Can Chancellor Scholz save the West? The new German government and global geopolitics

In the wake of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s departure from the German Chancellorship, her successor, Olaf Scholz, inherits a Germany which has been lacking in strategic vision and an acute foreign policy for a considerable amount of time. Maximilian Terhalle asks, can Chancellor Scholz provide this vision for his country, and imbue NATO and the EU with a coherent and unified foreign policy in the face of threats from China, Russia, and a divided ‘West’

Control of broad-area vertical-cavity surface emitting laser emission by optically induced photonic crystals

We control the emission properties of a broad-area vertical-cavity surface emitting laser by coupling it to an external feedback cavity containing a photorefractive crystal with an optically induced photonic lattice. The periodic modulation of the refractive index serves as a tunable filter and enables the dynamic suppression of unwanted spatial instabilities and modes, as originally suggested by Gomila et al

Structure analysis of two-dimensional nonlinear self-trapped photonic lattices in anisotropic photorefractive media

We generate experimentally different types of two-dimensional self-trapped photonic lattices in a photorefractive medium and analyze the induced refractive index change using two different methods. One method gives the first experimental Fourier space analysis of both linear and nonlinear self-trapped photonic lattices with periodic phase modulation using partially spatially incoherent multi-band excitation of the lattice modes. The other method utilizes the waveguiding properties of the lattice to achieve a real space analysis of the induced refractive index change. The results of both methods are compared.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Otto Schmidt (1888-1971) : Gegner Hitlers und Intimus Hugenbergs

Die Biographie behandelt im wesentlichen das politische Wirken des deutschnationalen Reichstagsabgeordneten Otto Schmidt während der Weimarer Republik (1924-1933). Nach dem zaghaften Intermezzo im Sinne der Parteiführung des Grafen Westarp bringt ihn die Enttäuschung über das bis 1928 Erreichte an die Seite Hugenbergs, dessen engster parlamentarischer Vertrauter er wird. Die Arbeit wirft dabei nicht nur Licht in die diffuse Organisation der Partei sondern sie zeigt auch die Berührungspunkte im Verhältnis mit der NSDAP. Gerade in der Außenpolitik aber auch im Kampf gegen die Republik zeigt sich Schmidt als radikal, obwohl ihm die schicksalhafte Liaison mit Hitler spätestens seit der Tagung in Harzburg (1931), die er selbst organisiert, nicht unbewußt bleibt. Hitler als Reichskanzler lehnt er gegen Hugenberg 1933 ab

Discrete and surface solitons in photonic graphene nanoribbons

We analyze localization of light in honeycomb photonic lattices restricted in one dimension which can be regarded as an optical analog of (``armchair'' and ``zigzag'') graphene nanoribbons. We find the conditions for the existence of spatially localized states and discuss the effect of lattice topology on the properties of discrete solitons excited inside the lattice and at its edges. In particular, we discover a novel type of soliton bistability, the so-called geometry-induced bistability, in the lattices of a finite extent.Comment: three double-column pages, 5 figures, submitted for publicatio

Op weg naar een geschreven eenheidstaal. De ontdialectisering van de schrijftaal bij Gheraert Leeu, drukker in Gouda en Antwerpen.

This study discusses the influence of the printing press on the gradual rise of standard Dutch on the basis of the language used in a selection of incunables, printed by Gheraert Leeu, one of the pioneers of early printing. Leeu was active in Gouda (Holland) from 1477 until 1484, but moved in 1484 to the city of Antwerp (Brabant), where he continued his printing activity until his sudden death in 1492. In three books from Gouda and five books originating from Antwerp, we determined the degree of dialecticity, classified the dialect variants according to their origin, interpreted the variation found between regional and non-regional variants and discussed their diachronic evolution. We found that both the Hollandic and the Brabantish dialect features were increasingly replaced by their non-regional equivalents. By rapidly diminishing the amount of dialect variants in his printed language, Gheraert Leeu contributed to the transition from dialectal Late Middle Dutch to more supraregional Early New Dutch, which was reflected in Hollandic and Antwerp printed books around 1500. So the traditional view that the standard Dutch is based on the Hollandic dialect of the 17th century, should be revised: a tendency towards more uniformity in written Dutch was already noticeable at the end of the 15th century among printers in Antwerp and Holland, who were striving for a more uniform language in order to enlarge the sales market for their printed books. The case of the famous printer Gheraert Leeu shows that the prosperous city of Antwerp played a leading role in the development of a uniform written language

Observation of multivortex solitons in photonic lattices

We report on the first observation of topologically stable spatially localized multivortex solitons generated in optically induced hexagonal photonic lattices. We demonstrate that topological stabilization of such nonlinear localized states can be achieved through self-trapping of truncated two-dimensional Bloch waves and confirm our experimental results by numerical simulations of the beam propagation in weakly deformed lattice potentials in anisotropic photorefractive media

Efficacy of flukicides against Fasciola hepatica and first report of triclabendazole resistance on German sheep farms

Fasciola hepatica infections lead to severe health problems and production losses in sheep farming, if not treated effectively. Triclabendazole has been used extensively over decades due to its unique efficacy range against all definitive hostfluke stages but published data about the susceptibility of F. hepatica to anthelmintics in Germany are lacking. This study aimed to identify current F. hepatica infections in German sheep flocks by coproscopic examinations and to evaluate the efficacy of anthelmintics with a focus on triclabendazole in a field study conducted from 2020 to 2022. Initial screening included 71 sheep farms, many of them with known history of fasciolosis. In this highly biased sample set, the frequency of F. hepatica infection at individual sheep and farm level were 12.8% and 35.2%, respectively. Additionally, eggs of Paramphistominae were found at frequencies of 4.8% and 15.5% at individual sheep and farm level, respectively. Due to low egg shedding intensity, faecal egg count reduction (FECR) tests could only be conducted on a few farms. The efficacy of triclabendazole was tested on 11 farms and albendazole on one farm, including 3–53 sheep/farm. Individual faecal samples were collected before and two weeks after treatment to evaluate the FECR using the sedimentation or FLUKEFINDER® or a modified FLUKEFINDER® method. On all farms a coproantigen reduction test was conducted in parallel. Lacking efficacy of triclabendazole even at double dosage was shown on one farm associated with a high number of animal losses due to acute fasciolosis. On this farm, the Fasciola miracidium development test was additionally performed, revealing a high in vitro ovicidal activity of albendazole while closantel was effective in vivo. On all other farms, sufficient efficacy of triclabendazole was observed. In conclusion, triclabendazole resistance appears not to be widespread on German sheep farms but, when present, can have serious effects on animal health

Discrete multivortex solitons

We introduce discrete multivortex solitons in a ring of nonlinear oscillators coupled to a central site. Regular clusters of discrete vortices appear as a result of mode collisions and we show that their stability is determined by global symmetries rather than the stability of constituent vortices. Stable multivortex solitons support complex vortex dynamics including charge flipping and spiraling.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure