Manipulation primitives: A paradigm for abstraction and execution of grasping and manipulation tasks

Sensor-based reactive and hybrid approaches have proven a promising line of study to address imperfect knowledge in grasping and manipulation. However the reactive approaches are usually tightly coupled to a particular embodiment making transfer of knowledge difficult. This paper proposes a paradigm for modeling and execution of reactive manipulation actions, which makes knowledge transfer to different embodiments possible while retaining the reactive capabilities of the embodiments. The proposed approach extends the idea of control primitives coordinated by a state machine by introducing an embodiment independent layer of abstraction. Abstract manipulation primitives constitute a vocabulary of atomic, embodiment independent actions, which can be coordinated using state machines to describe complex actions. To obtain embodiment specific models, the abstract state machines are automatically translated to embodiment specific models, such that full capabilities of each platform can be utilized. The strength of the manipulation primitives paradigm is demonstrated by developing a set of corresponding embodiment specific primitives for object transport, including a complex reactive grasping primitive. The robustness of the approach is experimentally studied in emptying of a box filled with several unknown objects. The embodiment independence is studied by performing a manipulation task on two different platforms using the same abstract description

Novel reactivation allows effective reuse of Nafion® super-acid nano-catalyst

An alternative clean regeneration method to calcination on special grade resins, i.e. Nafion, is introduced. The reactivation strategy makes use of advanced oxidation processes (Fenton and non-Fenton) to remove the organic deposits generated from sequential catalytic cycles. Hot water treatment was considered as a control case to evaluate the extraction capacity of water itself at the oxidative conditions. Advanced oxidation processes were effective in reactivating the Nafion SAC-13 resin, which also rendered a cleaner and more sustainable reactivation process. Beta zeolite was studied as model fouled system prior to the Nafion SAC-13. Even though zeolites are considered to be thermally stable, this approach can be used when a full preservation of the acid sites is required. As far as resin Nafion SAC-13 is concerned, organic species deposition was found to be responsible of a selective poisoning of the sulfonic groups in Nafion, with a consequent drop in catalytic activity of the octanoic acid esterification with methanol. The Nafion resin was reactivated either with H2O2 or with Fenton chemistry; the resin remained stable under these oxidative conditions, which is the benefit of the presented non­thermal methodologies as compared to calcination. The optimal method showed full recovery of the initial activity and 90% of the final conversion. This methodology seems attractive for a whole-range of organic catalytic reactions, including those related to biomass valorization, that require the use of highly acidic catalysts, such as acidic resins, in liquid phase reactions

Positioning systems in Minkowski space-time: from emission to inertial coordinates

The coordinate transformation between emission coordinates and inertial coordinates in Minkowski space-time is obtained for arbitrary configurations of the emitters. It appears that a positioning system always generates two different coordinate domains, namely, the front and the back emission coordinate domains. For both domains, the corresponding covariant expression of the transformation is explicitly given in terms of the emitter world-lines. This task requires the notion of orientation of an emitter configuration. The orientation is shown to be computable from the emission coordinates for the users of a `central' region of the front emission coordinate domain. Other space-time regions associated with the emission coordinates are also outlined.Comment: 20 pages; 1 figur

Evolution of polarization orientations in a flat universe with vector perturbations: CMB and quasistellar objects

Various effects produced by vector perturbations (vortical peculiar velocity fields) of a flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background are considered. In the presence of this type of perturbations, the polarization vector rotates. A formula giving the rotation angle is obtained and, then, it is used to prove that this angle depends on both the observation direction and the emission redshift. Hence, rotations are different for distinct quasars and also for the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation coming along different directions (from distinct points of the last scattering surface). As a result of these rotations, some correlations could appear in an initially random field of quasar polarization orientations. Furthermore, the polarization correlations of the CMB could undergo alterations. Quasars and CMB maps are both considered in this paper. In the case of linear vector modes with very large spatial scales, the maximum rotation angles appear to be of a few degrees for quasars (located at redshifts z<2.6) and a few tenths of degree for the CMB. These last rotations produce contributions to the B mode of the CMB polarization which are too small to be observed with PLANCK (in the near future); however, these contributions are large enough to be observed with the next generation of satellites, which are being designed to detect the small B mode produced by primordial gravitational waves

Modeling anti-IL-6 therapy using breast cancer patient-derived xenografts

The pleiotropic cytokine IL-6 accelerates the progression of breast cancer in a variety of preclinical models through the activation of the STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) signaling pathway. However, the proportion of breast cancers sensitive to anti-IL-6 therapies is not known. This study evaluates the efficacy of anti-IL-6 therapies using breast cancer patient derived xenografts (PDXs). During the generation of our collection of PDXs, we showed that the successful engraftment of tumor tissue in immunodeficient mice correlates with bad prognosis. Four PDXs out of six were resistant to anti-IL-6 therapies and the expression of IL-6, its receptor or the levels of phospho-STAT3 (the active form of the signal transducer) did not correlate with sensitivity. Using cell cultures established from the PDXs as well as samples from in vivo treatments, we showed that only tumors in which the activation of STAT3 depends on IL-6 respond to the blocking antibodies. Our results indicate that only a fraction of breast tumors are responsive to anti-IL-6 therapies. In order to identify responsive tumors, a functional assay to determine the dependence of STAT3 activation on IL-6 should be performed

Advanced oxidation process for coke removal:A systematic study of hydrogen peroxide and OH-derived-Fenton radicals of a fouled zeolite

The regeneration process of a fouled catalyst typically involves treatments at high temperature which often cause irreversible damages on the catalyst’s properties. In this work, Fenton chemistry-derived •OH species, and H2O2, are proposed as oxidizing agents to reactivate a porous catalyst at mild conditions, below 100 °C. The chosen catalyst is a microporous ZSM-5 zeolite, which is a challenging candidate due to the mass transfer limitations with possible recombination of the hydroxyl radicals; thereby being an obstacle to oxidize organics occluded in the micropores. The organics deposition over a ZSM-5 zeolite during the D-glucose dehydration reaction was confirmed by a number of characterization techniques, which revealed a considerable decrease in the surface area, pore volume and acid site density in the fouled catalyst. By properly selecting the regeneration conditions, reactivation via Fenton or H2O2 was highly effective in terms of removal of the organics as well as recovery of the initial catalytic activity. The properties of the H2O2 treated-zeolite, the optimal treatment in this case study, were preserved with similar structural and textural features and improved acidity. Hot water extraction was ineffective to remove the humins from ZSM-5. Mechanistically, the presence of Fe impurities in the zeolite structure did not allow to discriminate between a homo, heterogeneous, or a direct H2O2 pathway, or a combination of them. The exhibited conversion by the regenerated zeolite was comparable to that of the fresh one

Fatigue in laser shock peened open-hole thin aluminium specimens

An experimental study was performed in order to determine the influence of the sequence of operations on the effectiveness of Laser Shock Peening (LSP) treatment in increasing the fatigue performances of open-hole aluminium specimens. Residual stress measurements, fractographic analysis and FEM analysis were performed, indicating the presence of compressive residual stresses on the surface of the treated specimens and tensile residual stresses in the mid-section along the thickness of the specimens. Negative effects on fatigue lives were encountered on the specimens with the hole already present, while positive effect were observed in specimens in which the hole was drilled after LSP treatment. These results indicate that LSP can be a good solution for “in production” application, in which open holes are to be drilled after the LSP treatment. The application in which LSP is used “in service” on structures with pre-existing cut-outs, has proven to be impracticable in the investigated configuration

Pion Mass Effects in the Large NN Limit of \chiPT

We compute the large $N$ effective action of the $O(N+1)/O(N)$ non-linear sigma model including the effect of the pion mass to order $m^2_{\pi}/f_{\pi}^2$. This action is more complex than the one corresponding to the chiral limit not only because of the pion propagators but also because chiral symmetry produce new interactions proportional to $m^2_{\pi}/f_{\pi}^2$. We renormalize the action by including the appropriate counter terms and find the renormalization group equations for the corresponding couplings. Then we estudy the unitarity propierties of the scattering amplitudes. Finally our results are applied to the particular case of the linear sigma model and also are used to fit the pion scattering phase shifts.Comment: FT/UCM/18/9

Constraints on the structure and seasonal variations of Triton’s atmosphere from the 5 October 2017 stellar occultation and previous observations

J.M.O. acknowledges financial support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the European Social Fund (ESF) through the PhD grant SFRH/BD/131700/2017. The work leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Community's H2020 2014-2021 ERC grant Agreement nffi 669416 "Lucky Star". We thank S. Para who supported some travels to observe the 5 October 2017 occultation. T.B. was supported for this research by an appointment to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Post-Doctoral Program at the Ames Research Center administered by Universities Space Research Association (USRA) through a contract with NASA. We acknowledge useful exchanges with Mark Gurwell on the ALMA CO observations. This work has made use of data from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission Gaia (https://www.cosmos.esa.int/gaia), processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC, https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac/consortium).Funding for the DPAC has been provided by national institutions, in particular the institutions participating in the Gaia Multilateral Agreement. J.L.O., P.S.-S., N.M. and R.D. acknowledge financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa" award to the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (SEV-2017-0709), they also acknowledge the financial support by the Spanish grant AYA-2017-84637-R and the Proyecto de Excelencia de la Junta de Andalucia J.A. 2012-FQM1776. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, under Grant Agreement no. 687378, as part of the project "Small Bodies Near and Far" (SBNAF). P.S.-S. acknowledges financial support by the Spanish grant AYA-RTI2018-098657-J-I00 "LEO-SBNAF". The work was partially based on observations made at the Laboratorio Nacional de Astrofisica (LNA), Itajuba-MG, Brazil. The following authors acknowledge the respective CNPq grants: F.B.-R. 309578/2017-5; R.V.-M. 304544/2017-5, 401903/2016-8; J.I.B.C. 308150/2016-3 and 305917/2019-6; M.A. 427700/20183, 310683/2017-3, 473002/2013-2. This study was financed in part by the Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior -Brasil (CAPES) -Finance Code 001 and the National Institute of Science and Technology of the e-Universe project (INCT do e-Universo, CNPq grant 465376/2014-2). G.B.R. acknowledges CAPES-FAPERJ/PAPDRJ grant E26/203.173/2016 and CAPES-PRINT/UNESP grant 88887.571156/2020-00, M.A. FAPERJ grant E26/111.488/2013 and A.R.G.Jr. FAPESP grant 2018/11239-8. B.E.M. thanks CNPq 150612/2020-6 and CAPES/Cofecub-394/2016-05 grants. Part of the photometric data used in this study were collected in the frame of the photometric observations with the robotic and remotely controlled telescope at the University of Athens Observatory (UOAO; Gazeas 2016). The 2.3 m Aristarchos telescope is operated on Helmos Observatory by the Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing of the National Observatory of Athens. Observations with the 2.3 m Aristarchos telescope were carried out under OPTICON programme. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 730890. This material reflects only the authors views and the Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. The 1. 2m Kryoneri telescope is operated by the Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing of the National Observatory of Athens. The Astronomical Observatory of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley (OAVdA) is managed by the Fondazione Clement Fillietroz-ONLUS, which is supported by the Regional Government of the Aosta Valley, the Town Municipality of Nus and the "Unite des Communes valdotaines Mont-Emilius". The 0.81 m Main Telescope at the OAVdA was upgraded thanks to a Shoemaker NEO Grant 2013 from The Planetary Society. D.C. and J.M.C. acknowledge funds from a 2017 'Research and Education' grant from Fondazione CRT-Cassa di Risparmio di Torino. P.M. acknowledges support from the Portuguese Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia ref. PTDC/FISAST/29942/2017 through national funds and by FEDER through COMPETE 2020 (ref. POCI010145 FEDER007672). F.J. acknowledges Jean Luc Plouvier for his help. S.J.F. and C.A. would like to thank the UCL student support observers: Helen Dai, Elise Darragh-Ford, Ross Dobson, Max Hipperson, Edward Kerr-Dineen, Isaac Langley, Emese Meder, Roman Gerasimov, Javier Sanjuan, and Manasvee Saraf. We are grateful to the CAHA, OSN and La Hita Observatory staffs. This research is partially based on observations collected at Centro Astronomico HispanoAleman (CAHA) at Calar Alto, operated jointly by Junta de Andalucia and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (IAA-CSIC). This research was also partially based on observation carried out at the Observatorio de Sierra Nevada (OSN) operated by Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC). This article is also based on observations made with the Liverpool Telescope operated on the island of La Palma by Liverpool John Moores University in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias with financial support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council. Partially based on observations made with the Tx40 and Excalibur telescopes at the Observatorio Astrofisico de Javalambre in Teruel, a Spanish Infraestructura Cientifico-Tecnica Singular (ICTS) owned, managed and operated by the Centro de Estudios de Fisica del Cosmos de Aragon (CEFCA). Tx40 and Excalibur are funded with the Fondos de Inversiones de Teruel (FITE). A.R.R. would like to thank Gustavo Roman for the mechanical adaptation of the camera to the telescope to allow for the observation to be recorded. R.H., J.F.R., S.P.H. and A.S.L. have been supported by the Spanish projects AYA2015-65041P and PID2019-109467GB-100 (MINECO/FEDER, UE) and Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT1366-19. Our great thanks to Omar Hila and their collaborators in Atlas Golf Marrakech Observatory for providing access to the T60cm telescope. TRAPPIST is a project funded by the Belgian Fonds (National) de la Recherche Scientifique (F.R.S.-FNRS) under grant PDR T.0120.21. TRAPPIST-North is a project funded by the University of Liege, and performed in collaboration with Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakesh. E.J. is a FNRS Senior Research Associate.Context. A stellar occultation by Neptune's main satellite, Triton, was observed on 5 October 2017 from Europe, North Africa, and the USA. We derived 90 light curves from this event, 42 of which yielded a central flash detection. Aims. We aimed at constraining Triton's atmospheric structure and the seasonal variations of its atmospheric pressure since the Voyager 2 epoch (1989). We also derived the shape of the lower atmosphere from central flash analysis. Methods. We used Abel inversions and direct ray-tracing code to provide the density, pressure, and temperature profiles in the altitude range similar to 8 km to similar to 190 km, corresponding to pressure levels from 9 mu bar down to a few nanobars. Results. (i) A pressure of 1.18 +/- 0.03 mu bar is found at a reference radius of 1400 km (47 km altitude). (ii) A new analysis of the Voyager 2 radio science occultation shows that this is consistent with an extrapolation of pressure down to the surface pressure obtained in 1989. (iii) A survey of occultations obtained between 1989 and 2017 suggests that an enhancement in surface pressure as reported during the 1990s might be real, but debatable, due to very few high S/N light curves and data accessible for reanalysis. The volatile transport model analysed supports a moderate increase in surface pressure, with a maximum value around 2005-2015 no higher than 23 mu bar. The pressures observed in 1995-1997 and 2017 appear mutually inconsistent with the volatile transport model presented here. (iv) The central flash structure does not show evidence of an atmospheric distortion. We find an upper limit of 0.0011 for the apparent oblateness of the atmosphere near the 8 km altitude.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology SFRH/BD/131700/2017European Social Fund (ESF) SFRH/BD/131700/2017European Research Council under the European Community's H2020 2014-2021 ERC grant 669416Spanish Government SEV-2017-0709 AYA-2017-84637-R AYA-RTI2018-098657-J-I00Junta de Andalucia 2012-FQM1776European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, as part of the project "Small Bodies Near and Far" (SBNAF) 687378Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPQ)Fundacao de Apoio a Pesquisa do Distrito Federal (FAPDF) 309578/2017-5 304544/2017-5 401903/2016-8 308150/2016-3 305917/2019-6 427700/2018-3 310683/2017-3 473002/2013-2Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES) 001Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPQ) 465376/2014-2 CAPES-FAPERJ/PAPDRJ grant E26/203.173/2016 CAPES-PRINT/UNESP grant 88887.571156/2020-00Fundacao Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio De Janeiro (FAPERJ) E26/111.488/2013Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) 2018/11239-8Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPQ) 150612/2020-6European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme 730890Regional Government of the Aosta ValleyTown Municipality of NusUnite des Communes valdotaines Mont-EmiliusPlanetary SocietyFondazione CRT-Cassa di Risparmio di TorinoPortuguese Foundation for Science and Technology PTDC/FISAST/29942/2017FEDER through COMPETE 2020 POCI010145 FEDER007672UK Research & Innovation (UKRI)Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC)Fondos de Inversiones de Teruel (FITE)Spanish Government AYA2015-65041P PID2019-109467GB-100Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT1366-19Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique - FNRS PDR T.0120.21University of LiegeCAPES/Cofecub-394/2016-0

