Case studies of automation in services

A full understanding of the technological complexity underlying robotics and automation is still lacking, most of all when focusing on the impacts on work in services. By means of a qualitative analysis based on over 50 interviews to HR managers, IT technicians, workers and trade union delegates, this work provides evidence on the main changes occurring at shopfloor level in selected Italian companies having adopted technological artefacts potentially affecting labour tasks by automating processes. The analysis of interviews complemented with visits to the companies and desk research on business documents highlights that so far labour displacement due to the adoption of automation technologies is not yet in place, while tasks and organizational reconfiguration appear more widespread. Major heterogeneity applies across plants due to the final product/service produced, the techno-organizational capabilities of the firm and the type of strategic orientation versus technological adoption. These elements also affect drivers and barriers to technological adoption. Overall, the analysis confirms the complexity in automating presumably low-value-added phases: human labour remains crucial in conducting activities that require flexibility, adaptability and reconfiguration of physical tasks. Further, human agency and worker representation, in particular the role of trade unions, are almost disregarded and not considered by the firms when deciding to introduce a new technology

Case Studies of Automation in Services. A workplace analysis of logistics, cleaning and health sectors in Italy

A full understanding of the technological complexity underlying robotics and automation is still lacking, most of all when focusing on the impacts on work in services. By means of a qualitative analysis relying on the administration of more than 50 interviews to HR managers, IT technicians, workers and trade union delegates, this work provides evidence on the main changes occurring at shopfloor level in selected Italian companies having adopted technological artefacts potentially affecting labour tasks by automating processes. The analysis of interviews complemented with visits to the companies and desk research on business documents highlights that so far labour displacement due to the adoption of automation technologies is not yet in place, while tasks and organizational reconfiguration appear more widespread. Major heterogeneity applies across plants due to the final product/service produced, the techno-organizational capabilities of the firm and the type of strategic orientation versus technological adoption. These elements also affect drivers and barriers to technological adoption. Overall, the analysis confirms the complexity in automating presumably low-valueadded phases: human labour remains crucial in conducting activities that require flexibility, adaptability and reconfiguration of physical tasks. Further, human agency and worker representation, in particular the role of trade unions, are almost disregarded and not considered by the firms when deciding to introduce a new technology

The evidence base for circulating tumour DNA blood-based biomarkers for the early detection of cancer: a systematic mapping review

Background: The presence of circulating cell-free DNA from tumours in blood (ctDNA) is of major importance to those interested in early cancer detection, as well as to those wishing to monitor tumour progression or diagnose the presence of activating mutations to guide treatment. In 2014, the UK Early Cancer Detection Consortium undertook a systematic mapping review of the literature to identify blood-based biomarkers with potential for the development of a non-invasive blood test for cancer screening, and which identified this as a major area of interest. This review builds on the mapping review to expand the ctDNA dataset to examine the best options for the detection of multiple cancer types. Methods: The original mapping review was based on comprehensive searches of the electronic databases Medline, Embase, CINAHL, the Cochrane library, and Biosis to obtain relevant literature on blood-based biomarkers for cancer detection in humans (PROSPERO no. CRD42014010827). The abstracts for each paper were reviewed to determine whether validation data were reported, and then examined in full. Publications concentrating on monitoring of disease burden or mutations were excluded. Results: The search identified 94 ctDNA studies meeting the criteria for review. All but 5 studies examined one cancer type, with breast, colorectal and lung cancers representing 60% of studies. The size and design of the studies varied widely. Controls were included in 77% of publications. The largest study included 640 patients, but the median study size was 65 cases and 35 controls, and the bulk of studies (71%) included less than 100 patients. Studies either estimated cfDNA levels non-specifically or tested for cancer-specific mutations or methylation changes (the majority using PCR-based methods). Conclusion: We have systematically reviewed ctDNA blood biomarkers for the early detection of cancer. Pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical considerations were identified which need to be addressed before such biomarkers enter clinical practice. The value of small studies with no comparison between methods, or even the inclusion of controls is highly questionable, and larger validation studies will be required before such methods can be considered for early cancer detection

Adhesion of platelets to colon cancer cells is necessary to promote tumor development in xenograft, genetic and inflammation models

Platelets represent the linkage between tissue damage and inflammatory response with a putative role in tumorigenesis. Given the importance of the microenvironment in colon cancer development, we elucidated the eventual role of platelets‐cancer cells crosstalk in in vivo colon cancer models. To evaluate the involvement of platelets in intestinal tumorigenesis, we first analyzed if the ablation of β‐integrin P‐selectin that drives platelets‐cell adhesion, would contribute to platelets‐colon cancer cell interaction and drive cancer progression. In a xenograft tumor model, we observed that when tumors are inoculated with platelets, the ablation of P‐selectin significantly reduced tumor growth compared to control platelets. Furthermore, in genetic models, as well as in chronic colitis‐associated colorectal carcinogenesis, P‐selectin ablated mice displayed a significant reduction in tumor number and size compared to control mice. Taken together, our data highlights the importance of platelets in the tumor microenvironment for intestinal tumorigenesis. These results support the hypothesis that a strategy aimed to inhibit platelets adhesion to tumor cells are able to block tumor growth and could represent a novel therapeutic approach to colon cancer treatment

