165 research outputs found
Computer Vision and Kinematic Sensing in Robotics
To use vision in a robotic setting it is important to achieve realtime performance. Real-time vision may be used to directly steer robots using for instance visual servoing techniques. In this thesis, an experimental vision setup using a stereo rig mounted on an industrial robot (ABB Irb-6) was built from ground up and then used to perform two experiments; visual servoing and collection of data for calibration of stereo rig and positioning of second robot (ABB Irb-2000) using visual feedback. The system is currently capable of achieving a ~15Hz visual feedback rate which could be easily extended into the 20Hz domain
Milking time during periods of heat stress: part of the solution or part of the problem?
Dairy Research, 2014 is known as Dairy Day, 2014Milking time may be a stressful event for lactating dairy cows during summer. Increases
in body temperatures because of crowding in the milk parlor holding pen may contribute
to increased heat stress. The objective of this extension project was to evaluate the
effectiveness of heat stress abatement in milking facilities from two Kansas commercial
dairies. Vaginal temperatures at milking were lower than vaginal temperatures before
milking in one of the dairies. The lower vaginal temperatures at milking, however, were
not observed in the other dairy at all milkings, likely because of differences in efficacy
of heat abatement strategies. Milking facilities may be one of the factors to aggravate or
alleviate heat stress in lactating dairy cows during summer.
Key words
Yeast product supplementation influences feeding behavior and measures of immune function in transition dairy cows
Dairy Research, 2014 is known as Dairy Day, 2014Yeast supplementation has been shown to increase feed intake and production in
some studies with early lactation dairy cows, but the mechanisms underlying this effect
remain unknown. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of supplementing
a yeast product derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae on production, feeding behavior,
and immune function in cows during the transition to lactation. When fed for 3 weeks
before calving through 6 weeks after calving, supplementation altered feeding behavior
as well as responsiveness to vaccination and gut immunoglobulin secretion. Results suggest
that yeast products can modulate several aspects of immune function and promote
the consumption of smaller, more frequent meals
Impact of the Southwark and Lambeth Integrated Care Older People's Programme on hospital utilisation and costs: controlled time series and cost-consequence analysis.
OBJECTIVES: To estimate the impact on hospital utilisation and costs of a multi-faceted primary care intervention for older people identified as being at risk of avoidable hospitalisation. DESIGN: Observational study: controlled time series analysis and estimation of costs and cost consequences of the Programme. General practitioner (GP)'s practice level data were analysed from 2009 to 2016 (intervention operated from 2012 to 2016). Mixed-effect Poisson regression models of hospital utilisation included comparisons with control practices and background trends in addition to within-practice comparisons. Cost estimation used standard tariff values. SETTING: 94 practices in Southwark and Lambeth and 263 control practices from other parts of England. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hospital utilisation: emergency department attendance, emergency admissions, emergency admissions for ambulatory sensitive conditions, outpatient attendance, elective admission and length of stay. RESULTS: By the fourth year of the Programme, there were reductions in accident and emergency (A&E) attendance (rate ratio 0.944, 95% CI 0.913 to 0.976), outpatient attendances (rate ratio 0.938, 95% CI 0.902 to 0.975) and elective admissions (rate ratio 0.921, 95% CI 0.908 to 0.935) but there was no evidence of reduced emergency admissions. The costs of the Programme were £149 per resident aged 65 and above but savings in hospital costs were only £86 per resident aged 65 and above, equivalent to a net increase in health service expenditure of £64 per resident though the Programme was nearly cost neutral if set-up costs were excluded. Holistic assessments carried out by GPs and consequent Integrated Care Management (ICM) plans were associated with increases in elective activity and costs; £126 increase in outpatient attendance and £936 in elective admission costs per holistic assessment carried out, and £576 increase in outpatient and £5858 in elective admission costs per patient receiving ICM. CONCLUSIONS: The Older People's Programme was not cost saving. Some aspects of the Programme were associated with increased costs of elective care, possibly through the identification of unmet need
Automated Total IntraVenous Anesthesia (amTIVA) from induction to recovery
