The 1953 Bundestag election: evidence from West German public opinion

Der Verfasser untersucht die Gültigkeit ausgewählter Interpretationen zur Erklärung der Bundestagswahlergebnisse des Jahres 1953. Er konfrontiert die einzelnen Interpretationen mit Datenmaterial aus Meinungsumfragen des amerikanischen Hohen Kommissars für Deutschland zu Aspekten der bundesdeutschen Nachkriegspolitik. Der Autor kommt zu den Ergebnissen, daß der Wahlausgang und die Akzeptanz der bundesdeutschen Bevölkerung gegenüber demokratischen Institutionen und dem demokratischen System nach Auswertung des Datenmaterials nicht überrascht. Während die Identifikation mit den politischen Parteien eine untergeordnete Rolle gespielt habe, seien die von Adenauer vertretenen Standpunkte sowie dessen Persönlichkeit ausschlaggebend für den Wahlausgang gewesen. Haben sich Religionszugehörigkeit und soziale Herkunft als bedeutende Determinanten des Wahlverhaltens erwiesen, so läßt nach Ansicht des Autors eine fehlende theoretische Fundierung hingegen Rückschlüsse über ihren Stellenwert verglichen mit anderen Determinanten nicht zu. (RS)'The 1953 Bundestag election is frequently interpreted as a critical milestone in postwar West Germany's political history. Some saw its outcome, which gave Chancellor Adenauer's CDU/CSU 45.2% for the vote (31.0% in 1949) and his coalition 63.8% (and a constitution-changing 68.4% of Bundestag seats), as a major surprise, as proof that west Germans had firmly accepted democacy, or as simply another election, to be explained by the appeal of political issues, party identification, the candidates personalities, special political circumstances (e.g. U.S. intervention), or the sociological characteristics of the voters themselves. The paper looks into the validity of a particular set of public opinion surveys on the 1953 Bundestag election, commissioned by the Evaluation Staff of the Office of Public Affairs, U.S. High Commission for Germany (HICOG). The data from the 1953 election study show that neither the electoral outcome nor the degree of West Germans' acceptance of democratic institutions and practices should have come as a surprise. Specific issues seemed to play little role, but differences in general mood, related to several such issues, were important. Party identification as such was important for only a few. Voters subsequently saw Adenauer's personality and the general mood he represented as the most important element in the outcome; the special circumstances mentioned by several writers were insignificant in the voters' consciousness. The data suggest that social class and religion were important variables determining voters' predispositions, but the lack of theoretic orientation in the study makes impossible any definite conclusion about their weight vis-a-vis other variables such as issues.' (author's abstract

Political perspectives in Germany: the years of semisovereigny, 1949-1955

Nach der Ablösung der amerikanischen Militärregierung setzte die Hohe Kommission der USA für Deutschland die 1945 begonnene Umfrageforschung in der amerikanischen Besatzungszone fort und weitete sie 1951 auf die nationale Ebene aus. Die gewonnen Daten wurden publiziert, die Originaldatensätze stehen nicht mehr zur Verfügung. Zu den Untersuchungsthemen gehörten der Übergangsprozeß von der Nazi-Herrschaft zur Unabhängigkeit unter dem Besatzungsregime, die Beziehungen der Bundesrepublik zum Osten, Wiedervereinigung, Wiederbewaffnung und Westintegration, Reaktionen auf amerikanische Informationsprogramme sowie die Bevölkerungseinstellung in Ostdeutschland. Die Daten machen deutlich, daß die Jahre der eingeschränkten Souveränität eine neue Form der Orthodoxie in Westdeutschland hervorriefen oder bestärkten. Die BRD war nicht die Modelldemokratie, die die amerikanischen Besatzer angestrebt hatten, aber sie war in formaler Hinsicht eine akzeptierte, stabile und effektive Demokratie. (ICEÜbers)'When the American Military Government was replaced in 1949 by the U.S. High Commission for Germany (HICOG), it continued the series of public opinion surveys conducted since 1945 in the American zone of occupation and in 1951 even expanded them to include nationwide samples. The resulting data were analyzed and presented in periodic reports published by the HICOG Reactions Analysis Staff; the datacards themselves were lost or destroyed. Among the topics included in the surveys were the West Germans' transition from Nazi domination through a decade of occupation by foreign powers to substantial independence; the Federal Republic's relations with the East, German reunification, rearmament, and West European unity; responses to American information programs; and the view of East Germans on a variety of topics. Taken together the data indicate that the years of semisovereignty produced (or strengthened) a new orthodoxy in the Federal Republic. The FRG was not the model democracy for which American occupiers had initially hoped, but it was a popular, stable, and effective democracy in a formal sense.' (author's abstract

