North Germany Research Articles

THE TRACERY-CARVED, CLAMP-FRONTED MEDIEVAL CHEST AT ST MARY MAGDALEN CHURCH, OXFORD, IN A COMPARATIVE NORTH-WEST EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE

The St Mary Magdalen chest is striking because of its carved facade and has attracted the attention of historians over the last century. There has been debate about its age, culminating in the recent suggestion that it either dates to the fourteenth century or is a later copy. This paper makes a detailed study of all the elements of the chest, constructional and decorative, and compares them with features of related medieval chests in England and Continental north-western Europe. It concludes that the chest has gone through a major reconstruction involving replaced front stiles but that it shares at least four features with chests in north Germany and Sweden dating from around 1320–30 that are not found in English chests, suggesting that it is an imported chest or was made by craftsmen working in that tradition. Numerous areas for future research into the features of English and Continental medieval chests are identified.

Efficacy of a novel topical combination of fipronil, (S)-methoprene, eprinomectin and praziquantel against adult and immature stages of the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) on cats

The efficacy of a novel topical combination of fipronil 8.3% (w/v), (S)-methoprene 10% (w/v), eprinomectin 0.4% (w/v) and praziquantel 8.3% (w/v) (BROADLINE®) was tested against adult and immature stages of Ctenocephalides felis fleas in six studies. For that purpose, fleas from different colonies from North America, Germany and South Africa were used to induce infestations in cats under laboratory conditions. In each study, between 12 and 16 cats were allocated randomly to 2 groups. Cats in Group 1 were not treated and served as controls. Cats in Group 2 were treated once on Day 0 with BROADLINE® at the minimum recommended dosage of 0.12mg/kg body weight. In 4 studies, all animals were infested experimentally with unfed C. felis (100±5) on Days 2 (or 1), 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35. Live fleas were counted 24h post-treatment or infestation. In 2 additional studies, animals were infested at the same frequency with gravid C. felis fleas (100±5) that were fed previously on an untreated host. Forty-eight hours post-infestation, flea eggs were collected, counted and incubated for the evaluation of the reduction of emergence of adults. The combined curative efficacy against adult fleas at 24h after treatment was 94.3% and the combined preventive efficacy values remained greater than 95.9% at 24h after 5 subsequent weekly infestations. In addition, the product reduced dramatically the emergence of new adult fleas for at least 5 weeks (>98.1% for one month and 93.2% at 5 weeks after infestation), demonstrating its efficiency in preventing environmental contamination by immature stages.

Der Erzkanzler im Religionskrieg: Kurfürst Anselm Casimir von Mainz, die geistlichen Fürsten und das Reich, 1629 bis 1647 by Franz Brendle (review)

