A Mobile Robot Localization using External Surveillance Cameras at Indoor

AbstractLocalization is a technique that is needed for the service robot to drive at indoors, and it has been studied in various ways. Most localization techniques let the robot measure environmental information to gain location information, but those require high costs as it use many equipment, and also complicate the robot development. But if an external device could calculate the location of the robot and transmit it to the robot, it will reduce the extra cost for the internal equipment needed to recognize the location, and it will also simplify the robot development. Therefore this study suggests an effective way to control the robot by using the location information of the robot included in a map made by visual information from the surveillance cameras installed at indoors. The object in a single image is difficult to tell its size because of the shadow components and occlusion. Therefore, combination of shadow removal technique using HSV image from indoors and images from different perspective using homography to create two- dimensional map with accurate object information is suggested. In the experiment, the effectiveness of the suggested method is shown by analyzing the movement result of the robot which applied the location information from the two-dimensional map that is based on the multi cameras, which its accuracy is measured in advance

Black Block Recorder: Immutable Black Box Logging for Robots via Blockchain

Event data recording is crucial in robotics research, providing prolonged insights into a robot's situational understanding, progression of behavioral state, and resulting outcomes. Such recordings are invaluable when debugging complex robotic applications or profiling experiments ex post facto. As robotic developments mature into production, both the roles and requirements of event logging will broaden, to include serving as evidence for auditors and regulators investigating accidents or fraud. Given the growing number of high profile public incidents involving self-driving automotives resulting in fatality and regulatory policy making, it is paramount that the integrity, authenticity and non-repudiation of such event logs are maintained to ensure accountability. Being mobile cyber-physical systems, robots present new threats, and vulnerabilities beyond traditional IT: unsupervised physical system access or postmortem collusion between robot and OEM could result in the truncation or alteration of prior records. In this letter, we address immutablization of log records via integrity proofs and distributed ledgers with special considerations for mobile and public service robot deployments

Integrating of Data Using the Hadoop and R

AbstractThe article offers a data integration model, which must be supported by a unified view of disparate data sources, management of integrity constraints, management of data manipulation and query executing operations, matching data from various sources, the ability to expand and set up new data sources. The proposed approach is the integration of Hadoop-based data and R, which is popular for processing statistical information. Hadoop database contains libraries, Distributed File System (HDFS), and resource management platform and implements a version of the MapReduce programming model for processing large-scale data. This model allows us to integrate various data sources at any level, by setting arbitrary links between circuit elements, constraints and operations

AAD-2004, a potent spin trapping molecule and microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 inhibitor, shows safety and efficacy in a mouse model of ALS

While free radicals and inflammation constitute major routes of neuronal injury occurring in neurodegenerative diseases, neither antioxidants nor nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have shown significant efficacy in human clinical trials. To explore the possibility that concurrent blockade of free radicals and PGE2-mediated inflammation might constitute a safe and effective therapeutic approach to certain neurodegenerative diseases, we have developed 2-hydroxy-5-[2-(4-trifluoromethylphenyl)-ethylaminobezoic acid (AAD-2004) as a derivative of aspirin. AAD-2004 completely removed free radicals at 50 nM as a potent spin trapping molecule and inhibited microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1) with an IC50 of 230 nM. Oral administration of AAD-2004 blocked free radical formation, PGE2 formation, and microglial activation in the spinal motor neurons of SOD1G93A mice. As a consequence, AAD-2004 reduced autophagosome formation, axonopathy, and motor neuron degeneration, improving motor function and increasing life span. In these assays, AAD-2004 was superior to ibuprofen or riluzole. Gastric bleeding was not induced by AAD-2004 even at a dose 400-fold higher than that required to obtain maximal therapeutic efficacy in SOD1G93A mice. Targeting both mPGES-1 and free radicals may be a promising approach to reduce neurodegeneration in ALS and possibly other neurodegenerative diseases

Screening of aqueous extracts of medicinal herbs for antimicrobial activity against oral bacteria

