256 research outputs found
THE ROLE OF QMS IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INNOVATION CLIMATE AND PERFORMANCE
The emergence of new global competitors, the convergence of high-technology industries and the increasing speed and cost of technological development promise an increasingly uncertain environment for organizations, making adaptation to changes in the environment a central theme in the study of the organization for both organization theory and strategic management. This paper is thus seeks principally to verify that, while innovation and QM alone do not possess the qualities required to provide organizations with sustainable competitive advantages, the bundle of innovation and QM together with other resources and competencies will allow organizations to obtain a competitive advantage and adapt to their environment. The results show that the factors determining innovationâsuch as resistance to change, cohesion, and workload pressuresâhave repercussions for the firmsâ capacity to adapt to their environment, and that a QM context facilitates this adaptation. Finally, we can conclude that a climate of support for innovation is positively related to the organizationâs performance
Un estudio empĂrico del impacto de las iniciativas actuales de gestiĂłn de la calidad sobre la innovaciĂłn y flexibilidad organizativa
In recent years, managers have opted for implementing Quality Management in their firms. The market offers different alternatives for QM implementation (EFQM, ISO, Six Sigma, etc.). Benefits of each initiative, varies from case to case. This article designs a criterion for choosing among four alternatives (Quality Control, EFQM, Six Sigma and ISO 9000), according to the different effects that QM elements included in each initiative, have on innovation and flexibility capabilities. To do so, using a stepwise regression with dummy variables, it analyses 234 European organizations. The research concludes that QM elements included on Quality Control and ISO standards have the same effect on administrative and technical innovation, and operational and strategic flexibility. QM elements included in EFQM model have a deeper impact on administrative and technical innovation, and strategic flexibility. And finally, QM elements included in Six Sigma methodology have a deeper impact on operational flexibility
Identifiability of Control-Oriented Glucose-Insulin Linear Models: Review and Analysis
One of the main challenges of glucose control in patients with type 1 diabetes is identifying a control-oriented model that reliably predicts the behavior of glycemia. Here, a review is provided emphasizing the structural identifiability and observability properties, which surprisingly reveals that few of them are globally identifiable and observable at the same time. Thus, a general proposal was developed to encompass four linear models according to suitable assumptions and transformations. After the corresponding structural properties analysis, two minimal model structures are generated, which are globally identifiable and observable. Then, the practical identifiability is analyzed for this application showing that the standard collected data in many cases do not have the necessary quality to ensure a unique solution in the identification process even when a considerable amount of data is collected. The two minimal control-oriented models were identified using a standard identification procedure using data from 30 virtual patients of the UVA/Padova simulator and 77 diabetes care data from adult patients of a diabetes center. The identification was performed in two stages: calibration and validation. In the first stage, the average length was taken as two days (dictated by the practical identifiability). For both structures, the mean absolute error was 16.8 mg/dl and 9.9 mg/dl for virtual patients and 21.6 mg/dl and 21.5 mg/dl for real patients. For the second stage, a one-day validation window was considered long enough for future artificial pancreas applications. The mean absolute error was 23.9 mg/dl and 12.3 mg/dl for virtual patients and 39.2 mg/dl and 36.6 mg/dl for virtual and real patients. These results confirm that linear models can be used as prediction models in model-based control strategies as predictive control.Fil: Hoyos, J. D.. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Sede MedellĂn; ColombiaFil: Villa Tamayo, M. F.. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Sede MedellĂn; ColombiaFil: Builes Montano, C. E.. Universidad de Antioquia; ColombiaFil: Ramirez Rincon, A.. Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana; ColombiaFil: Godoy, JosĂ© Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo TecnolĂłgico para la Industria QuĂmica. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo TecnolĂłgico para la Industria QuĂmica; ArgentinaFil: Garcia Tirado, J.. University of Virginia; Estados UnidosFil: Rivadeneira Paz, Pablo Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo TecnolĂłgico para la Industria QuĂmica. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo TecnolĂłgico para la Industria QuĂmica; Argentin
