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.     

Molecular function of the novel α7β2 nicotinic receptor

The α7 nicotinic receptor is a promising drug target for neurological and inflammatory disorders. Although it is the homomeric member of the family, a novel α7β2 heteromeric receptor has been discovered. To decipher the functional contribution of the β2 subunit, we generated heteromeric receptors with fixed stoichiometry by two different approaches comprising concatenated and unlinked subunits. Receptors containing up to three β2 subunits are functional. As the number of β2 subunits increases in the pentameric arrangement, the durations of channel openings and activation episodes increase progressively probably due to decreased desensitization. The prolonged activation episodes conform the kinetic signature of α7β2 and may have an impact on neuronal excitability. For activation of α7β2 receptors, an α7/α7 binding-site interface is required, thus indicating that the three β2 subunits are located consecutively in the pentameric arrangement. α7-positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) are emerging as novel therapeutic drugs. The presence of β2 in the pentamer affects neither type II PAM potentiation nor activation by an allosteric agonist whereas it impairs type I PAM potentiation. This first single-channel study provides fundamental basis required to decipher the role and function of the novel α7β2 receptor and opens doors to develop selective therapeutic drugs.     

Maternal eating behavior is a major synchronizer of fetal and postnatal peripheral clocks in mice

Most living organisms show circadian rhythms in physiology and behavior. These oscillations are generated by endogenous circadian clocks, present in virtually all cells where they control key biological processes. To study peripheral clocks in vivo, we developed an original model, the Rev-Luc mouse to follow noninvasively and longitudinally Rev-Luc oscillations in peripheral clocks using in vivo bioluminescence imaging. We found in vitro and in vivo a robust diurnal rhythm of Rev-Luc, mainly in liver, intestine, kidney and adipose tissues. We further confirmed in vivo that Rev-Luc peripheral tissues are food-entrainable oscillators, not affected by age or sex. These data strongly support the relevance of the Rev-Luc model for circadian studies, especially to investigate in vivo the establishment and the entrainment of the rhythm throughout ontogenesis. We then showed that Rev-Luc expression develops dynamically and gradually, both in amplitude and in phase, during fetal and postnatal development. We also demonstrate for the first time that the immature peripheral circadian system of offspring in utero is mainly entrained by maternal cues from feeding regimen. The prenatal entrainment will also differentially determine the Rev-Luc expression in pups before weaning underlining the importance of the maternal chrononutrition on the circadian system entrainment of the offspring.     

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.     

乳酸菌益生功能研究进展

介绍了益生菌的概念、乳酸菌的益生功能,并指出了乳酸菌益生功能研究中的问题.     

基于风廓线雷达的降水云分类方法在海南地区的应用

将风廓线雷达用于热带降水云体进行垂直探测,可以实时对热带地区降水云体进行较准确分类.通过对海口地区降水云系特征(2017年1月～12月)进行统计分析,提出一套基于风廓线雷达探测数据(回波强度、垂直速度和速度谱宽)的热带降水云体分类方法.以该方法为基础,结合天气雷达等观测资料,对2017年发生在海口地区的两次降水过程展开详细分析.结果表明:风廓线雷达具备较好体现降水云体垂直结构的能力,相比于天气雷达,风廓线雷达探测数据可以更精细地描述降水云系的变化趋势;相比于传统降水分类方案,采用以风廓线雷达探测数据为基础的分类方案可以提高对复杂降水类型识别的正确率;风廓线雷达可以更好地描述快速过境的高空微弱对流系统.     

以双城市周家镇为例探讨以产业发展带动小城镇建设

发展小城镇是我国的走城市化道路的必然选择,而城市化必须有经济建设为支撑,双城市周家镇被确定为国家级小城镇综合改革试点镇后,就成了双城的经济特区,通过分析双城周家镇的区位优势及产业优势,对周家镇小城镇建设提出几点建议.     

一个基于Exchange的企业办公自动化系统的实现

介绍了一个基于Exchange的企业办公自动化系统的实现，其中包括系统目标、开发平台和工具的选择、系统的功能模块、关键技术以及系统的安全机制。     

运用试验设计法优化某军品压铸弹尾工艺

根据某军品部件出现的问题，应用试验设计法成功地找出了最优组合，提高了该部件的强度，解决了该强度问题，使生产得以正常进行。