REFERENCE VALUES FOR THE CONCENTRATION OF TREC AND KREC IN CHILDREN AGED 1–17 YEARS

The clinical manifestations of immunodeficiency states (IDS), whether primary or secondary, are extremely nonspecific. The consequence of this is the belated setting of the correct diagnosis and, accordingly, the late start of the necessary therapy. Early detection of IDS is a key factor in the successful treatment of patients with these diseases. Determination of the concentration of TREC and KREC in whole blood and dry blood stains by real-time PCR has already proven its effectiveness for newborns and children in the first year of life. Objective of the study: to determine the concentration reference values of TREC and KREC in peripheral blood and dry spots in children and adolescents aged 1–17 years. Materials and methods of research: 162 conditionally healthy individuals were examined, including 64 at the age of 1–5 years, 47 – 6–11 years old and 51 – 12–17 years old. The concentration of TREC and KREC DNA in peripheral whole blood and dry blood spots on neonatal screening cards was assessed by PCR. Results: reference intervals and threshold values of TREC and KREC content in dry spots and in peripheral whole blood of children and adolescents aged 1–17 years were built and substantiated. Conclusion: the obtained reference values are very convenient for identifying patients with T- and/or B-cell lymphopenia, as well as monitoring the number of naive T- and B-lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of patients with already known diseases in wide pediatric practice.

Das Menschenfischlein und der Mensch – was uns der Grottenolm Proteus anguinus (Laurenti, 1768) über Langlebigkeit und Bevölkerungswachstum lehrt

Grottenolme Proteus anguinus (Laurenti, 1768) zeigen eine sehr geringe Fortpflanzungsrate, werden sehr alt und haben eine im Vergleich zum Menschen verzögerte Generationenfolge. Damit sind Olme Lebewesen für spannende evolutionsbiologische Fragestellungen, die sich um Populationswachstum drehen. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt auf, dass eine stabile Umwelt, wenig Krankheiten, das Fehlen von Fressfeinden und ausreichende Nahrungsressourcen evolutiv einen starken Einfluss auf das fehlende Populationswachstum beim Olm haben. Ein Vergleich mit dem Menschen eröffnet, neben der Bildung und dem Aufbrechen von Bräuchen, auch Wege naturgegebener Mechanismen, wie das Wachstum der Weltbevölkerung sich stabilisieren ließe. Der verzögerte Eintritt in die Reproduktion zeigt beim Grottenolm zudem einen positiven Effekt auf die Langlebigkeit. Human fish and human beings – European Cave Salamander Proteus anguinus (Laurenti, 1768) explains longevity and population growth Abstract: European Cave Salamanders, more specifically olms, show a low reproduction rate, reach methuselah ages and exhibit extended generation frequencies in comparison to humans. Olms are therefore considered an interesting study object for evolutionary questions about population growth. The paper discusses stable environment, good health, top predator position and continuous basic food supply as the key factors for stagnation of population growth in olms as well, if combined with education, as in humans. A late start of reproduction triggers in turn a positive impact on longevity.

A Research on Development Strategy of China's Digital Economy in the Post-COVID-19 Era

The COVID-19 epidemic outbreak in 2020 was a worldwide pandemic that continues to rage across the globe today. It has brought serious negative impact on the global economy and society, and caused a severe global economic recession. China’s government has always paid a great attention to digital economy development, especially during this epidemic, which has played a supporting role in the epidemic prevention and control and economic recovery. The Fourteenth Five-Year Plan and many policy documents emphasize to accelerate digital economy development. However, due to a late start and weak foundation, China is faced with problems such as imperfect systems and regulations related to the digital economy, severe digital security challenges, imbalanced and inadequate infrastructure construction of information and communication, lack of core technology innovation, and scarcity of professional talents. This paper puts forward relevant countermeasures and suggestions for the existing problems through analysis.

Evaluation on the Efficiency of LED Energy Enterprises in China by Employing the DEA Model

As an essential part of strategic emerging industry, the light emitting diode (LED) industry plays an important role in the development of a national economy as well as being a technology that is pivotal to energy saving and environmental protection. Due to the late start of China’s LED energy industry, there are few related studies, especially on the efficiency of China’s LED energy enterprises. The data envelopment analysis (DEA) method is widely used in efficiency measurement for its significant advantages in simplifying calculations and processing multiple input–output indicators. This study selected 34 Chinese LED energy enterprises, sorted out the various input and output indicators of each enterprise from 2017 to 2019, and calculated the technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency, and scale efficiency of each enterprise based on the CCR and BCC models of the DEA method. The result shows that, from 2017 to 2019, the overall technical efficiency of China’s LED energy enterprises continued to improve and that this was due to the LED energy enterprises’ emphasis on technology development. However, in terms of production scale, there is still a big gap between each enterprise and the optimal scale. On the one hand, studying the technical efficiency of China’s LED energy enterprises can measure whether an enterprise has reached the optimal input–output ratio; on the other hand, it can provide references for related stakeholders such as investment entities, regulatory agencies, and policy-making departments.

