Anthropomorphic finger for grasping applications: 3D printed endoskeleton in a soft skin

Application of soft and compliant joints in grasping mechanisms received an increasing attention during recent years. This article suggests the design and development of a novel bio-inspired compliant finger which is composed of a 3D printed rigid endoskeleton covered by a soft matter. The overall integrated system resembles a biological structure in which a finger presents an anthropomorphic look. The mechanical properties of such structure are enhanced through optimization of the repetitive geometrical structures that constructs a flexure bearing as a joint for the fingers. The endoskeleton is formed by additive manufacturing of such geometries with rigid materials. The geometry of the endoskeleton was studied by finite element analysis (FEA) to obtain the desired properties: high stiffness against lateral deflection and twisting, and low stiffness in the desired bending axis of the fingers. Results are validated by experimental analysis

Ameliorative effect of melatonin against contrast media induced renal tubular cell injury

Background and Objective: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a mediator of renal damage. Melatonin is a potent-free radical scavenger. Our objective was to test whether melatonin would protect against the nephrotoxicity of contrast media. Methods: In an experimental study 40 adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four equal groups including: 1) Control group (No drug), 2) Contrast media group (10 ml/kg iodixanol i.v. single dose), 3) Contrast media and melatonin (first 10 ml/kg iodixanol then 10 ml/kg/day melatonin by i.p. injection on days 3,4 and 5) and 4) Contrast media and melatonin pretreatment group (melatonin 10 ml/kg/day by i.p. injection on 1, 2 and 3 days, then 10 ml/kg iodixanol by i.v. injection on third day. The blood creatinine and BUN as well as the histological changes were evaluated for severity of renal injury (degeneration, vacuolization of tubular renal cells, dilatation of tubular lumen and presence of debris in the lumens), by scoring from one to four. Results: Contrast media significantly increased the creatinine and BUN and renal injury (p < 0.05). Melatonin prevented and reversed the injury induced by contrast media (P < 0.05). Pretreatment with melatonin reduced the renal injury induced by contrast media (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Melatonin is an effective drug to prevent contrast-induced renal injury. Therefore its usage (especially pretreatment) might be beneficial in patients who are planning to use contrast media agents

Bioleaching of Low Grade Uranium Ore of Saghand Mine

ABSTRACT: This study deals with bioleaching of the low grade uranium ore of Saghand mine in Iran using a mixed culture of mesophilic bacteria (Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans and Leptospirillum ferrooxidans). Experiments were carried out in shaking flask examining the effect of temperature, initial ferrous ion concentration, pulp density and particle size. Variations of pH, Eh, ferrous ion concentration, cells growth and uranium extraction were monitored. The highest rates of leaching and extraction were obtained at 35ºC, 2.5% (w/v) pulp density, 4 g/l ferrous ion and -106µm particle size

A climbing robot for inspection of 3D human made structures

3DCLIMBER is a running project in the University of Coimbra for developing a climbing robot with the capability of manipulating over 3D human-made structures. This paper mainly discuss the conceptual and detailed design and development of a Pole Climbing robot with minimum degrees of freedom which can climb over 3D structures with bends and branches followed by Preliminary test results of the robot performance. Electronics architecture and control algorithms are briefly described. The paper finishes with discussion of the current results and identifies some future works

Effect of Nano silis elicitor on Anti-inflammatory compound and some morphophysiological characters in saffron

The application of nanotechnology is a novel way of plant nutrition and a valuable technique to reduce environmental hazards by increasing yields in different agricultural sectors. In order to evaluate the content of secondary metabolites and some physiological traits of saffron a completely randomized design with 5 replications was conducted in a greenhouse, under the influence on 2 mM nano elicitor of silica concentration. The results showed that the highest amounts of crocin, picrocrocin, crocetin and safranal were obtained by nano silica treatment with 29.65%, 24.62%, 0.06% and 0.08%, respectively. The most value of inhibitory power of IC50 was due to the application of nano-silica treatment. The highest activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase was observed in nano silica and the lowest in control. The highest amount of hydrogen peroxide was observed in 2 mM nano silica treatment with 19.85 (μmol/g). The highest proline content was 57.20 μmol/g and the highest amount of hydrogen peroxide was 68.57% in 2 mM nano silica. The highest amounts of chlorophyll a, b and total were obtained with 9.78, 2.91, and 13.02 mg / g in 2 mM nano silica, respectively. Keywords: antioxidant enzymes, picrocrocin, proline, safranal, photosynthetic pigments, croci

BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AND FISHERIES INDICES OF BELUGA STURGEON Huso Huso IN THE SOUTHERN CASPIAN SEA

