Efficiency evaluation of healthcare services in China based on stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis and directional distance function

Evaluating the efficiency of healthcare services accurately can help in analyzing the rationality of inputs and outputs in such services. Considering the consistency and equity of assessment criteria, this study conducts the stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis (SMAA-2) with a directional distance function to evaluate the efficiency of healthcare services in 31 provincial administrative regions of mainland China, as observed in 2018. We use SMAA-DDF to explore all the projection directions to the efficient frontier instead of a certain projection direction. We measure the maximum and average efficiencies for each of the 31 provincial healthcare services. Our empirical findings show that only seven provinces achieve optimal healthcare service efficiency; the eastern area performed the best, followed by the central, western, and northeast areas. Furthermore, the path along the projection directions is provided to help inefficient provinces improve their efficiency and obtain the best possible positions.     

As the number falls,alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number method: A review

This review examines the application, limitations, and potential alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number (FN) method used in the global wheat industry for detecting the risk of poor end-product quality mainly due to starch degradation by the enzyme α-amylase. By viscometry, the FN test indirectly detects the presence of α-amylase, the primary enzyme that digests starch. Elevated α-amylase results in low FN and damages wheat product quality resulting in cakes that fall, and sticky bread and noodles. Low FN can occur from preharvest sprouting (PHS) and late maturity α-amylase (LMA). Moist or rainy conditions before harvest cause PHS on the mother plant. Continuously cool or fluctuating temperatures during the grain filling stage cause LMA. Due to the expression of additional hydrolytic enzymes, PHS has a stronger negative impact than LMA. Wheat grain with low FN/high α-amylase results in serious losses for farmers, traders, millers, and bakers worldwide. Although blending of low FN grain with sound wheat may be used as a means of moving affected grain through the marketplace, care must be taken to avoid grain lots from falling below contract-specified FN. A large amount of sound wheat can be ruined if mixed with a small amount of sprouted wheat. The FN method is widely employed to detect α-amylase after harvest. However, it has several limitations, including sampling variability, high cost, labor intensiveness, the destructive nature of the test, and an inability to differentiate between LMA and PHS. Faster, cheaper, and more accurate alternatives could improve breeding for resistance to PHS and LMA and could preserve the value of wheat grain by avoiding inadvertent mixing of high- and low-FN grain by enabling testing at more stages of the value stream including at harvest, delivery, transport, storage, and milling. Alternatives to the FN method explored here include the Rapid Visco Analyzer, enzyme assays, immunoassays, near-infrared spectroscopy, and hyperspectral imaging.     

仿真虚拟实训中心建设在药学高等职业教育中的应用

在当前信息技术快速发展的社会,虚拟仿真实训开始在高等职业教育教学中广泛应用,使用虚拟仿真实训技术能够有效的解决当前高等职业教育实践教学中存在的一些突出问题,能对传统的教育教学模式进行有效的补充。本文以仿真虚拟实训中心建设为切入点,就其建设及其在高等职业教育药学专业中的应用进行分析,以期使虚拟仿真实训中心在提高实践教学效果方面发挥重要作用。     

Augmented reality instructions for construction toys enabled by accurate model registration and realistic object/hand occlusions

Virtual Reality - BRICKxAR is a novel augmented reality (AR) instruction method for construction toys such as LEGO®. With BRICKxAR, physical LEGO construction is guided by virtual bricks....     

Adaptive Graph Learning for Semi-supervised Self-paced Classification

Neural Processing Letters - Semi-supervised learning techniques have been attracting increasing interests in many machine learning fields for its effectiveness in using labeled and unlabeled...     

Influence of fermentation with different lactic acid bacteria and in vitro digestion on the change of phenolic compounds in fermented kiwifruit pulps

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of fermentation and gastrointestinal digestion of three kinds of fermented kiwifruit pulps with different Lactobacillus (Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus casei). The changes in bioactive substances (total phenolic acid, total flavonoid, vitamin C and the viable count), antioxidant capacity (DPPH, ABTS, hydroxyl radical and superoxide anion radical scavenging activity) and phenolic profiles (protocatechuic acid, protocatechualdehyde, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and p-coumaric acid) were detected. The result showed, compared to non-fermented kiwifruit pulp, fermentation with LP and LA had higher content of TPA, TF and V_C, as well as antioxidant capacity. Fermentation with LP and the content of protocatechualdehyde, p-coumaric acid and chlorogenic acid were increased. However, after digestion, LP showed more effect in maintaining the content of antioxidants, antioxidant capacity and the viable count rather than LA. During digestion, the content of protocatechualdehyde and p-coumaric acid was increased in fermented samples compared with non-fermented samples. Overall, compared with LA and LC, LP is more suitable for the fermentation of kiwifruit pulp.     

Integrated LaB6/g-C3N4 solar absorber for solving dye accumulation during solar steam generation

Solar steam generation has attracted considerable interest due to its easy accessibility and sustainability. However, dye molecules were gradually concentrated on bulk water or the surface of solar absorbers during the disposal of dye wastewater. Herein, LaB₆/g-C₃N₄ composites were immobilized on porous cotton cloth, served as a solar absorber resistant to dye clogging. The optimal solar absorber possessed solar harvesting of 92.3% and showed great application potential in the field of the treatment of dye wastewater. This study presented a new approach for the treatment of dye wastewater.