Enhancing the lean enterprise through supply chain design : establishing remarketing and reverse logistics at a high tech firm

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2003.Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-83).by Brian N. Bowers.S.M

Wearable RF sensors for non-invasive detection of blood-glucose levels

PhDRadio frequency (RF) techniques have the potential to provide blood glucose readings through sensing the glucose dependent change in dielectric properties of the biological tissue. Such technique can enable much desired non-invasive and continuous monitoring of blood glucose level. In this work, we present realistic glucose dependence of dielectric properties as well as basic understanding of resonator behaviour while radiating towards the lossy biological tissue. To investigate the potential of RF techniques, two resonators, operating at microwave frequencies when placed radiating towards the biological tissue, are designed and fabricated. The spiral resonator is tested with liquid and semi-solid phantoms containing different amounts of sugar. An analytical formulation to retrieve the dielectric properties of the biological tissues is improved. In order to perform realistic tests, novel tissue mimicking materials for an extremely wide frequency range are proposed. Glucose dependance of the blood mimicking material dielectric properties are further investigated by adding realistic glucose amounts to the blood mimicking material and dielectric spectroscopy is performed. Next, a single pole Cole-Cole model is fitted to the median of the dielectric property measurements. In addition, a patch resonator is simulated with four-layered digital phantom and tested with the four-layered physical tissue mimicking phantom. Finally, a double parameter measurement platform is constructed by combining the patch resonator and a commercial force sensor to perform controlled experiments with humans. Also, the force dependant response of the patch resonator is quantified. Soda tests is performed on five subjects with the platform, all subjects were asked to apply the same level of force. Spiral resonator is also applied to examine the glucose changes of two human subjects during the soda test. The results suggests that, although the glucose-dependance of the dielectric properties is relatively small, the input impedance of a microwave resonator is still sensitive to such small alterations

D22.1 Definition of EuWIn@CNIT/Bologna testbed interfaces and preliminary plan of activities

Preprin

Genomic resources for a commercial flatfish, the Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis): EST sequencing, oligo microarray design, and development of the Soleamold bioinformatic platform

Background: The Senegalese sole, Solea senegalensis, is a highly prized flatfish of growing commercial interest for aquaculture in Southern Europe. However, despite the industrial production of Senegalese sole being hampered primarily by lack of information on the physiological mechanisms involved in reproduction, growth and immunity, very limited genomic information is available on this species. Results: Sequencing of a S. senegalensis multi-tissue normalized cDNA library, from adult tissues (brain, stomach, intestine, liver, ovary, and testis), larval stages (pre-metamorphosis, metamorphosis), juvenile stages (post-metamorphosis, abnormal fish), and undifferentiated gonads, generated 10,185 expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Clones were sequenced from the 3'-end to identify isoform specific sequences. Assembly of the entire EST collection into contigs gave 5,208 unique sequences of which 1,769 (34%) had matches in GenBank, thus showing a low level of redundancy. The sequence of the 5,208 unigenes was used to design and validate an oligonucleotide microarray representing 5,087 unique Senegalese sole transcripts. Finally, a novel interactive bioinformatic platform, Soleamold, was developed for the Senegalese sole EST collection as well as microarray and ISH data. Conclusion: New genomic resources have been developed for S. senegalensis, an economically important fish in aquaculture, which include a collection of expressed genes, an oligonucleotide microarray, and a publicly available bioinformatic platform that can be used to study gene expression in this species. These resources will help elucidate transcriptional regulation in wild and captive Senegalese sole for optimization of its production under intensive culture conditions

Mustang Daily, February 6, 2007

Student newspaper of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/studentnewspaper/7548/thumbnail.jp

Strategic Analysis of the IP Performance Test Professional Services Industry for the Data Network Operation of Agilent Technologies

This paper contains a strategic analysis of the IP Performance Test Professional Services industry of the Data Networks Operation of Agilent Technologies Inc. The increasing complexity of network test equipment, as well as the technology involved, has given rise to customer needs for more in-depth technical consultancy services. To keep up with the market, DNO’s two major competitors have recently been investing heavily in more detailed productfocused professional services departments. The current post-sale services provided through various functions of Agilent corporate have a number of issues and limitations that prevent DNO from fulfilling its customer needs properly. In order for DNO to stay competitive, it should consider providing more structured, product focused consultancy services for its products. This report provides an analysis of strategic fit of a dedicated consultancy operation for DNO. Three potential alternative solutions are provided and examined based on interviews conducted with customers and internal Agilent resources that have direct client experience. The alignment of these alternatives is evaluated against DNO’s strategic goals. Finally, a recommendation for a DNO consultancy model with high-level implementation steps is provided

