Reducibility of certain class of polynomials over Fp, whose degree depends on p, can be deduced by checking the reducibility of a quadratic and cubic polynomial. This thesis explains how can we speeds up the reducibility procedure.

Syftet med denna litteraturstudie var att beskriva riskfaktorer som påverkade uppkomsten av trycksår samt de vanligaste förekommande preventiva åtgärderna. Vidare var syftet att beskriva sjuksköterskans roll vid förebyggandet samt behandlingen av trycksår. De vetenskapliga artiklar (n=21) som ingick i studien söktes manuellt samt datoriserat via databaserna Blackwell Synergy, CHINAL, Elin@Dalarna och Elsiever. Inklusionskriterierna var att de skulle vara vetenskapliga samt av kvalitativ och kvantitativ design. Även litteraturstudier inkluderades. Artiklarna skulle vara publicerade 1990 eller senare och vara svensk eller engelskspråkiga. Resultatet visade att patienter med lågt nutritionsstatus och låga serum albuminvärden riskerade att utveckla trycksår. En annan stor riskgrupp var patienter i peri- och postoperativa skeden där operationstiden kraftigt inverkade på uppkomsten av sår. Även anestesiformen spelade roll. Trycksåren uppkom vanligen på hälarna och korsbenet. I preventativt syfte var evidensbaserade mätskalor viktiga. Även trycksårsreducerande madrasser visade sig vara betydelsefulla. Vidare framkom att hälso- och sjukvårdspersonalen visade ett svalt intresse för trycksår och att kvalitetssäkringen var bristfällig. Sjuksköterskan hade främst en informerande roll inom trycksårspreventionen. Såren rengjordes lämpligast med fysiologisk koksaltlösning och omlades med våt omläggning. Resultatet visade även att smärtanalyser i högre grad borde involveras i trycksårsbehandlingen.

The meniscus is a soft, fibrocartilaginous tissue critical for the maintenance of normal knee biomechanics, providing shock absorbance and overall joint lubrication and stability. The adult tissue is highly avascular with a poor autonomous repair capacity in response to injury. Despite the estimated 850,000 arthroscopic surgeries performed per year to repair torn menisci and the increasing evidence showing a high incidence of meniscal degeneration during very early stages of osteoarthritis, little is currently known of the responses of meniscal fibrochondrocytes to physiological stimuli. Therefore, this work explored the responses of meniscal fibrochondrocytes to exogenous biomechanical and biochemical stimuli in an effort to better understand the sensitivity of these cells in their native tissue matrix as well as in a 3-D scaffold environment. Using the immature bovine model, the changes in biosynthesis of fibrochondrocytes in tissue explants and in an agarose scaffold due to unconfined oscillatory compression were explored. This biomechanical stimulus, previously identified to stimulate matrix production of chondrocytes of articular cartilage, stimulated total protein synthesis in both culture environments. In contrast, the synthesis of proteoglycans, matrix components important in mechanical stiffness and hydration of the tissue, was not affected by these compression protocols. However, the use of a biochemical stimulus in the form of anabolic cytokines significantly enhanced both protein and proteoglycan synthesis as a function of culture environment as well as type of cytokine used. The superposition of oscillatory compression in addition to the use of these potent biochemical stimulators, insulin-like growth factor-I or transforming growth factor-beta 1, did not further enhance matrix synthesis of fibrochondrocytes in agarose culture, suggesting an insensitivity of the fibrochondrocytes to biomechanical stimuli during early stages of matrix maturation within the agarose scaffold. As a combination of biomechanical and biochemical stimuli are responsible for directing the development, maintenance, and repair of the tissue, these findings aid in understanding fibrocartilage maintenance through studying responses in a tissue explant model. Additionally, studying agarose scaffolds aid in the understanding fibrocartilage development and deposition of a de novo matrix.

