Elongation Modeling and Compensation for the Flexible Tendon-Sheath System

In tendon-driven systems, the elongation of the tendon would result in inaccuracy in the position control of the system. This becomes a critical challenge for those applications, such as surgical robots, which require the tendon-sheath system with flexible and even time-varying configurations but lack of corresponding sensory feedback at the distal end due to spatial restrictions. In this paper, we endeavor to address this problem by modeling the tendon elongation in a flexible tendon-sheath system. Targeting at flexibility in practical scenarios, we first derived a model describing the relationship between the overall tendon elongation and the input tension with arbitrary route configurations. It is shown that changes in the route configuration would significantly affect the tendon elongation. We also proposed a remedy to enhance the system tolerance against potential unmodeled perturbations along the transmission route during operation. A scaling factor S was introduced as a design guideline to determine the scaling effect. A dedicated platform that was able to measure the tensions at both ends and the overall tendon elongation was designed and set up to validate the new findings. Discussions were made on the performance and the future implementation of the proposed models and remedy.published_or_final_versio

Avoiding the Detector Blinding Attack on Quantum Cryptography

We show the detector blinding attack by Lydersen et al [1] will be ineffective on most single photon avalanche photodiodes (APDs) and certainly ineffective on any detectors that are operated correctly. The attack is only successful if a redundant resistor is included in series with the APD, or if the detector discrimination levels are set inappropriately

Infection per os de la Pintade (Numida meleagris) avec la forme végétative et la forme kystique de Toxoplasma gondii

Simitch Tchédomir, Petrovitch Zl., Bordjochki A., Savin Z., Mikovitch Z. Infection per os de la Pintade (Numida meleagris) avec la forme végétative et la forme kystique de Toxoplasma gondii. In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 118 n°1, 1965. pp. 31-32

Infection expérimentale de la caille { Coturnix coturnix L.) per os, avec la forme végétative et la forme kystique de Toxoplasma gondii

Simitch Tchédomir, Petrovitch Zl., Bordjochki A., Savin Z., Mikovitch Z. Infection expérimentale de la Caille (Coturnix coturnix L.) per os, avec la forme végétative et la forme kystique de Toxoplasma gondii. In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 118 n°1, 1965. pp. 27-29

Temperature-sensitive sarcomeric protein post-translational modifications revealed by top-down proteomics

Despite advancements in symptom management for heart failure (HF), this devastating clinical syndrome remains the leading cause of death in the developed world. Studies using animal models have greatly advanced our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying HF; however, differences in cardiac physiology and the manifestation of HF between animals, particularly rodents, and humans necessitates the direct interrogation of human heart tissue samples. Nevertheless, an ever-present concern when examining human heart tissue samples is the potential for artefactual changes related to temperature changes during tissue shipment or sample processing. Herein, we examined the effects of temperature on the post-translational modifications (PTMs) of sarcomeric proteins, the proteins responsible for muscle contraction, under conditions mimicking those that might occur during tissue shipment or sample processing. Using a powerful top-down proteomics method, we found that sarcomeric protein PTMs were differentially affected by temperature. Specifically, cardiac troponin I and enigma homolog isoform 2 showed robust increases in phosphorylation when tissue was incubated at either 4 °C or 22 °C. The observed increase is likely due to increased cyclic AMP levels and activation of protein kinase A in the tissue. On the contrary, cardiac troponin T and myosin regulatory light chain phosphorylation decreased when tissue was incubated at 4 °C or 22 °C. Furthermore, significant protein degradation was also observed after incubation at 4 °C or 22 °C. Overall, these results indicate that temperature exerts various effects on sarcomeric protein PTMs and careful tissue handling is critical for studies involving human heart samples. Moreover, these findings highlight the power of top-down proteomics for examining the integrity of cardiac tissue samples

A numerical study on dynamic shear rupture along frictional faults

The Wenchuan earthquake (Sichuan province, China, 2008) was caused by the dynamic rupture of Longmen Mountain fault. Such catastrophic disaster had led to a huge damage of life as well as major economic loss. The Longmen Mountain fault consisted of three faults with complex geometries, which gathered together as a main fault underground. The dynamic shear ruptures along the faults including bends and branches are frequently observed during earthquakes. In this study, the finite element method (FEM) is adopted to simulate the dynamic ruptures along both straight and branched faults, which are considered as frictional interfaces. A slip-weakening friction law is used to describe the interface behavior along faults. For the straight fault, the effects of pre-stress state and nucleation parameters on the dynamic shear rupture process are investigated; for the branched faults, the effects of pre-stress state and fault geometry on the rupture path selection are presented. The results are used to explain the rupture mechanism of Longmen Mountain fault during the earthquake

Infection du Chat, per os, par les formes végétative et kystique de Toxoplasma gondii

Dans ce travail les auteurs ont étudié la réceptivité de chats âgés de 3 à 4 mois aux formes végétative et kystique de Toxoplasma gondii , administrées séparément avec les aliments

Infection du cobaye par voie buccale avec Toxoplasma gondii

Simitch Tchédomir, Petrovitch Zl., Bordjochki A., Savin Z., Mikovitch Z., Guilhon J. Infection du Cobaye par voie buccale avec Toxoplasma gondii. In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 118 n°8, 1965. pp. 329-331