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To gain a deeper understanding of skeletal muscle function in younger age and aging in elderly, identification of molecular signatures regulating these functions under physiological conditions is needed. Although molecular studies of healthy muscle have been conducted on adults and older subjects, there is a lack of research on infant muscle in terms of combined morphological, transcriptomic and proteomic profiles. To address this gap of knowledge, we performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS), morphometric analysis and assays for mitochondrial maintenance in skeletal muscle biopsies from both, infants aged 4–28 months and adults aged 19–65 years. We identified differently expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in adults compared to infants. The down-regulated genes in adults were associated with functional terms primarily related to sarcomeres, cellular maintenance, and metabolic, immunological and developmental processes. Thus, our study indicates age-related differences in the molecular signatures and associated functions of healthy skeletal muscle. Moreover, the findings assert that processes previously associated solely with aging are indeed part of development and healthy aging. Hence, combined findings of this study also indicate that age-dependent controls are crucial in muscle disease studies, as otherwise the comparative results may not be reliable.

Background Pain occurs in the majority of patients with late onset Pompe disease (LOPD) and is associated with a reduced quality of life. The aim of this study was to analyse the pain characteristics and its relation to a small nerve fiber involvement in LOPD patients. Methods In 35 patients with LOPD under enzyme replacement therapy without clinical signs of polyneuropathy (19 females; 51 ± 15 years), pain characteristics as well as depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the PainDetect questionnaire (PDQ) and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), respectively. Distal skin biopsies were analysed for intraepidermal nerve fiber density (IENFD) and compared to age- and gender-matched reference data. Skin biopsies from 20 healthy subjects served as controls to assure validity of the morphometric analysis. Results Pain was reported in 69% of the patients with an average intensity of 4.1 ± 1.1 on the numeric rating scale (NRS; anchors: 0–10). According to PDQ, neuropathic pain was likely in one patient, possible in 29%, and unlikely in 67%. Relevant depression and anxiety symptoms occurred in 31% and 23%, respectively, and correlated with pain intensity. Distal IENFD (3.98 ± 1.95 fibers/mm) was reduced in 57% of the patients. The degree of IENFD reduction did not correlate with the durations of symptoms to ERT or duration of ERT to biopsy. Conclusions Pain is a frequent symptom in treated LOPD on ERT, though a screening questionnaire seldom indicated neuropathic pain. The high frequency of small nerve fiber pathology in a treated LOPD cohort was found regardless of the presence of pain or comorbid risk factors for SFN and needs further exploration in terms of clinical context, exact mechanisms and when developing novel therapeutic options for LOPD.

This study explores the role of keystone actors in shaping institutions to drive collaborative innovation within service ecosystems, focusing on smart services in industrial B2B settings. Smart services leverage data analytics for enhanced customer insights, marking a strategic shift for product-oriented companies. Transitioning to smart services involves adapting business models and fostering effective collaborations. Keystone actors facilitate this by promoting collaboration and aligning participants toward shared goals without exerting direct control. While previous research emphasizes understanding keystone actors in service ecosystems, how they shape institutions for collaboration is rarely investigated. This study aims to provide insights into driving smart service innovation, enhancing companies’ competitive advantage in the digital era. Using a multiple case study design, the research identifies two keystone actor types: the Orchestrator and the Enabler. The findings offer valuable insights into institution shaping and keystone actors’ influence, guiding practitioners in managing smart service innovation. 

Firms are innovating data-driven business models (DDBMs) to realize value from data. Yet, making DDBMs work is challenging, and DDBMs often fall short of expected value realization. One reason for this shortfall is that firms do not know how employees, who decisively influence a DDBM’s value realization, view this complex and multi-facetted topic. We think it is necessary to understand the employees’ perspectives, the dimensions that build these perspectives and the characteristics employees are particularly interested in regarding value realization from data. We address this research gap by applying the Q-methodology to examine the perspectives among 70 employees across twelve DDBMs at a German automotive manufacturer. This yields eight perspectives, e.g., data advocacy, data caution or data practical. By exploring these perspectives, we provide a first groundwork on how employees view and appraise value realization from data which adds to the strive for mastering value realization from data within DDBMs.

Technological advancements and evolving value orientations reshape future value creation and pose new requirements for service innovation. While a variety of disciplines are developing new approaches to drive service innovation, this is primarily done in isolation and generates only fragmented solutions. Sociological theory has proposed “boundary objects” as an effective umbrella for communication and cooperation among communities. Therefore, we introduce continuous value shaping (CVS) as a boundary object describing service innovation approaches along five principles. We reflect on this concept through the different disciplinary lenses of researchers in service marketing, information systems, service engineering, sociology of work, and innovation management. These perspectives highlight how the CVS principles already connect to discourses within the individual disciplines. However, the CVS concept will not only provide an umbrella to embrace existing activities in different academic disciplines. It also assists to identify research themes that will benefit from uniting the power of these disciplines, and it can serve as an integrating framework to conceptualize complex service innovation approaches. Thus, the CVS concept should guide both researchers and practitioners to develop and implement novel innovation and transformation efforts—in and across organizations.

A U.S. Supreme Court decision is leading to resentencing for juveniles who were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Since I first heard his story as a teen, my goal has been to provide encouragement for Paul and hope for the future, so I was beyond thrilled with the Supreme Court's decision in Miller vs. The judge granted a stay just 16 days before his resentencing to await the Supreme Court's decision on Toca vs.

Innovation in the medical technology (med tech) industry has a major impact on well-being in society. Open innovation has the potential to accelerate the development of new or improved healthcare solutions. Building on work system theory (WST), this paper explores how a multi-sided open innovation platform can systematically be established in a German med tech industry cluster in situations where firms had no prior experience with this approach. We aim to uncover problems that may arise and identify opportunities for overcoming them. We performed an action research study in which we implemented and evaluated a multi-sided web-based open innovation platform in four real-world innovation challenges. Analyzing the four different challenges fostered a deeper understanding of the conceptual and organizational aspects of establishing the multi-sided open innovation platform as part of a larger work system. Reflecting on the findings, we developed five design principles that shall support the establishment of multi-sided open innovation platforms in other contexts. Thus, this paper contributes to both theory and practice.