Hasil untuk "History of Germany"

Olugbenga T. Fajemila, Tesleem O. Kolawole, Jorge E. Spangenberg et al.

The Mamu Formation is an important sedimentary unit within the Anambra Basin, southern Nigeria. The presence of coal seams and carbonaceous shales within this formation has implications on its hydrocarbon potential and paleoenvironment of deposition. This study integrated stable isotopes of organic carbon and total nitrogen (δ13Corg, δ15NTN) and palynology to characterize the depositional environment of the Mamu Shales located at the western flank of the Anambra Basin in Nigeria. The δ13Corg values ranged from -25.9 to -24.6‰ VPDB, while the δ15NTN values varied from 3.0 to 5.6‰ Air-N₂. Additionally, the carbon-to-nitrogen molar ratios (C/N) fell between 10.8 and 19.3. These findings suggest that the organic matter primarily originated from terrestrial C₃ grasses and trees. The range of TOC, HI and Tmax values suggested that these shales are good hydrocarbon source rocks. The palynomaceral (PM) assemblages were characterized by abundant, poorly sorted small and medium-sized PM-1 and PM-2, alongside relatively common lath-shaped PM-4. These assemblages were associated with lower occurrences of PM-3, structureless organic matter, and land-derived palynomorphs. Together, these observations indicate a predominantly terrestrial paleoenvironment marked by rainforest vegetation. From the δ15NTN values, it appears that symbiotic nitrogen-fixing plants served as the primary nitrogen source for the black shales, which formed in a continental marginal environment. Overall, our results suggest that the episodic incursions of the Trans-Saharan Seaway were minimal at the western flank of the basin, indicating a carbonate-starved paleoenvironment during the Late Cretaceous.

Tim Ziemer, Simon Linke

Many documentaries on early house and techno music exist. Here, protagonists from the scenes describe key elements and events that affected the evolution of the music. In the research community, there is consensus that such descriptions have to be examined critically. Yet, there have not been attempts to validate such statements on the basis of audio analyses. In this study, over 9,000 early house and techno tracks from Germany and the United States of America are analyzed using recording studio features, machine learning and inferential statistics. Three observations can be made: 1.) German and US house/techno music are distinct, 2.) US styles are much more alike, and 3.) scarcely evolved over time compared to German house/techno regarding the recording studio features. These findings are in agreement with documented statements and thus provide an audio-based perspective on why techno became a mass phenomenon in Germany but remained a fringe phenomenon in the USA. Observations like these can help the music industry estimate whether new trends will experience a breakthrough or disappear.

Klaus Blaum, Peter Kaufmann, Jochen Kronjäger et al.

The recent breakthroughs in the distribution of quantum information and high-precision time and frequency (T&F) signals over long-haul optical fibre networks have transformative potential for physically secure communications, resilience of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and fundamental physics. However, so far these capabilities remain confined to isolated testbeds, with quantum and T&F signals accessible, for example in Germany, to only a few institutions. We propose the QTF-Backbone: a dedicated national fibre-optic infrastructure in Germany for the networked distribution of quantum and T&F signals using dark fibres and specialized hardware. The QTF-Backbone is planned as a four-phase deployment over ten years to ensure scalable, sustainable access for research institutions and industry. The concept builds on successful demonstrations of high-TRL time and frequency distribution across Europe, including PTB-MPQ links in Germany, REFIMEVE in France, and the Italian LIFT network. The QTF-Backbone will enable transformative R&D, support a nationwide QTF ecosystem, and ensure the transition from innovation to deployment. As a national and European hub, it will position Germany and Europe at the forefront of quantum networking, as well as time and frequency transfer.

George Goradze

Russia’s policy towards neighbouring countries and nations has always been dictated by imperialist and expansionist goals. To achieve them, Russia used brutal methods, including direct military aggression, incit­ing ethnic conflicts, genocide and ethnic cleansing. There are many examples of this in history in the form of the genocide of the Caucasian nations in the 19th century, the Holodomor against Ukrainian people, Soviet repres­sions, the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, and others. Nevertheless, Russia has not been held accountable for its actions. The war against Ukraine, which started in February 2022, dispelled all illusions of the democratic world towards Russia. Today, the democratic world is united, and the primary basis of this unity is the values, which it must bear responsibility for protecting. For this purpose, all international legal levers and institutions should be used. Russia’s leadership must be brought to justice, and the country must be held financially accountable. The only way for peace between Russia and the world is the democratisation of Russia, which is only possible through international legal coercion, as happened in the case of Nazi Germany. This article is an attempt to present the specific facts of Russia’s aggressive and imperialist policy towards neighbouring countries, especially towards Georgia, the specific legal levers for combating this policy, and future perspectives.

