Coordination of two robot manipulators based on position measurements only

In this note we propose a controller that solves the problem of coordination of two (or more) robots, under a master-slave scheme, in the case when only position measurements are available. The controller consists of a feedback control law, and two non-linear observers. It is shown that the controller yields ultimate uniformly boundedness of the closed loop errors, a relation between this bound and the gains on the controller is established. Simulation results on two twolink robot systems show the predicted convergence performance

Race and Health Disparities Among Seniors in Urban Areas in Brazil

White seniors report better health than Black seniors in urban areas in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This is the case even after controlling for baseline health conditions and several demographic, socio-economic and family support characteristics. Furthermore, adjusted racial disparities in self-reported health are larger than the disparities found using alternative measures of functional health. Our empirical research in this paper suggests that the two most important factors driving racial disparities in health among seniors (in our sample) are historical differences in rural living conditions and current income. Present economic conditions are more relevant to racial disparities among poor seniors than among rich seniors. Moreover, racial differences in health not attributable to observable characteristics are more important when comparing individuals in the upper half of the income distribution.

Valorisation of the liquid fraction from hydrothermal carbonisation of sewage sludge by anaerobic digestion

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology 93.2 (2018): 450-456, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/jctb.5375. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived VersionsBACKGROUND: The mesophilic anaerobic digestion of the liquid fraction from hydrothermal carbonisation (208°C, 1 h) of dehydrated sewage sludge has been studied. Two initial inoculum concentrations (IC) (10 and 25 g COD L-1) and four inoculum to substrate ratios (ISR) (2, 1, 0.5 and 0.4 on a COD basis) have been selected to analyse their influence on the evolution of the anaerobic digestion process. RESULTS: The substrate is characterised by a high COD (95.5 g L-1) and TKN (8.7 g N L-1) values. High inoculum concentration (25 g COD L-1) and/or low ISR (≤ 0.5) inhibited methanogenesis due to the high ammonia nitrogen (1.4 g TAN L-1) and VFA (>4 g COD L-1) released. For the inhibited samples final COD removals lower than 15% and IA/TA ratios higher than 0.3 were found. The greatest methane yield (177±5 mL CH4 STP g-1 CODadded) was achieved at 25 g COD L-1 of IC and at an ISR of 2. CONCLUSION: During anaerobic digestion of the liquid fraction from the hydrothermal carbonisation of sewage sludge, the IC and ISR must be adequately selected for proper operation of the process and successful valorisation. According to the results, working at an ISR ≥ 1 is recommendedThe authors wish to express their gratitude to the UAM-Santander (Project CEAL-AL/2015-29) and Spanish MINECO (CTM2016-76564-R) for providing financial support. MA de la Rubia acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (RYC-2013-12549

Redesign of an informed consent form to increase participation in a school-based dental program

Objectives The study aimed to determine if modifications to the design of a consent form and consenting process increased participation rates in the Indiana University School of Dentistry's Mobile School-Based Dental Program (Seal Indiana). Methods Kaizen methodology was followed to identify problem areas in the consenting process. Additionally, stakeholders were invited to participate in focus groups and fill out surveys to identify issues preventing participation in the Seal Indiana program (N = 48) and later to evaluate the changes made (N = 48). The redesigned form and process were then used in a pilot study at 14 sites to determine the impact that changes had on levels of participation as measured by the number of consent forms completed and returned. Results There was a statistically significant increase in the number of consent forms returned. The measured change represented a 32 percent increase in program participation (P value = 0.035). A statistically significant increase was observed in how participants viewed the attractiveness of the form and how easy it was to read and comprehend. Conclusions In order to increase consenting rates, our results indicate modifications to the consent form should be focused on the following characteristics: esthetics, ease of reading and comprehending information, and making the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA) privacy regulations easier to read and comprehend

Personality Disorders and Health Problems Distinguish Suicide Attempters from Completers in a Direct Comparison

Background Whether suicide attempters and completers represent the same population evaluated at different points along a progression towards suicide death, overlapping populations, or completely different populations is a problem still unresolved. Methods 446 Adult suicide attempters and knowledgeable collateral informants for 190 adult suicide probands were interviewed. Sociodemographic and clinical data was collected for both groups using semi-structured interviews and structured assessments. Univariate analyses and logistic regression models were conducted to explore the similarities and differences between suicide attempters and completers. Results Univariate analyses yielded significant differences in sociodemographics, recent life events, impulsivity, suicide intent, and distribution of Axis I and II disorders. A logistic regression model aimed at distinguishing suicide completers from attempters properly classified 90% of subjects. The most significant variables that distinguished suicide from attempted suicide were the presence of narcissistic personality disorder (OR=21.4; 95% CI=6.8–67.7), health problems (OR=20.6; 95% CI=5.6–75.9), male sex (OR=9.6; 95% CI=4.42–20.9), and alcohol abuse (OR=5.5; 95% CI=2.3–14.2). Limitations Our study shares the limitations of studies comparing suicide attempters and completers, namely that information from attempters can be obtained from the subject himself, whereas the assessment of completers depends on information from close family or friends. Furthermore, different semi-structured instruments assessed Axis I and Axis II disorders in suicide attempters and completers. Finally, we have no data on inter-rater reliability data. Conclusions Suicide completers are more likely to be male and suffer from alcohol abuse, health problems (e.g. somatic illness), and narcissistic personality disorder. The findings emphasize the importance of implementing suicide prevention programs tailored to suicide attempters and completers