Two-Armed, Mobile, Sensate Research Robot

The Anthropomorphic Robotic Testbed (ART) is an experimental prototype of a partly anthropomorphic, humanoid-size, mobile robot. The basic ART design concept provides for a combination of two-armed coordination, tactility, stereoscopic vision, mobility with navigation and avoidance of obstacles, and natural-language communication, so that the ART could emulate humans in many activities. The ART could be developed into a variety of highly capable robotic assistants for general or specific applications. There is especially great potential for the development of ART-based robots as substitutes for live-in health-care aides for home-bound persons who are aged, infirm, or physically handicapped; these robots could greatly reduce the cost of home health care and extend the term of independent living. The ART is a fully autonomous and untethered system. It includes a mobile base on which is mounted an extensible torso topped by a head, shoulders, and two arms. All subsystems of the ART are powered by a rechargeable, removable battery pack. The mobile base is a differentially- driven, nonholonomic vehicle capable of a speed >1 m/s and can handle a payload >100 kg. The base can be controlled manually, in forward/backward and/or simultaneous rotational motion, by use of a joystick. Alternatively, the motion of the base can be controlled autonomously by an onboard navigational computer. By retraction or extension of the torso, the head height of the ART can be adjusted from 5 ft (1.5 m) to 6 1/2 ft (2 m), so that the arms can reach either the floor or high shelves, or some ceilings. The arms are symmetrical. Each arm (including the wrist) has a total of six rotary axes like those of the human shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints. The arms are actuated by electric motors in combination with brakes and gas-spring assists on the shoulder and elbow joints. The arms are operated under closed-loop digital control. A receptacle for an end effector is mounted on the tip of the wrist and contains a force-and-torque sensor that provides feedback for force (compliance) control of the arm. The end effector could be a tool or a robot hand, depending on the application

Differences in duration of anticoagulation after pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis: Findings from the SWIss Venous ThromboEmbolism Registry (SWIVTER).

Although the two manifestations of venous thromboembolism (VTE), deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), vary considerably, the consensus guidelines recommend similar algorithms for therapeutic anticoagulation in both conditions. Real-world data assessing contemporary management strategies in PE and DVT alone may help tailoring future recommendations towards more individualized patient care. In the present analysis, we compared demographics, comorbidities, treatment patterns, and clinical outcomes of PE versus DVT only among 2062 consecutive patients with confirmed VTE enrolled by 11 acute care hospitals between November 2012 and February 2015 in the SWIss Venous ThromboEmbolism Registry (SWIVTER). Overall, 1246 (60 %) patients were diagnosed with PE. In comparison to DVT alone, PE patients were older (66 vs. 59 years; p < 0.001), more frequently had acute and chronic comorbidities, less frequently had prior VTE and hormone replacement, and were less often pregnant. VTE was considered similarly often provoked in patients with PE and DVT alone (33.8 % vs. 33.5 %; p = 0.88). Anticoagulation for an indefinite duration was more often prescribed to patients with PE than those with DVT alone (45.7 vs. 19.6 %; p < 0.001), and PE diagnosis was the strongest independent predictor of indefinite anticoagulation (OR 3.21; 95 % CI 2.55-4.06; p < 0.001). Diagnosis of PE was associated with both increased risk of 90-day mortality (HR 2.31, 95 % CI 1.44-3.71; p = 0.001) and major bleeding (HR 3.88, 95 % CI 1.63-9.22; p = 0.002). Our analysis affirms differences in demographics, risk factors, and clinical outcomes of PE versus DVT alone. In routine clinical practice, duration of anticoagulation is being managed differently between the two manifestations of VTE, in contrast to recommendations of the current consensus guidelines

