Abstract In diesem Beitrag wird ein Konzept zur flexiblen Produktionsplanung und -steuerung vorgestellt, welches sich an der dezentral erzeugten und wetterabhängig fluktuierenden verfügbaren Solarenergie orientiert. Damit soll insbesondere produzierenden kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen eine Hilfestellung gegeben werden, wie sie die ökologische Nachhaltigkeit ihrer Produktion optimieren können. Der Ansatz wurde gemeinsam mit der Firma Haller-Jauch GmbH, einem Hersteller von Mikrodrehteilen und Federn, erprobt, prototypisch umgesetzt und validiert.

Are the ICM 2018 minor criteria a reliable prediction model for the preoperative diagnosis of periprosthetic shoulder infection?

Currently, a common way of collaboration between product development and production planning is working with a Bill of Material (BOM) in terms of Concurrent Engineering, which is characterized by a structure as a traditional relational data model. Even though such a BOM can serve as a single point of truth of the product structure, it still leads to information discontinuities from upper- to downstream engineering teams, as they use BOM data for different purposes. Hence, a restructuring work of the product development oriented BOM is needed for tasks in production planning, so that the hierarchy is adapted. The parts structure needs to be rearranged to meet the requirements of the manufacturing and assembly processes. In the circumstances of volatile global market and varying customer needs, the BOM structured in relational data model provides insufficient digital consistency to reach an appropriate time-to-market and quick response on product changes and variations. In order to be able to cope with the increasing amounts of heterogeneous data, graph data model approaches are playing an essential role. Due to its non-centric information representation, it can be used as a neutral data model to dissolve boundaries in engineering. A graph model based BOM structure can fulfill both tasks in product development and production planning directly. Thus, it can reach an optimized consistency concerning information flow through various engineering activities as well. This paper proposes the graph model based BOM to minimize efforts and gaps in collaboration between product development and production planning. In addition, it also shows further potentials of usage in engineering.

The evolution to Industry 4.0 is creating the impetus for the manufacturing industry to increase productivity through smart management and stabilization of resources, capacity and utilisation. Increased plant availability, extended service life of resources as well as optimised product and process quality require intelligent maintenance strategies. The conventional reactive maintenance (run-to-failure) causes unexpected production stoppages, and preventive maintenance at times leads to waste of working hours and material due to the premature replacement of machine components. A smart Predictive Maintenance (PdM) strategy equipped with fault detection and prediction based on acquired, processed and analysed data can result in an accurate estimation of the Remaining Useful Life (RUL) of machine components and thus trigger appropriate maintenance action plans. Data acquisition, processing, analysis and rule-based decision supporting require the development, application and combination of various Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices, models and methods in an integrated manner. Through transparent development and integrated harmonisation of all models, methods and technologies, fault detections and respective RUL estimations of machine components become more accurate and reliable. This leads to an increasing acceptance of employees towards software-based recommendations, in particular maintenance instructions for operators and proposals for an optimised development of the next generation of production systems and equipment. Within the scope of the EU-funded project Z-BRE4K, this paper proposes an IIoT architecture that presents models, methods and technologies in an integrated manner and highlights the data and information flow between them. The architecture including the infrastructure has been applied in three pilot cases with the industrial end users PHILIPS, GESTAMP and CDS to demonstrate the compatibility of the architecture to different industries with various production systems and diverse conditions, requirements and needs. Based on the adaption of the generic architecture for the pilot cases, the models, methods and technologies were developed efficiently and continuously improved and validated. The proposed architecture is intended to be applicable across industries to facilitate the transformation from reactive or preventive to PdM and thereby improve the competitiveness of manufacturing companies.

