Proof-of-concept modular robot platform for cauliflower harvesting

This paper presents a proof-of-concept platform for demonstrating robotic harvesting of summer-varieties of cauliflower, and early tests performed under laboratory conditions. The platform is designed to be modular and has two dexterous robotic arms with variable-stiffness technology. The bi-manual configuration enables the separation of grasping and cutting behaviours into separate robot manipulators. By exploiting the passive compliance of the variable-stiffness arms, the system can operate with both grasping and cutting tool close to the ground. Multiple 3D vision cameras are used to track the cauliflowers in real-time, and to attempt to assess the maturity. Early experiments with the platform in the laboratory highlight the potential and challenges of the platform

Executive deficits in schizophrenia: mediation by processing speed and its relationships with aging

International audienceBackground: Executive deficits are a core characteristic of schizophrenia. Yet, the origin of these impairments remains unclear as they may be caused by processing slowing. This issue is of particular interest for aging insofar as cognitive aging is also associated with decline in executive functioning and a slowing of processing speed. As schizophrenia patients’ life expectancy increases, a better understanding of the origin of older patients’ cognitive deficits becomes essential so that healthcare can be adapted to suit them. This study aims to determine whether processing speed mediates how schizophrenia affects executive functions, and whether these relationships are moderated by age. Methods: Sixty-two schizophrenia patients (27 women) and 62 healthy comparison subjects matched for age (range: 18 to 76 years), gender and education performed neurocognitive tests to evaluate their executive functions (shifting, updating, inhibition and access) and processing speed.Results: Processing speed mediated the effect of schizophrenia on the four specific executive functions, and age moderated this mediation for shifting, updating and access, but in different ways. Age moderated the effect of processing speed on shifting, the direct effect of schizophrenia on access, and both the effect of processing speed and direct effect of schizophrenia on updating.Conclusions: This research highlights the need to evaluate processing speed routinely during therapeutic follow-up, as it is easy and simple to assess and appears to be at the heart of the cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Finally, processing speed abilities yield information about the evolution of cognition with aging in schizophrenia

Executive functions in schizophrenia aging: Differential effects of age within specific executive functions

International audienceThere are common cognitive and brain abnormalities in schizophrenia and healthy aging which may cumulate in schizophrenia aging. However, the course of executive deficits in late-life schizophrenia is still controversial as it remains unclear whether schizophrenia patients show accelerated aging. The use of specific models of executive functions might help to shed new lights on this issue. The aim of this study was then to determine how each of the four specific executive functions (shifting, updating, inhibition and access to long-term memory) is affected by aging in schizophrenia compared to healthy aging.20 younger (age 18-34), 17 middle-aged (age 35-49) and 25 older (age 59-76) schizophrenia patients and 62 healthy comparison participants matched for gender, age and education performed a neurocognitive battery evaluating the four specific executive functions.Schizophrenia patients performed worse than comparison participants on shifting, updating and access, whereas inhibition appeared preserved. Age affected the four functions with increased degradation of shifting and access in schizophrenia patients, whereas updating and inhibition showed a normal decline with age. These results suggest a vulnerability of prefrontal and cingulate cortexes in schizophrenia aging. Moreover, as age affected the specific executive functions differently, remediation programs should be adapted to older patients. Models of specific executive functions are useful for understanding the complexity of cognition in schizophrenia and its course during later life so that healthcare can be adapted accordingly

A robust optimization methodology for preliminary aircraft design

International audienceThis paper focuses on a robust optimization of an aircraft preliminary design under operational constraints. According to engineers know-how, the aircraft preliminary design problem can be modeled as an uncertain optimization problem whose objective (the cost or the fuel consumption) is almost affine, and whose constraints are convex. It is shown that this uncertain optimization problem can be approximated in a conservative manner by an uncertain linear optimization program, which enables the use of the techniques of robust linear programming from Ben-Tal, El Ghaoui, and Nemirovski (2009). This methodology is then applied to two real cases of aircraft design and numerical results are presented

Modeling of multi-edge effects in the case of laser shock loadings applied on thin foils: Application for material characterization of aluminum alloys

This article presents the study of the shock wave propagation through aluminum alloys (pure aluminum and aluminum 2024-T3) produced by laser plasma using experimental and numerical tests. Water confinement regime interaction, pulse duration (7.2 ns), and power density (1-5 GW / cm 2) range correspond to laser shock peening process configuration and parameters. To that scope, we simulate the shock wave propagation using non-linear explicit code LS-DYNA, which we validate with experimental results. Thereupon, we present a descriptive analysis that links separately the material model and loading conditions to the dynamic response of aluminum alloys under high strain rate laser shock by coupling the Johnson-Cook (J-C) material model with the Grüneisen equation of state (MAT_015 and EOS_GRUNEISEN accordingly). In addition, we make use of stress propagation into target thickness to analyze the origin of different points on the Back Face Velocity (BFV) profile during shock propagation. Finally, we provide evidence that 2D compressive effects do not depend only on the focal spot size or target thickness such as the edge effects but also on power density and material initial yield strength

Enhanced Elliptic Curve Scalar Multiplication Secure Against Side Channel Attacks and Safe Errors

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