EVOKE: A Value-Driven Concept Selection Method for Early System Design

The development of new technologically advanced products requires the contribution from a range of skills and disciplines, which are often difficult to find within a single company or organization. Requirements establishment practices in Systems Engineering (SE), while ensuring coordination of activities and tasks across the supply network, fall short when it comes to facilitate knowledge sharing and negotiation during early system design. Empirical observations show that when system-level requirements are not available or not mature enough, engineers dealing with the development of long lead-time sub-systems tend to target local optima, rather than opening up the design space. This phenomenon causes design teams to generate solutions that do not embody the best possible configuration for the overall system. The aim of this paper is to show how methodologies for value-driven design may address this issue, facilitating early stage design iterations and the resolution of early stage design trade-offs. The paper describes how such methodologies may help gathering and dispatching relevant knowledge about the ‘design intent’ of a system to the cross-functional engineering teams, so to facilitate a more concurrent process for requirement elicitation in SE. The paper also describes EVOKE (Early Value Oriented design exploration with KnowledgE maturity), a concept selection method that allows benchmarking design options at sub-system level on the base of value-related information communicated by the system integrators. The use of EVOKE is exemplified in an industrial case study related to the design of an aero-engine component. EVOKE’s ability to raise awareness on the value contribution of early stage design concepts in the SE process has been further verified with industrial practitioners in ad-hoc design episodes.     

The expansion of GPCR transactivation-dependent signalling to include serine/threonine kinase receptors represents a new cell signalling frontier

G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signalling is mediated through transactivation-independent signalling pathways or the transactivation of protein tyrosine kinase receptors and the recently reported activation of the serine/threonine kinase receptors, most notably the transforming growth factor-β receptor family. Since the original observation of GPCR transactivation of protein tyrosine kinase receptors, there has been considerable work on the mechanism of transactivation and several pathways are prominent. These pathways include the “triple membrane bypass” pathway and the generation of reactive oxygen species. The recent recognition of GPCR transactivation of serine/threonine kinase receptors enormously broadens the GPCR signalling paradigm. It may be predicted that the transactivation of serine/threonine kinase receptors would have mechanistic similarities with transactivation of tyrosine kinase pathways; however, initial studies suggest that these two transactivation pathways are mechanistically distinct. Important questions are the relative importance of tyrosine and serine/threonine transactivation pathways, the contribution of transactivation to overall GPCR signalling, mechanisms of transactivation and the range of cell types in which this phenomenon occurs. The ultimate significance of transactivation-dependent signalling remains to be defined but it appears to be prominent and if so will represent a new cell signalling frontier.     

Reconsideration on Homogeneous Quadratic Riemann Boundary Value Problem

The homogeneous quadratic Riemann boundary value problem (1) with Hoelder continuous coefficients for the normal case was considered by the author in 1997. But the solutions obtained there are incomplete. Here its general method of solution is obtained.     

Abrupt climate change：Debate or action

Global abrupt climate changes have been documented by various climate records, including ice cores, ocean sediment cores, lake sediment cores, cave deposits, loess deposits and pollen records. The climate system prefers to be in one of two stable states, i.e. interstadial or stadial conditions, but not in between. The transition between two states has an abrupt character. Abrupt climate changes are, in general, synchronous in the northern hemisphere and tropical regions. The timescale for abrupt climate changes can be as short as a decade. As the impacts may be potentially serious, we need to take actions such as reducing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere.     

The Optimal Solution of the Model with Physical and Human Capital Adjustment Costs

We prove that the model with physical and human capital adjustment costs has optimal solution when the production function is increasing return and the structure of vetor fields of the model changes substantially when the prodution function from decreasing return turns to increasing return. And it is shown that the economy is improved when the coefficients of adjustment costs become small.     

NIPA类共聚温敏水凝胶中水的状态和耐热性

用N-异丙基丙烯酰胺（NIPA）与丙烯酸钠（SA）及甲基丙烯酸钠（SMA）共聚合成了两个系列的水凝胶，研究了共聚组成与水凝胶基本性质的关系，并用示差扫描量热法（DSC）和热失重法（TG）研究了此类水凝胶中水的状态和耐热性。     

多波长数据线性回归光度法同时测定钙和镁

本文研究了酸性铬蓝K体系用于同时测定钙和慎的显色条件，借助多波长线性回归法处理数据，提出光度测定钙和镁的简便方法，免去了分离手续。应用于三个水样中钙、镁含量的测定，结果满意。     

Al_(63)Cu_(25)Fe_(12)准晶体的相变及应用研究

从应用角度出发,系统地研究了Al_(63)Cu_(25)Fe_(12)合金的相变及性能特点,并初步研究了准晶体对传统铝合金表面改性的贡献。结果表明:该合金在450℃～820℃温度区间内晶体相Al_7Cu_2Fe发生同素异构转变形成稳定I相,具有较高的硬度和硬度值变化不大(650～850kgf/mm~2)的特点,可与传统铝合金复合并使其硬度和耐磨性能显著提高。     

关于Farkas引理证明的一点注记

许多关于非线性规划的专著,如[1]、[2]、[3]等,在证明Farkas引理时都蕴含地用到:“有限生成的凸锥(finitely generated convex cone)为闭集”这样一个事实,但都忽略了对此作出证明。本文旨在于非线性规划的内容范围内证明这一重要事实,从而对上述专著中Farkas引理的证明作出补充。     

铝电解中的阴极过程

对铝电解中的阴极反应、阴极过电压、阴极表面的双电层结构等阴极过程进行了研究,发现在+005～-005V(相对于铝阴极)电位区有一个还原电流峰和一个氧化电流峰,它们是Al3++3e→Al和Al-3e→Al3+·与阳极相比,阴极过电压较小,在001～3A/cm2的Taffel区,约为01V·在阴极表面的双电层中,第一层为Ca2+,Mg2+,Li+和Al3+离子,没有Na+离子,这说明,阴极过电压是因为Mg2+,Ca2+等离子形成的电化学双电层阻力所引起,同时也说明别略耶夫猜想基本是正确的·