Numerous companies are thinking about using additive manufacturing in their production processes to leverage expected potentials such as higher flexibility, reduced costs around tools, jigs, and spare parts as well as a reduction of costs and times for manufacturing of complex goods. A substitution of an existing subtractive production process is what comes to their mind most of the time. They hope for a better material efficiency and an easier and cheaper way to produce small batches of products. The factual circumstances, however, are often much more complex than some companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), initially assume. To give companies a clearer idea of the implications of using additive manufacturing, a rough filter model and a comparison of process chains of additive and conventional manufacturing is presented in this paper. The analysis consists of both the digital as well as the physical process chain and thereby provides a holistic picture of changes that are implied by the usage of additive manufacturing. In order to provide a clear reference for manufacturing companies, the report also discusses facts that have been discovered in cooperation with an SME during the production of real customer parts.

Telemedicine and remote survey of physiological parameters may significantly increase the health and safety of people working in extreme environmental conditions, like firefighters, maintain rescuers, soldiers, and others. We highlight this problem and give an overview of the historical development and the actual status of systems available. Ruggedized systems, as small, lightweight, and flexible as possible, are needed to optimize the goal of increasing occupational health and safety of persons at risk and maximizing their performance during missions.

During gravitational changes or changes in the direction of action in relation to the body, fluid displacements can be observed. In special cases different breathing maneuvers (e. g., exhaling on exertion; Ex-Ex) are used to counteract acute fluid shifts. Both factors have a significant impact on cardiovascular regulation. Eight healthy male subjects were tested on a tilt seat, long arm human centrifuge, and parabolic flight. The work aims to investigate the effect of exhaling on exertion on the cardiovascular regulation during acute gravitational changes compared to normal breathing. Possible interactions and differences between conditions (Ex-Ex, normal breathing) for the parameters V’O 2 , V’ E , HR, and SV were analysed over a 40 s period by a three-way ANOVA. Significant (p≤0.05) effects for all main factors and interactions between condition and time as well as maneuver and time were found for all variables. The exhaling on exertion maneuver had a significant influence on the cardiovascular response during acute gravitational and positional changes. For example, the significant increase of V’O2 at the end of the exhalation on exertion maneuver indicates an increased lung circulation as a result of the maneuver.

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Ein vollständig intaktes Hörvermögen ist zentral für die Ausübung verschiedener Berufe wie Instrumentenbaumeister, Musiker, Tonmeister sowie für weitere Berufsgruppen ohne Bezug zu Musik wie beispielsweise Sonar-Techniker. Für Personen all dieser Berufsgruppen schlagen wir in Analogie zum „Professional Voice User“ den Begriff „Professional Ear User“ (PEU) vor. PEU haben spezielle Anforderungen an ihre Ohrgesundheit, da sie über eine überdurchschnittliche auditive Wahrnehmungsfähigkeit verfügen, von der sie beruflich abhängig sind. Fragestellung Die vorliegende narrative Übersichtsarbeit hat zum Ziel, die sich daraus ergebenden speziellen Aspekte der Prävention, Diagnostik und Therapie von Ohrerkrankungen bei PEU zusammenzufassen. Ergebnisse und Schlussfolgerung Die Prävention von Hörstörungen und weiteren Ohrerkrankungen umfasst den Schutz vor zu hohen Schallpegeln, die Vermeidung von Ototoxinen oder Nikotin sowie die korrekte Durchführung einer Gehörgangsreinigung. Die Abklärung von Hörstörungen kann sich bei PEU herausfordernd gestalten, da subklinische, jedoch einschränkende Veränderungen des Hörvermögens mit konventionellen audiometrischen Methoden nicht zuverlässig objektiviert werden können. Schließlich kann das Vorliegen einer Ohrerkrankung bei einem PEU Therapieentscheidungen beeinflussen. Weiter muss bei PEU auch eine hohe Wachsamkeit bezüglich nichtorganischer Ohrerkrankungen bestehen. Abschließend werden Möglichkeiten diskutiert, um bei PEU eine umfassende Ohrgesundheit im Rahmen eines edukativen Programms zu fördern und mittels einer spezialisierten ohrenärztlichen Sprechstunde zu erhalten. Im Gegensatz zu bestehenden Konzepten ist der Fokus dabei auf die Gesamtheit der Berufsgruppen gerichtet, welche in professionellem Rahmen speziell von der Ohrgesundheit abhängig sind. Außerdem soll der Schwerpunkt hierbei nicht nur auf Hörstörungen und deren Prävention, sondern auch auf der Erhaltung einer ganzheitlichen Ohrgesundheit liegen.

