Randomized trial of breast self-examination in Shanghai: methodology and preliminary results

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of breast self-examination in helping to reduce mortality from breast cancer has not been rigorously demonstrated. PURPOSE: To assess efficacy, a large, randomized trial was initiated in Shanghai, China. METHODS: From October 1989 to October 1991, 267040 current and retired female employees associated with 520 factories in the Shanghai Textile Industry Bureau were randomly assigned on the basis of factory to either a self-examination instruction group (133375 women) or a control group (133665 women). The women were born within the period from 1925 through 1958. Women in the instruction group were given intensive training in breast self-examination, including the use of silicone breast models and personalized instruction, plus two subsequent reinforcement sessions and multiple reminders to practice the technique. Women in the control group were asked to attend training sessions on the prevention of low back pain. All women have been followed for the development of breast diseases and for death from breast cancer. RESULTS: A high level of participation during the first 4-5 years of the trial was documented among women in the instruction group. Randomly sampled women in this group demonstrated greater proficiency in detecting lumps in breast models than did randomly sampled women in the control group. Approximately equal numbers of breast cancers were detected in the two groups (331 in the instruction group and 322 in the control group) through 1994, which is the last year for which case-finding efforts have been completed. The breast cancers detected in the instruction group were not diagnosed at an appreciably earlier stage or smaller size than those in the control group. More benign breast lesions were detected in the instruction group than in the control group (1457 versus 623, respectively), suggesting a higher index of suspicion for women who received training. Cumulative breast cancer mortality rates through 5 years from entry into the study were nearly equivalent for the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Breast self-examination has not led to a reduction in mortality from breast cancer in this study cohort in the first several years since the trial began. A shift toward the diagnosis of disease at a less advanced stage in women given instruction has also not been demonstrated. Longer follow-up of participants in this trial is required before final assessment can be made of the efficacy of breast self-examination. IMPLICATIONS: At this time, there is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against the teaching of breast self-examination.     

铝液夹杂物检测DMIRT－Ⅲ法的试验研究

提出了一种新的铝液夹杂物快速检测方法。导出了该法的检测原理方程。分析并试验研究了影响检测重复性和分辨率的因素。试验选择了较好的检测参数，并获得了较好的检测结果。     

Simulation study of peak junction temperature and power limitationof AlGaAs/GaAs HBTs under pulsed and CW operation

The authors have used a 3-D transmission-line matrix (TLM) modeling method to study the junction temperature distribution and power limitation of device geometries with multiple embedded heat sources. Peak values of the junction temperature against the dissipated power density under both pulsed and CW operation are presented for a typical power AlGaAs/GaAs HBT structure. These data should facilitate the rapid determination of junction temperature for a given output power, which is of paramount importance in power device design     

Determination of the liquidus lines and isotherms of the Hg-Zn-Te system by a modified direct observation method

The modified direct observation method is employed for the determination of the liquidus lines in the (Hg_{1_x}Zn_x)_{1_y}Te_y, ternary system. The liquidus temperatures of the ternary samples of various compositions withx from 0.05 to 0.30 andy from 0.5 to 0.9 are measured. The temperature-composition phase diagrams and some liquidus isotherms are established for this system.     

Efficient algorithms for SS/TDMA scheduling

Efficient scheduling algorithms for the slot assignment problem in a satellite-switched time-division multiple-access (SS/TDMA) system are presented. This problem is translated into a modified open-shop scheduling problem, allowing the use of known optimal algorithms. Their complexity is expressed as a function of the following parameters: the number of nonzero entries in the demand matrix, the number of uplinks, and the number of downlinks. According to the values of these parameters, the algorithm with the lowest computational complexity can be adopted. Although the computational complexity of previously published algorithms is drastically reduced, simulation results show that the results are close to previously presented solutions in terms of the assignment duration and the number of switching matrices     

Eigenvalue-based algorithms for testing positive realness of SISO systems

A computational test for scalar positive real and strictly positive real functions is proposed in this paper. The input for this algorithm is state space representation, not necessarily minimal. It is derived for the discrete time problem, based on numerical stable eigenvalue computations. The test can be used in the continuous counterpart, which is in fact an improvement of an algorithm posed by Bai and Freund. Differences between the discrete and continuous time problems are also pointed out.     

Fuzzy reasoning Petri nets

This paper presents a fuzzy reasoning Petri net (FRPN) model to represent a fuzzy production rule-based system. The issues of how to represent and reason about rules containing negative literals are addressed in the proposed PN model. The execution rules based on the model are defined formally using the operators in max-algebra. Then, a fuzzy reasoning algorithm is proposed to perform fuzzy reasoning automatically. The algorithm is consistent with the matrix equation expression method in the traditional PNs and allows one to exploit the maximum parallel reasoning potential embedded in the model. The legitimacy and feasibility of the proposed approach are proved and validated through a turbine fault diagnosis expert system.     

安钢宽板坯连铸机达产实践

分析了安钢宽板坯连铸机在热试车期间出现的生产问题,总结出制约生产主要因素,制定针对性措施,使该连铸机在较短时间内实现达产创效.