Gesellschaftliche Veränderungen, Belastungen und soziale Netzwerke: Fallstudien in einem Dorf der Oberlausitz im Prozeß der Wiedervereinigung

'Die Wiedervereinigung führte zu einer Reihe von sozialen Veränderungen und einem Prozeß der Modernisierung und Individualisierung in Ostdeutschland. Der vorliegende Artikel analysiert, basierend auf qualitativer Feldforschung, den Einfluß einer so verstandenen Veränderung auf soziale Beziehungen und Integration in einem Dorf der Oberlausitz. Nach der Wiedervereinigung bestehen nur noch wenige traditionelle Aktivitäten. Gemeinschaftliche Handlungen waren vor 1989 häufig und bildeten eine wichtige Grundlage zur Reproduktion ethnischer und kultureller Identität. Vor allem Jugendliche sind nun einem starken Druck zur kulturellen Assimilation ausgesetzt. Dies ist in Zusammenhang mit ihrer zunehmenden, weitreichenden Mobilität zu sehen. Auf der anderen Seite stehen 'Vorruheständler' und Arbeitslose als 'Wendeverlierer' mit geringer geographischer Mobilität und Schwierigkeiten, sich an kulturelle und soziale Veränderungen im Dorf anzupassen. Der Schluß liegt nahe, daß der weitreichende soziale und ökonomische Umbruch sowie die Bedeutungsveränderungen sozialer Beziehungen Gemeinschaft und kulturelle Identität gefährden werden.' (Autorenreferat)'German reunification has brought about a complex process of social change, modernisation, and individualisation in East-Germany. The article analyses the impact of modernisation on personal relationships and social integration in a village of Oberlausitz with strong emphasis on qualitative empirical research. After reunification there are only a few traditional activities left. Such cultural activities were frequent prior to 1989 and played an important part in the reproduction of ethnic and cultural identify in the village. Especially adolescents are now subject to an extensive pressure of cultural assimilation. This has to be seen in connection with their amazing geographical mobility. On the other side 'Vorruheständler' (pensioners before legal retirement age) and unemployed are losers of the transformation process ('Wendeverlierer'). This groups show limited mobility and have problems of adjustment to social and cultural changes in the village community. The enormous change of social and economic structure and the shift of meanings in personal relationships will imperil community and cultural identity.' (author's abstract)

The detection of drugs of abuse in biological matrices using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential use of ELISA and LC-MS-MS in combination and as individual techniques, for the detection of drugs of abuse in biological matrices. Overall the LC-MS-MS method showed good correlation results for opiates compared to the GC-MS method. 6-MAM was however detected in more root segments and segments excluding roots by LC-MS-MS. Morphine was detected in a greater number of root segments by LC-MS-MS compared to GC-MS. However, morphine was detected in a greater number of segments excluding roots by GC-MS. Codeine and dihydrocodeine were also detected in a greater number of root segments and segments excluding roots by GC-MS. The cocaine results showed excellent qualitative correlation between the LC-MS-MS and GC-MS methods for cocaine and benzoylecgonine. The GC-MS method did not however extract greater concentrations of cocaine and its metabolites compared to LC-MS-MS due to the higher recovery of the drug group specific GC-MS method. Cocaethylene and EME were detected in some samples by LC-MS-MS method for opiates and cocaine and its metabolites compared to the GC-MS method; there may be some cases where the GC-MS method would detect the analytes where the LC-MS-MS method would not. This has been demonstrated in 3 samples for morphine and in 6 samples for codeine. The LC-MS-MS method analysed for and detected amphetamines in samples that were not tested for amphetamines by GC-MS. In one sample that was tested by both methods, amphetamine was detected in the root sample by LC-MS-MS where GC-MS failed to detect it. Also a greater concentration of amphetamine was extracted using the LC-MS-MS method in the segment without roots. The LC-MS-MS method was useful for the analysis of 17 drugs of abuse in post-mortem hair samples in forensic toxicology cases. Using this method, it is possible to obtain maximum information from one hair sample which is extremely useful when the sample weight is limited. The ability of the LC-MS-MS method to extract and analyse a greater number of drug groups from one hair sample highlights the advantages of using this method over GC-MS which targets individual drug groups and requires splitting of the sample. This method is particularly applicable for implementation in the forensic toxicology laboratory at the University of Glasgow where currently GC-MS methods that target individual drug groups are used for routine hair screening and confirmation.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

A combined metabolomic and phylogenetic study reveals putatively prebiotic effects of high molecular weight arabino-oligosaccharides when assessed by in vitro fermentation in bacterial communities derived from humans

AbstractPrebiotic oligosaccharides are defined by their selective stimulation of growth and/or activity of bacteria in the digestive system in ways claimed to be beneficial for health. However, apart from the short chain fatty acids, little is known about bacterial metabolites created by fermentation of prebiotics, and the significance of the size of the oligosaccharides remains largely unstudied.By in vitro fermentations in human fecal microbial communities (derived from six different individuals), we studied the effects of high-mass (HA, >1 kDa), low-mass (LA, <1 kDa) and mixed (BA) sugar beet arabino-oligosaccharides (AOS) as carbohydrate sources. Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) were included as reference. The changes in bacterial communities and the metabolites produced in response to incubation with the different carbohydrates were analyzed by quantitative PCR (qPCR) and Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (LC–MS), respectively.All tested carbohydrate sources resulted in a significant increase of Bifidobacterium spp. between 1.79 fold (HA) and 1.64 fold (FOS) in the microbial populations after fermentation, and LC–MS analysis suggested that the bifidobacteria contributed to decomposition of the arabino-oligosaccharide structures, most pronounced in the HA fraction, resulting in release of the essential amino acid phenylalanine. Abundance of Lactobacillus spp. correlated with the presence of a compound, most likely a flavonoid, indicating that lactobacilli contribute to release of such health-promoting substances from plant structures.Additionally, the combination of qPCR and LC–MS revealed a number of other putative interactions between intestinal microbes and the oligosaccharides, which contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms behind prebiotic impact on human health