Biochemical and hematological profile of different breeds of goat maintained under intensive production system

The aim of the study was to monitor the health and nutritional status of Kuwaiti’s Aradi and exotic Damascus and Barbari goat breeds raised under an intensive system of production through the determination of biochemical parameters and hematology profiles. The study was conducted during the summer season and blood samples were collected from lactating does and Damascus bucks. According to the findings of the present study, concentrations for glucose ranged from 60.75 to 71.76 mg/dl, for blood urea nitrogen (BUN) between 25 and 60 mg/dl, for creatinine between 1.2 and 1.9 mg/dl, for albumin between 3.7 g/dl and 4.05 g/dl, and total protein between 6.0 and 6.98 g/dl and in general were within the normal ranges for goats. The hematology profiles of Damascus bucks showed normal range for the most contents of white blood cells, apart from monocytes (M)%. At the same time, number of red blood cells was within the normal range (11.20-11.90 × 106/μL). However, hematocrit (HCT) % was lower (12.1-14.0) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) content was higher (11.30 fL) compared to values reported for healthy goats in previous studies. The hematology profiles of lactating does of all breeds were within the normal range for white blood cells (8.05-12.88 × 103/μL) and red blood cell (10.44-12.65 × 106/μL). Low hemoglobin levels and a significantly (P<0.05) lower mean platelet volume (MPV), procalcitonin (PCT) and platelet distribution width (PDW) were found in Damascus does compared to the other examined breeds. The data of the present study could serve as reference values, since this is the first time that biochemical and hematological parameters were determined in Aardi, Damascus and Barbari goats managed under an intensive production system in Kuwait. These data can be used in the realistic evaluation and improving the management practices, nutrition, and monitoring health status and diagnosis of diseases.Keywords: Blood biochemical parameters, hematology profile, Damascus, Barbari, Aardi, intensive production syste

Takagi-Sugeno Neuro-Fuzzy Modeling of a Multivariable Nonlinear Antenna System

This article investigates the use of a clustered based neuro-fuzzy system to nonlinear dynamic system modeling. It is focused on the modeling via Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) modeling procedure and the employment of fuzzy clustering to generate suitable initial membership functions. The T-S fuzzy modeling has been applied to model a nonlinear antenna dynamic system with two coupled inputs and outputs. Compared to other well-known approximation techniques such as artificial neural networks, the employed neuro-fuzzy system has provided a more transparent representation of the nonlinear antenna system under study, mainly due to the possible linguistic interpretation in the form of rules. Created initial memberships are then employed to construct suitable T-S models. Furthermore, the T-S fuzzy models have been validated and checked through the use of some standard model validation techniques (like the correlation functions). This intelligent modeling scheme is very useful once making complicated systems linguistically transparent in terms of the fuzzy if-then rules

Force distribution in manipulation by a robot hand with equality and inequality constraints

The problem of the appropriate distribution of forces among the fingers of a four-fingered robot hand is addressed. The finger-object interactions are modelled as point frictional contacts, hence the system is indeterminate and an optimal solution is required for controlling forces acting on an object. A fast and efficient method for computing the grasping and manipulation forces is presented, where computation has been based on using the true model of the nonlinear frictional cone of contact. Results are compared with previously employed methods of linearizing the cone constraints and minimizing the internal forces

A survey of multi-fingered robot hands: issues and grasping achievements

Recently a substantial amount of research has been done in the field of dextrous manipulation and hand manoeuvres. The main concern has been how to control robot hands so that they can execute manipulation tasks with the same dexterity and intuition as human hands. This paper surveys multi-fingered robot hand research and development topics which include robot hand design, object force distribution and control, grip transform, grasp stability and its synthesis, grasp stiffness and compliance motion and robot arm-hand coordination. Three main topics are presented in this article. The first is an introduction to the subject. The second concentrates on examples of mechanical manipulators used in research and the methods employed to control them. The third presents work which has been done on the field of object manipulation

Dextrous hands: issues relating to a four-finger articulated hand

Manipulation of an object by a multi-fingered robot hand requires task planning which involves computation of joint space vectors and fingertip forces. To implement a task as fast as possible, computations have to be carried out in minimum time. The state of the art in manipulation by multi-fingered robot hand designs has shown the possible use of remotely driven finger joints. Such remotely driven hands require computation of tendon displacement for evaluating joint space vectors before signals are sent to actuators. Alternatively, a direct drive hand is a mechanical hand in which the shafts of articulated joints are directly coupled to the rotors of motors with high output torques. This article has been divided into two main sections. The first section presents a brief view of manipulation using a direct drive approach. Meanwhile, the other section presents ongoing research which is being carried out to design a four-finger articulated hand in the Department of Cybernetics at the University of Reading