Distinctive Capability Research Articles

Full-surface deformation measurement of anisotropic tissues under indentation

Inverse finite element-based analysis of soft biological tissues is an important tool to investigate their complex mechanical behavior and to develop physical models for medical simulations. Although there have recently been advances in dealing with the computational complexities of modeling biological materials, the collection of a sufficiently dense set of experimental data to properly capture their typically regionally varying properties still remains a critical issue.The aim of this work was to develop and test an optical system that combines 2D-Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and a novel Fringe Projection method with radial sensitivity (RFP) to test soft biological tissues under in vitro indentation. This system has the distinctive capability of using a single camera to retrieve the shape and 3D deformation of the whole upper surface of the indented sample without any blind measurement areas (with exception of the area under the indenter), with nominal depth and in-plane resolution of 0.05 mm and 0.004 mm, respectively. To test and illustrate the capabilities of the developed DIC/RFP system, the in vitro response to indentation of a homogeneous and isotropic latex foam is presented against the response of a slab of porcine ventricular myocardium, a highly in-homogeneous and anisotropic tissue. Our results illustrate the enhanced capabilities of the developed method to capture asymmetry in deformation with respect to standard indentation tests. This feature, together with the possibility of miniaturizing the system into a hand-held probe, makes this method potentially extendable to in vivo settings, alone or in combination with ultrasound measurements.

A Cyclostationarity-Based Implicit Channel for Cognitive Radio Applications

Cognitive Radio (CR) technology is believed to be a favorable complement to current and future wireless communication systems, due to its distinctive capability in promoting spectrum efficiency. However, as the number of CR applications increases, coexistence has become a vital issue for radio systems in CR networks. In this paper, a Cyclostationarity-based Implicit Channel (CIC) is proposed to assist conflict-avoidance coexistence for radio systems in the CR networks with Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). First, an asymptotic maximum likelihood demodulation scheme is derived analytically based on a bijective-mapping based modulation. Subsequently, the performance of the proposed CIC is investigated via numerical simulations. It is demonstrated that the CIC can work effectively as an information sharing platform. Moreover, the CIC can work as an independent add-on module to the data bearing OFDM schemes, with minimum impact on the existing systems. Therefore, it is a highly attractive solution for delivering coexistence information in CR networks.

A Rapid Extraction of Water Body Features from Antarctic Coastal Oasis Using Very High-Resolution Satellite Remote Sensing Data

Antarctic coastal oases are essential sources of spatially distributed fresh water bodies. Mapping water bodies from remote places, such as polar regions, using traditional surveying method is a laborious and logistically expensive task. A rapid method for extracting and monitoring water bodies in Antarctic coastal oases has a tremendous application in remote sensing. This study discusses the design of a rapid and novel method to extract water body features in Antarctic coastal oasis environment from remotely-sensed images. We devised semiautomatic approach for extracting water body features based on a novel set of normalized difference water index (NDWI) by incorporating high-resolution WorldView-2 (WV-2) panchromatic and multispectral image data. This study highlights and compares the viability of state-of-the-art spectral processing water body extraction approaches with the newly designed NDWI approach. An extensive quantitative evaluation was carried out to test the newly designed NDWI approach for extracting water bodies on Larsemann Hills, eastern Antarctica. The results suggest that the modified NDWI approach render intermediate performance with bias error varying from ∼1 to ∼34 m2 (least amount of misclassified pixels). We also analyzed the distinctive 8-band capability of WV-2 data coupled with semiautomatic extraction methods to compare their reliability in extracting the water body area. The results indicate that the use of the modified NDWI approach on 8-band WV-2 data can significantly improve the semiautomatic extraction of water body features, which can ultimately contribute to an enhanced perceptive of the Antarctic coastal oasis in the context of climate change.

Integrated Marketing Communication Capability and Brand Performance

Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm this research investigates how an integrated marketing communication (IMC) capability drives a brand's financial performance through influencing the effectiveness of communication campaigns and the brand's market-based performance. The results illustrate that an IMC capability has a significant direct effect on campaign effectiveness and significant indirect effect on a brand's market-based performance and financial performance. The study highlights the role of IMC as a key firm-specific capability with significant impact on performance outcomes. Competitively, the more the firm is able to build its distinctive IMC capability, the greater its campaign effectiveness, which in turn leads to superior brand market-based and financial performance.

A novel intelligent protection system for power transformers considering possible electrical faults, inrush current, CT saturation and over-excitation

• Four condition identified in power transformers. • Bayesian classifier has high distinctive capability. • The sensitivity analysis show the effectiveness of approach. • Improved gravitational search algorithm has been introduced. Many electrical events can be easily damage electrical equipments in power systems. Such events or faults can be easily stopped at incipient steps but because of weakness of protecting systems they grow and extend, and consequently impose so many problems and cost to utilities. Power transformers are one of the vital equipments in electrical networks and industries, although many protecting systems have been implemented to prevent dangerous electrical faults, but most of them suffer many problems, such as; time wasting, computational burden, and low speed in response. In addition, whenever patterns of fault signals are similar, their discrimination from each other is so hard. Magnetizing inrush current, internal fault, CT saturation and over excitation are common electrical faults in power transformers so that most of the time are difficult to be separated. In this paper all considerations for designing perfect protecting system for power transformers are considered. Using intelligent approach, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) based method is designed. Indeed, proposed protecting system includes two major sections. In the first section, using Bayesian Classifier (BC) which works based on Bayesian rules and uses knowledge of training data directly; internal fault is detected and is discriminated from three other mentioned faults and normal condition. If the event is not internal fault, second condition of this intelligent system makes a decision. In this section, ANN trained by swarm based algorithms, namely; Improved Gravitational Search Algorithm (IGSA) or Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is used to discriminate magnetizing inrush current, current transformer (CT) saturation and over excitation. Obtained results show that proposed system can easily and precisely follow the electrical faults in power transformer and detect them at incipient steps. Such quick and accurate response helps to save so much energy, financial cost and time.

Crack location in beams by data fusion of fractal dimension features of laser-measured operating deflection shapes

The objective of this study is to develop a reliable method for locating cracks in a beam using data fusion of fractal dimension features of operating deflection shapes. The Katz's fractal dimension curve of an operating deflection shape is used as a basic feature of damage. Like most available damage features, the Katz's fractal dimension curve has a notable limitation in characterizing damage: it is unresponsive to damage near the nodes of structural deformation responses, e.g., operating deflection shapes. To address this limitation, data fusion of Katz's fractal dimension curves of various operating deflection shapes is used to create a sophisticated fractal damage feature, the 'overall Katz's fractal dimension curve'. This overall Katz's fractal dimension curve has the distinctive capability of overcoming the nodal effect of operating deflection shapes so that it maximizes responsiveness to damage and reliability of damage localization. The method is applied to the detection of damage in numerical and experimental cases of cantilever beams with single/multiple cracks, with high-resolution operating deflection shapes acquired by a scanning laser vibrometer. Results show that the overall Katz's fractal dimension curve can locate single/multiple cracks in beams with significantly improved accuracy and reliability in comparison to the existing method. Data fusion of fractal dimension features of operating deflection shapes provides a viable strategy for identifying damage in beam-type structures, with robustness against node effects.

An interplay between 2 signaling pathways: Melatonin-cAMP and IP3–Ca2+ signaling pathways control intraerythrocytic development of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

Plasmodium falciparum spends most of its asexual life cycle within human erythrocytes, where proliferation and maturation occur. Development into the mature forms of P. falciparum causes severe symptoms due to its distinctive sequestration capability. However, the physiological roles and the molecular mechanisms of signaling pathways that govern development are poorly understood. Our previous study showed that P. falciparum exhibits stage-specific spontaneous Calcium (Ca2+) oscillations in ring and early trophozoites, and the latter was essential for parasite development. In this study, we show that luzindole (LZ), a selective melatonin receptor antagonist, inhibits parasite growth. Analyses of development and morphology of LZ-treated P. falciparum revealed that LZ severely disrupted intraerythrocytic maturation, resulting in parasite death. When LZ was added at ring stage, the parasite could not undergo further development, whereas LZ added at the trophozoite stage inhibited development from early into late schizonts. Live-cell Ca2+ imaging showed that LZ treatment completely abolished Ca2+ oscillation in the ring forms while having little effect on early trophozoites. Further, the melatonin-induced cAMP increase observed at ring and late trophozoite stage was attenuated by LZ treatment. These suggest that a complex interplay between IP3–Ca2+ and cAMP signaling pathways is involved in intraerythrocytic development of P. falciparum.

Measuring process capital from a system model perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to seek effective measurement methods that reflect the real value of process capital.Design/methodology/approachFrom a system model perspective, the authors refined the existing knowledge of process measurement by distinguishing three kinds of indicator for the value of process capital: input, output, and the capability to manage process capital. The design of this study, therefore, incorporates a longitudinal analysis of the content of process capital and traces its evolution by attaching a monetary value to activities and assets.FindingsThe tested results reveal that the input measure is a less effective measure for process capital, while the output measure is a valid one for measuring operational and managerial performance of process capital. The capability to manage process capital can predict all dimensions of process capital in both the short‐ and long‐term periods.Practical implicationsA practical view of process capital enhances the current understanding of process capital by highlighting the sustainability of process value and the validity of measuring output and management capability of the process capital. Second, the study results also explain the productivity paradox because of the complexity of the hidden cost of process input and the distinctive capability of organizations in managing technology and complementary resources. Finally, the system view of process capital, from input through process to output of the process capital, with operationalized measures, provides a useful reference for examining intellectual capital.Originality/valueThe findings offer a more robust definition of process capital as a firm's established capability to exploit the knowledge of business processes and organize resources in designing and managing business activities for sustained value.

A Noncanonical Mechanism of Carboxypeptidase Inhibition Revealed by the Crystal Structure of the Tri-Kunitz SmCI in Complex with Human CPA4

The crystal structure of SmCI (Sabellastarte magnifica carboxypeptidase inhibitor) has been determined in complex with human carboxypeptidase A4 (hCPA4). SmCI is composed by three BPTI/Kunitz domains, each one displaying high structural homology and functionality with serine protease inhibitors. Moreover, SmCI possesses a distinctive capability to inhibit metallo-carboxypeptidases, constituting a bifunctional metallocarboxy- and serine protease inhibitor. The structure of the 1:1 complex of SmCI with hCPA4 reveals a noncanonical mechanism of carboxypeptidase inhibition, which surprisingly occurs mainly via the N-terminal segment, which penetrates into the active site groove of the enzyme. Mutagenesis and biochemical analysis confirm the major role of the N-terminal segment in the inhibition of carboxypeptidases. SmCI represents a tri-Kunitz serine protease inhibitor adapted to inhibit metallo-carboxypeptidases and discloses an unusual mechanism of inhibition by the N-terminal segment, emulating the "classical" C-terminal substrate-like inhibition.

Distinctive Potassium-Accumulation Capability of Alligatorweed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) Links to High-Affinity Potassium Transport Facilitated by K+-Uptake Systems

