Since industrial trade fair Hannover Messe 2011, the term “Industrie 4.0” has ignited a vision of a new Industrial Revolution and has been inspiring a lively, ongoing debate among the German public about the future of work, and hence society, ever since. The discourse around this vision of the future eventually spread to other countries, with public awareness reaching a temporary peak in 2016 when the World Economic Forum’s meeting in Davos was held with the motto “Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” How is it possible for a vision originally established by three German engineers to unfold and bear fruit at a global level in such a short period of time? This article begins with a summary of the key ideas that are discussed under the label Industrie 4.0. The main purpose, based on an in-depth discourse analysis, is to debunk the myth about the origin of this powerful vision and to trace the narrative back to the global economic crisis in 2009 and thus to the real actors, central discourse patterns, and hidden intentions of this vision of a new Industrial Revolution. In conclusion, the discourse analysis reveals that this is not a case of visioneering but one of a future told, tamed, and traded.

This article condenses the key findings of qualitative studies on assembly work. Grounded conceptually in considerations of the role of experiential knowledge and living labor capacity with regard to informal expertise and tacit knowledge, the empirical results challenge the dominant view of assembly work as routine tasks that could easily be replaced by robotics. The empirical basis comprised of 62 qualitative interviews in five assembly plants provides answers to two questions: Are there non-routine aspects to be found in assembly work today? What exactly is the nature of experience in assembly work? The detailed research results are presented in three steps: the first focuses on the role of the non-routine in core assembly tasks; the second discusses the important and increasing role played by interactive capabilities in assembly work to ensure high performance, quality, and a smooth material flow; and the third highlights the usually neglected role of assembly workers in processes of innovation and organizational learning. The concluding chapter discusses the findings from the perspective of new technological options in robotics, possible worker resistance and effects on employment.

Invasion of common colorectal adenocarcinomas is coupled with a transient loss of epithelial differentiation of tumor cells. Previously, we have shown that dedifferentiated tumor cells at the invasive front (IF) accumulate the transcriptional activator b-catenin in the nucleus, in contrast to cells of the tumor center. To characterize the cells of these two morphogenic tumor areas, gene expression profiling was performed. Our study demonstrates that intratumorous heterogeneity in colorectal cancer correlates with differential expression of 510 genes between the central tumor region (TC) and the IF. Many genes differentially expressed at the IF are involved in cellular invasion processes like cell motility, cell adhesion and extracellular matrix interaction. This in vivo analysis shows overexpression of known Wnt/b-catenin target genes either in the entire tumor tissue (compared to normal mucosa) or specifically at the IF. Thus, even though all tumor cells overexpress b-catenin, the existence of at least 2 groups of Wnt/b-catenin target genes selectively activated in different tumor regions is suggested. The concomitant high expression of inflammation-and tissue repair-related genes at the IF supports the hypothesis that an inflammation-activated microenvironment may trigger selective Wnt/b-catenin target gene expression and contribute to the malignant progression of colorectal cancer. ' 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Key words: colorectal cancer; b-catenin target genes; tumor progression; invasion; microarray; expression profiling Constitutive activation of the WNT-signaling pathway by adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene mutation, which leads to the stabilization of b-catenin, has been identified as the main initial step for colorectal adenoma development. The following transition to a malignant state is supposed to be accompanied by gradual accumulation of further genetic changes ultimately leading to invasive carcinoma.1 In contrast to this linear model, tumor morphology shows an intratumorous heterogeneity pointing towards dynamic changes in tumor cell phenotype.2 Invasiveness, characterized by a loss of epithelial differentiation, dissociation and migration of single cancer cells are only seen at the periphery (front of invasion) of the primary cancer and of the metastasis. Unlike the invasion front, the central parts of the primary cancer and the metastasis exhibit differentiated tubular epithelial structures. The extent of invasiveness at the tumor periphery correlates with the frequency of recurrences and poor survival in colorectal cancer. 3In epithelial tumor cells at central regions of the tumor and its metastasis weak nuclear localization of b-catenin as well as membranous and cytoplasmic expression were found.2 By contrast, the dedifferentiated tumor cells at the invasion front are characterized by a strong nuclear localization of b-catenin. Since b-catenin forms a composite transcription factor with proteins of the T-cell factor (TCF)-family, strong nuclear b-catenin localization indicates potent activation...

