Reinforcement learning for energy-efficient control of multi-stage production lines with parallel machine workstations

An effective approach to enhancing the sustainability of production systems is to use energy-efficient control (EEC) policies for optimal balancing of production rate and energy demand. Reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms can be employed to successfully control production systems, even when there is a lack of prior knowledge about system parameters. Furthermore, recent research demonstrated that RL can be also applied for the optimal EEC of a single manufacturing workstation with parallel machines. The purpose of this study is to apply an RL for EEC approach to more workstations belonging to the same industrial production system from the automotive sector, without relying on full knowledge of system dynamics. This work aims to show how the RL for EEC of more workstations affects the overall production system in terms of throughput and energy consumption. Numerical results demonstrate the benefits of the proposed model

FactoryBricks: a New Learning Platform for Smart Manufacturing Systems

Manufacturing industries are facing radical changes under the technological acceleration of Industry 4.0. The manufacturing workforce is not ready for such disruptions due to the lack of vertical skills on digital technologies. Production planning and control of manufacturing systems is often an experience-based art. Further, the companies need of offering training paths for long-life learning of their employees finds several obstacles in the availability of skilled trainers and the trainee’s low engagement with traditional learning models. This paper presents how the FactoryBricks project aims at overcoming the aforementioned issues. The project delivers effective training courses to enable the uptake of industrial technologies and smart manufacturing systems for professionals, either executives or technicians. Beside digital learning contents, the learners are offered an interaction with lab-scale models of production systems built with modular components such as LEGO®. The courses are designed in a modular way, and aim to teach manufacturing concepts in three main topics: (1) the physical system and its dynamics, (2) the physical-digital data connections for smart online analytics, and (3) the exploitation of digital models for production. The paper also presents the results of the prototypical implementation of the project

COVID-19-related anosmia: the olfactory pathway hypothesis and early intervention

Anosmia is a well-described symptom of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Several respiratory viruses are able to cause post-viral olfactory dysfunction, suggesting a sensorineural damage. Since the olfactory bulb is considered an immunological organ contributing to prevent the invasion of viruses, it could have a role in host defense. The inflammatory products locally released in COVID-19, leading to a local damage and causing olfactory loss, simultaneously may interfere with the viral spread into the central nervous system. In this context, olfactory receptors could play a role as an alternative way of SARS-CoV-2 entry into cells locally, in the central nervous system, and systemically. Differences in olfactory bulb due to sex and age may contribute to clarify the different susceptibility to infection and understand the role of age in transmission and disease severity. Finally, evaluation of the degree of functional impairment (grading), central/peripheral anosmia (localization), and the temporal course (evolution) may be useful tools to counteract COVID-19

Initial Testing of an Approximated, Fast Calculation Procedure for Personalized Dosimetry in Radionuclide Therapy Based on Planar Whole-Body Scan and Monte-Carlo Specific Dose Rates from the OpenDose Project

Individualized dosimetry in nuclear medicine is currently at least advisable in order to obtain the best risk–benefit balance in terms of the maximal dose to lesions and under-threshold doses to radiosensitive organs. This article aims to propose a procedure for fast dosimetric calculations based on planar whole-body scintigraphy (WBS) images and developed to be employed in everyday clinical practice. Methods: For simplicity and legacy reasons, the method is based on planar imaging dosimetry, complemented with some assumptions on the radiopharmaceutical kinetics empirically derived from single-photon emission tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) image analysis. The idea is to exploit a rough estimate of the time-integrated activity as has been suggested for SPECT/CT dosimetry but using planar images. The resulting further reduction in dose estimation accuracy is moderated by the use of a high-precision Monte-Carlo S-factor, such as those available within the OpenDose project. Results: We moved the problem of individualized dosimetry to a transformed space where comparing doses was imparted to the ICRP Average Male/Female computational phantom, resulting from an activity distribution related to patient’s pharmaceutical uptake. This is a fast method for the personalized dosimetric evaluation of radionuclide therapy, bearing in mind that the resulting doses are meaningful in comparison with thresholds calculated in the same framework. Conclusion: The simplified scheme proposed here can help the community, or even the single physician, establish a quantitative guide-for-the-eye approach to individualized dosimetry

