Active fixturing: literature review and future research directions

Fixtures are used to fixate, position and support workpieces and represent a crucial tool in manufacturing. Their performance determines the result of the whole manufacturing process of a product. There is a vast amount of research done on automatic fixture layout synthesis and optimisation and fixture design verification. Most of this work considers fixture mechanics to be static and the fixture elements to be passive. However, a new generation of fixtures has emerged that has actuated fixture elements for active control of the part–fixture system during manufacturing operations to increase the end product quality. This paper analyses the latest studies in the field of active fixture design and its relationship with flexible and reconfigurable fixturing systems. First, a brief introduction is given on the importance of research of fixturing systems. Secondly, the basics of workholding and fixture design are visited, after which the state-of-the-art in active fixturing and related concepts is presented. Fourthly, part–fixture dynamics and design strategies which take these into account are discussed. Fifthly, the control strategies used in active fixturing systems are examined. Finally, some final conclusions and prospective future research directions are presented

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Design an Integrated Intelligent Equipment Maintenance and Production Dispatching System Using the JESS Platform

[[abstract]]In modern factories, production equipment maintenance represents a significant and important task to ensure that plant facilities continue to function properly. On the other hand, intelligent production dispatching generates maximal outputs for changing production demands. In this research, a system architecture, called Integrated Intelligent Equipment Maintenance and Production Dispatching (IEMPD) building on the JAVA Expert System Shell (JESS), is designed and developed to support collaborative maintenance, remote equipment diagnosis, job dispatching, and production simulation/verification. The IEMPD system is applied for dynamic shop floor equipment maintenance and production control. In the past, trouble shooting analyses were based on the experiences and skills of equipment engineers. The IEMPD platform allows knowledge engineers to construct, manage and maintain rules easily and flexibly to satisfy ever-changing collaborative maintenance and production requirements. Through the rule base, maintenance knowledge and experiences can be created, accumulated, shared and reused. Thus, IEMPD can rapidly help maintenance engineers identify the faults and suggest solutions. Further more, IEMPD can assist production engineers plan dispatched jobs based on the orders and the equipment status. This research uses a machining flexible manufacturing system (FMS) as the case study to demonstrate the IEMPD capability in supporting integrated intelligent maintenance and production.[[fileno]]2020409030018[[department]]工工

Designing a Multi-channel Legal Knowledge Service Center Using Data Analysis and Contact Center Technology

[[abstract]]© 2004 Eighth World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informat-ics - Knowledge management is the process of creating values from intangible assets. With the fast development of information technology and the global reach of legal documents, patents, trademarks and copyrights, technical legal services organizations are challenged to provide better customized services. They must anticipate customer needs to increase competitiveness and customer loyalty. Lawyers and patent consultants can provide customer centric services by using contact center applications and data analysis methodologies. Multi-channel service centers that integrate voice, fax, e-mail, and web applications are increasingly being used to manage customer interactions, queries, complaints and service requests. A multi-channel legal knowledge service center not only provides greater access but also provides the means to analyze customer interaction data. Data collected through the channels must be transformed into meaningful knowledge to benefit corporations. This paper depicts the development of contact center and data analysis methodologies to demonstrate the feasibility and the versatility of legal knowledge service center functions.[[department]]工業工程與工程管理學