The virtual organizing process—A critical tool for enterprise competitiveness in the information era

The term virtual enterprise has generated considerable confusion because of its rather liberal interpretation. This paper argues that the successful establishment of a virtual enterprise is mainly dependent on the virtual organizing processes of an enterprise\u27s strategies ( VOPES), rather than on the actual manifested transformation of the whole into a single virtual organization. A three-dimensional dynamic framework for VOPES is presented, with the aim of providing a coherent model for positioning the various virtual organizing strategies, and at the same time giving VOPES dynamic tendencies towards market negotiation, co-operation, co-ordination and collaboration. To achieve a competitive advantage, the top management of an enterprise operating in an intense information environment can organize their enterprise virtually by using the three-dimensional framework of: virtual customer relationship, virtual outsourcing, and virtual knowledge and expertise. The generic IT architecture of VOPES is also described and discussed

Transferrin-bound Yb2 uptake by U-87 MG cells and effect of Yb on proliferation of the cells

2003-2004 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Specific neuroprotective effects of manual stimulation of real acupoints versus non-acupoints in rats after middle cerebral artery occlusion

The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and specific effects of acupuncture on ischemic-induced damage in rats after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion. Cerebral ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion in male Wistar rats. The rats were divided into the following 4 groups: normal controls, ischemic, real acupuncture-treated (Shuigou, DU26), and non-acupoint-treated groups. On the third postoperative day, neurological deficit scores, cerebral blood flow, infarction volume, and neuronal cell death counts were measured. In the real acupuncture-treated group, the neurological deficit scores and cerebral blood flow were improved (p < 0.05) and the infarction volume and neuronal cell death counts were reduced (p < 0.01) compared to the ischemic and non-acupoint-treated groups. The present study demonstrated that real acupuncture was effective against focal ischemia-induced damage in rats after middle cerebral artery occlusion, and the effects were specifically related to the right needling location.Key words: specificity, real acupoint, non-acupoint, middle cerebral artery occlusion, animal experimentatio

A Double-Voltage-Controlled Effective Thermal Conductivity Model of Graphene for Thermoelectric Cooling

© 1963-2012 IEEE. Graphene provides a new opportunity for thermoelectric study based on its unique heat transfer behavior controllable by a gate voltage. In this paper, an effective thermal conductivity model of graphene for thermoelectric cooling is proposed. The model is based on a double-voltage-control mechanism. According to the law of Fourier heat conduction, an effective thermal conductivity model of the proposed thermoelectric cooling device is derived taking a tunable external voltage into account. Then, a gate voltage is used which can change graphene's thermoelectric characteristics. To verify the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed model, a circuit simulation model using HSPICE is built based on the thermoelectric duality. The simulation results from HSPICE and the calculated results from the mathematic model show good agreements with each other. This paper provides a novel precisely controlling method for thermoelectric cooling

Lens epithelial cell apoptosis and intracellular Ca(2+) increase in the presence of xanthurenic acid

BACKGROUND: Xanthurenic acid is an endogenous product of tryptophan degradation by indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO). We have previously reported that IDO is present in mammalian lenses, and xanthurenic acid is accumulated in the lenses with aging. Here, we studied the involvement of xanthurenic acid in the human lens epithelial cell physiology. METHODS: Human lens epithelial cells primary cultures were used. Control cells, and cells in the presence of xanthurenic acid grow in the dark. Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence studies were performed. RESULTS: In the presence of xanthurenic acid human lens epithelial cells undergo apoptosis-like cell death. In the control cells gelsolin stained the perinuclear region, whereas in the presence of 10 μM xanthurenic acid gelsolin is translocated to the cytoskeleton, but does not lead to cytoskeleton breakdown. In the same condition caspase-3 activation, and DNA fragmentation was observed. At low (5 to 10 μM) of xanthurenic acid concentration, the elongation of the cytoskeleton was associated with migration of mitochondria and cytochrome c release. At higher concentrations xanthurenic acid (20 μM and 40 μM) damaged mitochondria were observed in the perinuclear region, and nuclear DNA cleavage was observed. We observed an induction of calpain Lp 82 and an increase of free Ca(2+) in the cells in a xanthurenic acid concentration-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that xanthurenic acid accumulation in human lens epithelial cells disturbs the normal cell physiology and leads to a cascade of pathological events. Xanthurenic acid induces calpain Lp82 and caspases in the cells growing in the dark and can be involved in senile cataract development

