Automated milling path tracking and CAM-ROB integration for industrial redundant manipulators

[EN] The present paper explores the industrial capabilities of a CAM¿]ROB system implementation based on a commercial CAD/CAM system (NXTM) for an industrial robotic workcell of eight joints, committed to the rapid prototyping of 3D CAD¿]defined models. The workcell consists of a KUKATM KR15/2 manipulator assembled on a linear track and synchronized with a rotary table. A redundancy resolution scheme is developed to deal with the redundancies due to the additional joints of the robot, plus the one from the symmetry axis of the milling tool. During the path tracking, the use of these redundancies is optimized by adjusting two performance criterion vectors related to singularity avoidance and maintenance of a preferred reference posture, as secondary tasks to be done. In addition, two suitable fuzzy inference engines adjust the weight of each joint in these tasks. The developed system is validated in a real prototyping of a carving.This research is partially supported by research project DPI2009-14744-C03-01 of the Spanish Government, project PROMETEO 2009/063 of Generalitat Valenciana, and research projects PAID-05-11-2640 and PAID-00-12-SP20120159 of the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Gracia Calandin, LI.; Andres De La Esperanza, FJ.; Gracia Calandin, CP. (2012). Automated milling path tracking and CAM-ROB integration for industrial redundant manipulators. International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems. 9(62):1-8. doi:10.5772/51101S18962Andres, J., Gracia, L., & Tornero, J. (2011). Calibration and control of a redundant robotic workcell for milling tasks. International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 24(6), 561-573. doi:10.1080/0951192x.2011.566284Asif, U., & Iqbal, J. (2012). On the Improvement of Multi-Legged Locomotion over Difficult Terrains Using a Balance Stabilization Method. International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems, 9(1), 1. doi:10.5772/7789Angeles, J. (Ed.). (2003). Fundamentals of Robotic Mechanical Systems: Theory, Methods, and Algorithms. Mechanical Engineering Series. doi:10.1007/b97597Huo, L., & Baron, L. (2008). The joint‐limits and singularity avoidance in robotic welding. Industrial Robot: An International Journal, 35(5), 456-464. doi:10.1108/01439910810893626Andres, J., Gracia, L., & Tornero, J. (2012). Implementation and testing of a CAM postprocessor for an industrial redundant workcell with evaluation of several fuzzified Redundancy Resolution Schemes. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 28(2), 265-274. doi:10.1016/j.rcim.2011.09.008Gracia, L., Andres, J., & Tornero, J. (2009). Trajectory tracking with a 6R serial industrial robot with ordinary and non-ordinary singularities. International Journal of Control, Automation and Systems, 7(1), 85-96. doi:10.1007/s12555-009-0111-1Zhou, H., Cao, Y., Li, B., Wu, M., Yu, J., & Chen, H. (2012). Position-Singularity Analysis of a Class of the 3/6-Gough-Stewart Manipulators Based on Singularity-Equivalent-Mechanism. International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems, 9(1), 9. doi:10.5772/4566

Effects of JL13, a Pyridobenzoxazepine with Potential Atypical Antipsychotic Activity, in Animal Models for Schizophrenia

ABSTRACT JL13 [5-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)-8-chloro-pyrido [2,3-b][1,5] benzoxazepine fumarate] is a substance with a close structural resemblance to clozapine. However, it is less sensitive to oxidation and may therefore have less hematological side effects. In the present study, JL13 was compared with clozapine and haloperidol in several animal models for schizophrenia. The paw test represents a screening model for antipsychotic drugs that can discriminate between drugs with extrapyramidal side effects and drugs without. Haloperidol increased both forelimb retraction time and hindlimb retraction time (HRT), whereas both clozapine and JL13 increased only HRT. In the prepulse inhibition paradigm, all three drugs reversed the apomorphineand the amphetamine-induced disruption of prepulse inhibition. However, whereas haloperidol was equally effective against both dopaminergic drugs, JL13 and clozapine were more effective against amphetamine. Finally, only JL13 was able to increase prepulse inhibition in normal rats, whereas only clozapine reduced basal startle amplitude. Taken together, these data suggest that JL13 may be an effective antipsychotic drug, with a profile similar to clozapine

