Internationaler Zivilprozess 2011, Zusammenspiel des revLugÜ mit dem revSchKG und der schweizerischen ZPO, mit Beiträgen von Prof. Dr. Jürgen Brönnimann, Prof. Dr. Felix Dasser, Prof. Dr. Alexander R. Markus, Prof. Dr. Rodrigo Rodriguez, Prof. Dr. Daniel Staehelin, Prof. Dr. Walter A. Stoffel

Am 10. September 2010 fand in Bern die erste Schweizerische Tagung für Zivilverfahrensrecht des Instituts für Internationales Privatrecht und Verfahrensrecht der Universität Bern statt. Die Tagung mit dem Titel "Internationaler Zivilprozess 2011" befasste sich mit dem Zusammenspiel der am 1.1.2011 in Kraft tretenden neuen oder revidierten Erlasse (ZPO, revLugÜ, und revSchKG) im Rahmen des internationalen Zivilprozesses. Der Tagungsband enthält auf den Tagungsvorträgen basierende Beiträge namhafter Autoren zu aktuellen und praxisrelevanten Themen des neuen internationalen Zivilprozesses, namentlich zum neuen Arrestrecht, zur Behandlung von Zustellungsmängeln unter dem revLugÜ, zum Zahlungsbefehl im Lichte der revLugÜ-Zuständigkeiten, zur vollstreckbaren öffentliche Urkunde sowie zur Rechtshängigkeit und zur Streitgenossenschaft im internationalen Verhältnis. Der Tagungsband "Internationaler Zivilprozess 2011" eröffnet eine neue Schriftenreihe zum Internationalen Privatrecht und Verfahrensrecht.

Vorsorglicher Rechtsschutz. Vorsorgliche Massnahmen im internationalen Kontext, offene Fragen im neuen Arrestrecht und Sicherungsmassnahmen der ZPO, mit Beiträgen von Dr. Isabelle Chabloz, Dr. Richard Gassmann, PD Dr. Pascal Grolimund, Dr. Jürg Roth, Prof. Dr. Daniel Staehelin

Am 9. September 2011 führte das Institut für Verfahrensrecht und Internationales Privatrecht (CIVPRO) der Universität Bern in bewährter Zusammenarbeit mit der schweizerischen SchKG-Vereinigung die zweite Schweizer Tagung für Internationales Zivilverfahrensrecht durch. Im Mittelpunkt der Tagung standen vorsorgliche Massnahmen im internationalen Kontext vor dem Hintergrund der neuesten Entwicklungen, namentlich (aber nicht nur) des neuen Lugano-Übereinkommens. Der Tagungsband enthält die auf den Vorträgen basierenden, überarbeiteten und erweiterten Beiträge namhafter Autorinnen und Autoren zum vorsorglichen Rechtsschutz im neuen IZPR (Pascal Grolimund). Besondere Aufmerksamkeit gilt dem neuen Arrestrecht sowohl im als auch ausserhalb des Anwendungsbereichs des Lugano-Übereinkommens (Richard Gassmann und Jürg Roth). Ebenso enthält der Band Beiträge zu den Sicherungsmassnahmen in der Realvollstreckung (Daniel Staehelin) sowie zur Anerkennung ausländischer vorsorglicher Massnahmen (Isabelle Chabloz).

ENU-induced phenovariance in mice: inferences from 587 mutations

Background We present a compendium of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU)-induced mouse mutations, identified in our laboratory over a period of 10 years either on the basis of phenotype or whole genome and/or whole exome sequencing, and archived in the Mutagenetix database. Our purpose is threefold: 1) to formally describe many point mutations, including those that were not previously disclosed in peer-reviewed publications; 2) to assess the characteristics of these mutations; and 3) to estimate the likelihood that a missense mutation induced by ENU will create a detectable phenotype. Findings In the context of an ENU mutagenesis program for C57BL/6J mice, a total of 185 phenotypes were tracked to mutations in 129 genes. In addition, 402 incidental mutations were identified and predicted to affect 390 genes. As previously reported, ENU shows strand asymmetry in its induction of mutations, particularly favoring T to A rather than A to T in the sense strand of coding regions and splice junctions. Some amino acid substitutions are far more likely to be damaging than others, and some are far more likely to be observed. Indeed, from among a total of 494 non-synonymous coding mutations, ENU was observed to create only 114 of the 182 possible amino acid substitutions that single base changes can achieve. Based on differences in overt null allele frequencies observed in phenotypic vs. non-phenotypic mutation sets, we infer that ENU-induced missense mutations create detectable phenotype only about 1 in 4.7 times. While the remaining mutations may not be functionally neutral, they are, on average, beneath the limits of detection of the phenotypic assays we applied. Conclusions Collectively, these mutations add to our understanding of the chemical specificity of ENU, the types of amino acid substitutions it creates, and its efficiency in causing phenovariance. Our data support the validity of computational algorithms for the prediction of damage caused by amino acid substitutions, and may lead to refined predictions as to whether specific amino acid changes are responsible for observed phenotypes. These data form the basis for closer in silico estimations of the number of genes mutated to a state of phenovariance by ENU within a population of G3 mice.

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy in higher eukaryotes

Research in autophagy continues to accelerate,(1) and as a result many new scientists are entering the field. Accordingly, it is important to establish a standard set of criteria for monitoring macroautophagy in different organisms. Recent reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose.(2,3) There are many useful and convenient methods that can be used to monitor macroautophagy in yeast, but relatively few in other model systems, and there is much confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure macroautophagy in higher eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers of autophagosomes versus those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway; thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from fully functional autophagy that includes delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of the methods that can be used by investigators who are attempting to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as by reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that investigate these processes. This set of guidelines is 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 verify an autophagic response.