Going Underground: Merging Collaboration with Micro-Resistance

This article connects insights about the dynamics of resistance from sociology of critique with critical management research. This connection will highlight that silent and hardly visible forms of protest need more attention from social research. Taking an interview sequence as a source, aspects of analyzing micro-resistance are developed. Explanations and justifications of how to deal with management practices show a coexistence of both, resistance and collaboration. The ensuing kind of identity regulation obviously makes management systems work together with individuals who try to stay capable of action. These insights challenge established concepts of critique in social research

Towards comparable business model concepts: resource description framework (RDF) schemas for semantic business model representations

Scholars have demonstrated that business model (BM) choices have a significant impact on the success of products, innovations and organizations. However, knowledge about key elements of BMs is disseminated across a large body of literature and builds on different conceptualizations. We take a step back and provide a new approach to formalize BM concepts and related BM knowledge, based on concepts from the semantic web. We introduce and evaluate the Resource Description Framework (RDF) as a data model for comparable and extensible BM descriptions. Moreover, we use this new perspective to analyze commonalities and differences between BM concepts, to reflect critically on the process of translating concepts to RDF and evaluate its relevance for BM design practice

Towards design elements to represent business models for cyber physical systems

Cyber-physical systems turn products into connected devices that enable interaction among individu-als, organizations, and other objects. They find application in areas such as healthcare and automo-tive, enabling new value propositions created by multiple players for a shared customer. Despite the perceived business potential, practitioners in primarily physical industries struggle to analyze and design value creation mechanisms for cyber-physical systems. The prevailing business model concep-tualizations follow a mono-organizational logic and are unable to express hybrid and interactive val-ue creation. To close this gap, we apply a design science research approach to develop and evaluate a taxonomy of design elements to represent business models for cyber-physical systems. Through an analysis of 21 use cases of value creation mechanisms in the automotive industry, we identify the de-sign elements adopted in practice; we then validate the identified design elements via 13 interviews and a workshop with our target users, obtaining a final taxonomy comprising 23 design elements. We improve the expressive power of business model conceptualizations by identifying specific roles, con-trol points, and value exchanges in a network of players, representing hybrid and interactive value creation

The importance of loop length on the stability of i-motif structures

Using UV and srCD spectroscopy it is found that loop length within the i-motif structure is important for both thermal and pH stability, but in contrast to previous statements, it is the shorter loops that exhibit the highest stability

Klonieren der felinen Zytokin-Gene IL-2, GM-CSF und IFNγ zum adjuvanten, nonviralen gentherapeutischen Einsatz beim Fibrosarkom der Katze

