Sampling Refugees for an Educational Longitudinal Survey

In the years 2015 and 2016, in Germany more than half a million refugees were granted asylum or they were accepted being eligible for subsidiary protection. Thus, they got a residence permit. About 29% of the accepted refugees were younger than 18 years. To study education related integration issues in this group, in 2016 the large-scale survey study “Refugees in the German Educational System (ReGES)” had been established. In this study, refugee children not yet in elementary school and students in lower secondary education are surveyed. This article gives some first insights from the field of the study, details its multistage sampling and study design, reports gross and net sample sizes, and gives response rates. In total, more than 4,000 families were found to have more than 5,000 children of the desired population. About 2,400 refugee children and about the same number of refugee students participated in the first wave in 2017/2018. This is around 50% of the Kindergarten children’s parents and around 44% of the students, whose addresses were sampled, and an interviewer was sent to, could be interviewed. These high response rates point to the effectiveness of the study design. Additionally, they show the strong interest of the considered refugee population in the study

Higher Loop Anomalies and their Consistency Conditions in Nonlocal Regularization

An algebraic program of computation and characterization of higher loop BRST anomalies is presented. We propose a procedure for disentangling a genuine{\it local} higher loop anomaly from the quantum dressings of lower loop anomalies. For such higher loop anomalies we derive a local consistency condition, which is the generalisation of the Wess-Zumino condition for the one-loop anomaly. The development is presented in the framework of the field-antifield formalism, making use of a nonlocal regularization method. The theoretical construction is exemplified by explicitly computing the two-loop anomaly of chiral $W_3$ gravity. We also give, for the first time, an explicit check of the local two--loop consistency condition that is associated with this anomaly.Comment: 26 pages, LaTeX2e or LaTeX2.09, 1 figure (uses epsf

EEG responses to standardised noxious stimulation during clinical anaesthesia: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND During clinical anaesthesia, the administration of analgesics mostly relies on empirical knowledge and observation of the patient's reactions to noxious stimuli. Previous studies in healthy volunteers under controlled conditions revealed EEG activity in response to standardised nociceptive stimuli even at high doses of remifentanil and propofol. This pilot study aims to investigate the feasibility of using these standardised nociceptive stimuli in routine clinical practice. METHODS We studied 17 patients undergoing orthopaedic trauma surgery under general anaesthesia. We evaluated if the EEG could track standardised noxious phase-locked electrical stimulation and tetanic stimulation, a time-locked surrogate for incisional pain, before, during, and after the induction of general anaesthesia. Subsequently, we analysed the effect of tetanic stimulation on the surgical pleth index as a peripheral, vegetative, nociceptive marker. RESULTS We found that the phase-locked evoked potentials after noxious electrical stimulation vanished after the administration of propofol, but not at low concentrations of remifentanil. After noxious tetanic stimulation under general anaesthesia, there were no consistent spectral changes in the EEG, but the vegetative response in the surgical pleth index was statistically significant (Hedges' g effect size 0.32 [95% confidence interval 0.12-0.77], P=0.035). CONCLUSION Our standardised nociceptive stimuli are not optimised for obtaining consistent EEG responses in patients during clinical anaesthesia. To validate and sufficiently reproduce EEG-based standardised stimulation as a marker for nociception in clinical anaesthesia, other pain models or stimulation settings might be required to transfer preclinical studies into clinical practice. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION DRKS00017829

The Acute Effect of a Five Repetition Maximum on Vertical Jump Performance at Different Time Intervals

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Zwischen beruflichem Statusmanagement und Familiengründung: Fachkräfte 10 Jahre nach ihrem Schulabschluß ; Arbeits- und Ergebnisbericht des Teilprojekts A1

