Spatial selectivity and demographic impact of recent German immigrants in the Swiss regions

The paper addresses the topic of determinants in German immigrants’ regional location choice and its resulting demographic impact in Switzerland, in the context of freedom of movement within the EU/EFTA countries. Our analyses relied on the statistics of the foreign resident population. They covered the period from June 2002 to December 2009. German immigrants’ characteristics were compared among the sixteen labour market regions of the country. The analyses confirmed current literature findings regarding the importance of migrant networks, regional attractiveness and geographical as well as cultural and linguistic proximity with the home country in the location choice. According to the “type of migrant” considered, these factors interacted however differently. Moreover, unemployment within Switzerland did not constitute a significant determinant of German immigration regarding their location choice. However, depending on the regional economic structure, different types of migrants were attracted, who presented varying dispositions to stay and settle down in Switzerland. Therefore, the demographic impact on the German as well as on the total population varied considerably between labour regions. The German-speaking and borderland regions accounted for up to twice as many German permanent residents in 2009 compared to 2002. Due to this increase, the regions encountered an important demographic growth. In Basel, Bern, St. Gallen or Chur, the increase of the German population was even higher than the growth of the rest of the permanent resident population. Our paper demonstrates the importance of considering different regions and types of migrants when trying to understand immigration and its impacts in a country like Switzerland. For various reasons, such as the linguistic diversity, the variety of economic structures and occupational activities as well as the regions’ positions on the center-periphery scale, analyses at the national level remain insufficient.Im Kontext der Personenfreizügigkeit mit den EU/EFTA-Staaten untersuchte diese Studie die Faktoren der regionalen Niederlassungsdisparitäten von deutschen Einwanderinnen und Einwanderern und deren Auswirkungen auf die demographische Entwicklung. Die Analysen basierten auf der Statistik der ausländischen Wohnbevölkerung und betrafen den Zeitraum von Juni 2002 bis 2009. Die sechzehn Arbeitsmarktregionen dienten als geographische Analyseeinheit. Die Studienergebnisse bestätigten die Bedeutung von Netzwerken von Migrierenden, regionaler Attraktivität und geographischer, kultureller und sprachlicher Nähe zum Herkunftsland für den Niederlassungsentscheid. Der Einfluss der einzelnen Faktoren variierte jedoch je nach „Migrantentyp“. Zudem erwies sich Arbeitslosigkeit als keine signifikante Determinante des räumlichen Niederlassungsmusters. Die regionalen wirtschaftlichen Strukturen hatten jedoch einen Einfluss auf die Zusammensetzung der eingewanderten Bevölkerung, welche unterschiedliche Vorstellungen bezüglich des Bleibehorizonts im Gastland aufwies. Folglich differierten die Auswirkungen der deutschen Eingewanderten auf die deutsche wie auch die gesamte ständige Wohnbevölkerung je nach Arbeitsmarktregion. Dabei hat sich erstere in der deutschen Schweiz und den Grenzgebieten zwischen 2002 und 2009 mehr als verdoppelt, was unter anderem zu einem Wachstum der Gesamtbevölkerung führte. In Basel, Bern, St. Gallen und Chur wuchs die deutsche Wohnbevölkerung sogar stärker als der Rest der ständigen Wohnbevölkerung. Diese Studie zeigt, dass verschiedene Regionen und Typen von Migrierenden berücksichtigt werden müssen, um die Auswirkungen von Wanderungsbewegungen auf ein Land wie die Schweiz besser zu verstehen. Aufgrund mehrerer Faktoren, wie der sprachlichen Diversität, der Vielfalt von wirtschaftlichen Strukturen und Branchen, wie auch der Zentrumsnähe einzelner Regionen, sind Analysen auf der nationalen Ebene unzureichend

