The prevalence and risk factors of Spirocerca lupi in domestic dogs in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam

Spirocercosis is caused by Spirocerca spp., which is a chronic disease and might cause life-threatening due to forming cancer in oesophagus in canid carnivores. There are limited studies involving spirocercosis in domestic dogs. Thus, this study aims to investigate the prevalence and analyse risk factors involved in the S. lupi infection in Mekong Delta in Vietnam. In total, 400 fecal samples from domestic dogs were collected from May 2020 to May 2021. The overall prevalence of spirocercosis in domestic dogs in the Mekong Delta was 10.50% by copromicroscope and PCR methods. PCR targeted to the housekeeping gene cytochrome c oxidase I (cox-1) was applied to identify species of Spirocerca spp. and analyse the phylogenetic tree. Outdoor dogs had 5.48 times (CI 95% = 2.45-11.690, p < 0.001) higher risks of S. lupi infection compared to indoor dogs. Besides, seasons and age showed a correlation to the increase the risk of S. lupi infection, while neither dog breeds nor gender influenced the prevalence of this species. The cytochrome c oxidase I (cox-1) gene sequence of S. lupi in the Mekong Delta showed the high homologues to the S. lupi isolates in India, Israel, and the North of Vietnam and belonged to the S. lupi genotype 2

Direct measurement of mechanical vibrations of the 4-rod RFQ at the HLI

In this paper, we present a new haptic interface, called active skin , which is configured with a tactile sensor and a tactile stimulator in single haptic cell, and multiple haptic cells are embedded in a dielectric elastomer. The active skin generates a wide variety of haptic feel in response to the touch by synchronizing the sensor and the stimulator. In this paper, the design of the haptic cell is derived via iterative analysis and design procedures. A fabrication method dedicated to the proposed device is investigated and a controller to drive multiple haptic cells is developed. In addition, several experiments are performed to evaluate the performance of the active skin

A methodology to establish a hysteresis model for trilayer conducting polymer actuators

Conducting polymer actuators which are capable of operating in air or liquid media under low actuation voltages can be used as macro and micromanipulation devices. However, their positioning accuracy is adversely affected by their hysteresis nonlinearity. In this paper, we establish a Duhem hysteresis model for conducting polymer actuators, which is a rate-independent hysteresis model. The hysteresis model is experimentally identified and integrated with the linear transfer function of the actuator to build a more accurate actuator model

DESIGNING AND MANUFACTURING HARVESTING MACHINE FOR CENTELLA ASIATICA

This paper presents the designing, manufacturing and piloting process of a havesting machine for Centella asiatica. This model is designed and manufactured on the basis of the survey taken on the characteristics of Centella asiatica in Quang Tho district, Thua Thien Hue Province. Within the project, the experiments of the machine’s moving speed, cutting speed and optimal speed are carried out. The results meet the authors’ expectance in terms of efficiency

Modelling trilayer conjugated polymer actuators for their sensorless position control

In this paper, we present a new model to describe the displacement response of a trilayer conjugated polymer actuator that can operate in dry environments. The proposed model based on the working principle of conjugated polymer actuators includes diffusion impedances combined with double layer capacitors and charge transfer resistors. The parameters of the model are estimated by using a nonlinear least square estimation method by comparing simulation and experimental results. The proposed model is very useful in predicting the impedance as well as the displacement response of the polymer actuators accurately. Based on the proposed model, an inversion-based controller not requiring an external sensor for position feedback data is implemented and compared with the experimental results. The experimental position control results have confirmed the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed model in describing the time response of the actuators and their position control without using externally provided position data

Design and Control of Multi-jointed Robot Finger Based on Artificial Muscle Actuator

In this paper, we present a robotic actuation system using an artificial muscle actuator based on a dielectric elastomer. A novel linear actuator called a \u27multi-stacked actuator\u27 is proposed that can be embedded in the phalanges of a multi-jointed robot finger. This actuator ensures a compact design of the overall system. As an example, a 2-d.o.f. robot finger is developed and its performance under the proposed actuator system is experimentally demonstrated. The application of the proposed system can be extended easily to a multifingered robot hand and even to articulated mechanisms such as legged robots, etc

Fabrication and Control of Rectilinear Artificial Muscle Actuator

In this paper, we present an artificial muscle actuator based on a dielectric elastomer called the “multistacked actuator.” The actuator is made from a new material, the synthetic elastomer, developed by the authors. The proposed actuator is configured with multiple stacked synthetic elastomer films coated with compliant electrodes on both sides. This design enables the actuator to generate rectilinear motion with high force density. In addition, the actuators can be fabricated in various geometries to meet the requirements of the applications. We develop a pulse width-modulated proportional-integral-derivative (PWM-PID) feedback controller based on the high-voltage switching circuit and implemented it to drive the proposed actuator. Finally, the performance of the actuator is evaluated via experiments

Impulse : für Unternehmer

As a major human sensory function, the implementation of the tactile sensation for the human-machine interface has been one of the core research interests for long time. In this research, tactile display devices based on dielectric elastomer are introduced among the works recently done by ourselves. Using dielectric elastomer for the construction of the tactile interface, it can provide stimulation on the human skin without any additional electromechanical transmission. Softness and flexibility of the device structure, ease of fabrication, possibility for miniaturization, and cost effectiveness are the representative benefits of the presented devices. Especially, the device application is open to a wide variety of purposes since the flexible structure offers excellent adaptability to any contour of the human body as well as the other objects. In this paper, the design of the interfaces is briefly explained and several examples of implementation are introduced