513 research outputs found
Robot Control based on Motor Primitives -- A Comparison of Two Approaches
Motor primitives are fundamental building blocks of a controller which enable
dynamic robot behavior with minimal high-level intervention. By treating motor
primitives as basic "modules," different modules can be sequenced or
superimposed to generate a rich repertoire of motor behavior. In robotics, two
distinct approaches have been proposed: Dynamic Movement Primitives (DMPs) and
Elementary Dynamic Actions (EDAs). While both approaches instantiate similar
ideas, significant differences also exist. This paper attempts to clarify the
distinction and provide a unifying view by delineating the similarities and
differences between DMPs and EDAs. We provide eight robot control examples,
including sequencing or superimposing movements, managing kinematic redundancy
and singularity, obstacle avoidance, and managing physical interaction. We show
that the two approaches clearly diverge in their implementation. We also
discuss how DMPs and EDAs might be combined to get the best of both approaches.
With this detailed comparison, we enable researchers to make informed decisions
to select the most suitable approach for specific robot tasks and applications.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figure
Exp[licit]-A Robot modeling Software based on Exponential Maps
Deriving a robot's equation of motion typically requires placing multiple
coordinate frames, commonly using the Denavit-Hartenberg convention to express
the kinematic and dynamic relationships between segments. This paper presents
an alternative using the differential geometric method of Exponential Maps,
which reduces the number of coordinate frame choices to two. The traditional
and differential geometric methods are compared, and the conceptual and
practical differences are detailed. The open-source software, Exp[licit], based
on the differential geometric method, is introduced. It is intended for use by
researchers and engineers with basic knowledge of geometry and robotics. Code
snippets and an example application are provided to demonstrate the benefits of
the differential geometric method and assist users to get started with the
software.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
First Measurement of the 64Ni(gamma,n)63Ni Cross Section
Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike LicenceIn the past 10 years new and more accurate stellar neutron capture cross section measurements have changed and improved the abundance predictions of the weak s process. Among other elements in the region between iron and strontium, most of the copper abundance observed today in the solar system distribution was produced by the s process in massive stars. However, experimental data for the stellar 63Ni(n,gamma)64Ni cross section are still missing, but is strongly required for a reliable prediction of the copper abundances. 63Ni (t1/2 =101.2 a) is a branching point and also bottleneck in the weak s process flow, and abehaves differently during core He and shell C burning. During core He burning the reaction flow proceeds via beta-decay to 63Cu, and a change of the 63Ni(n,gamma)64Ni cross section would have no influence. However, this behavior changes at higher temperatures and neutron densities during the shell C burning phase. Under these conditions, a significant amount of the s process nucleosynthesis flow is passing through the channel 62Ni(n,gamma)63Ni(n,gamma)64Ni. At present only theoretical estimates are available for the 63Ni(n,gamma)64Ni cross section. The corresponding uncertainty affects the production of 63Cu in present s process nucleosynthesis calculations and propagates to the abundances of the heavier species up to A=70. So far, experimental information is also missing for the inverse 64Ni(gamma,n) channel. We have measured for the first time the 64Ni(gamma,n)63Ni cross section and also combined for the first time successfully the photoactivation technique with subsequent Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS). The activations at the ELBE facility in Dresden-Rossendorf were followed by the 63Ni/64Ni determination with AMS at the MLL accelerator laboratory in Garching. First results indicate that theoretical predictions have overestimated this cross section up to now. If this also holds for the inverse channel 63Ni(n,gamma)64Ni, more 63Ni is accumulated during the high neutron density regime of the C shell that will contribute to the final abundance of 63Cu by radiogenic decay. In this case, also a lower s process efficiency is expected for the heavier species along the neutron capture path up to the Ga-Ge regio
Solving the stellar 62Ni problem with AMS
An accurate knowledge of the neutron capture cross sections of 62,63Ni is
crucial since both isotopes take key positions which affect the whole reaction
flow in the weak s process up to A=90. No experimental value for the
63Ni(n,gamma) cross section exists so far, and until recently the experimental
values for 62Ni(n,gamma) at stellar temperatures (kT=30 keV) ranged between 12
and 37 mb. This latter discrepancy could now be solved by two activations with
following AMS using the GAMS setup at the Munich tandem accelerator which are
also in perfect agreement with a recent time-of-flight measurement. The
resulting (preliminary) Maxwellian cross section at kT=30 keV was determined to
be 30keV = 23.4 +/- 4.6 mb. Additionally, we have measured the
64Ni(gamma,n)63Ni cross section close to threshold. Photoactivations at 13.5
MeV, 11.4 MeV and 10.3 MeV were carried out with the ELBE accelerator at
Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. A first AMS measurement of the sample
activated at 13.5 MeV revealed a cross section smaller by more than a factor of
2 compared to NON-SMOKER predictions.Comment: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Accelerator Mass
Spectrometry in Rome, Sept. 14-19, 2008; to be published in Nucl. Instr.
