Robot Arm Control System for Assisted Feeding of People with Disabilities in their Upper Limbs

This work proposes a robot arm control system for assisted feeding of people with reduced functionality in their upper limbs. It aims at improving their quality of life by helping users recover their independence when feeding, aided by the proposed system. Previous research presents solutions that often lack functionality to meet the user’s needs, such as a lack of emergency functions or the use of passive feeding techniques, due to the absence of adequate human-robot interaction. The proposed solution involves the design of an interface adapter between the robot arm and the spoon, for the correct transport and positioning of the food. Moreover, a PD-type electronic controller is implemented for the robot arm; it includes gravity compensation and trajectories defined from the detection of the user's position. Additionally, the system has two safety features: an emergency button and a proximity warning that triggers when undesired objects are too close to the robot arm. The proposed system was validated through position tests and interaction with people using rice and oatmeal. When carrying out the tests with rice, 80% success was obtained, while in the case of oatmeal, 98.9% success was achieved

Coordinated Analyses of Presolar Grains in the Allan Hills 77307 and Queen Elizabeth Range 99177 Meteorites

We report the identification of presolar silicates (~177 ppm), presolar oxides (~11 ppm), and one presolar SiO2 grain in the Allan Hills (ALHA) 77307 chondrite. Three grains having Si isotopic compositions similar to SiC X and Z grains were also identified, though the mineral phases are unconfirmed. Similar abundances of presolar silicates (~152 ppm) and oxides (~8 ppm) were also uncovered in the primitive CR chondrite Queen Elizabeth Range (QUE) 99177, along with 13 presolar SiC grains and one presolar silicon nitride. The O isotopic compositions of the presolar silicates and oxides indicate that most of the grains condensed in low-mass red giant and asymptotic giant branch stars. Interestingly, unlike presolar oxides, few presolar silicate grains have isotopic compositions pointing to low-metallicity, low-mass stars (Group 3). The 18O-rich (Group 4) silicates, along with the few Group 3 silicates that were identified, likely have origins in supernova outflows. This is supported by their O and Si isotopic compositions. Elemental compositions for 74 presolar silicate grains were determined by scanning Auger spectroscopy. Most of the grains have non-stoichiometric elemental compositions inconsistent with pyroxene or olivine, the phases commonly used to fit astronomical spectra, and have comparable Mg and Fe contents. Non-equilibrium condensation and/or secondary alteration could produce the high Fe contents. Transmission electron microscopic analysis of three silicate grains also reveals non-stoichiometric compositions, attributable to non-equilibrium or multistep condensation, and very fine scale elemental heterogeneity, possibly due to subsequent annealing. The mineralogies of presolar silicates identified in meteorites thus far seem to differ from those in interplanetary dust particles.Comment: 23 pages, 16 figure

Determination of growth, mass, and body mass index of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena): Implications for conservational status assessment of populations

Longitudinal data on individual growth and seasonal changes in body mass, girth, and blubber thickness are rarely available for cetaceans, making it difficult to assess their population composition and individual nutritional condition. During different time intervals from 1997 to 2020, we collected longitudinal data on length, body mass, girth,and blubber thickness from seventeen harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in human care. We compared Gompertz and von Bertalanffy growth curves to collected length data at age 0–4 years for five individuals with known dates of birth. Von Bertalanffy had the lowest AICc value and was used to predict the birth year of twelve animals which age had previously been estimated based on tooth ring analysis and ossification of flipper bones. The growth curve was accurate within 1 yr. of age estimates. Within the first year, the calves grew 66%, attaining 84% of their adult length, and reached asymptotic length at age 3–4. For adults, there were large seasonal variations in body mass, body mass index, girth, and blubber thickness, with up to 28% of variation in body mass between seasons. We predicted individual body mass within ± 2 kg using measurements of length and girth, allowing estimation of body mass index of individuals with unknown mass. Our findings enable monitoring and assessments of population composition as well as nutritional condition of individual harbour porpoises, which is crucial for assessing conservational status and guiding management

The physical oceanography of the transport of floating marine debris

Marine plastic debris floating on the ocean surface is a major environmental problem. However, its distribution in the ocean is poorly mapped, and most of the plastic waste estimated to have entered the ocean from land is unaccounted for. Better understanding of how plastic debris is transported from coastal and marine sources is crucial to quantify and close the global inventory of marine plastics, which in turn represents critical information for mitigation or policy strategies. At the same time, plastic is a unique tracer that provides an opportunity to learn more about the physics and dynamics of our ocean across multiple scales, from the Ekman convergence in basin-scale gyres to individual waves in the surfzone. In this review, we comprehensively discuss what is known about the different processes that govern the transport of floating marine plastic debris in both the open ocean and the coastal zones, based on the published literature and referring to insights from neighbouring fields such as oil spill dispersion, marine safety recovery, plankton connectivity, and others. We discuss how measurements of marine plastics (both in situ and in the laboratory), remote sensing, and numerical simulations can elucidate these processes and their interactions across spatio-temporal scales

