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The ileocecal valve was cannulated and the polyp's origin in the ileum was confirmed. A subsequent computed tomography (CT)-based virtual colonoscopy showed a 6-cm finger-like-shaped polyp with its base in the terminal ileum approximately 5 cm proximal to ileocecal valve (Fig. 1 Computed tomography-based virtual colonoscopy showing the finger-like-shaped ileal polyp (yellow circle). [Extracted from the article]

The world's energy consumption has doubled over the past 40 years and it is estimated that one-third comes from industry. Therefore, an increase of the efficiency in energy use in industries would greatly benefit the sustainability of the factories and consequently of the whole environment and society. A factory is a complex entity constituted by possibly networked plants which produce a set of products performing several processes requiring a set of production resources. All these aspects need to be considered as a whole especially is sustainability is of concern. However, this need implies the collaboration between several actors and tools having remarkably different competences and scopes. This paper presents a holistic framework, named Sustainable Factory Semantic Framework (SuFSeF), aiming at integrating digital models and tools to support the design and management of a sustainable factory thanks to its complete virtual representation. This framework extends the Virtual Factory Framework (VFF), outcome of a European research project, by characterizing the industrial building and considering energy and environmental sustainability of the factory during its lifecycle. Both commercial and prototypal software tools can be integrated in the framework. Specifically, the attention will be focused on tools to support the sustainability assessment during the factory design phase, 3D design tools, and the monitoring of the key energy-environmental indicators during the factory operating phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Competitive manufacturing companies have to effectively deal with the concurrent evolution of products, processes and production systems. This problem, known as Co-evolution, can be addressed only through the integrated use of different methodologies, provided that the digital tools implementing these methodologies can interoperate properly and effectively. This paper presents the concept of an integrated framework to support the interoperability between digital factory tools and shows how it can benefit the business processes along the whole factory life-cycle. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Modelling, simulation and evaluation of manufacturing systems are relevant activities that may strongly impact on the competitiveness of production enterprises both during the design and the operational phases. This paper addresses the application of a semantic data model for virtual factories to support the design and the performance evaluation of manufacturing systems, while exploiting the interoperability between various Digital Enterprise Technology tools. The paper shows how a shared ontology-based framework can be used to generate consistent 3D virtual environments and discrete event simulation models, demonstrating this way how the proposed solution can provide an interoperable backbone for heterogeneous software tools. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This is a prospective and comparative study including 76 consecutive patients performing EUS-FNB for pancreatic and extrapancreatic solid lesions, randomized by alternate allocation to macroscopic on-site evaluation (MOSE) (40 patients) or to a conventional technique (40 patients), with three passes each. MOSE samples were differentiated into score 0: no visible material, score 1: only necrotic or haematic material, score 2: white core tissue ≤ 2 mm, or score 3: white core tissue > 2 mm. The conventional technique consisted in pushing all the needle content into a test tube for evaluation by the pathologist. In both groups, a 22–25 Gauge Franseen-tip needle (Acquire, Boston Scientific Co., Natick, MA, USA) was used. The study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy and adequacy of MOSE compared to the conventional technique and whether MOSE could optimize the number of passes during EUS-FNB. Results: The analysis was performed on 76 patients (38 MOSE, 38 conventional). The overall diagnostic adequacy was 94.7% (72/76) and accuracy was 84.2% (64/76). The diagnostic accuracy was similar in the two groups: MOSE 86.8% (33/38 lesions), vs. conventional 81.6%, 31/38 lesions, p = 0.76). Regarding diagnostic adequacy, the MOSE technique was 97.4% (111/114 passes) compared to 92.1% (105/114 passes) with the conventional technique, p = 0.06. The accuracy increased according to the MOSE score evaluation: it was 43.5%, 65.5% and 78.3% in patients with score 1, score 2, and score 3, respectively. Moreover, if in the first two passes the MOSE score was 2 or 3, the accuracy was 82.6% (20/23), and upon adding a third pass, the accuracy increased to 87% (20/23), which was not significantly different from the general accuracy of the MOSE samples (86.8%) (p = 0.86). Conclusions: The MOSE score showed a comparable diagnostic accuracy to the conventional technique. However, MOSE allows endoscopists to perform an inspective evaluation of the material, tends to perform better than the conventional technique in terms of diagnostic adequacy, and may potentially reduce the number of passes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual reality (VR) is a technology that allows users to experience multisensory and interactive environments that simulate real or imaginary scenarios. The effect of different VR immersive technology on mental workload (MWL), i.e., the amount of resources required to perform a task, is still debated; however the potential role of EEG in this context was never exploited. This paper aims to investigate the effects on MWL of performing a cognitive task in a VR environment in two conditions characterized by different degrees of immersion using a multimodal approach which combines well-assessed subjective evaluations of MWL with physiological EEG measures. A cognitive task based on the n-back test was proposed to compare the performance and MWL of participants who used either a head-mounted display (HMD) or a desktop computer to present the stimuli. The task had four different complexity levels (n = 1 or 2 with either visual or visual and audio stimuli). Twenty-seven healthy participants were enrolled in this study and performed the tasks in both conditions. EEG data and NASA Task Load indeX (NASA-TLX) were used to assess changes in objective and subjective MWL, respectively. Error rates (ERs) and reaction times (RTs) were also collected for each condition and task level. Task levels had significant effects on MWL, increasing subjective measures and decreasing performance, in both conditions. EEG MWL index have shown a significant increase especially if compared to rest. Different degrees of immersion did not show significant differences neither in individual's performance nor in MWL as estimated by subjective ratings. However, HMD reduced the EEG-derived MWL in most conditions indicating a lower cognitive load. In conclusion, HMD may reduce the cognitive load of some tasks. The reduced level of MWL, as depicted by the EEG MWL index, may have implications for the design and future evaluation of VR-based applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]