Meth.
Epigenetics as a mechanism driving polygenic clinical drug resistance
Aberrant methylation of CpG islands located at or near gene promoters is associated with inactivation of gene expression during tumour development. It is increasingly recognised that such epimutations may occur at a much higher frequency than gene mutation and therefore have a greater impact on selection of subpopulations of cells during tumour progression or acquisition of resistance to anticancer drugs. Although laboratory-based models of acquired resistance to anticancer agents tend to focus on specific genes or biochemical pathways, such 'one gene : one outcome' models may be an oversimplification of acquired resistance to treatment of cancer patients. Instead, clinical drug resistance may be due to changes in expression of a large number of genes that have a cumulative impact on chemosensitivity. Aberrant CpG island methylation of multiple genes occurring in a nonrandom manner during tumour development and during the acquisition of drug resistance provides a mechanism whereby expression of multiple genes could be affected simultaneously resulting in polygenic clinical drug resistance. If simultaneous epigenetic regulation of multiple genes is indeed a major driving force behind acquired resistance of patients' tumour to anticancer agents, this has important implications for biomarker studies of clinical outcome following chemotherapy and for clinical approaches designed to circumvent or modulate drug resistance
Measurement of the strong interaction induced shift and width of the 1s state of kaonic deuterium at J-PARC
The antikaon-nucleon interaction close to threshold provides crucial
information on the interplay between spontaneous and explicit chiral symmetry
breaking in low-energy QCD. In this context the importance of kaonic deuterium
X-ray spectroscopy has been well recognized, but no experimental results have
yet been obtained due to the difficulty of the measurement. We propose to
measure the shift and width of the kaonic deuterium 1s state with an accuracy
of 60 eV and 140 eV respectively at J-PARC. These results together with the
kaonic hydrogen data (KpX at KEK, DEAR and SIDDHARTA at DAFNE) will then permit
the determination of values of both the isospin I=0 and I=1 antikaon-nucleon
scattering lengths and will provide the most stringent constraints on the
antikaon-nucleon interaction, promising a breakthrough. Refined Monte Carlo
studies were performed, including the investigation of background suppression
factors for the described setup. These studies have demonstrated the
feasibility of determining the shift and width of the kaonic deuterium atom 1s
state with the desired accuracy of 60 eV and 140 eV.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure
dSETDB1 and SU(VAR)3–9 Sequentially Function during Germline-Stem Cell Differentiation in Drosophila melanogaster
Germline-stem cells (GSCs) produce gametes and are thus true “immortal stem cells”. In Drosophila ovaries, GSCs divide asymmetrically to produce daughter GSCs and cystoblasts, and the latter differentiate into germline cysts. Here we show that the histone-lysine methyltransferase dSETDB1, located in pericentric heterochromatin, catalyzes H3-K9 trimethylation in GSCs and their immediate descendants. As germline cysts differentiate into egg chambers, the dSETDB1 function is gradually taken over by another H3-K9-specific methyltransferase, SU(VAR)3–9. Loss-of-function mutations in dsetdb1 or Su(var)3–9 abolish both H3K9me3 and heterochromatin protein-1 (HP1) signals from the anterior germarium and the developing egg chambers, respectively, and cause localization of H3K9me3 away from DNA-dense regions in most posterior germarium cells. These results indicate that dSETDB1 and SU(VAR)3–9 act together with distinct roles during oogenesis, with dsetdb1 being of particular importance due to its GSC-specific function and more severe mutant phenotype
Roles for H2A.Z and Its Acetylation in GAL1 Transcription and Gene Induction, but Not GAL1-Transcriptional Memory
H2A.Z does not appear to have a role in GAL1 transcriptional memory, but it does have both acetylation-dependent and acetylation-independent roles in GAL1 induction and expression
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