Theoretical Determination of Interaction and Cohesive Energies of Weakly Bound Cycloparaphenylene Molecules
We investigate here, by applying dispersion-corrected theoretical methods, the energy stability of dimers formed by [n]cycloparaphenylene molecules (n = 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 12 being the number of benzene rings strained to form the nanoring) when they self-assemble in crystalline samples. Their cyclic topology confers to these samples a rich variety of dimer orientations, i.e. tubular or herringbone-like, according to the nanoring size, with the final form of their crystal packing depending subtly on the energy difference and the number of symmetry-related repetitions between these two microstructures. We finally calculate the cohesive energies for the illustrative cases n = 6 and n = 12, through the interaction energies of the unique and symmetry-related supramolecular motifs found, to finally understand the driving forces between the emergence of nanochannel-like structures.This work is supported by the âMinisterio de EconomĂa y Competitividadâ of Spain and the âEuropean Regional Development Fundâ through Project CTQ2014-55073-P. M.M. thanks the E2TP-CYTEMA-SANTANDER program for financial support and the High Performance Computing Service of University Castilla-La Mancha for technical support
Mechano-Optical Analysis of Single Cells with Transparent Microcapillary Resonators
The study of biophysical properties of single cells is becoming increasingly relevant in cell biology and pathology. The measurement and tracking of magnitudes such as cell stiffness, morphology, and mass or refractive index have brought otherwise inaccessible knowledge about cell physiology, as well as innovative methods for high-throughput label-free cell classification. In this work, we present hollow resonator devices based on suspended glass microcapillaries for the simultaneous measurement of single-cell buoyant mass and reflectivity with a throughput of 300 cells/minute. In the experimental methodology presented here, both magnitudes are extracted from the devices' response to a single probe, a focused laser beam that enables simultaneous readout of changes in resonance frequency and reflected optical power of the devices as cells flow within them. Through its application to MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cells and MCF-10A nontumorigenic cells, we demonstrate that this mechano-optical technique can successfully discriminate pathological from healthy cells of the same tissue type
Assessing thoracoâpelvic covariation in Homo sapiens and Pan troglodytes: A 3D geometric morphometric approach
Objectives
Understanding thoracoâpelvic integration in Homo sapiens and their closest living relatives (genus Pan) is of great importance within the context of human body shape evolution. However, studies assessing thoracoâpelvic covariation across Hominoidea species are scarce, although recent research would suggest shared covariation patterns in humans and chimpanzees but also speciesâspecific features, with sexual dimorphism and allometry influencing thoracoâpelvic covariation in these taxa differently.
Material and Methods
N =â30 adult H. sapiens and N =â10 adult Pan troglodytes torso 3D models were analyzed using 3D geometric morphometrics and linear measurements. Effects of sexual dimorphism and allometry on thoracoâpelvic covariation were assessed via regression analyses, and patterns of thoracoâpelvic covariation in humans and chimpanzees were computed via TwoâBlock Partial Least Squares analyses.
Results
Results confirm the existence of common aspects of thoracoâpelvic covariation in humans and chimpanzees, and also speciesâspecific covariation in H. sapiens that is strongly influenced by sexual dimorphism and allometry. Speciesâspecific covariation patterns in chimpanzees could not be confirmed because of the small sample size, but metrics point to a correspondence between the most caudal ribs and iliac crest morphology that would be irrespective of sex.
