"Übervölkerungs"konstruktionen in der deutschen Bevölkerungsgeschichte und Paul Momberts Kritik 1933: eine Fallstudie zur Produktion und Dekonstruktion wissenschaftlicher Mythen 1929-1976

'Mit Bezug auf Michel Foucaults Analysen einer 'Bio-Politik der Bevölkerung' untersucht diese Fallstudie 'Übervölkerungs'konstruktionen in den deutschen Geschichtswissenschaften. Anhand von Arbeiten von Werner Conze und Wolfgang Köllmann wird für die Zeit nach 1945 die Durchsetzung eines Modells einer angeblichen 'Übervölkerung' im 19. Jht. beschrieben, das bereits in den Geschichts- und Sozialwissenschaften im Nationalsozialismus präsent war. In dem Zusammenhang wird aufgezeigt, dass der Begriff 'Biopolitik' bereits vor 1933 und während dem Nationalsozialismus in unmittelbarem Zusammenhang mit bevölkerungspolitischen Konzeptionen von Friedrich Burgdörfer angewandt wurde. Diesen 'Übervölkerungs'konstruktionen werden kritische Bemerkungen des deutschen Nationalökonomen Paul Mombert gegenüber gestellt, der 1933 auf 'die geringe Zuverlässigkeit älterer Volkszählungen' hingewiesen hatte. Mombert, der im Nationalsozialismus als Jude verfolgt und als Professor in Gießen entlassen worden war, stellte zeitgenössische Annahmen über das 'Volkswachstum älterer Zeiten' in Frage.' (Autorenreferat)'With regard to Michel Foucault's analyses of a 'bio-politics of population', this case study examines constructions of 'Überbevölkerung' (overpopulation) in German historiography. In studying works of Werner Conze and Wolfgang Köllmann the article describes how a model of alleged 'overpopulation', a concept that was already in use in historical and social scientific writings during Nazism, received wide success after 1945. In this context it is shown that in connection with Friedrich Burgdörfer's concepts of population the term 'Biopolitik' had already been in circulation before 1933 and under Nazism. These constructions of 'overpopulation' are contrasted with critical remarks by Paul Mombert, a German economist who was persecuted as a Jew under Nazi rule and stripped of his position as professor at the University of Gießen. Mombert had pointed to the 'low reliability of older census data' in 1933 and questioned coeval assumptions of 'population growth in older times'.' (author's abstract

The Application of Liquid Chromatography and Capillary Zone Electrophoresis Combined with Atmospheric Pressure Ionisation Mass Spectrometry for the Analysis of Pharmaceutical Compounds in Biological Fluids

HPLC coupled to atmospheric pressure ionisation mass spectrometry has almost replaced HPLC assays with UV, fluorescence, or electrochemical detection, due to its enhanced speed, sensitivity, and selectivity, especially when tandem-MS is used. To increase the speed and sensitivity of the drug assays further, high-speed HPLC, multi-component analysis, and µHPLC are used on a routine basis. Sample preparation is recognized as an important issue in bioanalytics. The use of a 96-well plate format with automated liquid-handling systems, off-line and on-line solid-phase extraction or automated liquid-liquid extraction allows to cope with the high sample throughput enabled by LC-MS. Although LC-MS/MS represents the highest standard with respect to sensitivity and selectivity, LC-MS, as a less expensive alternative, is useful in many stages of drug discovery and development. CE-MS and CEC-MS appear to be an attractive alternative to HPLC-MS with respect to separation power, but both are a challenge in application and only seldomly used for the quantification of new drug candidates in biological fluids

Em. o. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Josef Ehmer (1948-2023): Ein persönlicher Nachruf

Der Historiker Josef Ehmer ist am 10. Mai 2023 unerwartet im 75. Lebensjahr in Wien verstorben. Dieser Nachruf würdigt ihn als einen der international einflussreichsten Sozialhistoriker Österreichs

Heavy hole states in Germanium hut wires

Hole spins have gained considerable interest in the past few years due to their potential for fast electrically controlled qubits. Here, we study holes confined in Ge hut wires, a so far unexplored type of nanostructure. Low temperature magnetotransport measurements reveal a large anisotropy between the in-plane and out-of-plane g-factors of up to 18. Numerical simulations verify that this large anisotropy originates from a confined wave function which is of heavy hole character. A light hole admixture of less than 1% is estimated for the states of lowest energy, leading to a surprisingly large reduction of the out-of-plane g-factors. However, this tiny light hole contribution does not influence the spin lifetimes, which are expected to be very long, even in non isotopically purified samples

Nanoimprinted superlattice metallic photonic crystal as ultraselective solar absorber

A two-dimensional superlattice metallic photonic crystal (PhC) and its fabrication by nanoimprint lithography on tantalum substrates are presented. The superior tailoring capacity of the superlattice PhC geometry is used to achieve spectrally selective solar absorption optimized for high-temperature and high-efficiency solar-energy-conversion applications. The scalable fabrication route by nanoimprint lithography allows for a high-throughput and high-resolution replication of this complex pattern over large areas. Despite the high fill factor, the pattern of polygonal cavities is accurately replicated into a resist that hardens under ultraviolet radiation over an area of 10  mm². In this way, cavities of 905 nm and 340 nm width are achieved with a period of 1 μm. After pattern transfer into tantalum via a deep reactive ion-etching process, the achieved cavities are 2.2 μm deep, separated by 85–95 nm wide ridges with vertical sidewalls. The room-temperature reflectance spectra of the fabricated samples show excellent agreement with simulated results, with a high spectral absorptance approaching blackbody absorption in the range from 300 to 1900 nm and a steep cutoff. The calculated solar absorptivity of this superlattice PhC is 96% and its thermal transfer efficiency is 82.8% at an operating temperature of 1500 K and an irradiance of 1000  kW/m².United States. Army Research Office (W911NF-13-D-0001)United States. Department of Energy (DE-SC0001299

Basement membrane ligands initiate distinct signalling networks to direct cell shape

Cells have evolved mechanisms to sense the composition of their adhesive microenvironment. Although much is known about general mechanisms employed by adhesion receptors to relay signals between the extracellular environment and the cytoskeleton, the nuances of ligand-specific signalling remain undefined. Here, we investigated how glomerular podocytes, and four other basement membrane-associated cell types, respond morphologically to different basement membrane ligands. We defined the composition of the respective adhesion complexes using mass spectrometry-based proteomics. On type IV collagen, all epithelial cell types adopted a round morphology, with a single lamellipodium and large adhesion complexes rich in actin-binding proteins. On laminin (511 or 521), all cell types attached to a similar degree but were polygonal in shape with small adhesion complexes enriched in endocytic and microtubule-binding proteins. Consistent with their distinctive morphologies, cells on type IV collagen exhibited high Rac1 activity, while those on laminin had elevated PKCα. Perturbation of PKCα was able to interchange morphology consistent with a key role for this pathway in matrix ligand-specific signalling. Therefore, this study defines the switchable basement membrane adhesome and highlights two key signalling pathways within the systems that determine distinct cell morphologies. Proteomic data are availableviaProteomeXchange with identifier PXD017913

Lsd1 ablation triggers metabolic reprogramming of brown adipose tissue

Previous work indicated that lysine-specific demethylase 1 (Lsd1) can positively regulate the oxidative and thermogenic capacities of white and beige adipocytes. Here we investigate the role of Lsd1 in brown adipose tissue (BAT) and find that BAT- selective Lsd1 ablation induces a shift from oxidative to glycolytic metabolism. This shift is associated with downregulation of BAT-specific and upregulation of white adipose tissue (WAT)-selective gene expression. This results in the accumulation of di- and triacylglycerides and culminates in a profound whitening of BAT in aged Lsd1- deficient mice. Further studies show that Lsd1 maintains BAT properties via a dual role. It activates BAT-selective gene expression in concert with the transcription factor Nrf1 and represses WAT-selective genes through recruitment of the CoREST complex. In conclusion, our data uncover Lsd1 as a key regulator of gene expression and metabolic function in BAT