“Höchst unerwünschte Ausländer”: The Fate of Ethnic German Expellees in Post-War Austria

“Höchst unerwünschte Ausländer”: The Fate of Ethnic German Expellees in Post-War AustriaThe large influx of ethnic Germans from the East into Germany at the end of the Second World War is a well-known and researched fact. However, there were also about 300,000–632,000 expellees that ended up in post-war Austria. In contrast to Germany, Austria was not required by the Potsdam Agreement to take them in and consequently advocated their deportation. It was not only the financial burden associated with the expellees but also Austria’s aim to convince the Allies of the “victim myth” that motivated Austria to favour deportation over integration. Taking in ethnic German expellees would highlight Austria’s close past with Germany and could even be perceived as an acceptance of legal succession of the Third Reich. The Allies initially supported Austria’s decision but except for a large number of deportations in 1946 the plan was not carried to its conclusion. Around 350,000 expellees were able to remain in Austria. However, the fact that they were not granted equal rights in all areas until 1971 shows they were not welcome in Austria for a long time. „Höchst unerwünschte Ausländer”: Los przesiedlonej ludności niemieckiej w powojennej AustriiFakt, że pod koniec drugiej wojny światowej do Niemiec licznie napływali ze wschodu etniczni Niemcy, jest dobrze znany i zbadany. Jednak od około 300 000 do 632 000 przesiedlonych trafiło także do powojennej Austrii. Na Austrii, inaczej niż na Niemczech, nie ciążył nałożony w tzw. deklaracji poczdamskiej obowiązek ich przyjęcia, wobec czego Austria opowiedziała się za ich deportacją. Z przyjęciem przesiedleńców wiązały się dla niej ciężary finansowe, ale nie tylko: Austria chciała też przekonać aliantów do swego „mitu ofiary”. Austriacy przychylali się raczej do deportacji, a nie do integracji. Przyjęcie niemieckich przesiedlonych rzucałoby nowe światło na ścisłe związki Austrii z Niemcami w przeszłości, a nawet mogłoby być postrzegane jako akceptacja sukcesji prawnej po Trzeciej Rzeszy. Alianci początkowo popierali stanowisko Austrii w tej sprawie. Jednak pominąwszy liczniejsze deportacje, jakie miały miejsce w roku 1946, plany nie zostały urzeczywistnione. Około 350 000 przesiedlonym pozwolono pozostać w Austrii. Niemniej fakt, że nie przyznawano im równych praw we wszystkich sferach życia aż do roku 1971, świadczy o tym, iż przez długi czas nie byli oni w tym kraju dobrze widziani

The roles and values of wild foods in agricultural systems

Almost every ecosystem has been amended so that plants and animals can be used as food, fibre, fodder, medicines, traps and weapons. Historically, wild plants and animals were sole dietary components for hunter–gatherer and forager cultures. Today, they remain key to many agricultural communities. The mean use of wild foods by agricultural and forager communities in 22 countries of Asia and Africa (36 studies) is 90–100 species per location. Aggregate country estimates can reach 300–800 species (e.g. India, Ethiopia, Kenya). The mean use of wild species is 120 per community for indigenous communities in both industrialized and developing countries. Many of these wild foods are actively managed, suggesting there is a false dichotomy around ideas of the agricultural and the wild: hunter–gatherers and foragers farm and manage their environments, and cultivators use many wild plants and animals. Yet, provision of and access to these sources of food may be declining as natural habitats come under increasing pressure from development, conservation-exclusions and agricultural expansion. Despite their value, wild foods are excluded from official statistics on economic values of natural resources. It is clear that wild plants and animals continue to form a significant proportion of the global food basket, and while a variety of social and ecological drivers are acting to reduce wild food use, their importance may be set to grow as pressures on agricultural productivity increase.</jats:p

Updated taxonomic descriptions, iconography, and habitat preferences of <em>Brachypodium distachyon, B. stacei</em>, and <em>B. hybridum</em> (Poaceae)

