Alen K. Eskov, Evgenia A. Faronova, Tatiana G. Elumeeva
et al.
One of the most popular approaches in functional plant ecology is the study of CSR strategies based on Grime’s theory. However, this approach to the study of epiphytes has not been used yet. We assumed that the response of epiphytes to disturbances would be different than that of terrestrial plants. Namely, this would lead to a decrease in epiphytes with the competitive (C) strategy and an increase in the number of stress-tolerants (S) in disturbed forests. We found that in primary forests, representatives of the Orchidaceae family dominate in terms of species number, while in disturbed forests, Orchidaceae and Polypodiaceae dominate. Epiphytes demonstrate a tendency to a more pronounced C- strategy than tropical forest trees and to a more R- strategy than terrestrial herbs. At the same time, most epiphytes gravitate toward the radical S- strategy. In the primary forest, epiphytes adhering to competitive, ruderal, and mixed strategies are widely represented. Representatives of these strategies disappear in secondary forests so that predominantly (S) stress-tolerant and one (C) competitive species remain. In the studied secondary formations of tropical forest, the lower forest layer is occupied by succulent orchids and ferns. Undisturbed tropical forest is characterized by the presence of sciophytic and mid-stem epiphytes. Disturbance of the tropical forest structure leads to the loss of epiphytic species of the lower synusiae, while the advantage passes to stress-tolerant succulents. Thus, the change in the functional diversity of epiphytes is directly related to the change in the structure and layering of the forest canopy
<span class='abs_content'>The approach of Community Organizing to building and empowering local communities has become increasingly popular in the last decades, both because of the past involvement in community organizing of popular personalities such as Barack Obama, and because of the crisis of more traditional practices of civil society building. The main promoter of this approach worldwide is today the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), based in Chicago, which was founded in 1940 by Saul D. Alinsky, who has also systematized the main principles of community organizing. Thanks to IAF activity, since the 1990s, the community organizing method has also spread to western Europe, first in the UK and Germany, and later in several other countries. After sketching the history and methodology of the broad-based community organizing approach adopted by the IAF, this paper will try to analyze the community organizing initiatives developed in Western Europe during the last 30 years under the supervision of (or inspired by) the Industrial Areas Foundation network, singling out the main problems and issues at stake in adopting and translating the method outside the US, in different social, political and cultural contexts. The analysis will be based both on semi-structured interviews with several US- and Europe-based organizers and on the participant observation carried out since 2019, during the development of a community organizing initiative in the city of Turin, in northern Italy.</span><br/>
Patrick L. Jambura, Eduardo Villalobos-Segura, Julia Türtscher
et al.
The Late Jurassic elasmobranch <i>Protospinax annectans</i> is often regarded as a key species to our understanding of crown group elasmobranch interrelationships and the evolutionary history of this group. However, since its first description more than 100 years ago, its phylogenetic position within the Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) has proven controversial, and a closer relationship between <i>Protospinax</i> and each of the posited superorders (Batomorphii, Squalomorphii, and Galeomorphii) has been proposed over the time. Here we revise this controversial taxon based on new holomorphic specimens from the Late Jurassic Konservat-Lagerstätte of the Solnhofen Archipelago in Bavaria (Germany) and review its skeletal morphology, systematics, and phylogenetic interrelationships. A data matrix with 224 morphological characters was compiled and analyzed under a molecular backbone constraint. Our results indicate a close relationship between <i>Protospinax</i>, angel sharks (Squatiniformes), and saw sharks (Pristiophoriformes). However, the revision of our morphological data matrix within a molecular framework highlights the lack of morphological characters defining certain groups, especially sharks of the order Squaliformes, hampering the phylogenetic resolution of <i>Protospinax annectans</i> with certainty. Furthermore, the monophyly of modern sharks retrieved by molecular studies is only weakly supported by morphological data, stressing the need for more characters to align morphological and molecular studies in the future.
