Evaluation Of Impedance Control On A Powered Hip Exoskeleton

This thesis presents an impedance control strategy for a novel powered hip exoskeleton designed to provide partial assistance and leverage the dynamics of human gait. The control strategy is based on impedance control and provides the user assistance as needed which is determined by the user’s interaction with the exoskeleton. A series elastic element is used to drive the exoskeleton and measures the interaction torque between the user and the device. The device operates in two modes. Free mode is a low impedance state that attempts to provide no assistance. Assist mode increases the gains of the controller to provide assistance as needed. The device was tested on five healthy subjects, and the resulting assistive hip torque was evaluated to determine the ability of the controller to provide gait assistance. The device was evaluated at different speeds to assess the gait speed adaptation performance of the controller. Results show that hip torque assistance range was between 0.3 to 0.5 Nm/kg across the subjects, corresponding to 24% to 40% of the maximum hip torque requirements of healthy adults during walking. The peak power provided by the system is 35 W on average and a peak power of up to 45 W

Kinetic studies of aluminum formation in the caustic side solvent extraction (CSSX) process

This project focused on aluminum precipitation within the Caustic Side Solvent Extraction (CSSX) process at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The CSSX process uses a solvent to separate cesium. In the scrubbing section, the solvent containing cesium is scrubbed with 0.05 M nitric acid to remove soluble sodium and potassium ions. During scrubbing, aluminum precipitation has been observed. Solids precipitation is of concern as solids might erode centrifugal contactor internals and/or plug transfer pipelines. Hence, it is important to identify conditions under which solids precipitation may occur and identify an operating region where solids precipitation is minimized. Room temperature experiments on the CSSX scrubbing process were conducted. Experimental results were compared with predictions from ESP (Environmental Simulation Program). The order and specific rate for the reversible aluminum precipitation reaction were obtained as a function of initial stream dilution and % carryover. The reaction was first order based on regression results

Designing & Implementing a Java Web Application to Interact with Data Stored in a Distributed File System

Every day there is an exponential increase of information and this data must be stored and analyzed. Traditional data warehousing solutions are expensive. Apache Hadoop is a popular open source data store which implements map-reduce concepts to create a distributed database architecture. In this paper, a performance analysis project was devised that compares Apache Hive, which is built on top of Apache Hadoop, with a traditional database such as MySQL. Hive supports HiveQueryLanguage, a SQL like directive language which implements MapReduce jobs. These jobs can then be executed using Hadoop. Hive also has a system catalog – Metastore which is used to index data components. The Hadoop framework is developed to include a duplication detection system which helps managing multiple copies of the same data at the file level. The Java Server Pages and Java Servlet framework were used to build a Java web application to provide a web interface for the clients to access and analyze large data sets present in Apache Hive or MySQL databases

Neuromechanics and Augmentation of Muscle-Tendon Actuators in Unsteady Cyclic Tasks

Legged animals navigate complex environments with incredible stability, agility and economy despite having significant neuromechanical constraints like large delays and highly compliant actuators. They do so partly by tuning the mechanics of their actuators (i.e. muscle-tendon units) to act in a context-dependent manner. This raises several questions, three of which are discussed in this thesis. (A) to what extent can you purely rely on the mechanics of your actuators? In particular, can muscle-tendon units reject perturbations like uneven terrain without changing neural control? (B) how does stability, agility and economy vary with changing muscle-tendon properties individually and how do they tradeoff? and (C) if morphology affects movement performance in animals, can we augment human function across multiple objective functions (namely stability agility and economy) simultaneously by augmenting the morphology of muscle-tendon units with passive wearable robots. To answer these questions in a causal, controllable and generative manner, we developed a framework where a single muscle-tendon unit is interacting with a mass in gravity through a lever arm in closed loop to generate cyclic movement with variable terrain (both in simulation and in-vitro closed-loop experiments), variable morphology (in simulation) and variable nervous system control (in simulation). Through our work, we show that (A) muscle-tendon units can rapidly stabilize a hopping body when faced with a sudden change in ground height despite zero change in neural control, (B) series elastic tendons variably influence stability, agility and economy of movement such that animals need to trade off stability, agility and economy when tuning their muscle-tendon properties and (C) passive elastic exoskeletons are able to simultaneously augment stability, agility and economy despite being 'spring-like' and unable to do net work themselves by shifting the mechanics of underlying muscle-tendon units. Through our research, : (1) we gain fundamental neuromechanical understanding of how animals enable stable, agile and economic movement by tuning their actuators and (2) we generate a template for the design of a new generation of bioinspired robotic actuators to enable legged and wearable robots to navigate the world in all its richness and complexity.Ph.D

Efficient Disease Identification Method for Crop Leaf using Deep Learning Techniques

Many prime grain-producing nations have implemented steps to limit export of grains as COVID-19 has expanded over the globe; food security has sparked significant worry from a number of stakeholders. One of the most crucial concerns facing all nations is how to increase grain output. However, the diseases occur in crops remain a challenge for countless farmers, therefore it is critical to understand their severity promptly and precisely to guide the them in taking additional measures to lessen the chances of plants being affected furthermore. This paper describes a deep learning model for the identification of crop diseases that can achieve high accuracy with low processing power. The model, called the inception v3 network, has been tested on a tomato leaf dataset and has obtained a average identification accuracy of 98.00% and further the ensemble of two inception v3 models with slight diversity achieved an accuracy of 98.11%. The results suggest that this model could be useful in improving food security by helping farmers quickly and accurately identify crop diseases and take appropriate measures to prevent further spread

The study body mass index of the P.G science & arts male students of Bangalore University

