Individualisation and fertility

"In this paper, the authors discuss individualization theory as a parsimonious framework concept to describe and explain core points of fertility change in Western societies since the end of the 19th century. They emphasize two dimensions of individualization: firstly, the increase in status of the individual in cultural, social, economic and legal respects (human dignity); secondly, the increase in autonomy and freedom of choice. In contrast to other approaches based on individualization theory, the authors do not use the concept of self-realization in the sense of an increased orientation towards purely individual interests, not least because this concept has failed before the renewed rise in fertility that has recently been observed in some advanced societies. They discuss the relevance of these two dimensions of individualization in the context of the first transition and the 1960s with its declining fertility rates. Whereas the first demographic transition can be mainly explained by the rising status of children, which increased the costs of parenting and thus changed the interests of (potential) parents to have children, the transition in the 1960s resulted mainly from the rising status of women in education and the labor market. An important but hitherto neglected change was the increasing divorce rates, as the possibility to dissolve a marriage devalued the traditional gender contract of the breadwinner/ housewife model and decreased the willingness of women and men to invest in marriage and children. The contrast between the recently growing fertility rates in Sweden, France and the US with the continuously low fertility in the German-speaking countries can partly be seen as a result of different divorce regimes. Whereas the first group of countries has limited the entitlement to spousal support through alimonies, the second group has institutionalized extensive entitlements for mothers." (author's abstract

Dexpanthenol in Wound Healing after Medical and Cosmetic Interventions (Postprocedure Wound Healing)

With the availability of new technologies, the number of subjects undergoing medical and cosmetic interventions is increasing. Many procedures (e.g., ablative fractional laser treatment) resulting in superficial/minor wounds require appropriate aftercare to prevent complications in wound healing and poor cosmetic outcome. We review the published evidence of the usefulness of topical dexpanthenol in postprocedure wound healing and the associated mechanisms of action at the molecular level. A search in the PubMed and Embase databases was performed to query the terms dexpanthenol, panthenol, superficial wound, minor wound, wound healing, skin repair, and postprocedure. Search results were categorized as clinical trials and in vitro studies. In vitro and clinical studies provided evidence that topically applied dexpanthenol promotes superficial and postprocedure wound healing. Latest findings confirmed that dexpanthenol upregulates genes that are critical for the healing process. The gene expression data are of clinical relevance as evidenced by prospective clinical studies indicating that topical dexpanthenol accelerates wound healing with rapid re-epithelialization and restoration of skin barrier function following skin injury. It can therefore be inferred that topical dexpanthenol represents an appropriate and state-of-the-art treatment option for superficial postprocedure wounds, especially when applied early after the superficial skin damage

Marginal zone B cells emerge as a critical component of pregnancy well-being

The success of eutherian mammal evolution was certainly supported by the ability of the already existing immune system to adapt to the presence of the semi-allogeneic fetus without losing the capability to defend the mother against infections. This required the acquisition of highly regulated and coordinated immunological mechanisms. Failures in the development of these strategies not only lead to the interruption of pregnancy but also compromise maternal health. Alongside changes on the cytokine profile - expansion of tolerogenic dendritic and regulatory T cells - a profound adaptation of the B cell compartment during pregnancy was recently described. Among others, the suppression of B cell lymphopoiesis and B cell lymphopenia were proposed to be protective mechanisms tending to reduce the occurrence of autoreactive B cells that might recognize fetal structures and put pregnancy on risk. On the other hand, expansion of the pre-activated marginal zone (MZ) B cell phenotype was described as a compensatory strategy launched to overcome B cell lymphopenia thus ensuring a proper defense. In this work, using an animal model of pregnancy disturbances, we demonstrated that the suppression of B cell lymphopoiesis as well as splenic B cell lymphopenia occur independently of pregnancy outcome. However, only animals undergoing normal pregnancies, but not those suffering from pregnancy disturbances, could induce an expansion and activation of the MZ B cells. Hence, our results clearly show that MZ B cells, probably due to the production of natural protective antibodies, participate in the fine balance of immune activation required for pregnancy well-being.Fil: Muzzio, Damián Oscar. University of Greifswald; AlemaniaFil: Ziegler, Katharina B.. University of Greifswald; AlemaniaFil: Ehrhardt, Jens. University of Greifswald; AlemaniaFil: Zygmunt, Marek. University of Greifswald; AlemaniaFil: Jensen, Cristian Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos; Argentina. University of Greifswald; Alemania. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche; Argentin

Mechanical and Metabolic Injury to the Skin Barrier Leads to Increased Expression of Murine β-Defensin-1, -3, and -14