Mialy Razanajatovo, Frank M. Schurr, Nadia Muhthassim et al.

Plant-pollinator interactions are key for the reproduction of wild plants and for food security. However, the role nocturnal pollinators play in wild plant communities is not yet clear. Specifically, it has rarely been studied whether nocturnal pollinators are comparable to diurnal ones in the pollination services they deliver in plant communities. We tested whether nocturnal pollinators have the potential to provide high pollination services to the plants they visit by carrying high conspecific pollen loads. We studied pollen loads carried by nocturnal and diurnal pollinators captured over 24-hour cycles in co-flowering plant communities in Swiss ruderal meadows. Pollen load was less diverse at night, and the proportion of conspecific pollen carried by nocturnal pollinators was higher than that of diurnal ones. Because the majority of plant species visited at night were also visited during the day, floral resource availability could drive the observed patterns in pollen load and amount of conspecific pollen. Nevertheless, nocturnal pollinators do not only carry pollen but can remove and potentially deposit conspecific pollen to the plants they visit. Therefore, pollinators active at night might be an important pollination vector for more plant species than previously thought and should not be neglected in pollination studies.

Philipp Hiller, Michael Krings, Hans Kerp et al.

During the 11th German Antarctic North Victoria Land Expedition in 2015/16, exceptionally well-preserved permineralized Kykloxylon stems—the wood of the iconic Dicroidium plants of the Gondwanan Triassic—were collected from the Middle to Upper Triassic Helliwell Formation in north Victoria Land, Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica. Some of these logs show large borings and cavities that are partly filled with multi-layered periderm. This periderm is identical in cell shape and dimensions to isolated flakes of tissue that are superabundant in bulk macerations of Dicroidium-bearing rock samples from different coeval locations in the Transantarctic Mountains. These flakes are interpreted as shed bark fragments of Dicroidium-bearing umkomasialean trees. Various hypotheses on the adaptive advantages of bark shedding are discussed, including the reduction of epiphyte load. Palynological data document an abundance of potentially epiphytic cryptogams (spikemosses and bryophytes) in the environments in which the Dicroidium trees grew, and modern ecosystems with a climate comparable to that of the Late Triassic in Antarctica are in many cases also characterized by a lush epiphyte vegetation. Another advantage could lie in the reduction of infections by phytopathogenic microorganisms, as abundant fungal remains in both the wound periderm and the dispersed periderm flakes indicate.

Lukáš Likavčan

SETI is not a usual point of departure for environmental humanities. However, this paper argues that theories originating in this field have direct implications for how we think about viable inhabitation of the Earth. To demonstrate SETI's impact on environmental humanities, this paper introduces Fermi paradox as a speculative tool to probe possible trajectories of planetary history, and especially the "Sustainability Solution" proposed by Jacob Haqq-Misra and Seth Baum. This solution suggests that sustainable coupling between extraterrestrial intelligences and their planetary environments is the major factor in the possibility of their successful detection by remote observation. By positing that exponential growth is not a sustainable development pattern, this solution rules out space-faring civilizations colonizing solar systems or galaxies. This paper elaborates on Haqq-Misra's and Baum's arguments, and discusses speculative implications of the Sustainability Solution, thus rethinking three concepts in environmental humanities: technosphere, planetary history, and sustainability. The paper advocates that (1) technosphere is a transitory layer that shall fold back into biosphere; (2) planetary history must be understood in a generic perspective that abstracts from terrestrial particularities; and (3) sustainability is not sufficient vector of viable human inhabitation of the Earth, suggesting instead habitability and genesity as better candidates.

Samuele Frosali, Saverio Bartolini-Lucenti, Saverio Bartolini-Lucenti et al.

IntroductionThe phylogenetic and ecological importance of paranasal sinuses in carnivorans was highlighted by several previous authors, mostly in extant species. Nevertheless, no specific study on this feature on extant canids, and no one on fossil representatives of the family, has been published up to now. Here, we analyze for the first time the paranasal sinus of extant and fossil canids through computed tomographic techniques to characterize them morphologically and morphometrically, making ecological inferences.MethodsTo do so, we applied for the first time an innovative deformation-based morphometric approach.ResultsThe results obtained for extant species highlight a remarkable correlation between morphology and ecomorphotypes previously defined by some scholars (namely hypercarnivorous group-hunters; small-prey hypercarnivores, mesocarnivores, hypocarnivores). Our results thus support the direct relationship between diet preferences and the development of frontal sinus in canids. Regarding fossil specimens, we reconstructed for the first time the frontal sinus of three Eucyon species and compared it to those of living forms.DiscussionThe best-preserved specimen, the only known cranium of Eucyon adoxus dated to the Late Pliocene of Saint-Estève (France), displayed similarities with hypercarnivorous group-hunter canids by the large sinus prominences. Given that the overall craniodental morphology of E. adoxus suggests that it acted as a small prey hypercarnivore—similar to extant Canis simensis—the aforementioned affinities might have evolved independently, in relation to high stresses during feeding. Overall, our study demonstrates that morphological inspection and deformation-based geometric morphometrics complement each other and allow a thorough investigation of sinus shape variability, thus enabling the study of sinus morphology in other fossil carnivorans with the ultimate goal of inferring their ecological preferences.

