PURPOSE:To report the localization of a gene causing drusen and macular degeneration in a previously undescribed North American family. METHODS:Genetic mapping studies were performed using linkage analysis in a single family with drusen and atrophic macular degeneration. RESULTS:The clinical manifestations in this family ranged from fine macular drusen in asymptomatic middle-aged individuals to atrophic macular lesions in two children and two elderly patients. We mapped the gene to chromosome 6q14 between markers D6S2258 and D6S1644. CONCLUSIONS:In a family with autosomal dominant (...) drusen and atrophic macular degeneration, the gene maps to a 3.2-cM region on chromosome 6q14. This locus appears to be distinct from, but adjacent to, the loci for cone-rod dystrophy 7 (CORD7) and North Carolina macular dystrophy (MCDR1). Future identification of the gene responsible for the disease in this family will provide a better understanding of macular degeneration. (shrink)

Objective: The objectives of this study are to understand the current functions, structure and operation of hospital ethics committees (HECs) in Shanghai and to facilitate their improvement. Methods: (1) A questionnaire survey, (2) interviews with secretaries and (3) on-site document reviews of HECs in Shanghai were used in the study, which surveyed 33 hospitals. Results: In Shanghai, 57.56% of the surveyed hospitals established HECs from 1998 to 2005. Most HECs used bioethical review of research involving human subjects as well as (...) bioethical review or consultation regarding medical care services and administrative decision- making. Of the surveyed HECs, 14.3% did not provide any formal bioethical training to the HECs’ members and many HECs had no standard operating procedures. Some HECs had no clear definition of what was “conflict of interest” that should be considered by the HECs, while 44.4% of the HECs did not perform continuing review. Discussion: After the issues of related national regulations, more and more hospitals established HECs in Shanghai, but the functions of HECs need to be further developed and formal training on bioethics should be provided to HEC members. To assure the independence and good performance of HECs, the conflict of interest procedure, the standard operating procedures and bioethical review should be improved. Conclusion: HECs in Shanghai had developed in the preceding 10 years and they played great roles in protecting the rights and welfare of human subjects and patients; some areas need improvement. (shrink)

Early in Aristotle's terminology, and ever since, "essence" has been conceived as having two meanings, namely "universality" and "individuality". According to the tradition of thought that has dominated throughout the history of Western philosophy, "essence" unequivocally refers to "universality". As a matter of fact, however, "universality" cannot cover Aristotle's definition and formulation of "essence": Essence is what makes a thing "happen to be this thing." "Individuality" should be the deep meaning of "essence". By means of an analysis of some relevant (...) Western thoughts and a review of cultural realities, it can be concluded that the difference between the attitudes toward things of the natural sciences and the humane sciences mainly lies in the fact that the former focus on the pursuit of universal regularity, whereas the latter go after the value and significance of human life. The movement from natural things to cultural things is a process in which essence shifts from universality to individuality. It is the author's contention that what should be stressed in the fields of human culture and society is the construction of an ideal society that is "harmonious yet not identical", on the basis of respecting and developing individual peculiarity and otherness. /// "本质" 最早在亚里士多德的用语中包含有两重含义: 是指 "普遍的东 西" ("共相")，一是指 "个体的东西" ("这个")。在西方哲学史上民期占统治 地位的思想片面地认为: "本质" 就是指 "普遍的东西"。但实际上"普遍的东 西" 并不能涵盖亚里士多德对 "本质" 的界定和表述t 本质是使一事物 "恰恰地是 这个事物"的东西。"本质" 的深层含义应是 "个体性"。通过对西方一些相关思 想观点的分析和文化现实的考察，可以得出结论z 自然科学与人文科学对待事物的 态度的区别在于z 前者重普遍性规律的追求，后者重个体性的人生价值意义的追求。 从自然物到文化物是一个由以普遍性为本质到以个体性为本质的转化过程。在人文 社会领域应该强调的是z 在尊重和发扬个人的独特性和差异性的基础上，建立 "和而 不同"的理想社会。. (shrink)

