TY - JOUR A1 - Juang, Linda P. A1 - Moffitt, Ursula Elinor A1 - Schachner, Maja A1 - Pevec-Zimmer, Sharleen T1 - Understanding ethnic-racial identity in a context where "race" is taboo JF - Identity : an international journal of theory and research ; the journal of the Society for Research on Identity Formation N2 - Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) is an important aspect of youth development and has been well-studied for the last several decades. One issue less discussed is how the construct of ERI translates across different countries and cultures. The purpose of our paper is to describe the sociohistorical context of Germany and implications for the study of ethnic-racial identity in Europe. We discuss the German adaption of the Identity Project, an 8-week school-based ethnic-racial identity exploration intervention developed in the United States. We use this as a concrete example of how we thought through the focal construct of ERI to figure out how and whether it is a salient social identity category for youth in Germany where, in response to the history of racially motivated genocide, discussions of "race" are taboo. Digging into the ways ERI may not be directly transferable to different contexts can help us understand its nature as a socially constructed identity with real-life implications. Our hope with this paper is to further discussion, question our conceptualizations, and acknowledge how a detailed understanding of sociohistorical contexts is needed for the study of ERI. KW - Ethnic-racial identity KW - race KW - Germany KW - intervention Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2021.1932901 SN - 1528-3488 SN - 1532-706X VL - 21 IS - 3 SP - 185 EP - 199 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Philadelphia, PA ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jantz, Bastian A1 - Klenk, Tanja A1 - Larsen, Flemming A1 - Wiggan, Jay T1 - Marketization and Varieties of Accountability Relationships in Employment Services BT - Comparing Denmark, Germany, and Great Britain JF - Administration & society N2 - In the past decade, European countries have contracted out public employment service functions to activate working-age benefit clients. There has been limited discussion of how contracting out shapes the accountability of employment services or is shaped by alternative democratic, administrative, or network forms of accountability. This article examines employment service accountability in Germany, Denmark, and Great Britain. We find that market accountability instruments are additional instruments, not replacements. The findings highlight the importance of administrative and political instruments in legitimizing marketized service provision and shed light on the processes that lead to the development of a hybrid accountability model. KW - marketization KW - accountability KW - employment services KW - Denmark KW - Germany KW - Great Britain Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/0095399715581622 SN - 0095-3997 SN - 1552-3039 VL - 50 IS - 3 SP - 321 EP - 345 PB - Sage Publ. CY - Thousand Oaks ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jantz, Bastian A1 - Jann, Werner T1 - Mapping accountability changes in labour market administrations from concentrated to shared accountability? JF - International review of administrative sciences : an international journal of comparative public administration N2 - The article explores how recent changes in the governance of employment services in three European countries (Denmark, Germany and Norway) have influenced accountability relationships. The overall assumption in the growing literature about accountability is that the number of actors involved in accountability arrangements is rising, that accountability relationships are becoming more numerous and complex, and that these changes may lead to contradictory accountability relationships, and finally to multi accountability disorder'. The article tries to explore these assumptions by analysing the different actors involved and the information requested in the new governance arrangements in all three countries. It concludes that the considerable changes in organizational arrangements and more managerial information demanded and provided have led to more shared forms of accountability. Nevertheless, a clear development towards less political or administrative accountability could not be observed. KW - accountability KW - Denmark KW - Germany KW - labour market administration KW - Norway KW - public employment service KW - welfare state reform Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852313477764 SN - 0020-8523 VL - 79 IS - 2 SP - 227 EP - 248 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jacob, Louis A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Kostev, Karel T1 - Long-term use of benzodiazepines in older patients in Germany BT - a retrospective analysis JF - Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology N2 - Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence of long-term benzodiazepine use in older adults treated in