BackgroundIndirect core body temperature (CBT) monitoring from skin sensors is gaining attention for in-field applications thanks to non-invasivity, portability, and easy probe positioning. Among skin sensors, heat-flux devices, such as the so-called Double Sensor (DS), have demonstrated reliability under various experimental and clinical conditions. Still, their accuracy at low ambient temperatures is unknown. In this randomized cross-over trial, we tested the effects of cold temperature exposition on DS performance in tracking CBT.MethodsTwenty-one participants were exposed to a warm (23.2 ± 0.4°C) and cold (−18.7 ± 1.0°C) room condition for 10 min, following a randomized cross-over design. The accuracy of the DS to estimate CBT in both settings was assessed by quantitative comparison with esophageal (reference) and tympanic (comparator) thermometers, using Bland–Altman and correlation analyses (Pearson’s correlation coefficient, r, and Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient, CCC).ResultsIn the warm room setting, the DS showed a moderate agreement with the esophageal sensor [bias = 0.09 (−1.51; 1.69) °C, r = 0.40 (p = 0.069), CCC = 0.22 (−0.006; 0.43)] and tympanic sensor [bias = 2.74 (1.13; 4.35) °C, r = 0.54 (p < 0.05), CCC = 0.09 (0.008; 0.16)]. DS accuracy significantly deteriorated in the cold room setting, where DS temperature overestimated esophageal temperature [bias = 2.16 (−0.89; 5.22) °C, r = 0.02 (0.94), CCC = 0.002 (−0.05; 0.06)]. Previous exposition to the cold influenced temperature values measured by the DS in the warm room setting, where significant differences (p < 0.00001) in DS temperature were observed between randomization groups.ConclusionDS accuracy is influenced by environmental conditions and previous exposure to cold settings. These results suggest the present inadequacy of the DS device for in-field applications in low-temperature environments and advocate further technological advancements and proper sensor insulation to improve performance in these conditions.

Background Perfect hearing is crucial to the practice of various professions, such as instrument makers, musicians, sound engineers, and other professions not related to music, such as sonar technicians. For people of these occupational groups, we propose the term "professional ear user" (PEU) in analogy to "professional voice user". PEUs have special requirements for their hearing health, as they have well-known above-average auditory perceptual abilities on which they are professionally dependent. Objective The purpose of this narrative review is to summarize selected aspects of the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of ear disorders in PEUs. Results and conclusion Prevention of hearing disorders and other ear diseases includes protection from excessive sound levels, avoidance of ototoxins and nicotine, and a safe manner of cleaning the outer auditory canal. Diagnosing hearing disorders in PEUs can be challenging, since subclinical but relevant changes in hearing cannot be reliably objectified by conventional audiometric methods. Moreover, the fact that a PEU is affected by an ear disease may influence treatment decisions. Further, physicians must be vigilant for non-organic ear diseases in PEUs. Lastly, measures to promote comprehensive ear health in PEUs as part of an educational program and to maintain ear health by means of a specialized otolaryngology service are discussed. In contrast to existing concepts, we lay the attention on the entirety of occupational groups that are specifically dependent on their ear health in a professional setting. In this context, we suggest avoiding a sole focus on hearing disorders and their prevention, but rather encourage the maintenance of a comprehensive ear health.