<p>Modern tropical rainforests (TRFs) are one of the most
ecologically important and species-rich biomes on the planet. However, the
origin of modern TRFs is still debated, especially due to the incongruence
between the fossil record and molecular data. Here, we test whether
Campanian assemblages from northeastern Africa could represent fossil TRF
vegetation. In so doing, we compare the investigated assemblages with other
assemblages known to represent temperate forests, subtropical forests, and
TRF in terms of leaf physiognomy, species richness, and taxonomic
composition. We conclude based on fossil leaves that modern-looking TRFs
already existed since 80 Ma during the Campanian in northeastern Africa
in an area corresponding to 10 % of the modern Amazonian or 25 % of the
Congolese TRF. The apparent conflict between the fossil record and
phylogenetic evidence is due to the nearly complete absence of published
tropical floras for the Cretaceous.</p>
Kaushik Satapathy, Dimitrios Psaltis, Feryal Özel
et al.
The black hole images obtained with the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) are expected to be variable at the dynamical timescale near their horizons. For the black hole at the center of the M87 galaxy, this timescale (5–61 days) is comparable to the 6 day extent of the 2017 EHT observations. Closure phases along baseline triangles are robust interferometric observables that are sensitive to the expected structural changes of the images but are free of station-based atmospheric and instrumental errors. We explored the day-to-day variability in closure-phase measurements on all six linearly independent nontrivial baseline triangles that can be formed from the 2017 observations. We showed that three triangles exhibit very low day-to-day variability, with a dispersion of ∼3°–5°. The only triangles that exhibit substantially higher variability (∼90°–180°) are the ones with baselines that cross the visibility amplitude minima on the u – v plane, as expected from theoretical modeling. We used two sets of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations to explore the dependence of the predicted variability on various black hole and accretion-flow parameters. We found that changing the magnetic field configuration, electron temperature model, or black hole spin has a marginal effect on the model consistency with the observed level of variability. On the other hand, the most discriminating image characteristic of models is the fractional width of the bright ring of emission. Models that best reproduce the observed small level of variability are characterized by thin ring-like images with structures dominated by gravitational lensing effects and thus least affected by turbulence in the accreting plasmas.
Hiroshi Shimizu, Haruki Matsumoto, Tomomi Sasajima
et al.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Most of the infected individuals have recovered without complications, but a few patients develop multiple organ involvements. Previous reports suggest an association between COVID-19 and various inflammatory myopathies, in addition to autoimmune diseases. COVID-19 has been known to exacerbate preexisting autoimmune diseases and trigger various autoantibodies and autoimmune disease occurrence. Here we report a case of complicated COVID-19 with anti-synthetase autoantibodies (ASSs) presenting with skin rash, muscle weakness, and interstitial lung disease (ILD) and subsequently diagnosed with dermatomyositis (DM). A 47-year-old Japanese male patient without any previous history of illness, including autoimmune diseases, presented with a high fever, sore throat, and cough. Oropharyngeal swab for SARS-Cov-2 polymerase chain reaction tested positive. He was isolated at home and did not require hospitalization. However, his respiratory symptoms continued, and he was treated with prednisolone (20 mg/day) for 14 days due to the newly developing interstitial shadows over the lower lobes of both lungs. These pulmonary manifestations remitted within a week. He presented with face edema and myalgia 4 weeks later when he was off corticosteroids. Subsequently, he presented with face erythema, V-neck skin rash, low-grade fever, and exertional dyspnea. High-resolution computed tomography of the chest showed ILD. Biochemical analysis revealed creatine kinase and aldolase elevations, in addition to transaminases. Anti-aminoacyl tRNA synthetase (ARS) was detected using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (170.9 U/mL) (MESACUP™ (Medical & Biological Laboratories, Japan), and the tRNA component was identified as anti-PL-7 and anti-Ro-52 antibodies using an immunoblot assay [EUROLINE Myositis Antigens Profile 3 (IgG), Euroimmun, Lübeck,Germany]. The patient was diagnosed with DM, especially anti- synthase antibody syndrome based on the presence of myositis-specific antibodies, clinical features, and pathological findings. The present case suggests that COVID-19 may have contributed to the production of anti-synthetase antibodies (ASAs) and the development of de novo DM. Our case highlights the importance of the assessment of patients who present with inflammatory myopathy post-COVID-19 and appropriate diagnostic work-up, including ASAs, against the clinical features that mimic DM after post-COVID-19.
