1,502 research outputs found

    QLI: QUALITY OF LIFE, UTILITY, AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETES

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    Design Method for Developing a Product Recovery Management System based on Life Cycle Information

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    Due to concerns about environmental protection, product life cycle management for end-of-lift has received increasing attention in many industrial sectors. To support these functions, crucial issues have been studied to realize a product recovery management system. Until the present time most research has been concerned with decision making under the assumption that all the relevant and accurate information about a product is available by some means. However, these pieces of research ended in technological attempts because of the development complexity of implementation using ubiquitous computing devices such as identification chips and embedded systems to get data from products. An efficient development method is necessary in order to overcome this limitation. In this paper we overview a generic architecture based on ubiquitous computing technology. This is followed by how to develop such an innovative system by proposing a systematic approach called ubiquitous information engineering. To show the effectiveness of the architecture and approach a prototype for remanufacturing an industrial product has been developed. Through development of the proposed approach enough functions can be derived to collect information from a product. The study shows that major factors influencing development complexity are found and that information standards support network development in end-of-lift activities.None1111Ysciescopu

    Cloning and characterization of 5 '-upstream region of human phospholipase C-beta 2 gene

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    5 ' -upstream region of the phospholipase C-beta2 gene, 810 bp, was cloned and characterized. S1 nuclease mapping and primer extension analyses revealed that a single transcriptional start site locates at 284 nucleotides upstream from the beginning of translation. The 5 ' -upstream region lacks both TATA motif and typical initiator sequence, but retains CC-rich segment. Two putative regulatory regions, a negative region (-636/-588) and a positive region (-98/-13) were identified in the upstream region of PLC-beta2 gene. We suggest that the transcription of PLC-beta2 may be regulated by binding of regulatory proteins to the negative and/or positive regulatory regions located in the upstream of the geneopen

    Simulation of the deflected cutting tool trajectory in complex surface milling

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    Since industry is rapidly developing, either locally or globally, manufacturers witness harder challenges due to the growing competitivity. This urges them to better consider the four factors linked to production and output: quality, quantity, cost and price, quality being of course the most important factor which constitutes their main concern. Efforts will be concentrated—in this research—on improving the quality and securing more accuracy for a machined surface in ball-end milling. Quality and precision are two essential criteria in industrial milling. However, milling errors and imperfections, duemainly to the cutting tool deflection, hinder the full achieving of these targets. Our task, all along this paper, consists in studying and realizing the simulation of the deflected cutting tool trajectory, by using the methods which are available. In a future stage, and in the frame of a deeper research, the simulation process will help to carry out the correction and the compensation of the errors resulting from the tool deflection. The corrected trajectory which is obtained by the method mirror will be sent to the machine. To achieve this goal, the next process consists—as a first step—in selecting a model of cutting forces for a ball-end mill. This allows to define—later on—the behavior of this tool, and the emergence of three methods namely the analytical model, the finite elements method, and the experimental method. It is possible to tackle the cutting forces simulation, all along the tool trajectory, while this latter is carrying out the sweeping of the part to be machined in milling and taking into consideration the cutting conditions, as well as the geography of the workpiece. A simulation of the deflected cutting tool trajectory dependent on the cutting forces has been realized

    Multiple roles of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C isozymes.

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    Phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C is an effector molecule in the signal transduction process. It generates two second messengers, inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate and diacylglycerol from phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. Currently, thirteen mammal PLC isozymes have been identified, and they are divided into six groups: PLC-beta, -gamma, -delta, -epsilon, -zeta and -eta. Sequence analysis studies demonstrated that each isozyme has more than one alternative splicing variant. PLC isozymes contain the X and Y domains that are responsible for catalytic activity. Several other domains including the PH domain, the C2 domain and EF hand motifs are involved in various biological functions of PLC isozymes as signaling proteins. The distribution of PLC isozymes is tissue and organ specific. Recent studies on isolated cells and knockout mice depleted of PLC isozymes have revealed their distinct phenotypes. Given the specificity in distribution and cellular localization, it is clear that each PLC isozyme bears a unique function in the modulation of physiological responses. In this review, we discuss the structural organization, enzymatic properties and molecular diversity of PLC splicing variants and study functional and physiological roles of each isozyme

    A new conceptual approach for systematic error correction in CNC machine tools minimizing worst case prediction error

