Process modeling of a reversible solid oxide cell (r-SOC) energy storage system utilizing commercially available SOC reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mottaghizadeh, Pegah; Santhanam, Srikanth; Heddrich, Marc P.; Friedrich, K. Andreas; Rinaldi, Fabio

2017-01-01

Highlights: • An electric energy storage system was developed based on a commercially available SOC reactor. • Heat generated in SOFC mode of r-SOC is utilized in SOEC operation of r-SOC using latent heat storage. • A round trip efficiency of 54.3% was reached for the reference system at atmospheric pressure. • An improved process system design achieved a round-trip efficiency of 60.4% at 25 bar. - Abstract: The increase of intermittent renewable energy contribution in power grids has urged us to seek means for temporal decoupling of electricity production and consumption. A reversible solid oxide cell (r-SOC) enables storage of surplus electricity through electrochemical reactions when it is in electrolysis mode. The reserved energy in form of chemical compounds is then converted to electricity when the cell operates as a fuel cell. A process system model was implemented using Aspen Plus® V8.8 based on a commercially available r-SOC reactor experimentally characterized at DLR. In this study a complete self-sustaining system configuration is designed by optimal thermal integration and balance of plant. Under reference conditions a round trip efficiency of 54.3% was achieved. Generated heat in fuel cell mode is exploited by latent heat storage tanks to enable endothermic operation of reactor in its electrolysis mode. In total, out of 100 units of thermal energy stored in heat storage tanks during fuel cell mode, 90% was utilized to offset heat demand of system in its electrolysis mode. Parametric analysis revealed the significance of heat storage tanks in thermal management even when reactor entered its exothermic mode of electrolysis. An improved process system design demonstrates a system round-trip efficiency of 60.4% at 25 bar.

SOCS proteins in development and disease

Science.gov (United States)

Trengove, Monique C; Ward, Alister C

2013-01-01

Cytokine and growth factor signaling mediates essential roles in the differentiation, proliferation, survival and function of a number of cell lineages. This is achieved via specific receptors located on the surface of target cells, with ligand binding activating key intracellular signal transduction cascades to mediate the requisite cellular outcome. Effective resolution of receptor signaling is also essential, with excessive signaling having the potential for pathological consequences. The Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) family of proteins represent one important mechanism to extinguish cytokine and growth factor receptor signaling. There are 8 SOCS proteins in mammals; SOCS1-7 and the alternatively named Cytokine-inducible SH2-containing protein (CISH). SOCS1-3 and CISH are predominantly associated with the regulation of cytokine receptor signaling, while SOCS4-7 are more commonly involved in the control of Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling. Individual SOCS proteins are typically induced by specific cytokines and growth factors, thereby generating a negative feedback loop. As a consequence of their regulatory properties, SOCS proteins have important functions in development and homeostasis, with increasing recognition of their role in disease, particularly their tumor suppressor and anti-inflammatory functions. This review provides a synthesis of our current understanding of the SOCS family, with an emphasis on their immune and hematopoietic roles. PMID:23885323

Applying transport-distance specific SOC distribution to calibrate soil erosion model WaTEM

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yaxian; Heckrath, Goswin J.; Kuhn, Nikolaus J.

2016-04-01

Slope-scale soil erosion, transport and deposition fundamentally decide the spatial redistribution of eroded sediments in terrestrial and aquatic systems, which further affect the burial and decomposition of eroded SOC. However, comparisons of SOC contents between upper eroding slope and lower depositional site cannot fully reflect the movement of eroded SOC in-transit along hillslopes. The actual transport distance of eroded SOC is decided by its settling velocity. So far, the settling velocity distribution of eroded SOC is mostly calculated from mineral particle specific SOC distribution. Yet, soil is mostly eroded in form of aggregates, and the movement of aggregates differs significantly from individual mineral particles. This urges a SOC erodibility parameter based on actual transport distance distribution of eroded fractions to better calibrate soil erosion models. Previous field investigation on a freshly seeded cropland in Denmark has shown immediate deposition of fast settling soil fractions and the associated SOC at footslopes, followed by a fining trend at the slope tail. To further quantify the long-term effects of topography on erosional redistribution of eroded SOC, the actual transport-distance specific SOC distribution observed on the field was applied to a soil erosion model WaTEM (based on USLE). After integrating with local DEM, our calibrated model succeeded in locating the hotspots of enrichment/depletion of eroded SOC on different topographic positions, much better corresponding to the real-world field observation. By extrapolating into repeated erosion events, our projected results on the spatial distribution of eroded SOC are also adequately consistent with the SOC properties in the consecutive sample profiles along the slope.

Development of control system for multi-converter high voltage power supply using programmable SoC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dave, Rasesh; Singh, N.P.; Thakar, Aruna; Dhola, Hitesh; Gajjar, Sandip; Parmar, Darshan Kumar; Baruah, Ujjwal Kumar; Dharangutti, Jagruti; Zaveri, Tanish

2015-01-01

Multi-converter based High Voltage Power Supplies (HVPSs) find application in multi-megawatt accelerators, RF systems. Control system for HVPS must be a combination of superior parallel processing, real time performance, fast computation and versatile connectivity. The hardware platform is expected to be robust, easily scalable for future developments without any cost overhead. Typical HVPS control mechanism involves communication, generation of precise control signals/pulses for few hundred Nos of chopper and closed loop control in microsecond range for regulated output. Such kind of requirements can be met with Zynq All Programmable SoC, which is a combination of Dual core ARM Cortex A-9 Processing System (PS) and Xilinx 7 series FPGA based Programmable Logic (PL). Deterministic functions of power supply control system such as generation of control signals with precise inter-channel delay of nanosecond range and communication with individual chopper at 100kbps can be implemented on PL. PS should implement corrective tasks based on field feedback received from individual chopper, user interface and OS management that allows to take full advantage of system capabilities. PS and PL are connected with on-chip AXI-4 interface with low latency and higher bandwidth through 9 AXI ports. Typically PS boots first, this ensures secure booting and prevents external environment from tampering PL. This paper describes development of control system on Zynq All Programmable SoC for HVPS. (author)

Development of control system for multi-converter High voltage Power supply using programmable SoC

Science.gov (United States)

Dave, Rasesh; Dharangutti, Jagruti; Singh, N. P.; Thakar, Aruna; Dhola, Hitesh; Gajjar, Sandip; Parmar, Darshan; Zaveri, Tanish; Baruah, Ujjwal

2017-04-01

Multi-converter based High Voltage Power Supplies (HVPSs) find application in multi-megawatt accelerators, RF systems. Control system for HVPS must be a combination of superior parallel processing, real time performance, fast computation and versatile connectivity. The hardware platform is expected to be robust, easily scalable for future developments with minimal overheads. This paper describes development of control system on Zynq All Programmable SoC (System on Chip) for HVPS. Typical HVPS control mechanism involves communication, generation of precise control signals/pulses for few hundred numbers of chopper and closed loop control in microsecond range for regulated output. Such kind of requirements can be met with Zynq All Programmable SoC, which is a combination of Dual core ARM Cortex A-9 Processing System (PS) and Xilinx 7 series FPGA based Programmable Logic (PL). Deterministic functions of power supply control system such as generation of control signals with precise inter-channel delay of nanosecond range and communication with individual chopper at 100kbps can be implemented on PL. PS should implement corrective tasks based on field feedback received from individual chopper, user interface and OS management that allows to take full advantage of system capabilities. PS and PL are connected with on-chip AXI-4 interface with low latency and higher bandwidth through 9 AXI ports. Typically PS boots first, this ensures secure booting and prevents external environment from tampering PL.

Low-Power Differential SRAM design for SOC Based on the 25-um Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Godugunuri, Sivaprasad; Dara, Naveen; Sambasiva Nayak, R.; Nayeemuddin, Md; Singh, Yadu, Dr.; Veda, R. N. S. Sunil

2017-08-01

In recent, the SOC styles area unit the vast complicated styles in VLSI these SOC styles having important low-power operations problems, to comprehend this we tend to enforced low-power SRAM. However these SRAM Architectures critically affects the entire power of SOC and competitive space. To beat the higher than disadvantages, during this paper, a low-power differential SRAM design is planned. The differential SRAM design stores multiple bits within the same cell, operates at minimum in operation low-tension and space per bit. The differential SRAM design designed supported the 25-um technology using Tanner-EDA Tool.

Expression of the SOCS family in human chronic wound tissues: Potential implications for SOCS in chronic wound healing

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Yi; Sanders, Andrew J.; Ruge, Fiona; Morris, Ceri-Ann; Harding, Keith G.; Jiang, Wen G.

2016-01-01

Cytokines play important roles in the wound healing process through various signalling pathways. The JAK-STAT pathway is utilised by most cytokines for signal transduction and is regulated by a variety of molecules, including suppressor of cytokine signalling (SOCS) proteins. SOCS are associated with inflammatory diseases and have an impact on cytokines, growth factors and key cell types involved in the wound-healing process. SOCS, a negative regulator of cytokine signalling, may hold the potential to regulate cytokine-induced signalling in the chronic wound-healing process. Wound edge tissues were collected from chronic venous leg ulcer patients and classified as non-healing and healing wounds. The expression pattern of seven SOCSs members, at the transcript and protein level, were examined in these tissues using qPCR and immunohistochemistry. Significantly higher levels of SOCS3 (P=0.0284) and SOCS4 (P=0.0376) in non-healing chronic wounds compared to the healing/healed chronic wounds were observed at the transcript level. Relocalisation of SOCS3 protein in the non-healing wound environment was evident in the investigated chronic biopsies. Thus, the results show that the expression of SOCS transcript indicated that SOCS members may act as a prognostic biomarker of chronic wounds. PMID:27635428

SOCS2 and SOCS3 expression in ulcerative colitis and their correlation with inflammatory response and immune response

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Le Huang1

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Objective: To study the correlation of SOCS2 and SOCS3 expression in ulcerative colitis tissue with inflammatory response and immune response. Methods: Ulcerative colitis lesions and normal mucosa from colonoscopic biopsy in Central Hospital of Zibo Mining Refco Group Ltd between May 2014 and July 2016 were selected and enrolled in UC group and control group respectively. RNA was extracted to determine mRNA expression of SOCS2 and SOCS3 as well as inflammatory response JAKs/STATs pathway molecules; protein was extracted to determine the contents of immune response cytokines. Results: SOCS2 mRNA expression in intestinal mucosa of UC group was not significantly different from that of control group, and SOCS3 mRNA expression was significantly lower than that of control group; JAK1, JAK2, JAK3, STAT1, STAT3 and STAT5 mRNA expression as well as IFN-γ and IL-17 protein contents in intestinal mucosa of UC group were significantly higher than those of control group while IL-4 and IL-10 protein contents were significantly lower than those of control group; JAK1, JAK2, JAK3, STAT1, STAT3 and STAT5 mRNA expression as well as IFN-γ and IL-17 protein contents in UC group of intestinal mucosa with low SOCS3 expression were significantly higher than those of intestinal mucosa with high SOCS3 expression while IL-4 and IL-10 protein contents were significantly lower than those of intestinal mucosa with high SOCS3 expression. Conclusion: Low expression of SOCS3 in ulcerative colitis can aggravate the inflammatory reaction and cause the imbalance of Th1/Th2 and Th17/Treg immune response.

Research on State-of-Charge (SOC) estimation using current integration based on temperature compensation

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, J.; Shen, Y.; Liu, X. T.; Zeng, G. J.; Liu, D. C.

2017-11-01

The traditional current integral method for the state-of-charge (SOC) estimation has an unusable estimation accuracy because of the current measuring error. This paper proposed a closed-loop temperature compensation method to improve the SOC estimation accuracy of current integral method by eliminating temperature drift. Through circuit simulation result in Multisim, the stability of current measuring accuracy is improved by more than 10 times. In a designed 70 charge-discharge experimental circle, the SOC estimation error with temperature compensation had 30 times less than error in normal situation without compensation.

EXPRESSION OF SOCS3 AND SOCS5 MRNAS IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEARS FROM THE PATIENTS WITH BRONCHIAL ASTHMA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. V. Lim

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We observed sixty patients with allergic bronchial asthma (ABA and 54 with non-allergic bronchial asthma (NABA. Quantitative SOCS3 and SOCS5 mRNA expression was evaluated by means of real-time PCR. Eighteen healthy persons served as a control group. In patients with bronchial asthma (irrespectively of pathogenetic form, a significant increase of SOCS3 transcription factor expression was detected in peripheral blood mononuclears, as compared with control group. This increase was more pronounced in NABA group. The mRNA SOCS5 level was significantly decreased in bronchial asthma patients, as compared to control group, especially, in ABA subgroup rather than in NABA patients. Thus, an increased expression of SOCS3 mRNA in BA patients could be regarded as a protective antiinflammatory response Decrease of SOCS5 mRNA expression in patients with bronchial asthma (being more pronounced in ABA, may be indicative for a deficiency in negative feedback regulation of gene transcription in allergic bronchial asthma.

Comparison Study on Two Model-Based Adaptive Algorithms for SOC Estimation of Lithium-Ion Batteries in Electric Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong Tian

2014-12-01

Full Text Available State of charge (SOC estimation is essential to battery management systems in electric vehicles (EVs to ensure the safe operations of batteries and providing drivers with the remaining range of the EVs. A number of estimation algorithms have been developed to get an accurate SOC value because the SOC cannot be directly measured with sensors and is closely related to various factors, such as ambient temperature, current rate and battery aging. In this paper, two model-based adaptive algorithms, including the adaptive unscented Kalman filter (AUKF and adaptive slide mode observer (ASMO are applied and compared in terms of convergence behavior, tracking accuracy, computational cost and estimation robustness against parameter uncertainties of the battery model in SOC estimation. Two typical driving cycles, including the Dynamic Stress Test (DST and New European Driving Cycle (NEDC are applied to evaluate the performance of the two algorithms. Comparison results show that the AUKF has merits in convergence ability and tracking accuracy with an accurate battery model, while the ASMO has lower computational cost and better estimation robustness against parameter uncertainties of the battery model.

