Enhancing the Supply Chain Performance by Integrating Simulated and Physical Agents into Organizational Information Systems

As the business environment gets more complicated, organizations must be able to respond to the business changes and adjust themselves quickly to gain their competitive advantages. This study proposes an integrated agent system, called SPA, which coordinates simulated and physical agents to provide an efficient way for organizations to meet the challenges in managing supply chains. In the integrated framework, physical agents coordinate with inter-organizations\' physical agents to form workable business processes and detect the variations occurring in the outside world, whereas simulated agents model and analyze the what-if scenarios to support physical agents in making decisions. This study uses a supply chain that produces digital still cameras as an example to demonstrate how the SPA works. In this example, individual information systems of the involved companies equip with the SPA and the entire supply chain is modeled as a hierarchical object oriented Petri nets. The SPA here applies the modified AGNES data clustering technique and the moving average approach to help each firm generalize customers\' past demand patterns and forecast their future demands. The amplitude of forecasting errors caused by bullwhip effects is used as a metric to evaluate the degree that the SPA affects the supply chain performance. The experimental results show that the SPA benefits the entire supply chain by reducing the bullwhip effects and forecasting errors in a dynamic environment.Supply Chain Performance Enhancement; Bullwhip Effects; Simulated Agents; Physical Agents; Dynamic Customer Demand Pattern Discovery

Application of the SUSTAIN Model to a Watershed-Scale Case for Water Quality Management

[[abstract]]Low impact development (LID) is a relatively new concept in land use management that aims to maintain hydrological conditions at a predevelopment level without deteriorating water quality during land development. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) developed the System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis Integration model (SUSTAIN) to evaluate the performance of LID practices at different spatial scales; however, the application of this model has been limited relative to LID modeling. In this study, the SUSTAIN model was applied to a Taiwanese watershed. Model calibration and verification were performed, and different types of LID facilities were evaluated. The model simulation process and the verified model parameters could be used in other cases. Four LID scenarios combining bioretention ponds, grass swales, and pervious pavements were designed based on the land characteristics. For the SUSTAIN model simulation, the results showed that pollution reduction was mainly due to water quantity reduction, infiltration was the dominant mechanism and plant interception had a minor effect on the treatment. The simulation results were used to rank the primary areas for nonpoint source pollution and identify effective LID practices. In addition to the case study, a sensitivity analysis of the model parameters was performed, showing that the soil infiltration rate was the most sensitive parameter affecting the LID performance. The objectives of the study are to confirm the applicability of the SUSTAIN model and to assess the effectiveness of LID practices in the studied watershed.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]電子

Growth behaviour of Ge nano-islands on the nanosized Si{111} facets bordering on two {100} planes

Abstract Si(100) substrates were used to fabricate various nanosized {111} facets between the (100) planes using photolithography and anisotropic wet chemical etching. Following simultaneous Ge chemical vapour deposition on the neighbouring (100) and {111} facets, the Ge nano-island formation and distribution was observed on both the (100) terraces and the {111} side walls using a dynamical atomic force microscope. The nano-island formation on the nanosized {111} strip facets was found to be strongly suppressed upon reducing the strip width due primarily to the interaction of adatoms on the neighbouring facets. Specifically, the difference in the effective chemical potential of Ge adatoms on the two neighbouring facets leads to the depletion of nano-islands on the {111} strip with width <500 nm under the growth condition used in this study

Antinociceptive Activities and the Mechanisms of Anti-Inflammation of Asiatic Acid in Mice

Asiatic acid (AA), a pentacyclic triterpene compound in the medicinal plant Centella asiatica, was evaluated for antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects. Treatment of male ICR mice with AA significantly inhibited the numbers of acetic acid-induced writhing responses and the formalin-induced pain in the late phase. In the anti-inflammatory test, AA decreased the paw edema at the 4th and 5th h after λ-carrageenan (Carr) administration and increased the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the liver tissue. AA decreased the nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels on serum level at the 5th h after Carr injection. Western blotting revealed that AA decreased Carr-induced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase (COX-2), and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) expressions at the 5th h in the edema paw. An intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection treatment with AA also diminished neutrophil infiltration into sites of inflammation as did indomethacin (Indo). The anti-inflammatory mechanisms of AA might be related to the decrease in the level of MDA, iNOS, COX-2, and NF-κB in the edema paw via increasing the activities of CAT, SOD, and GPx in the liver

Subamolide A Induces Mitotic Catastrophe Accompanied by Apoptosis in Human Lung Cancer Cells

