Narrow Results

Monitoring and optimizing the objectives of the Project Portfolio (PP) in an enterprise is a critical step toward to achieve the strategic goals. The implementation of PP objectives heavily relies on resources available in the enterprise and the synergies among resources that will further affect the realization of the strategic goals. However, the existing studies neglect the impact of resources on the achievement of strategic goals and the effects of synergies among resources are not considered effectively when implementing PP in the enterprise. This paper presents a new model to quantify and optimize the implementation of PP objectives by taking effects of the synergies among resources into account to promote the realization of the strategic goals. In this method, a goal-resource network is first developed to take strategic goals and resources into consideration. Then, PP objective achievement values are quantified by considering the synergies among resources through the analysis of such a goal-resource network. If the PP objective achievement values fail to meet the enterprise’s requirements, the realization of PP objectives will be promoted by optimizing the identified key resources. A case study is presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed methodology. The results show that the proposed model can quantify the achievement value of strategic goals and identify key resources by clarifying the influence of resources on strategic goals, which provides a useful method and tool to analyze the synergies among resources and to promote strategic goals effectively and efficiently in the enterprise.

Breast cancer is a common malignant tumor of which pathogenic genes are widely studied. Since gene pairs are considered as biomarkers to identify cancer patients, in this paper, we use information theory to study the collaboration features of gene pairs. The measure of synergy based on mutual information (MI) is introduced to determine whether genes collaborate with each other in breast cancer. Part mutual information (PMI) is introduced to further select collaborative genes and construct a synergy network, which overcomes the shortage of MI. Furthermore, a dual network of synergy network is constructed and structural indices are calculated to identify vital genes. By decision tree and support vector machine, synergy is considered as a suitable index and dual network with PMI improves the accuracy of cancer identification. This method can be extended to identify other biological phenomenon and find collaborative genes as biomarkers.

Determining the optimal location of a switching center in a tree network of users is accurately modeled by the median problem. A real-time approach is used in this paper to investigate the dynamics of such a communication network in two cases: (1) a growing tree of nodes associated with equal demand rates, and (2) a stream of corrections that arbitrarily change the demand rates at the nodes. The worst-case analysis performed in both situations clearly demonstrates the importance of parallelism in such real-time paradigms. It is shown that the error generated by the best sequential algorithm in the first case can be arbitrarily large. A synergistic behavior is revealed when the quality-up is investigated in the second case.

Cancer stem cells (CSC) are the primary cell type responsible for metastasis and relapse. ABC-transporters are integral membrane proteins involved in the translocation of substrates across membranes protecting CSC from chemotherapeutic agents. A plant extract derived from C. spinosa (P2Et) previously investigated for its antitumor activity has been shown to reduce lung and spleen metastasis in mice that have been transplanted with breast cancer cells, suggesting that P2Et has a significant activity against cancer stem cells (CSC). P2Et extract was thoroughly characterized by HPLC/MS. The cytotoxicity of P2Et extract was evaluated using a MTT assay in human and murine cell lines with different profiles of resistance, by Pgp overexpression or by enrichment in cancer stem cells. The synergistic effect of P2Et with doxorubicin was evaluated in vitro in several cell lines and in vivo in mice transplanted with TS/A cells, a highly resistant cell line and enriched in CD44${}^{\mathrm{\text{+}}}$CD24${}^{\mathrm{\text{low/−}}}$CSC. The chromatographic fingerprint of P2Et extract revealed 13 gallotannins. We also found that P2Et extract was cytotoxic to cells regardless of their resistant phenotype. Similarly, complementary activities were observed as drug efflux reversion and antioxidant activity. Short-treatment with P2Et extract, revealed a synergistic effect with doxorubicin in resistant cell lines. In vivo the P2Et increases mice survival in a TS/A breast cancer model associated with augmentation of calreticulin expression. Our results suggest that P2Et treatment could be used as adjuvant along with conventional chemotherapy to treat tumors with a MDR phenotype or with high frequency of CSC.

