Value stream mapping to reduce the lead-time of a product development process

Product development (PD) is a broad field of endeavor dealing with the planning, design, creation, and marketing of a new product. This revolutionary research domain has become of paramount importance to beat the competition for multidisciplinary products which are larger in size and have a longer development time. The main focus of this paper is to exploit lean thinking concepts in order to manage, improve and develop the product faster while improving or at least maintaining the level of performance and quality. Lean thinking concepts encompass a board range of tools and methods intended to produce bottom line results however, value stream mapping (VSM) method is used to explore the wastes, inefficiencies, non-valued added steps in a single, definable process out of complete product development process (PDP). This single step is highly complex and occurs once while the PDP lasts for 3-5 years. A case study of gas turbine product has been discussed to illustrate and justify the use of proposed framework. In order to achieve this, the following have been performed: First of all a current state map is developed using the Gemba walk. Furthermore, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) brainstormed to explore the wastes and their root causes found during the Gemba walk and current state mapping. A future state map is also developed with removing all the wastes/inefficiencies. Besides numerous intangible benefits, it is expected that the VSM framework will help the development teams to reduce the PD lead-time by 50%

Inkjet-printed microstrip patch antennas realized on textile for wearable applications

This letter introduces a new technique of inkjet printing antennas on textiles. A screen-printed interface layer was used to reduce the surface roughness of the polyester/cotton material that facilitated the printing of a continuous conducting surface. Conducting ink was used to create three inkjet-printed microstrip patch antennas. An efficiency of 53% was achieved for a fully flexible antenna with two layers of ink. Measurements of the antennas bent around a polystyrene cylinder indicated that a second layer of ink improved the robustness to bending. © 2014 IEEE

Pd-Catalyzed Regioselective Arylboration of Vinylarenes

A palladium-catalyzed 1,2-arylboration of vinylarenes with aryldiazonium tetrafluoroborates and bis­(pinacolato)­diboron has been disclosed. It is reported for the first time that styrene derivatives can be successfully employed as good substrates for 1,2-arylboration of alkenes. Mechanistic studies suggest that no Pd–H reinsertion occurred under our standard conditions, which is the key for the success of this transformation

Fe-Catalyzed Double Cross-Dehydrogenative Coupling of 1,3-Dicarbonyl Compounds and Arylmethanes

Fe-catalyzed tandem cross-dehydrogenative coupling of the methyl group in arylmethanes with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds has been developed. The reaction affords one new C­(sp³)–C­(sp²) bond and one new C­(sp³)–C­(sp³) bond in a one-pot protocol. Further study suggests that this reaction might start with a Friedel–Crafts-type reaction (cross-dehydrogenative arylation) followed by cross-dehydrogenative coupling with an activated methylene group under mild oxidative conditions

Palladium-Catalyzed Arylboration of Bicyclic Alkenes

A palladium-catalyzed arylboration of norbornene or norbornadiene with aryl halides and bis­(pina­colato)­diboron has been disclosed. Mechanistic studies suggest that the reaction proceeds under a Catellani-type coupling to render versatile multifunctionalized alkylboranes in good yields. This reaction is complementary to the existing methods and is well tolerable with a variety of functional groups and readily scaled-up to a gram scale without deteriorating the yield

Additional file 1 of Comparison of pain intensity and impacts on oral health-related quality of life between orthodontic patients treated with clear aligners and fixed appliances: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Additional file 1. Database and search strategy

Synthesis of Primary Amides via Copper-Catalyzed Aerobic Decarboxylative Ammoxidation of Phenylacetic Acids and α‑Hydroxyphenylacetic Acids with Ammonia in Water

A Cu₂O-catalyzed aerobic oxidative decarboxylative ammoxidation to primary benzamides from phenylacetic acids and α-hydroxyphenylacetic acids is developed. A variety of primary benzamides could be prepared smoothly, in good to excellent yields, by means of a one-pot domino protocol combining decarboxylation, dioxygen activation, oxidative C–H bond functionalization, and amidation reactions

Pd-Catalyzed Regioselective 1,2-Difunctionalization of Vinylarenes with Alkenyl Triflates and Aryl Boronic Acids at Ambient Temperature

A Pd-catalyzed highly regioselective 1,2-difunctionalization of vinylarenes is disclosed in which multisubstituted olefins are efficiently and conveniently constructed under ambient temperature with good compatibility and a broad substrate scope. Notably, a quarternary carbon center could be readily built up from 1,1-disubstituted styrenes, which are big challenges in the previous methods

Gold Catalysis Coupled with Visible Light Stimulation: Syntheses of Functionalized Indoles

A judicious combination of Au-catalysis and synergistic visible-light stimulation formulates an exceptionally simple and mild reaction system capable of directly coupling anilines and alkynes to form multifunctionalized indoles

The Synthesis and Strecker Reaction of 2‑Chlorotetrafluoroethanesulfinyl Ketimines

A series of 2-chlorotetrafluoroethanesulfinyl ketimines were prepared from 2-chlorotetrafluoroethanesulfinamide and ketones in high yields, and their Strecker reactions with TMSCN have been investigated. High yields and excellent diastereoselectivities were achieved in the presence of a catalytic amount of CsF under mild conditions. The six-membered chairlike models were proposed to account for the high stereoselective Strecker reaction