Innovation, innovativeness and gender : approaching innovative gender

This paper deals with the attempt to search for the sources of creativity in the broad sense in solving problems. These creative solutions become innovations. The ability to develop innovation depends on the multi-dimensional predispositions to solve problems – those found in people, inspired by the market, organised or spontaneous, as well as facilitated or hampered by the state. Yet, the aforementioned factors should be supplemented with one more – gender. In the chapter attention is paid to the multi-dimensional differences stemming from gender, which should be perceived as a positive element, because they are the source of synergy resulting from collaboration among research or business teams in the process of innovation. The chapter introduces the concept of 'innovative gender' and its institutional framework. The methodological inspiration is the model known in the literature as the Innovation Genome, the conceptualization of which constitutes a major part of the study

New approach to create more effective teams in the innovation process in enterprises

The subject-related literature provided information about the skills, education, and formal competencies required to join teams working on the innovation process. According to findings presented in this article, the previous studies have investigated insufficiently the gender-related issues in the decisions of managers who involve specialists in the innovation process. Thus, the purpose of this research was to identify, examine, and describe differences in the participation of men and women in the innovation process, considering their personal characteristics, attitudes, and behaviours. The research covered 1,164 innovative companies - beneficiaries of the European Union Cohesion Policy of 2007-2013. The survey was distributed independently to women and men participating in innovative activities in the researched companies. Two independent responses were received from each company; thus, two independent data samples were created. Both data composition and preliminary analysis adhere to the requirements of Principal Component Analysis. The results allow for the new design proposal to increase the effectiveness of teams working on innovation-focused tasks. In addition to education and experience, managers can now consider personal characteristics and better select women and men to drive innovation

CD207+/langerin positive dendritic cells in invasive and in situ cutaneous malignant melanoma

Introduction: Dendritic cells are crucial for cutaneous immune response. Their role in melanoma progression is however a matter of controversy. Material and methods: The number of dendritic cells within epidermis and in peri- and intratumoral location was analyzed using CD207 immunostain in 17 cases of in situ and 25 case of invasive melanoma. Results: Average peritumoral CD207+ cells count was 22.88 for all cases, 17.94 for in situ lesions and 26.24 for invasive cases. Average epidermal CD207+ cells count was 164.47 for all cases, 183.00 for in situ lesions and 150.78 - for invasive cases. In case of invasive melanomas, peritumoral CD207+ cells count was positively correlated with Breslow stage (R = 0.59) mitotic activity within the tumor (R = 0.62). Invasive cases with regression showed higher intratumoral and epidermal CD207+ cells count than the ones without (275.00 vs. 95.32 and 173.20 vs. 148.35) but lower peritumoral CD207+ cells count (17.60 vs. 27.26). Invasive cases with ulceration showed higher intratumoral and peritumoral CD207+ cells count than the ones without ulceration (220.08 vs. 55.67 and 44.17 vs. 9.69). Conclusions: CD207+ cells play a role in both progression and regression of melanoma but their exact role needs further studies

Institutional surrounding of innovative activity : based on opinions of women and men engaged in the process of innovation

Tło badań. Innowacje są jednym za źródeł wzrostu gospodarczego i rozwoju w długim okresie czasu. Dlatego też istotne jest rozważenie, które czynniki kształtują, wpływają na i promują działania innowacyjne. Cel badań. Głównym celem artykułu jest rozpoznanie różnic w opiniach kobiet i mężczyzn zatrudnionych w innowacyjnych przedsiębiorstwach na temat rozwiązań promujących działania innowacyjne, które powinny zostać wzięte pod uwagę przy projektowaniu polityki państwa. Metodologia. Aby osiągnąć ten cel, przeprowadzono ankietę dotyczącą kontekstu instytucjonalnego procesu innowacji wśród osób związanych z działalnością badawczą w przedsiębiorstwach, które otrzymały publiczne wsparcie finansowe swojej działalności innowacyjnej. W celu pogrupowania różnych rozwiązań instytucjonalnych wpływających na kobiety i mężczyzn wykorzystano analizę skupień. Kluczowe wnioski. Wyniki badania pokazują, że rozwiązania instytucjonalne promujące działania innowacyjne nie są neutralne ze względu na płeć, wskazując, że występują zarówno podobieństwa, jak i różnice w opiniach badanych kobiet i mężczyzn, jak i w opiniach dotyczących rozwiązań promujących działalność innowacyjną wśród kobiet lub mężczyzn. Środowisko pracy jest postrzegane jako najsilniejsza determinanta procesu innowacji. Jednak połączenie polityki innowacji i publicznych działań na rzecz równości płci również ma znaczenie w rozwoju innowacji.Background. Innovations are one of the sources of economic growth and long-term development. Therefore it is important to consider which factors form, influence, and promote innovative activities. Research aims. The main objective of the article is to identify the differences in opinions between men and women employed in innovative enterprises regarding solutions promoting innovative activities, which should be taken into account, while public policy is designed. Methodology. In order to reach this objective, a survey concerning the institutional context of the process of innovation was conducted among research personnel in companies that received public financial support for their innovative activities. In order to group different institutional solutions influencing women and men, the cluster analysis was used. Key findings. The results of the study show that institutional solutions promoting innovative activities are not gender neutral, indicating that there are both similarities and differences in women's and men's opinions, as well as in opinions regarding the solutions promoting innovative activities by women and men. The work environment is perceived as the most powerful determinant of the process of innovation. However, a combination of innovation policy and public actions for equality also plays a role in the development of innovations

