The main purpose of the company implement improve activity is to promote the work efficiency and cost effectiveness of manufacturing. This will strengthen the company and help it to maintain it¡¦s competitive edge. The goal of the improve management activity, is to ensure the constant internal improvement of the company. By method of case study, this research explores the key success factors of the Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). The TPM activity is based on a system of Preventive Maintenance (PM) from the U.S. It was introduced to Japan between 1950 and 1960. Here it was developed into the TPM activity. Taiwan started using the TPM in 1994. Since then it has made a huge contribution to the improvement and success of many companies. At the time YIEH PHUI also decided to implement the TPM activity. In 1998 after visiting some of the companies where the activities was successfully implemented YIEH PHUI also started using the TPM activity. After one year the OEE (Over All Equipment Effectiveness) of eight productive lines was increased by 10%. The company which was already experiencing a great OEE, was surprised by the great improvement caused by the TPM activity. By 2003 the company had 11 production lines and the OEE had increased by a staggering 30%. This left the company with a 97% OEE. Compare this to the 67% OEE of 1998 and the success of the TPM activity becomes clear. What was the key factor responsible for this improvement? This is what will be explored in the rest of the paper. Now there are a variety of improve management activities in Taiwan. Some companies implement these activities with great success, while other companies are not successful. Why? What is the problem? In my case study, it was found that to be successful you not only need support from top management, but also from the head of each department. The other key factor is that each employee must feel that they also benefit from this activity. This will improve their performance. This improved performance will reflect in their monthly bonus. This will motivate the employee which in turn will lead to better progress. The design of the activity should be kept as simple as possible. The most complicated decision you¡¦d have to make in the process of implementing the activity is whether you want it or not. The research results might be a helpful reference to companies considering the implementation of the TPM activity.

This study¡¦s goal is to understand the feasibility of community overall construction that is carried out by a community union. Four villages on the right bank of Linbian Stream, Pingtung were used as study subjects. It analyzes patterns of developing bottlenecks, action strategies and future projects that are developed by a country community union gathered from various clans, so as to provide references for relevant governmental units in order to promote community construction and establish related laws and rules. Few domestic literatures addresses on the integration between community union and community construction, in particular, the role of community union in community construction and governmental strategies for the promotion and assistance of the formation of community union. Thus, in order to achieve the objectives of sustainable development of resources and the construction of local union for the local empowerment through the key role of community union, this research conducts studies on the feasible models of supportive construction and development of local community unions and concludes with concrete suggestion to offer possible solution to the difficulties of sustainable development of community resources. The study uses Literature Review, In-Depth Interviews and Participant Observation. The constructer/actor and exterior supporter of the four villages in Lintzibian, Jiangong, Shitou and Silerfafawu on the right bank of Linbian Stream, Pingtung were used as subjects. Furthermore, problem regarding clan integration in four community unions (South China Chinese, Hakka, Pingpu and Paywan) concerning water resources protection, bank beauty and water collection problem areas were researched. Successful foreign experiences from Germany regarding country community construction were introduced. The study attempts to determine the feasibility of community construction that is carried out by the community union. Based on literature review and current studies, this research aims to use the villages on the Right Bank of Linbian Stream, Pingtung as the study subjects to conduct in-depth analysis on the actual sustainable development of resource promoted by Community Union of Right Bank of Linbian Stream, Pingtung, where has be developed in the recent years, but still maintains its unique features. Three results have been found on the feasibility study of the participation of Community Union of Right Bank of Linbian Stream, Pingtung in community construction: First, in terms of organizational structure of Community Union of Right Bank of Linbian Stream, Pingtung, Pintung Community Construction Center plays a communicative role; Blue Tungkang River Conservation helps and advises each community to prepare planning and develop relevant construction skills; Linbian Nature and Cultural Conservation acts as the executive due to its rich experience of community construction. All participating communities have their own right and work with the model of ¡§self construction,¡¨ self purchasing material and labor and public participation in community design. Second, for the use of resources: Resources are composed of the symbols of ethnic characteristics, nature environment and supportive function. In 1999, Linbian and Chienkung communities began the construction projects of bank beatification and Baoanlin Yungchiuan Community and by the end of 2000, upstream Shitou of Pinbu gathering also made use of local rocks to build the unique ¡§Shitou Stone Park.¡¨ The next year, Silerfafawu of upstream Paiwan tribe built their own gathering space with stone. Consequently, each ethnic group and community express their interpretation of externally learnt theory and knowledge for environmental conservation, culture preservation, and local democratization based on ¡§local hands-on experience.¡¨ Third, in the regards of human resources: The study has found the weakness of insufficient human resources provided by governmental agencies, local talents, and local participants. This study, thus, proposes action strategies including: flexible adjustment of personnel support of the public sector, establishment of data bank of local talents of community construction, alternative military service to alleviate the problem of insufficient human resources and talent fostering to reduce the burden. Judging from action experience of the four villages, this study has also concluded that the conditions for the formation of one community union have not matured yet. Each village now has not reached the stage of having sufficient human resources and in order to build up the union; in addition to regular work, each village needs to spend more time on meeting and labor division for conciliation. As a result, some matters would be postponed for final decision or simply be put aside. Moreover, each village has undergone different community construction stages and mobilization degrees and they distinguish one another from ethnic background, industrial and commercial development, demographic structure, so each of them has its own problem to tackle with. How can they work on the construction project on the footing of mutual benefit? How can resource distribution and labor division be allocated evenly? How can the communication and system be built by the public sector to handle the possible short term union based temporary issues? Budget application and verification probably will become a common problem. In short, the union of community construction in Pingtung is at the initial testing stage.