Universal interface on Zynq"® SoC with CAN, RS-232, Ethernet and AXI GPIO for instrumentation & control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Abhijeet; Rajpal, Rachana; Pujara, Harshad; Mandaliya, Hitesh; Edappala, Praveenalal

2016-01-01

Highlights: • We have designed Universal Interface on Zynq"® SoC with CAN, RS-232, Ethernet and AXI GPIO for Instrumentation & Control. This project is based on Zynq"®-7000 family xc7z020clg484-1 chip. • We explored the full design flow starting from the hardware development in Vivado to software development in SDK using APIs in C language and then interfacing the host application developed in LabVIEW. • We also explored how to make custom IP with AXI bus interface in Vivado. • Useful for those who wants to make custom hardware on Zynq"® SoC. - Abstract: This paper describes an application developed on the latest Zynq"®-7000 All Programmable SoC (AP SoC) [1] devices which integrate the software programmability of an ARM"®-based processor with the hardware programmability of an FPGA, on a single device. In this paper we have implemented application which uses various interfaces like CAN, RS-232, Ethernet and AXI GPIO, so that our host application running on PC in LabVIEW can communicates with any hardware which has at least any one of the available interface. Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoCs (System On Chip) infuse customizable intelligence into today’s embedded systems to suit your unique application requirements. This family of FPGA is meant for high end application because it has huge resources on single chip. It offers you to make your own custom hardware IP, in fact we have made our custom IP called myIP in our design. The beauty of this chip is that it can write drivers for your custom IP which has AXI bus layer attached. After exporting the hardware information to the Software Development Kit (SDK), the tool is able to write drivers for your custom IP. This simplifies your development to a great extent. In a way this application provides the universal interfacing option to user. User can also write the digital data on the GPIO (General Purpose Input Output) through LabVIEW Test application GUI. This project can be used for remote control and

Universal interface on Zynq{sup ®} SoC with CAN, RS-232, Ethernet and AXI GPIO for instrumentation & control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, Abhijeet, E-mail: akumar@ipr.res.in; Rajpal, Rachana; Pujara, Harshad; Mandaliya, Hitesh; Edappala, Praveenalal

2016-11-15

Highlights: • We have designed Universal Interface on Zynq{sup ®} SoC with CAN, RS-232, Ethernet and AXI GPIO for Instrumentation & Control. This project is based on Zynq{sup ®}-7000 family xc7z020clg484-1 chip. • We explored the full design flow starting from the hardware development in Vivado to software development in SDK using APIs in C language and then interfacing the host application developed in LabVIEW. • We also explored how to make custom IP with AXI bus interface in Vivado. • Useful for those who wants to make custom hardware on Zynq{sup ®} SoC. - Abstract: This paper describes an application developed on the latest Zynq{sup ®}-7000 All Programmable SoC (AP SoC) [1] devices which integrate the software programmability of an ARM{sup ®}-based processor with the hardware programmability of an FPGA, on a single device. In this paper we have implemented application which uses various interfaces like CAN, RS-232, Ethernet and AXI GPIO, so that our host application running on PC in LabVIEW can communicates with any hardware which has at least any one of the available interface. Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoCs (System On Chip) infuse customizable intelligence into today’s embedded systems to suit your unique application requirements. This family of FPGA is meant for high end application because it has huge resources on single chip. It offers you to make your own custom hardware IP, in fact we have made our custom IP called myIP in our design. The beauty of this chip is that it can write drivers for your custom IP which has AXI bus layer attached. After exporting the hardware information to the Software Development Kit (SDK), the tool is able to write drivers for your custom IP. This simplifies your development to a great extent. In a way this application provides the universal interfacing option to user. User can also write the digital data on the GPIO (General Purpose Input Output) through LabVIEW Test application GUI. This project can be used

MOF Crystal Chemistry Paving the Way to Gas Storage Needs: Aluminum Based soc-MOF for CH4, O2 and CO2 Storage

KAUST Repository

Alezi, Dalal

2015-09-28

The molecular building block approach was employed effectively to construct a series of novel isoreticular, highly porous and stable, aluminum based Metal-Organic Frameworks with soc topology. From this platform, three compounds were experimentally isolated and fully characterized, namely, the parent Al-soc-MOF-1 and its naphthalene and anthracene analogues. Al-soc-MOF-1 exhibits outstanding gravimetric methane uptake (total and working capacity). It is shown experimentally, for the first time, that the Al-soc-MOF platform can address the challenging Department of Energy dual target of 0.5 g/g (gravimetric) and 264 cm3 (STP)/cm3 (volumetric) methane storage. Furthermore, Al-soc-MOF exhibited the highest total gravimetric and volumetric uptake for carbon dioxide and the utmost total and deliverable uptake for oxygen at relatively high pressures among all microporous MOFs. In order to correlate the MOF pore structure and functionality to the gas storage properties, to better understand the structure-properties relationship, we performed a molecular simulation study and evaluated the methane storage performance of Al-soc-MOF platform using diverse organic linkers. It was found that shortening the parent Al-soc-MOF-1 linker resulted in a noticeable enhancement in the working volumetric capacity at specific temperatures and pressures with amply conserved gravimetric uptake/working capacity. In contrast, further expansion of the organic linker (branches and/or core) led to isostructural Al-soc-MOFs with enhanced gravimetric uptake but noticeably lower volumetric capacity. The collective experimental and simulation studies indicated that the parent Al-soc-MOF-1 exhibits the best compromise between the volumetric and gravimetric total and working uptakes in a wide range of pressure and temperature conditions.

MOF Crystal Chemistry Paving the Way to Gas Storage Needs: Aluminum Based soc-MOF for CH4, O2 and CO2 Storage

KAUST Repository

Alezi, Dalal; Belmabkhout, Youssef; Suetin, Mikhail; Bhatt, Prashant; Weselinski, Lukasz Jan; Solovyeva, Vera; Adil, Karim; Spanopoulos, Ioannis; Trikalitis, Pantelis N.; Emwas, Abdul-Hamid M.; Eddaoudi, Mohamed

2015-01-01

The molecular building block approach was employed effectively to construct a series of novel isoreticular, highly porous and stable, aluminum based Metal-Organic Frameworks with soc topology. From this platform, three compounds were experimentally isolated and fully characterized, namely, the parent Al-soc-MOF-1 and its naphthalene and anthracene analogues. Al-soc-MOF-1 exhibits outstanding gravimetric methane uptake (total and working capacity). It is shown experimentally, for the first time, that the Al-soc-MOF platform can address the challenging Department of Energy dual target of 0.5 g/g (gravimetric) and 264 cm3 (STP)/cm3 (volumetric) methane storage. Furthermore, Al-soc-MOF exhibited the highest total gravimetric and volumetric uptake for carbon dioxide and the utmost total and deliverable uptake for oxygen at relatively high pressures among all microporous MOFs. In order to correlate the MOF pore structure and functionality to the gas storage properties, to better understand the structure-properties relationship, we performed a molecular simulation study and evaluated the methane storage performance of Al-soc-MOF platform using diverse organic linkers. It was found that shortening the parent Al-soc-MOF-1 linker resulted in a noticeable enhancement in the working volumetric capacity at specific temperatures and pressures with amply conserved gravimetric uptake/working capacity. In contrast, further expansion of the organic linker (branches and/or core) led to isostructural Al-soc-MOFs with enhanced gravimetric uptake but noticeably lower volumetric capacity. The collective experimental and simulation studies indicated that the parent Al-soc-MOF-1 exhibits the best compromise between the volumetric and gravimetric total and working uptakes in a wide range of pressure and temperature conditions.

An Overview and Comparison of Online Implementable SOC Estimation Methods for Lithium-ion Battery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meng, Jinhao; Ricco, Mattia; Luo, Guangzhao

2018-01-01

. Many SOC estimation methods have been proposed in the literature. However, only a few of them consider the real-time applicability. This paper reviews recently proposed online SOC estimation methods and classifies them into five categories. Their principal features are illustrated, and the main pros...... and cons are provided. The SOC estimation methods are compared and discussed in terms of accuracy, robustness, and computation burden. Afterward, as the most popular type of model based SOC estimation algorithms, seven nonlinear filters existing in literature are compared in terms of their accuracy...

An OCP Compliant Network Adapter for GALS-based SoC Design Using the MANGO Network-on-Chip

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjerregaard, Tobias; Mahadevan, Shankar; Olsen, Rasmus Grøndahl

2005-01-01

decouples communication and computation, providing memory-mapped OCP transactions based on primitive message-passing services of the network. Also, it facilitates GALS-type systems, by adapting to the clockless network. This helps leverage a modular SoC design flow. We evaluate performance and cost of 0...

A Generalized SOC-OCV Model for Lithium-Ion Batteries and the SOC Estimation for LNMCO Battery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caiping Zhang

2016-11-01

Full Text Available A state-of-charge (SOC versus open-circuit-voltage (OCV model developed for batteries should preferably be simple, especially for real-time SOC estimation. It should also be capable of representing different types of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs, regardless of temperature change and battery degradation. It must therefore be generic, robust and adaptive, in addition to being accurate. These challenges have now been addressed by proposing a generalized SOC-OCV model for representing a few most widely used LIBs. The model is developed from analyzing electrochemical processes of the LIBs, before arriving at the sum of a logarithmic, a linear and an exponential function with six parameters. Values for these parameters are determined by a nonlinear estimation algorithm, which progressively shows that only four parameters need to be updated in real time. The remaining two parameters can be kept constant, regardless of temperature change and aging. Fitting errors demonstrated with different types of LIBs have been found to be within 0.5%. The proposed model is thus accurate, and can be flexibly applied to different LIBs, as verified by hardware-in-the-loop simulation designed for real-time SOC estimation.

Study on SOC wavelet analysis for LiFePO4 battery

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xuepeng; Zhao, Dongmei

2017-08-01

Improving the prediction accuracy of SOC can reduce the complexity of the conservative and control strategy of the strategy such as the scheduling, optimization and planning of LiFePO4 battery system. Based on the analysis of the relationship between the SOC historical data and the external stress factors, the SOC Estimation-Correction Prediction Model based on wavelet analysis is established. Using wavelet neural network prediction model is of high precision to achieve forecast link, external stress measured data is used to update parameters estimation in the model, implement correction link, makes the forecast model can adapt to the LiFePO4 battery under rated condition of charge and discharge the operating point of the variable operation area. The test results show that the method can obtain higher precision prediction model when the input and output of LiFePO4 battery are changed frequently.

Comparison Study on the Battery SoC Estimation with EKF and UKF Algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongwen He

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The battery state of charge (SoC, whose estimation is one of the basic functions of battery management system (BMS, is a vital input parameter in the energy management and power distribution control of electric vehicles (EVs. In this paper, two methods based on an extended Kalman filter (EKF and unscented Kalman filter (UKF, respectively, are proposed to estimate the SoC of a lithium-ion battery used in EVs. The lithium-ion battery is modeled with the Thevenin model and the model parameters are identified based on experimental data and validated with the Beijing Driving Cycle. Then space equations used for SoC estimation are established. The SoC estimation results with EKF and UKF are compared in aspects of accuracy and convergence. It is concluded that the two algorithms both perform well, while the UKF algorithm is much better with a faster convergence ability and a higher accuracy.

SOCS-1 deficiency does not prevent diet-induced insulin resistance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Emanuelli, Brice; Macotela, Yazmin; Boucher, Jérémie

2008-01-01

Obesity is associated with inflammation and increased expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins, which inhibit cytokine and insulin signaling. Thus, reducing SOCS expression could prevent the development of obesity-induced insulin resistance. Using SOCS-1 knockout mice, we...... investigated the contribution of SOCS-1 in the development of insulin resistance induced by a high-fat diet (HFD). SOCS-1 knockout mice on HFD gained 70% more weight, displayed a 2.3-fold increase in epididymal fat pads mass and increased hepatic lipid content. This was accompanied by increased mRNA expression...... of leptin and the macrophage marker CD68 in white adipose tissue and of SREBP1c and FAS in liver. HFD also induced hyperglycemia in SOCS-1 deficient mice with impairment of glucose and insulin tolerance tests. Thus, despite the role of SOCS proteins in obesity-related insulin resistance, SOCS-1 deficiency...

Settling-velocity specific SOC distribution on hillslopes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hu, Yaxian; Berhe, Asmeret Asefaw; Fogel, Marilyn L.

The net effect of soil erosion by water, as a sink or source of atmospheric CO2, is determined by the spatial (re-)distribution and stability of eroded soil organic carbon (SOC). The depositional position of eroded SOC is a function of the transport distances of soil fractions where the SOC...... fractions. Eroding sandy soils and sediment were sampled after a series of rainfall events along a slope on a freshly seeded cropland in Jutland, Denmark. All the soil samples were fractionated into five settling classes using a settling tube apparatus. The spatial distribution of soil settling classes...... shows a coarsening effect immediately below the eroding slope, followed by a fining trend at the slope tail. The 13C values of soil fractions were more positive at the footslope than on the slope shoulder or at the slope tail, suggesting enhanced decomposition rate of fresh SOC input at the footslope...

SOCS-1 localizes to the microtubule organizing complex-associated 20S proteasome.

Science.gov (United States)

Vuong, Bao Q; Arenzana, Teresita L; Showalter, Brian M; Losman, Julie; Chen, X Peter; Mostecki, Justin; Banks, Alexander S; Limnander, Andre; Fernandez, Neil; Rothman, Paul B

2004-10-01

The regulation of cytokine signaling is critical for controlling cellular proliferation and activation during an immune response. SOCS-1 is a potent inhibitor of Jak kinase activity and of signaling initiated by several cytokines. SOCS-1 protein levels are tightly regulated, and recent data suggest that SOCS-1 may regulate the protein levels of some signaling proteins by the ubiquitin proteasome pathway; however, the cellular mechanism by which SOCS-1 directs proteins for degradation is unknown. In this report, SOCS-1 is found to colocalize and biochemically copurify with the microtubule organizing complex (MTOC) and its associated 20S proteasome. The SOCS-1 SH2 domain is required for the localization of SOCS-1 to the MTOC. Overexpression of SOCS-1 targets Jak1 in an SH2-dependent manner to a perinuclear distribution resembling the MTOC-associated 20S proteasome. Analysis of MTOCs fractionated from SOCS-1-deficient cells demonstrates that SOCS-1 may function redundantly to regulate the localization of Jak1 to the MTOC. Nocodazole inhibits the protein turnover of SOCS-1, demonstrating that the minus-end transport of SOCS-1 to the MTOC-associated 20S proteasome is required to regulate SOCS-1 protein levels. These data link SOCS-1 directly with the proteasome pathway and suggest another function for the SH2 domain of SOCS-1 in the regulation of Jak/STAT signaling.

Interleaved Subtask Scheduling on Multi Processor SOC

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhe, M.

2006-01-01

The ever-progressing semiconductor processing technique has integrated more and more embedded processors on a single system-on-achip (SoC). With such powerful SoC platforms, and also due to the stringent time-to-market deadlines, many functionalities which used to be implemented in ASICs are

Defective interleukin-4/Stat6 activity correlates with increased constitutive expression of negative regulators SOCS-3, SOCS-7, and CISH in colon cancer cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiao Hong; Xu, Shuang Bing; Yuan, Jia; Li, Ben Hui; Zhang, Yan; Yuan, Qin; Li, Pin Dong; Li, Feng; Zhang, Wen Jie

2009-12-01

Interleukin-4 (IL-4)-induced Stat6 activities (phenotypes) vary among human cancer cells, of which the HT-29 cell line carries an active Stat6(high) phenotype, while Caco-2 carries a defective Stat6(null) phenotype, respectively. Cancer cells with Stat6(high) show resistance to apoptosis and exaggerated metastasis, suggesting the clinical significance of Stat6 phenotypes. We previously showed that Stat6(high) HT-29 cells exhibited low constitutive expression of Stat6-negative regulators SOCS-1 and SHP-1 because of gene hypermethylation. This study further examined the constitutive expression of other closely related SOCS family numbers including SOCS-3, SOCS-5, SOCS-7, and CISH using RT-PCR. Similar to SOCS-1 and SHP-1, Stat6(high) HT-29 cells expressed low constitutive mRNA of SOCS-3, SOCS-7, and CISH than Stat6(null) Caco-2 cells. Interestingly, DNA demethylation using 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine in HT-29 cells up-regulated mRNA expression of the above genes, indicating a hypermethylation status, which was confirmed by methylation-specific sequencing in selected SOCS-3 gene. Furthermore, defective Stat6(null) Caco-2 exhibited impaired phosphorylation of Stat6 after IL-4 stimulation by flow cytometry, in keeping with the notion of an over-performed negative regulation. The findings that IL-4/Stat6 phenotypes show differential expression of multiple negative regulators suggest a model that a collective force of powerful negative regulators, directly and indirectly, acts on Stat6 activation, which may result in differential Stat6 phenotypes.