Wir haben in unserer quantitativen und qualitativen Längsschnittstudie sowohl die Institutionen Beruf und Familie als auch die Orientierungen und Handlungsstrategien junger Fachkräfte einbezogen und uns daher mit der Analyse von Biographien als Mikrodynamik individueller Bewegungen in Strukturen und mit Sequenzanalysen gesamter Berufsverläufe befaßt. Dazu kam die Analyse des Einflusses unterschiedlicher beruflicher Karrierechancen auf die berufsbiographischen Ziele unter Berücksichtigung der eingeschränkten Vereinbarungsmöglichkeiten von Familie und Erwerbsarbeit. In der vierten abschließenden Erhebungswelle (1997) des Makropanels haben wir neben der differenzierten Rekonstruktion der Berufs- und Familienverläufe auch die aus den qualitativen Analysen stammende Typologie der berufsbiographischen Gestaltungsmodi - nämlich als berufsbiographische Orientierungsmuster (BGM) - standardisiert rekonstruiert. Die Ergebnisse verdeutlichen, daß die berufsbiographischen Orientierungen ebenso wie die Typen der BGM systematische Zusammenhänge mit Geschlecht, Ausbildungsberuf und Karriereverläufen aufweisen. Dabei zeigt sich beispielsweise, daß Aufstiegsorientierung und Chancenoptimierung eher ein männliches und Betriebsidentifizierung ein eher weibliches Orientierungsmuster darstellen. Die Verbindung zwischen qualitativen und quantitativen Analysen demonstriert den Gewinn einer wechselseitigen Validierung der jeweiligen Ergebnisse. In einem weiteren Systematisierungsschritt konnten die sechs BGM drei übergeordneten Kategorien: Statusarrangement, Karriereambition und Autonomiegewinn zugeordnet werden. Insgesamt fällt bei den kontextbezogenen Verlaufsanalysen auf, daß die BGM über den untersuchten Zeitraum von acht Jahren eine hohe Konstanz aufweisen. Was die Tätigkeitsverläufe angeht, so läßt sich zeigen, daß seit Ausbildungsabschluß (1989) eine starke Ausdifferenzierung der Verlaufsmuster stattgefunden hat: Nur noch ein gutes Drittel der Befragten war im Beobachtungszeitraum durchgängig vollzeit erwerbstätig; erwartungsgemäß variieren die Anteile nach Geschlecht und Berufstypik. Die Ergebnisse dokumentieren also, daß Lebensverläufe durch sozialstrukturelle Faktoren und die an den jeweiligen Beruf gebundenen Handlungsressourcen und Mobilitätschancen geprägt werden. Die Familiengründung, das zeigen die qualitativen Daten, ist für einen Großteil der Befragten ein plan- und entscheidbares Ereignis. In der neu entwickelten Typologie der Familienplanung wird der Prozeßcharakter vor dem Hintergrund unterschiedlicher Berufsverläufe transparent gemacht. Der Prozeß der Familiengründung ist bei den Befragten, die im Durchschnitt 28 Jahre alt waren (1997), noch nicht abgeschlossen. Es deutet sich jedoch an, daß die Planungshorizonte und die Art der Integration familialer und beruflicher Lebensplanung mit den berufstypischen Handlungsbedingungen und Entwicklungschancen korrespondieren

Recent results on multiplicative noise

Recent developments in the analysis of Langevin equations with multiplicative noise (MN) are reported. In particular, we: (i) present numerical simulations in three dimensions showing that the MN equation exhibits, like the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation both a weak coupling fixed point and a strong coupling phase, supporting the proposed relation between MN and KPZ; (ii) present dimensional, and mean field analysis of the MN equation to compute critical exponents; (iii) show that the phenomenon of the noise induced ordering transition associated with the MN equation appears only in the Stratonovich representation and not in the Ito one, and (iv) report the presence of a new first-order like phase transition at zero spatial coupling, supporting the fact that this is the minimum model for noise induced ordering transitions.Comment: Some improvements respect to the first versio

Self-enrichment of Galactic halo globular clusters: stimulated star formation and consequences for the halo metallicity distribution

We explore the self-enrichment hypothesis for globular cluster formation with respect to the star formation aspect. Following this scenario, the massive stars of a first stellar generation chemically enrich the globular progenitor cloud up to Galactic halo metallicities and sweep it into an expanding spherical shell of gas. This paper investigates the ability of this swept proto-globular cloud to become gravitationally unstable and, therefore, to seed the formation of second generation stars which may later on form a globular cluster. We use a simple model based on a linear perturbation theory for transverse motions in a shell of gas to demonstrate that the pressures by which the progenitor clouds are bound and the supernova numbers required to achieve Galactic halo metallicities support the successful development of the shell transverse collapse. Interestingly, the two parameters controling the metallicity achieved through self-enrichment, namely the number of supernovae and the external pressure, also rule the surface density of the shell and thus its ability to undergo a transverse collapse. Such a supernova-induced origin for the globular cluster stars opens therefore the way to the understanding of the halo metallicity distributions. This model is also able to explain the lower limit of the halo globular cluster metallicity.Comment: 16 pages, 16 figures, MNRAS accepte

Seroepidemiological study on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Germany:

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has spread rapidly across Germany. Infections are likely to be under-recorded in the notification data from local health authorities on laboratory-confirmed cases since SARS-CoV-2 infections can proceed with few symptoms and then often remain undetected. Seroepidemiological studies allow the estimation of the proportion in the population that has been infected with SARS-CoV-2 (seroprevalence) as well as the extent of undetected infections. The ‘CORONA-MONITORING bundesweit’ study (RKI-SOEP study) collects biospecimens and interview data in a nationwide population sample drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Participants are sent materials to self-collect a dry blood sample of capillary blood from their finger and a swab sample from their mouth and nose, as well as a questionnaire. The samples returned are tested for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies and SARS-CoV-2 RNA to identify past or present infections. The methods applied enable the identification of SARS-CoV-2 infections, including those that previously went undetected. In addition, by linking the data collected with available SOEP data, the study has the potential to investigate social and health-related differences in infection status. Thus, the study contributes to an improved understanding of the extent of the epidemic in Germany, as well as identification of target groups for infection protection

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected