Gaze Estimation Technique for Directing Assistive Robotics

AbstractAssistive robotics may extend capabilities for individuals with reduced mobility or dexterity. However, effective use of robotic agents typically requires the user to issue control commands in the form of speech, gesture, or text. Thus, for unskilled or impaired users, the need for a paradigm of intuitive Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) is prevalent. It can be inferred that the most productive interactions are those in which the assistive agent is able to ascertain the intention of the user. Also, to perform a task, the agent must know the user's area of attention in three-dimensional space. Eye gaze tracking can be used as a method to determine a specific Volume of Interest (VOI). However, gaze tracking has heretofore been under-utilized as a means of interaction and control in 3D space. This research aims to determine a practical volume of interest in which an individual's eyes are focused by combining past methods in order to achieve greater effectiveness. The proposed method makes use of eye vergence as a useful depth discriminant to generate a tool for improved robot path planning. This research investigates the accuracy of the Vector Intersection (VI) model when applied to a usably large workspace volume. A neural network is also used in tandem with the VI model to create a combined model. The output of the combined model is a VOI that can be used as an aid in a number of applications including robot path planning, entertainment, ubiquitous computing, and others

Band splitting and Modal Dispersion induced by Symmetry braking in Coupled-Resonator Slow-Light Waveguide Structures

We study the dispersion relations in slow-light waveguide structures consisting of coupled microdisk resonators. A group theoretical analysis of the symmetry properties of the propagating modes reveals an interesting phenomenon: The degeneracy of the CW and CCW rotating modes is removed, giving rise to two distinct transmission bands. This effect induces symmetry-based dispersion which may limit usable bandwidth of such structures. The properties of this band splitting and its impact on CROW performance for optical communications are studied in detail

Effects of dietary diludine supplementation on growth, proximate composition, muscle and texture structure of rainbow trout juveniles

A feeding trial which lasted for eight weeks was conducted to investigate the effects of diludine, a growth promoter, on feed efficiency, muscle structure and proximate composition of juvenile rainbow trout. Diludine was added at 0.0(D0) 0.2(D1), 0.5(D2) and 1(D3) g kg^-1 to a casein-based diet, and every diet was given to the triplicated groups of juvenile rainbow trout. At the end of experiment, it was determined that a significant improvability existed for both growth and feed utilization in fish fed diets supplemented with diludine (p<0.05). Similarly, different concentrations of diludine affected the densitometric quantification of myofibrillar proteins in fish muscle according to results obtained by Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The mean value of fiber diameters significantly increased in skeletal muscle with increasing concentrations of diludine. The histological results also showed hypertrophic adipocytes in skeletal muscle of fish fed D2 and D3 diets. The lowest elasticity values were observed in fish fed the control diet while those fed D3 diet had highest elasticity values. On the other hand, no differences were found between fish fed experimental diets in terms of survival rate and all fish exhibited similar proximate composition for protein, lipid, moisture and ash. Consequently, it may be suggested that dietary diludine supplementation up to 1 g kg^-1 concentration in the diets have positive impacts on growth of rainbow trout juveniles and the better growth in the fish fed with diludine supplements could be arise from muscle characteristics, in particular changes in fibres than proximate composition of the muscles

Atmospheric Pressure Mass Spectrometry by Single-Mode Nanoelectromechanical Systems

Weighing particles above MegaDalton mass range has been a persistent challenge in commercial mass spectrometry. Recently, nanoelectromechanical systems-based mass spectrometry (NEMS-MS) has shown remarkable performance in this mass range, especially with the advance of performing mass spectrometry under entirely atmospheric conditions. This advance reduces the overall complexity and cost, while improving the limit of detection. However, this technique required the tracking of two mechanical modes, and the accurate knowledge of mode shapes which may deviate from their ideal values especially due to air damping. Here, we used a NEMS architecture with a central platform, which enables the calculation of mass by single mode measurements. Experiments were conducted using polystyrene and gold nanoparticles to demonstrate the successful acquisition of mass spectra using a single mode, with improved areal capture efficiency. This advance represents a step forward in NEMS-MS, bringing it closer to becoming a practical application for mass sensing of nanoparticles.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figure

