop results, we seek to contribute to a debate on biodiversity offsets and banking design with regard to constituting political reality in biodiversity conservation models.BMBF, 01UU0906, Innovation in Governanc

Rekanalisierungsrate von Basilariskopfaneurysmen nach endovaskulärem Coiling mit und ohne Stent : eine retrospektive Datenerhebung an 52 Patienten

Einleitung Seit die Ergebnisse der großen, multizentrischen Studien über die Therapieentscheidungen einer operativen oder endovaskulären Behandlung vorliegen, werden Gehirnaneurysmen vorwiegend neuroradiologisch behandelt. Zwar konnte auch nach zehnjähriger Nachuntersuchung der International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial eine erhöhte Reblutungsrate in der endovaskulären Gruppe festgestellt werden, doch war die Wahrscheinlichkeit nach einem neurochirurgischen Eingriff auf Hilfe angewiesen zu sein signifikant erhöht (1. Molyneux AJ, et. al., 2014). In der vorliegenden retrospektiven Arbeit wurden über den Zeitraum von bis zu 5 Jahren Patienten untersucht, die sich einer endovaskulären Intervention aneurysmatischer Gefäßveränderungen des Basilariskopfes unterzogen haben. Besonders bei Aneurysmen deren chirurgischer Zugang als risikoreich und komplikationsanfällig gilt, versucht man neue endovaskuläre Behandlungstechniken zu etablieren und auf ihren Verlauf hin zu untersuchen. Entzogen sich früher die breitbasigen, komplex konfigurierten oder riesigen Aneurysmen der endovaskulären Therapie, entwickelte man sukzessive Techniken, auch solche Gefäße zu behandeln. Die erste Gruppe der vorliegenden Studie unterzog sich einem Coiling (n=34), die Aneurysmen der zweiten Gruppe wurden zusätzlich unter Zuhilfenahme eines Stentes (n=18) embolisiert. Dabei stellten wir uns die Fragen ob das neuroradiologische Prozedere wesentlich techniksensitiver ist, inwieweit Okklusions – und Rekanalisierungsraten verändert sind und ob das Stent–gestützte Coiling mit einer erhöhten Reeingriffsrate verbunden ist. Patienten und Methode In einem Zeitraum von 2008–2012 wurden an der Klinik für diagnostische und interventionelle Neuroradiologie der Universitätskliniken des Saarlandes zweiundfünfzig Patienten an Aneurysmen der A. basilaris endovaskulär behandelt. 76,9% der Patienten waren weiblichen und 23,1% männlichen Geschlechtes. Das Durchschnittsalter der Patienten zum Zeitpunkt des Ersteingriffes betrug 57,65 Jahre. 5 der behandelten Patienten waren unter 40 Jahren, 39 Patienten zwischen 41 und 69 Jahren und 9 älter als 70 Jahre. Der jüngste Patient war 23, der älteste 86. 9 Aneurysmen waren 2–6mm, 34 6–15mm, 8 15–25mm und 1 größer als 25mm. Die durchschnittliche Aneurysmagröße lag bei 9mm. 13 Aneurysmen waren zum Zeitpunkt des Ersteingriffes symptomatisch, 39 asymptomatisch. 34 Basilarisaneurysmen wurden gecoilt, 18 wurden zusätzlich mit einem Stent versorgt. Anhand der Raymond–Klassifikation wurden die Okklusionraten der Aneurysmen sämtlicher zur Verfügung stehender Angiografiedaten eingeteilt. Das Aneurysmavolumen wurde bestimmt, mit Hilfe der Interventionsbögen Fabrikat und Größe der verwandten Coils registriert und die Packungsdichte berechnet. Das durchschnittliche Aneurysmavolumen betrug 750,16mm3, die Packungsdichte lag bei 29,15%. Insofern verfügbar wurden die behandelten Aneurysmen bis zu fünf Jahren nachuntersucht und im Hinblick auf periprozedurale Komplikationen, Rekanalisierungs– und Re-Eingriffsrate untersucht und verglichen. Ergebnisse Die initialen Okklusionsraten lagen in der Coiling–Gruppe bei 76,5% (Klasse I), 14,7% (Klasse II) und bei 8,8% (Klasse III). In der Stent–Gruppe konnten Okklusionsraten von 83,3%, 16,7% und 0% erreicht werden. Innerhalb des ersten Jahres konnten noch 26 (76,5%) gecoilte Aneurysmen nachuntersucht werden. Die Verschlussraten betrugen 52%, 33% und 15%. Die reperfundierten Aneurysmen der Klasse III und eines der Klasse II wurden nachbehandelt (14,7%) und kamen im Anschluss komplett verschlossen zur Darstellung. Jeder der Patienten hatte im Vorhinein eine Subarachnoidalblutung, weshalb die initiale Intervention zunächst der Ausschaltung der Blutung diente. In zwei Fällen bestand nach der ersten Intervention eine inkomplette Okklusion. 