The feline fibrosarcoma is a spontaneous malignant soft tissue sarcoma. Due to the high recurrence rate of approximatelly 70 % even after radical surgical excision the prognosis is very poor. There have been carried out different gene-therapy protocolls adjuvant to tumour excision, yet. In the following study a local, nonviral gene-transfer with the feline cytokine-genes Interleukin 2, Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and Interferon γ is conducted. As local gene delivery system serves a collagen-sponge loaded with a plasmid-DNA-PEI-PEG-formulation. The immunomodulating cytokines are expected to improve the antigen presentation, to activate immune effector cells and to generate memory cells against specific tumour antigens. The goal is to enhance tumour cell killing and anti cancer immune response to extend the tumour free survival time or even to decrease the recurrence rate in fibrosarcoma bearing cats. First a phase I dose escalation study is carried out using these vector-loaded collagen sponge. The adjuvant immunotherapy is combined with the surgical standard treatment of the feline fibrosarcoma. Blood was collected from healthy cats. Feline peripheral mononuclear blood cells were separated, cultured and stimulated in vitro by Concanavalin A. mRNA was isolated and reverse transcribed in cDNA. The cDNA served as template for the PCR amplification. Specific primers are based on already published sequences and introduced restriction endonuclease sequences in the amplified product. PCR products and expression vector were cut with these restriction enzymes. After ligation of PCR products and expression vector p55pCMV_ivs_luc+ transformation in DH 10 B bacteria was performed. Further analysed inserts were sequenced. Before therapeutic use the cytokines had to show biological activity. Recombinant proteins are expressed in the mammalian cell line COS-7. The feIL-2 and feGM-CSF bioactivity is demonstrated in proliferation assays, using the IL-2 and GM-CSF dependent cell lines CTLL-2 and TF-1. The biological acitivty of feIFNγ is measured by FACS analysis. A MHC I and II induction assay was performed on feline fibrosarcoma cells. After plasmid DNA preparation with polykation polyethylenimine and protective copolymers (polyethylene glycol) the collagen sponge is loaded with these gene vectors under sterile conditions. The vector loaded sponge is stored at 4 °C till implanted in the tumour bed of fibrosarcoma bearing cats.Das feline Fibrosarkom ist ein maligner Bindegewebstumor, der mit einer Rezidivrate von etwa 70 % auch nach radikaler Tumoroperation eine sehr schlechte Prognose hat. Verschiedene Gentherapieprotokolle wurden bereits adjuvant zur Tumorexstirpation durchgeführt. Bei der folgenden Studie soll ein lokaler, nonviraler Gentransfer der felinen Zytokin-Gene Interleukin 2, Granulozyten-Makrophagen Kolonie-stimulierender Faktor und Interferon γ stattfinden. Für den gentherapeutischen Einsatz in der Katze wird ein Kollagenschwamm als Trägermaterial mit der Plasmid-DNA in PEI-PEG-Formulierung beladen. Die immunmodulierenden Zytokine sollen die Antigenpräsentation verbessern, Effektorzellen des Immunsystems aktivieren und Memory-Zellen gegen die spezifischen Tumorantigene generieren. Ziel ist das Abtöten von Tumorzellen und die Bildung einer Antitumorimmunität um ein lokales Rezidiv des Fibrosarkoms zu verhindern oder die rezidivfreie Zeit und damit auch die Überlebenszeit der Katzen zu verlängern. Der Einsatz dieses Gentherapeutikums erfolgt zunächst in einer Phase I-Studie, in der die Verträglichkeit geprüft werden soll. Diese Immuntherapie soll adjuvant mit der chirurgischen Standardtherapie kombiniert werden. Aus dem Blut klinisch gesunder Katzen wurden periphere mononukleäre Blutzellen isoliert, angezüchtet und mit Concanavalin A stimuliert. Anschließend wurde aus den Zellen die mRNA gewonnen und mit Hilfe reverser Transkriptase in cDNA umgeschrieben. Diese diente als Matrize für die PCR, mit der die einzelnen Zytokin-Sequenzen amplifziert wurden. Spezifische, von den bereits veröffentlichten Sequenzen abgeleitete Primer führten Restriktionsschnittstellen in das amplifizierte Produkt ein. Sowohl die PCR-Produkte als auch der Vektor wurden mit diesen Restriktionsenzymen geschnitten. Nach Ligation der PCR-Produkte in das Expressionsplasmid p55pCMV_ivs_luc+ und Transformation von DH 10 B-Bakterien wurden die inserts der als positiv befundenen Plasmide sequenziert. Vor dem therapeutischen Einsatz der Zytokin-Gene wurde ihre biologische Aktivität überprüft. Die rekombinanten Proteine wurden in der Säugerzelllinie COS-7 exprimiert. In Proliferationsassays konnte die Bioaktivität von feIL-2 und feGM-CSF demonstriert werden, wobei die Zelllinien CTLL-2 und TF-1 benutzt wurden, welche in ihrem Wachstum vom entsprechenden Zytokin abhängig sind. Die biologische Aktivität von feIFNγ wurde durchflusszytometrisch mit MHC I- und MHC II-Induktionstests auf felinen Fibrosarkomzellen nachgewiesen. Nach Konjugation der Plasmid-DNA mit dem Polykation Polyethylenimin wurde dieser Komplex mit protektiven Kopolymeren (Polyethylenglycol) umhüllt und unter sterilen Bedingungen auf den Kollagenschwamm aufgebracht. Der Schwamm kann bis zur Implantation ins Tumorbett steril gelagert werden

