The Concept of Data Model Pattern Based on Fully Communication Oriented Information Modeling (FCO-IM)

Just as in many areas of software engineering, patterns have been used in  data modeling  to  create high quality  data  models.  We  provide  a  concept  of data  model  pattern  based  on  Fully  Communication  Oriented  Information Modeling  (FCO-IM),  a  fact  oriented  data  modeling  method.  A  data  model pattern is  defined  as  the relation  between  context, problem,  an d  solution.  This definition is adopted from the concept of pattern by Christopher Alexander. We define the concept of Information Grammar for Pattern (IG P) in the solution part of  a  pattern,  which  works  as  a  template  to  create  a  data  model.  The  IG P  also shows how a pattern can relate to other patterns. The data model pattern concept is then used to describe 15 data model patterns, organized into 4 categories. A case study on geographical location is provided to show the use of the concept in a real case

Analyzing the Social Lead-Up to a Human-Induced Disaster: The Gas Extraction-Earthquake Nexus in Groningen, The Netherlands

The overwhelming impact that disasters have on societies is fed by socio-economic vulnerabilities and political-institutional factors. Disasters are, therefore, increasingly regarded as partially created by humans instead of as purely natural events. Although the “social creation” of disasters is assumed to occur “above the ground” and triggered by extreme natural events, this article explores several dimensions to the social creation of disasters, including technological and institutional dimensions from both “above” and “below the ground”. It furthers the understanding of disaster governance by investigating processes that generate the social lead-up to a human-induced disaster, and that are installed to deal with its consequences. Focusing on the case of Groningen, the Netherlands, where gas extraction leads to earthquakes, the article looks in particular at the interrelationships between different state and non-state actors in the governance dynamics that structure the processes to deal with the earthquake issues. Based on in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholders, we found that public-private institutional structures, the nature of the disaster and societal (dis)trust are entangled and influence disaster governance processes mediating resilience and sustainability. The article concludes by arguing that both the causes of (human-induced) disasters and the approaches to disaster mitigation lie in these political-institutional and governance fundaments

The Concept of Data Model Pattern Based on Fully Communication Oriented Information Modeling (FCO-IM)

Just as in many areas of software engineering, patterns have been used in data modeling to create high quality data models. We provide a concept of data model pattern based on Fully Communication Oriented Information Modeling (FCO-IM), a fact oriented data modeling method. A data model pattern is defined as the relation between context, problem, and solution. This definition is adopted from the concept of pattern by Christopher Alexander. We define the concept of Information Grammar for Pattern (IGP) in the solution part of a pattern, which works as a template to create a data model. The IGP also shows how a pattern can relate to other patterns. The data model pattern concept is then used to describe 15 data model patterns, organized into 4 categories. A case study on geographical location is provided to show the use of the concept in a real case

CAR-T cell. the long and winding road to solid tumors

Adoptive cell therapy of solid tumors with reprogrammed T cells can be considered the "next generation" of cancer hallmarks. CAR-T cells fail to be as effective as in liquid tumors for the inability to reach and survive in the microenvironment surrounding the neoplastic foci. The intricate net of cross-interactions occurring between tumor components, stromal and immune cells leads to an ineffective anergic status favoring the evasion from the host's defenses. Our goal is hereby to trace the road imposed by solid tumors to CAR-T cells, highlighting pitfalls and strategies to be developed and refined to possibly overcome these hurdles

"Those are your words, not mine!" Defence strategies for denying speaker commitment

Language Use in Past and Presen

Neutrophil-specific deletion of the CARD9 gene expression regulator suppresses autoantibody-induced inflammation in vivo

Neutrophils are terminally differentiated cells with limited transcriptional activity. The biological function of their gene expression changes is poorly understood. CARD9 regulates transcription during antifungal immunity but its role in sterile inflammation is unclear. Here we show that neutrophil CARD9 mediates pro-inflammatory chemokine/cytokine but not lipid mediator release during non-infectious inflammation. Genetic deficiency of CARD9 suppresses autoantibody-induced arthritis and dermatitis in mice. Neutrophil-specific deletion of CARD9 is sufficient to induce that phenotype. Card9(-/-) neutrophils show defective immune complex-induced gene expression changes and pro-inflammatory chemokine/cytokine release but normal LTB4 production and other short-term responses. In vivo deletion of CARD9 reduces tissue levels of pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines but not LTB4. The CARD9-mediated signalling pathway involves Src-family kinases, Syk, PLCγ2, Bcl10/Malt1 and NFκB. Collectively, CARD9-mediated gene expression changes within neutrophils play important roles during non-infectious inflammation in vivo and CARD9 acts as a divergence point between chemokine/cytokine and lipid mediator release

