Esophageal achalasia is an infrequent motility disorder characterized by a progressive stasis and dilation of the oesophagus; with subsequent risk of aspiration, weight loss, and malnutrition. Although the treatment o...Esophageal achalasia is an infrequent motility disorder characterized by a progressive stasis and dilation of the oesophagus; with subsequent risk of aspiration, weight loss, and malnutrition. Although the treatment of achalasia has been traditionally based on a surgical approach, especially with the introduction of laparoscopic techniques, there is still some space for a medical approach. The present article reviews the non-surgical therapeutic options for achalasia.展开更多
AIM: To evaluate the functional aspect of esophageal motility in healthy subjects and in patients who were referred for esophageal function testing using multichannel intraluminal impedance-esophageal manometry (MII-E...AIM: To evaluate the functional aspect of esophageal motility in healthy subjects and in patients who were referred for esophageal function testing using multichannel intraluminal impedance-esophageal manometry (MII-EM), and to assess the clinical utility of MII-EM. METHODS: From September 2003 to January 2004, we performed the MII-EM on healthy volunteers and all the patients who were referred for esophageal function testing. Each patient received 10 liquid and 10 viscous swallows. We analyzed the results, the impedance and the manometric findings. Some of the subjects had additional ambulatory 24-h pH study performed to diagnose gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). RESULTS: Among 89 studied subjects, the MII-EM findings showed normal esophageal motility in 50 (56.17%), ineffective esophageal motility (IEM) in 17 (19.10%), nutcracker esophagus in 7 (7.86%), achalasia in 4 (4.49%), and scleroderma esophagus in 11 (12.35%) cases. The completeness and the speed of bolus transit were in the order of nutcracker esophagus, normal manometry and IEM. Some of the swallows showing normal manometry and IEM had incomplete transit. In the achalasia and scleroderma esophagus, almost all the swallows had incomplete transit. The body amplitudes were higher for the swallows with complete transit than for the swallows with incomplete transit. There was not a significant difference in the manometric and impedance findings between the subjects with and without GERD. CONCLUSION: MII-EM is a useful tool in assessing theesophageal function in the patients having esophageal motility abnormality. The primary factors influencing the bolus transit are the amplitude of the esophageal body and normal peristalsis.展开更多
Global financial crises might and should be recognized as a potential chance to introduce changes in managing our business, both in financial and other important private and/or public sectors. The prevailing opinion i...Global financial crises might and should be recognized as a potential chance to introduce changes in managing our business, both in financial and other important private and/or public sectors. The prevailing opinion is that a lack of corporative social responsibility is one of the major reasons that lead to global crises occurrence. Nowadays, it is crucial to use the experiences of other industries and sectors which from their very beginning managed to balance finance and social goals at the same time. Microfinance sector is exactly one such sector. This paper is organized as follows： First, we give some overview of different approaches to measuring social performance of microfinance institutions. In this part of the paper we also accent the specifics of microfinance institutions-management within the context of double bottom line. In the second part we focus our analysis on practical implementation of ＂double bottom line management in Prizma MCO, one of the world pioneers in social performance management, by using their revolutionary poverty scorecard system. Then, we analyze how these social performance data are used in decision-making and how it affects overall performance of the organization. The paper is finished with some conclusions and lessons learned.展开更多
As a result of more and more serious energy risks, the study of national energy security zoning is not only the basic requirement of energy risk management but also the new demand of economic development for the energ...As a result of more and more serious energy risks, the study of national energy security zoning is not only the basic requirement of energy risk management but also the new demand of economic development for the energy industry. Firstly, this paper analyzes the basic situation of energy resources and production and consumption of primary. energy from 1996 to 2005 in China. Secondly; this paper founds an Energy Security Index System formed by six indices including the percentage of energy reserves, interlocal dependent degree, energy elasticity coefficient and so on. It subsequently calculates the weight of these indices with the factor analysis rating method Lastly, the paper evaluates and zones the abilities of energy security of 30 provinces in China with the grey chuster method According to their security; the 30 provinces are classified into three different levels： high, medium, and low levels. The regions at low energy security level include Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan. They are mainly littoral and short of primary energy production while mostly dependent on other provinces. Those at medium energy security level include 15 provinces （cities or districts）, such as Liaoning, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Hunan and so on. These provinces are in the northeast, north, east of and central China. Those at high energy security level contain Shanxi. lnner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Chongqing, Sichuan, Shaanxi. Xinjiang. These provinces are the main primary energy production bases.展开更多