This study aimed to explore the mechanism of action of Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT) with its multiple components and targets in the synergistic regulation of hematopoiesis. Mouse models of hematopoiesis were established using antibiotics. Metabolomics was used to detect body metabolites and enriched pathways. The active ingredients, targets, and pathways of DBT were analyzed using system pharmacology. The results of metabolomics and system pharmacology were integrated to identify the key pathways and targets. A total of 515 metabolites were identified using metabolomics. After the action of antibiotics, 49 metabolites were markedly changed: 23 were increased, 26 were decreased, and 11 were significantly reversed after DBT administration. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that these 11 metabolites were related to bile secretion, cofactor biosynthesis, and fatty acid biosynthesis. The results of the pharmacological analysis showed that 616 targets were related to DBT-induced anemia, which were mainly enriched in biological processes, such as bile secretion, biosynthesis of cofactors, and cholesterol metabolism. Combined with the results of metabolomics and system pharmacology, we found that bile acid metabolism and biotin synthesis were the key pathways for DBT. Forty-two targets of DBT were related to these two metabolic pathways. PPI analysis revealed that the top 10 targets were CYP3A4, ABCG2, and UGT1A8. Twenty-one components interacted with these 10 targets. In one case, a target corresponds to multiple components, and a component corresponds to multiple targets. DBT acts on multiple targets of ABCG2, UGT1A8, and CYP3A4 through multiple components, affecting the biosynthesis of cofactors and bile secretion pathways to regulate hematopoiesis.

In previous experiments, a synergistic lethal effect on the honeybee has been demonstrated with two toxic agents: deltamethrin and prochloraz. The toxic agents were applied simultaneously or sequentially. Deltamethrin is metabolized by esterase and by cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenase. Prochloraz is a potent competitive inhibitor of cytochrome P-450. An attractive hypothesis explaining this synergic toxicity is that the persistence of deltamethrin is due to inhibition of the oxidative metabolism of deltamethrin by prochloraz. We tested this hypothesis using a mathematical model. A compartmental model in continuous time was constructed to represent this synergy by analyzing the degradation of toxic agents. This pharmacokinetic model was based on differential equations, using numerical resolution and Runge-Kutta’s integration method. When applied to a mixture of toxic agents, this model implies that the cumulative mortality of both compounds might be delayed compared to the mortality from treatment with toxic agents used separately. The hypothesis of metabolic synergy is compatible with experimental data only if the half-life of deltamethrin is short. The data from the model and the experimental data, diverged when deltamethrin was administered before prochloraz, which suggests that the phenomenon is more complex than expected.

The anti-corrosion activity of a newly synthesized ethylene tetra phosphonic acid (ETPA), namely {Ethylenebis [(2-hydroxy-5,1,3-phenylene) bismethylene]} tetraphosphonic acid, against the corrosion of carbon steel in 0.5-M H₂SO₄ medium and its synergistic effect with Cu${}^{2+}$ ions were studied using potentiodynamic polarizations and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Potentiodynamic polarization studies indicate that ETPA acts as a mixed-type inhibitor and inhibition efficiency increases with increasing ETPA concentration. The adsorption of ETPA at the surface of carbon steel follows Langmuir adsorption isotherm. EIS results demonstrated the adsorption of ETPA onto the carbon steel surface, leading to the formation of ETPA overlaying film. Addition of $5\cdot 10^{-5}$ M Cu${}^{2+}$, at low ETPA concentration ($5\cdot 10^{-5}$ M), results in significant increase in inhibition efficiency (88%), superior to that obtained at high ETPA concentration (81% at $5\cdot 10^{-4}$ M). SEM and EDAX analyses confirmed the existence of a uniform protective film on the electrode surface attributed to ETPA–Cu${}^{2+}$ complex formation.

This study seeks to analyze the impact of governmental regulations on the pollution level in a duopoly framework with endogenous market structure. We consider a dirty industry which involves two asymmetric firms, an MNC and a domestic firm, producing a homogenous product, where the MNC is so efficient that in the absence of a joint venture the MNC firm will act as a monopolist. We use a game theoretic framework to demonstrate that an increase in abatement cost, arising out of stricter government regulations, could trigger a regime-switch from monopoly to joint venture (or from joint venture to monopoly), and consequently may increase pollution. Turning to the welfare analysis, we find that the constrained first best outcome always involves joint venture formation. Given a market structure, we find that the optimal emission tax is always less than the marginal social damage. We then demonstrate that if the synergistic effect (SE) is large and the industry is neither very dirty, nor very clean, then the constrained first best outcome can be implemented by setting the abatement tax appropriately. Otherwise the constrained first best outcome cannot be implemented.

