Blood pressure in Germany 2008–2011

High blood pressure is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and chronic kidney disease. It is a main determinant of morbidity and mortality in Germany. In the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1) the blood pressure of 7,096 adults aged 18–79 years was measured in a standardised way using oscillometric blood pressure devices (Datascope Accutorr Plus). The average of the second and third measurements was used for analysis. The mean systolic blood pressure was 120.8 mmHg in women and 127.4 mmHg in men, while the mean diastolic blood pressure was 71.2 mmHg in women and 75.3 mmHg in men. Blood pressure values were hypertensive (systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg) in 12.7% of women and in 18.1% of men. Hypertension (defined as having hypertensive blood pressure or taking antihypertensive medication in known cases of hypertension) was present in 29.9% of women and 33.3% of men. Almost 75% of the survey’s highest age group, 70–79, had hypertension. DEGS1 demonstrates that high blood pressure remains a highly prevalent risk factor in the population at large. The methodology employed in measuring blood pressure has been improved as compared to that of the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey 1998 (GNHIES98) and it will be possible to draw comparisons soon, once a procedure for calibrating the 1998 data has been finalised

2D Hybrid Analytical Model Based Performance Optimization for Linear Induction Motors

In this thesis the domain of double-layer, single-sided, 3-phase, integral slot winding, linear induction motor (LIM)s is analyzed. Motor meta parameters such as slots and poles are difficult to optimize since they drastically effect the configuration of the motor and require heuristic optimization implementations. A non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGAII) was implemented with the Platypus-Opt Python library. It serves as a robust, yet flexible integration while maximizing thrust and minimizing the mass of each motor iteration. Each iteration was accurately modelled using the hybrid analytical model (HAM), producing the necessary performance parameters for the NSGAII’s objective function. Field plotting capability of the processed HAM allowed for the feasibility check on postprocessing constraints, increasing the robustness of the optimization. Validation between the HAM to finite element analysis (FEA) and HAM to the baseline proved the accuracy of the modelling algorithm within the objective function. The optimization concluded that the optimal motor had 36 slots and 4 poles within the domain of 12-54 slots and 4-12 poles, where 9 feasible motors were objectively compared. The proposed design tool lacks the ability to produce a fully functional optimized motor due to domain and complexity constraints. However, it saved significant time and effort while generating reproducible results within a constrained domain. The entire optimization was completed in 5 minutes, whereas the total time for configuring all motors via FEA within the domain took 4.5 hours, proving its worth

Light Resonances and the Low-q2q^2 Bin of RK∗R_{K^*}

LHCb has reported hints of lepton-flavor universality violation in the rare decays $B \to K^{(*)} \ell^+\ell^-$, both in high- and low-$q^2$ bins. Although the high-$q^2$ hint may be explained by new short-ranged interactions, the low-$q^2$ one cannot. We thus explore the possibility that the latter is explained by a new light resonance. We find that LHCb's central value of $R_{K^*}$ in the low-$q^2$ bin is achievable in a restricted parameter space of new-physics scenarios in which the new, light resonance decays preferentially to electrons and has a mass within approximately $10$ MeV of the di-muon threshold. Interestingly, such an explanation can have a kinematic origin and does not require a source of lepton-flavor universality violation. A model-independent prediction is a narrow peak in the differential $B \to K^* e^+e^-$ rate close to the di-muon threshold. If such a peak is observed, other observables, such as the differential $B \to K e^+e^-$ rate and $R_K$, may be employed to distinguish between models. However, if a low-mass resonance is not observed and the low-$q^2$ anomaly increases in significance, then the case for an experimental origin of the lepton-flavor universality violating anomalies would be strengthened. To further explore this, we also point out that, in analogy to $J/\psi$ decays, $e^+e^-$ and $\mu^+\mu^-$ decays of $\phi$ mesons can be used as a cross check of lepton-flavor universality by LHCb with $5$ fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figure

The DONALD study as a longitudinal sensor of nutritional developments: iodine and salt intake over more than 30 years in German children

