A Case Study of Marketing Strategy and Logistics System of Changhong, a Chinese Home Appliances Enterprise

The growing process of Changhong, a representative Chinese home appliance enterprise, is described in this paper. Changhong succeeded in transforming from a former state-run military-radar factory into China’s leading consumer-electronics manufacturer. However it has been experiencing hardship since 1998 and reported significant losses in 2004.The success and failure of Changhong marketing strategy are expounded.This paper reports Changhong’s recent efforts in strategy shift. It shows Changhong is attempting to integrate upstream and downstream resources, and trying to use logistics and supply chain management as competitive business weapons, faced with new challenges in the high-end products market

Intangible Assets Valuation in the Hospitality Industry

In publicly traded firms, there is usually a discrepancy between the market value and the book value of the firm, often due to the valuation of intangible assets. Understanding this discrepancy is import- ant for investors, especially in the service industries like hospitality, where there is considerable industry disruption and consolidation. In this study we examine the effect of four intangible asset investments—research and development (R&D), training, advertising, and pension—on the market premium of restaurant firms. Using a longitudinal sample of 1,421 firm-year observations, the results of our analyses show that R&D, training, advertising, and pension are all important valuation con- structs in the hospitality industry, and their effects on market premium vary by restaurant type. This study fills the gap in the current literature by providing a quantitative method to value intangible assets in the hospitality industry. The practical implications of this study will provide managers in the hospitality industry with helpful insights for strategic decision making, specifically regarding R&D, advertising, and employee compensation

Development of Robust Three-Phase Equilibrium Calculation Algorithms for Complex Reservoir Fluids

Three-phase equilibria, such as three-phase vapor-liquid-aqueous (VLA) equilibria and three-phase vapor-liquid-asphaltene (VLS) equilibria, can frequently appear in hydrocarbon reservoirs. In three-phase equilibrium calculations, one of the most prominent problems is caused by the lack of a prior knowledge of the phases that are actually present. Trivial computing results can frequently appear if the equilibrium calculations are improperly initialized. The presence of the aqueous phase or the asphaltene phase (which is nearly a pure phase in most cases) skews the topography of the free-energy surface, leading to that one of the stationary points may appear near the boundary of the Gibbs free-energy surface. This substantially increases the probability of encountering convergence problem in the three-phase equilibrium calculations. In this research, we aim to develop a suite of techniques to improve the robustness of the three-phase equilibrium calculation algorithms for the VLA and VLS equilibria. In most cases, the aqueous phase can be considered as a pure water phase (the so-called “free-water assumption”). With this assumption, we first develop a robust and efficient algorithm used for conducting isothermal three-phase equilibrium calculations which can consider single-phase, two-phase, and three-phase VLA equilibria. Subsequently, we develop a three-phase free-water isenthalpic equilibrium calculation algorithm by combining the newly developed VLA algorithm with the energy conservation equation which is used to convert enthalpy to temperature. This three-phase free-water isenthalpic equilibrium calculation algorithm can be applied to reservoirs undergoing thermal enhanced oil recovery treatments (in which temperature dramatically changes and is difficult to be known beforehand). A number of example calculations are carried out to demonstrate the performance of these two algorithms. Testing results prove that the newly developed algorithms are robust and effective. For some reservoir mixtures (e.g., a mixture containing CO2 or H2S), the free-water assumption may not be valid since the aqueous phase can contain a significant amount of other species; to accurately capture the three-phase equilibria for such mixtures, we develop a new initialization scheme as well as a new procedure to improve the robustness of the three-phase isothermal equilibrium calculation algorithm. To test the robustness of this algorithm, it is applied to several fluid mixtures to generate pressure-temperature (P-T) phase diagrams, showing that the newly developed algorithm is both robust and efficient. Moreover, we further develop a three-phase VLS isothermal equilibrium calculation algorithm by applying the asphaltene-precipitation model proposed by Nghiem et al. (1993). In their model, they assume that the asphaltenes form a pure phase; this assumption is similar to the free-water assumption. This three-phase VLS isothermal equilibrium calculation algorithm aims to model the CO2 ¬flooding in light oil reservoirs. New initialization methods of equilibrium ratios are provided in this algorithm for both stability test and flash calculation. To test the performance of this algorithm, it is run to generate pressure-composition (P-X) phase diagrams for several reservoir fluids. The new algorithm is shown to be robust as it can always converge to the correct phase equilibrium for all the tested cases. Afterwards, by applying the three-phase VLS equilibrium calculation algorithm, we develop a multiple-mixing-cell (MMC) method to predict the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) with the consideration of asphaltene-precipitation effect. Example calculations are carried out to predict MMPs between reservoir fluid and pure or impure CO2. The MMPs predicted by our algorithm and those predicted by the MMC algorithm without considering asphaltene-precipitation effect are both compared with the MMPs measured by slim tube experiments. The comparison results show that the MMPs predicted by our algorithm agree reasonably well with the measured MMPs

