Combining World Class Manufacturing system and Industry 4.0 technologies to design ergonomic manufacturing equipment

In the era of the fourth industrial revolution, human has still a central role. Manufacturing industries have to deal with human sustainability in order to guarantee workers’ health and well-being. Several studies have proved the importance of ergonomics in workplace design and the benefits related to the adoption of the human-centered approach. The enabling technologies of Industry 4.0 are changing the role of the operator and can support him from a physical and cognitive point of view. On the other hand, companies are increasingly implementing lean philosophies, such as World Class Manufacturing, to maintain their competitiveness by reducing wastes and costs. However, the need arises for a comprehensive methodology to support the design of manufacturing equipment considering human factors by integrating Industry 4.0 technologies and World Class Manufacturing elements. It aims at improving both ergonomic and efficiency aspects of the workstation. The proposed methodology allows identifying and in-depth analyzing the problem, thus finding and implementing a solution that complies with all the requirements and constraints defined. Each step of the methodology can be strengthened by Industry 4.0 technologies. The methodology has been experimented in a real case study with a global company of agriculture and industrial vehicles, leading to the design and implementation of a new equipment. Relevant benefits in terms of ergonomics, efficiency, and process standardization have been achieved.

Monitoring decellularization via absorbance spectroscopy during the derivation of extracellular matrix scaffolds

Extracellular matrix (ECM) is a complex structure composed of bioactive molecules representative of the specific local tissue microenvironment. Decellularized ECM biomaterials harness these biomolecules for regenerative medicine applications. One potential therapeutic application is the use of vocal fold (VF) specific ECM to restore the VFs after injury. ECM scaffolds are derived through a process of decellularization, which aims to remove unwanted immunogenic biomolecules (e.g., DNA) while preserving the composition of the ECM. The effectiveness of the decellularization is typically assessed at the end by quantifying ECM attributes such as final dsDNA content. However, batch-to-batch variability in ECM manufacturing remains a significant challenge for the process standardization, cost-effectiveness, and scale-up. The limited number of tools available for in-process control heavily restricts the uncovering of the correlations between decellularization process parameters and ECM attributes. In this study, we developed a technique applicable to both the classical batch method and semi-continuous decellularization system to trace the decellularization of two laryngeal tissues in real-time. We hypothesize that monitoring the bioreactor's effluent absorbance at 260 nm as a function of time will provide a representative DNA release profile from the tissue and thus allowing for process optimization. The DNA release profiles were obtained for laryngeal tissues and were successfully used to optimize the derivation of VF lamina propria-ECM (auVF-ECM) hydrogels. This hydrogel had comparable rheological properties to commonly used biomaterials to treat VF injuries. Also, the auVF-ECM hydrogel promoted the down-regulation of CCR7 by THP-1 macrophages upon lipopolysaccharide stimulation in vitro suggesting some anti-inflammatory properties. The results show that absorbance profiles are a good representation of DNA removal during the decellularization process thus providing an important tool to optimize future protocols.

Application of Toyota Way Incorporating Kaizen, Kaikaku and 5S in Agricultural Sector

A noble operational framework – 2K5S, a modified form of Toyota production system (TPS) incorporating Kaizen, Kaikaku and 5S is introduced in this paper. Kaizen is continuous improvement concept implementing a small step at a time to produce a small or moderate improvement in productivity. Kaikaku is a moderate innovative approach implementing new work method or means to produce a drastic improvement in productivity by eliminating wastes at the same time. The 2K5S is then implemented in the operations of a pineapple farm and a series of case studies are conducted. The outcomes of the case studies have revealed that through the introduction and implementation of the 2K5S operational framework, some significant organisational improvements have been witnessed. Apart from significantly increment in productivity, other advantages achieved including increasing in effectiveness and efficiency in the operational processes, improved visual management of the process, improved operational health and safety and morale of the workers, improved housekeeping, waste elimination and process standardization. The outcomes of this study have demonstrated that 2K5S is a powerful and practical operational framework model which is applicable for agricultural organisation. Keywords: Toyota production system (TPS), 2K5S, Kaizen, Kaikaku, 5S, continuous improvement, agricultural sector.

Spoken Discourse Assessment and Analysis in Aphasia: An International Survey of Current Practices

Purpose Spoken discourse analysis is commonly employed in the assessment and treatment of people living with aphasia, yet there is no standardization in assessment, analysis, or reporting procedures, thereby precluding comparison/meta-analyses of data and hindering replication of findings. An important first step is to identify current practices in collecting and analyzing spoken discourse in aphasia. Thus, this study surveyed current practices, with the goal of working toward standardizing spoken discourse assessment first in research settings with subsequent implementation into clinical settings. Method A mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative) survey was publicized to researchers and clinicians around the globe who have collected and/or analyzed spoken discourse data in aphasia. The survey data were collected between September and November 2019. Results Of the 201 individuals who consented to participate, 189 completed all mandatory questions in the survey (with fewer completing nonmandatory response questions). The majority of respondents reported barriers to utilizing discourse including transcription, coding, and analysis. The most common barrier was time (e.g., lack of time). Respondents also indicated that there was a lack of, and a need for, psychometric properties and normative data for spoken discourse use in the assessment and treatment of persons with aphasia. Quantitative and qualitative results are described in detail. Conclusions The current survey study evaluated spoken discourse methods in aphasia across research and clinical settings. Findings from this study will be used to guide development of process standardization in spoken discourse and for the creation of a psychometric and normative property database. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.166395100

