Investigation on the cooperative grasping capabilities of human thumb and index finger

The maximum cooperative grasping mass and diameter of the human thumb and index finger were investigated by 7560 grasp-release trials on various masses of solid cylinders and various sizes of rings. The maximum grasping mass of the participants’ thumbindex finger depended on gender, age and the sum of thumb-index finger lengths (P 0.05). The maximum grasping diameter of the participants’ thumb-index finger depended on the age, sum of thumb-index finger lengths and ratio of index finger to thumb length (P 0.05). There was a non-linear regression model for the dependence of the maximum grasping mass on gender, age and the sum of thumb-index finger lengths and another non-linear regression model for the dependence of the maximum grasping diameter on the age, sum of thumb-index finger lengths and ratio of index finger to thumb length. Two regression models were useful in the optimal size design of robotic hands intending to replicate thumb-index finger grasping ability. This research can help to define not only a reasonable grasp mass and size for a bionic robotic hand, but also the requirements for hand rehabilitation

Research on theory and techniques of energy management for energy-harvesting powered wireless communications

Energy harvesting (EH) is the process of capturing renewable energy from the environment and converting it into usable electrical energy. In wireless communication systems, collecting renewable energy from the environment is a key factor in building self-sustainable networks. In addition, EH-powered wireless communications help reduce carbon footprint and enable "green" communications to solve important issues such as haze, global warming, and climate change. Due to these ecological and economic reasons, various types of EH-powered wireless communications have become current research hotspots. However, challenges arise in EH-powered wireless communication systems. First, the reliability of data transmissions is challenged due to the inherent randomness and instability of environmental energy sources. Second, due to the limited energy provided by environmental energy sources, how to make full useof the limited energy and ensure the systems obtain optimal performances is also a stringent subject. Therefore, for EH-powered wireless communication systems, we need to conduct reasonable energy management and resource allocation to ensure reliable and efficient communications, thus optimizing system performances. On the one hand, for EH-powered WSN links, we optimize energy management for the transmitters, so that the collected energy is properly distributed to data transmissions. On the other hand, we introduce smart-grid technology to jointly provide renewable energy and grid's persistent energy to base stations (BSs) in cellular networks, compensating for unstable and insufficient EH power supply. Through the optimal energy management of BSs, we make full use of renewable energy, maximize the system throughput or minimize the electricity transaction cost with the grid, while satisfying users' quality of service (QoS). Optimal energy management is first investigated for EH-powered WSN links.A new "dynamic string tautening" algorithm is proposed to generate the most energy-efficient offine schedule for delay-limited traffc of transmitters. The algorithmis based on two key findings derived through convex formulation and resultant optimality conditions, specifies a set of simple but optimal rules, and generates the optimal schedule with a low complexity. The proposed algorithm is also extended to online scenarios, where the transmit schedule is generated on-the-fly. An infinite time-horizon resource allocation problem is then formulated to maximize the time-average downlink throughput for smart-grid powered multiple input multiple-output (MIMO), subject to a time-average energy cost budget. By using the advanced time decoupling technique, a novel stochastic subgradient based online control (SGOC) approach is developed for the resultant smart-grid powered communication system. It is established analytically that the proposed online control algorithm is able to yield a feasible and asymptotically optimal solution without a-priori knowledge of the stochastic system information. Last, a two-scale stochastic control framework is put forth for smart-grid powered coordinated multi-point (CoMP) systems. The energy management taskis formulated as an infinite-horizon optimization problem minimizing the time average energy transaction cost. Leveraging the Lyapunov optimization approach as well as the stochastic subgradient method, a two-scale online control (TSOC) approach is developed for the resultant smart-grid powered CoMP systems. Using only historical data, the proposed TS-OC makes online control decisions at two timescales, and features a provably feasible and asymptotically near-optimal solution

Investigation on the cooperative grasping capabilities of human thumb and index finger

The maximum cooperative grasping mass and diameter of the human thumb and index finger were investigated by 7560 grasp-release trials on various masses of solid cylinders and various sizes of rings. The maximum grasping mass of the participants’ thumbindex finger depended on gender, age and the sum of thumb-index finger lengths (P 0.05). The maximum grasping diameter of the participants’ thumb-index finger depended on the age, sum of thumb-index finger lengths and ratio of index finger to thumb length (P 0.05). There was a non-linear regression model for the dependence of the maximum grasping mass on gender, age and the sum of thumb-index finger lengths and another non-linear regression model for the dependence of the maximum grasping diameter on the age, sum of thumb-index finger lengths and ratio of index finger to thumb length. Two regression models were useful in the optimal size design of robotic hands intending to replicate thumb-index finger grasping ability. This research can help to define not only a reasonable grasp mass and size for a bionic robotic hand, but also the requirements for hand rehabilitation

Molecular Dynamics Investigation of Halide-Containing Phospho-Silicate Bioactive Glasses

