Investigation of cyclicity of kinematic resolution methods for serial and parallel planar manipulators

Kinematic redundancy of manipulators is a well-understood topic, and various methods were developed for the redundancy resolution in order to solve the inverse kinematics problem, at least for serial manipulators. An important question, with high practical relevance, is whether the inverse kinematics solution is cyclic, i.e., whether the redundancy solution leads to a closed path in joint space as a solution of a closed path in task space. This paper investigates the cyclicity property of two widely used redundancy resolution methods, namely the projected gradient method (PGM) and the augmented Jacobian method (AJM), by means of examples. Both methods determine solutions that minimize an objective function, and from an application point of view, the sensitivity of the methods on the initial configuration is crucial. Numerical results are reported for redundant serial robotic arms and for redundant parallel kinematic manipulators. While the AJM is known to be cyclic, it turns out that also the PGM exhibits cyclicity. However, only the PGM converges to the local optimum of the objective function when starting from an initial configuration of the cyclic trajector

Development of a mechatronic system for the mirror therapy

This paper fits into the field of research concerning robotic systems for rehabilitation. Robotic systems are going to be increasingly used to assist fragile persons and to perform rehabilitation tasks for persons affected by motion injuries. Among the recovery therapies, the mirror therapy was shown to be effective for the functional recovery of an arm after stroke. In this paper we present a master/slave robotic device based on the mirror therapy paradigm for wrist rehabilitation. The device is designed to orient the affected wrist in real time according to the imposed motion of the healthy wrist. The paper shows the kinematic analysis of the system, the numerical simulations, an experimental mechatronic set-up, and a built 3D-printed prototype

Reconfiguration analysis of a 3-DOF parallel mechanism

This paper deals with the reconfiguration analysis of a 3-DOF (degrees-of-freedom) parallel manipulator (PM) which belongs to the cylindrical parallel mechanisms family. The PM is composed of a base and a moving platform shaped as equilateral triangles connected by three serial kinematic chains (legs). Two legs are composed of two universal (U) joints connected by a prismatic (P) joint. The third leg is composed of a revolute (R) joint connected to the base, a prismatic joint and universal joint in sequence. A set of constraint equations of the 1-RPU−2-UPU PM is derived and solved in terms of the Euler parameter quaternion (a.k.a. Euler-Rodrigues quaternion) representing the orientation of the moving platform and of the Cartesian coordinates of the reference point on the moving platform. It is found that the PM may undergo either the 3-DOF PPR or the 3-DOF planar operation mode only when the base and the moving platform are identical. The transition configuration between the operation modes is also identified

A synoptic study of phytoplankton in the deep lakes south of the Alps (lakes Garda, Iseo, Como, Lugano and Maggiore)

This paper presents a synoptic account of the most important results emerging from studies on the phytoplankton communities in the deep southern subalpine lakes Garda, Iseo, Como, Lugano and Maggiore (DSL) in the second half of the 1990s. At present, the trophogenic layers of these lakes are trophically different, ranging from the oligo-mesotrophy of lakes Maggiore and Garda to the meso-eutrophy of lakes Iseo and Lugano. The research confirmed the existence of a common pool of species developing in the DSL, as already suggested by early studies conducted on a seasonal basis from the end of the 1970s to the first half of the 1980s. However, multivariate analyses (Correspondence Analysis, CA, and a subsequent application of Non Metric Multidimensional Scaling) demonstrated that the species in this common pool were developing differently or exclusively along a geographic and a trophic gradient. The major differences in the geographic distribution were found between the easternmost lakes (Garda and Iseo) and those farthest to the West (Lugano and, partly, Maggiore), with intermediate characteristics in Lake Como. These differences were due mainly to changes in the dominance relationships and only secondarily to compositional changes. The detection of the ultimate causes of these differences should take into account other factors not considered in the paper (i.e. the specific analysis of the food webs, local climatic conditions, hydrology and seasonal input of nutrients). Despite the observed differences, common patterns in the sequence of seasonal assemblages in the DSL could be recognised and defined. The second gradient in the species distribution identified by CA was strongly correlated with the principal trophic descriptors (algal biomass and total phosphorus); this meant that the phytoplankton taxa could be ranked along a trophic spectrum, from oligotrophy to eutrophy. A brief examination of the main differences which have historically arisen with the progress of eutrophication in the DSL showed that the species identified in this study as being indicative of more eutrophic conditions were increasing in importance in some of the lakes

Defending the genome from the enemy within:mechanisms of retrotransposon suppression in the mouse germline

The viability of any species requires that the genome is kept stable as it is transmitted from generation to generation by the germ cells. One of the challenges to transgenerational genome stability is the potential mutagenic activity of transposable genetic elements, particularly retrotransposons. There are many different types of retrotransposon in mammalian genomes, and these target different points in germline development to amplify and integrate into new genomic locations. Germ cells, and their pluripotent developmental precursors, have evolved a variety of genome defence mechanisms that suppress retrotransposon activity and maintain genome stability across the generations. Here, we review recent advances in understanding how retrotransposon activity is suppressed in the mammalian germline, how genes involved in germline genome defence mechanisms are regulated, and the consequences of mutating these genome defence genes for the developing germline

Characterization of the mouse Dazap1 gene encoding an RNA-binding protein that interacts with infertility factors DAZ and DAZL

BACKGROUND: DAZAP1 (DAZ Associated Protein 1) was originally identified by a yeast two-hybrid system through its interaction with a putative male infertility factor, DAZ (Deleted in Azoospermia). In vitro, DAZAP1 interacts with both the Y chromosome-encoded DAZ and an autosome-encoded DAZ-like protein, DAZL. DAZAP1 contains two RNA-binding domains (RBDs) and a proline-rich C-terminal portion, and is expressed most abundantly in the testis. To understand the biological function of DAZAP1 and the significance of its interaction with DAZ and DAZL, we isolated and characterized the mouse Dazap1 gene, and studied its expression and the subcellular localization of its protein product. RESULTS: The human and mouse genes have similar genomic structures and map to syntenic chromosomal regions. The mouse and human DAZAP1 proteins share 98% identity and their sequences are highly similar to the Xenopus orthologue Prrp, especially in the RBDs. Dazap1 is expressed throughout testis development. Western blot detects a single 45 kD DAZAP1 protein that is most abundant in the testis. Although a majority of DAZAP1 is present in the cytoplasmic fraction, they are not associated with polyribosomes. CONCLUSIONS: DAZAP1 is evolutionarily highly conserved. Its predominant expression in testes suggests a role in spermatogenesis. Its subcellular localization indicates that it is not directly involved in mRNA translation

Differential Conservation and Divergence of Fertility Genes boule and dazl in the Rainbow Trout

10.1371/journal.pone.0015910PLoS ONE61