Product strategy in response to technological innovation in the semiconductor test industry

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-84).After the market boom of 2000 in the semiconductor industry changed significantly. The changes included stricter limits on capital cost spending, and the increased propensity of the industry to outsource the manufacturing of semiconductors. Thus, the semiconductor industry demanded greater cost of test economics in semiconductor test equipment. In response to the changes in the industry and the customer demands, the semiconductor test industry segmented itself into two broad strategies. Typically, the large semiconductor test equipment manufacturers employed a broad platform strategy, while the smaller semiconductor test equipment manufacturers employed a niche platform strategy. This thesis confirms the underlying changes in the semiconductor test industry by looking at the entire semiconductor value chain. It also looks at the root causes of the changes in order to determine the future effects of the changes in the semiconductor test industry. This thesis also analyzes the two distinct market strategies, developing a systematic method to compare and evaluate each strategy. In addition, it explores the intangible risks associated with the adoption of each strategy. After understanding the trends in the semiconductor test industry, this thesis also presents a unified model to discuss the future direction of the semiconductor test industry. Looking at this direction, this project develops specific recommendations for businesses to compete effectively given the impending market conditions.by Robert W. Lin.S.M

Design and operation of mesh-restorable WDM networks

The explosive growth of Web-related services over the Internet is bringing millions of new users online, thus creating a growing demand for bandwidth. Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) networks, employing wavelength routing has emerged as the dominant technology to satisfy this growing demand for bandwidth. As the amount of traffic carried is larger, any single failure can be catastrophic. Survivability becomes indispensable in such networks. Therefore, it is imperative to design networks that can quickly and efficiently recover from failures.;In this dissertation, we explore the design and operation of survivable optical networks. We study several survivability paradigms for surviving single link failures. A restoration model is developed based on a combination of these paradigms. We propose an optimal design and upgrade scheme for WDM backbone networks. We formulate an integer programming-based design problem to minimize the total facility cost. This framework provides a cost effective way of upgrading the network by identifying how much resources to budget at each stage of network evolution. This results in significant cost reductions for the network service provider.;As part of network operation, we capture multiple operational phases in survivable network operation as a single integer programming formulation. This common framework incorporates service disruption and includes a service differentiation model based on lightpath protection. However, the complexity of the optimization problem makes the formulation applicable only for network provisioning and o2ine reconfiguration. The direct use of such methods for online reconfiguration remains limited to small networks with few tens of wavelengths. We develop a heuristic algorithm based on LP relaxation technique for fast, near optimal, online reconfiguration. Since the ILP variables are relaxed, we provide a way to derive a feasible solution from the relaxed problem. Most of the current approaches assume centralized information. They do not scale well as they rely on per-flow information. This motivates the need for developing dynamic algorithms based on partial information. The partial information we use can be easily obtained from traffic engineering extensions to routing protocols. Finally, the performance of partial information routing algorithms is compared through simulation studies

NASA Tech Briefs, January 2001

The topics include: 1) A "Model" of Interactive Engineering; 2) Feature Section: Communications Technology; 3) lnReview; 4) Application Briefs; 5) Submillimeter-Wave Image Sensor; 6) Ultrasonic/Sonic Drill/Corers With Integrated Sensors; 7) Normally Closed, Piezoelectrically Actuated Microvalve; 8) Magnetostrictively Actuated Valves for Cryosurgical Probes; 9) Remote Sensing of Electric Fields in Clouds; 10) Wireless-Communication Headset Subsystem To Enhance Signaling; 11) Power Amplifier With 9 to 13 dB of Gain From 65 to 146 GHz; 12) Humidity Interlock for Protecting a Cooled Laser Crystal; 13) A Lightweight Ambulatory Physiological Monitoring System; 14) Improvements in a Lightning-Measuring Instrument; 15) Broad-Band, Noninvasive Radio-Frequency Current Probe; 16) Web-Based Technology Distributes Lean Models; 17) Software Guides Aeroelastic-Systems Design; and 18) Postprocessing Software for Micromechanics Analysis Code. A Photonics West 2001 Preview Tech Brief supplement to this January 2001 issue is also included