Your browser does not fully support modern features. Please upgrade for a smoother experience.
Subject:
All Disciplines Arts & Humanities Biology & Life Sciences Business & Economics Chemistry & Materials Science Computer Science & Mathematics Engineering Environmental & Earth Sciences Medicine & Pharmacology Physical Sciences Public Health & Healthcare Social Sciences
Sort by:
Most Viewed Latest Alphabetical (A-Z) Alphabetical (Z-A)
Filter:
All Topic Review Biography Peer Reviewed Entry Video Entry
Topic Review
Gastrointestinal Diseases in Primary Immunodeficiencies
In recent years, the incidence of immune-mediated gastrointestinal disorders, including celiac disease (CeD) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), is increasingly growing worldwide. It is well established that primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) exhibit gastrointestinal manifestations and mimic other diseases, including CeD and IBD. The most common PIDs in adults are the selective immunoglobulin A deficiency (SIgAD) and the common variable immunodeficiency (CVID). However, some differences concerning diagnostics and management between enteropathy/colitis in PIDs, as compared to idiopathic forms of CeD/IBD, have been described. There is an ongoing discussion whether CeD and IBD in CVID patients should be considered a true CeD and IBD or just CeD-like and IBD-like diseases. This review addresses the current state of the art of the most common primary immunodeficiencies in adults and co-occurring CeD and IBD.
  • 3.4K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
GeoAI in Integrated Hydrological and Fluvial Systems Modeling
Geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI) allows the harnessing of big and high-dimensional data to better understand the hydrological processes in a particular system. Specifically, GeoAI provides new data analytic tools to the entire data processing cycle, such as sensor data fusion, hydrological modeling, data assimilation, multi-objective scenario optimization, smart decision support, evaluation of climate change impact, construction of early warning systems, and geo-visualization. 
  • 3.4K
  • 22 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Forensic Pathology
Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases and civil law cases in some jurisdictions. Coroners and medical examiners are also frequently asked to confirm the identity of remains.
  • 3.4K
  • 30 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Biochemical Oxygen Demand
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) needed (i.e. demanded) by aerobic biological organisms to break down organic material present in a given water sample at certain temperature over a specific time period. The BOD value is most commonly expressed in milligrams of oxygen consumed per litre of sample during 5 days of incubation at 20 °C and is often used as a surrogate of the degree of organic pollution of water. BOD reduction is used as a gauge of the effectiveness of wastewater treatment plants. BOD of wastewater effluents is used to indicate the short-term impact on the oxygen levels of the receiving water. BOD analysis is similar in function to chemical oxygen demand (COD) analysis, in that both measure the amount of organic compounds in water. However, COD analysis is less specific, since it measures everything that can be chemically oxidized, rather than just levels of biologically oxidized organic matter.
  • 3.4K
  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
CEO Power
In management research, CEO power refers to the power that can override objections to influence key decision outcomes within the company. This power can be obtained in formal or informal ways. 
  • 3.4K
  • 27 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Consumer and Food Product Innovations
New lifestyles, higher incomes and better consumer awareness are increasing the demand for a year-round supply of innovative food products. In past decades, important developments have been achieved in areas related to food and the food industry. This entry shows that factors influencing performance in new product development (NPD) are dynamic and continuously guiding project development. The data obtained by direct involvement of consumers can impact positively successful product development and enhance the company’s financial performance. The study of consumer behaviour and attitudes towards new foods encompasses multiple aspects, such as preference, choice, desire to eat certain foods, buying intentions and frequency of consumption. Additionally, both the consumers’ willingness to purchase and the willingness to pay a premium are important in NPD, launching and success.
  • 3.4K
  • 27 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Technologies for Railway Track Maintenance
Inspection and repair interventions play vital roles in the asset management of railways. Autonomous mobile manipulators possess considerable potential to replace humans in many hazardous railway track maintenance tasks with high efficiency and increased asset utilization. Railway track maintenance technologies ranges from handheld devices to whole train, from manually pushed trolley to autonomous robots. 
  • 3.4K
  • 02 Jun 2023
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Employment in the 21st Century: Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Changes
In the 21st century, prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous transformations were already underway in the field of employment. However, this unprecedented global health crisis has had a profound influence on employment worldwide, yielding both positive and negative outcomes across various labor aspects. Consequently, while certain effects are anticipated to be temporary, others are likely to instigate enduring changes in employment practices.
  • 3.4K
  • 27 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Street Canyon
A street canyon (also known as an urban canyon) is a place where the street is flanked by buildings on both sides creating a canyon-like environment. Classic examples of these human-built canyons are made when streets separate dense blocks of structures, especially skyscrapers. These include the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, Toronto's Financial District, the Canyon of Heroes in Manhattan and Hong Kong's Kowloon and Central districts. Urban canyons affect various local conditions, including temperature, wind, air quality, and radio reception, including satellite navigation signals.
