Localization of Interaction using Fibre-Optic Shape Sensing in Soft-Robotic Surgery Tools

Minimally invasive surgery requires real-time tool tracking to guide the surgeon where depth perception and visual occlusion present navigational challenges. Although vision-based and external sensor-based tracking methods exist, fibre-optic sensing can overcome their limitations as they can be integrated directly into the device, are biocompatible, small, robust and geometrically versatile. In this paper, we integrate a fibre Bragg grating-based shape sensor into a soft robotic device. The soft robot is the pneumatically attachable flexible (PAF) rail designed to act as a soft interface between manipulation tools and intra-operative imaging devices. We demonstrate that the shape sensing fibre can detect the location of the tools paired with the PAF rail, by exploiting the change in curvature sensed by the fibre when a strain is applied to it. We then validate this with a series of grasping tasks and continuous US swipes, using the system to detect in real-time the location of the tools interacting with the PAF rail. The overall location-sensing accuracy of the system is 64.6%, with a margin of error between predicted location and actual location of 3.75 mm

Grasping Angle Estimation of Human Forearm with Underactuated Grippers Using Proprioceptive Feedback

In this paper, a method for the estimation of the angle of grasping of a human forearm, when grasped by a robot with an underactuated gripper, using proprioceptive information only, is presented. Knowing the angle around the forearm’s axis (i.e. roll angle) is key for the safe manipulation of the human limb and biomedical sensor placement among others. The adaptive gripper has two independent underactuated fingers with two phalanges and a single actuator each. The final joint position of the gripper provides information related to the shape of the grasped object without the need for external contact or force sensors. Regression methods to estimate the roll angle of the grasping have been trained with forearm grasping information from different humans at each angular position. The results show that it is possible to accurately estimate the rolling angle of the human arm, for trained and unknown people.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

X-Ray Spectroscopy of Stars

(abridged) Non-degenerate stars of essentially all spectral classes are soft X-ray sources. Low-mass stars on the cooler part of the main sequence and their pre-main sequence predecessors define the dominant stellar population in the galaxy by number. Their X-ray spectra are reminiscent, in the broadest sense, of X-ray spectra from the solar corona. X-ray emission from cool stars is indeed ascribed to magnetically trapped hot gas analogous to the solar coronal plasma. Coronal structure, its thermal stratification and geometric extent can be interpreted based on various spectral diagnostics. New features have been identified in pre-main sequence stars; some of these may be related to accretion shocks on the stellar surface, fluorescence on circumstellar disks due to X-ray irradiation, or shock heating in stellar outflows. Massive, hot stars clearly dominate the interaction with the galactic interstellar medium: they are the main sources of ionizing radiation, mechanical energy and chemical enrichment in galaxies. High-energy emission permits to probe some of the most important processes at work in these stars, and put constraints on their most peculiar feature: the stellar wind. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of cool and hot stars through the study of X-ray spectra, in particular high-resolution spectra now available from XMM-Newton and Chandra. We address issues related to coronal structure, flares, the composition of coronal plasma, X-ray production in accretion streams and outflows, X-rays from single OB-type stars, massive binaries, magnetic hot objects and evolved WR stars.Comment: accepted for Astron. Astrophys. Rev., 98 journal pages, 30 figures (partly multiple); some corrections made after proof stag

Growing pains in children

We review the clinical manifestations of "growing pains", the most common form of episodic childhood musculoskeletal pain. Physicians should be careful to adhere to clear clinical criteria as described in this review before diagnosing a child with growing pain. We expand on current theories on possible causes of growing pains and describe the management of these pains and the generally good outcome in nearly all children

Pleiotropic Effects of DDT Resistance on Male Size and Behaviour

Understanding the evolution and spread of insecticide resistance requires knowing the relative fitness of resistant organisms. In the absence of insecticides, resistance is predicted to be costly. The Drosophila melanogaster DDT resistance allele (DDT-R) is associated with a male mating cost. This could be because resistant males are generally smaller, but DDT-R may also alter courtship behaviours. Here we tested for body size and courtship effects of DDT-R on mating success in competitive and non-competitive mating trials respectively. We also assessed relative aggression in resistant and susceptible males because aggression can also influence mating success. While the effect of DDT-R on male size partly contributed to reduced mating success, resistant males also had lower rates of courtship and were less aggressive than susceptible males. These differences contribute to the observed DDT-R mating costs. Additionally, these pleiotropic effects of DDT-R are consistent with the history and spread of resistance alleles in nature

