9,524 research outputs found
Force reflecting hand controller
A universal input device for interfacing a human operator with a slave machine such as a robot or the like includes a plurality of serially connected mechanical links extending from a base. A handgrip is connected to the mechanical links distal from the base such that a human operator may grasp the handgrip and control the position thereof relative to the base through the mechanical links. A plurality of rotary joints is arranged to connect the mechanical links together to provide at least three translational degrees of freedom and at least three rotational degrees of freedom of motion of the handgrip relative to the base. A cable and pulley assembly for each joint is connected to a corresponding motor for transmitting forces from the slave machine to the handgrip to provide kinesthetic feedback to the operator and for producing control signals that may be transmitted from the handgrip to the slave machine. The device gives excellent kinesthetic feedback, high-fidelity force/torque feedback, a kinematically simple structure, mechanically decoupled motion in all six degrees of freedom, and zero backlash. The device also has a much larger work envelope, greater stiffness and responsiveness, smaller stowage volume, and better overlap of the human operator's range of motion than previous designs
Methods for suspensions of passive and active filaments
Flexible filaments and fibres are essential components of important complex
fluids that appear in many biological and industrial settings. Direct
simulations of these systems that capture the motion and deformation of many
immersed filaments in suspension remain a formidable computational challenge
due to the complex, coupled fluid--structure interactions of all filaments, the
numerical stiffness associated with filament bending, and the various
constraints that must be maintained as the filaments deform. In this paper, we
address these challenges by describing filament kinematics using quaternions to
resolve both bending and twisting, applying implicit time-integration to
alleviate numerical stiffness, and using quasi-Newton methods to obtain
solutions to the resulting system of nonlinear equations. In particular, we
employ geometric time integration to ensure that the quaternions remain unit as
the filaments move. We also show that our framework can be used with a variety
of models and methods, including matrix-free fast methods, that resolve low
Reynolds number hydrodynamic interactions. We provide a series of tests and
example simulations to demonstrate the performance and possible applications of
our method. Finally, we provide a link to a MATLAB/Octave implementation of our
framework that can be used to learn more about our approach and as a tool for
filament simulation
Centrifugal Breakout of Magnetically Confined Line-Driven Stellar Winds
We present 2D MHD simulations of the radiatively driven outflow from a
rotating hot star with a dipole magnetic field aligned with the star's rotation
axis. We focus primarily on a model with moderately rapid rotation (half the
critical value), and also a large magnetic confinement parameter, . The magnetic field
channels and torques the wind outflow into an equatorial, rigidly rotating disk
extending from near the Kepler corotation radius outwards. Even with
fine-tuning at lower magnetic confinement, none of the MHD models produce a
stable Keplerian disk. Instead, material below the Kepler radius falls back on
to the stellar surface, while the strong centrifugal force on material beyond
the corotation escape radius stretches the magnetic loops outwards, leading to
episodic breakout of mass when the field reconnects. The associated dissipation
of magnetic energy heats material to temperatures of nearly K, high
enough to emit hard (several keV) X-rays. Such \emph{centrifugal mass ejection}
represents a novel mechanism for driving magnetic reconnection, and seems a
very promising basis for modeling X-ray flares recently observed in rotating
magnetic Bp stars like Ori E.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted by ApJ
A Minimalist Turbulent Boundary Layer Model
We introduce an elementary model of a turbulent boundary layer over a flat
surface, given as a vertical random distribution of spanwise Lamb-Oseen vortex
configurations placed over a non-slip boundary condition line. We are able to
reproduce several important features of realistic flows, such as the viscous
and logarithmic boundary sublayers, and the general behavior of the first
statistical moments (turbulent intensity, skewness and flatness) of the
streamwise velocity fluctuations. As an application, we advance some heuristic
considerations on the boundary layer underlying kinematics that could be
associated with the phenomenon of drag reduction by polymers, finding a
suggestive support from its experimental signatures.Comment: 5 pages, 10 figure
Phylogenetic assessment of filoviruses: how many lineages of Marburg virus?