While the incidence of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA) is increasing constantly, newer implants with designs other than the classic Grammont geometry are gaining importance. More anatomic inclination angles and lateralization are supposed to have a positive impact on clinical results and complication rates. Presentation of midterm results therefore is important to support these assumptions. The aim of this study was to report the midterm clinical outcome of primary rTSA with an uncemented humeral short-stem prosthesis (USSP) with a humeral inclination angle of 145° and the analysis of different variables on the outcome. This is a retrospective study of all patients with primary rTSA using an USSP and a combined humeral inclination angle of 145° (Ascend™ flex, Stryker) with a minimum clinical follow-up of 2 years. The implant combines a 132.5° inclination for the humeral stem with an additional 12.5° for the polyethylene inlay. Primary outcomes were patient-reported outcome measures: ASES score, simple shoulder test (SST) and subjective shoulder value (SSV). Secondary outcomes were complication and revision rates. We analyzed different variables: preoperatively gender, age, indication for surgery and status of rotator cuff. Also, the glenoid morphology was classified according to Walch and a proximal humerus cortical bone thickness measurement (CBT avg) of 6 mm was used as a threshold for osteoporosis. Postoperatively, we analyzed different radiologic parameters: filling ratio, distalization and lateralization angles according to Boutsiadis. A total of 84 out of 99 (85%) patients with a mean FU of 46.7 months (range 24–80 months) could be included: 62 women and 22 men with a mean age of 74.7 years. Mean ASES score significantly increased from 47 preoperatively to 85.8 at the last follow-up (p = 0.001). The postoperative SST reached an average of 65.3 and the mean SSV was 83%. None of the variable parameters analyzed could be identified as a risk factor for a lower outcome defined as a SSV < 70. Three patients (3.6%) had a complication: one incomplete lower plexus lesion, one dislocation and one major hematoma. Surgical revision was needed in two cases (2.4%). The midterm clinical outcome of primary reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA) with an uncemented humeral short stem and a humeral inclination angle of 145° showed good-to-excellent results with a low complication and revision rate independent from a wide range of pre- and postoperative variables. PROMs are comparable to those reported for anatomic TSA with a low complication rate, different to historical studies especially with the Grammont design. Treatment study, Level IV.

The Samilson-Prieto classification (SPC) depending on the humeral osteophyte length on a-pX-rays today is widely used to classify glenohumeral osteoarthritis in general. For treatment planning and prognosis, the patho-morphology of the glenoid and static posterior subluxation of the humeral head classified according to Walch is of much higher importance. Here, usually a CT or MRI scan is required for a correct classification. A possible correlation between both classifications is poorly explored. Without it, the complexity of the case might be mis-interpreted using the SPC. The aim of this study was to investigate such a correlation, i.e. whether it correlates with the glenoid deformity and degree of humeral head subluxation. Radiological datasets (X-ray and CT or MRI) of 352 patients with primary OA of the shoulder were evaluated by two observers experienced in shoulder surgery. For the Samilson-Prieto classification, true a-p shoulder radiographs and for the modified Walch classification CT or MRI scans in the axial plane were interpreted using a validated method. To investigate a correlation between both classifications, the Fisher’s exact test was used. For the interobserver reliability, the weighted kappa coefficient κ was determined. For the Walch classification, both observers found a similar percentage for the different types, with decreasing numbers from normal (type A1) to severely altered glenoids In the Samilson-Prieto classification, OA grade I was predominant, while grade II and III showed a relatively equal distribution. Interobserver reliability was high both for the Walch classification with a κ 0.923 (95% confidence interval 0.892; 0.954) and) for the SPC with a κ 0.88 (95% confidence interval 0.843; 0.916). A correlation between the two classifications in Fischer’s exact test could not be shown (p = 0.584). Since there is no correlation between both, using the Samilson-Prieto classification alone might miss relevant prognostic factors in gleno-humeral OA. Adequate imaging of the glenoid morphology also in the axial plane is absolutely mandatory to understand the complexity and chose the right treatment for each patient. Study of Diagnostic Test—Level II.