Whether Start Time of Elective Lung Surgery Impacts Perioperative Outcomes and Cost?

BackgroundFatigue and long work hours of surgeons attracts increasing concerns in recent years. In clinical practice, most patients prefer to receiving surgery in the morning. So, we aimed to explore whether starting time is associated with perioperative outcomes and hospital cost for elective lung surgery. MethodsA retrospective study was conducted on elective lung surgery patients between September 2019-November 2019. Patients were divided into “early start group” if surgery started before 4pm while “late start group” was after 4pm. Perioperative outcomes and total hospital costs were compared between two groups. Besides, multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed for further analysis.ResultsA total of 398 patients were finally enrolled for analysis in this study. Of all the cases, 295 patients were divided into early start group while 103 patients belonged to late start group. There were no differences in postoperative hospital duration, operation time, complication incidence and total hospital cost. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, surgery start late was still found not to be a risk factor.ConclusionIn elective lung surgery, perioperative outcomes and cost were all similar between early start and late start surgery, it was not necessary to worry about surgery order for these patients.

Climate variables effect on fruiting pattern of Kinnow mandarin (Citrus nobilis Lour × C. deliciosa Tenora) grown at different agro-climatic regions

Kinnow orchards grown in different agro-ecological regions of Punjab, Pakistan, namely Sargodha, Toba Tek Singh (TTS) and Vehari districts, were selected to assess the effect of climate variables on fruit-bearing patterns. Experiment was laid out in RCBD while selecting identical features Kinnow plants and labeled twigs at analogous canopy positions in all three sites. Temperature was reported higher in TTS and Vehari areas, while relative humidity in Sargodha accounted for different levels of agrometeorological indices by computing more variations in warm districts. Climate variables influenced fruit-bearing habits and vegetative growth trend in all three flushes while recording heavy fruit-bearing plants during on-year and light fruit-bearing in off-year at Vehari. Similarly, three vegetative flushes were recorded unevenly in all three sites due to different fruit-bearing patterns induced by climate variables. Harvesting pattern of orchards began earlier in Sargodha, where maximum orchards were harvested before new flowering to add evenness to fruiting habits during on & off-years. In warm conditions, fruit ripening arrived in the peak of winter and mostly domestic market-driven harvesting resulted in late start of fruit picking with more erratic fruit-bearing habits. Both physiological and pathological fruit drops have been significantly affected by climate variables with a higher degree of physiological drop in warm regions and pathological effects in the humid conditions of Sargodha on heavy fruit-bearing plants. Fruit yield and grading quality were also affected in both seasons by showing more asymmetrical trend in yield and fruit grading in warm areas of TTS and Vehari due to an irregular fruiting pattern compared to Sargodha. From now on, the climate variables of the three sites directly influenced the fruiting patterns, vegetative flushes, fruit drops, yields and grades of Kinnow mandarin.

Biomorphological features, phenological development and winter hardiness of East Asian species of the genus Cotoneaster Medik. when introduced in the Komi Republic

The paper deals with the biological features of the East Asian species of the genus Cotoneaster Medik. when introduced in the Komi Republic. The features of vegetation, the dynamics of shoot growth, as well as the specificity of growth processes in the North, the degree of winter hardiness of introduced species, flowering and fruiting of plants of three species of this genus have been studied. Long-term observations have established that the studied plants have a long seasonal rhythm of development, they are characterized by late terms of the end of the growing season. Some species in summer, due to their high ability to regenerate shoots, quickly restore the crown, which allows them to enter the flowering and fruiting phases annually under conditions of introduction. Of the seven species, three have entered the generation period, and only two differ in the regular fruit formation. Plants of C. allochrous , C. bullatus , C. roseus , and C. amoenus differ in the late start and late end of the growing season, which affect their winter hardiness. C. dammeri , C. horizontalis and C. ascendens are recommended as the most promising plants for growing in the northern region with an early start and late end of the growing season. The decorativeness of the studied dendrointroducents, which persists during the growing season, is noted.

ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS STUDY IN THE DAILY MONITORING OF THE SILK ROADS WORLD HERITAGE SITES

After the successful inscription into the World Heritage List, the daily monitoring of the Silk Roads heritage sites is facing a dilemma with late start and high predicament. The uneven development of the types of properties, the lack of enthusiasm for grass-roots managers and staff, and the blind dependence on hi-technology and notable equipments are the major obstacles to the current day-to-day monitoring efforts. At current stage, increasing capital investment and project funding,actively applying the project and research programs, paying attention to the long-term personnel training, enhancing the management and inspection are the important means to strengthen monitoring. The superior authorities should pay attention to strengthen the support of the projects and establish the accountability machanism. While the heritage management administrations need to continue to fully emancipate the mind on the basis of recognising the importance, optimise the existing mechanism, and undertake the daily monitoring work on its own or entrusting a professional company, organisation or institution. Moreover, they should strive to achieve a comprehensive and healthy development while complementing the shortcomings.