An analysis of factors improving technology roadmap credibility: A communications theory assessment of roadmapping processes

In recent years, many industrial firms have been able to use roadmapping as an effective process methodology for projecting future technology and for coordinating technology planning and strategy. Firms potentially realize a number of benefits in deploying technology roadmapping (TRM) processes. Roadmaps provide information identifying which new technologies will meet firms' future product demands, allowing companies to leverage R&D investments through choosing appropriately out of a range of alternative technologies. Moreover, the roadmapping process serves an important communication tool helping to bring about consensus among roadmap developers, as well as between participants brought in during the development process, who may communicate their understanding of shared corporate goals through the roadmap. However, there are few conceptual accounts or case studies have made the argument that roadmapping processes may be used effectively as communication tools. This paper, therefore, seeks to elaborate a theoretical foundation for identifying the factors that must be considered in setting up a roadmap and for analyzing the effect of these factors on technology roadmap credibility as perceived by its users. Based on the survey results of 120 different R&D units, this empirical study found that firms need to explore further how they can enable frequent interactions between the TRM development team and TRM participants. A high level of interaction will improve the credibility of a TRM, with communication channels selected by the organization also positively affecting TRM credibility. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.

Separation and purification of ovulation-inducing factors in the seminal plasma of the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus)

Ovulation in the Bactrian camel depends upon ovulation-inducing factors in the seminal plasma. The present study was conducted to isolate and purify the bioactive fractions from the seminal plasma of these camels. The seminal plasma was fractionated by anion-exchange chromatography, and six fractions were obtained. The bioactive potential of each fraction was estimated from its effect on rat pituitary tissue cultured in vitro and by the effect of an intramuscular injection of the fraction into female camels in vivo. Both the third fraction (F3) and the fifth fraction (F5) stimulated the release of LH in vitro and in vivo. In addition, female camels ovulated within 48 h after intramuscular injection of F3. However, neither F3 nor F5 had any significant effect on the secretion of FSH, either in vitro or in vivo. When F3 was further fractionated into four subfractions, the third subfraction (F3-3) still stimulated the in vitro release of LH, but not of FSH. An attempt to further purify the ovulation-inducing factors in F3-3 failed owing to the similarity of the molecular characters.

H∞ design procedure using robust stabilization of normalized coprime factors

A two-stage H∞-based design procedure is described which uses a normalized coprime factor approach to robust stabilization of linear systems. A loop-shaping procedure is incroporated to allow the specification of performance characteristics. Theoretical justification of this technique and an outline of the design methodology are given.

Factors affecting seismic response of submarine slopes

The response of submerged slopes on the continental shelf to seismic or storm loading has become an important element in the risk assessment for offshore structures and "local" tsunami hazards worldwide. The geological profile of these slopes typically includes normally consolidated to lightly overconsolidated soft cohesive soils with layer thickness ranging from a few meters to hundreds of meters. The factor of safety obtained from pseudo-static analyses is not always a useful measure for evaluating the slope response, since values less than one do not necessarily imply slope failure with large movements of the soil mass. This paper addresses the relative importance of different factors affecting the response of submerged slopes during seismic loading. The analyses use a dynamic finite element code which includes a constitutive law describing the anisotropic stress-strain-strength behavior of normally consolidated to lightly overconsolidated clays. The model also incorporates anisotropic hardening to describe the effect of different shear strain and stress histories as well as bounding surface principles to provide realistic descriptions of the accumulation of the plastic strains and excess pore pressure during successive loading cycles. The paper presents results from parametric site response analyses on slope geometry and layering, soil material parameters, and input ground motion characteristics. The predicted maximum shear strains, permanent deformations, displacement time histories and maximum excess pore pressure development provide insight of slope performance during a seismic event. © 2006 Author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Application of axial discontinuity factors for high conversion water reactors

The paper shows that generating cross sections using three-dimensional geometry and application of axial discontinuity factors are essential requirements for obtaining accurate prediction of criticality and zone average reaction rates in highly heterogeneous RBWR-type systems using computer codes based on diffusion theory approximation. The same methodology as presented here will be used to generate discontinuity factors for each axial interface between fuel assembly zones to ensure preservation of reaction rates in each zone and global multiplication factor. The use of discontinuity factors and three-dimensional cross sections may allow for a coarser energy group structure which is desirable to simplify and speed up transient calculations.

