Bilateral Teleoperation of Mobile Robot over Delayed Communication Network: Implementation

In a previous paper we proposed a bilateral teleoperation framework of a wheeled mobile robot over communication channel with constant time delay. In this paper we present experimental results. Our goal is to illustrate and validate the properties of the proposed scheme as well as to present practical implementation issues and the adopted solutions. In particular, the bilaterally teleoperated system is passive and the system is stable in the presence of time delay. Internet has been used as the communication channel and a buffer has been implemented to maintain a constant time delay and to handle packet order

Randomized Crossover Study Showing Nurse-Led Same Day Review Replacing Next Day Review in Uneventful Phacoemulsification to Be Safe and Efficacious

Purpose. To study whether nurse led same-day review (SDR) after uneventful phacoemulsification can replace next-day review (NDR) in terms of safety and efficacy. Setting. Patients are recruited from an ophthalmology outpatient clinic in Hong Kong. Design. A prospective, randomized crossover study conducted from November 2012 to 2014. Methods. Inclusion criteria include cataract surgery naïve patients undergoing phacoemulsification under local anaesthesia. All patients were seen by our ophthalmic nurse 2 hours after surgery. Before undergoing phacoemulsification of the first eye, patients were randomized to be reviewed on day 1 or 7 after surgery. Surgeons and reviewing doctors were blinded to patient allocation. For the patients’ second eye surgery, group allocation will cross over. Primary outcome measures include visual improvement and patient satisfaction questionnaire. Other measures include cataract characteristics, surgical details, and complications. Statistical tests include paired t-test, Wilcoxon signed rank test, and Chi-square test. Results. 164 eyes from 82 patients were available. Visual improvement, satisfaction, and complications were comparable between both groups. Conclusions. A nurse led SDR can replace NDR in uneventful phacoemulsification in terms of safety and efficacy. Patient satisfaction is also comparable in the setting of Asian culture and when transportation is not a major concern

Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for medically inoperable early stage lung cancer: early outcomes

Objective To evaluate the clinical outcome and safety of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for medically inoperable stage I non- small-cell lung carcinoma. Design Retrospective case series. Setting Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Hong Kong. Patients All patients with medically inoperable stage I non-small-cell lung carcinoma receiving stereotactic ablative radiotherapy since its establishment in 2008. Main outcome measures Disease control rate, overall survival, and treatment toxicities. Results Sixteen stage I non-small-cell lung carcinoma patients underwent the procedure from June 2008 to November 2011. The median patient age was 82 years and the majority (81%) had moderate-tosevere co-morbidity based on the Adult Comorbidity Evaluation 27 index. With a median follow-up of 22 months, the 2-year primary tumour control rate, disease-free survival and overall survival rates were 91%, 71% and 87%, respectively. No grade 3 (National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events) or higher treatment-related complications were reported. Conclusion Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy can achieve a high degree of local control safely in medically inoperable patients with early lung cancer.published_or_final_versio

Space Shuttle Program: Automatic rendezvous, proximity operations, and capture (category 3)

The NASA Johnson Space Center is actively pursuing the development and demonstration of capabilities for automatic rendezvous, proximity operations, and capture (AR&C) using the Space Shuttle as the active vehicle. This activity combines the technologies, expertise, tools, and facilities of the JSC Tracking and Communications Division (EE), Navigation, Control and Aeronautics Division (EG), Automation and Robotics Division (ER), and Structures and Mechanics Division (ES) of the Engineering Directorate and the Flight Design and Dynamics Division (DM) of the Mission Operations Directorate. Potential benefits of AR&C include more efficient and repeatable rendezvous, proximity operations, and capture operations; reduced impacts on the target vehicles (e.g., Orbiter RCS plume loads); reduced flight crew work loads; reduced ground support requirements; and reduced operational constraints. This paper documents the current JSC capabilities/tools/facilities for AR&C and describes a proposed plan for a progression of ground demonstrations and flight tests and demonstrations of AR&C capabilities. This plan involves the maturing of existing technologies in tracking and communications; guidance, navigation and control; mechanisms; manipulators; and systems management and integrating them into several evolutionary demonstration stages

