The roots of "Western European societal evolution". A concept of Europe by Jenő Szűcs

Jenő Szűcs wrote his essay entitled Sketch on the three regions of Europe in the early 1980s in Hungary. During these years, a historically well-argued opinion emphasising a substantial difference between Central European and Eastern European societies was warmly received in various circles of the political opposition. In a wider European perspective Szűcs used the old “liberty topos” which claims that the history of Europe is no other than the fulfillment of liberty. In his Sketch, Szűcs does not only concentrate on questions concerning the Middle Ages in Western Europe. Yet it is this stream of thought which brought a new perspective to explaining European history. His picture of the Middle Ages represents well that there is a way to integrate all typical Western motifs of post-war self-definition into a single theory. Mainly, the “liberty motif”, as a sign of “Europeanism” – in the interpretation of Bibó’s concept, Anglo-saxon Marxists and Weber’s social theory –, developed from medieval concepts of state and society and from an analysis of economic and social structures. Szűcs’s historical aspect was a typical intellectual product of the 1980s: this was the time when a few Central European historians started to outline non-Marxist aspects of social theory and categories of modernisation theories, but concealing them with Marxist terminology

Realistische ecologische doelen voor macrofauna in Noord-Brabantse beken

In Noord-Brabant worden de ecologische doelen voor de beekmacrofauna vaak niet gehaald. Om de oorzaken hiervan te identificeren, is onderzocht welke kenmerkende soorten voor langzaam stromende laaglandbeken er in het gebied voorkomen en welke verdwenen of nooit aangetroffen zijn. Er is bekeken welke eisen deze soorten stellen aan hun milieu en er is een inschatting gemaakt van de knelpunten voor deze soorten. Een belangrijk knelpunt was een te hoge organische belasting, maar in de bovenlopen speelde ook een typologisch probleem; trajecten met een van nature beperkt verhang werden steevast slecht gewaardeerd

The Mitotic Arrest Deficient Protein MAD2B Interacts with the Clathrin Light Chain A during Mitosis

Contains fulltext : 87811.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Although the mitotic arrest deficient protein MAD2B (MAD2L2) is thought to inhibit the anaphase promoting complex (APC) by binding to CDC20 and/or CDH1 (FZR1), its exact role in cell cycle control still remains to be established. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using a yeast two-hybrid interaction trap we identified the human clathrin light chain A (CLTA) as a novel MAD2B binding protein. A direct interaction was established in mammalian cells via GST pull-down and endogenous co-immunoprecipitation during the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. Through subsequent confocal laser scanning microscopy we found that MAD2B and CLTA co-localize at the mitotic spindle. Clathrin forms a trimeric structure, i.e., the clathrin triskelion, consisting of three heavy chains (CLTC), each with an associated light chain. This clathrin structure has previously been shown to be required for the function of the mitotic spindle through stabilization of kinetochore fibers. Upon siRNA-mediated MAD2B depletion, we found that CLTA was no longer concentrated at the mitotic spindle but, instead, diffusely distributed throughout the cell. In addition, we found a marked increase in the percentage of misaligned chromosomes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Previously, we identified MAD2B as an interactor of the renal cell carcinoma (RCC)-associated protein PRCC. In addition, we found that fusion of PRCC with the transcription factor TFE3 in t(X;1)(p11;q21)-positive RCCs results in an impairment of this interaction and a concomitant failure to shuttle MAD2B to the nucleus. Our current data show that MAD2B interacts with CLTA during the G2/M phase of the cell cycle and that depletion of MAD2B leads to a marked increase in the percentage of misaligned chromosomes and a redistribution of CLTA during mitosis

Extension of the core map of common bean with EST-SSR, RGA, AFLP, and putative functional markers

Microsatellites and gene-derived markers are still underrepresented in the core molecular linkage map of common bean compared to other types of markers. In order to increase the density of the core map, a set of new markers were developed and mapped onto the RIL population derived from the ‘BAT93’ × ‘Jalo EEP558’ cross. The EST-SSR markers were first characterized using a set of 24 bean inbred lines. On average, the polymorphism information content was 0.40 and the mean number of alleles per locus was 2.7. In addition, AFLP and RGA markers based on the NBS-profiling method were developed and a subset of the mapped RGA was sequenced. With the integration of 282 new markers into the common bean core map, we were able to place markers with putative known function in some existing gaps including regions with QTL for resistance to anthracnose and rust. The distribution of the markers over 11 linkage groups is discussed and a newer version of the common bean core linkage map is proposed

La fin de la féodalité aux Pays-Bas

Brugmans I.-J. La fin de la féodalité aux Pays-Bas . In: Annales historiques de la Révolution française, n°196, 1969. L’abolition du régime féodal dans le monde occidental. pp. 163-175

Trois siècles et demi de relations hollando-indonésiennes

Brugmans I.-J. Trois siècles et demi de relations hollando-indonésiennes. In: Politique étrangère, n°4 - 1947 - 12ᵉannée. pp. 409-420

Effects of Scaffold Fiber Orientation on Quality of In-Situ Tissue Engineered Heart Valves

Introduction:In situ tissue engineering (TE) of heart valves uses readily available acellular synthetic biodegradable scaffolds that transform in vivo in autologous living valves. This study hypothesized that scaffold fiber orientation that resembles native collagen alignment (i.e. anisotropic) results in superior valve function, mechanical properties, and matrix formation during in situ TE.Methods: Trileaflet heart valve scaffolds of biodegradable ureidopyrimidinone (UPy)-polymers with anisotropic (n=10; fibers in circumferential direction) or isotropic (n=10) fiber orientation were produced and implanted in the pulmonary position in sheep. Functional evaluation with echocardiography was performed. Explants (1, 6 and 12 months) were analyzed to evaluate cellularity, extracellular matrix formation and organization, and mechanical propertiesResults: Seventeen animals survived the entire follow-up time and showed functional valves. Consistently higher-pressure gradients were observed for valves in the anisotropic group (not significant at 12 months). Macroscopic analysis revealed pliable leaflets, with no evident differences between the groups. In both groups, fiber resorption was not completed after 12 months and most pronounced at the cell-rich base. Matrix organization did not show apparent differences between the groups, nor in quantity nor in orientation. Notably, anisotropic valves were stiffer in circumferential direction prior to implantation, which already was negated after 1 month of implantation.Conclusions:In situ TE of pulmonary valves demonstrated sustained functionality up to 12 months. Surprisingly, the predefined scaffold fiber organization did not result in significant differences in the newly formed matrix orientation. Apparently, other cues seem to overrule the effect of predefined fiber organization, limiting our possibilities to guide matrix formation by changing scaffold fiber orientation