The Internet society and its struggle for recognition and influence

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Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

ICANN - EU Can’t: Internet Governance and Europe’s Role in the Formation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

This paper analyzes the policy process that led to the formation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), focusing on the actions of the European Commission. The analysis of the relevant documents shows the difference between the regulatory ideas in the US and the EU. The European Commission would have preferred an institutional framework with a prominent role for public actors, but had to accept the preference of the US Government, which directed the institutionalization of a private regime for the management of Internet addresses and names. Nevertheless, the Commission managed to establish itself as a major player in the emerging field of Internet governance

institution building in the Internet policy domain between international politics and global self-governance

This doctoral thesis examines the institutionalization of the Internet during the transition from a research network to a commercial infrastructure. The focus is on the management of the IP number space and the Domain Name System. The case study is based on the research questions, what kind of problems the commercialization and internationalization of the Internet caused, how these problems affected the development of the Internet s governance structure and why the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) prevailed over alternative institutional arrangements. The policy study has three levels. First, the resource management problems of the Internet are analyzed theoretically by examining the political economy of the Domain Name System and distinguishing between appropiation and provision problems. The middle part traces the process of institution building from the ARPANET to ICANN and describes actors, interests and interaction in the specific institutional context. It becomes evident that the institutions of the Internet evolved in a muddling-through process and through learning in cooperative networks. The third part of the study focuses on the characteristics of the Internet s new governance structure. It represents a hybrid global policy network including corporations, research organizations, governments and civil society groups. ICANN as the core organization is a private non-profit company for the self-regulation of the Internet, while at the same time it is a contractor of the US Government and resembles both a public regulatory agency and an intergovernmental organization. Thus, the institutional evolution of the Internet policy domain makes an interesting case with regard to the general debate over transnational self-regulation and global governance

ICANN und der Konflikt um die Internet-Ressourcen : Institutionenbildung im Problemfeld Internet Governance zwischen multinationaler Staatstätigkeit und globaler Selbstregulierung

Diese Doktorarbeit untersucht die Institutionalisierung des Internet im Übergang vom Wissenschaftsnetz zum kommerziellen Universalnetz. Sie fokussiert auf das Management der Internet-Adressen und des Domain Name System. Die Fallstudie geht von den Forschungsfragen aus, welche Probleme die Kommerzialisierung und die Internationalisierung des Internet für die Ressourcenverwaltung mit sich brachten, wie sich diese Probleme auf die Herausbildung der Governancestruktur des Internet auswirkten und warum sich die Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) durchgesetzt hat und kein alternatives institutionelles Arrangement. Die Arbeit wird als Policy-Analyse in drei Schritten durchgeführt. Der erste Schritt dient der theoretischen Klärung des Problems, wobei die politische Ökonomie des Domain Name System aufgearbeitet und zwischen Aneignungs- und Bereitstellungsproblemen in der Ressourcenverwaltung des Internet unterschieden wird. Der zweite Schritt verfolgt den Prozess der Institutionenbildung vom ARPANET bis zu ICANN und beschreibt die Akteure, ihre Interessen und Interaktionen im jeweiligen institutionellen Kontext. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die Institutionen des Internet durch inkrementelles Problemlösen in kooperativen Netzwerken entstanden sind. Der dritte Schritt widmet sich dem Politikergebnis, denn die Governancestruktur des Internet stellt ein neuartiges hybrides globales Politiknetzwerk aus Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft, Staat und Zivilgesellschaft dar. Die zentrale Organisation ICANN ist zwar ein privates non-profit Unternehmen für die globale Selbstregulierung des Internet, doch sie agiert im Kontext des US-Verwaltungsrechts und ähnelt sowohl einer öffentlichen Regulierungsagentur wie auch einer internationalen Organisation. Die institutionelle Entwicklung im Problemfeld Internet Governance macht den Fall interessant für die generellen Debatten über transnationale Selbstregulierung und Global Governance

The Internet society and its struggle for recognition and influence

Vor dem Hintergrund der zunehmenden Bedeutung privater Organisationen in internationalen Regimen fragen die Verfasser, welche Voraussetzungen eine Organisation aufweisen muss, um sich als einflussreicher Akteur in einem internationalen Regime zu etablieren. Sie diskutieren diese Frage am Fallbeispiel des gescheiterten Versuchs der "Internet Society" (ISOC), sich als privater Regulierer im Internet-Bereich zu etablieren. Dabei werden Aspekte einer Theorie des Organisationshandelns mit Perspektiven aus der Sicht des Neuen Institutionalismus verknüpft. Die Verfasser stellen die Binnenstruktur der ISOC dar und analysieren die Positionierung der ISOC zwischen den Organisationsfeldern Telekommunikation und Internet. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass unzureichende organisatorische Ressourcen und der Spagat zwischen den genannten unterschiedlichen Organisationsfeldern zum Scheitern der ISOC führten. (ICE

The Internet society and its struggle for recognition and influence

Vor dem Hintergrund der zunehmenden Bedeutung privater Organisationen in internationalen Regimen fragen die Verfasser, welche Voraussetzungen eine Organisation aufweisen muss, um sich als einflussreicher Akteur in einem internationalen Regime zu etablieren. Sie diskutieren diese Frage am Fallbeispiel des gescheiterten Versuchs der 'Internet Society' (ISOC), sich als privater Regulierer im Internet-Bereich zu etablieren. Dabei werden Aspekte einer Theorie des Organisationshandelns mit Perspektiven aus der Sicht des Neuen Institutionalismus verknuepft. Die Verfasser stellen die Binnenstruktur der ISOC dar und analysieren die Positionierung der ISOC zwischen den Organisationsfeldern Telekommunikation und Internet. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass unzureichende organisatorische Ressourcen und der Spagat zwischen den genannten unterschiedlichen Organisationsfeldern zum Scheitern der ISOC fuehrten. (ICE)German title: Die Internet-Society und ihr Kampf um Anerkennung und EinflussAvailable from http://www.mpi-fg-koeln.mpg.de/publikation/working papers/wp99-12 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Identification of S71-Related Human Endogenous Retroviral Sequences with Full-Length pol Genes

AbstractThe human genome contains sequences related to the simian sarcoma-associated virus SSAV. One of these endogenous retrovital elements, S71, is truncated in the pol gene and carries an insertion of a solitary HERV-K LTR. Using a PCR approach we have now identified further S71-related retroviral elements that lack the HERV-K LTR insertion and contain a full-length retroviral reverse transcriptase. Two of these sequences, pCRTK1 and pCRTK6, were cloned and further characterized. Clones pCRTK1 and pCRTK6 showed between 85 and 90% nucleotide hemology to each other and to S71 within the "tether" region of the pol gene, indicating that pCRTK1 and pCRTK6 clearly belong to the S71 subgroup of C-type-related human endogenous retroviral elements. Some point mutations inactivating the reverse transcriptase are located at the same positions in pCRTK1 and pCRTK6. Therefore, we assume that these S71-related elements were dispersed in the human genome by reintegration as defective proviruses, probably using enzymes for retrotransposition provided in trans by other retrotransposons or by cellular genes. Examination of the presence of S71-related elements in apes and Old World monkeys revealed that the deletion of reverse transcriptase sequences in S71 has occurred in the lineage of primates prior to the insertion of the HERV-K LTR