Stuart Hall and the Self-Renewal of Social Critique

The slogan “back to Marx” always appears during every crisis cycle of Marxism. However, the idea of a return to Marx is problematic because each generation that embraces a critical approach is faced with new conditions and questions that have changed. Employing the work of Stuart Hall is a particularly fruitful means of updating Marx because it provides us with suitable guidelines with which to re-employ Marx. Hall calls for a Marxism without guarantees that renounces historical-philosophical ultimate justification. He calls for a form of Marxism that engages in theoretical, social and political conflicts and that takes Marx seriously, not just in his strengths, but also in his weaknesses. Consequently, he sets out an approach that could truly provide a foundation with which to undertake the self-renewal of social critique. In this essay we want to find out how to revitalise a fruitful engagement with Marx by utilising Hall’s writings

Der Hafen von Haithabu

30 Jahre nach den Ausgrabungen mehrerer Hafenanlagen von Haithabu hat Sven Kalmring nun erstmals die ganze, bisher kaum zu übersehende Fülle von Dokumenten zusammengeführt, digitalisiert, analysiert und so neue Erkenntnisse über das uralte Terrain gewonnen. Bei der vorliegenden Arbeit handelt es sich um die überarbeitete und ergänzte Fassung seiner Dissertation, die im Mai 2008 an der Philosophischen Fakultät der Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades eingereicht wurde

In vivo Untersuchung des Einflusses von Thiamin auf die genetisch determinierte Lippen-, Kiefer- und Gaumenspaltbildung der A/WySn-Maus

Lippen-Kiefer-Gaumenspalten (LKGS) gehören zu den häufigsten Fehlbildungen des Menschen. Um die Prävention von LKGS zu untersuchen, wurden im Tierexperiment 72 von 90 schwangeren Muttermäusen (A/WySn-Maus - Inzuchtstamm) zu vier unterschiedlichen Zeiten der embryologischen Gesichtsentwicklung hohe Dosen von Thiamin (Vitamin B1 - 80mg/kg KG) oral verabreicht. Nach Opferung der Muttermäuse erfolgte die Konzentrationsbestimmung von Thiamin im Blutserum und im Fruchtwasser in Bezug auf die geschlechtsbezogene Spaltmanifestation. Bei 435 Nachkommen konnte die Spaltrate nicht gesenkt werden und eine Geschlechtsabhängigkeit der Spaltbildung fand sich nicht. Die Konzentration von Thiamin im Serum stieg durch Thiamingabe signifikant an (p<0,05), nicht jedoch im Fruchtwasser. Die Rate an Resorptionen unter den Nachkommen konnte durch die Thiaminsubstitution deutlich gesenkt werden. Die positive Wirkung der klinischen Prophylaxe mit Poly B-Vitaminen konnte in der A/WySn-Maus nicht bestätigt werden und die propagierte direkte Beeinflussung der kraniofazialen Strukturen war durch die erniedrigten Thiaminwerte im Fruchtwasser nicht gegeben.Cleft lip and palate (CL/P) are among the most common malformations of man. In order to investigate the prevention of CL/P in this animal experiment 72 of 90 pregnant mice (A/WySn mouse - inbred strain) were orally administered high doses of thiamine (vitamin B1 - 80 mg/kg body weight) at four different times of embryological facial development. After sacrifice of the mother mice, the blood serum and amniotic fluid concentration of thiamine were analyzed in respect to the sex-related cleft appearance. In 435 offspring, the cleft rate could not be reduced and there was no sex-related cleft appearance. The concentration of thiamine in the serum increased significantly (p <0.05) by thiamine administration, but not in the amniotic fluid. The rate of resorption among the offspring was significantly reduced by thiamine administration. The positive effect of clinical prophylaxis with poly-B-vitamins was not confirmed in the A/WySn mouse and the propagated direct influence on the craniofacial structures was not seen because of the reduced thiamine values in the amniotic fluid.vorgelegt von Florian Kalmrin

Sound Signalling in Orthoptera

The sounds produced by orthopteran insects are very diverse. They are widely studied for the insight they give into acoustic behaviour and the biophysical aspects of sound production and hearing, as well as the transduction of sound to neural signals in the ear and the subsequent processing of information in the central nervous system. The study of sound signalling is a multidisciplinary area of research, with a strong physiological contribution. This review considers recent research in physiology and the links with related areas of acoustic work on the Orthoptera

Sounds, Behaviour, and Auditory Receptors of the Armoured Ground Cricket, Acanthoplus longipes

The auditory sensory system of the taxon Hetrodinae has not been studied previously. Males of the African armoured ground cricket, Acanthoplus longipes (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Hetrodinae) produce a calling song that lasts for minutes and consists of verses with two pulses. About three impulses are in the first pulse and about five impulses are in the second pulse. In contrast, the disturbance stridulation consists of verses with about 14 impulses that are not separated in pulses. Furthermore, the inter-impulse intervals of both types of sounds are different, whereas verses have similar durations. This indicates that the neuronal networks for sound generation are not identical. The frequency spectrum peaks at about 15 kHz in both types of sounds, whereas the hearing threshold has the greatest sensitivity between 4 and 10 kHz. The auditory afferents project into the prothoracic ganglion. The foreleg contains about 27 sensory neurons in the crista acustica; the midleg has 18 sensory neurons, and the hindleg has 14. The auditory system is similar to those of other Tettigoniidae

A new Throne-Amulet from Hedeby: First Indication for Viking-age Barrel-chairs

In 2017 a throne-amulet made from bone, once retrieved from the diggings of harbour excavation 1979/80 in Hedeby, was committed to the Wikinger Museum Haithabu. It constitutes the second specimen known from the site and fits well into the larger group of throne-amulets known from south-eastern Scandinavia. The academic discussion of these amulets as devotional pagan objects either in connection with the worship of Óðinn or else as thrones of vǫlur is controversial. The piece from Hedeby harbour does not seem to depict the typical block-chair, though, but is about the first indication for the existence of Viking-age barrel-chairs used continuously until Early modernity

Dorestad Hoogstraat from a Hedeby/Schleswig point of view

On the international conference “Haithabu und die frühe Stadtentwicklung im nördlichen Europa” of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Archaeological State Museum Schleswig in September 1998 a paper called “Aufstieg, Blüte und Niedergang der frühmittelalterlichen Handelsmetropole Dorestad” was given by W. van Es and W.J.H. Verwers. In this paper for the first time doubts on the so far current interpretation of the features from the Dorestad Hoogstraat excavations were expressed by the excavators. Most recently the second and for the present final part of the reports on the Hoogstraat excavations has been published (van Es &amp; Verwers 2009). The therein underlined change of interpretation already becomes apparent by its reduced title from “Excavations at Dorestad 1. The Harbour: Hoogstraat I” (van Es &amp; Verwers 1980) to “Excavations at Dorestad 3. Hoogstraat 0, II-IV” (van Es &amp; Verwers 2009). What led to that dramatic change and the disappearance of a whole harbour of that emporium that once formed one of the most important hubs of Frankish long distance trade? On the background of the archaeological evidence from Hedeby and Schleswig this paper aims to review the interpretations of the Hoogstraat features using the example of the Hoogstraat I trench.</p