Nonlinear magnon polaritons

We experimentally and theoretically demonstrate that nonlinear spin-wave interactions suppress the hybrid magnon-photon quasiparticle or "magnon polariton" in microwave spectra of an yttrium iron garnet film detected by an on-chip split-ring resonator. We observe a strong coupling between the Kittel and microwave cavity modes in terms of an avoided crossing as a function of magnetic fields at low microwave input powers, but a complete closing of the gap at high powers. The experimental results are well explained by a theoretical model including the three-magnon decay of the Kittel magnon into spin waves. The gap closure originates from the saturation of the ferromagnetic resonance above the Suhl instability threshold by a coherent back reaction from the spin waves.Comment: 6 page

ENDO-Pore:high-throughput linked-end mapping of single DNA cleavage events using nanopore sequencing

Mapping the precise position of DNA cleavage events plays a key role in determining the mechanism and function of endonucleases. ENDO-Pore is a high-throughput nanopore-based method that allows the time resolved mapping single molecule DNA cleavage events in vitro. Following linearisation of a circular DNA substrate by the endonuclease, a resistance cassette is ligated recording the position of the cleavage event. A library of single cleavage events is constructed and subjected to rolling circle amplification to generate concatemers. These are sequenced and used to produce accurate consensus sequences. To identify the cleavage site(s), we developed CSI (Cleavage Site Investigator). CSI recognizes the ends of the cassette ligated into the cleaved substrate and triangulates the position of the dsDNA break. We firstly benchmarked ENDO-Pore using Type II restriction endonucleases. Secondly, we analysed the effect of crRNA length on the cleavage pattern of CRISPR Cas12a. Finally, we mapped the time-resolved DNA cleavage by the Type ISP restriction endonuclease LlaGI that introduces random double-strand breaks into its DNA substrates

The interdisciplinary marine system of the Amundsen Sea, Southern Ocean: recent advances and the need for sustained observations

The Southern Ocean exerts a profound influence on the functioning of the Earth System, in part because its location and unique bathymetric configuration enable direct linkages to the other major ocean basins (Ganachaud and Wunsch, 2000 and Lumpkin and Speer, 2007). It is the site of the world׳s largest current system, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), which transfers waters and climatically/ecologically-important tracers between the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans (Rintoul et al., 2001). In addition to the strong horizontal connectivity, the ACC is also characterized by a vigorous overturning circulation, which upwells warm, nutrient-rich waters from intermediate depth to the surface, where they are modified by interactions with the atmosphere and cryosphere to form new water masses, some of which are lighter and others more dense (Marshall and Speer, 2012). This overturning circulation structures the Southern Ocean both horizontally and vertically, dictates the levels of its communication with the rest of the global ocean, and is a fundamental control on the sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere into the ocean interior (Sallée et al., 2012). In some locations, the upwelled waters can intrude onto the Antarctic shelves, supplying heat and nutrients to the shallower regions. This is believed to be especially effective in west Antarctica, where the southern edge of the ACC moves close to the shelf break (Martinson, 2011, Orsi et al., 1995 and Thoma et al., 2008)

Hepatic Autophagy Deficiency Compromises FXR Functionality and Causes Cholestatic Injury

Autophagy is important for hepatic homeostasis, nutrient regeneration and organelle quality control. We investigated the mechanisms by which liver injury occurred in the absence of autophagy function. We found that mice deficient in autophagy due to the lack of Atg7 or Atg5, key autophagy‐related genes, manifested intracellular cholestasis with increased levels of serum bile acids, a higher ratio of TMCA/TCA in the bile, increased hepatic bile acid load, abnormal bile canaliculi and altered expression of hepatic transporters. In determining the underlying mechanism, we found that autophagy sustained and promoted the basal and upregulated expression of Fxr in the fed and starved conditions, respectively. Consequently, expression of Fxr and its downstream genes, particularly Bsep, and the binding of FXR to the promoter regions of these genes, were suppressed in autophagy‐deficient livers. In addition, co‐deletion of Nrf2 in autophagy deficiency status reversed the FXR suppression. Furthermore, the cholestatic injury of autophagy‐deficient livers was reversed by enhancement of FXR activity or expression, or by Nrf2 deletion

The climatic challenge: which plants will people use in the next century?

