Multispectral electroluminescence enhancement of single-walled carbon nanotubes coupled to periodic nanodisk arrays

The integration of periodic nanodisk arrays into the channel of a light-emitting field-effect transistor leads to enhanced and directional electroluminescence from thin films of purified semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes. The maximum enhancement wavelength is tunable across the near-infrared and is directly linked to the periodicity of the arrays. Numerical calculations confirm the role of increased local electric fields in the observed emission modification. Large current densities are easily achieved due to the high charge carrier mobilities of carbon nanotubes and will facilitate new electrically driven plasmonic devices

Expression of GP88 (Progranulin) Protein Is an Independent Prognostic Factor in Prostate Cancer Patients

Prostate cancer, the second most common cancer, is still a major cause of morbidity and mortality among men worldwide. The expression of the survival and proliferation factor progranulin (GP88) has not yet been comprehensively studied in PCa tumors. The aim of this study was to characterize GP88 protein expression in PCa by immunohistochemistry and to correlate the findings to the clinico-pathological data and prognosis. Immunohistochemical staining for GP88 was performed by TMA with samples from 442 PCa patients using an immunoreactive score (IRS). Altogether, 233 cases (52.7%) with negative GP88 staining (IRS < 2) and 209 cases (47.3%) with positive GP88 staining (IRS ≥ 2) were analyzed. A significant positive correlation was found for the GP88 IRS with the PSA value at prostatectomy and the cytoplasmic cytokeratin 20 IRS, whereas it was negatively associated with follow-up times. The association of GP88 staining with prognosis was further studied by survival analyses (Kaplan–Meier, univariate and multivariate Cox’s regression analysis). Increased GP88 protein expression appeared as an independent prognostic factor for overall, disease-specific and relapse-free survival in all PCa patients. Interestingly, in the subgroup of younger PCa patients (≤65 years), GP88 positivity was associated with a 3.8-fold (p = 0.004), a 6.0-fold (p = 0.008) and a 3.7-fold (p = 0.003) increased risk for death, disease-specific death and occurrence of a relapse, respectively. In the PCa subgroup with negative CK20 staining, GP88 positivity was associated with a 1.8-fold (p = 0.018) and a 2.8-fold increased risk for death and disease-specific death (p = 0.028). Altogether, GP88 protein positivity appears to be an independent prognostic factor for PCa patients

CCL2 Expression in Tumor Cells and Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cells Shows Divergent Prognostic Potential for Bladder Cancer Patients Depending on Lymph Node Stage

Bladder cancer (BCa) is the ninth most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. Although there are several well-established molecular and immunological classifications, markers for tumor cells and immune cells that are associated with prognosis are still needed. The chemokine CC motif ligand 2 (CCL2) could be such a marker. We analyzed the expression of CCL2 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 168 muscle invasive BCa samples using a tissue microarray. Application of a single cut-off for the staining status of tumor cells (TCs; positive vs. negative) and immune cells (ICs; ≤6% of ICs vs. >6% of ICs) revealed 57 cases (33.9%) and 70 cases (41.7%) with CCL2-positive TCs or ICs, respectively. IHC results were correlated with clinicopathological and survival data. Positive CCL2 staining in TCs was associated with shorter overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and relapse-free survival (RFS) (p = 0.004, p = 0.036, and p = 0.047; log rank test) and appeared to be an independent prognostic factor for OS (RR = 1.70; p = 0.007; multivariate Cox’s regression analysis). In contrast, positive CCL2 staining in the ICs was associated with longer OS, DSS, and RFS (p = 0.032, p = 0.001, and p = 0.001; log rank test) and appeared to be an independent prognostic factor for DSS (RR = 1.77; p = 0.031; multivariate Cox’s regression analysis). Most interestingly, after separating the patients according to their lymph node status (N0 vs. N1+2), CCL2 staining in the ICs was differentially associated with prognosis. In the N0 group, CCL2 positivity in the ICs was a positive independent prognostic factor for OS (RR = 1.99; p = 0.014), DSS (RR = 3.17; p = 0.002), and RFS (RR = 3.10; p = 0.002), whereas in the N1+2 group, CCL2 positivity was a negative independent factor for OS (RR = 3.44; p = 0.019)) and RFS (RR = 4.47; p = 0.010; all multivariate Cox’s regression analyses). In summary, CCL2 positivity in TCs is a negative prognostic factor for OS, and CCL2 can mark ICs that are differentially associated with prognosis depending on the nodal stage of BCa patients. Therefore, CCL2 staining of TCs and ICs is suggested as a prognostic biomarker for BCa patients

Das genossenschaftliche Gedankengut bei modernen Kreditgenossenschaften in kritischer Reflexion

Available from Bibliothek des Instituts fuer Weltwirtschaft, ZBW, Duesternbrook Weg 120, D-24105 Kiel A 191640 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Post-bureaucracy and the agile absorption of uncertainty through interaction

Eckstein B, Muster J. Postbürokratie und die agile Unsicherheitsabsorption in Interaktionen. Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation: Zeitschrift für Angewandte Organisationspsychologie. 2021.This article for the GIO-Journal proposes a perspective rooted in functional equivalence for the analysis of post-bureaucratic reforms that partly shift the organizational absorption of uncertainty to formal interactions of their members. Postbureaucracy tries to conceptualize organizational and societal changes throughout the second half of the 20th century. Agile management frameworks that multiply interactions between members of an organization can be treated as a phenomenon of postbureaucratic organizing. Drawing on systems theory this paper examines how postbureaucratic reforms trigger new uncertainties and how they are tackled by agile concepts of management. We will illustrate this by analyzing the agile concepts Scrum and Holacracy and show how relocation triggers new needs for formalization. Doing this we will focus on how interdependencies of communication in systems of interaction are centered in different dimensions. This paper advocates for a perspective on postbureaucracy in terms of functional equivalence to grasp the connection between the renouncement of formalization and the emergence of new needs for formalization.Dieser Beitrag in der Zeitschrift GIO schlägt eine äquivalenzfunktionalistische Perspektive auf postbürokratische Reformen vor, die Teile der Unsicherheitsabsorption von Organisationen in Interaktionssysteme verlagern. Postbürokratie versucht, organisationale und gesellschaftliche Entwicklungen in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts auf den Begriff zu bringen. Auch aktuelle agile Managementkonzepte lassen sich der Postbürokratie zuordnen und zeichnen sich unter anderem durch eine Multiplikation von Interaktionen aus. Mithilfe der Theorie sozialer Systeme untersuchen wir wie neue Unsicherheiten in Organisationen durch postbürokratische Reformen entstehen und von agilen Managementkonzepten bearbeitet werden. An den agilen Konzepten Scrum und Holacracy wird gezeigt, dass diese Verlagerung neuen Formalisierungsbedarf produziert. Im Fokus stehen dabei die Zentrierungen kommunikativer Interdependenzen in Interaktionen in der Sach‑, Zeit- und Sozialdimension. Der Beitrag plädiert für eine äquivalenzfunktionalistische Perspektive auf Postbürokratie, die den Zusammenhang von Formalisierungsverzicht in Organisationen und neuen Formalisierungsbedarfen als funktionalen Leistungszusammenhang begreift