Service Implementation Framework in Manufacturing Firms: A Case Study

The culture and the operational methods of service management have become a formidable competitive weapon even for manufacturing firms. The term "service factory" has been proposed for identifying that particular integration of products and services, achieved by the excellent manufacturing firm, where "service is a multidimensional concept". The creation of a service factory necessarily implies a radical change in the operational and organizational characteristics of the firm. In order to support manufacturing firms in adopting a service strategy, it is relevant on the one hand to identify the bundle of services which have to be provided for the customers and, on the other hand, to understand the implications for firm management model. As regards the first point, the paper proposes a framework which classifies the services along with two dimensions: Timedimension and target-dimension. The proposed framework is of interest for manufacturing firms because it allows a better recognition of services that are more perceptible for the customers. In the second part of the paper, authors discuss the implications of a service strategy adoption on the management model of manufacturing firms. In order to carry out this analysis, authors propose a model that combines four service dimensions with three decision-making categories (Organization, Methodologies and Technologies). In the end, the proposed framework has been applied in a sample of Italian hot water heater manufacturers and a case study analysis has been carried out

A novel framework for the use of workflow system in the integration of supply chain tiers

The global competition has imposed challenges to supply chain integration, mainly, during the process of obtain information to make demand management decisions. This paper proposes an integrated framework for data collection, analysis and results dissemination in the supply chain management (SCM), contributing to research and alternatives for \u201cThe Bullwhip Effect\u201d issue. In this sense, it is necessary to discuss the integration of supply chain management, Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) functionality and others systems, to enlarge this scope to the total supply chain players. The ERP web-based tool and Workflow Systems (WS) can contribute to solve issues related to supply chain management. Starting from a detailed analysis of the research background regarding current SCM definitions and integration problems, Information Technology and Communication (ITC) development and WS in order to map and ensure flow fluency; the paper proposes a model to increase the overall integrations and an application in a case study for supporting the decisions that are aligned with the company\u2019s strategic objectives. This paper is divided in: research background; proposed model of the SC integration; case study, conclusions and future research

A stochastic model for the stepwise motion in actomyosin dynamics

A jump-diffusion process is proposed to describe the displacements performed by single myosin heads along actin filaments during the rising phases. The process consists of the superposition of a Wiener and a jump process, with jumps originated by sequences of Poisson-distributed energy-supplying pulses. In a previous paper, the amplitude of the jumps was described by a mixture of two Gaussian distributions. To embody the effects of ATP hydrolysis, we now refine such a model by assuming that the jumps' amplitude is described by a mixture of three Gaussian distributions. This model has been inspired by the experimental data of T. Yanagida and his co-workers concerning observations at single molecule processes level.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

The SHiP experiment at CERN SPS

SHiP is a new general purpose fixed target facility, whose Technical Proposal has been recently submitted to the CERN SPS Committee. In its initial phase, the 400 GeV proton beam extracted from the SPS will be dumped on a heavy target with the aim of integrating 2 × 1020 pot in 5 years. A dedicated detector located downstream of the target, based on a long vacuum tank followed by a spectrometer and particle identification detectors, will allow probing a variety of models with light long-lived exotic particles and masses below a few GeV/c2. The beam dump is also an ideal source of tau neutrinos, the less known particle in the Standard Model. Another dedicated detector, based on the Emulsion Cloud Chamber technology already used in the OPERA experiment, will allow to perform for the first time measurements of the tau neutrino deep inelastic scattering cross section. Tau neutrinos will be distinguished from tau anti-neutrinos, thus providing the first observation of the tau anti-neutrino

Latest results of the OPERA experiment

The OPERA neutrino experiment was designed to perform a unique appearance measurement in the CNGS beam to confirm the oscillation mechanism in the atmospheric sector. Runs were successfully carried out from 2008 to 2012. The status of the analysis is reported and the topology and the kinematics of the first two ντ CC candidate events are described. A first result of the νμ → νe oscillation search is also presented

Results from the OPERA experiment

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Post-pneumonectomy broncho-pleural fistula successfully closed by open-window thoracostomy associated with V.A.C. therapy

Broncho-pleural fistula (BPF), is a dramatic complication that may occur after lung resection. The treatment is challenging due to its high rate of morbidity and mortality. Herein, a case of BPF associated with empyema, occurred in an elderly patient who had undergone to left pneumonectomy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), is reported. After various treatments including chest drainage and endoscopic procedures, BPF was successfully closed by open-window thoracotomy associated with vacuum assisted closure (V.A.C.) device therapy. The authors conclude that V.A.C. is a convenient and safe measure in the management of empyema with BPF. Moreover, in similar clinical contexts, V.A.C. may be the only option available that may assure the survival of the patient and the avoiding any later-phases of residual cavity

Adipose Tissue Plasticity in Catch-Up–Growth Trajectories to Metabolic Syndrome: Hyperplastic Versus Hypertrophic Catch-Up Fat

In the mid-1980s, at a time when the concept ofsyndrome X was being introduced by Reaven (1)to draw attention to the cardiovascular risks as-sociated with insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia, Tanner (2) was emphasizing a funda-mental property of human growth as a target-seeking function: Children, no less than rockets, have their trajectories, governed by control systems of their genetic constitution and powered by the energy absorbed from the environment. De-flect the child from its natural growth trajectory (by acute malnutrition or a sudden lack of a hormone), and a restoring force develops, so that as soon as the missing food or the absent hormone is supplied again, the child hastens to catch-up toward its original growth curve. When it gets there, the child slows again, to adjust its path onto the old trajectory once more. How the child does this we do not know. What was also unknown (and unforeseen) then was tha