  • 3.4K
  • 26 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Sovereign Citizen Movement
The sovereign citizen movement is a loose grouping of primarily American litigants, commentators, tax protesters, and financial-scheme promoters, who claim to be answerable only to their particular interpretations of the common law and to not be subject to any government statutes or proceedings. In the United States, they do not recognize U.S. currency and maintain that they are "free of any legal constraints". They especially reject most forms of taxation as illegitimate. Participants in the movement argue this concept in opposition to the idea of "federal citizens", who, they say, have unknowingly forfeited their rights by accepting some aspect of federal law. The doctrines of the movement resemble those of the freemen on the land movement more commonly found in the British Commonwealth, such as Australia and Canada. Many members of the sovereign citizen movement claim that the United States government is illegitimate. The sovereign citizen movement has been described as consisting of individuals who assert that the county sheriff is the most powerful law-enforcement officer in the country, with authority superior to that of any federal agent, elected official, or local law-enforcement official. The movement can be traced back to white-extremist groups like Posse Comitatus and the constitutional militia movement. It also includes members of certain self-declared "Moorish" sects. While the movement was originally associated with White supremacism, it now includes varying racial ideologies as well as a variety of people, most commonly white and African American. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) classifies some sovereign citizens ("sovereign citizen extremists") as domestic terrorists. In 2010, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) estimated that approximately 100,000 Americans were "hard-core sovereign believers", with another 200,000 "just starting out by testing sovereign techniques for resisting everything from speeding tickets to drug charges". In surveys conducted in 2014 and 2015, representatives of U.S. law enforcement ranked the risk of terrorism from the sovereign citizen movement higher than the risk from any other group, including Islamic extremists, militias, racists, and neo-Nazis. The New South Wales Police Force in Australia has also identified sovereign citizens as a potential terrorist threat.
  • 3.4K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Measurement and Monitoring of TDS and TSS
Total dissolved solids (TDS) and total suspended solids (TSS) have traditionally been analyzed and monitored through field or in situ sampling and laboratory testing generally classified as conventional methods. Field and laboratory measurements include grab sampling, filtering, and evaporating a sample through a fine filter paper followed by drying in an air oven which are collectively known as gravimetric methods. Conventional methods of monitoring of water quality parameters (WQPs) are, however, cost-prohibitive, labor-intensive, time-consuming, and, also not suitable for large-scale analysis.
  • 3.4K
  • 21 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Jáchymov
Jáchymov (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjaːxɪmof]); German: Sankt Joachimsthal or Joachimsthal) is a spa town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,300 inhabitants. The historical core of the town from the 16th century is well preserved and protected by law as urban monument zone. It is a comprehensive set of Gothic–Renaissance patrician houses. Jáchymov has a long mining tradition, thanks to which it used to be the second most populous town in the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1534. At first silver was mined here. The silver Joachimsthaler coins minted here since the 16th century gave their name to the Thaler and the dollar. After the Wieliczka Salt Mine ceased industrial exploitation in 2007, the Svornost mine (1525) became the oldest mine still in use in Europe. It is also the first and for a long time the only mine in the world, where radium was mined. The mining cultural landscape of Jáchymov is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a part of the Ore Mountain Mining Region.
  • 3.4K
  • 04 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Fossa
The Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) is a unique and elusive carnivore native to the island of Madagascar. Resembling a large mongoose or small cougar, the Fossa is the largest carnivorous mammal on the island and is renowned for its agility and prowess as a predator. With its slender body, retractable claws, and sharp teeth, the Fossa is well-adapted to its arboreal habitat and plays a crucial role in regulating prey populations within Madagascar's diverse ecosystems.
  • 3.4K
  • 28 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Tumor Necrosis Factor in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex and heterogenous disease; what differentiates patients with RA are the number of affected joints, antibodies and serum cytokines levels, and the severity of joint destruction. TNF (tumor necrosis factor) is a proinflammatory cytokine which exerts multiple biological activities in RA. Blocking TNF with antibodies became a standard of modern RA therapy in patients not responding to conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), e.g., methotrexate.
  • 3.4K
  • 15 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Transducer Technologies for Biosensors and Their Wearable Applications
Biosensors refer to the collaboration of receptors that recognize target analytes and transducers that translate this recognition into a detectable signal. Biological molecules such as enzymes, nucleic acids, antibodies, or their synthetic analogues can serve as bio-receptors to bind the analyte of interest. To form a biosensor device that detects or measures the biological events or changes, the targeted matching of the bio-receptor and the analyte should be evaluated quantitatively, making the transducers indispensable components of a biosensor. Availability of various bio-receptors, transducers, and possible combinations of both components constitute various ways to classify biosensors. Compared to conventional sensors based on rigid semiconductors, metals, and ceramics, elastomers are advantageous since they exhibit the highest level of strain behavior for wearable applications. 
  • 3.4K
  • 09 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Energy Crops
Energy crops are dedicated cultures directed for biofuels, electricity, and heat production. Due to their tolerance to contaminated lands, they can alleviate and remediate land pollution by the disposal of toxic elements and polymetallic agents. Moreover, these crops are suitable to be exploited in marginal soils (e.g., saline), and, therefore, the risk of land-use conflicts due to competition for food, feed, and fuel is reduced, contributing positively to economic growth, and bringing additional revenue to landowners.
  • 3.4K
  • 29 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Level of Consciousness (Esotericism)
Consciousness is a loosely defined concept that addresses the human awareness of both internal and external stimuli. This can refer to spiritual recognition, psychological understanding, medically altered states, or more modern-day concepts of life purpose, satisfaction, and self-actualization. Levels of Consciousness can be presented in a map. Some levels are more continuous or complex than others. Movement between levels or stages is often bidirectional depending on internal and external conditions, with each mental ascension precipitating a change in reactivity. In the most basic sense, this alteration might lead to a reduced responsiveness as seen in anesthesiology; more abstract facets of tiered consciousness describe characteristics of profoundness, insight, perception, or understanding. First appearing in the historical records of the ancient Mayan and Incan civilizations, proposals of multiple levels of consciousness have pervaded spiritual, psychological, medical, and moral speculations in both Eastern and Western cultures. Because of occasional and sometimes substantial overlap between hypotheses, there have recently been attempts to combine perspectives to form new models that integrate components of separate viewpoints. Any of these proposals, models or viewpoints can be verified or falsified, and are open to question.
  • 3.4K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Inhalant
Inhalants are a broad range of household and industrial chemicals whose volatile vapors or pressurized gases can be concentrated and breathed in via the nose or mouth to produce intoxication, in a manner not intended by the manufacturer. They are inhaled at room temperature through volatilization (in the case of gasoline or acetone) or from a pressurized container (e.g., nitrous oxide or butane), and do not include drugs that are sniffed after burning or heating. For example, amyl nitrite (poppers), nitrous oxide and toluene – a solvent widely used in contact cement, permanent markers, and certain types of glue – are considered inhalants, but smoking tobacco, cannabis, and crack are not, even though these drugs are inhaled as smoke or vapor. While a few inhalants are prescribed by medical professionals and used for medical purposes, as in the case of inhaled anesthetics and nitrous oxide (an anxiolytic and pain relief agent prescribed by dentists), this article focuses on inhalant use of household and industrial propellants, glues, fuels, and other products in a manner not intended by the manufacturer, to produce intoxication or other psychoactive effects. These products are used as recreational drugs for their intoxicating effect. According to a 1995 report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the most serious inhalant use occurs among homeless children and teenagers who "... live on the streets completely without family ties." Inhalants are the only substance used more by younger teenagers than by older teenagers. Inhalant users inhale vapor or aerosol propellant gases using plastic bags held over the mouth or by breathing from a solvent-soaked rag or an open container. The practices are known colloquially as "sniffing", "huffing" or "bagging". The effects of inhalants range from an alcohol-like intoxication and intense euphoria to vivid hallucinations, depending on the substance and the dose. Some inhalant users are injured due to the harmful effects of the solvents or gases or due to other chemicals used in the products that they are inhaling. As with any recreational drug, users can be injured due to dangerous behavior while they are intoxicated, such as driving under the influence. In some cases, users have died from hypoxia (lack of oxygen), pneumonia, heart failure or arrest, or aspiration of vomit. Brain damage is typically seen with chronic long-term use of solvents as opposed to short-term exposure. Even though many inhalants are legal, there have been legal actions taken in some jurisdictions to limit access by minors. While solvent glue is normally a legal product, a Scottish court has ruled that supplying glue to children is illegal if the store knows the children intend to inhale the glue. In the US, thirty-eight of 50 states have enacted laws making various inhalants unavailable to those under the age of 18 or making inhalant use illegal.
  • 3.4K
  • 28 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Wireless Sensor Network Technology
Wireless sensor network technology enables distributed sensing through efficient data communication between a multitude of environmental sensors. WSN is still a relatively new area of research, but the communication technology used for low-cost, low-power wireless networks has advanced greatly in recent decades.
  • 3.4K
  • 10 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Electromyography in Sports
Muscular alterations as a consequence of hypoxic situations contribute not only to a decrease in life expectancy but also to a lower quality of life and health status. Our perspective, based on the results of this systematic review, is that Electromyography (EMG) is a suitable tool for monitoring the different skeletal muscle responses and has sufficient sensitivity to detect the muscle changes produced by hypoxic stimuli. Therefore, surface EMG (sEMG) maybe provide a practical point-of-care diagnostic test for medical diagnoses as well as a tool to improve sports performance. integrated EMG (iEMG) studies the physiology and pathology of denervation, re-innervation, and various myopathies. It also analyzes deep musculature such as muscular behavior, temporal activity patterns, fatigue, and muscular activation. sEMG is suitable for providing information about global muscle behavior, temporal activity patterns, muscle fatigue, and the activation level of the superficial musculature.
  • 3.4K
  • 15 Jan 2021
  • Page
  • of
  • 2794
Featured Entry Collections
>>

Featured Reprints

>>
Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City
Encyclopedia of Engineering
Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Encyclopedia of Medieval Royal Iconography
Academic Video Service
Feedback

Quick Survey

Encyclopedia MDPI is conducting a targeted survey to identify the specific barriers hindering efficient research. We invite you to spend 3 minutes defining the priorities for our next generation of structured knowledge tools.
Take Survey