general and neuropsychiatric practices in Germany. Methods: This study included 32,182 patients over the age of 65 years who received benzodiazepine prescriptions for the first time between January 2010 and December 2014 in general and neuropsychiatric practices in Germany. Follow up lasted until July 2016. The main outcome measure was the proportion of patients treated with benzodiazepines for >6 months. Results: The proportion of patients with benzodiazepine therapy for >6 months increased with age (65-70 years: 12.3%; 71-80 years: 15.5%; 81-90 years: 23.7%; >90 years: 31.6%) but did not differ significantly between men (15.5%) and women (17.1%). The proportion of patients who received benzodiazepines for >6 months was higher among those with sleep disorders (21.1%), depression (20.8%) and dementia (32.1%) than among those with anxiety (15.5%). By contrast, this proportion was lower among people diagnosed with adjustment disorders (7.7%) and back pain (3.8%). Conclusion: Overall, long-term use of benzodiazepines is common in older people, particularly in patients over the age of 80 and in those diagnosed with dementia, sleep disorders, or depression. KW - benzodiazepines KW - Germany KW - long-term use KW - older people KW - risk factors Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/2045125317696454 SN - 2045-1253 SN - 2045-1261 VL - 7 IS - 6/7 SP - 191 EP - 200 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jackson, Gregory A1 - Sorge, Arndt T1 - The trajectory of institutional change in Germany, 1979-2009 JF - Journal of European public policy N2 - Over the last three decades, the German political economy can be characterized by both institutional continuity and change. Understanding the dynamics of institutional change therefore requires an examination of the interplay of changes in formal institutional rules and how organizations respond to these changes by strategic attempts to promote or hinder further change in institutions. The macro-level political story of institutional change shows a number of paradoxes resulting in unexpected and often incomplete forms of market liberalization shaped by continued support for some core features of Germany's social market economy. The resulting erosion of Germany's co-ordinated model of economic organization through networks and business associations has gone hand-in-hand with the attempts to preserve these institutions for core workers and sectors of the economy in the face of changing environments. The result is a more varied institutional landscape characterized by international diffusion of liberal policies and the politics of their variable re-embedding within a long-term path of institutional continuity. KW - Germany KW - institutional change KW - varieties of capitalism Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2012.709009 SN - 1350-1763 SN - 1466-4429 VL - 19 IS - 8 SP - 1146 EP - 1167 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Huber, Veronika A1 - Krummenauer, Linda A1 - Peña-Ortiz, Cristina A1 - Lange, Stefan A1 - Gasparrini, Antonio A1 - Vicedo-Cabrera, Ana Maria A1 - Garcia-Herrera, Ricardo A1 - Frieler, Katja T1 - Temperature-related excess mortality in German cities at 2 °C and higher degrees of global warming JF - Environmental Research N2 - Background: Investigating future changes in temperature-related mortality as a function of global mean temperature (GMT) rise allows for the evaluation of policy-relevant climate change targets. So far, only few studies have taken this approach, and, in particular, no such assessments exist for Germany, the most populated country of Europe. Methods: We assess temperature-related mortality in 12 major German cities based on daily time-series of all-cause mortality and daily mean temperatures in the period 1993-2015, using distributed-lag non-linear models in a two-stage design. Resulting risk functions are applied to estimate excess mortality in terms of GMT rise relative to pre-industrial levels, assuming no change in demographics or population vulnerability. Results: In the observational period, cold contributes stronger to temperature-related mortality than heat, with overall attributable fractions of 5.49% (95%CI: 3.82-7.19) and 0.81% (95%CI: 0.72-0.89), respectively. Future projections indicate that this pattern could be reversed under progressing global warming, with heat-related mortality starting to exceed cold-related mortality at 3 degrees C or higher GMT rise. Across cities, projected net increases in total temperature-related mortality were 0.45% (95%CI: -0.02-1.06) at 3 degrees C, 1.53% (95%CI: 0.96-2.06) at 4 degrees C, and 2.88% (95%CI: 1.60-4.10) at 5 degrees C, compared to today's warming level of 1 degrees C. By contrast, no significant difference was found between projected total temperature-related mortality at 2 degrees C versus 1 degrees C of GMT rise. Conclusions: Our results can inform current adaptation policies aimed at buffering the health risks from increased heat exposure under climate change. They also allow for the evaluation of global mitigation efforts in terms of