Robustness of SOC Estimation Algorithms for EV Lithium-Ion Batteries against Modeling Errors and Measurement Noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xue Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available State of charge (SOC is one of the most important parameters in battery management system (BMS. There are numerous algorithms for SOC estimation, mostly of model-based observer/filter types such as Kalman filters, closed-loop observers, and robust observers. Modeling errors and measurement noises have critical impact on accuracy of SOC estimation in these algorithms. This paper is a comparative study of robustness of SOC estimation algorithms against modeling errors and measurement noises. By using a typical battery platform for vehicle applications with sensor noise and battery aging characterization, three popular and representative SOC estimation methods (extended Kalman filter, PI-controlled observer, and H∞ observer are compared on such robustness. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate that deterioration of SOC estimation accuracy under modeling errors resulted from aging and larger measurement noise, which is quantitatively characterized. The findings of this paper provide useful information on the following aspects: (1 how SOC estimation accuracy depends on modeling reliability and voltage measurement accuracy; (2 pros and cons of typical SOC estimators in their robustness and reliability; (3 guidelines for requirements on battery system identification and sensor selections.

Research on SOC Calibration of Large Capacity Lead Acid Battery

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, W. Q.; Guo, Y. X.

2018-05-01

Large capacity lead-acid battery is used in track electric locomotive, and State of Charge (SOC) is an important quantitative parameter of locomotive power output and operating mileage of power emergency recovery vehicle. But State of Charge estimation has been a difficult part in the battery management system. In order to reduce the SOC estimation error better, this paper uses the linear relationship of Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) and State of Charge to fit the SOC-OCV curve equation by MATLAB. The method proposed in this paper is small, easy to implement and can be used in the battery non-working state SOC estimation correction, improve the estimation accuracy of SOC.

Implementation of QoSS (Quality-of-Security Service) for NoC-Based SoC Protection

Science.gov (United States)

Sepúlveda, Johanna; Pires, Ricardo; Strum, Marius; Chau, Wang Jiang

Many of the current electronic systems embedded in a SoC (System-on-Chip) are used to capture, store, manipulate and access critical data, as well as to perform other key functions. In such a scenario, security is considered as an important issue. The Network-on-chip (NoC), as the foreseen communication structure of next-generation SoC devices, can be used to efficiently incorporate security. Our work proposes the implementation of QoSS (Quality of Security Service) to overcome present SoC vulnerabilities. QoSS is a novel concept for data protection that introduces security as a dimension of QoS. In this paper, we present the implementation of two security services (access control and authentication), that may be configured to assume one from several possible levels, the implementation of a technique to avoid denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, evaluate their effectiveness and estimate their impact on NoC performance.

Position Paper: OpenMP scheduling on ARM big.LITTLE architecture

OpenAIRE

Butko , Anastasiia; Bessad , Louisa; Novo , David; Bruguier , Florent; Gamatié , Abdoulaye; Sassatelli , Gilles; Torres , Lionel; Robert , Michel

2016-01-01

International audience; Single-ISA heterogeneous multicore systems are emerging as a promising direction to achieve a more suitable balance between performance and energy consumption. However, a proper utilization of these architectures is essential to reach the energy benefits. In this paper, we demonstrate the ineffectiveness of popular OpenMP scheduling policies executing Rodinia benchmark on the Exynos 5 Octa (5422) SoC, which integrates the ARM big.LITTLE architecture.

Favorable prognostic value of SOCS2 and IGF-I in breast cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haffner, Michael C; Petridou, Barbara; Peyrat, Jean Phillipe; Révillion, Françoise; Müller-Holzner, Elisabeth; Daxenbichler, Günter; Marth, Christian; Doppler, Wolfgang

2007-01-01

Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins comprise a protein family, which has initially been described as STAT induced inhibitors of the Jak/Stat pathway. Recent in vivo and in vitro studies suggest that SOCS proteins are also implicated in cancer. The STAT5 induced IGF-I acts as an endocrine and para/autocrine growth and differentiation factor in mammary gland development. Whereas high levels of circulating IGF-I have been associated with increased cancer risk, the role of autocrine acting IGF-I is less clear. The present study is aimed to elucidate the clinicopathological features associated with SOCS1, SOCS2, SOCS3, CIS and IGF-I expression in breast cancer. We determined the mRNA expression levels of SOCS1, SOCS2, SOCS3, CIS and IGF-I in 89 primary breast cancers by reverse transcriptase PCR. SOCS2 protein expression was further evaluated by immuno-blot and immunohistochemistry. SOCS2 expression inversely correlated with histopathological grade and ER positive tumors exhibited higher SOCS2 levels. Patients with high SOCS2 expression lived significantly longer (108.7 vs. 77.7 months; P = 0.015) and high SOCS2 expression proved to be an independent predictor for good prognosis (HR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.23 – 0.91, P = 0.026). In analogy to SOCS2, high IGF-I expression was an independent predictor for good prognosis in the entire patient cohort. In the subgroup of patients with lymph-node negative disease, high IGF-I was a strong predictor for favorable outcome in terms of overall survival and relapse free survival (HR = 0.075, 95% CI 0.014 – 0.388, P = 0.002). This is the first report on the favorable prognostic value of high SOCS2 expression in primary mammary carcinomas. Furthermore a strong association of high IGF-I expression levels with good prognosis was observed especially in lymph-node negative patients. Our results suggest that high expression of the STAT5 target genes SOCS2 and IGF-I is a feature of differentiated and less malignant tumors

Variation tolerant SoC design

Science.gov (United States)

Kozhikkottu, Vivek J.

performance distribution. This task is particularly complex and challenging due to the inter-dependencies between components' execution, indirect effects of shared resources, and interactions between multiple system-level "execution paths". We argue that accurate variation-aware performance analysis requires Monte-Carlo based repeated system execution. Our proposed analysis framework leverages emulation to significantly speedup performance analysis without sacrificing the generality and accuracy achieved by Monte-Carlo based simulations. Our experiments show performance improvements of around 60x compared to state-of-the-art hardware-software co-simulation tools and also underscore the framework's potential to enable variation-aware design and exploration at the system level. Our second contribution addresses the problem of designing variation-tolerant SoCs using recovery based design, a popular circuit design paradigm that addresses variations by eliminating guard-bands and operating circuits at close to "zero margins" while detecting and recovering from timing errors. While previous efforts have demonstrated the potential benefits of recovery based design, we identify several challenges that need to be addressed in order to apply this technique to SoCs. We present a systematic design framework to apply recovery based design at the system level. We propose to partition SoCs into "recovery islands", wherein each recovery island consists of one or more SoC components that can recover independent of the rest of the SoC. We present a variation-aware design methodology that partitions a given SoC into recovery islands and computes the optimal operating points for each island, taking into account the various trade-offs involved. Our experiments demonstrate that the proposed design framework achieves an average of 32% energy savings over conventional worst-case designs, with negligible losses in performance. The third contribution of this thesis introduces disproportionate

Identification of suppressor of cytokine signalling (SOCS) 6, 7, 9 and CISH in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and analysis of their expression in relation to other known trout SOCS.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tiehui; Gao, Qian; Nie, Pin; Secombes, Christopher J

2010-10-01

Four new members of the SOCS family of molecules in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), CISH and SOCS6, 7 and 9, are described for the first time in this species. The genes had a wide tissue distribution in trout, and were detected in gills, skin, muscle, liver, spleen, head kidney, intestine and brain, with brain having the highest expression levels. Stimulation of a rainbow trout leucocyte cell line, RTS-11, (mononuclear/macrophage-like cells) with LPS or Poly I:C had no effect on the expression of these genes, although in both cases the previously identified SOCS1-3 genes were up-regulated. Similarly, stimulation of RTS-11 or RTG-2 (fibroblasts) cells with the trout recombinant cytokines IFN-gamma or IL-1beta had no effect on CISH or SOCS6, 7 and 9 expression. However, PMA stimulation did impact on SOCS6 and SOCS9 expression, and LPS stimulation of primary cultures or bacterial infection (Yersinia ruckeri) increased significantly CISH expression (as well as SOCS1 and SOCS2 or SOCS3 respectively). It is apparent that the type II SOCS genes (CISH, SOCS1-3) are particularly relevant to immune regulation in fish, although the intriguing expansion of the SOCS4/5 subgroup in fish requires further investigation as to their role and functional divergence. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design and implementation of a reconfigurable mixed-signal SoC based on field programmable analog arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Lintao; Gao, Yuhan; Deng, Jun

2017-11-01

This work presents a reconfigurable mixed-signal system-on-chip (SoC), which integrates switched-capacitor-based field programmable analog arrays (FPAA), analog-to-digital converter (ADC), digital-to-analog converter, digital down converter , digital up converter, 32-bit reduced instruction-set computer central processing unit (CPU) and other digital IPs on a single chip with 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The FPAA intellectual property could be reconfigured as different function circuits, such as gain amplifier, divider, sine generator, and so on. This single-chip integrated mixed-signal system is a complete modern signal processing system, occupying a die area of 7 × 8 mm 2 and consuming 719 mW with a clock frequency of 150 MHz for CPU and 200 MHz for ADC/DAC. This SoC chip can help customers to shorten design cycles, save board area, reduce the system power consumption and depress the system integration risk, which would afford a big prospect of application for wireless communication. Project supported by the National High Technology and Development Program of China (No. 2012AA012303).

Implementation of a wireless ECG acquisition SoC for IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee) applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Liang-Hung; Chen, Tsung-Yen; Lin, Kuang-Hao; Fang, Qiang; Lee, Shuenn-Yuh

2015-01-01

This paper presents a wireless biosignal acquisition system-on-a-chip (WBSA-SoC) specialized for electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring. The proposed system consists of three subsystems, namely, 1) the ECG acquisition node, 2) the protocol for standard IEEE 802.15.4 ZigBee system, and 3) the RF transmitter circuits. The ZigBee protocol is adopted for wireless communication to achieve high integration, applicability, and portability. A fully integrated CMOS RF front end containing a quadrature voltage-controlled oscillator and a 2.4-GHz low-IF (i.e., zero-IF) transmitter is employed to transmit ECG signals through wireless communication. The low-power WBSA-SoC is implemented by the TSMC 0.18-μm standard CMOS process. An ARM-based displayer with FPGA demodulation and an RF receiver with analog-to-digital mixed-mode circuits are constructed as verification platform to demonstrate the wireless ECG acquisition system. Measurement results on the human body show that the proposed SoC can effectively acquire ECG signals.

Highly monodisperse M III-based soc -MOFs (M = in and Ga) with cubic and truncated cubic morphologies

KAUST Repository

Pang, Maolin

2012-08-15

In this work, we carry out an investigation on shape-controlled growth of In III- and Ga III-based square-octahedral metal-organic frameworks (soc-MOFs). In particular, controllable crystal morphological evolution from simple cubes to complex octadecahedra has been achieved, and resultant highly uniform crystal building blocks promise new research opportunities for preparation of self-assembled MOF materials and related applications. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

Highly monodisperse M III-based soc -MOFs (M = in and Ga) with cubic and truncated cubic morphologies

KAUST Repository

Pang, Maolin; Cairns, Amy; Liu, Yunling; Belmabkhout, Youssef; Zeng, Huachun; Eddaoudi, Mohamed

2012-01-01

In this work, we carry out an investigation on shape-controlled growth of In III- and Ga III-based square-octahedral metal-organic frameworks (soc-MOFs). In particular, controllable crystal morphological evolution from simple cubes to complex octadecahedra has been achieved, and resultant highly uniform crystal building blocks promise new research opportunities for preparation of self-assembled MOF materials and related applications. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

Favorable prognostic value of SOCS2 and IGF-I in breast cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daxenbichler Günter

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS proteins comprise a protein family, which has initially been described as STAT induced inhibitors of the Jak/Stat pathway. Recent in vivo and in vitro studies suggest that SOCS proteins are also implicated in cancer. The STAT5 induced IGF-I acts as an endocrine and para/autocrine growth and differentiation factor in mammary gland development. Whereas high levels of circulating IGF-I have been associated with increased cancer risk, the role of autocrine acting IGF-I is less clear. The present study is aimed to elucidate the clinicopathological features associated with SOCS1, SOCS2, SOCS3, CIS and IGF-I expression in breast cancer. Methods We determined the mRNA expression levels of SOCS1, SOCS2, SOCS3, CIS and IGF-I in 89 primary breast cancers by reverse transcriptase PCR. SOCS2 protein expression was further evaluated by immuno-blot and immunohistochemistry. Results SOCS2 expression inversely correlated with histopathological grade and ER positive tumors exhibited higher SOCS2 levels. Patients with high SOCS2 expression lived significantly longer (108.7 vs. 77.7 months; P = 0.015 and high SOCS2 expression proved to be an independent predictor for good prognosis (HR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.23 – 0.91, P = 0.026. In analogy to SOCS2, high IGF-I expression was an independent predictor for good prognosis in the entire patient cohort. In the subgroup of patients with lymph-node negative disease, high IGF-I was a strong predictor for favorable outcome in terms of overall survival and relapse free survival (HR = 0.075, 95% CI 0.014 – 0.388, P = 0.002. Conclusion This is the first report on the favorable prognostic value of high SOCS2 expression in primary mammary carcinomas. Furthermore a strong association of high IGF-I expression levels with good prognosis was observed especially in lymph-node negative patients. Our results suggest that high expression of the STAT5 target genes SOCS2 and IGF

A Flexible ADC Approach for Mixed-signal SoC Platforms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zanikopoulos, A.; Harpe, P.J.A.; Hegt, J.A.; Roermund, van A.H.M.

2005-01-01

Time-to-market pressure and increased design complexity created what is called a "design gap" [1] in the design of systems-on-chip (SoC). As a solution to that problem the Platform-Based Design (PBD), based on the design-reuse methodology, has been proposed [2], and successfully applied to digital

A software radio platform based on ARM and FPGA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Xin.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The rapid rise in computational performance offered by computer systems has greatly increased the number of practical software radio applications. A scheme presented in this paper is a software radio platform based on ARM and FPGA. FPGA works as the coprocessor together with the ARM, which serves as the core processor. ARM is used for digital signal processing and real-time data transmission, and FPGA is used for synchronous timing control and serial-parallel conversion. A SPI driver for real-time data transmission between ARM and FPGA under ARM-Linux system is provided. By adopting modular design, the software radio platform is capable of implementing wireless communication functions and satisfies the requirements of real-time signal processing platform for high security and broad applicability.

IL-10 and socs3 Are Predictive Biomarkers of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lilian Karem Flores-Mendoza

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Cytokines play important roles in the physiopathology of dengue infection; therefore, the suppressors of cytokine signaling (socs that control the type and timing of cytokine functions could be involved in the origin of immune alterations in dengue. Objective. To explore the association of cytokine and socs levels with disease severity in dengue patients. Methods. Blood samples of 48 patients with confirmed dengue infection were analyzed. Amounts of interleukins IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, and IL-10, interferon- (IFN- γ, and tumor necrosis factor- (TNF- α were quantified by flow cytometry, and the relative expression of socs1 and socs3 mRNA was quantified by real-time RT-PCR. Results. Increased levels of IL-10 and socs3 and lower expression of socs1 were found in patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF with respect to those with dengue fever (DF (p199.8-fold, socs1 (134 pg/ml have the highest sensitivity and specificity to discriminate between DF and DHF. Conclusion. Simultaneous changes in IL-10 and socs1/socs3 could be used as prognostic biomarkers of dengue severity.