From the very beginning, auditing is pretty much a self-regulated follow in practice. But the plethora of recent corporate failures profession and has some ethical rules of thumb to and scandals where auditors＇ instr...From the very beginning, auditing is pretty much a self-regulated follow in practice. But the plethora of recent corporate failures profession and has some ethical rules of thumb to and scandals where auditors＇ instrumental role is evident in many instances raise question about the validity and suitability of ＂self-regulation＂ in auditing, especially in the 21st century where auditors need to perform auditing in ever complex risk management process. Moreover, to restore the market confidences within the auditing profession and to raise the overall audit quality, many countries are establishing some super regulatory bodies to oversee the functions of auditing and auditors. Based on the ＂documentary research methodology＂, the author examines whether ＂self-regulation＂ in auditing has completely failed in the 21 st century. The author reveals that ＂self-regulation＂ in auditing has not completely failed; rather, a joint approach is needed to raise the overall quality of auditing where there will be equilibrium between ＂self-regulation＂ and statutory directive.展开更多
In a recent issue ot World Journal of Gastroenterology, Demeter et al., reported that in patients having both gastro-esophageal reflux disease （GERD） and obstructive sleep apnea （OSA）, there was a positive correla...In a recent issue ot World Journal of Gastroenterology, Demeter et al., reported that in patients having both gastro-esophageal reflux disease （GERD） and obstructive sleep apnea （OSA）, there was a positive correlation between endoscopic findings of GERD and the number of apneas and hypopneas per hour, namely apnea hypopnea index. They proposed that the severity of OSA and GERD are parallel to each other. The study of Demeter and colleagues is very important, not only for assessing reflux-induced esophageal damage in OSA,展开更多
The paper expresses the view that China's essential way out for developing nuclear power lies in localization of manu facture, based on her technical level and capability in designing and manufacturing nuclear pow...The paper expresses the view that China's essential way out for developing nuclear power lies in localization of manu facture, based on her technical level and capability in designing and manufacturing nuclear power equipment. Moreover, the paper opines that domestically manufactured nuclear power equipment has a certain competitive potential with respect to quality and price, the crux lying in the neces sity of reforming the management system of nuclear power.展开更多
In this paper,we analyzed the One Foundations relief and reconstruction activities after the Yaan earthquake.The analysis shows that the participation of NGOs in disaster relief activities has undergone different stag...In this paper,we analyzed the One Foundations relief and reconstruction activities after the Yaan earthquake.The analysis shows that the participation of NGOs in disaster relief activities has undergone different stages.In the Jiujiang earthquake,NGOs participation was in the rudimentary stage.In the Wenchuan earthquake,they became one of the active participants.In the Yaan earthquake,they played an active role through a cooperation mechanism.That means NGOs have had the capability of resource mobilization and cooperation with them will improve disaster management capacities,especially in the national significant seismic monitoring and protection regions.展开更多
Administrative issues in community autonomy are a hot topic of all levels of government and grass-roots society in recent years. We summarized the main trend and performance of community autonomy administration, in te...Administrative issues in community autonomy are a hot topic of all levels of government and grass-roots society in recent years. We summarized the main trend and performance of community autonomy administration, in terms of government functions, cadre staff work mode and operation mechanism. Then based on the analysis of its root cause, we proposed some strategies to solve the issues of community autonomy administration.展开更多
Due to the mobility of mobile hosts,checkpoints and message logs of the computing process may disperseover different mobile support stations in the checkpointing and rollback recovery protocol for mobilecomputing.Thre...Due to the mobility of mobile hosts,checkpoints and message logs of the computing process may disperseover different mobile support stations in the checkpointing and rollback recovery protocol for mobilecomputing.Three existing checkpoint handoff schemes do not give well consideration to the efficiency offailure-free process execution and the recovery speed of the failure process at the same time.A dynamicadaptive handoff management of the checkpointing and rollback recovery protocol for mobile computing isproposed in this paper.According to the individual feature and current state of each mobile host,differentimplementations are selected dynamically to complete the handoff process upon the handoff event.Performance analyses show that the proposed handoff management incurs a low loss of performance duringfailure-free and achieves a quick recovery upon the process fault.展开更多
文摘Esophageal achalasia is an infrequent motility disorder characterized by a progressive stasis and dilation of the oesophagus; with subsequent risk of aspiration, weight loss, and malnutrition. Although the treatment of achalasia has been traditionally based on a surgical approach, especially with the introduction of laparoscopic techniques, there is still some space for a medical approach. The present article reviews the non-surgical therapeutic options for achalasia.
