Boundaries and transborder relations, or the hole in the prison wall: On the necessity of superfluous limits and boundaries

Boundaries can be seen as barriers or as places of contact. It has been suggested that we are "prisoners of borders”, of all kinds of borders (political, religious, social, cultural, linguistic etc.). While this statement appears to be somewhat exaggerated, it holds some truth. Boundaries are elements in spatial organization, and they influence daily life in many ways (not only for people living right along them). The paper addresses the question if we must call ourselves "prisoners” or if we simply have to live with all kinds of borders. Departing from theoretical observations, the paper discusses the various aspects boundaries assume in the European context before looking at a few concrete Swiss examples. They reveal that even regions at a certain distance of the state border will feel its effects (the case of Zurich airport), but the most important benefit can been drawn by people living in the border area itself (through price differences between the two countries, as exemplified by the Swiss-Italian border). There may be asymmetry on state borders, but this asymmetry can also swing around: the advantages often lie on both sides. The paper concludes by pointing to the persistence of the boundary concept. They are a necessity for the organization of space and society, but they are not absolute. There are always holes in these prison walls, and the examples where boundaries were impermeable are probably rar

Stadt.Geschichte.Basel: Gesamtkonzept für eine neue Basler Stadtgeschichte

Die neue, fundierte Gesamtdarstellung ist ein Kompass für alle, die Basel tagtäglich beleben und mitgestalten – als Einwohnerin und Pendler, als Arbeitnehmer und Unternehmerin, als Fasnächtler, Durchreisende oder Rheinschwimmerin. Die Stadt.Geschichte.Basel schliesst eine Lücke für die vielen Geschichtsinteressierten und Mitglieder der historischen Vereinigungen, für Lehrerinnen, Kulturschaffende und Politiker. Und sie ist ein unentbehrliches Arbeitsinstrument für alle, die sich genauer mit der Stadt und ihrer Vergangenheit befassen und ihr Wissen weitergeben wollen: für Frauen und Männer in Archiven, Museen, Bibliotheken und Universitäten

Transcription-coupled deposition of histone modifications during MHC class II gene activation

Posttranslational histone modifications associated with actively expressed genes are generally believed to be introduced primarily by histone-modifying enzymes that are recruited by transcription factors or their associated co-activators. We have performed a comprehensive spatial and temporal analyses of the histone modifications that are deposited upon activation of the MHC class II gene HLA-DRA by the co-activator CIITA. We find that transcription-associated histone modifications are introduced during two sequential phases. The first phase precedes transcription initiation and is characterized exclusively by a rapid increase in histone H4 acetylation over a large upstream domain. All other modifications examined, including the acetylation and methylation of several residues in histone H3, are restricted to short regions situated at or within the 5′ end of the gene and are established during a second phase that is concomitant with ongoing transcription. This second phase is completely abrogated when elongation by RNA polymerase II is blocked. These results provide strong evidence that transcription elongation can play a decisive role in the deposition of histone modification patterns associated with inducible gene activatio

Defying Political Boundaries: Transborder Tourism in a Regional Context

Political boundaries have traditionally been considered barriers, or obstacles, to all kinds of communication and interaction. The end of the 20th century has seen a gradual defunctionalisation of many political boundaries and a subsequent increase in transborder cooperation. Among the economic sectors that benefit from such an opening of borders is tourism, particularly on a regional scale. This paper examines the specific case of Switzerland, a landlocked country with a long tradition of regional transborder collaboration. After a general introduction, four examples are presented to demonstrate the rich variety of local transborder attractions that are complementary to each other and thus help to create a system of regional tourism

Nucleosome eviction from MHC class II promoters controls positioning of the transcription start site

Nucleosome depletion at transcription start sites (TSS) has been documented genome-wide in multiple eukaryotic organisms. However, the mechanisms that mediate this nucleosome depletion and its functional impact on transcription remain largely unknown. We have studied these issues at human MHC class II (MHCII) genes. Activation-induced nucleosome free regions (NFR) encompassing the TSS were observed at all MHCII genes. Nucleosome depletion was exceptionally strong, attaining over 250-fold, at the promoter of the prototypical HLA-DRA gene. The NFR was induced primarily by the transcription factor complex that assembles on the conserved promoter-proximal enhancer situated upstream of the TSS. Functional analyses performed in the context of native chromatin demonstrated that displacing the NFR without altering the sequence of the core promoter induced a shift in the position of the TSS. The NFR thus appears to play a critical role in transcription initiation because it directs correct TSS positioning in vivo. Our results provide support for a novel mechanism in transcription initiation whereby the position of the TSS is controlled by nucleosome eviction rather than by promoter sequenc

Understanding marginality : recent insights from a geographical perspective

Marginality and marginalisation have been researched extensively, especially during the 1960s and 1970s within the context of rapid urbanization in Latin America, mostly to try to find out who is marginal and who is not. But most researchers stumbled on the complexity of the phenomenon of marginality. Drawn from a geographical perspective, this note brings together research results presented in 2010, and coming from up-to-date fieldwork research in various regional contexts. Trying to find out common denominators, it highlights the importance of scale and perspective in considering marginality, as well as changes in power relations, the very basis of the marginalisation process