local health benefits in some of Germany's most populated cities. KW - temperature-related mortality KW - climate change KW - Future projections KW - Germany KW - global mean temperature Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109447 SN - 0013-9351 SN - 1096-0953 VL - 186 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego, California ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Homolka, Walter T1 - Jewish theology in Germany BT - the co-existence of secular and religious discourse JF - Society N2 - How often do secular and religious discourses communicate and interrelate at points where they intersect in society? When the Science of Judaism (Wissenschaft des Judentums) evolved at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it intended, through both theological and secular studies, to demonstrate the general value of Jewish culture and civilization. Although denied a place in the public university system until after the Shoah, Jewish Studies departments have since been established at various German universities, and, in 2013, the School of Jewish Theology of the University of Potsdam was opened as the first Jewish divinity school in the history of the German university system. With this, what was once a utopian dream became a reality, and both branches of the Science of Judaism, religious and secular, became undisputed parts of the German academic scene, using similar tools for differing aims. Two prime examples of the intersection of the secular and religious in Germany today are the proliferation of divinity schools at state universities, on the one hand, and the development of military chaplaincy in the armed forces, on the other. Both of these, through contractual agreements, aim to regulate and facilitate religious pluralism within a secular state. While the one has already begun to take place, the other is currently under discussion. KW - Christian state KW - Abraham Geiger KW - Germany KW - Jewish theology KW - Military chaplaincy KW - Ludwig Philippson KW - Pluralism KW - Science of Judaism KW - Secularism KW - Wissenschaft des Judentums KW - Leopold Zunz Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-017-0164-3 SN - 0147-2011 SN - 1936-4725 VL - 54 SP - 426 EP - 431 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heyden, Janika A1 - Natho, Stephanie T1 - Assessing floodplain management in Germany - a case study on nationwide research and actions JF - Sustainability N2 - After a long history of floodplain degradation and substantial losses of inundation areas over the last decades, a rethinking of floodplain management has taken place in Germany. Floodplains are now acknowledged as important areas for both biodiversity and society. This transformation has been significantly supported by nationwide research activities. A systematic assessment of the current floodplain management is still lacking. We therefore developed a scheme to assess floodplain management through the steps of identification, analysis, implementation, and evaluation. Reviewing the data and literature on nationwide floodplain-related research and activities, we defined key elements of floodplain management for Germany. We concluded that research activities already follow a strategic nationwide approach of identifying and analyzing floodplains. Progress in implementation is slow, however, and potentials are far from being reached. Nevertheless, new and unique initiatives enable Germany to stay on the long-term path of giving rivers more space and improving floodplain conditions. KW - assessment KW - ecological condition KW - threatened ecosystem KW - policy KW - floodplain restoration KW - Germany Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/su141710610 SN - 2071-1050 VL - 14 IS - 17 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grünthal, Gottfried A1 - Stromeyer, Dietrich A1 - Bosse, Christian A1 - Cotton, Fabrice A1 - Bindi, Dino T1 - The probabilistic seismic hazard assessment of Germany-version 2016, considering the range of epistemic uncertainties and aleatory variability JF - Bulletin of earthquake engineering : official publication of the European Association for Earthquake Engineering N2 - The basic seismic load parameters for the upcoming national design regulation for DIN EN 1998-1/NA result from the reassessment of the seismic hazard supported by the German Institution for Civil Engineering (DIBt). This 2016 version of the national seismic hazard assessment for Germany is based on a comprehensive involvement of all accessible uncertainties in models and parameters and includes the provision of a rational framework for integrating ranges of epistemic uncertainties and aleatory variabilities in a comprehensive and transparent way. The developed seismic hazard model incorporates significant improvements over previous versions. It is based on updated and extended databases, it includes robust methods to evolve sets of models representing epistemic uncertainties, and a selection of the latest generation of ground motion prediction equations. The new earthquake model is presented here, which