Qualifikationsspielräume bei Anwendung der Mikroelektronik

"Indem die Mikroelektronik in einer zunehmend größeren Anzahl von Arbeitsprozessen als Arbeitsmittel oder Teil von Arbeitsmitteln angewandt wird, ist sie auch mit verschiedenartigen Formen der Arbeitsorganisation und der Qualifikationsverteilung verbunden. Angesichts dieser Vielgestaltigkeit erhebt sich die Frage, ob auf verschiedene Anwendungsfelder der Mikroelektronik übergreifende Effekte festzustellen sind. Anhand von Ergebnissen sowohl aus dem industriell-verarbeitenden wie aus dem Büro-/Verwaltungsbereich wird gezeigt, daß ähnliche Qualifikationsspielräume über Anwendungsbereiche hinweg bestehen. Die Ausfüllung dieser Spielräume hängt von der Art wirtschaftlich-technischer Strategien ab, die im Unternehmen zur Geltung kommen. Unterschiede zwischen nationalen Systemen der Berufsbildung und der Betriebsleistung werden durch Anwendung neuer Techniken nicht verwischt, sondern bestehen weiter. Technikfolgen werden vor allem durch den Anwendungszusammenhang der Technik bestimmt. Der Anwendungszusammenhang hat sich aber im Zeitablauf aufgrund gesamtwirtschaftlicher Verschiebungen so geändert, daß zumindest ein Aufhalten, wenn nicht ein Umkehren der Tendenz zur Polarisierung von Qualifikationsstrukturen bemerkbar ist." (Autorenreferat)Mikroelektronik, Qualifikationsstruktur, Arbeitsorganisation

Prevention of fraud, corruption and bribery committed through legal entities for the purpose of financial and economic gain

In Dutch law there is no overall criminal offence on corruption. In Dutch criminal law corruption is divided in specific criminal offences which all have their own specific definition. Most corruption can be qualified as a criminal offence but it is sometimes difficult to qualify them as such. Qualifying in general as an offence is easy (forgery for example) but proving that the act specifically qualifies as corruption is harder. Given this general observation, a specific form of active corruption in the Dutch Criminal Code (DCC) seems relevant regarding to art. 2, par. 1, section a of the Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA of 22 July 2003 on combatting corruption in the private sector. Art. 328ter par. 2 of the DCC deals with bribery of a private person: punishable is the private person that gives or offers someone other than a civil servant, working in employement or acting as an agent, in exchange for something he has done or not done or will do or refrain from doing in the performance of his burden, a gift or promise, or a service of that nature or under such circumstances that he should reasonable assume that such a gift or promise will be withheld from his employer or principal contrary to good faith. This provision covers active corruption on the initiative of all private persons, including employees, managers and directors of private entities. However, this provision is limited to the bribery of employees and managers and seems to exclude the bribery of a director of a private entity. This means that this provision does not fully cover the obligation under art. 2, par. 1, section a of the Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA. In addition to art. 328ter DCC more general provisions can be used, especcially when the active corruption involves bribery of a director of a private entity. Dependant upon the circumstances of the case the provisions on forgery, falsifying of documents and cheating could be relevant. These circumstances should then involve: the forgery of a written statement with the intention to use this statement as genuine (art. 225 DCC), the falsification of stock certificates or other official certificates or documents, (art. 226 DCC) or the elements of cheating. In art. 326 of the DCC cheating is described as: the person who intentionally favours himself or another person in a unlawfull way, by using a false name, a false capacity, cunning manouvres or fabrications, moving another person to hand over a good, a service, information or a debt

Diagnostics and prognostic evaluation in renal cell tumors: the German S3 guidelines recommendations

The German guidelines on renal cell carcinoma (RCC) have been developed at highest level of evidence based on systematic literature review. In this paper, we are presenting the current recommendations on diagnostics including preoperative imaging and imaging for stage evaluation as well as histopathological classification. The role of tumor biopsy is further discussed. In addition, different prognostic scores and the status of biomarkers in RCC are critically evaluated

Adenocarcinoma of the bladder following nephrogenic adenoma: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Nephrogenic adenomas are generally considered to be benign lesions, but there remains a risk for malignant transformation. Patients with immunosuppression in particular appear to be at a higher risk of malignant disease. We report a case of post-traumatic nephrogenic adenoma in a young patient without immunosuppression, which transformed into an adenocarcinoma of the bladder.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 25-year-old man had a traumatic bladder perforation caused by a car accident. After physical recovery from the accident, he developed a neurogenic bladder and recurrent urinary tract infections. He presented with nephrogenic adenoma of the bladder 18 months after the accident. The adenoma was treated repeatedly with transurethral resections. The initial pathologic findings were benign, however, the last resection revealed that the former benign adenoma had transformed into a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the bladder (tumor present but no invasion, multifocal, no lymph nodes involved, no metastasis, grade 2). He subsequently underwent radical cystectomy and has remained tumor-free for the last 4 years.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Nephrogenic adenoma is a rare disease with some potential for malignant transformation. However, patients with nephrogenic adenoma under immunosuppression and patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction appear to be at a higher risk of developing bladder cancer.</p