X-ray Absorption and Reflection in Active Galactic Nuclei

X-ray spectroscopy offers an opportunity to study the complex mixture of emitting and absorbing components in the circumnuclear regions of active galactic nuclei, and to learn about the accretion process that fuels AGN and the feedback of material to their host galaxies. We describe the spectral signatures that may be studied and review the X-ray spectra and spectral variability of active galaxies, concentrating on progress from recent Chandra, XMM-Newton and Suzaku data for local type 1 AGN. We describe the evidence for absorption covering a wide range of column densities, ionization and dynamics, and discuss the growing evidence for partial-covering absorption from data at energies > 10 keV. Such absorption can also explain the observed X-ray spectral curvature and variability in AGN at lower energies and is likely an important factor in shaping the observed properties of this class of source. Consideration of self-consistent models for local AGN indicates that X-ray spectra likely comprise a combination of absorption and reflection effects from material originating within a few light days of the black hole as well as on larger scales. It is likely that AGN X-ray spectra may be strongly affected by the presence of disk-wind outflows that are expected in systems with high accretion rates, and we describe models that attempt to predict the effects of radiative transfer through such winds, and discuss the prospects for new data to test and address these ideas.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Review. 58 pages, 9 figures. V2 has fixed an error in footnote

Reproductive biology of the pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus): a review

The pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) is a South American grazing deer which is in extreme danger of extinction. Very little is known about the biology of the pampas deer. Moreover, most information has not been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and is only available in local publications, theses, etc. Therefore, our aim was to update and summarize the available information regarding the reproductive biology of the pampas deer. Moreover, in most sections, we have also included new, unpublished information. Detailed descriptions are provided of the anatomy of both the female and the male reproductive tract, puberty onset, the oestrous cycle and gestational length. Birthing and the early postpartum period are described, as are maternal behaviour and early fawn development, seasonal distribution of births, seasonal changes in male reproduction and antler cycle, reproductive behaviour, semen collection, and cryopreservation. Finally, an overview is given and future directions of research are proposed

A spatial approach for the epidemiology of antibiotic use and resistance in community-based studies: the emergence of urban clusters of Escherichia coli quinolone resistance in Sao Paulo, Brasil

Copyright © Kiffer et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background Population antimicrobial use may influence resistance emergence. Resistance is an ecological phenomenon due to potential transmissibility. We investigated spatial and temporal patterns of ciprofloxacin (CIP) population consumption related to E. coli resistance emergence and dissemination in a major Brazilian city. A total of 4,372 urinary tract infection E. coli cases, with 723 CIP resistant, were identified in 2002 from two outpatient centres. Cases were address geocoded in a digital map. Raw CIP consumption data was transformed into usage density in DDDs by CIP selling points influence zones determination. A stochastic model coupled with a Geographical Information System was applied for relating resistance and usage density and for detecting city areas of high/low resistance risk. Results E. coli CIP resistant cluster emergence was detected and significantly related to usage density at a level of 5 to 9 CIP DDDs. There were clustered hot-spots and a significant global spatial variation in the residual resistance risk after allowing for usage density. Conclusions There were clustered hot-spots and a significant global spatial variation in the residual resistance risk after allowing for usage density. The usage density of 5-9 CIP DDDs per 1,000 inhabitants within the same influence zone was the resistance triggering level. This level led to E. coli resistance clustering, proving that individual resistance emergence and dissemination was affected by antimicrobial population consumption

Proteomic Analysis of Fractionated Toxoplasma Oocysts Reveals Clues to Their Environmental Resistance

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that is unique in its ability to infect a broad range of birds and mammals, including humans, leading to an extremely high worldwide prevalence and distribution. This work focuses on the environmentally resistant oocyst, which is the product of sexual replication in felids and an important source of human infection. Due to the difficulty in producing and working with oocysts, relatively little is known about how this stage is able to resist extreme environmental stresses and how they initiate a new infection, once ingested. To fill this gap, the proteome of the wall and sporocyst/sporozoite fractions of mature, sporulated oocysts were characterized using one-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by LC-MS/MS on trypsin-digested peptides. A combined total of 1021 non-redundant T. gondii proteins were identified in the sporocyst/sporozoite fraction and 226 were identified in the oocyst wall fraction. Significantly, 172 of the identified proteins have not previously been identified in Toxoplasma proteomic studies. Among these are several of interest for their likely role in conferring environmental resistance including a family of small, tyrosine-rich proteins present in the oocyst wall fractions and late embryogenesis abundant domain-containing (LEA) proteins in the cytosolic fractions. The latter are known from other systems to be key to enabling survival against desiccation

The impact of inflammation on bone mass in children

Bone is a dynamic tissue. Skeletal bone integrity is maintained through bone modeling and remodeling. The mechanisms underlying this bone mass regulation are complex and interrelated. An imbalance in the regulation of bone remodeling through bone resorption and bone formation results in bone loss. Chronic inflammation influences bone mass regulation. Inflammation-related bone disorders share many common mechanisms of bone loss. These mechanisms are ultimately mediated through the uncoupling of bone remodeling. Cachexia, physical inactivity, pro-inflammatory cytokines, as well as iatrogenic factors related to effects of immunosuppression are some of the common mechanisms. Recently, cytokine signaling through the central nervous system has been investigated for its potential role in bone mass dysregulation in inflammatory conditions. Growing research on the molecular mechanisms involved in inflammation-induced bone loss may lead to more selective therapeutic targeting of these pathological signaling pathways