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    A new artifact-based method to identify the systematic errors in multi-axis CNC machine tools minimizing the worst case prediction error is presented. The closed loop volumetric error is identified by simultaneously moving the axes of the machine tool. The physical artifact is manufactured on the machine tool and later measured on a coordinate measuring machine. The artifact consists of a set of holes in the machine tool workspace at locations that minimize the worst case prediction error for a given bounded measurement error. The number of holes to be drilled depends on the degree of the polynomials used to model the systematic error and the number of axes of the machine tool. The prediction error is also function of the number and location of the holes. The feasibility of the method is first investigated for a two-axis machine to find the best experimental setting. Finally based on the two-axis case study, we extend the results to machine tools with any number of axes. The obtained results are very promising and require only a short time to produce the artifac

    Grand Rounds: An Outbreak of Toxic Hepatitis among Industrial Waste Disposal Workers

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    CONTEXT: Industrial waste (which is composed of various toxic chemicals), changes to the disposal process, and addition of chemicals should all be monitored and controlled carefully in the industrial waste industry to reduce the health hazard to workers. CASE PRESENTATION: Five workers in an industrial waste plant developed acute toxic hepatitis, one of whom died after 3 months due to fulminant hepatitis. In the plant, we detected several chemicals with hepatotoxic potential, including pyridine, dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, and methylenedianiline. The workers had been working in the high-vapor-generating area of the plant, and the findings of pathologic examination showed typical features of acute toxic hepatitis. DISCUSSION: Infectious hepatitis and drug-induced hepatitis were excluded by laboratory findings, as well as the clinical course of hepatitis. All cases of toxic hepatitis in this plant developed after the change of the disposal process to thermochemical reaction–type treatment using unslaked lime reacted with industrial wastes. During this chemical reaction, vapor containing several toxic materials was generated. Although we could not confirm the definitive causative chemical, we suspect that these cases of hepatitis were caused by one of the hepatotoxic agents or by a synergistic interaction among several of them. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL OR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE: In the industrial waste treatment process, the danger of developing toxic hepatitis should be kept in mind, because any subtle change of the treatment process can generate various toxic materials and threaten the workers’ health. A mixture of hepatotoxic chemicals can induce clinical manifestations that are quite different from those predicted by the toxic property of a single agent

    Platinum Assisted Vapor–Liquid–Solid Growth of Er–Si Nanowires and Their Optical Properties

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    We report the optical activation of erbium coated silicon nanowires (Er–SiNWs) grown with the assist of platinum (Pt) and gold (Au), respectively. The NWs were grown on Si substrates by using a chemical vapor transport process using SiCl4 and ErCl4 as precursors. Pt as well as Au worked successfully as vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) catalysts for growing SiNWs with diameters of ~100 nm and length of several micrometers, respectively. The SiNWs have core–shell structures where the Er-crystalline layer is sandwiched between silica layers. Photoluminescence spectra analyses showed the optical activity of SiNWs from both Pt and Au. A stronger Er3+ luminescence of 1,534 nm was observed from the SiNWs with Pt at room- and low-temperature (25 K) using the 488- and/or 477-nm line of an Ar laser that may be due to the uniform incorporation of more Er ions into NWs with the exclusion of the formation of catalyst-induced deep levels in the band-gap. Pt would be used as a VLS catalyst for high performance optically active Er–SiNWs

    A cross-sector analysis of human and organisational factors in the deployment of data-driven predictive maintenance

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    Domains such as utilities, power generation, manufacturing and transport are increasingly turning to data-driven tools for management and maintenance of key assets. Whole ecosystems of sensors and analytical tools can provide complex, predictive views of network asset performance. Much research in this area has looked at the technology to provide both sensing and analysis tools. The reality in the field, however, is that the deployment of these technologies can be problematic due to user issues, such as interpretation of data or embedding within processes, and organisational issues, such as business change to gain value from asset analysis. 13 experts from the field of remote condition monitoring, asset management and predictive analytics across multiple sectors were interviewed to ascertain their experience of supplying data-driven applications. The results of these interviews are summarised as a framework based on a predictive maintenance project lifecycle covering project motivations and conception, design and development, and operation. These results identified critical themes for success around having a target or decision-led, rather than data-led, approach to design; long-term resourcing of the deployment; the complexity of supply chains to provide data-driven solutions and the need to maintain knowledge across the supply chain; the importance of fostering technical competency in end-user organisations; and the importance of a maintenance-driven strategy in the deployment of data-driven asset management. Emerging from these themes are recommendations related to culture, delivery process, resourcing, supply chain collaboration and industry-wide cooperation
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