94 research outputs found
Beyond the Innovation: An Exploratory Study of Designing Web-based Self-services
AbstractCustomized web-based self-services play an important role in today's product/service innovation. Compared to traditional tangible services, helpful web-based self-services and off-line services may better facilitate creativity, accelerate value co-creation, and reduce the costs and risks of development and commercialization. Therefore, in order to offer a conceptual framework for a web-based self-service system that enhances the fuzzy-front end (FFE) of new product/service development, this study analyzed the needs and challenges found during the transition of the Dechnology (Design Thinking plus Technology Innovation) project at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), the largest R&D organization in Taiwan. Through literature review, in-depth interviews, and participatory action research, we formalized five core system modules, including: 1) user behavior and lifestyle, 2) thematic trend analysis, 3) technology screening and translation, 4) idea visualization, and 5) O2O service connection, with corresponding design principles for supporting user creativity in a web-based self-services environment. Finally, this study proposes a conceptual framework integrated with service design to serve as an important reference for enterprises that undergo similar innovation projects in the future
Projected Increase of the East Asian Summer Monsoon (Meiyu) in Taiwan by Climate Models With Variable Performance
The active phase of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) in Taiwan during May and June, known as Meiyu, produces substantial precipitation for water uses in all sectors of society. Following a companion study that analysed the historical increase in the Meiyu precipitation, the present study conducted model evaluation and diagnosis based on the EASM lifecycle over Taiwan. Higher and lower skill groups were identified from 17 Couple Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) models, with five models in each group. Despite the difference in model performance, both groups projected a substantial increase in the Meiyu precipitation over Taiwan. In the higher skill group, weak circulation changes and reduced lowâlevel convergence point to a synoptically unfavourable condition for precipitation. In the lower skill group, intensified lowâlevel southwesterly winds associated with a deepened upper level trough enhance moisture pooling. Thus, the projected increase in Meiyu precipitation will likely occur through the combined effects of (1) the extension of a strengthened North Pacific anticyclone enhancing southwesterlies; and (2) more systematically, the ClausiusâClapeyron relationship that increases precipitation intensity in a warmer climate. The overall increase in the Meiyu precipitation projected by climate models of variable performance supports the observed tendency toward more intense rainfall in Taiwan and puts its early June 2017 extreme precipitation events into perspective
A low-inclination neutral Trans-Neptunian Object in a extreme orbit
We present photometric observations and numerical simulations of 2016
SD, a low inclination () extreme trans-Neptunian Object
with a large semi-major axis ( au) and perihelion ( au). This
object possesses a peculiar neutral color of and
, in comparison with other distant trans-Neptunian objects,
all of which have moderate-red to ultra-red colors. A numerical integration
based on orbital fitting on astrometric data covering eight years of arc
confirms that 2016 SD is a metastable object without significant
scattering evolution. Each of the clones survived at the end of the 1 Gyr
simulation. However, very few neutral objects with inclinations
have been found in the outer solar system, even in the main Kuiper belt.
Furthermore, most mechanisms which lift perihelion distances are expected to
produce a very low number of extreme objects with inclinations . We
thus explored the possibility that a hypothetical distant planet could increase
the production of such objects. Our simulations show that no 2016
SD-like orbits can be produced from three Kuiper belt populations
tested (i.e. plutinos, twotinos, and Haumea Family) without the presence of an
hypothetical planet, while a few similar orbits can be obtained with it;
however, the presence of the additional planet produces a wide range of large
semimajor-axis / large perihelion objects, in apparent contradiction with the
observed scarcity of objects in those regions of phase space. Future studies
may determine if there is a connection between the existence of a perihelion
gap and a particular orbital configuration of an hypothetical distant planet.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 1 tables, accepted for publication in the ApJ
Letter
Col-OSSOS: Z-Band Photometry Reveals Three Distinct TNO Surface Types
Several different classes of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) have been
identified based on their optical and near-infrared colors. As part of the
Colours of the Outer Solar System Origins Survey, we have obtained , ,
and band photometry of 26 TNOs using Subaru and Gemini Observatories.
