Kenneth Turnbull to Mr. Meredith (1 October 1962)

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/mercorr_pro/1297/thumbnail.jp

Multifunctional

The New Product Development (NPD) process in manufacturing industry, together with the application of multi functional teams in the process, has been well studied in the extant literature. Tools, and techniques used to assist project teams in NPD have also been investigated in detail. However, many of the claims of the effectiveness of 'tools’ such as Rapid Prototyping (RP) and techniques such as Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) are anecdotal in nature, lacking empirical evidence, or promoted by authors with a commercial interest in the subject. Therefore, as part of the objectives of this research to provide more empirical data, case studies were conducted over a period of 12 years in companies such as Flymo, Kenwood, and Domnick Hunter. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were selected for the case studies to provide a rich source of quantitative and qualitative data from which some of the root causes of NPD problems were identified. A common NPD problem identified was project delays, following late changes to the specification and the product engineering. It was clear however, that not all of the changes had a negative impact on a project, indeed some teamwork studies encourage changes to improve the product value and quality. A 'penalty weighting' model to quantify the 'impact' of changes with respect to any benefits was developed to identify the most cost effective period for teamwork studies and provide an efficiency profile for each project. A strategic business approach for Rapid Prototyping activities was also presented together with a 'sub-group' methodology to encourage innovation and reduce 'front end' delays. Appropriate project management control documentation was developed for the NPD teams to support the control of various KPIs including product deliverables, product costs, capital spends and launch timing

Harmful Speech and the Covid-19 Penumbra

We make two central claims in this essay. First, the themes of malinformation have remained remarkably consistent across pandemics. What has changed is only the manner of their spread through evolving technologies and globalization. Thus, as with pandemic preparedness more generally, our failure to take proactive measures reflects a failure to heed the lessons of the past. Second, we argue that the COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique opportunity to tackle online falsehoods and mitigate their impact in the future. We proceed in three parts. Part one addresses the harmful speech that inevitably follows in pandemic’s wake. We illustrate this through three historical examples: plague, the 1918-19 influenza epidemic, and AIDS.7 By turning to history, we explore how the spread of false information, while constant in every pandemic, has evolved over time with technological advancement. In part two, we cast a spotlight on harmful speech during COVID-19. We examine how the disturbing outbreak of erroneous information and hate speech in the present pandemic shares notable common features with prior contagions. What is unprecedented about the current pandemic is only the ease with which malign speech has spread, amplified, and reverberated over the internet. In part three, we discuss legal and policy measures implemented during COVID-19 to mitigate the growth of, and exposure to, online misinformation and disinformation. We focus on three prominent endeavors: the global movement to regulate internet speech; advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) as an effective content-moderation tool; and investments in closing the digital divide—the gap between those who have reliable internet access and those who do not.8 The latter is typically seen as a way to boost economic and health outcomes, but we make the novel argument that it may also prove an effective measure for suppressing harmful speech

Biomolecular labeling

A method for using an organic compound to label polynucleotides is described. The method utilizes an organic compound including an oligonucleotide, an electrophilic active site, an active complex, and a phosphate binding site. The oligonucleotide has a sequence that is complimentary to a specific region of a polynucleotide. This facilitates labeling of DNA or RNA at a specific site in its sequence. The active site consists of a stable precursor, and only becomes reactive upon activation. Leaving and protecting functional groups may be attached to the active site in order to facilitate the formation of a stable precursor and subsequent activation. The active complex may be a drug, polypeptide or a reporter molecule such as an isotope or fluorescing compound. The phosphate binding sites may be any functional group capable of forming ionic bonds with phosphate oxygens. Nucleotide labeling using this compound does not interfere with a polynucleotide sequence. The described method for utilizing this compound may be performed in situ. Latent reactivity is utilized to make the reaction chemically specific, alkylating only phosphodiester groups on the polynucleotide. A lactonization reaction traps the trialkylphosphate in a stable form

‘Just can’t hide it’:A behavioral and lesion study on emotional response modulation after right prefrontal damage

Introduction: Historically, emotion regulation problems have been reported as a common consequence of right prefrontal cortex (rPFC) damage. It has been proposed that the rPFC, particularly the rIFG, has a key role inhibiting prepotent reflexive actions, thus contributing to emotion regulation and self-regulation. This study is the first to directly explore this hypothesis, by testing whether damage to the rIFG compromises the voluntary modulation of emotional responses, and whether performance on inhibition tasks is associated with emotion regulation. Method: 10 individuals with unilateral right prefrontal damage and 15 matched healthy controls were compared on a well-known response modulation task. During the task participants had to amplify and suppress their facial emotional expressions, while watching film clips eliciting amusement. Measures of executive control, emotion regulation strategies usage and symptomatology were also collected. Results: As a group, individuals with rPFC damage presented a significantly reduced range of response modulation compared with controls. In addition, performance in the suppression task was associated with measures of cognitive inhibition and suppression usage. Interestingly, these effects were driven primarily by a subgroup of individuals with rPFC damage, all of whom also had damage to the right posterior insula, and who presented a marked impairment in suppressing facial emotional expression

3-(2-Acetamido­phen­yl)sydnone

Sydnones are unusual mesoionic compounds containing a five-membered heterocyclic ring. Generally for stability, substitution at the N-3 position by an aromatic fragment is necessary. In the title compound, C10H9N3O3, the aromatic substitutent is 2-acetamido­phenyl. The two planar ring fragments are twisted relative to one another, with a inter­planar angle of 63.13 (5)°. The mol­ecules are packed into the unit cell via π–π inter­actions between the phenyl rings [inter­planar separation = 3.4182 (4) Å] and between the sydnone rings [inter­planar separation = 3.2095 (4) Å]. N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonding is also found inter­nally and externally to the mol­ecule