Reversing Poor Safety Records: Identifying Best Practices to Improve Fleet Safety

Commercial motor vehicle safety is of utmost importance, as crashes involving commercial motor vehicles often result in significant property damage, injuries, fatalities, and financial loss for fleets. However, fleet managers are often unsure what strategies other fleets have used to successfully improve safety. To identify best practices, researchers completed case studies with nine commercial motor vehicle fleets that successfully improved their safety performance. A content analysis was performed, and the successful strategies were organized into the Haddon Matrix. Results showed that there was no one single strategy that fleets used to improve safety. Instead, fleets relied on a comprehensive approach focusing on pre-crash countermeasures, including addressing hiring practices, driver training, fleet safety culture, safety technologies, scheduling, and maintenance. However, an enhanced safety culture and advanced safety technology were identified as critical components to their safety improvement. Results from this study may help fleets understand what their peers have used to successfully improve safety and which strategies may not be as helpful.

Strategies for Goat Feeding and Management during Drought

Nowadays, climate change is becoming a serious problem threatening livestock production by affecting their environment, health, and feed sources. Many parts of the tropical countries, particularly the pastoralist area, experience extended periods of drought, leading to shortages of feed and water. During these periods, goats are incapable of meeting their nutrient requirement for maintenance and will begin to lose weight as body reserves are depleted, causing economic loss to the goats. In the extremely long dry season, animals die, with the youngest, weakest, and oldest dying first. As a result, drought management entails balancing pasture and water supply against forage and water demand. In most cases, no single strategy will suffice to address this issue. Each situation would need a different set of strategies Therefore, this chapter will come with some common options/ strategies that can be avail feed shortage during drought. Those strategies are purchase of feed from surplus location, adjustment of animal management, policy intervention, destocking, adjusting grazing strategies during drought, supplementation, maintenance feeding, reallocation of a given amount of feed in the herd, early weaning and creep feeding, lowering stocking rate, water sources and supplies, development and effective utilization of feed resources, and creation of feed banks.

Evaluation of the enterprise strategy by the game theory method

The choice of strategy ensures the formation of a certain option that provides a detailed analysis of situations that may arise in the future. As in the game, where each of the participants plans their actions, predicting the actions of other players and the general conditions of situations that may arise as a result of these actions. You should pay attention to the probability of committing players and the probability of a certain situation. It is clear that this is a prediction of a situation that has not yet occurred, but occurred in accordance with the probability of the strategy in the implementation of the actions of each of the participants associated with the risk. The application of the principles, methods and tools of game theory will make it possible to form a complete plan of action in all situations that are expected to occur. The developed action plan of the participants (players, subjects) in accordance with the whole set of situations and possible developments in them, forms a strategy. Game theory is based on the application by each participant of a single strategy, which is a certain algorithm of actions, not a list of them. Such an algorithm, due to its branches, should reflect the possibility of occurrence and development of events and situations. The article proposes methods of selecting and evaluating enterprise strategies through the application of game theory, which will take into account the strategies of competitors (other participants in the conflict situation) or the state of "nature", which embodies the environment of enterprises. The article considers the advantages and disadvantages of using game theory methods to evaluate enterprise strategies, classifies and compares the types of these methods to clarify the peculiarities of their application in certain situations, the peculiarities of the application of strategy selection criteria in this scope.

Various Uses of PD1/PD-L1 Inhibitor in Oncology: Opportunities and Challenges

The occurrence and development of cancer are closely related to the immune escape of tumor cells and immune tolerance. Unlike previous surgical, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and targeted therapy, tumor immunotherapy is a therapeutic strategy that uses various means to stimulate and enhance the immune function of the body, and ultimately achieves the goal of controlling tumor cells.With the in-depth understanding of tumor immune escape mechanism and tumor microenvironment, and the in-depth study of tumor immunotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors represented by Programmed Death 1/Programmed cell Death-Ligand 1(PD-1/PD-L1) inhibitors are becoming increasingly significant in cancer medication treatment. employ a variety of ways to avoid detection by the immune system, a single strategy is not more effective in overcoming tumor immune evasion and metastasis. Combining different immune agents or other drugs can effectively address situations where immunotherapy is not efficacious, thereby increasing the chances of success and alternative access to alternative immunotherapy. Immune combination therapies for cancer have become a hot topic in cancer treatment today. In this paper, several combination therapeutic modalities of PD1/PD-L1 inhibitors are systematically reviewed. Finally, an analysis and outlook are provided in the context of the recent advances in combination therapy with PD1/PD-L1 inhibitors and the pressing issues in this field.

Strategizing for Legitimacy in Pluralistic Contexts: New Zealand’s Science Sector

<p>How do organizations strategize for legitimacy in pluralistic contexts? Little is known about the strategies organizations use to manage their legitimacy with multiple internal and external stakeholders within pluralism. For instance, how strategies interrelate and are combined simultaneously by organizations has not been researched. Through addressing this question the thesis seeks theoretical elaboration that contributes to our understanding in this regard and addresses this gap in the legitimacy literature. In particular, a combinatorial picture of legitimacy strategies is provided that provides insight into how strategies might be combined and interrelate. Based on a novel tabulation that brings the various strands of the literature together a framework is developed for investigating the research problem. Theoretical extension is then sought through an empirical focus on the pluralistic setting of New Zealand’s science sector. Six case studies based on two layers of replication are explored, principally through 58 multi-stakeholder interviews. The findings show that multiple embedded tensions and complex diffused power relationships characterise these organization cases. This provides a basis for investigating legitimacy strategies amidst pluralism: the basis of the analysis A picture of agency intensive legitimation is provided with organizations found to construct and change, as well as conform to, legitimacy demands. This informs the research agenda focused on redressing an identified ‘conformity bias’ (Kitchener, 2002) in much legitimacy theory. Further, a traditional preoccupation with overarching field level systems within dominant strands of legitimacy research has been recognized (Kraatz & Block, 2008). This research contributes by seeking to rectify this imbalance through adopting a framework of legitimacy strategies at the organizational level. The result is five propositions and extension to the theoretical framework. Prior work has tended to associate an organization with a dominant single strategy. This thesis finds multiple legitimacy strategies and strategic combinations being implemented by organizations amidst pluralism. Propositions are offered in this regards. The result is increased understanding of both infrequently explored legitimacy strategies and the relationships between them. Such theoretical development blurs the ‘demarcating lines’ that and are implicit in many frameworks and empirical studies. Additional propositions are also provided regarding why similar organizations experiencing similar pluralism might implement different legitimacy strategies. It is proposed that differences in stakeholder perceptions of pluralism’s dimensions are associated with the implementation of different legitimacy strategies by organizations. Overall, both the creative potential and challenges inherent in strategizing for legitimacy amidst pluralism are illustrated. A nuanced picture in this regard is enabled by the diverse array of strategies surfaced both within and across the focal pluralistic organizations.</p>

Strategizing for Legitimacy in Pluralistic Contexts: New Zealand’s Science Sector

<p>How do organizations strategize for legitimacy in pluralistic contexts? Little is known about the strategies organizations use to manage their legitimacy with multiple internal and external stakeholders within pluralism. For instance, how strategies interrelate and are combined simultaneously by organizations has not been researched. Through addressing this question the thesis seeks theoretical elaboration that contributes to our understanding in this regard and addresses this gap in the legitimacy literature. In particular, a combinatorial picture of legitimacy strategies is provided that provides insight into how strategies might be combined and interrelate. Based on a novel tabulation that brings the various strands of the literature together a framework is developed for investigating the research problem. Theoretical extension is then sought through an empirical focus on the pluralistic setting of New Zealand’s science sector. Six case studies based on two layers of replication are explored, principally through 58 multi-stakeholder interviews. The findings show that multiple embedded tensions and complex diffused power relationships characterise these organization cases. This provides a basis for investigating legitimacy strategies amidst pluralism: the basis of the analysis A picture of agency intensive legitimation is provided with organizations found to construct and change, as well as conform to, legitimacy demands. This informs the research agenda focused on redressing an identified ‘conformity bias’ (Kitchener, 2002) in much legitimacy theory. Further, a traditional preoccupation with overarching field level systems within dominant strands of legitimacy research has been recognized (Kraatz & Block, 2008). This research contributes by seeking to rectify this imbalance through adopting a framework of legitimacy strategies at the organizational level. The result is five propositions and extension to the theoretical framework. Prior work has tended to associate an organization with a dominant single strategy. This thesis finds multiple legitimacy strategies and strategic combinations being implemented by organizations amidst pluralism. Propositions are offered in this regards. The result is increased understanding of both infrequently explored legitimacy strategies and the relationships between them. Such theoretical development blurs the ‘demarcating lines’ that and are implicit in many frameworks and empirical studies. Additional propositions are also provided regarding why similar organizations experiencing similar pluralism might implement different legitimacy strategies. It is proposed that differences in stakeholder perceptions of pluralism’s dimensions are associated with the implementation of different legitimacy strategies by organizations. Overall, both the creative potential and challenges inherent in strategizing for legitimacy amidst pluralism are illustrated. A nuanced picture in this regard is enabled by the diverse array of strategies surfaced both within and across the focal pluralistic organizations.</p>

Comparison of in silico strategies to prioritize rare genomic variants impacting RNA splicing for the diagnosis of genomic disorders

The development of computational methods to assess pathogenicity of pre-messenger RNA splicing variants is critical for diagnosis of human disease. We assessed the capability of eight algorithms, and a consensus approach, to prioritize 249 variants of uncertain significance (VUSs) that underwent splicing functional analyses. The capability of algorithms to differentiate VUSs away from the immediate splice site as being ‘pathogenic’ or ‘benign’ is likely to have substantial impact on diagnostic testing. We show that SpliceAI is the best single strategy in this regard, but that combined usage of tools using a weighted approach can increase accuracy further. We incorporated prioritization strategies alongside diagnostic testing for rare disorders. We show that 15% of 2783 referred individuals carry rare variants expected to impact splicing that were not initially identified as ‘pathogenic’ or ‘likely pathogenic’; one in five of these cases could lead to new or refined diagnoses.

Unification of the Preparation of Schoolchildren of Medical Classes for Competitions of Pre-Professional Skills

Currently, within the framework of vocational guidance for schoolchildren, quite active work is underway; since 2018, a pre-professional exam has been introduced, including in the theoretical part of the program in biology, chemistry, the basics of medical knowledge and other natural science subjects, in the practical part, first aid skills are assessed. However, until now there is no single strategy for preparing students for the first aid program. In order to unify the training of students in medical classes, a work program and a textbook for medical classes have been developed.

Caffeic Acid on Metabolic Syndrome: A Review

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a constellation of risk factors that may lead to a more sinister disease. Raised blood pressure, dyslipidemia in the form of elevated triglycerides and lowered high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, raised fasting glucose, and central obesity are the risk factors that could lead to full-blown diabetes, heart disease, and many others. With increasing sedentary lifestyles, coupled with the current COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers of people affected with MetS will be expected to grow in the coming years. While keeping these factors checked with the polypharmacy available currently, there is no single strategy that can halt or minimize the effect of MetS to patients. This opens the door for a more natural way of controlling the disease. Caffeic acid (CA) is a phytonutrient belonging to the flavonoids that can be found in abundance in plants, fruits, and vegetables. CA possesses a wide range of beneficial properties from antioxidant, immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, neuroprotective, antianxiolytic, antiproliferative, and anti-inflammatory activities. This review discusses the current discovery of the effect of CA against MetS.

Malware: The Never-Ending Arm Race

"Antivirus is death"' and probably every detection system that focuses on a single strategy for indicators of compromise. This famous quote that Brian Dye --Symantec's senior vice president-- stated in 2014 is the best representation of the current situation with malware detection and mitigation. Concealment strategies evolved significantly during the last years, not just like the classical ones based on polimorphic and metamorphic methodologies, which killed the signature-based detection that antiviruses use, but also the capabilities to fileless malware, i.e. malware only resident in volatile memory that makes every disk analysis senseless. This review provides a historical background of different concealment strategies introduced to protect malicious --and not necessarily malicious-- software from different detection or analysis techniques. It will cover binary, static and dynamic analysis, and also new strategies based on machine learning from both perspectives, the attackers and the defenders.