More than 31,000 useful plant species have been documented to fulfil needs and services for humans or the animals and environment we depend on. Despite this diversity, humans currently satisfy most requirements with surprisingly few plant species; for example, just three crops – rice, wheat and maize – comprise more than 50% of plant derived calories. Here, we synthesize the projected impact of global climatic change on useful plants across the spectrum of plant domestication. We illustrate the demographic, spatial, ecophysiological, chemical, functional, evolutionary and cultural traits that are likely to characterise useful plants and their resilience in the next century. Using this framework, we consider a range of possible pathways for future human use of plants. These are centred on two trade-offs: i) diversification versus specialization in the range of species we utilize, and ii) substitutionof the species towards those better suited to future climate versus facilitating adaptation in our existing suite of dominant useful plants. In the coming century, major challenges to agriculture and biodiversity will be dominated by increased climatic variation, shifting species ranges, disruption to biotic interactions, nutrient limitation and emerging pests and pathogens. These challenges must be mitigated, whilst enhancing sustainable production to meet the needs of a growing population and a more resource intensive standard of living. With the continued erosion of biodiversity, our future ability to choose among these pathways and trade-offs is likely to be diminished

Preliminary results of trial NPC-0501 evaluating the therapeutic gain by changing from concurrent-adjuvant to induction-concurrent chemoradiotherapy, changing from fluorouracil to capecitabine, and changing from conventional to accelerated radiotherapy fractionation in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma

© 2014 American Cancer Society. BACKGROUND A current recommendation for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is conventional fractionated radiotherapy with concurrent cisplatin plus adjuvant cisplatin and fluorouracil (PF). In this randomized trial, the authors evaluated the potential therapeutic benefit from changing to an induction-concurrent chemotherapy sequence, replacing fluorouracil with oral capecitabine, and/or using accelerated rather than conventional radiotherapy fractionation. METHODS Patients with stage III through IVB, nonkeratinizing NPC were randomly allocated to 1 of 6 treatment arms. The protocol was amended in 2009 to permit confining randomization to the conventional fractionation arms. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival. Secondary endpoints included overall survival and safety. RESULTS In total, 803 patients were accrued, and 706 patients were randomly allocated to all 6 treatment arms. Comparisons of induction PF versus adjuvant PF did not indicate a significant improvement. Unadjusted comparisons of induction cisplatin and capecitabine (PX) versus adjuvant PF indicated a favorable trend in progression-free survival for the conventional fractionation arm (P = .045); analyses that were adjusted for other significant factors and fractionation reflected a significant reduction in the hazards of disease progression (hazard ratio [HR], 0.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.36-0.80) and death (HR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.25-0.70). Unadjusted comparisons of induction sequences versus adjuvant sequences did not reach statistical significance, but adjusted comparisons indicated favorable improvements by induction sequence. Comparisons of induction PX versus induction PF revealed fewer toxicities (neutropenia and electrolyte disturbance), unadjusted comparisons of efficacy were statistically insignificant, but adjusted analyses indicated that induction PX had a lower hazard of death (HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.34-0.97). Changing the fractionation from conventional to accelerated did not achieve any benefit but incurred higher toxicities (acute mucositis and dehydration). CONCLUSIONS Preliminary results indicate that the benefit of changing to an induction-concurrent sequence remains uncertain; replacing fluorouracil with oral capecitabine warrants further validation in view of its convenience, favorable toxicity profile, and favorable trends in efficacy; and accelerated fractionation is not recommended for patients with locoregionally advanced NPC who receive chemoradiotherapy.postprin