Beyond p-values: Using Bayesian Data Analysis in Science Education Research

In light of the replication crisis in psychology, null-hypothesis significance testing (NHST) and p-values have been heavily criticized and various alternatives have been proposed, ranging from slight modifications of the current paradigm to banning p-values from journals. Since the physics education research community often relies on quantitative statistical approaches, the challenges the replication crisis poses to these approaches need to be considered. p-values suffer primarily from the fact that they carry little information by themselves and lend themselves to misinterpretations. As one alternative, Bayesian approaches have become increasingly popular as the posterior distributions they provide carry more relevant information than p-values. In this paper, we discuss practical issues related to p-values with respect to interpreting and communicating results and how these issues can be addressed using a Bayesian approach. Drawing on a science education data set, we demonstrate how Bayesian data analysis methods go beyond p-values and can help to make more valid conclusions and to communicate them more easily in a manner that lends itself to less misinterpretations

The high-affinity binding site for tricyclic antidepressants resides in the outer vestibule of the serotonin transporter

The structure of the bacterial leucine transporter from Aquifex aeolicus (LeuT(Aa)) has been used as a model for mammalian Na+/Cl--dependent transporters, in particular the serotonin transporter (SERT). The crystal structure of LeuT(Aa) liganded to tricyclic antidepressants predicts simultaneous binding of inhibitor and substrate. This is incompatible with the mutually competitive inhibition of substrates and inhibitors of SERT. We explored the binding modes of tricyclic antidepressants by homology modeling and docking studies. Two approaches were used subsequently to differentiate between three clusters of potential docking poses: 1) a diagnostic SERTY95F mutation, which greatly reduced the affinity for [H-3] imipramine but did not affect substrate binding; 2) competition binding experiments in the presence and absence of carbamazepine (i.e., a tricyclic imipramine analog with a short side chain that competes with [3H] imipramine binding to SERT). Binding of releasers (para-chloroamphetamine, methylene-dioxy-methamphetamine/ecstasy) and of carbamazepine were mutually exclusive, but Dixon plots generated in the presence of carbamazepine yielded intersecting lines for serotonin, MPP+, paroxetine, and ibogaine. These observations are consistent with a model, in which 1) the tricyclic ring is docked into the outer vestibule and the dimethyl-aminopropyl side chain points to the substrate binding site; 2) binding of amphetamines creates a structural change in the inner and outer vestibule that precludes docking of the tricyclic ring; 3) simultaneous binding of ibogaine (which binds to the inward-facing conformation) and of carbamazepine is indicative of a second binding site in the inner vestibule, consistent with the pseudosymmetric fold of monoamine transporters. This may be the second low-affinity binding site for antidepressants

Untangling the influence of Antarctic and Southern Ocean life on clouds

Polar environments are among the fastest changing regions on the planet. It is a crucial time to make significant improvements in our understanding of how ocean and ice biogeochemical processes are linked with the atmosphere. This is especially true over Antarctica and the Southern Ocean where observations are severely limited and the environment is far from anthropogenic influences. In this commentary, we outline major gaps in our knowledge, emerging research priorities, and upcoming opportunities and needs. We then give an overview of the large-scale measurement campaigns planned across Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in the next 5 years that will address the key issues. Until we do this, climate models will likely continue to exhibit biases in the simulated energy balance over this delicate region. Addressing these issues will require an international and interdisciplinary approach which we hope to foster and facilitate with ongoing community activities and collaborations

The future of Arctic sea-ice biogeochemistry and ice-associated ecosystems

The Arctic sea-ice-scape is rapidly transforming. Increasing light penetration will initiate earlier seasonal primary production. This earlier growing season may be accompanied by an increase in ice algae and phytoplankton biomass, augmenting the emission of dimethylsulfide and capture of carbon dioxide. Secondary production may also increase on the shelves, although the loss of sea ice exacerbates the demise of sea-ice fauna, endemic fish and megafauna. Sea-ice loss may also deliver more methane to the atmosphere, but warmer ice may release fewer halogens, resulting in fewer ozone depletion events. The net changes in carbon drawdown are still highly uncertain. Despite large uncertainties in these assessments, we expect disruptive changes that warrant intensified long-term observations and modelling efforts