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Biomechanical overload is considered a significant occupational risk in manufacturing and a potential cause of musculoskeletal disorders. This research aims to introduce new methodologies for the quantitative risk evaluation of biomechanical risk by combining surface electromyography with a motion acquisition system based on inertial measurement units. Due to the lack of experimental data in the literature acquired in a real industrial environment during the working shift, an on-the-field study regarding an automotive assembly line workstation has been carried out in collaboration with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Italy S.p.A. Data related to the trunk flexion forward and the erector spinae muscle activity have been acquired for several consecutive working cycles by considering three different workers. Data analyses indicated kinematic and muscular activity patterns consistent with those expected and that the proposed wearable technologies can be integrated and used simultaneously during work activities. Furthermore, the results demonstrated data repeatability, strengthening the feasibility and usefulness of the combined use of kinematic and electromyography technologies to assess biomechanical overload in production lines. This study could lay the bases for the future definition of a method for assessing biomechanical overload due to awkward postures.

In a response to the appeal for securing the rice production efficiency to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we adopted a geographic detector model to investigate the spatiotemporal evolution trajectory and driving forces of the rice production in the world’s largest rice-producing country, China. We have analyzed the spatiotemporal evolution features and aggregation patterns of county rice production efficiency based on panel data of 122 counties in Hunan Province, one of the main grain production provinces in China, from 2006 to 2018. Our findings indicate: (1) Hunan Province’s rice production in three counties (i.e., Taoyuan, Liling, and Anren) showed the highest efficiency; there were pronounced regional variances in rice productivity which results in a sharp and rapid shrink of the range of rice productivity, (2) financial investments in agriculture, forestry, and water resources, as well as per capita disposable income of farmers, were the main determinants of the spatiotemporal variation in rice production efficiency, (3) the spatiotemporal divergence of rice production efficiency at the province level was U-shapedly, influenced by the share of secondary industry in GDP; the southern Hunan region received the biggest contribution from farmers in terms of disposable income per person at the regional level. Overall, theoretically, this study offers fresh evidence for regional optimization of rice and other grain production from a novel integrative approach of the geospatial and the land resource preservation. Practically, it provides feasible guidance for the high-quality development of grain production in China, which may also help eradicate hunger and attain sustainable grain production all over the world.

In this paper, the use of a phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (ϕ-OTDR) sensor for the detection of the Lamb waves excited by a piezoelectric transducer in an aluminum plate, is investigated. The system is shown to detect and resolve the Lamb wave in distinct regions of the plate, opening the possibility of realizing structural health monitoring (SHM) and damage detection using a single optical fiber attached to the structure. The system also reveals the variations in the Lamb wave resulting from a change in the load conditions of the plate. The same optical fiber used to detect the Lamb waves has also been employed to realize distributed strain measurements using a Brillouin scattering system. The method can be potentially used to replace conventional SHM sensors such as strain gauges and PZT transducers, with the advantage of offering several sensing points using a single fiber.

In an ever increasingly competitive and unstable global market, multinational corporations (MNCs) are greatly pressurised to use inherent capacities and develop effective cross-border business models (CBMs) that can transform value into the desired outcome. Amid high uncertainties, MNCs are required to develop some critical capabilities to operate CBMs to the best of their ability. More specifically, it is vital for MNCs to have a unique capability that enables them to more effectively synergise with these commonly recognised capabilities (e.g., technological innovation capabilities (TIC) and marketing capability (MC) alongside the global value chain (GVC)) to sustain balance among and gain profits with stakeholders. From the literature review, we first identified value appropriation capability (VAC) as one of the most important capabilities and thereby developed three hypotheses. Based on the hypotheses, we investigated how VAC efficiently moderates MNCs’ capabilities to appositely operate CBMs. Then, empirical panel data between 2011 and 2019 in the Chinese manufacturing industry were used to examine the hypotheses. The results reveal that VAC, TIC and MC positively impact MNC performance. Moreover, VAC–TIC interaction significantly improves MNC performance, and VAC–MC interaction positively improves MNC performance. Our findings provide novel insights into the CBM literature by examining the importance of VAC for operating CBMs alongside its multifaceted effects on MNC performance, especially in times of uncertainty.

Background. Everolimus (Eve), which is a mammalian target of Rapamicin (mTOR) inhibitor, is part of the therapeutic armamentarium of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Currently, there are no validated biomarkers predicting Eve efficacy in NETs. In this study, we explore whether the expression of phosphorilated (p)-mTOR and p70S6-kinase (S6K), a downstream effector of mTOR, correlates with the outcome of patients with NET that were treated with Eve. Methods. Tissue specimens that were derived from NETs treated with Eve at our Institution were examined for the expression levels of p-mTOR and p-S6K by immunohistochemistry. Response rate (RR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were analyzed in two groups: p-mTOR/p-S6K positive (group 1) and p-mTOR/p-S6K negative (group 2). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were performed. Results. Twenty-four patients with advanced NETs that were treated with Eve were included in the analysis. Eight out 24 (33.3%) patients were both p-mTOR and p-S6K positive. A better median PFS and OS in group 1 (18.2 and 39.9 months) as compared to group 2 (13 and 32.4 months) was depicted, with a toxicity profile that was comparable with data literature. Conclusions. Our study suggests that the activation of mTOR pathway can predict better outcomes in patients with NET treated with Eve. However, these results warrant further confirmation in a prospective setting.

This work is about how healthcare issues can be reframed from a sustainable and inclusive development perspective. Focusing on the case of orphan drugs and rare diseases, first, a country-based review of the main regulatory approaches to orphan drugs is conducted; then, the main contributions of the literature are reviewed to identify dominant views and the way the problem is more commonly framed. The main findings reveal that the dominant regulatory approaches and theoretical interpretations of the problem are mainly based on economic considerations. However, this does not seem to have led to very satisfactory results. Reflecting upon what the sustainability perspective can highlight with reference to healthcare, substantial connections between the orphan drugs issue and that of neglected diseases are highlighted. These connections suggest reframing the orphan drugs issue as a social equality and inclusiveness problem, hence the need to adopt a sustainable and inclusive development perspective. As a key sustainable development goal (SGD) to be shared by all nations, healthcare should always be approached by putting the principles of sustainable and inclusive development at the core of policy makers’ regulatory choices. Accordingly, we think that the orphan drugs issue, like that of neglected diseases, could be better faced by adopting a social equality and inclusiveness perspective.

The increasing relevance of technology and its impact on our everyday life requires multi- and trans-disciplinary studies in order to investigate the ways in which the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools are affected by users’ features and by the external environment. In order to enrich existing contributions on this topic, the paper focuses its attention on the city as example of service systems, in order to investigate dimensions and dynamics that influence the city employees’ evaluation and satisfaction in the use of ICT platforms. By adopting the interpretative lens offered by Service Science and Systems Thinking, the domain of city as a service system is analysed and some hypotheses are formulated with reference to the relationships between environment, users, and ICT platform. The hypotheses are investigated through a questionnaire survey on a sample of 1032 municipalities in the Czech Republic and the results are tested using Structural Equation Modelling. The research shows that users’ features and external environment affect the evaluation and the satisfaction of city stakeholders about the use of ICT platforms by underlining the need for enlarging the study on informatics tools, in order to also include subjective variables. The findings are discussed from both theoretical and practical points of view.