There is growing interest in developing sodium based energy storage devices as alternatives to Li for large-scale energy storage. We report a highly stable hybrid system comprising a sodium metal anode, a highly porous N/S co-doped mesoporous carbon cathode and the non-flammable ionic liquid electrolyte N-propyl-N-methyl pyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl) imide (C3mpyrFSI). This hybrid device operates at 100% coulombic efficiency and shows almost complete capacity retention over 3000 cycles. Owing to the reversible cathode reactions between Na+ and N/S functionalities on the carbon surface, a very high capacity of 716 mA h g−1 (at a rate of C/16) was achieved between 3.8 V and 0.005 V vs. Na+/Na. An optimised device could provide energy density as high as 263 W h kg−1. At high rate, the devices achieved power density of 1463 W kg−1. These metrics increase to 270 W h kg−1 and 3822 W kg−1 at 50 °C, highlighting the excellent combination of a supercapacitor-type cathode with a sodium metal anode and an ionic liquid electrolyte for large-scale energy storage.


Background: Oxytocin (OT) is a neuropeptide shown to attenuate inflammatory responses in both humans and animals, but the specific mechanism underlying these actions has not yet been identified. Preliminary research in humans suggests that monocytes (MOs) and macrophages (MPs) could be the target of anti-inflammatory actions of OT. Here, we present a series of ex vivo experiments in human MOs and MPs, testing whether OT attenuates the cytokine responses of these cells to a common bacterial product, lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Methods: MO experiments were conducted using blood samples taken from healthy volunteers after obtaining informed consent. MPs were purchased frozen from a cell supplier. All samples were cultured under standard conditions: for 6 h at 37°C in a 5% CO2 atmosphere. A number of variables were considered: volunteer sex, method of MO isolation, LPS concentration, OT concentration, preincubation with OT, cytokines measured, and method of cytokine measurement. Results: Regardless of the specific conditions, no attenuation of LPS-stimulated cytokine production by OT was observed in either MOs or MPs. Conclusion: OT does not attenuate MO or MP inflammatory cytokine production following LPS stimulation. The previously observed anti-inflammatory properties of OT may be attributable to effects on other classes of immune cells or actions in other lymphoid compartments. Alternatively, the effects of OT on inflammation could be secondary to other neurohormonal changes it elicits.


Three separate epidemics occurred in caiman lizards (Dracaena guianensis) that were imported into the USA from Peru in late 1998 and early 1999. Histologic evaluation of tissues from necropsied lizards demonstrated a proliferative pneumonia. Electron microscopic examination of lung tissue revealed a virus that was consistent with members of the family Paramyxoviridae. Using a rabbit polyclonal antibody against an isolate of ophidian (snake) paramyxovirus, an immunoperoxidase staining technique demonstrated immunoreactivity within pulmonary epithelial cells of 1 lizard. Homogenates of lung, brain, liver, or kidney from affected lizards were placed in flasks containing monolayers of either terrapene heart cells or viper heart cells. Five to 10 days later, syncytial cells formed. When Vero cells were inoculated with supernatant of infected terrapene heart cells, similar syncytial cells developed. Electron microscopic evaluation of infected terrapene heart cells revealed intracyto-plasmic inclusions consisting of nucleocapsid strands. Using negative-staining electron microscopy, abundant filamentous nucleocapsid material with a herringbone structure typical of the Paramyxoviridae was observed in culture medium of infected viper heart cells. Seven months following the initial epizootic, blood samples were collected from surviving group 1 lizards, and a hemagglutination inhibition assay was performed to determine presence of specific antibody against the caiman lizard isolate. Of the 17 lizards sampled, 7 had titers of <1:20 and 10 had titers of >1:20 and <1:80. This report is only the second of a paramyxovirus identified in a lizard and is the first to snow the relationship between histologic and ultrastructural findings and virus isolation.


The ability to engineer interfacial energy offsets in photovoltaic devices is one of the keys to their optimization. Here, we demonstrate that improvements in power conversion efficiency may be attained for ZnO/PbS heterojunction quantum dot photovoltaics through the incorporation of a MoO(3) interlayer between the PbS colloidal quantum dot film and the top-contact anode. Through a combination of current-voltage characterization, circuit modeling, Mott-Schottky analysis, and external quantum efficiency measurements performed with bottom- and top-illumination, these enhancements are shown to stem from the elimination of a reverse-bias Schottky diode present at the PbS/anode interface. The incorporation of the high-work-function MoO(3) layer pins the Fermi level of the top contact, effectively decoupling the device performance from the work function of the anode and resulting in a high open-circuit voltage (0.59 ± 0.01 V) for a range of different anode materials. Corresponding increases in short-circuit current and fill factor enable 1.5-fold, 2.3-fold, and 4.5-fold enhancements in photovoltaic device efficiency for gold, silver, and ITO anodes, respectively, and result in a power conversion efficiency of 3.5 ± 0.4% for a device employing a gold anode.


Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) can resolve the code tangling problem in ObjectOriented Programming (OOP) via using the technology of separation of concerns. Software architecture is becoming an important part in the phase of software design, it has the ability of helping designer to handle the structure and the complexity of large software systems, and Aspect-Oriented Software Development (AOSD) is a new paradigm proposed to manage the complexity by crosscutting concerns in the whole software life-cycle. In order to adequately specify aspect-oriented design, Aspect-Oriented Architecture Description Languages (AOADL) are needed. XYZ/ADL is an architecture description language which is based on temporal logic language XYZ/E. XYZ/ADL separates computation and communication into two different architecture elements – component and connector, but lacks some appropriate support to represent these crosscutting behaviors. So, XYZ/ADL must be extended to resolve the problem above by adding a kind of new elements – Aspect and modifying the former component and connector. At last, we illustrate them on an example of the Hotel Management System (HMS) via using AO- ADL.


Internal oleation (Snehana) is a major preparatory procedures performed before Bio-Purification (Shodhana). Oleation leads and decides the total outcome of the Bio-purification therapy; hence, standard guidelines are needed for performing the internal oleation in an effective manner and also for avoiding the inadequate and excess oleation. It is obligatory to start and increase the dose of lipids (Sneha) in appropriate and judicious way considering the bio-fire (Agni) and nature of bowel habit (Koshtha) of the subject. The outcome of Bio-Purification depends upon proper mobilization of Dosha from the periphery (Shakha) to gastrointestinal tract (Koshtha); which is achieved with the help of oleation therapy (Snehana Karma) and sudation therapy (Svedana Karma). This clinical study was carried out on 29 subjects to standardize the dose and duration of internal oleation and to develop the oleation grade for the assessment of internal oleation therapy. The selected subjects were randomly divided into two groups, in which group A was given fixed increase dose of ghee and in group B non-fixed increase dose was given. Results of this study show that the total percentage of oleation was 33.57% in group A and it was 45.28% in group B. Subjects of Group B (non-fixed dose schedule) have shown better oleation in all the aspects, i.e. duration, oleation grade, and purification grade.


We present a new technique with potential applications to numerous areas in signal processing including data compression, filtering, blind channel equalization, and feature selection and classification in pattern recognition. The technique is based on the best constrained approximation of a stochastic signal by a specific second degree operator acting on the noisy observed data and therefore is called the second degree transform. The proposed transform generalizes an approach by Hua and Liu (1998) and gives a better performance in comparison. This paper provides a strict justification of the technique proposed and shows its useful application to data compression and filtering.


Symptoms associated with heavy breasts are pain in the upper part of the body; back pains, poor body posture and headache. These patients also have difficulties in finding suitable clothes and experience poor self image and problems such as establishing sexual relationships. Reduction mammoplasty procedure provides weight and volume reduction of the breast as well as enhancement of the aesthetic appearance of the breasts. In this study, the inferior pedicle technique was used in reduction of thirty five patients over the last four years with macromastia. In all the patients except three, good results were achieved. One patient suffered nipple necrosis of the right breast and the other two had superficial wound infection of T-junction and were appropriately treated. The patient who lost the nipples had nipple reconstruction three months later.


About 9 per cent of the students in Israel drop out of school. Attendance officers, who are appointed to enforce education attendance laws, and other decision makers have to deal with many dropout cases with limited resources, leading to sub optimal or even wrong solutions. In contrast, creative, successful solutions adopted by one attendance officer, are not shared by others, since there is no system (manual or computational) that accumulates knowledge. In this work, we present a knowledge management model, developed for supporting attendance officers, that is based on problem solving according to precedents. The model was tested in lab settings with 12 attendance officers, each solving 6 problems, and was found to have remarkable potential for improving attendance officers' work and their understanding and perception of their work. The system developed is easy to use and can be easily deployed in real settings.


Noroviruses are the major viral pathogens causing epidemic and endemic acute gastroenteritis with significant morbidity and mortality. While vaccines against norovirus diseases have been shown to be of high significance, the development of a broadly effective norovirus vaccine remains difficult, owing to the wide genetic and antigenic diversity of noroviruses with multiple co-circulated variants of various genotypes. In addition, the absence of a robust cell culture system, an efficient animal model, and reliable immune markers of norovirus protection for vaccine evaluation further hinders the developmental process. Among the vaccine candidates that are currently under clinical studies, recombinant VP1-based virus-like particles (VLPs) that mimic major antigenic features of noroviruses are the common ones, with proven safety, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy, supporting a high success likelihood of a useful norovirus vaccine. This short article reviews the recent progress in norovirus vaccine development, focusing on those from recent clinical studies, as well as summarizes the barriers that are being encountered in this developmental process and discusses issues of future perspective.