Modulation of SOCS protein expression influences the interferon responsiveness of human melanoma cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lesinski, Gregory B; Zimmerer, Jason M; Kreiner, Melanie; Trefry, John; Bill, Matthew A; Young, Gregory S; Becknell, Brian; Carson, William E III

2010-01-01

Endogenously produced interferons can regulate the growth of melanoma cells and are administered exogenously as therapeutic agents to patients with advanced cancer. We investigated the role of negative regulators of interferon signaling known as suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) in mediating interferon-resistance in human melanoma cells. Basal and interferon-alpha (IFN-α) or interferon-gamma (IFN-γ)-induced expression of SOCS1 and SOCS3 proteins was evaluated by immunoblot analysis in a panel of n = 10 metastatic human melanoma cell lines, in human embryonic melanocytes (HEM), and radial or vertical growth phase melanoma cells. Over-expression of SOCS1 and SOCS3 proteins in melanoma cells was achieved using the PINCO retroviral vector, while siRNA were used to inhibit SOCS1 and SOCS3 expression. Tyr 701 -phosphorylated STAT1 (P-STAT1) was measured by intracellular flow cytometry and IFN-stimulated gene expression was measured by Real Time PCR. SOCS1 and SOCS3 proteins were expressed at basal levels in melanocytes and in all melanoma cell lines examined. Expression of the SOCS1 and SOCS3 proteins was also enhanced following stimulation of a subset of cell lines with IFN-α or IFN-γ. Over-expression of SOCS proteins in melanoma cell lines led to significant inhibition of Tyr 701 -phosphorylated STAT1 (P-STAT1) and gene expression following stimulation with IFN-α (IFIT2, OAS-1, ISG-15) or IFN-γ (IRF1). Conversely, siRNA inhibition of SOCS1 and SOCS3 expression in melanoma cells enhanced their responsiveness to interferon stimulation. These data demonstrate that SOCS proteins are expressed in human melanoma cell lines and their modulation can influence the responsiveness of melanoma cells to IFN-α and IFN-γ

A multiscale framework with extended Kalman filter for lithium-ion battery SOC and capacity estimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Chao; Youn, Byeng D.; Chung, Jaesik

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We develop a mutiscale framework with EKF to estimate SOC and capacity. ► The framework is a hybrid of coulomb counting and adaptive filtering techniques. ► It decouples SOC and capacity estimation in terms of measurement and time-scale. ► Results verify the framework achieves higher accuracy and efficiency than dual EKF. -- Abstract: State-of-charge (SOC) and capacity estimation plays an essential role in many battery-powered applications, such as electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). However, commonly used joint/dual extended Kalman filter (EKF) suffers from the lack of accuracy in the capacity estimation since (i) the cell voltage is the only measurable data for the SOC and capacity estimation and updates and (ii) the capacity is very weakly linked to the cell voltage. The lack of accuracy in the capacity estimation may further reduce the accuracy in the SOC estimation due to the strong dependency of the SOC on the capacity. Furthermore, although the capacity is a slowly time-varying quantity that indicates cell state-of-health (SOH), the capacity estimation is generally performed on the same time-scale as the quickly time-varying SOC, resulting in high computational complexity. To resolve these difficulties, this paper proposes a multiscale framework with EKF for SOC and capacity estimation. The proposed framework comprises two ideas: (i) a multiscale framework to estimate SOC and capacity that exhibit time-scale separation and (ii) a state projection scheme for accurate and stable capacity estimation. Simulation results with synthetic data based on a valid cell dynamic model suggest that the proposed framework, as a hybrid of coulomb counting and adaptive filtering techniques, achieves higher accuracy and efficiency than joint/dual EKF. Results of the cycle test on Lithium-ion prismatic cells further verify the effectiveness of our framework.

Fish Suppressors of Cytokine Signaling (SOCS): Gene Discovery, Modulation of Expression and Function

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tiehui; Gorgoglione, Bartolomeo; Maehr, Tanja; Holland, Jason W.; Vecino, Jose L. González; Wadsworth, Simon; Secombes, Christopher J.

2011-01-01

The intracellular suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) family members, including CISH and SOCS1 to 7 in mammals, are important regulators of cytokine signaling pathways. So far, the orthologues of all the eight mammalian SOCS members have been identified in fish, with several of them having multiple copies. Whilst fish CISH, SOCS3, and SOCS5 paralogues are possibly the result of the fish-specific whole genome duplication event, gene duplication or lineage-specific genome duplication may also contribute to some paralogues, as with the three trout SOCS2s and three zebrafish SOCS5s. Fish SOCS genes are broadly expressed and also show species-specific expression patterns. They can be upregulated by cytokines, such as IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-21, by immune stimulants such as LPS, poly I:C, and PMA, as well as by viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections in member- and species-dependent manners. Initial functional studies demonstrate conserved mechanisms of fish SOCS action via JAK/STAT pathways. PMID:22203897

Effect of SOCS1 overexpression on RPE cell activation by proinflammatory cytokines.

Science.gov (United States)

Bazewicz, Magdalena; Draganova, Dafina; Makhoul, Maya; Chtarto, Abdel; Elmaleh, Valerie; Tenenbaum, Liliane; Caspers, Laure; Bruyns, Catherine; Willermain, François

2016-09-06

The purpose of this study was to investigate the in vitro effect of Suppressor Of Cytokine Signaling 1 (SOCS1) overexpression in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells on their activation by pro-inflammatory cytokines IFNγ, TNFα and IL-17. Retinal pigment epithelium cells (ARPE-19) were stably transfected with the control plasmid pIRES2-AcGFP1 or the plasmid pSOCS1-IRES2-AcGFP1. They were stimulated by IFNγ (150ng/ml), TNFα (30ng/ml) or IL-17 (100ng/ml). The levels of SOCS1 mRNA were measured by real-time PCR. Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 1 (STAT1) phosphorylation and IκBα expression were analysed by western Blot (WB). IL-8 secretion was analysed by ELISA and expression of MHCII molecules and ICAM-1/CD54 by flow cytometry. Our data show that SOCS1 mRNA overexpression in RPE cells prevents IFNγ-induced SOCS1 mRNA increase and IFNγ-mediated STAT1 phosphorylation. Moreover, SOCS1 overexpression in RPE cells inhibits IFNγ-induced decrease of IL-8 secretion and prevents IFNγ-induced MHC II and ICAM1/CD54 upregulation. However, SOCS1 overexpression does not affect TNFα-induced IκBα degradation nor block TNFα-induced or IL-17-induced IL-8 secretion. On the contrary, IL-17-induced secretion is increased by SOCS1 overexpression. In conclusion, SOCS1 overexpression in RPE cells inhibits some IFNγ-mediated responses that lead to uveitis development. This notion raises the possibility that SOCS1 overexpression could be a novel target for treating non-infectious uveitis. However, some proinflammatory effects of TNFα and IL-17 stimulation on RPE are not blocked by SOCS1 overexpression. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

SOC Strategies and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors toward the Benefits of Co-workers: A Multi-Source Study

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Andreas; Weigl, Matthias

2017-01-01

Background: Individuals’ behavioral strategies like selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) contribute to efficient use of available resources. In the work context, previous studies revealed positive associations between employees’ SOC use and favorable individual outcomes, like engagement and job performance. However, the social implications of self-directed behaviors like SOC that are favorable for the employee but may imply consequences for coworkers have not been investigated yet in an interpersonal work context. Objective: This study aimed to assess associations between employees’ use of SOC behaviors at work and their organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) toward the benefits of co-workers rated by their peers at work. We further sought to identify age-specific associations between SOC use and OCB. Design and Method: A cross-sectional design combining multi-source data was applied in primary school teachers (age range: 23–58 years) who frequently teach in dyads. N = 114 dyads were finally included. Teachers reported on their SOC strategies at work. Their peer colleagues evaluated teachers’ OCB. Control variables were gender, workload, working hours, and perceived proximity of relationship between the dyads. Results: We observed a positive effect of loss-based selection behaviors on peer-rated OCB. Moreover, there was a significant two-way interaction effect between the use of compensation strategies and age on OCB, such that there was a positive association for older employees and a negative association for younger employees. There were no significant main and age-related interaction effects of elective selection, optimization, and of overall SOC strategies on OCB. Conclusion: Our study suggests that high use of loss-based selection and high use of compensation strategies in older employees is positively related with OCB as perceived by their colleagues. However, high use of compensation strategies in younger employees is perceived

SOC Strategies and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors toward the Benefits of Co-workers: A Multi-Source Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Müller

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Individuals’ behavioral strategies like selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC contribute to efficient use of available resources. In the work context, previous studies revealed positive associations between employees’ SOC use and favorable individual outcomes, like engagement and job performance. However, the social implications of self-directed behaviors like SOC that are favorable for the employee but may imply consequences for coworkers have not been investigated yet in an interpersonal work context.Objective: This study aimed to assess associations between employees’ use of SOC behaviors at work and their organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB toward the benefits of co-workers rated by their peers at work. We further sought to identify age-specific associations between SOC use and OCB.Design and Method: A cross-sectional design combining multi-source data was applied in primary school teachers (age range: 23–58 years who frequently teach in dyads. N = 114 dyads were finally included. Teachers reported on their SOC strategies at work. Their peer colleagues evaluated teachers’ OCB. Control variables were gender, workload, working hours, and perceived proximity of relationship between the dyads.Results: We observed a positive effect of loss-based selection behaviors on peer-rated OCB. Moreover, there was a significant two-way interaction effect between the use of compensation strategies and age on OCB, such that there was a positive association for older employees and a negative association for younger employees. There were no significant main and age-related interaction effects of elective selection, optimization, and of overall SOC strategies on OCB.Conclusion: Our study suggests that high use of loss-based selection and high use of compensation strategies in older employees is positively related with OCB as perceived by their colleagues. However, high use of compensation strategies in younger employees is

SOC Strategies and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors toward the Benefits of Co-workers: A Multi-Source Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Andreas; Weigl, Matthias

2017-01-01

Background: Individuals' behavioral strategies like selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) contribute to efficient use of available resources. In the work context, previous studies revealed positive associations between employees' SOC use and favorable individual outcomes, like engagement and job performance. However, the social implications of self-directed behaviors like SOC that are favorable for the employee but may imply consequences for coworkers have not been investigated yet in an interpersonal work context. Objective: This study aimed to assess associations between employees' use of SOC behaviors at work and their organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) toward the benefits of co-workers rated by their peers at work. We further sought to identify age-specific associations between SOC use and OCB. Design and Method: A cross-sectional design combining multi-source data was applied in primary school teachers (age range: 23-58 years) who frequently teach in dyads. N = 114 dyads were finally included. Teachers reported on their SOC strategies at work. Their peer colleagues evaluated teachers' OCB. Control variables were gender, workload, working hours, and perceived proximity of relationship between the dyads. Results: We observed a positive effect of loss-based selection behaviors on peer-rated OCB. Moreover, there was a significant two-way interaction effect between the use of compensation strategies and age on OCB, such that there was a positive association for older employees and a negative association for younger employees. There were no significant main and age-related interaction effects of elective selection, optimization, and of overall SOC strategies on OCB. Conclusion: Our study suggests that high use of loss-based selection and high use of compensation strategies in older employees is positively related with OCB as perceived by their colleagues. However, high use of compensation strategies in younger employees is perceived negatively

Constitutive expression of the K-domain of a Vaccinium corymbosum SOC1-like (VcSOC1-K) MADS-box gene is sufficient to promote flowering in tobacco.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Guo-qing; Walworth, Aaron; Zhao, Dongyan; Hildebrandt, Britton; Leasia, Michael

2013-11-01

The K-domain of a blueberry-derived SOC1 -like gene promotes flowering in tobacco without negatively impacting yield, demonstrating potential for manipulation of flowering time in horticultural crops. The SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (SOC1) and SOC1-likes, belonging to the MIKC(c) (type II) MADS-box gene subfamily, are major floral activators and integrators of plant flowering. Both MADS-domains and K (Keratin)-domains are highly conserved in MIKC(c)-type MADS proteins. While there are many reports on overexpression of intact MIKC(c)-type MADS-box genes, few studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of the K-domains. In this report, a 474-bp K-domain of Vaccinium SOC1-like (VcSOC1-K) was cloned from the cDNA library of the northern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.). Functional analysis of the VcSOC1-K was conducted by ectopically expressing of 35S:VcSOC1-K in tobacco. Reverse transcription PCR confirmed expression of the VcSOC1-K in T0 plants. Phenotypically, T1 transgenic plants (10 T1 plants/event) flowered sooner after seeding, and were shorter with fewer leaves at the time of flowering, than nontransgenic plants; but seed pod production of transgenic plants was not significantly affected. These results demonstrate that overexpression of the K-domain of a MIKC(c)-type MADS-box gene alone is sufficient to promote early flowering and more importantly without affecting seed production.

Online cell SOC estimation of Li-ion battery packs using a dual time-scale Kalman filtering for EV applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dai, Haifeng; Wei, Xuezhe; Sun, Zechang; Wang, Jiayuan; Gu, Weijun

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We use an equivalent circuit model to describe the characteristics of battery. ► A dual time-scale estimator is used to calculate pack average SOC and cell SOC. ► The estimator is based on the dynamic descriptions and extended Kalman filter. ► Three different test cases are designed to validate the proposed method. ► Test results indicate a good performance of the method for EV applications. -- Abstract: For the vehicular operation, due to the voltage and power/energy requirements, the battery systems are usually composed of up to hundreds of cells connected in series or parallel. To accommodate the operation conditions, the battery management system (BMS) should estimate State of Charge (SOC) to facilitate safe and efficient utilization of the battery. The performance difference among the cells makes a pure pack SOC estimation hardly provide sufficient information, which at last affects the computation of available energy and power and the safety of the battery system. So for a reliable and accurate management, the BMS should “know” the SOC of each individual cell. Several possible solutions on this issue have been reported in the recent years. This paper studies a method to determine online all individual cell SOCs of a series-connected battery pack. This method, with an equivalent circuit based “averaged cell” model, estimates the battery pack’s average SOC first, and then incorporates the performance divergences between the “averaged cell” and each individual cell to generate the SOC estimations for all cells. This method is developed based on extended Kalman filter (EKF), and to reduce the computation cost, a dual time-scale implementation is designed. The method is validated using results obtained from the measurements of a Li-ion battery pack under three different tests, and analysis indicates the good performance of the algorithm.

A Framework for Hardware-Accelerated Services Using Partially Reconfigurable SoCs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MACHIDON, O. M.

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The current trend towards ?Everything as a Service? fosters a new approach on reconfigurable hardware resources. This innovative, service-oriented approach has the potential of bringing a series of benefits for both reconfigurable and distributed computing fields by favoring a hardware-based acceleration of web services and increasing service performance. This paper proposes a framework for accelerating web services by offloading the compute-intensive tasks to reconfigurable System-on-Chip (SoC devices, as integrated IP (Intellectual Property cores. The framework provides a scalable, dynamic management of the tasks and hardware processing cores, based on dynamic partial reconfiguration of the SoC. We have enhanced security of the entire system by making use of the built-in detection features of the hardware device and also by implementing active counter-measures that protect the sensitive data.

Piezoelectric micromotor based on the structure of serial bending arms.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Jianhua; Cui, Tianhong; Shao, Peige; Wang, Liding

2003-09-01

This paper presents a new piezoelectric micromotor based on the structure of serial bending arms. Serial bending arms are composed of two piezoelectric bimorphs with one end fixed and the other end free, driven by two signals of a biased square wave with a phase difference of pi/2. The free end of a cantilever arm will move along an elliptic orbit so that the cantilever is used to drive a cylinder rotor. The rotor's end surface contacts the free end of the cantilever, resulting in the rotor's rotation. There are six serial bending arms anchored on the base. The driving mechanism of the micromotor is proposed and analyzed. A new micromotor prototype, 5 mm in diameter, has been fabricated and characterized. The maximum rotational speed reaches 325 rpm, and the output torque is about 36.5 microNm.