In Zhuangzi’s 莊子 philosophy, the concept of z_heng_ 正 occupies an important place in realizing the Daoist ideal of “inner sageliness and outward kingliness,” in terms of cultivating oneself and lifting others. However, very few scholars have concentrated on this topic and examined the role it plays in achieving the sagely realm. This article, therefore, is primarily intended to investigate the connotation of _zheng_ from the perspective of “virtuosity” (_de_ 德) and to clarify why this virtuosity can “align other living (...) beings.” First, the meaning of alignment in other living beings is introduced, followed by clarification of “activity of the Heavenly” (_tian xing_ 天行), which is internally based on virtuosity and externally conforms to the “Heavenly Transitions” (_tian ni_ 天倪) as a principle of value. Furthermore, through exploring specific examples in the _Zhuangzi_, I aim to show that the virtuosity of “vacuity and stillness” (_xu jing_ 虛静) and its manifestation as “activity of the Heavenly,” in reality, have a marvelous effect in transforming the evil component. (shrink)

The outbreak of COVID-19 had a profound impact on the practice of university leadership in China. This study employs a case study as the research method, interviewing five Heads of the Departments from the Z University in China to examine the challenges to leadership in Chinese universities during the COVID-19 pandemic and explores effective countermeasures. Research findings reveal that the challenges they faced manifested in the government's closed management requirements and the students' demands for freedom of entry and exit, the (...) dynamic and flexible disciplinary development and the rigid teaching evaluation, and big data-enabled governance and the habit of human experience-oriented management. In response to these challenges, this study proposes suggestions for the Z University leaders in the post-pandemic era: establishing rules and regulations with a relaxed degree, tolerating ambiguity in online teaching, improving the ability of intelligent technology, and taking opportunities to learn. (shrink)

The twentieth century is drawing to a close, and the twenty-first century is about to begin. Please tell us how you see the past, and look forward to the future.

[Ḥeleḳ rishon] Or Torah, ʻavodat ha-tefilah, darkhe ha-Ḥasidut, ḥinukh ha-banim, maśa u-matan be-emunah, midot ṭovot -- Ḥeleḳ sheni. Miḳṿeh meṭaher, ʻavodat ha-tefilah, hanhagat ha-shulḥan, or Torah.

In the present study, we examine the interactive effect of vowels on Mandarin fricative sibilants using a passive oddball paradigm to determine whether the HEIGHT features of vowels can spread on the surface and influence preceding consonants with unspecified features. The stimuli are two pairs of Mandarin words contrasting in vowel HEIGHT. Each word in the same pair was presented both as standard and deviant, resulting in four conditions. In line with the Featurally Underspecified Lexicon model, asymmetric patterns of processing (...) were found in the [su] ∼ [ʂu] word pair where both the MMN and LDN components were more negative in /su/[ʂu] than in /ʂu/[su], suggesting the spreading of the feature [HIGH] from the vowel [u] to [ʂ] on the surface. In the [sa] ∼ [ʂa] pair, however, symmetric negativities were observed as there is no conflict between the surface feature [LOW] from [a] to [ʂ] and the underlying specified feature [LOW] of [s]. These results confirm that not all features are fully specified in the mental lexicon: features of vowels can spread on the surface and influence surrounding unspecified segments. (shrink)

The first few years of driving is a critical period when driving skills develop and the driving style is established. While the actual driving skills improve during the first few years of driving, a novice driver’s view of himself/herself as a safe and/or skilful driver also develops rapidly. The aim of this study was to investigate self-evaluated driver safety and perceptual-motor skills among different age groups of young drivers, along with the relationships between self-evaluated skills and driving behaviour. The sample (...) consisted of a stratified random sample of 18–25-year-old drivers from the Finnish driving licence register. The questionnaires, which included the Driver Skill Inventory, Driver Behaviour Questionnaire and background information, were completed and returned by a total of 1,058 participants. While female drivers assessed their safety skills to be higher than their perceptual-motor skills, the opposite was true for males. In both sexes, perceptual-motor skills increased, and safety skills decreased with experience. Perceptual-motor skills correlated negatively with safety skills, lapses and errors, but positively with aggressive and ordinary violations. Safety skills correlated negatively with all DBQ variables. Safety orientation seems to be most clearly reflected in deliberate aberrant driving behaviours. Sex differences were observed in the development of behaviours and skills, perceptual-motor skills only increased with age among males, while safety skills decreased through experience among both men and women. Results showed that driving experience was strongly related to both driving style and the drivers’ view of their skills, highlighting the importance of the first few years of driving. (shrink)

Completa y exhaustiva monografía sobre la obra y el pensamiento de Edgar Morin desde la perspectiva de sus planteamientos antropológicos, relacionando éstos con algunos de los debates antropológicos actuales más relevantes.