Learnings from a successful transformation to a high-performance organization: a longitudinal case study.

An increasing number of organizations embark on a journey to transform themselves into a high-performance organization (HPO) to be able to better deal with the changes in their environment. Unfortunately, in the current literature hardly any approaches are described that can support them during this transformation. One promising approach, the (Waal and Heijtel, Meas Bus Excell 21:101-116, 2017) HPO transformation approach, has only been validated in one instance. This study outlines an additional validated approach. A simplified version of the aforementioned transformation approach (Waal et al. The high-performance finance function, handbook for the future-oriented financial professional, IGI Global, Hershey, 2022) was used at a case company which in 5 year time transformed into an HPO. Based on a questionnaire which collected and evaluated interventions undertaken by the case company, coupled with an extensive interview on the interventions with the manager of the case company, the interventions were categorized in the HPO transformation approach. The HPO transformation approach made it possible to make a structured overview of the interventions, which gave insight into how the case company went about its successful HPO transformation. Thus, the research has both a theoretical and practical contribution. Theoretically, the currently rather limited academic literature on transformation approaches regarding high-performance organizations is extended with another validated case, thus further developing this line of research. Practically, organizations get access to a validated transformation approach, thereby increasing their chance on a successful HPO transformation. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43546-022-00354-8.

State transformation-based adaptive tracking control for a class of nonlinear systems with time-varying state constraints.

It is meaningful to study the control problems of nonlinear systems with uncertain parameters and external disturbances, especially for those subject to state constraints. In this paper, a state transformation approach is proposed to address time-varying asymmetric state constraints. By this state transformation, the state constrained problem is transformed into the boundedness problem of the transformed function. When the initial states are in the constrained region, the state constraints can be guaranteed as long as the boundedness of the transformed functions are guaranteed. Compared with the barrier Lyapunov function (BLF) approach, it successfully removes the feasibility test from virtual controllers, and thus broadens its application scope. In addition, for the parametric uncertainties and external disturbances exist in the system simultaneously, the tuning function and the adaptive laws for the upper bounds of disturbances are designed to help realize the control performance of the system. Consequently, a novel tuning function based adaptive backstepping control scheme is given. The designed controller ensures the error signals converge to a small neighbourhood of zero and the asymmetric time-varying constraints on system states are maintained for all the time. Finally, simulation results are given to illustrate the efficacy of the presented control scheme.

Optimal switching time control of the hyperbaric oxygen therapy for a chronic wound.

Chronic wounds, defined as those wounds which fail to heal through the normally orderly process of stages and remain in a chronic inflammatory state, are a significant socioeconomic problem. This paper considers an optimal switching time control problem of the hyperbaric oxygen therapy for a chronic wound. First, we model the spatiotemporal evolution of a chronic wound by introducing oxygen, neutrophils, invasive bacteria, and chemoattractant. Then, we apply the method of lines to reduce the partial differential equations (PDEs) into ordinary differential equations (ODEs), which lead to an ODE optimization problem with the changed time switching points. The time-scaling transformation approach is applied to further transform the control problem with changed switching time into another new problem with fixed switching time. The gradient formulas of the cost functional corresponding to the time intervals are derived based on the sensitivity analysis. Finally, computational numerical analysis demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy to inhibit the growth of bacterial concentration.

Biotransformation of Natural Saponins / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Saponin is a kind of complex compounds with triterpenoid or spiral aglycones.Natural saponins are used as substrates,and many novel compounds are obtained by biotransformation technology. Especially, converted products of saponins with strong activities provide valuable lead compounds for the research and development of new drugs. Saponins can be divided into triterpenoid saponin and steroidal saponin according to the structure of the mother nucleus. There are about 89 reported saponin components,including 56 triterpenoid saponins and 33 steroidal saponins. Biological enzyme catalysis,microbial transformation and intestinal microflora transformation are the main bioconversion technologies and key development directions of saponins. The research and optimization technology of biological enzyme and microbial transformation of saponins are the effective methods to prepare active secondary saponins. The biotransformation reaction of saponins mainly includes hydrolysis,redox and rearrangement,resulting in the formation of aglycones,secondary glycosides and their derivatives. The hydrolysis of saponin sugar chains was the main biological transformation pathway, and could generate a number of secondary saponins with less glycosyl groups. The secondary saponins could be absorbed into blood and become real active ingredients in body. Preparation of rare secondary saponins,discovery of lead compounds and development of new drugs are the main directions of biotransformation of saponins. The studies on the metabolism and mechanism of natural saponins by microbial and intestinal microbial biotransformation will also become hotspots. According to relevant papers at home and abroad,the researches on transformation technique,transformation approach and transformation reaction of saponins from natural products in the past thirty years were summarized, and the prospects of research and development were also analyzed to provide scientific basis for further study and comprehensive utilization of these conversion products.