Abstract Background To understand life-history strategies in migratory bird species, we should focus on migration behaviour and possible carry-over effects on both population and individual level. Tracking devices are useful tools to directly investigate migration behaviour. With increased use of tracking devices, questions arise towards animal welfare and possible negative effects of logger on birds. Several studies were conducted to address this question in birds that were tagged and tracked for one complete non-breeding season including migration but with mixed results. To detect individual-based decisions regarding migration strategy, we need to track the same individuals several times. So far, there are no studies investigating effects of repeatedly tagging on reproduction and life-history traits in individual migratory birds, especially in small birds. Methods We used long-term data of 85 tagged common swifts (Apus apus), a long-distance migratory bird, of a breeding colony in Germany to test whether carrying a geolocator or GPS logger once or repeatedly during non-breeding season affected return rate, apparent survival, and parameters determining reproductive success. Additionally, we checked for individual differences in arrival date and breeding parameters when the same individuals were tagged and when they were not tagged in different years. Further, we calculated the individual repeatability in arrival at the breeding colony and date of egg laying in repeatedly tagged swifts. Results Once and repeatedly tagged birds returned to the colony at a similar rate as non-logger birds and arrived earlier than non-logger birds. We found no effect of logger-type on return rate in logger birds. We detected no differences in apparent survival, time lag to clutch initiation, date of clutch initiation, clutch size, number of chicks and fledglings between logger and non-logger birds. We found neither an effect of loggers nor of logger-types on the arrival date and breeding parameter on individual-level. Arrival date was highly repeatable and date of clutch initiation was moderately repeatable within repeatedly tagged individuals.
The advantageous depth dose profile of ion beams together with state of the art beam delivery and treatment planning systems allow for highly conformal tumor treatments in patients. First treatments date back to 1954 at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) and in Europe, ion beam therapy started in the mid-1990s at the Paul-Scherrer Institute (PSI) with protons and at the Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research (GSI) with carbon ions, followed by the Heidelberg Ion Therapy Center (HIT) in Heidelberg. This review describes the historical development of ion beam therapy in Germany based on the pioneering work at LBL and in the context of simultaneous developments in other countries as well as recent developments.
Medical physics. Medical radiology. Nuclear medicine
AbstractIn this chapter, the beginnings of sociology in Germany up until 1945 are presented. Similar to France, in Germany the genesis of sociology is closely linked to the emergence of bourgeois society, industrialization, and the perception of a social and cultural crisis. At the turn of the century, the now well-known “founding fathers,” such as Ferdinand Tönnies, Georg Simmel, and Max Weber, published their classical works. Journals and professional organizations were founded. In the interwar period, sociology became established as an academic discipline at universities. National Socialism brought sociology as an institutionalized and well-established discipline to an end. The Nazis had no interest in sociology as an independent science. But even though sociology cannot be identified as a discipline in the years 1933 to 1945, there were people who worked sociologically. It was in particular their empirical and methodological knowledge that was useful for the Nazis.
<p>This paper examines how ionospheric physics emerged as a research speciality
in Britain, Germany, and the United States in the first four decades of the
20th century. It argues that the formation of this discipline can be
viewed as the confluence of four deep-rooted traditions in which scientists
and engineers transformed, from within, research areas connected to
radio wave propagation and geomagnetism. These traditions include Cambridge
school's mathematical physics, Göttingen's mathematical physics, laboratory-based experimental physics, and Humboldtian-style terrestrial physics. Although focused on ionospheric physics, the paper pursues the idea that a dynamic conception of scientific tradition will provide a new perspective for the study of geosciences history.</p>
Holger Preuss, Iris an der Heiden, Christian Alfs
et al.
Recent studies on the economic dimensions of sports and physical activity in Germany have revealed that sport-related tourism is one of the important contributors to private household consumption. Due to a lack of representative and large-scale data sets, this topic has never been displayed in detail before. By using computer assisted telephone and web interviews, we collected a total data set of n=19,396 persons living in Germany. The expenditures for active sport tourism were isolated, which is understood as travelling to take part in different sporting activities. Data are provided on the overall spending of German households for sport trips, with skiing (€ 3.4 bn) and scuba diving (€ 2.2 bn) being the sports with the highest consumption. We differentiate 71 types of sport and provide data on the most important 20 types. German households undertake 28 million trips each year and spend on average € 460 for each trip. This adds up to € 12.8 bn, which is a significant contribution to the economic dimension of sport. Austria, the Netherlands and Spain are the most important destinations for German households regarding active sport trips. The paper provides useful data to shed further light on the active sport tourism market.
