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.     

家用燃气器具安全性分析

文章从产品质量、安装维修、安全使用等方面对家用燃气器具的安全性进行了分析。     

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.     

湖南山丘区景观生态系统退化特征初探

湖南山地丘陵面积约占全省土地总面积的２／３，是省域最重要的景观生态系统类型。自然状态下，湖南山丘区景观生态系统中景观组分性质优良，景观要素组合协调，景观生态过程稳定，景观功能较强。然而，在长期的人类活动影响之下，湖南山丘区景观生态系统显现出明显的退化特征，具有表现为景观要素组合关系改变、景观组分性质劣化、景观生态过程逆转、景观生态系统抗性降低。     

奥氏体化温度对钢中马氏体组织形态的影响

用光学显微术研究了奥氏体化温度对３０、４０、６０、Ｔ８、Ｔ１２钢马氏体组织形态的影响。结果表明，奥氏体化温度越高，获得板条马氏体的量越多，奥氏体化温度超过某个临界值时，中高碳钢均可获得全部板条马氏体组织。钢的含碳量越高，获得全部板条马氏体的临界奥氏体温度越高。在该温度以下淬火时，３０、４０、６０钢先形成板条马氏体，后形成片状马氏体；Ｔ８、Ｔ１２钢先形成片状马氏体，后形成板条马氏体     

《工业锅炉》课堂教学的方法与体会

文章通过对《工业锅炉》课程教材的分析 ,针对性地提出了在《工业锅炉》教学过程中教学方法的重要性。     

控制工程造价关键在决策和设计阶段

控制工程造价关键在于决策和设计阶段。文章分析了目前设计方面存在的问题，并提出解决办法。