A product configuration analysis method for emotional design using a personal construct theory

Identifying emotion-related product attributes (perceived by consumers) is no easy task in the realm of emotional design. Conventionally, this process relies heavily on the researchers who conduct the Kansei experiments selecting product attributes such as color, form, and texture for Kansei studies. However, in so doing, other product attributes that also play a vital role in product-emotion associations might be neglected by the researchers. More importantly, the identification of product attributes should be based on consumer's point of view (and feelings). Accordingly, a personal construct theory based product configuration analysis method is proposed in this work. The method develops the customer's mind map for each Kansei tag in order to capture replications of candidate products. A means-value chain is used to generate targets which are later compared with candidate products by consumers. The comparison results could suggest product attributes that are relevant to the desired Kansei. The proposed approach is presented and illustrated using a case study of Graffiti designs on notebooks. Results obtained are discussed. It appears that the proposed method is promising in identifying product attributes with desired Kansei impacts.     

Longitudinal pathways linking family factors and sibling relationship qualities to adolescent substance use and sexual risk behaviors.

This 3-wave, 5-year longitudinal study tested the contributions of family contextual factors and sibling relationship qualities to younger siblings' substance use, sexual risk behaviors, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted disease. More than 220 non-White families participated (67% Latino and 33% African American), all of which involved a younger sibling (133 girls and 89 boys; mean age=13.6 years at Time 1) and an older sister (mean age=17 years at Time 1). Results from structural equation latent growth curve modeling indicated that qualities of the sibling relationship (high older sister power, low warmth/closeness, and low conflict) mediated effects from several family risks (mothers' single parenting, older sisters' teen parenting, and family's receipt of aid) to younger sibling outcomes. Model results were generally stronger for sister-sister pairs than for sister-brother pairs. Findings add to theoretical models that emphasize the role of family and parenting processes in shaping sibling relationships, which, in turn, influence adolescent outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A New Bivariate Control Chart to Monitor the Multivariate Process Mean and Variance Simultaneously

In this article a new control chart which enables a simultaneous monitoring of both the process mean and process variance of a multivariate data will be proposed. A thorough discussion in identifying whether the process mean or variability shifts is also given. Simulation studies will be performed to study the performance of the new chart by means of its average run length (ARL) profiles. Numerous examples are also given to show how the new chart is put to work in real situations.     

Stromelysin-3 is induced in tumor/stroma cocultures and inactivated via a tumor-specific and basic fibroblast growth factor-dependent mechanism

Stromelysin-3 (STR-3) is a recently characterized matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) with a unique pattern of expression and substrate specificity. Unlike other MMPs, STR-3 is consistently and dramatically overexpressed by multiple epithelial malignancies, including carcinomas of the breast, lung, colon, head and neck, and skin. Recent studies suggest that STR-3 promotes the local establishment of epithelial malignancies, contributing to tumor cell survival and implantation in host tissues; however, STR-3's mechanism of action remains undefined. STR-3 is a stromal cell product, prompting speculation that infiltrating stromal cells secrete STR-3 in response to tumor-derived factors. To explore this possibility, we developed a tumor/"stroma" coculture assay in which non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines were grown on confluent monolayers of normal pulmonary fibroblasts. In these tumor/stroma cocultures, NSCLCs stimulate normal pulmonary fibroblasts to secrete STR-3 and release extracellular basic fibroblast growth factor. Thereafter, STR-3 is processed at a unique internal sequence via a basic fibroblast growth factor- and MMP-dependent mechanism to a previously unidentified 35-kDa protein that lacks enzymatic activity. 35-kDa STR-3 is the most abundant STR-3 protein in tumor/stroma cocultures and is only detected when normal pulmonary fibroblasts are cultured with malignant bronchial epithelial cells. Therefore, the tumor-specific processing of STR-3 to the 35-kDa protein is likely to be an important regulatory mechanism.     

Population based randomized study of uptake and yield of screening by flexible sigmoidoscopy compared with screening by faecal occult blood testing