Reviewed by: Der Erzkanzler im Religionskrieg: Kurfürst Anselm Casimir von Mainz, die geistlichen Fürsten und das Reich, 1629 bis 1647 by Franz Brendle David Parrott Der Erzkanzler im Religionskrieg: Kurfürst Anselm Casimir von Mainz, die geistlichen Fürsten und das Reich, 1629 bis 1647. By Franz Brendle. [Reformationsgeschichtliiche Studien und Texte, Band 156.] (Münster: Aschendorff Verlag. 2011. Pp. xiv, 578. €59,00. ISBN 978-3-402-12802-2.) The career of Anselm Casimir Wambold von Umstadt, archbishop of Mainz from 1629 to 1647, has attracted little historical attention. Yet as highest-ranking of the prince-electors and as Imperial chancellor for a large part of the Thirty Years’ War, he played a distinct role in a key series of political and military events within the Holy Roman Empire. Brendle’s substantial and scholarly biography thus fills a large gap in our knowledge of an important but neglected figure; but the book is no less a significant re-evaluation of the character and stance of the “Catholic Party” within the Empire, which has been all too easily conflated with Bavarian political and military concerns. As Imperial chancellor, Anselm Casimir directed a large part of the Imperial constitutional and legal machinery, was a key figure in coordinating Catholic policy in the Empire, and enjoyed a high degree of influence with the emperor. The new archbishop was elected in the midst of the debate over the forcible re-catholicization of all ecclesiastical territory that had been acquired by Protestant princes since the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. Anselm Casimir led the Catholic princes in supporting the initial imposition of the 1629 Edict of Restitution, but soon distinguished himself as a moderate, anxious to compromise over its enforcement and prepared to negotiate with the Protestant Electors (above all, with John George of Saxony) in the hope of achieving a peace settlement in the Empire. This overriding concern to achieve a settlement led Anselm Casimir to join the Electors’ fatal call to dismiss the Imperial generalissimo Wallenstein, and he personally coordinated the pressure on the emperor at the Diet of Regensburg to achieve [End Page 362] this objective. His leading role at the Diet gave him a considerable reputation and allowed him to press for an Imperial settlement, but the Swedish invasion of North Germany radically transformed the situation. Following the victory at Breitenfeld in September 1631, the troops of Gustavus Adolphus spilled out into the Rhineland; Mainz was occupied and became the center of Swedish military operations for the next four years. While his territory was garrisoned and subjected to massive war taxes, the archbishop was driven into exile. From Cologne, Anselm Casimir conducted extended but fruitless negotiations with France in the hope that diplomatic pressure might persuade the Swedes to accept the French “protection” of his bishopric. Following this failure, the archbishop made a final and definitive shift of alliance over to the emperor, bringing both his territorial resources and his constitutional standing with the other Catholic states directly into the emperor’s service. This overt alliance with the Habsburgs weakened his influence as Imperial chancellor in the negotiations for a peace settlement in the Empire at Pirna, then at Prague. The Swedish pulled out of Mainz in 1635, but when France declared war on the Habsburgs, Mainz was again threatened. It was not until January 1636 that Anselm Casimir finally re-entered his episcopal city. The new phase of the war opened by French intervention and the resurgence of Swedish military pressure ensured that the Imperial chancellor remained at the center of political maneuvers within the Empire, but as a virtual client of the emperor. The final, shorter section of Brendle’s study concerns this later period, which Anselm Casimir began as cheerleader for the pre-election of the future Ferdinand III as Holy Roman Emperor in 1636. Although once the Westphalia negotiations opened, he again demonstrated tenacity in arguing against Catholic intransigence and for compromise with both German Protestants and external powers. This did not prevent Mainz being occupied again by the French in 1645, leading to the second exile of the archbishop, who died in Frankfurt in October 1647. This is an excellent and comprehensive study, which...

Epidemiologische Untersuchung zur Häufigkeit eines Vitamin-D-Mangels in Norddeutschland

In North Germany, the recommended exposure to sunlight of 30 minutes per day to produce sufficient vitamin D is hardly achieved, in particular due to weather conditions. Moreover, lifestyle and working habits also contribute to this problem. The aim of our study was therefore to investigate the prevalence of the vitamin D deficiency in North Germany. For this purpose, 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels of over 98,000 people from North Germany during the time period 2008-2011 were retrospectively analysed based on age, gender and season. 25-vitamin D status was divided into sufficient (> 75 nmol/l) and insufficient (50 to 75 nmol/l) supply as well as vitamin D deficiency (< 50 to 25 nmol/l) and severe vitamin D deficiency (< 25 nmol/l). An undersupply of vitamin D was evident in all age groups analysed both in women and men in North Germany. Overall, vitamin D deficiency was particularly present during the months with less sunlight: more than 30 % of the people analysed showed a severe vitamin D deficiency in the months January to April. The study also showed that 25-vitamin D tests were almost evenly distributed over the individual months of the whole year and that this analysis was requested more frequently in elderly than in younger people. However, a severe vitamin D deficiency could also be detected in 25 % of the people analysed in the adolescent and young adult age group. Based on these results, it can be recommended to test 25-vitamin D levels once a year during the months January to April to detect a severe deficiency and to early initiate preventive supplementation.

Why regular buyers of organic food still buy many conventional products

Purpose – The sales volume of organic food products in Germany has been increasing consistently over recent years, yet only a small number of households is responsible for the majority of organic purchases. Even these so-called “regular” organic food buyers spend, on average, less than half of their budget on organic products. The present study aims to analyse the reasons why these consumers do not purchase particular products in organic quality, in order to uncover product gaps and purchase barriers. Design/methodology/approach – The investigation is based on computer-aided, personal interviews among regular organic food buyers, which were conducted in retail and organic food stores across Germany. Altogether, 817 interviews were carried out. To minimize regional variation in the data-set, stores were selected from north, south, west and east Germany in equal proportions. Findings – The most important reasons for not purchasing organic products among regular organic food consumers were price, insufficient availability, and the quality of the product. Since product-specific analysis was carried out in this study, the results indicate that the relevance of reasons varies from product to product and according to shop types. Originality/value – To the authors' knowledge, no research to date has dealt with an analysis of product-specific purchase barriers in the context of regular organic food buyers. Furthermore, in contrast with other studies, a preceding analysis of panel data identifying product groups with the lowest organic market shares builds the basis for a well-grounded survey. The explorative character of the study results in unique findings on consumer purchase behaviour related to specific products in a variety of predefined product categories.

