基于设计结构矩阵(DSM)的复杂研发项目建模与优化研究进展

研发项目是由流程架构、组织架构和产品架构组成的复杂系统.本文首先分析了研发项目复杂性的特征、分类和产生原因,指出设计结构矩阵(DSM)方法是量化分析复杂研发项目的有效工具.进一步,本文从流程架构中迭代和重叠的建模,到流程DSM的排序优化与仿真;从组织架构中团队之间依赖度的测度,到组织DSM聚类准则的确定;从产品架构中部件之间依赖度的测度,到产品DSM的模块化设计以及聚类算法的演变和发展;从单一领域的DSM扩展到多领域矩阵(MDM)的建模与应用,清晰地展示了基于DSM的复杂研发项目建模与优化的几条研究脉络和最新研究进展.最后,本文提出"系统架构的复杂性研究-DSM中元素间依赖关系的测度-DSM优化/聚类"相集成的理论分析框架,并指出了有待进一步研究的关键问题.     

A Survey of the Representations of Rational Ruled Surfaces

The rational ruled surface is a typical modeling surface in computer aided geometric design. A rational ruled surface may have different representations with respective advantages and disadvantages. In this paper, the authors revisit the representations of ruled surfaces including the parametric form, algebraic form, homogenous form and Plücker form. Moreover, the transformations between these representations are proposed such as parametrization for an algebraic form, implicitization for a parametric form, proper reparametrization of an improper one and standardized reparametrization for a general parametrization. Based on these transformation algorithms, one can give a complete interchange graph for the different representations of a rational ruled surface. For rational surfaces given in algebraic form or parametric form not in the standard form of ruled surfaces, the characterization methods are recalled to identify the ruled surfaces from them.

     

Identification of Megaselia scalaris (Loew, 1866) (Diptera: Phoridae) in mummified human body from Itacambira (MG), Brazil,using scanning electron microscopy and cuticular hydrocarbons

Insect puparia were found adhered to the ribs and other tissues in the abdominal cavity of a natural male mummy found in Itacambira (State of Minas Gerais, Brazil) dating to the Colonial Period. They were collected for identification by scanning electron microscopy, and for comparison of several morphological features with those described in the literature. The puparia were found open and dorsoventrally flattened, making it difficult to visualize the dorsal projections. The tegument is covered by tapered spines and contains rows of small tubercles on the dorsal and lateral regions of the puparium. The posterior spiracle consists of four parallel openings arranged in pairs. These results are indicative that the specimens belong to the species Megaselia scalaris (Loew, 1866) (Diptera: Phoridae). Additionally, cuticular hydrocarbons of the puparia were analysed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and compared with the profile of M. scalaris reared in the laboratory.     

Eight glacial cycles from an Antarctic ice core

The Antarctic Vostok ice core provided compelling evidence of the nature of climate, and of climate feedbacks, over the past 420,000 years. Marine records suggest that the amplitude of climate variability was smaller before that time, but such records are often poorly resolved. Moreover, it is not possible to infer the abundance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from marine records. Here we report the recovery of a deep ice core from Dome C, Antarctica, that provides a climate record for the past 740,000 years. For the four most recent glacial cycles, the data agree well with the record from Vostok. The earlier period, between 740,000 and 430,000 years ago, was characterized by less pronounced warmth in interglacial periods in Antarctica, but a higher proportion of each cycle was spent in the warm mode. The transition from glacial to interglacial conditions about 430,000 years ago (Termination V) resembles the transition into the present interglacial period in terms of the magnitude of change in temperatures and greenhouse gases, but there are significant differences in the patterns of change. The interglacial stage following Termination V was exceptionally long--28,000 years compared to, for example, the 12,000 years recorded so far in the present interglacial period. Given the similarities between this earlier warm period and today, our results may imply that without human intervention, a climate similar to the present one would extend well into the future.     

Developmental plasticity and human health

Many plants and animals are capable of developing in a variety of ways, forming characteristics that are well adapted to the environments in which they are likely to live. In adverse circumstances, for example, small size and slow metabolism can facilitate survival, whereas larger size and more rapid metabolism have advantages for reproductive success when resources are more abundant. Often these characteristics are induced in early life or are even set by cues to which their parents or grandparents were exposed. Individuals developmentally adapted to one environment may, however, be at risk when exposed to another when they are older. The biological evidence may be relevant to the understanding of human development and susceptibility to disease. As the nutritional state of many human mothers has improved around the world, the characteristics of their offspring--such as body size and metabolism--have also changed. Responsiveness to their mothers' condition before birth may generally prepare individuals so that they are best suited to the environment forecast by cues available in early life. Paradoxically, however, rapid improvements in nutrition and other environmental conditions may have damaging effects on the health of those people whose parents and grandparents lived in impoverished conditions. A fuller understanding of patterns of human plasticity in response to early nutrition and other environmental factors will have implications for the administration of public health.