SOCS-1 Localizes to the Microtubule Organizing Complex-Associated 20S Proteasome

OpenAIRE

Vuong, Bao Q.; Arenzana, Teresita L.; Showalter, Brian M.; Losman, Julie; Chen, X. Peter; Mostecki, Justin; Banks, Alexander S.; Limnander, Andre; Fernandes, Neil; Rothman, Paul B.

2005-01-01

The regulation of cytokine signaling is critical for controlling cellular proliferation and activation during an immune response. SOCS-1 is a potent inhibitor of Jak kinase activity and of signaling initiated by several cytokines. SOCS-1 protein levels are tightly regulated, and recent data suggest that SOCS-1 may regulate the protein levels of some signaling proteins by the ubiquitin proteasome pathway; however, the cellular mechanism by which SOCS-1 directs proteins for degradation is unkno...

Trichostatin A, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, suppresses JAK2/STAT3 signaling via inducing the promoter-associated histone acetylation of SOCS1 and SOCS3 in human colorectal cancer cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Hua; Du, Wan; Zhang, Yan-Jie; Hong, Jie; Su, Wen-Yu; Tang, Jie-Ting; Wang, Ying-Chao; Lu, Rong; Fang, Jing-Yuan

2012-02-01

Aberrant janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling is involved in the oncogenesis of several cancers. Suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) genes and SH2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 1 (SHP1) proteins, which are negative regulators of JAK/STAT signaling, have been reported to have tumor suppressor functions. However, in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells, the mechanisms that regulate SOCS and SHP1 genes, and the cause of abnormalities in the JAK/STAT signaling pathway, remain largely unknown. The present study shows that trichostatin A (TSA), a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, leads to the hyperacetylation of histones associated with the SOCS1 and SOCS3 promoters, but not the SHP1 promoter in CRC cells. This indicates that histone modifications are involved in the regulation of SOCS1 and SOCS3. Moreover, upregulation of SOCS1 and SOCS3 expression was achieved using TSA, which also significantly downregulated JAK2/STAT3 signaling in CRC cells. We also demonstrate that TSA suppresses the growth of CRC cells, and induces G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis through the regulation of downstream targets of JAK2/STAT3 signaling, including Bcl-2, survivin and p16(ink4a) . Therefore, our data demonstrate that TSA may induce SOCS1 and SOCS3 expression by inducing histone modifications and consequently inhibits JAK2/STAT3 signaling in CRC cells. These results also establish a mechanistic link between the inhibition of JAK2/STAT3 signaling and the anticancer action of TSA in CRC cells. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

STAT3-mediated constitutive expression of SOCS-3 in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brender, C; Nielsen, M; Kaltoft, K

2001-01-01

) obtained from affected skin from a patient with mycosis fungoides (MF) and from peripheral blood from a patient with Sezary syndrome (SS). In contrast, constitutive SOCS-3 expression is not found in the leukemic Jurkat T-cell line, the MOLT-4 acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line, and the monocytic......, it has been hypothesized that an aberrant SOCS expression plays a role in neoplastic transformation. This study reports on a constitutive SOCS-3 expression in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) cell lines. SOCS-3 protein is constitutively expressed in tumor cell lines (but not in nonmalignant T cells...... leukemic cell line U937. Expression of SOCS-3 coincides with a constitutive activation of STAT3 in CTCL tumor cells, and stable transfection of CTCL tumor cells with a dominant negative STAT3 strongly inhibits SOCS-3 expression, whereas transfection with wild-type STAT3 does not. Moreover, the reduced SOCS...

Whole arm manipulation planning based on feedback velocity fields and sampling-based techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Talaei, B; Abdollahi, F; Talebi, H A; Omidi Karkani, E

2013-09-01

Changing the configuration of a cooperative whole arm manipulator is not easy while enclosing an object. This difficulty is mainly because of risk of jamming caused by kinematic constraints. To reduce this risk, this paper proposes a feedback manipulation planning algorithm that takes grasp kinematics into account. The idea is based on a vector field that imposes perturbation in object motion inducing directions when the movement is considerably along manipulator redundant directions. Obstacle avoidance problem is then considered by combining the algorithm with sampling-based techniques. As experimental results confirm, the proposed algorithm is effective in avoiding jamming as well as obstacles for a 6-DOF dual arm whole arm manipulator. Copyright © 2013 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Essential issues in SOC design designing complex systems-on-chip

CERN Document Server

Lin, Youn-long Steve

2007-01-01

Covers issues related to system-on-chip (SoC) design. This book covers IP development, verification, integration, chip implementation, testing and software. It contains valuable academic and industrial examples for those involved with the design of complex SOCs.

Medicago truncatula SOC1 Genes Are Up-regulated by Environmental Cues That Promote Flowering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jared B. Fudge

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Like Arabidopsis thaliana, the flowering of the legume Medicago truncatula is promoted by long day (LD photoperiod and vernalization. However, there are differences in the molecular mechanisms involved, with orthologs of two key Arabidopsis thaliana regulators, FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC and CONSTANS (CO, being absent or not having a role in flowering time function in Medicago. In Arabidopsis, the MADS-box transcription factor gene, SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (AtSOC1, plays a key role in integrating the photoperiodic and vernalization pathways. In this study, we set out to investigate whether the Medicago SOC1 genes play a role in regulating flowering time. Three Medicago SOC1 genes were identified and characterized (MtSOC1a–MtSOC1c. All three MtSOC1 genes, when heterologously expressed, were able to promote earlier flowering of the late-flowering Arabidopsis soc1-2 mutant. The three MtSOC1 genes have different patterns of expression. However, consistent with a potential role in flowering time regulation, all three MtSOC1 genes are expressed in the shoot apex and are up-regulated in the shoot apex of plants in response to LD photoperiods and vernalization. The up-regulation of MtSOC1 genes was reduced in Medicago fta1-1 mutants, indicating that they are downstream of MtFTa1. Insertion mutant alleles of Medicago soc1b do not flower late, suggestive of functional redundancy among Medicago SOC1 genes in promoting flowering.

Over-expression of KdSOC1 gene affected plantlet morphogenesis in Kalanchoe daigremontiana.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Chen; Wang, Li; Chen, Jinhua; Liu, Chenglan; Zeng, Huiming; Wang, Huafang

2017-07-17

Kalanchoe daigremontiana reproduces asexually by producing plantlets along the leaf margin. The aim of this study was to identify the function of the SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 gene in Kalanchoe daigremontiana (KdSOC1) during plantlet morphogenesis. In this study, KdSOC1 gene expression was detected at stem cell niche during in vitro somatic embryogenesis and plantlet morphogenesis. Disrupting endogenous auxin transportation suppressed the KdSOC1 gene response. Knockdown of the KdSOC1 gene caused a defect in cotyledon formation during the early heart stage of somatic embryogenesis. Over-expression (OE) of the KdSOC1 gene resulted in asymmetric plantlet distribution, a reduced number of plantlets, thicker leaves, and thicker vascular fibers. Higher KdPIN1 gene expression and auxin content were found in OE plant compared to those of wild-type plant leaves, which indicated possible KdSOC1 gene role in affecting auxin distribution and accumulation. KdSOC1 gene OE in DR5-GUS Arabidopsis reporting lines resulted in an abnormal auxin response pattern during different stages of somatic embryogenesis. In summary, the KdSOC1 gene OE might alter auxin distribution and accumulation along leaf margin to initiate plantlet formation and distribution, which is crucial for plasticity during plantlet formation under various environmental conditions.

Design of a Programmable Passive SoC for Biomedical Applications Using RFID ISO 15693/NFC5 Interface

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Mayukh Bhattacharyya

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Low power, low cost inductively powered passive biotelemetry system involving fully customized RFID/NFC interface base SoC has gained popularity in the last decades. However, most of the SoCs developed are application specific and lacks either on-chip computational or sensor readout capability. In this paper, we present design details of a programmable passive SoC in compliance with ISO 15693/NFC5 standard for biomedical applications. The integrated system consists of a 32-bit microcontroller, a sensor readout circuit, a 12-bit SAR type ADC, 16 kB RAM, 16 kB ROM and other digital peripherals. The design is implemented in a 0.18 μ m CMOS technology and used a die area of 1.52 mm × 3.24 mm. The simulated maximum power consumption of the analog block is 592 μ W. The number of external components required by the SoC is limited to an external memory device, sensors, antenna and some passive components. The external memory device contains the application specific firmware. Based on the application, the firmware can be modified accordingly. The SoC design is suitable for medical implants to measure physiological parameters like temperature, pressure or ECG. As an application example, the authors have proposed a bioimplant to measure arterial blood pressure for patients suffering from Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD.

Deletion of skeletal muscle SOCS3 prevents insulin resistance in obesity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beck Jørgensen, Sebastian; O'Neill, Hayley M; Sylow, Lykke

2013-01-01

Obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation that contributes to defects in energy metabolism and insulin resistance. Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-3 expression is increased in skeletal muscle of obese humans. SOCS3 inhibits leptin signaling in the hypothalamus and insulin...... of hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance because of enhanced skeletal muscle insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) and Akt phosphorylation that resulted in increased skeletal muscle glucose uptake. These data indicate that skeletal muscle SOCS3 does not play a critical role in regulating muscle development or energy...... expenditure, but it is an important contributing factor for inhibiting insulin sensitivity in obesity. Therapies aimed at inhibiting SOCS3 in skeletal muscle may be effective in reversing obesity-related glucose intolerance and insulin resistance....

SOCS3 inhibiting migration of A549 cells correlates with PYK2 signaling in vitro

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Zhang Qingfu

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3 is considered to inhibit cytokine responses and play a negative role in migration of various cells. Proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (PYK2 is a non-receptor kinase and has been found crucial to cell motility. However, little is known about whether SOCS3 could regulate PYK2 pro-migratory function in lung cancer. Methods The methylation status of SOCS3 was investigated in HBE and A549 cell lines by methylation-specific PCR. A549 cells were either treated with a demethylation agent 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine or transfected with three SOCS3 mutants with various functional domains deleted. Besides, cells were pretreated with a proteasome inhibitor β-lactacystin where indicated. The effects of SOCS3 up-regulation on PYK2 expression, PYK2 and ERK1/2 phosphorylations were assessed by western blot using indicated antibodies. RT-PCR was used to estimate PYK2 mRNA levels. Transwell experiments were performed to evaluate cell migration. Results SOCS3 expression was found impaired in A549 cells and higher PYK2 activity was correlated with enhanced cell migration. We identified that SOCS3 was aberrantly methylated in the exon 2, and 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine restored SOCS3 expression. Reactivation of SOCS3 attenuated PYK2 expression and phosphorylation, cell migration was inhibited as well. Transfection studies indicated that exogenous SOCS3 interacted with PYK2, and both the Src homology 2 (SH2 and the kinase inhibitory region (KIR domains of SOCS3 contributed to PYK2 binding. Furthermore, SOCS3 was found to inhibit PYK2-associated ERK1/2 activity in A549 cells. SOCS3 possibly promoted degradation of PYK2 in a SOCS-box-dependent manner and interfered with PYK2-related signaling events, such as cell migration. Conclusion These data indicate that SOCS3 negatively regulates cell motility and decreased SOCS3 induced by methylation may confer a migration advantage to A549 cells. These results also suggest a

Evaluation of SOC for the presumptive identification of Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, W H; Knezek, K L; Dorn, G L

1987-01-01

SOC, a fungal growth medium composed of Solryth, oxgall, and caffeic acid, was evaluated as a medium to provide rapid, differential identification of Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Using a variety of common isolation media to produce the yeast inocula, the germ tube methods tested ranked in the following order of decreasing sensitivity: SOC (97% +/- 1), serum (92% +/- 5), rabbit coagulase plasma with EDTA in combination with tryptic soy broth (89% +/- 5), TOC (89% +/- 6), and rabbit coagulase plasma with EDTA (83% +/- 4). In chlamydospore production, SOC also proved to be the most sensitive after 24 h incubation: SOC (96% +/- 2), TOC (80% +/- 2), and cornmeal-Tween 80 agar (14% +/- 3). Other medically important yeasts showed normal patterns of growth within 24 h on SOC, thus assisting in their identification. Eighty strains of Cryptococcus neoformans showed characteristic brown pigmentation on SOC and TOC within 18 h, while all other species of the genus Cryptococcus and 229 Candida isolates did not show a change in pigmentation.

What are the effects of agricultural management on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Söderström, Bo; Hedlund, Katarina; Jackson, Louise E.

2014-01-01

the physical and biological properties of the soil. Intensification of agriculture and land-use change from grasslands to croplands are generally known to deplete SOC stocks. The depletion is exacerbated through agricultural practices with low return of organic material and various mechanisms......Changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks significantly influence the atmospheric C concentration. Agricultural management practices that increase SOC stocks thus may have profound effects on climate mitigation. Additional benefits include higher soil fertility since increased SOC stocks improve......, such as oxidation/mineralization, leaching and erosion. However, a systematic review comparing the efficacy of different agricultural management practices to increase SOC stocks has not yet been produced. Since there are diverging views on this matter, a systematic review would be timely for framing policies...

Optimal C-arm angulation during transcatheter aortic valve replacement: Accuracy of a rotational C-arm computed tomography based three dimensional heart model.

Science.gov (United States)

Veulemans, Verena; Mollus, Sabine; Saalbach, Axel; Pietsch, Max; Hellhammer, Katharina; Zeus, Tobias; Westenfeld, Ralf; Weese, Jürgen; Kelm, Malte; Balzer, Jan

2016-10-26

To investigate the accuracy of a rotational C-arm CT-based 3D heart model to predict an optimal C-arm configuration during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Rotational C-arm CT (RCT) under rapid ventricular pacing was performed in 57 consecutive patients with severe aortic stenosis as part of the pre-procedural cardiac catheterization. With prototype software each RCT data set was segmented using a 3D heart model. From that the line of perpendicularity curve was obtained that generates a perpendicular view of the aortic annulus according to the right-cusp rule. To evaluate the accuracy of a model-based overlay we compared model- and expert-derived aortic root diameters. For all 57 patients in the RCT cohort diameter measurements were obtained from two independent operators and were compared to the model-based measurements. The inter-observer variability was measured to be in the range of 0°-12.96° of angular C-arm displacement for two independent operators. The model-to-operator agreement was 0°-13.82°. The model-based and expert measurements of aortic root diameters evaluated at the aortic annulus ( r = 0.79, P optimal C-arm configuration, potentially simplifying current clinical workflows before and during TAVR.

The ubiquitin ligase Cullin5^SOCS2 regulates NDR1/STK38 stability and NF-κB transactivation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paul, Indranil; Batth, Tanveer S; Iglesias-Gato, Diego

2017-01-01

SOCS2 is a pleiotropic E3 ligase. Its deficiency is associated with gigantism and organismal lethality upon inflammatory challenge. However, mechanistic understanding of SOCS2 function is dismal due to our unawareness of its protein substrates. We performed a mass spectrometry based proteomic pro...

Matching soil grid unit resolutions with polygon unit scales for DNDC modelling of regional SOC pool

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, H. D.; Yu, D. S.; Ni, Y. L.; Zhang, L. M.; Shi, X. Z.