Oxidative stress and gut-derived lipopolysaccharides in children affected by paediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections

BACKGROUND: Paediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections syndrome (PANDAS) identifies patients with acute onset of obsessive-compulsive and tic disorders. The objective of this study was to evaluate serum NOX2 levels, as well as 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α (8-iso-PGF2α) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of PANDAS patients. METHODS: In this study we wanted to compare serum levels of soluble NOX2-dp (sNOX-2-dp), iso-PGF2α and LPS in 60 consecutive subjects, including 30 children affected by PANDAS and 30 controls (CT) matched for age and gender. Serum zonulin was used as intestinal permeability assay. RESULTS: Compared with CT, PANDAS children had increased serum levels of sNOX-2-dp, 8-iso-PGF2α and LPS. Bivariate analysis showed that serum sNOX2-dp was significantly correlated with LPS (Rs = 0.359; p = 0.005), zonulin (Rs = 0.444; p < 0.001) and 8-iso-PGF2α (Rs = 0.704; p < 0.001). Serum LPS significantly correlated with zonulin (Rs = 0.610; p < 0.001), and 8-iso-PGF2α (Rs = 0.591; p = 0.001). Finally, a multiple linear regression analysis showed that serum 8-iso-PGF2α and zonulin were the only independent variables associated with sNOX2-dp (R2 = 68%). CONCLUSION: This study shows that children affected by PANDAS have high circulating levels of sNOX2-dp, isoprostanes and of LPS that could be involved in the process of neuroinflammation

Low grade endotoxemia and oxidative stress in offspring of patients with early myocardial infarction

Background and aims: Offspring of patients with early myocardial infarction are at higher cardiovascular risk, but the underlying physio-pathological mechanism is unclear. NADPH oxidase-type 2 (NOX-2) plays a pivotal role as mediator of oxidative stress and could be involved in activating platelets in these patients. Furthermore, altered intestinal permeability and serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS) could be a trigger to promote NOX-2 activation and platelet aggregation. This study aims to evaluate the behavior of low grade endotoxemia, oxidative stress and platelet activation in offspring of patients with early myocardial infarction. Methods: We enrolled, in a cross-sectional study, 46 offspring of patients with early myocardial infarction and 86 healthy subjects (HS). LPS levels and gut permeability (assessed by zonulin), oxidative stress (assessed by serum NOX-2-derived peptide (sNOX2-dp) release, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production and isoprostanes), serum nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and platelet activation (by serum thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and soluble P-Selectin (sP-Selectin)) were analyzed. Results: Compared to HS, offspring of patients with early myocardial infarction had higher values of LPS, zonulin, serum isoprostanes, sNOX2-dp H2O2, TXB2, p-selectin and lower NO bioavailability. Logistic regression analysis showed that the variables associated with offspring of patients with early myocardial infarction were LPS, TXB2 and isoprostanes. The multiple linear regression analysis confirmed that serum NOX-2, isoprostanes, p-selectin and H2O2 levels were significantly associated to LPS. Furthermore, serum LPS, isoprostanes and TXB2 levels were significantly associated with sNOX-2-dp. Conclusions: Offspring of patients with early myocardial infarction have a low grade endotoxemia that could generate oxidative stress and platelet activation increasing their cardiovascular risk. Future studies are needed to understand the role of dysbiosis in this population