Expression profile of human Fc receptors in mucosal tissue: implications for antibody-dependent cellular effector functions targeting HIV-1 transmission

The majority of new Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-1 infections are acquired via sexual transmission at mucosal surfaces. Partial efficacy (31.2%) of the Thai RV144 HIV-1 vaccine trial has been correlated with Antibody-dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity (ADCC) mediated by non-neutralizing antibodies targeting the V1V2 region of the HIV-1 envelope. This has led to speculation that ADCC and other antibody-dependent cellular effector functions might provide an important defense against mucosal acquisition of HIV-1 infection. However, the ability of antibody-dependent cellular effector mechanisms to impact on early mucosal transmission events will depend on a variety of parameters including effector cell type, frequency, the class of Fc-Receptor (FcR) expressed, the number of FcR per cell and the glycoslyation pattern of the induced antibodies. In this study, we characterize and compare the frequency and phenotype of IgG (CD16 [FcγRIII], CD32 [FcγRII] and CD64 [FcγRI]) and IgA (CD89 [FcαR]) receptor expression on effector cells within male and female genital mucosal tissue, colorectal tissue and red blood cell-lysed whole blood. The frequency of FcR expression on CD14+ monocytic cells, myeloid dendritic cells and natural killer cells were similar across the three mucosal tissue compartments, but significantly lower when compared to the FcR expression profile of effector cells isolated from whole blood, with many cells negative for all FcRs. Of the three tissues tested, penile tissue had the highest percentage of FcR positive effector cells. Immunofluorescent staining was used to determine the location of CD14+, CD11c+ and CD56+ cells within the three mucosal tissues. We show that the majority of effector cells across the different mucosal locations reside within the subepithelial lamina propria. The potential implication of the observed FcR expression patterns on the effectiveness of FcR-dependent cellular effector functions to impact on the initial events in mucosal transmission and dissemination warrants further mechanistic studies

Clinical Use and Therapeutic Potential of IVIG/SCIG, Plasma-Derived IgA or IgM, and Other Alternative Immunoglobulin Preparations

Intravenous and subcutaneous immunoglobulin preparations, consisting of IgG class antibodies, are increasingly used to treat a broad range of pathological conditions, including humoral immune deficiencies, as well as acute and chronic inflammatory or autoimmune disorders. A plethora of Fab- or Fc-mediated immune regulatory mechanisms has been described that might act separately or in concert, depending on pathogenesis or stage of clinical condition. Attempts have been undertaken to improve the efficacy of polyclonal IgG preparations, including the identification of relevant subfractions, mild chemical modification of molecules, or modification of carbohydrate side chains. Furthermore, plasma-derived IgA or IgM preparations may exhibit characteristics that might be exploited therapeutically. The need for improved treatment strategies without increase in plasma demand is a goal and might be achieved by more optimal use of plasma-derived proteins, including the IgA and the IgM fractions. This article provides an overview on the current knowledge and future strategies to improve the efficacy of regular IgG preparations and discusses the potential of human plasma-derived IgA, IgM, and preparations composed of mixtures of IgG, IgA, and IgM

A Typical Case of Recommending the Use of a Hierarchical Data Format

Storing large amounts of data in an efficient way from the point of view of very fast retrieval is animportant requirement for many industries like KEMA, a company offering consulting, testing andcertification in the energy business. Because their relational database could not cope fast enough with thelarge amounts of data involved, an alternative way for data storage was proposed, called HierarchicalData Format 5 (HDF5). HDF5 is a data model, a library, and file format for storing and managing data.Four hierarchical designs for storing and retrieving the large amounts of data involved were investigated.A benchmark was carried out in order to know which hierarchical structure would perform best.Eventually, a benchmark between HDF5 and MS SQL Server was carried out. It could be shown thatHDF5 performs four (4) times better for inserting and even 200 times better for retrieving data than theMS. SQL Server