Slaughter pigs as carrier of Listeria monocytogenes in Germany

Listeria (L.) monocytogenes as the cause of human listeriosis is widespread in the environment and a hazard considering food safety. Almost all animal species as well as humans can be asymptomatic carriers of this bacterium. In pigs, the tonsils are identified as the organ with the highest detection rate compared to other sample matrices. We sampled 430 pigs in total in two slaughterhouses in Northwest and East Germany, two structurally different and important regions in pig production, to re-examine pigs as a possible source of Listeria-contamination of pork products. We detected a low prevalence of L. monocytogenes in tonsil samples of 1.6% (7/430) on single animal level and of 11.6% (5/43) on herd level with no significant difference between the two German regions. Apart from L. monocytogenes, the usually non-pathogenic L. innocua had a prevalence of 1.2% (5/430) on single animal level. From 200 pigs from Northwest Germany, intestinal content samples were analysed in addition to tonsil samples from the same animals, but no positive sample was found for L. monocytogenes (0.0%, 0/200), while four pigs were positive for L. innocua (2.0%, 4/200). Although the prevalence of L. monocytogenes in tonsils is low, the risk of cross-contaminating meat with the pathogen is still given

Transparency of ownership and control in Germany

We first analyze legal provisions relating to corporate transparency in Germany. We show that despite the new securities trading law (WpHG) of 1995, the practical efficacy of disclosure regulation is very low. On the one hand, the formation of business groups involving less regulated legal forms as intermediate layers can substantially reduce transparency. On the other hand, the implementation of the law is not practical and not very effective. We illustrate these arguments using several examples of WpHG filings. To illustrate the importance of transparency, we show next that German capital markets are dominated by few large firms accounting for most of the market’s capitalization and trading volume. Moreover, the concentration of control is very high. First, 85% of all officially listed AGs have a dominant shareholder (controlling more than 25% of the voting rights). Second, few large blockholders control several deciding voting blocks in listed corporations, while the majority controls only one block

Spectroscopic Determination of Binding Constants of Modified β-cyclodextrins with Brooker’s Merocyanine

Host-guest complexation occurs when a guest molecule is held inside a host molecule through weak molecular forces. β-cyclodextrin, a host molecule, has a variety of uses and is often applied in pharmaceuticals. Binding constants of host-guest complexes of Brooker’s merocyanine and various modified β-cyclodextrins (2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, sulfated β-cyclodextrin, and methyl-β-cyclodextrin) were studied using fluorescence and UV-Vis spectrometry to determine the strength of interaction between the host molecule and the guest molecule. By modifying the β-cyclodextrin, the effect of ionic forces, hydrogen bonding, and steric hindrance were compared. It was determined via fluorescence spectrometry that sulfated β-cyclodextrin had a binding constant of 38.3 M-1, which was significantly lower than the determined binding constants 430 M-1 for β-cyclodextrin, 359.1 M-1 for 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, and 194.6 M-1 for methyl-β-cyclodextrin. These results were confirmed via UV-Vis spectrometry, where the binding constants were 335.2 M-1 for 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin and 178.4 M-1 for methyl-β-cyclodextrin. These results were in agreement with fluorescence data. The much lower binding constant of sulfated β-cyclodextrin could be caused by a combination of ionic forces and steric hindrance. A comparison of these results to the theoretical models will lead to verification of the effect of these forces on binding. About the author: Carly Hanson is a junior Chemistry major and German minor

Comment on Véronique Zanetti: On Moral Compromise

In this article, I criticize Véronique Zanetti on the topic of moral compromise. As I understand Zanetti, a compromise could only be called a “moral compromise” if (i) it does not originate under coercive conditions, (ii) it involves conflict whose subject matter is moral, and (iii) “the parties support the solution found for what they take to be moral reasons rather than strategic interests.” I offer three criticisms of Zanetti. First, Zanetti ignores how some parties may not have reason to seek social peace at all. Zanetti’s claim that there is consensus on the aim of social peace can involve idealising away from disagreement in a manner that Zanetti accuses Rawls of. Second, even if there is consensus on the aim of seeking social peace, this leaves open the possibility of disagreement about which society different people should belong to. This idealises away from real world conflict concerning borders. Indeed, Zanetti does not mention that her ‘central example’ of moral disagreement, the German Abortion compromise, was enacted in the wake of German reunification. Third, there are at least two things that can be called the ‘German Abortion compromise.’ The compromise that Zanetti speaks of was imposed by the German Federal Constitutional Court. The court declared unconstitutional a law passed in 1992 that had been negotiated in parliament. Zanetti does not dwell on this lack of democratic credentials. Even the substance of the court-imposed solution is itself a dubious example of a moral compromise between parties based on what is acceptable to their reason. (penultimate version - If you would like the .pdf of the final version for personal scholarly use, please contact me through the email address on my profile or my CV.