Speech and language deficits are central to SETBP1 haploinsufficiency disorder

Expressive communication impairment is associated with haploinsufficiency of SETBP1, as reported in small case series. Heterozygous pathogenic loss-of-function (LoF) variants in SETBP1 have also been identified in independent cohorts ascertained for childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), warranting further investigation of the roles of this gene in speech development. Thirty-one participants (12 males, aged 0; 8-23; 2 years, 28 with pathogenic SETBP1 LoF variants, 3 with 18q12.3 deletions) were assessed for speech, language and literacy abilities. Broader development was examined with standardised motor, social and daily life skills assessments. Gross and fine motor deficits (94%) and intellectual impairments (68%) were common. Protracted and aberrant speech development was consistently seen, regardless of motor or intellectual ability. We expand the linguistic phenotype associated with SETBP1 LoF syndrome (SETBP1 haploinsufficiency disorder), revealing a striking speech presentation that implicates both motor (CAS, dysarthria) and language (phonological errors) systems, with CAS (80%) being the most common diagnosis. In contrast to past reports, the understanding of language was rarely better preserved than language expression (29%). Language was typically low, to moderately impaired, with commensurate expression and comprehension ability. Children were sociable with a strong desire to communicate. Minimally verbal children (32%) augmented speech with sign language, gestures or digital devices. Overall, relative to general development, spoken language and literacy were poorer than social, daily living, motor and adaptive behaviour skills. Our findings show that poor communication is a central feature of SETBP1 haploinsufficiency disorder, confirming this gene as a strong candidate for speech and language disorders

The time of the Roma in times of crisis: Where has European neoliberal capitalism failed?

This paper argues that the economic and financial crisis that has ensnared Europe from the late 2000s has been instrumental in reshaping employment and social relations in a detrimental way for the majority of the European people. It argues that the crisis has exacerbated the socio-economic position of most Roma people, immigrants as well as of other vulnerable groups. This development is approached here as an outcome of the widening structural inequalities that underpin the crisis within an increasingly neoliberalised Europe. Through recent policy developments and public discourses from a number of European countries I show how rising inequalities nurture racialised social tensions. My account draws on classic and contemporary theoretical propositions that have been propounded about the nature of capitalism, its contemporary re-articulation as well as its ramification for the future of Europe

M-type channels selectively control bursting in rat dopaminergic neurons.

Midbrain dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, pars compacta and ventral tegmental area are critically important in many physiological functions. These neurons exhibit firing patterns that include tonic slow pacemaking, irregular firing and bursting, and the amount of dopamine that is present in the synaptic cleft is much increased during bursting. The mechanisms responsible for the switch between these spiking patterns remain unclear. Using both in-vivo recordings combined with microiontophoretic or intraperitoneal drug applications and in-vitro experiments, we have found that M-type channels, which are present in midbrain dopaminergic cells, modulate the firing during bursting without affecting the background low-frequency pacemaker firing. Thus, a selective blocker of these channels, 10,10-bis(4-pyridinylmethyl)-9(10H)-anthracenone dihydrochloride, specifically potentiated burst firing. Computer modeling of the dopamine neuron confirmed the possibility of a differential influence of M-type channels on excitability during various firing patterns. Therefore, these channels may provide a novel target for the treatment of dopamine-related diseases, including Parkinson's disease and drug addiction. Moreover, our results demonstrate that the influence of M-type channels on the excitability of these slow pacemaker neurons is conditional upon their firing pattern.Supported by grant no. 9.4560.03 from the F.R.S.‐FNRS (V.S. and J.‐F.L.), by a grant from the Belgian Science Policy (IAP 6/31) (V.S.), and by grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (T.J.S.), BAEF‐Fulbright (M.B.) and NSF‐NIH (CRCNS) (T.J.S. and M.B.). J.‐F. L. is Research Director of the F.R.S.‐FNRS