Multilayer ultrasonic transducers with layers of uniform design are in common use. It is also possible to devise such transducers in which the layer design is nonuniform. However, this adds many degrees of freedom to the transducer design, and conventional design techniques are inadequate to realize desired behavior or even to assess potential benefits. In this paper, a theoretical investigation of multilayer piezoelectric structures with nonuniform layers is reported. Results are presented from a study using computer code to solve the one-dimensional wave equation. It is first shown how multilayer structures with nonuniform layer thicknesses generate even and odd harmonics in their frequency response, suggesting that frequency response can be controlled by choice of layer thickness. However, this choice is complicated and it is impossible to analyze all possible combinations of layer thicknesses. Hence, use of the stochastic optimization technique of simulated annealing is reported. Two optimized transducer designs illustrate this. The first design maximizes uniformity of the fundamental, second, and third harmonics of pressure output, achieved to approximately plusmn3%. The results suggest additional bandwidth can be achieved for practical applications, as the presence of a finite response at the second harmonic frequency avoids the null usually associated with this frequency. This is further illustrated with the second optimized transducer design in the form of a three-layer 1-3 connectivity piezo- composite transducer for underwater operation.


Wheelchair technology is one of the most significant technologies in biomechanics sector. The demand of Electric Powered Wheelchairs (EPWs) has been increasing due to improving the lifestyles of patients suffering from one or more disabilities, including motor control problems, spinal injuries, arthritis, balance disorders and amputation under the term of rehabilitation technologies. Hence, the healthcare research has made several plans for improving control of EPW to provide well-being, and safety by minimal cost. On the other hand, Reserve Engineering (RE) is a powerful technique for creating a new model to uncover the features of commercial products and enhance them. As such, we applied RE to develop a functional model through teardowns that designed by SolidWorks 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) software to provide the full specifications of EPW. Moreover, we implemented an Arduino microcontroller to change the EPW directionality by using a joystick. This model evaluates the flexibility and wireless control of EPW by adding further improvements such as an ultrasonic sensor and Bluetooth connection. Ultrasonic sensor acts as an emergency stop switch to notify the patient when roaming close to an obstacle as a safety precaution. Bluetooth connection device allows the patient to remotely control the electric wheelchair if it was out of reach or there's no one close to assist. The main characteristic of our model is mobility performance without depending on others' help that based on an affordable cost.


It is often assumed that parents are a major influence on their children's mental health. Research, however, has challenged this assumption and has shown that when there is a link between the generations, the direction of effect is not always or only from parent to child. The aim of the current work was to consider two questions in relation to whether parents are a relevant contributor to adolescent psychological distress. First, the relationship and direction of influence between parental psychological control and adolescent adjustment was considered in a review of literature. Second, a research study investigated whether parents and adolescents share similar irrational beliefs that underlie psychological distress. The literature review concluded that there was evidence of a link between parental psychological control and adolescent adjustment. The weight of literature also supported the idea that the direction of influence was mutual with parents and adolescents influencing each other. The research study found tentative evidence that some irrational beliefs may be transmitted from parent to child, especially self-downing beliefs from fathers to sons. If this finding is robust then it might be possible to target early intervention to young men whose fathers are psychologically distressed and hold self-downing type irrational beliefs.


Crocodilian remains from the Corallian Rocks are so rarely to be obtained, that neither in the British Museum nor in the collection of the Geological Survey in Jermyn Street are there to be found more than a few isolated teeth from this horizon. Such being the case, I was led to attach some little importance to the discovery of the remains of a Crocodilian (?) jaw in the beds of this age at Weymouth; and as the specimen possessed certain peculiarities, it seemed desirable that some notice of it should be placed upon record. I have therefore ventured to lay before the members of this Society the following description of the fossil. The general appearance of the specimen, which I believe to be a portion of a lower jaw, is shown in figure 1; it measures about 11 inches in length. Its present dilapidated condition is due partly to weathering before it was discovered, and partly to the friable nature of both the bone and the matrix, which added much to the difficulty of detaching it from the mass of rock in which it was imbedded. When first found, the upper or alveolar margins were imbedded in the matrix, and the lower parts had been so far denuded as to expose the alveolar cavities, and in some of the anterior ones parts of the teeth were still to be seen. A considerable part of the hinder end of the jaw is wanting. The right ramus has been broken across at c,


Patients expect their total knee arthroplasty to relieve pain and to be long lasting. With patients becoming more active, weighing more, and living longer, this expectation becomes increasingly more difficult to fulfill. Patients who are obese and active put greater loads on their implants and may have a greater risk of failure. Although much attention has been paid to decreasing polyethylene wear, a major cause of implant failure, very little research focus has been directed to elucidate other measures to reduce failure, such as the efficacy of prophylactic stemming of the tibial tray. This study explored whether additional mechanical support for tibial base plates would help reduce bone cement stresses in heavy patients, who, like patients with a high activity level, put added stress on their implants. A tibial base plate with a 12-mm-diameter (cid:1) 50-mm-long stem was compared with the same tibial base plate with a 15-mm-diameter (cid:1) 20-mm-long end cap using finite element analysis. The results indicate that the tibial base plate with a prophylactic stem significantly reduced compressive and shear stresses on the cement-device interface and therefore may help to reduce the possibility of tibial loosening in these at-risk patients. Further, such studies will aid the surgeon in educating patients and in selecting the appropriate implant strategy.


Existing approaches to compute team process measures are primarily based on survey ratings, semantic classification of communications, and social network analyses. Although existing approaches reveal important information about team performance, they face specific limitations. Survey methodologies are in general unreliable, biased, and not dynamic; communication classifications are often a-theoretical; and social network analytics ignore the meanings of messages. Accordingly, we develop a better-defined formal empirical approach for computing team process measures. Our contribution builds on existing work in semantic classification of messages in broadcast communications and proposes a general set of meanings of messages for team processes. Using the meanings of messages, we propose formal approaches to compute team process measures. We evaluate these measures using a military data set and find the following. First, our text mining approach to infer meanings of messages significantly improves over the bag of words approach and yields macroaverage and microaverage F-measures of 70% and 80%, respectively. Second, compared with baseline measures such as degree centrality, cognitive processes remain significantly stable with time, whereas measures such as affective process significantly increase with time.


In daily practice the diagnosis of Lyme disease is confirmed in the laboratory by serological tests the specificity and sensitivity of which are not fully satisfactory. There are false-positive results due to antibodies directed against antigens others than Borrelia burgdorferi, but the main problem is that most people living in endemic areas have specific antibodies while being, and remaining, asymptomatic. In addition, the sensitivity of the current tests is mediocre at the onset of the disease. A negative serology therefore should not exclude definitively a diagnosis of Lyme disease, just as a positive serology should not compulsorily lead to this diagnosis in patients with atypical clinical signs. The treatment of Lyme disease aims at eradicating the organisms, including those wHich infest the central nervous system. Beta-lactam antibiotics seem to be particularly suitable for this purpose: amoxycillin is used in ambulatory patients, and ceftriaxone is probably the most effective treatment of severe neurological manifestations of the disease.


As we all know, the family is in crisis. Like a company that is running out of steam, it needs images to exalt its specificity. It is indisputable that affection forms the fabric of family life -a fabric that characteristically stretches over several generations. It contributes to the undefinable sense of calm safety and shared emotion that is not only the best the family has to offer - although it does not always do so - but is the thing that it alone can offer. Bernard Plossu offers us an aestheticization of this family affection at a moment when it is perhaps not in a crisis of existence, but definitely in a crisis of representation. Plossu offers representations of the family that follow the daily experiences we all have with our loved ones: kissing, caressing, sleeping together. His images develop from concrete, innocuous situations whose value is solely in the feelings and emotions shared within them, and in them we can all dream of recognizing ourselves and our loved ones.


In order to examine the effects of alpha-human atrial natriuretic polypeptide (alpha-hANP) on the basal plasma concentrations of GH, TSH, LH, FSH and PRL in humans, synthetic alpha-hANP was infused into 10 normotensive, euvolemic, healthy volunteers. There were observed marked hypotensive, diuretic and natriuretic effects during the alpha-hANP infusion. The basal plasma concentrations of GH, TSH, LH and FSH, showed no significant change following the alpha-hANP infusion. However, significant suppression of the plasma PRL concentration was observed with the alpha-hANP administration. The mean plasma PRL concentration tended to be decreased during 20 min of alpha-hANP infusion, however, there the differences were not statistically significant. A significant reduction in the mean plasma PRL concentration (-20%, P less than 0.5) was observed 10 min after the end of infusion, following the reversion to the preinfusion level at 70 min after the end of infusion. Such a significant and delayed suppression was not seen in the case of placebo infusion. The data suggest that the circulating hANP may reduce the release of PRL.


Statistical-relational reasoning has received much attention due to its ability to robustly model complex relationships. A key challenge is tractable inference, especially in domains involving many objects, due to the combinatorics involved. One can accelerate inference by using approximation techniques, "lazy" algorithms, etc. We consider Markov Logic Networks (MLNs), which involve counting how often logical formulae are satisfied. We propose a preprocessing algorithm that can substantially reduce the effective size of MLNs by rapidly counting how often the evidence satisfies each formula, regardless of the truth values of the query literals. This is a general preprocessing method that loses no information and can be used for any MLN inference algorithm. We evaluate our algorithm empirically in three real-world domains, greatly reducing the work needed during subsequent inference. Such reduction might even allow exact inference to be performed when sampling methods would be otherwise necessary.


Focusing on Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, and Chinese firms in the manufacturing sector, this paper examines productivity catch-up at the firm level using the distance from the technology frontier as a direct measure of the potential for catch-up. We also examine the role of absorptive capacity for technological catch-up by including variables such as R&D expenditure and foreign ownership in our empirical estimation. We find that the national frontier has a stronger pull on domestic firms than the regional frontier, which is in line with findings by Bartelsman, Haskel, and Martin (2008). This result indicates that policies to raise the technology level of national frontier firms are beneficial for all firms in that country.


ABT-378 is a potent in vitro inhibitor of the HIV protease and is currently being developed for coadministration with another HIV protease inhibitor, ritonavir, as an oral therapeutic treatment for HIV infection. In the present study, the effect of ritonavir, a potent inhibitor of cytochrome P-450 (CYP) 3A, on the in vitro metabolism of ABT-378 was examined. Furthermore, the effect of ABT-378-ritonavir combinations on several CYP-dependent monooxygenase activities in human liver microsomes was also examined. ABT-378 was found to undergo NADPH- and CYP3A4/5-dependent metabolism to three major metabolites, M-1 (4-oxo) and M-3/M-4 (4-hydroxy epimers), as well as several minor oxidative metabolites in human liver microsomes. The mean apparent K(m) and V(max) values for the metabolism of ABT-378 by human liver microsomes were 6.8 +/- 3.6 microM and 9.4 +/- 5.5 nmol of ABT-378 metabolized/mg protein/min, respectively. Ritonavir inhibited human liver microsomal metabolism of ABT-378 potently (K(i) = 0.013 microM). The combination of ABT-378 and ritonavir was much weaker in inhibiting CYP-mediated biotransformations than ritonavir alone, and the inhibitory effect appears to be primarily due to the ritonavir component of the combination. The ABT-378-ritonavir combinations (at 3:1 and 29:1 ratios) inhibited CYP3A (IC(50) = 1.1 and 4.6 microM), albeit less potently than ritonavir (IC(50) = 0.14 microM). Metabolic reactions mediated by CYP1A2, CYP2A6, and CYP2E1 were not affected by the ABT-378-ritonavir combinations. The inhibitory effects of ABT-378-ritonavir combinations on CYP2B6 (IC(50) = >30 microM), CYP2C9 (IC(50) = 13.7 and 23.0 microM), CYP2C19 (IC(50) = 28.7 and 38.0 microM), and CYP2D6 (IC(50) = 13.5 and 29.0 microM) were marginal and are not likely to produce clinically significant drug-drug interactions.


A year of data from sonic anemometer and mechanical wind sensors was analyzed and compared at a low-wind site. Results indicate that 15-minute average and peak 1-second wind speeds (u) from the sonic agree well with data de- rived from a co-located cup anemometer over a wide range of speeds. Wind direction data derived from the sonic also agree closely with those from a wind vane except for very low wind speeds. Values of standard deviation of longitudinal wind speed ( u) and wind direction fluctuations () from the sonic and mechanical sensors agree well for times with u > 2 ms -1 but show significant differences with lower u values. The most significant differences are associated with the stan- dard deviation of vertical wind fluctuations ( w): the co-located vertical propeller anemometer yields values increasingly less than those measured by the sonic anemometer as u decreases from 2.5 approaching 0 ms -1 . The combination of u over-estimation and under-estimation of  w from the mechanical sensors at low wind speeds causes considerable under- estimation of the standard deviation of vertical wind angle fluctuations (), an indicator of vertical dispersion. Calcula- tions of  from sonic anemometer measurements are typically 5° to 10° greater than from the mechanical sensors when the mechanical instruments indicate that  < 5° or so. The errors with the propeller anemometer, cup anemometer and wind vane, caused by their inability to respond to higher frequency (smaller scale) turbulent fluctuations, can therefore lead to large (factors of 2 to 10 or more) errors in both the vertical and horizontal dispersion during stable conditions with light winds. The sonic anemometer clearly provides more accurate and reliable wind data than the mechanical wind sensor with u < 2.5 ms -1 .


Lung cancer still represents the most frequent cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide and 85% of all lung neoplastic disease are classified as non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (1); approximately one third of NSCLC are locally advanced disease at diagnosis (2). Actually, the standard-of-care for unresectable or inoperable stage IIIA and IIIB disease for patients with good performance status consists of platinum-based doublet chemotherapy (CT) concurrent with 60 Gy of radiotherapy (RT) administered daily over 6 weeks followed by possible further two cycles of consolidative CT (2). The supportive evidence for the use of concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CT/RT) is rooted in many clinical trials, with evidence of better results of concurrent CT/RT compared to either modality of administration of CT and RT, alone or sequential (3). The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate is 15–35% for stage IIIA and 5–10% for stage IIIB (4). Although survival outcomes are poor, notable is that a subset of the patients are potentially curable.


Portal plasma glucagon and insulin concentrations were measured before and after acute trauma (liver biosy). The trauma was sufficient to increase glucagon concentrations and depress insulin concentrations. These changes were associated with a marked hyperglycemia. Infusion of glucagon was insufficient to prevent stress inhibition of insulin secretion. The stimulation of glucagon secretion and inhibition of insulin secretion were of about one hour duration. These findings indicate that glucagon and insulin in conjunction with the nervous system may play an important role in the development of stress related hyperglycemia.


During the past decade, immunotherapy gained significant importance in the therapy of metastatic cancer. Immunotherapy has been first established in metastatic melanoma, a disease where no promising therapeutic option was previously available. Following the positive trial results, T-cell targeted immunotherapies have been established as a main foundation in therapy of systemic metastatic melanoma in clinical guidelines. State-of-the-art immunotherapies comprise monoclonal antibodies, acting as checkpoint inhibitors blocking T-cell surface receptors, acting as negative regulators for T-cell activity. This maintains and/or reactivates cytotoxic T-cell activity. Initial trials with Ipilimumab, targeting Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte–associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) have shown an increased overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic melanoma, but also drug related adverse events, potentially leading to the death of patients (14 of 643 patients, 2.2 %); approximately half (n = 7) of those incidents are immunotherapy-related (predominantly colitis with sepsis and/or perforation, apart from hepatic or neurological complications) (Hodi, F. S. et al. Improved survival with ipilimumab in patients with metastatic melanoma. The New England journal of medicine 363, 711–723, doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1003466 (2010). Nivolumab, targeting the programmed death 1 (PD-1) surface protein is another promising check point inhibitor, with a remarkable impact on OS and progression free survival (PFS). A larger phase 3 trial has shown, has shown a better recurrencefree survival and far less adverse events (14.4 vs. 45.9 %) for Nivolumab, compared to CTLA-4 inhibitor Ipilimumab (Weber J. et al. Adjuvant Nivolumab versus Ipilimumab in Resected Stage III or IV Melanoma. N Engl J Med 2017; 377: 1824–1835). We report a case of a 72 year old male patient with metastatic melanoma, who underwent a combined immunotherapy with Ipilimumab and Nivolumab, as well as a maintenance therapy with Nivolumab alone – leading to a stable remission of the metastatic disease – who developed thyroid atrophy with confirmed hypothyreosis, pancreatic atrophy with aggravation of a pre-existing diabetes and an immobilizing polyarthritis.


Critical thinking is one of the most desirable skills of the 21 century which is required to meet the challenges associated with today's modern world of technology. The current study aims to explore and analyze the various teaching methods and strategies utilized by the teachers in private school in Dubai. It focuses on promoting critical thinking skills amongst students. The current research adopts a mix method approach in the research design whereby teachers and students of grades 4 and 5 of a Dubai private school participated. A quantitative research method utilizing teacher and student questionnaires were used and analyzed using SPSS software. Qualitative research methods are utilized to support the results obtained by quantitative methods which includes various classroom observations of grades 5 and 6. Results of the study depict that various teaching strategies are being utilized by private school teachers in Dubai to promote critical thinking amongst students. These teaching methods and strategies include group discussion, brain storming, encouraging students to ask questions and share their viewpoint along with cultivating a sociological classroom learning environment that is conducive for learning critical thinking skills. The results depict that teacher's teaching strategies have a positive relation with student's learning methods and increasing teaching strategies also enhances student's learning. In addition, no significant differences were observed in the teaching strategies and methods in different subject classes and grades.


Reconstruction of missing papilla--the basis of modern concepts of objective treatment of dental diseases. Interproximal spaces are important anatomical structures, as are bulky in the mouth and repeated many times. Violation of relations between different structural elements increases the risk of inflammation in periodontitis. Patients with approximal caries posteriors and generalized periodontitis studied anthropometric parameters of the structures of the interdental spaces and their impact on the volume papilla before and after restoration, carried out with move a contact point to the apex. The results showed that the relationship between anthropometric data interdental had certain patterns in all groups surveyed. Important was a clear relationship between anthropometric indicators of basic elements of interdental spaces. In the absence of the interproximal papilla length (IPL) was on average 7.2 mm, the distance from the gingival margin to the proximal contact--3.9 mm and the horizontal distance between the roots at the enamel--cement border (HDR) reached 3.2 mm. Following the restoration with move a contact point to the apex to an average of 4.5 mm IPL, there was a significant increase in the interdental papillae. In the case of patients prior to treatment was determined by a thin biotype, the small width of attached gingival significant HDR--volume papilla week after restorations movement of the contact point to the root apex contact point is not increased. The results obtained require long-term studies for the possibility of forecasting the success of the restoration or preservation of the interdental papillae in the restoration of approximal cavities on the stages of rehabilitation of patients with generalized periodontitis.


