470 research outputs found
A proposed framework for evaluating the international construction performance of AEC enterprises
Internationalization of architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) enterprises has gained significant interests as the global construction market has been integrated into a more competitive and turbulent business environment, whilst there is no consensus on how to measure the international performance of AEC firms as a result of the complicated and multifaceted nature of business performance and internationalization. The aim of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for evaluating the international construction performance of AEC firms, which is based on a comprehensive literature review and revised from the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) by considering the unique characteristic of the construction industry and international construction markets, e.g., satisfying stakeholders, integrating supply and business chain, and consideration of project management capabilities. Further, a questionnaire survey is conducted to investigate the quantitative importance of proposed performance measures and uncover the cause-and-effect relationship among these measures, which is the premise of the BSC. Additionally, a case study of a large international AEC firm in China is adopted to validate the robustness and usefulness of the proposed framework. It is found that the framework is effective to identify the weak areas of AEC firms by applying a benchmarking approach, indicating the applicability of this framework for AEC enterprises to monitor their performance and adjust related strategies for better internationalization
Phylogeny of Prokaryotes and Chloroplasts Revealed by a Simple Composition Approach on All Protein Sequences from Complete Genomes Without Sequence Alignment
The complete genomes of living organisms have provided much information on their phylogenetic relationships. Similarly, the complete genomes of chloroplasts have helped to resolve the evolution of this organelle in photosynthetic eukaryotes. In this paper we propose an alternative method of phylogenetic analysis using compositional statistics for all protein sequences from complete genomes. This new method is conceptually simpler than and computationally as fast as the one proposed by Qi et al. (2004b) and Chu et al. (2004). The same data sets used in Qi et al. (2004b) and Chu et al. (2004) are analyzed using the new method. Our distance-based phylogenic tree of the 109 prokaryotes and eukaryotes agrees with the biologists tree of life based on 16S rRNA comparison in a predominant majority of basic branching and most lower taxa. Our phylogenetic analysis also shows that the chloroplast genomes are separated to two major clades corresponding to chlorophytes s.l. and rhodophytes s.l. The interrelationships among the chloroplasts are largely in agreement with the current understanding on chloroplast evolution
Influence of Rayleigh-Taylor Instability on Liquid Propellant Reorientation in a Low-Gravity Environment
A computational simulation is conducted to investigate the influence of Rayleigh-Taylor instability on liquid propellant reorientation flow dynamics for the tank of CZ-3A launch vehicle series fuel tanks in a low-gravity environment. The volume-of-fluid (VOF) method is used to simulate the free surface flow of gas-liquid. The process of the liquid propellant reorientation started from initially flat and curved interfaces are numerically studied. These two different initial conditions of the gas-liquid interface result in two modes of liquid flow. It is found that the Rayleigh-Taylor instability can be reduced evidently at the initial gas-liquid interface with a high curve during the process of liquid reorientation in a low-gravity environment
Phase Separation and Magnetic Order in K-doped Iron Selenide Superconductor
Alkali-doped iron selenide is the latest member of high Tc superconductor
family, and its peculiar characters have immediately attracted extensive
attention. We prepared high-quality potassium-doped iron selenide (KxFe2-ySe2)
thin films by molecular beam epitaxy and unambiguously demonstrated the
existence of phase separation, which is currently under debate, in this
material using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. The
stoichiometric superconducting phase KFe2Se2 contains no iron vacancies, while
the insulating phase has a \surd5\times\surd5 vacancy order. The iron vacancies
are shown always destructive to superconductivity in KFe2Se2. Our study on the
subgap bound states induced by the iron vacancies further reveals a
magnetically-related bipartite order in the superconducting phase. These
findings not only solve the existing controversies in the atomic and electronic
structures in KxFe2-ySe2, but also provide valuable information on
understanding the superconductivity and its interplay with magnetism in
iron-based superconductors
Observation of a ppb mass threshoud enhancement in \psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p}) decay
The decay channel
is studied using a sample of events collected
by the BESIII experiment at BEPCII. A strong enhancement at threshold is
observed in the invariant mass spectrum. The enhancement can be fit
with an -wave Breit-Wigner resonance function with a resulting peak mass of
and a
narrow width that is at the 90% confidence level.
These results are consistent with published BESII results. These mass and width
values do not match with those of any known meson resonance.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Chinese Physics
Neutrophils in cancer: neutral no more
Neutrophils are indispensable antagonists of microbial infection and facilitators of wound healing. In the cancer setting, a newfound appreciation for neutrophils has come into view. The traditionally held belief that neutrophils are inert bystanders is being challenged by the recent literature. Emerging evidence indicates that tumours manipulate neutrophils, sometimes early in their differentiation process, to create diverse phenotypic and functional polarization states able to alter tumour behaviour. In this Review, we discuss the involvement of neutrophils in cancer initiation and progression, and their potential as clinical biomarkers and therapeutic targets
Delay-probability-distribution-dependent stability criteria for discrete-time stochastic neural networks with random delays
Effectiveness and impact of the cross-border healthcare model as implemented by non-governmental organizations: case study of the malaria control programs by health poverty action on the China-Myanmar border
Optimization and partial characterization of culture conditions for the production of alkaline protease from Bacillus licheniformis P003
Current perspectives on bone metastases in castrate-resistant prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the most frequent noncutaneous cancer occurring in men. On average, men with localized prostate cancer have
a high 10-year survival rate, and many can be cured. However, men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer have
incurable disease with poor survival despite intensive therapy. This unmet need has led to recent advances in therapy aimed at
treating bone metastases resulting from prostate cancer. The bone microenvironment lends itself to metastases in castrate-resistant
prostate cancer, as a result of complex interactions between the microenvironment and tumor cells. The development of 223radium
dichloride (Ra-223) to treat symptomatic bone metastases has improved survival in men with metastatic castrate-resistant
prostate cancer. Moreover, Ra-223 may have effects on the tumor microenvironment that enhance its activity. Ra-223 treatment
has been shown to prolong survival, and its effects on the immune system are under investigation. Because prostate cancer affects
a sizable portion of the adult male population, understanding how it metastasizes to bone is an important step in advancing
therapy. Clinical trials that are underway should yield new information on whether Ra-223 synergizes effectively with immunotherapy
agents and whether Ra-223 has enhancing effects on the immune system in patients with prostate cancer
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