| 1. |
- Chen, Chi-Kuang, et al.
(författare)
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Development of quality management in Taiwan the past, present and future
- 2015
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Ingår i: TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT and BUSINESS EXCELLENCE. - : Taylor and Francis (Routledge): SSH Titles. - 1478-3363 .- 1478-3371. ; 26:1-2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Quality management (QM) has been popular and widely used in Taiwan since the 1960s. However, it has been found that a review of its development is lacking. Hence, this paper aims to examine the history and the evolution of QM in Taiwan, and to take a step further to look for cues for shaping its future development. The research purpose of this paper is more specifically to review the development of QM during the period from 1970 to 2012. Quality Magazine, the most popular reading material on QM in Taiwan, has been selected as the search database. The overall review result shows that the development of QM in Taiwan has three developmental phases: (1) the quality technologies and tools focus period (1970-1985); (2) the QM system integration period (1986-2000) and (3) the quality in service industry development period (2001-2012). In light of the overall as well as the detailed review results, senior quality experts were invited for consultation, discussion and prediction of the needs and the future development of QM in Taiwan.
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| 2. |
- Feng, Ruizhi, et al.
(författare)
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Mutations in TUBB8 and Human Oocyte Meiotic Arrest.
- 2016
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Ingår i: The New England journal of medicine. - 1533-4406. ; 374:3, s. 223-232
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Human reproduction depends on the fusion of a mature oocyte with a sperm cell to form a fertilized egg. The genetic events that lead to the arrest of human oocyte maturation are unknown. Methods We sequenced the exomes of five members of a four-generation family, three of whom had infertility due to oocyte meiosis I arrest. We performed Sanger sequencing of a candidate gene, TUBB8, in DNA samples from these members, additional family members, and members of 23 other affected families. The expression of TUBB8 and all other β-tubulin isotypes was assessed in human oocytes, early embryos, sperm cells, and several somatic tissues by means of a quantitative reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction assay. We evaluated the effect of the TUBB8 mutations on the assembly of the heterodimer consisting of one α-tubulin polypeptide and one β-tubulin polypeptide (α/β-tubulin heterodimer) in vitro, on microtubule architecture in HeLa cells, on microtubule dynamics in yeast cells, and on spindle assembly in mouse and human oocytes. Results We identified seven mutations in the primate-specific gene TUBB8 that were responsible for oocyte meiosis I arrest in 7 of the 24 families. TUBB8 expression is unique to oocytes and the early embryo, in which this gene accounts for almost all the expressed β-tubulin. The mutations affect chaperone-dependent folding and assembly of the α/β-tubulin heterodimer, disrupt microtubule behavior on expression in cultured cells, alter microtubule dynamics in vivo, and cause catastrophic spindle-assembly defects and maturation arrest on expression in mouse and human oocytes. Conclusions TUBB8 mutations have dominant-negative effects that disrupt microtubule behavior and oocyte meiotic spindle assembly and maturation, causing female infertility. (Funded by the National Basic Research Program of China and others.).
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| 3. |
- Haycock, Philip C., et al.
(författare)
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Association Between Telomere Length and Risk of Cancer and Non-Neoplastic Diseases A Mendelian Randomization Study
- 2017
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Ingår i: JAMA Oncology. - : American Medical Association. - 2374-2437 .- 2374-2445. ; 3:5, s. 636-651
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- IMPORTANCE: The causal direction and magnitude of the association between telomere length and incidence of cancer and non-neoplastic diseases is uncertain owing to the susceptibility of observational studies to confounding and reverse causation. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a Mendelian randomization study, using germline genetic variants as instrumental variables, to appraise the causal relevance of telomere length for risk of cancer and non-neoplastic diseases. DATA SOURCES: Genomewide association studies (GWAS) published up to January 15, 2015. STUDY SELECTION: GWAS of noncommunicable diseases that assayed germline genetic variation and did not select cohort or control participants on the basis of preexisting diseases. Of 163 GWAS of noncommunicable diseases identified, summary data from 103 were available. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Summary association statistics for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are strongly associated with telomere length in the general population. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for disease per standard deviation (SD) higher telomere length due to germline genetic variation. RESULTS: Summary data were available for 35 cancers and 48 non-neoplastic diseases, corresponding to 420 081 cases (median cases, 2526 per disease) and 1 093 105 controls (median, 6789 per disease). Increased telomere length due to germline genetic variation was generally associated with increased risk for site-specific cancers. The strongest associations (ORs [ 95% CIs] per 1-SD change in genetically increased telomere length) were observed for glioma, 5.27 (3.15-8.81); serous low-malignant-potential ovarian cancer, 4.35 (2.39-7.94); lung adenocarcinoma, 3.19 (2.40-4.22); neuroblastoma, 2.98 (1.92-4.62); bladder cancer, 2.19 (1.32-3.66); melanoma, 1.87 (1.55-2.26); testicular cancer, 1.76 (1.02-3.04); kidney cancer, 1.55 (1.08-2.23); and endometrial cancer, 1.31 (1.07-1.61). Associations were stronger for rarer cancers and at tissue sites with lower rates of stem cell division. There was generally little evidence of association between genetically increased telomere length and risk of psychiatric, autoimmune, inflammatory, diabetic, and other non-neoplastic diseases, except for coronary heart disease (OR, 0.78 [ 95% CI, 0.67-0.90]), abdominal aortic aneurysm (OR, 0.63 [ 95% CI, 0.49-0.81]), celiac disease (OR, 0.42 [ 95% CI, 0.28-0.61]) and interstitial lung disease (OR, 0.09 [ 95% CI, 0.05-0.15]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: It is likely that longer telomeres increase risk for several cancers but reduce risk for some non-neoplastic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases.
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| 4. |
- Xiang, Deliang, 1989-, et al.
(författare)
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Unsupervised polarimetric SAR urban area classification based on model-based decomposition with cross scattering
- 2016
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Ingår i: ISPRS journal of photogrammetry and remote sensing (Print). - : Elsevier. - 0924-2716 .- 1872-8235. ; 116, s. 86-100
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Since it has been validated that cross-polarized scattering (HV) is caused not only by vegetation but also by rotated dihedrals, in this study, we use rotated dihedral corner reflectors to form a cross scattering matrix and propose an extended four-component model-based decomposition method for PolSAR data over urban areas. Unlike other urban area decomposition techniques which need to discriminate the urban and natural areas before decomposition, this proposed method is applied on PolSAR image directly. The building orientation angle is considered in this scattering matrix, making it flexible and adaptive in the decomposition. Therefore, we can separate cross scattering of urban areas from the overall HV component. Further, the cross and helix scattering components are also compared. Then, using these decomposed scattering powers, the buildings and natural areas can be easily discriminated from each other using a simple unsupervised K-means classifier. Moreover, buildings aligned and not aligned along the radar flight direction can be also distinguished clearly. Spaceborne RADARSAT-2 and airborne AIRSAR full polarimetric SAR data are used to validate the performance of our proposed method. The cross scattering power of oriented buildings is generated, leading to a better decomposition result for urban areas with respect to other state-of-the-art urban decomposition techniques. The decomposed scattering powers significantly improve the classification accuracy for urban areas.
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