Pigments, dyes, and black enamel—the colorants of reverse paintings on glass

Nondestructive analyses of medieval reverse paintings on glass revealed the same dyes and pigments customarily used in panel paintings. However, there is one exception: the black colorant is not a carbon-based pigment, but black enamel. In this respect, the stylistic as well as the technical influence of stained glass artwork can clearly be seen on reverse paintings on glass. However, there is a crucial difference: in reverse paintings, the black enamel is not fired onto the glass but painted (cold painting). Additional analyses confirmed these findings. Based on these results, the art form “reverse painting on glass” has technically to be characterized as a mixture of “stained glass” and “panel painting” that nonetheless develops into a genre of its own.     

Headscarves,Judicial Activism,and Democracy: The 2007–8 Constitutional Crisis in Turkey

How are we to understand and analyse the constitutional tension in Turkey between the judiciary and the political sphere? In this article the issue is mirrored in the political crisis which started in April 2007 with the nomination of Abdullah Gül as presidential candidate by the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP). The more detailed empirical background consists primarily of the dress code problematics including the matter of party closure. Theoretically, the “hegemonic preservation” thesis elaborated by Ran Hirschl turned out to be a useful instrument when it comes to explaining this political crisis as well as the origin of the so-called new constitutionalism. This is illustrated by the judicial activism in the headscarf affair as well as by the eagerness of the Republican People's Party (CHP), as the political representative of the secular establishment, to play the ‘Atatürk card’ and to submit the protection of their interest to an independent judiciary and not to the uncertainties of the mechanisms of majoritarian democracy. However, with regard to the current Turkish case my analysis also shows that Hirschl's thesis is too static and should be complemented with a more dynamic perspective of constitutional politics as a repeated game. One example of this is that even if the Turkish Constitutional Court (TCC) had declared the constitutional amendment on the headscarf invalid and voted for economic sanctions against the AKP, it did not close the party down.     

3D numerical modeling of hydrothermal processes during the lifetime of a deep geothermal reservoir

Understanding hydrothermal processes during production is critical to optimal geothermal reservoir management and sustainable utilization. This study addresses the hydrothermal (HT) processes in a geothermal research doublet consisting of the injection well E GrSk3/90 and production well Gt GrSk4/05 at the deep geothermal reservoir of Groß Schönebeck (north of Berlin, Germany) during geothermal power production. The reservoir is located between ?4050 to ?4250 m depth in the Lower Permian of the Northeast German Basin. Operational activities such as hydraulic stimulation, production (T = 150°C; Q = ?75 m³ h^?1; C = 265 g l^?1) and injection (T = 70°C; Q = 75 m³ h^?1; C = 265 g l^?1) change the HT conditions of the geothermal reservoir. The most significant changes affect temperature, mass concentration and pore pressure. These changes influence fluid density and viscosity as well as rock properties such as porosity, permeability, thermal conductivity and heat capacity. In addition, the geometry and hydraulic properties of hydraulically induced fractures vary during the lifetime of the reservoir. A three‐dimensional reservoir model was developed based on a structural geological model to simulate and understand the complex interaction of such processes. This model includes a full HT coupling of various petrophysical parameters. Specifically, temperature‐dependent thermal conductivity and heat capacity as well as the pressure‐, temperature‐ and mass concentration‐dependent fluid density and viscosity are considered. These parameters were determined by laboratory and field experiments. The effective pressure dependence of matrix permeability is less than 2.3% at our reservoir conditions and therefore can be neglected. The results of a three‐dimensional thermohaline finite‐element simulation of the life cycle performance of this geothermal well doublet indicate the beginning of thermal breakthrough after 3.6 years of utilization. This result is crucial for optimizing reservoir management. Geofluids (2010) 10 , 406–421     

Fruit and seed biomineralization and its effect on preservation

Mineralised fruits and seeds are frequently found in archaeological sediments but their chemical nature has not been often examined. The nature and the origin of these archaeobotanical remains have to be investigated to understand their taphonomic history. Fruits or seeds can be mineralised not only by replacement mineralisation but also by biomineralisation during the plant life. The mineral components of three fossil fruits sampled on the Pleistocene site of Dmanisi were analysed and compared with their modern analogues. Analyses were carried out by means of an environmental scanning electron microscope, equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray device and by means of a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. Biogenic carbonates and/or biogenic silica were identified in the fossil and modern fruits of some taxa. Comparison between fossil and modern specimens has shown that molecular reorganisation occurred in carbonate and in biogenic silica during fossilisation, through diagenetic processes. The resulting stable mineral structures confer an exceptional preservation to fruits in sediments. Taking into account these taphonomic specificities (transformation and differential preservation), the chronological and palaeoenvironmental aspects of the mineralised fruits are discussed.     

Recent archaeobotanical investigations into the range and abundance of Neolithic crop plants in settlements around Lake Constance and in Upper Swabia (south-west Germany) in relation to cultural influences

An overview is presented of the cultivated plants found at Lake Constance (Bodensee) and in the Upper Swabia region including the Federsee (Baden-Württemberg/south-west Germany) between 4000 and 2400 cal BC. This work relates to recent archaeobotanical investigations of the waterlogged sediments of 30 different Neolithic lakeside settlements. These sites provided almost 500,000 crop plant macro-remains, excellently preserved under waterlogged conditions. Taken in conjunction with other previously collected samples from the region, they provide an added dimension to the understanding of crop plant development in the lakeshore Neolithic in south-west Germany.