Reformprozesse auf dem landwirtschaftlichen Bodenmarkt der Ukraine

Vor fast 30 Jahren nahm die landwirtschaftliche Bodenreform in der Ukraine ihren Anfang und bleibt bis heute unvollendet. Das im Frühjahr 2020 beschlossene Gesetz zur Aufhebung der Moratorien auf den Verkauf landwirtschaftlicher Flächen und die Änderung ihrer Nutzungsart ist ein bedeutender Schritt für die Stärkung der Eigentumsrechte von Ukrainern. Wie viele Grundstücksverkäufe ab dem 01. Juli 2021 stattfinden werden und ob sich in der Ukraine tatsächlich ein funktionierender und transparenter Bodenmarkt entwickeln kann, hängt von der parlamentarischen Behandlung und Verabschiedung einer Reihe weiterer Gesetze des Bodenreformpaketes, juristischen Entscheidungen sowie der Schaffung institutioneller Voraussetzungen für deren Umsetzung ab. Der vorliegende Artikel betrachtet einige neue Regelungen und mögliche Auswirkungen auf den ukrainischen Land- und Agrarsektor. Darüber hinaus wird die Komplexität der Interessenslagen verdeutlicht, die sich im Rahmen der Reformprozesse zeigen

Politische Meinungen von Studenten

Die vorliegende Teiluntersuchung befaßt sich mit der ideologischen Situation in der DDR, speziell der Studenten, in der zweiten Novemberhälfte 1989, also z.Zt. des Höhepunkts der politischen Wende seit 1988, doch noch vor dem Rücktritt des SED-Politbüros und -Zentralkomitees. Befragt wurden rund 1100 Studenten verschiedener Fachrichtungen und Hochschulen sowie 240 Lehrkräfte. Vergleichsgruppen waren Populationen aus der "Jugend gesamt" und der "DDR gesamt". Die Studenten äußerten ihre Meinung zur Erneuerungschance der DDR-Gesellschaft, zum künftigen politisch-wirtschaftlichen Weg der DDR, zur Vereinigung der DDR mit der BRD, zu Westreisen und Auswanderung, zu ihrem Vertrauen zu Persönlichkeiten des politischen und kulturellen Lebens der DDR, zu den politischen Parteien und zu Michail Gorbatschow. Weiter äußerten sie sich über ihre Teilnahme an Demonstrationen und Foren und über ihre Mitgliedschaft in der FDJ. Bei der Bewertung der Ergebnisse ist die Schnellebigkeit der politischen Meinungen zum Zeitpunkt der Erhebung besonders zu berücksichtigen. (pbb

Molecular Genetic Investigation of Digital Melanoma in Dogs

Canine digital melanoma, in contrast to canine oral melanoma, is still largely unexplored at the molecular genetic level. The aim of this study was to detect mutant genes in digital melanoma. Paraffin-embedded samples from 86 canine digital melanomas were examined for the BRAF V595E variant by digital droplet PCR (ddPCR), and for exon 11 mutations in c-kit. Furthermore, exons 2 and 3 of KRAS and NRAS were analysed by Sanger sequencing. Copy number variations (CNV) of KITLG in genomic DNA were analysed from nine dogs. The BRAF V595E variant was absent and in c-kit, a single nucleotide polymorphism was found in 16/70 tumours (23%). The number of copies of KITLG varied between 4 and 6. KRAS exon 2 codons 12 and 13 were mutated in 22/86 (25.6%) of the melanomas examined. Other mutually exclusive RAS mutations were found within the hotspot loci, i.e., KRAS exon 3 codon 61: 2/55 (3.6%); NRAS exon 2 codons 12 and 13: 2/83 (2.4%); and NRAS exon 3 codon 61: 9/86 (10.5%). However, no correlation could be established between histological malignancy criteria, survival times and the presence of RAS mutations. In summary, canine digital melanoma differs from molecular genetic data of canine oral melanoma and human melanoma, especially regarding the proportion of RAS mutations

White matter microstructural changes in adolescent anorexia nervosa including an exploratory longitudinal study