In this paper, a new hydrogen peroxide electrochemical sensor based on the synergistic modification of nitrogen-doped porous carbon (NPC) and carbon nanohybrid aerogel (CNA) is proposed. NPC has been successfully synthesized from porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor by pre-oxidation to obtain adequate pyridinic-N, which contributes to enhance the electrocatalytic activity. Simultaneously, CNA has been also prepared by self-assembly in a hydrothermal environment without any interference followed by vacuum freeze drying. The final products were characterized by diversiform techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the NPC with 23.18% pyridinic-N exhibited well-defined and interconnected three-dimensional (3D) porous microstructure and CNA which encapsulates $\gamma$-Fe₂O₃ particles was obtained. The sensor fabricated by NPC and CNA delivered a wide linear range from 60$\mu$M to 1680$\mu$M ($R^2=0.994$) and 1680$\mu$M to 3335$\mu$M ($R^2=0.998$) with sensitivities of 3.98$\mu$A mM${}^{-1}$ and 5.56$\mu$A mM${}^{-1}$, respectively. Furthermore, the obtained sensor showed low detection limit (4.478$\mu$M, $S$/$N=3$), good selectivity and repeatability, rapid response and satisfying practicability.

The uniform ball-like luminescence down-shifting (LDS) Sm(TTA)₃Phen materials have been synthesized by microwave ultrasonic method. Microwave ultrasonic plays a synergistic effect of microwave with ultrasonic, including thermal effect, dipole vortex and air bombard make the particles aggregation reach to the lowest energy. Through this method, we successfully synthesised 1–4 μm ball-like uniform Sm(TTA)₃Phen clusters. The Sm(TTA)₃Phen can transfer violet light to red-orange flourescence with a feature large Stokes shift and completely avoid self-absorption losses.

The life community of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands (MRFFLG) and its systemic governance are key components to build ecological civilization in China. It comprises diverse connotations in value, scientific and economic dimensions. Epistemologically, it comes from the Chinese traditional philosophy of harmonious coexistence of heaven, earth and man, and conforms to the Western ecological ethics, complex system science and environmental value theory. Methodologically, as a complex socio-ecological system in which man and nature interact and coexist, the life community of the MRFFLG should be governed coordinately from both narrow and broad views. At the policy level, from the perspectives of narrow synergy among ecological subsystems and broad synergy among the complex socio-ecological system, this paper evaluates the performance indicators of 16 pilot projects of the MRFFLG, and points out that the design of most pilot projects well reflects the narrow synergy of multiple ecological elements, but is short of attention to the broad synergy of green development and ecological civilization. There are two practical ways to promote the systemic governance of the MRFFLG. First, it needs to focus on the coordinated governance of watershed and ecological environment restoration against the background of global climate and environmental change. The goal is to restore and improve the service functions of ecological subsystems and enhance their climate adaptability. Second, in the context of new urbanization and green development transition, it requires a collaborative planning focusing on natural capital and green infrastructure investment, which is aimed at cultivating ecological dividends and realizing ecological economy.

Cooperation between organisms of different species is a widely observed phenomenon in biology, ranging from large scale systems such as whole ecosystems to more direct interactions like symbiotic relationships. In the present work, we explore inter-species cooperations on the level of metabolic networks.

For our analysis, we extract 447 organism specific metabolic networks from the KEGG database [7] and assess their biosynthetic capabilities by applying the method of network expansion [5]. We simulate the cooperation of two organisms by unifying their metabolic networks and introduce a measure, the gain Γ, quantifying the amount by which the biosynthetic capability of an organism is enhanced due to the cooperation with another species. For all theoretically possible pairs of organisms, this synergetic effect is determined and we systematically analyze its dependency on the dissimilarities of the interacting partners. We describe these dissimilarities by two different distance measures, where one is based on structural, the other on evolutionary differences.

With the presented method, we provide a conceptional framework to study the metabolic effects resulting from an interaction of different species. We outline possible enhancements of our analysis: by defining more realistic interacting networks and applying alternative structural investigation methods, our concept can be used to study specific symbiotic and parasitic relationships and may help to understand the global interplay of metabolic pathways over the boundary of organism specific systems.