Fissuras lábio-palatais: estudo caso-controle

This study relates to a case-control analysis for the purpose of verifying the association between oral clefts and possible risk factors. The analysed variables were: place of mother's residence (urban/ rural), pollution, parental diseases, mother's diseases during the first four months of pregnancy, intake of drugs related to this period, heredity, smoking habits, alcohol consumption and X-ray examinations during pregnancy or X-ray examinations prior to preganacy. There were 450 cases of clefts of whom 354 had a cleft lip with or without cleft palate and 96 had a cleft palate. The relative risk (RR) for each variable by was estimated points and at a 95% of confidence interval and multivariate analysis was applied. As regards cleft lip with or without cleft palate, the risk factors are heredity (RR = 4.96), epilepsy in the mother (RR = 2.39) and the intake of drugs such as anti-inflammatory substance in the first four months of pregnancy (RR = 2.59). Related to cleft palate, the risk factors are heredity (RR = 2.82) and pollution (RR = 2.58).Realizou-se um estudo caso-controle com o propósito de se detectar possíveis fatores de risco para o aparecimento de fissuras orais. Foram objeto de análise: local de moradia da mãe nos quatro primeiros meses de gestação, poluição, aplicação de pesticida/herbicida na lavoura, doenças dos pais, doenças da mãe nos quatro primeiros meses de gestação, ingestão medicamentosa nesse período, hereditariedade, tabagismo, consumo de bebida alcoólica e exposição a raio-X. Foram aplicados formulários às mães referentes aos 450 casos, sendo 354 portadores de fissuras labiais ou lábio-palatais e 96 de fissuras palatinas, e às mães referentes aos 450 controles. Empregou-se análise multivariada e as variáveis hereditariedade (RR=4,96), epilepsia na mãe (RR=2,39) e ingestão de anti-inflamatório (RR=2,59) foram consideradas fatores de risco para fissuras labiais ou lábio-palatais. As variáveis hereditariedade (RR=2,82) e poluição (RR=2,58) foram consideradas fatores de risco para fissuras palatinas

Acute Delta Hepatitis in Italy spanning three decades (1991–2019): Evidence for the effectiveness of the hepatitis B vaccination campaign

Updated incidence data of acute Delta virus hepatitis (HDV) are lacking worldwide. Our aim was to evaluate incidence of and risk factors for acute HDV in Italy after the introduction of the compulsory vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 1991. Data were obtained from the National Surveillance System of acute viral hepatitis (SEIEVA). Independent predictors of HDV were assessed by logistic-regression analysis. The incidence of acute HDV per 1-million population declined from 3.2 cases in 1987 to 0.04 in 2019, parallel to that of acute HBV per 100,000 from 10.0 to 0.39 cases during the same period. The median age of cases increased from 27 years in the decade 1991-1999 to 44 years in the decade 2010-2019 (p < .001). Over the same period, the male/female ratio decreased from 3.8 to 2.1, the proportion of coinfections increased from 55% to 75% (p = .003) and that of HBsAg positive acute hepatitis tested for by IgM anti-HDV linearly decreased from 50.1% to 34.1% (p < .001). People born abroad accounted for 24.6% of cases in 2004-2010 and 32.1% in 2011-2019. In the period 2010-2019, risky sexual behaviour (O.R. 4.2; 95%CI: 1.4-12.8) was the sole independent predictor of acute HDV; conversely intravenous drug use was no longer associated (O.R. 1.25; 95%CI: 0.15-10.22) with this. In conclusion, HBV vaccination was an effective measure to control acute HDV. Intravenous drug use is no longer an efficient mode of HDV spread. Testing for IgM-anti HDV is a grey area requiring alert. Acute HDV in foreigners should be monitored in the years to come

Energy-Efficient Control in Multi-Stage Production Lines with Parallel Machine Workstations and Production Constraints

Nowadays, the growing interest in industry for enhancing manufacturing processes sustainability is a major trend. One of the most supported strategies to increase the energy-efficiency of manufacturing activities is the control of machine state towards the optimum trade-off between production rate and energy demand. This method is referred to as energy-efficient control and it triggers machines in a standby state with low power request. In this paper, multi-stage production lines composed of identical parallel machine workstations are the systems of interest, and the energy-efficient control policies make use of buffer level information. Each machine can be switched off instantaneously and switched on with a stochastic startup time. Problem objective is to minimize the energy demand while assuring production constraints. The paper proposes a novel approach to solve the problem at hand. An exact model for two-stage system is formulated using a Markov Decision Process to be solved with a linear programming methodology. A novel technique, namely the Backward-Recursive approach, is used to address systems with more than two stages. Numerical experiments confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach