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This study aimed to develop a structural analysis method to replace and validate large-scale gas gun tests for evaluating the impact resistance of electronic equipment. By measuring projectile's deceleration through experiments and simulations, stress and strain during collisions were quantified. It was demonstrated that optimizing projectile and electronic equipment designs could enhance impact resistance. Simulation results indicated that changes in projectile velocity and head angle led to variations in maximum deceleration and penetration depth, with decreasing the head angle proving more effective in reducing maximum deceleration. Comparisons between experimental and simulation results showed good agreement, particularly in plots between maximum deceleration and target collision depth. As the head angle increased, there was a tendency for maximum deceleration to increase and target penetration depth to decrease. Comparing peak deceleration curves from gas gun tests and simulations revealed similar trends, indicating consistent results. This research provides important information for evaluating the impact resistance of electronic equipment and demonstrates that combining experiments with simulations can yield more reliable results.

Recently, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have proven successful in automating the detection of defective photovoltaic (PV) cells within PV modules. Existing studies have built a CNN based on fully supervised learning, which requires a training dataset consisting of PV cell images annotated according to whether the individual cells are defective. However, manually annotating all the PV cells is labor-intensive and time-consuming, leading to substantial annotation costs. In this study, we propose a weakly supervised learning method to build a CNN for cell-level defect detection in a cost-efficient manner. Our method uses a training dataset solely with module-level annotations indicating whether each PV module contains defective cells, thereby substantially reducing the required annotation costs. The CNN is trained in a weakly supervised manner such that all cells in a normal module are classified as normal and at least one cell in a defective module is classified as defective. The CNN can then be used to detect cell-level defects in new PV modules. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated through experiments using real-world data provided by a PV module manufacturer.

In the strategic management field, the study of building and sustaining competitive advantage for businesses has been one of the most important research areas. Although there are various attempts to explain the processes of building and sustaining competitive advantage, it has continued to be a poorly defined and operationalized construct. This paper focuses on the application of a strategic analytical approach, “Building Blocks of Competitive Advantages”, to analyze and compare the sources of competitive advantage for two market leaders in the U.S. breakfast cereal industry, Kellogg’s and General Mills. Various literature were reviewed in order to gain an understanding of the industry, and the roles played by these companies. As expected, Kellogg’s and General Mills have similar sources of competitive advantage, however, these companies have shown different ways of developing competitive advantage. This study was carried out in an attempt to stimulate efforts and provide direction on the conceptual development of the sources for competitive advantage. Keywords: Building blocks of competitive advantage, Sources of competitive advantage, Internal strengths and weaknesses, U.S. Breakfast Cereal Market, Kellogg’s, General Mills.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE:Aptamers are oligonucleotide or peptide molecules that bind to a target molecule with high affinity and specificity. The present study aimed to evaluate the target specificity and applicability for in vivo molecular imaging of an aptamer labeled with a radioisotope. METHODS:The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/ErbB2) aptamer was radiolabeled with 18F-fluoride. HER2-positive tumor cell uptake of the aptamer was evaluated in comparison to negative controls by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Using 18F-labeled HER2-specific aptamer positron emission tomography (PET), in vivo molecular images of BT474 tumor-bearing mice were taken at 60, 90 and 120 minutes after injection. RESULTS:In flow cytometric analysis, HER2 aptamer showed strong binding to HER2-positive BT474 cells, while binding to HER2-negative MDA-MB231 cells was quite low. Likewise, in confocal microscopic images, the aptamer was bound to HER2-positive breast cancer cells, with minimal binding to HER2-negative cells. In vivo PET molecular imaging of BT474 tumor-bearing mice revealed significant higher uptake of the 18F-labeled HER2 specific aptamer into the tumor compared to the that of HER2-negative cell tumor(p = 0.033). HER2 aptamer was able to preferentially bind to HER2-positive breast cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo, by recognizing HER2 structure on the surface of these cells. CONCLUSION:The 18F-labeled aptamer enabled appropriate visualization of HER2 expression by human breast cancer cells. The results suggest that a radiolabeled HER2 aptamer could potentially be applied in the development of treatment strategies or in targeted therapy against HER2-positive breast cancer cells.

