Lean Leadership - Eine situationstheoretische Untersuchung von erfolgsrelevantem Führungsverhalten in Veränderungsprozessen mit Lean-Ausrichtung am Beispiel eines Premiumherstellers der Automobilindustrie

Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht erfolgsrelevantes Führungsverhalten im Rahmen von Veränderungsprozessen mit Lean-Ausrichtung. Mithilfe einer zweistufigen Delphi-Befragung wird explorativ untersucht, worin erfolgsrelevantes Führungsverhalten im Rahmen von Veränderungsprozessen mit Lean-Ausrichtung besteht. Auf Basis der in der Delphi-Befragung generierten Verhaltensbeschreibungen wird ein Leitfaden zur Selbsteinschätzung lean-spezifischen Führungsverhaltens entwickelt. Die Beurteilung der Itemgüte erfolgt auf Basis der klassischen und der probabilistischen Testtheorie. Betrachtungsfokus der letzten Untersuchung sind die Einflussgrößen auf das lean-spezifische Führungsverhalten sowie dessen Auswirkungen auf eine erfolgreiche Umsetzung von Verbesserungen und Optimierungen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden vier Lean-Verhaltensperspektiven nachgewiesen, die erfolgsrelevantes Führungsverhalten im Rahmen von Veränderungsprozessen mit Lean-Ausrichtung beschreiben. Dieses Konzept wird als Lean Leadership definiert. Es handelt sich um (1) ‚Durch Führung vor Ort zu Optimierungen anleiten!‘, (2) ‚Durch kundenorientiertes Handeln kontinuierlich Wert schaffen!‘, (3) ‚Durch zielorientiertes Handeln kontinuierlich Verschwendung reduzieren!‘ und (4) ‚Durch langfristige Ausrichtung Transparenz für Optimierungen schaffen!‘. Bei hoher Ausprägung der beiden Persönlichkeitseigenschaften Extraversion und Offenheit für neue Erfahrungen weist das lean-spezifische Führungsverhalten ein höheres Ausmaß auf. Zudem wirkt sich lean-spezifisches Führungsverhalten positiv auf die Leistung der Mitarbeiter im Rahmen von Verbesserungen aus. Demgegenüber hat das lean-spezifische Führungsverhalten nur in kleinen Teams von bis zu neun direkt unterstellten Mitarbeitern positive Auswirkungen auf deren affektives Commitment. Im Gegensatz dazu kann sich lean-spezifisches Führungsverhalten in großen Teams von mehr als neun direkt unterstellten Mitarbeitern sogar negativ auf deren affektives Commitment auswirken

Plasmid- and strain-specific factors drive variation in ESBL-plasmid spread in vitro and in vivo

Horizontal gene transfer, mediated by conjugative plasmids, is a major driver of the global rise of antibiotic resistance. However, the relative contributions of factors that underlie the spread of plasmids and their roles in conjugation in vivo are unclear. To address this, we investigated the spread of clinical Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL)-producing plasmids in the absence of antibiotics in vitro and in the mouse intestine. We hypothesised that plasmid properties would be the primary determinants of plasmid spread and that bacterial strain identity would also contribute. We found clinical Escherichia coli strains natively associated with ESBL-plasmids conjugated to three distinct E. coli strains and one Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain. Final transconjugant frequencies varied across plasmid, donor, and recipient combinations, with qualitative consistency when comparing transfer in vitro and in vivo in mice. In both environments, transconjugant frequencies for these natural strains and plasmids covaried with the presence/absence of transfer genes on ESBL-plasmids and were affected by plasmid incompatibility. By moving ESBL-plasmids out of their native hosts, we showed that donor and recipient strains also modulated transconjugant frequencies. This suggests that plasmid spread in the complex gut environment of animals and humans can be predicted based on in vitro testing and genetic data

Immunosuppressive M2 TAMs represent a promising target population to enhance phagocytosis of ovarian cancer cells in vitro

IntroductionTumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) represent an important cell population within the tumor microenvironment, but little is known about the phenotype and function of these cells. The present study aims to characterize macrophages in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC).MethodsPhenotype and expression of co-regulatory markers were assessed on TAMs derived from malignant ascites (MA) or peripheral blood (PB) by multiparametric flow cytometry. Samples were obtained from HGSOC patients (n=29) and healthy donors (HDs, n=16). Additional expression analysis was performed by RNAseq (n=192). Correlation with clinically relevant parameters was conducted and validated by a second patient cohort (n=517). Finally, the role of TIGIT in repolarization and phagocytosis was investigated in vitro.ResultsExpression of the M2-associated receptors CD163, CD204, and CD206, as well as of the co-regulatory receptors TIGIT, CD226, TIM-3, and LAG-3 was significantly more frequent on macrophages in HGSOC than in HDs. CD39 and CD73 were broadly expressed on (mainly M2) macrophages, but without a clear clustering in HGSOC. CD163 mRNA levels were higher in TAMs from patients with residual tumor mass after surgery and associated with a shorter overall survival. In addition, TIGIT expression was associated with a higher tumor grading, indicating a prognostic relevance of M2 infiltration in HGSOC. TIGIT blockade significantly reduced the frequency of M2 macrophages. Moreover, combined blockade of TIGIT and CD47 significantly increased phagocytosis of ovarian cancer cells by TAMs in comparison to a single blockade of CD47.ConclusionCombined blockade of TIGIT and CD47 represents a promising approach to enhance anti-CD47-facilitated phagocytosis

