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.     

环境规制政策与公共健康——基于环境污染的中介效应检验

为了探究环境规制政策对于环境污染及公共健康的影响,本文基于我国1978至2013年颁布的976条环境规制政策,利用从政策属性力度、政策内容力度两个维度对我国环境规制政策进行量化的数据,构建了针对环境规制政策效果的计量模型,通过将中介效应检验方法引入环境健康经济学分析,检验了环境污染对环境规制政策与公共健康的中介效应.研究结果表明:环境规制政策对公共健康具有促进作用;我国总体的环境规制政策对于防治环境污染产生了一定程度的积极效果;环境规制政策通过对环境污染显著的部分中介效应进而对公共健康产生了促进作用.本研究基于总体环境规制政策文献量化角度考察的"政策-环境-健康"三维动态关系结果,阐明了环境规制政策、环境污染以及公共健康三者的影响传输路径,对于有效评估环境规制政策效果,保障环境质量以及公共健康的可持续提升具有理论借鉴价值.     

黄冈公铁两用长江大桥维修通道施工

维修通道专为桥梁竣工后接收管养单位而设。本文以黄冈桥维修通道为例,从下部基础到上部主体框架乃至附属,全面地叙述了各部位的施工情况及工序控制要点,为以后类似施工提供一定经验。     

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.     

一种有效的网格综合优化算法

提出一种有效的网格综合优化算法。给定一定数量的三维散乱点和一个初始三角网格,使用Hoppe提出的能量函数对网格顶点位置优化,使网格更好的逼近三维散乱点。同时通过分裂网格中度数特别大的节点,使网格的空间形状更加平滑。计算机仿真实验表明,使用该算法能够获得形状良好的网格。     

New Develoopment of the Basic Theory of Extenics

In this paper,the new development of three basic theories of Extenics,incluing basic-element theory,extension set theory and extension logic theory ,has been introduced.And the new theoretical frame of Extenics has also been set forth.     

梯度网络平稳点集合的Hopfield稳定性与吸引域

给出梯度神经网络模型的电路实现 ,证明了网络平稳点集合的全局 Hopfield稳定性。对各个平稳点吸引域的几何估计得到了相关结果 ,这为网络初始输入的数量与方向判定提供了基本的量度参数准则。     

利用有限元法进行塔机起重臂的动态分析

根据塔机起重臂的实际结构 ,建立双弹簧悬吊超静定简支梁的力学模型 ,进行动态分析 ,并以TC80型塔式起重机为例 ,利用有限元方法求解 ,引入梁单元和边界单元 ,得到塔机起重臂的多阶固有频率和主振型 ,其结果对于塔机的动态响应分析具有实际意义     

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.