consists of a logic tree with 4040 end branches and essential innovations employed for a realistic approach. The output specifications were designed according to the user oriented needs as suggested by two review teams supervising the entire project. Seismic load parameters, for rock conditions of nu(S30) = 800 m/s, are calculated for three hazard levels (10, 5 and 2% probability of occurrence or exceedance within 50 years) and delivered in the form of uniform hazard spectra, within the spectral period range 0.02-3 s, and seismic hazard maps for peak ground acceleration, spectral response accelerations and for macroseismic intensities. Results are supplied as the mean, the median and the 84th percentile. A broad analysis of resulting uncertainties of calculated seismic load parameters is included. The stability of the hazard maps with respect to previous versions and the cross-border comparison is emphasized. KW - Seismic hazard KW - Germany KW - DIN EN 1998-1/NA KW - Seismic load parameters Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-018-0315-y SN - 1570-761X SN - 1573-1456 VL - 16 IS - 10 SP - 4339 EP - 4395 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grossi, Giuseppe A1 - Reichard, Christoph A1 - Ruggiero, Pasquale T1 - Appropriateness and Use of Performance Information in the Budgeting Process: Some Experiences from German and Italian Municipalities JF - Sports medicine N2 - This article contributes to the debate on the use of performance information in the context of public sector performance management. Based on case studies, the authors analyze the appropriateness of the performance information provided in the newly established performance budgets of municipalities in Germany and Italy. They also examine the interest of politicians and senior managers in using such information for decision-making and monitoring within the municipal budget cycle. They find that the use of performance information is generally quite modest, and that the interest of different local actors varies to a great extent. Politicians are generally less interested in such information than top managers, particularly chief financial officers. The results are discussed by applying a theoretical framework based on institutional and legitimacy theories, and are compared with the literature on performance information use. KW - Italy KW - Germany KW - local government KW - performance budget KW - performance information use KW - performance management Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2015.1137770 SN - 1530-9576 SN - 1557-9271 VL - 39 SP - 581 EP - 606 PB - Springer CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fuertes, Vanesa A1 - Jantz, Bastian A1 - Klenk, Tanja A1 - McQuaid, Ronald T1 - Between cooperation and competition: The organisation of employment service delivery in the UK and Germany JF - International journal of social welfare N2 - The increased emphasis on labour market activation in many European countries has led to new forms of governance in recent decades. Primarily through qualitative data and document analysis, this article compares the restructuring of labour market service delivery in the UK and Germany. The comparison suggests the emergence of complex governance arrangements that seek to balance public regulation and accountability with the creation of room for market competition. As a result, we can observe in both countries a greater use of markets, but also of rules. While in both countries the relationships between different providers of labour market services can best be described as a mixture of cooperation and competition, differences exist in terms of instruments and the comprehensiveness of coordination initiatives. The findings suggest that the distinctions between governance models may be more important in theory than in practice, although the combinations of theoretical forms vary in different circumstances. KW - activation KW - coordination KW - employment services KW - Germany KW - governance KW - UK Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12100 SN - 1369-6866 SN - 1468-2397 VL - 23 SP - S71 EP - S86 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fritsch, Nina-Sophie A1 - Verwiebe, Roland A1 - Liedl, Bernd T1 - Declining Gender Differences in Low-Wage Employment in Germany, Austria and Switzerland JF - Comparative Sociology N2 - Although the low-wage employment sector has enlarged over the past 20 years in the context of pronounced flexibility in restructured labor markets, gender differences in low-wage employment have declined in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In this article, the authors examine reasons for declining gender inequalities, and most notably concentrate on explanations for the closing gender gap in low-wage employment risks. In addition, they identify differences and similarities among the German-speaking countries. Based on regression techniques and decomposition analyses (1996-2016), the authors find significantly decreasing labor market risks for the female workforce. Detailed analysis reveals that (1) the concrete