Industry 4.0 paradigm: The viewpoint of the small and medium enterprises

International audienceThe pervasive diffusion of Information and Communication technologies (ICT) and automation technologies are the prerequisite for the preconized fourth industrial revolution: the Industry 4.0 (I4.0). Despite the economical efforts of several governments all over the world, still there are few companies, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), that adopt or intend to adopt in the near future I4.0 solutions. This work focus on key issues for implementing the I4.0 solutions in SMEs by using a specific case example as a test bench of an Italian small manufacturing company. Requirements and constraints derived from the field experience are generalised to provide a clear view of the profound potentialities and difficulties of the first industrial revolution announced instead of being historically recognised. A preliminary classification is then provided in view to start conceiving a library of Industry 4.0 formal patterns to identify the maturity of a SME for deploying Industry 4.0 concepts and technologies

Studying social cognition using near-infrared spectroscopy: the case of social Simon effect

In order to understand the so-called "social brain," we need to monitor social interactions in face-to-face paradigms. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a promising technique to achieve this goal. We investigate the neuronal underpinnings of sharing a task in a proper social context. We record cortical activity by means of NIRS, while participants perform a joint Simon task. Different from other hemodynamic techniques, NIRS allows us to have both participants sit comfortably close to each other in a realistic and ecological environment. We found higher activation in the sensorimotor cortex while processing compatible trials as compared to incompatible ones referring to one's own action alternative. Strikingly, when the participant was not responding because it was the turn of the other member of the pair, the inferior parietal was activated. This study provides twofold findings: first, they suggest that the joint Simon effect relies more on shared attentional mechanisms than a proper mapping of the other's motor response. Second, they highlight the invaluable contribution NIRS can afford to social neuroscience in order to preserve ecological and naturalistic settings. © 2013 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) (DOI: 1

Step-by-step: the effects of physical practice on the neural correlates of locomotion imagery revealed by fMRI

Previous studies have shown that mental imagery is a suitable tool to study the progression of the effect of practice on brain activation. Nevertheless, there is still poor knowledge of changes in brain activation patterns during the very early stages of physical practice. In this study, early and late practice stages of different kinds of locomotion (i.e., balanced and unbalanced) have been investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging during mental imagery of locomotion and stance. During the task, cardiac activity was also recorded. The cerebral network comprising supplementary motor area, basal ganglia, bilateral thalamus, and right cerebellum showed a stronger activation during the imagery of locomotion with respect to imagery of stance. The heart beat showed a significant increase in frequency during the imagery of locomotion with respect to the imagery of stance. Moreover, early stages of practice determined an increased activation in basal ganglia and thalamus with respect to late stages. In this way, it is proposed the modulation of the brain network involved in the imagery of locomotion as a function of physical practice time

Central and Peripheral Thermal Signatures of Brain-Derived Fatigue during Unilateral Resistance Exercise: A Preliminary Study

Infrared thermography (IRT) allows to evaluate the psychophysiological state associated with emotions from facial temperature modulations. As fatigue is a brain-derived emotion, it is possible to hypothesize that facial temperature could provide information regarding the fatigue related to exercise. The aim of this study was to investigate the capability of IRT to assess the central and peripheral physiological effect of fatigue by measuring facial skin and muscle temperature modulations in response to a unilateral knee extension exercise until exhaustion. Rate of perceived exertion (RPE) was recorded at the end of the exercise. Both time- ( 06TROI: pre\u2013post exercise temperature variation) and frequency-domain ( 06PSD: pre\u2013post exercise power spectral density variation of specific frequency bands) analyses were performed to extract features from regions of interest (ROIs) positioned on the exercised and nonexercised leg, nose tip, and corrugator. The ANOVA-RM revealed a significant difference between 06TROI (F(1.41,9.81) = 15.14; p = 0.0018), and between 06PSD of myogenic (F(1.34,9.39) = 15.20; p = 0.0021) and neurogenic bands (F(1.75,12.26) = 9.96; p = 0.0034) of different ROIs. Moreover, significant correlations between thermal features and RPE were found. These findings suggest that IRT could assess both peripheral and central responses to physical exercise. Its applicability in monitoring the psychophysiological responses to exercise should be further explored

Postural adjustment in experimental leg length difference evaluated by means of thermal infrared imaging

Limb length discrepancy (LLD) is defined as a condition in which limbs are unequal. The asymmetric load of body segments secondary to LLD may cause a tonic contraction of back and lower limb muscles, thus resulting in subtle cutaneous temperature variations. The aim of this study was to test the capability of high-resolution thermal infrared (IR) imaging to measure the cutaneous temperature short-term adaptation, potentially associated with 'forced' LLD conditions. An experimental LLD, obtained by placing a 20 mm foot support under the dominant foot, was used. IR imaging on 18 male healthy volunteers was performed in three experimental conditions of standing position: (T(0)) neutral posture; (T(1)) experimental LLD; (T(2)) neutral posture as in T(0). Temperature variations were evaluated on the cutaneous projection of postural muscles bellies. Significant and specific temperature variations among conditions were ipsilaterally observed on the tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, quadriceps and latissimus dorsi muscles. Specific patterns characterized the cutaneous temperature as a consequence of the muscle activity associated with the posture variation. IR imaging was able to highlight specific functional activations. The method is non-invasive and it can be repeated without any discomfort for the physiopathological and clinical evaluation of LLD patients

Fiberless, Multi-Channel fNIRS-EEG System Based on Silicon Photomultipliers: Towards Sensitive and Ecological Mapping of Brain Activity and Neurovascular Coupling

Portable neuroimaging technologies can be employed for long-term monitoring of neurophysiological and neuropathological states. Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) and Electroencephalography (EEG) are highly suited for such a purpose. Their multimodal integration allows the evaluation of hemodynamic and electrical brain activity together with neurovascular coupling. An innovative fNIRS-EEG system is here presented. The system integrated a novel continuous-wave fNIRS component and a modified commercial EEG device. fNIRS probing relied on fiberless technology based on light emitting diodes and silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). SiPMs are sensitive semiconductor detectors, whose large detection area maximizes photon harvesting from the scalp and overcomes limitations of fiberless technology. To optimize the signal-to-noise ratio and avoid fNIRS-EEG interference, a digital lock-in was implemented for fNIRS signal acquisition. A benchtop characterization of the fNIRS component showed its high performances with a noise equivalent power below 1 pW. Moreover, the fNIRS-EEG device was tested in vivo during tasks stimulating visual, motor and pre-frontal cortices. Finally, the capabilities to perform ecological recordings were assessed in clinical settings on one Alzheimer’s Disease patient during long-lasting cognitive tests. The system can pave the way to portable technologies for accurate evaluation of multimodal brain activity, allowing their extensive employment in ecological environments and clinical practice

Promoter methylation correlates with reduced NDRG2 expression in advanced colon tumour

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aberrant DNA methylation of CpG islands of cancer-related genes is among the earliest and most frequent alterations in cancerogenesis and might be of value for either diagnosing cancer or evaluating recurrent disease. This mechanism usually leads to inactivation of tumour-suppressor genes. We have designed the current study to validate our previous microarray data and to identify novel hypermethylated gene promoters.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The validation assay was performed in a different set of 8 patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) by means quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis. The differential RNA expression profiles of three CRC cell lines before and after 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine treatment were compared to identify the hypermethylated genes. The DNA methylation status of these genes was evaluated by means of bisulphite genomic sequencing and methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) in the 3 cell lines and in tumour tissues from 30 patients with CRC.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Data from our previous genome search have received confirmation in the new set of 8 patients with CRC. In this validation set six genes showed a high induction after drug treatment in at least two of three CRC cell lines. Among them, the N-myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (<it>NDRG2) </it>promoter was found methylated in all CRC cell lines. <it>NDRG2 </it>hypermethylation was also detected in 8 out of 30 (27%) primary CRC tissues and was significantly associated with advanced AJCC stage IV. Normal colon tissues were not methylated.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings highlight the usefulness of combining gene expression patterns and epigenetic data to identify tumour biomarkers, and suggest that NDRG2 silencing might bear influence on tumour invasiveness, being associated with a more advanced stage.</p

Serum Albumin Is Inversely Associated With Portal Vein Thrombosis in Cirrhosis

We analyzed whether serum albumin is independently associated with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in liver cirrhosis (LC) and if a biologic plausibility exists. This study was divided into three parts. In part 1 (retrospective analysis), 753 consecutive patients with LC with ultrasound-detected PVT were retrospectively analyzed. In part 2, 112 patients with LC and 56 matched controls were entered in the cross-sectional study. In part 3, 5 patients with cirrhosis were entered in the in vivo study and 4 healthy subjects (HSs) were entered in the in vitro study to explore if albumin may affect platelet activation by modulating oxidative stress. In the 753 patients with LC, the prevalence of PVT was 16.7%; logistic analysis showed that only age (odds ratio [OR], 1.024; P = 0.012) and serum albumin (OR, -0.422; P = 0.0001) significantly predicted patients with PVT. Analyzing the 112 patients with LC and controls, soluble clusters of differentiation (CD)40-ligand (P = 0.0238), soluble Nox2-derived peptide (sNox2-dp; P &lt; 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (P = 0.0078) were higher in patients with LC. In LC, albumin was correlated with sCD4OL (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient [r(s)], -0.33; P &lt; 0.001), sNox2-dp (r(s), -0.57; P &lt; 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (r(s), -0.48; P &lt; 0.0001) levels. The in vivo study showed a progressive decrease in platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and urinary 8-iso prostaglandin F2 alpha-III formation 2 hours and 3 days after albumin infusion. Finally, platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and isoprostane formation significantly decreased in platelets from HSs incubated with scalar concentrations of albumin. Conclusion: Low serum albumin in LC is associated with PVT, suggesting that albumin could be a modulator of the hemostatic system through interference with mechanisms regulating platelet activation

Gain- and Loss-of-Function CFTR Alleles Are Associated with COVID-19 Clinical Outcomes

Carriers of single pathogenic variants of the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) gene have a higher risk of severe COVID-19 and 14-day death. The machine learning post-Mendelian model pinpointed CFTR as a bidirectional modulator of COVID-19 outcomes. Here, we demonstrate that the rare complex allele [G576V;R668C] is associated with a milder disease via a gain-of-function mechanism. Conversely, CFTR ultra-rare alleles with reduced function are associated with disease severity either alone (dominant disorder) or with another hypomorphic allele in the second chromosome (recessive disorder) with a global residual CFTR activity between 50 to 91%. Furthermore, we characterized novel CFTR complex alleles, including [A238V;F508del], [R74W;D1270N;V201M], [I1027T;F508del], [I506V;D1168G], and simple alleles, including R347C, F1052V, Y625N, I328V, K68E, A309D, A252T, G542*, V562I, R1066H, I506V, I807M, which lead to a reduced CFTR function and thus, to more severe COVID-19. In conclusion, CFTR genetic analysis is an important tool in identifying patients at risk of severe COVID-19