The composition of T cell infiltrates varies in primary invasive breast cancer of different molecular subtypes as well as according to tumor size and nodal status

T lymphocytes are the most numerous immune cells in tumor-associated infiltrates and include several subpopulations of either anticancer or pro-tumorigenic functions. However, the associations between levels of different T cell subsets and breast cancer molecular subtypes as well as other prognostic factors have not been fully established yet. We performed immunohistochemistry for CD8 (cytotoxic T cells (CTL)), FOXP3 (regulatory T cells (Tregs)), and GATA3 (Th2 cells) in 106 formalin-fixed paraffinembedded invasive breast cancer tissue samples and analyzed both the numbers and percentages of investigated cells in tumorassociated infiltrates. We observed that triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and HER2+ non-luminal breast tumors were associated with more numerous CTLs and Tregs and a higher Treg/Th2 cell ratio as compared with luminal A subtype. A higher Treg percentage was related to a decreased hormone receptor expression, an increase in the Ki67 level, a greater tumor size of luminal tumors, and the presence of lymph node metastases. Moreover, differences in the composition of T cell infiltrates were associated with HER2 status and histologic grade and type, and a distinct immune pattern was observed in tumors of different phenotypes regarding pT stage and nodal status. The results of our work show the diversity of T cell infiltrates in primary invasive breast cancers of different phenotypes and suggest that progression of luminal or non-luminal tumors is related to distinct tumorassociated T cell composition

Melanomas and dysplastic nevi differ in epidermal CD1c+ dendritic cell count

Background. Dendritic cells could be involved in immune surveillance of highly immunogenic tumors such as melanoma. Their role in the progression melanocytic nevi to melanoma is however a matter of controversy. Methods. The number of dendritic cells within epidermis, in peritumoral zone, and within the lesion was counted on slides immunohistochemically stained for CD1a, CD1c, DC-LAMP, and DC-SIGN in 21 of dysplastic nevi, 27 in situ melanomas, and 21 invasive melanomas. Results. We found a significant difference in the density of intraepidermal CD1c+ cells between the examined lesions; the mean CD1c cell count was 7.00/mm2 for invasive melanomas, 2.94 for in situ melanomas, and 13.35 for dysplastic nevi. The differences between dysplastic nevi and melanoma in situ as well as between dysplastic nevi and invasive melanoma were significant. There was no correlation in number of positively stained cells between epidermis and dermis. We did not observe any intraepidermal DC-LAMP+ cells neither in melanoma in situ nor in invasive melanoma as well as any intraepidermal DC-SIGN+ cells in dysplastic nevi. Conclusion. It was shown that the number of dendritic cells differs between dysplastic nevi, in situ melanomas, and invasive melanomas. This could eventually suggest their participation in the development of melanoma

Lactobacilli with superoxide dismutase-like or catalase activity are more effective in alleviating inflammation in an inflammatory bowel disease mouse model

Purpose: Some lactobacilli, which possess superoxide dismutase-like activity and catalase activity naturally, have strong antioxidative properties. The aim of this study was to identify such strains and check which of them play a crucial role in alleviating intestinal inflammation. Methods: We selected two Lactobacillus strains for use in animal studies: L. plantarum 30B (which has the highest catalase activity) and L. acidophilus 900 (which has the highest dismutase-like activity). Forty mice (C57B1/6J) were divided into four experimental groups with ten mice in each group. Group I (control group) was not supplemented with Lactobacillus, group II (catalase group) was orally supplemented with L. plantarum 30B, group III (dismutase-like group) was supplemented with L. acidophilus 900, and group IV (mixed group) was supplemented with both Lactobacillus strains. For 23 days, the temperature and body mass of each mouse were recorded and fecal samples for microbiological examination were collected. On day 23, the animals were sacrificed, and their intestines were removed for microbiological and histopathological studies. Results: Compared to the control group, the highest drop in the body temperature was observed in groups II (P,0.05) and IV (P,0.05). Similarly, groups II (P,0.05) and IV (P,0.05) had the highest drop in body mass. Moreover, histopathological evaluation of colon fragments showed intracryptic abscesses in these groups. Group III mice showed most limited degree of inflammation. Conclusion: Lactobacillus strains with dismutase-like activity are more effective in alleviating intestinal inflammation than strains producing catalase, suggesting that superoxide anion radical decomposition is crucial in this process