Kpando, Volta Region, Ghana. Archaeology and ›Shared Heritage‹ of German Colonialism in Former Togoland. Research in 2022 and 2023

A cooperative project focusing on the archaeology and ›shared heritage‹ of German colonialism in the former Togoland colony brings together capacities from Ghanaian and German partners in the fields of archaeology, history, ethnography, architecture/building archaeology and surveying/cartography. The project aims to document, research, preserve, and present built heritage from the German colonial period in close consultation and cooperation with local authorities and communities. Building on extensive archaeological research on German missionisation and colonisation of Togoland led by Wazi Apoh and students over the past 20 years, the project partners initially focus on archival and building archaeological research, including damage assessments and restoration/rehabilitation planning in addition to (GIS-)mapping. This report outlines preliminary results from preparatory research in 2022 and a first field season in the Volta Region of Ghana in early 2023, and it highlights possible avenues for further work.A cooperative project focusing on the archaeology and ›shared heritage‹ of German colonialism in the former Togoland colony brings together capacities from Ghanaian and German partners in the fields of archaeology, history, ethnography, architecture/building archaeology and surveying/cartography. The project aims to document, research, preserve, and present built heritage from the German colonial period in close consultation and cooperation with local authorities and communities. Building on extensive archaeological research on German missionisation and colonisation of Togoland led by Wazi Apoh and students over the past 20 years, the project partners initially focus on archival and building archaeological research, including damage assessments and restoration/rehabilitation planning in addition to (GIS-)mapping. This report outlines preliminary results from preparatory research in 2022 and a first field season in the Volta Region of Ghana in early 2023, and it highlights possible avenues for further work

Association between 25-Hydroxyvitamin D status and physical performance in healthy recreational athletes