Background The demand of long-term care facilities has increased because of the geriatric population growing up rapidly. How to reduce the frequency of the nursing home residents¡¦ being hospitalized is one of the most important indicators for the quality of long-term care. Objective To understand the characteristics of facilities and nursing home residents. To test the effect of the characteristics on the probability of hospitalization of nursing home residents and to analyze the predictors of readmission in order to improve the quality of nursing care and the life quality of their residents. Methods We collected 329 residents of a hospital-based nursing home in southern Taiwan before March 31, 2011 and who stayed more than 90 days at the facility. The medical records were reviewed retrospectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (correlation and one way ANOVA) to test the effect of the resident¡¦s and facility¡¦s characteristics on the probability of hospitalization. Multiple linear regression was used to study the risk factors and the predictors of readmission frequency. Results Of the 29 residents, 141(42.9%) were male. The average age was 78.06. 33.7% of the residents died in the facility. The total individual admissions were from 0 to 18. The hospitalized frequency was 0.42 in each 90-day period. Infectious disease was the majority diagnosis of admission. The three leading causes of admission were pneumonia(45.5%), urinary tract infection (20.0%) and upper gastrointestinal bleeding(10.3%). Correlation analysis showed the age had a positive correlation with the frequency of readmission. The hemoglobin level, serum albumin level, serum cholesterol level, body mass index, mini-nutritional assessment score and mini-mental status evaluation score disclosed a negative correlation with the frequency of readmission. Multiple linear regression showed the male gender, age, lung diseases, complete bed-ridden and mini-nutritional assessment score were significant predictors of readmission frequency. Conclusion The evaluation of the risk factors and predictors might help to identify the nursing home residents who are likely to be readmitted. It is hoped that the hospitalizations from nursing home may be prevented and the results of this study might contribute to the quality of long-term care facilities.

Objective: Urinary catheterization is associated with urinary tract infection, a common complication of stroke. We aimed to investigate the incidence and risk factors associated with urinary catheterization following acute stroke, and its impact on stroke outcome. Method: We prospectively studied a cohort of stroke patients hospitalized within 10 days after onset from August 2006 to December 2008. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the cumulative incidence of Foley catheter insertion over time, and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to evaluate the independent predictors. The impact of urinary catheterization on poor stroke outcome (modified Rankin Scale >2 or dead) at 3 months was analyzed by logistic regression. Results: Of 2789 study patients, 761 (27%) received Foley catheter insertion. Most urinary catheterization was carried out within two days of admission, with estimated cumulative incidence of 23% (95% CI, 22% to 25%) at 2 days, and 27% (25% to 29%) at 7 days. Predictors of urinary catheterization were advanced age (HR 1.01 per year; 95% CI, 1.00-1.01), increased National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (HR 1.08 per point; 1.07-1.09), and hemorrhagic (versus ischemic) stroke (HR 2.03; 1.69-2.44), after adjustment for gender, diabetes mellitus and previous stroke/transient ischemic attack. The influence of urinary catheterization on poor outcome at 3 months remained significant (OR 2.43; 1.65-3.58) after adjustment for relevant covariates. Conclusion: Urinary catheterization was common among hospitalized acute stroke patients, and associated with poor outcome at 3 months. Judicious use of urinary catheter in acute stroke patients is crucial to improve quality of care.

Due to the changes in the environment of pharmacy industry, consumers have slowly altered their mode of consumption from going to the pharmacy for the treatment of illness to going there for the enhancement of health. Products used to be the key concern in traditional pharmacies of which the sales-oriented objective results in seeking for the sales of products, but now pharmacies tend to adopt a multifunctional managing strategy, which is demand-oriented aiming at the fulfillment of customer needs by providing the best-selling products while eliminating the dead stock. The transformation of the mode of consumption fosters the managers of pharmacies to identify the importance of multifunction, professionalism, convenience, chain operation, and computerization. This research adopts both open-ended and focused one-on-one interviews. It examines the factors that would influence the success of strategic coalition between pharmacies in their inner and outer context, and also the discrepancy in the recognition of factors affecting the success of strategic coalition in this industry in different areas. By means of this approach, this research sums up the key factors leading to successful strategic coalition in different areas. The key factors that need to be considered when conducting strategic coalition between pharmacies are obtained through case studies, and these factors are: ¡§the making of governmental policies,¡¨ ¡§the reputation of pharmacies in strategic coalition,¡¨ ¡§an excellent team for business development,¡¨ ¡§developing private brands with a high quality and a low price,¡¨ ¡§the establishment of the web,¡¨ ¡§the administrating and distributing system between businesses,¡¨ ¡§the stipulation of marketing strategies and objectives,¡¨ ¡§the application of finance,¡¨ and ¡§the privacy and trust between businesses.¡¨ Due to the geographical difference among the northern, the central, and the southern areas, chain pharmacies in the north prefer indirect franchise through which all businesses can distribute products together to lower their cost in their market distribution, while in the central area chain pharmacies are usually made of one or two pharmacies, collaborating with each other to create private brands. Pharmacies in the southern area achieve a common ideal through participating as a member in the social meeting for study and learning. ¡§Simplification,¡¨ ¡§standardization,¡¨ ¡§professionalism,¡¨ and ¡§centralization¡¨ must be achieved in strategic coalition between pharmacies with which the professional knowledge of the staff as well as their service would be strengthened to meet the customer needs. The strategic coalition between businesses in different areas requires mutual trust, but the sharing of interest, the information exchange, and how to achieve joint promotion, joint training, joint purchase, joint logo, as well as joint development are all serious issues that should also be dealt with.

