AIM: To construct a novel hybrid artificial liver support system (HALSS) and to evaluate its efficacy in patients with severe liver failure.METHODS: Hepatocytes were isolated from suckling pig by the modified Seglen&#...AIM: To construct a novel hybrid artificial liver support system (HALSS) and to evaluate its efficacy in patients with severe liver failure.METHODS: Hepatocytes were isolated from suckling pig by the modified Seglen's method. Isolated hepatocytes were cultured in a spinner flask for 24 h to form spheroids before use and the functions of spheroids were detected. HALSS consisted of a plasma separator, a hemo-adsorba and a bioreactor with hepatocytes spheroids in its extra-fiber space.HALSS was applied to 10 patients with severe liver failure.The general condition and the biochemical indexes of the patients were studied just before and after the treatment.RESULTS: The number of cells per liver was about 2-4× 1010 (mean, 3.1 ± 1.5 × 1010). The cell viabilities were more than 95%. After 24 h of spheroid culture, most hepatocytes formed spheroids. The levels of albumin and urea in the medium of spheroid culture were higher than those in supernatant of petri dish culture (P = 0.0015 and 0.0001, respectively). The capacity of albumin production and urea synthesis remained stable for more than one wk and declined rapidly after two weeks in vitro. In HALSS group, the duration of HALSS treatment was 6-10 h each time. All patients tolerated the treatment well without any fatal adverse reaction. After HALSS treatment, the general condition, psychic state, encephalopathy and hepatic function of the patients were improved. The survival rate of the HALSS group, Plasmapheresis group and control group was 30% (3/10), 20% (2/10) and 0% (0/10), respectively (P = 0.024). Two weeks after treatment, Tbil and ALT decreased and the PTA level elevated in HALSS group and pasmapheresis group (Pvalue: 0.015 vs 0.020, 0.009vs 0.012 and 0.032 vs 0.041, respectively). But there was no significant change of blood albumin concentration before and after treatment in HAlSS group and Plasmapheresis group.CONCLUSION: The HALSS established by us is effective in supporting liver function of patients with severe liver failure.展开更多
The economic and financial sustainability of regional press companies is extremely relevant for the dynamism of this important sector in promoting pluralism of ideas and decentralization of information. In this contex...The economic and financial sustainability of regional press companies is extremely relevant for the dynamism of this important sector in promoting pluralism of ideas and decentralization of information. In this context, the work presented here intends, on one hand, to analyze the importance of the press support system in Macao for its economic and financial sustainability and, on the other hand, to try to understand how they contribute to promoting information pluralism with Portuguese speaking community in a Chinese territory--with special regime. With this purpose, three methodologies were implemented, namely： （1） review of literature and documentary research--reports, articles in the press, scientific articles and academic books related to the topic; （2） analysis of contents of interviews of privileged informants-directors and editors of newspapers addressed to the Portuguese community in the Macao region; and （3） analysis of the impact of support from the Macao Regional Government based on the principles of the Office of Fair Trading （OFT） model.展开更多
With the development of information technology, DSS can be used to resolve the complex process of the feasible reasoning and scientific decision-making of projects. This paper offers 7 exploiting principles for the co...With the development of information technology, DSS can be used to resolve the complex process of the feasible reasoning and scientific decision-making of projects. This paper offers 7 exploiting principles for the computer support system on feasible reasoning and scientific decision-making of projects, that is, the principles of standardization, procedure, specification, agility, currency, practicability and development. On the basis of analysis on systematic procedure, the computer support system on feasible reasoning and scientific decision-making of projects is formed based on WEB, and its general structure, system function and the methods to be realized are introduced. The data composition of this system is analyzed following the principles of integrality, development, perspicuity and consistency. Also, the model-base management system is designed for the management of model storage and management of model operation.展开更多
Value Management (VM) is a rigorous and systematic approach to improve the value and optimise the overall cost of a facility. It identifies opportunities to remove unnecessary costs while assuring that quality, reliab...Value Management (VM) is a rigorous and systematic approach to improve the value and optimise the overall cost of a facility. It identifies opportunities to remove unnecessary costs while assuring that quality, reliability, performance, and other critical factors will meet or exceed the customers’ expectations. It has been widely used in the construction industry in a number of countries. A recent survey, however, revealed several problems that hinder the wider use of this methodology in the industry. To overcome these problems, a feasibility study has been conducted to investigate whether or not a Group Support System (GSS) can support collaborative works in VM workshops. This paper introduces the development and structure of a prototype GSS which is designed to support the collaborative works of stakeholders in VM workshops. It begins with an introduction to the conceptual GSS framework and job plan, illustrating what GSS supports can be provided to VM workshops. This is followed by a detailed description of the GSS prototype system to demonstrate how these supports can be performed as an integrated computer system. The testing of the system is also discussed. The research findings provide strong evidence in supporting the notion of using GSS to improve VM implementation. The information support of GSS has been ranked to be the most useful GSS functions and most of the practitioners interviewed are highly interested in applying GSS to support VM workshops in the future.展开更多