A population of gamma-ray emitting globular clusters seen with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

Globular clusters with their large populations of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are believed to be potential emitters of high-energy gamma-ray emission. Our goal is to constrain the millisecond pulsar populations in globular clusters from analysis of gamma-ray observations. We use 546 days of continuous sky-survey observations obtained with the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to study the gamma-ray emission towards 13 globular clusters. Steady point-like high-energy gamma-ray emission has been significantly detected towards 8 globular clusters. Five of them (47 Tucanae, Omega Cen, NGC 6388, Terzan 5, and M 28) show hard spectral power indices $(0.7 < \Gamma <1.4)$ and clear evidence for an exponential cut-off in the range 1.0-2.6 GeV, which is the characteristic signature of magnetospheric emission from MSPs. Three of them (M 62, NGC 6440 and NGC 6652) also show hard spectral indices $(1.0 < \Gamma < 1.7)$, however the presence of an exponential cut-off can not be unambiguously established. Three of them (Omega Cen, NGC 6388, NGC 6652) have no known radio or X-ray MSPs yet still exhibit MSP spectral properties. From the observed gamma-ray luminosities, we estimate the total number of MSPs that is expected to be present in these globular clusters. We show that our estimates of the MSP population correlate with the stellar encounter rate and we estimate 2600-4700 MSPs in Galactic globular clusters, commensurate with previous estimates. The observation of high-energy gamma-ray emission from a globular cluster thus provides a reliable independent method to assess their millisecond pulsar populations that can be used to make constraints on the original neutron star X-ray binary population, essential for understanding the importance of binary systems in slowing the inevitable core collapse of globular clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. Corresponding authors: J. Kn\"odlseder, N. Webb, B. Pancraz

Fermi Large Area Telescope Constraints on the Gamma-ray Opacity of the Universe

The Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) includes photons with wavelengths from ultraviolet to infrared, which are effective at attenuating gamma rays with energy above ~10 GeV during propagation from sources at cosmological distances. This results in a redshift- and energy-dependent attenuation of the gamma-ray flux of extragalactic sources such as blazars and Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The Large Area Telescope onboard Fermi detects a sample of gamma-ray blazars with redshift up to z~3, and GRBs with redshift up to z~4.3. Using photons above 10 GeV collected by Fermi over more than one year of observations for these sources, we investigate the effect of gamma-ray flux attenuation by the EBL. We place upper limits on the gamma-ray opacity of the Universe at various energies and redshifts, and compare this with predictions from well-known EBL models. We find that an EBL intensity in the optical-ultraviolet wavelengths as great as predicted by the "baseline" model of Stecker et al. (2006) can be ruled out with high confidence.Comment: 42 pages, 12 figures, accepted version (24 Aug.2010) for publication in ApJ; Contact authors: A. Bouvier, A. Chen, S. Raino, S. Razzaque, A. Reimer, L.C. Reye

Gamma-ray and radio properties of six pulsars detected by the fermi large area telescope

We report the detection of pulsed γ-rays for PSRs J0631+1036, J0659+1414, J0742-2822, J1420-6048, J1509-5850, and J1718-3825 using the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly known as GLAST). Although these six pulsars are diverse in terms of their spin parameters, they share an important feature: their γ-ray light curves are (at least given the current count statistics) single peaked. For two pulsars, there are hints for a double-peaked structure in the light curves. The shapes of the observed light curves of this group of pulsars are discussed in the light of models for which the emission originates from high up in the magnetosphere. The observed phases of the γ-ray light curves are, in general, consistent with those predicted by high-altitude models, although we speculate that the γ-ray emission of PSR J0659+1414, possibly featuring the softest spectrum of all Fermi pulsars coupled with a very low efficiency, arises from relatively low down in the magnetosphere. High-quality radio polarization data are available showing that all but one have a high degree of linear polarization. This allows us to place some constraints on the viewing geometry and aids the comparison of the γ-ray light curves with high-energy beam models

Relatório de estágio em farmácia comunitária

Relatório de estágio realizado no âmbito do Mestrado Integrado em Ciências Farmacêuticas, apresentado à Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Coimbr

Intrusion detection systems for IP telephony networks

Intrusion detection systems (IDS) provide security for network systems. They are used in computer networks to detect violations against security policies or unusual events that could lead towards a security thread. Telephone networks based on the internet protocol (IP) called IP telephony (IPT) are a recent development in network usage and will become a common application in the next years as they can provide integrated services based on telephony communications. We identify IPT security demands as well as risks and analyze the possibility of adding IDS concepts to IPT systems. Digital audio watermarking is a technology able to provide different security aspects in this context. The combination of classic IDS and audio watermarking leads to new and promising way of user and data authentication and monitoring of calls