Process Standardization for Bread Preparation using Composite Blend of Wheat and Pearl Millet: Nutritional, Antioxidant and Sensory Approach

In present study, the effect of incorporation of pearl millet (PM) flour (10, 20, 30, 40%) on quality and sensory characteristics of bread were studied. Ash, fat, fiber and carbohydrate content were increased with the incorporation of PM flour. For wheat flour (WF) the values of water absorption capacity (WAC) and oil absorption capacity (OAC) were observed 1.90 g/g and 1.54 g/g, while flour blends varied from 1.78-1.87g/g and 1.48-1.52g/g, respectively. After the incorporation of PM flour peak (PV), trough TV, setback (SV) and final viscosity (FV) were decreased as compared to WF. Antioxidant properties of WF and PM flour were observed 20.3% and 15.1%, and varied from 18.10% to 19.23%, respectively for flour blends. Antioxidant characteristics of breads increased as compare to their flours. Physical parameter i.e. loaf weight increases after addition of PM flour while reverse was observed for loaf volume. Bread prepared up to 30% addition of PM flour into WF showed a satisfactory sensorial score for bread further addition of PM flour, breads were not acceptable quality. Results of present study provide a better understanding of functional properties of WF, PM flour and their blends for their possible applications in preparation of gluten free products.

The Pipeline for Standardizing Russian Unstructured Allergy Anamnesis Using FHIR AllergyIntolerance Resource

Background The larger part of essential medical knowledge is stored as free text which is complicated to process. Standardization of medical narratives is an important task for data exchange, integration, and semantic interoperability. Objectives The article aims to develop the end-to-end pipeline for structuring Russian free-text allergy anamnesis using international standards. Methods The pipeline for free-text data standardization is based on FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) and SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms) to ensure semantic interoperability. The pipeline solves common tasks such as data preprocessing, classification, categorization, entities extraction, and semantic codes assignment. Machine learning methods, rule-based, and dictionary-based approaches were used to compose the pipeline. The pipeline was evaluated on 166 randomly chosen medical records. Results AllergyIntolerance resource was used to represent allergy anamnesis. The module for data preprocessing included the dictionary with over 90,000 words, including specific medication terms, and more than 20 regular expressions for errors correction, classification, and categorization modules resulted in four dictionaries with allergy terms (total 2,675 terms), which were mapped to SNOMED CT concepts. F-scores for different steps are: 0.945 for filtering, 0.90 to 0.96 for allergy categorization, 0.90 and 0.93 for allergens reactions extraction, respectively. The allergy terminology coverage is more than 95%. Conclusion The proposed pipeline is a step to ensure semantic interoperability of Russian free-text medical records and could be effective in standardization systems for further data exchange and integration.

​​Process Standardization for Development and Quality Evaluation of Aromatic Black Rice Incorporated Idli

Background: Black rice also known as purple rice which is rich in anthocyanin, antioxidants, fiber, minerals etc. are abundantly found in Manipur. Black rice is an underutilized crop in Manipur and most parts of North East India although it regarded as the super food. The objective of the present study is to develop Idli by blending the aromatic black rice (Poireiton), white rice (IR20) and black gram (Urad Dal). Methods: The amount of black rice and IR20 are varied (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) keeping the black gram level at 33% of the total weight. The best combination of formulated Idli is selected by analyzing the variations in fermentation volume, pH, colour values, sensory parameters and its overall acceptability. Sensory parameters of the developed idli are conducted by 9-point hedonic scale by 10 semi trained panel. Result: The Idli with black rice level of 10% and 12 hrs fermentation time has the highest overall acceptability in sensory evaluation. The best treatment of idli has a pH of 5.28, increased in the volume batter as 140% and color values as L*, a* and b* as 58.42, 5.92 and 10.51 respectively.

Automated capture-based NGS workflow: one thousand patients experience in a clinical routine framework

Objectives The Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) based mutational study of hereditary cancer genes is crucial to design tailored prevention strategies in subjects with different hereditary cancer risk. The ease of amplicon-based NGS library construction protocols contrasts with the greater uniformity of enrichment provided by capture-based protocols and so with greater chances for detecting larger genomic rearrangements and copy-number variations. Capture-based protocols, however, are characterized by a higher level of complexity of sample handling, extremely susceptible to human bias. Robotics platforms may definitely help dealing with these limits, reducing hands-on time, limiting random errors and guaranteeing process standardization. Methods We implemented the automation of the CE-IVD SOPHiA Hereditary Cancer Solution™ (HCS) libraries preparation workflow by SOPHiA GENETICS on the Hamilton’s STARlet platform. We present the comparison of results between this automated approach, used for more than 1,000 DNA patients’ samples, and the performances of the manual protocol evaluated by SOPHiA GENETICS onto 240 samples summarized in their HCS evaluation study. Results We demonstrate that this automated workflow achieved the same expected goals of manual setup in terms of coverages and reads uniformity, with extremely lower standard deviations among samples considering the sequencing reads mapped onto the regions of interest. Conclusions This automated solution offers same reliable and affordable NGS data, but with the essential advantages of a flexible, automated and integrated framework, minimizing possible human errors and depicting a laboratory’s walk-away scenario.