This study investigated the anticancer effects of subamolide A (Sub-A), isolated from Cinnamomum subavenium, on human nonsmall cell lung cancer cell lines A549 and NCI-H460. Treatment of cancer cells with Sub-A resulted in decreased cell viability of both lung cancer cell lines. Sub-A induced lung cancer cell death by triggering mitotic catastrophe with apoptosis. It triggered oxidant stress, indicated by increased cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and decreased glutathione level. The elevated ROS triggered the activation of ataxia-telangiectasia mutation (ATM), which further enhanced the ATF3 upregulation and subsequently enhanced p53 function by phosphorylation at Serine 15 and Serine 392. The antioxidant, EUK8, significantly decreased mitotic catastrophe by inhibiting ATM activation, ATF3 expression, and p53 phosphorylation. The reduction of ATM and ATF3 expression by shRNA decreased Sub-A-mediated p53 phosphorylation and mitotic catastrophe. Sub-A also caused a dramatic 70% reduction in tumor size in an animal model. Taken together, cell death of lung cancer cells in response to Sub-A is dependent on ROS generation, which triggers mitotic catastrophe followed by apoptosis. Therefore, Sub-A may be a novel anticancer agent for the treatment of nonsmall cell lung cancer

Rehabilitation programs for patients with coronavirus disease 2019: Consensus statements of taiwan academy of cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation

The COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which developed into a pandemic in 2020, has become a major healthcare challenge for governments and healthcare workers worldwide. Despite several medical treatment protocols having been established, a comprehensive rehabilitation program that can promote functional recovery is still frequently ignored. An online consensus meeting of an expert panel comprising members of the Taiwan Academy of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation was held to provide recommendations for rehabilitation protocols in each of the five COVID-19 stages, namely (1) outpatients with mild disease and no risk factors, (2) outpatients with mild disease and epidemiological risk factors, (3) hospitalized patients with moderate to severe disease, (4) ventilator-supported patients with clear cognitive function, and (5) ventilator-supported patients with impaired cognitive function. Apart from medications and life support care, a proper rehabilitation protocol that facilitates recovery from COVID-19 needs to be established and emphasized in clinical practice

Synthesis, Characterization and Photovoltaic Properties of Di-Anchoring Organic Dyes

Three new organic dyes comprising carbazole, iminodibenzyl and phenothiazine moieties, as electron donors and di-anchoring rhodanine rings as the electron acceptors, were synthesized and evaluated for use in dye-sensitized solar cells. A solar cell employing dye-containing phenothiazine as a hole-transporting unit and di-anchoring rhodanine rings as the electron acceptors exhibits a short circuit photocurrent density of 10.6 mA cm-2, an open-circuit voltage of 0.658 V and a fill factor of 0.7, corresponding to an overall conversion efficiency of 4.91% at standard AM 1.5 sunlight

Jun Dimerization Protein 2 Controls Senescence and Differentiation via Regulating Histone Modification

Transcription factor, Jun dimerization protein 2 (JDP2), binds directly to histones and DNAs and then inhibits the p300-mediated acetylation both of core histones and of reconstituted nucleosomes that contain JDP2 recognition DNA sequences. JDP2 plays a key role as a repressor of adipocyte differentiation by regulation of the expression of the gene C/EBPδ via inhibition of histone acetylation. Moreover, JDP2-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts (JDP2−/− MEFs) are resistant to replicative senescence. JDP2 inhibits the recruitment of polycomb repressive complexes (PRC1 and PRC2) to the promoter of the gene encoding p16Ink4a, resulting from the inhibition of methylation of lysine 27 of histone H3 (H3K27). Therefore, it seems that chromatin-remodeling factors, including the PRC complex controlled by JDP2, may be important players in the senescence program. The novel mechanisms that underline the action of JDP2 in inducing cellular senescence and suppressing adipocyte differentiation are reviewed

Caveolin-1 controls hyperresponsiveness to mechanical stimuli and fibrogenesis-associated RUNX2 activation in keloid fibroblasts

Keloids are pathological scars characterized by excessive extracellular matrix production that are prone to form in body sites with increased skin tension. Caveolin-1 (CAV1), the principal coat protein of caveolae, has been associated with the regulation of cell mechanics, including cell softening and loss of stiffness sensing ability in NIH3T3 fibroblasts. Although CAV1 is present in low amounts in keloid fibroblasts (KFs), the causal association between CAV1 downregulation and its aberrant responses to mechanical stimuli remain unclear. In this study, atomic force microscopy showed that KFs were softer than normal fibroblasts with a loss of stiffness sensing. The decrease of CAV1 contributed to the hyperactivation of fibrogenesis-associated RUNX2, a transcription factor germane to osteogenesis/chondrogenesis, and increased migratory ability in KFs. Treatment of KFs with trichostatin A (TSA), which increased the acetylation level of histone H3, increased CAV1 and decreased RUNX2 and fibronectin. TSA treatment also resulted in cell stiffening and decreased migratory ability in KFs. Collectively, these results suggest a novel role for CAV1 downregulation in linking the aberrant responsiveness to mechanical stimulation and extracellular matrix accumulation with the progression of keloids, findings that may lead to new developments in the prevention and treatment of keloid scarring