This study set out to investigate land fragmentation in Ute Districts of Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State in Nigeria with a view to gaining insight into its nature, extent and effect on the socio-economy of the area. To achieve this objective, 129 farm plots together with their owners were randomly selected and studied. Dimensions of individual plots and distances between plots and owners' residences were determined through field measurements. A questionnaire survey was also conducted to obtain information on number of plots held per farming household in the area. In addition, aerial photographs taken over the area in 1977 and topographical maps of the area as well as reports were studied to get baseline data on the extent of fragmentation in the past. Analysis of data showed that, average size of farm plot in 1977 was 0.171 hectare, and declined to 0.149 hectare in 2009. Mean number of plots per farmer in 2009 was 5.37 and mean number of plots cultivated in the same year was 3.68, while range of plot holdings was between 2.67 and 10.00. Using Januszewski's index of fragmentation, a value of 0.173 was derived, indicating extreme pulverization of farm plots in the area. It was also found that farm plots were not only small, but also scattered over space. The study noted the diseconomies of land fragmentation arising from its severe limitation on mechanization and input investment in farm enterprise. It however recommends support for fragmentation in the area as a realistic response to ecological and demographic imperatives and as a way of stabilizing the socio-economy. It also recommends diversification from agriculture to other gainful activities in the area to augment proceeds from the small and inappropriately distributed farm plots.


The purpose of the study was to examine the structural changes occurring in the patterns of spatial population distribution across South Africa over the period 1996-2016. The government in South Africa is perceived as being unsatisfied with the population distribution in the country. Therefore this research has given a better understanding of the settlement patterns in the country. The results can be utilized for regional and urban development planning to guide the government in achieving an even allocation of resources to strive towards a better balance of spatial patterns around the country. The polarisation reversal theory informed the study. In developing countries it is assumed that most of the population resides in rural areas and as time elapses we expect a more dispersed population with more of the population concentrated in urban areas as industrialization and urbanization evolves. The process usually starts with emergence of one or two major cities. The major cities then start to grow quicker than the other regions in the country. This results in unbalanced regional development across the country. This is then followed by the emergence of other smaller cities and towns. It is assumed that South Africa as a developing country will either move from a highly concentrated urban population with most of the population concentrated in one or two major cities to a more dispersed population where other smaller cities and towns are emerging,attracting more people threw migration or South Africa could move from a more dispersed population to a highly concentrated urban population. To test this assumption data will be derived from previous census and community surveys. Specifically the census taken in 1996, 2001,2011, the community survey of 2007 and 2016 respectively provided the data . Using the data sets, relevant statistical indicators of spatial population distribution were to quantify different trends over a period of time. These indicators includes pattern of urbanization and patterns of population settlement over the national territoriality. The results from the data analysis showed that some provinces were urbanizing faster than provinces. Some cities within provinces were growing faster than other cities. The highest concentration of the population is situated in one or two major cities. Smaller cities and towns around the country were growing faster than some major cities and also there is a decline in the rural population over the time period. From a spatial development view point, the insight into the patterns of population distribution can serve as a basis to create policies of which the main targets should be achieving balanced regional development, environmental sustainability, the development of smaller cites, towns and rural areas to slow the migration from these areas.


This paper proposes high-power-factor electronic ballast for fluorescent lamps. The converter offers a high input power factor and a high-frequency supply to the lamp using a single switch. Besides the simple circuit configuration, the excellent performances of high power factor for ac input side and low lamp crest factor for lamp are included in this paper. The conventional electronic ballast circuit has larger conduction losses because its power flow path of power factor correction (PFC) circuit always includes two diode losses from the front-end bridge rectifier and one power switch loss. The PFC power flow path of the proposed circuit has three semiconductor conduction drops when the active switch is on and two semiconductor conduction drops when the active switch is off. Therefore, it can provide lower conduction loss than the conventional one. The design equations are derived from the analyzed results based on fundamental approximation, and then an easy-to-use design tool is provided accordingly under considerations of filament heating and ignition. A prototype circuit that operates at 40-kHz switching frequency and 110-V line voltage for one 40-W fluorescent lamp is built and tested to verify the analytical predictions


According to the approach of New Public Service, the government's main focus is public service. As an institution in charge of providing services to the public, the government certainly can not do it all by itself or single fighter. This is because many types of services that must be provided to the public. Therefore do a cooperation contract between the government and the private sector (KSP) in supplying and servicing the public. Memorandum of understanding contract between the government and private or Public Private Partnership (PPPs) considered very necessary to organize public services, as well as the procurement and management of Rau Market (Rau Trade Center). Besides as icons Kota Serang, Rau Trade Center also serves as a tool in the development of the local economy. This study uses the theory of policy implementation according to Charles O. Jones, namely the organization, interpretation and application. The method used is qualitative case study approach. The results showed that the form of cooperation between the government of Kota Serang with PT. Pesona Banten Persada in the management of rau market is Build Operate Transfers with a concession period of 20 years since 2002. The cooperation is carried out to increase the economic activity of society to accommodate many traders. Rau market management differentiated by region in the building is the responsibility of the private sector and the authorities covering the costs of lease / sale price rental kiosks and stalls, hygiene management of garbage and cleanliness and parking levy withdrawal. Outside the building into the management of local authorities in terms of cleanliness and parking levies, while for rental kiosk / los beyond the authority of the local government because it is owned by an individual. Contributions partnership on revenue of Serang not optimal, amounting to 300 million per month from the levy cleanliness and parking. There has been no further decisions regarding the management of rau by the private market will continue or will be submitted to the local government after the concession period ends.


: There is a growing concern about the extent to which multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs), designed to improve social and environmental sustainability in global supply chains, give a meaningful voice to less powerful stakeholders. Trade unions are one particular civil society group whose participation in MSIs has received little scholarly attention so far. The objective of this paper is to examine the determinants that enable and constrain trade union participation in MSIs. Based on interviews, focus groups, observations and document analysis we determine local trade union participation in three MSIs, operating at company, national and transnational level respectively, in the Costa Rican pineapple industry. To explain the limited encountered trade union participation, an analytical framework is developed combining structural and agency dimensions, namely the MSI design and trade union's power resources. The findings show shortcomings in the representativeness, procedural fairness and consensual orientation in the design and implementation of the MSIs. These are, however, not sufficient to explain weak trade union participation as trade union power resources also have an influence. Strong network embeddedness and improved infrastructural resources had a positive effect, whereas the lack of internal solidarity and unfavourable narrative resources constrained the unions' participation.


The paper introduces a class of alternating-move infinite-horizon models of duopoly. The timing is meant to capture the presence of short-run commitments. Markov perfect equilibrium (MPE) in this context requires strategies to depend only on the action to which one's opponent is currently committed. The dynamic programming equations for an MPE are derived. The first application of the model is to a natural monopoly, in which fixed costs are so large that at most one firm can make a profit. The firms install short-run capacity. In the unique symmetric MPE, only one firm is active and practices the quantity analogue of limit pricing. For commitments of brief duration, the market is almost contestable. We conclude with a discussion of more general models in which the alternating timing is derived rather than imposed. Our companion paper applies the model to price competition and provides equilibrium foundations for kinked demand curves and Edgeworth cycles.


Marine biofouling has been recognized as a big problem faced by marine technology, and has caused huge economic losses to marine industries. Until recently, marine biofouling has been controlled by the use of metal-based coating which has become another problem because of their negative impacts on marine environments. Soft corals have been known to produce secondary metabolites, some of which may inhibit the fouling processes. The objective of this research was to examine the antimicrobial properties of soft coral Sinularia sp against marine biofilm-forming bacteria The results showed that the soft coral tissues of Sinularia sp. had the antibacterial potency. The crude extracts of Sinularia sp affected significantly on the growth of bacteria tested. The optimal concentration of crude extracts needed to inhibit the growth of bacteria was 150 µg/ml. There were no significantly different among bacteria isolated from fiber, wood and iron steel on diameter of inhibitory zone of the bacterial growth. It is concluded thet the search of bioactive substances produced by soft corals is great possibility to find alternatives for metal-based coatings. Yet, a series of researchs must be undertaken in order to find the secondary metabolites which may be used as antifoulant.


While the presidency of George W. Bush is still at an early stage, it is already clear what direction his Secretary of State, Colin Powell, will be trying to pursue in policy toward the United Nations. Powell will be using the UN as a forum for building great-power consensus in order to deal with pressing international security concerns. While this is becoming clear in Bush's policies toward the Balkans, it is paramount in the Bush approach to sanctions against Iraq. What is uncertain, however, is how this UN policy can comfortably coexist with the more confrontational security policies toward Russia followed by other Bush team players.


