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1987 wurden 1.928 junge Berufstätige in der DDR zur Jugendorganisation FDJ befragt. Untersuchungschwerpunkte waren: Erwartungen an die FDJ in den Bereichen Interessenvertretung im Betrieb, politisch-ideologische Arbeit und Freizeit, Erfahrungen bei der Teilnahme an Diskussionen und Veranstaltungen, Ausmaß der aktiven Mitarbeit. Als Grundtendenz wird festgestellt: "Die Mehrzahl der jungen Werktätigen identifiziert sich nicht oder nur mit Einschränkungen mit den in der FDJ vorgefundenen politischen Bedingungen der Persönlichkeitsentwicklung." Als entscheidendes praktisches Problem erwies sich das Niveau der innerverbandlichen Demokratie, nur 9% der Jugendlichen ohne Leitungsfunktionen sehen in der FDJ einen engagierten Vertreter ihrer Interessen. 95% der Befragten erwarten in stärkerem Maße, daß sich die FDJ für die Klärung berechtigter Kritik an der betrieblichen Arbeit einsetzen solle. Außerordentlich hoch ist auch das Interesse, "vermittelt über die FDJ ins sozialistische bzw. kapitalistsiche Ausland zu reisen". (psz)

Recent evidence suggests that inhibition of bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) epigenetic readers may have clinical utility against acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Here we validate this hypothesis, demonstrating the efficacy of the BET inhibitor I-BET151 across a variety of AML subtypes driven by disparate mutations. We demonstrate that a common 'core' transcriptional program, which is HOX gene independent, is downregulated in AML and underlies sensitivity to I-BET treatment. This program is enriched for genes that contain 'super-enhancers', recently described regulatory elements postulated to control key oncogenic driver genes. Moreover, our program can independently classify AML patients into distinct cytogenetic and molecular subgroups, suggesting that it contains biomarkers of sensitivity and response. We focus AML with mutations of the Nucleophosmin gene (NPM1) and show evidence to suggest that wild-type NPM1 has an inhibitory influence on BRD4 that is relieved upon NPM1c mutation and cytosplasmic dislocation. This leads to the upregulation of the core transcriptional program facilitating leukemia development. This program is abrogated by I-BET therapy and by nuclear restoration of NPM1. Finally, we demonstrate the efficacy of I-BET151 in a unique murine model and in primary patient samples of NPM1c AML. Taken together, our data support the use of BET inhibitors in clinical trials in AML.

Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Dinoflagellates of the genus Alexandrium produce the neurotoxin saxitoxin (STX), responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) and accumulates in marine invertebrates. The recent identification of STX biosynthesis genes allowed us to investigate the expression of sxtA4 at different growth stages in Alexandrium catenella Group IV. We found no significant differences in expression of sxtA4, despite significant differences in STX levels at different growth stages (P < 0.023). Three reference genes were tested for normalisation: actin, cytochrome b (cob), and the large subunit ribosomal RNA (LSU rDNA). cob was most stably expressed but the combination of two reference genes, actin and cob, resulted in the best stability factor. Most genomic sequences of sxtA4 from A. catenella were in a clade that included sequences from Alexandrium fundyense Group I, however, one paralogue was not related to the others, suggesting recombination or lateral transfer. A comparison of the sxtA4 cDNA sequences with genomic DNA sequences indicated the possibility of transcript editing and the preferential transcription of certain genomic DNA loci. The results show that, in dinoflagellates, post-transcriptional mechanisms play a major role in the regulation of saxitoxin biosynthesis.

Objectives: To demonstrate the feasibility of GafChromic(®) XR-QA2 (ISP Corp., Wayne, NJ) as a dosemeter when performing measurements of the effective dose from three cone beam CT (CBCT) units and to compare the doses from examinations of three common dental clinical situations. A second aim was to compare the radiation doses for three digital panoramic units with the doses for the CBCT units. METHODS: The CBCT units used were Veraviewepocs 3De(®) (J Morita MFG Corp., Kyoto, Japan), ProMax(®) 3D (Planmeca, Helsinki, Finland) and NewTom VGi(®) (Quantitative Radiology, Verona, Italy). GafChromic XR-QA2 films were placed between the selected layers of the head and neck of a tissue-equivalent human skull (RANDO(®) phantom; The Phantom Laboratory, Salem, NY). The exposure parameters were set using the automatic exposure control function of the units. Depending on the availability, medium and smaller field of view (FOV) scanning modes were used. The effective dose was estimated using the 2007 International Commission on Radiological Protection formalism. RESULTS: The lowest effective dose of a CBCT unit was observed for ProMax 3D, FOV 4 × 5 cm (10 μSv), the highest for NewTom VGi, FOV 8 × 8 cm-high resolution (129 μSv). The range of effective doses for digital panoramic machines measured was 8-14 μSv. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the feasibility of using radiochromic films for dental CBCT and panoramic dosimetry.

The three Alexandrium species A. tamarense, A. fundyense and A. catenella include strains that can be potent producers of the neurotoxin saxitoxin (STX) and its analogues, the causative agents of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). These three species are morphologically highly similar, differing from each other only in the possession of a ventral pore, or in the ability to form chains. The appropriateness of these morphological characters for species delimitation has been extensively debated. A distinctive clade of this species complex, Group V, Tasmanian clade, is found in southern Australia, and occasionally occurs in bloom proportions. This clade has been considered non-toxic, and no PSP toxins have been found in shellfish following blooms of this species. In the present study, we report on a Tasmanian strain of A. tamarense, Group V that produces STX and possesses the gene, sxtA that is putatively involved in STX production. The toxin profile was determined and is unusual, including a high proportion of GTX5 and a small amount of STX, and differs from that of co-occurring A. catenella (Group IV). A putative bloom of A. tamarense that occurred in October 2010, and the subsequent finding of STX in Sydney Rock Oysters (. Saccostrea glomerata), may suggest that some naturally occurring strains of this species could produce STX. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

The trypanosomatid protozoa include the medically important parasites Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania. They are responsible for a wide range of diseases which blight the developing nations of the world. Current chemotherapy to treat these diseases is far from ideal and many different approaches are being taken to identify new drug targets. One family of potential drug targets are the protozoan protein kinases. Protein kinases are ubiquitous in eukaryotes and act in many different intracellular signalling pathways affecting for example: differentiation, proliferation, motility, and apoptosis. Within parasitic protozoa, several protein kinases play essential roles and disruption of their activity is seriously deleterious to the parasite. Moreover, despite homology to their mammalian counterparts, protozoan protein kinases are significantly different in ways which open up the possibility of developing parasite-selective inhibitors. In this article, we will outline the current knowledge of important parasite protein kinases and discuss their suitability as novel drug targets.