Small Effects in Astrophysical Fusion Reactions

We study the combined effects of vacuum polarization, relativity, Bremsstrahlung, and atomic polarization in nuclear reactions of astrophysical interest. It is shown that these effects do not solve the longstanding differences between the experimental data of astrophysical nuclear reactions at very low energies and the theoretical calculations which aim to include electron screening.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figur

German Ageing Survey (DEAS): User Manual SUF DEAS2014, Version 4.1 (October 2021)

The German Ageing Survey (DEAS) is a nationwide representative cross-sectional and longitudinal survey of the German population aged over 40. It is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). The German Centre of Gerontology in Berlin (DZA) is responsible for the conduct and ongoing development of the study. The primary goal of the DEAS-Survey program is to provide a representative national database containing information describing the living conditions of the country's middle-aged and older population and to study the diversity within the older section of the population, the process of ageing as it affects individuals and processes of social change as they relate to old age and ageing. The DEAS covers a wide range of topics. The data obtained provide information on socioeconomic and demographic attributes as well as household composition, housing, family structure, social networks, psychological resources, attitudes as well as and physical and mental health. The comprehensive examination of people in mid- and older adulthood provides micro data for use both in social and behavioral scientific research and in reporting on social developments. The data thus provides a source of information for decision-makers, the general public and for scientific research. Microdata of the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) are available free of charge to scientific researchers for non-profitable purposes. The Research Data Centre (FDZ-DZA) provides access and support to scholars interested in using DEAS data for their research. Data and documentations from completed DEAS waves are available by the FDZ-DZA (https://www.dza.de/en/research/fdz). However, for reasons of data protection, signing a data distribution contract is required before data can be obtained. The DEAS applies a cohort-sequential design, which allows the users to analyze societal trends and individual trajectories (embedded inside societal trends) and to disentangle age effects from cohort effects. The first DEAS survey wave took place in 1996, further waves followed in 2002, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2020. The 5th wave in 2014 considered a panel sample of study participants who had entered the DEAS earlier as well as a new sample of adults, aged 40 to 85 years. Sampling, fieldwork and data collection for all waves have been carried out by the Bonn-based Institute for Applied Social Sciences (infas). Infas also took over scanning, coding of the open references to the occupational status and the new data weighting

German Ageing Survey (DEAS): User Manual SUF DEAS 2008, Version 3.2 (March 2021)

The German Ageing Survey (DEAS) is a nationwide representative cross-sectional and longitudinal survey of the German population aged over 40. It is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). The German Centre of Gerontology in Berlin (DZA) is responsible for the conduct and ongoing development of the study. Sampling and fieldwork for all waves (1996-2020) has been carried out by the Bonn-based Institute for Applied Social Sciences (infas). The primary goal of the DEAS survey program is to provide a representative national database containing information describing the living conditions of the country’s middle-aged and older population and to study diversity within the older section of the population, the process of ageing as it affects individuals and processes of social change as they relate to old age and ageing. The DEAS covers a wide range of topics. The data obtained provide information on socioeconomic and demographic attributes as well as household composition, housing, family structure, social networks, psychological resources, attitudes as well as and physical and mental health. The comprehensive examination of people in mid- and older adulthood provides microdata for use both in social and behavioural scientific research and in reporting on social developments. The data thus provides a source of information for decision-makers, the general public and for scientific research. The DEAS applies a cohort-sequential design, which allows the users to analyze societal trends and individual trajectories (embedded inside societal trends) and to disentangle age effects from cohort effects. The first DEAS survey wave took place in 1996, further waves followed in 2002, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2020. The third wave of the survey in 2008 considered a panel sample of study participants, who had entered the DEAS earlier as well as a new sample of adults, aged 40 to 85 years. Microdata of the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) are available free of charge to scientific researchers for non-profitable purposes. The Research Data Centre (FDZ-DZA) provides access and support to scholars interested in using DEAS data for their research. Data and documentations from completed DEAS waves are available by the FDZ-DZA. However, for reasons of data protection, signing a data distribution contract is required before data can be obtained

German Ageing Survey (DEAS): User Manual SUF DEAS 2017, Version 2.2 (October 2021)

The German Ageing Survey (DEAS), funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), is a nationwide representative cross-sectional and longitudinal survey of the German middle-aged and older population. The German Centre of Gerontology in Berlin (DZA) is responsible for the conduct and ongoing development of the study. The primary goal of the DEAS survey program is to provide a representative national database containing information describing the living conditions and to study the diversity within the older section of the population, the process of ageing as it affects individuals and processes of social change as they relate to old age and ageing. The DEAS covers a wide range of topics. The data obtained provide information on socioeconomic and demographic attributes as well as household composition, housing, family structure, social networks, psychological resources, attitudes as well as and physical and mental health. The comprehensive examination of people over 40 provides micro data for use both in social and behavioral scientific research and in reporting on social developments. The data thus provides a source of information for decision-makers, the general public and for scientific research. The DEAS applies a cohort-sequential design, which allows the users to analyze societal trends and individual trajectories (embedded inside societal trends) and to disentangle age effects from cohort effects. The first DEAS survey wave took place in 1996, further waves followed in 2002, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2020. The 6th wave in 2017 considered a cross-sectional sample as well as a panel sample of study participants who had entered the DEAS earlier. Sampling and fieldwork for all waves (1996-2017) have been carried out by the Bonn-based Institute for Applied Social Sciences (infas), scanning and coding of the additional questionnaires by the DB Profi-Kontor GMBH in Butzbach

