Dynamic Control of a Novel Planar Cable-Driven Parallel Robot with a Large Wrench Feasible Workspace

Cable-Driven Parallel Robots (CDPRs) are special manipulators where rigid links are replaced with cables. The use of cables offers several advantages over the conventional rigid manipulators, one of the most interesting being their ability to cover large workspaces since cables are easily winded. However, this workspace coverage has its limitations due to the maximum permissible cable tensions, i.e., tension limitations cause a decrease in the Wrench Feasible Workspace (WFW) of these robots. To solve this issue, a novel design based in the addition of passive carriages to the robot frame of three degrees-of-freedom (3DOF) fully-constrained CDPRs is used. The novelty of the design allows reducing the variation in the cable directions and forces increasing the robot WFW; nevertheless, it presents a low stiffness along the x direction. This paper presents the dynamic model of the novel proposal together with a new dynamic control technique, which rejects the vibrations caused by the stiffness loss while ensuring an accurate trajectory tracking. The simulation results show that the controlled system presents a larger WFW than the conventional scheme of the CDPR, maintaining a good performance in the trajectory tracking of the end-effector. The novel proposal presented here can be applied in multiple planar applications

Octopus maya white body show sex-specific transcriptomic profiles during the reproductive phase, with high differentiation in signaling pathways

White bodies (WB), multilobulated soft tissue that wraps the optic tracts and optic lobes, have been considered the hematopoietic organ of the cephalopods. Its glandular appearance and its lobular morphology suggest that different parts of the WB may perform different functions, but a detailed functional analysis of the octopus WB is lacking. The aim of this study is to describe the transcriptomic profile of WB to better understand its functions, with emphasis on the difference between sexes during reproductive events. Then, validation via qPCR was performed using different tissues to find out tissue-specific transcripts. High differentiation in signaling pathways was observed in the comparison of female and male transcriptomic profiles. For instance, the expression of genes involved in the androgen receptor-signaling pathway were detected only in males, whereas estrogen receptor showed higher expression in females. Highly expressed genes in males enriched oxidation-reduction and apoptotic processes, which are related to the immune response. On the other hand, expression of genes involved in replicative senescence and the response to cortisol were only detected in females. Moreover, the transcripts with higher expression in females enriched a wide variety of signaling pathways mediated by molecules like neuropeptides, integrins, MAPKs and receptors like TNF and Toll-like. In addition, these putative neuropeptide transcripts, showed higher expression in females' WB and were not detected in other analyzed tissues. These results suggest that the differentiation in signaling pathways in white bodies of O. maya influences the physiological dimorphism between females and males during the reproductive phase

Photo-detection using Bose-condensed atoms in a micro trap

A model of photo-detection using a Bose--Einstein condensate in an atom-chip based micro trap is analyzed. Atoms absorb photons from the incident light field, receive part of the photon momentum and leave the trap potential. Upon counting of escaped atoms within predetermined time intervals, the photon statistics of the incident light is mapped onto the atom-count statistics. Whereas traditional photo-detection theory treats the emission centers of photo electrons as distinguishable, here the centers of escaping atoms are condensed and thus indistinguishable atoms. From this an enhancement of the photon-number resolution as compared to the commonly known counting formula is derived.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures; revised versio

Dimensions of Religiousness and Cancer Screening Behaviors among Church-Going Latinas

Churches are a promising setting through which to reach Latinas with cancer control efforts. A better understanding of the dimensions of religiousness that impact health behaviors could inform efforts to tailor cancer control programs for this setting. The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between dimensions of religiousness with adherence to cancer screening recommendations among church-going Latinas. Female Spanish-speaking members, aged 18 and older from a Baptist church in Boston, Massachusetts (N = 78), were interviewed about cancer screening behaviors and dimensions of religiousness. We examined adherence to individual cancer screening tests (mammography, Pap test, and colonoscopy), as well as adherence to all screening tests for which participants were age-eligible. Dimensions of religiousness assessed included church participation, religious support, active and passive spiritual health locus of control, and positive and negative religious coping. Results showed that roughly half (46 %) of the sample had not received all of the cancer screening tests for which they were age-eligible. In multivariate analyses, positive religious coping was significantly associated with adherence to all age-appropriate screening (OR = 5.30, p \u3c .01). Additional research is warranted to replicate these results in larger, more representative samples and to examine the extent to which enhancement of religious coping could increase the impact of cancer control interventions for Latinas

Recombination reduction on lead halide perovskite solar cells based on low temperature synthesized hierarchical TiO2 nanorods

Intensive research on the electron transport material (ETM) has been pursued to improve the efficiency of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and decrease their cost. More importantly, the role of the ETM layer is not yet fully understood, and research on new device architectures is still needed. Here, we report the use of three-dimensional (3D) TiO2 with a hierarchical architecture based on rutile nanorods (NR) as photoanode material for PSCs. The proposed hierarchical nanorod (HNR) films were synthesized by a two-step low temperature (180 °C) hydrothermal method, and consist of TiO2 nanorod trunks with optimal lengths of 540 nm and TiO2 nanobranches with lengths of 45 nm. Different device configurations were fabricated with TiO2 structures (compact layer, NR and HNR) and CH3NH3PbI3, using different synthetic routes, as the active material. PSCs based on HNR-CH3NH3PbI3 achieved the highest power conversion efficiency compared to PSCs with other TiO2 structures. This result can be ascribed mainly to lower charge recombination as determined by impedance spectroscopy. Furthermore, we have observed that the CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite deposited by the two-step route shows higher efficiency, surface coverage and infiltration within the structure of 3D HNR than the one-step CH3NH3PbI3−xClx perovskite.This work was supported by the Universitat Jaume I (project 12I361.01/1), the Spanish MINECO (project MAT2013-47192- C3-1-R), CONACYT-México (project CB-2010/153270) and UNAM (PAPIIT-IN1030