A comprehensive wealth index for cities in Germany

We apply a comprehensive wealth index for the 100 largest autonomous cities in Germany to measure their endowment with environmental, energy, social, human, and economic capital stocks. We find that (i) there is no inherent trade-off between economic and environmental capital stocks; (ii) clear regional differences exist between West and East Germany and between North and South Germany; and (iii) the comprehensive wealth index is strongly correlated with housing rents, which reflect individual willingness to pay for living in a certain city.

Multihop relaying for broadband wireless access systems at 800 and 3500 MHz in rural areas

AbstractThis paper addresses the coverage enhancement for broadband wireless access (BWA) at 800 and 3500 MHz in a rural scenario in north Germany using multi‐hop relay concepts. The investigation is divided into two phases: In phase I, the coverage of a single BWA system in a rural area is predicted and verified with measurement data. In phase II, the coverage from the BWA system is analyzed and enhanced through the deployment of relay stations. The number of relay stations required for each carrier frequency is determined, and the positions of the relay stations are identified via three different relay placement algorithms, namely path‐loss‐based, distance‐based, and hybrid algorithms. At 800 MHz, the path‐loss‐based algorithm requires seven relay stations to achieve an overall coverage of 95%. The hybrid and distance‐based algorithms require 11 and 14 relay stations, respectively, to achieve the same coverage. At 3500 MHz, path‐loss based and hybrid algorithms require 19 and 16 relay stations, respectively, to achieve the same coverage. The distance‐based requires 20 relay stations to achieve an overall coverage of 82%. Further increase of relay stations has led to higher interference. Lastly, the transmit power of the relay station is optimized via an intelligent power allocation scheme. The results show that 20% of the total transmit powers from 14 relay stations can be saved at 800 MHz whereas 18% of the total transmit powers from the 20 relay stations can be saved at 3500 MHz.

Four decades of vegetation development in a percolation mire complex following intensive drainage and abandonment

Background: Many minerotrophic fens in Central Europe have undergone similar sequences of land-use transformation. Drained and used as meadows or pastures for decades in the twentieth century, they were abandoned in the 1990s due to changes in agricultural economics. This sequence of land-use change has a severe impact on vegetation and is likely to initiate secondary succession and is possibly leading to an impoverishment in species diversity and to taxonomic homogenisation.Aims: We assess the impact of agricultural use and subsequent abandonment on vegetation composition in a percolation fen in north Germany and characterise successional changes and changes in abiotic site conditions.Methods: In 2010, we resampled 77 plots of a phytosociological survey from 1967–1970 in a lowland percolation mire complex in the lower Recknitz valley, north-east Germany. These included three characteristic vegetation types of percolation fens. To investigate and quantify vegetation changes we used dissimilarity measures, diversity metrics and ecological species indicator values.Results: Overall species richness declined only slightly while there was a more pronounced decrease in species richness at the plot level in all recorded vegetation types, resulting in increased beta diversity. Generalist and nitrophilous species increased in abundance, indicating ongoing succession.Conclusions: Drainage for agricultural use and subsequent abandonment has long-lasting effects. Altered hydrological and nutrient status of the fen soil has initiated secondary succession. There is indication of an extinction debt that in the future may lead to an impoverishment of species diversity in the area. Conservation of open mesotrophic fen species may thus only be achieved if moderate use is continued and hydrologic conservation measures are applied on wide contiguous areas.

Developments and prospects of freight railway transport in Northern Germany: a Delphi survey

Despite the fact that Germany has a well expanded traffic infrastructure, it confronts a strong growth in freight volumes and it is very likely that in the forthcoming years will not be able to reasonably cope with the increasing demand. The aim of this paper is to explore the developments of the transport sector, railways in particular, in North Germany. More specific, the paper explores whether the railway network could contribute to improved traffic development in North Germany and also whether or not the existing logistics practices are effective enough to cope with the traffic problems in the region. The research based on the Delphi technique, collected, analysed and summarised the opinions of a group of experts in the aforementioned issues. Results indicate that railways could represent the solution to the forecasted growing freight volumes in the next years. In spite of continuous efforts undertaken by the politics and the economy, the existing logistics and freight traffic concepts are not sufficient, financing is too scarce, while emerging issues like sustainability, environment protection and working conditions are taken into little consideration.