Purpose: Mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency was present in large parts of Germany up to the beginning 1990s and improved from then on. Current epidemiological data on spot urine iodine measurements in German children strongly suggest the re-occurrence of an impaired iodine status. We thus examined whether this re-occurrence is identifiable in more detail, through iodine analyses of 24-h urine samples of a well-characterized cohort of German children in whom samples have been systematically collected from 1985 onward. As iodized salt is a major source for iodine supply, urinary sodium excretion was additionally studied. Methods: Daily iodine and sodium excretions were measured in 2600 24-h urine samples collected between 1985 and 2018 by 677 healthy children aged 6–12 years (participants of the DONALD study). These data were compared with 24-h iodine and sodium excretion estimates obtained from spot urine samples collected in the representative German Health Interview and Examination Surveys for Children and Adolescents KiGGS-baseline (2003–2006) and KiGGS-wave-2 (2014–2017). Results: Between 1985 and1992, DONALD participants started with a median daily iodine excretion level of 40.1 µg/d. Then, during 1993–2003, iodine excretions mounted up to an approximate plateau (~ 84.8 µg/d). This plateau lasted until 2012. Thereafter, iodine concentrations started to decrease again resulting in a median iodine excretion of only 58.9 µg/d in 2018. Sodium excretion, however, had increased. The marked decrease in iodine status along with an abundant sodium excretion corresponded closely with nationwide KiGGS data. Conclusions: As exemplified for the clearly worsening iodine status in German children, longitudinal cohort studies collecting detailed biomarker-based prospective data have the potential to reliably capture health-relevant nutritional changes and trends, applicable on a more comprehensive and even representative population level.Peer Reviewe

The Role of Vector Boson Fusion in the Production of Heavy Vector Triplets at the LHC and HL-LHC

We clarify the role of vector boson fusion (VBF) in the production of heavy vector triplets at the LHC and the HL-LHC. We point out that the presence of VBF production leads to an unavoidable rate of Drell-Yan (DY) production and highlight the subtle interplay between the falling parton luminosities and the increasing importance of VBF production as the heavy vector mass increases. We discuss current LHC searches and HL-LHC projections in di-boson and di-lepton final states and demonstrate that VBF production outperforms DY production for resonance masses above 1 TeV in certain regions of the parameter space. We define two benchmark parameter points which provide competitive production rates in vector boson fusion.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl

Wie viel "Finanzmarktkapitalismus" gibt es in Deutschland?

Wem die Unternehmen gehören und wie Anspruchsgruppen auf die Unternehmenspolitik Einfluss nehmen können, stellt ein zentrales Element einer sozioökonomischen Formation dar. Seit den 1990er Jahren stellt die Finanzialisierung des Unternehmens eine Tendenz des sozioökonomischen Wandels dar. Der Beitrag prüft anhand zentraler Indikatoren der Finanzialisierung inwieweit sich die Finanzmarktkapitalismus-Konstellation durchgesetzt hat. Hiernach kann man für Deutschland in den 1990er Jahren einen Finanzialisierungsschub konstatieren, der aber eine begrenzte Reichweite hat und in seinen Wirkungen durch Gegenbewegungen und widersprüchliche Elemente modifiziert wird. Der Beitrag diskutiert, welche Schlussfolgerungen hieraus für die Klärung der Ursachen der Erosion der Teilhabechancen zu ziehen sind

Wie viel "Finanzmarktkapitalismus" gibt es in Deutschland? Indikatoren der Kontroll-Finanzialisierung von 1990 bis heute

