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Copyright of Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Ergotherapie & Rehabilitation is the property of Schulz-Kirchner Verlag Gmbh and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recognition of the importance of plant genetic resources started in Germany at the end of the 19th century. Plant research and breeding began to develop in the 1920s. Formal structures of public institutions were founded, long-term conservation facilities were established, private breeding initiatives developed. In 1990, the German reunification required an assessment of the existing research and breeding landscape. This milestone allowed a comprehensive overview of the great number of stakeholders, active in the entire range of tasks related to plant genetic resources. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture then developed a conceptual approach for an efficient governance structure and published its concept of a national programme for the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources for food and agriculture in 2000. It recognized the sharing of decentral responsibilities among the respective public and private actors and governmental levels with dis-tributed mandates and funding. It also led to the establishment of a central information and coordination center for genetic resources, which facilitates the data sharing, communication, and co-operation among stakeholders, supports public awareness and advises the Federal Ministry on national policies and efficient European and global cooperation. It also supports efficient contributions of German stakeholders into European structures and international bodies. An equivalent conceptual approach and governance structure is recommended to be established at European level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) has emerged as an efficient tool in clinical cancer diagnostics to broaden the scope from panel-based diagnostics to screening of all genes and enabling robust determination of complex biomarkers in a single analysis. To assess concordance, six formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue specimens and four commercial reference standards were analyzed by WES as matched tumor-normal DNA at 21 NGS centers in Germany, each employing local wet-lab and bioinformatics. Somatic and germline variants, copy-number alterations (CNAs), and complex biomarkers were investigated. Somatic variant calling was performed in 494 diagnostically relevant cancer genes. The raw data were collected and re-analyzed with a central bioinformatic pipeline to separate wet- and dry-lab variability. The mean positive percentage agreement (PPA) of somatic variant calling was 76 % while the positive predictive value (PPV) was 89 % in relation to a consensus list of variants found by at least five centers. Variant filtering was identified as the main cause for divergent variant calls. Adjusting filter criteria and re-analysis increased the PPA to 88 % for all and 97 % for the clinically relevant variants. CNA calls were concordant for 82 % of genomic regions. Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), tumor mutational burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability (MSI) status were concordant for 94 %, 93 %, and 93 % of calls, respectively. Variability of CNAs and complex biomarkers did not decrease considerably after harmonization of the bioinformatic processing and was hence attributed mainly to wet-lab differences. Continuous optimization of bioinformatic workflows and participating in round robin tests are recommended. • WES analysis of 10 samples at 21 diagnostic centers resulting in 420 datasets. • Inter-center concordance of somatic and germline variant calling was high. • Most variant calling discordances were explainable by different variant filtering. • Copy number alteration calling was challenging and requires further standardization. • Complex biomarkers were mostly concordant, even using different bioinformatic tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: German physicians are obligated (Para 16e Chemicals Law) to submit essential data on poisonings to the Centre for Documentation and Assessment of Poisonings at the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (Bundesinstituts für Risikobewertung, BfR). In addition, German poison centres are subjected to compulsory reporting of their findings of general importance gained in the context of their activities. The BfR assessment of poisonings has important significance for human case data collection, risk identification, and German toxicological monitoring. Using more than 60,000 reports on cases of poisoning, the BfR developed a structured expert judgement trial for poisonings. This judgement is based on a three-level model, accompanied by two different matrix procedures for an enhanced and more exact assessment of the exposures and the causality between health impairment and exposure. Particularly for low-dose exposures, human biomonitoring data is extremely valuable for the assessment process. Especially in chronic low-dose level exposures, the scientific assessment of related health impairments is often not possible without existing human biomonitoring data. For the future improvement of public health related to poisonings, ingestions by children, workplace chemical exposures, and incidents, we have to establish a nation-wide programme for monitoring human exposures which keeps pace with the progressive production of new chemicals. This must be done in close co-operation with physicians, poison centres, government safety organisations, and environmental health specialists and must be based on proven expert judgement tools and available human biomonitoring data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]