Spaceflight can be associated with sleep loss and circadian misalignment as a result of non-24 h light-dark cycles, operational shifts in work/rest cycles, high workload under pressure, and psychological factors. Head-down tilt bed rest (HDBR) is an established model to mimic some of the physiological and psychological adaptions observed in spaceflight. Data on the effects of HDBR on circadian rhythms are scarce. To address this gap, we analyzed the change in the circadian rhythm of core body temperature (CBT) in two 60-day HDBR studies sponsored by the European Space Agency [n = 13 men, age: 31.1 ± 8.2 years (M ± SD)]. CBT was recorded for 36 h using a non-invasive and validated dual-sensor heatflux technology during the 3rd and the 8th week of HDBR. Bed rest induced a significant phase delay from the 3rd to the 8th week of HDBR (16.23 vs. 16.68 h, p = 0.005, g = 0.85) irrespective of the study site (p = 0.416, g = −0.46), corresponding to an average phase delay of about 0.9 min per day of HDBR. In conclusion, long-term bed rest weakens the entrainment of the circadian system to the 24-h day. We attribute this effect to the immobilization and reduced physical activity levels associated with HDBR. Given the critical role of diurnal rhythms for various physiological functions and behavior, our findings highlight the importance of monitoring circadian rhythms in circumstances in which gravity or physical activity levels are altered.

Cellular senescence and apoptosis have evolved to restrain unwarranted proliferation of potentially tumorigenic cells. Here we show that overexpression of the E3 SUMO ligase PIASy in normal human fibroblasts recruits the p53 and Rb tumor suppressor pathways to provoke a senescence arrest. By contrast, in Rb-deficient fibroblasts, expression of PIASy leads to p53-dependent apoptosis. Induction of senescence requires PIASy E3 activity and is specific for this member of the PIAS ligase family. PIASy stimulates sumoylation and transcriptional activity of p53 and increases Rb-dependent corepression through recruitment to E2F-responsive promoters. Viral oncoprotein E6 suppresses both PIASy-induced senescence and sumoylation of PIASy substrates. Finally, we show that fibroblasts lacking PIASy exhibit a highly reduced propensity to undergo senescence in response to a prosenescence stimulus. Altogether, these data provide the first evidence for a direct role of an E3 SUMO ligase, and by implication of the SUMO pathway, in cellular senescence and apoptosis.

: Today’s systems become more and more complex, and even domain experts are sometimes in doubt regarding their correct behaviour in rare / non-standard situations. Especially embedded systems incorporate increasing functionality and have to interact with the environment through a wide spectrum of sensors and actors. Real-time properties requiring a guaranteed reaction of the system within a given limited time window are often associated as well, and safety is taken for granted by customers all-the-time when using them. Furthermore, these critical systems often have to face uncertainty, which may originate from unknown device configurations at design time or from unforeseen changes of the environment during operation. Uncertainty may also exist in control algorithms. For example, to guarantee a safe behaviour of trained AI algorithms in previously unseen situations is inherently difficult, if not impossible. Under these conditions it is a complex and highly responsible task for developers to thoroughly test, or even to formally prove correct behaviour of the system’s properties. Formal verification is often regarded as the ultimate way to achieve the highest levels of trust, therefore safety certification standards demand such proof for the highest Safety Integrity Levels. However, due to the ever-increasing complexity of current software and due to the non-deterministic nature of some mechanisms of the underlying hardware architecture, static verification, though sound in theory, is often impractical. We do not believe that a full static verification and validation at design time is always possible. Instead, we have started to work on a methodology which distinguishes between verification activities carried out at design time and those at runtime. In a nutshell, at design time static verification takes place, i.e. specified system properties are formally proven to the highest possible degree at a reasonable effort. For properties which cannot be proven statically in this way, sufficiently strong monitors are generated which are executed at runtime to monitor correct system behaviour. Interestingly, this methodology can be applied to functional as well as non-functional (i.e. timing) properties. In the undesired case of detecting a property violation at runtime, the underlying system architecture is prepared to reconfigure the application to ensure acceptable behaviour. This adaptivity has to be supported by the application design. In this paper, we report on an ongoing effort for tool-supported verification of functional and non-functional properties by combining static and runtime verification techniques.