positioning in the labor market shows greater importance in explaining declining gender differences compared to personal characteristics. (2) The changed composition of the labor markets has prevented the low-wage sector from increasing even more in general and works in favor of the female workforce and their low-wage employment risks in particular. KW - low-wage employment KW - gender inequality KW - labor market KW - Germany KW - Austria KW - Switzerland Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1163/15691330-12341507 SN - 1569-1322 SN - 1569-1330 VL - 18 IS - 4 SP - 449 EP - 488 PB - Brill CY - Leiden ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fritsch, Nina-Sophie A1 - Verwiebe, Roland A1 - Liedl, Bernd T1 - Declining Gender Differences in Low-Wage Employment in Germany, Austria and Switzerland JF - Comparative Sociology N2 - Although the low-wage employment sector has enlarged over the past 20 years in the context of pronounced flexibility in restructured labor markets, gender differences in low-wage employment have declined in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In this article, the authors examine reasons for declining gender inequalities, and most notably concentrate on explanations for the closing gender gap in low-wage employment risks. In addition, they identify differences and similarities among the German-speaking countries. Based on regression techniques and decomposition analyses (1996-2016), the authors find significantly decreasing labor market risks for the female workforce. Detailed analysis reveals that (1) the concrete positioning in the labor market shows greater importance in explaining declining gender differences compared to personal characteristics. (2) The changed composition of the labor markets has prevented the low-wage sector from increasing even more in general and works in favor of the female workforce and their low-wage employment risks in particular. KW - low-wage employment KW - gender inequality KW - labor market KW - Germany KW - Austria KW - Switzerland Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1163/15691330-12341507 SN - 1569-1330 SN - 1569-1322 VL - 18 IS - 4 SP - 449 EP - 448 PB - Brill CY - Leiden ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fritsch, Michael A1 - Kritikos, Alexander A1 - Sorgner, Alina T1 - Why did self-employment increase so strongly in Germany? JF - Entrepreneurship and regional development N2 - Germany experienced a unique rise in the level of self-employment in the first two decades following unification. Applying the nonlinear Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique, we find that the main factors driving these changes in the overall level of self-employment are demographic developments, the shift towards service sector employment and a larger share of population holding a tertiary degree. While these factors explain most of the development in self-employment with employees and the overall level of self-employment in West Germany, their explanatory power is much lower for the stronger increase in solo self-employment and in self-employment in former socialist East Germany. KW - self-employment KW - nonlinear Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique KW - entrepreneurship KW - Germany KW - L26 KW - D22 Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2015.1048310 SN - 0898-5626 SN - 1464-5114 VL - 27 IS - 5-6 SP - 307 EP - 333 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Franzke, Jochen T1 - Germany: From Denied Immigration to Integration of Migrants JF - Local Integration of Migrants Policy N2 - The chapter begins with a brief historical overview of Germany’s transition in the twentieth and twenty-first century from a transit and emigration country to one of immigration. The next part of this chapter looks at the challenges and problems facing German immigration policy within a multi-level federal system. Finally, the chapter gives an analysis of some of the trends in German migration policy since the refugee crisis in 2015, such as changes in the party system and in the concepts underlying migration policies to better manage, control and limit immigration to Germany. KW - Germany KW - Federalism KW - Integration KW - Coordination KW - Municipalities KW - Local autonomy Y1 - 2021 SN - 978-3-030-50978-1 SN - 978-3-030-50979-8 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50979-8_7 SN - 2523-8248 SN - 2523-8256 SP - 107 EP - 121 PB - Palgrave Macmillan CY - Cham ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Franzke, Jochen ED - Nunes Silva, Carlos T1 - German local authorities in the COVID-19 pandemic BT - challenges, impacts and adaptations T2 - Local government and the COVID-19 pandemic N2 - This study evaluates the challenges, institutional impacts and responses of German local authorities to the COVID-19 pandemic from a political science point of view. The main research question is how they have contributed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and to what extent the strengths and weaknesses of the German model of municipal autonomy have