The aim of the research is to explore the impact factors that the students of the private high school may consider. By so doing, we can understand the significant points that the private high school students may consider on the one hand and whether there exists any differences among the impact factors of choosing school from their diversity of backgrounds on the other hand. The survey is used in the research as the methodology; a survey tool is designed as ¡§The Impact Factors of the 12th and the 13th Grade Students in School Choosing.¡¨ The participants of the research are the 12th and the 13th grade students in a private school in Kaohsiung City. The data obtained would be further analyzed in terms of descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and so on. The research discovers that: I. The ¡§curriculum and teaching factor¡¨ is the most significant among the impact factors of the private high school students in their school choosing. II. In the item of ¡§key person¡¦s factor¡¨ of the private high school students in their school choosing, ¡§my own choice¡¨ is the most significant. III. In the item of ¡§curriculum and teaching¡¨ of the private high school students in their school choosing, ¡§teacher¡¦s hardworking¡¨ is the most significant. IV. In the item of ¡§school counseling factor¡¨ of the private high school students in their school choosing, ¡§the peers¡¦ good relationship¡¨ is the most significant. V. In the item of the ¡§environmental equipment factor¡¨ of the private high school students in their school choosing, ¡§the air conditioning in the classroom¡¨ is the most significant. VI. In the item of ¡§the school marketing factor¡¨ of the private high school students in their school choosing, ¡§the reasonable tuition¡¨ is the most significant. VII. The science-majored private high school students consider the ¡§counseling factor¡¨ and the ¡§school marketing factor¡¨ more than the humanities-majored students do. VIII. The male private high school students consider the ¡§curriculum and teaching factor¡¨ and the ¡§counseling factor¡¨ more than the female students do. IX. The private high school students whose father¡¦s education is ¡§more than graduate school¡¨ consider the ¡§counseling factor¡¨ more than those whose father¡¦s education is ¡§college or university¡¨ do. X. The private high school students whose mother¡¦s education is ¡§college or university¡¨ consider the ¡§key person¡¦s factor,¡¨ ¡§curriculum and teaching factor,¡¨ and ¡§counseling factor¡¨ more than those whose mother¡¦s education is ¡§less than the (vocational) high school¡¨ do. XI. The private high school students whose mother¡¦s education is ¡§less than the (vocational) high school¡¨ consider the ¡§school marketing factor¡¨ more than those whose mother¡¦s education is ¡§more than graduate school¡¨ do. XII. The private high school students who live in ¡§the suburban area¡¨ in their school choosing factors consider ¡§the environmental equipment factor¡¨ more than those who live in ¡§the urban area of Fongshan District¡¨ do. According to the results, the research attempts to propose student recruiting strategies for the private schools.

The adult Drosophila central nervous system is produced by two phases of neurogenesis: the first phase occurs during embryonic development where the larval brain is formed and the second occurs during larval development to form the adult brain. Neurogenesis in both phases is caused by the activation of neural stem cell division and subsequent progenitor cell division and terminal differentiation. Proper activation of neural stem cell division in the larval brain is essential for proper patterning and functionality of the adult central nervous system. Initiation of neural stem cell proliferation requires signaling from the Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) homolog Branchless (Bnl) and by the Hedgehog (Hh) growth factor. I have focused on the interactions between both of these signaling pathways with respect to post-embryonic neural stem cell proliferation using the Drosophila larval brain. Using proliferation assays and quantitative real-time PCR, I have shown that Bnl and Hh signaling is inter-dependent in the 1st instar larval brain and activates neural stem cell proliferation. I have also shown that overexpression of bnl can rescue signaling and neuroblast proliferation in a hh mutant. However, overexpression of hh does not rescue signaling or neuroblast proliferation in a bnl mutant, suggesting that Bnl is the signaling output of the Bnl-Hh feedback loop and that all central brain and optic lobe neural stem cells require Bnl signaling to initiated proliferation.

