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Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) and corresponding borderline states, impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and/or glucose tolerance (IGT), are associated with dyslipoproteinemia. It is important to distinguish between factors that cause T2D and that are the direct result of T2D. Methods The lipoprotein subclass patterns of blood donors with IFG, IGT, with IFG combined with IGT, and T2D are analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The development of lipoprotein patterns with time is investigated by using samples retained for an average period of 6 years. In total 595 blood donors are classified by oral glucose tolerance test (oGTT) and their glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) concentrations. Concentrations of lipoprotein particles of 15 different subclasses are analyzed in the 10,921 NMR spectra recorded under fasting and non-fasting conditions. The subjects are assumed healthy according to the strict regulations for blood donors before performing the oGTT. Results Under fasting conditions manifest T2D exhibits a significant concentration increase of the smallest HDL particles (HDL A) combined with a decrease in all other HDL subclasses. In contrast to other studies reviewed in this paper, a general concentration decrease of all LDL particles is observed that is most prominent for the smallest LDL particles (LDL A). Under normal nutritional conditions a large, significant increase of the concentrations of VLDL and chylomicrons is observed for all groups with IFG and/or IGT and most prominently for manifest T2D. As we show it is possible to obtain an estimate of the concentrations of the apolipoproteins Apo-A1, Apo-B100, and Apo-B48 from the NMR data. In the actual study cohort, under fasting conditions the concentrations of the lipoproteins are not increased significantly in T2D, under non-fasting conditions only Apo-B48 increases significantly. Conclusion In contrast to other studies, in our cohort of “healthy” blood donors the T2D associated dyslipoproteinemia does not change the total concentrations of the lipoprotein particles produced in the liver under fasting and non-fasting conditions significantly but only their subclass distributions. Compared to the control group, under non-fasting conditions participants with IGT and IFG or T2D show a substantial increase of plasma concentrations of those lipoproteins that are produced in the intestinal tract. The intestinal insulin resistance becomes strongly observable.

SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance is important to adapt infection control measures and estimate the degree of underreporting. Blood donor samples can be used as a proxy for the healthy adult population. In a repeated cross-sectional study from April 2020 to April 2021, September 2021, and April/May 2022, 13 blood establishments collected 134,510 anonymised specimens from blood donors in 28 study regions across Germany. These were tested for antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and nucleocapsid, including neutralising capacity. Seroprevalence was adjusted for test performance and sampling and weighted for demographic differences between the sample and the general population. Seroprevalence estimates were compared to notified COVID-19 cases. The overall adjusted SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence remained below 2% until December 2020 and increased to 18.1% in April 2021, 89.4% in September 2021, and to 100% in April/May 2022. Neutralising capacity was found in 74% of all positive specimens until April 2021 and in 98% in April/May 2022. Our serosurveillance allowed for repeated estimations of underreporting from the early stage of the pandemic onwards. Underreporting ranged between factors 5.1 and 1.1 in the first two waves of the pandemic and remained well below 2 afterwards, indicating an adequate test strategy and notification system in Germany.

In Germany, the respondents who had participated in the 2012 survey of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) were re-approached for the panel study PIAAC-L. PIAAC-L aims at investigating the longitudinal effects of skill outcomes over the life course and the development of the key skills assessed in PIAAC. Moreover, additional and alternative background information was collected and analyzed within PIAAC-L. PIAAC-L consists of three follow-up waves to the initial PIAAC 2012 survey. The present paper describes the rationale for PIAAC-L and the benefits of conducting a longitudinal PIAAC follow-up study in Germany. In addition, we outline the general design of PIAAC-L and the specific design of the three waves of data collection. Finally, we address the analytic potential of PIAAC-L data set and its availability to the scientific community.

Background European countries, and especially Germany, are currently very much affected by human migration flows, with the result that the task of integration has become a challenge. Only very little empirical evidence on topics such as labor market participation and processes of social integration of migrant subpopulations is available to date from large-scale population surveys. The present paper provides an overview of the representation of the migrant population in the German Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) sample and evaluates reasons for the under-coverage of this population. Methods We examine outcome rates and reasons for nonresponse among the migrant population based on sampling frame data, and we also examine para data from the interviewers’ contact protocols to evaluate time patterns for the successful contacting of migrants. Results and Conclusions This is the first time that results of this kind have been presented for a large-scale assessment in educational research. These results are also discussed in the context of future PIAAC cycles. Overall, they confirm the expectations in the literature that factors such as language problems result in lower contact and response rates among migrants.