Análisis de diagnóstico de situación de prioridades de desarrollo y dinámicas del sistema agroalimentario de las zonas altoandinas en contexto de una agricultura con bajas emisiones

El estudio se centra en el análisis diagnóstico de la situación de las prioridades de desarrollo y las dinámicas del sistema agroalimentario de las zonas altoandinas en el contexto de una agricultura con bajas emisiones. La agricultura es el principal impulsor de la deforestación tropical y contribuye significativamente a las emisiones antropogénicas totales de gases de efecto invernadero. En la región andina, la actividad agrícola en condiciones de secano, que es la que practican la mayoría de pequeños productores, es una de las más sensibles a los cambios climáticos. El estudio tiene como objetivo realizar un mapeo de actores e identificar las prioridades de desarrollo sostenible a nivel local en distritos agrícolas de los Andes peruanos. También busca identificar las necesidades y desafíos que representa el cambio climático para los productores agrícolas en dichas zonas y analizar las dinámicas del sistema agroalimentario para identificar puntos de intervención para mejorar la competitividad con bajas emisiones. El estudio se centra en los Andes del Norte y los Andes Centrales del Perú. En los Andes del Norte, se examinan los distritos de Chugay y Pataz, que forman parte de la provincia de Sánchez Carrión en el departamento de La Libertad. En los Andes Centrales, se analizan los distritos de Quilcas y Yauli. El estudio utiliza una combinación de grupos focales y encuestas a productores para recopilar datos. También se realiza un análisis de actores de sistemas agroalimentarios locales y se priorizan los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible a nivel local. El estudio proporciona una caracterización de los productores encuestados en los Andes del Norte y del Centro, así como un análisis de los actores en los distritos de estudio. También se realiza una descripción de los sistemas agroalimentarios y un análisis de las dinámicas de estos sistemas. Discusiones y conclusiones: El estudio concluye que es importante entender las opciones de desarrollo con bajas emisiones para el desarrollo sostenible del país, desde el punto de vista de actores a diferentes escalas. Se sugiere que las iniciativas para combinar instrumentos de política pueden contribuir a la conservación de los pastizales y bofedales en la zona Andina y reducir las emisiones no solo en la zona altoandina sino evitar la migración a bosques amazónicos donde las emisiones son más altas

Mice Deficient in T-bet Form Inducible NO Synthase-Positive Granulomas That Fail to Constrain Salmonella.

Clearance of intracellular infections caused by Salmonella Typhimurium (STm) requires IFN-γ and the Th1-associated transcription factor T-bet. Nevertheless, whereas IFN-γ-/- mice succumb rapidly to STm infections, T-bet-/- mice do not. In this study, we assess the anatomy of immune responses and the relationship with bacterial localization in the spleens and livers of STm-infected IFN-γ-/- and T-bet-/- mice. In IFN-γ-/- mice, there is deficient granuloma formation and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) induction, increased dissemination of bacteria throughout the organs, and rapid death. The provision of a source of IFN-γ reverses this, coincident with subsequent granuloma formation and substantially extends survival when compared with mice deficient in all sources of IFN-γ. T-bet-/- mice induce significant levels of IFN-γ- after challenge. Moreover, T-bet-/- mice have augmented IL-17 and neutrophil numbers, and neutralizing IL-17 reduces the neutrophilia but does not affect numbers of bacteria detected. Surprisingly, T-bet-/- mice exhibit surprisingly wild-type-like immune cell organization postinfection, including extensive iNOS+ granuloma formation. In wild-type mice, most bacteria are within iNOS+ granulomas, but in T-bet-/- mice, most bacteria are outside these sites. Therefore, Th1 cells act to restrict bacteria within IFN-γ-dependent iNOS+ granulomas and prevent dissemination

Novel computed tomographic chest metrics to detect pulmonary hypertension

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Early diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension (PH) can potentially improve survival and quality of life. Detecting PH using echocardiography is often insensitive in subjects with lung fibrosis or hyperinflation. Right heart catheterization (RHC) for the diagnosis of PH adds risk and expense due to its invasive nature. Pre-defined measurements utilizing computed tomography (CT) of the chest may be an alternative non-invasive method of detecting PH.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study retrospectively reviewed 101 acutely hospitalized inpatients with heterogeneous diagnoses, who consecutively underwent CT chest and RHC during the same admission. Two separate teams, each consisting of a radiologist and pulmonologist, blinded to clinical and RHC data, individually reviewed the chest CT's.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Multiple regression analyses controlling for age, sex, ascending aortic diameter, body surface area, thoracic diameter and pulmonary wedge pressure showed that a main pulmonary artery (PA) diameter ≥29 mm (odds ratio (OR) = 4.8), right descending PA diameter ≥19 mm (OR = 7.0), true right descending PA diameter ≥ 16 mm (OR = 4.1), true left descending PA diameter ≥ 21 mm (OR = 15.5), right ventricular (RV) free wall ≥ 6 mm (OR = 30.5), RV wall/left ventricular (LV) wall ratio ≥0.32 (OR = 8.8), RV/LV lumen ratio ≥1.28 (OR = 28.8), main PA/ascending aorta ratio ≥0.84 (OR = 6.0) and main PA/descending aorta ratio ≥ 1.29 (OR = 5.7) were significant predictors of PH in this population of hospitalized patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This combination of easily measured CT-based metrics may, upon confirmatory studies, aid in the non-invasive detection of PH and hence in the determination of RHC candidacy in acutely hospitalized patients.</p