Payload capabilities and operational limits of eversion robots

Recent progress in soft robotics has seen new types of actuation mechanisms based on apical extension which allows robots to grow to unprecedented lengths. Eversion robots are a type of robots based on the principle of apical extension offering excellent maneuverability and ease of control allowing users to conduct tasks from a distance. Mechanical modelling of these robotic structures is very important for understanding their operational capabilities. In this paper, we model the eversion robot as a thin-walled cylindrical beam inflated with air pressure, using Timoshenko beam theory considering rotational and shear effects. We examine the various failure modes of the eversion robots such as yielding, buckling instability and lateral collapse, and study the payloads and operational limits of these robots in axial and lateral loading conditions. Surface maps showing the operational boundaries for different combinations of the geometrical parameters are presented. This work provides insights into the design of eversion robots and can pave the way towards eversion robots with high payload capabilities that can act from long distances

System-based proteomic and metabonomic analysis of the Df(16)A(+/-) mouse identifies potential miR-185 targets and molecular pathway alterations

Deletions on chromosome 22q11.2 are a strong genetic risk factor for development of schizophrenia and cognitive dysfunction. We employed shotgun liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) proteomic and metabonomic profiling approaches on prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampal (HPC) tissue from Df(16)A(+/-) mice, a model of the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Proteomic results were compared with previous transcriptomic profiling studies of the same brain regions. The aim was to investigate how the combined effect of the 22q11.2 deletion and the corresponding miRNA dysregulation affects the cell biology at the systems level. The proteomic brain profiling analysis revealed PFC and HPC changes in various molecular pathways associated with chromatin remodelling and RNA transcription, indicative of an epigenetic component of the 22q11.2DS. Further, alterations in glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, mitochondrial function and lipid biosynthesis were identified. Metabonomic profiling substantiated the proteomic findings by identifying changes in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS)-related pathways, such as changes in ceramide phosphoethanolamines, sphingomyelin, carnitines, tyrosine derivates and panthothenic acid. The proteomic findings were confirmed using selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry, validating decreased levels of several proteins encoded on 22q11.2, increased levels of the computationally predicted putative miR-185 targets UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-peptide N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase 110 kDa subunit (OGT1) and kinesin heavy chain isoform 5A and alterations in the non-miR-185 targets serine/threonine-protein phosphatase 2B catalytic subunit gamma isoform, neurofilament light chain and vesicular glutamate transporter 1. Furthermore, alterations in the proteins associated with mammalian target of rapamycin signalling were detected in the PFC and with glutamatergic signalling in the hippocampus. Based on the proteomic and metabonomic findings, we were able to develop a schematic model summarizing the most prominent molecular network findings in the Df(16)A(+/-) mouse. Interestingly, the implicated pathways can be linked to one of the most consistent and strongest proteomic candidates, (OGT1), which is a predicted miR-185 target. Our results provide novel insights into system-biological mechanisms associated with the 22q11DS, which may be linked to cognitive dysfunction and an increased risk to develop schizophrenia. Further investigation of these pathways could help to identify novel drug targets for the treatment of schizophrenia.Molecular Psychiatry advance online publication, 22 March 2016; doi:10.1038/mp.2016.27

The Met Office Global Coupled model 3.0 and 3.1 (GC3.0 & GC3.1) configurations

The Global Coupled 3 (GC3) configuration of the Met Office Unified Model is presented. Amongst other applications, GC3 is the basis of the United Kingdom's submission to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6). This paper documents the model components that make up the configuration (although the scientific description of these components are in companion papers), and details the coupling between them. The performance of GC3 is assessed in terms of mean biases and variability in long climate simulations using present-day forcing. The suitability of the configuration for predictabiity on shorter timescales (weather and seasonal forecasting) is also briefly discussed. The performance of GC3 is compared against GC2, the previous Met Office coupled model configuration, and against an older configuration (HadGEM2-AO) which was the submission to CMIP5. In many respects, the performance of GC3 is comparable with GC2, however there is a notable improvement in the Southern Ocean warm sea surface temperature bias which has been reduced by 75%, and there are improvements in cloud amount and some aspects of tropical variability. Relative to HadGEM2-AO, many aspects of the present-day climate are improved in GC3 including tropospheric and stratospheric temperature structure, most aspects of tropical and extra-tropical variability and top-of-atmosphere &amp; surface fluxes. A number of outstanding errors are identified including a residual asymmetric sea surface temperature bias (cool northern hemisphere, warm Southern Ocean), an overly strong global hydrological cycle and insufficient European blocking.</p