Minimal change nephrotic syndrome after stem cell transplantation: a case report and literature review

Graft-versus-host disease is one of the most frequent complications occurring after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Recently, renal involvement has been described as a manifestation of chronic graft-versus-host disease. Immunosuppression seems to play a major role: clinical disease is triggered by its tapering and resolution is achieved with the resumption of the immunosuppressive therapy. Prognosis is apparently favourable, but long term follow up data are lacking

Magnetic interactions in iron superconductors: A review

High temperature superconductivity in iron pnictides and chalcogenides emerges when a magnetic phase is suppressed. The multi-orbital character and the strength of correlations underlie this complex phenomenology, involving magnetic softness and anisotropies, with Hund's coupling playing an important role. We review here the different theoretical approaches used to describe the magnetic interactions in these systems. We show that taking into account the orbital degree of freedom allows us to unify in a single phase diagram the main mechanisms proposed to explain the (\pi,0) order in iron pnictides: the nesting-driven, the exchange between localized spins, and the Hund induced magnetic state with orbital differentiation. Comparison of theoretical estimates and experimental results helps locate the Fe superconductors in the phase diagram. In addition, orbital physics is crucial to address the magnetic softness, the doping dependent properties, and the anisotropies.Comment: Invited review article for a focus issue of Comptes Rendus Physique: 26 pages, 10 figures. Revised version, as accepted. Small changes throughout the text plus new subsection (Sec. IIIE

EXTREME TEMPERATURE AND EXTREME VIOLENCE: EVIDENCE FROM RUSSIA

We study the relationship between extreme temperatures and violent mortality, employing novel regional panel data from Russia. We find that extremely hot temperatures increase violent mortality, while extremely cold temperatures have no effect. The impact of hot temperature on violence is unequal across gender and age groups, rises noticeably during weekends, and leads to considerable social costs. Our findings also suggest that better job opportunities and lower vodka consumption may decrease this impact. The results underscore that economic policies need to target vulnerable population groups to mitigate the adverse impact of extreme temperatures. (JEL Q54, I14, K42). © 2020 The Authors. Economic Inquiry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Western Economic Association International.The authors thank Jason Lindo (co‐editor), three anonymous referees, Richard Frensch, Ali Kutan, Igor Makarov, Milena Nikolova, Mariola Pytlikova, and participants at the ASSA 2019 meeting in Atlanta, IOS/APB/EACES summer academy in Tutzing, and research seminars at IOS Regensburg, Curtin University, and the Laboratory for Economics of Climate Change at HSE Moscow for valuable comments. The authors acknowledge the support from Russian Science Foundation (RSCF) grant no. 19‐18‐00262

MFA13 (MFA 2013)

Catalogue of a culminating student exhibition held at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, May 3-July 29, 2013. Contents include Introduction / Buzz Spector -- The collaborative turn : new models of thinking, making, and learning / Patricia Olynyk -- [Introduction] / David Schuman -- Lyndon Barrois, Jr. / Rickey Laurentiis -- Sarah Bernhardt -- Shifting Shanghais / Hsuan Ying Chen -- Serhii Chrucky / JaNae Contag -- JaNae Contag / Emily Hanson -- Carrie DeBacker / Gabriel Feldman -- Erin M. Duhigg -- José Garza / Serhii Chrucky -- Eric Gray / Ariel Lewis -- Meghan Allynn Johnson : to or towards / Blair Allyn Johnson -- Hoa Le / Maria Xia -- Christine Eunji Lee -- Lavar Munroe : the black superhero when everyone was looking for the scapegoat / Patrick Johnson -- Jon A. Orosco : architectonics / Rickey Laurentiis -- Michael Powell / Nicholas Tamarkin -- Bridget A. Purcell : welcome home / Andy Chen -- Malahat Qureshi -- Natalie Rodgers / Katie McGinnis -- Carla Fisher Schwartz / Jennifer Padgett -- Zak Smoker -- Laurencia Strauss / Maura Pellettieri -- Lili Yang -- Vivian Zapata -- Contributors -- About the Sam Fox School.https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/books/1004/thumbnail.jp