Comparative analysis of the deposits left by the tsunami that followed to the Lisbon Earthquake (1755 AD), on the Castilnovo beach and the Old Tuna Factory of La Chança (Conil de la Frontera, SW Spain)

On coasts of tectonically active areas, where old tsunami deposits are in a fragmentary state, the study of paleo-tsunamis provides data for interpreting facies and processes. In order to recognize facies, a study has been carried out on a sector of the SW coast of Spain, where some historical tsunamis are documented, such as that caused by the Lisbon earthquake (November 1, 1755 AD). This study is focused on a sector between the Salado River Mouth and Castilnovo Beach (Conil de la Frontera), where depositional morphologies attributed to this event can still be observed. It includes a comparative analysis with well-preserved deposits found inside an old tuna salting factory, La Chança which, albeit severely damaged, survived the tsunami. The sediments deposited by the 1755 AD tsunami record a mixture of older coastal deposits, including sands and muddy-sands, pebbles, mollusc shells, foraminifers, terrestrial gastropods, root features, and archaeological remains. After the tsunami, a part of the deposits were remobilized and mixed with normal coastal sediments, becaming unrecognizable as tsunamites. Several stratigraphic units have been distinguished, corresponding to different sedimentary stages. The results suggest that some depositional features were caused not by this event, but rather are a consequence of the interaction of other factors. Shelly beds intercalated within the deposits have provided a 14C age older than 1755 AD, which have been interpreted as records of other older events or erosion of older deposits followed by deposition during the tsunami event.En costas de regiones tectónicamente activas, donde depósitos de antiguos tsunamis se encuentran en estado fragmentario, el estudio de paleo-tsunamis proporciona datos para la interpretación de facies y la reconstrucción de los procesos. Con objeto de reconocer las facies y los procesos involucrados, se ha realizado un estudio sedimentológico en un sector de la costa SO de España, donde están documentados varios tsunamis históricos, como el causado por el terremoto de Lisboa del 1 de Noviembre de 1755. El estudio se centra en un sector comprendido entre la desembocadura del río Salado y la Playa de Castilnovo (Conil de la Frontera), donde aún se pueden observar morfologías y depósitos atribuidos a este evento. El estudio incluye el análisis comparativo con los sedimentos depositados en la antigua factoría de salazón de La Chança que, aunque seriamente dañada, sobrevivió al tsunami. Los sedimentos depositados por el tsunami de 1755 se combinaron con depósitos costeros más antiguos, resultando una mezcla de arenas, fango, clastos, conchas de moluscos, foraminíferos, gasterópodos terrestres, raíces y restos arqueológicos de la época. Tras el evento, estos sedimentos fueron redepositados en medios costeros, resultando unos depósitos irreconocibles, aunque algunos han sido interpretados como tsunamitas. Se han diferenciado varias unidades sedimentarias correspondientes a diferentes etapas, incluyendo la acción de este evento. Los resultados sugieren que algunos rasgos deposicionales presentes en los depósitos no fueron totalmente causados por el tsunami de 1755, sino que son una consecuencia de la interacción de varios factores. Además, algunas capas bioclásticas intercaladas en los depósitos han proporcionado una edad 14C mayor de 1.755 dC, lo que ha sido interpretado como el registro de eventos más antiguos