Solubility and selectivity effects of the anion on the adsorption of different heavy metal ions onto chitosan

The biopolymer chitosan is a very efficient adsorber material for the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions. Due to the solubility properties of chitosan it can be used as both a liquid adsorber and a solid flocculant for water treatment reaching outstanding adsorption capacities for a number of heavy metal ions. However, the type of anion corresponding to the investigated heavy metal ions has a strong influence on the adsorption capacity and sorption mechanism on chitosan. In this work, the adsorption capacity of the heavy metal ions manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, and zinc were investigated in dependence on their corresponding anions sulfate, chloride, and nitrate by batch experiments. The selectivity of the different heavy metal ions was analyzed by column experiments. © 2020 by the authors

Quantifying the long-term recovery of the protective effect of forests against rockfall after stand-replacing disturbances

Introduction: Increasing disturbances may significantly impact the long-term protective effect of forests against natural hazards. Quantifying the temporal development of the protective effect of forests is thus crucial for finding optimal management strategies. Methods: In this study, we analyzed the long-term recovery of the protective effect of the secondary stands of spruce (Picea abies), fir (Abies alba), and beech (Fagus sylvatica) forests against rockfall after stand-replacing disturbances based on data of the Swiss National Forest Inventory (NFI). We therefore derived the age of the inventoried forest stands of those tree species based on a growth parametrization and quantified their energy dissipation capacity in rockfall processes as a function of stand age. We then analyzed the development of their protective factor for varying rockfall dispositions. Results: Generally, it takes between 50 and 200 years to regain the maximum possible protective effect, depending from the site conditions and the rockfall disposition. This implies that the recovery of the protective effect after a severe disturbance may require more time than the decay of the protective effect from disturbance legacies, resulting in a long lasting gap of the provided protection. Discussion: The here presented approach can serve as a basis to estimate the general range of recovery of the protective effect of beech, fir and spruce forests against rockfall provided by forest stands. Future research should analyse the effects of environmental and forest conditions as well as varying disturbance intensities and legacies to enable the assessment of specific trajectories of the short- and long-term recovery of the protective effect

A Complementary and Revised View on the N-Acylation of Chitosan with Hexanoyl Chloride

The modification of the biobased polymer chitosan is a broad and widely studied field. Herein, an insight into the hydrophobization of low-molecular-weight chitosan by substitution of amino functionalities with hexanoyl chloride is reported. Thereby, the influence of the pH of the reaction media was investigated. Further, methods for the determination of the degree of substitution based on 1H-NMR, FTIR, and potentiometric titration were compared and discussed regarding their accuracy and precision. 1H-NMR was the most accurate method, while FTIR and the potentiometric titration, though precise and reproducible, underlie the influence of complete protonation and solubility issues. Additionally, the impact of the pH variation during the synthesis on the properties of the samples was investigated by Cd2+ sorption experiments. The adjusted pH values during the synthesis and, therefore, the obtained degrees of substitution possessed a strong impact on the adsorption properties of the final material

Resource Discovery in a Changing Content World

Discovery services have evolved to include not just books and articles, but databases, website content, research guides, digital and audiovisual collections, and unique local collections that are all important for their users to be able to find. Search and ranking remain at the core of discovery, but advanced tools such as recommendation, virtual browse, ‘look inside‘, and the use of artificial intelligence are also becoming more prevalent. This group of panelists discussed how content in their discovery systems can change based on the context of the user, using as examples Primo and Blacklight, and how content is populated, discovered and requested by users through differing customizations and workflows. The session also explored what tools are available today or may become available in the coming years that may be used to highlight different collections and material types in a library discovery system. As this topic impacts many stakeholders—libraries who need to make content discoverable and satisfy the needs of their users, content providers who want to make sure that their content is visible and used, and discovery providers who need to develop their systems to support the changing needs—the panelists posed questions to the audience to encourage conversation around the challenges they face with making their unique content collections discoverable and to share solutions