Bibliometric indicators for assessing strengths and weaknesses of West German science

Weingart P, Sehringer R, Winterhager M. Bibliometric indicators for assessing strengths and weaknesses of West German science. In: Raan AFJ van, ed. Handbook of quantitative studies of science and technology. Amsterdam [u.a.]: North-Holland [Publ. Co.]; 1988: 391-430

The First Use of Poison Gase at Ypres, 1915: A Translation from the German Official History

While English-speaking historians know in detail about almost every event on the BEF’s front, the same cannot be said of our knowledge of the German side of the Western Front. This is not surprising, as comparatively few English language books have been written about the German experience on the battlefields of the Great War. Recent English language scholarship by Holger Herwig, Annika Mombauer, and Robert Foley, to name but a few historians, has enriched our understanding of the conflict. However, these works have tended to concentrate on political and diplomatic history, or in the case of Mombaurer and Foley, on high-ranking officers such as Helmuth von Moltke and Erich von Falkenhayn. This means that events at the tactical and operational level remain comparatively unexplored in English. This gap in the historiography has largely been shaped by the absence of primary source materials

The role of rs2237781 within GRM8 in eating behavior

Introduction: The glutamate receptor, metabotropic 8 gene (GRM8) encodes a G-protein-coupled glutamate receptor and has been associated with smoking behavior and liability to alcoholism implying a role in addiction vulnerability. Data from animal studies suggest that GRM8 may be involved in the regulation of the neuropeptide Y and melanocortin pathways and might influence food intake and metabolism. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the genetic variant rs2237781 within GRM8 on human eating behavior. Methods: The initial analysis included 548 Sorbs from Germany who have been extensively phenotyped for metabolic traits and who completed the German version of the three-factor eating questionnaire. In addition, we analyzed two independent sample sets comprising 293 subjects from another German cohort and 430 Old Order Amish individuals. Genetic associations with restraint, disinhibition, and hunger were assessed in an additive linear regression model. Results: Among the Sorbs the major G allele of rs2237781 was significantly associated with increased restraint scores in eating behavior (P = 1.9 9 10?4; b =+1.936). The German cohort and the Old Order Amish population revealed a trend in the same direction for restraint (P = 0.242; b =+0.874; P = 0.908; b =+0.096; respectively). A meta-analysis resulted in a combined P = 3.1 9 10?3 (Z-score 2.948). Conclusion: Our data suggest that rs2237781 within GRM8 may influence human eating behavior factors probably via pathways involved in addictive behavior

Nutritional habits and food consumption pattern of fishing communities around Lake Kainji, Nigeria

The findings are presented of a nutrition survey carried out in the framework of the Nigerian-German Kainji Lake Fisheries Promotion Project in March/April 1995. The major aim of the study was to obtain closer information on the food habits and food consumption patterns of the fishing population, especially the quantification of fish and small fish in particular, consumed at the household level. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect relevant information on demographic, education and occupational profiles; the information was collected in 39 villages in the southern sector of Kainji Lake. (PDF contains 75 pages

Not much ado about quite a lot? The German election of September 2013

The German election of 22 September 2013 saw Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU return triumphantly to office. Merkel’s party won as she is widely admired and, most importantly, she is widely trusted to lead Germany through potentially challenging times. So, all much as was. Yet beneath the surface the tectonic plates of German party politics are shifting. The Social Democrats appear to be stuck in an electoral trough, whilst the number of politically relevant smaller parties is increasing. Although the liberal FDP failed to re-enter parliament for the first time in post-war history, and both the Pirates and Alternative for Germany (AfG) also fell at the final (5%) hurdle, the era of multi-party politics is now well and truly with us. The CDU/CSU and SPD will lead Germany until 2017, but the story of what happens then really is anyone’s guess

Annotated world bibliography of host fruits of Bactrocera latifrons (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Bactrocera latifrons (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) infests fruits and vegetables of a number of different plant species, with host plants primarily found in the plant families Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae. Although B. latifrons is of primarily Asian distribution (e.g., Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, China [Fujian, Yunnan, Hong Kong, Hainan], Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Brunei), its range has expanded through introductions into Hawaii, Okinawa, Tanzania, and Kenya, and poses a threat of introduction into other countries where it does not presently occur. As with other tephritid fruit fly species, establishment of B. latifrons can have significant economic consequences, including damage and loss of food production, as well as requirements for implementation of costly quarantine treatments to permit export of commodities susceptible to infestation by B. latifrons. In order to avoid these adverse economic consequences, one needs to prevent the entry, establishment and spread of B. latifrons into a new habitat. To successfully achieve this, an accurate knowledge of the fly’s host plants is essential. Cognizant of this need, we prepared, and present here, a worldwide list of host plants for B. latifrons, with annotations on reported laboratory and field infestation data. Overall, a total of 59 plant species from 14 plant families are identified as hosts of B. latifrons, based on reported field infestation data