Improvement through process integration using a simulative, dynamic method

The need for globalisation, the saturation and instability of markets, the life-cycle time reduction of products, the growth of item variety, the customer demands have been main factors contributing to a radical change of management conceptions and strategies. This complex environment has induced companies to search the keys to achieve competitiveness, focusing on process integration. The purpose of the paper is to explain how managing the internal functions of a company in an integrated way can lead to an effective improvement. In order to represent the flows and to quantify improvements, a simulative, dynamic and integrated model is developed

A knowledge based architecture for the virtual restoration of ancient photos

Historical images are essential documents of the recent past. Nevertheless, time and bad preservation corrupt their physical supports. Digitization can be the solution to extend their \u201clives\u201d, and digital techniques can be used to recover lost information. This task is often difficult and time-consuming, if commercial restoration tools are used for the purpose. A new solution is proposed to help non-expert users in restoring their damaged photos. First, we defined a dual taxonomy for the defects in printed and digitized photos. We represented our restoration domain with an ontology and we created some rules to suggest actions to perform in case of some specific events. Classes and properties of the ontology are included into a knowledge base, that grows dynamically with its use. A prototypal tool and a web application version have been implemented as an interface to the database, and to support non-expert users in the restoration process

On second order necessary conditions in infinite dimensional optimal control with state constraints

This paper is devoted to second order necessary optimality conditions for control problems in infinite dimensions. The main novelty of our work is the presence of pure state constraints together with end point constraints, quite useful in the applications. Second order analysis for control problems involving PDEs has been extensively discussed in the literature. The most usual approach to derive necessary optimality conditions is to rewrite the control problem as an abstract mathematical programming one. Our approach is different, we avoid the reformulation of the optimal control problem and use instead second order variational analysis. The necessary optimality conditions are in the form of a maximum principle and a second order variational inequality. They are first obtained in the form of nonintersection of convex sets. A suitable separation theorem allows to deduce their dual characterization

Collaboration experience in the supply chain of knowledge and patent development

In this paper we aim at understanding the role of collaboration experience in supply chains of knowledge (SCoK). The SCoK of a company is its supply chain not related to the flow of physical goods but to the flow of R&D commodities. R&D commodities are for example patents, technologies, research services, studies, and projects, and, in high-tech industries, their development and commercialization is considered as important as real products. To accomplish our aim in this paper we fulfil the following research objectives: 1) investigate the relationship between the collaboration experience in SCoK and the propensity of the firm to develop new patents; 2) examine how the structural embeddedness of the firm within its SCoK mediates this relationship. We ground our conceptual model on the supply chain, open innovation and social capital literatures and empirically test our hypotheses on a cross-sectional dataset of 208 biotech companies that have signed 612 SCoK agreements in the years 2006–2010. The key findings of this study are: first, accumulating experience in SCoK collaborations facilitates the development of new patents; second, being central and bridging structural holes within the SCoK are two means by which the experience in SCoK collaborations is translated into new patents

Primary care physicians’ understanding and utilization of pediatric exome sequencing results

Optimizing exome sequencing (ES) utility requires effective communication and collaboration between primary care physicians (PCPs) and genetics healthcare providers (GHP). To explore how PCPs use ES results to coordinate multipart management plans for complex pediatric patients, we assessed result understanding and utilization. Twenty‐seven PCPs of pediatric patients with ES results from a genetics clinic completed a mixed methods 45‐question survey measuring perceived genetics knowledge, confidence performing genetics tasks, understanding of ES technology and results, and expectations of GHP. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis classified by ES result types generated descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, and common themes. Forty‐five‐percent of PCPs interpreted variant of uncertain significance results as diagnostic (implementing management changes and recommending familial testing). Most PCPs (85%) identified positive ES results impacts, but only 65% indicated ES was beneficial to care. The majority (74%) expected GHP and patients’ families to assume follow‐up care responsibility and future ES results re‐interpretations. Limited knowledge may be a factor, as 59% desired more patient care information from GHP. Our results suggest optimizing continuity of care and collaboration for pediatric patients with ES results requires additional communication between GHP and PCPs, along with continuing genetics education for PCPs aimed at improving genetic literacy.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153256/1/jgc41163-sup-0001-DATAS1.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153256/2/jgc41163_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153256/3/jgc41163.pd