"Wem die Unternehmen gehören, wie und von wem die Unternehmensleitung beaufsichtigt wird und wie verschiedene Anspruchsgruppen auf die Unternehmenspolitik Einfluss nehmen können, stellt ein zentrales Element einer sozioökonomischen Formation dar. Seit den 1990er Jahren stellt die Finanzialisierung des Unternehmens bzw. die Herausbildung eines 'Finanzmarktkapitalismus', in dem börsennotierte Unternehmen in institutionellem Streubesitz dominieren, eine Tendenz des sozioökonomischen Wandels dar. Diese wird als Abkehr vom 'organisierten Kapitalismus' der Nachkriegsformation interpretiert, die womöglich mit Wachstums- und Innovationsschwäche und verschlechterten Teilhabechancen einhergeht. Wie auch immer diese Effekte und ihre Verursachung zu beurteilen sind, schon der Grad der Verbreitung der Finanzialisierung ist strittig. Das vorliegende Working Paper prüft daher an-hand zentraler Indikatoren der Kontroll-Finanzialisierung für den Zeitraum von 1990 bis zum aktuellen Rand, inwieweit sich die Finanzmarktkapitalismus-Konstellation überhaupt durchgesetzt hat. Die Entwicklung der Börsennotierung von Unternehmen ebenso wie die im inter-nationalen Vergleich schwach ausgeprägte Börsenkapitalisierung zeigt eine begrenzte und nicht fortschreitende Kontroll-Finanzialisierung an. Die sprichwörtliche Auflösung der Deutschland AG, visualisiert über die Kapitalverflechtungen innerhalb des Kreises der 100 größten Unternehmen Deutschlands, stellt ein wichtiges Desorganisationsphänomen dar, ist aber aus verschiedenen Gründen ein unzureichender und irreführender Indikator für die Finanzialisierung der Unternehmenslandschaft. Die Analyse der Eigentumsstrukturen börsen-notierter Unternehmen zeigt schließlich, dass die Konzentration des Eigentums im Zeitablauf zwar abnimmt, aber auch in 2014 58 Prozent der börsennotierten Unternehmen durch 'geduldiges Kapital' in Form eines Ankerinvestoren mit Sperrminorität gekennzeichnet sind, wobei Familien und Gründer eine wichtige Rolle spielen. In der Gesamtschau verschiedener Dimensionen der Finanzialisierung (strukturell, institutionell, kognitiv-kulturell) kann man für Deutschland in den 1990er Jahren einen Finanzialisierungsschub konstatieren, der aber eine begrenzte Reichweite hat und in seinen Wirkungen durch Gegenbewegungen und widersprüchliche Elemente modifiziert wird." (Autorenreferat)"To whom corporations belong, how they are governed and how different stakeholders can influence corporate strategies builds a cornerstone of a socio-economic formation. Since the early 1990s control financialization or the rise of a Financial Market Capitalism (in which listed corporations with dispersed institutional ownership are dominant) has been a tendency of socio-economic change in Germany. It marks a turning away from post-war 'organized capitalism' that seems to go along with decreasing growth rates and with decreasing corporate innovativeness and social inclusiveness. Whatever the effects of increasing financialization may be, the degree of financialization itself is a controversial issue. Therefore, the Working Paper at hand examines in how far a Financial Market Capitalism has prevailed in Germany by analyzing core indicators of control financialization from 1990 to date. Both the development of stock exchange quotation as well as of market capitalization which is low compared to other OECD countries indicate a confined financialization which is not growing across the whole period. The proverbial dissolution of 'Germany Inc.', visualized by the dis-solution of equity stakes between the 100 largest German companies, depicts an important element of corporate disorganization, however, it is an inadequate and misleading indicator of control financialization for several reasons. Finally, the analysis of corporate ownership of listed companies illustrates that ownership concentration decreases over time but still in 2014 58 percent of all listed corporations are characterized by 'patient capital' in the form of an anchor investor with a blocking minority, often provided by families and founders. Embracing different dimensions of financialization (structural, institutional, cognitive-cultural) we witness a push to financialization in Germany during the 1990s. However, it is of a limited reach and its possible effects are modified by counter movements and contradictory elements." (author's abstract

The association between thyroid function biomarkers and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The relation between thyroid function biomarkers and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents is currently unclear. Cross-sectional data from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS Baseline) was analyzed to assess the association between thyroid function biomarkers and ADHD in a population-based, nationally representative sample. The study cohort included 11,588 children and adolescents with 572 and 559 having an ADHD diagnosis or symptoms, respectively. ADHD symptoms were assessed through the Inattention/Hyperactivity subscale of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. ADHD diagnosis was determined by a physician or psychologist. Serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (fT3), and free thyroxine (fT4) concentrations were determined enzymatically. Adjusted regression models were used to relate serum TSH, fT3, and fT4 with risk for ADHD diagnosis or symptoms. In children, a 1 mIU/l higher TSH was related to a 10% lower risk (odds ratio [OR] 0.90; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.81–1.00) of ADHD diagnosis. We found a significant positive association between fT3 and continuously assessed ADHD symptoms in children (β 0.08; 95% CI 0.03–0.14). Our results suggest that physical maturity may influence the association between thyroid function biomarkers and risk for ADHD

Spot urine iodine levels below the WHO recommendation are not related to impaired thyroid function in healthy children and adolescents

Purpose Iodine deficiency in childhood and adolescence may lead to later thyroid dysfunction, stunted growth and cognitive impairment. The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued recommended age-dependent urine iodine concentration targets, but a critical threshold beyond which clinical sequelae are to be expected remains undefined. Our study aimed to investigate spot urine iodine concentration in a typical Central European cohort of children and adolescents, and consider the implications of these values in regard to laboratory parameters for evaluating thyroid function. Methods Using the Sandell-Kolthoff method, spot urine iodine concentration was measured cross-sectionally from 1802 healthy children and adolescent in the age range of 0.25–18 years within the LIFE-Child epidemiological study based in and around the city of Leipzig (Germany). Additionally, serum thyroid biomarkers of these subjects were measured and correlated to urine iodine levels. Results In our cohort, 61.39% of boys and 65.91% of girls had an iodine level of < 100 µg/L (57%, 67%, 65% of the age groups 0–5, 6–12 and 13–18 years), the median iodine excretion was 86 µg/L in boys and 80 µg/L in girls. The iodine levels revealed no significant correlation with the thyroid biomarkers TSH, FT4 and FT3. Moreover, iodine values revealed no correlation with levels of antibodies against thyroid peroxidase or thyroglobulin. Conclusion In our cohort of children and adolescents, the relatively high number of iodine levels below the WHO recommendation appears not to be related to clinical or subclinical thyroid diseases in the respective participants.Peer Reviewe