Hintergrund: Vitamin D (VitD) Mangel wurde in molekularen und klinischen Studien mit verschiedenen Aspekten veränderter muskulärer Funktion in Verbindung gebracht. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Prävalenz von VitD Mangel unter österreichischen Sportlern zu erheben und zu evaluieren, ob der VitD Status mit maximaler (Pmax) und submaximaler (Psubmax) Leistung auf dem Laufband korreliert. Methodik: Daten von 297 männlichen (M) und 284 weiblichen (F) gesunden HobbysportlerInnen wurden für diese retrospektive Querschnittsstudie herangezogen. Mögliche Korrelationen zwischen dem 25-Hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) Status und Pmax (km/h) oder Psubmax (km/h an der individuellen anaeroben Schwelle (IAT) ermittelt durch das Konzept von Dickhut et al.) wurden durch Pearson-Korrelationen und Multiple Regressionsanalyse für M und F separat berechnet. Der Datensatz wurde auf mögliche Einflussvariablen wie Alter, Jahreszeit, Wochentrainingsstunden (WTH), Body Mass Index (BMI) und Nikotinstatus kontrolliert. Ergebnisse: Unsere Ergebnisse zeigten, dass ein VitD Mangel (25(OH)D 20 ng/ml) bei 96 M und 75 F vorlag. Erwartungsgemäß lagen saisonale Schwankungen von 25(OH)D vor, mit den niedrigsten Werten zwischen Jänner und März (M: 17,45 ng/ml; F: 21,84 ng/ml) und den höchsten zwischen Juli und September (M: 30,50 ng/ml; F: 30,92 ng/ml). Pmax und Psubmax zeigten hingegen keine saisonabhängigen Unterschiede. M mit 25(OH)D Werten von 20 ng/ml zeigten eine signifikant niedrigere Psubmax (p=0,045) als solche mit optimalen Serum VitD Werten. Bei F konnten diesbezüglich keine Unterschiede für Pmax und Psubmax gezeigt werden. Obwohl sich signifikante Korrelationen zwischen 25(OH)D und Pmax (r = 0,143) und Psubmax (r=0,141) bei F und zwischen 25(OH)D und Pmax (r = 0,139) bei M ergaben, waren die Korrelationskoeffizienten niedrig und nach einer Bonferroni Korrektur für multiples Testen nicht mehr signifikant. Eine schrittweise multiple Regressionsanalyse mit allen Kovariablen ergab für M signifikante Korrelationen zwischen 25(OH)D und Pmax (beta=0,138, p=0.003) und Psubmax (beta=0,152, p=0,002). Bei F zeigte sich interessanterweise, dass die signifikanten Korrelationen zwischen 25(OH)D und sowohl Pmax als auch Psubmax verschwanden, nachdem die WTH und der BMI dem Modell hinzugefügt wurden. Diskussion: Vor allem bei M konnte eine Assoziation zwischen 25(OH)D Status und körperlicher Leitungsfähigkeit gezeigt werden. Die Korrelation zwischen 25(OH)D und Leistung bei F wurde beeinflusst durch die WTH und den BMI. Gründe für diese geschlechtsspezifischen Unterschiede lassen sich in unterschiedlichem VitD Metabolismus, Biomechanik oder Trainingsverhalten vermuten.Background: Molecular and clinical studies have linked vitamin D (vitD) deficiency to several aspects of muscle performance. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the prevalence of vitD deficiency in athletes living in Austria and to determine whether vitD status correlates with maximal (Pmax) and submaximal physical performance (Psubmax) measured on a treadmill ergometer. Methods: For this retrospective cross-sectional study data from 297 male (M) and 284 female (F) healthy recreational athletes were used. Possible correlations between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and Pmax (km/h) or Psubmax (km/h at the individual anaerobic threshold (IAT) generated through the concept of Dickhut et al.) were calculated by Pearson correlations and multiple regression analyses for M and F separately. The data were controlled for age, season, weekly training hours (WTH), body mass index (BMI) and smoking status. Results: Our results revealed that 96 M and 75 F had 25(OH)D levels 20 ng/mL. As expected 25(OH)D levels showed seasonal variations, the lowest between January and March (M: 17,45 ng/mL; F: 21,84 ng/mL) and the highest between July and September (M: 30,50 ng/mL, F: 30,92 ng/mL) but no seasonal differences in Pmax and Psubmax. M with 25(OH)D levels 20 ng/mL had significantly lower Psubmax (p=0,045) than those with optimal levels. In F no differences in Pmax or Psubmax were detected. Although significant correlations were detected between 25(OH)D levels and Pmax (r=0,143) and Psubmax (r=0,141) in F and between 25(OH)D and Psubmax (r=0,139) in M, correlation coefficients were low and non-significant after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. Stepwise multiple regression analysis including all covariates in M revealed significant correlations between 25(OH)D levels and Pmax (beta=0,138, p=0.003) and Psubmax (beta=0,152, p=0,002). Interestingly, for F significant correlations between 25(OH)D and both Pmax and Psubmax disappeared after adding WTH and BMI to the model. Discussion: 25(OH)D status was associated with physical performance, especially in M. In F WTH and BMI affected the correlation between 25(OH)D levels and performance. The reasons for the observed gender differences could lie in differing vitD metabolism, biomechanics and physiology or training habits.eingereicht von Cornelia ZeitlerAbweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des VerfassersMedizinische Universität Wien, Diplomarb., 2018(VLID)253076

Association Between the 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Status and Physical Performance in Healthy Recreational Athletes

Molecular and clinical studies have linked vitamin D (vitD) deficiency to several aspects of muscle performance. For this retrospective cross-sectional study data from 297 male (M) and 284 female (F) healthy recreational athletes were used to evaluate the prevalence of vitD deficiency in athletes living in Austria and to determine whether serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) correlates with maximal (Pmax) and submaximal physical performance (Psubmax) measured on a treadmill ergometer. The data were controlled for age, season, weekly training hours (WTH), body mass index (BMI) and smoking status. 96 M and 75 F had 25(OH)D levels ≤ 20 ng/mL. 25(OH)D levels showed seasonal variations, but no seasonal differences in Pmax and Psubmax were detected. M with 25(OH)D levels ≤ 20 ng/mL had significantly lower Psubmax (p = 0.045) than those with normal levels. In F no significant differences in Pmax or Psubmax were detected. Stepwise multiple regression analysis including all covariates revealed significant correlations between 25(OH)D levels and Pmax (β = 0.138, p = 0.003) and Psubmax (β = 0.152, p = 0.002) in M. Interestingly, for F significant correlations between 25(OH)D and both Pmax and Psubmax disappeared after adding WTH to the model. In conclusion, our data suggest that 25(OH)D status is associated with physical performance especially in M, while in F, WTH and BMI seem to affect the correlation