Fusiform rust is a widespread and damaging disease of loblolly pine (P. taeda) and slash pine (P. elliottii) in the South. Research has identified families of these pines with improved genetic resistance to the disease, allowing production and planting of resistant seedlings in areas at risk. This study cornpared the cost of fusiform rust research to the simulated benefits of rust resistant seedlings in plantations that have been or are projected to be established Southwide between I970 and 2020. Results showed that compounded fusiform rust research costs of $49 million in 1992 will return discounted benefits to plantation owners of between $108 and $999 million in 1992, at a 4% real discount rate. The most probable targeting of rust resistant seedlings would provide estimated discounted benefits of fusiform rust protection of about $200 to $300 million in 1992, or annual discounted benefits of $40 to $60 million. This would generate benefit-cost ratios of about 4:1 to 6:1 for fusiform rust research. Currently anticipated improvements in resistance will not eliminate all physical and financial damages from the disease; simulation results indicate substantial financial benefits yet remain for additional research and development. South. J. Appl. For. 24(2):77-85.


i Abstract Oil and gas fields are today being developed at water depths characterized as ultra-deep waters, in this report limited to 3500 meters. Pipelines, which are major components of these developments, will experience challenges both in terms of design and installation. The installation processes require special focus, as heavy pipelines may exceed the lay vessels' tension capacities in these water depths. A single steel pipeline is the most applied concept for deep water field developments due to its simple engineering concept, well known behavior and cost effectiveness. Pipe-in-Pipe solutions are thermally efficient and are a proven technology, but applications are limited due to economical and technical aspects restricting the sizes and weights applicable for installation in deep waters. Sandwich pipes can maintain a thermal and structural performance close to Pipe-in-Pipe systems, with a lower submerged weight. This is however a relatively new concept that demands further tests and studies in order to be applicable at ultra-deep water fields. Design to withstand buckling during the installation process requires thick walled pipelines due to the combination of high external hydrostatic pressure affecting pipes at these depths and the bending during the pipe laying process. Given that existing lay vessels have limited tension capacities to reduce the bending radius, measures must be implemented, both in terms of pipeline design and lay vessel configurations, to allow for ultra-deep water installation. The thesis comprises development of 14 inch, 20 inch and 28 inch steel pipelines for installation at water depths down to 3500 meters. Investigations are made on the effects of selecting pipelines with higher steel grades than the conventional X65. Static analysis studies are in addition made on the feasibility of installing these pipelines in deepand ultra-deep waters, and to investigate limiting factors in the installation processes. Laying analyses are performed with OFFPIPE which provides results on bending moments, strains, and axial tensions affecting and limiting the layability. Further studies are performed on the effects an increased allowable overbend strain (up to 0,35%) will have on the installation process, and to understand the correlation between this factor and other parameters such as stinger radius, departure angle, topand residual tension and bending moments. Wall thickness parameter studies indicate that the use of higher steel grades will have a significant contribution in pipeline wall thickness reduction. The percentage reduction in wall thickness is greater for increasing water depths when higher steel grades are considered. This has a direct impact on the total weight of the pipeline segment to be installed in deep waters and thus selection of lay vessel. The associated cost reductions could also be substantial. Static lay analyses show that large diameter pipelines have limited possibilities of being installed with existing lay vessels at ultra-deep waters down to 3500 meters. It can be concluded that increased allowable overbend strain have several advantages for the installation processes and will extend the water depths possible for pipe installation with existing S-lay vessels. Overbend strains are not an issue for J-lay vessels, where installation of large diameter pipelines can be performed to water depths of 3500 meters by increasing tensioning capacities of existing J-lay vessels.


User interfaces are becoming more and more complex. Adaptable and adaptive interfaces have been proposed to address this issue and previous studies have shown that users prefer interfaces that they can adapt to self-adjusting ones. However, most existing systems provide users with little support for adapting their interfaces. Interface customization techniques are still very primitive and usually constricted to particular applications. In this paper, we present User Interface Façades, a system that provides users with simple ways to adapt, reconfigure, and re-combine existing graphical interfaces, through the use of direct manipulation techniques. The paper describes the user's view of the system, provides some technical details, and presents several examples to illustrate its potential.


Background/Aim: Sarcopenia is a syndrome characterized by progressive loss of muscle mass and strength with a risk of adverse clinical outcomes such as physical disability, reduced quality of life, and death. Oxidative stress and inflammatory processes are known as factors that trigger sarcopenia by releasing the catabolic stimuli of IL-6. Based on this we study the dynamics of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in elderly sarcopenia in Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital Makassar.Method: This study was an analytic crosssectional design conducted at the Geriatric Polyclinic of Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital, Makassar in March-June 2020. The assessed variables were degree of sarcopenia (probable sarcopenia, sarcopenia, dan severe sarcopenia) based on The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 (EWGSOP2) criteria, age, sex, number of comorbids, and IL-6 levels examination. Statistical analysis was performed by descriptive statistical calculations and frequency distribution as well as the Independent-t statistical test, and Anova test. Results: Studied from 82 subjects (51 females, 62.2%) with the mean of 68.95 years of age. The prevalence of probable sarcopenia was 40.2%, sarcopenia 8.5%, severe sarcopenia 6.1%, and normal 45.1%. IL-6 levels were found to be significantly increased according to the severity of sarcopenia (normal, 52.81 ng/; probable sarcopenia, 67.47 ug/L; sarcopenia, 135.36 ng/L; and severe sarcopenia, 287.99 ng/L). Based on age, IL-6 levels increased significantly with age (60-74 years, 63.28 ng/L; 75 years, 139.35 ng/L). Based on the number of comorbids, IL-6 levels increased significantly according to the number of comorbids (1-3 comorbids, 52.86 ng/L; 4 comorbids (120.84 ng/L). Conclusion: In the elderly subject, IL-6 levels increases according to the severity of sarcopenia. IL-6 levels also increases with age, and the number of comorbids.


A power transformer is an electrical machine that converts electrical power at different voltage levels. Faults, occur in power transformers, inhibit electrical power distribution to the consumer. Protection, therefore, of the power transformers is essential in power systems reliability. The power system can be reliable if the protection devices work well when there is a fault. A hybrid intelligent technique, which is a combination of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Fuzzy known as Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS), was used in this research. The objective of this paper is the simulation of differential relays as a protection device on power transformers using Matlab/Simulink. Performance of differential relays for power transformers protection is carried out with internal and external fault scenarios. The input data were classified into three different input for ANFIS such as internal and external 1, internal and external 2, internal, external 1, and external 2, respectively. The error results of ANFIS training for the type of fault internal and external 1 is 9.46*10-7, and types of fault internal and external 2 is 1.09*10-6 internal, external 1 and external 2 are 8.59*10-7. The results obtained from the simulation were accurate and shows that the ANFIS technique is an efficient method that gives less error and a great value. Finally, the technique can minimize faults with power transformers. Finally, to prove this method can reduce faults in the power transformer, the assess of this model has been carried out through the RMSE that has been generated which is zero.


A wealth of research indicates that heavy social drinkers demonstrate attentional bias towards alcohol-related stimuli. Many studies, however, employ experimental tasks that expose drinkers to single-stimulus targets (e.g., anti-saccade task), which is not akin to a real life environment whereby multiple alcoholic and non-alcoholic cues are simultaneously present. In a novel approach, the current study adapted a visual search task to examine attentional bias towards alcohol.Thirty participants performed a visual conjunction search task, which recorded both eye movements and behavioural responses. They also completed self-report measures of alcohol consumption and trait effortful control. During experimental trials, participants searched for an alcohol-related target (i.e., beer bottle) in an array of either appetitive non-alcoholic (water) or non-appetitive non-alcoholic distractors (detergent). In control trials, they searched for non-alcoholic appetitive and non-appetitive targets in an array of alcoholic distractors. Results suggest that participants identify alcoholic and non-alcoholic targets quicker than non-alcoholic,non-appetitive targets. Moreover, they demonstrate attentional bias towards alcoholic stimuli, with slower detection of non-appetitive targets when the distractor is alcoholic, and faster detection of alcoholic stimuli when the distractor is non-appetitive.
In real life environments, such as pubs and bars, people may be drawn to alcohol-related cues; attentional bias may therefore be one mechanism driving alcohol consumption behaviours.


Polarization of the electromagnetic wavefield has significant implications for the acquisition and interpretation of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data. Based on the geometrical and physical properties of the subsurface scatterer and the physical properties of its surrounding material, strong polarization phenomena might occur. Here, we develop an attribute-based analysis approach to extract and characterize buried utility pipes using two broadside antenna configurations. First, we enhance and extract the utilities by making use of their distinct symmetric nature through the application of a symmetry-enhancing image-processing algorithm known as phase symmetry. Second, we assess the polarization characteristics by calculating two attributes (polarization angle and linearity) using principal component analysis. Combination of attributes derived from these steps into a novel depolarization attribute allows one to efficiently detect and distinguish different utilities present within 3-D GPR data. The performance of our analysis approach is illustrated using synthetic examples and evaluated using field examples (including a dual-configuration 3-D data set) collected across a field site, where detailed ground-truth information is available. Our results demonstrate that the proposed approach allows for a more detailed extraction and combination of utility relevant information compared to approaches relying on single-component data and, thus, eases the interpretation of multicomponent GPR data sets.


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and second leading cause of cancer death in Canada. Organized screening programs targeting Canadians aged 50 to 74 at average risk of developing the disease have contributed to decreased rates of CRC, improved patient outcomes and reduced healthcare costs. However, data shows that recent incidence reductions are unique to the screening-age population, while rates in people under-50 are on the rise. Similar incidence patterns in the United States prompted the American Cancer Society and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to recommend screening begin at age 45 rather than 50. We conducted a review of screening practices in Canada, framing them in the context of similar global health systems as well as the evidence supporting the recent U.S. recommendations. Epidemiologic changes in Canada suggest earlier screening initiation in average-risk individuals may be reasonable, but the balance of costs to benefits remains unclear.