influenced their policy. It analyses the adaptation strategies of German local authorities and assesses the effectiveness of their actions up to now. Their implementation is then evaluated in five selected issues, e.g. adjustment organization and staff, challenges for local finances, local politics and citizen’s participation. This analysis is reflecting the scientific debate in Germany since the beginning of 2020, based on the available analyses of political science, law, economics, sociology and geography until end of March 2021. KW - Germany KW - municipalities KW - COVID-19 pandemic KW - resilience KW - coordination KW - administration KW - local and urban governance KW - local politics KW - local finance KW - local community Y1 - 2022 SN - 978-3-030-91111-9 SN - 978-3-030-91112-6 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91112-6_6 SP - 131 EP - 154 PB - Springer CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fleischer, Julia A1 - Seyfried, Markus T1 - Drawing from the bargaining pool: Determinants of ministerial selection in Germany JF - Party politics : an international journal for the study of political parties and political organizations N2 - This article expands our current knowledge about ministerial selection in coalition governments and analyses why ministerial candidates succeed in acquiring a cabinet position after general elections. It argues that political parties bargain over potential office-holders during government-formation processes, selecting future cabinet ministers from an emerging bargaining pool'. The article draws upon a new dataset comprising all ministrable candidates discussed by political parties during eight government-formation processes in Germany between 1983 and 2009. The conditional logit regression analysis reveals that temporal dynamics, such as the day she enters the pool, have a significant effect on her success in achieving a cabinet position. Other determinants of ministerial selection discussed in the existing literature, such as party and parliamentary expertise, are less relevant for achieving ministerial office. The article concludes that scholarship on ministerial selection requires a stronger emphasis for its endogenous nature in government-formation as well as the relevance of temporal dynamics in such processes. KW - Candidates KW - Germany KW - government-formation Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068813487108 SN - 1354-0688 SN - 1460-3683 VL - 21 IS - 4 SP - 503 EP - 514 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Stefan A1 - Spierling, Nastasja G. A1 - Heuser, Elisa A1 - Kling, Christopher A1 - Schmidt, Sabrina A1 - Rosenfeld, Ulrike A1 - Reil, Daniela A1 - Imholt, Christian A1 - Jacob, Jens A1 - Ulrich, Rainer G. A1 - Essbauer, Sandra T1 - High prevalence of Rickettsia helvetica in wild small mammal populations in Germany JF - Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases N2 - Since the beginning of the 21st century, spotted fever rickettsioses are known as emerging diseases worldwide. Rickettsiae are obligately intracellular bacteria transmitted by arthropod vectors. The ecology of Rickettsia species has not been investigated in detail, but small mammals are considered to play a role as reservoirs. Aim of this study was to monitor rickettsiae in wild small mammals over a period of five years in four federal states of Germany. Initial screening of ear pinna tissues of 3939 animals by Pan-Rick real-time PCR targeting the citrate synthase (gltA) gene revealed 296 rodents of seven species and 19 shrews of two species positive for rickettsial DNA. Outer membrane protein gene (ompB, ompAIV) PCRs based typing resulted in the identification of three species: Rickettsia helvetica (90.9%) was found as the dominantly occurring species in the four investigated federal states, but Rickettsia felis (7.8%) and Rickettsia raoultii (1.3%) were also detected. The prevalence of Rickettsia spp. in rodents of the genus Apodemus was found to be higher (approximately 14%) than in all other rodent and shrew species at all investigated sites. General linear mixed model analyses indicated that heavier (older) individuals of yellow-necked mice and male common voles seem to contain more often rickettsial DNA than younger ones. Furthermore, rodents generally collected in forests in summer and autumn more often carried rickettsial DNA. In conclusion, this study indicated a high prevalence of R. helvetica in small mammal populations and suggests an age-dependent increase of the DNA prevalence in some of the species and in animals originating from forest habitats. The finding of R. helvetica and R. felis DNA in multiple small mammal species may indicate frequent trans-species transmission by feeding of vectors on different species. Further investigations should target the reason for the discrepancy between the high rickettsial DNA prevalence in rodents and the so far almost absence of clinical apparent human infections. KW - Rickettsia helvetica KW - Rodent KW - Germany KW - Age KW - Reproduction KW - Season Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.01.009 