IT Value

Background Procalcitonin (PCT) is considered a sensitive and specific diagnostic and prognostic marker of systemic bacterial infection, but its value is questionable in certain clinical conditions, particularly in hemato-oncological patients. Materials and methods We analyzed PCT and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in 56 patients of a pediatric hematologyoncology unit during 110 consecutive non-infectious febrile episodes related to administration of T-cell antibodies (group A; n=22), alemtuzumab (monoclonal CD52 antibody, CAMPATH-1H/group B; n=8), interleukin-2 (IL-2/group C; n=41), prophylactic donor granulocyte transfusions (group D; n=9), or to acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD/group E; n=10) and compared the results with 20 episodes of Gram-negative sepsis (group F). Main results In the majority of the non-infectious episodes PCT and CRP increased to serum levels statistically indistinguishable from Gram-negative sepsis. Median peak levels of PCT (normal<0.5 ng/ml)/CRP (normal<8 mg/l) for groups A-F were 4.34/59.0 (A), 10.14/93.5 (B), 1.11/175.0 (C), 1.43/164 (D), 0.96/34.0 (E), and 8.14 ng/ml /126.0 mg/ l (F). Highest single levels were observed in groups A and F. Conclusions PCT and CRP are of limited value as diagnostic markers of sepsis during T-cell-directed immunomodulatory treatment, granulocyte support, or acute GvHD.

Highway infrastructure represents a significant part of the public assets, and through its lifetime, is exposed to various deterioration processes leading to the depreciation of its value. It is therefore of vital importance to manage these assets aiming to reduce the loss of their value with time to a minimum. A typical task of road managers is making decisions related to maintenance, repair and rehabilitation based on data regarding the existing condition, risk of its use, life cycle costs and age. Road infrastructure is complex, and therefore the optimal choice of planned interventions is a delicate task often left to the road managers' subjective judgment. The main goal of research work presented in the paper is the development of a multiple criteria decision support system to determine the priority ranking of asset rehabilitation projects. Results are presented for a selected case study that consists of 27 overpasses for a highway section. The data on the condition of crossovers obtained by regular inspection along their contribution to a structured database are essential. The selection of the set of asset rehabilitation projects is carried out by using the developed decision support system that includes the budget constraint option. The selected set of asset maintenance/rehabilitation projects meets best the pre-defined combination of several criteria and therefore yields the maximized overall benefit. The results showing the selection criteria employed in the decision process and relative importance are crucial in obtaining the targeted goals. The selected criteria should therefore reflect the needs of the users and the actual conditions related to the assets.

The effect of climate change on the yield of three wheat varieties (Sids1, Sakha 93 and Giza 168) and consumptive use was studied by implementing two-year field experiment in Giza Agricultural Station, Giza, Egypt in 2006/07 and 2007/08 growing seasons using CropSyst model with two climate change scenarios. These scenarios were A2 (temperature increase by 3.1°C and CO 2 concentration is 834 ppm) and B2 (temperature increase by 2.2°C and CO 2 concentration is 601 ppm) developed by Hadley Center for Climate Prediction and Research. CropSyst model was validated using the collected data of wheat yield and consumptive use. The scenarios were used to run the CropSyst model and to predict the expected yield in the year of 2038. Two early sowing dates were proposed as adaptation options, i.e. 1 st of November and 21 st of October to reduce the harm effect of climate change on wheat yield and a new irrigation schedule was used. The results indicated that CropSyst predictions for yield and consumptive use were highly accurate. Furthermore, A2 scenario predicted greater reduction in wheat yield, compared with B2 scenario in the year of 2038. Likewise, wheat yield losses were higher at the 1 st growing season, compared with the 2 nd growing season under the two scenarios. The results also revealed that under the 1 st growing season for both climate change scenarios, Sakha 93 variety was found to be more tolerant to heat stress. Whereas, Sids 1 variety was found less vulnerable to climate change in the 2 nd growing season. The results also showed that wheat yield improvement and irrigation water saving could be attained using the proposed adaptation strategies in the year of 2038. Under cultivation in November, 1 st , a slight improvement in yield losses could be achieved with a slight increase in the amount of applied irrigation water. Whereas, under sowing in October, 21 st , a decrease in yield losses could be achieved with a decrease in the amount of applied irrigation water. Under all cases, water use efficiency was increased, compared with its value under the two climate change scenarios.

Econometric studies have highlighted factors that appear to explain the differential effects of information technology (IT) on productivity at the firm level. Central to these explanations is the concept of organizational transformation; that value realization from IT depends on time-consuming investments in organizational change and results in new, often intangible, organizational assets. The aim of this study was to further investigate the concept of IT-enabled organizational transformation as a component of the value realized from IT at the firm level. Survey data was analyzed from respondents from 1050 businesses of varying sizes and across industries. Transformational benefits were found to exist as a distinct benefit category and to be closely related to other forms of ITgenerated business benefits. They were also an important component of overall IT business value. Qualitative data illustrated these findings and pointed to possible complex causal relationships in the generation of IT value. The findings have implications for models of IT business value generation and for managerial practice.