Long-Term Experience of Chemoradiotherapy Combined with Deep Regional Hyperthermia for Organ Preservation in High-Risk Bladder Cancer (Ta, Tis, T1, T2).

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of chemoradiotherapy (RCT) combined with regional deep hyperthermia (RHT) of high-risk bladder cancer after transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TUR-BT).Materials and methodsBetween 1982 and 2016, 369 patients with pTa, pTis, pT1, and pT2 cN0-1 cM0 bladder cancer were treated with a multimodal treatment after TUR-BT. All patients received radiotherapy (RT) of the bladder and regional lymph nodes. RCT was administered to 215 patients, RCT + RHT was administered to 79 patients, and RT was used in 75 patients. Treatment response was evaluated 4-6 weeks after treatment with TUR-BT.ResultsComplete response (CR) overall was 83% (290/351), and in treatment groups was RT 68% (45/66), RCT 86% (178/208), and RCT + RHT 87% (67/77). CR was significantly improved by concurrent RCT compared with RT (odds ratio [OR], 2.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-5.12; p = .037), less influenced by hyperthermia (OR, 2.56; 95% CI, 0.88-8.00; p = .092). Overall survival (OS) after RCT was superior to RT (hazard ratio [HR], 0.7; 95% CI, 0.50-0.99; p = .045). Five-year OS from unadjusted Kaplan-Meier estimates was RCT 64% versus RT 45%. Additional RHT increased 5-year OS to 87% (HR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.18-0.58; p = .0001). RCT + RHT compared with RCT showed a significantly better bladder-preservation rate (HR, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.03-0.56; p = .006). Median follow-up was 71 months. The median number of RHT sessions was five.ConclusionThe multimodal treatment consisted of a maximal TUR-BT followed by RT; concomitant platinum-based chemotherapy combined with RHT in patients with high-grade bladder cancer improves local control, bladder-preservation rate, and OS. It offers a promising alternative to surgical therapies like radical cystectomy.Implications for practiceRadical cystectomy with appropriate lymph node dissection has long represented the standard of care for muscle-invasive bladder cancer in medically fit patients, despite many centers reporting excellent long-term results for bladder preserving strategies. This retrospective analysis compares different therapeutic modalities in bladder-preservation therapy. The results of this study show that multimodal treatment consisting of maximal transurethral resection of bladder tumor followed by radiotherapy, concomitant platinum-based chemotherapy combined with regional deep hyperthermia in patients with Ta, Tis, T1-2 bladder carcinomas improves local control, bladder-preservation rate, and survival. More importantly, these findings offer a promising alternative to surgical therapies like radical cystectomy. The authors hope that, in the future, closer collaboration between urologists and radiotherapists will further improve treatments and therapies for the benefit of patients

Yang-Lee and Fisher Zeros of Multisite Interaction Ising Models on the Cayley-type Lattices

A general analytical formula for recurrence relations of multisite interaction Ising models in an external magnetic field on the Cayley-type lattices is derived. Using the theory of complex analytical dynamics on the Riemann sphere, a numerical algorithm to obtain Yang-Lee and Fisher zeros of the models is developed. It is shown that the sets of Yang-Lee and Fisher zeros are almost always fractals, that could be associated with Mandelbrot-like sets on the complex magnetic field and temperature planes respectively.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures; with minor correction