2015-03-01

Matching soil grid unit resolution with polygon unit map scale is important to minimize uncertainty of regional soil organic carbon (SOC) pool simulation as their strong influences on the uncertainty. A series of soil grid units at varying cell sizes were derived from soil polygon units at the six map scales of 1:50 000 (C5), 1:200 000 (D2), 1:500 000 (P5), 1:1 000 000 (N1), 1:4 000 000 (N4) and 1:14 000 000 (N14), respectively, in the Tai lake region of China. Both format soil units were used for regional SOC pool simulation with DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC) process-based model, which runs span the time period 1982 to 2000 at the six map scales, respectively. Four indices, soil type number (STN) and area (AREA), average SOC density (ASOCD) and total SOC stocks (SOCS) of surface paddy soils simulated with the DNDC, were attributed from all these soil polygon and grid units, respectively. Subjecting to the four index values (IV) from the parent polygon units, the variation of an index value (VIV, %) from the grid units was used to assess its dataset accuracy and redundancy, which reflects uncertainty in the simulation of SOC. Optimal soil grid unit resolutions were generated and suggested for the DNDC simulation of regional SOC pool, matching with soil polygon units map scales, respectively. With the optimal raster resolution the soil grid units dataset can hold the same accuracy as its parent polygon units dataset without any redundancy, when VIV indices was assumed as criteria to the assessment. An quadratic curve regression model y = -8.0 × 10-6x2 + 0.228x + 0.211 (R2 = 0.9994, p < 0.05) was revealed, which describes the relationship between optimal soil grid unit resolution (y, km) and soil polygon unit map scale (1:x). The knowledge may serve for grid partitioning of regions focused on the investigation and simulation of SOC pool dynamics at certain map scale.

The impact of soil redistribution on SOC pools in a Mediterranean agroforestry catchment

Science.gov (United States)

Quijano, Laura; Gaspar, Leticia; Lizaga, Iván; Navas, Ana

2017-04-01

Soil redistribution processes play an important role influencing the spatial distribution patterns of soil and associated soil organic carbon (SOC) at landscape scale. Information on drivers of SOC dynamics is key for evaluating both soil degradation and SOC stability that can affect soil quality and sustainability. 137Cs measurements provide a very effective tool to infer spatial patterns of soil redistribution and quantify soil redistribution rates in different landscapes, but to date these data are scarce in mountain Mediterranean agroecosystems. We evaluate the effect of soil redistribution on SOC and SOC pools in relation to land use in a Mediterranean mountain catchment (246 ha). To this purpose, two hundred and four soil bulk cores were collected on a 100 m grid in the Estaña lakes catchment located in the central sector of the Spanish Pyrenees (31T 4656250N 295152E). The study area is an agroforestry and endorheic catchment characterized by the presence of evaporite dissolution induced dolines, some of which host permanent lakes. The selected landscape is representative of rainfed areas of Mediterranean continental climate with erodible lithology and shallow soils, and characterized by an intense anthropogenic activity through cultivation and water management. The cultivated and uncultivated areas are heterogeneously distributed. SOC and SOC pools (the active and decomposable fraction, ACF and the stable carbon fraction SCF) were measured by the dry combustion method and soil redistribution rates were derived from 137Cs measurements. The results showed that erosion predominated in the catchment, most of soil samples were identified as eroded sites (n=114) with an average erosion rate of 26.9±51.4 Mg ha-1 y-1 whereas the mean deposition rate was 13.0±24.2 Mg ha-1 y-1. In cultivated soils (n=54) the average of soil erosion rate was significantly higher (78.5±74.4 Mg ha-1 y-1) than in uncultivated soils (6.8±10.4 Mg ha-1 y-1). Similarly, the mean of soil

Role of Ubiquitylation in Controlling Suppressor of Cytokine Signalling 3 (SOCS3 Function and Expression

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Jamie J. L. Williams

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The realisation that unregulated activation of the Janus kinase–signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK–STAT pathway is a key driver of a wide range of diseases has identified its components as targets for therapeutic intervention by small molecule inhibitors and biologicals. In this review, we discuss JAK-STAT signalling pathway inhibition by the inducible inhibitor “suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3, its role in diseases such as myeloproliferative disorders, and its function as part of a multi-subunit E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. In addition, we highlight potential applications of these insights into SOCS3-based therapeutic strategies for management of conditions such as vascular re-stenosis associated with acute vascular injury, where there is strong evidence that multiple processes involved in disease progression could be attenuated by localized potentiation of SOCS3 expression levels.

State-of-Charge Balancing Control of a Modular Multilevel Converter with an Integrated Battery Energy Storage

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Hui Liang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available With the fast development of the electric vehicle industry, the reuse of second-life batteries in vehicles are becoming more attractive, however, both the state-of-charge (SOC inconsistency and the capacity inconsistency of second-life batteries have limits in their utilization. This paper focuses on the second-life batteries applied battery energy storage system (BESS based on modular multilevel converter (MMC. By analyzing the power flow characteristics among all sources within the MMC-BESS, a three-level SOC equilibrium control strategy aiming to battery capacity inconsistency is proposed to balance the energy of batteries, which includes SOC balance among three-phase legs, SOC balance between the upper and lower arms of each phase, and SOC balance of submodules within each arm. In battery charging and discharging control, by introducing power regulations based on battery capacity proportion of three-phase legs, capacity deviation between the upper and lower’s arm, and the capacity coefficient of the submodule into the SOC feedback control loop, SOC balance of all battery modules is accomplished, thus effectively improving the energy utilization of second-life battery energy storage system. Finally, the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed methods are verified by results obtained from simulations and the experimental platform.

A Cryptographic SoC for Robust Protection of Secret Keys in IPTV DRM Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sanghan; Yang, Hae-Yong; Yeom, Yongjin; Park, Jongsik

The security level of an internet protocol television (IPTV) digital right management (DRM) system ultimately relies on protection of secret keys. Well known devices for the key protection include smartcards and battery backup SRAMs (BB-SRAMs); however, these devices could be vulnerable to various physical attacks. In this paper, we propose a secure and cost-effective design of a cryptographic system on chip (SoC) that integrates the BB-SRAM with a cell-based design technique. The proposed SoC provides robust safeguard against the physical attacks, and satisfies high-speed and low-price requirements of IPTV set-top boxes. Our implementation results show that the maximum encryption rate of the SoC is 633Mb/s. In order to verify the data retention capabilities, we made a prototype chip using 0.18µm standard cell technology. The experimental results show that the integrated BB-SRAM can reliably retain data with a 1.4µA leakage current.

Selection of key terrain attributes for SOC model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Greve, Mogens Humlekrog; Adhikari, Kabindra; Chellasamy, Menaka

As an important component of the global carbon pool, soil organic carbon (SOC) plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. SOC pool is the basic information to carry out global warming research, and needs to sustainable use of land resources. Digital terrain attributes are often use...... was selected, total 2,514,820 data mining models were constructed by 71 differences grid from 12m to 2304m and 22 attributes, 21 attributes derived by DTM and the original elevation. Relative importance and usage of each attributes in every model were calculated. Comprehensive impact rates of each attribute...

An Online SOC and SOH Estimation Model for Lithium-Ion Batteries

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Shyh-Chin Huang

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The monitoring and prognosis of cell degradation in lithium-ion (Li-ion batteries are essential for assuring the reliability and safety of electric and hybrid vehicles. This paper aims to develop a reliable and accurate model for online, simultaneous state-of-charge (SOC and state-of-health (SOH estimations of Li-ion batteries. Through the analysis of battery cycle-life test data, the instantaneous discharging voltage (V and its unit time voltage drop, V′, are proposed as the model parameters for the SOC equation. The SOH equation is found to have a linear relationship with 1/V′ times the modification factor, which is a function of SOC. Four batteries are tested in the laboratory, and the data are regressed for the model coefficients. The results show that the model built upon the data from one single cell is able to estimate the SOC and SOH of the three other cells within a 5% error bound. The derived model is also proven to be robust. A random sampling test to simulate the online real-time SOC and SOH estimation proves that this model is accurate and can be potentially used in an electric vehicle battery management system (BMS.

Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)5 ameliorates influenza infection via inhibition of EGFR signaling.

Science.gov (United States)

Kedzierski, Lukasz; Tate, Michelle D; Hsu, Alan C; Kolesnik, Tatiana B; Linossi, Edmond M; Dagley, Laura; Dong, Zhaoguang; Freeman, Sarah; Infusini, Giuseppe; Starkey, Malcolm R; Bird, Nicola L; Chatfield, Simon M; Babon, Jeffrey J; Huntington, Nicholas; Belz, Gabrielle; Webb, Andrew; Wark, Peter Ab; Nicola, Nicos A; Xu, Jianqing; Kedzierska, Katherine; Hansbro, Philip M; Nicholson, Sandra E

2017-02-14

Influenza virus infections have a significant impact on global human health. Individuals with suppressed immunity, or suffering from chronic inflammatory conditions such as COPD, are particularly susceptible to influenza. Here we show that suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) five has a pivotal role in restricting influenza A virus in the airway epithelium, through the regulation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Socs5 -deficient mice exhibit heightened disease severity, with increased viral titres and weight loss. Socs5 levels were differentially regulated in response to distinct influenza viruses (H1N1, H3N2, H5N1 and H11N9) and were reduced in primary epithelial cells from COPD patients, again correlating with increased susceptibility to influenza. Importantly, restoration of SOCS5 levels restricted influenza virus infection, suggesting that manipulating SOCS5 expression and/or SOCS5 targets might be a novel therapeutic approach to influenza.

NIRS as an alternative to conventional soil analysis for Greenland soils (focus on SOC)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knadel, Maria; Ogric, Mateja; Adhikari, Kabindra

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is an important soil property. It is the main constituents of soil organic matter and a good indicator of soil quality. The estimation and mapping of SOC content could be used to select potential agricultural areas in the Arctic areas. However, conventional analysis of SOC...... are time consuming and expensive. They involve a lot of sample preparation, and chemicals and are destructive. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in the range between 400 and 2500 nm is an alternative method for SOC analysis. It is fast and non-destructive. The aims of this study where to test...... the feasibility of using NIRS to estimate SOC content on a landscape and field scale in Greenland. Partial Least squares regression models were built to correlated soil spectra and their reference SOC data to develop calibration models. Very good predictive ability for both landscape and field scale were obtained...

Research on the Optimization Method of Arm Movement in the Assembly Workshop Based on Ergonomics

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, X. M.; Qu, H. W.; Xu, H. J.; Yang, L.; Yu, C. C.

2017-12-01

In order to improve the work efficiency and comfortability, Ergonomics is used to research the work of the operator in the assembly workshop. An optimization algorithm of arm movement in the assembly workshop is proposed. In the algorithm, a mathematical model of arm movement is established based on multi rigid body movement model and D-H method. The solution of inverse kinematics equation on arm movement is solved through kinematics theory. The evaluation functions of each joint movement and the whole arm movement are given based on the comfortability of human body joint. The solution method of the optimal arm movement posture based on the evaluation functions is described. The software CATIA is used to verify that the optimal arm movement posture is valid in an example and the experimental result show the effectiveness of the algorithm.

Influenza A virus inhibits type I IFN signaling via NF-kappaB-dependent induction of SOCS-3 expression.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva-K Pauli

2008-11-01

Full Text Available The type I interferon (IFN system is a first line of defense against viral infections. Viruses have developed various mechanisms to counteract this response. So far, the interferon antagonistic activity of influenza A viruses was mainly observed on the level of IFNbeta gene induction via action of the viral non-structural protein 1 (NS1. Here we present data indicating that influenza A viruses not only suppress IFNbeta gene induction but also inhibit type I IFN signaling through a mechanism involving induction of the suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS-3 protein. Our study was based on the observation that in cells that were infected with influenza A virus and subsequently stimulated with IFNalpha/beta, phosphorylation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription protein 1 (STAT1 was strongly reduced. This impaired STAT1 activation was not due to the action of viral proteins but rather appeared to be induced by accumulation of viral 5' triphosphate RNA in the cell. SOCS proteins are potent endogenous inhibitors of Janus kinase (JAK/STAT signaling. Closer examination revealed that SOCS-3 but not SOCS-1 mRNA levels increase in an RNA- and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB-dependent but type I IFN-independent manner early in the viral replication cycle. This direct viral induction of SOCS-3 mRNA and protein expression appears to be relevant for suppression of the antiviral response since in SOCS-3 deficient cells a sustained phosphorylation of STAT1 correlated with elevated expression of type I IFN-dependent genes. As a consequence, progeny virus titers were reduced in SOCS-3 deficient cells or in cells were SOCS-3 expression was knocked-down by siRNA. These data provide the first evidence that influenza A viruses suppress type I IFN signaling on the level of JAK/STAT activation. The inhibitory effect is at least in part due to the induction of SOCS-3 gene expression, which results in an impaired antiviral response.

Impact of vegetation types on soil organic carbon stocks SOC-S in Mediterranean natural areas

Science.gov (United States)

Parras-Alcántara, Luis; Lozano-García, Beatriz; Cantudo-Pérez, Marta

2015-04-01

Soils play a key role in the carbon geochemical cycle because they can either emit large quantities of CO2 or on the contrary they can act as a store for carbon. Agriculture and forestry are the only activities that can achieve this effect through photosynthesis and the carbon incorporation into carbohydrates (Parras-Alcántara et al., 2013). The Mediterranean evergreen oak Woodland (MEOW - dehesa) is a type of pasture with scattered evergreen and deciduous oak stands in which cereals are often grown under the tree cover. It is a system dedicated to the combined production of Iberian swine, sheep, fuel wood, coal and cork as well as to hunting. These semi-natural areas still preserve some of the primitive vegetation of the Mediterranean oak forests. The dehesa is a pasture where the herbaceous layer is comprised of either cultivated cereals such as oat, barley and wheat or native vegetation dominated by annual species, which are used as grazing resources. These Iberian open woodland rangelands (dehesas) have been studied from different points of view: hydrologically, with respect to soil organic matter content, as well as in relation to gully erosion, topographical thresholds, soil erosion and runoff production, soil degradation and management practices…etc, among others. The soil organic carbon stock capacity depends not only on abiotic factors such as the mineralogical composition and the climate, but also on soil use and management (Parras et al., 2014 and 2015). In Spanish soils, climate, use and management strongly affect the carbon variability, mainly in soils in dry Mediterranean climates characterized by low organic carbon content, weak structure and readily degradable soils. Hontoria et al. (2004) emphasized that the climate and soil use are two factors that greatly influence carbon content in the Mediterranean climate. This research sought to analyze the SOC stock (SOCS) variability in MEOW - dehesa with cereals, olive grove and Mediterranean oak forest

Photoelectric radar servo control system based on ARM+FPGA

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Kaixuan; Zhang, Yue; Li, Yeqiu; Dai, Qin; Yao, Jun

2016-01-01

In order to get smaller, faster, and more responsive requirements of the photoelectric radar servo control system. We propose a set of core ARM + FPGA architecture servo controller. Parallel processing capability of FPGA to be used for the encoder feedback data, PWM carrier modulation, A, B code decoding processing and so on; Utilizing the advantage of imaging design in ARM Embedded systems achieves high-speed implementation of the PID algorithm. After the actual experiment, the closed-loop speed of response of the system cycles up to 2000 times/s, in the case of excellent precision turntable shaft, using a PID algorithm to achieve the servo position control with the accuracy of + -1 encoder input code. Firstly, This article carry on in-depth study of the embedded servo control system hardware to determine the ARM and FPGA chip as the main chip with systems based on a pre-measured target required to achieve performance requirements, this article based on ARM chip used Samsung S3C2440 chip of ARM7 architecture , the FPGA chip is chosen xilinx's XC3S400 . ARM and FPGA communicate by using SPI bus, the advantage of using SPI bus is saving a lot of pins for easy system upgrades required thereafter. The system gets the speed datas through the photoelectric-encoder that transports the datas to the FPGA, Then the system transmits the datas through the FPGA to ARM, transforms speed datas into the corresponding position and velocity data in a timely manner, prepares the corresponding PWM wave to control motor rotation by making comparison between the position data and the velocity data setted in advance . According to the system requirements to draw the schematics of the photoelectric radar servo control system and PCB board to produce specially. Secondly, using PID algorithm to control the servo system, the datas of speed obtained from photoelectric-encoder is calculated position data and speed data via high-speed digital PID algorithm and coordinate models. Finally, a

