History of Ichnology: The Origins of Trace Fossil Taxonomy and the Contributions of Joseph F. James and Walter H. Häntzschel

The taxonomy of trace fossils has had a somewhat controversial history because they do not represent the actual animal remains but rather their work on and in the substrate. As such, traditional palaeontologists and zoologists have viewed them with some skepticism. Ichnologists owe a great debt to two geologists: Joseph F. James of Cincinnati and Walter H. Häntzschel of Hamburg, who took it upon themselves to impose some order on the chaos that constituted trace fossil taxonomy at the time. James, working independently and in ignorance of Alfred Nathorst, arrived at and utilized many of the same criteria his Swedish counterpart employed to criticize the fucoid origins of many trace fossils in the late 19th century. With his restudy of the systematics of Fucoides, Skolithos, and Arthrophycus, James brought to light many of the taxonomical nightmares that faced—and are still facing—the fledging science and can be rightfully considered the first trace fossil taxonomist. During the 1940s and 1950s, Häntzschel collected the widely scattered pertinent data from the literature, an immense task that, when published in 1962 (and later revised and expanded in 1975), made trace fossils accessible to further research and started a worldwide boom in trace fossil research.     

Häufige Erkrankungen mit Repeatexpansionen

Expansions of unstable DNA repeats are causes of a growing number of human developmental and degenerative disorders. The repetitive sequences vary in copy number even in normal individuals. In affected individuals the repeat is expanded beyond a disease-specific threshold. There is some relationship between the copy number of the repeat and the severity and/or age at onset of symptoms. An earlier age of onset and a more severe clinical phenotype in subsequent generations (anticipation) is usually correlated with larger repeat size. Expanded alleles show both somatic and germ-line instability and, usually, expand rather than contract upon transmission from parent to offspring. In doing so, the sex of the transmitting parent can influence the size of the disease allele in the affected child. The unstable repeat may be located in non-coding regions or within the open reading frame of the disease gene. Depending on the intragenic location and the mode of inheritance the pathogenetic mechanisms involve loss of protein function as well as gain of function at protein or RNA level.     

Die Primärsphäriten der Hühner-Eischale

Zusammenfassung An Flachschliffen durch die Hühner-Eischale wird die bisher nicht erfaßte Struktur des Primärsphäriten in gewöhnlichem Licht und zwischen gekreuzten Polars vorgeführt. Im Bereich des Exosphäriten zeigt der Primärsphärit feine konzentrische Schichtung und radiale Streifung, zwischen gekreuzten Polars ein Brewster-Kreuz von negativem Vorzeichen. Im Zentrum des Sphäriten liegen ein paar winzige Körnchen, bis an welche die sphäritische Struktur heranreicht. Im Eisosphäriten, dessen calcitische Elemente bei ihrem Auswachsen in die Schalenmembran eindringen und deren Fasern umschließen, fehlt die konzentrische Schichtung; die Radialstruktur und das negative Polarisationskreuz treten nur undeutlich hervor.     

Mutationsvorgänge bei der Entstehung von Hämoglobinvarianten

Using recent information on the DNA code, the exact base replacements were ascertained for 46 amino acid substitutions in haemoglobine polypeptide chains. Transitions (replacements purine purine and pyrimidine pyrimidine) turned out to be significantly more frequent than expected under the assumption of random substitution, whereas transversions (replacements purine pyrimidine and pyrimidine purine) were less frequent. In 12 codons, 7 of the -chain, 3 of the -chain, and 2 of the -chain, two triplets each were excluded.

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Direktor: Prof. Dr. F. Vogel

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Die Untersuchungen der Verfasser zum Mutationsproblem werden von der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft unterstützt.     

Beiträge zur Physiologie des Hämoglobins wirbelloser Tiere

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Beiträge zur Physiologie des Hämoglobins wirbelloser Tiere

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Beiträge zur Physiologie des Hämoglobins wirbelloser Tiere

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Härte vegetabilischer Zellmembranen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Serum-Cholesterin,ABO-Blutgruppen und Hämoglobintyp

Zusammenfassung Serum-Cholesterin, ABO-Blutgruppen (N=715), Glucose-6-PhosphatDehydrogenase (G-6-PD, Farbstoff-Reduktionstest, N=611) und der Hämoglobintyp (osmotische Resistenz und Cellulose-Acetat-Elektrophorese, N=469) wurden bei anscheinend gesunden, 20 Jahre alten Männern aus 12 Distrikten der Provinz Chiang Mai in Nordthailand bestimmt. Das Körpergewicht hatte keinen Einfluß auf die Cholesterinkonzentration. Probanden der Blutgruppe A hatten signifikant höhere Cholesterinwerte als die der Gruppen 0 und B. Gruppe B hatte höhere Werte als Gruppe 0, aber die Differenz war nur schwach signifikant. Der mittlere Cholesterinwert der Probanden mit -Thalassaemia minor war signifikant niedriger als der der Gruppen mit normalem Hämoglobin und mit -Thalassaemie oder abnormalem Hämoglobin. Zwischen den drei letzteren Gruppen bestand kein signifikanter Unterschied. Diese Befunde bestätigen für eine tropische Bevölkerung mit an Fetten armer Ernährung die Beziehung zwischen -Thalassämie (Fessas et al., 1963; Mayo et al., 1969, Griechenland) und ABO-Blutgruppen (Mayo et al., 1969; Oliver et al., 1969; Langman et al., 1969; Beckman u. Olivecrona, 1970) einerseits und der Serum-Cholesterin-Konzentration.

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Serum-cholesterol, AB0 blood-groups and haemoglobin typeGenetic influences on the serum-cholesterol level

Summary Serum-cholesterol, ABO blood-groups (N=715), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD, dye decolorization test, N=611) and haemoglobin type (osmotic fragility, cellulose acetate electrophoresis, N=469) were determined in apparently health, 20 years old males from 12 districts of the province of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Body weight and G-6-PD deficiency did not seem to influence the serum-cholesterol level. Probands with blood-group A had significantly higher cholesterol concentrations than groups 0 and B. The difference between groups 0 and B, the latter having somewhat higher levels, was only weakly significant. Cholesterol levels were significantly lower in probands with -thalassaemia minor when compared with a normal control group. The difference between the control group and the probands with -thalassaemia and abnormal haemoglobins (mainly HbE trait) was not significant. These findings confirm for a tropical rural population with a diet low in fat the association between -thalassaemia and low cholesterol concentrations previously reported from Greece (Fessas et al., 1963; Mayo et al., 1969) and the association between blood-group A and high cholesterol levels found in several European populations (Mayo et al., 1969; Oliver et al., 1969; Langman et al., 1969; Beckman and Olivecrona, 1970).

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Beurlaubt von der Universitäts-Kinderklinik Bonn.

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Eingerichtet und unterstützt von der Stiftung Volkswagenwerk.     

Beschleunigung der Häutung durch Hunger

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Häutung bei einer pennaten Diatomee

Ohne Zusammenfassung