Europe’s perennial "outsiders": a processual approach to Roma stigmatization and ghettoization

This paper draws on the theoretical work of Norbert Elias and Loïc Wacquant in seeking to understand the stigmatized and marginalized position of the Roma population within Europe. The paper argues that the persistent persecution of Roma, reflected in social policy, cannot be understood without reference to long-term social processes, which shape the nature of the asymmetric power relations between Roma and non-Roma. Elias's theory of established-outsider relations is applied at the intra-state European level in arguing that Roma constitute a cross-border "outsider" group; with their intense stigmatization explained and perpetuated by a common set of collective fantasies which are maintained through complex group processes of disidentification, and which result in Roma being seen as of lesser human worth. Wacquant's theoretical concept of the "ghetto" is then drawn upon to show how the manifestations of stigmatization for the stigmatized are at once psychological, social and spatial. The paper suggests that the synthesis of the two theorists' relational, theoretical concepts allows for an approach that can expose the way in which power is exercised within and through group relations. Such an approach emphasizes the centrality of the interdependence between Roma and non-Roma, and the fluctuating power balance that characterises that relationship across time and space. The paper concludes that, while existing research focused on policy and outcomes is useful in understanding the negative contemporary experiences of Roma populations, they need to be understood in the context of wider social processes and historical continuities in seeking to elucidate how these processes shape policies and contribute to social and spatial marginalization

Analysis of SEC9 Suppression Reveals a Relationship of SNARE Function to Cell Physiology

BACKGROUND:Growth and division of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is dependent on the action of SNARE proteins that are required for membrane fusion. SNAREs are regulated, through a poorly understood mechanism, to ensure membrane fusion at the correct time and place within a cell. Although fusion of secretory vesicles with the plasma membrane is important for yeast cell growth, the relationship between exocytic SNAREs and cell physiology has not been established. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Using genetic analysis, we identified several influences on the function of exocytic SNAREs. Genetic disruption of the V-ATPase, but not vacuolar proteolysis, can suppress two different temperature-sensitive mutations in SEC9. Suppression is unlikely due to increased SNARE complex formation because increasing SNARE complex formation, through overexpression of SRO7, does not result in suppression. We also observed suppression of sec9 mutations by growth on alkaline media or on a non-fermentable carbon source, conditions associated with a reduced growth rate of wild-type cells and decreased SNARE complex formation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Three main conclusions arise from our results. First, there is a genetic interaction between SEC9 and the V-ATPase, although it is unlikely that this interaction has functional significance with respect to membrane fusion or SNAREs. Second, Sro7p acts to promote SNARE complex formation. Finally, Sec9p function and SNARE complex formation are tightly coupled to the physiological state of the cell

Longitudinal maturation of auditory cortical function during adolescence

Cross-sectional studies have demonstrated that the cortical auditory evoked potential (CAEP) changes substantially in amplitude and latency from childhood to adulthood, suggesting that these aspects of the CAEP continue to mature through adolescence. However, no study to date has longitudinally followed maturation of these CAEP measures through this developmental period. Additionally, no study has examined the trial-to-trial variability of the CAEP during adolescence. Therefore, we longitudinally tracked changes in the latency, amplitude, and variability of the P1, N1, P2, and N2 components of the CAEP in 68 adolescents from age 14 years to age 17 years. Latency decreased for N1 and N2, and did not change for P1 or P2. Amplitude decreased for P1 and N2, increased for N1, and did not change for P2. Variability decreased with age for all CAEP components. These findings provide longitudinal support for the view that the human auditory system continues to mature through adolescence. Continued auditory system maturation through adolescence suggests that CAEP neural generators remain plastic during this age range and potentially amenable to experience-based enhancement or deprivation