An agent-based approach for the dynamic and decentralized service reconfiguration in collaborative production scenarios

Future industrial systems endorse the implementation of innovative paradigms addressing the continuous flexibility, reconfiguration, and evolution to face the volatility of dynamic markets demanding complex and customized products. Smart manufacturing relies on the capability to adapt and evolve to face changes, particularly by identifying, on-the-fly, opportunities to reconfigure its behavior and functionalities and offer new and more adapted services. This paper introduces an agent-based approach for service reconfiguration that allows the identification of the opportunities for reconfiguration in a pro-active and dynamic manner, and the implementation on-the-fly of the best strategies for the service reconfiguration that will lead to a better production efficiency. The developed prototype for a flexible manufacturing system case study allowed to verify the feasibility of greedy local service reconfiguration for competitive and collaborative industrial automation situations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Analysing the impact of rescheduling time in hybrid manufacturing control

Hybrid manufacturing control architectures merge the benefits of hierarchical and heterarchical approaches. Disturbances can be handled at upper or lower decision levels, depending on the type of disturbance, its impact and the time the control system has to react. This paper focuses particularly on a disturbance handling mechanism at upper decision levels using a rescheduling manufacturing method. Such rescheduling is more complex that the offline scheduling since the control system must take into account the current system status, obtain a satisfactory performance under the new conditions, and also come up with a new schedule in a restricted amount of time. Then, this paper proposes a simple and generic rescheduling method which, based on the satisfying principle, analyses the trade-off between the rescheduling time and the performance achieved after a perturbation. The proposed approach is validated on a simulation model of a realistic assembly cell and results demonstrate that adaptation of the rescheduling time might be beneficial in terms of overall performance and reactivity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The G-Quadruplex Ligand Telomestatin Impairs Binding of Topoisomerase IIIα to G-Quadruplex-Forming Oligonucleotides and Uncaps Telomeres in ALT Cells

In Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) cell lines, specific nuclear bodies called APBs (ALT-associated PML bodies) concentrate telomeric DNA, shelterin components and recombination factors associated with telomere recombination. Topoisomerase IIIα (Topo III) is an essential telomeric-associated factor in ALT cells. We show here that the binding of Topo III to telomeric G-overhang is modulated by G-quadruplex formation. Topo III binding to G-quadruplex-forming oligonucleotides was strongly inhibited by telomestatin, a potent and specific G-quadruplex ligand. In ALT cells, telomestatin treatment resulted in the depletion of the Topo III/BLM/TRF2 complex and the disruption of APBs and led to the segregation of PML, shelterin components and Topo III. Interestingly, a DNA damage response was observed at telomeres in telomestatin-treated cells. These data indicate the importance of G-quadruplex stabilization during telomere maintenance in ALT cells. The function of TRF2/Topo III/BLM in the resolution of replication intermediates at telomeres is discussed

Methodology – A Review of Intelligent Manufacturing Scope, Strategy and Simulation

This paper presents a critical review of some existing modelling, control and optimization techniques for energy saving, carbon emission reduction in manufacturing processes. The study on various production issues reveals different levels of intelligent manufacturing approaches. Then methods and strategies to tackle the sustainability issues in manufacturing are summarized. Modelling tools such as discrete (dynamic) event system (DES/DEDS) and agent-based modelling/simulation (ABS) approaches are reviewed from the production planning and control prospective. These approaches will provide some guidelines for the development of advanced factory modelling, resource flow analysis and assisting the identification of improvement potentials, in order to achieve more sustainable manufacturing

Social Media, Gender and the Mediatisation of War: Exploring the German Armed Forces’ Visual Representation of the Afghanistan Operation on Facebook

Studies on the mediatisation of war point to attempts of governments to regulate the visual perspective of their involvements in armed conflict – the most notable example being the practice of ‘embedded reporting’ in Iraq and Afghanistan. This paper focuses on a different strategy of visual meaning-making, namely, the publication of images on social media by armed forces themselves. Specifically, we argue that the mediatisation of war literature could profit from an increased engagement with feminist research, both within Critical Security/Critical Military Studies and within Science and Technology Studies that highlight the close connection between masculinity, technology and control. The article examines the German military mission in Afghanistan as represented on the German armed forces’ official Facebook page. Germany constitutes an interesting, and largely neglected, case for the growing literature on the mediatisation of war: its strong antimilitarist political culture makes the representation of war particularly delicate. The paper examines specific representational patterns of Germany’s involvement in Afghanistan and discusses the implications which arise from what is placed inside the frame of visibility and what remains out of its view

Time-course of butyric acid-induced differentiation in human K562 leukemic cell line: rapid increase in g-globin, porphobilinogen deaminase and NF-E2 mRNA levels

International audienceButyric acid (BA) was shown to induce hemoglobinization of dence of globin gene expression on the NF-E2 transcription K562 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner. The maximal factor has been demonstrated in murine erythroleukemia differentiation (54% of hemoglobinized cells) was obtained with cells. 15 The GATA-1 transcription factor has been shown to the 0.5 mM concentration, which induced a 60% inhibition of play a central role in the control of several erythroid genes cell growth at day 3 without cytotoxicity. Parallel to the kinetics including g-globin, PBGD, erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) of hemoglobinization, a rapid increase in g-globin and porpho-bilinogen deaminase (PBGD) mRNAs was observed in BA-and GATA-1 itself. 16 treated cells. This increase was time-dependent and higher for In view of the above, we propose in this report to study the g-globin than for PBGD (six-and twofold at day 3, time-course of BA-induced hemoglobinization and erythroid respectively). In contrast, erythropoietin receptor mRNAs were mRNA overexpression in human K562 cells. By so doing, we not affected by BA treatment. Analysis of erythroid transcrip-intend to bring new insights into the involvement of GATA-1 tion factor mRNA levels during the time course of BA treatment and, especially, NF-E2 transcription factors in the BA-triggered showed, for the first time, an early and marked (up to threefold) increase in p45 NF-E2 mRNA, contrasting with that of GATA-1 differentiation process. mRNA (,1.5-fold). Taken together, these results showed the rapid differentiating effect of BA and suggest the involvement of the NF-E2 transcription factor. Materials and method

Time-course of butyric acid-induced differentiation in human K562 leukemic cell line: rapid increase in g-globin, porphobilinogen deaminase and NF-E2 mRNA levels

International audienceButyric acid (BA) was shown to induce hemoglobinization of dence of globin gene expression on the NF-E2 transcription K562 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner. The maximal factor has been demonstrated in murine erythroleukemia differentiation (54% of hemoglobinized cells) was obtained with cells. 15 The GATA-1 transcription factor has been shown to the 0.5 mM concentration, which induced a 60% inhibition of play a central role in the control of several erythroid genes cell growth at day 3 without cytotoxicity. Parallel to the kinetics including g-globin, PBGD, erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) of hemoglobinization, a rapid increase in g-globin and porpho-bilinogen deaminase (PBGD) mRNAs was observed in BA-and GATA-1 itself. 16 treated cells. This increase was time-dependent and higher for In view of the above, we propose in this report to study the g-globin than for PBGD (six-and twofold at day 3, time-course of BA-induced hemoglobinization and erythroid respectively). In contrast, erythropoietin receptor mRNAs were mRNA overexpression in human K562 cells. By so doing, we not affected by BA treatment. Analysis of erythroid transcrip-intend to bring new insights into the involvement of GATA-1 tion factor mRNA levels during the time course of BA treatment and, especially, NF-E2 transcription factors in the BA-triggered showed, for the first time, an early and marked (up to threefold) increase in p45 NF-E2 mRNA, contrasting with that of GATA-1 differentiation process. mRNA (,1.5-fold). Taken together, these results showed the rapid differentiating effect of BA and suggest the involvement of the NF-E2 transcription factor. Materials and method