This paper presents a multi-functional automatic control approach for total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) administration, valid for several drug combinations and able to run autonomously during the three main phases of general anesthesia: induction, maintenance and recovery. While using this standalone TIVA module, named as amTIVA, the anesthesiologist has the crucial role of system supervisor. Bolus administration, open-loop target controlled infusion (TCI) and closed-loop controlled infusion modes are implemented and available for the control of the two main components of anesthesia: the neuromuscular blockade and the depth of anesthesia. This multi-functional module is implemented in the GALENO Platform and was successfully tested in more than thirty clinical cases
Effects of postpartum treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on milk production and culling risk in dairy cattle
Dairy Research, 2014 is known as Dairy Day, 2014Inflammation during early lactation is common in dairy cattle, and a high degree of
inflammation during this time has recently been associated with both lower productivity
and greater risk of disease during that lactation. Early lactation treatments with two
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were compared with a placebo treatment to
evaluate effects on whole-lactation productivity and retention in the herd. Both meloxicam
and sodium salicylate increased whole-lactation milk and milk protein yields by 6
to 9%, despite being administered for only 1 or 3 days in early lactation, respectively.
In addition, meloxicam treatment tended to decrease the risk of cows leaving the herd
during the lactation. These results indicate that postpartum inflammatory signals have
long-lasting effects on lactation in dairy cattle
Supervised Learning Based Real-Time Adaptive Beamforming On-board Multibeam Satellites
Satellite communications (SatCom) are crucial for global connectivity,
especially in the era of emerging technologies like 6G and narrowing the
digital divide. Traditional SatCom systems struggle with efficient resource
management due to static multibeam configurations, hindering quality of service
(QoS) amidst dynamic traffic demands. This paper introduces an innovative
solution - real-time adaptive beamforming on multibeam satellites with
software-defined payloads in geostationary orbit (GEO). Utilizing a Direct
Radiating Array (DRA) with circular polarization in the 17.7 - 20.2 GHz band,
the paper outlines DRA design and a supervised learning-based algorithm for
on-board beamforming. This adaptive approach not only meets precise beam
projection needs but also dynamically adjusts beamwidth, minimizes sidelobe
levels (SLL), and optimizes effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP).Comment: conference pape
Cordycepin activates autophagy through AMPK phosphorylation to reduce abnormalities in Machado-Joseph disease models
Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by an abnormal expansion of citosine-adenine-guanine trinucleotide repeats in the disease-causing gene. This mutation leads to an abnormal polyglutamine tract in the protein ataxin-3 (Atx3), resulting in formation of mutant Atx3 aggregates. Despite several attempts to develop a therapeutic option for MJD, currently there are no available therapies capable of delaying or stopping disease progression. Recently, our group reported that reducing the expression levels of mutant Atx3 lead to a mitigation of several MJD-related behavior and neuropathological abnormalities. Aiming a more rapid translation to the human clinics, in this study we investigate a pharmacological inhibitor of translation-cordycepin-in several preclinical models. We found that cordycepin treatment significantly reduced (i) the levels of mutant Atx3, (ii) the neuropathological abnormalities in a lentiviral mouse model, (iii) the motor and neuropathological deficits in a transgenic mouse model and (iv) the number of ubiquitin aggregates in a human neural model. We hypothesize that the effect of cordycepin is mediated by the increase of phosphorylated adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) levels, which is accompanied by a reduction in the global translation levels and by a significant activation of the autophagy pathway. Overall, this study suggests that cordycepin might constitute an effective and safe therapeutic approach for MJD, and probably for the other polyglutamine diseases.European Union through the European social fund, funds Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional through the Competitive Factors Operational Program-COMPETE, POPH and QRENFrench Muscular Dystrophy Association (AFM-Telethon) [18776]Ataxia UKFundacao para a Ciencia e TecnologiaPortuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [SFRH/BD/133192/2017]FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, I.P. [UID/BIM/04773/2013 CBMR
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