Design and development of the sEMG-based exoskeleton strength enhancer for the legs

This paper reviews the different exoskeleton designs and presents a working prototype of a surface electromyography (EMG) controlled exoskeleton to enhance the strength of the lower leg. The Computer Aided Design (CAD) model of the exoskeleton is designed,3D printed with respect to the golden ratio of human anthropometry, and tested structurally. The exoskeleton control system is designed on the LabVIEW National Instrument platform and embedded in myRIO. Surface EMG sensors (sEMG) and flex sensors are usedcoherently to create different state filters for the EMG, human body posture and control for the mechanical exoskeleton actuation. The myRIO is used to process sEMG signals and send control signals to the exoskeleton. Thus,the complete exoskeleton system consists of sEMG as primary sensor and flex sensor as a secondary sensor while the whole control system is designed in LabVIEW. FEA simulation and tests show that the exoskeleton is suitable for an average human weight of 62 kg plus excess force with different reactive spring forces. However, due to the mechanical properties of the exoskeleton actuator, it will require an additional liftto provide the rapid reactive impulse force needed to increase biomechanical movement such as squatting up. Finally, with the increasing availability of such assistive devices on the market, the important aspect of ethical, social and legal issues have also emerged and discussed in this paper

Project-based cooperative learning to enhance competence while teaching engineering modules

This paper focuses on teaching control systems to engineering students not only by way of the traditional lecture deliveries, but also by implementing several student-focused problems based self-directed learning projects as well as presentations from students. Engineering field constantly evolves and thus teaching a module to engineering students should involve current state-of-the-art research trends in the lectures. In addition, the tutor should also motivate students to have the current research developments incorporated within the student’s self-learning projects. The work presented in this paper revolves around three mini-projects, each project on a different aspect of control engineering and to be completed within two weeks each. The aim of these problem based self-directed learning mini-projects is to get acquainted with the practical aspects of the theoretical learning that has been undertaken within the lectures, something that UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC) focuses on. After completion of the mini-project, the students present their work/discuss results etc. as a power-point presentation lasting 15 minutes, and answer queries from peers (compulsory) and tutor, thus promoting life-long learning along with class participation and peer assessment. The student is also given verbal feedback after each of these project presentations, thereby encouraging improvements in the subsequent presentations taking place after two weeks. The purpose of these projects is to keep alight with the practical aspects of the current professional practices in industry, in the area of engineering, while also building a strong foundation through the self-learning model, thereby promoting deep learning via a blended approach. A questionnaire is also presented in the results and discussion section, which suggests that inclusion of a blended approach has improved the student’s reading beyond the course requirements, has encouraged them towards deeper learning, and also improved both their theoretical as well practical aspects in engineering education

Robot Operating System (ROS) controlled anthropomorphic robot hand

This paper presents a new design of a dexterous robot hand by incorporating human hand factors. The robotic hand is a Robot Operating System (ROS) controlled standalone unit that can perform key tasks and work independently. Hardware such as actuators, electronics, sensors, pulleys etc. are embedded within or on the hand itself. Raspberry Pi, a single board computer which runs ROS and is used to control the hand movements as well as process the sensor signals is placed outside of the hand. It supports peripheral devices such as screen display, keyboard and mouse. The hand prototype is designed in Solid Works and 3D printed/built using aluminum sheet. The prototype is similar to the human hand in terms of shape and possesses key functionalities and abilities of the human hand, especially to imitate key movements of the human hand and be as dexterous as possible whilst keeping a low cost. Other important factors considered while prototyping the model were that the hand should be reliable, have a durable construction, and should be built using widely available off-the-shelf components and an open-source software. Though the prototype hand only has 6 degrees-of-freedom (DOF) compared to the 22 DOF of the human hand, it is able to perform most grasps effectively. The proposed model will allow other researchers to build similar robotic hands and perform specialized research

Characterising information correlation in a stochastic Izhikevich neuron

The Izhikevich spiking neuron model is a relatively new mathematical framework which is able to represent many observed spiking neuron behaviors, excitatory or inhibitory, by simply adjusting a set of four model parameters. This model is deterministic in nature and has achieved wide applications in analytical and numerical analysis of biological neurons due largely to its biological plausibility and computational efficiency. In this work we present a stochastic version of the Izhikevich neuron, and measure its performance in transmitting information in a range of biological frequencies. The work reveals that the deterministic Izhikevich model has a wide information transmission range and is generally better in transmitting information than its stochastic counterpart

Classification of EEG signals on standing, walking and running dataset using LSTM-RNN