Ondřej Píš

This study deals with Bohemian and Moravian students at five Reformed institutes of higher learning in the territory of current Germany and Switzerland in the period of 1575–1620. In particular, it traces their presence at universities in Basel, Heidelberg, and Marburg, and academies in Herborn and Geneva. Each of the selected institutions is introduced in a cameo, which in addition to a brief history of the school mentions also the most important professors in relation to Bohemian and Moravian scholars. This is followed by an analysis of the two groups, i.e., the Bohemian and Moravian scholars, whereby the author follows two factors: social background of the matriculated scholars and changes in peregrination over time. Data pertaining to the individual institutions are then compared and analysed in a separate summary chapter. The study also includes revised lists of Bohemian and Moravian students at the selected schools during the period of interest, i.e., 1575–1620.

Helen Au-Yang, Jacques H. H. Perk

We present our personal histories with Michael Fisher. We describe how each one of us first came to Cornell University. We also discuss our many subsequent interactions and successful collaborations with him on various physics projects.

Peter Galison, Juliusz Doboszewski, Jamee Elder et al.

This white paper outlines the plans of the History Philosophy Culture Working Group of the Next Generation Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration.

A. A. Watson

A brief history of the development of surface detectors for the study of the high-energy cosmic rays is presented. The paper is based on an invited talk given at UHECR2022 held in LAquila, October 2022. In a complementary talk, P Sokolsky discussed the development of the fluorescence technique for air-shower detection.

Brett Clark, Júlia Chaumel, Zerina Johanson et al.

Crushing and eating hard prey (durophagy) is mechanically demanding. The cartilage jaws of durophagous stingrays are known to be reinforced relative to non-durophagous relatives, with a thickened external cortex of mineralized blocks (tesserae), reinforcing struts inside the jaw (trabeculae), and pavement-like dentition. These strategies for skeletal strengthening against durophagy, however, are largely understood only from myliobatiform stingrays, although a hard prey diet has evolved multiple times in batoid fishes (rays, skates, guitarfishes). We perform a quantitative analysis of micro-CT data, describing jaw strengthening mechanisms in Rhina ancylostoma (Bowmouth Guitarfish) and Rhynchobatus australiae (White-spotted Wedgefish), durophagous members of the Rhinopristiformes, the sister taxon to Myliobatiformes. Both species possess trabeculae, more numerous and densely packed in Rhina, albeit simpler structurally than those in stingrays like Aetobatus and Rhinoptera. Rhina and Rhynchobatus exhibit impressively thickened jaw cortices, often involving >10 tesseral layers, most pronounced in regions where dentition is thickest, particularly in Rhynchobatus. Age series of both species illustrate that tesserae increase in size during growth, with enlarged and irregular tesserae associated with the jaws’ oral surface in larger (older) individuals of both species, perhaps a feature of ageing. Unlike the flattened teeth of durophagous myliobatiform stingrays, both rhinopristiform species have oddly undulating dentitions, comprised of pebble-like teeth interlocked to form compound “meta-teeth” (large spheroidal structures involving multiple teeth). This is particularly striking in Rhina, where the upper/lower occlusal surfaces are mirrored undulations, fitting together like rounded woodworking finger-joints. Trabeculae were previously thought to have arisen twice independently in Batoidea; our results show they are more widespread among batoid groups than previously appreciated, albeit apparently absent in the phylogenetically basal Rajiformes. Comparisons with several other durophagous and non-durophagous species illustrate that batoid skeletal reinforcement architectures are modular: trabeculae can be variously oriented and are dominant in some species (e.g. Rhina, Aetobatus), whereas cortical thickening is more significant in others (e.g. Rhynchobatus), or both reinforcing features can be lacking (e.g. Raja, Urobatis). We discuss interactions and implications of character states, framing a classification scheme for exploring cartilage structure evolution in the cartilaginous fishes.

Michael Petraglia, Nicole Boivin, Eregzen Gelegdorj et al.