AbstractBackgroundAnorexia nervosa (AN) often begins in adolescence, however, the understanding of the underlying pathophysiology at this developmentally important age is scarce, impeding early interventions. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate microstructural white matter (WM) brain changes including an experimental longitudinal follow-up.MethodsWe acquired whole brain diffusion-weighted brain scans of 22 adolescent female hospitalized patients with AN at admission and nine patients longitudinally at discharge after weight rehabilitation. Patients (10–18years) were compared to 21 typically developing controls (TD). Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) were applied to compare fractional anisotropy (FA) across groups and time points. Associations between average FA values of the global WM skeleton and weight as well as illness duration parameters were analyzed by multiple linear regression.ResultsWe observed increased FA in bilateral frontal, parietal and temporal areas in AN patients at admission compared to TD. Higher FA of the global WM skeleton at admission was associated with faster weight loss prior to admission. Exploratory longitudinal analysis showed this FA increase to be partially normalized after weight rehabilitation.ConclusionsOur findings reveal a markedly different pattern of WM microstructural changes in adolescent AN compared to most previous results in adult AN. This could signify a different susceptibility and reaction to semi-starvation in the still developing brain of adolescents or a time-dependent pathomechanism differing with extend of chronicity. Higher FA at admission in adolescents with AN could point to WM fibers being packed together more closely

Survey on brachytherapy training among radiation oncology residents in the German-speaking regions of Europe.

PURPOSE This survey aimed to determine the perception of brachytherapy training among residents in the DACH region, consisting of Austria, Germany and Switzerland. MATERIAL & METHODS An online questionnaire containing 22 questions related to trainee demographics (n = 5) and to brachytherapy training (n = 17) was sent in two iterations in 11/2019 and 02/2020. The following topics were evaluated: institutional support, barriers to training, extent of training, site-specific training (prostate, gynaecology, breast, gastrointestinal and skin), preferences for further training and outlook on overall development of brachytherapy. The responses were mostly based on a Likert scale of 1 to 5, thereby reflecting strength of opinion. Descriptive statistics were used to describe frequencies. RESULTS Among the 108 respondents, approximately 69% of residents considered the ability to perform brachytherapy independently to be important or somewhat important. However, only 31% of respondents reported to have a dedicated brachytherapy training during residency. The major limitation to achieve independence in performing brachytherapy was seen in a low case load in Austria, in the lack of training in Switzerland and in both of them in Germany. CONCLUSION The interest in brachytherapy training among residents in German-speaking countries was generally high, but there is a perceived lack of sufficient case volumes and partially also in formal training opportunities. Fellowships at departments with a high case load as part of a formalised curriculum and dedicated hands-on workshops at national or international conferences might help to overcome these issues

Porcine model elucidates function of p53 isoform in carcinogenesis and reveals novel circTP53 RNA

Recent years have seen an increasing number of genetically engineered pig models of human diseases including cancer. We previously generated pigs with a modified TP53 allele that carries a Cre-removable transcriptional stop signal in intron 1, and an oncogenic mutation TP53R167H (orthologous to human TP53R175H) in exon 5. Pigs with the unrecombined mutant allele (flTP53R167H) develop mainly osteosarcoma but also nephroblastomas and lymphomas. This observation suggested that TP53 gene dysfunction is itself the key initiator of bone tumorigenesis, but raises the question which aspects of the TP53 regulation lead to the development of such a narrow tumour spectrum. Molecular analysis of p53 revealed the presence of two internal TP53 promoters (Pint and P2) equivalent to those found in human. Consequently, both pig and human express TP53 isoforms. Data presented here strongly suggest that P2-driven expression of the mutant R167H-Δ152p53 isoform (equivalent to the human R175H-Δ160p53 isoform) and its circular counterpart circTP53 determine the tumour spectrum and play a critical role in the malignant transformation in flTP53R167H pigs. The detection of Δ152p53 isoform mRNA in serum is indicative of tumorigenesis. Furthermore, we showed a tissue-specific p53-dependent deregulation of the p63 and p73 isoforms in these tumours. This study highlights important species-specific differences in the transcriptional regulation of TP53. Considering the similarities of TP53 regulation between pig and human, these observations provide useful pointers for further investigation into isoform function including the novel circTP53 in both the pig model and human patients.ISSN:0950-9232ISSN:1476-559

Etiology matters - genomic DNA methylation patterns in three rat models of acquired epilepsy

This study tested the hypothesis that acquired epileptogenesis is accompanied by DNA methylation changes independent of etiology. We investigated DNA methylation and gene expression in the hippocampal CA3/dentate gyrus fields at 3 months following epileptogenic injury in three experimental models of epilepsy: focal amygdala stimulation, systemic pilocarpine injection, or lateral fluid-percussion induced traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rats. In the models studies, DNA methylation and gene expression profiles distinguished controls from injured animals. We observed consistent increased methylation in gene bodies and hypomethylation at non-genic regions. We did not find a common methylation signature in all three different models and few regions common to any two models. Our data provide evidence that genome-wide alteration of DNA methylation signatures is a general pathomechanism associated with epileptogenesis and epilepsy in experimental animal models, but the broad pathophysiological differences between models (i.e. pilocarpine, amygdala stimulation, and post-TBI) are reflected in distinct etiology-dependent DNA methylation patterns