Gutenberg Open Science

The Open Science Repository of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

Visible. Citable. Open.

Recent Submissions

SammelbandAccess status: Open Access ,
Martin Luther in Rom : die Ewige Stadt als kosmopolitisches Zentrum und ihre Wahrnehmung
(2017) Matheus, Michael; Nesselrath, Arnold; Wallraff, Martin
This volume takes as its point of departure Martin Luther’s journey to Rome, a sparsely documented event known primarily through later sources, whose dating and course remain uncertain. It proposes a cultural-historical reassessment of Rome in the early Cinquecento. The evidentiary basis is limited: contemporary testimony is largely absent, while later accounts, above all the “Table Talk,” are shaped by processes of cultural memory and confessional interpretation. As a result, attempts to reconstruct the journey have been methodologically fraught and often reliant on conjecture. The volume advances two central claims. First, it argues for a revision of the traditional dating of the journey (1510/11), proposing—on the basis of new evidence—a later date, most plausibly 1511. This is not a minor chronological adjustment but one with significant implications for Luther’s biography and for the Roman context, particularly with regard to the presence of Pope Julius II. Second, it offers a critical reassessment of the confessional and memorial constructions that transformed Luther’s Roman experience into a pivotal moment, frequently cast in apocalyptic and allegorical terms (Rome as the “Whore of Babylon”). Rather than foregrounding the biographical dimension of Luther’s journey, the volume treats it as a heuristic point of entry for a source-critical and context-sensitive analysis of Rome’s political, social, and artistic realities. The contributions, originating from an international conference held in Rome in 2011, bring together perspectives from art history, literary studies, social history, and the history of mentalities. Collectively, they reconstruct a differentiated picture of Rome as the spiritual and administrative center of Latin Christendom, a major destination of European pilgrimage, and a site of intense artistic production. By moving beyond confessional and polarizing interpretive frameworks, the volume advances a historically grounded understanding of Rome as a distinct cultural and communicative space at the transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern period—one in which religious meaning, political authority, and artistic creativity intersected with particular density.
ZeitschriftenaufsatzAccess status: Open Access ,
The orobasal organ (of Ackerknecht) is present in prenatal mice
(2025) Schumann, Sven; Munk, Jan R.; Schmeisser, Michael J.; Staeber, Moritz
Background: In 1912, the veterinary anatomist Eberhard Ackerknecht described morphologically highly variable epithelial invaginations behind the medial mandibular incisors. This orobasal organ (of Ackerknecht) is present in different mammalian species including humans, but its presence in mice was under debate in literature. While the function of the orobasal organ is still unknown, it might play a role in the development of cysts of the oral floor. Methods: H&E-stained histological serial slides of the developing oral floor of C57BL/6J mice embryos were investigated (n = 40). Results: The orobasal organ was present in mice and developed between prenatal days E15 and E17 (prevalence in E15 embryos: 0%, prevalence in E17 embryos: 90.5%). The organ was present both in male and female embryos. In E17, the organ had an average size of 68.75 (±41.1) μm x 58.75 (±8.5) μm x 345 (±28.3) μm (length x depth x width). Discussion: While the existence of an orobasal organ was already shown for pre- and postnatal rats, there was only one publication dealing with the orobasal organ in mice. In this study, adult mice were investigated and no orobasal organ was found. Here, we demonstrate the existence of an orobasal organ in mice, at least in embryos. The presence of the orobasal organ in a common model organism will help to investigate its pre- and postnatal development, as well as possible physiological functions of this structure.
ZeitschriftenaufsatzAccess status: Open Access ,
Fetal growth restriction is associated with altered optic nerve head morphology in term-born children and adolescents
(2025) Fieß, Achim; Gißler, Sandra; Grabitz, Stephanie; Hoffmann, Esther M.; Mildenberger, Eva; Uphaus, Timo; Hahn, Marianne; Pfeiffer, Norbert; Hartmann, Alica; Schuster, Alexander K.
Purpose: Restricted fetal growth is associated with impaired neurodevelopment in childhood. We examined the effects of fetal growth restriction, fetal overgrowth, and other perinatal parameters on optic nerve head (ONH) morphology in term-born children and adolescents. Methods: This retrospective cohort study with a prospective ophthalmologic examination included full-term born children aged 4 to 17 years who were grouped according to their birth weight correlated to gestational age (GA). We formed the following groups: severe fetal growth restriction (<3rd birth weight [BW] percentile, group 1), moderate fetal growth restriction (BW percentile 3rd to <10th, group 2), appropriate for gestational age (AGA, 10th–90th BW percentile, group 3, control group), moderate fetal overgrowth (>90th–97th BW percentile, group 4), and severe fetal overgrowth (>97th percentile, group 5). The participants underwent spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and fundus photography to evaluate the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thickness, minimal rim width (MRW), Bruch's membrane opening (BMO), and vertical cup-to-disc ratio (vCDR), focusing on their relationship to perinatal factors like nutritional status, GA, maternal smoking, and maternal breastfeeding. The relationships between the ONH parameters and perinatal factors were adjusted for variables such as age, sex, and axial length. Results: This study included 732 eyes of 375 participants (mean age of 11.4 ± 3.71 years, 193 female subjects). Multivariable regression analyses showed an association between a thinner global pRNFL thickness in the participants with severe fetal growth restriction (B = −4.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], −9.43 to −0.47 µm; P = 0.03) compared to the reference AGA group. Furthermore, an association with a thinner MRW was found in the children born with moderate fetal growth restriction (B = −32.46; 95% CI, −51.52 to −13.40 µm; p < 0.001). BW percentile was associated with median vCDR (B = −0.001; 95% CI, −0.002 to 0.00; P = 0.02). No consistent association was observed between altered fetal growth and BMO. Conclusions: Severe fetal growth restriction appears to affect the optic nerve head in term-born children and adolescents, suggesting a possible reduction in neuronal reserve, and may indicate a potentially elevated risk of abnormal neurodevelopment.