Postoji značajan nedostatak podataka o biološkim parametrima morune Huso huso, najveće ribe u Kaspijskom moru. Ovim istraživanjem određivala se dob i indeksi rasta morune u svrhu procjene stanja njenog fonda u južnom Kaspijskom bazenu Irana od 1990. do 2011. Duljina vilice kretala se u rasponu između 113-420 cm, a masa od 8,0 do 725,0 kg. Parametri rasta bili su L∞ = 440 cm, K = 0,027 godina−1, t0 = - 5,8 godina. Dob pri prvom ulovu (tc) bila je 13,1 godina. Podaci o dugoročnoj strukturi dobi morune ukazali su na dob do 63 godine, a jedinke u dobi od 12-19 godina sačinjavale su 76,7% ukupnog ulova. Dužina generacije bila je 33 godine. Vrijednosti KF indeksa bile su blizu 1 ili > 1, što ukazuje da je moruna u povoljnom kondicijskom stanju u južnom Kaspijskom moru. Raspodjela vrijednosti dužine morune ukazala je kako 24,2% ulova čine juvenilni primjerci. Natemelju dobne strukture i dobi pri spolnom sazrijevanju, novačenje i prekomjerni ribolov utjecali su na zalihe morune. Ovim se, u budućim ribarstvenim politikama, preporuća povećati dužinu ili starost morune pri ribolovu. Mega-mrijesni primjerci morune su predstavljali 4,4% ulovljene ribe, što ukazuje na neujednačenu strukturu populacije.There is a significant lack of data for the biological parameters of beluga or great sturgeon, the largest fish in the Caspian Sea. The age, growth and fisheries indices for the stock status of beluga was investigated in the south Caspian Basin of Iran between 1990 and 2011. Fork lengths ranged between 113-420 cm and weights from 8.0 to 725.0 kg. The growth parameters were L∞ = 440 cm, K = 0.027 year−1, t = − 5.8 years. The age at first capture0(tc) was 13.1 years. The long-term age composition data showed age up to 63 years, and the ages 12-19 years comprised 76.7% of the total catch. The generation length was 33 years. The values of “KF” were close to 1 or >1, indicating that beluga sturgeon is in a favorable condition in the southern Caspian Sea. The length distribution showed that 24.2% of the catch is comprised of juveniles. Based on the age structure and age at first maturity, recruitment and growth overfishing occurred in beluga stocks. Therefore, increased length or age at first capture in future fishery policies should be implemented. The mega-spawners represented 4.4% of the fish captured and revealed an unhealthy population structure

Extremity war injuries: A retrospective study of the Iran-Iraq war

Background: Warfare is an immense destruction of human life and infrastructure. Wide-scale trauma is a gigantic problem, and the latest war trends are toward targeting more civilians. Injuries in war are multifactorial depending mostly on arms engaged. The objective of this study was to examine the characteristics of extremity injuries in the Iran-Iraq war. The important principle is recognizing injury types, mechanism of trauma, and factors influencing complications in extremity injuries of war. Methods: In this retrospective study, we reviewed documents of 8437 patients who were transported and treated in Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, during 8-year Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988. 7352 patients with physical injuries were selected as a sample. Data collection form included type, mechanism, and location of the injury, associated lesions, and the treatment given. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics (frequency and mean) using SPSS software. Results: Medical archive review identified 8437 patients, 7352 sustaining physical trauma and 4926 among them had 6601 extremity injuries. Mean age of the patients sustaining extremity injury was 23 years. 74 (4885) of the injuries were caused by shrapnel fragments, 12 (792) were caused by bullets and rest 14 were due to various other causes. There were 53.9 (3561/6601) fractures among the total injuries, most commonly involving femur (19.9). Fracture fixation with 66.3 (1394/2103) was the most common type of orthopedic treatment provided. In addition, 20.6 (1359/6601) injuries were related to arterial lesions and 32 (2112/6601) were accompanied with nerve damage. Conclusion: Extremity injury is a major trauma in war zones and leads to high rate of morbidity; however, if appropriate care and timely assistance are provided, it has low risk of death. Understanding type, frequency, and mechanism of injury and factors influencing trauma is of extreme importance in appropriate management and avoiding unnecessary amputations

Performance analysis and design of parallel kinematic machines using interval analysis

International audienceSome design methodologies for Parallel Kinematic Machines (PKM) have been proposed but with limitations regarding two main problems: how to improve multiple properties of different nature such as accuracy, force or singularity poses, and how to check these properties for all poses inside the PKM workspace. To address these problems, this work proposes to formulate the design problem as a feasibility problem and use a data representation which takes into account the uncertainty or variation of the involved parameters. This method, based on interval analysis, allows to evaluate several performance indexes of a PKM design. For validation purposes, this methodology is applied to a PKM, obtaining a continuous set of possible kinematic parameters values for its architecture which is capable of fulfilling several performance requirements over a desired workspace

Stock assessment of sturgeon fishes in the southern part of Caspian Sea (Iranian water)