Combining Top-down and Bottom-up Visual Saliency for Firearms Localization

Object detection is one of the most challenging issues for computer vision researchers. The analysis of the human visual attention mechanisms can help automatic inspection systems, in order to discard useless information and improving performances and efficiency. In this paper we proposed our attention based method to estimate firearms position in images of people holding firearms. Both top-down and bottom-up mechanisms are involved in our system. The bottom-up analysis is based on a state-of-the-art approach. The top-down analysis is based on the construction of a probabilistic model of the firearms position with respect to the people\u2019s face position. This model has been created by analyzing information from of a public available database of movie frames representing actors holding firearms

proposal of a methodology for achieving a leed o m certification in historic buildings

Abstract Nowadays resources are running out quickly, it's necessary to consider how the construction industry influences the environment using different materials and sources during all the building's life cycle. For this reason, in every transformation phases it's necessary to consider concepts as sustainability and green buildings. These are diffused from hundreds kind of green assessment tools, developed to measure sustainability goals in building sector and to compare the project with possible best practices or other green buildings. In this background, the rating system LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) aims to examine and classify buildings according to energetic and environmental requirements. The particular LEED O+M (Building Operations and Maintenance) is developed for existing buildings undergoing improvement work or little to no construction and is based on the operative and management aspects. The certification process results, at a first analysis, hard to follow due to the complexity of internal parameters and the documentation required. The paper consists in a methodology and in an univocal work program of LEED O+M, trying to obtain the minimum requested certification score with optimization of the technical resources and documents. This methodology has application in a case study of historic building: the Ca' Rezzonico Museum, in the center of Venice

Phenomenological memory-kernel master equations and time-dependent Markovian processes

Do phenomenological master equations with memory kernel always describe a non-Markovian quantum dynamics characterized by reverse flow of information? Is the integration over the past states of the system an unmistakable signature of non-Markovianity? We show by a counterexample that this is not always the case. We consider two commonly used phenomenological integro-differential master equations describing the dynamics of a spin 1/2 in a thermal bath. By using a recently introduced measure to quantify non-Markovianity [H.-P. Breuer, E.-M. Laine, and J. Piilo, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 210401 (2009)] we demonstrate that as far as the equations retain their physical sense, the key feature of non-Markovian behavior does not appear in the considered memory kernel master equations. Namely, there is no reverse flow of information from the environment to the open system. Therefore, the assumption that the integration over a memory kernel always leads to a non-Markovian dynamics turns out to be vulnerable to phenomenological approximations. Instead, the considered phenomenological equations are able to describe time-dependent and uni-directional information flow from the system to the reservoir associated to time-dependent Markovian processes.Comment: 5 pages, no figure

Management of labyrinthine fistula in chronic otitis with cholesteatoma: case series.

Labyrinthine fistula is a complication of ear cholesteatoma that increase the risk of sensorineural hearing loss. The management of the fistula must be done contextually with mastoidectomy by: leaving cholesteatoma matrix over the fistula, or remove the matrix reconstructing the defect. Objective: analysis of the two techniques to treat labyrinthine fistula. Methods: retrospective review with case series analysis. Results: a labyrinthine fistula was present in 14% of cholesteatoma patients; CT scan was pre-dictive in all cases; the hearing preservation was obtained with both techniques; a re-currence was detected only in one case; postoperative nystagmus incidence was higher in those cases with matrix left in situ and when the size of the fistula was lar-ger than 2 mm. Conclusions: the labyrinthine fistula have to be treated contextually with cholesteatoma removal, both techniques had good postoperative hearing preser-vation rate. The postoperative vertigo with nystagmus is more frequent in larger fistu-las