Preterm neonates are exposed to extrauterine environmental Ags during the time period that corresponds to the last trimester of normal intrauterine development. To study whether this precocious exposure to Ags accelerates the Ig repertoire diversification, we compared IgH chain genes of preterm neonates (gestational age, 25–29 wk) during their first postnatal months with those of term neonates. Preterm infants approaching their expected date of delivery after 8–13 wk of extrauterine life used a similar VH, DH, and JH gene segment repertoire as term neonates born after intrauterine development. Furthermore, the length increase of the NDN region between VH and JH by 0.25 nt per gestational week (r = 0.556, p < 0.0001) was not accelerated. Thus, the generation of the VH region gene repertoire is developmentally controlled and independent of environmental influences. However, exposure to extrauterine Ags induced class switch and somatic mutations in IgH chain genes within 2 wk after premature birth and IgG transcript diversity and mutational frequency increased with the duration of extrauterine life. Three-month-old preterm infants expressed a heterogeneous IgG repertoire at their expected date of delivery with VH region genes carrying significant numbers of somatic mutations with evidence for Ag selection. Term neonates, however, had no such IgG repertoire. We conclude that restrictions in the neonatal Ig VH region gene repertoire persist until term despite exposure to environmental Ags. Yet, many weeks before term the immune system of the preterm neonate can already support germinal center reactions in response to environmental Ags.

The immunoglobulin diversity is restricted in fetal liver B cells. This study examined whether peripheral blood B cells of extremely preterm infants show similar restrictions (overrepresentation of some gene segments, short third complementarity-determining regions [CDR3]). DNA of rearranged immunoglobulin heavy chain genes was amplified by polymerase chain reaction, cloned, and sequenced. A total of 417 sequences were analyzed from 6 preterm infants (25-28 weeks of gestation), 6 term infants, and 6 adults. Gene segments from the entire V H and D H gene locus were rearranged in preterm infants, even though the D H 7-27 segment was overrepresented (17% of rearrangements) compared to term infants (7%) and adults (2%). CDR3 was shorter in preterm infants (40 ؎ 10 nucleotides) than in term infants (44 ؎ 12) and adults (48 ؎ 14) (P < .001) due to shorter N regions. Somatic mutations were exclusively found in term neonates and adults (mutational frequency 0.8% and 1.8%). We conclude that preterm infants have no limitations in gene segment usage, whereas the diversity of CDR3 is restricted throughout gestation. ( IntroductionThe huge variety of immunoglobulin specificities is generated during B-cell development by rearrangements of the variable (V H ), diversity (D H ), and joining (J H ) gene segments (combinatorial diversity), by insertion and deletion of random nucleotides during joining (junctional diversity), 1 and by the introduction of somatic mutations. 2 In B cells of fetal liver the diversity of rearranged immunoglobulin heavy (IgH) chain variable region genes is restricted by a marked overrepresentation of some V H and D H gene segments 3 and by short CDR3. 4 It is unknown whether these restrictions are limited to the immature B cells of the fetal liver 5 or are also present in peripheral B cells, and if restrictions persist only during the first trimester of pregnancy 6 or until early infancy. 4 To test the hypothesis that marked restrictions in immunoglobulin diversity persist in preterm infants and throughout gestation, we studied rearranged IgH chain variable region genes of peripheral blood B cells from extremely preterm infants, term infants, and adults. Study design PatientsWe collected cord blood of 6 preterm infants (25-28 weeks of gestation, birth weight 470-1120 g), 6 term infants (39-42 weeks), and peripheral blood of 6 adults, aged 26 to 43 years. Infections were ruled out in all individuals (normal clinical examination, blood count, and C-reactive protein). The study protocol had been approved by the institutional review board and written consent was obtained. Amplification and sequencing of VDJ rearrangementsDNA (0.5-1.0 g) extracted from heparinized blood samples was used for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the rearranged IgH chain variable region with a nested primer PCR previously established by our group. 7,8 For the first amplification a mixture of family-specific primers for framework region 1 was used in conjunction with a consensus J H primer; for the reamplificat...