An ankle rehabilitation robot based on 3-RRS spherical parallel mechanism

This article presents the design modeling of a novel 3-RRS spherical parallel mechanism for ankle rehabilitation applications. The kinematics of the 3-RRS spherical parallel mechanism is established. The degree of freedom of 3-RRS spherical parallel mechanism is calculated using screw theory. The inverse kinematics of 3-RRS spherical parallel mechanism is solved. Eight groups of inverse solutions of 3-RRS spherical parallel mechanism are obtained. A method for forward position analysis is developed with variation and iteration approaches, which is suitable for motor position control. The ankle rehabilitation robot can be widely used in clinical treatment and can also be used at home, hotels, and fitness centers for ankle muscle relaxation.</p

And-1 is required for homologous recombination repair by regulating DNA end resection

Homologous recombination (HR) is a major mechanism to repair DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Although tumor suppressor CtIP is critical for DSB end resection, a key initial event of HR repair, the mechanism regulating the recruitment of CtIP to DSB sites remains largely unknown. Here, we show that acidic nucleoplasmic DNA‐binding protein 1 (And‐1) forms complexes with CtIP as well as other repair proteins, and is essential for HR repair by regulating DSB end resection. Furthermore, And-1 is recruited to DNA DSB sites in a manner dependent on MDC1, BRCA1 and ATM, down-regulation of And-1 impairs end resection by reducing the recruitment of CtIP to damage sites, and considerably reduces Chk1 activation and other damage response during HR repair. These findings collectively demonstrate a hitherto unknown role of MDC1→And-1→CtIP axis that regulates CtIP-mediated DNA end resection and cellular response to DSBs

FDI, service intensity, and international marketing agility

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a nuanced understanding of international marketing agility by connecting organizational capability literature with that of standardization and adaptation. The focus of the research is to clarify whether managing the tension between product standardization and service customization generates an extra premium in international markets. Design/methodology/approach Two disaggregated Chinese data sets, the Annual Survey of Industrial Enterprises and the China Customs Database, are used for developing an econometric model. Export quality improvement is the outcome variable in reflecting the effect of international marketing agility on performance. Findings International marketing agility is reached through upstream FDI intensity, particularly in the context of service FDI. Manufacturing sectors with higher service intensity have more agility, being more likely to generate export quality. Research limitations/implications This study makes three theoretical contributions by clarifying the concept of international marketing agility as an organizational capability generated by manufacturing standardization and service customization; investigating the influence of upstream FDI intensity for export quality while taking into account the industry contexts; and obtaining an enhanced understanding of the service intensity of manufacturing firms on export quality. Originality/value The authors offer a nuanced and contextualized understanding of international marketing agility and explore the complex relationships between FDI, service intensity and export quality

Production of X

We investigate the production of Xb in the process Υ(5S,6S)→γXb, where Xb is assumed to be the counterpart of X(3872) in the bottomonium sector as BB¯⁎ molecular state. We use the effective Lagrangian based on the heavy quark symmetry to explore the rescattering mechanism and calculate their production ratios. Our results have shown that the production ratios for Υ(5S,6S)→γXb are orders of 10-5 with reasonable cutoff parameter range α≃2~3. The sizeable production ratios may be accessible at the future experiments like forthcoming BelleII, which will provide important clues to the inner structures of the exotic state Xb

Verification of the utility of molecular markers linked to the multiple-allele male-sterile gene Ms in the breeding of male-sterile lines of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa)

To verify the molecular markers linked to the genic multiple-allele male-sterile gene Ms, an F1 plant, which was generated by crossing the inbred line a20 and the male-sterile plant of the genic multipleallele male-sterile AB line, was backcrossed with an a20 plant to develop BC4 and BC5 populations. Sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker syau_scr01 and simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker syau_m13, which were linked to Ms, exhibited polymorphism between the 2 parents. The accuracies of these 2 markers in determining the plant genotype was 85 and 91.7%, respectively. The accuracy reached 100% when the 2 markers were used in combination. These results indicate that these 2 markers can be applied in the marker-assisted selection of the genic multiple-allele male-sterile line of Chinese cabbage.Keywords: Chinese cabbage, genic multiple-allele male sterility, marker-assisted selection, simple sequence repeat, sequence-characterized amplified regionAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 9(35), pp. 5623-5628, 30 August, 201