Conclusions
This study suggests that humans and chimpanzees share common aspects of thoracoâpelvic covariation but might differ in others. In humans, torso integration is strongly influenced by sexual dimorphism and allometry, whilst in chimpanzees it may not be. This study also highlights the importance not only of torso widths but also of torso depths when describing patterns of thoracoâpelvic covariation in primates. Larger samples are necessary to support these interpretations
How to Handle Concomitant Asymptomatic Prosthetic Joints During an Episode of Hematogenous Periprosthetic Joint Infection:a Multicenter Analysis
BACKGROUND: Prosthetic joints are at risk of becoming infected during an episode of bacteremia, especially during Staphylocococcus aureus bacteremia. However, it is unclear how often asymptomatic periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) occurs, and whether additional diagnostics should be considered. METHODS: In this multicenter study, we retrospectively analyzed a cohort of patients with a late acute (hematogenous) PJI between 2005-2015 who had concomitant prosthetic joints in situ. Patients without at least 1 year of follow-up were excluded. RESULTS: We included 91 patients with a hematogenous PJI and 108 concomitant prosthetic joints. The incident PJI was most frequently caused by Staphylococcus aureus (43%), followed by streptococci (26%) and Gram-negative rods (18%). Of 108 concomitant prosthetic joints, 13 were symptomatic, of which 10 were subsequently diagnosed as a second PJI. Of the 95 asymptomatic prosthetic joints, 1 PJI developed during the follow-up period and was classified as a "missed" PJI at the time of bacteremia with S. aureus (1.1%). Infected prosthetic joints were younger than the noninfected ones in 67% of cases, and prosthetic knees were affected more often than prosthetic hips (78%). CONCLUSIONS: During an episode of hematogenous PJI, concomitant asymptomatic prosthetic joints have a very low risk of being infected, and additional diagnostic work-up for these joints is not necessary
The Intrinsic Resolution Limit in the Atomic Force Microscope: Implications for Heights of Nano-Scale Features
Background; Accurate mechanical characterization by the atomic force microscope at the highest spatial resolution requires that topography is deconvoluted from indentation. The measured height of nanoscale features in the atomic force microscope (AFM) is almost always smaller than the true value, which is often explained away as sample deformation, the formation of salt deposits and/or dehydration. We show that the real height of nano-objects cannot be obtained directly: a result arising as a consequence of the local probe-sample geometry.
Methods and Findings; We have modeled the tip-surface-sample interaction as the sum of the interaction between the tip and the surface and the tip and the sample. We find that the dynamics of the AFM cannot differentiate between differences in force resulting from 1) the chemical and/or mechanical characteristics of the surface or 2) a step in topography due to the size of the sample; once the size of a feature becomes smaller than the effective area of interaction between the AFM tip and sample, the measured height is compromised. This general result is a major contributor to loss of height and can amount to up to âŒ90% for nanoscale features. In particular, these very large values in height loss may occur even when there is no sample deformation, and, more generally, height loss does not correlate with sample deformation. DNA and IgG antibodies have been used as model samples where experimental height measurements are shown to closely match the predicted phenomena.
Conclusions; Being able to measure the true height of single nanoscale features is paramount in many nanotechnology applications since phenomena and properties in the nanoscale critically depend on dimensions. Our approach allows accurate predictions for the true height of nanoscale objects and will lead to reliable mechanical characterization at the highest spatial resolution
Co-creation stage: A web-based tool for collaborative and participatory co-located art performances
In recent years, artists and communities have expressed the desire to work with tools that facilitate co-creation and allow distributed community performances. These performances can be spread over several physical stages, connecting them on real-time towards a single experience with the audience distributed along them. This enables a wider remote audience consuming the performance through their own devices, and even grants the participation of remote users in the show. In this paper we introduce the Co-creation Stage, a web-based tool that allows managing heterogeneous content sources, with a particular focus on live and on-demand media, across several distributed devices. The Co-creation Stage is part of the toolset developed in the Traction H2020 project which enables community performing art shows, where professional artists and non-professional participants perform together from different stages and locations. Here we present the design process, the architecture and the main functionaliti
âMagnetic Force Microscopy and Energy Loss Imaging of Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticlesâ
We present quantitative, high spatially resolved magnetic force microscopy imaging of samples based on 11â
nm diameter superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in air at room temperature. By a proper combination of the cantilever resonance frequency shift, oscillation amplitude and phase lag we obtain the tip-sample interaction maps in terms of force gradient and energy dissipation. These physical quantities are evaluated in the frame of a tip-particle magnetic interaction model also including the tip oscillation amplitude. Magnetic nanoparticles are characterized both in bare form, after deposition on a flat substrate, and as magnetically assembled fillers in a polymer matrix, in the form of nanowires. The latter approach makes it possible to reveal the magnetic texture in a composite sample independently of the surface topography
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