The marine survey for sturgeon stock assessment was conducted in summer, winter and spring in the years 2006 and 2009 to estimate the relative and absolute abundance and percentage composition of each species in the Guilan, Mazandaran and Golestan Provinces. This survey was carried out in the Iranian waters of the Caspian Sea on board the Sisara2 and Guilan vessels using trawl nets at 2-100 m depths. Trawling was carried out in 85 stations that were selected using a stratified random design. The number of stations in each scope was based on the area of the scope in terms of the total area. Trawling and sampling in shallow water up to 10 m were carried out using 9 m trawl nets whereas 24.7 m trawl nets were used for depths more than 10 m. Trawl surveys were carried out in the daytime. Trawling velocity was kept at 2.5-3 kts and trawls lasted half an hour in order to calculate abundance, and biomass of sturgeons using the swept area method. Catch per unit area (CPUA) in the winter 2006 survey was 3853 specimens nm^2 , in the summer and winter 2007 survey was 1854 , 2912 specimens nm^2 at depths less than 10 m respectively . CPUA for sturgeons in spring 2008 survey was 2103 specimens nm2 at depths less than 10 m and 393 specimens nm2 at depths greater than 10 m (10-100 m depth). These values in the winter 2008 survey dropped to 44 specimens nm^2 at depths at depths above 10 m. CPUA for sturgeons in the spring 2009 survey was 300 specimens nm^2 at depths less than 10 m and 307 specimens nm^2 at depths greater than 10 m. In all the surveys conducted CPUA for A. persicus was higher than that for the other sturgeon species. Based on the calculations carried out in the marine survey in winter 2006 the estimated absolute abundance for sturgeons was about 2977.363 thousand. The total biomass of sturgeon was estimated as 131.713 tons. In the summer 2007 survey total abundance was estimated 1432.398 thousand, and total biomass of sturgeons was estimated at about 312.161 tons. In the winter 2007 survey total abundance for sturgeons was estimated at about 2250.105 thousand, and total biomass was estimated 578.08 tons. In the spring 2008 survey total abundance was estimated at about 3002.832 thousand. The total biomass was estimated at about 2533.318 tons .In the winter 2008 survey total abundance was estimated at about 152.722 thousand, and total biomass in winter 2008 was estimated 170.540 tons. Total abundance in spring 2009 survey was 1310.232 thousand and total biomass was estimated at 2019.tons. Investigation of stomach content of sturgeon Acipenser persicus caught under 10m depth in 2006 to 2007 surveys showed that there is significant difference in the consumed food. Polychaeta is the major food consumed and crustacean an the minor one(P>0.05).Also no new types of food( such as bony fishes or benthic) have been observed in food chain of Acipenser persicus only the food consumption rate has been related to the season of year and increases or decreases in warm or cold seasons, respectively For physiological study and determination of sexual maturation stages in sturgeon,119 gonad sampling prepared. The results showed that 63 % of fishes were females and 37 % of them were males. Gill microscopic study shows complications such as hyperplasia, curvature, adhesion, embowed, shorting and lengthen of secondary filaments and fraught bloody. Microscopic study on liver indicates signs of cloudy inflammation, fatty degeneration, dispersion of billed secretions and cell atrophy. The population genetic structure of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) in Sefidrood and Gorganrood rivers watershed analyzed based on microsatellite markers during sturgeons assessment in 2006-2008. Results showed that Acipenser persicus in two region of south part of Caspian Sea are two independent populations

Global, regional, and national incidence of six major immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: findings from the global burden of disease study 2019

BACKGROUND: The causes for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are diverse and the incidence trends of IMIDs from specific causes are rarely studied. The study aims to investigate the pattern and trend of IMIDs from 1990 to 2019. METHODS: We collected detailed information on six major causes of IMIDs, including asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis, between 1990 and 2019, derived from the Global Burden of Disease study in 2019. The average annual percent change (AAPC) in number of incidents and age standardized incidence rate (ASR) on IMIDs, by sex, age, region, and causes, were calculated to quantify the temporal trends. FINDINGS: In 2019, rheumatoid arthritis, atopic dermatitis, asthma, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease accounted 1.59%, 36.17%, 54.71%, 0.09%, 6.84%, 0.60% of overall new IMIDs cases, respectively. The ASR of IMIDs showed substantial regional and global variation with the highest in High SDI region, High-income North America, and United States of America. Throughout human lifespan, the age distribution of incident cases from six IMIDs was quite different. Globally, incident cases of IMIDs increased with an AAPC of 0.68 and the ASR decreased with an AAPC of −0.34 from 1990 to 2019. The incident cases increased across six IMIDs, the ASR of rheumatoid arthritis increased (0.21, 95% CI 0.18, 0.25), while the ASR of asthma (AAPC = −0.41), inflammatory bowel disease (AAPC = −0.72), multiple sclerosis (AAPC = −0.26), psoriasis (AAPC = −0.77), and atopic dermatitis (AAPC = −0.15) decreased. The ASR of overall and six individual IMID increased with SDI at regional and global level. Countries with higher ASR in 1990 experienced a more rapid decrease in ASR. INTERPRETATION: The incidence patterns of IMIDs varied considerably across the world. Innovative prevention and integrative management strategy are urgently needed to mitigate the increasing ASR of rheumatoid arthritis and upsurging new cases of other five IMIDs, respectively. FUNDING: The Global Burden of Disease Study is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The project funded by Scientific Research Fund of Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital (2022QN38)