Background: The archaeological and ethnographic heritages of Mongolia reflect a multi-millennial continuity of typically mobile-pastoral occupations across sparsely populated, environmentally diverse landscapes, but the threats of modernisation and industrialisation to those heritages are nevertheless present and substantial. The construction of the Erdeneburen Hydroelectric Dam on the Khovd River in western Mongolia is planned to submerge hundreds of archaeological features and jeopardise at least another thousand. Methods: The Mongolian Archaeology Project: Surveying the Steppes, in collaboration with the Mongolian Institute of Archaeology, integrates a variety of digital techniques including GIS (geographic information systems), Machine Learning automated site detection, drone mapping, and Structure-from-Motion LiDAR scanning to document the endangered archaeology. This paper presents the resulting dataset of archaeological features across three different impact zones associated with the dam construction and evaluates the degree of efficacy of the initial data integration strategy through informal partner feedback and self-assessment. Results: While only approximately 20% of the documented sites fall within the planned flood zone, the remaining sites will be subjected to collateral threats such as industrial and infrastructural development that will necessitate extended monitoring, both temporally and spatially. In consideration of these results, this paper argues that a ‘responsive’ mode of heritage disaster intervention can bridge the gap between ‘reactive’ and ‘proactive’ modes, but requires development of an integrated (digital) methodology. Conclusions: The paper concludes by offering a new, more interconnected ‘transmethodology’ that addresses spatiality, sub-sampling, data reuse, and community input across multiple disciplines such as cultural heritage preservation, salvage archaeology, computer vision, and community archaeology. The authors developed this ‘transmethodology’ and the resulting workflows out of a theoretical framework that considers principles of Symmetrical Archaeology, Resilience Humanitarianism, and the CARE standard for inclusive data management (Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility, and Ethics).

Gerald A. Goldin

Prediction of ``anyons'', often attributed exclusively to Wilczek, came first from Leinaas & Myrheim in 1977, and independently from Goldin, Menikoff, & Sharp in 1980-81. In 2020, experimentalists successfully created anyonic excitations. This paper discusses why the possibility of quantum particles in two-dimensional space with intermediate exchange statistics eluded physicists for so long after bosons and fermions were understood. The history suggests ideas for the preparation of future researchers. I conclude by addressing failures to attribute scientific achievements accurately. Such practices disproportionately hurt women and minorities in physics, and are harmful to science.

Dana Kirchem, Wolf-Peter Schill

The use of green hydrogen can support the decarbonization of sectors which are difficult to electrify, such as industry or heavy transport. Yet, the wider power sector effects of providing green hydrogen are not well understood so far. We use an open-source electricity sector model to investigate potential power sector interactions of three alternative supply chains for green hydrogen in Germany in the year 2030. We distinguish between model settings in which Germany is modeled as an electric island versus embedded in an interconnected system with its neighboring countries, as well as settings with and without technology-specific capacity bounds on wind energy. The findings suggest that large-scale hydrogen storage can provide valuable flexibility to the power system in settings with high renewable energy shares. These benefits are more pronounced in the absence of flexibility from geographical balancing. We further find that the effects of green hydrogen production on the optimal generation portfolio strongly depend on the model assumptions regarding capacity expansion potentials. We also identify a potential distributional effect of green hydrogen production at the expense of other electricity consumers, of which policy makers should be aware.