We present an updated morphological revision of the three annual species of the genus <em>Brachypodium</em> (Poaceae): <em>B. distachyon, B. tacei</em>, and <em>B. hybridum</em>, which were recently segregated as independent species from the single-species complex <em>B. distachyon</em> s.l. These three species have been proposed as a model system for grass polyploid speciation, and their genomes have been sequenced. However, despite the increasing number of genomic and population-genetic studies conducted for each of these species, no taxonomic updating has been done on them since their original descriptions. <em>B. stacei</em>, the rarest species of the complex, has a protologue based only on the study of specimens from its type locality in Torrent (Formentera, Spain). In this study we update the taxonomic descriptions of the three species using morphoanatomical data from specimens collected throughout their respective native circum-Mediterranean distributions as well as in other localities where they are non-autochthonous. We also provide icons for each species and information about their habitat preferences and geographic distributions.<br><br>Presentamos una revisión morfológica actualizada de las tres especies anuales del género <em>Brachypodium</em> (Poaceae), <em>B. distachyon, B. stacei</em> y <em>B. ybridum</em>. Estas dos últimas han sido recientemente segregadas como especies independientes dentro del complejo <em>B. distachyon</em> s.l. Las tres especies han sido propuestas como grupo modelo de especiación poliploide en gramíneas y sus genomas han sido secuenciados. Sin embargo, pese al incremento de estudios genómicos y genético-poblacionales desarrollados en poblaciones de estas especies, no se ha llevado a cabo todavía ninguna actualización taxonómica para las mismas desde que se describieron. El protólogo de <em>B. stacei</em>, la especie más rara del complejo, está basado únicamente en el estudio de especímenes de su localidad clásica en Torrent (Formentera, España). En este estudio actualizamos las descripciones taxonómicas de las tres especies, utilizando datos morfoanatómicos obtenidos de especímenes colectados a lo largo de sus respectivas áreas de distribución autóctona circunmediterráneas y en otras localidades donde no son autóctonas. Proporcionamos icones de cada una de las especies e información adicional sobre sus preferencias de hábitat y sus distribuciones geográficas conocidas

Wild edible plants: Nutritional and toxicological characteristics, retrieval strategies and importance for today's society

Wild edible plants (WEPs) are part of the cultural and genetic heritage of different regions of the world. In times of famine and scarcity, these sources of nutrients and health-promoting compounds have received high importance mainly in rural and suburban areas. Although currently underutilized, WEPs are still consumed traditionally by different communities and are gaining relevance in today's society. However, these foods lack recognition as significant contributors to the human diet in developed areas. This review describes the nutritional value of WEPs from the North-eastern region of Portugal and points out those containing potentially toxic compounds. Several retrieval strategies are presented with the aim of promoting the (re)use, production, commercialization and conservation of WEPs (wild harvested plants and crop wild relatives), and their importance for social, economic and agro-ecological development is highlighted.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology of Portugal and FEDER, under Programme PT2020, for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013). J. Pinela thanks FCT for his grant (SFRH/BD/92994/2013) funded by European Social Fund and Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) through Programa Operacional Capital Humano (POCH).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Construction of a liquid-state NMR DNP shuttle spectrometer: first experimental results and evaluation of optimal performance characteristics.

First results from a liquid-state shuttle dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) spectrometer are presented. The device polarizes a water sample at 9.7 GHz and 0.34 T in a commercial Bruker electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer and then transfers the sample via a homebuilt pneumatic shuttle device into the 600 MHz and 14.09 T nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer with a conventional NMR probe for detection. The shuttle transfer time is approximately 115 ms. Initial experiments measure the postshuttle proton magnetization compared with the Boltzmann magnetization at 14.09 T. The DNP enhancement factor at 0.34 T is reported for the nitroxide polarizer TEMPOL in water solution. Reduction of the magnetization during shuttling because of relaxation is quantified. Optimization of this apparatus is expected to bring the NMR enhancement factor for protons close to the theoretical enhancement maximum of -7.92

Traditional use of medicinal plants among the tribal communities of Chhota Bhangal, Western Himalaya

The importance of medicinal plants in traditional healthcare practices, providing clues to new areas of research and in biodiversity conservation is now well recognized. However, information on the uses for plants for medicine is lacking from many interior areas of Himalaya. Keeping this in view the present study was initiated in a tribal dominated hinterland of western Himalaya. The study aimed to look into the diversity of plant resources that are used by local people for curing various ailments. Questionnaire surveys, participatory observations and field visits were planned to illicit information on the uses of various plants. It was found that 35 plant species are commonly used by local people for curing various diseases. In most of the cases (45%) under ground part of the plant was used. New medicinal uses of Ranunculus hirtellus and Anemone rupicola are reported from this area. Similarly, preparation of "sik" a traditional recipe served as a nutritious diet to pregnant women is also not documented elsewhere. Implication of developmental activities and changing socio-economic conditions on the traditional knowledge are also discussed