The SwarmItFix Pilot

Abstract The paper presents the integration and experiments with a pilot cell including a traditional machine tool and an innovative robot-swarm cooperative conformable support for aircraft body panels. The pilot was installed and tested in the premises of the aircraft manufacturer Piaggio Aerospace in Italy. An original approach to the support of the panels is realized: robots with soft heads operate from below the panel; they move upward the panel where manufacturing is performed, removing the sagging under gravity and returning it to its nominal geometry; the spindle of amilling machine performs the machining from above

K-RAS point mutation, and amplification of C-MYC and C-ERBB2 in colon adenocarcinoma.

The routine multidisciplinary management of colon cancer is based mainly on tumor staging, histology, grading and vascular invasion. In this approach, important individual information derived from molecular characteristics of the tumor may be missed, especially since significant heterogeneity of molecular aberrations in cancer cells has been observed, and recognition of every of relationships between them may be of value. K-RAS, C-MYC and C-ERBB2 are protooncogenes taking part in carcinogenesis and tumor progression in the colon. They influence cell proliferation, differentiation and survival. K-RAS point mutation, as well as amplification of C-MYC and C-ERBB2 were searched in 84 primary colon adenocarcinomas resected with curative intent. Multiplex polymerase-chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism were performed to assess codon 12 K-RAS point mutation. Amplification of C-MYC and C-ERBB2 genes was evaluated by densitometry after agarose gel separation of the respective multiplex PCR products. No relation was found among mutated and/or amplified genes, and between searched molecular aberrations and pathoclinical features. In multivariate analysis, nodal status appeared to be the only independent prognostic indicator. In colon adenocarcinoma, codon 12 K-RAS point mutation and amplification of C-MYC and C-ERBB2 seem to occur independently in the process of tumor progression. Amplification of C-ERBB2 tends to associate with more advanced stage of disease. Concomitant occurrence of codon 12 K-RAS mutation, C-MYC and C-ERBB2 amplification was of no prognostic value in respect to survival

Mutations in the von Hippel-Lindau Tumour Suppressor Gene in Central Nervous System Hemangioblastomas

Central nervous system hemangioblastomas (cHAB) are rare tumours which most commonly arise in the cerebellum. Most tumours are sporadic, but as many as one third of cHABs occur in the course of the hereditary disorder - von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL). In order to diagnose new VHL families in Poland we performed sequencing of the entire VHL gene in archival material (paraffin embedded hemangioblastoma tissues) in a large series of 203 unselected patients with cHAB. VHL gene mutations were detected in 70 (41%) of 171 tumour samples from which DNA of relatively good quality was isolated. We were able to obtain blood samples from 19 of mutation positive cases. Eight (42%) of these harboured germline mutations in persons from distinct undiagnosed VHL families

Long-term allogeneic hematopoietic cells transplantation survivors proinflammatory cytokine profile compared to their respective donors and immunophenotype differences depending on GvHD history and infection status

Background In the course of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) the donor’s hematopoietic progenitor cells are exposed to immense proliferative stress to reconstitute in the recipient the functional hematopoiesis. Moreover, recipients who develop infections or chronic GvHD are subjected to further proliferative stress, especially in the lymphocyte subset. We hypothesized that allo-HCT may induce changes in proinflammatory cytokines profile and immunophenotype in the allo-HCT recipients, especially in patients with cGVHD history. We compared the cytokine profile (Il-6, Il-10, and TNF-) between long-term allo-HCT recipients and their respective donors and we analyzed cytokines profile and the immunophenotype of lymphocytes in long-term recipients grouped according to the infection and GvHD history. Results We have found no differences in the proinflammatory cytokines between allo-HCT recipients and their respective donors, as well as between recipients grouped according to infectious risk status. Immunophenotyping of recipients grouped according to GvHD status revealed an increased percentage of B-cell presenting PD-1 in recipients without a history of GvHD. Conclusions Lack of differences in proinflammatory cytokines concentrations between recipients and donors of allo-HCT would suggest that allo-HCT does not induce acceleration of the inflammageing-resembling phenomenon. No differences in the cytokine profile and immunophenotype between recipients grouped according to infectious risk status suggest that infectious risk is not reflected by the immunophenotype and cytokine profile. Furthermore, the lack of significant differences in immunophenotype of the recipients grouped according to the history of GvHD may suggest that in long-term survivors the immune system tends to stabilize with time

Variable structure robot control systems: The RAPP approach

International audienceThis paper presents a method of designing variable structure control systems for robots. As the on-board robot computational resources are limited, but in some cases the demands imposed on the robot by the user are virtually limitless, the solution is to produce a variable structure system. The task dependent part has to be exchanged, however the task governs the activities of the robot. Thus not only exchange of some task-dependent modules is required, but also supervisory responsibilities have to be switched. Such control systems are necessary in the case of robot companions, where the owner of the robot may demand from it to provide many services.