In post-disaster emergency shelter aid, various relief agencies and other actors with different backgrounds need to cooperate in a tremendously short amount of time and under very different circumstances. In this arti...In post-disaster emergency shelter aid, various relief agencies and other actors with different backgrounds need to cooperate in a tremendously short amount of time and under very different circumstances. In this article, we describe a research project that develops and tests a new approach in which the demands for shelters in a specific situation are methodically connected with available, innovative and sustainable shelter solutions, a DSS （decision support system）. The DSS is a digital tool that translates the gathered evidence on needs, solutions and location including long-term effects of shelter provision into advice for the provision of sustainable, integral broader shelter solutions and designs. The outcome is a set of characteristics for a DSS for the provision of on-demand emergency shelters. A DSS that meets these characteristics leads to the provision of sustainable shelters that meet the needs of the users and, therefore, have higher performance in long term.展开更多
A model to describe the hysteresis damping characteristic of rubber material was presented.It consists of a parallel spring and damper,whose coefficients change with the vibration amplitude and frequency.In order to a...A model to describe the hysteresis damping characteristic of rubber material was presented.It consists of a parallel spring and damper,whose coefficients change with the vibration amplitude and frequency.In order to acquire these relations,force decomposition was carried out according to some sine vibration measurement data of nonlinear forces changing with the deformation of the rubber material.The nonlinear force is decomposed into a spring force and a damper force,which are represented by the amplitude-and frequency-dependent spring and damper coefficients,respectively.Repeating this step for different measurements gives different coefficients corresponding to different amplitudes and frequencies.Then,the application of a parameter identification method provides the requested approximation functions over amplitude and frequency.Using those formulae,as an example,the dynamic characteristic of a hollow shaft system supported by rubber rings was analyzed and the acceleration response curve in the centroid position was calculated.Comparisons with the sine vibration experiments of the real system show a maximal inaccuracy of 8.5%.Application of this model and procedure can simplify the modeling and analysis of mechanical systems including rubber materials.展开更多
基金Supported by Health Office of Jangsu Province Science Research Foundation, No. WK2002 (for important subject) and H200145 (for natural science)
文摘AIM: To construct a novel hybrid artificial liver support system (HALSS) and to evaluate its efficacy in patients with severe liver failure.METHODS: Hepatocytes were isolated from suckling pig by the modified Seglen's method. Isolated hepatocytes were cultured in a spinner flask for 24 h to form spheroids before use and the functions of spheroids were detected. HALSS consisted of a plasma separator, a hemo-adsorba and a bioreactor with hepatocytes spheroids in its extra-fiber space.HALSS was applied to 10 patients with severe liver failure.The general condition and the biochemical indexes of the patients were studied just before and after the treatment.RESULTS: The number of cells per liver was about 2-4× 1010 (mean, 3.1 ± 1.5 × 1010). The cell viabilities were more than 95%. After 24 h of spheroid culture, most hepatocytes formed spheroids. The levels of albumin and urea in the medium of spheroid culture were higher than those in supernatant of petri dish culture (P = 0.0015 and 0.0001, respectively). The capacity of albumin production and urea synthesis remained stable for more than one wk and declined rapidly after two weeks in vitro. In HALSS group, the duration of HALSS treatment was 6-10 h each time. All patients tolerated the treatment well without any fatal adverse reaction. After HALSS treatment, the general condition, psychic state, encephalopathy and hepatic function of the patients were improved. The survival rate of the HALSS group, Plasmapheresis group and control group was 30% (3/10), 20% (2/10) and 0% (0/10), respectively (P = 0.024). Two weeks after treatment, Tbil and ALT decreased and the PTA level elevated in HALSS group and pasmapheresis group (Pvalue: 0.015 vs 0.020, 0.009vs 0.012 and 0.032 vs 0.041, respectively). But there was no significant change of blood albumin concentration before and after treatment in HAlSS group and Plasmapheresis group.CONCLUSION: The HALSS established by us is effective in supporting liver function of patients with severe liver failure.
