An embedded particle filter SLAM implementation using an affordable platform

PostprintThe recent growth in robotics applications has put to evidence the need for autonomous robots. In order for a robot to be truly autonomous, it must be able to solve the navigation problem. This paper highlights the main features of a fully embedded particle filter SLAM system and introduces some novel ways of calculating a measurement likelihood. A genetic algorithm calibration approach is used to prevent parameter over-fitting and obtain more generalizable results. Finally, it is depicted how the developed SLAM system was used to autonomously perform a field covering task showing robustness and better performance than a reference system. Several lines of possible improvements to the present system are presented

BRAHMS: Novel middleware for integrated systems computation

Biological computational modellers are becoming increasingly interested in building large, eclectic models, including components on many different computational substrates, both biological and non-biological. At the same time, the rise of the philosophy of embodied modelling is generating a need to deploy biological models as controllers for robots in real-world environments. Finally, robotics engineers are beginning to find value in seconding biomimetic control strategies for use on practical robots. Together with the ubiquitous desire to make good on past software development effort, these trends are throwing up new challenges of intellectual and technological integration (for example across scales, across disciplines, and even across time) - challenges that are unmet by existing software frameworks. Here, we outline these challenges in detail, and go on to describe a newly developed software framework, BRAHMS. that meets them. BRAHMS is a tool for integrating computational process modules into a viable, computable system: its generality and flexibility facilitate integration across barriers, such as those described above, in a coherent and effective way. We go on to describe several cases where BRAHMS has been successfully deployed in practical situations. We also show excellent performance in comparison with a monolithic development approach. Additional benefits of developing in the framework include source code self-documentation, automatic coarse-grained parallelisation, cross-language integration, data logging, performance monitoring, and will include dynamic load-balancing and 'pause and continue' execution. BRAHMS is built on the nascent, and similarly general purpose, model markup language, SystemML. This will, in future, also facilitate repeatability and accountability (same answers ten years from now), transparent automatic software distribution, and interfacing with other SystemML tools. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Moving beyond anthropocentrism in leisure research: multispecies perspectives

© 2018 Australia and New Zealand Association of Leisure Studies This commentary challenges the anthropocentrism of leisure research and raises some of the limitations of considering leisure solely from human-centric perspectives. Research from the emerging subfield of human-horse relationships is used to illustrate how more-than-human analyses can enrich understandings of leisure as multispecies practices, encounters and interactions. Embracing multispecies perspectives may open up new and challenging ethical, theoretical, methodological and practical issues for the field of leisure studies

Repair of an inguinoscrotal hernia containing the urinary bladder: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Cases of patients with inguinoscrotal hernia containing the urinary bladder are very rare. These patients usually present with frequent episodes of urinary tract infection, difficulty in walking, pollakisuria and difficulty in initiating micturition because of incarceration of the urinary bladder into the scrotum.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We describe the case of an 80-year-old Caucasian man with an incarcerated urinary bladder into the scrotum who underwent surgical repair with mesh.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Diagnosis of such cases often requires not only clinical examination but also specialized radiological examinations to show the ectopic position of the urinary bladder. Surgical repair in these patients is a real challenge for surgeons.</p

Inflammatory mediators in breast cancer: Coordinated expression of TNFα & IL-1β with CCL2 & CCL5 and effects on epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The inflammatory chemokines CCL2 (MCP-1) & CCL5 (RANTES) and the inflammatory cytokines TNFα & IL-1β were shown to contribute to breast cancer development and metastasis. In this study, we wished to determine whether there are associations between these factors along stages of breast cancer progression, and to identify the possible implications of these factors to disease course.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The expression of CCL2, CCL5, TNFα and IL-1β was determined by immunohistochemistry in patients diagnosed with: (1) Benign breast disorders (=healthy individuals); (2) Ductal Carcinoma <it>In Situ </it>(DCIS); (3) Invasive Ducal Carcinoma without relapse (IDC-no-relapse); (4) IDC-with-relapse. Based on the results obtained, breast tumor cells were stimulated by the inflammatory cytokines, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was determined by flow cytometry, confocal analyses and adhesion, migration and invasion experiments.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CCL2, CCL5, TNFα and IL-1β were expressed at very low incidence in normal breast epithelial cells, but their incidence was significantly elevated in tumor cells of the three groups of cancer patients. Significant associations were found between CCL2 & CCL5 and TNFα & IL-1β in the tumor cells in DCIS and IDC-no-relapse patients. In the IDC-with-relapse group, the expression of CCL2 & CCL5 was accompanied by further elevated incidence of TNFα & IL-1β expression. These results suggest progression-related roles for TNFα and IL-1β in breast cancer, as indeed indicated by the following: (1) Tumors of the IDC-with-relapse group had significantly higher persistence of TNFα and IL-1β compared to tumors of DCIS or IDC-no-relapse; (2) Continuous stimulation of the tumor cells by TNFα (and to some extent IL-1β) has led to EMT in the tumor cells; (3) Combined analyses with relevant clinical parameters suggested that IL-1β acts jointly with other pro-malignancy factors to promote disease relapse.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest that the coordinated expression of CCL2 & CCL5 and TNFα & IL-1β may be important for disease course, and that TNFα & IL-1β may promote disease relapse. Further <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo </it>studies are needed for determination of the joint powers of the four factors in breast cancer, as well as analyses of their combined targeting in breast cancer.</p

Towards Rapid Multi-robot Learning from Demonstration at the RoboCup Competition

Abstract. We describe our previous and current efforts towards achiev-ing an unusual personal RoboCup goal: to train a full team of robots directly through demonstration, on the field of play at the RoboCup venue, how to collaboratively play soccer, and then use this trained team in the competition itself. Using our method, HiTAB, we can train teams of collaborative agents via demonstration to perform nontrivial joint behaviors in the form of hierarchical finite-state automata. We discuss HiTAB, our previous efforts in using it in RoboCup 2011 and 2012, recent experimental work, and our current efforts for 2014, then suggest a new RoboCup Technical Challenge problem in learning from demonstration. Imagine that you are at an unfamiliar disaster site with a team of robots, and are faced with a previously unseen task for them to do. The robots have only rudimentary but useful utility behaviors implemented. You are not a programmer. Without coding them, you have only a few hours to get your robots doing useful collaborative work in this new environment. How would you do this