PTX3 modulates the immunoflogosis in tumor microenvironment and is a prognostic factor for patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Pentraxin-3 (PTX3) belongs to the pentraxine family, innate immune regulators involved in angiogenesis, proliferation and immune escape in cancer. Here, we evaluated PTX3 tissue expression and serum levels as biomarkers of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and analyzed the possible role of complement system activation on tumor site. A 10-year retrospective cohort study including patients undergoing nephrectomy for ccRCC was also performed. PTX3 expression was elevated in both neoplastic renal cell lines and tissues, while it was absent in both normal renal proximal tubular cells (HK2) and normal renal tissues. Analysis of complement system activation on tumor tissues showed the co-expression of PTX3 with C1q, C3aR, C5R1 and CD59, but not with C5b-9 terminal complex. RCC patients showed higher serum PTX3 levels as compared to non-neoplastic patients (p<0.0001). Higher PTX3 serum levels were observed in patients with higher Fuhrman grade (p<0.01), lymph node (p<0.0001), and visceral metastases (p<0.001). Patients with higher PTX3 levels also showed significantly lower survival rates (p=0.002). Our results suggest that expression of PTX3 can affect the immunoflogosis in the ccRCC microenvironment, by activating the classical pathway of CS (C1q) and releasing pro-angiogenic factors (C3a, C5a). The up-regulation of CD59 also inhibits the complement-mediated cellular lysis

Coexistence of an imbalance of cytokines, chemokines and growth factors serum levels and symptoms of fatigue and pain in long-term breast cancer survivors.

Background: Fatigue, pain and depression are common problems among long-term cancer survivors (BCS) which in some patients may persist for many years after healing and the completion of treatment. Several studies have reported that increased serum levels of chemokines and growth factors are particularly significantly correlated with the coexistence of these disorders in cancer survivors. The aim of this study was to assess whether the altered imbalance of pro-inflammatory cytokines, growth factors and chemokine serum levels are associated to presence of fatigue and pain in long-term breast cancer survivors . Methods: Ninety-three BCS were enrolled in this study and blood samples taken from each. Serum levels of 25 analytes including cytokines, growth factors and chemokines were tested by enzyme immunoassay using the flexible Bio-Plex System. Participants also completed a questionnaire measuring demographic, clinical and behavioral variables. Results: Non-parametric discriminant analysis showed that fatigued BCS had significantly higher serum levels of FGF and lower IL-4 and IL-8 compared to the non-fatigued group, while BCS with pain had an increase in eotaxin serum levels and lower IL-4 and Il-7 compared to the group without pain. Univariate analysis showed a statistically significant difference in both mental and physical qol, with levels lower in the subgroup who presented pain than in those without: p = 0.0003 and p < 0.0001 respectively. A lower value of Rantes (p = 0.0131) in breast cancer survivors with pain compared to the group without pain, and a higher median value of TNF-α (p = 0.054) in the pain group than in those without pain was observed. The level of depression was higher than the score of 50 on the Zung scale in fatigued survivors compared to non-fatigued survivors (p = 0.0006). Conclusions: Our results suggest that an altered balance of chemokines, cytokines and growth factors serum levels may be associated to presence of symptoms such as fatigue and pain in breast cancer survivors at an average of 5 years after diagnosis

PMMA-Based Continuous Hemofiltration Modulated Complement Activation and Renal Dysfunction in LPS-Induced Acute Kidney Injury

Sepsis-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication in critically ill patients, refractory to conventional treatments. Aberrant activation of innate immune system may affect organ damage with poor prognosis for septic patients. Here, we investigated the efficacy of polymethyl methacrylate membrane (PMMA)-based continuous hemofiltration (CVVH) in modulating systemic and tissue immune activation in a swine model of LPS-induced AKI. After 3&nbsp;h from LPS infusion, animals underwent to PMMA-CVVH or polysulfone (PS)-CVVH. Renal deposition of terminal complement mediator C5b-9 and of Pentraxin-3 (PTX3) deposits were evaluated on biopsies whereas systemic Complement activation was assessed by ELISA assay. Gene expression profile was performed from isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by microarrays and the results validated by Real-time PCR. Endotoxemic pigs presented oliguric AKI with increased tubulo-interstitial infiltrate, extensive collagen deposition, and glomerular thrombi; local PTX-3 and C5b-9 renal deposits and increased serum activation of classical and alternative Complement pathways were found in endotoxemic animals. PMMA-CVVH treatment significantly reduced tissue and systemic Complement activation limiting renal damage and fibrosis. By microarray analysis, we identified 711 and 913 differentially expressed genes with a fold change &gt;2 and a false discovery rate &lt;0.05 in endotoxemic pigs and PMMA-CVVH treated-animals, respectively. The most modulated genes were Granzyme B, Complement Factor B, Complement Component 4 Binding Protein Alpha, IL-12, and SERPINB-1 that were closely related to sepsis-induced immunological process. Our data suggest that PMMA-based CVVH can efficiently modulate immunological dysfunction in LPS-induced AKI

Pentraxin-3-mediated complement activation in a swine model of renal ischemia/reperfusion injury

Pentraxins are a family of evolutionarily conserved pattern recognition molecules with pivotal roles in innate immunity and inflammation, such as opsonization of pathogens during bacterial and viral infections. In particular, the long Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) has been shown to regulate several aspects of vascular and tissue inflammation during solid organ transplantation.Our study investigated the role of PTX3 as possible modulator of Complement activation in a swine model of renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.We demonstrated that I/R injury induced early PTX3 deposits at peritubular and glomerular capillary levels. Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed PTX3 deposits co-localizing with CD31+ endothelial cells. In addition, PTX3 was associated with infiltrating macrophages (CD163), dendritic cells (SWC3a) and myofibroblasts (FSP1). In particular, we demonstrated a significant PTX3-mediated activation of classical (C1qmediated) and lectin (MBL-mediated) pathways of Complement. Interestingly, PTX3 deposits co-localized with activation of the terminal Complement complex (C5b-9) on endothelial cells, indicating that PTX3-mediated Complement activation occurred mainly at the renal vascular level. In conclusion, these data indicate that PTX3 might be a potential therapeutic target to prevent Complement-induced I/R injury.Nephrolog