Remote Health Monitoring (RHM) has the potential to increase operational safety in extreme environments. Negative stress exposure influences mission success or the short- and long-term health conditions of deployed personnel. To quantify negative stress, we introduce a washable smart textile with integrated sensors. Analyzing the transmitted sensor values, medical advisors monitor up to 72 sensor values in parallel in case of an average group size of eight people. In order to aggregate the amount of data, we propose a stress level scale that includes stress trends. To predict individual stress levels based on sensor data, environmental quantities and the individual physiological fingerprint, we train different machine learning models. To evaluate such models, we implement a data acquisition environment to label data snapshots. Therefore, we do not need to collect in-field data and expose humans to negative stress. Moreover, we can mock sensor failures and rare, but relevant, sensor value combinations that are difficult to acquire in real-world scenarios. Our evaluation environment identifies Random Forest Regressor from a set of 25 models to perform best to predict individual stress levels. This model performs 23.19 times better than a zero rule classifier to distinguish among nine stress levels for mission goal health condition and 10.50 times better for mission goal mission success. Finally, we present our current RHM user interface design. It addresses issues such as information overload, avatar sympathy and unnecessary navigation paths.

Kurzfassung Datengetriebene Modelle zur Analyse von Produktionssystemen gewinnen in der Industrie an Bedeutung. Wesentliche Vorteile bei ihrem Einsatz sind, dass die Erzeugung sogenannter Digitaler Schatten nur auf gemessenen Sensordaten basiert und bestehende Datenschnittstellen und Analyseverfahren für Vorhersagen genutzt werden können. Datengetriebene Ansätze stoßen jedoch an Grenzen, da sie lediglich aus vergangenen Ereignissen Trends extrapolieren. Es fehlen häufig relevante Daten zu Ausfallszenarien, die bis dato real nicht aufgetreten sind. Somit entsteht ein Bedarf für sogenannte Digitale Zwillinge zu Analysezwecken, welche datengetriebene und physikbasierte Modelle zusammenführen, um repräsentative prädiktive Aussagen, wie die Restnutzungsdauer von Maschinenkomponenten zu ermöglichen. Im EU-geförderten Projekt Z-BRE4K werden Ansätze zur Harmonisierung datengetriebener und physikbasierter Modelle für die vorausschauende Instandhaltung gemeinsam mit Industrieanwendern erforscht, entwickelt und erprobt, welche im Rahmen dieses Beitrags vorgestellt werden.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNGTelemedizin (eHealth) ist aus der heutigen Welt nicht mehr wegzudenken. In manchen Bereichen geht es ohne diese Übertragung gar nicht – im Weltraum. Die modernsten und neuesten Informations- und Kommunikationssysteme werden im Gesundheitssystem eingesetzt; in Kliniken schon lange zum Monitoring von Patienten verwendet. Beim US-amerikanischen „soldier of the future“ soll ein Onlinemonitoring die Performancedaten während eines Einsatzes übertragen. Zukünftig sollen nicht nur Vitalparameter erfasst werden, sondern der kognitive, metabolische und „Combat-ready-Status“ zur Verfügung gestellt werden. Diese könnten operationell als situative Erkenntnisse für den Kommandeur oder für den Mediziner im Fall eines Patientenmonitorings zugänglich gemacht werden. Insgesamt ist überall die Absicht zu erkennen, dass es zukünftig möglich sein soll, ein Individuum über eine digitale, gesundheitsförderliche Plattform zu monitoren, um seine Gesundheit und Leistungsfähigkeit zu erhalten oder zu erhöhen.