Supermassive Black Holes in Active Galactic Nuclei. I. The Consistency of Black Hole Masses in Quiescent and Active Galaxies

We report the first results of a program to measure accurate stellar velocity dispersions in the bulges of the host galaxies of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) for which accurate black hole (BH) masses have been determined via reverberation mapping. We find good agreement between BH masses obtained from reverberation mapping, and from the M(BH) - sigma relation as defined by quiescent galaxies, indicating a common relationship between active and quiescent black holes and their large-scale environments.Comment: Submitted to ApJ

The mutation rate of mycobacterial repetitive unit loci in strains of M. tuberculosis from cynomolgus macaque infection

Background: Mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units (MIRUs) are minisatellites within the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) genome. Copy number variation (CNV) in MIRU loci is used for epidemiological typing, making the rate of variation important for tracking the transmission of Mtb strains. In this study, we developed and assessed a whole-genome sequencing (WGS) approach to detect MIRU CNV in Mtb. We applied this methodology to a panel of Mtb strains isolated from the macaque model of tuberculosis (TB), the animal model that best mimics human disease. From these data, we have estimated the rate of MIRU variation in the host environment, providing a benchmark rate for future epidemiologic work. Results: We assessed variation at the 24 MIRU loci used for typing in a set of Mtb strains isolated from infected cynomolgus macaques. We previously performed WGS of these strains and here have applied both read depth (RD) and paired-end mapping (PEM) metrics to identify putative copy number variants. To assess the relative power of these approaches, all MIRU loci were resequenced using Sanger sequencing. We detected two insertion/deletion events both of which could be identified as candidates by PEM criteria. With these data, we estimate a MIRU mutation rate of 2.70 × 10-03 (95% CI: 3.30 × 10-04- 9.80 × 10-03) per locus, per year. Conclusion: Our results represent the first experimental estimate of the MIRU mutation rate in Mtb. This rate is comparable to the highest previous estimates gathered from epidemiologic data and meta-analyses. Our findings allow for a more rigorous interpretation of data gathered from MIRU typing

Outcomes of Minimally Invasive Myotomy for the Treatment of Achalasia in the Elderly

Laparoscopic Heller myotomy can safely be performed in elderly patients and can provide significant symptom relief

The Black Hole Mass of NGC 4151: Comparison of Reverberation Mapping and Stellar Dynamical Measurements

We present a stellar dynamical estimate of the black hole (BH) mass in the Seyfert 1 galaxy, NGC 4151. We analyze ground-based spectroscopy as well as imaging data from the ground and space, and we construct 3-integral axisymmetric models in order to constrain the BH mass and mass-to-light ratio. The dynamical models depend on the assumed inclination of the kinematic symmetry axis of the stellar bulge. In the case where the bulge is assumed to be viewed edge-on, the kinematical data give only an upper limit to the mass of the BH of ~4e7 M_sun (1 sigma). If the bulge kinematic axis is assumed to have the same inclination as the symmetry axis of the large-scale galaxy disk (i.e., 23 degrees relative to the line of sight), a best-fit dynamical mass between 4-5e7 M_sun is obtained. However, because of the poor quality of the fit when the bulge is assumed to be inclined (as determined by the noisiness of the chi^2 surface and its minimum value), and because we lack spectroscopic data that clearly resolves the BH sphere of influence, we consider our measurements to be tentative estimates of the dynamical BH mass. With this preliminary result, NGC 4151 is now among the small sample of galaxies in which the BH mass has been constrained from two independent techniques, and the mass values we find for both bulge inclinations are in reasonable agreement with the recent estimate from reverberation mapping (4.57[+0.57/-0.47]e7 M_sun) published by Bentz et al.Comment: 20 pages, including 11 low-res figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. High resolution version available upon reques

