Joint Venture Manufacturing in China : an Exploratory Investigation

International joint venture (IJV) manufacturing is important for both the Chinese economy and a large number of foreign investors. A review of the literature from both Western and Chinese researchers showed that although the purpose and advantages of IJV manufacturing in China are known, a vital aspect – operations management – has largely been ignored. Therefore, exploratory interviews with managers at six companies were conducted to investigate the operations management issues faced by IJV manufacturers in China. Four main problems were identified: the difficulty with recruiting and training suitable employees; all aspects of supplier management; problems with achieving high- quality output; and achieving an effective IJV business culture. The results have implications not only for researchers, in that they indicate where more research is necessary, but also for practitioners, since they identify the areas where IJV manufacturers are most likely to encounter problems in C

In vivo super-resolution photoacoustic computed tomography by localization of single dyed droplets

The spatial resolution of photoacoustic (PA) computed tomography (PACT) is limited by acoustic diffraction. Here, we report in vivo superresolution PACT, which breaks the acoustic diffraction limit by localizing the centers of single dyed droplets. The dyed droplets generate much stronger PA signals than blood and can flow smoothly in blood vessels; thus, they are excellent tracers for localization-based superresolution imaging. The flowing droplets were first localized, and then their center positions were used to construct a superresolution image that exhibits sharper features and more finely resolved vascular details. A 6-fold improvement in spatial resolution has been realized in vivo

Photoacoustic generation of focused quasi-unipolar pressure pulses

The photoacoustic effect was employed to generate short-duration quasi-unipolar acoustic pressure pulses in both planar and spherically focused geometries. In the focal region, the temporal profile of a pressure pulse can be approximated by the first derivative of the temporal profile near the front transducer surface, with a time-averaged value equal to zero. This approximation agreed with experimental results acquired from photoacoustic transducers with both rigid and free boundaries. For a free boundary, the acoustic pressure in the focal region is equal to the sum of a positive pressure that follows the spatial profile of the optical energy deposition in the medium and a negative pressure that follows the temporal profile of the laser pulse

Design and optimization of cost-effective coldproof portable enclosures for polar environment

Based on the International Electrotechnical Commission standards, the electronic devices in the industrial class (e.g., integrated circuits or batteries) can only operate at the ambient temperature between -40°C and 85°C. For the human-involved regions in Alaska, Northern Canada, and Antarctica, extreme cold condition as low as -55°C might affect sensing electronic devices utilized in the scientific or industrial applications. In this paper, we propose a design and optimization methodology for the self-heating portable enclosures, which can warm up the inner space from -55°C for encasing the low-cost industrial-class electronic devices instead of expensive military-class ones to work reliably within their allowed operating temperature limit. Among the other options, ceramic thermal resistors are selected as the heating elements inside the enclosure. The placement of the thermal resistors is studied with the aid of thermal modelling for the single heating device by using the curve fitting technique to achieve uniform temperature distribution within the enclosure. To maintain the inner temperature above -40°C but with the least power consumption from the thermal resistors, we have developed a control system based on the fuzzy logic controller. For validation, we have utilized COMSOL Multiphysics software and then one prototyped enclosure along with the fuzzy control system. Our experimental measurement exhibits its efficacy compared to the other design options

Study on Self-crosslinking of Hydrogen Peroxide Oxidating Collagen

Content: The utilization of mink waste generated through the industrial process attracted both industry and academia interests. In this study, the use of hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent onto collagen producing self-crosslinking which extracting from mink solid waste was studied by infrared spectrum, fluorescence spectrum and thermal properties. The effect of hydrogen peroxide dosage and reaction temperature on the degree of oxidative self-crosslinking of collagen was analyzed by the changes of molecular structure and thermal stability. It was found that, hydroxide groups on the collagen side-chains can be oxidized to aldehyde groups and carboxyl groups by hydrogen peroxide in alkaline environment. These oxidized groups can crosslink with functional groups on collagen by covalent bond and ionic bond, changing collagen molecular structure and improving thermal stability. When the dosage of hydrogen peroxide was 14.74% and reaction temperature was 40℃ ±, the oxidative self-crosslinking of collagen was the strongest. This study provided theoretical basis for the high-value utilization of mink wastes. Take-Away: 1. The oxidative self-crosslink of collagen extracted mink solid waste was studied. 2. Hydrogen peroxide was applied as environment friendly oxidant. 3. The change of functional groups and degree of crosslinks during the oxidation was studied via infrared, fluorescence spectrum and differential scanning calorimetry

Simultaneous imaging of a lacZ-marked tumor and microvasculature morphology in vivo by dual-wavelength photoacoustic microscopy

Photoacoustic molecular imaging, combined with the reporter-gene technique, can provide a valuable tool for cancer research. The expression of the lacZ reporter gene can be imaged using photoacoustic imaging following the injection of X-gal, a colorimetric assay for the lacZ-encoded enzyme β-galactosidase. Dual-wavelength photoacoustic microscopy was used to non-invasively image the detailed morphology of a lacZ-marked 9L gliosarcoma and its surrounding microvasculature simultaneously in vivo, with a superior resolution on the order of 10 μm. Tumor-feeding vessels were found, and the expression level of lacZ in tumor was estimated. With future development of new absorption-enhancing reporter-gene systems, we anticipate this strategy can lead to a better understanding of the role of tumor metabolism in cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis, and in its response to therapy