The study of building and sustaining competitive advantage for the business is one of the most important research areas in the strategic management field. Though there are various attempts to explain the process of building and sustaining competitive advantage, it remains a poorly defined and operationalized construct. This article focuses on the application of a strategic analytical approach, 'Building Blocks of Competitive Advantage -- Efficiency, Quality, Innovation, and Responsiveness to Customers', to analyze and compare the sources of competitive advantages of two market leaders in the U.S. parceldelivery industry, UPS and FedEx. A broad array of literature was compiled to inform this article. As expected UPS and FedEx have similar sources of competitive advantages but show different paths of building their competitive advantages. This article constitutes an attempt to stimulate efforts and provide directions on the further conceptual development of the sources of competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess a firm's strategic position, its managers must collect and interpret data regarding the firm itself, its competitors, its stakeholders, and the industry. Having implemented a strategy based on that information, the managers further must measure that strategy's impacts. In this paper, a framework is presented to build theory and guide the strategic decision-making so that entrepreneurs gain a big picture of what is happening with their firm, their competitors, and the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The financial services industry faces numerous issues such as changing consumer interests, new regulations, and increased competition. Wells Fargo & Company (Wells Fargo) and PNC Financial Services Group (PNC) have adapted similar but unique strategies which give them competitive advantages that allow them to compete in the market successfully. In this paper, the similarities and differences of two major rivals' competition strategies, Wells Fargo and PNC were analyzed, compared, and contrasted using industry environment analytical approaches. We found that continued growth in this mature industry will involve successful differentiation from competitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an in-depth overview of the consumer electronics industry as a whole. By showcasing the external environment from the point of view of Apple, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation using well-known strategic management frameworks, the reader will understand the opportunities and threats that face these companies, as well as others in the industry. This paper also includes an in-depth analysis of the internal strengths and weaknesses of these two companies, using various strategic management tools and concepts. Apple, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation will be analyzed side-by-side to provide the reader with a thorough comparison of the two companies' positions in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has become increasingly critical for firms in various service industries to effectively manage the use and adoption of critical technologies. Technology as a source of building competitive advantage is playing an important role in many service industries. While various service classification schemes provide useful guidance from many perspectives, they were not designed explicitly to be applied to technology management in services. This paper presents the argument that a framework, which incorporates the idea of the source of the value added (technology-enhanced vs. technology-embedded). We classify technology-enhanced services as those services in which the majority of customer value is provided by the enhanced knowledge and skill of the person providing the service and technology-embedded services are those services that embed the customer value in the service production system. This paper addresses the important managerial and technological issues for each type of service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemically modified nucleotides have been developed and applied into SELEX procedure to find a novel type of aptamers to fit with targets of interest. In this study, we directly performed chemical modification of 5-(N-benzylcarboxyamide)-2′-deoxyuridine (called 5-BzdU) in the AS1411 aptamer, which binds to the nucleolin protein expressed in cancer cells. Forty-seven compounds of AS1411-containing Cy3-labeled 5-BzdU (called Cy3-(5-BzdU)-modified-AS1411) were synthesized by randomly substituting thymidines one to twelve in AS1411 with Cy3-labeled 5-BzdU. Both statistically quantified fluorescence measurements and confocal imaging analysis demonstrated at least three potential compounds of interest: number 12, 29 and 41 that significantly increased the targeting affinity to cancer cells but no significant activity from normal healthy cells. These results suggest that the position and number of substituents in AS1411 are critical parameters to improve the aptamer function. In this study, we demonstrated that chemical modification of the existing aptamers enhanced the binding and targeting affinity to targets of interest without additional SELEX procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Technology has had a profound effect on how services are designed and delivered. There have been many changes emerging in services as a result of technology. • This paper describes and provides illustrations of a framework which is useful for technology management in the service sector. The framework focuses on managing according to where the value is added in the service: in the service production system/process (knowledge-embedded) or in the worker him/herself (knowledge-based). • This paper explores the strategic technology management [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ribbon antisense (RiAS) to the hTR RNA, a component of the telomerase complex, was employed to inhibit telomerase activity and cancer cell growth. The antisense molecule, hTR-RiAS, combined with enhanced cellular uptake was shown to effectively inhibit telomerase activity and cause rapid cell death in various cancer cell lines. When cancer cells were treated with hTR-RiAS, the level of hTR RNA was reduced by more than 90% accompanied with reduction in telomerase activity. When checked for cancer cell viability, cancer cell lines treated with hTR-RiAS using DNA+Peptide+Lipid complex showed 70–80% growth inhibition in 3 days. The reduced cell viability was due to apoptosis as the percentage of cells exhibiting the sub-G0 arrest and DNA fragmentation increased after antisense treatment. Further, when subcutaneous tumors of a colon cancer cell line (SW480) were treated intratumorally with hTR-RiAS, tumor growth was markedly suppressed with almost total ablation of hTR RNA in the tumor tissue. Cells in the tumor tissue were also found to undergo apoptosis after hTR-RiAS treatment. These results suggest that hTR-RiAS is an effective anticancer reagent, with a potential for broad efficacy to diverse malignant tumors.Oncogene (2005) 24, 6492–6501. doi:10.1038/sj.onc.1208731; published online 15 August 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Technology as a source of building competitive advantage is playing an important role in many service firms. However, technology management in the service sector has significantly lagged behind that in the manufacturing sector. • Service technologies have radically altered the strategic environment in ways that offer significant new opportunities and threats for service firms. In addition, service technologies offer a variety of ways for service providers to add value within their own operations. • This paper presents a technology-centred strategic planning model, which emphasizes the important role of technology in strategy formulation and implementation in services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]