Protection of the skin against microbiological infection is provided by the permeability barrier and by antimicrobial proteins. We asked whether the expression of murine β-defensins (mBDs)-1, -3, and -14—orthologs of human β-defensins hBD-1, -2, and -3, respectively—is stimulated by mechanically/physicochemically (tape stripping or acetone treatment) or metabolically (essential fatty acid–deficient (EFAD) diet) induced skin barrier dysfunction. Both methods led to a moderate induction of mBD-1 and mBD-14 and a pronounced induction of mBD-3 mRNA. Protein expression of the mBDs was increased as shown by immunohistology and by western blotting. Artificial barrier repair by occlusion significantly reduced the increased expression of mBD-14 after mechanical injury and of all three mBDs in EFAD mice, supporting an interrelationship between permeability and the antimicrobial barrier. mBD-3 expression was stimulated in vitro by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and a neutralizing anti-TNF-α antibody significantly reduced increased mBD-3 expression after barrier injury in mouse skin, indicating that induction of mBD-3 expression is mediated by cytokines. The expression of mBD-14 was stimulated by transforming growth factor-α and not by TNF-α. In summary, we demonstrated upregulation of mBD1, -3, and -14 after mechanically and metabolically induced skin barrier disruption, which may be an attempt to increase defense in the case of permeability barrier dysfunction

Determination of the mixing ratio of a flowing gas mixture with self-actuated microcantilevers

Microcantilevers offer a wide range of applications in sensor and measurement technology. In this work cantilever sensors are used as flow sensors. Most conventional flow sensors are often only calibrated for one type of gas and allow an analysis of gas mixtures only with increased effort. The sensor used here is a cantilever positioned vertically in the flow channel. It is possible to operate the sensor in dynamic and static mode. In the dynamic mode the cantilever is oscillating. Resonance frequency, resonance amplitude and phase are measured. In static mode, the bending of the cantilever is registered. The combination of the modes enables the different measured variables to be determined simultaneously. A flow influences the movement behaviour of the sensor, which allows the flow velocity to be deduced. In addition to determining the flow velocity, it is also possible to detect different types of gas. Each medium has certain properties (density and viscosity) which have different effects on the bending of the sensor. As a result, it is possible to measure the mixing ratio of a known binary gas mixture and their flow velocity simultaneously with a single sensor. In this paper this is investigated using the example of the air–carbon-dioxide mixture

GivEn -- Shape Optimization for Gas Turbines in Volatile Energy Networks

This paper describes the project GivEn that develops a novel multicriteria optimization process for gas turbine blades and vanes using modern "adjoint" shape optimization algorithms. Given the many start and shut-down processes of gas power plants in volatile energy grids, besides optimizing gas turbine geometries for efficiency, the durability understood as minimization of the probability of failure is a design objective of increasing importance. We also describe the underlying coupling structure of the multiphysical simulations and use modern, gradient based multicriteria optimization procedures to enhance the exploration of Pareto-optimal solutions

Simulation of SVPWM Based Multivariable Control Method for a DFIG Wind Energy System

This paper deals with a variable speed device toproduce electrical energy on a power network based on adoubly-fed induction machine used in generating mode(DFIG) in wind energy system by using SVPWM powertransfer matrix. This paper presents a modeling and controlapproach which uses instantaneous real and reactive powerinstead of dq components of currents in a vector controlscheme. The main features of the proposed model comparedto conventional models in the dq frame of reference arerobustness and simplicity of realization. The sequential loopclosing technique is adopted to design a multivariable controlsystem including six compensators for a DFIG wind energysystem to capture the maximum wind power and to inject therequired reactive power to the generator. In this paperSVPWM method is used for better controlling of converters.It also provides fault ride through method to protect theconverter during a fault. The time-domain simulation of thestudy system is presented by using MATLAB Simulink to testthe system robustness, to validate the proposed model and toshow the enhanced tracking capability

Ehrenamt: Formen, Dauer und kulturelle Grundlagen des Engagements

Ehrenamtliches Engagement ist ein Grundpfeiler unserer Gesellschaft. Trotzdem ist bislang unbekannt, über welche Zeiträume Ehrenämter ausgeübt werden. Anhand empirischer Analysen zeigt Jens Ehrhardt, dass sich Freiwillige meist nur für kurze Zeit engagieren und dass dieses soziale Feld durch starke Fluktuationen gekennzeichnet ist. Er identifiziert fünf Grundformen des Engagements mit unterschiedlichem Nutzen für die Menschen, die sie ausüben: religiös motiviertes Engagement, statusbezogene Tätigkeiten, solche in Zweckvereinen und in Gemeinschaften sowie Engagement, das auf den Erwerb von Wissen ausgerichtet ist.1 Einleitung ............................................................................7 2 Definition des Untersuchungsgegenstandes..............................................15 3 Zu einer Austauschtheorie des Ehrenamtes..............................................22 4 Zum Kontext des Engagements...........................................................84 5 Zwischenbilanz mit einem Ausblick auf die empirischen Analysen ..................... 113 6 Datenbasis: Das Sozio-ökonomische Panel (SOEP) ..................................... 117 7 Design und statistisches Verfahren.................................................. 132 8 Engagement aus der Querschnittperspektive........................................... 150 9 Engagement aus der Längsschnittperspektive ..........................................158 10 Abschließende Betrachtung: Zusammenfassung und Ausblick ........................... 222 11 Statistischer Anhang .............................................................. 229 Literatur..............................................................................253 Nachwort und Dank......................................................................27