This study explores the relationship among the overall nutritional quality index (ONQI), the carbon footprint and price of 90 different foods. The ONQI and carbon footprint measure the healthiness and environmental impact of a food, respectively. Two models are estimated. The first is a hedonic model of the food price and two characteristics: ONQI and carbon footprint. A positive relationship between price and carbon footprint is found, implying higher priced foods have a larger environmental impact. The second model is a regression of ONQI on price and carbon footprint. A negative, non-linear relationship between ONQI and carbon footprint is found. This implies there is a complementary relationship between the healthiness of food and its environmental impact. Both models show that healthier food is also higher priced. This could explain why poorer consumers are less healthy than richer consumers, and why taxing food would disproportionately impact the health of the poor.

Hydrogen has been identified as a potential energy carrier due to its high energy capacity and environmental harmlessness. Compared with hydrogen production from hydrocarbons such as methane and naphtha in a conventional hydrogen energy system, photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water splitting offers a more economic approach since it utilizes the abundant solar irradiation as energy source and water as initial reactant. Powder photocatalyst, which generates electrons and holes under illumination, is the origin where the overall reaction happens. High solar energy conversion efficiency especially from visible range is commonly the target. Besides, cocatalyst for hydrogen and oxygen evolution is also playing an essential role in facilitating the charge separation and enhancing the kinetics. In this thesis, the objective is to achieve high energy conversion efficiency towards water splitting from diverse aspects. The third chapter focuses on a controllable method to fabricate metal pattern, which is candidate for hydrogen evolution cocatalyst while chapter 4 is on the combination of strontium titanium oxide (SrTiO3) with graphene oxide (GO) for a better photocatalytic performance. In the last chapter, photoelectrochemical water splitting by Ta3N5 photoanode and FeOOH as a novel oxygen evolution cocatalyst has been investigated.

No description available.

Yes / Background The HOX genes are a family of homeodomain-containing transcription factors that determine cellular identity during development and which are dys-regulated in some cancers. In this study we examined the expression and oncogenic function of HOX genes in mesothelioma, a cancer arising from the pleura or peritoneum which is associated with exposure to asbestos. Methods We tested the sensitivity of the mesothelioma-derived lines MSTO-211H, NCI-H28, NCI-H2052, and NCI-H226 to HXR9, a peptide antagonist of HOX protein binding to its PBX co-factor. Apoptosis was measured using a FACS-based assay with Annexin, and HOX gene expression profiles were established using RT-QPCR on RNA extracted from cell lines and primary mesotheliomas. The in vivo efficacy of HXR9 was tested in a mouse MSTO-211H flank tumor xenograft model. Results We show that HOX genes are significantly dysregulated in malignant mesothelioma. Targeting HOX genes with HXR9 caused apoptotic cell death in all of the mesothelioma-derived cell lines, and prevented the growth of mesothelioma tumors in a mouse xenograft model. Furthermore, the sensitivity of these lines to HXR9 correlated with the relative expression of HOX genes that have either an oncogenic or tumor suppressive function in cancer. The analysis of HOX expression in primary mesothelioma tumors indicated that these cells could also be sensitive to the disruption of HOX activity by HXR9, and that the expression of HOXB4 is strongly associated with overall survival. Conclusion HOX genes are a potential therapeutic target in mesothelioma, and HOXB4 expression correlates with overall survival. / The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the British Lung Foundation, grant number ICAPPG10-1. KJH acknowledges support from the ICR/RM NIHR Biomedical Research Centre.