Previous color surveys have not utilized band reflectance, and the
inclusion of this band reveals significant surface reflectance variations
between sub-populations. The colors of TNOs in and show obvious
structure, and appear consistent with the previously measured bi-modality in
. The distribution of colors of the two dynamically excited surface types
can be modeled using the two-component mixing models from Fraser \& Brown
(2012). With the combination of and , the dynamically excited
classes can be separated cleanly into red and neutral surface classes. In and , the two dynamically excited surface groups are also clearly
distinct from the cold classical TNO surfaces, which are red, with
0.85 and 0.6, while all dynamically excited objects
with similar colors exhibit redder colors. The band photometry
makes it possible for the first time to differentiate the red excited TNO
surfaces from the red cold classical TNO surfaces. The discovery of different
colors for these cold classical TNOs makes it possible to search for cold
classical surfaces in other regions of the Kuiper belt and to completely
separate cold classical TNOs from the dynamically excited population, which
overlaps in orbital parameter space.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, Accepted to A
Discovery of A New Retrograde Trans-Neptunian Object: Hint of A Common Orbital Plane for Low Semi-Major Axis, High Inclination TNOs and Centaurs
Although the majority of Centaurs are thought to have originated in the
scattered disk, with the high-inclination members coming from the Oort cloud,
the origin of the high inclination component of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs)
remains uncertain. We report the discovery of a retrograde TNO, which we
nickname "Niku", detected by the Pan-STARRS 1 Outer Solar System Survey. Our
numerical integrations show that the orbital dynamics of Niku are very similar
to that of 2008 KV (Drac), with a half-life of Myr. Comparing
similar high inclination TNOs and Centaurs ( AU, ), we find that these objects exhibit a surprising clustering of
ascending node, and occupy a common orbital plane. This orbital configuration
has high statistical significance: 3.8-. An unknown mechanism is
required to explain the observed clustering. This discovery may provide a
pathway to investigate a possible reservoir of high-inclination objects.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Dual Targeting of 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl Coenzyme A Reductase and Histone Deacetylase as a Therapy for Colorectal Cancer
AbstractStatins are 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase (HMGR) inhibitors decreasing serum cholesterol and have shown promise in cancer prevention. In this study, we demonstrated the oncogenic role of HMGR in colorectal cancer (CRC) by disclosing increased HMGR activity in CRC patients and its enhancement of anti-apoptosis and stemness. Our previous studies showed that statins containing carboxylic acid chains possessed activity against histone deacetylases (HDACs), and strengthened their anti-HDAC activity through designing HMGR-HDAC dual inhibitors, JMF compounds. These compounds exerted anti-cancer effect in CRC cells as well as in AOM-DSS and ApcMin/+ CRC mouse models. JMF mostly regulated the genes related to apoptosis and inflammation through genome-wide ChIP-on-chip analysis, and Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA) predicted their respective regulation by NR3C1 and NF-ÎșB. Furthermore, JMF inhibited metastasis, angiogenesis and cancer stemness, and potentiated the effect of oxaliplatin in CRC mouse models. Dual HMGR-HDAC inhibitor could be a potential treatment for CRC
Col-OSSOS: The Colours of the Outer Solar System Origins Survey
The Colours of the Outer Solar System Origins Survey (Col-OSSOS) is acquiring
near-simultaneous , , and photometry of unprecedented precision with
the Gemini North Telescope, targeting nearly a hundred trans-Neptunian objects
(TNOs) brighter than mag discovered in the Outer Solar System
Origins Survey. Combining the optical and near-infrared photometry with the
well-characterized detection efficiency of the Col-OSSOS target sample will
provide the first flux-limited compositional dynamical map of the outer Solar
System. In this paper, we describe our observing strategy and detail the data
reduction processes we employ, including techniques to mitigate the impact of
rotational variability. We present optical and near-infrared colors for 35
TNOs. We find two taxonomic groups for the dynamically excited TNOs, the
neutral and red classes, which divide at . Based on simple
albedo and orbital distribution assumptions, we find that the neutral class
outnumbers the red class, with a ratio of 4:1 and potentially as high as 11:1.
Including in our analysis constraints from the cold classical objects, which
are known to exhibit unique albedos and colors, we find that within our
measurement uncertainty, our observations are consistent with the primordial
Solar System protoplanetesimal disk being neutral-class-dominated, with two
major compositional divisions in color space.Comment: Accepted to ApJS; on-line supplemental files will be available with
the AJS published version of the pape
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