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These results demonstrate a down-regulation of osteoblast PTH1R mRNA in end-stage renal failure in comparison to normal and high-turnover bone from otherwise healthy individuals, and provide an insight into the mechanisms of "skeletal resistance" to the actions of PTH.

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Evolutionary optimisation of noisy multi-objective problems using confidence-based dynamic resampling. European Journal of Operational AbstractMany real-world optimisation problems approached by evolutionary algorithms are subject to noise. When noise is present, the evolutionary selection process may become unstable and the convergence of the optimisation adversely affected. In this paper, we present a new technique that efficiently deals with noise in multi-objective optimisation. This technique aims at preventing the propagation of inferior solutions in the evolutionary selection due to noisy objective values. This is done by using an iterative resampling procedure that reduces the noise until the likelihood of selecting the correct solution reaches a given confidence level. To achieve an efficient utilisation of resources, the number of samples used per solution varies based on the amount of noise in the present area of the search space. The proposed algorithm is evaluated on the ZDT benchmark problems and two complex real-world problems of manufacturing optimisation. The first realworld problem concerns the optimisation of engine component manufacturing in aviation industry, while the second real-world problem concerns the optimisation of a camshaft machining line in automotive industry. The results from the optimisations indicate that the proposed technique is successful in reducing noise, and it competes successfully with other noise handling techniques.

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PurposeThis paper aims to capture and manage the product lifecycle data for consumer products, especially data that occur in distribution, usage, maintenance and end‐of‐life stages, and to use them to provide information and knowledge.Design/methodology/approachA lifecycle information acquisition and management model is proposed, and an information management system framework is formulated. The information management system developed is then used in actual field trials to manage lifecycle data for refrigeration products and game consoles.FindingsIt has been demonstrated that valuable services can be delivered through a lifecycle information management system.Practical implicationsLifecycle information management systems can open new horizons for product design which are sustainable and environmentally sensitive. They also contribute to the wider exploration of eco‐design and development of next generation consumer products (e.g. smart home appliances).Originality/valueExisting lifecycle information systems cannot support all phases of the product lifecycle. They mainly manage the lifecycle data only during the design and manufacture stages. Lifecycle data during distribution, usage, maintenance and end‐of‐life stages are usually hard to acquire and in most cases lost. The lifecycle information management system developed can capture them, and manage them in an integrated and systematic manner to provide information and knowledge.