文摘AIM: To evaluate the functional aspect of esophageal motility in healthy subjects and in patients who were referred for esophageal function testing using multichannel intraluminal impedance-esophageal manometry (MII-EM), and to assess the clinical utility of MII-EM. METHODS: From September 2003 to January 2004, we performed the MII-EM on healthy volunteers and all the patients who were referred for esophageal function testing. Each patient received 10 liquid and 10 viscous swallows. We analyzed the results, the impedance and the manometric findings. Some of the subjects had additional ambulatory 24-h pH study performed to diagnose gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). RESULTS: Among 89 studied subjects, the MII-EM findings showed normal esophageal motility in 50 (56.17%), ineffective esophageal motility (IEM) in 17 (19.10%), nutcracker esophagus in 7 (7.86%), achalasia in 4 (4.49%), and scleroderma esophagus in 11 (12.35%) cases. The completeness and the speed of bolus transit were in the order of nutcracker esophagus, normal manometry and IEM. Some of the swallows showing normal manometry and IEM had incomplete transit. In the achalasia and scleroderma esophagus, almost all the swallows had incomplete transit. The body amplitudes were higher for the swallows with complete transit than for the swallows with incomplete transit. There was not a significant difference in the manometric and impedance findings between the subjects with and without GERD. CONCLUSION: MII-EM is a useful tool in assessing theesophageal function in the patients having esophageal motility abnormality. The primary factors influencing the bolus transit are the amplitude of the esophageal body and normal peristalsis.
文摘Global financial crises might and should be recognized as a potential chance to introduce changes in managing our business, both in financial and other important private and/or public sectors. The prevailing opinion is that a lack of corporative social responsibility is one of the major reasons that lead to global crises occurrence. Nowadays, it is crucial to use the experiences of other industries and sectors which from their very beginning managed to balance finance and social goals at the same time. Microfinance sector is exactly one such sector. This paper is organized as follows： First, we give some overview of different approaches to measuring social performance of microfinance institutions. In this part of the paper we also accent the specifics of microfinance institutions-management within the context of double bottom line. In the second part we focus our analysis on practical implementation of ＂double bottom line management in Prizma MCO, one of the world pioneers in social performance management, by using their revolutionary poverty scorecard system. Then, we analyze how these social performance data are used in decision-making and how it affects overall performance of the organization. The paper is finished with some conclusions and lessons learned.
基金the National Key Technology R&D Program of China – the Key Tech-nology and Demonstration for Integrated Governance of Energy and Water Resources Security Risk (Grant No. 2006BAD20B06)
文摘As a result of more and more serious energy risks, the study of national energy security zoning is not only the basic requirement of energy risk management but also the new demand of economic development for the energy industry. Firstly, this paper analyzes the basic situation of energy resources and production and consumption of primary. energy from 1996 to 2005 in China. Secondly; this paper founds an Energy Security Index System formed by six indices including the percentage of energy reserves, interlocal dependent degree, energy elasticity coefficient and so on. It subsequently calculates the weight of these indices with the factor analysis rating method Lastly, the paper evaluates and zones the abilities of energy security of 30 provinces in China with the grey chuster method According to their security; the 30 provinces are classified into three different levels： high, medium, and low levels. The regions at low energy security level include Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan. They are mainly littoral and short of primary energy production while mostly dependent on other provinces. Those at medium energy security level include 15 provinces （cities or districts）, such as Liaoning, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Hunan and so on. These provinces are in the northeast, north, east of and central China. Those at high energy security level contain Shanxi. lnner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Chongqing, Sichuan, Shaanxi. Xinjiang. These provinces are the main primary energy production bases.
