Considering Human Resource Management when developing a project-oriented company: Case study of a telecommunication company

The paper reports on a longitudinal multi method case study of a company from the telecommunication industry. The company has developed into a project-oriented company during the last 12 years (1997–2009). In this paper the development is analyzed and structured into phases. The limits of planning and managing change processes in practice are reflected. The development of the case study company towards project-orientation was rather ad hoc than planned and structured. The findings indicate that in a project-oriented company Human Resource Management also needs to change from an administration function to become a proactive business partner supporting project-oriented management.     

Druckbeanspruchte Winkelprofile mit Ein‐Schrauben‐Anschluß – Bemessung nach den Normen DIN 18800‐2 und EC 1993‐3‐1 (Türme und Maste)

Dimensioning of pressed angle steel with one screw joint based on the standards DIN 18800 vol. 2 and EC 1993‐3‐1 (towers and masts). There are different kinds of methods for the structural analysis of the stability of angle steel in mast constructions in DIN 18800 vol. 2 and Eurocode 1993‐3‐1. It depends on the kind of joint with one or two screws. The calculated loading capacities for a one screw joint based on Eurocode are significant higher than the results based on DIN . Comparing calculating with the Finite Element Method as well as experiments with equal‐leg angles show the simplified method of the EC 1993‐3‐1 for the one screw joint in the existing form is not wise to be used in practice.     

Nano patterned covalent surface modification of poly(e-caprolactone)

Using our new vapor-phase grafting technique, we have simultaneously chemically and physically modified the surface of poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) films. The substrates were covered with nano patterned silicone rubber stamps and subjected to UV irradiation in the presence of the solvent-free vapor phase of either N-vinyl pyrrolidone or maleic anhydride, and a photoinitiator, under reduced pressure. The treated films display a surface pattern of grafted channels of 450-nm width, as confirmed by AFM and SEM. The grafting was further verified with ATR-FTIR, and contact angle measurements show an increased wettability of the surfaces.     

Ribosome Biogenesis and Cancer: Overview on Ribosomal Proteins

Cytosolic ribosomes (cytoribosomes) are macromolecular ribonucleoprotein complexes that are assembled from ribosomal RNA and ribosomal proteins, which are essential for protein biosynthesis. Mitochondrial ribosomes (mitoribosomes) perform translation of the proteins essential for the oxidative phosphorylation system. The biogenesis of cytoribosomes and mitoribosomes includes ribosomal RNA processing, modification and binding to ribosomal proteins and is assisted by numerous biogenesis factors. This is a major energy-consuming process in the cell and, therefore, is highly coordinated and sensitive to several cellular stressors. In mitochondria, the regulation of mitoribosome biogenesis is essential for cellular respiration, a process linked to cell growth and proliferation. This review briefly overviews the key stages of cytosolic and mitochondrial ribosome biogenesis; summarizes the main steps of ribosome biogenesis alterations occurring during tumorigenesis, highlighting the changes in the expression level of cytosolic ribosomal proteins (CRPs) and mitochondrial ribosomal proteins (MRPs) in different types of tumors; focuses on the currently available information regarding the extra-ribosomal functions of CRPs and MRPs correlated to cancer; and discusses the role of CRPs and MRPs as biomarkers and/or molecular targets in cancer treatment.     

Tailoring Chitosan/LTA Zeolite Hybrid Aerogels for Anionic and Cationic Dye Adsorption

Chitosan (CS) is largely employed in environmental applications as an adsorbent of anionic dyes, due to the presence in its chemical structure of amine groups that, if protonated, act as adsorbing sites for negatively charged molecules. Efficient adsorption of both cationic and anionic dyes is thus not achievable with a pristine chitosan adsorbent, but it requires the combination of two or more components. Here, we show that simultaneous adsorption of cationic and anionic dyes can be obtained by embedding Linde Type A (LTA) zeolite particles in a crosslinked CS-based aerogel. In order to optimize dye removal ability of the hybrid aerogel, we target the crosslinker concentration so that crosslinking is mainly activated during the thermal treatment after the fast freezing of the CS/LTA mixture. The adsorption of isotherms is obtained for different CS/LTA weight ratios and for different types of anionic and cationic dyes. Irrespective of the formulation, the Langmuir model was found to accurately describe the adsorption isotherms. The optimal tradeoff in the adsorption behavior was obtained with the CS/LTA aerogel (1:1 weight ratio), for which the maximum uptake of indigo carmine (anionic dye) and rhodamine 6G (cationic dye) is 103 and 43 mg g⁻¹, respectively. The behavior observed for the adsorption capacity and energy cannot be rationalized as a pure superposition of the two components, but suggests that reciprocal steric effects, chemical heterogeneity, and molecular interactions between CS and LTA zeolite particles play an important role.     

The OSMR Gene Is Involved in Hirschsprung Associated Enterocolitis Susceptibility through an Altered Downstream Signaling

Hirschsprung (HSCR) Associated Enterocolitis (HAEC) is a common life-threatening complication in HSCR. HAEC is suggested to be due to a loss of gut homeostasis caused by impairment of immune system, barrier defense, and microbiome, likely related to genetic causes. No gene has been claimed to contribute to HAEC occurrence, yet. Genetic investigation of HAEC by Whole-Exome Sequencing (WES) on 24 HSCR patients affected (HAEC) or not affected (HSCR-only) by enterocolitis and replication of results on a larger panel of patients allowed the identification of the HAEC susceptibility variant p.H187Q in the Oncostatin-M receptor (OSMR) gene (14.6% in HAEC and 5.1% in HSCR-only, p = 0.0024). Proteomic analysis on the lymphoblastoid cell lines from one HAEC patient homozygote for this variant and one HAEC patient not carrying the variant revealed two well distinct clusters of proteins significantly up or downregulated upon OSM stimulation. A marked enrichment in immune response pathways (q < 0.0001) was shown in the HAEC H187 cell line, while proteins upregulated in the HAEC Q187 lymphoblasts sustained pathways likely involved in pathogen infection and inflammation. In conclusion, OSMR p.H187Q is an HAEC susceptibility variant and perturbates the downstream signaling cascade necessary for the gut immune response and homeostasis maintenance.     