Experimental analysis of gas-sensitive Braitenberg vehicles

This article addresses the problem of localizing a static gas source in an indoor environment by a mobile robot. In contrast to previous works, the environment is not artificially ventilated to produce a strong unidirectional airflow. Here, the dominant transport mechanisms of gas molecules are turbulence and convection flow rather than diffusion, which results in a patchy, chaotically fluctuating gas distribution. Two Braitenberg-type strategies (positive and negative tropotaxis) based on the instantaneously measured spatial concentration gradient were investigated. Both strategies were shown to be of potential use for gas source localization. As a possible solution to the problem of gas source declaration (the task of determining with certainty that the gas source has been found), an indirect localization strategy based on exploration and concentration peak avoidance is suggested. Here, a gas source is located by exploiting the fact that local concentration maxima occur more frequently near the gas source compared to distant regions

Reproducibility and day time bias correction of optoelectronic leg volumetry: a prospective cohort study

Background Leg edema is a common manifestation of various underlying pathologies. Reliable measurement tools are required to quantify edema and monitor therapeutic interventions. Aim of the present work was to investigate the reproducibility of optoelectronic leg volumetry over 3 weeks' time period and to eliminate daytime related within-individual variability. Methods Optoelectronic leg volumetry was performed in 63 hairdressers (mean age 45 ± 16 years, 85.7% female) in standing position twice within a minute for each leg and repeated after 3 weeks. Both lower leg (legBD) and whole limb (limbBF) volumetry were analysed. Reproducibility was expressed as analytical and within-individual coefficients of variance (CVA, CVW), and as intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). Results A total of 492 leg volume measurements were analysed. Both legBD and limbBF volumetry were highly reproducible with CVA of 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively. Within-individual reproducibility of legBD and limbBF volumetry over a three weeks' period was high (CVW 1.3% for both; ICC 0.99 for both). At both visits, the second measurement revealed a significantly higher volume compared to the first measurement with a mean increase of 7.3 ml ± 14.1 (0.33% ± 0.58%) for legBD and 30.1 ml ± 48.5 ml (0.52% ± 0.79%) for limbBF volume. A significant linear correlation between absolute and relative leg volume differences and the difference of exact day time of measurement between the two study visits was found (P < .001). A therefore determined time-correction formula permitted further improvement of CVW. Conclusions Leg volume changes can be reliably assessed by optoelectronic leg volumetry at a single time point and over a 3 weeks' time period. However, volumetry results are biased by orthostatic and daytime-related volume changes. The bias for day-time related volume changes can be minimized by a time-correction formula

Lysophosphatides enhance superoxide responses of stimulated human neutrophils

Human neutrophils which are pretreated with subtoxic concentrations of a variety of lysophosphatides (lysophosphatidytcholine, lysophosphatidylcholine oleoyl, lysophosphatidylcholine myrioyl, lysophosphatidylcholine stearoyl, lysophosphatidylcholine gamma- O -hexadecyl, lysophosphatidylinositol, and lysophosphatidylglycerol) act synergistically with neutrophil agonists phorbol myristate acetate, immune complexes, poly- L -histidine, phytohemagglutinin, and N -formyl methionyl-leucyl-phenyalanine to cause enhanced generation of superoxide (O 2 − ). None of the lyso compounds by themselves caused generation of O 2 − . The lyso compounds strongly bound to the neutrophils and could not be washed away. All of the lyso compounds that collaborated with agonists to stimulate O 2 − generation were hemolytic for human red blood cells. On the other hand, lyso compounds that were nonhemolytic for red blood cells (lysophosphatidylcholine caproate, lysophosphatidylcholine decanoyl, lysophosphatidylethanolamine, lysophosphatidylserine) failed to collaborate with agonists to generate synergistic amounts of O 2 − . However, in the presence of cytochalasin B, both lysophosphatidyiethanolamine and lysophosphatidylserine also markedly enhanced O 2 − generation induced by immune complexes. O 2 − generation was also very markedly enhanced when substimulatory amounts of arachidonic acid or eicosapentanoic acid were added to PMNs in the presence of a variety of agonists. On the other hand, neither phospholipase C, streptolysin S (highly hemolytic), phospholipase A 2 , phosphatidylcholine, nor phosphatidylcholine dipalmitoyl (all nonhemolytic) had the capacity to synergize with any of the agonists tested to generate enhanced amounts of O 2 − . The data suggest that in addition to long-chain fatty acids, only those lyso compounds that possess fatty acids with more than 10 carbons and that are also highly hemolytic can cause enhanced generation of O 2 − in stimulated PMNs.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44499/1/10753_2004_Article_BF00924787.pd