Anatoliy Lytvynenko, Viktor Sarancha, Viktoriia Shabunina

The growth of the vehicle assets and bus services in Ukrainian cities increases the level of environmental pollution. During the environmental crisis, electric transport (e-transport) is becoming a matter for scientific inquiry, a subject of discussion in politics and among public figures. In the program for developing the municipal services of Ukraine, priorities are given to the development of the infrastructure of ecological transport: trolleybuses, electric buses, electric cars. The increased attention to e-transport on the part of the scientific community, politicians, and the public actualizes the study of its history, development, features of operation, etc. The historiographic analysis carried out by the authors allows us to say about insufficient coverage by Ukrainian researchers of a number of aspects and periods in the history of e-transport. A small number of special works on the history of the operation of foreign-made trolleybuses in Ukrainian cities in the first half of the 20th century and an analysis of their technical characteristics determine the relevance and scientific novelty of this study. When writing the work, Ukrainian and foreign scientific reference publications, monographs, papers, mainly from foreign electronic resources, have been used. The authors have used both general scientific (analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction) and historical research methods, in particular, problem-chronological, comparative-historical, retrospective methods, etc. The aim of the study is to highlight little-known facts of the history of production and operation of MAN trolleybuses in Ukrainian cities, as well as to introduce their technical characteristics into scientific circulation. The etymology of the model names of German trolleybuses, which usually consisted of the names of the manufacturers of chassis, body, and electrical equipment, has been clarified. The types, specific design solutions of the first MAN trolleybus generation and the prerequisites for their appearance in Chernivtsi have been determined. Particular attention has been paid to trolleybuses that were in operation in Germany and other Western European countries from the first half of the 1930s to the early 1950s. In the mid-1930s, the MAN plant in Nuremberg began production of trolleybuses; its models had the most modern constructive solutions at that time, a characteristic design and a state-of-the-art heating system. Depending on the length, German manufacturers divided the trolleybus models into four types. As a result of problems with the operation of the bus fleet in Chernivtsi, the city authorities have decided to build a trolleybus line in the city; four trolleybuses manufactured by the MAN plant were purchased. The paper traces the stages of operation of the MAN trolleybuses in Chernivtsi, where they worked during 1939–1944 and after the end of the Second World War, they were transferred to Kyiv. After two years of operation in the Ukrainian capital, the trolleybuses entered the routes in Dnipropetrovsk during 1947–1951. The technical characteristics of the first MAN trolleybus generation, which were operated in Ukrainian cities, have been presented and analyzed. It was determined that in all the main indicators and operational parameters, they were as close as possible to similar models of German trolleybuses. The proposed methodology and the structure of the study can later be used to write papers on the history of science and technology, in particular, of an e-transport.

Bishawjit Mallick, Rupkatha Priodarshini, Jude N. Kimengsi et al.

Comprehensive studies that employ larger data sets to explore the degree and conditions under which households depend on mangrove ecosystems account for only a negligible number in Asia's context. We contribute to these lacunae by analysing households' livelihood dependence on the Sundarbans of Asia. Specifically, we seek to: (i) appraise the livelihood strategies around the Sundarbans, (ii) analyse the conditions and determinants of household dependence on the Sundarbans, and (iii) explore perceptions surrounding livelihood dependence. An extensive survey of 1188 directly and indirectly dependent households drawn from 35 villages was conducted using structured interviews to address these topics. Twenty focus group discussions complemented this data. Using logistic regression, we analysed household dependence as a function of socioeconomic attributes. We suggest that socioeconomic factors have a substantial relationship with resource extraction and, therefore, policy prescriptions should focus on coordinating less-extractive diversification activities such as ecotourism to reduce the impact on the Sundarbans.

Omar F. Al-Sheikhly, Boris Kryštufek, Rainer Hutterer et al.

In the 1970s, the world knew the long-tailed nesokia Nesokiabunnii(Khajuria, 1981) (Rodentia, Muridae) from the Mesopotamian marshes of Garden of Eden in Southern Iraq. This distinct rodent was known from only five voucher specimens collected at the confluence of Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in southern Iraq while its occurrence in Southwestern Iran had neverbeen reported. In the 1990s, a large extent of its natural habitat was catastrophically 636First photographic recordsdesiccated and the animal was last seen in the 1970s. Since then, the status of this elusive rodent was shrouded in mystery. In 2007, an extraordinary photograph of a carcass of this species came to the light from Hawizeh Marsh which was interpreted as concrete evidence of the species’ persistence in the marshes of southern Iraq after the desiccation in the last century. In 2021, after more than 40 years, exclusive photographic records of living N.bunniiwere obtained for the first time from Central Marshes in southern Iraq and from Edhe’am Marsh in southwestern Iran. The new distribution range is highlighted in this note. Furthermore, the first photographs of living N.bunniiare provided along with notes on its ecology and behavior.

I. Belyaev, G. Carboni, N. Harnew et al.

In this paper we describe the history of the LHCb experiment over the last three decades, and its remarkable successes and achievements. LHCb was conceived primarily as a b-physics experiment, dedicated to CP violation studies and measurements of very rare b decays, however the tremendous potential for c-physics was also clear. At first data taking, the versatility of the experiment as a general-purpose detector in the forward region also became evident, with measurements achievable such as electroweak physics, jets and new particle searches in open states. These were facilitated by the excellent capability of the detector to identify muons and to reconstruct decay vertices close to the primary pp interaction region. By the end of the LHC Run 2 in 2018, before the accelerator paused for its second long shut down, LHCb had measured the CKM quark mixing matrix elements and CP violation parameters to world-leading precision in the heavy-quark systems. The experiment had also measured many rare decays of b and c quark mesons and baryons to below their Standard Model expectations, some down to branching ratios of order 10-9. In addition, world knowledge of b and c spectroscopy had improved significantly through discoveries of many new resonances already anticipated in the quark model, and also adding new exotic four and five quark states.