3,993 research outputs found
Optimal Outsourcing for Intellectual Property Protection and Production Cost Minimization
This paper presents a methodology for optimal outsourcing of products. Outsourcing of products can have the advantage of reducing the production cost, but often causes a risk that important technology may leak and get used by competitors. To help reduce the risk of intellectual property (IP) leakage, a model proposed in this paper assumes that it is possible to separate some of the important geometrical features on some of the product parts that are outsourced, and then manufacture them in-house. The model estimates the fraction of IP-value that is subject to risk of leakage based on patent claims and how they relate to the outsourced parts and/or features. Production cost is modelled by assuming a base cost for manufacturing parts in-house, and then a discount rate is applied if the decision to outsource is made. Separation of geometrical features from manufactured parts introduces additional cost, which is modelled as an overhead if the decision to separate features is made. The outsourcing management process is then viewed as a two-objective problem, with the objectives being the minimization of both the fraction of IP-value at risk of leakage, as well as the production cost. A case study of an auto-slide-hinge mechanism is presented, in which the two-objective optimization problem is transformed into a single-objective constrained problem. Genetic algorithm is then applied iteratively on the problem in order generate the Pareto-plot that visualizes the trade-offs between the two objectives.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87272/4/Saitou56.pd
Endoscopy in the Diagnosis of Small Intestinal Tumors
The importance of endoscopy in the diagnosis of small intestinal tumors was evaluated
in 15 patients with small intestinal tumors treated in our hospital. Two tumors were
benign, and 13 were malignant (carcinoma in 5 patients, malignant lymphoma in 5 and
leiomyosarcoma in 3). The presence of lesions could be determined by X-rays before
surgery, but definitive diagnoses were difficult. When preoperative endoscopy of the
small intestine was possible accurate preoperative diagnoses could be made based on the
endoscopic findings and biopsies taken under direct vision. Endoscopy is therefore very
important for the diagnosis of small intestinal tumors. It is necessary to develop small
intestinal endoscopes that are easier to insert
Simultaneous Assembly Planning and Assembly System Design Using Multi-objective Genetic Algorithms
This paper aims to demonstrate the application of multi-objective evolutionary optimization, namely an adaptation of NSGA-II, to simultaneously optimize the assembly sequence plan as well as selection of the type and number of assembly stations for a production shop that produces three different models of wind propelled ventilators. The decision variables, which are the assembly sequences of each product and the machine selection at each assembly station, are encoded in a manner that allows efficient implementation of a repair operator to maintain the feasibility of the offspring. Test runs are conducted for the sample assembly system using a crossover operator tailored for the proposed encoding and some conventional crossover schemes. The results show overall good performance for all schemes with the best performance achieved by the tailored crossover, which illustrates the applicability of multi-objective GAĂs. The presented framework proposed is generic to be applicable to other products and assembly systems.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87283/4/Saitou97.pd
Limit-cycle behavior in one-zone convective models
We present the results of a detailed set of one-zone models that account for
the coupling between pulsation and convection following the original
prescriptions of Stellingwerf (1986). Motivated by the arbitrary nature of the
input parameters adopted in this theoretical framework, we computed several
sequences of models that cover a substantial fraction of the parameter space
and a longer integration time. We also included a turbulent pressure term and
found that this physical mechanism plays a crucial role in the pulsation
characteristics of the models by removing the sharp discontinuities along the
light and the velocity curves showed by models that do not account for
turbulent pressure. Finally, we investigated the vibrational and the
pulsational stability of completely convective models. We consider as the most
important finding of the present work the identification of a well-defined
region in the parameter space where they approach limit-cycle stability.
Several numerical experiments performed by adopting different values of the
adiabatic exponent and of the shell thickness indicate that the coupling
between pulsation and convection is the key driving mechanism for LPVs, a
finding supported by recent theoretical predictions.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures; accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journa
Stable phantom-divide crossing in two scalar models with matter
We construct cosmological models with two scalar fields, which has the
structure as in the ghost condensation model or k-essence model. The models can
describe the stable phantom crossing, which should be contrasted with one
scalar tensor models, where the infinite instability occurs at the crossing the
phantom divide. We give a general formulation of the reconstruction in terms of
the e-foldings N by including the matter although in the previous two scalar
models, which are extensions of the scalar tensor model, it was difficult to
give a formulation of the reconstruction when we include matters. In the
formulation of the reconstruction, we start with a model with some arbitrary
functions, and find the functions which generates the history in the expansion
of the universe. We also give general arguments for the stabilities of the
models and the reconstructed solution. The viability of a model is also
investigated by comparing the observational data.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur
Thiophaeococcus mangrovi gen. nov., sp. nov., a photosynthetic marine gammaproteobacterium isolated from Bhitarkanika mangrove forest, India
A coccoid, phototrophic purple sulfur bacterium was isolated in pure culture from a mud sample collected from brackish water in the Bhitarkanika mangrove forest of Orissa, India, in a medium containing 2â% NaCl (w/v). This bacterium, strain JA304T, was Gram-negative and had a requirement for NaCl. Intracellular photosynthetic membranes were of the vesicular type. The colour of the phototrophically grown culture was saddle-brown. Bacteriochlorophyll a and the carotenoid lycopene were present as photosynthetic pigments. Strain JA304T was able to grow photolithoautotrophically and could photoassimilate a number of organic substrates. Yeast extract was required for growth of strain JA304T. The DNA G+C content was 68.1â68.9â
mol%. 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons indicate that the isolate represents a member of the Chromatiaceae within the class Gammaproteobacteria. According to sequence comparison data, strain JA304T is positioned distinctly outside the group formed by the four genera Thiocystis, Chromatium, Allochromatium and Thermochromatium, with only 86.7â91.0â% sequence similarity. Distinct morphological, physiological and genotypic differences from these previously described taxa support the classification of this isolate as a representative of a novel species in a new genus, for which the name Thiophaeococcus mangrovi gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Thiophaeococcus mangrovi is JA304T (=JCM 14889T =DSM 19863T).
PABA, para-aminobenzoic acid
The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain JA304T is AM748925.
A phase-contrast micrograph and whole-cell absorption spectrum and an acetone spectrum of extracted pigments of strain JA304T are available as supplementary material with the online version of this paper
Vertical Bridgman growth of sapphire-Seed crystal shapes and seeding characteristics
The growth of sapphire by the traditional vertical Bridgman (VB) method was studied by using various shapes of seed crystals and tungsten (W) crucibles shaped to match the seeds. Approximately 2-in. diameter, c-axis sapphire single crystals were reproducibly grown from three kinds of seed: thin, tapered and full diameter. Factors relating seed type to single-crystal growth are discussed, including the reproducibility of seeding processes, and the generation and elimination of low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs). What was learned facilitated the subsequent growth of large-diameter, 3-, 4- and 6-in., c-axis single-crystal sapphires from full-diameter seeds.ArticleJOURNAL OF CRYSTAL GROWTH. 395:80-89 (2014)journal articl
- âŠ