Innovative Service-Based Business Concepts for the Machine Tool Building Industry

Organised by: Cranfield UniversityDuring the last decade, machine tool building companies have been forced to put innovative offers on the market. Due to the technical features of their products and the prevailing organizational structures in this sector, especially product-service systems are a promising way of creating a unique selling point. In this paper, potential new business concepts for machine tool builders will be presented which aim at fulfilling basic customer needs like the increase in quality, flexibility, productivity and the reduction of lead times, costs and risks. For the implementation of these product-service systems, practical examples are given.Mori Seiki – The Machine Tool Compan

Analysis of the Autonomic Regulation in a Case of Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy after Ken Ware Treatment

Abstract This is a study on autonomic neuroscience. In a previous paper in [1], we studied a subject affected from facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy before and after Ken Ware treatment (NPT). Using the non linear methodology of the Generalized Mutual Information (GMI) analysis of Sensory Motor Rhythm, we produced detailed results evidencing that the mentioned NPT treatment involved a net improvement of the patient under his subjective psychological condition, and in particular, under the neurological and sensory motor profile. We quantified with accuracy the improvement that the subject realized during such treatment. Of course, previous studies of several authors have evidenced that muscular dystrophies are strongly linked to a profound ANS disfunction. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyze the ANS of the subject before and after the treatment. We performed analysis in time as well as in frequency domain and by using non linear methods. The basic result of the paper was that, according to our analysis, the subjects started with a serious ANS disfunction before the NPT treatment and that a net improvement was obtained after this therapy. All the examined parameters resulted strongly altered before the treatment and all they returned in the normal range after the NPT

Muscle Tissue Damage Induced by the Venom of Bothrops asper: Identification of Early and Late Pathological Events through Proteomic Analysis

Citation: Herrera C, Macêdo JKA, Feoli A, Escalante T, Rucavado A, Gutiérrez JM, et al. (2016) Muscle Tissue Damage Induced by the Venom of Bothrops asper: Identification of Early and Late Pathological Events through Proteomic Analysis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 10(4): e0004599. doi:10.1371/journal. pntd.0004599The time-course of the pathological effects induced by the venom of the snake Bothrops asper in muscle tissue was investigated by a combination of histology, proteomic analysis of exudates collected in the vicinity of damaged muscle, and immunodetection of extracellular matrix proteins in exudates. Proteomic assay of exudates has become an excellent new methodological tool to detect key biomarkers of tissue alterations for a more integrative perspective of snake venom-induced pathology. The time-course analysis of the intracellular proteins showed an early presence of cytosolic and mitochondrial proteins in exudates, while cytoskeletal proteins increased later on. This underscores the rapid cytotoxic effect of venom, especially in muscle fibers, due to the action of myotoxic phospholipases A2, followed by the action of proteinases in the cytoskeleton of damaged muscle fibers. Similarly, the early presence of basement membrane (BM) and other extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in exudates reflects the rapid microvascular damage and hemorrhage induced by snake venom metalloproteinases. The presence of fragments of type IV collagen and perlecan one hour after envenoming suggests that hydrolysis of these mechanically/structurally-relevant BM components plays a key role in the genesis of hemorrhage. On the other hand, the increment of some ECM proteins in the exudate at later time intervals is likely a consequence of the action of endogenous matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) or of de novo synthesis of ECM proteins during tissue remodeling as part of the inflammatory reaction. Our results offer relevant insights for a more integrative and systematic understanding of the time-course dynamics of muscle tissue damage induced by B. asper venom and possibly other viperid venoms.Universidad de Costa Rica/[741-B4-660]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[741-B6-125]/UCR/Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias de la Salud::Instituto Clodomiro Picado (ICP

Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Patients with Bronchiectasis: Case Reports

The effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) has been recognized in national and international guidelines and highlighted by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence as one of the six key priorities for improving the care of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. PR is likely to be effective in bronchiectasis as it is in COPD. We evaluated the efficacy of PR in the management of bronchiectasis. Three patients affected by bronchiectasis, with cough, sputum production, dyspnea, and decreased exercise tolerance, were submitted to five months of PR program consisting in treadmill walking, cycle ergometry, breathing exercises, and postural drainage with clapping percussion-vibratory-shaking. In all patients, after PR, chest x-ray showed that the obstructive disease decreased with bronchial wall thickness reduction. This improvement facilitated the performance of breath actions increasing the exercise tolerance and quality of life, evaluated respectively with the 6-minute walking test, the SF36, and the Borg scale. These results highlighted the potential role of PR in patients with bronchiectasis, however further investigations are needed to identify the most eligible patients and to optimize the training programs to maintain long term benefit. Chest x-ray may represent a relevant instrument to observe the clinical improvement of these patients, also when spirometric values do not change significantly