Undoubtedly one of the most important strands of the brain-computer interface (BCI) method is an alternate communication method via brain signals. BCI converts electroencephalogram (EEG) signals from a perception of activity in the brain into user action utilising software and hardware. BCI has piqued the interest of researchers in a wide range of disciplines, such as cognitive science, deep learning, pattern matching, drug treatment medicine, etc. Patients suffering from neuro and cognitive disorders can be assisted through BCI, potentially enabling communication via gestures or just mental imagination. In this paper, a novel combination of Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) for extracting the best features and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) based Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) is adopted for classifying the EEG signals acquired during standing, walking and running on a treadmill. The dataset used is freely downloaded from Open Science Framework repository. The proposed DWT-LSTMRNN method delivers 96.7% accuracy while classifying four different signals, and thus has the potential to be investigated further on BCI competition datasets that will pave way for a real-time application

Insights on neutrino lensing

We discuss the gravitational lensing of neutrinos by astrophysical objects. Unlike photons, neutrinos can cross a stellar core; as a result, the lens quality improves. We also estimate the depletion of the neutrino flux after crossing a massive object and the signal amplification expected. While Uranians alone would benefit from this effect in the Sun, similar effects could be considered for binary systems.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Lett.

Muon Pair Production by Electron-Photon Scatterings

The cross section for muon pair productions by electrons scattering over photons, $\sigma_{MPP}$, is calculated analytically in the leading order. It is pointed out that for the center-of-mass energy range, $s \geq 5 m^{2}_{\mu}$, the cross section for $\sigma_{MPP}$ is less than $1 \mu$b. The differential energy spectrum for either of the resulting muons is given for the purpose of high-energy neutrino astronomy. An implication of our result for a recent suggestion concerning the high-energy cosmic neutrino generation through this muon pair is discussed.Comment: a comment added, to appear in Phys. Rev. D, Rapid Communicatio

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF STABILITY INDICATING RP-HPLC METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUS ESTIMATION OF BECLOMETHASONE DIPROPIONATE AND SALBUTAMOL SULPHATE

Objective: To develop a validated stability indicating reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for simultaneous estimation of Beclomethasone dipropionate (BEC) and Salbutamol sulphate (SAL) in bulk and combined dosage form.Methods: An isocratic, RP-HPLC method was developed using Hi Q Sil C18 (250 x 4.6 mm, 5 µm) column and 1 mM ammonium acetate buffer and methanol (15:85 v/v) as mobile phase at flow rate of 1 ml/min and detection wavelength of 230 nm.Results: The chromatographic conditions yield good separation between drugs with retention time (RT) of 7.75±0.03 min and 2.36±0.09 min, for BEC and SAL, respectively. The method was validated with respect to linearity, precision, accuracy and robustness. The data of linear regression analysis indicated a good linear relationship over the range of 5–30 µg/ml concentrations with a correlation coefficient (r2) of 0.997 for both the drugs.Conclusion: The developed method was found to be simple, sensitive, selective, accurate, and repeatable for simultaneous analysis of BEC and SAL and can be adopted for routine analysis of these drugs in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage form.Â

Heavy landings of the filefish Aluterus monoceros from the Gulf of Mannar

Heavy landings of the unicorn leatherjacket filefish, Aluterus monoceros (Linnaeus, 1758) was observed at Pamban Therkuvady fish landing centre, landed by trawlers operating in Gulf of Manna

Lipoic acid and diabetes-Part III: Metabolic role of acetyl dihydrolipoic acid

Rat liver lipoyl transacetylase catalyzes the formation of acetyl dihydrolipoic acid from acetyl coenzyme A and dihydrolipoic acid. In an earlier paper the formation of acetyl dihydrolipoic from pyruvate and dihydrolipoic acid catalyzed by pyruvate dehydrogenase has been reported. Acetyl dihydrolipoic acid is a substrate for citrate synthase, acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase and fatty acid synthetase. The Vmax for citrate synthase with acetyl dihydrolipoic acid was identical to acetyl coenzyme A (approximately 1 μmol citrate formed/min/mg protein) while the apparent Km was approximately 4 times higher with acetyl dihydrolipoic acid as the substrate. This may be due to the fact that synthetic acetyl dihydrolipoic acid is a mixture of 4 possible isomers and only one of them may be the substrate for the enzymatic reaction. While dihydrolipoic acid can replace coenzyme A in the activation of succinate catalyzed by succinyl coenzyme A synthetase, the transfer of coenzyme A between succinate and acetoacetyl dihydrolipoic acid catalyzed by succinyl coenzyme A: 3 oxo-acid coenzyme A transferase does not occur