The Ge.F.I. DNA Proficiency Test: Year-one experience

The Ge.F.I. (the Italian Speaking Working Group of ISFG) has launched the first DNA Proficiency Test in 2012. The aim is to increase the external quality controls in forensic genetics in Italy and to drive to the standardizations of methods within the laboratories. Reference and mixed stains typing as well as statistical exercises were proposed and 26 laboratories submitted results.     

Results of Colombian exercise interlaboratory quality control 2012

Participation in interlaboratory quality control exercises is one of the main mechanisms currently used for quality assurance and continuous improvement of the trials. The objective of this study was to design, to manage and to evaluate the Colombian Exercise Interlaboratory Quality Control 2012 (CEIQC-2012). The CEIQC-2012 included both practical and theoretical exercises. For practical exercise three samples were provided, two from blood and one from buccal swab, all on FTA cards, participants were requested to process the samples according to the methods and the markers used routinely in their own laboratories. For theoretical section four exercises were sent, and only one was mandatory, the remain have different degrees of difficulty and were optional. In the mandatory exercise, the participants were asked to calculate the partial and total IP of 15 autosomal STRs markers of an alleged father and a son. This exercise involved 28 laboratories from 6 Latin American and Caribbean countries (Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, Dominican Republic and Colombia), all reported results for the theoretical mandatory and 27 for the practical. Fifty-four STR markers distributed in autosomal, Y and X chromosomes were under consensus. The Proficiency Test conducted through the Colombian National Reference Laboratory has become a useful tool for quality assurance of all Colombian laboratories and some of Latin America and Caribbean that perform DNA testing to establish biological relationships. This exercise is also an excellent opportunity for constant experts training in the region.     

提升福州市民素质对策研究

市民素质是城市文明的核心,在文明城市建设中起重要作用。福州市在全国文明城市创建中把提升市民素质作为一项重要的战略任务,在务实市民素质的物质基础、提升城市的宜居品质、倡导积极健康的生活方式、转变党政机关干部作风、开展志愿服务活动等方面取得一定的成效。但福州市民素质还存在着不足和提升的空间。市民素质建设是一项社会系统工程,应借鉴先进城市的经验,结合福州的实际和未来的发展要求,进一步提升福州市民的整体素质。     

Argument Repertoire as a Reliable and Valid Measure of Opinion Quality: Electronic Dialogue During Campaign 2000

A new measure of opinion quality that we name "argument repertoire" (AR) is introduced and evaluated. AR refers to the relevant reasons that one has for one's own opinions and the relevant reasons that others with opposite opinions might have. The measure is shown to be reliable and to have construct validity. Those with elevated AR also were more likely to attend on-line deliberative groups during the presidential election and to contribute to those conversations. Those who participated in online deliberations tended to have higher AR scores on particular issues that were discussed. The role of AR in deliberative political groups is explored.     

Quality of Service,Expectation, Satisfaction and Trust in Public Institutions: The Abu Dhabi Citizen Satisfaction Survey

Structural equation modelling was utilised to develop and test three models while exploring the causality effect of constructs. The models hypothesised that trust in the government was a result of interactions of several other forces: namely, citizens’ expectation, perception of service quality and satisfaction with these services. The article validates and replicates the findings on the question of causality between performance and trust. The findings were very consistent with the previous ones. The model incorporating citizen's demographic data provided the best fit. According to this model, citizen demographics, expectations and quality of services influence citizen satisfaction; and ultimately, citizen satisfaction influences trust in government. The perceived quality of all services provides significant standardised estimates. However, congestion in streets, parking facilities, parks and recreation and schools are the most salient drivers of citizen satisfaction. The variables of income, education level, years living in Abu Dhabi and marital status exert the highest influence on this satisfaction construct. Perception of quality of services has a significant effect on overall satisfaction; and overall satisfaction drives trust in local government officials. In addition, citizen expectation influences perceptions of the quality of service and overall satisfaction.     

The Quality of Life in English Local Authority Areas

Abstract

Since the enactment of New Labour's sustainable development agenda in 1999, English local authorities have been placed at the helm of a variety of devolved localism initiatives designed to foster sustainable communities that contribute to a high quality of life for existing and future generations. This paper considers the scale of the challenge that confronts local authorities in terms of attaining these outcomes, by drawing attention to their current quality of life situation. The baseline conditions in question are measured by reference to the Audit Commission's local quality of life indicators dataset, which it compiled in 2005 from a range of existing local government performance indicators. The dataset is subjected to k-means clustering and principal components analysis to assess how far English local authorities measure up to Labour's sustainable communities ideal and to highlight the type and degree of quality of life disparity that exists between them. The results from the analysis are used to evaluate the feasibility of Labour's devolved localism approach to sustainable community formation and to provide important insights to local policy makers responsible for fostering sustainable communities. The implications of the findings for future research are also considered.     

Democracy and the multinationals

The relationship between western multinational corporations' perceived commercial interests and democratic quality in developing markets is more varied than habitually argued. While autocratic policy making and low-intensity democracy have been judged to provide benefits to investors, they are also increasingly recognized to generate features prejudicial to commercial operations. Many investment trends reflect the adverse impact of democratic limitations in developing markets. Multinational companies can be faulted less for a uniform effort to frustrate democratic improvements than for a failure to develop a coherent or proactive engagement in relation to the international democracy promotion agenda.     

公安高职院校教学质量监控体系的构建理念

公安高职院校以培养高素质应用型公安后备人才为使命,人才培养质量是衡量高职院校综合办学能力、办学水平高低的重要标准,而教学质量则直接影响甚至决定人才培养的质量。因此,为了提高公安高职院校人才培养质量,就必须建立一套高效和谐的教学质量监控体系,及时发现、正确分析并有效解决教学中的相关问题。本文结合甘肃警察职业学院构建教学质量监控体系的实际,就公安高职院校构建教学质量监控体系进行理论和实践的探讨。     

补肾解毒化瘀方联合CPT化疗方案治疗老年多发性骨髓瘤临床观察

目的 观察补肾解毒化瘀方联合CPT化疗方案治疗老年多发性骨髓瘤的临床疗效及其对免疫功能的影响。方法 将40例老年多发性骨髓瘤患者随机分为治疗组与对照组,每组20例,两组均采用CPT化疗方案,28 d为1个周期,6个周期评价疗效;治疗组同时加用补肾解毒化瘀方治疗。观察临床疗效、生活质量变化及中医临床症状改善情况,治疗前后分别观察血管内皮生长因子（vascular endothelial growth factor, VEGF）、白细胞介素-6（interleukin-6, IL-6）及调节性T细胞的水平变化情况。结果 治疗组与对照组近期疗效分布差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05);治疗组骨痛缓解效果显著优于对照组（P<0.05）;治疗组生活质量改善效果优于对照组(P＜0.05);中医临床证候改善方面,治疗组优于对照组(P＜0.05)。治疗前两组VEGF、IL-6水平差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05),治疗3个月及6个月后均显著下降（P＜0.05）,且治疗组VEGF、IL-6水平较对照组下降显著(P＜0.05)。调节性T细胞表达比较,治疗前患者CD4+CD25+、CD4+CD25high、CD4+CD25highCD127low细胞比例均显著升高（P＜0.05）,但治疗后两组细胞比例均显著下降(P＜0.05),且治疗组细胞比例较对照组下降更明显(P＜0.05)。结论 补肾解毒化瘀方联合CPT化疗方案治疗多发性骨髓瘤有助于改善患者临床症状,提高免疫功能。