Middle Germany Research Articles

FTIR spectroscopy in combination with principal component analysis or cluster analysis as a tool to distinguish beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) trees grown at different sites

Abstract FTIR spectroscopy was used to distinguish between beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) trees grown at five different sites; one in middle Germany close to Göttingen (forest district Reinhausen), three located in the southwest (two in Rhineland-Palatinate: forest districts Saarburg and Hochwald, and one in Luxembourg), and one in North-Rhine Westfalia. Detailed investigation of the spectra in the fingerprint region (1800–600 cm-1) revealed 16 distinct peaks and shoulders, most of which were assignable to wavenumbers previously shown to represent wood compounds. Differences in peak heights and peak ratios indicated differences in wood composition of beech trees from different sites. To determine if the wood of individual trees could be distinguished, principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis were performed using FTIR spectra as input data. With both PCA and cluster analysis, trees from four of the five different sites were separated. It was not possible to distinguish between trees from Saarburg and Hochwald, where similar edaphic and climatic conditions exist, while wood spectra from trees from all other areas clearly segregated. Wood collected at different positions in the stem (bottom, crown, center and outer year rings) of trees grown at the same site was not distinguishable. Therefore, FTIR spectral analysis in combination with multivariate statistical methods can be used to distinguish wood of trees from different growth habitats. Extension of this method to other species may be of great interest for wood certification, as it may be possible to distinguish wood, of a given species, originating from different regions.

In memory of Volker Lehmann (10 December 1956 to 26 May 2006)

In memory of Volker Lehmann (10 December 1956 to 26 May 2006)

Role of birds in Thuringia, Germany, in the natural cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the Lyme disease spirochaete

Three hundred and twenty-two birds belonging to 35 species were live-captured in Reifenstein, Middle Germany, from March to October 2004, to investigate their role as hosts of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and its vector ticks. A total of 141 Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from 53 birds belonging to eight species was investigated for the prevalence of B. burgdorferi by a PCR-RFLP analysis of the OspA gene. Three of these bird species, the blackbird ( Turdus merula), the song thrush ( T. philomelos), and the bullfinch ( Pyrrhula pyrrhula) harboured B. burgdorferi s.l. infected ticks. The prevalence of B. burgdorferi s.l. in the bird-feeding ticks was 25%. The majority of the ticks carried B. garinii (53%), followed by B. valaisiana (28%). In the same region, 256 questing ticks were collected to determine the local Borrelia genospecies diversity in I. ricinus. In all, 15.2% of the ticks which were found positive for B. burgdorferi s.l. contained B. valaisiana (45%) as the most frequent genospecies. The results of the present study indicate an important role of the blackbird and the song thrush in the natural cycle of B. burgdorferi s.l. in Thuringia.

An Investigation of the Fatty Acid Composition of New and Aged Tung Oil

Tung oil was used as an ingredient in historic conservation materials. Wooden art objects were treated with tung and linseed oil mixtures for consolidation purposes. To provide a reference for the identification of the oil component in these materials, tung oil was examined in this study, both in the fresh state and under accelerated ageing conditions. The alteration of the fatty acid composition was analysed in comparison with linseed oil by gas chromatographic methods coupled with mass spectrometry. The main component in the triglycerides of tung oil, á-eleostearic acid (cis, trans, trans-9,11,13-octadecatrienoic acid), was converted primarily into two compounds identified as isomers. Their structures were characterized based on their mass spectra. Furthermore, the degradation processes of tung and linseed oil into dicarboxylic acids were analysed for comparison. The results were applied to the examination of a polychromed wooden altar from the Saxonia region in middle Germany. Tung oil was identified in the exudation material of the wood by the presence of a characteristic isomer of eleostearic acid, which was determined earlier as the same marker conversion product in the reference samples.

Molecular genetic diversity within and among German ecotypes in comparison to European perennial ryegrass cultivars

AbstractPerennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) is the most important grass species for temperate grassland agriculture. The level and distribution of genetic variation in gene bank ecotype collections is still largely unknown but of great interest for the planning of breeding programmes. The objectives of this study were to (i) assess the molecular variance and population structure of German ecotypes at the regional and population level, (ii) assign ecotypes to germplasm pools and (iii) compare the relationship between German ecotypes and previously‐investigated European cultivars of perennial ryegrass, A total of 22 ecotypes originating from three geographic areas in Germany. each with a sample size of 20 individual plants, were investigated with 156 polymorphic RAPD markers. Genetic distance among ecotypes ranged from 0,27 to 0.48, An analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed a much larger variation within populations (71%) than among them (29%). Ecotypes from North Germany were significantly different from those of South and Middle Germany. Thus, two distinct germplasm pools could be identified. The 22 ecotypes and 22 previously investigated cultivars shared 98% of the molecular variance.

