A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL APPROACH IN DEVELOPING A FRAMEWORK FOR INTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE OF SECOND CYCLE ENGINEERING PROGRAMMES

The rapid growth of engineering education requires the propermaintenance of academic quality in educational institutions in order towithstand competition in the global market. External accreditation andinternal quality assurance are two very important processes that are carriedout in order to maintain the quality of engineering education. Accreditation isa process designed to determine whether or not an educational programmehas met or exceeded the published standards of the accreditation agency,whereas the purpose of internal quality assurance is to develop a qualityculture within an institution, and to implement a strategy for the continuousenhancement of quality. Although several quality assurance standards andguidelines have been established and implemented worldwide throughvarious international, regional and national agencies; relevant literaturesearches show that there is no common agreement or criterion that can beused in the quality assurance of engineering education. In this article, theauthors elaborate on several important issues regarding the accreditation andquality assurance of engineering education. The authors define internalquality assurance of an engineering programme as: enabled by certain qualityenablers, a structured process of quality analysis (benchmarking,monitoring, evaluating, assessing, guaranteeing and improving the quality)of the design, resources, delivery and outcomes of the programme; resultingin defect avoidance, strategic alignment, continuous improvement, andstakeholder trust. A brief outline of a multi-dimensional framework forinternal quality assurance of engineering programmes is provided in thisarticle

Sub-clinical diabetic cardiomyopathy - assessment by systolic time intervals

Left ventricular performance in diabetics wit he at hypertension, ischemic Tie art disease, or clinical evidence of other heart diseases was assessed by systolic time intervals and echo-cardiography. The PEP/ LVET ratio was 3.48% higher in diabetics than in controls. There was good correlation of abnormality of PEP/LVET ratio with duration of diabetes. There was no correlation with age of patient or severity of diabetes. There was good correlation between abnormal PEP/LVET and incidence of retinopathy and nephropathy. This suggests the possibility of the presence of subclinical diabetic cardiomyopathy in these individuals

Non-Isothermal Decomposition of 2-(2-Hydroxybenzylideneamino)-3-phenylpropanoic Acid in Nitrogen Atmosphere

The non-isothermal decomposition properties of 2-(2-hydroxy- benzylideneamino)-3-phenylpropanoic acid [HBAPPA] have been studied using microanalysis, FT-IR, UV, DTA, DTG and TG techniques. The TG studies were carried out at different heating rates of 10, 15 and 20 K/min. The Schiff base decomposed in three stages. The kinetic parameters were deduced for each stage. A probable mechanism has been proposed for the decomposition process

Synthesis, spectroscopic characterization and antimicrobial evaluation of some (E)-N-(4-substitutedbenzylidene)-4-fluorobenzenesulfonamides

In the present study, six numbers of Schiff bases (1-6) have been synthesized by the condensation of 4-fluorobenzenesulfonamide and substituted aromatic aldehyde. The purities of these Schiff bases have been checked by their physical constants, IR, 1H NMR and 13CNMR spectral data. The antimicrobial activities of these Schiff bases have been evaluated using Bauer-Kirby method

Combined host-conditioning with CTLA4-Ig, tacrolimus, anti-lymphocyte serum, and low-dose radiation leads to stable mixed hematopoietic chimerism

The toxic dose of irradiation required to achieve stable mixed hematopoietic chimerism is the major limitation to its clinical application in transplantation and other nonmalignant conditions such as hemoglobinopathies. This study examines the additive effect of costimulatory blockage, to our previously described tacrolimus-based conditioning regimen, in further reducing the dose of total-body irradiation to achieve stable mixed chimerism in rats. Fully mismatched, 4- to 6-week-old ACI and Wistar Furth rats were used as donors and recipients, respectively. Recipients were administered CTLA4-Ig 2mg/kg/day (alternate days) in combination with tacrolimus 1 mg/kg/day (daily) from day 0 through day +10, anti-lymphocyte serum 10 mg at day +10 (single dose), and total-body irradiation ranging from 100–600 cGy, prior to bone marrow transplantation (day 0) with 100 × 10 6 of T-cell-depleted bone marrow cells. Levels of donor chimerism were determined over a period of 12 months. The short course of CTLA4-Ig, tacrolimus, and ALS led to dramatic engraftments at reduced doses of irradiation: 100% (5/5) and 93% (13/14) of the animals developed mixed chimerism at 400 cGy and 300 cGy, respectively. At 300 cGy, recipients exhibited durable, multilineage mixed chimerism at 365 days with donor cells ranging from 19–42% (mean 23.4%) with no evidence of graft-vs-host disease. These mixed chimeras exhibited in vitro (mixed lymphocyte reaction) and in vivo (skin grafts) donor-specific tolerance. This study suggests that addition of costimulatory blockade to a tacrolimus-based conditioning regimen reduces the dose of irradiation required to achieve stable multilineage chimerism in rats

A clinically relevant CTLA4-Ig-based regimen induces chimerism and tolerance to heart grafts

Background. We determined whether a nontoxic CTLA4-Ig-based conditioning regimen effected mixed chimerism and donor-specific tolerance when heart and bone marrow were transplanted simultaneously. Methods. Fully mismatched rat strain combinations were used. Recipients received total-body irradiation (300 centigrays), bone marrow (10 8 cells), and cardiac transplants from the donor on day 0. Subsequently, recipient animals received CTLA4-Ig (2 mg/kg, every other day, × 5 doses), tacrolimus (1 mg/kg/day; days 0 to 9), and one dose (10 mg) of antilymphocyte serum on day 10. Results. All bone marrow recipients (n = 7) developed mixed chimerism (mean = 25% ± 9% at 1 year) and accepted cardiac allografts permanently (> 375 ± 32 days). Recipients that received conditioning regimen but no bone marrow (n = 5) rejected donor hearts within 51 ± 13 days ( p 180 days) donor-specific skin grafts, but rapidly rejected (< 10 days) third-party skin grafts. Conclusions. A nontoxic CTLA4-Ig-based conditioning regimen effects mixed chimerism and donor-specific tolerance when heart and bone marrow are transplanted simultaneously. This regimen may have clinical application

COVID-19 and Cancer: Lessons Learnt from a Michigan Hotspot

Background: Outcomes with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been worse in those with comorbidities and amongst minorities. In our study, we describe outcomes amongst cancer patients in Detroit, a major COVID-19 hotspot with a predominant inner-city population. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 85 patients with active invasive cancers who were infected with COVID-19. The primary outcome was death or transition to hospice. Results: The majority were males (55.3%, n = 47), ≤70 years old (58.5%, n = 50), and African Americans (65.5%, n = 55). The most common primary site was prostate (18.8%, n = 16). Inpatient admission was documented in 85.5% (n = 73), ICU admission in 35.3% (n = 30), and primary outcome in 43.8% (n = 32) of hospitalized patients. On a multivariate analysis, factors associated with increased odds of a primary outcome included an age of \u3e70 years versus ≤70 years (OR 4.7, p = 0.012) and of male gender (OR 4.8, p = 0.008). Recent cancer-directed therapy was administered in 66.7% (n = 20) of ICU admissions versus 39.5% (n = 17) of general floor admissions (Chi-square p-value of 0.023). Conclusions: High rates of mortality/transition to hospice and ICU utilization were noted amongst our patients with active invasive cancer, following a COVID-19 infection. Men and those of \u3e70 years of age had a greater than four-fold increase in odds of death or transition to hospice