14 der Stent–gestützt behandelten Aneurysmen wurden im ersten Jahr nachuntersucht. Die Okklusion betrug 58%, 28% und 14%. Ein Re-Eingriff ereignete sich in 16,6% an zuvor symptomatischen Aneurysmen. Zwei waren zudem primär Klasse II verschlossen. In der zweiten Nachuntersuchung betrug die Verschlussrate in der Coiling–Gruppe 80%, 20% und 0% und in der Stent–Gruppe 71,5%, 28,5% und 0%. In den bis zu fünf Jahren nachuntersuchten Aneurysmen der Coiling–Gruppe ist noch eine Verschlussrate in Höhe von 71,5%, 28,5% und 0% registriert worden. Der Grund für die lange angiografische Nachuntersuchung liegt in der vorangegangen Subarachnoidalblutung oder in primär nicht zufriedenstellenden Okklusionsraten und Packungsdichten. Schlussfolgerung Die Behandlung von Aneurysmen des Gehirns unter Zuhilfenahme von Stents stellt eine funktionierende, sichere Methode dar auch schwierige Konfigurationen erfolgreich zu embolisieren. Dabei stehen Arterien wie die Basilaris unter besonderem wissenschaftlichen Interesse, da ihr chirurgischer Zugang schwierig bis unmöglich und die endovaskuläre Therapie bei ungünstigen Konfigurationen problembehaftet ist. Besonders inzidentelle Aneurysmen der hinteren Zirkulation in der Größe 7–12mm unterliegen laut ISUIA einer erhöhten Rupturwahrscheinlichkeit gegenüber Gefäßerweiterungen im vorderen Hirnkreislauf. (14,5% versus 2,6%) In unserer Studie stellte sich heraus, dass die initialen Okklusionsraten in der Stent – Gruppe höher, die Rekanalisierungsraten geringer und die Re-Eingriffs- und Reblutungsraten vergleichbar sind. Das neuroradiologische Prozedere ist vor allem bei Patienten deren Gefäße elongiert und geknickt sind techniksensitiver. Innerhalb dieser Studie konnte aber keine erhöhte periprozedurale Komplikationsrate im Vergleich zu der Coiling–Gruppe gefunden werden. Dennoch existieren Fälle bei denen die Aneurysmen häufig rekanalisieren, weshalb über weitere Einflussfaktoren diskutiert werden muss.Introduction Cerebral aneurysms have mostly been treated with neuroradiology ever since the results of the big, multicentre studies dealing with therapeutic decisions about operational versus intravascular treatments are known. A follow-up examination in the endovascular group, realised by the International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial after ten years, showed increased bleedings – however, the proability of needing help after a neurosurgical intervention was significantly higher. (1. Molyneux AJ, et. al., 2014) This retrospektive thesis shows a five-year-examination of patients that had undergone an endovascular intervention of basilar tip aneurysms. Scientists are trying to establish new endovascular treatment techniques and analyse their process, especially for aneurysms whose surgical accesses are seen as risky and prone to complications. In the past, broad-based, complexly configured, or giant aneurysms were impossible to treat with endovascular means. Over time, however, scientists have gradually developed techniques to treat even these vessels. Group 1 of this study was treated with coiling (n=34), the aneurysms of group 2 were additionally embolised with a stent (n=18). Thus, we tried to answer the following questions: Is a neuroradiological procedure signifcantly more technique sensitive? To what extent do the occlusion- and the recanalisation-rates change? Is coiling supported by stents connected to a higher reintervention-rate? Patients and method Between 2008 and 2012, 52 patients with aneurysms of the arteria basilaris have undergone endovascular therapy at the Clinic for Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology of the University Hospital Saarland. 