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.     

科技创新获利能力形成机理研究

科技创新已成为影响企业获利和社会经济增长的关键性因素。在对科技创新获利能力的形成动因厦路径进行详细分析的基础上，对其形成过程中的规律及效果进行了深入的研究与评价．并运用指标体系法构建起科技创新获利能力形成评价体系．对科技创新获利能力的增强提供了理论依据与指导．具有一定的前瞻性和可行性。     

浙江省农业现代化与农村经济发展的灰色关联分析

农业现代化是发展农村经济，提高农民收入的重要条件，本文运用灰色关联分析方法研究了浙江省农业现代化与农村经济发展的关系，通过研究，发现农业电气化水平对农村经济发展的影响最大，其次是机械化水平，而农田灌溉对农村经济发展的影响最小，最后根据灰色关联分析的结果，提出了对农业现代化建设的若干建议。     

Empirical Test for Earnings Management of Top Managers＇ Change in Listed Companies

Top managers play a significant role on business decision in listed companies. The frequency of top managers＇ change is rather high all along. Whether those listed companies which top managers changed can really improve performances？ In this paper, we will discuss whether listed companies improve the financial index through earning management and give some advice on top managers＇ change in listed companies in China.     

模糊关系运算的传递性

详细讨论模糊关系一元及二元运算的传递性性质。首先给定一个模糊关系具有某种传递性性质，讨论其余关系、逆关系、对偶关系的传递性性质；然后基于两个模糊关系具有某类传递性，讨论它僮的模并、模交运算的传递性性质。     

建构高职毕业生质量评价体系的方式

通过构建高职毕业生质量评价体系，对毕业生质量进行评价，可以了解到毕业生在工作中的表现、取得的成绩、存在的问题，以及用人单位对毕业生质量的满意程度等，以便为高职院校的教育改革提供信息，最终保证并促进高职毕业生整体质量的提高。     

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.