A partial skeleton of a new mackerel shark (Chondrichthyes, Lamniformes) from the Miocene of Europe

Cenozoic lamniform sharks are mostly represented by isolated teeth and vertebrae, whereas articulated skeletal remains are usually very scarce. Here, we describe a partial skeleton of an extinct lamniform shark consisting of 42 slightly disarticulated teeth, 49 vertebrae, and additional unidentifiable cranial and postcranial remains. The specimen originates from the Miocene mica-clay of Gros Pampau (North Germany), which is of late Langenfeldian age (= Serravallian-Tortonian boundary; middle—late Miocene). A total of 13 measurements of each tooth, as well as morphological features, were used to reconstruct the dentition of this specimen and to provide detailed taxonomic information. Additionally, the total body size and age at death were established using methodologies based on vertebral and tooth measurements and vertebral centra growth ring counts, respectively. The specimen undoubtedly represents the most complete individual of “Carcharodon (= Isurus) escheri”, previously known only from a few isolated...

Территориальная структура химической промышленности Северной Германии в начале XXI века

Территориальная структура химической промышленности Северной Германии в начале XXI века

Deep Geothermal Energy for Lower Saxony (North Germany) – Combined Investigations of Geothermal Reservoir Characteristics

For the economic success of a geothermal project the hydraulic properties and temperature of the geothermal reservoir are crucial. New methodologies in seismics, geoelectrics and reservoir geology are tested within the frame of the collaborative research programme “Geothermal Energy and High-Performance Drilling” (gebo). Within nine geoscientific projects, tools were developed that help in the evaluation and interpretation of acquired data. Special emphasis is placed on the investigation of rock properties, on the development of early reservoir assessment even during drilling, and on the interaction between the drilling devices and the reservoir formation. The propagation of fractures and the transport of fluid and heat within the regional stress field are investigated using different approaches (field studies, seismic monitoring, multi-parameter modelling). Geologic structural models have been created for simulation of the local stress field and hydromechanical processes. Furthermore, a comprehensive dataset of hydrogeochemical environments was collected allowing characterisation and hydrogeochemical modelling of the reservoir.

Feasibility Study for Geophysical Monitoring Renewable Gas Energy Compressed in Pore Storages

Most renewable energy sources are intermittent and need buffer storage (e.g., compressed air energy storage, CAES) to bridge the time-gap between power supply and demand peaks. Replacing pore brine with CAES causes changes in electro-elastic properties and density, and justifies applications of multi-geophysical approach. In this numerical study we apply techniques of the elastic full waveform inversion (FWI), electric resistivity tomography (ERT), transient electromagnetic induction (TEM) and gravity to detect and monitor CAES in deep reservoirs and possible leakages in shallow groundwater aquifers of North Germany. For different subsurface model scenarios of CAES reservoirs and leakages, synthetic data sets are generated and inverted using constraints on the initial model. Results reveal principally the capability of our applied approach to resolve the CAES plume in deep saline reservoirs and shallow groundwater aquifers. The ERT resolution for leakages is highly enhanced for the combined surface-borehole survey compared to the individual surface and borehole surveys. The applied gravity technique is highly sensitive to the mass deficit caused by CAES plume. The detect ability limit of the technique is determined by the least CAES volume causing an anomaly with amplitude just above the accuracy range of modern micro-gravimeters. The FWI technique can map the shallow CAES leakage by anomalies in the reconstructed ΔVp, ΔVs and Δdb tomograms within the background aquifer. However, these tomograms contain inversion artifacts and smearing effects related mainly to the dominance of the Rayleigh wave in the data. Obviously, applied multi-techniques complement and confirm each other. CAES plumes cause strong mass deficits and moderate resistivity highs and thus are more sensitive for gravity and FWI methods. Applying constrained inversion minimizes interpretation ambiguities and helps recovering almost realistic electro-elastic parameters that can be applied in adequate petrophysical equations to quantify CAES saturations.

New infection rate of bovine mammary glands after application of an internal teat seal at dry-off

The internal teat sealant OrbeSeal® (Zoetis, Berlin, Germany) is intended to prevent new intramammary infection (IMI) throughout the dry period. The aim of this field study was to determine new infection rates in udder quarters applied exclusively with the sealant at dry-off and untreated ones (control group). For that, the new infection rate of udder quarters treated with the sealant was evaluated in a split-udder design (front right and rear left udder quarters treated, the other ones untreated) in 128 cows from nine dairy farms in North Germany that were healthy in all four udder quarters (i.e. <100000cells/ml, bacteriologically negative). After calving, duplicate quarter milk samples were collected twice at DIM (days in milk) 5-12 and 7d later for culture. The new infection rates for treated and untreated groups were 3·4 and 10·5%, respectively. The results showed that applying a standardised study design with very few confounders under field conditions, using internal teat sealants reduced the new infection rate on quarter level to a third of that of the control group. Thus, internal teat sealants represent a viable option for dry-off treatment of udder-healthy cows.