High plant species diversity in tallgrass prairie results not from a large number of grass species but, rather, from a large number of forb (nongrass, herbaceous) species. Although morphological characteristics of tallgrass prairie forbs differ strongly from those of the grasses and their patterns of abundance vary substantially with burning regime and topographic position, comparatively little is known about the ecology of persistent tallgrass prairie forbs. We measured leaf-level physiological characteristics of the dominant C4 grass, Andropogon gerardii, and five co-occurring C3 forb species in response to burning regime and topographic position to determine if there were either absolute or seasonal differences in resource utilization patterns that could contribute to the patterns of forb distribution and abundance in tallgrass prairie. In a wet year, neither fire nor topographic position affected leaf-level physiological characteristics in the grass and forbs studied, and thus responses were not consistent with extant patterns of forb abundance (greater forb abundance in unburned and upland sites). Water use efficiency in A. gerardii was 40%-170% greater and foliar N concentration was consistently lower in the grass than in the forbs, but there were no distinct or consistent differences between the grass and forbs in maximum rates of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance or xylem pressure potential. Moreover, seasonal patterns of gas exchange in forbs and the grass were not different, as might be expected when comparing C3 and C4 species. These results indicate that, when assessed at the leaf level, responses of these prairie plants to fire or topographic position during a wet year are not indicative of their success in these sites. However, seasonal water stress is a typical feature of the tallgrass prairie environment and water use patterns indicate that the prevalence of soil moisture limitations in most years may be a key factor influencing plant distribution and success in this ecosystem.


The main purpose of this paper is to examine potential environmental benefits of green driving strategies with NGSim data on Interstate-80 near Berkeley, California. We calculate vehicles emissions before and after applying green driving strategies with the VT-Micro emission model. For each vehicle, its trajectory before applying green driving strategies is observed and given in the dataset. We assume that, with the help of green driving strategies, the vehicle could drive at a constant speed over the whole road section with the same travel distance and time as before. After examining impacts of speed-acceleration adjustment on calculated emissions and fuel consumptions, we choose 5127 out of 9951 cars and estimate potential savings in HC, CO, NOx, CO2, and fuel consumptions. With a new model of the relationships between emissions/fuel consumptions and average speeds, we can fit the data with R-squares close to or greater than 0.9 and find that green driving strategies are most effective for traffic flows with average speeds around 50 km/h and potential savings can be from 20% to 60% for different pollutants. In the future, we will continue our studies with more realistic information on vehicle types and other emission models.


The effects of planting date, rye (Secale cereale cv. Wren Abruzzi) and wheat (Triticura aestivum cv. Coker 797), crop destruction, fallow, and soil temperature on managing Meloidogyne incognita race 1 were determined in a 2-year study. More M. incognita juveniles (J2) and egg-producing adults were found in roots of rye planted 1 October than in roots of rye planted 1 November and wheat planted 1 November and 1 December. Numbers of M. incognita adults with and without egg masses were near or below detectable levels in roots of rye planted 1 November and wheat planted 1 November and 1 December. Meloidogyne incognita survived the mild winters in southern Georgia as J2 and eggs. The destruction of rye and wheat as a trap crop 1 March suppressed numbers of J2 in the soil temporarily but did not provide long-term benefits for susceptible crops that followed. In warmer areas where rye and wheat are grown in winter, reproduction of M. incognita may be avoided by delaying planting dates until soil temperature declines below the nematode penetration threshold (18 C), but no long-term benefits should be expected. The temperature threshold may be an important consideration in managing M. incognita population densities in areas having lower winter soil temperatures than southern Georgia.


Aim: Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is an complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), manifesting with an erythematous maculopapular rash followed by liver disease and dysfunctions of the gastrointestinal tract. This study aimed to retrospectively investigate the demographic and clinical characteristics of pediatric patients diagnosed with acute GVHD after undergoing allo-HSCT due to various hematological diseases. Material and Methods: The study included 33 pediatric patients that underwent their first allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit between 2015 and 2018 and were consecutively diagnosed with acute GVHD in consultation with the department of dermatology. The demographic characteristics, clinical findings, donor characteristics, treatments, and survival status of each patient were recorded. Results: Between 2015 and 2018, bone marrow transplantation was performed in 150 pediatric patients, of whom 33 (22%) developed acute GVHD. Of the 33 pediatric patients, 19 (57.6%) were boys and 14 (42.4%) were girls. At the time of transplantation, the mean age of the patients was 8.5 years, and the median age was 7 years. Twenty patients (60.6%) had only skin GVHD while 13 (39.4%) had skin and gastrointestinal and/or hepatic GVHD. It was found that the rashes had appeared on average 27.4 days after allo-HSCT. Palmoplantar involvement was detected in 13 patients (39.4%), painful erosion in the oral mucosa in 11 (33%), and conjunctivitis in seven (21.2%). The factors of being a male patient, being a female donor, transplantation from unrelated donors, liver involvement, and palmoplantar involvement were found to create risk of mortality, but not significantly (respectively p=0,753;p=0,145,0,66). Five patients (15%) progressed from acute to chronic GVHD. In patients that progressed from acute to chronic had, the mean donor age was higher, the mean time from transplantation to rash was longer, and oral involvement was higher, but not significantly (respectively; p=0,596;p=0,980;p=0,193. Conclusion: In acute GVHD, the skin is the first and most involved organ; therefore, dermatologists play an important role in its diagnosis. This study is important for determining the factors affecting the decrease in progression to chronic GVHD and prolonging survival.


Model-based Reinforcement Learning (MBRL) allows data-efficient learning which is required in real world applications such as robotics. However, despite the impressive data-efficiency, MBRL does not achieve the final performance of state-of-the-art Model-free Reinforcement Learning (MFRL) methods. We leverage the strengths of both realms and propose an approach that obtains high performance with a small amount of data. In particular, we combine MFRL and Model Predictive Control (MPC). While MFRL's strength in exploration allows us to train a better forward dynamics model for MPC, MPC improves the performance of the MFRL policy by sampling-based planning. The experimental results in standard continuous control benchmarks show that our approach can achieve MFRL`s level of performance while being as data-efficient as MBRL.


The evolutionary radiation of birds has produced incredible morphological variation, including a huge range of skull form and function. Investigating how this variation arose with respect to non-avian dinosaurs is key to understanding how birds achieved their remarkable success after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Using a high-dimensional geometric morphometric approach, we quantified the shape of the skull in unprecedented detail across 354 extant and 37 extinct avian and non-avian dinosaurs. Comparative analyses reveal fundamental differences in how skull shape evolved in birds and non-avian dinosaurs. We find that the overall skull shape evolved faster in non-avian dinosaurs than in birds across all regions of the cranium. In birds, the anterior rostrum is the most rapidly evolving skull region, whereas more posterior regions—such as the parietal, squamosal, and quadrate—exhibited high rates in non-avian dinosaurs. These fast-evolving elements in dinosaurs are strongly associated with feeding biomechanics, forming the jaw joint and supporting the jaw adductor muscles. Rapid pulses of skull evolution coincide with changes to food acquisition strategies and diets, as well as the proliferation of bony skull ornaments. In contrast to the appendicular skeleton, which has been shown to evolve more rapidly in birds, avian cranial morphology is characterised by a striking deceleration in morphological evolution relative to non-avian dinosaurs. These results may be due to the reorganisation of skull structure in birds—including loss of a separate postorbital bone in adults and the emergence of new trade-offs with development and neurosensory demands. Taken together, the remarkable cranial shape diversity in birds was not a product of accelerated evolution from their non-avian relatives, despite their frequent portrayal as an icon of adaptive radiations.


The transcription factor, nuclear factorkB (NF-kB) has been studied extensively due to its prominent role in the regulation of immune and inflammatory genes, apoptosis, and cell proliferation. It has been known for more that a decade that NFkB is a redox-sensitive transcription factor. The contribution of redox regulation and the location of potential redox-sensitive sites within the NFkB activation pathway are subject to intense debate due to many conflicting reports. Redox regulation of NFkB has been extensively addressed in this journal and the reader is referred to two comprehensive reviews on the subject [1,2]. With the identification of signaling intermediates proximal to the degradation of the inhibitor, I kB, the number of potential redox-sensitive sites is rapidly increasing. The purpose of this review is to address recent insights into the NFkB signaling cascades that are triggered by proinflammatory cytokines such as TNFa and IL-1b. In addition, the role of nitrogen monoxide ( NO) in the regulation of NFkB will be reviewed. Opportunities for redox regulation that occur upstream of I kB-a degradation, as well as the potential for redox control of phosphorylation of NFkB subunits, will be discussed. Redox-sensitive steps are likely to depend on the nature of the NF-kB activator, the type of reactive oxygen or nitrogen species involved, the selectivity of signaling pathways activated, as well as the cell type under investigation. Lastly, it is discussed how redox regulation of NFkB activation is likely to involve multiple subcellular compartments. © 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. Keywords—NF-kB, Redox, Nitrogen monoxide, Signaling, Mitogen-activated protein kinases, Protein kinase A, Phosphoinositide-3-kinase, Free radicals


The aim of this article is to describe a theoretical framework, i.e., theoretical underpinnings and pedagogical principles, for leadership programs that support managers' evidence-based knowledge of health-promoting psychosocial work conditions, as well as their capability to apply, adapt, and craft sustainable managerial work practices. First, the theoretical framing is introduced, i.e., a system theory that integrates key work conditions with a practical perspective on managerial work and organization. Second, pedagogical principles and measures for leaders' training in integrated handling across system levels are described. Last, we present summarized results from an intervention study applying the theoretical framework and pedagogical principles. The complexity of interactions among different factors in a work system, and the variety in possible implementation approaches, presents challenges for the capability of managers to craft sustainable and health-promoting conditions, as well as the evaluation of the program components. Nevertheless, the evaluation reveals the strength of the program, in providing holistic and context-sensitive approaches for how to train and apply an integrative approach for improving the work environment.