文摘From the very beginning, auditing is pretty much a self-regulated follow in practice. But the plethora of recent corporate failures profession and has some ethical rules of thumb to and scandals where auditors＇ instrumental role is evident in many instances raise question about the validity and suitability of ＂self-regulation＂ in auditing, especially in the 21st century where auditors need to perform auditing in ever complex risk management process. Moreover, to restore the market confidences within the auditing profession and to raise the overall audit quality, many countries are establishing some super regulatory bodies to oversee the functions of auditing and auditors. Based on the ＂documentary research methodology＂, the author examines whether ＂self-regulation＂ in auditing has completely failed in the 21 st century. The author reveals that ＂self-regulation＂ in auditing has not completely failed; rather, a joint approach is needed to raise the overall quality of auditing where there will be equilibrium between ＂self-regulation＂ and statutory directive.
文摘In a recent issue ot World Journal of Gastroenterology, Demeter et al., reported that in patients having both gastro-esophageal reflux disease （GERD） and obstructive sleep apnea （OSA）, there was a positive correlation between endoscopic findings of GERD and the number of apneas and hypopneas per hour, namely apnea hypopnea index. They proposed that the severity of OSA and GERD are parallel to each other. The study of Demeter and colleagues is very important, not only for assessing reflux-induced esophageal damage in OSA,
文摘The paper expresses the view that China's essential way out for developing nuclear power lies in localization of manu facture, based on her technical level and capability in designing and manufacturing nuclear power equipment. Moreover, the paper opines that domestically manufactured nuclear power equipment has a certain competitive potential with respect to quality and price, the crux lying in the neces sity of reforming the management system of nuclear power.
基金sponsored by the National Social Science Fund of China "Research on the Status,Efficiencies and the Policy on the National Significant Seismic Monitoring and Protection Regions"(11&ZD054)Policy Research Projects of China Earthquake Administration in 2014 "The Role of NGOs in Earthquake Relief and the Meaning to Policy"
文摘In this paper,we analyzed the One Foundations relief and reconstruction activities after the Yaan earthquake.The analysis shows that the participation of NGOs in disaster relief activities has undergone different stages.In the Jiujiang earthquake,NGOs participation was in the rudimentary stage.In the Wenchuan earthquake,they became one of the active participants.In the Yaan earthquake,they played an active role through a cooperation mechanism.That means NGOs have had the capability of resource mobilization and cooperation with them will improve disaster management capacities,especially in the national significant seismic monitoring and protection regions.
文摘Administrative issues in community autonomy are a hot topic of all levels of government and grass-roots society in recent years. We summarized the main trend and performance of community autonomy administration, in terms of government functions, cadre staff work mode and operation mechanism. Then based on the analysis of its root cause, we proposed some strategies to solve the issues of community autonomy administration.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 60873138)Postdoctoral Scientific Research Foundation of Heilongjiang (No. LBH-008124)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. HEUCFT1007)
文摘Due to the mobility of mobile hosts,checkpoints and message logs of the computing process may disperseover different mobile support stations in the checkpointing and rollback recovery protocol for mobilecomputing.Three existing checkpoint handoff schemes do not give well consideration to the efficiency offailure-free process execution and the recovery speed of the failure process at the same time.A dynamicadaptive handoff management of the checkpointing and rollback recovery protocol for mobile computing isproposed in this paper.According to the individual feature and current state of each mobile host,differentimplementations are selected dynamically to complete the handoff process upon the handoff event.Performance analyses show that the proposed handoff management incurs a low loss of performance duringfailure-free and achieves a quick recovery upon the process fault.