UTR introns, antisense RNA and differentially spliced transcripts between Plasmodium yoelii subspecies

Additional file 1. Evaluation of RNA quality from the two NSM parasite samples in agarose gel (a), and a flow chart of data processing and analysis (b)

Determinants of Automobile Part Packaging Optimization : An fsQCA Approach

In this study, we examine the factors that determine the success or failure of package planning that involves adjusting the shape or size of automobile parts and their assembly processes. Using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis of 15 cases identified in four Japanese automobile companies, we found that to optimize the packaging by adjusting parts’ shape or size and assembly processes, collaboration between the logistics department and other departments is a necessary (core) condition, while front-loading of package planning based on early input of parts design information, transportation distance, and changes in production equipment or layout are included in the combination of sufficient conditions, but are not necessary conditions

A novel MAPT variant (E342K) as a cause of familial progressive supranuclear palsy

BackgroundMAPT variants are a known cause of frontotemporal dementia and Parkinsonian syndrome, of which progressive supranuclear palsy syndrome (PSP) is a rare manifestation.ObjectiveTo report a novel MAPT variant in a PSP pedigree with autosomal dominant inheritance pattern, and to produce a literature review of PSP patients with MAPT variants.MethodsA comprehensive clinical, genetic, and molecular neuroimaging investigation was conducted on a 61 years-old female proband diagnosed with PSP. We also collected the clinical presentation data and history of the patient’s pedigree, and performed further genetic analysis of 4 relatives, from two generations, with and without symptoms.ResultsThe proband exhibited typical clinical manifestation of PSP. A cranial MRI revealed midbrain atrophy, and an FDG-PET scan suggested hypo-metabolic changes in caudate nucleus, left prefrontal lobe, both temporal poles, and midbrain. 18F-florzolo-tau-PET revealed tau-protein deposits in the thalamus and brainstem bilaterally. A gene test by whole-exome sequencing identified a novel MAPT variant [NM_005910.6, exon 11, c.1024G > A (p.E342K)], and the same variant was also identified in one affected relative and one asymptomatic relative, a probable pre-symptomatic carrier.ConclusionThe PSP pedigree caused by the novel MAPT (E342K) variant, expanded the mutational spectrum of MAPT

Effect of confinement on the vapor-liquid-liquid three-phase equilibrium during CO2 utilization and sequestration in shale reservoirs

With the rising global energy demand, shale gas and oil emerge as pivotal resources. Recent innovations utilizing CO2 as an injectant can effectively enhance shale oil and gas recovery and facilitate CO2 storage within shale reservoirs. However, low-temperature CO2 injection may result in the coexistence of three hydrocarbon phases, while the abundant nanopores in shale formations also notably influence the phase behavior of reservoir fluids. To optimize shale oil recovery and CO2 sequestration in shale formations, it is a prerequisite for precisely capturing the effect of confinement on the phase behavior of reservoir fluids within nanopores during CO2 injection. In this work, we introduce a novel three-phase vapor-liquid-liquid equilibrium calculation algorithm, which is designed to handle the unique phase behavior challenges presented by CO2 utilization and storage in shale reservoirs. To improve the robustness and efficiency, the proposed algorithm integrates a trust region-based stability test with a hybrid flash calculation algorithm that combines the Newton-Raphson and trust-region methods. Our thermodynamic model incorporates the capillarity effect and shifts in the critical points due to molecule-wall interactions, which are essential for accurate phase behavior simulation under confinement. Initial validations against experimental bulk phase data show promising results, and further investigations indicate that confinement alters three-phase vapor-liquid-liquid equilibria by suppressing two-phase and three-phase regions and shifting boundaries in the phase diagrams. The proposed algorithm not only advances our understanding of multiphase equilibrium in nanoporous media but also enhances the practicality of CO2 sequestration and improved oil recovery strategies in shale formations.Document Type: Original articleCited as: Chen, Z., Li, R., Du, Y., Ma, S., Zhang, X., Shi, J. Effect of confinement on the vapor-liquid-liquid three-phase equilibrium during CO2 utilization and sequestration in shale reservoirs. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2025, 16(3): 199-210. https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2025.06.0

Travel time models for the Rack-moving Mobile Robot System

The rack-moving mobile robot (RMMR) system is a special parts-to-picker automated warehousing system that uses hundreds of rack-moving machines to accomplish the repetitive tasks of storing and retrieving parts by lifting and transporting unit racks autonomously. This paper investigates the operation cycle of the rack-moving machine for storage and retrieval from the perspective of the lane depth, especially exploring the particularity of the RMMR system in multi-deep lanes, and proposes expected travel time models of the rack-moving machine for single- and multi-deep layouts of the RMMR system. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed models, an experimental simulation was conducted with a 1–4-deep layout under six scenarios of different numbers of aisles and layers, and results were compared with results obtained using proposed models. The paper presents useful guidelines for the configuration of the RMMR system layout including the determination of the optimal lane depth