76.9% of the patients were women, 23.1% were men. The average age of all patients was 57.65 years at the time of initial intervention. Five of them were younger than 40 years, 39 were between 41 and 69 years and 9 were older than 70 years. The youngest patient was 23 years of age, the oldest was 86. Nine aneurysms were 2–6mm, 34 were 6–15mm, eight were 15–25mm, and one was bigger than 25mm. The average size of the aneurysms was 9mm. 13 aneurysms were symptomatic, 39 were asymptomatic at the time of initial intervention. 34 basilar aneurysms were coiled, 18 were additionally treated with a stent. Based on the Raymond-classification, we grouped occlusation rates of the aneurysms of all available angiographic data. We determined the aneurysm volume, recorded brand and size of the coils used (by means of intervention forms), and computed packing densitiy. The average aneurysm volume amounted to 750.16mm3, packing density was at 29.15%. Wherever possible, the treated aneurysms were checked regularly for up to five years. They were examined and compared with regard to periprocedural complications, recanalisational and reinterventional rates. Results In the coiling-group, the initial occlusation rates were at 76.5% (class I), 14.7% (class II), and 8.8% (class III). In the stent-group, we were able to reach occlusation rates of 83.3%, 16.7%, and 0%. Within year one, we were able to do follow-up examinations of 26 (76.5%) of the coiled aneurysms. The closure rates amounted 52%, 33%, and 15%. We post-treated the reperfused aneurysms of class III and one of class II, which then were completely closed. Each patient had had a subarachnoid hemorrhage before treatment, which is why the initial intervention’s priority was to stop the bleeding. In two cases the occlusion was inclomplete after initial intervention. Fourteen of the aneurysms treated with a stent had a follow-up examination within the first year. Occlusation amounted to 58%, 28%, and 14%. A reintervention took place in 16.6% of formerly symptomatic aneurysms. Additionally, two of them were primarily closed class II. During the second follow-up examination the closure rate of group 1 was at 80%, 20%, and 0%, in group 2 it amounted to 71.5%, 28.5%, and 0%. In the aneurysms of group 1 examined over up to five years, we recorded closure rates of 71.5%, 28.5%, and 0%. The reasons for such a long angiographic follow-up examination were either subarachnoid hemorrhage or occlusion rates and packing densities that were not satisfying at first. Conclusion Treating aneurysms of the brain with stents is a functional, safe method to successfully embolise even difficult configurations. Here, arteries like the basilar are of special scientific interest, as a surgical access is difficult or impossible and endovascular therapy of unfavourable configurations is problematic. Especially incidental eneurysms of the anterior circulation and of 7–12mm in size have an increased probability to rupture compared with vascular dilations in the posterior cerebral circulation (14.5% versus 2.6%), according to ISUIA. Our study concluded in the initial occlusion rates of the stent-group being higher, the recanalisation rates being lower, and the reintervention- and rebleeding-rates being comparable. Especially for patients with elongated and flexed vessels, the neuroradiological procedure is more technique sensitive. However, we did not find any increased periprocedural complication rate, compared to the coiling-group. Nevertheless, there are cases in which aneurysms recanalise often, which is why further discussion is still of great importance