Dieser Beitrag beschreibt die Grundzüge von PIAAC-L, der Nachfolgestudie von PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) in Deutschland und stellt die PIAAC-L-Daten vor. PIAAC-L war eine gemeinschaftliche Studie von drei groß angelegten Erhebungen in Deutschland, PIAAC, dem Nationalen Bildungspanel (NEPS) und dem Sozio-oekonomischen Panel (SOEP). Die Befragungspersonen der deutschen PIAAC-Stichprobe (2011/2012) und die erwachsenen Mitglieder ihrer Haushalte wurden über drei Wellen (2014, 2015, 2016) befragt. PIAAC-L kombinierte Designmerkmale und Instrumente aus PIAAC, NEPS und dem SOEP und beinhaltete eine erneute Messung von grundlegenden Kompetenzen. Die Lesekompetenz und die Alltagsmathematische Kompetenz wurden mit Instrumenten aus PIAAC und NEPS gemessen. Die Messung wurde auf mit den PIAAC-Befragungspersonen zusammenlebende (Ehe)partnerinnen und -partner ausgeweitet. Die Interviewer-administrierten Personen- und Haushaltsfragebögen deckten ein breites Spektrum an Inhalten ab. Die PIAAC-L-Daten, die Forscherinnen und Forschern für Sekundäranalysen zur Verfügung stehen, erlauben es, grundlegende Kompetenzen im Zeitverlauf und Faktoren, die mit ihrem Erwerb und Erhalt zusammenhängen, zu untersuchen. Im Hinblick auf den deutschen Kontext ist die Studie von Interesse, da sie Expertise und Inhalte aus drei nationalen Großerhebungen kombiniert. This paper describes the main features of PIAAC-L, the German longitudinal follow-up to PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies), and presents the PIAAC-L data. PIAAC-L was a collaborative study by three large-scale surveys in Germany, PIAAC, the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), and the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Respondents from the German PIAAC sample (2011/2012) and the adult members of their households were interviewed over three waves (2014, 2015, 2016). PIAAC-L combined design features and instruments from PIAAC, NEPS, and the SOEP and included a re-assessment of basic cognitive skills. Literacy and numeracy were measured with instruments from PIAAC and NEPS and the assessment was extended to include cohabiting spouses/partners of PIAAC respondents. Interviewer-administered person and household questionnaires covered a broad range of content. The PIAAC-L data, which are available to researchers for secondary analyses, allow to explore cognitive skills over time and factors related to their acquisition and maintenance. In the German context, the study is of interest because it combined expertise and content from three national large-scale surveys.

In survey research, a consensus has grown regarding the effectiveness of incentives encouraging survey participation across different survey modes and target populations. Most of this research has been based on surveys from the United States, whereas few studies have provided evidence that these results can be generalized to other contexts. This paper is the first to present comprehensive information concerning the effects of incentives on response rates and nonresponse bias across large-scale surveys in Germany. The context could be viewed as a critical test for incentive effects because Germany's population is among the most survey-critical in the world, with very low response rates. Our results suggest positive incentive effects on response rates and patterns of effects that are similar to those in previous research: The effect increased with the monetary value of the incentive; cash incentives affected response propensity more strongly than lottery tickets do; and prepaid incentives could be more cost effective than conditional incentives. We found mixed results for the effects of incentives on nonresponse bias. Regarding large-scale panel surveys, we could not unequivocally confirm that incentives increased response rates in later panel waves. (Orig.).

Background: European countries, and especially Germany, are currently very much affected by human migration flows, with the result that the task of integration has become a challenge. Only very little empirical evidence on topics such as labor market participation and processes of social integration of migrant subpopulations is available to date from large-scale population surveys. The present paper provides an overview of the representation of the migrant population in the German Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) sample and evaluates reasons for the under-coverage of this population. Methods: We examine outcome rates and reasons for nonresponse among the migrant population based on sampling frame data, and we also examine para data from the interviewers' contact protocols to evaluate time patterns for the successful contacting of migrants. Results and Conclusions: This is the first time that results of this kind have been presented for a large-scale assessment in educational research. These results are also discussed in the context of future PIAAC cycles. Overall, they confirm the expectations in the literature that factors such as language problems result in lower contact and response rates among migrants.

Research into translation errors may actually be considered one of the most important aims of translation didactics because its main purpose consists in comprehending the mental processes subjacent in the students' so-called \"black box\", in establishing a methodology which facilitates the comprehension of these processes and in optimally evaluating the students' translation strategies in the classroom. In the first place, the present dissertation describes different methodological suggestions of some of the most important translation theorists and pedagogues regarding a classification of language and translation errors. There contributions show that in error assessment a prescriptive attitude will prove insufficient and it will be necessary to include other factors such as pragmatic, communicative and cognitive ones. Apart from the importance of analysing the original text and the exhaustive recourse to parallel texts which proved to be very useful in target text production, the mental processes at compile time will be noted. We take the translation of a legal text from Spanish into German as an example and, for our case study, we apply the method of \"thinking-aloud-protocols\" in order to detect the origins of the errors committed by the student groups during the translation of a contract of purchase and sale of real property. We base our results on the summaries of the transcripted errors and we develop a new functional-cognitive error taxonomy for legal translation.