Nonesterified fatty acid determination for functional lipidomics: comprehensive ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry quantitation, qualification, and parameter prediction

Despite their central importance for lipid metabolism, straightforward quantitative methods for determination of nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) species are still missing. The protocol presented here provides unbiased quantitation of plasma NEFA species by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Simple deproteination of plasma in organic solvent solution yields high accuracy, including both the unbound and initially protein-bound fractions, while avoiding interferences from hydrolysis of esterified fatty acids from other lipid classes. Sample preparation is fast and nonexpensive, hence well suited for automation and high-throughput applications. Separation of isotopologic NEFA is achieved using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to triple quadrupole LC-MS/MS detection. In combination with automated liquid handling, total assay time per sample is less than 15 min. The analytical spectrum extends beyond readily available NEFA standard compounds by a regression model predicting all the relevant analytical parameters (retention time, ion path settings, and response factor) of NEFA species based on chain length and number of double bonds. Detection of 50 NEFA species and accurate quantification of 36 NEFA species in human plasma is described, the highest numbers ever reported for a LC-MS application. Accuracy and precision are within widely accepted limits. The use of qualifier ions supports unequivocal analyte verification.     

Tear fluid-eye drops compatibility assessment using surface tension

Objective: To evaluate the compatibility of commercially available eye drop surface tension with the tear film physiological range and to characterize commonly used ophthalmic excipients in terms of their surface activity under eye-biorelevant conditions.

Significance: There are a number of quality requirements for the eye drops (e.g. tonicity, pH, viscosity, refractive index) that needs to comply with the physiological parameters of the eye surface. However, the adjustment of surface tension properties of the eye drops to the normal range of surface tension at the air/tear fluid interface (40–46?mN/m) has received rather less attention thus far. Yet, the surface tension at the air/tear fluid interface is of vital importance for the normal function of the eye surface.

Methods: The surface tension compatibility of the isotonic aqueous solutions of commonly used ophthalmic excipients as well as 18 approved eye drops with the tear fluid have been evaluated using surface tension method.

Results: Each ophthalmic ingredient including the preservatives, solubilizing agents and thickening agents can influence the surface tension of the final formulation. In case of complex ophthalmic formulations one should also consider the possible interactions among excipients and consequent impact on overall surface activity. Out of 18 evaluated eye drops, three samples were within, 12 samples were below and three samples were above the physiological range of the tear fluid surface tension.

Conclusions: Our results provide a rationale for clinical studies aiming to assess the correlation between the eye drops surface tension and the tear film (in)stability.     

Support vector machine ensembles for breast cancer type prediction from mid-FTIR micro-calcification spectra

Over the past years Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been demonstrated as a prospective tool for cancer diagnostics. In order to apply FTIR spectroscopy as a routine tool for biomedical diagnostics of tissue samples, strong and reliable classifiers are needed. Frequently, the number of available tissue samples is restricted and due to that data sets consist of a small number of samples, often less than 100. This can result in unstable classifiers, which perform poorly on unseen data. In this work we present a way to overcome this limitation by aggregating several support vector machines in to an ensemble. Different ensemble systems, including bagging, boosting and tree-based models, were investigated for a FTIR data set acquired from different types and stages of breast cancer. It was found that an ensemble system predicts 88.9% of the unseen multi-class test set correctly. In comparison a single classifier only achieved a predictive performance of 66.7%. As these results show, the application of SVM ensembles in biomedical diagnostics using FTIR spectroscopy can be highly beneficial.     

Labeling of capsid proteins and genomic RNA of human rhinovirus with two different fluorescent dyes for selective detection by capillary electrophoresis

During uncoating of human rhinoviruses, the innermost capsid protein VP4 and the genomic RNA are released from the viral protein shell. This process gives rise to subviral particles that are composed of the remaining three capsid proteins VP1, VP2, and VP3. The process is believed to take place in a sequential manner in that first VP4 is expelled resulting in A-particles sedimenting at 135S followed by the RNA resulting in B-particles sedimenting at 80S. Aiming at ultimately analyzing this process in vivo, we introduced two different fluorophores into the RNA and the viral capsid proteins, respectively. Incubation of the virus with RiboGreen resulted in formation of a RNA-dye complex with lambda(ex)/lambda(em) = 500/525 nm, whereas subsequent derivatization of the viral protein shell in the same sample with AMCA-S introduced a label with lambda(ex)/lambda(em) = 345-350/440-460 nm. In this way, both viral components could be selectively detected via fluorescence in a capillary electrophoresis system. The intact virus delivers two superimposed signals in the electropherogram. Derivatization of the free amino groups of the capsid proteins partially preserved the bioaffinity of the virus toward a synthetic receptor fragment, an artificial recombinant concatemer of repeat number 3 of the very low density lipoprotein receptor. Between 10 and 20% of the infectivity were recovered after labeling when compared to native virus. In addition to analysis of factors influencing the stability of the virus by CE, double-labeled virions might be useful for the investigation of the uncoating process by real-time confocal fluorescence microscopy.