A vivid example of socialist internationalism: the design and construction of the Soyuz Gas Pipeline (1974-1979)

The article was submitted on 28.07.2015.The article examines the construction of the natural gas pipeline Soyuz with special regard to the international cooperation within the context of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. It pays special attention to the difficulties, which emerged during planning and construction of the pipeline and is based on international secondary literature as well as archive material from Berlin, Warsaw and Moscow. The article concludes that due to a lack of clarity concerning financing and repayment modes, the involved countries did not try to realize comparable large-scale infrastructure projects in the 1980s. Instead, the Soviet Union turned to financially stronger countries in the West.В статье рассматривается проект строительства газопровода «Союз» как результат международного сотрудничества стран в рамках Совета Экономической Взаимопомощи (СЭВ). Особое внимание уделяется анализу сложностей, которые возникли в ходе планирования и строительства газопровода. Для исследования были привлечены вторичные источники информации из разных стран и архивные материалы из Берлина, Варшавы и Москвы. Автор приходит к выводу, что неясность в вопросах, касающихся способов финансирования и оплаты, привела к тому, что в 1980-е гг. страны - участницы СЭВ воздержались от реализации проектов, сопоставимых по масштабу со строительством газопровода. Вместо этого Советский Союз обратился к западным странам с более прочным финансовым положением

The Role of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance in the Construction of the Transnational Electricity Grid Mir

Der Beitrag betrachtet die Rolle des Rates für Gegenseitige Wirtschaftshilfe (RGW, 949–99) bei der Entstehung und Entwicklung des transnationalen Stromverbundes „Mir“ (russisch: Frieden). Dieses Stromnetz wurde 99 oiziell gegründet und verband die nationalen Elektrizitätsnetze der sozialistischen Staaten Osteuropas auf der Basis grenzüberschreitender Hochspannungsleitungen. Diese transnationale Infrastruktur wurde über fast vier Jahrzehnte ausgebaut und umfasste auch Atom-, Wasser- und Wärmekraftwerke. Planung und Bau grenzüberschreitender Energieinfrastrukturen gehörten zu den Hauptaufgaben des 949 gegründeten RGW. Entsprechende Institutionen wie die Ständige Kommission für Elektroenergie, die Zentrale Dispatcherverwaltung oder „Interatomenergo“ sollten die Kooperation der beteiligten RGWLänder efektivieren. Seit der politischen Annäherung zwischen Ost- und Westeuropa in den siebziger Jahren rückten außerdem den „Eisernen Vorhang“ überwindende Stromlieferungen in den Fokus. Im Vergleich zu anderen transnationalen Energieübertragungssystemen für Rohöl und Erdgas zeichnete sich das „Mir“-Netz durch einen relativ hohen Institutionalisierungsgrad aus. Diese Koordination war für den reibungslosen Betrieb des Gesamtsystems wichtig. Das Ende des RGW im Jahr 99 erschwerte die notwendige Koordination und führte zu einer im Vergleich zu anderen transnationalen Infrastrukturen raschen Aulösung des Stromverbundes „Mir“. Der Beitrag analysiert, wie dieser transnationale Stromverbund funktionierte und welche Akteure beteiligt waren. Damit schließt er eine Forschungslücke bezüglich der Entwicklung grenzüberschreitender Elektrizitätsnetze im sozialistischen Ostblock.The article addresses the role of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA, 949– 99) in the creation and development of the transnational electric power grid “Mir” (Russian: Peace). This power grid was oicially established in 99 and connected the national electric networks of the socialist states of Eastern Europe by means of cross-border power lines. This transnational infrastructure was developed over the next decades and included nuclear, hydro, and thermal power plants. The planning and construction of cross-border energy infrastructures was one of the primary tasks of the CMEA. CMEA institutions, such as the Permanent Commission for Electric Energy, the Central Dispatch Organization, and the “Interatomenergo” were supposed to facilitate cooperation between participating CMEA countries. Following the political rapprochement between East and West Europe in the 970s, the idea of surmounting the iron curtain to create a European-wide system of electrical supply became the focus. Compared with other transnational systems of energy transmission for crude oil and natural gas, the Mir network had a relatively high degree of institutionalization. This coordination was essential for the smooth operation of the overall system. The disintegration of the Comecon in 99 impeded this cooperation and led to the rapid dissolution of the Mir power grid (compared to other transnational networks). This article analyses how this network worked and the actors involved. In doing so, it addresses a gap in research on the development of transnational electrical networks in the socialist Eastern Bloc

Gestaltung von Bildungseinrichtungen und Lernumwelten: wie sollten aus psychologischer Sicht Räume in der Erwachsenenbildung gestaltet sein?

Dieser Beitrag geht von der Frage aus, wie Architektur im Zusammenhang von Bildung gestaltet werden sollte, damit sich die Menschen darin wohlfühlen. Das Fazit: Bildungsstätten sollten für die Besucherinnen und Besucher sowohl in funktionaler als auch in emotionaler Hinsicht stimmig sein. Die Räumlichkeiten sollten als lustvoll, anregend und nicht einschüchternd erlebt werden

Analysis of the intestinal microbiome from fecal samples in health and IBD using NGS

Microorganisms colonizing the body of mammals are not only responsible for infectious diseases, they are also a very important factor for maintaining health. Commensal bacteria have a direct influence on health, as they compete with pathogens and can prevent them from colonizing. Additionally microorganisms have a more indirect influence: The gut microbiota is involved in development and shaping of the immune system, therefore dysbiosis may result in disease development. Within the last decade, many different diseases have been associated with a shift in the gut microbiota. Most studies however do not answer the question whether changes of the intestinal microbiome are cause or result of disease. As a mouse model, we used Rag1-/- mice, lacking B- and T-cells. An immune reaction, and therefor colitis development, is only possible after T-cell transfer. Depending on the composition of the gut microbiome at the time of T-cell transfer, the mice subsequently remain healthy or develop colitis. Changing the microbiome of the mice prior to reconstitution of the immune system influences disease development. Analysis of the intestinal microbiome can be done using different methods, such as PCR, FISH or by culture. However, these methods are limited to microorganisms, of which the genome sequence is known or that can be grown in the lab. These limitations can be overcome by using Next-Generation-Sequencing (NGS) to identify the members of the gut microbiome. Therefore, here we developed protocols for analyzing the intestinal microbiome from fecal samples. Our results show, that environmental factors influence the composition of the intestinal microbiome severely. Differences between single experiments were often greater than the differences between different treatments making it impossible to link a single or combination of bacterial species to induction of colitis or maintenance of health. For identifying microbiota compositions that are causative for health or disease, these environmental influences have to be eliminated or at least reduced. Otherwise the strong variations between animals will cover up causative alterations

Studies of transcription-activation-like-effectors interacting with the epigenetic mark N6-methyl adenine

The specific detection of epigenetic marks is required for diagnosis and subsequent treatment of numerous diseases which are based on a disorder of the DNA methylation pattern. In bacteria, the epigenetic signal N6-methyl adenine functions in many cellular processes like genome defense, DNA replication and repair as well as transcription of virulence factors. In the past decade, lots of effort went into the development of protein-DNA recognition systems. The present work is located at the interface of DNA-protein interaction studies and the influence of epigenetic signals. TALE proteins, similarly to CRISPR/CAS and Zinc finger proteins, are DNA binding proteins which are programmable and target user-defined DNA-sequences. In this work, these methylation sensitive TALE proteins are harnessed in order to illuminate the binding behavior to DNA harboring 6mA modifications