Requirements analysis for automating product testing in aerospace manufacturing

Copyright © 2021 The Authors. The Aerospace Industry has been undertaking strategic changes towards digital manufacturing. One of the challenges is the lack of rationalisation for a cost-benefit analysis of automating certain manufacturing and assembly processes within a customer order. The rigidness and complexity of aerospace lifecycle, and tight industry restrictions does not leave much room for high risk innovations in manufacturing and production lines. This research addressed this problem by investigating an automation adoption scenario with BAE Systems, Electronic Systems, which is a UK based aeronautical systems integrator. This paper reports findings from the general manufacturing industry via an industrial survey. These findings are compared with original findings from an empirical study carried out with BAE Systems within the New Product Introduction team to automate product transportation logistics in an environmental test facility. The paper describes the challenges particularly related to skills, and labour workforce required to manipulate heavy standing products in and out of a production line and how their requirements can be addressed within an automation solution package. The solution includes key design factors related to intricate handling of aeronautic systems via the gripping interface design, and the rest of the operational issues surrounding the testing objectives such as transportation, and test setup. The findings are presented in the form of a requirements analysis for businesses looking to automate manually-intensive tasks in the future, and provide some insights into the lessons learnt in the development of the solution to benefit UK manufacturing tactics to some similar challenges.European Commission (improving the design of flexible and responsive manufacturing systems involving autonomous and Collaborative Robots (CoRoT, Project No: 99)), in collaboration with and co-sponsored by BAE Systems

Two cold inducible genes encoding lipid transfer protein LTP4 from barley show differential responses to bacterial pathogens

The barley genesHvLtp4.2 andHvLtp4.3 both encode the lipid transfer protein LTP4 and are less than 1 kb apart in tail-to-tail orientation. They differ in their non-coding regions from each other and from the gene corresponding to a previously reportedLtp4 cDNA (nowLtp4.1). Southern blot analysis indicated the existence of three or moreLtp4 genes per haploid genome and showed considerable polymorphism among barley cultivars. We have investigated the transient expression of genesHvLtp4.2 andHvLtp4.3 following transformation by particle bombardment, using promoter fusions to the-glucuronidase reporter sequence. In leaves, activities of the two promoters were of the same order as those of the sucrose synthase (Ss1) and cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoters used as controls. Their expression patterns were similar, except thatLtp4.2 was more active thanLtp4.3 in endosperm, andLtp4.3 was active in roots, whileLtp4.2 was not. The promoters of both genes were induced by low temperature, both in winter and spring barley cultivars. Northern blot analysis, using theLtp4-specific probe, indicated thatXanthomonas campestris pv.translucens induced an increase over basal levels ofLtp4 mRNA, whilePseudomonas syringae pv.japonica caused a decrease. TheLtp4.3-Gus promoter fusion also responded in opposite ways to these two compatible bacterial pathogens, whereas theLtp4.2-Gus construction did not respond to infectio

Effects of intra-articular SHINBARO treatment on monosodium iodoacetate-induced osteoarthritis in rats

BACKGROUND: SHINBARO is a refined herbal formulation used to treat inflamed lesions and bone diseases. This study aimed to investigate the anti-osteoarthritic activities of intra-articular administration of SHINBARO and determine its underlying molecular mechanism in a monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis rat model. METHODS: Male Sprague–Dawley rats received a single intra-articular injection of MIA into the infrapatellar ligament of the right knee. Subsequently, the rats were treated with normal saline, SHINBARO, and diclofenac once daily for 21 days. Rats treated with normal saline, but not MIA, comprised the control group. Histological changes in the femur of the MIA-induced osteoarthritis rat model were observed by micro-computed tomography scanning and staining with hematoxylin and eosin, and safranin-O fast green. Serum levels of PGE(2) and anti-type II collagen antibodies in the MIA-induced osteoarthritis rat model were measured using commercial kits. Protein levels of inflammatory enzymes (iNOS, COX-2), pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β), and inflammatory mediators (NF-κB, IκB) in cartilaginous tissues were determined by western blot analysis. RESULTS: Intra-articular administration of SHINBARO (IAS) at 20 mg/kg remarkably restrained the decrease in bone volume/total volume, being 28 % (P = 0.0001) higher than that in the vehicle-treated MIA group. IAS (2, 10, and 20 mg/kg) treatment significantly recovered the mean number of objects values with increased percentage changes of 13.5 % (P = 0.147), 27.5 % (P = 0.028), and 44.5 % (P = 0.031), respectively, compared with the vehicle-treated MIA group. The serum level of PGE(2) in the IAS group at 20 mg/kg was markedly inhibited by 60.6 % (P = 0.0007) compared with the vehicle-treated MIA group, and the anti-collagen type II antibody level in the IAS group was reduced in a dose-dependent manner. IAS (20 mg/kg) effectively suppressed the induction of inflammation-mediated enzymes (iNOS and COX-2) and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-1β). IAS treatment also downregulated the NF-κB level and increased the IκB-α level in the MIA- induced osteoarthritis rat model. CONCLUSION: SHINBARO inhibited PGE(2) and anti-type II collagen antibody production and modulated the balance of inflammatory enzymes, mediators, and cytokines in the MIA-induced osteoarthritis rat model. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13020-016-0089-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Détermination du champ électromagnétique dans un résonateur linéaire supraconducteur à HTC

In this paper, the electromagnetic field configuration in a linear SHTC resonator is described. Two areas are considered : 1) the superconducting strip, 2) the dielectric around the strip. The calculation is based on the current density given by Bowers [1, 2] for an infinite superconducting line. The current density in the resonator is defined by these relations and the resonance conditions.Cet article décrit la configuration du champ électromagnétique dans un résonateur linéaire SHTC. Deux domaines sont considérés : 1) dans le ruban supraconducteur, 2) dans le milieu diélectrique entourant le ruban. Ce calcul s'appuie sur la densité de courant donnée par Bowers [1, 2] pour une ligne infinie supraconductrice. La densité de courant dans le résonateur est définie par ces relations et les conditions de résonance