New product development team intelligence: Antecedents and consequences

Our study investigated the effect of team knowledge on new product development (NPD). By investigating 207 NPD projects, we found that the declarative and procedural knowledge of the team and their use of IT had a positive influence on the team's knowledge base; and that the higher the functional diversity of the project team, the greater their overall knowledge. We also found that team knowledge positively impacted new product creativity and success in the market place.     

A learning classifier system for mazes with aliasing clones

Maze problems represent a simplified virtual model of the real environment and can be used for developing core algorithms of many real-world application related to the problem of navigation. Learning Classifier Systems (LCS) are the most widely used class of algorithms for reinforcement learning in mazes. However, LCSs best achievements in maze problems are still mostly bounded to non-aliasing environments, while LCS complexity seems to obstruct a proper analysis of the reasons for failure. Moreover, there is a lack of knowledge of what makes a maze problem hard to solve by a learning agent. To overcome this restriction we try to improve our understanding of the nature and structure of maze environments. In this paper we describe a new LCS agent that has a simpler and more transparent performance mechanism. We use the structure of a predictive LCS model, strip out the evolutionary mechanism, simplify the reinforcement learning procedure and equip the agent with the ability to Associative Perception, adopted from psychology. We then assess the new LCS with Associative Perception on an extensive set of mazes and analyse the results to discover which features of the environments play the most significant role in the learning process. We identify a particularly hard feature for learning in mazes, aliasing clones, which arise when groups of aliasing cells occur in similar patterns in different parts of the maze. We discuss the impact of aliasing clones and other types of aliasing on learning algorithms.     

A wireless embedded tongue tactile biofeedback system for balance control

We describe the architecture of an original biofeedback system for balance improvement for fall prevention and present results of a feasibility study. The underlying principle of this biofeedback consists of providing supplementary information related to foot sole pressure distribution through a wireless embedded tongue-placed tactile output device.Twelve young healthy adults voluntarily participated in this experiment. They were asked to stand as immobile as possible with their eyes closed in two conditions of no-biofeedback and biofeedback. Centre of foot pressure (CoP) displacements were recorded using a force platform. Results showed reduced CoP displacements in the biofeedback relative to the no-biofeedback condition.On the whole, the present findings evidence the effectiveness of this system in improving postural control on young healthy adults. Further investigations are needed to strengthen the potential clinical value of this device.     

Toward the Proteome of the Human Peripheral Blood Eosinophil

Eosinophils (EOSs) are granular leukocytes that have significant roles in many inflammatory and immunoregulatory responses, especially asthma and allergic diseases. We have undertaken a fairly comprehensive proteomic analysis of purified peripheral blood EOSs from normal human donors primarily employing 2‐DE with protein spot identification by MALDI‐MS. Protein subfractionation methods employed included IEF (Zoom^® Fractionator) and subcellular fractionation using differential protein solubilization. We have identified 3141 proteins, which had Mascot expectation scores of 10^?3 or less. Of these 426 were unique and non‐redundant of which 231 were novel proteins not previously reported to occur in EOSs. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis showed that some 70% of the non‐redundant proteins could be subdivided into categories that are clearly related to currently known EOS biological activities. Cytoskeletal and associated proteins predominated among the proteins identified. Extensive protein posttranslational modifications were evident, many of which have not been previously reported that reflected the dynamic character of the EOS. This data set of eosinophilic proteins will prove valuable in comparative studies of disease versus normal states and for studies of gender differences and polymorphic variation among individuals.     

Analysing inconsistent first-order knowledgebases

It is well-known that knowledgebases may contain inconsistencies. We provide a framework of measures, based on a first-order four-valued logic, to quantify the inconsistency of a knowledgebase. This allows for the comparison of the inconsistency of diverse knowledgebases that have been represented as sets of first-order logic formulae. We motivate the approach by considering some examples of knowledgebases for representing and reasoning with ontological knowledge and with temporal knowledge. Analysing ontological knowledge (including the statements about which concepts are subconcepts of other concepts, and which concepts are disjoint) can be problematical when there is a lack of knowledge about the instances that may populate the concepts, and analysing temporal knowledge (such as temporal integrity constraints) can be problematical when considering infinite linear time lines isomorphic to the natural numbers or the real numbers or more complex structures such as branching time lines. We address these difficulties by providing algebraic measures of inconsistency in first-order knowledgebases.     