Asymmetric Dimethylarginine, Endothelial Nitric Oxide Bioavailability and Mortality in Sepsis

Background: Plasma concentrations of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxidesynthase, are raised in patients with chronic vascular disease, causing increased cardiovascular risk and endothelialdysfunction, but the role of ADMA in acute inflammatory states is less well defined.Methods and Results: In a prospective longitudinal study in 67 patients with acute sepsis and 31 controls, digitalmicrovascular reactivity was measured by peripheral arterial tonometry and blood was collected at baseline and 2&ndash;4 dayslater. Plasma ADMA and L-arginine concentrations were determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Baselineplasma L-arginine: ADMA ratio was significantly lower in sepsis patients (median [IQR] 63 [45&ndash;103]) than in hospital controls(143 [123&ndash;166], p,0.0001) and correlated with microvascular reactivity (r = 0.34, R2 = 0.12, p = 0.02). Baseline plasma ADMAwas independently associated with 28-day mortality (Odds ratio [95% CI] for death in those in the highest quartile($0.66 mmol/L) = 20.8 [2.2&ndash;195.0], p = 0.008), and was independently correlated with severity of organ failure. Increase inADMA over time correlated with increase in organ failure and decrease in microvascular reactivity.Conclusions: Impaired endothelial and microvascular function due to decreased endothelial NO bioavailability is a potentialmechanism linking increased plasma ADMA with organ failure and death in sepsis

Einfluss des Phasenwechsels und der Dichteanomalie des Wassers auf die Waerme- und Stoffuebertragung durch Zellularkonvektion unter abschmelzendem Eis Abschlussbericht

TIB: RO 2172 (1985,1) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Accuracy of frozen section analysis versus specimen radiography during breast-conserving surgery for nonpalpable lesions

BACKGROUND: Whereas specimen radiography (SR) is an established strategy for intraoperative resection margin analysis during breast-conserving surgery for nonpalpable lesions, the use of frozen section analysis (FSA) is still a matter of debate. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of 115 consecutive operations in which the two objectives sought were the excision of nonpalpable malignant lesions and breast conservation. Breast surgery was performed in the Gynecology and the Surgery Departments at the Basel University Hospital Breast Center. Whereas one department preferably uses SR for intraoperative margin assessments of lesions involving ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or atypical ductal hyperplasia, the other uses FSA to increase the rate of complete removal of these lesions with a single procedure. The respective accuracy and therapeutic impact of these two techniques are compared here. RESULTS: Intraoperative resection margin assessments were performed with FSA in 80 and SR in 35 of a total of 115 operations performed on 111 patients with pTis, pT1, or pT2 nonpalpable breast cancer. FSA diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 83.8%, 80.0%, and 87.5%, respectively, compared to 60%, 60%, and 60%, respectively, for SR. FSA tended to have a stronger therapeutic impact than SR in terms of the number of patients in whom initially positive margins were rendered margin-negative thanks to intraoperative analysis and immediate reexcision or mastectomy (27.5% vs. 14.3%; p = 0.124). More importantly, significantly fewer secondary reexcisions were performed in the FSA series than in the SR series (12.5% vs. 37.1%; p = 0.002). Finally, the intraoperative detection of invasive cancer with FSA led to a significantly lower number of secondary procedures for axillary lymph node staging (5% vs. 25.7%; p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The present results suggest that FSA may be more accurate than SR for analyzing intraoperative resection margins during breast-conserving surgery for nonpalpable lesions