Gaussian cubature arising from hybrid characters of simple Lie groups

Lie groups with two different root lengths allow two mixed sign homomorphisms on their corresponding Weyl groups, which in turn give rise to two families of hybrid Weyl group orbit functions and characters. In this paper we extend the ideas leading to the Gaussian cubature formulas for families of polynomials arising from the characters of irreducible representations of any simple Lie group, to new cubature formulas based on the corresponding hybrid characters. These formulas are new forms of Gaussian cubature in the short root length case and new forms of Radau cubature in the long root case. The nodes for the cubature arise quite naturally from the (computationally efficient) elements of finite order of the Lie group.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figure

State based model of long-term potentiation and synaptic tagging and capture

Recent data indicate that plasticity protocols have not only synapse-specific but also more widespread effects. In particular, in synaptic tagging and capture (STC), tagged synapses can capture plasticity-related proteins, synthesized in response to strong stimulation of other synapses. This leads to long-lasting modification of only weakly stimulated synapses. Here we present a biophysical model of synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus that incorporates several key results from experiments on STC. The model specifies a set of physical states in which a synapse can exist, together with transition rates that are affected by high- and low-frequency stimulation protocols. In contrast to most standard plasticity models, the model exhibits both early- and late-phase LTP/D, de-potentiation, and STC. As such, it provides a useful starting point for further theoretical work on the role of STC in learning and memory

Genomic analysis of Pseudomonas putida: genes in a genome island are crucial for nicotine degradation

Nicotine is an important chemical compound in nature that has been regarded as an environmental toxicant causing various preventable diseases. Several bacterial species are adapted to decompose this heterocyclic compound, including Pseudomonas and Arthrobacter. Pseudomonas putida S16 is a bacterium that degrades nicotine through the pyrrolidine pathway, similar to that present in animals. The corresponding late steps of the nicotine degradation pathway in P. putida S16 was first proposed and demonstrated to be from 2,5-dihydroxy-pyridine through the intermediates N-formylmaleamic acid, maleamic acid, maleic acid, and fumaric acid. Genomics of strain S16 revealed that genes located in the largest genome island play a major role in nicotine degradation and may originate from other strains, as suggested by the constructed phylogenetic tree and the results of comparative genomic analysis. The deletion of gene hpo showed that this gene is essential for nicotine degradation. This study defines the mechanism of nicotine degradation

T-Bet and Eomes Regulate the Balance between the Effector/Central Memory T Cells versus Memory Stem Like T Cells

Memory T cells are composed of effector, central, and memory stem cells. Previous studies have implicated that both T-bet and Eomes are involved in the generation of effector and central memory CD8 T cells. The exact role of these transcription factors in shaping the memory T cell pool is not well understood, particularly with memory stem T cells. Here, we demonstrate that both T-bet or Eomes are required for elimination of established tumors by adoptively transferred CD8 T cells. We also examined the role of T-bet and Eomes in the generation of tumor-specific memory T cell subsets upon adoptive transfer. We showed that combined T-bet and Eomes deficiency resulted in a severe reduction in the number of effector/central memory T cells but an increase in the percentage of CD62LhighCD44low Sca-1+ T cells which were similar to the phenotype of memory stem T cells. Despite preserving large numbers of phenotypic memory stem T cells, the lack of both of T-bet and Eomes resulted in a profound defect in antitumor memory responses, suggesting T-bet and Eomes are crucial for the antitumor function of these memory T cells. Our study establishes that T-bet and Eomes cooperate to promote the phenotype of effector/central memory CD8 T cell versus that of memory stem like T cells. © 2013 Li et al