Promoter hypermethylation of the SFRP2 gene is a high-frequent alteration and tumor-specific epigenetic marker in human breast cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We have previously reported that expression of the Wnt antagonist genes <it>SFRP1 </it>and <it>SFRP5 </it>is frequently silenced by promoter hypermethylation in breast cancer. SFRP2 is a further Wnt inhibitor whose expression was recently found being downregulated in various malignancies. Here we investigated whether SFRP2 is also implicated in human breast cancer, and if so whether <it>SFRP2 </it>promoter methylation might serve as a potential tumor biomarker.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analyzed <it>SFRP2 </it>mRNA expression and <it>SFRP2 </it>promoter methylation in 10 breast cell lines, 199 primary breast carcinomas, 20 matched normal breast tissues and 17 cancer-unrelated normal breast tissues using RT-PCR, realtime PCR, methylation-specific PCR and Pyrosequencing, respectively. SFRP2 protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry on a tissue microarray. Proliferation assays after transfection with an <it>SFRP2 </it>expression vector were performed with mammary MCF10A cells. Statistical evaluations were accomplished with SPSS 14.0 software.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the cancerous breast cell lines, 7/8 (88%) lacked <it>SFRP2 </it>mRNA expression due to <it>SFRP2 </it>promoter methylation (<it>P </it>< 0.001). <it>SFRP2 </it>expression was substantially restored in most breast cell lines after treatment with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and trichostatin A. In primary breast carcinomas SFRP2 protein expression was strongly reduced in 93 of 125 specimens (74%). <it>SFRP2 </it>promoter methylation was detected in 165/199 primary carcinomas (83%) whereas all cancer-related and unrelated normal breast tissues were not affected by <it>SFRP2 </it>methylation. <it>SFRP2 </it>methylation was not associated with clinicopathological factors or clinical patient outcome. However, loss of SFRP2 protein expression showed a weak association with unfavorable patient overall survival (<it>P </it>= 0.071). Forced expression of <it>SFRP2 </it>in mammary MCF10A cells substantially inhibited proliferation rates (<it>P </it>= 0.045).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The <it>SFRP2 </it>gene is a high-frequent target of epigenetic inactivation in human breast cancer. Its methylation leads to abrogation of <it>SFRP2 </it>expression, conferring a growth advantage to epithelial mammary cells. This altogether supports a tumor suppressive function of <it>SFRP2</it>. Although clinical patient outcome was not associated with <it>SFRP2 </it>methylation, the high frequency of this epimutation and its putative specificity to neoplastic cells may qualify <it>SFRP2 </it>promoter methylation as a potential candidate screening marker helping to improve early breast cancer detection.</p

Modelling estuarine biogeochemical dynamics: from the local to the global scale

Estuaries act as strong carbon and nutrient filters and are relevant contributors to the atmospheric CO2 budget. They thus play an important, yet poorly constrained, role for global biogeochemical cycles and climate. This manuscript reviews recent developments in the modelling of estuarine biogeochemical dynamics. The first part provides an overview of the dominant physical and biogeochemical processes that control the transformations and fluxes of carbon and nutrients along the estuarine gradient. It highlights the tight links between estuarine geometry, hydrodynamics and scalar transport, as well as the role of transient and nonlinear dynamics. The most important biogeochemical processes are then discussed in the context of key biogeochemical indicators such as the net ecosystem metabolism (NEM), air–water CO2 fluxes, nutrient-filtering capacities and element budgets. In the second part of the paper, we illustrate, on the basis of local estuarine modelling studies, the power of reaction-transport models (RTMs) in understanding and quantifying estuarine biogeochemical dynamics. We show how a combination of RTM and high-resolution data can help disentangle the complex process interplay, which underlies the estuarine NEM, carbon and nutrient fluxes, and how such approaches can provide integrated assessments of the air–water CO2 fluxes along river–estuary–coastal zone continua. In addition, trends in estuarine biogeochemical dynamics across estuarine geometries and environmental scenario are explored, and the results are discussed in the context of improving the modelling of estuarine carbon and CO2 dynamics at regional and global scales

KPNA2 protein expression in invasive breast carcinoma and matched peritumoral ductal carcinoma in situ

The aim of this study was to evaluate protein expression of Karyopherin alpha 2 (KPNA2) in invasive breast cancer and matched ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and to correlate it with clinicopathological data, including patient survival. KPNA2 protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry in breast tissue samples, containing invasive carcinomas, DCIS, and adjacent histologically benign breast tissues. A polyclonal goat KPNA2 antibody was used for immunostaining of 83 clinicopathologically characterized cases. For statistical analysis, staining of at least 10% of nuclei was considered KPNA2 positive. Immunohistochemical detection of KPNA2 in invasive carcinoma showed a significant correlation with higher tumor stage, positive lymph node status, higher tumor grade, and negative ER status. Concordantly, KPNA2-positive tumors (31.3%) showed significantly shorter disease-free survival times (69months vs 118months; p = 0.007). KPNA2 protein expression was also detected in DCIS (21.3%) adjacent to invasive tumor and correlated with nuclear grade (p = 0.013). Expression of KPNA2 in invasive breast cancer correlates with conventional prognostic parameters and shorter disease-free survival. Additionally, KPNA2 is overexpressed in DCIS, particularly high grade lesions, which emphasizes its potential role in carcinogenesis of invasive breast carcinoma