The purpose of the study was to find out the body mass index of the P.G science & Arts male students of Bangalore University. Body mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from a person’s weight and Height. BMI is a reliable indicator of body fatness for people. BMI does not measure body fat directly, but research has shown that BMI correlates to direct measures of body fat, such as underwater weighing and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). BMI can be considered an alternative and easy-to-perform method of screening for weight categories that may lead to health problems. The present study, total 240 students subject from P.G students of Bangalore University were randomly sleeted. Among 240 subjects, equally selected from 120 science male students and 120 arts male students, all were studying postgraduation in Bangalore University. The age of the subject ranged between 22-25 during the academic year 2017-18. To achieve the purpose of the study studio meter and weighting machine were used to collect the necessary date. The used instruments were tested and calibration was checked by research centre, Department of Physical Education, Bangalore University. Result: Arts male students are having better BMI than the science male students. Irrespective of Males, Arts students are having better in BMI than the science students

Addressing Uncertainty in Health Impacts of Air Pollution under Climate Change Mitigation

Simulations to evaluate climate policy take a lot of time, but little evidence exists to say how long is enough, especially for policy impacts related to air pollution. Air pollution and climate change are the two leading global environmental issues affecting human health. Climate change can increase air pollution, an effect called the “climate penalty”. Climate policy can thus reduce air pollution, offering “co-benefits” for human health and the economy. However, climate policy makers lack robust information on these air pollution related co-benefits. This is due partly to uncertainty in these co-benefits. One such uncertainty is due to the natural variability in the climate system. Another is the response of the human system – including human health and the economy – to changes in air pollution. Natural variability obscures the effects of climate policy on air pollution and its associated health impacts. However, the computational cost of modelling health responses under many future climate scenarios means little is known about the size of this effect, or its implications for policy evaluation. This study seeks to address these gaps by determining minimum simulation lengths needed to address natural variability. It employs a novel analysis of results from a previously developed integrated modelling framework. This framework implemented global climate policies consistent with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. It captured resulting changes to illness and premature death in the United States associated with outdoor concentrations of air pollutants including ozone and fine particulate matter, and resulting economic damages. Five initializations of the climate system and 30-year modelling periods resulted in 150 annual simulations for each pollutant (ozone and fine particulate matter), policy scenario (reference, a policy that meets a 2 degree warming target, and a policy meeting 2.5 degrees), and time period (2050 and 2100). In this new analysis of these results, climate policies were found to produce large co-benefits that were highest in the Eastern US and increased from 2050 to 2100. These co-benefits also had significant uncertainty related to both natural variability and uncertainty in health and economic responses (“health-related uncertainty”). Uncertainty due to natural variability was reduced by sampling within the annual simulations and averaging their results together. This process was continued until all initializations fall within the 95% confidence interval of health-related uncertainty. At this point, the simulation length was deemed sufficient to filter out natural variability. The simulation length required was found to vary depending on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), where co-benefits are the signal and the spread due to natural variability is the noise. SNR values increased over time from 2050 to 2100. In 2050, some regions, like the Midwest, showed a lower SNR and greater influence of natural variability. For these cases, eight years or more of simulation were needed to address natural variability. For cases with high SNR, as in 2100, less than three years were needed for all regions in the US. This work demonstrates the effect of natural variability on air quality co-benefits, and provides insights to inform simulation lengths to address it

Exploring the Experiences and Expectations of Trainee Representatives in Medical Specialities:A Qualitative Study in the West Midlands, UK

Introduction: Despite its importance, there is a paucity of evidence describing the role and responsibilities of trainee representatives.Aim: This study explored key stakeholders' experiences and expectations of the trainee representative role.Method: All eligible individuals in the West Midlands Deanery's School of Medicine were invited to participate in an interview exploring their experiences and expectations of the trainee representative role. Recurring themes were identified through thematic analysis using NVivo12 software.Results: Five themes—Support for trainee representatives, Deanery events for trainee representatives, Roles and responsibilities of trainee representatives, Representation and recruitment, and Benefits of being a trainee representative—were identified. Formalising appointments to such roles and providing induction and information on key responsibilities were highlighted as steps to minimise the gap.Conclusion: Trainee representative positions allow trainees to explore leadership roles; however, further work is needed to improve the resources to support the professional development of trainee representatives

Combining ability, gene action and heritability analysis for early blight resistance, yield and quality traits in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Nine tomato genotypes were crossed in Line ×Tester fashion to develop 18 hybrids, which, along with their parents and checks were evaluated for early blight resistance, fruit yield and quality of tomato (Solanum lyco-persicum) to know extent of combining ability for the same. IIHR1816 was found to be the best general combiner with significant highest GCA (General Combining Ability) in desirable direction for per cent disease index (-15.71), carotenoids (3.46), lycopene (2.43) and yield (13.13); while, for plant height (3.94), average fruit weight (25.93), fruit length (0.54), fruit breadth (0.63) and pericarp thickness (1.71), the line IIHR2848 was best general combiner. The tester IIHR2852 was a best general combiner for traits like days to 50% flowering (-0.83) and fruit firmness (0.51).The crosses viz., IIHR2891 × IIHR2853 (11.61), IIHR2850 × IIHR2852 (11.40) and IIHR2892 × IIHR2890 (11.19) were found to be superior specific combiners for yield. IIHR2892 × IIHR2852 was a superior specific combin-er for fruit quality traits like fruit firmness (0.98), total carotenoids (6.95) and lycopene (4.52).Best specific combiners for early blight resistance were IIHR2850 × IIHR2852 (-9.58), IIHR2891 × IIHR2890 (-9.58) and IIHR2892 × IIH-R2890 (-6.82). The experiment helped in identifying these superior general combiners and specific combiners for early blight resistance, coupled with good yield and quality of the crop, which can be used in further breeding under-takings