Oxyhalide-containing silicate glasses have been receiving increasing attention in recent years due to their extensive medical and dental applications. This manuscript reports the first detailed structural investigation using MD simulations in the context of chloride- and mixed-fluoride/chloride-containing phospho-silicate bioactive glasses. It is shown that adding fluoride, chloride, and mixed fluoride and chloride has not altered the Q^<i>n</i> silicate distribution and phosphorus speciation significantly in all of the glasses investigated. The Q² silicon species is the predominant species with smaller and nearly equal proportions of Q¹ and Q³ species, whereas phosphorus is largely present as orthophosphate Q⁰ units. No Si–F/Cl and P–F/Cl bonds have been observed at room temperature. Both F and Cl anions are present as F–Ca­(n) and Cl–Ca­(n). MD simulations also indicate opposite effects of fluoride and chloride on the crystallization ability of the glasses. The environment of Cl in chloride-containing glass series is quite different from the chlorapatite and CaCl₂ crystals, and a significant structural reorganization is required to observe the appearance of the crystal nuclei. Instead, the environment of fluoride ions in the glasses is quite similar to that present in the FAP and CaF₂ crystals and thus F-containing glasses manifest a high crystallization tendency. Moreover, in the mixed-fluoride/chloride-containing glasses, fluorine tends to surround phosphate, whereas chloride moves toward the silicate network. Finally, it was observed that a good correlation exists between the glass transition temperature and the overall strength of the glass network quantified by the <i>F</i>_net factor

Additional file 1 of Patient-level comparison of heart failure patients in clinical phenotype and prognosis from China and Sweden

Additional file 1. Fig. S1. Patients with HFrEF on 50% GDMT target dose. Fig. S2. Reasons for no use of selected GDMT (A ACEIs/ARBs; B beta-blockers) in patients with HFrEF

Well-Defined Hydrophilic Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Microspheres for Efficient Molecular Recognition in Real Biological Samples by Facile RAFT Coupling Chemistry

A facile and highly efficient new approach (namely RAFT coupling chemistry) to obtain well-defined hydrophilic molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) microspheres with excellent specific recognition ability toward small organic analytes in the real, undiluted biological samples is described. It involves the first synthesis of “living” MIP microspheres with surface-bound vinyl and dithioester groups via RAFT precipitation polymerization (RAFTPP) and their subsequent grafting of hydrophilic polymer brushes by the simple coupling reaction of hydrophilic macro-RAFT agents (i.e., hydrophilic polymers with a dithioester end group) with vinyl groups on the “living” MIP particles in the presence of a free radical initiator. The successful grafting of hydrophilic polymer brushes onto the obtained MIP particles was confirmed by SEM, FT-IR, static contact angle and water dispersion studies, elemental analyses, and template binding experiments. Well-defined MIP particles with densely grafted hydrophilic polymer brushes (∼1.8 chains/nm²) of desired chemical structures and molecular weights were readily obtained, which showed significantly improved surface hydrophilicity and could thus function properly in real biological media. The origin of the high grafting densities of the polymer brushes was clarified and the general applicability of the strategy was demonstrated. In particular, the well-defined characteristics of the resulting hydrophilic MIP particles allowed the first systematic study on the effects of various structural parameters of the grafted hydrophilic polymer brushes on their water-compatibility, which is of great importance for rationally designing more advanced real biological sample-compatible MIPs

Hexagonal Sb Nanocrystals as High-Capacity and Long-Cycle Anode Materials for Sodium-Ion Batteries

Antimony (Sb) is regarded as a promising anode material for sodium ion batteries (SIBs) on account of its high theoretical specific capacity (∼660 mAh g–1) and low cost. However, the large volume expansion (∼390%) during charging has inhibited its practical application. Herein, hexagonal Sb nanocrystals encapsulated by P/N-co-doped carbon nanofibers (Sb@P-N/C) were prepared using a low-cost but mass-produced electrospinning method. The as-prepared Sb@P-N/C, used as anode material for SIBs, exhibits unexpected cycling stability and rate capability, with 500.1 mAh g–1 at 50 mA g–1 after 200 cycles and 295.6 mAh g–1 at 500 mA g–1 after 400 cycles. Especially, the full battery fabricated by Na (Ni1/3Fe1/3Mn1/3) O2 || Sb@P-N/C possesses a reversible specific capacity of 66.8 mAh g–1 at 50 mA g–1 over 60 cycles. This simple and low-cost fabrication technology combined with unique crystal morphology offers new strategies for the advancement of sodium ion batteries (SIBs) in energy storage and electrical transportation

Pattern-Based Recognition for Determination of Enantiomeric Excess, Using Chiral Auxiliary Induced Chemical Shift Perturbation NMR

A protocol for the determination of enantiomeric excess of chiral carboxylic acid, using the subtle frequency shifts (chemical shift perturbation) in NMR spectra induced by chiral auxiliary, is described. The spectra were analyzed with two pattern recognition protocols. Principal component analysis demonstrated good enantioselective separation of the analytes, and partial least-squares was used to analyze ee values of unknown samples

Additional file 1 of Association between maternal polycystic ovarian syndrome undergoing assisted reproductive technology and pregnancy complications and neonatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Supplementary Material

Feasibility of Infrared and Raman Spectroscopies for Identification of Juvenile Black Seabream (Sparus macrocephalus) Intoxicated by Heavy Metals

The potential application of infrared and Raman spectroscopies was explored as rapid and nondestructive tools for the identification of juvenile black seabream samples intoxicated by heavy metals (Zn, Cu, and Cd). Discrimination models were established on the basis of the infrared and Raman spectral data using three calibration methods, namely, partial least-squares discriminant analysis, least-squares support vector machines, and random forest. The combination of two spectroscopies was studied, in which three combination strategies were proposed and compared. Discrimination models achieved overall correct discriminations of 100% for identifying the fish intoxicated by one heavy metal or the heavy metal mixture. When samples intoxicated by different heavy metals were analyzed together, the discrimination accuracy remained >90%. Results confirmed the possibility of developing fast and reliable systems for the identification of juvenile black seabream intoxicated by heavy metals based on infrared and Raman spectroscopies