Robotics: Techniques, Functions, Social Role. Part 1, Technical Foundations of Intelligence and Security of Robots

Aby ocenić, jaki wpływ będą miały roboty na społeczeństwo, należy skrupulatnie przeanalizować obecny stan wiedzy, a w szczególności wskazać fundamentalne problemy, które jeszcze nie zostały rozwiązane, mające istotne znaczenie dla potencjalnych zmian społecznych powodowanych rozwojem robotyki. Wspomniany wpływ zależy od inteligencji robotów, więc ten aspekt dominuje w przedstawionej tu analizie. Rozważania zostały podzielone na trzy części: 1) analizę czynników technicznych wpływających na inteligencję i bezpieczeństwo robotów, 2) analizę obecnych możliwości robotów, 3) analizę przewidywań dotyczących rozwoju robotyki, a w konsekwencji poglądów na skutki tego rozwoju dla społeczeństwa. Niniejszy artykuł poświęcony jest pierwszemu z wymienionych tu trzech zagadnień.In order to assess the impact of robots on society, it is necessary to carefully analyze the state-of-the-art, and in particular the fundamental issues that have yet to be resolved, however having significant impact on the potential societal changes resulting from the development of robotics. The aforementioned impact depends on the level of intelligence of robots, so this aspect dominates in the presented analysis. The presentation has been divided into three parts: 1) analysis of technical factors affecting the intelligence and security of robots, 2) analysis of current capabilities of robots, 3) analysis of diverse predictions of how robotics will evolve, and thus the attitudes towards the influence of the result of this development on society. This part of the paper is devoted to the first of the above mentioned three issues

The MRROC++ system

The paper proposes a structure for open, hierarchical, multi-device controllers. The proposed structure takes into account that the system may contain several robots of different type, a certain number of cooperating de-vices, diverse sensors and also the fact that the task, the system has to execute, and the number and type of its components may vary considerably over time. The concept has been verified by designing a controller for a prototype RNT robot and an ASEA IRb-6 type robot. The flexibility of the system is due to the software, so the programming aspect is treated comprehensively in the paper.

Robotics: Techniques, Functions, Social Role. Part 2, Current Capabilities of Robots

Aby ocenić, jaki wpływ będą miały roboty na społeczeństwo, należy skrupulatnie przeanalizować obecny stan wiedzy, a w szczególności wskazać fundamentalne problemy, które jeszcze nie zostały rozwiązane, mające istotne znaczenie dla potencjalnych zmian społecznych powodowanych rozwojem robotyki. Wspomniany wpływ zależy od inteligencji robotów, więc ten aspekt dominuje w przedstawionej tu analizie. Rozważania zostały podzielone na trzy części: 1) analizę czynników technicznych wpływających na inteligencję i bezpieczeństwo robotów, 2) analizę obecnych możliwości robotów, 3) analizę przewidywań dotyczących rozwoju robotyki, a w konsekwencji poglądów na skutki tego rozwoju dla społeczeństwa. Niniejszy artykuł poświęcony jest drugiemu z wymienionych tu trzech zagadnień.In order to assess the impact of robots on society, it is necessary to carefully analyze the state-of-the-art, and in particular the fundamental issues that have yet to be resolved, however having significant impact on the potential societal changes resulting from the development of robotics. The aforementioned impact depends on the level of intelligence of robots, so this aspect dominates in the presented analysis. The presentation has been divided into three parts: 1) analysis of technical factors affecting the intelligence and security of robots, 2) analysis of current capabilities of robots, 3) analysis of diverse predictions of how robotics will evolve, and thus the attitudes towards the influence of the result of this development on society. This part of the paper is devoted to the second of the above mentioned three issues

By how much should a general purpose programming language be extended to become a multi-robot system programming language

The paper gives the answer to the question formulated in the title for the case of manipulator level languages [1]. Theoretical considerations show that regard-less of the type and number of robots and cooperating devices used in the system as well as irrespective of the number and kind of sensors included in the system, a general purpose language has to be extended by a single instruction with a rather complex semantics. Due to this complexity it is more convenient to intro-duce two, but much simpler instructions. The paper also presents the method of implementing those instructions in a hierarchical distributed control system. The presented approach has been used in the implementation of MRROC/MRROC++ robot programming libraries/languages. The programmer uses predefined library modules to construct the controller structure solving a specific multi-robot task. The structure is fine-tuned to the task at hand by supplying adequate motion generators in a plug-in fashion. The practical validity of the formal approach fol-lowed in the implementation of MRROC and MRROC++ has been positively verified on diverse robotic tasks. tem