DMPD: Regulation of cytokine signaling by SOCS family molecules. [Dynamic Macrophage Pathway CSML Database

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available 14644140 Regulation of cytokine signaling by SOCS family molecules. Fujimoto M, Nak...a T. Trends Immunol. 2003 Dec;24(12):659-66. (.png) (.svg) (.html) (.csml) Show Regulation of cytokine signaling by SOCS family... molecules. PubmedID 14644140 Title Regulation of cytokine signaling by SOCS family molec

Self-Administered, Home-Based SMART (Sensorimotor Active Rehabilitation Training) Arm Training: A Single-Case Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayward, Kathryn S; Neibling, Bridee A; Barker, Ruth N

2015-01-01

This single-case, mixed-method study explored the feasibility of self-administered, home-based SMART (sensorimotor active rehabilitation training) Arm training for a 57-yr-old man with severe upper-limb disability after a right frontoparietal hemorrhagic stroke 9 mo earlier. Over 4 wk of self-administered, home-based SMART Arm training, the participant completed 2,100 repetitions unassisted. His wife provided support for equipment set-up and training progressions. Clinically meaningful improvements in arm impairment (strength), activity (arm and hand tasks), and participation (use of arm in everyday tasks) occurred after training (at 4 wk) and at follow-up (at 16 wk). Areas for refinement of SMART Arm training derived from thematic analysis of the participant's and researchers' journals focused on enabling independence, ensuring home and user friendliness, maintaining the motivation to persevere, progressing toward everyday tasks, and integrating practice into daily routine. These findings suggest that further investigation of self-administered, home-based SMART Arm training is warranted for people with stroke who have severe upper-limb disability. Copyright © 2015 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Simulation of Octopus Arm Based on Coupled CPGs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Tian

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The octopus arm has attracted many researchers’ interests and became a research hot spot because of its amazing features. Several dynamic models inspired by an octopus arm are presented to realize the structure with a large number of degrees of freedom. The octopus arm is made of a soft material introducing high-dimensionality, nonlinearity, and elasticity, which makes the octopus arm difficult to control. In this paper, three coupled central pattern generators (CPGs are built and a 2-dimensional dynamic model of the octopus arm is presented to explore possible strategies of the octopus movement control. And the CPGs’ signals treated as activation are added on the ventral, dorsal, and transversal sides, respectively. The effects of the octopus arm are discussed when the parameters of the CPGs are changed. Simulations show that the octopus arm movements are mainly determined by the shapes of three CPGs’ phase diagrams. Therefore, some locomotion modes are supposed to be embedded in the neuromuscular system of the octopus arm. And the octopus arm movements can be achieved by modulating the parameters of the CPGs. The results are beneficial for researchers to understand the octopus movement further.

Key KdSOC1 gene expression profiles during plantlet morphogenesis under hormone, photoperiod, and drought treatments.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, C; Zhu, C; Zeng, H M

2016-02-11

Kalanchoe daigremontiana utilizes plantlet formation between its zigzag leaf margins as its method of asexual reproduction. In this study, K. daigremontiana SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (KdSOC1), a key intermediate in the transition from vegetative to asexual growth, was cloned. Furthermore, its expression profiles during plantlet formation under different environmental and hormone induction conditions were analyzed. The full-KdSOC1 cDNA sequence length was 1410 bp with 70% shared homology with Carya cathayensis SOC1. The conserved domain search of KdSOC1 showed the absence of I and C domains, which might indicate novel biological functions in K. daigremontiana. The full-KdSOC1 promoter sequence was 1401 bp long and contained multiple-hormone-responsive cis-acting elements. Hormone induction assays showed that gibberellins and salicylic acid mainly regulated KdSOC1 expression. The swift change from low to high KdSOC1 expression levels during long-day induction was accompanied by the rapid emergence of plantlets. Drought stress stimulated KdSOC1 expression in leaves both with and without plantlet formation. Together, the results suggested that KdSOC1 was closely involved in environmental stimulation signal perception and the transduction of K. daigremontiana plantlet formation. Therefore, future identification of KdSOC1 functions might reveal key information that will help elucidate the transition network between embryogenesis and organogenesis during plantlet formation.

Dynamics and fate of SOC in tidal marshes along a salinity gradient (Scheldt estuary, Belgium)

Science.gov (United States)

Van de Broek, Marijn; Temmermann, Stijn; Merckx, Roel; Wang, Zhengang; Govers, Gerard

2016-04-01

Coastal ecosystems have been attributed the potential to store large amounts of organic carbon (OC), often referred to as blue carbon, of which a considerable amount is stored in tidal marsh soils. Large uncertainties still exist with respect to the amount and controlling factors of soil organic carbon (SOC) stored in these ecosystems. Moreover, most research has focused on SOC dynamics of saltmarshes, while brackish and freshwater marshes are often even more productive and thus receive even larger organic carbon inputs. Therefore, in this study the OC dynamics of tidal marsh soils along an estuarine gradient are studied in order to contribute to our knowledge of 1) the stocks, 2) the controlling factors and 3) the fate of SOC in tidal marshes with different environmental characteristics. This research thus contributes to a better understanding of the potential of coastal environments to store organic carbon under future climatic changes. Soil and vegetation samples are collected in tidal salt-, brackish- and freshwater marshes in the Scheldt estuary (Belgium - The Netherlands). At each tidal marsh, three replicate soil cores up to 1.5m depth in 0.03m increments are collected at locations with both a low and a high elevation. These cores are analyzed for OC, stable C and N isotopes, bulk density and texture. Incubation experiments of topsoil samples were conducted and both aboveground and belowground biomass were collected. The results show that SOC stocks (range: 13,5 - 35,4 kg OC m-2), standing biomass (range: 2000 - 7930 g DW m-2) and potential soil respiration of CO2 (range: 0,03 - 0,12 % per unit OC per day) decrease with increasing salinity. This shows that both the amount of OC from local macrophytes and the quality of the organic matter are important factors controlling the SOC stocks. In addition, based on the analysis of stable C and N isotopes, it appears that when a significant fraction of SOC is derived from local macrophytes, higher SOC stocks are

Admittance Control of a Multi-Finger Arm Based on Manipulability of Fingers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Huang

2011-09-01

Full Text Available In the previous studies, admittance control and impedance control for a finger-arm robot using the manipulability of the finger were studied and methods of realizing the controls have been proposed. In this study, two 3-DOF fingers are attached to the end-effector of a 6-DOF arm to configure a multi-finger arm robot. Based on the previous methods, the authors have proposed an admittance control for a multi-finger arm robot using the manipulability of the fingers in this study. Algorithms of the averaging method and the mini-max method were introduced to establish a manipulability criterion of the two fingers in order to generate a cooperative movement of the arm. Comparison of the admittance controls combined with the top search method and local optimization method for the multi-finger arm robot was made and features of the control methods were also discussed. The stiffness control and damping control were experimentally evaluated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

A new circuit for at-speed scan SoC testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin Wei; Shi Wenlong

2013-01-01

It is very important to detect transition-delay faults and stuck-at faults in system on chip (SoC) under 90 nm processing technology, and the transition-delay faults can only be detected by using an at-speed testing method. In this paper, an on-chip clock (OCC) controller with a bypass function based on an internal phase-locked loop is designed to test faults in SoC. Furthermore, a clock chain logic which can eliminate the metastable state is realized to generate an enable signal for the OCC controller, and then, the test pattern is generated by automatic test pattern generation (ATPG) tools. Next, the scan test pattern is simulated by using the Synopsys tool and the correctness of the design is verified. The result shows that the design of an at-speed scan test in this paper is highly efficient for detecting timing-related defects. Finally, the 89.29% transition-delay fault coverage and the 94.50% stuck-at fault coverage are achieved, and it is successfully applied to an integrated circuit design. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Metal–organic frameworks to satisfy gas upgrading demands: fine-tuning the soc-MOF platform for the operative removal of H2S

KAUST Repository

Belmabkhout, Youssef

2017-01-06

A cooperative experimental/modeling strategy was used to unveil the structure/gas separation performance relationship for a series of isostructural metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with soc-topology (square-octahedral) hosting different extra-framework counter ions (NO3-, Cl- and Br-). In3+-, Fe3+-, Ga3+-and the newly isolated Al(III)-based isostructural soc-MOF were extensively studied and evaluated for the separation-based production of high-quality fuels (i.e., CH4, C3H8 and n-C4H10) and olefins. The structural/chemical fine-tuning of the soc-MOF platform promoted equilibrium-based selectivity toward C2+ (C2H6, C2H4, C3H6 C3H8 and n-C4H10) and conferred the desired chemical stability toward H2S. The noted dual chemical stability and gas/vapor selectivity, which have rarely been reported for equilibrium-based separation agents, are essential for the production of high-purity H-2, CH4 and C2+ fractions in high yields. Interestingly, the evaluated soc-MOF analogues exhibited high selectivity for C2H4, C3H6 and n-C4H10. In particular, the Fe, Ga and Al analogues presented relatively enhanced C2+/CH4 adsorption selectivities. Notably, the Ga and Al analogues were found to be technically preferable because their structural integrities and separation performances were maintained upon exposure to H2S, indicating that these materials are highly tolerant to H2S. Therefore, the Ga-soc-MOF was further examined for the selective adsorption of H2S in the presence of CO2-and CH4-containing streams, such as refinery-off gases (ROG) and natural gas (NG). Grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations based on a specific force field describing the interactions between the guest molecules and the Ga sites supported and confirmed the considerably higher affinity of the Ga-soc-MOF for C2+ (as exemplified by n-C4H10) than for CH4. The careful selection of an appropriate metal for the trinuclear inorganic molecular building block (MBB), i. e., a Ga metal center, imbues the soc

Improved OCV Model of a Li-Ion NMC Battery for Online SOC Estimation Using the Extended Kalman Filter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ines Baccouche

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Accurate modeling of the nonlinear relationship between the open circuit voltage (OCV and the state of charge (SOC is required for adaptive SOC estimation during the lithium-ion (Li-ion battery operation. Online SOC estimation should meet several constraints, such as the computational cost, the number of parameters, as well as the accuracy of the model. In this paper, these challenges are considered by proposing an improved simplified and accurate OCV model of a nickel manganese cobalt (NMC Li-ion battery, based on an empirical analytical characterization approach. In fact, composed of double exponential and simple quadratic functions containing only five parameters, the proposed model accurately follows the experimental curve with a minor fitting error of 1 mV. The model is also valid at a wide temperature range and takes into account the voltage hysteresis of the OCV. Using this model in SOC estimation by the extended Kalman filter (EKF contributes to minimizing the execution time and to reducing the SOC estimation error to only 3% compared to other existing models where the estimation error is about 5%. Experiments are also performed to prove that the proposed OCV model incorporated in the EKF estimator exhibits good reliability and precision under various loading profiles and temperatures.

Effects of SOC-dependent electrolyte viscosity on performance of vanadium redox flow batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Q.; Zhao, T.S.; Zhang, C.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The correlations of electrolyte viscosity and SOC are obtained. • Effect of SOC-dependent electrolyte viscosity is considered in this model. • This model enables a more realistic simulation of variable distributions. • It provides accurate estimations of pumping work and system efficiency. - Abstract: The viscosity of the electrolyte in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) varies during charge and discharge as the concentrations of acid and vanadium ions in the electrolyte continuously change with the state of charge (SOC). In previous VRFB models, however, the electrolyte has been treated as a constant-viscosity solution. In this work, a mass-transport and electrochemical model taking account of the effect of SOC-dependent electrolyte viscosity is developed. The comparison between the present model and the model with the constant-viscosity simplification indicates that the consideration of the SOC-dependent electrolyte viscosity enables (i) a more realistic simulation of the distributions of overpotential and current density in the electrodes, and (ii) more accurate estimations of pumping work and the system efficiency of VRFBs

Interface Based on Electrooculography for Velocity Control of a Robot Arm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo Iáñez

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a technique based on electrooculography to control a robot arm. This technique detects the movement of the eyes, measuring the difference of potential between the cornea and the retina by placing electrodes around the ocular area. The processing algorithm developed to obtain the position of the eye at the blink of the user is explained. The output of the processing algorithm offers, apart from the direction, four different values (zero to three to control the velocity of the robot arm according to how much the user is looking in one direction. This allows controlling two degrees of freedom of a robot arm with the eyes movement. The blink has been used to mark some targets in tests. In this paper, the experimental results obtained with a real robot arm are shown.

Enhancement of antiproliferative activity of interferons by RNA interference-mediated silencing of SOCS gene expression in tumor cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Yuki; Kaneda, Haruka; Takasuka, Nana; Hattori, Kayoko; Nishikawa, Makiya; Watanabe, Yoshihiko; Takakura, Yoshinobu

2008-08-01

The suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins, negative regulators of interferon (IFN)-induced signaling pathways, is involved in IFN resistance of tumor cells. To improve the growth inhibitory effect of IFN-beta and IFN-gamma on a murine melanoma cell line, B16-BL6, and a murine colon carcinoma cell line, Colon26 cells, SOCS-1 and SOCS-3 gene expression in tumor cells was downregulated by transfection of plasmid DNA expressing short hairpin RNA targeting one of these genes (pshSOCS-1 and pshSOCS-3, respectively). Transfection of pshSOCS-1 significantly increased the antiproliferative effect of IFN-gamma on B16-BL6 cells. However, any other combinations of plasmids and IFN had little effect on the growth of B16-BL6 cells. In addition, transfection of pshSOCS-1 and pshSOCS-3 produced little improvement in the effect of IFN on Colon26 cells. To understand the mechanism underlining these findings, the level of SOCS gene expression was measured by real time polymerase chain reaction. Addition of IFN-gamma greatly increased the SOCS-1 mRNA expression in B16-BL6 cells. Taking into account the synergistic effect of pshSOCS-1 and IFN-gamma on the growth of B16-BL6 cells, these findings suggest that IFN-gamma-induced high SOCS-1 gene expression in B16-BL6 cells significantly interferes with the antiproliferative effect of IFN-gamma. These results indicate that silencing SOCS gene expression can be an effective strategy to enhance the antitumor effect of IFN under conditions in which the SOCS gene expression is upregulated by IFN.

Robot-arm-based mobile HTS SQUID system for NDE of structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yotsugi, K; Hatsukade, Y; Tanaka, S [Department of Ecological Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, 1-1 Hibarigaoka, Tenpaku-cho, Toyohashi, Aichi 441-8580 (Japan)], E-mail: hatukade@eco.tut.ac.jp

2008-02-01

A robot-arm-based mobile HTS SQUID system was developed for NDE of fixed targets. To realize the system, active magnetic shielding technique using fluxgate as reference sensor for ambient field was applied to a cryocooler-based HTS SQUID gradiometer that was mounted on commercial robot-arm. In this technique, ambient field noise and pulse noise of 550 nT from robot were measured by the fluxgate near the SQUID, and then the fluxgate output was negatively fed back to generate compensation field around the SQUID and fluxgate. The noise from robot was reduced by a factor of about 20 and the shielding technique enabled the HTS SQUID to move in unshielded environment by the robot-arm without flux-trapping or unlocking at 10 mm/s. System noise measurement and inspection of hidden cracks in multi-layer composite-metal structure were demonstrated using the mobile SQUID-NDE system.