Noninvasive electron microscopy with interaction-free quantum measurements

We propose the use of interaction-free quantum measurements with electrons to eliminate sample damage in electron microscopy. This might allow noninvasive molecular-resolution imaging. We show the possibility of such measurements in the presence of experimentally measured quantum decoherence rates and using a scheme based on existing charged particle trapping techniques.David and Lucile Packard Foundatio

The green biorefinery concept for the valorisation of pistachio shell by high-pressure CO2/H2O system

ABSTRACT: The use of high-pressure CO2/H2O in valorisation of pistachio shell to produce hemicellulose-derived, oligomeric and monomeric sugars and their further transformation to furfural as well as enzymatic transformation of cellulose-rich solids is presented in this work. Different pre-treatment conditions i.e. temperature ranged from 160 to 200 degrees C; reaction time varied between 0 and 30 min and liquid to solid mass ratio between 4 and 8 with constant initial pressure of CO2 of 50 bars were examined. At the optimal pre-treatment conditions, the concentrations of xylose and xylo-oligosaccharide were of 1.7 and 35.5 g/L. Furthermore, this work demonstrates the high-pressure CO2 catalysed production of furfural in an aqueous/tetrahydrofuran system. For model solution containing a mixture of xylose and acetic acid, the optimised furfural yield was as high as 53.3 mol%, while for real sample of hemicellulose hydrolysate, the furfural yield of 39.6 mol% and the selectivity of 40.0 mol% were obtained. Additionally, quantitative glucan to glucose conversion by enzymatic hydrolysis of pre-treated cellulose-rich biomasses was achieved.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

High-throughput hyperdimensional vertebrate phenotyping

Most gene mutations and biologically active molecules cause complex responses in animals that cannot be predicted by cell culture models. Yet animal studies remain too slow and their analyses are often limited to only a few readouts. Here we demonstrate high-throughput optical projection tomography with micrometer resolution and hyperdimensional screening of entire vertebrates in tens of seconds using a simple fluidic system. Hundreds of independent morphological features and complex phenotypes are automatically captured in three dimensions with unprecedented speed and detail in semi-transparent zebrafish larvae. By clustering quantitative phenotypic signatures, we can detect and classify even subtle alterations in many biological processes simultaneously. We term our approach hyperdimensional in vivo phenotyping (HIP). To illustrate the power of HIP, we have analyzed the effects of several classes of teratogens on cartilage formation using 200 independent morphological measurements and identified similarities and differences that correlate well with their known mechanisms of actions in mammals

An analysis of inpatient pediatric sickle cell disease: Incidence, costs, and outcomes

ObjectiveTo identify characteristics of pediatric sickle cell disease (SCD) hospitalizations and to examine admission demographics and medical expenditures.MethodsAdmissions with SCD were identified from the 2009 and 2012 releases of the Healthcare and Cost Utilization Project’s Kids Inpatient Database. Diseaseâ specific secondary diagnoses including acute chest syndrome (ACS), vasoâ occlusive pain crisis (VOC), splenic sequestration, and stroke/transient ischemic attack were analyzed for patient and hospital demographics. Analytical endpoints included total healthcare expenditures and mortality.ResultsWe reviewed 75,234 inpatient hospitalizations with a diagnosis of SCD. Over $900,000,000 was spent annually in associated healthcare expenditure. The median length of hospitalization stay (LOS) for all admissions was 3 days (interquartile range [IQR] 2â 5 days). VOC was the most frequent secondary diagnosis, recording 48,698 total hospitalizations and a median LOS of 3 days (IQR 2â 6 days). Of the 8,490 hospitalizations with ACS, the infant population had a significantly higher mortality rate compared to other age groups (2$18,956), behind ACS ($22,631). A high proportion of Caucasian patients died during hospitalization for VOC (0.4% vs. 0.1%, P = 0.014) and ACS (4% vs. 0.2%, P < 0.001) when compared to nonâ Caucasians.ConclusionInpatient hospitalizations for secondary manifestations of pediatric SCD were associated with significant healthcare expenditures. Patients with an increased statistical risk for death during hospitalization included Caucasians with SCD complications of ACS and VOC, and patients <1â yearâ old with ACS. Further research is needed to substantiate the associated clinical significance of these findings.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140014/1/pbc26758.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140014/2/pbc26758_am.pd