The nutritional ecology of larvae of Alsophila pometaria and Anisota senatoria feeding on early- and late-season oak foliage

The larvae of Alsophila pometaria (Harr.), feeding on the young foliage of oak, has a higher relative growth rate (RGR) and relative nitrogen accumulation rate (RNAR) than the larvae of Anisota senatoria (J. E. Smith), feeding on the mature foliage of oak. Although the young oak foliage is more efficiently digested by A. pometaria (higher AD's), it is not more efficiently assimilated and used for growth (no difference in ECI's). Thus, the higher growth rate of A. pometaria is due entirely to a higher consumption rate (RCR and RNCR). Young foliage is significantly higher in nitrogen and water than mature foliage, but phenol and tannin levels are comparable in young and old foliage. A. pometaria consumes the foliage of different oak species at the same rate, independent of nitrogen content, while A. senatoria increases its consumption rate in response to decreased nitrogen levels. As a result, the growth rate of A. pometaria is directly related to leaf nitrogen content, while the growth rate of A. senatoria is independent of leaf nitrogen. The two species of insects have digestive systems that are very similar biochemically, and that are well-designed for effective protein digestion. Tannins and phenols do not influence the nutrional indices of either species. We suggest that the major benefit of spring feeding is the availability of succulent, high-nitrogen foliage, and not the avoidance of high-tannin foliage. The spring feeder appears to have a feeding strategy that favors rapid growth at the expense of efficiency, while the late summer feeder has a strategy that favors efficiency over rate. Alimentées sur feuillage jeune de chêne, les chenilles d' Alsophila pometaria avaient un taux relatif de croissance (RGR) et un taux relatif d'accumulation d'azote (RNAR) plus élevés que les chenilles d' Anisota senatoria alimentées sur feuillage mûr de chêne. Bien que le jeune feuillage soit plus efficacement digéré par A. pometaria (AD plus élevé), il n'est pas assimilé et utilisé pour la croissance avec de meilleurs rendements (les ECI ne sont pas différents). Ainsi le taux de croissance plus élevé d' A. pometaria est dû entièrement à un taux de consommation plus important (RCR et RNCR). Le feuillage jeune est significativement plus riche en azote et en eau que le feuillage mûr, mais les niveaux de phénol et de tanins sont les mêmes. A pometaria consomme les feuilles de différentes espèces de chênes au même taux, indépendamment de la teneur en azote, tandis que A. senatoria accroît sa consommation en réponse à une diminution de la teneur en azote. Il en résulte que le taux de croissance d' A. pometaria dépend directement de la teneur en azote des feuilles, tandis que celui d' A. senatoria en est indépendant. Les systèmes digestifs des deux insectes sont biochimiquement semblables et sont efficaces pour la digestion des protéines. Les tanins et les phénols n'influent pas sur les indices nutritionnels de ces deux espèces. Nous estimons que le principal intérêt de l'alimentation printanière est la disponibilité en feuillage succulent, riche en azote, et non l'absence de feuilles à haute teneur en tanin. L'alimentation printanière semble correspondre à une strategie alimentaire qui favorise la croissance aux dépens de l'efficacité tandis que l'alimentation en fin d'été est une stratégie qui favorise l'efficacité sur la rapidité.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42708/1/10667_2004_Article_BF00217527.pd

Solution-Phase Combinatorial Chemistry in Lead Discovery

Solution-phase approaches in combinatorial chemistry complement solid-phase approaches and each can be used to advantage in particular circumstances. Solution-phase synthesis of pools of compounds, whilst allowing successful identification of a selection of good lead structures for medicinal chemistry programmes, also reinforced a number of the disadvantages of such an approach. Solution-phase parallel synthesis of discrete compounds has, however, proved to be a very useful and popular approach both for lead generation and in lead optimisation work. The range of chemistry suitable for use in such approaches is expanding rapidly and some of these chemistries are discussed. The current focus is on enhancing the quality of compounds prepared in array formats, and we describe a number of useful approaches which are being developed to that end