This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.Filoviruses have to date been considered as consisting of one diverse genus (Ebola viruses) and one undifferentiated genus (Marburg virus). We reconsider this idea by means of detailed phylogenetic analyses of sequence data available for the Filoviridae: using coalescent simulations, we ascertain that two Marburg isolates (termed the “RAVN” strain) represent a quite-distinct lineage that should be considered in studies of biogeography and host associations, and may merit recognition at the level of species. In contrast, filovirus isolates recently obtained from bat tissues are not distinct from previously known strains, and should be considered as drawn from the same population. Implications for understanding the transmission geography and host associations of these viruses are discussed.Funded in part by a grant from the National
Institutes of Health (R01 TW 8859-3)
On a self-sustained process at large scale in the turbulent channel flow
Large-scale motions, important in turbulent shear flows, are frequently
attributed to the interaction of structures at smaller scale. Here we show
that, in a turbulent channel at Re_{\tau} \approx 550, large-scale motions can
self-sustain even when smaller-scale structures populating the near-wall and
logarithmic regions are artificially quenched. This large-scale self-sustained
mechanism is not active in periodic boxes of width smaller than Lz ~ 1.5h or
length shorter than Lx ~ 3h which correspond well to the most energetic large
scales observed in the turbulent channel
Coexpression of rat P2X2 and P2X6 subunits in Xenopus oocytes.
Transcripts for P2X(2) and P2X(6) subunits are present in rat CNS and frequently colocalize in the same brainstem nuclei. When rat P2X(2) (rP2X(2)) and rat P2X(6) (rP2X(6)) receptors were expressed individually in Xenopus oocytes and studied under voltage-clamp conditions, only homomeric rP2X(2) receptors were fully functional and gave rise to large inward currents (2-3 microA) to extracellular ATP. Coexpression of rP2X(2) and rP2X(6) subunits in Xenopus oocytes resulted in a heteromeric rP2X(2/6) receptor, which showed a significantly different phenotype from the wild-type rP2X(2) receptor. Differences included reduction in agonist potencies and, in some cases (e.g., Ap(4)A), significant loss of agonist activity. ATP-evoked inward currents were biphasic at the heteromeric rP2X(2/6) receptor, particularly when Zn(2+) ions were present or extracellular pH was lowered. The pH range was narrower for H(+) enhancement of ATP responses at the heteromeric rP2X(2/6) receptor. Also, H(+) ions inhibited ATP responses at low pH levels (<pH 6.3). The pH-dependent blocking activity of suramin was changed at this heteromeric receptor, although the potentiating effect of Zn(2+) on ATP responses was unchanged. Thus, the rP2X(2/6) receptor is a functionally modified P2X(2)-like receptor with a distinct pattern of pH modulation of ATP activation and suramin blockade. Although homomeric P2X(6) receptors function poorly, the P2X(6) subunit can contribute to functional heteromeric P2X channels and may influence the phenotype of native P2X receptors in those cells in which it is expressed
K-ATP channel gene expression is induced by urocortin and mediates its cardioprotective effect
Background-Urocortin is a novel cardioprotective agent that can protect cardiac myocytes from the damaging effects of ischemia/reperfusion both in culture and in the intact heart and is effective when given at reperfusion.Methods and Results-We have analyzed global changes in gone expression in cardiac myocytes after urocortin treatment using gene chip technology. We report that urocortin specifically induces enhanced expression of the Kir 6.1 cardiac potassium channel subunit. On the basis of this finding, we showed that the cardioprotective effect of urocortin both in isolated cardiac cells and in the intact heart is specifically blocked by both generalized and mitochondrial-specific K-ATP channel blockers, whereas the cardioprotective effect of cardiotrophin-1 is unaffected. Conversely, inhibiting the Kir 6.1 channel subunit greatly enhances cardiac cell death after ischemia.Conclusions-This is, to our knowledge, the first report of the altered expression of a K-ATP. channel subunit induced by a cardioprotective agent and demonstrates that K-ATP, channel opening is essential for the effect of this novel cardioprotective agent
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