Preliminary design, modeling and control of a fully actuated quadrotor UAV

In this paper a preliminary study on a new concept of fully actuated Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), named ODQuad (OmniDirectional Quadrotor), is presented. By exploiting two additional actuators, the designed UAV can simultaneously modify the tilting angle of all the propellers, in such a way to decouple position and attitude motions. This solution, differently from other fully actuated UAVs with tilted propellers, avoids internal forces and energy dissipation, due to non-parallel propellers’ axes. A preliminary mechanical design and the kinematic and dynamic models are developed. Moreover, a motion control scheme, based on a hierarchical two loop, has been designed. Simulations are provided in order to show the feasibility of the concept and the effectiveness of the control scheme

An adaptive hierarchical control for aerial manipulators

This paper addresses the trajectory tracking control problem for a quadrotor aerial vehicle, equipped with a robotic manipulator (aerial manipulator). The controller is organized in two layers: in the top layer, an inverse kinematics algorithm computes the motion references for the actuated variables; in the bottom layer, a motion control algorithm is in charge of tracking the motion references computed by the upper layer. To the purpose, a model-based control scheme is adopted, where modelling uncertainties are compensated through an adaptive term. The stability of the proposed scheme is proven by resorting to Lyapunov arguments. Finally, a simulation case study is proposed to prove the effectiveness of the approach

6D physical interaction with a fully actuated aerial robot

This paper presents the design, control, and experimental validation of a novel fully-actuated aerial robot for physically interactive tasks, named Tilt-Hex. We show how the Tilt-Hex, a tilted-propeller hexarotor is able to control the full pose (position and orientation independently) using a geometric control, and to exert a full-wrench (force and torque independently) with a rigidly attached end-effector using an admittance control paradigm. An outer loop control governs the desired admittance behavior and an inner loop based on geometric control ensures pose tracking. The interaction forces are estimated by a momentum based observer. Control and observation are made possible by a precise control and measurement of the speed of each propeller. An extensive experimental campaign shows that the Tilt-Hex is able to outperform the classical underactuated multi-rotors in terms of stability, accuracy and dexterity and represent one of the best choice at date for tasks requiring aerial physical interaction

Behavioral control of unmanned aerial vehicle manipulator systems

In this paper a behavioral control framework is developed to control an unmanned aerial vehicle-manipulator (UAVM) system, composed by a multirotor aerial vehicle equipped with a robotic arm. The goal is to ensure vehicle-arm coordination and manage complex multi-task missions, where different behaviors must be encompassed in a clear and meaningful way. In detail, a control scheme, based on the null space-based behavioral paradigm, is proposed to handle the coordination between the arm and vehicle motion. To this aim, a set of basic functionalities (elementary behaviors) are designed and combined in a given priority order, in order to attain more complex tasks (compound behaviors). A supervisor is in charge of switching between the compound behaviors according to the mission needs and the sensory feedback. The method is validated on a real testbed, consisting of a multirotor aircraft with an attached 6 Degree of Freedoms manipulator, developed within the EU-funded project ARCAS (Aerial Robotics Cooperative Assembly System). At the the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that an UAVM system is experimentally tested in the execution of complex multi-task missions. The results show that, by properly designing a set of compound behaviors and a supervisor, vehicle-arm coordination in complex missions can be effectively managed

Adalimumab and ABP 501 in the Treatment of a Large Cohort of Patients with Inflammatory Arthritis: A Real Life Retrospective Analysis

The recent introduction of ABP 501, an adalimumab biosimilar, in the treatment of rheumatic diseases was supported by a comprehensive comparability exercise with its originator. On the other hand, observational studies comparing adalimumab and ABP 501 in inflammatory arthritis are still lacking. The main aim of this study is to compare the clinical outcomes of the treatment with adalimumab, both the originator and ABP 501, in a large cohort of patients affected by autoimmune arthritis in a real life setting. We retrospectively analysed the baseline characteristics and the retention rate in a cohort of patients who received at least a course of adalimumab (originator or ABP 501) from January 2003 to December 2020. We stratified the study population according to adalimumab use: naive to original (oADA), naive to ABP 501 (bADA) and switched from original to ABP 501 (sADA). The oADA, bADA and sADA groups included, respectively, 724, 129 and 193 patients. In each group, the majority of patients had a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. The total observation period was 9805.6 patient-months. The 18-month retentions rate in oADA, bADA and sADA was, respectively, 81.5%, 84.0% and 88.0% (p > 0.05). The factors influencing the adalimumab retention rate were an axial spondylarthritis diagnosis (Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.70; p = 0.04), switch from oADA to ABP 501 (HR 0.53; p = 0.02) and year of prescription (HR 1.04; p = 0.04). In this retrospective study, patients naive to the adalimumab originator and its biosimilar ABP 501 showed the same retention rate. Patients switching from the originator to biosimilar had a higher retention rate, even though not statistically significant, when compared to naive