Modeling the performance of an integrating-cavity absorption meter: theory and calculations for a spherical cavity

A mathematical model for photon behavior within a spherical integrating-cavity absorption meter (ICAM) that does not depend on the assumption of a homogeneous energy density within the cavity has been developed. Explicit expressions for the proportion of emitted or reflected photons that survive a single transit across the cavity, the average number of collisions with the wall per photon, and the average path length per photon, are derived for an absorbing nonscattering medium. Monte Carlo modeling shows that operation of the ICAM is essentially unaffected by scattering, in agreement with the experimental observations of Fry et al. [Appl. Opt. 31, 2055 (1992)]. Calculations for the performance of the absorption meter as a function of the cavity diameter, the absorption coefficient of the medium, and the reflectivity of the cavity are presented.     

An introduction to TMN

The Telecommunication Management Network standard (ITU-T M.3010), the Network Magagement Forum OMNIPoint program, and many related developments are summarized. TMN and OMNIPoint are presented as a means to achieve integrated network management in the telecommunications industry by calling for all management systems to include an interoperable interface which permits each system to be integrated into a larger management hierarchy. By means of such interfaces, hierarchical integration of management systems can be achieved within the administration of a single service provider. Interoperable interfaces also make possible the interconnection of multiple service providers and the connection of customer to service provider, resulting in the possibility of industry wide integration of management infrastructures at all levels.     

Reaching the Fundamental Limitation in CO2 Reduction to CO with Single Atom Catalysts

The electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) to value-added chemicals with renewable electricity is a promising method to decarbonize parts of the chemical industry. Recently, single metal atoms in nitrogen-doped carbon (MNC) have emerged as potential electrocatalysts for CO₂RR to CO with high activity and faradaic efficiency, although the reaction limitation for CO₂RR to CO is unclear. To understand the comparison of intrinsic activity of different MNCs, two catalysts are synthesized through a decoupled two-step synthesis approach of high temperature pyrolysis and low temperature metalation (Fe or Ni). The highly meso-porous structure results in the highest reported electrochemical active site utilization based on in situ nitrite stripping; up to 59±6% for NiNC. Ex situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) confirms the penta-coordinated nature of the active sites. The catalysts are amongst the most active in the literature for CO₂ reduction to CO. The density functional theory calculations (DFT) show that their binding to the reaction intermediates approximates to that of Au surfaces. However, it is found that the turnover frequencies (TOFs) of the most active catalysts for CO evolution converge, suggesting a fundamental ceiling to the catalytic rates.     

Freestanding hierarchical porous carbon film derived from hybrid nanocellulose for high-power supercapacitors

Nanocellulose is a sustainable and eco-friendly nanomaterial derived from renewable biomass.In this study,we utilized the structural advantages of two types of nanocellulose and fabricated freestanding carbonized hybrid nanocellulose films as electrode materials for supercapacitors.The long cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) formed a macroporous framework,and the short cellulose nanocrystals were assembled around the CNF framework and generated micro/mesopores.This two-level hierarchical porous structure was successfully preserved during carbonization because of a thin atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al2O3 conformal coating,which effectively prevented the aggregation of nanocellulose.These carbonized,partially graphitized nanocellulose fibers were interconnected,forming an integrated and highly conductive network with a large specific surface area of 1,244 m2·g-1.The two-level hierarchical porous structure facilitated fast ion transport in the film.When tested as an electrode material with a high mass loading of 4 mg·cm-2 for supercapacitors,the hierarchical porous carbon film derived from hybrid nanocellulose exhibited a specific capacitance of 170 F.g-1and extraordinary performance at high current densities.Even at a very high current of 50 A·g-1,it retained 65％ of its original specific capacitance,which makes it a promising electrode material for high-power applications.     

Stabilization and tracking in the nonholonomic integrator via sliding modes

In this paper we use an approach based on sliding mode control to design a feedback which stabilizes the origin for the so-called nonholonomic integrator or Heisenberg system, a particular case of a canonical class of nonlinear driftless control systems of the form

which fail Brockett's necessary condition for the existence of a smooth stabilizing feedback.