The objective of this research is to discover if significant relationships exist between age, gender, household income, locations where children/adolescents ate, whom they ate with, whether they considered the food as a meal or a snack, and their consumption of food by food group. Three hundred and twelve children (9-11 years old)/adolescents (13-15 years old) completed a 24-hour dietary intake recall, and a 2-day dietary record. The subject was asked to indicate the amount of food he/she consumed, where he/she consumed it, who was with him/her when he/she consumed the food, and whether he/she considered the food to be a meal or a snack. The information was coded and all the foods were grouped into 12 groups. Data were analyzed with the Statistical Analysis System (SAS). The results showed that children had higher intakes of breads and cereals, dairy products, fruits and fruit juices, snacks and desserts than adolescents. Girls consumed more snacks and desserts, and condiments than boys. Children/adolescents in families with higher household incomes consumed more snacks and desserts, but fewer meats than those with lower household incomes. Children and adolescents consumed more breads and cereals, dairy products, fruits and fruit juices, vegetables, fats, meats, and snacks and desserts when they ate at home than when they ate away from home. Children/adolescents ate more breads and cereals, dairy products, fruits and fruit juices, vegetables, fats, meats and condiments when they ate with various family members than when they ate alone, with only one family member or with non-family members. Children/adolescents consumed more breads and cereals, dairy products, fruits and fruit juices, burgers and sandwiches, snacks and desserts, condiments, but less fats when they ate with their friends as compared to eating with others. Children/adolescents who ate breakfast had higher intakes of breads and cereals, dairy products, fruits and fruit juices, vegetables, fats, meats, snacks and desserts, and condiments than those who did not eat breakfast. Children/adolescents who ate more fruit and fruit juices had consumed significantly more breads and cereals, dairy products, vegetables, snacks and desserts, but consumed fewer sweetened beverages than those who did not eat fruits and fruit juices.

There are great demands of today financial industry to achieve flexibility and growth by integrating new, innovative solutions with existing IT landscapes. Due to the economic climate that has prevailed over the past 18 months, outsourcing, in its different shapes and forms, has once again been gaining strategic significance in the financial services industry. Through literature research, we have found it is important to understand how to leverage application development outsourcing well in order to successful deliver the expected benefits. In this research, we have proposed using interview, literature search, practical empirical working experience as a basis for the methodology. We have interviewed senior managers of three major banks in Taiwan, on their applications on mainframe, midsize systems, and process management experience, and based on Outsourcing value-added method of Wu, and ¡§Method for different outsourcing successful factors for the life cycle of several industries¡¨ of Chun & Wu, etc. to derive initial critical successful factors (CSFs). We then collect knowledge of 26 success and failure outsourcing business cases, perform analysis and knowledge extraction based on xxxx ¡§comparison method¡¨ to conclude the critical successful factors for this research. From this research, we have found that the support from upper management to application development outsourcing is the most important. Due to their attention, many banks do provide training and education to their employees of the importance of leveraging outsourcing resource and how to perform a project teaming and management based on resources from internal employees, outside vendors, and contract employees. The important factors for teaming effort including, people communication, commitment, responsibility and working attitude, financial legal regulation, knowledge management and sharing, project management capability, human factors and relationship. Another factor is on the attention to the details of the development life cycle management to ensure its feasibility for requirement, completeness for clearance, and professionalism for outsourcing project management and knowledge. At the initial stage for team formation, it is important to describe the details of work breakdown structures and working products with the responsible person assigned. During the process of RFI, RFP, open bid process, vendor selection, price and contract negotiation, contract responsibility details, both sides need to pay attention of clear specification of responsibility, mutual respects of professional judgment, potential changes and risk management, deliverables, and after services and support. At every stage of the project, periodical checking on progress, difficulties, changes, progress stages and tracking, and early warming system, etc. are important to the success for project management. Individual team member¡¦s professional capability, communication skills, and initiative and working attitude are also the important factors for the successful factors. The last payment term can be an important factor too. This can be the unique situation in Taiwan. Some vendors would rather forfeit the last payment, but not finish the last commitment of deliverables or future supports. So sometime, keep a larger portion of the last payment can be a good resort to ensure long-term supports from vendors. In conclusion, we have found that vendor¡¦s attitude on service ability and customer relationship management, application owner¡¦s commitment to collaborate and timing support, maturity of supporting open-system based banking application, infrastructure for knowledge sharing among the project team members are the most important successful factors for the software development outsourcing. We do strongly recommend the leverage of outsourcing as a mean for the speedy improvement of new banking business process and innovative product creations for financial industry.