The characterization of modern pollen rain assemblages along environmental gradients is an essential prerequisite for reliable interpretations of fossil pollen records. In this study, we identify pollen-vegetation relationships using modern pollen rain assemblages in moss polsters (n = 13) and lake sediment surface samples (n = 11) along a steep temperature gradient of 7°C (3100–4200 m above sea level) on the western Andean Cordillera, Ecuador. The pollen rain is correlated to vascular plant abundance data recorded in vegetation relevées (n = 13). Results show that pollen spectra from both moss polsters and sediment surface samples reflect changes in species composition along the temperature gradient, despite overrepresentation of upper montane forest taxa in the latter. Estimated pollen transport distance for a lake (Laguna Llaviucu) situated in a steep upper montane forest valley is 1–2 km, while a lake (Laguna Pallcacocha) in the páramo captures pollen input from a distance of up to 10–40 km. Weinmannia spp., Podocarpus spp., and Hedyosmum sp. are indicators of local upper montane forest vegetation, while Phlegmariurus spp. and Plantago spp. are indicators for local páramo vegetation.

The deformation behavior of as-grown and ion-beam-modified wurtzite GaN films is studied by a nanoindentation with a spherical indenter. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and cathodoluminescence are used to characterize the deformation mode. No systematic dependence of the mechanical properties on the film thickness ( at least for thicknesses from 1.8 to 4 μm) as well as on doping type is observed. Results strongly suggest that (i) slip is the major contributor to the plastic deformatio of crystalline GaN and (ii) slip nucleation (rater than a phae transformation) is responsible for “pop-in” events observed during loading. Indentation with an ∼ 4.2 μm radius spherical indenter at maximum loads up to 900 mN does not produce any cracking visible by AFM in crystalline GaN. Instead, under such loads, indentation results in a pronounced elevation of the material around the impression. Implantation disorder dramatically changes the deformation behaviour of GaN. In particular, implanation-produced defects in crystalline GaN syppress (i) “pop-in” events during loading, (ii) slip bands observed by AFM, and (iii) the plastic component of deformation. GaN amorphized by in bombardment exhibits plastic flow even for very low loads. The values of hardness and elastic modulus of amorphous GaN are dramatically reduced compared to those of as-grown GaN.

The damage build-up and amorphization behavior in wurtzite GaN films under a wide range of implant conditions are studied by Rutherford backscattering / channeling spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, and cathodoluminescence spectroscopy. A strong surface peak of lattice disorder, in addition to the expected damage peak in the region of the maximum of nuclear energy loss, has been observed for all implant conditions of this study. Capping of GaN with SiOx and SixNy layers prior to implantation does not eliminate surface disordering. This may suggest that nitrogen loss is not the main reason for the observed enhanced surface disorder, but, rather, the GaN surface acts as a strong sink for migrating point defects. However, pronounced loss of N during ion bombardment is observed for high dose implantation when the near-surface region is amorphized. Moreover, after amorphization, annealing at temperatures above about 400°C leads to complete decomposition of the near-surface layer.

The left-wingers of the Protestant Reformation, harassed and persecuted by Catholics and Protestants alike, sought shelter where best they could. While the constantly threatening shadow of the Turkish campaigns made the kingdom of Hungary a most uninviting place of refuge, nevertheless large numbers of the persecuted, particularly Anabaptists, pressed their way into Hungary and attempted to establish colonies of their own. The unsettled state of religious affairs offered some hope of existence, perhaps of ultimate triumph of their views. However, the persecuting arms of the law of 1548 reached out to suppress them along with the sacramentarians: “they must be driven far away from everybody's estates … and they or any others must no longer be permitted within the boundaries of the kingdom.”

The christianization of the Magyars or Hungarians took place, as an extended process, at the turn of the first millennium of Christian history. This new acquisition to the forces of the Church signified a glorious victory for the missionary zeal that wishfully looked toward the new frontiers of the East. It also saved a nation from the folly of its ways, the end of which assuredly would have been annihilation, as in the case of the Dacians, Huns, and Avars before, in the vast sea of nationalities undulating westward from Asia, “the cradle of nations.”

I propose, in this essay, to present some of the more significant highlights of the Reformation in Hungary. Significantly, little is known with regard to what transpired within the borders of what was the last frontier of the Reformation in eastern Europe. If what Lindsay says is true—and it is definitely—, i.e., “The rise, continuance, and decline of these Churches (in Bohemia, Hungary and the neighbouring lands) are so inseparably connected with the peculiar social and political conditions of the countries, that no adequate or informing account of them could be given without largely exceeding the limits of space at my disposal,” the task should have appeared all the more engaging. The fact is, however, that the difficulties of mastering the Hungarian language have stood as a perpetual barrier to any intensive study of the Hungarian Reformation among scholars outside the land, and those within have devoted lamentably little energy to the task of attracting the attention of the outside world.