文摘The economic and financial sustainability of regional press companies is extremely relevant for the dynamism of this important sector in promoting pluralism of ideas and decentralization of information. In this context, the work presented here intends, on one hand, to analyze the importance of the press support system in Macao for its economic and financial sustainability and, on the other hand, to try to understand how they contribute to promoting information pluralism with Portuguese speaking community in a Chinese territory--with special regime. With this purpose, three methodologies were implemented, namely： （1） review of literature and documentary research--reports, articles in the press, scientific articles and academic books related to the topic; （2） analysis of contents of interviews of privileged informants-directors and editors of newspapers addressed to the Portuguese community in the Macao region; and （3） analysis of the impact of support from the Macao Regional Government based on the principles of the Office of Fair Trading （OFT） model.
文摘With the development of information technology, DSS can be used to resolve the complex process of the feasible reasoning and scientific decision-making of projects. This paper offers 7 exploiting principles for the computer support system on feasible reasoning and scientific decision-making of projects, that is, the principles of standardization, procedure, specification, agility, currency, practicability and development. On the basis of analysis on systematic procedure, the computer support system on feasible reasoning and scientific decision-making of projects is formed based on WEB, and its general structure, system function and the methods to be realized are introduced. The data composition of this system is analyzed following the principles of integrality, development, perspicuity and consistency. Also, the model-base management system is designed for the management of model storage and management of model operation.
文摘Value Management (VM) is a rigorous and systematic approach to improve the value and optimise the overall cost of a facility. It identifies opportunities to remove unnecessary costs while assuring that quality, reliability, performance, and other critical factors will meet or exceed the customers’ expectations. It has been widely used in the construction industry in a number of countries. A recent survey, however, revealed several problems that hinder the wider use of this methodology in the industry. To overcome these problems, a feasibility study has been conducted to investigate whether or not a Group Support System (GSS) can support collaborative works in VM workshops. This paper introduces the development and structure of a prototype GSS which is designed to support the collaborative works of stakeholders in VM workshops. It begins with an introduction to the conceptual GSS framework and job plan, illustrating what GSS supports can be provided to VM workshops. This is followed by a detailed description of the GSS prototype system to demonstrate how these supports can be performed as an integrated computer system. The testing of the system is also discussed. The research findings provide strong evidence in supporting the notion of using GSS to improve VM implementation. The information support of GSS has been ranked to be the most useful GSS functions and most of the practitioners interviewed are highly interested in applying GSS to support VM workshops in the future.
文摘In post-disaster emergency shelter aid, various relief agencies and other actors with different backgrounds need to cooperate in a tremendously short amount of time and under very different circumstances. In this article, we describe a research project that develops and tests a new approach in which the demands for shelters in a specific situation are methodically connected with available, innovative and sustainable shelter solutions, a DSS （decision support system）. The DSS is a digital tool that translates the gathered evidence on needs, solutions and location including long-term effects of shelter provision into advice for the provision of sustainable, integral broader shelter solutions and designs. The outcome is a set of characteristics for a DSS for the provision of on-demand emergency shelters. A DSS that meets these characteristics leads to the provision of sustainable shelters that meet the needs of the users and, therefore, have higher performance in long term.
基金Project(50675042) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘A model to describe the hysteresis damping characteristic of rubber material was presented.It consists of a parallel spring and damper,whose coefficients change with the vibration amplitude and frequency.In order to acquire these relations,force decomposition was carried out according to some sine vibration measurement data of nonlinear forces changing with the deformation of the rubber material.The nonlinear force is decomposed into a spring force and a damper force,which are represented by the amplitude-and frequency-dependent spring and damper coefficients,respectively.Repeating this step for different measurements gives different coefficients corresponding to different amplitudes and frequencies.Then,the application of a parameter identification method provides the requested approximation functions over amplitude and frequency.Using those formulae,as an example,the dynamic characteristic of a hollow shaft system supported by rubber rings was analyzed and the acceleration response curve in the centroid position was calculated.Comparisons with the sine vibration experiments of the real system show a maximal inaccuracy of 8.5%.Application of this model and procedure can simplify the modeling and analysis of mechanical systems including rubber materials.
