Effective information management is critical for the development of manufacturing processes. This paper aims to provide an overview of ontologies that can be utilized in building Industry 4.0 applications. The main contributions of the work are that it highlights ontologies that are suitable for manufacturing management and recommends the multilayer-network-based interpretation and analysis of ontology-based databases. This article not only serves as a reference for engineers and researchers on ontologies but also presents a reproducible industrial case study that describes the ontology-based model of a wire harness assembly manufacturing process.

Assembly line balancing improves the efficiency of production systems by the optimal assignment of tasks to operators. The optimisation of this assignment requires models that provide information about the activity times, constraints and costs of the assignments. A multilayer network-based representation of the assembly line-balancing problem is proposed, in which the layers of the network represent the skills of the operators, the tools required for their activities and the precedence constraints of their activities. The activity–operator network layer is designed by a multi-objective optimisation algorithm in which the training and equipment costs as well as the precedence of the activities are also taken into account. As these costs are difficult to evaluate, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique is used to quantify the importance of the criteria. The optimisation problem is solved by a multi-level simulated annealing algorithm (SA) that efficiently handles the precedence constraints. The efficiency of the method is demonstrated by a case study from wire harness manufacturing.

Objectives: To identify technological advances and that are likely to have a great impact on the quality of life and participation in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods: In this paper we use the International Classification of Function to frame a discussion on how technology is likely to impact SCI in 10 years. In addition, we discuss the implication of technological advances on future research. Results/Conclusion: Although technology advances are exciting, a large challenge for the research community will be how to effectively apply and deploy this technology. Advances occurring in the next 10 years that reduce cost of technology may be more important to the population with SCI than brand new technologies. Social context is everything. As a research community we must advocate for better systems of care. Advocating now for better care will lead to a world in 2020 that is ready to adopt new technologies that are truly transformative.

The collaboration that has led to the publication of this book can be traced back to April 2013, when the Research Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics (VÚEPP) in Bratislava, Slovak Republic, approached the Research Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) in Budapest, Hungary, with a view to establishing a programme of bilateral cooperation. The approach was very positively received by AKI, and the idea rapidly developed into a plan for a series of trilateral cooperation activities that also included the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information (IAEI) in Praha, Czech Republic. Representatives of the three institutes met in Budapest at the end of May, 2013 and agreed to work together to enhance mutual research collaboration in the field of agricultural economics, share information and discuss issues related to agricultural economics in the three countries, and establish a coordination group composed by members of the three research institutes. The cooperation was formalised through the signing, in December 2013, of a trilateral Agreement covering the period 2014-2016 covering the following topics: (a) publication of individual or common papers in the institutes' journals or other journals, and exchange of journals between institutes; (b) exchange of experience via trilateral meetings of specialists; (c) cooperation with other scientific entities and support for affiliation to international networks or construction of a specific network in the institutes' common field of research interest; (d) applications and participation in common international projects; and (e) participation at international meetings with common research/papers and cooperation in organisation of different international meetings. The three institutes agreed that this would be an excellent way to better disseminate, nationally and internationally, the results of their research work and to open new perspectives to future mutual cooperation. The centrepiece of the programme of cooperation was a trilateral research project entitled "The CAP Impact on the Effectiveness of Use of Agricultural Production Factors and the Economic Efficiency of Agricultural Production and Product Sectors in the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic and Hungary". The general objective of this project has been: research on rural areas and the agrifood sector by sectoral analysis, country comparisons, identification of positive and negative influences on the rural and agricultural economy, dissemination of research results, and proposals for future policies in the field. Initially intended to cover four topics (implementation of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), agricultural land ownership and related issues, competitiveness and profitability of crop and animal production, and the efficiency of food industry production), further discussion led to eight topics of joint research being agreed. This book represents the tangible output of the trilateral research project. Each chapter in the book is the product of enthusiastic cooperation between the re...

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