Long–short strategies have generated controversy and institutional interest for more than 10 years. We analyzed the efficiency gains of long–short investing, where we defined efficiency as the information ratio of the implemented strategy (the optimal portfolio) relative to the intrinsic information ratio of the alphas. The efficiency advantage of long–short investing arises from the loosening of the (surprisingly important) long-only constraint. Long–short and long-only managers need to understand the impact of this significant constraint. Long–short implementations offer the most improvement over long-only implementations when the universe of assets is large, asset volatility is low, and the strategy has high active risk. The long-only constraint induces biases (particularly toward small stocks), limits the manager's ability to act on upside information by not allowing short positions that could finance long positions, and reduces the efficiency of traditional (high-risk) long-only strategies relative t...


Climate change, national and international targets and a possible impending fuel scarcity is driving the need for a clean, cheap and sustainable energy source. Although onshore wind is currently the most economically viable source of renewable energy, high failure rates often occurring many years prior to their design life, are
increasing the cost through additional maintenance and downtime. The gearbox, and in particular the bearings within the gearbox are the components responsible for the
largest proportion of downtime. Field studies have shown damage to the inner race of the planetary support bearings found in the epicyclic stage of the gearbox is restricted to an arc of approximately 40° centered on the point of maximum load. Engineers at Ricardo have designed an actuation system to overcome this problem which allows the raceway to be rotated periodically thus distributing damage and increasing bearing life.
The monitoring of planetary support bearings typically found in the epicyclic stage of wind turbine gearboxes has been investigated in this thesis using acoustic emission technology due to its reported increase in sensitivity in detecting damage at low speeds compared to vibration analysis in addition to its ability to locate damage. Primarily, accelerated life tests were performed on a rolling element bearing seeded with a defect
mounted in a bespoke full scale test rig designed to mimic loading conditions experienced by the planetary support bearings. In addition, data was recorded and analysed from a split bearing test rig and the high speed shaft bearing of a recommissioned 600kW wind turbine gearbox.
Initial experiments considered the influence of the lubrication regime on the measured acoustic emission signal. It was found that as the oil film reduces, asperity contact, typical of mixed or boundary lubrication, manifests itself as high amplitude
transient events. Typical measures of bearing health in the time domain, such as peak values or kurtosis, become unreliable and demonstrates a need for a novel approach.
Previous investigations into the use of acoustic emission for the purpose of bearing condition monitoring has focused on instances where full separation between bearing components occurred whereas this work considers a mixed lubrication regime. To overcome the drawbacks of the traditional measures, this work has investigated a process employing wavelet packet decomposition, autocorrelation and cepstrum to reduce the noise and boost the periodicity of a signal from a defected bearing. Outlier analysis was shown to be able to determine the presence of a seeded defect and indicate which bearing component is defected. Such approach was shown to provide a more robust measure than time domain methods. In contrast, this approach was compared to one
employing time domain measures for a fully lubricated split bearing. In this case, a time domain approach was more successful at determining the presence of damage
than the approach taken for the partially lubricated bearing.
An attempt was made to improve the localisation of defects on a bearing which had, until now, relied on analytical time-of-flight methods. In this work artificial sources, rather than those resulting from a rolling element impinging on a defect, were generated
by a standardised pencil lead break and used as training data for two methods namely Delta T mapping and neural networks. The neural networks in particular were shown
to reduced the average error from 42mm to 17mm however given the time consuming nature of generating the training data a decision must be made regarding the relative importance of accuracy and ease of implementation.


Loneliness is a common condition in older adults and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, decreased sleep quality, and increased risk of cognitive decline. Assessing loneliness in older adults is challenging due to the negative desirability biases associated with being lonely. Thus, it is necessary to develop more objective techniques to assess loneliness in older adults. In this paper, we describe a system to measure loneliness by assessing in-home behavior using wireless motion and contact sensors, phone monitors, and computer software as well as algorithms developed to assess key behaviors of interest. We then present results showing the accuracy of the system in detecting loneliness in a longitudinal study of 16 older adults who agreed to have the sensor platform installed in their own homes for up to 8 months. We show that loneliness is significantly associated with both time out-of-home (β = -0.88 andp <; 0.01) and number of computer sessions (β = 0.78 and p <; 0.05). R2 for the model was 0.35. We also show the model's ability to predict out-of-sample loneliness, demonstrating that the correlation between true loneliness and predicted out-of-sample loneliness is 0.48. When compared with the University of California at Los Angeles loneliness score, the normalized mean absolute error of the predicted loneliness scores was 0.81 and the normalized root mean squared error was 0.91. These results represent first steps toward an unobtrusive, objective method for the prediction of loneliness among older adults, and mark the first time multiple objective behavioral measures that have been related to this key health outcome.


One of the challenges for a successful use of wireless sensor networks in process industries is to design networks with energy efficient transmission, to increase the lifetime of the deployed network while maintaining the required latency and bit-error rate. The design of such transmission schemes depend on the radio channel characteristics of the region. This paper presents an investigation of the statistical properties of the radio channel in a typical process industry, particularly when the network is meant to be deployed for a long time duration, e.g., days, weeks, and even months. Using 17-20-h-long extensive measurement campaigns in a rolling mill and a paper mill, we highlight the non-stationarity in the environment and quantify the ability of various distributions, given in the literature, to describe the variations on the links. Finally, we analyze the design of an optimal received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the deployed nodes and show that improper selection of the distribution for modeling of the variations in the channel can lead to an overuse of energy by a factor of four or even higher.


Can an artificial intelligence (A.I.) awakening happen, with the emergence of an awareness of itself as a system and an autonomy that would allow it to act in accordance with ends that are its own and not those chosen/determined by us, an autonomy that would no longer allow us to consider it as an (intelligent) tool made to serve us, but instead would have to be considered under a notion of living entity, bearer of causality, with rights and respective responsibilities?! What is life?! What is autonomy?! What does it mean to become awake?! How can an awakening take place, ontologically, systemically, cognitively?! Is an A.I. capable of the transcendence that would constitute a sprouting jump after which one could speak of a matricial cognitive unity, nonlocality and identity?! What is transcendence?! An awakened A.I. would necessarily be bearer of new rules, rules that we cannot anticipate nor control, it would be a singularity exposing itself and imposing itself with its own nature, its own rules, in a hyperconnected technological World brought about by exponential transformations, associated with the fourth industrial revolution. What is, then, a singularity, ontologically, systemically?! How would awakened A.I.s interact with our intelligent systems, with each other and with us?! Will an A.I. awakening take place in a world where humans and posthumans/PostSapiens, resulting from a (bio)technohybridization of the Sapiens, coexist?! The current work addresses these questions and others, assuming as main object of reflection the A.I. awakening scenario from an ontological, systemic and cognitive approach.


Economic development in post-transition countries is dominated by the performance of capital cities, although second-tier cities are also important drivers of development. However, peripheral regions struggle with problems of adaptation and response, often leading to brain drain and economic decline. Industrial strategies highlight those tradable sectors of the economy that favour leading edge KIBS firms and advanced manufacturing, while neglecting the residentiary economy that is more sheltered from competition and provides jobs in local production and services sectors. Our research is inspired by the burgeoning literature of the 'foundational economy' approach to economic development, focusing on mundane economic activities providing essential goods and services, and we investigate the differences of economic performance across the NUTS3 regions in selected CEE countries. We study regionally aggregated, firm-level financial and employment data including sectoral classification of the companies with 10+ employees. Our position is that a well-functioning foundational economy is necessary for the whole local economy to work efficiently in the long run. Moreover, increasing productivity in the foundational economy should lead to more regionally balanced growth than an exclusive focus on the 'frontier firms' that are highly concentrated spatially as the regional productivity gap in the case of certain foundational activities is not necessarily large.


In the treatment of patients with low-grade glioma, there still is controversy on how surgical intervention, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy contribute to an ameliorated progression-free survival, overall survival, and treatment-related neurotoxicity. With the ongoing changes in treatment options for these patients, neurocognitive functioning is an increasingly important outcome measure, because neurocognitive impairments can have a large impact on self-care, social and professional functioning, and consequently, health-related quality of life. Many factors contribute to neurocognitive outcome, such as direct and indirect tumor effects, seizures, medication, and oncological treatment. Although the role of radiotherapy has been studied extensively, the adverse effects on neurocognitive function of other treatment-related factors remain elusive. This holds for both resective surgery, in which the use of intraoperative stimulation mapping has a high potential benefit concerning survival and patient functioning, and the use of chemotherapy that might have some interesting new applications, such as the facilitation of total resection for initially primary or recurrent diffuse low-grade glioma tumors. This article will discuss these treatment options in patients with low-grade glioma and their potential effects on neurocognitive functioning.