German Ageing Survey (DEAS): User Manual SUF DEAS2017_Regionaldaten_Infas360, Version 1.0

Based on respondents’ addresses of residence the Institute for Applied Social Sciences (infas360) delivered a selection of regional context indicators mainly at the zip code level. The anonymity of the survey participants is guaranteed. Any address information has been removed. Only the resulting context indicators can be matched to the survey data. The indicator system of infas360 provides a nationwide collection of microgeographical information on the basis of official and non-official data. These are available for the different levels of the postal-official classification system, e.g. the level of the five digits zip codes down to the level of buildings. Details are the company’s secret. The variables of the regional context data SUF DEAS2017 relate mostly to the postal codes of the delivery areas, occasionally to single municipality, settlement blocs or buildings. Which level is used can be seen in the description of the variables. In Germany the zip codes (PLZ) cannot be adapted into the official classification scheme. Cities often have multiple zip codes, small municipalities in rural areas occasionally share one. Relevant is the zip code, alternative the municipality, if it is too small to have an own one. This means: for municipalities with multiple zip codes the smallest geographical unit is the one with the same zip code. Vice versa for small municipalities in rural areas which share one zip code, the smallest geographical unit is the municipality. In the interests of simplification the geographical unit is characterised as the variable "PLZ". Only for participants whose addresses of residence can specifically be referenced, infas360 has developed geographic features. The geographic structural features relate mostly to the end of the years 2016 or 2017, delivered by infas360 in 2019. For better understanding and use most original variables have been recoded and labelled to derived ones in a summarized version. To ensure the anonymity of the respondents, all relative values have been rounded, e.g. to integers. Most of the structural features as described below are part of SUF DEAS2014 as well (see Lejeune & Engstler 2018). Newly added features are primarily variables on geographic distances of the respondents’ residence to central places, malls and physicians. There are similar structural features for SUF DEAS2002, 2008, 2011 and 2014 (see Engstler 2012a, 2012b; 2018; Engstler & Lejeune 2018)

Simulating the complex cell design of Trypanosoma brucei and its motility

The flagellate Trypanosoma brucei, which causes the sleeping sickness when infecting a mammalian host, goes through an intricate life cycle. It has a rather complex propulsion mechanism and swims in diverse microenvironments. These continuously exert selective pressure, to which the trypanosome adjusts with its architecture and behavior. As a result, the trypanosome assumes a diversity of complex morphotypes during its life cycle. However, although cell biology has detailed form and function of most of them, experimental data on the dynamic behavior and development of most morphotypes is lacking. Here we show that simulation science can predict intermediate cell designs by conducting specific and controlled modifications of an accurate, nature-inspired cell model, which we developed using information from live cell analyses. The cell models account for several important characteristics of the real trypanosomal morphotypes, such as the geometry and elastic properties of the cell body, and their swimming mechanism using an eukaryotic flagellum. We introduce an elastic network model for the cell body, including bending rigidity and simulate swimming in a fluid environment, using the mesoscale simulation technique called multi-particle collision dynamics. The in silico trypanosome of the bloodstream form displays the characteristic in vivo rotational and translational motility pattern that is crucial for survival and virulence in the vertebrate host. Moreover, our model accurately simulates the trypanosome's tumbling and backward motion. We show that the distinctive course of the attached flagellum around the cell body is one important aspect to produce the observed swimming behavior in a viscous fluid, and also required to reach the maximal swimming velocity. Changing details of the flagellar attachment generates less efficient swimmers. We also simulate different morphotypes that occur during the parasite's development in the tsetse fly, and predict a flagellar course we have not been able to measure in experiments so far

Effects of the Covid-19 Crisis on the work situations of people in middle and older working age

This chapter examines the extent to which employed people in their mid-40s and older were affected by various changes to their work situation in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Of particular interest is whether older workers aged 55 and over were affected to the same extent as middle-aged workers, and whether there were gender differences

Novel African trypanocidal agents: membrane rigidifying peptides

The bloodstream developmental forms of pathogenic African trypanosomes are uniquely susceptible to killing by small hydrophobic peptides. Trypanocidal activity is conferred by peptide hydrophobicity and charge distribution and results from increased rigidity of the plasma membrane. Structural analysis of lipid-associated peptide suggests a mechanism of phospholipid clamping in which an internal hydrophobic bulge anchors the peptide in the membrane and positively charged moieties at the termini coordinate phosphates of the polar lipid headgroups. This mechanism reveals a necessary phenotype in bloodstream form African trypanosomes, high membrane fluidity, and we suggest that targeting the plasma membrane lipid bilayer as a whole may be a novel strategy for the development of new pharmaceutical agents. Additionally, the peptides we have described may be valuable tools for probing the biosynthetic machinery responsible for the unique composition and characteristics of African trypanosome plasma membranes