Valuation of possibility of the silicon based preparations application for strengthening Lublin-type mouldings

At the beginning of XVII-th Century in Little Poland region, flat, geometric decorations were common. Their came from North Germany and appeared in individual types, characteristic for particular regions. Typical variants of decorations were described by J. Szablowski with underlined net (typical for Lublin region), ferrule and geometrical decorations (typical for Cracow region). Cracovian-type decoration resembled West-European decorations and Lublin-Calisia-type were made by local bricklayers, which is hard to be proven, because of the foreign prototypes visible in many Lublin decorations. Article presents valuation of the silicon based preparations application possibility for strengthening Lublin-type mouldings. Valuated preparations differ in compounds. They are applied for conservatory works to strengthen such materials like calcium plasters and mouldings.

Living on the Border of a Currency Union

Countries joining the European Union after the establishment of Economic and Monetary Union and passing of the Maastricht Treaty could have no say on the design and rules of the Euro zone. They could only enter the zone as it existed, or postpone entry, perhaps in fact indefinitely. The European Far North, member countries north of Germany and around the Baltic Sea, offers a fascinating natural experiment: why did very similar countries come up with a wide variety of solutions? Further, did the institutional choice have an evident impact on the relative economic performance of the countries?

Aptian and Albian (Early Cretaceous) ammonites from glacial erratics of the Hamburg area, North Germany

Aptian and Albian (Early Cretaceous) ammonites from glacial erratics of the Hamburg area, North Germany

Accounting for globalization: The Journal of Management Control on its way to a global reach

In 2011 the Journal of Management Control (JoMaC), which draws from a 20 year long experience of a specialized German-speaking journal, entered the global market of accounting journals specialized in the area ofmanagement control and related fields. Two years later, it is time to look back and account for what we achieved so far. In 2012, our authors came from 18 different countries all around the world and reviewers covered 11 different countries of origin. Our journal is now available in more than 6,900 institutions all around the world. Fulltext downloads are up 106 % since going global. Full-text article requests are coming from North America (15 %), Asia-Pacific (15 %), South America (5 %), Africa (5 %), Germany (46 %) and other European countries (14 %). This is good news for our authors as they can offer their work to the global scientific community. Average turnaround time to decision on final acceptance is 152 days. Of course, the time to rejection is to the detriment of affected authors faster. The acceptance rate for submissions handed in 2012 was 20.4 %. At January 1st, 2013, I took over the function as managing editor of JoMaC. I appreciate the great support and trust of my co-editors. I will domy very best to further develop our Journal ofManagement Control.Wewould like to thank UweGoetze who was in charge of managing editor for many years now and who contributed to build the reputation of JoMaC by his endurance in taking care of both authors and reviewers. At the same time, one of the founders of the preceding Zeitschrift fur Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, our distinguished colleague Juergen Bloech, retired from the board of editors. We appreciate his vision to create a specialized management control and planning journal and his long-term sustainable commitment for our journal. We will certainly miss him.

FRI0230 Stable incidence rates of anca-associated vasculitides and giant cell arteritis in northern germany (schleswig-holstein) from 1998 to 2010

BackgroundLittle data is available regarding the epidemiology of systemic vasculitides (SV), particularly on their incidence. Available data is heterogenous and often derived from referral centers or small populations.ObjectivesTo assess the...

A Middle Neolithic well from Northern Germany: a precise source to reconstruct water supply management, subsistence economy, and deposition practices

Wells constitute a seldom, but important archive particularly as a source for reconstructing prehistoric economy. For the newly discovered Middle Neolithic well of the Funnel Beaker North Group at the domestic site of Oldenburg-Dannau LA77 (North Germany), a deposition of settlement refuse in a former well was documented. Due to depositional processes, the remains provided a detailed palaeo-ecological and archaeological archive for a short time-span around 3050 cal BC. The integration of wells in Middle Neolithic water management strategies, the high value of cereal production – including cereal threshing in the settlement and the documentation of a large number of querns – as well as the early management of “fruit gardens” were reconstructed. Subsequently, the probabilities of profane versus ritual social praxis associated with the depositional process were discussed.