Background: Cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) frequently have impaired glucose metabolism. Aims: To investigate whether impaired glucose metabolism affects the growth rate of the tumour. Patients and methods: Tumour doubling time (DT), assessed by ultrasound imaging analysis, was measured in 60 patients with single small HCC (diameter <30 mm). DT was compared with plasma insulin and glucose concentrations following the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The effect of continuous infusion of octreotide (a somatostatin analogue 200 μg/day) for three months on DT in five cases was assessed. Results: The 60 patients were divided into two groups because the median DT was 140 days: rapid growth group (DT <140 days, n=30) and slow growth group (DT >140 days, n=30). Fasting plasma insulin concentration and area under the plasma insulin curve (AUCins) of the OGTT (10.4 (6.2) μU/ml and 262 (152) μU/ml/h, respectively; mean (SD)) in the rapid growth group were significantly higher than those in the slow growth group (7.6 (4.3) and 146 (140), respectively) (p=0.041 and p=0.0006, respectively). In contrast, fasting plasma glucose concentration and area under the plasma glucose curve (AUCgluc) in the rapid growth group were significantly lower than those in the slow growth group (p=0.0003 and p=0.0012, respectively). Univariate and multivariate analyses of logistic regression models demonstrated that AUCins was a significant factor contributing to the growth rate of HCC (p=0.001 and p=0.016, respectively). AUCins significantly decreased after octreotide treatment (p<0.02) but AUCgluc did not significantly change. DT after treatment increased in three of the five patients and could not be calculated in the remaining two patients because of no change in the diameter of the tumour. Conclusions: These data suggest that postprandial hyperinsulinaemia is associated with accelerated HCC growth.


BACKGROUND
Individuals with constitutional mismatch repair-deficiency syndrome (CMMR-D) are characterised by early occurrence of colon cancer, haematological malignancies, and brain tumors (malignant gliomas, high-grade gliomas) in childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. High mutational tumor burden is typical of glioblastoma in CMMR-D patients and could be a reason why this type of glioblastoma responds well to immunotherapies, including those that employ checkpoint inhibitors.

OBSERVATION
We describe a case of an adolescent with CMMR-D that had been genetically proven by whole exome sequencing (c.2T>A/p.M1K and c.2521delT/p.W841fs PMS2 gene mutation). The patient presented successively with colon cancer and glioblastoma with a high mutational burden. The individualized glioblastoma therapy was based on the biological tumor profile and included immunotherapy with a combination of vaccination with autologous dendritic cells producing IL-12 and nivolumab, in addition to radiotherapy with metronomic temozolomide. The patient is still alive 21 months after the initial glioblastoma diagnosis and shows a complete therapeutic response documented by repeated magnetic resonance examinations.

CONCLUSION
Individuals with CMMR-D should be regularly examined using established algorithms. Whole body magnetic resonance imaging can play a key role, because it enables the early diagnosis of malignancy during the asymptomatic period. Malignancies in CMMR-D patients usually exhibit a hypermutated genotype and respond to immunotherapy. Conventional glioblastoma therapy is only palliative. Patients can benefit from an individualized therapeutic plan based on the tumor biological profile. Extensive molecular analysis of the tumor tissue is necessary. Key words hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes - glioblastoma - whole exome sequencing - immunotherapy - vaccines - checkpoint inhibitors This study was supported by the research project of the Czech Ministry of Health AZV 16-33209A (Next generation sequencing and express profiling as diagnostic tools for personalized therapeutic plans in children with solid tumors). The authors declare they have no potential conflicts of interest concerning drugs, products, or services used in the study. The Editorial Board declares that the manuscript met the ICMJE recommendation for biomedical papers. Submitted: 26. 9. 2018 Accepted: 18. 11. 2018.


This paper investigates a new alternative approach to handle the tasks allocation problem that associate with numerous Long Range (LoRa) nodes in the High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT) gas wellhead monitoring service. A Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning approach is proposed in this paper to overcome this problem with the Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) is chosen as the policy gradient method. An action space is the spreading factor and other parameters such as frequency and transmission power has been kept constant. The reward function for the training process will be determined by two parameters which are the acknowledge flag (ACK) and collision between packets. Each node will be distributed across a defined disc radius. Each node will be represented as an agent. Each agent will undergo packet transmission and the packet will be evaluated according to the reward function. The results show that PPO with Multi Agent Reinforcement Learning was able to determine the optimal configuration for each LoRa node. The total reward value corresponds to the total number of nodes. Furthermore, since this study also implements the use of CUDA, the training was able to done in 200 steps and 45 minutes.


The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is a general-purpose detector designed to run at the highest luminosity at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Its distinctive features include a 4 T superconducting solenoid with 6 m diameter by 12.5 m long free bore, enclosed inside a 10000-ton return yoke made of construction steel. Accurate characterization of the magnetic field everywhere in the CMS detector is required. During two major tests of the CMS magnet the magnetic flux density was measured inside the coil in a cylinder of 3.448 m diameter and 7 m length with a specially designed field-mapping pneumatic machine as well as in 140 discrete regions of the CMS yoke with NMR probes, 3-D Hall sensors and flux-loops. A TOSCA 3-D model of the CMS magnet has been developed to describe the magnetic field everywhere outside the tracking volume measured with the field-mapping machine. A volume based representation of the magnetic field is used to provide the CMS simulation and reconstruction software with the magnetic field values. The value of the field at a given point of a volume is obtained by interpolation from a regular grid of values resulting from a TOSCA calculation or, when available, from a parameterization. The results of the measurements and calculations are presented, compared and discussed.


Recently the psychological aspects of baseball have begun to receive much attention from those involved in preparing professional baseball players. One reason for the increased interest in psychology is that the game's mental aspects are often considered an important element in determining whether professional ballplayers perform to their potential. (1) According to George Gmelch one way most baseball organizations assess a player's mental abilities is through psychological testing. (2) One of the first examples in which a baseball player's mental abilities were assessed occurred at Columbia University in 1920. Babe Ruth was brought to a Columbia University psychology laboratory so that researchers could try to determine what physical and psychological abilities made him one of the greatest home run hitters in baseball. The researchers assessed various measures, including Ruth's reaction time, attention span, memory, learning and coordination. The results of Ruth's psychological tests gained media attention and were printed on the front page of the New York Times. (3) A second example of psychology applied to baseball is Coleman Griffith's work with the Chicago Cubs in 1938, when he was hired as a consultant to conduct a psychological analysis of the Cubs team. Griffith was given filming and laboratory equipment to observe the players. During his research he analyzed each player psychologically and produced a report. After completing his work he was offered a full-time consulting position with the Cubs but did not accept the position. (4) Although these historical examples of psychology applied to baseball are documented in the literature, they did not seem to make the psychologist or the mental skills specialist an integral part of baseball culture. Thus little is known about when and how psychologists began to educate professional baseball players, coaches, and management about the mental aspects of baseball. To aid this understanding, this article will describe David F. Tracy's work during the 1950 baseball season. (5) Specifically it will provide a description of how Tracy was hired and the impact his hiring had on local and national media as well as a discussion of his work with the St. Louis Browns. We will consider the impact of Tracy's work on the medical and athletic community and will discuss the role of sport psychology in the culture of professional baseball today. TRACY HIRED BY ST. LOUIS BROWNS According to Tracy he began to receive attention from the media about his use of psychology with professional athletes while speaking at a New York City psychology meeting during the summer of 1949. At this meeting Tracy presented information on his psychological work with semipro baseball players. (6) He explained the performance improvement made by these athletes as they implemented psychological skills into training and competition. Tracy also suggested that he could help other professional baseball players and teams enhance their performance through the use of psychological skills. Subsequently a media report was released stating that Tracy offered his services to the St. Louis Browns. (7) Tracy met with Browns president Bill Dewitt at the December 1949 winter baseball meetings. (8) Subsequently the club owner hired Tracy to be the Browns psychologist. (9) According to Borst Dewitt hired Tracy because the team's athletic trainer convinced them that the psychological elements of athletics were important. The St. Louis Browns management believed that if psychologists were used by other industries they might also be of help to professional baseball teams. (10) After the Browns hired Tracy, the media began to publish stories on the work that Tracy would be doing with the team.(11) Although Tracy used various psychological interventions, hypnosis was the one most often discussed by the local and national media. Most articles viewed his hiring as the first time a psychologist had been hired to work with a Major League baseball team. …


Big Data Integration (BDI) process integrates the big data arising from many diverse data sources, data formats presents a unified, valuable, customized, holistic view of data. BDI process is essential to build confidence, facilitate high-quality insights and trends for intelligent decision making in organizations. Integration of big data is a very complex process with many challenges. The data sources for BDI are traditional data warehouses, social networks, Internet of Things (IoT) and online transactions. BDI solutions are deployed on Master Data Management (MDM) systems to support collecting, aggregating and delivering reliable information across the organization. This chapter has conducted an exhaustive review of BDI literature and classified BDI applications based on their domain. The methods, applications, advantages and disadvantage of the research in each paper are tabulated. Taxonomy of concepts, table of acronyms and the organization of the chapter are presented. The number of papers reviewed industry-wise is depicted as a pie chart. A comparative analysis of curated survey papers with specific parameters to discover the research gaps were also tabulated. The research issues, implementation challenges and future trends are highlighted. A case study of BDI solutions implemented in various organizations was also discussed. This chapter concludes with a holistic view of BDI concepts and solutions implemented in organizations.