No description available.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / Background Obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have been associated with endometrial cancer (EC). In this systematic review and meta-analysis we evaluated the effect of metformin on clinical outcomes in patients with EC and insulin resistance or T2DM. Methods Four research databases were searched for original articles published in all languages up to 30 October 2016. Outcomes of interest were overall mortality (OM), cancer-specific mortality, disease progression, and metastases. We performed a random effect meta-analysis of adjusted effects expressed as hazard ratios (HR); heterogeneity among studies was described with the I2 statistic. Results Of the 290 retrieved citations, 6 retrospective cohort studies in women with EC (n = 4723) met the inclusion criteria, and 8.9% to 23.8% were treated with metformin; OM data was available from 5 studies. In 4 studies of EC patients (n = 4132), metformin use was associated with a significant reduction in OM in comparison with not using metformin (adjusted HR [aHR] 0.64, 95% CI 0.45–0.89, p = 0.009). In three studies evaluating patients with EC and T2DM (n = 2637), metformin use was associated with a significant reduction in OM (aHR 0.50, 95%CI 0.34–0.74, p = 0.0006). There was low to moderate heterogeneity of adjusted effects across studies. There was no information about the effect of metformin on cancer-specific mortality, disease progression, or metastases. Conclusions Metformin treatment is associated with a significant reduction in OM irrespective of diabetes status in patients with EC. The survival benefit suggests that diabetes screening and maintenance of good glycemic control may improve outcomes in EC. / Revisión por pares

Barnoveraller är ett specifikt område inom klädesbranschen. Det ligger lång produktutveckling bakom, som har pågår under ett flertal år, vilket har förbättrat slutprodukten vad det gäller material, beläggningar och sömnadstyper.I B-uppsatsen finner du lättare materialinformation, konstruktionsinformation, nationella samt internationella standarder, krav ställda ifrån tre olika företag och utav ”barnoverallskunden”. Det här samarbetet blir vårt försök att bidra till barnoverallsmarknaden.Vi har utgått ifrån vår referens, ett privatägt barnklädesföretag från Bollebygd, Sverige.1 De har gett oss möjlighet att få vara med i produktutvecklingsprocessen och leta förbättringar som kan gynna slutprodukten och 2bseen som företag. Det har också gett oss möjlighet att skänka något litet (en sammanställning) som kan användas av fler företag i liknande bransch och situation.2bseen önskade sig ett samarbete där vår roll skulle innebära en fortsatt produktutveckling på befintliga produkter som i produktion fått ett och annat fel.Childrens clothing is a particular area of clothing business. There is a lot of product development behind the product, which has been going on for several years. As the case of materials, coatings and sewing operation there have been small but significant changes in the final product. This material is lighter information about fabric, design and standards (national and international). We have also made inquiries into the demands made from three different companies and from customers who buy overalls for their children. With this B-essay we wish to contribute to the children's overall market. We started from our reference, a private childrens clothing company from Bollebygd, Sweden. They have given us the opportunity to be involved in the products development process and look for improvements that could benefit their business, the final product and also to donate a small summary that other companies in a similar industry could benefit from.2bseen, our reference in this B-essay wanted a partnership in which our role would be a continued product development of existing products in production which had a few things that wasn’t right. / Program: Textil produktutveckling med entreprenörs- och affärsinriktning

PhD / Abstract: The objective of this research is to investigate the interaction of local and overall flexural buckling in cold-formed stainless steel columns. Literature study exposes a lack of understanding of this subject and a need for experimental data, particularly on the local-overall interaction buckling of stainless steel open sections. Two separate experimental programs were therefore carried out. The first program included 36 tests on pin-ended lipped channel columns. Three alloys were considered: AISI 304, AISI 430 and 3Cr12. The specimens were designed to fail by local-overall interaction buckling in the inelastic stress range, thus highlighting the non-linear behaviour of stainless steel. Half of the specimens were tested under a concentric load. The other half had the load applied with a nominal eccentricity of Le/1500. The test results demonstrate the imperfection sensitivity of local-overall interaction buckling and illustrate the shift in effective centroid in pin-ended columns with singly symmetric cross-section. The second experimental program studied local-overall interaction buckling in 24 pin-ended stainless steel I-section columns. The specimens consisted of plain channels connected back-to-back using sheet metal screws. Two alloys were considered: AISI 304 and AISI 404. Local and overall imperfections were carefully measured in both experimental programs. Extensive material testing was carried out on the alloys employed in the experimental program, in order to determine tensile and compressive material properties, anisotropic parameters and enhanced corner properties. A detailed finite element model is presented, which includes non-linear material behaviour, anisotropy, increased material properties of the corner areas and local and overall imperfections. The model was verified against the two aforementioned experimental programs and against additional data available in literature on stainless steel SHS columns. The model yielded excellent predictions of the specimen failure mode, ultimate strength and load-deformation behaviour. The finite element model was used to generate additional data for stainless steel columns with lipped channel, plain channel, SHS and I-shaped cross-section, failing by local-overall interaction buckling. The parametric studies covered the practical ranges of overall and cross-sectional slenderness values. The Australian/New Zealand, European and North American standards for stainless steel were evaluated using the available data. The comparison reveals an inability of the design codes to properly account for the interaction effect as the cross-sectional slenderness increases. Predictions are unsafe for I-section columns with intermediate or high cross-sectional slenderness. A direct strength method is proposed for stainless steel columns, accounting for the local-overall interaction effect. The method offers a simple design solution which fits within the framework of the current Australian and North-American standards.