Prevalence of granulocytic Ehrlichiae in Ixodes ricinus ticks in Middle Germany (Thuringia) detected by PCR and sequencing of a 16S ribosomal DNA fragment

A total of 305 Ixodes ricinus ticks (243 nymphs and 62 adults) were collected from three different regions of Thuringia in Middle Germany which are known to be endemic for Borrelia burgdorferi. Our aim was to investigate the carrier rate of ticks for granulocytic Ehrlichia species. The presence of ehrlichial 16S ribosomal DNA was investigated by polymerase chain reaction. Using primers specific for the Ehrlichia phagocytophila group PCR fragments of 151 bp and 943 bp, respectively, were produced in positive samples. Adult ticks showed a significantly higher infection rate (4/62; 6.5%) compared to nymphs (3/243; 1.2%). Prevalence rates varied between 0 and 3.8% regarding the different areas under investigation. The nucleotide sequences showed high similarity (between 97.5% and 99% identity) to the known sequences of the three E. phagocytophila group members HGE agent, E. phagocytophila and Ehrlichia equi. The sequence data did not allow a final classification to a particular member of this group.

Prevalence of granulocytic Ehrlichiae in Ixodes ricinus ticks in Middle Germany (Thuringia) detected by PCR and sequencing of a 16S ribosomal DNA fragment.

A total of 305 Ixodes ricinus ticks (243 nymphs and 62 adults) were collected from three different regions of Thuringia in Middle Germany which are known to be endemic for Borrelia burgdorferi. Our aim was to investigate the carrier rate of ticks for granulocytic Ehrlichia species. The presence of ehrlichial 16S ribosomal DNA was investigated by polymerase chain reaction. Using primers specific for the Ehrlichia phagocytophila group PCR fragments of 151 bp and 943 bp, respectively, were produced in positive samples. Adult ticks showed a significantly higher infection rate (4/62; 6.5%) compared to nymphs (3/243; 1.2%). Prevalence rates varied between 0 and 3.8% regarding the different areas under investigation. The nucleotide sequences showed high similarity (between 97.5% and 99% identity) to the known sequences of the three E. phagocytophila group members HGE agent, E. phagocytophila and Ehrlichia equi. The sequence data did not allow a final classification to a particular member of this group.

Myriapoden aus mitteldeutschen Höhlen (Arthropoda, Myriapoda)

Myriapods from Caves in Middle Germany (Arthropoda, Myriapoda) The terrestrial arthopod fauna has been investigated in 229 caves and mines of the German hills Harz, Kyffhauser, Thuringen, and Zittauer Gebirge. About 400 traps with ethylene glycol (Barbertyp) were set in 122 suited objects for a year and proved in intervals of 4 months. Only 625 (1.5%) of the around 40000 arthropods (without Collembola) were myriapods. They belong to 15 families with 44 species. 16 and 8 species are sub- and eutroglophil. Tachypodoiulus niger (LEACH) is the only species which developed locally subtroglobiont populations.

God, the Devil, Medicine, and the Word: A Controversy Over Ecstatic Women in Protestant Middle Germany, 1691–1693

“Youanti-Christian animal, what have you stung? I crush you, I the Lord crush you as you sit on My chair which you exalt up to the stars. I want to kick you into the deepest hell; now you are there and do not know what happened to you. On you, on you shall my soul take revenge; you God of the heathen who pray to you, who pray to you.” Thus began the letter dictated by Anna Margaretha Jahn and addressed to her confessor, Johann Christoph Wurtzler, pastor of the Moritz Church in Halberstadt, who had died three days earlier on 19 December 1692. The letter, transcribed by two men as Jahn spoke, closed with the commandment from God that the writing be delivered to Wurtzler's house and read aloud to his corpse, at which point he would become alive again, if that had not occurred already.

Myriapoden aus mitteldeutschen Höhlen (Arthropoda, Myriapoda)

Myriapods from Caves in Middle Germany (Arthropoda, Myriapoda)The terrestrial arthopod fauna has been investigated in 229 caves and mines of the German hills Harz, Kyffhäuser, Thüringen, and Zittauer Gebirge. About 400 traps with ethylene glycol (Barbertyp) were set in 122 suited objects for a year and proved in intervals of 4 months. Only 625 (1.5%) of the around 40000 arthropods (without Collembola) were myriapods. They belong to 15 families with 44 species. 16 and 8 species are sub‐ and eutroglophil. Tachypodoiulus niger (LEACH) is the only species which developed locally subtroglobiont populations.

Analysis of heavy metals and sulphur-rich compounds in the water moss Fontinalis antipyretica L. ex Hedw.

