Large stroke three degree-of-freedom spherical flexure joint

Multi degree of freedom flexure joints are often limited to small deflection angles, because of their strong loss of stiffness in support directions when deflected, or they have a large range of motion but are initially already compliant also in the intended support directions. In this paper, an innovative design for a high performance large stroke spherical flexure joint is presented which can maintain a high level of support stiffness over its full range of motion. A series of flexural topologies are optimized and compared which resulted in a flexure joint design which can achieve a support stiffness of almost 100N/mm at a tilt angle of 30 degrees. Experimental validations have been conducted in order to validate the results and confirm this high level of support stiffness at large tilt angles

Productivity of Intensive Grazing Systems Based upon Irrigated Pangola Pastures in the French West Indies

This work deals with the comparison of the productivity of intensive grazing systems (IGS) in the French West Indies, used for meat production with cattle, goat and sheep. IGS are based upon the use of irrigated, fertilized, and high stocked (1.8 to 1.4 t live weight/ha/year) and rotational grazing Digitaria decumbens pastures. They lie upon good performance levels of local breeds, Creole cattle and Creole goats of Guadeloupe and Martinik ewes, and upon improved general husbandry. Both sheep and goat in IGS exhibit high levels of productivity. They reached up to 1000 kg LW of weaned offsprings and 1400 kg LW of fattened offsprings per ha and per year. Results for cattle were 522 and 1061 kg LW, respectively. The relative interests of species are presented with the aim of increasing meat production in the tropical zone and in limited land resource conditions

Avaliação química e biológica da proteína do grão em cultivares de milho de alta qualidade protéica.

Cultivares de milho de alta qualidade protéica (QPM) desenvolvidos pela Embrapa Milho e Sorgo foram avaliados quanto ao conteúdo de aminoácidos essenciais e aproveitamento biológico da proteína, em ratos Wistar machos, recém-desmamados. Sete grupos de seis animais foram mantidos durante dez dias sob condições ambientais padronizadas, recebendo cada grupo uma das seguintes rações: a) controle a 10% e a 7% de proteína (caseína), b) aprotéica, c) experimentais com milho a 7% de proteína (QPM amarelo - BR 473, QPM branco - BR 451 e milho comum - BR 136), d) mistura arroz-feijão a 10% de proteína (1:1 em base protéica). A qualidade protéica do milho BR 473 foi semelhante à do milho BR 451 e significativamente superior (p<O,05) à do milho BR 136, segundo os índices NPR (Net Protein Ratio- 3,37; 3,54 e 2,58, respectivamente para BR 473, BR 451 e BR 136) e NPU (Net Protein Utilization - 56%,58% e 43%, respectivamente). Os milhos QPM possuem valor protéico elevado (média de 83% em relação à proteína de referência), similar ao da mistura arroz-feijão, constituindo-se em alimentos promissores para uso em programas de combate à desnutrição no Brasil, em especial para crianças de baixa renda

The ins and outs of nanoparticle technology in neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.

As we enter the twenty-first century, several therapies based on using nanoparticles (NPs) ranging in size 1 - 1000 nm have been successfully brought to the clinic to treat cancer, pain and infectious diseases. These therapies bring together the ability of NPs to target the delivery of drugs more precisely, to improve solubility, to prevent degradation, to improve their therapeutic index and to reduce the immune response. NPs come in all shapes and sizes, designed specifically for biomedical applications such as solid lipid polymers, liposomes, dendrimers, nanogels, and quantum dots. These NPs offer many attractive characteristics such as biological stability and biocompatibility, thus incorporating different biological or drug molecules. Among the major therapeutic challenges from neurological diseases through to cancer is the development of nanomaterials that are able to be effective against the disease. In the case of neurodegeneration, one of the most difficult areas to penetrate for drug discovery in the body is the central nervous system, protected by the blood-brain-barrier. Whilst in the case of cancer, the biggest problem is how to specifically target a tumor with sufficient drug without causing side effects or inducing resistance. A new generation of intelligent NPs are emerging for the treatment of human disease such as neurological disorders and cancer. The use of natural alternative therapy is an encouraging idea in drug discovery. To this end as we gain more knowledge into the biological function of exosomes, this will allow us to harness their potential as natural NPs in future therapeutics