The basic foundation of intelligent complex adaptive dynamic (iCAD) exploits the interdependency of five significant attributes of intelligent human organizations (iCAS) that possess certain unique characteristics only associated with human organizations. The attributes involved are collective intelligence, connectivity, culture (mindful), organizational learning, and knowledge management, and their integrative structure and dynamics. This foundation pillar of the iCAD is conceived as the 3C-OK framework. Recognizing the necessity of this integrated and redefined foundation of the intelligent human complex adaptive dynamic is vital, as this set of attributes is not present (minimal) in other complex adaptive systems (CAS). In this respect there are differences between highly intelligent human adaptive dynamic (iCAD) and other biological complex adaptive dynamics (CAD). A primary factor that created the difference is the mental function of orgmindfulness. Thus, the characteristics and capabilities of human collective intelligence are substantially different from swarm intelligence. In this respect, the high intelligenceintelligence linkages which are strongly correlated with collective intelligence [determined by the characteristics of the agents’ abstract mental space (including a space for deeper contemplation)], and org-consciousness and the relational parameter (relational capacity) are new significant focal points (an intelligent human organization <=> at least a thinking system + feeling system).

In the intelligent organization theory, the integrated 3C-OK structure and dynamic is mutually enhancing with organizing around intelligence and the intelligent biotic macro-structure. The framework supports the elevation of the collectiveness capacity and adaptive capacity which are key capacities of intelligent human organizations. In particular, their interdependency illustrates that organizational learning and knowledge management (a vital capability associated with the creation of an intangible abstract mental space in the human world) cannot be executed effectively in any human organizations without the presence of the other three attributes. Hence, human interacting agents, each an intense intelligence/consciousness source, and embedded with a set of changing nonlinear behavioral schemata, and their linkages (including the social cognition and construal perspective that influence the self-transcending constructions capability, and emergence-intelligence capacity of the organization) must be well-exploited. In this respect, the integrated 3C-OK structure provides the basic strata of the iCAD. Thus, an organization that places sufficient emphasis on the integrated 3C-OK structure and dynamic will gradually experience the emergence of a higher level human iCAD. The presence of such an environment also facilitates faster and better responses to unexpected changes.

A solution to the Hard Problem formulated by Chalmers should include a biophysical nonreductive explanation of the qualities of conscious experience (" subjective qualia"). This task is nearly impossible to be performed in the context of Modern Physics, since most influential scientists and philosophers conceived such qualities as being mental phenomena without a physical counterpart. We propose to extend the concept of multi-aspect state into the concept of potential qualitative aspects in fundamental physics, allowing for its expression in biophysical systems under adequate conditions. We conceptually model a structure, the N-dimensional dual-aspect state space of Nature, having elementary waveforms (EW) as the qualitative building blocks, and three dynamical phases: a) coherent wave functions, b) decoherent and c) recoherent macrostates. In coherent wave functions composing microstates, Elementary Waveforms (EW) are superposed and entangled. In decoherent macrostates, the Heisenberg matrix (HM) is reduced to the diagonal, generating — according to the principles of chemistry — one macro (not conscious) qualitative state. In living systems, chemical processes combine in a self-organizing manner, keeping the system at low entropy states and making room for the emergence of new structures and functions by means of an order from fluctuation mechanism. In the brain, the instantiation of macrostates is spatially distributed and unconscious. Brain recoherent macrostates are formed by means of the operation of quantum computing gates within ionic waves, and can be expressed by a hypermatrix (or hypertensor), corresponding to the binding of qualitative features in one integrated conscious episode. Once formed, the ionic waves feedback on brain activity, similarly to David Bohm's “pilot wave.” In the theoretical context of systems theory, the global recoherent process would correspond to a phase in Scott Kelso's framework of metastable dynamics. In such a dynamics, each recoherent macrostate alternates in a time scale of nanoseconds with decoherent macrostates, but we consciously perceive only the sequence of nanosecond recoherent states, which appear to us in continuous chunks with the duration of — at least — hundreds of milliseconds.

In the implementation of “Plan for Educating and Training Outstanding Engineers”, a project initiated in 2010 by Chinese Education Ministry with the participation of more than a hundred Chinese universities, the collaboration among university, industry, government and industry associations presents a great challenge. Based on game analysis, this paper analyzes the principles of interest distribution, with the aims to explore, in the Chinese context, an interest mechanism and establish a sustainable development system on the balance of responsibilities and benefits of the parties or subjects involved.