AbstractBackgroundDental caries is considered to be a preventable disease, and various antimicrobial agents have been developed for the prevention of dental diseases; however, many bacteria show resistance to existing agents. In this study, 14 medicinal herbs were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against five common oral bacteria as a screen for potential candidates for the development of natural antibiotics.MethodsAqueous extracts of medicinal herbs were tested for activity against Enterococcus faecalis, Actinomyces viscosus, Streptococcus salivarius, Streptococcus mutans, and Streptococcus sanguis grown in brain heart infusion (BHI) broth. A broth microdilution assay was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). A disk diffusion assay was performed by inoculating bacterial cultures on BHI agar plates with paper disks soaked in each of the medicinal herb extracts. Inhibition of the synthesis of water-insoluble glucans by S. mutans was also investigated.ResultsThe aqueous extracts of many of the 14 medicinal herbs demonstrated antimicrobial activity against the five types of pathogenic oral bacteria. The extracts of Sappan Lignum, Coptidis Rhizoma, and Psoraleae Semen effectively inhibited the growth of oral bacteria and showed distinct bactericidal activity. The extracts of Notoginseng Radix, Perillae Herba, and Psoraleae Semen decreased the synthesis of water-insoluble glucans by the S. mutans enzyme glucosyltransferase (GTase). The present study is the first to confirm the antimicrobial activity of the extract of Sappan Lignum against all five species of oral bacteria strains.ConclusionThese results suggest that certain herbal medicines with proven antimicrobial effects, such as Sappan Lignum and Psoraleae Semen, may be useful for the treatment of dental diseases

Effectiveness of the Novel Herbal Medicine, KIOM-MA, and Its Bioconversion Product, KIOM-MA128, on the Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis

This study was conducted to determine if oral administration of the novel herbal medicine, KIOM-MA, and its Lactobacillus acidophilus-fermented product, KIOM-MA128, has therapeutic properties for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD). Using AD-induced BALB/c mice by Ovalbumin and aluminum hydroxide, the effectiveness of KIOM-MA and KIOM-MA128 on AD was evaluated. Oral administration of KIOM-MA and KIOM-MA128 reduced major clinical signs of AD including erythema/darkening, edema/papulation, excoriations, lichenification/prurigo, and dryness. Interestingly, KIOM-MA128 more significantly improved AD-related symptoms including decrease of IgE level in the plasma as well as reduction of scratching behavior, skin severity in the AD BALB/c model. HPLC analysis showed the significant changes in the constituent patterns between KIOM-MA and KIOM-MA128. Our results suggest that both KIOM-MA and KIOM-MA128 have potential for therapeutic reagent for the treatment of AD, and further, the efficacy is significantly enhanced by L. acidophilus fermentation via increases in its indicator molecule

Loss of Human Leukocyte Antigen Class I Expression Is Associated with Poor Prognosis in Patients with Advanced Breast Cancer

Background Human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-I) molecules play important roles in regulating immune responses. Loss or reduction of HLA-I expression has been shown to be associated with prognosis in several cancers. Regulatory T-cells (Tregs) also play critical functions in immune response regulation. Evaluation of HLA-I expression status by the EMR8-5 antibody and its clinical impact in breast cancer have not been well studied, and its relationship with Tregs remains unclear. Methods We evaluated HLA-I expression and Treg infiltration by immunohistochemistry in 465 surgically resected breast cancer samples. We examined the correlation between HLA-I expression and Treg infiltration and clinicopathologic characteristics and survival analyses were performed. Results Total loss of HLA-I expression was found in 84 breast cancer samples (18.1%). Univariate survival analysis revealed that loss of HLA-I expression was significantly associated with worse disease-specific survival (DSS) (p = .029). HLA-I was not an independent prognostic factor in the entire patient group, but it was an adverse independent prognostic factor for DSS in patients with advanced disease (stage II–IV) (p = .031). Treg numbers were significantly higher in the intratumoral stroma of HLA-I–positive tumors than in HLA-I–negative tumors (median 6.3 cells/high power field vs 2.1 cells/high power field, p < .001). However, Tregs were not an independent prognostic factor in our cohort. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the loss of HLA-I expression is associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients, highlighting the role of HLA-I alterations in immune evasion mechanisms of breast cancer. HLA-I could be a promising marker that enables the application of more effective and precise immunotherapies for patients with advanced breast cancer