Development and validation of a low cost blood filtration element separating plasma from undiluted whole blood

Clinical point of care testing often needs plasma instead of whole blood. As centrifugation is labor intensive and not always accessible, filtration is a more appropriate separation technique. The complexity of whole blood is such that there is still no commercially available filtration system capable of separating small sample volumes (10-100 μl) at the point of care. The microfluidics research in blood filtration is very active but to date nobody has validated a low cost device that simultaneously filtrates small samples of whole blood and reproducibly recovers clinically relevant biomarkers, and all this in a limited amount of time with undiluted raw samples. In this paper, we show first that plasma filtration from undiluted whole blood is feasible and reproducible in a low-cost microfluidic device. This novel microfluidic blood filtration element (BFE) extracts 12 μl of plasma from 100 μl of whole blood in less than 10 min. Then, we demonstrate that our device is valid for clinical studies by measuring the adsorption of interleukins through our system. This adsorption is reproducible for interleukins IL6, IL8, and IL10 but not for TNFα. Hence, our BFE is valid for clinical diagnostics with simple calibration prior to performing any measurement.     

Use of interactive sessions and e‐learning in teaching anatomy to first‐year optometry students

Students enrolled in the Optometry program at the University of Manchester are required to take a functional anatomy course during the first year of their studies. Low mean scores in the written examination of this unit for the past two academic years energized staff to rethink the teaching format. Interactive sessions lasting 20 minutes each were introduced during the two hour lecture sessions. In these sessions students reinforced their anatomical knowledge learned in lectures, through playing games such as anatomy bingo and solving anatomical anagrams. In addition, five e‐learning modules were also introduced for students to complete in their own time. A pre‐ and postcourse questionnaire were distributed to obtain student views on their expectations of the course and interactive sessions. Comparisons were made between written examination results from 2008 to 2009 to written examination results from the previous five academic years to see if the interactive sessions and e‐learning modules had any impact on student knowledge. In addition, comparisons were made between student performances on the functional anatomy course with their performance in all of the other assessments taken by the students during their first year of study. Analysis of the questionnaires showed that student's expectations of the course were fulfilled and the interactive sessions were well received by the majority. There was a significant increase (P ≤ 0.01) in the mean examination score in 2008–2009 after introduction of the interactive sessions and e‐learning modules compared with scores in previous years. The introduction of interactive sessions has increased student enjoyment of the module and along with the e‐learning modules have had a positive impact on student examination results. Anat Sci Educ 3:39–45, 2010. © 2009 American Association of Anatomists.     

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中国电视节目的出口: 一种消费者理论的透视

迄今为止,外国尤其是西方国家进口中国电视节目的情况仍较少.在对这一问题的探索中,应当将研究重点放在复杂的增值价值链中的最后一个要素--消费者身上.这是使“中国制造“的电视节目得以从本国市场进入国外市场的基本条件,同时也是是一门特殊的学问.如何使中国在全球电视节目市场中的策略变得更加有影响力可以从消费者理论的角度进行推究.文化差异将导致障碍,然而这些障碍必然要被不同形式的投资所突破,相关内容将在下文中被讨论.……     

Can a basic income cure Baumol's disease?

In this paper we investigate how a universal and unconditionally guaranteed Basic Income, financed by a higher tax rate on income, can help to remedy, among other things, the so-called Baumol disease concerning the production of the arts, on the one hand, as well as the problems, raised in the Linder Theorem with regard to the consumption of arts and culture, on the other hand. Using a neo-classical time allocation model, we show that a basic income system increases the output of both the formal and informal production of the arts, and promotes the consumption of arts by lowering the shadow price of time.     

The Bologna process and its impact on higher education at Russia’s margins: the case of Kaliningrad

Embracing the Russian Federation since 2003, the Bologna process is no longer exclusively confined to western European countries. As early as 1999, Vladimir Putin declared the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, wedged between Lithuania and Poland, as a potential pilot region for intensified cooperation between Russia and the EU on a number of policy areas, including higher education. In this paper, we study whether the Bologna process has served to underpin these ambitions. With a view to the EU, we will ask to what extent the European Union has proffered a model or directly influenced the path for transformation of Kaliningrad’s higher education system. We argue that a number of Kaliningrad-based actors in higher education have recognized the salience of European models and the need to work closely with partners from the EU, while Moscow only allows for marginal discretion in terms of Kaliningrad’s higher educational policy.

Knowledge sharing and rewards: a game-theoretical perspective

Shared databases are used as tools for knowledge management. But contributing knowledge to the database is a public-goods dilemma. Its specific features are multidimensionality of the goods, resource overlap, interdependency of group members and the lack of a marginal unit of return for individual contributions. An analytical model is presented describing the individual- and group-level payoff function. It shows that rewarding contributions with a cost-compensating bonus can be an effective solution not only at the individual level, but also at the group level. Whether or not a bonus system is self-supporting depends on the critical mass of people on average needing a contribution. This depends on the overlap of the people's resources and their interdependency.     

基于粗糙集理论的知识密集型服务业集群创新能力评价研究

在相关研究的基础上,运用粗糙集方法,对德国雷根斯堡地区的六个知识密集型服务业集群的创新能力进行了综合评价研究,结果表明软环境的建设和集群对入驻企业的影响这两个方面对集群的创新能力具有较强的影响。