Electric Buses for the NFTA

This brief discusses many reasons that the NFTA should invest in using electric buses. After explaining the differences in bus technologies, it details numerous environmental, public health, and economic benefits of electric buses. The brief closes with case studies to show how other cities and counties across the world are beginning to use electric buses

Wochenbericht LI-18-06 [L18-06]

28.05. – 03.06.201

Development of an underactuated gripper with in hand manipulation capability

Sommario La relazione riguarda lo sviluppo di un dispositivo, destinato ad essere montato sul polso di un robot, in grado di afferrare una vasta gamma di oggetti di diverse forme e dimensioni ed avente inoltre la capacità di manipolarli mantenendo la presa, vale a dire cambiare il loro orientamento senza doverli rilasciare ed afferrare nuovamente con una diversa postura del robot. L'elevata destrezza deriva dalla sotto-attuazione, la quale permette alla semplice struttura cinematica del dispositivo di adattarsi alle diverse forme degli oggetti ed eseguire una presa con elevata stabilità; invece la capacità di manipolazione in mano è resa possibile grazie all'implementazione di \emph{superfici attive} che conferiscono un ulteriore grado di libertà alla superficie del gripper interessata alla presa.\\ La prima parte esporrà i requisiti richiesti al dispositivo e la soluzione proposta per ottenerli, seguirà la struttura cinematica del dispositivo sotto-attuato e le considerazioni fatte per la sua progettazione. La parte seguente mostrerà come sono state concepite le superfici attive e quali operazioni consentono di fare; infine seguiranno la presentazione dell'intero dispositivo, degli esperimenti svolti e le relative conclusioni. Abstract This report concerns the development of a device, intended to be mounted on the wrist of a robot , able to grasp a wide variety of objects of different shapes and sizes and further having the ability to manipulate they while keeping the grasp, namely to change their orientation without having to release and grasp again the object with a different posture of the robot. The high dexterity comes from the under-actuation, which allows at the simple kinematic structure of the device to adapt itself at different shapes of the objects and perform a power grasp; instead the in hand manipulation is made possible thanks to the implementation of \emph{active surfaces} that give a further degrees of freedom at the gripper's surfaces interested in the grasp. \\The first part will explain the requirements for the device and the proposed solution to obtain them, follow the considerations about the design of kinematic structure of the under-actuated device will be shown. The next part will show as the active surfaces are designed and what operation they can perform; the presentation of the entire device, the done experiments and the conclusions will follow

Lactoferrin prevents LPS-induced decrease of the iron exporter ferroportin in human monocytes/macrophages.

Iron balance is tightly linked to inflammation and it has been demonstrated that many proteins involved in cellular iron management are up- or down-regulated by inflammatory stimuli, ultimately leading to iron retention in the reticuloendothelial system. Ferroportin is a key player in maintenance of correct iron homeostasis, because it is the only known mammalian cellular iron exporter. In this work we show that incubation of THP-1 monocytes/macrophages with lactoferrin prevents the LPS-induced decrease of ferroportin by reducing secretion of IL-6. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York.Iron balance is tightly linked to inflammation and it has been demonstrated that many proteins involved in cellular iron management are up- or downregulated by inflammatory stimuli, ultimately leading to iron retention in the reticuloendothelial system. Ferroportin is a key player in maintenance of correct iron homeostasis, because it is the only known mammalian cellular iron exporter. In this work we show that incubation of THP-1 monocytes/macrophages with lactoferrin prevents the LPS-induced decrease of ferroportin by reducing secretion of IL-6

Détection des symptômes anxieux et dépressifs en médecine générale

Contexte : L’anxiété et la dépression sont des problèmes de santé publique. Ces troubles sont fréquents et il est indispensable de les diagnostiquer. Le diagnostic se fait principalement par les médecins généralistes et se base sur leur intuition.Objectif : L’objectif principal était d’établir la sensibilité et la spécificité des médecins généralistes dans la détection de l’anxiété et de la dépression, quelque soit le motif de consultation.Méthodes : Les médecins participants étaient des maitres de stage.Étaient inclus tous les patients majeurs consultant au cabinet des médecins participants à l’étude, pendant 2 jours. Étaient exclus les patients mineurs, non francophones, incapables mentaux, ainsi que les patients ne sachant pas lire ou écrire.Les résultats du questionnaire HADS ont été comparés à la détection des symptômes anxieux et dépressifs par les médecins. Les médecins ne connaissaient pas les résultats de l’HADS.Résultats : L’étude a porté sur 206 patients de treize médecins généralistes. La prévalence de l’anxiété était de 56% et celle de la dépression de 21%. En ce qui concerne l’anxiété, la sensibilité de détection des médecins était de 58% et la spécificité de 69%. En ce qui concerne la dépression, la sensibilité de détection des médecins était de 46% et la spécificité de 84%.Conclusion : Nos résultats confirment l’importante prévalence des troubles anxieux et dépressifs en soins primaires. Ils montrent également la difficulté qu’ont les médecins généralistes à détecter ces troubles

Fossil fungi with suggested affinities to the Endogonaceae from the Middle Triassic of Antarctica

This is the publisher's version, also available from http://www.mycologia.org/content/104/4/835.Documented fossil evidence of zygomycetous fungi is rare. A conspicuous fungal fossil, Jimwhitea circumtecta gen. et sp. nov., occurs in permineralized peat from the Middle Triassic of Antarctica. The fossil is interpreted as a mantled zygosporangium that buds from a macrogametangium subtended by a sac-like macrosuspensor. The macrogametangium is united at its tip with a microgametangium which is subtended by a micro-suspensor. This configuration is strikingly similar to the zygosporangium-gametangia complexes seen in certain modern Endogonaceae. Co-occurring with J. circumtecta are isolated propagules closely resembling the zygosporangium of J. circumtecta and a portion of a sporocarp containing zygosporangia embedded in a gleba. Several of the sporangia are borne on ovoid or elongate structures, which we interpret as gametangia. These fossils offer an exceptionally detailed view of the morphology and reproductive biology of early Mesozoic zygomycetes

Wochenbericht L19-10a

15.07. bis 26.07.2019 Littorin

Fahrtbericht / Cruise report FS Littorina 18-06 [L18-06] (28.05.-07.06.2018)

Der geologisch/sedimentologische Aufbau und die Habitatverteilung im Übergangsbereich Watt – Schelf zwischen der Amrumbank und der Eiderrinne (Nordsee) - The geological / sedimentological built up and habitat distribution in the transition area Wadden Sea – Shelf between Amrum Bank and Eiderchannel – North Sea ; „Nordfriesland Süd