Statecharts for Distributed Product Data Management System Modelling

Product data management (PDM) has been accepted as an important tool for the manufacturing industries. In recent years, more and mor e researches have been conducted in the development of PDM. Their research area s include system design, integration of object-oriented technology, data distri bution, collaborative and distributed manufacturing working environment, secur ity, and web-based integration. However, there are limitations on their rese arches. In particular, they cannot cater for PDM in dis...     

Leaning Towards Agile in 21~(st) Century

Background: During the last fifteen years there ha s been an increased drive for organisations to reduce costs. From a production po int, this has often centred on lean manufacturing and JIT waste elimination proc esses. However, in 1991, the Iaccocca Institute Bethlehem P.A commissioned a re port specifically to analyse the changing nature of the marketplace. As a result , in the following year, the Agile Manufacturing Forum was initiated and the ter m ‘agile or responsive manufacturing‘ was first intr...     

Coalignment of vimentin intermediate filaments with microtubules depends on kinesin.

Intermediate filaments in most types of cultured cells coalign with microtubules. Depolymerization of microtubules results in collapse of vimentin and desmin intermediate filaments to the nucleus where they form a perinuclear cap. Collapse can also be induced by microinjection of antibodies against intermediate filament or microtubule proteins. Thus, two filament systems interact with each other. But the molecules mediating this interaction are unknown. One of the candidates for this role is a microtubule motor kinesin. Recent data showed that kinesin is involved in the plus end-directed movement of the membranous organelles along microtubules such as radial extension of lysosomes in macrophages and centrifugal movement of pigment in melanophores. Here we report that injection of the anti-kinesin antibody into human fibroblasts results in the redistribution of intermediate filaments to a tight perinuclear aggregate but had no effect on the distribution of microtubules. Thus, kinesin is involved not only in organelle movement but also in interaction of the two major cytoskeletal systems, intermediate filaments and microtubules.     

Aspirin-like drugs may block pain independently of prostaglandin synthesis inhibition

Summary Using flurbiprofen, a chiral anti-inflammatory and analgesic 2-arylpropionic acid derivative, the enantiomers of which are not converted to each other (less than 5%) in rats or man, we obtained evidence that prostaglandin synthesis inhibition is primarily mediating the anti-inflammatory activity but prostaglandin synthesis independent mechanisms contribute to the analgesic effects. Thus, the S-form inhibited prostaglandin synthesis, inflammation and nociception in rats. The R-form had much less effect on prostaglandin synthesis and did not affect inflammation. It did, however, block nociception in rats almost as potently as the S-form. S-flurbiprofen, in contrast to the R-form, was clearly ulcerogenic in the gastrointestinal mucosa. These results indicate additional molecular mechanisms of analgesia and suggest the use of R-arylpropionic acids as analgesics.     

FROM MANUFACTURING SCHEDULING TO SUPPLY CHAIN COORDINATION：THE CONTROL OF COMPLEXITY AND UNCERTAINTY

With time-based competition and rapid technology advancements, effective manufacturingscheduling and supply chain coordination are critical to quickly respond to changing marketconditions. These problems, however, are difficult in view of inherent complexity and variousuncertainties involved. Based on a series of results by the authors, decomposition and coordination byusing Lagrangian relaxation is identified in this paper as an effective way to control complexity anduncertainty.A manufacturing scheduling problem is first formulated within the job shop context withuncertain order arrivals, processing times, due dates, and part priorities as a separable optimizationproblem. A solution methodology that combines Lagrangian relaxation, stochastic dynamicprogramming, and heuristics is developed. Method improvements to effectively solve large problemsare also highlighted. To extend manufacturing scheduling within a factory to coordinate autonomicmembers across chains of suppliers, a decentralized supply chai     

Development and function of T cells in mice rendered interleukin-2 deficient by gene targeting.

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a lymphocytotropic hormone which is thought to have a key role in the immune response of mammalian cells. It is produced by a subpopulation of activated T-lymphocytes and acts in vitro as the principal auto- and paracrine T-cell growth factor (for reviews see refs 1-3). IL-2 is, however, not the sole T-cell growth factor, nor does it act exclusively on T cells, also promoting growth of NK cells and differentiation of B cells. A role for IL-2 in T-cell development has been postulated but remains controversial. Here we test the requirement for IL-2 in vivo using IL-2-deficient mice generated by targeted recombination. We find that mice homozygous for the IL-2 gene mutation are normal with regard to thymocyte and peripheral T-cell subset composition, but that a dysregulation of the immune system is manifested by reduced polyclonal in vitro T-cell responses and by dramatic changes in the isotype levels of serum immunoglobulins.