Predictors of DAPSA Response in Psoriatic Arthritis Patients Treated with Apremilast in a Retrospective Observational Multi-Centric Study (2023-02-07)

Background: To date, only a few real-world-setting studies evaluated apremilast effectiveness in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). The aims of this retrospective observational study are to report long-term Disease Activity Index for Psoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA) response of apremilast in PsA patients and to analyze the predictors of clinical response. Methods: All PsA consecutive patients treated with apremilast in fifteen Italian rheumatological referral centers were enrolled. Anamnestic data, treatment history, and PsA disease activity (DAPSA) at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months were recorded. The Mann–Whitney test and chi-squared tests assessed the differences between independent groups, whereas the Wilcoxon matched pairs signed-rank test assessed the differences between dependent samples. Logistic regressions verified if there were factors associated with achievement of DAPSA low disease activity or remission at 6 and 12 months. Results: DAPSA low disease activity or remission rates at 6 and 12 months were observed, respectively, in 42.7% (n = 125) and 54.9% (n = 161) patients. Baseline DAPSA was inversely associated with the odds of achieving low disease activity or remission at 6 months (odds ratio (OR) 0.841, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.804–0.879; p < 0.01) and at 12 months (OR 0.911, 95% CI 0.883–0.939; p < 0.01). Conclusions: Almost half of the PsA patients receiving apremilast achieved DAPSA low disease activity or remission at 6 and 12 months. The only factor associated with achievement of low disease activity or remission at both 6 and 12 months was baseline DAPSA

Combination of chemotherapy and PD-1 blockade induces T cell responses to tumor non-mutated neoantigens

Here, we developed an unbiased, functional target-discovery platform to identify immunogenic proteins from primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells that had been induced to apoptosis by cisplatin (CDDP) treatment in vitro, as compared with their live counterparts. Among the multitude of proteins identified, some of them were represented as fragmented proteins in apoptotic tumor cells, and acted as non-mutated neoantigens (NM-neoAgs). Indeed, only the fragmented proteins elicited effective multi-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses, upon a chemotherapy protocol including CDDP. Importantly, these responses further increased upon anti-PD-1 therapy, and correlated with patients’ survival and decreased PD-1 expression. Cross-presentation assays showed that NM-neoAgs were unveiled in apoptotic tumor cells as the result of caspase-dependent proteolytic activity of cellular proteins. Our study demonstrates that apoptotic tumor cells generate a repertoire of immunogenic NM-neoAgs that could be potentially used for developing effective T cell-based immunotherapy across multiple cancer patients

Italian Guidelines in diagnosis and treatment of alopecia areata

Alopecia areata (AA) is an organ-specific autoimmune disorder that targets anagen phase hair follicles. The course is unpredictable and current available treatments have variable efficacy. Nowadays, there is relatively little evidence on treatment of AA from well-designed clinical trials. Moreover, none of the treatments or devices commonly used to treat AA are specifically approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The Italian Study Group for Cutaneous Annexial Disease of the Italian Society of dermatology proposes these Italian guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of Alopecia Areata deeming useful for the daily management of the disease. This article summarizes evidence-based treatment associated with expert-based recommendations

Association of kidney disease measures with risk of renal function worsening in patients with type 1 diabetes

Background: Albuminuria has been classically considered a marker of kidney damage progression in diabetic patients and it is routinely assessed to monitor kidney function. However, the role of a mild GFR reduction on the development of stage 653 CKD has been less explored in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of kidney disease measures, namely albuminuria and reduced GFR, on the development of stage 653 CKD in a large cohort of patients affected by T1DM. Methods: A total of 4284 patients affected by T1DM followed-up at 76 diabetes centers participating to the Italian Association of Clinical Diabetologists (Associazione Medici Diabetologi, AMD) initiative constitutes the study population. Urinary albumin excretion (ACR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) were retrieved and analyzed. The incidence of stage 653 CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or eGFR reduction > 30% from baseline was evaluated. Results: The mean estimated GFR was 98 \ub1 17 mL/min/1.73m2 and the proportion of patients with albuminuria was 15.3% (n = 654) at baseline. About 8% (n = 337) of patients developed one of the two renal endpoints during the 4-year follow-up period. Age, albuminuria (micro or macro) and baseline eGFR < 90 ml/min/m2 were independent risk factors for stage 653 CKD and renal function worsening. When compared to patients with eGFR > 90 ml/min/1.73m2 and normoalbuminuria, those with albuminuria at baseline had a 1.69 greater risk of reaching stage 3 CKD, while patients with mild eGFR reduction (i.e. eGFR between 90 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) show a 3.81 greater risk that rose to 8.24 for those patients with albuminuria and mild eGFR reduction at baseline. Conclusions: Albuminuria and eGFR reduction represent independent risk factors for incident stage 653 CKD in T1DM patients. The simultaneous occurrence of reduced eGFR and albuminuria have a synergistic effect on renal function worsening