Axial discontinuity factors for the nodal diffusion analysis of high conversion BWR cores

High conversion LWRs concepts typically rely on a heterogeneous core configuration, where fissile zones are interspersed with fertile blanket zones in order to achieve a high conversion ratio. Modeling such a heterogeneous structure of these cores represents a significant challenge to the conventional reactor analysis methods. It was recently suggested to overcome such difficulties, in particular, for the case of axially heterogeneous reduced moderation BWRs, by introducing an additional set of discontinuity factors in axial direction at the interfaces between fissile and fertile fuel assembly zones. However, none of the existing nodal diffusion core simulators have the capability of accounting for discontinuity of homogeneous nodal fluxes in axial direction since the fuel composition of conventional LWRs is much more axially uniform. In this work, we modified the nodal diffusion code DYN3D by introducing such a capability. The new version of the code was tested on a series of reduced moderation BWR cases with Th-U233 and U-Pu-MA fuel. The library of few-group homogenized cross sections and the data required for the calculation of discontinuity factors were generated using the Monte Carlo transport code Serpent. The results obtained with the modified version of DYN3D were compared with the reference Monte Carlo solutions and were found to be in good agreement. The current analysis demonstrates that high conversion LWRs can in principle be modeled using existing nodal diffusion core simulators. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

FACTORS INFLUENCING CHLOROPHYLL A CONCENTRATION IN THE YANGTZE-CONNECTED LAKES

To determine the environmental factors influencing C, phytoplankton chlorophyll a (Ch1 a), field investigations 4 were conducted in three river-connected lakes (Dongting Lake, Poyang Lake and Shijiu Lake) of the Yangtze floodplain in 2004. Results showed that the average Chi a concentration in these lakes ranged from 2.98 to 3.65 mg m(-3). The major factors influencing Chl a in lentic and lotic regions were total phosphorus (TP) and water velocity (U), respectively. Multiple relationships including total nitrogen (log(10)TN) and water depth (log(10)Z) were established. Further analyses found that the absolute Chi a and slope of log(10)Chl a=f (log(10)TP) in the river-connected lakes were obviously lower than those in the river-isolated lakes. This suggests the river-lake connectivity can significantly modify relationship between TP and chlorophyll a concentration.

Factors affecting leaf morphology: a case study of Ranunculus natans C. A. Mey. (Ranunculaceae) in the arid zone of northwest China

In order to examine the role of environmental factors affecting foliar morphology, we performed a case study of leaf morphological variation of Ranunculus natans found in the arid zone of northwest China. We found that foliar phenotypic variation differed significantly between populations. We described substantial positive correlations between altitude and leaf area (LA) as well as leaf perimeter (LP), and also between longitude and number of teeth, along with dissection index (DI). The pH, conductivity, and salinity of the environment caused a significant decrease in both LA and LP. Ranked in terms of their impacts on leaf morphology, the six selected factors were: altitude > pH > conductivity > salinity > longitude > latitude. We found that foliar morphological variations are functional responses to water-quantity factors (e.g., altitude and longitude at regional scales) and water-availability relation factors (e.g., pH, conductivity, and salinity at local scales), rather than to temperature-relation factors (latitude). Therefore, altitude and longitude, along with pH, conductivity, and salinity, are the main factors that significantly influence foliar morphology in the arid zone of China. We found that main factors played major roles in plant phenotypic plasticity in a complex ecosystem, although different combinations and interactions of environmental and geographical factors in each local environment may obscure the general trends in trait changes along environmental gradients.

Relationships between Testate Amoebae Assemblages (Protozoa) and Geographic Factors in Yunnan Plateau Lakes, China

Knowledge of the effect of geographic factors on the assemblages of protozoan testate amoebae is still limited, despite there having been a number of studies on this fauna. We applied statistical analyses to data on the distribution of testate amoebae from nine major lakes in the Yunnan Plateau, southwest China. Cluster analysis, based on community structure, separated the lakes into two groups - the oligotrophic/mesotrophic lakes and the hypercutrophic lakes - confirming the idea that the testate amoebae assemblages in lakes are closely related to the trophic status. Additionally, within the oligotrophic/mesotrophic lakes, there was distinct geographic clustering. Linear regression analysis and the Mantel test both revealed that similarity of species composition decreased with increasing geographic distance among the oligotrophic/mesotrophic lakes.

Genetic Diversity of the Plankton Community and Its Relation to Taxonomic Composition and Environmental Factors in Lake Xiliang

Genetic diversity of the plankton community in Lake Xiliang was depicted by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) fingerprinting. Seventy-seven bands (33 of 16S rDNA and 44 of 18S rDNA) were detected, sixty-two planktonic taxa were identified in six sample stations in November 2007. The most common taxa were Ceratium hirundinella, Bdelloidea, Keratella cochlearis, Polyarthra trigla, and copepod nauplii. Based on environmental factors, taxonomic composition, and PCR-DGGE fingerprinting, unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages clustering and principal components analysis were used to analyze habitat similarities. There was distinct spatial heterogeneity in Lake Xiliang, and the genetic diversity of the plankton community was closely related to taxonomic composition and environmental factors.