The water moss Fontinalis antipyretica has been investigated to estimate heavy metal pollution in the river Elbe (middle Germany). Procedures of plant separation, digestion as well as an analytical method for ICP-MS analyses have been evaluated. Reproducibility and accuracy have been demonstrated on BCR 61 (NIST) reference material and results have been compared with AAS and AES data. The distribution of heavy metals in different plant segments of indigenous material has been analyzed. Exposition of plant material in the river Elbe have shown no correlation between the heavy metal content in plants and that of water samples. Cd and Zn concentrations found in the plant material are significantly enriched relatively to control samples. To understand the sophisticated ‘real system’ experiments have been carried out under laboratory conditions to investigate induced sulphur-rich compounds in the presence of heavy metals using HPLC including on-line derivatization.

Tunnelling in soft ground and sedimentary rock for high-speed double-track railway lines in Germany

The 76 tunnels for the new high-speed railway line in middle Germany have been excavated in softground, limestone and sandstone formations. The large cross-section of up to 150 m2 required excavation methods that were carefully adapted to the specific, sometimes very bad ground conditions. Les 76 tunnels de la nouvelle ligne de chemins de fer à grande vitesse dans le centre de l'Allemagne ont été creusés dans des terrains faibles, et des formations de calcaire et de grès. L'importante section transversale de 150 m2 a requis des mèthodes de creusement spécialement adaptées aux conditions, parfois très mauvaises, du terrain.

Asiatic Influences on the Art of the Migrations

Until recently the art of the Dark Ages (between 250 and 800 A.D.), known as the art of the migration period, has been thought to be derived from Roman art but there are other influences from the East just as clearly in evidence. It was during the migration period that the various Germanic tribes came in contact with southern civilizations, spreading from the southern part of Scandinavia to East Prussia and later in 250 A.D. to the Black Sea region in south Russia. At this time the Burgundians came down through middle Germany, crossed the Rhine in 406 and entered France. The Vandals came from north Germany first to Silesia and then through middle Germany and France to Spain and even to north Africa. Soon after the year 400 the Franks also crossed the Rhine into the northern part of France. A little later, in 450, the Angles and Saxons left northwestern Germany to go over to England, and still later the Langobards, who had originally come from north Germany to settle in Hungary, left this country in 568 to...

The Germans As They Are and Will Be

THIS is not a glorification but a description of the German mentality, the forces which produced it, and a query as to what may be expected of it. For reference we will note Miiller Freienfels, the best psychological analyst of the German mentality, and Friedrich Ratzel, the author of anthropogeography, and the new science of geopolitics. Our first inquiry must be into the nature of the German mentality. What do we mean by a German? One who belongs to the Reich politically? Not necessarily, for there are since the Treaty of Versailles some twenty million Germans in Europe outside of Germany. Or do we mean one who is biologically German? Perhaps, but who is biologically German? The race in purity should be dolicocephalic, blue-eyed, and blond, but under this test in the North only 40 per cent, in Middle Germany only 20 per cent, in South Germany only 10 per cent would qualify. Language again is not a criterion or rather is a criterion only in so far as identical language has meant identical culture. Culture is, however, not a product of individuals but of the group; rather is the individual the product of the culture. One is a German not by blood or political membership but by identical forms of feeling and thinking which express themselves best through the German language and culture. Now it is impossible to set up a psychological scheme to which every German will correspond. The scheme must, however, truly describe the group character and more particularly the betterthan-average individuals of the group. This better-than-average individual, and the group show certain characteristics in their social-economic behavior, in their art, religion, and philosophy. Here we must be careful to exclude those traits which are a part of culture in general and fix on those which are peculiarly German. The chief of these characteristics is a different relation, which obtains among Germans, between the volitional-emotional life (Gemiit) and emotional states (Stimmungen). In fact these words are untranslatable, for Gemiit does not mean fullness of soul but denotes a qualitative, not quantitative difference. In the German feelings tend to spend themselves inwardly, whereas in most other peoples they spend themselves outwardly. Nor does Stimmung

EDUCATIONAL TOURS FOR MEDICAL MEN.

For several years tours to the various watering places and springs of France have been organized by the physicians of that country, thus allowing the participants to combine pleasure and instruction. Last summer two similar tours were planned in Germany, one embracing the saline springs of middle Germany, and the other the watering places on the North Sea. The latter tour began at Hamburg, and the tourists returned after spending eleven days at several of the most prominent resorts. They were carried on one of the steamers of the North Sea Line, which had been placed at their disposal. The men who planned and directed this tour have edited a book of 178 pages containing articles on the various resorts visited and on the influence of a marine climate. Many of the names occurring in the book are well-known writers and teachers. Similar tours in Germany are to be made