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Specific Products (specific + products)
Selected AbstractsThe Product Piracy Conflict Matrix , Finding Solutions to Prevent Product PiracyCREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2009Günther Schuh Product and brand piracy has developed into a worldwide mass phenomenon. Affected companies are not only burdened with commercial losses such as lost sales volume and lower sales prices, but also by decreasing brand value and company reputation, lower licence revenues and, finally, costs for counteracting product piracy. Companies are gradually facing up to the challenge and taking action. Besides legal measures, an increasing number of firms are also willing to implement strategic and technical measures in their organizations or products respectively. A number of non-legal mechanisms have recently been identified, and efforts to structure these mechanisms are in progress. However, so far systematic, methodological guidance in matching mechanisms with specific products and corporate boundary conditions is basically non-existent. Focusing on this issue, the paper introduces a new TRIZ-based method to create solutions concerning product piracy. The so-called Product Piracy Conflict matrix (PPC matrix) resembles the well-established TRIZ contradiction table and has been designed to help companies create powerful protection concepts while avoiding undesired or harmful effects within their own value chains. [source] Plant Location and the Advent of Slab Casting by U.S. Steel Minimills: An Observation-Based AnalysisECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2006Frank Giarratani Abstract: The advent of slab casting for steel that is produced in electric furnaces resulted in a wave of new investments in the construction of steel minimills. From 1989 to 2001, 10 new plants were constructed in the United States on the basis of new technologies. Some were built in established steel industry agglomerations, while others were built in greenfield locations,regions that had little or no prior steelmaking activity. This research brings new evidence to bear on location decisions concerning modern steelmaking. The findings are based on direct observation and visits to the plants of all the new mills that were created by these investments. While the analysis reinforces the importance of transfer costs in decision making, it also argues that critical locational elements cannot be fully understood unless analyses take account of the characteristics of specific products, plants, and firms. [source] Increase of lipid peroxidation by cisplatin in WI38 cells but not in SV40-transformed WI38 cellsJOURNAL OF BIOCHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR TOXICOLOGY, Issue 1 2003Hsiu-Chuan Yen Abstract Cisplatin (CPT) is an effective anticancer drug that causes cumulative toxicity to normal tissues. It has been suggested that CPT damages normal cells by causing oxidative stress, but it is not known whether it can induce similar oxidative damage to tumor cells. In this study, by using normal human lung fibroblast (W138) cells and SV40-transformed WI38 (VA13) cells as a model, we compared the effect of CPT on cytotoxicity, apoptosis, lipid peroxidation, and mitochondrial gene expression, which could be regulated by oxidative stress, between normal and tumor cells. CPT induced greater growth inhibition and percentage of apoptotic cells in VA13 cells. However, levels of esterified F2 -isoprostanes and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, two specific products of lipid peroxidation, were increased by CPT in WI38 cells, but not in VA13 cells. Furthermore, the transcript level of mitochondrial 12S rRNA was augmented by CPT in both cells, but to a higher degree in WI38 cells. The data suggest a correlation between lipid peroxidation and cytotoxicity or increased mitochondrial transcript levels in WI38 cells but not in VA13 cells. The results also indicate an altered response of oxidative damage and mitochondrial gene regulation to CPT in the transformed phenotype of WI38 cells. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biochem Mol Toxicol 17:39,46, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/jbt.10059 [source] Product specification and agribusiness chain coordination: introducing the coordination differential conceptAGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2009Altair Dias de Moura As customers increasingly demand more specific products, firms are adopting new business approaches to satisfy customers and cope with competition. Efforts to satisfy ever more demanding markets appear to be associated with increased chain coordination, yet the relationship between these two factors is unclear. This research addresses the factors that affect chain coordination, focusing on the management of business processes to meet product specifications for customers. Five fresh meat New Zealand chains were the focus of multiple case study research. Results suggest that chains use different strategies and coordination mechanisms to deliver desired product specifications. More important, while product specifications are related to chain coordination as expected, the relationship is mediated by the coordination differential,the type and amount of effort that firms employ in their business processes to achieve the desired specifications. The nature and implication of the coordination differential concept are discussed. [L140, L150, L170]. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Evaluating risk in human plasma transfusionJOURNAL OF HEALTHCARE RISK MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2000Fred Darr MD Medical Officer Human plasma transfusion with fresh frozen plasma can be valuable in treating a variety of hemorrhagic disorders. Although safe in most cases, fresh frozen plasma poses some risk of viral infection via transfusion. New plasma preparations, using either quarantine or viral inactivation of pooled samples to improve safety, have been made available in the United States. Distinguishing characteristics include viral safety, availability, and cost. Risk managers should be aware of the range of plasma products, as well as the issues surrounding their use, in order to participate in organizational decision-making regarding the recommendation of specific products. [source] IAEA activities in support of production and utilization of radioisotope labelled compounds,JOURNAL OF LABELLED COMPOUNDS AND RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS, Issue 5-6 2007Natesan Ramamoorthy Abstract The development of a large variety of radioisotope labelled compounds as well as the ability to design and prepare specific products forms the basis for several important applications in medicine, industry and research. As a part of the IAEA's role in fostering the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology, the IAEA's Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences has focused attention on the important classes of compounds such as, fluorine-18 products; technetium-99m labelled complexes; products for radionuclide therapy of yttrium-90, samarium-153, lutetium-177 and rhenium-186/188; industrial radiotracers based on bromine-82 labelled compounds, tritiated water and carbon-14 labelled thiocyanate. A number of coordinated research projects (CRP) and technical cooperation projects have been implemented for this purpose. Thematic technical and consultancy meetings have been held to review the status and prepare technical documents on specific topics of interest for developing Member States (MS). These measures have contributed to several developing MS acquiring/enhancing expertise in building local facilities and capability in the production and utilization of radioisotope labelled compounds. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Evaluation of a p30 Gene-Based Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for Detection of Feline CalicivirusesJOURNAL OF VETERINARY INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 1 2004Brian A. Scansen This report describes a feline calicivirus (FCV) p30 gene-based real-time SYBR Green I reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay that is capable of detecting low virus concentrations and a broad range of FCV isolates. The assay consisted of a 1-step RT-PCR reaction with primers delineating a 126-base-pair (bp) region of the FCV p30 gene. Sensitivity of the RT-PCR assay was determined to be equivalent to a FCV titer of 1.2 × 101 to 1.2 × 102 TCID50/mL. The assay was linear over a wide range of template concentrations and had a reaction efficiency of 95%. Specific FCV amplification products were detected from 51 wild-type FCV isolates, whereas specific products were not detected from a canine calicivirus, a rabbit calicivirus, and a bovine calicivirus. The primers used in this study amplified a large number of North American FCV isolates and further confirm the diagnostic utility of p30 gene-based real-time RT-PCR for detection of FCV. [source] Modelling a modified atmosphere packaging system for fresh scallops (Argopecten purpuratus)PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE, Issue 2 2007R. Simpson Abstract Seafood is a highly perishable food, which has a relative short shelf-life. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is a system that offers a way of extending the shelf-life of seafood products, maintaining quality and inhibiting bacterial growth. The objective of this research was to study and determine the optimal conditions for packaging scallops in a modified atmosphere system, which includes CO2/O2/N2 mixture, headspace:food ratio and storage temperature, utilizing an integrated mathematical model for MAP systems with its respective experimental validation. For validation purposes, two experiments were conducted, using gas mixtures of: (a) 45% CO2/10% O2/45% N2; and (b) 60% CO2/10% O2/30% N2. In addition, two experiments, at 6°C and 20°C, were conducted to obtain the shelf-life model, utilizing the following gas mixtures: 30% CO2/10% O2/60% N2; 45% CO2/10% O2/45% N2; 60% CO2/10% O2/30% N2; and 75% CO2/10% O2/15% N2. Gas mixtures with CO2 concentrations between 30% and 70% and different headspace:food ratios were tested during simulations. The optimal conditions for scallop storage were a 60% CO2/10% O2/30% N2 gas mixture and a headspace:food ratio of 2:1. With these conditions, a simulated shelf-life of 21 days was obtained. Optimal conditions consider maximum shelf-life, an adequate film collapse criterion, and time to reach the pseudo-equilibrium condition. The predictive mathematical model, coupled with experimental studies for specific products, can be efficiently utilized to evaluate packaging alternatives (size, material and selected thickness) for different temperatures and initial gas concentration scenarios of MAP products. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Managing platform architectures and manufacturing processes for nonassembled productsTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2002Marc H. Meyer The article presents methods for defining product platforms and measuring business performance in process intensive industries. We first show how process intensive product platforms can be defined using the products and processes of a film manufacturer. We then present an empirical method for understanding the dynamics of process intensive platform innovation, allocating engineering and sales data to specific platform and product development efforts within a product family. We applied this method to a major product line of a materials manufacturer. We gathered ten years of engineering and manufacturing cost data and allocated these to successive platforms and products, and then generated R&D performance measures. These data show the dynamic of heavy capital spending relative to product engineering as one might expect in a process intensive industries. The data also show how derivative products can be leveraged from underlying product platforms and processes for nonassembled products. Embedded within these data are strategies for creating reusable subsystems (comprising components, materials, etc.) and common production processes. Hard data on the degree to which subsystems and processes are shared across different products frequently are typically not maintained by corporations for the duration needed to understand the dynamics of evolving product families. For this reason, we developed and applied a second method to assess the degree of reuse of subsystems and processes. This method asks engineering managers to provide subjective ratings on an ordinal scale regarding the use of technology and processes from one product to the next in a cumulative manner. We find that high levels of reuse generally indicate that a product family was developed with a platform discipline. We applied this measure of platform intensity to two product lines of integrated circuits from another large manufacturer. We used this method to gather approximately ten years of information for each product family. Upon analysis, one product family showed substantial platform discipline, emphasizing a common architecture and processes across specific products within the product line. The other product family was developed with significantly less sharing and reuse of architecture, components, and processes. We then found that the platform centric product family outperformed the latter along a number of performance dimensions over the course of the decade under examination. [source] | ||||||||||||||||