Alligatorweed is well known for its potassium (K+)-accumulating capabilities and its strong resistance to undesired growth conditions. The results of this study revealed properties of K+ accumulation and its contribution to drought stress in alligatorweed. In addition, we attempted to characterize the molecular mechanisms of K+ accumulation in this plant. Alligatorweed plants showed a consistent increase in biomass in response to external K+ concentrations, ranging from micromolar levels up to 50 mmol L−1; K+ was also accumulated accordingly in the plants. The stem was the most K+-accumulating organ, accumulating up to 13% of the K+. Moreover, this K+ superaccumulation caused improved resistance to drought stress. The apparent K+ uptake by the roots showed a typical high-affinity property, and the Michaelis constant increased at higher rates of plant K+ in the starting materials. Furthermore, three putative, K+-uptake transporter complementary DNAs (cDNAs) were isolated from alligatorweed (ApKUP1, ApKUP2, and ApKUP3, respectively) using degenerated primers and rapid amplification of cDNA end techniques. The expression of ApKUP1 and ApKUP3 was predominately localized to the leaves, whereas ApKUP2 was expressed throughout the entire plant. The expression of ApKUP1 and ApKUP3 was stimulated in the stems and roots when K+ was depleted from the external medium. Moreover, ApKUP3 expression was enhanced in the stem in response to abscisic acid treatment and drought stress. In conclusion, our findings provide further insight into the mechanisms of K+ accumulation linked to K+ uptake in alligatorweed.

Case Study on Web Service Composition Based on Multi-Agent System

Rapid development of the Internet and increasing number of available Web services has generated a need for tools and environments facilitating automated composition of atomic Web services into more complex Web processes. However ,reasoning optimization and utilization in such AI related solutions is still an open problem .In this paper, we proposed a novel multi-agent based semantic web service composition model(SWSCPA) which exploits the relationships among different service consumers and providers, together with the corresponding optimization approach to strengthen the effectiveness of Web service composition. We argue that agents and web services are distinct. In our work, agents provide a distinctive additional capability in mediating user goals to determine service invocations. Through the model, an optimization method was proposed based on the substitute relationship and the dependency relationship. The case study and experimental analysis demonstrates the capability of the proposed approach.

Structuration aspects in academic spin-off emergence: A roadmap-based analysis

The influence of the strategic management research rooted conception of firm performance as resulting from the structure–agency duality is clear in the academic spin-off (ASO) literature. However, the interplay of structuration aspects during ASO emergence is still under-researched—though potentially relevant to explain spin-offs’ heterogeneity. Thus, this paper presents a roadmap-based investigation of structure and agency patterns in the emergence of a Brazilian high-tech ASO focused on developing products from carbon nanotubes to industrial applications. Causal cognitive mapping was used to construct seven emergence roadmaps from entrepreneurs' retrospective narratives and the qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) was applied to formally analyze the maps. As a result, the main generative mechanisms of the structuration aspects were identified, leading to evidence-based propositions about the distinctive explanatory capability of: R&D-oriented agency, internal structures and environment–resources combinations. Moreover, the study identified subsets of the original roadmap layers able to consistently limit, in a logically parsimonious way, the empirical diversity of various phenomena considered theoretically relevant aspects of academic spin-off emergence. Hence, the paper illustrates the value, from a scholarly perspective, of incorporating formal techniques to roadmap analyses and identifies complex patterns of structure and agency to be further explored by future investigations.

An empirical investigation of the combinatorial nature of operational practices and operational capabilities

PurposeOperational practices and operational capabilities are critical yet distinct elements in operations strategy. The purpose of this paper is to examine their conceptual differences and explore how they are developed in a portfolio, considering the potential for practices and capabilities to be either compensatory or additive in nature.Design/methodology/approachThe compensatory model argues that the lack of investments in certain practices or capabilities can be offset by higher level of investments in other practices or capabilities. In contrast, the additive model argues that the firm must invest in certain practices or capabilities and that trade‐offs are impossible. The authors examine evidence for these two competing models using an approach borrowed from studies of multi‐attribute consumer preference models and statistical comparisons of non‐nested models.FindingsData for the study were collected from operations managers who were members of a large professional organization. The findings indicate that the effects of operational practices are additive for some operational outcomes and compensatory for others. However, the combinatorial nature of operational capabilities is purely compensatory.Practical implicationsThe results imply that adequate investment in a wide range of operational practices is necessary to enhance operations performance. However, operations units appear to have more flexibility in choosing to develop a distinctive operational capability set.Originality/valueThe study clarifies the different orientation of operational practices and operational capabilities as they contribute to operations strategy. The findings provide guidelines regarding the combinatorial natures of operational practices and operational capabilities. These guidelines have critical strategic implications for resource allocation schemes and how these schemes affect operational performance.

The Technology, Technical Skill, and R&D Capability in Increasing Profitability on Indonesia Telecommunication Services Companies

The decline of customer growth rate, the decline of ARPU rate, and the decline of revenue caused problem of business sustainability for Indonesia telecommunication services companies which majority are small and medium enterprise. Furthermore companies confronted with the progress of new technology telecommunication an ongoing. To achieved high performance, the companies have to maintain distinctive capability which is own resources consist of technology, technical skill, and R&D capability in order to increase profitability. The aims of this paper is to examine the influence of technology, technical skill, and R&D capability toward profitability in Indonesia telecommunication services companies. The research findings that technology, technical skill, and R&D capability influence toward profitability significantly both partially and simultaneously. This is a solution to establish strong small and medium enterprise that support telecommunication business in Indonesia.

Conjoint-Analysis on Development of Integrity Image Management in Public Sector

The development of public integrity management has been the focus of public sectors, which can also be regarded as the marketing organization; the introduction of customer satisfaction and experiential marketing is a new issue. With the development of experiential marketing and “customer orientation”, the customer satisfaction has been the major content of strategic development of service industry which typically implements experiential marketing. The public sectors provide the service to the public, who is regarded as the customer in marketing; the relative measurement of satisfaction directs the quality improvement, distinctive capability and performance reinforcement for organization. This article attempts to establish index model on public satisfaction, through designing the questionnaire by orthogonal design, the conjoint analysis is executed to the current situation and suggests recommendation.

Epithelial Cell Retention of Transcriptionally Active, P3HR-1-Derived Heterogeneous Epstein-Barr Virus DNA with Concurrent Loss of Parental Virus

Deleted, rearranged, heterogeneous (het) Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA with the distinctive capability of disrupting EBV latency has been reported in biopsy samples of EBV-associated tumors whose onset in immunocompetent hosts is characteristically preceded by an antibody response indicative of EBV reactivation. Using the EBV P3HR-1 strain, we have reproduced in long-term culture of SVK epithelial cells an unusual pattern of infection previously observed in a subset of tumor biopsy samples: the persistence of het DNA in the absence of the parental helper virus. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of infected cell subclones indicated the retention of het DNA in an integrated form. Incorporation of an intact het DNA molecule was confirmed by PCR, using primers that framed junctions of the four rearranged EBV DNA segments comprising P3HR-1-derived het DNA. Structural analysis of EBV terminal repeats revealed a banding pattern consistent with the integration of het DNA as a concatemer. Linkage of concatemeric monomers was defined at a nucleotide level, and that junctional sequence was detected in cell-free P3HR-1 virion DNA, confirming that subgenomic het DNA was packaged into infectious particles in a concatemeric configuration. Stable integration into cells having lost the standard viral genome allowed the unambiguous designation of het DNA as the source for viral gene products potentially encoded by both. Continuous expression of the latency-to-lytic switch protein Zta and detection of the BALF4 gene product gB, known to expand the target cell range of standard virus when incorporated at augmented levels into infectious progeny, add to a presumption of het DNA-enhanced pathogenesis in diseases of EBV reactivation.

Development of the analog ASIC for multi-channel readout X-ray CCD camera

We report on the performance of an analog application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) developed aiming for the front-end electronics of the X-ray CCD camera system onboard the next X-ray astronomical satellite, ASTRO-H. It has four identical channels that simultaneously process the CCD signals. Distinctive capability of analog-to-digital conversion enables us to construct a CCD camera body that outputs only digital signals. As the result of the front-end electronics test, it works properly with low input noise of ≤ 30 μ V at the pixel rate below 100 kHz. The power consumption is sufficiently low of ∼ 150 mW / chip . The input signal range of ±20 mV covers the effective energy range of the typical X-ray photon counting CCD (up to 20 keV). The integrated non-linearity is 0.2% that is similar as those of the conventional CCDs in orbit. We also performed a radiation tolerance test against the total ionizing dose (TID) effect and the single event effect. The irradiation test using 60Co and proton beam showed that the ASIC has the sufficient tolerance against TID up to 200 krad, which absolutely exceeds the expected amount of dose during the period of operating in a low-inclination low-earth orbit. The irradiation of Fe ions with the fluence of 5.2×10 8 Ion/cm 2 resulted in no single event latchup (SEL), although there were some possible single event upsets. The threshold against SEL is higher than 1.68 MeV cm 2/mg, which is sufficiently high enough that the SEL event should not be one of major causes of instrument downtime in orbit.

Emerging applications for OCT in the head and neck

Objectives: To describe the current and promising new applications of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) as a helpful tool when imaging the different sites in the head and neck. We used the OCT Niris system, which is the first commercially available OCT device for applications outside the field of ophthalmology. Methods: OCT images were obtained of normal, benign, premalignant and malignant lesions in different areas of the head and neck. The OCT imaging system has a tissue penetration depth of approximately 1-2mm, a scanning range of 2mm and a spatial depth resolution of approximately 10-20μm. Imaging was performed using a flexible probe in two different settings, the outpatient clinic and the operating room. Results: High-resolution cross-sectional images from the larynx were obtained with the patient awake, without the need for general anesthesia, under direct visualization with a flexible fiberoptic endoscope. The OCT probe was inserted through the nasal cavity and placed in slight contact with the laryngeal tissue. In the ears, cholesteatoma was differentiated from inflamed middle ear mucosa by the different hyperintensity. In the neck, normal as well as different pathologies of the thyroid were identified. Conclusions: This system is non invasive and easy to incorporate into the operating room setting as well as the outpatient clinic. It requires minimal set-up and only one person is required to operate the system. OCT has the distinctive capability to obtain highresolution images, and the microanatomy of different sites can be observed. OCT technology has the potential to offer a quick, efficient and reliable imaging method to help the surgeon not only in the operating room but also in the clinical setting to guide surgical biopsies and aid in clinical decision making of different head and neck pathologies, especially those arising form the larynx.

Phages have adapted the same protein fold to fulfill multiple functions in virion assembly

Evolutionary relationships may exist among very diverse groups of proteins even though they perform different functions and display little sequence similarity. The tailed bacteriophages present a uniquely amenable system for identifying such groups because of their huge diversity yet conserved genome structures. In this work, we used structural, functional, and genomic context comparisons to conclude that the head-tail connector protein and tail tube protein of bacteriophage lambda diverged from a common ancestral protein. Further comparisons of tertiary and quaternary structures indicate that the baseplate hub and tail terminator proteins of bacteriophage may also be part of this same family. We propose that all of these proteins evolved from a single ancestral tail tube protein fold, and that gene duplication followed by differentiation led to the specialized roles of these proteins seen in bacteriophages today. Although this type of evolutionary mechanism has been proposed for other systems, our work provides an evolutionary mechanism for a group of proteins with different functions that bear no sequence similarity. Our data also indicate that the addition of a structural element at the N terminus of the lambda head-tail connector protein endows it with a distinctive protein interaction capability compared with many of its putative homologues.

New models for cancer research: human cancer stem cell xenografts

Human cancer stem cells represent promising tools for new approaches to pathway-targeted drug discovery and preclinical screening. Because of their distinctive capability to recapitulate the development of the original tumors in vivo, the study of human cancer stem cells (CSCs) largely relies on models of xenograft transplantation into immunodeficient mice. In this frame, immunity and microenvironment-related issues need careful consideration. Here we shortly revise present knowledge on xenograft-related aspects of human CSCs studies.