Legacies of Military Rule in Myanmar

For more than half a century, Myanmar was ruled by the military. Even now, with a civilian government in power, the military exerts considerable political influence and sees its involvement in national politics as a fundamental task alongside defending the sovereignty and integrity of the country. This factual situation logically derives from the origins and development of the armed forces. A key factor seems to have been the period from 1958 to 1962: not only did the military elite experience governing success during the "Caretaker Government", but also, following the return of authority to civilian political forces, these proved incapable of ensuring the stability and development of the country. The reluctance of the military leadership to fully hand over power to the NLD after the latter won the elections in 2015 seems to reflect the lessons they learned from this experience. This article examines, against the background of history, how the present diarchy evolved and may be seen as a logical feature of transition in the Myanmar Way

The fusion kinase ITK-SYK mimics a T cell receptor signal and drives oncogenesis in conditional mouse models of peripheral T cell lymphoma

Peripheral T cell lymphomas (PTCLs) are highly aggressive malignancies with poor prognosis. Their molecular pathogenesis is not well understood and small animal models for the disease are lacking. Recently, the chromosomal translocation t(5;9)(q33;q22) generating the interleukin-2 (IL-2)–inducible T cell kinase (ITK)–spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) fusion tyrosine kinase was identified as a recurrent event in PTCL. We show that ITK-SYK associates constitutively with lipid rafts in T cells and triggers antigen-independent phosphorylation of T cell receptor (TCR)–proximal proteins. These events lead to activation of downstream pathways and acute cellular outcomes that correspond to regular TCR ligation, including up-regulation of CD69 or production of IL-2 in vitro or deletion of thymocytes and activation of peripheral T cells in vivo. Ultimately, conditional expression of patient-derived ITK-SYK in mice induces highly malignant PTCLs with 100% penetrance that resemble the human disease. Our work demonstrates that constitutively enforced antigen receptor signaling can, in principle, act as a powerful oncogenic driver. Moreover, we establish a robust clinically relevant and genetically tractable model of human PTCL

Communicable Diseases Prioritized for Surveillance and Epidemiological Research: Results of a Standardized Prioritization Procedure in Germany, 2011

To establish strategic priorities for the German national public health institute (RKI) and guide the institute's mid-term strategic decisions, we prioritized infectious pathogens in accordance with their importance for national surveillance and epidemiological research.We used the Delphi process with internal (RKI) and external experts and a metric-consensus approach to score pathogens according to ten three-tiered criteria. Additional experts were invited to weight each criterion, leading to the calculation of a median weight by which each score was multiplied. We ranked the pathogens according to the total weighted score and divided them into four priority groups.., Respiratory syncytial virus or Hantavirus) indicate a possible under-recognised importance within the current German public health framework. A process to strengthen respective surveillance systems and research has been started. The prioritization methodology has worked well; its modular structure makes it potentially useful for other settings

Kinder und Jugendliche in der Coronavirus-Pandemie: psychosoziale und edukative Herausforderungen und Chancen : 8. Ad-hoc-Stellungsnahme - 21. Juni 2021

Die Coronavirus-Pandemie hat für Kinder und Jugendliche vielfältige Auswirkungen auf deren Bildung, soziale Interaktion, sozioemotionale Entwicklung, körperliche Aktivität sowie auf das psychische Wohlbefinden. Viele Betroffene werden in der Lage sein, die Auswirkungen zu überwinden. Manche dagegen werden mittel- und wahrscheinlich auch langfristig von den erlittenen Defiziten begleitet. Um diesen zu begegnen, empfiehlt die Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina in der Ad-hoc-Stellungnahme „Kinder und Jugendliche in der Coronavirus-Pandemie: psychosoziale und edukative Herausforderungen und Chancen“ den Auf- und Ausbau von Unterstützungs- und Bildungsstrukturen. Diese sollten die derzeit bestehenden Ungleichheiten in Bildungs- und Entwicklungschancen nachhaltig adressieren und nicht nur pandemiebedingte Nachteile ausgleichen, sondern die Situation im Vergleich zum Status Quo vor der Pandemie verbessern

Transitkunst. Studien zur Literatur 1890-2010

Die Chiffre „Transit“ vereinigt mit Aspekten wie Mobilität, Flüchtigkeit und Vorläufigkeit zentrale Begriffe des Zeiterlebens zwischen 1890 und 2010. Vor dem Hintergrund mehrerer Krisen und Katastrophen sowie tiefgreifender Umwandlungsprozesse erscheint das Leben als Durchgangsstadium, in dem sich nur noch ein temporäres, fragmentarisches Netz von Orientierungspunkten entwerfen lässt. Das Transitäre durchdringt nahezu alle Facetten des Individuums und seiner Lebensbereiche: vom Wahrnehmen der Inkohärenz in der Folge gesellschaftlicher Umwälzungen, über den Verlust ‚sicherer‘ Orte bis zum Erfahren der eigenen Identität als provisorisch. Die Reaktion auf solche Übergangszustände ist oft eine Intensivierung der Suchbewegungen nach Sicherheit, Nähe und Glück, die jedoch selbst zunehmend transitive Zwischenstellungen markieren. Die Literatur zeichnet sich unter dieser Perspektive durch die Adaptation transittypischer Themen und Inhalte aus, desgleichen durch die autoreflexive Übertragung von Konzepten wie Momenthaftigkeit, Unvollständigkeit und Flexibilität in das eigene narrative Programm. Die Beiträge des Bandes nähern sich verschiedenen Formen eines solchen inhaltlichen und/oder formalen ‚Dazwischen‘ an. Die Idee des Transits erweist sich dabei für diese vielfältigen literatur- und kulturwissenschaftlichen Untersuchungen als ebenso funktionale wie inspirierende Klammer, der es gelingt, im bewussten Einlassen auf das im Durchgang Begriffene die heterogenen Facetten des 20. Jahrhunderts zu verbinden: zu einer Art Zeitbild und Ästhetik des Transits

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018):a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines

The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points

Myanmar-Studien: Ein Überblick

Whithin the last few years Myanmar has been attracting much international attention, which is reflected in the rising number of academic research papers on this country as well. Against this background the article gives a concise review of the history of worldwide Myanmar studies with due consideration of German traditions in this field. Thereby it is focussing on institutions, which follow a holistic approach combining research and teaching. Emphasising the need of language proficiency for acquiring authentic information it advocates the re-establishment of a permanent base, which comprises language instruction as well as area studies and can promote the coordination of research work