OBJECTIVES: To compare the feasibility of mass screening by flexible sigmoidoscopy with screening by faecal occult blood testing (Haemoccult) and both tests combined. DESIGN: Patients were randomised to screening by flexible sigmoidoscopy, faecal blood testing, or both tests. The flexible sigmoidoscopy examinations were performed by a general practitioner. SETTING: General practice. SUBJECTS: 3744 patients aged 50-75 years. Main outcome measures: Uptake, positive results, detection of neoplasia, complications, and recall for diagnostic colonoscopy. RESULTS: Uptake was significantly higher in the flexible sigmoidoscopy group (46.6%) than in the faecal blood test group (31.6%; P<0.001) or than in the group having both tests (30.1%; P<0.001). Telephone reminders increased uptake of sigmoidoscopy to 61.8%. In total, 1116 sigmoidoscopy examinations were performed without major complication. Polyps were found in 19. 3% (95% confidence interval 17.0% to 21.6%) but only 6.8% (5.3% to 8. 3%) had adenomas and 2.4% (1.5% to 3.3%) "high risk" adenomas. Cancer was detected in four subjects. The faecal blood test yielded positive results in 0.8% (0.2% to 1.4%) but missed at least one cancer and 30 cases of adenoma which were found by sigmoidoscopy in the combined group. Use of histological criteria-shown elsewhere to correlate with future risk of colorectal cancer-to select "positive" patients could reduce recall for diagnostic colonoscopy from about 20% to less than 5%. CONCLUSIONS: Some of the predicted obstacles to screening with flexible sigmoidoscopy are surmountable. Clear evidence relating to efficacy will be obtained only from a randomised controlled trial.     

Non-redundant sequential rules—Theory and algorithm

A sequential rule expresses a relationship between two series of events happening one after another. Sequential rules are potentially useful for analyzing data in sequential format, ranging from purchase histories, network logs and program execution traces.In this work, we investigate and propose a syntactic characterization of a non-redundant set of sequential rules built upon past work on compact set of representative patterns. A rule is redundant if it can be inferred from another rule having the same support and confidence. When using the set of mined rules as a composite filter, replacing a full set of rules with a non-redundant subset of the rules does not impact the accuracy of the filter.We consider several rule sets based on composition of various types of pattern sets—generators, projected-database generators, closed patterns and projected-database closed patterns. We investigate the completeness and tightness of these rule sets. We characterize a tight and complete set of non-redundant rules by defining it based on the composition of two pattern sets. Furthermore, we propose a compressed set of non-redundant rules in a spirit similar to how closed patterns serve as a compressed representation of a full set of patterns. Lastly, we propose an algorithm to mine this compressed set of non-redundant rules. A performance study shows that the proposed algorithm significantly improves both the runtime and compactness of mined rules over mining a full set of sequential rules.     

Global finite-time stabilisation for a class of stochastic nonlinear systems by output feedback

In this paper, the problem of global finite-time stabilisation by output feedback is considered for a class of stochastic nonlinear systems. First, based on homogeneous systems theory and the adding a power integrator technique, a homogeneous reduced order observer and control law are constructed in a recursive manner for the nominal system. Then, the homogeneous domination approach is used to deal with the nonlinearities in drift and diffusion terms; it is shown that the proposed output-feedback control law can guarantee that the closed-loop system is global finite-time stable in probability. Finally, simulation examples are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

A multivariate synthetic double sampling T2 control chart

In this article, we propose a multivariate synthetic double sampling T² chart to monitor the mean vector of a multivariate process. The proposed chart combines the double sampling (DS) T² chart and the conforming run length (CRL) chart. On the whole, the proposed chart performs better than its standard counterparts, namely, the Hotelling’s T², DS T², and synthetic T² charts, in terms of the average run length (ARL) and average number of observations to sample (ANOS). The proposed chart also outperforms the multivariate exponentially weighted moving average (MEWMA) chart for moderate and large shifts but the latter is more sensitive than the former towards small shifts. For a variable sample size chart, like the synthetic DS T² chart, ANOS is a more meaningful performance measure than ARL. ANOS relates to the actual number of observations sampled but ARL merely deals with the number of sampling stages taken. Interpretation based on ARL is more complicated as either n₁ or n₁ + n₂ observations are taken in each sampling stage.     

Optimum process mean and manufacturing quantity settings for serial production system under the quality loss and rectifying inspection plan

In 1994, Al-Sultan presented a single sampling plan applied in determining the optimum process mean for two machines in a serial production system. However, Al-Sultan did not consider the quality cost for the product within the specification limits, pointed out that the non-conforming items in the sample of accepted lot is replaced or eliminated from the lot, and proposed an integrated model with production and quality. In this study, the author considers the problem of quality loss for the modified Al-Sultan’s model with k machines in a serial production system based on a single sampling rectifying inspection plan. Taguchi’s symmetric quadratic quality loss function is applied in evaluating the product quality. Then, the author further proposes a modified and integrated economic manufacturing quantity (EMQ) model based on the application of the modified Al-Sultan’s model for obtaining the maximum expected total profit of product per unit of time. The numerical results show that the price of an accepted products sold has the most important effect on both the process means and the expected total profit per unit of time.     

3D集成缺乏设计和测试支持

近日在加州Burlingame举行的“半导体集成和封装3D架构会议”上，来自北卡微电子咨询公司（MCNC）的咨询师PhilipGarrou重点介绍了该技术的起源和面临的挑战，并指出，在1980到2000年间微缩化的趋势已经开始转向3D架构。