Corporate Social Responsibility

Die gesellschaftliche Verantwortung von Unternehmen genannt Corporate Social Responsibility – kurz CSR – basiert auf drei gleichwertigen Säulen: der ökologischen, der sozialen und der ökonimischen Verantwortung von Unternehmen. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, aufzuzeigen, wie CSR die Unternehmen überhaupt betrifft und wie CSR in die Unternehmensstrategie eingebettet werden soll um auf alle Ebenen der drei Säulen erfolgreich zu sein. Weiters stellt die Arbeit den Anspruch, einen möglichst breiten Überblick über den aktuellen Forschungsstand zu geben. Die Forschungsfrage dieser Arbeit lautet: „Wie verändert das CSR-Engagement eines Unternehmens die Unternehmenskultur?“. Im Speziellen wurde die Forschungsfrage am Beispiel Henkel untersucht. Als Ergebnis der Analyse der Forschungsfrage kann gesagt werden, dass ein CSR-Engagement eines Unternehmens einen positiven Einfluss auf die Unternehmenskultur haben kann, wenn dieses Engagement in die Unternehmensstrategie integriert ist

Structural analysis of interior layered deposits in north and south Coprates Chasma, Mars

Interior layered deposits within an embayment in the northern as well as near the southern wall of Coprates Chasma in the Valles Marineris, Mars are studied using HRSC, CTX, HiRISE and CRISM data. In the northern embayment, layered deposits outcrop in three separate locations (a western deposit, a central deposit and an eastern deposit). The central layered deposit in the north has a stratigraphic thickness of 2 km. The western layered deposit abuts against the chasma wall appearing to have a relatively un-eroded depositional surface. The eastern deposit is near a landslide scar which appears to have exposed basement layering showing downward displacement. This northern embayment is suggested to have been an ancestral basin. The triangular edged deposit near the southern wall of Coprates Chasma has an elongated mound protruding from the central edge and is suggested to be the outer limits of a fault block which is back rotated 6° south. The rotation may be the result of the Valles Marineris opening

Studies on ammonium assimilation by 'Saccharomyces cerevisiae'

Saccharomyces cerevisiae can assimilate ammonium by NADP-GDH or by GS-GOGAT. The aim of this project was to improve the efficiency of ammonium assimilation, and therefore substrate utilisation, of S. cerevisiae by elimination of the energy inefficient pathway (GS-GOGAT). GOGAT- mutants were isolated from a GDH- parent strain by their inability to use ammonium as sole nitrogen source. Two structural gene mutants were identified, one in each of the two structural genes encoding GOGAT. Constructs with different combinations of GDH- and GOGAT- mutations and corresponding wild type alleles were made, and their growth studied in medium supplemented with different levels of ammonium. The growth properties (as final culture density and growth rate) of GOGAT- and GOGAT+ strains transformed with the GDH1 gene, and grown with excess ammonium were very similar. It was concluded that, under the conditions used in this study, the loss of GOGAT does not improve the growth properties of the strain. Non-transformed constructs were grown with excess and limiting ammonium. Growth properties of the GDH- and GOGAT- strains suggest that GS-GOGAT functions in ammonium assimilation at very low ammonium levels. This conclusion needs further investigation because the GDH+ GOGAT- construct had lower NADP-GDH activity than the wild type. The physiology of ammonium assimilation by two industrial strains was compared to that of a laboratory wild type at different ammonium concentrations using shake-flask culture. All three strains possessed the three activities in MM+20mM NH4+, and the profiles of appearance/disappearance of activity were very similar. At lower ammonium concentrations, important differences between the strains became apparent. It is unclear if it is due to simple strain heterogeneity or represents significant differences between industrial and laboratory strains. On the basis of the enzyme data, GS-GOGAT appears to be important in ammonium assimilation by DCL1 at limiting concentrations

Expanding the vector toolkit for complex recombinant protein expression

Gene expression vectors are the starting point for the manufacturing of recombinant protein therapeutics. Key performance criteria for an industrial vector system are speed, ease of assembly, and flexibility. As recombinant protein therapeutics become ever more complex and encompass increasingly diverse formats with multiple protein chains, it is essential for the gene expression technology platforms to evolve in-sync to facilitate cell line construction and manufacturing. Over the last couple of years, we have explored updates to the Lonza GS gene expression vector system, primarily to speed vector construction timelines but also to increase flexibility for complex proteins. This work has encompassed different vector assembly methodologies, as well as traditional cut-and-paste protocols. In this poster we present the results of this research and illustrate how relatively small changes to existing vector designs can have a big impact on performance. We show how different vector assembly methods can be used to provide solutions for specific protein formats and end user objectives. Furthermore, we show how strict vector design constraints can affect the performance of DNA cloning methods, and suggest how vector components can be updated to achieve further optimisations. This work contains lessons for the continuing evolution of DNA vectors in the face of the continuing revolution in recombinant therapeutic protein design

Fundamentals of the Currently Available Single Port Abdominal Laparoscopic Gynecologic Systems and Utility in Minor Gynecologic Surgery

Single incision laparoscopic surgery encompasses a plethora of techniques and styles. Single incision laparoscopy has demonstrated outcomes comparable to traditional multiport laparoscopy with the added benefit of improved cosmesis. This book chapter will review single incision surgery for minor gynecologic surgery, including adnexal surgical procedures and myomectomy. The chapter reviews available data in regard to outcomes in single incision laparoscopy. It also discusses the commercially available single incision surgical access systems, laparoscopes, and accessory instruments. Surgical techniques beneficial in single incision laparosocpy, including uterine manipulation, are also reviewed

Extraction of Indirectly Captured Information for Use in a Comparison of Offline pH Measurement Technologies

Understanding the causes of discrepancies in pH readings of a sample can allow more robust pH control strategies to be implemented. It was found that 59.4% of differences between two offline pH measurement technologies for an historical dataset lay outside an expected instrument error range of ± 0.02pH. A new variable, OsmoRes, was created using multiple linear regression (MLR) to extract information indirectly captured in the recorded measurements for osmolality. Principal component analysis and time series analysis were used to validate the expansion of the historical dataset with the new variable OsmoRes. MLR was used to identify variables strongly correlated (p <0.05) with differences in pH readings by the two offline pH measurement technologies. These included concentrations of specific chemicals (e.g. glucose) and OsmoRes, indicating culture medium and bolus feed additions as possible causes of discrepancies between the offline pH measurement technologies. Temperature was also identified as statistically significant. It is suggested that this was a result of differences in pH-temperature compensations employed by the pH measurement technologies. In summary, a method for extracting indirectly captured information has been demonstrated, and it has been shown that competing pH measurement technologies were not necessarily interchangeable at the desired level of control (±0.02pH)