SN - 1877-959X SN - 1877-9603 VL - 9 IS - 3 SP - 500 EP - 505 PB - Elsevier GMBH CY - München ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Stefan A1 - Mayer-Scholl, Anne A1 - Imholt, Christian A1 - Spierling, Nastasja G. A1 - Heuser, Elisa A1 - Schmidt, Sabrina A1 - Reil, Daniela A1 - Rosenfeld, Ulrike A1 - Jacob, Jens A1 - Nöckler, Karsten A1 - Ulrich, Rainer G. T1 - Leptospira genomospecies and sequence type prevalence in small mammal populations in Germany JF - Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases N2 - Leptospirosis is a worldwide emerging infectious disease caused by zoonotic bacteria of the genus Leptospira. Numerous mammals, including domestic and companion animals, can be infected by Leptospira spp., but rodents and other small mammals are considered the main reservoir. The annual number of recorded human leptospirosis cases in Germany (2001-2016) was 25-166. Field fever outbreaks in strawberry pickers, due to infection with Leptospira kirschneri serovar Grippotyphosa, were reported in 2007 and 2014. To identify the most commonly occurring Leptospira genomospecies, sequence types (STs), and their small mammal host specificity, a monitoring study was performed during 2010-2014 in four federal states of Germany. Initial screening of kidney tissues of 3,950 animals by PCR targeting the lipl32 gene revealed 435 rodents of 6 species and 89 shrews of three species positive for leptospiral DNA. PCR-based analyses resulted in the identification of the genomospecies L. kirschneri (62.7%), Leptospira interrogans (28.3%), and Leptospira borgpetersenii (9.0%), which are represented by four, one, and two STs, respectively. The average Leptospira prevalence was highest (approximate to 30%) in common voles (Microtus arvalis) and field voles (Microtus agrestis). Both species were exclusively infected with L. kirschneri. In contrast, in bank voles (Myodes glareolus) and yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis), DNA of all three genomospecies was detected, and in common shrews (Sorex araneus) DNA of L. kirschneri and L. borgpetersenii was identified. The association between individual infection status and demographic factors varied between species; infection status was always positively correlated to body weight. In conclusion, the study confirmed a broad geographical distribution of Leptospira in small mammals and suggested an important public health relevance of common and field voles as reservoirs of L. kirschneri. Furthermore, the investigations identified seasonal, habitat-related, as well as individual influences on Leptospira prevalence in small mammals that might impact public health. KW - demography KW - Germany KW - habitat KW - Leptospira spp KW - leptospirosis KW - MLST KW - rodent KW - shrew KW - SLST Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2017.2140 SN - 1530-3667 SN - 1557-7759 VL - 18 IS - 4 SP - 188 EP - 199 PB - Liebert CY - New Rochelle ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Drosselmeyer, Julia A1 - Jacob, Louis A1 - Rathmann, Wolfgang A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Kostev, Karel T1 - Depression risk in patients with late-onset rheumatoid arthritis in Germany JF - Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation N2 - The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of depression and its risk factors in patients with late-onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated in German primary care practices. Longitudinal data from general practices (n=1072) throughout Germany were analyzed. Individuals initially diagnosed with RA (2009-2013) were identified, and 7301 patients were included and matched (1:1) to 7301 controls. The primary outcome measure was the initial diagnosis of depression within 5 years after the index date in patients with and without RA. Cox proportional hazards models were used to adjust for confounders. The mean age was 72.2 years (SD: 7.6 years). A total of 34.9 % of patients were men. Depression diagnoses were present in 22.0 % of the RA group and 14.3 % of the control group after a 5-year follow-up period (p < 0.001). In the multivariate regression model, RA was a strong risk factor for the development of depression (HR: 1.55, p < 0.001). There was significant interaction of RA and diagnosed inflammatory polyarthropathies (IP) (RA*IP interaction: p < 0.001). Furthermore, dementia, cancer, osteoporosis, hypertension, and diabetes were associated with a higher risk of developing depression (p values < 0.001). The risk of depression is significantly higher in patients with late-onset RA than in patients without RA for subjects treated in primary care practices in Germany. RA patients should be screened routinely for depression in order to ensure improved treatment and management. KW - Late-onset rheumatoid arthritis KW - Depression KW - Primary care KW - Risk factors KW - Germany Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-016-1387-2 SN - 0962-9343 SN - 1573-2649 VL - 26 IS - 2 SP - 437 EP - 443 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER -