Supporting ECO-innovation in SMEs by TRIZ Eco-guidelines

An Eco-Design methodology based on two abridged Life Cycle Assessment tools (eVerdEE [1] developed by ENEA [2] and the French Standard NF 01-005) plus TRIZ [3] Eco-guidelines is presented. This method is one of the outputs of the European project REMake [4] (started September 2009 ended December 2012), which had the goal of developing and testing new approaches for eco-innovation, recycling and material consumption for manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The number of SMEs involved in the project has been around 250, in six countries. The proposed method consists of a preliminary scanning of a given product or process in order to disclose all the material involved and the energy flows, and to assess their environmental impact by means of a simplified Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach and the related indexes. The "hot spots" of the product or process are then identified by adding a brand new index called "IFR (Ideal Final Result) index", conceived from the TRIZ "Ideal System" concept [5], to classical LCA criteria. Once the hot points are identified, a set of over 300 TRIZ based eco-design guidelines [6,7] are selectively introduced to develop design variants to the given system with the aim of providing a lower global environmental impact. An in-depth explanation about ECO guideline implementation is given, together with a case study concerning a manufacturer of machine tools

The value of TRIZ and its derivatives for interdisciplinary group problem solving

The value of TRIZ for technological problem solving is widely recognized. Initially designed for an inventor working (alone) on a technical problem, it is today often used as a tool for group creativity. In this article, we report on a an experiment which was designed in order to investigate the value of concepts and tools of TRIZ and its derivatives like USIT for joint problem identification, modeling and creative problem solving in a non-technological domain by multidisciplinary teams. Further, we briefly discuss the categorization of the outcome of the creative process by a combination of TRIZ and USIT analysis tools

Ontology-Based Solution for Handling Safety and Cybersecurity Interdependency in Safety-Critical Systems

In case, safety-critical systems face an anomaly (either intentional or not), safety and cybersecurity impact humans and environment. Thus, they affect each other and so they are considered as interdependent. An ontology-based solution for safety is needed to handle this interdependency. We propose a new safety ontology for Network Function Virtualization (NFV) framework which is able to cover reliability, availability, maintainability, and integrity-related breakdown types, since they interact and influence safety according to ENISA. Our ontology allows us to have a uniformized representation of the potential anomalies that a system and its elements can face. Based on this representation, a decision-making process takes place to avoid potential conflicts between safety and cybersecurity in order to best handle their interdependency. The results of our implementation show that our ontology handles the safety and cybersecurity interdependency and has little impact on decision-making time, which makes it an effective methodology for NFV framework

Analysis of shared common genetic risk between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and epilepsy

Because hyper-excitability has been shown to be a shared pathophysiological mechanism, we used the latest and largest genome-wide studies in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (n = 36,052) and epilepsy (n = 38,349) to determine genetic overlap between these conditions. First, we showed no significant genetic correlation, also when binned on minor allele frequency. Second, we confirmed the absence of polygenic overlap using genomic risk score analysis. Finally, we did not identify pleiotropic variants in meta-analyses of the 2 diseases. Our findings indicate that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and epilepsy do not share common genetic risk, showing that hyper-excitability in both disorders has distinct origins

Association of Variants in the SPTLC1 Gene With Juvenile Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Importance: Juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare form of ALS characterized by age of symptom onset less than 25 years and a variable presentation.Objective: To identify the genetic variants associated with juvenile ALS.Design, Setting, and Participants: In this multicenter family-based genetic study, trio whole-exome sequencing was performed to identify the disease-associated gene in a case series of unrelated patients diagnosed with juvenile ALS and severe growth retardation. The patients and their family members were enrolled at academic hospitals and a government research facility between March 1, 2016, and March 13, 2020, and were observed until October 1, 2020. Whole-exome sequencing was also performed in a series of patients with juvenile ALS. A total of 66 patients with juvenile ALS and 6258 adult patients with ALS participated in the study. Patients were selected for the study based on their diagnosis, and all eligible participants were enrolled in the study. None of the participants had a family history of neurological disorders, suggesting de novo variants as the underlying genetic mechanism.Main Outcomes and Measures: De novo variants present only in the index case and not in unaffected family members.Results: Trio whole-exome sequencing was performed in 3 patients diagnosed with juvenile ALS and their parents. An additional 63 patients with juvenile ALS and 6258 adult patients with ALS were subsequently screened for variants in the SPTLC1 gene. De novo variants in SPTLC1 (p.Ala20Ser in 2 patients and p.Ser331Tyr in 1 patient) were identified in 3 unrelated patients diagnosed with juvenile ALS and failure to thrive. A fourth variant (p.Leu39del) was identified in a patient with juvenile ALS where parental DNA was unavailable. Variants in this gene have been previously shown to be associated with autosomal-dominant hereditary sensory autonomic neuropathy, type 1A, by disrupting an essential enzyme complex in the sphingolipid synthesis pathway.Conclusions and Relevance: These data broaden the phenotype associated with SPTLC1 and suggest that patients presenting with juvenile ALS should be screened for variants in this gene.</p

Orchestrator for ensuring interdependency between safety and cybersecurity in railway control systems

International audienc

The Value of TRIZ and Its Derivatives for Interdisciplinary Problem Solving

International audienceThe value of TRIZ for technological problem solving is widely recognized. Initially designed for an inventor working (alone) on a technical problem, it is today often used as a tool for group creativity. In this article, we report on a an experiment which was designed in order to investigate the value of concepts and tools of TRIZ and its derivatives like USIT for joint problem identification, modeling and creative problem solving in a non-technological domain by multidisciplinary teams. Further, we briefly discuss the categorization of the outcome of the creative process by a combination of TRIZ and USIT analysis tools