Manas K. Akmatov, Peggy Riese, Stephanie Trittel
et al.
Abstract Background The immune response to seasonal influenza vaccines decreases with advancing age. Therefore, an adjuvanted inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine (Fluad®) exists for elderly individuals. Fluad® is more immunogenic and efficacious than conventional influenza vaccines. However, the immune response varies and may still result in high frequencies of poor responders. Therefore, we aimed to a) examine the prevalence of a weak response to Fluad® and b) identify potential risk factors. Methods A prospective population-based study among individuals 65–80 years old was conducted in 2015/2016 in Hannover, Germany (n = 200). Hemagglutination-inhibition titers 21 days after vaccination with Fluad® served as indicator of vaccine responsiveness. Results The percentage of vaccinees with an inadequate vaccine response varied depending on the influenza strain: it was lowest for H3N2 (13.5%; 95% CI, 9.4–18.9%), intermediate for B strain (37.0%; 30.6–43.9%), and highest for H1N1 (49.0%; 42.2–55.9%). The risk of a weak response to the influenza A H1N1 strain was independently associated with self-reported diabetes (AOR, 4.64; 95% CI, 1.16–18.54), a history of herpes zoster (2.27; 1.01–5.10) and, to a much lesser extent, increasing age (change per year, 1.08; 0.99–1.16). In addition, herpes zoster was the only risk factor for a weak response to the H3N2 antigen (AOR, 3.12; 1.18–8.23). We found no significant association between sex, Body Mass Index, cancer, hypertension, heart attack and CMV seropositivity and a weak response to these two influenza A antigens. Despite its occurence in over one third of vaccinees, none of the variables examined proved to be risk factors for a weak response to the B antigen. Conclusions A considerable proportion of elderly individuals displayed a weak vaccine response to this adjuvanted seasonal influenza vaccine and further efforts are thus needed to improve immune responses to influenza vaccination among the elderly. Diabetes and herpes zoster were identified as potentially modifiable risk factors for a poor vaccine response against influenza A antigens, but the results also reveal the need for broader investigations to identify risk factors for inadequate responses to influenza B antigens. Trial registration No. NCT02362919 (ClinicalTrials.gov, date of registration: 09.02.2015).
Jessica E Thomas, Gary R Carvalho, James Haile
et al.
The great auk was once abundant and distributed across the North Atlantic. It is now extinct, having been heavily exploited for its eggs, meat, and feathers. We investigated the impact of human hunting on its demise by integrating genetic data, GPS-based ocean current data, and analyses of population viability. We sequenced complete mitochondrial genomes of 41 individuals from across the species’ geographic range and reconstructed population structure and population dynamics throughout the Holocene. Taken together, our data do not provide any evidence that great auks were at risk of extinction prior to the onset of intensive human hunting in the early 16th century. In addition, our population viability analyses reveal that even if the great auk had not been under threat by environmental change, human hunting alone could have been sufficient to cause its extinction. Our results emphasise the vulnerability of even abundant and widespread species to intense and localised exploitation.
As well for optimized emergency management in individual cases as for optimized mass medicine in disaster management, the principle of the medical doctors approaching the patient directly and timely, even close to the site of the incident, is a long-standing marker for quality of care and patient survival in Germany. Professional rescue and emergency forces, including medical services, are the “Golden Standard” of emergency management systems. Regulative laws, proper organization of resources, equipment, training and adequate delivery of medical measures are key factors in systematic approaches to manage emergencies and disasters alike and thus save lives. During disasters command, communication, coordination and cooperation are essential to cope with extreme situations, even more so in a globalized world. In this article, we describe the major historical milestones, the current state of the German system in emergency and disaster management and its integration into the broader European approach.
The historical residential area of Kōm ad⁻Dikka in Alexandria has experienced morphological transformation from the ancient era until the present. Each historical period had a physical impact on the city’s urban structure that in turn struggled to survive the successive one with its different urban conception. However, the sinuous streets of this area, which probably date back to the late Egyptian Medieval period, are characterized as being the only surviving organic fabric intra⁻muros that was not altered during the Egyptian Modern period. In the absence of scientific publications regarding the history of Kōm ad⁻Dikka, this paper elaborately investigated its chronological history since the ancient era until the mid-twentieth century. Based on an in-depth investigation of historical maps and memoirs, this paper revealed the possible reasons behind the area’s extant sinuous urban form and postulated reconstructions of its urban morphology through sequential phases.
Daphne Cuvelier, Daphne Cuvelier, Sabine Gollner
et al.
Mining impacts will affect local populations to different degrees. Impacts range from removal of habitats and possible energy sources to pollution and smaller-scale alterations in local habitats that, depending on the degree of disturbance, can lead to extinction of local communities. While there is a shortage or even lack of studies investigating impacts that resemble those caused by actual mining activity, the information available on the potential long-lasting impacts of seabed mining emphasise the need for effective environmental management plans. These plans should include efforts to mitigate deep-sea mining impact such as avoidance, minimisation and potentially restoration actions, to maintain or encourage reinstatement of a resilient ecosystem. A wide range of mitigation and restoration actions for deep-sea ecosystems at risk were addressed. From an ecological point of view, the designation of set-aside areas (refuges) is of utmost importance as it appears to be the most comprehensive and precautionary approach, both for well-known and lesser studied areas. Other actions range from the deployment of artificial substrates to enhance faunal colonisation and survival to habitat recreation, artificial eutrophication, but also spatial and temporal management of mining operations, as well as optimising mining machine construction to minimise plume size on the sea floor, toxicity of the return plume and sediment compression. No single action will suffice to allow an ecosystem to recover, instead combined mitigation/restoration actions need to be considered, which will depend on the specific characteristics of the different mining habitats and the resources hosted (polymetallic sulphides, polymetallic nodules and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts). However, there is a lack of practical experience regarding mitigation and restoration actions following mining impacts, which severely hamper their predictability and estimation of their possible effect and success. We propose an extensive list of actions that could be considered as recommendations for best environmental practice. The list is not restricted and, depending on the characteristics of the site, additional actions can be considered. For all actions presented here, further research is necessary to fully encompass their potential and contribution to possible mitigation or restoration of the ecosystem.
Science, General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution
Relations between Berlin and Tel Aviv are unique. They occupy a special place in the foreign relations of Germany because of the "historic responsibility" o f the Germans for the Holocaust - the genocide of 6 million Jews during the time of National Socialism. The Germans certainly learned a lesson from its past. For 70 years they have been demonstrating to the entire world its good intentions, and did everything possible in order to atone for the suffering of Jews. Today, among the Germans one can observe some fatigue of the theme. There is an increasing desire to leave the topic in the past and to develop relations with Israel, which is not based on the need to make concessions because of the fear of being convicted of a tragic chapter in the history. The same cannot be said about the Jews, who do not forget to remind Berlin about its "special historical responsibility." We can assume that in the short and medium term, the Holocaust will determine the development of relations between Berlin and Tel Aviv.
This is a review of a Russian-German textbook that describes the events of the 20th century. The book has been created by the Common Board for Research on the History of the Russian-German Relationships and can be used as learning material in schools and universities of both countries.
History of Russia. Soviet Union. Former Soviet Republics, International relations
In this issue, we are pleased to include four contributions on a topic that is currently the object of heated debates in Germany and that we feel should be of interest to our readers – the concept of Bildung, or general education, in an era of globalization. Two of these contributions are authored by two German doctoral students in Applied Linguistics who visited the Berkeley Language Center during the academic year 2013-2014: Irene Heidt, from the Hellenic American University in Athens, Greece, and Julia Campos, from the University of Munich. While at UC Berkeley, Irene and Julia participated in a graduate student reading group on neoliberalism in language education (see L2Journal Special Issue 2015), and they researched in depth the history and the current debates surrounding the quintessentially German concept of Bildung this quintessentially German concept. The two papers that appear in this issue are the result of their research. I decided to invite two German senior scholars in Applied Linguistics to write a response to each of these papers. Prof. Dr. Adelheid Hu, from the University of Luxemburg, responded to Irene Heidt, and Prof. Dr. Jörg Roche, from the University of Munich, responded to Julia Campos. This unusual pairing of a young and a more senior scholar, for which I was inspired by my colleague Prof. Jabari Mahiri from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education, will give our readers a multifaceted perspective on this complex topic. We hope you find it fruitful for your own research and practice.
Theory and practice of education, Philology. Linguistics