Xirp Proteins Mark Injured Skeletal Muscle in Zebrafish

Myocellular regeneration in vertebrates involves the proliferation of activated progenitor or dedifferentiated myogenic cells that have the potential to replenish lost tissue. In comparison little is known about cellular repair mechanisms within myocellular tissue in response to small injuries caused by biomechanical or cellular stress. Using a microarray analysis for genes upregulated upon myocellular injury, we identified zebrafish Xin-actin-binding repeat-containing protein1 (Xirp1) as a marker for wounded skeletal muscle cells. By combining laser-induced micro-injury with proliferation analyses, we found that Xirp1 and Xirp2a localize to nascent myofibrils within wounded skeletal muscle cells and that the repair of injuries does not involve cell proliferation or Pax7+ cells. Through the use of Xirp1 and Xirp2a as markers, myocellular injury can now be detected, even though functional studies indicate that these proteins are not essential in this process. Previous work in chicken has implicated Xirps in cardiac looping morphogenesis. However, we found that zebrafish cardiac morphogenesis is normal in the absence of Xirp expression, and animals deficient for cardiac Xirp expression are adult viable. Although the functional involvement of Xirps in developmental and repair processes currently remains enigmatic, our findings demonstrate that skeletal muscle harbours a rapid, cell-proliferation-independent response to injury which has now become accessible to detailed molecular and cellular characterizations

Designing an Engineer-To-Order Performance Measurement System: A Case Study

Part 2: Case StudiesInternational audienceThe conventional maxim of "what gets measured gets done" has motivated many companies to systematically measure their performance over the years. From previously being focused solely on financial, backward-looking measures, it is now generally agreed that a performance measurement system (PMS) should align with a company’s long-term, strategic objectives. These objectives are largely dictated by the company’s production situation, and vice versa. When being approached by a Norwegian engineer-to-order (ETO) company requesting a PMS, the authors could not identify any literature explicitly referring to PMS for ETO. The authors therefore set out to design the PMS from scratch. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how the PMS was designed in close collaboration with the case company, bearing the general characteristics and competitive priorities of ETO in mind

Análise de sistemas de medição de desempenho na indústria da construção

O crescente debate sobre medição de desempenho entre profissionais e entre pesquisadores da área de gestão organizacional ainda não foi suficiente para consolidar as práticas de medição na indústria da construção. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo identificar as oportunidades para o aprimoramento dos sistemas de medição de desempenho na Construção. Para tanto, foram avaliados 22 modelos identificados na literatura nacional e internacional dos últimos 25 anos, aplicando protocolo de análise proposto neste estudo, e validado por especialistas. A partir do mapeamento das principais características, papéis e processos das práticas de medição no setor, da avaliação realizada concluiu-se que há necessidade de melhorias (i) no processamento dos dados, integrando-o à rotina organizacional, (ii) na gestão da informação, melhorando os mecanismos de geração de conhecimentos, (iii) na conexão da avaliação com um sistema de recompensas, e (iv) na revisão sistemática, quanto à sua utilidade, eficiência e consistência geral, não apenas de seus indicadores individuais. Propôs-se, ainda, um framework que apresenta uma visão holística do processo de medição, enfatizando a diferença entre sistema de indicadores e de medição de desempenho. Uma agenda de pesquisa foi sugerida, a partir das lacunas e oportunidades de melhoria encontrados

A Photoelectron Spectroscopy Study of Stoichiometric and Reduced Anatase TiO2 (101) Surfaces: The Effect of Subsurface Defects on Water Adsorption at Near-Ambient Pressures

X-ray photoelectron (XPS) experiments at normal and grazing emission are performed, demonstrating the labile nature of the anatase TiO₂(101) surface after argon cluster ion sputtering and the propensity of oxygen vacancies to migrate subsurface at room temperature. Near-ambient XPS (NAP-XPS) shows that molecular water adsorbs on the anatase TiO₂(101) surface at pressures of 0.6 mbar and above, at room temperature, in a mixed molecular and dissociated state. Water adsorbs in a similar fashion on both sputtered and stoichiometric surfaces and reaches a saturation point between 0.6 and 1.8 mbar at room temperature. This means there is little difference in reactivity with regards to water adsorption on both sputtered and stoichiometric surfaces, giving credence to the theory that anatase has superior photocatalytic activity over rutile due to the tendency of oxygen vacancies to lie subsurface, therefore being able to contribute to photocatalysis without being quenched by adsorbates