Admittance Control of a Multi-Finger Arm Based on Manipulability of Fingers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takayuki Hori

2011-09-01

Full Text Available In the previous studies, admittance control and impedance control for a finger‐arm robot using the manipulability of the finger were studied and methods of realizing the controls have been proposed. In this study, two 3‐DOF fingers are attached to the end‐effector of a 6‐DOF arm to configure a multi‐finger arm robot. Based on the previous methods, the authors have proposed an admittance control for a multi‐finger arm robot using the manipulability of the fingers in this study. Algorithms of the averaging method and the mini‐max method were introduced to establish a manipulability criterion of the two fingers in order to generate a cooperative movement of the arm. Comparison of the admittance controls combined with the top search method and local optimization method for the multi‐finger arm robot was made and features of the control methods were also discussed. The stiffness control and damping control were experimentally evaluated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Gaining Insights on the H2–Sorbent Interactions: Robust soc-MOF Platform as a Case Study

KAUST Repository

Cairns, Amy

2016-09-18

We report on the synthesis and gas adsorption properties (i.e., Ar and H2) of four robust 3-periodic metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) having the targeted soc topology. These cationic MOFs are isostructural to the parent indium-based MOF, In-soc-MOF-1a (for NO3–), previously reported by us, and likewise are constructed from the assembly of rigid μ3-oxygen-centered trinuclear metal carboxylate clusters, [M3O(O2C−)6], where M = In3+ or Fe3+. Each inorganic trinuclear molecular building block (MBB), generated in situ, is bridged by six 3,3′,5,5′-azobenzenetetracarboxylate (ABTC4–) ligands to give the extended (4,6)-connected MOF, soc-MOF. In our previous work, we confirmed that the parent soc-MOF, i.e., In-soc-MOF-1a, possesses unique structural characteristics (e.g., vacant In binding sites and narrow pores with higher localized charge density), which led to exceptional hydrogen (H2) storage capabilities. Therefore, charged MOFs with soc topology can be viewed collectively as an ideal prototypical platform to examine the impact of specific structural parameters on H2–MOF interactions via systematic gas adsorption studies. We infer that enhanced binding of molecular H2 is primarily governed by the presence and type of vacant metal centers (i.e., Fe was shown to exhibit stronger H2–MOF interactions at low H2 loading compared to the In analogues). These findings are evident from the associated isosteric heat of adsorption (Qst) at low loadings and inelastic neutron scattering (INS) experiments of the rotational transitions of sorbed H2, as well as, temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) studies (for a select compound). The importance of localized charge density is also highlighted, where the extra-framework nitrate anions in the Fe-soc-MOF-1a (for NO3–) facilitate enhanced binding affinities as compared to the chloride analogue.

Content and structure of knowledge base used for virtual control of android arm motion in specified environment

Science.gov (United States)

Pritykin, F. N.; Nebritov, V. I.

2018-01-01

The paper presents the configuration of knowledge base necessary for intelligent control of android arm mechanism motion with different positions of certain forbidden regions taken into account. The present structure of the knowledge base characterizes the past experience of arm motion synthesis in the vector of velocities with due regard for the known obstacles. This structure also specifies its intrinsic properties. Knowledge base generation is based on the study of the arm mechanism instantaneous states implementations. Computational experiments connected with the virtual control of android arm motion with known forbidden regions using the developed knowledge base are introduced. Using the developed knowledge base to control virtually the arm motion reduces the time of test assignments calculation. The results of the research can be used in developing control systems of autonomous android robots in the known in advance environment.

Simulation of Octopus Arm Based on Coupled CPGs

OpenAIRE

Juan Tian; Qiang Lu

2015-01-01

The octopus arm has attracted many researchers’ interests and became a research hot spot because of its amazing features. Several dynamic models inspired by an octopus arm are presented to realize the structure with a large number of degrees of freedom. The octopus arm is made of a soft material introducing high-dimensionality, nonlinearity, and elasticity, which makes the octopus arm difficult to control. In this paper, three coupled central pattern generators (CPGs) are built and a 2-dimens...

The Immunohistochemical Analysis of SOCS3 Protein Identifies a Subgroup of Prostatic Cancer Biopsies With Aggressive Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Pierconti, Francesco; Martini, Maurizio; Cenci, Tonia; Larocca, Luigi M

Recently, we demonstrated that hypermethylation of SOCS3 determines a significant reduction of its mRNA and protein expression and identifies a subgroup of prostate cancer with aggressive behavior. In this paper, our objective was to investigate whether the immunohistochemical expression of the SOCS3 protein could represent an alternative method to molecular analysis for the individualization of aggressive prostate carcinoma. We analyzed the SOCS3 immunohistochemical expression in 65 patients undergoing biopsies at the Institute of Urology of our hospital between September 2011 and October 2011 (median age, 66.4 y; range, 50 to 73 y), and in 35 cases, a subset of 65 cases originally used for the immunohistochemical study, we studied the methylation status of the SOCS3 promoter. We found that the percentage of cases with SOCS3 negativity (-) or with SOCS3 weak staining in <50% of the neoplastic glands (+/-) correlated to the worst prognosis in terms of the Gleason score (P=0.0001; Fisher's exact test), the pT stage (P=0.012; Fisher's exact test), and progression-free survival (P=0.0334; hazard ratio, 0.34; and 95% confidence interval, from 0.1261 to 0.9188). Moreover, some cases with an SOCS3 unmethylated pattern showed SOCS3-negative immunostaining (-) or SOCS3-negative glands with weak cytoplasmatic staining in <50% of the neoplastic glands (+/-). Our data suggest that in prostatic cancer biopsies, the immunohistochemical analysis of SOCS3 protein expression may provide a method that is less expensive and easier to apply than SOCS3 methylation analysis for the distinction of a subgroup of prostate cancer with a more aggressive behavior.

Purification of SOCS (Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling) SH2 Domains for Structural and Functional Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Liau, Nicholas P D; Laktyushin, Artem; Babon, Jeffrey J

2017-01-01

Src Homology 2 (SH2) domains are protein domains which have a high binding affinity for specific amino acid sequences containing a phosphorylated tyrosine residue. The Suppressors of Cytokine Signaling (SOCS) proteins use an SH2 domain to bind to components of certain cytokine signaling pathways to downregulate the signaling cascade. The recombinantly produced SH2 domains of various SOCS proteins have been used to undertake structural and functional studies elucidating the method of how such targeting occurs. Here, we describe the protocol for the recombinant production and purification of SOCS SH2 domains, with an emphasis on SOCS3.

SoC Estimation for Lithium-ion Batteries: Review and Future Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Pablo Rivera-Barrera

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Energy storage emerged as a top concern for the modern cities, and the choice of the lithium-ion chemistry battery technology as an effective solution for storage applications proved to be a highly efficient option. State of charge (SoC represents the available battery capacity and is one of the most important states that need to be monitored to optimize the performance and extend the lifetime of batteries. This review summarizes the methods for SoC estimation for lithium-ion batteries (LiBs. The SoC estimation methods are presented focusing on the description of the techniques and the elaboration of their weaknesses for the use in on-line battery management systems (BMS applications. SoC estimation is a challenging task hindered by considerable changes in battery characteristics over its lifetime due to aging and to the distinct nonlinear behavior. This has led scholars to propose different methods that clearly raised the challenge of establishing a relationship between the accuracy and robustness of the methods, and their low complexity to be implemented. This paper publishes an exhaustive review of the works presented during the last five years, where the tendency of the estimation techniques has been oriented toward a mixture of probabilistic techniques and some artificial intelligence.

Synthesis of highly monodispersed Ga-soc-MOF hollow cubes, colloidosomes and nanocomposites

KAUST Repository

Cai, Xuechao

2016-07-06

Ga-soc-MOF hollow cubes with an average size of about 300 nm were prepared by a polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) assisted acid etching process. Colloidosomes with sizes of around 5-10 mu m composed of single-layer tetrakaidecahedron building blocks (BBs) were synthesized for the first time. Au@Ga-soc-MOF nanocomposites with excellent catalytic properties were obtained.

Synthesis of highly monodispersed Ga-soc-MOF hollow cubes, colloidosomes and nanocomposites

KAUST Repository

Cai, Xuechao; Deng, Xiaoran; Xie, Zhongxi; Bao, Shouxin; Shi, Yanshu; Lin, Jun; Pang, Maolin; Eddaoudi, Mohamed

2016-01-01

Ga-soc-MOF hollow cubes with an average size of about 300 nm were prepared by a polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) assisted acid etching process. Colloidosomes with sizes of around 5-10 mu m composed of single-layer tetrakaidecahedron building blocks (BBs) were synthesized for the first time. Au@Ga-soc-MOF nanocomposites with excellent catalytic properties were obtained.

Development of induction current acquisition device based on ARM

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Yanju; Liu, Xiyang; Huang, Wanyu; Yao, Jiang; Yuan, Guiyang; Hui, Luan; Guan, Shanshan

2018-03-01

We design an induction current acquisition device based on ARM in order to realize high resolution and high sampling rate of acquisition for the induction current in wire-loop. Considering its characteristics of fast attenuation and small signal amplitude, we use the method of multi-path fusion for noise suppression. In the paper, the design is carried out from three aspects of analog circuit and device selection, independent power supply structure and the electromagnetic interference suppression of high frequency. DMA and ping-pong buffer, as a new data transmission technology, solves real time storage problem of massive data. The performance parameters of ARM acquisition device are tested. The comparison test of ARM acquisition device and cRIO acquisition device is performed at different time constants. The results show that it has 120dB dynamic range, 47kHz bandwidth, 96kHz sampling rate, 5μV the smallest resolution, and its average error value is not more than 4%, which proves the high accuracy and stability of the device.

EtherBone - A Network Layer for the Wishbone SoC Bus

CERN Document Server

Kreider, M; Lewis, J; Włostowski, T; Serrano, J

2011-01-01

Today, there are several System on a Chip (SoC) bus systems. Typically, these buses are confined on-chip and rely on higher level components to communicate with the outside world. Taking these systems a step further, we see the possibility of extending the reach of the SoC bus to remote FPGAs or processors. This leads to the idea of the EtherBone (EB) core, which connects a Wishbone (WB) Ver. 4 Bus via a Gigabit Ethernet based network link to remote peripheral devices. EB acts as a transparent interconnect module towards attached WB Bus devices. Address information and data from one or more WB bus cycles is preceded with a descriptive header and encapsulated in a UDP/IP packet. Because of this standard compliance, EB is able to traverse Wide Area Networks and is therefore not bound to a geographic location. Due to the low level nature of the WB bus, EB provides a sound basis for remote hardware tools like a JTAG debugger, In-System-Programmer (ISP), boundary scan interface or logic analyser module. EB was de...

Boosted gain programmable OpAmp with embedded gain monitor for dependable SoCs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wan, J.; Kerkhoff, Hans G.

2011-01-01

SoCs used in safety-critical applications need to be dependable. However in the deep-submicron region, different kinds of aging effects like negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) make the SoCs, especially the analog/mixed-signal parts, undependable. In this paper, a dependability-improved

System on chip (SoC) microcontrollers (μC) as digitisers for ion beam analysis (IBA) instruments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whitlow, Harry J., E-mail: harry.j@whitlow.se

2016-09-15

Data digitisation of the analogue signals from detectors to digital data is an essential process in ion beam analysis (IBA). The low-cost, easy availability and development environments that have a low learning threshold makes system-on-chip (SoC) microcontrollers (μC) attractive for this task. These μC combine, on one die, analogue and digital inputs and outputs with serial USB interfaces, which opens up simple implementation of tailor-made interfaces for specific IBA measurement systems. We have investigated the design and performance limitations based on development of three different digitisation interfaces for IBA. These were a two-channel nuclear instrumentation module (NIM) ADC event mode interface (EMI) for a high-resolution magnetic RBS spectrometer, a simple headless-multi-channel analyser (MCA) and a combined dual channel headless MCA and EMI. It is shown that SoC μC based interfaces for digitisation of analogue spectroscopy pulses in IBA systems can be implemented for material costs less than 100 €. The performance of the SoC devices for many IBA applications is close to what can be achieved with state-of-the-art instruments. The simple pulse spectroscopy interface circuit and software are included in the auxiliary archive.

Induction of CML28-specific cytotoxic T cell responses using co-transfected dendritic cells with CML28 DNA vaccine and SOCS1 small interfering RNA expression vector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Hongsheng; Zhang Donghua; Wang Yaya; Dai Ming; Zhang Lu; Liu Wenli; Liu Dan; Tan Huo; Huang Zhenqian

2006-01-01

CML28 is an attractive target for antigen-specific immunotherapy. SOCS1 represents an inhibitory control mechanism for DC antigen presentation and the magnitude of adaptive immunity. In this study, we evaluated the potential for inducing CML28-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) responses by dendritic cells (DCs)-based vaccination. We constructed a CML28 DNA vaccine and a SOCS1 siRNA vector and then cotransfect monocyte-derived DCs. Flow cytometry analysis showed gene silencing of SOCS1 resulted in higher expressions of costimulative moleculars in DCs. Mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) indicated downregulation of SOCS1 stronger capability to stimulate proliferation of responder cell in DCs. The CTL assay revealed transfected DCs effectively induced autologous CML28-specific CTL responses and the lytic activities induced by SOCS1-silenced DCs were significantly higher compared with those induced by SOCS1-expressing DCs. These results in our study indicates gene silencing of SOCS1 remarkably enhanced the cytotoxicity efficiency of CML28 DNA vaccine in DCs

Socs36E Controls Niche Competition by Repressing MAPK Signaling in the Drosophila Testis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marc Amoyel

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The Drosophila testis is a well-established system for studying stem cell self-renewal and competition. In this tissue, the niche supports two stem cell populations, germ line stem cells (GSCs, which give rise to sperm, and somatic stem cells called cyst stem cells (CySCs, which support GSCs and their descendants. It has been established that CySCs compete with each other and with GSCs for niche access, and mutations have been identified that confer increased competitiveness to CySCs, resulting in the mutant stem cell and its descendants outcompeting wild type resident stem cells. Socs36E, which encodes a negative feedback inhibitor of the JAK/STAT pathway, was the first identified regulator of niche competition. The competitive behavior of Socs36E mutant CySCs was attributed to increased JAK/STAT signaling. Here we show that competitive behavior of Socs36E mutant CySCs is due in large part to unbridled Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK signaling. In Socs36E mutant clones, MAPK activity is elevated. Furthermore, we find that clonal upregulation of MAPK in CySCs leads to their outcompetition of wild type CySCs and of GSCs, recapitulating the Socs36E mutant phenotype. Indeed, when MAPK activity is removed from Socs36E mutant clones, they lose their competitiveness but maintain self-renewal, presumably due to increased JAK/STAT signaling in these cells. Consistently, loss of JAK/STAT activity in Socs36E mutant clones severely impairs their self-renewal. Thus, our results enable the genetic separation of two essential processes that occur in stem cells. While some niche signals specify the intrinsic property of self-renewal, which is absolutely required in all stem cells for niche residence, additional signals control the ability of stem cells to compete with their neighbors. Socs36E is node through which these processes are linked, demonstrating that negative feedback inhibition integrates multiple aspects of stem cell behavior.

A Vibration Control Method for the Flexible Arm Based on Energy Migration

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Yushu Bian

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A vibration control method based on energy migration is proposed to decrease vibration response of the flexible arm undergoing rigid motion. A type of vibration absorber is suggested and gives rise to the inertial coupling between the modes of the flexible arm and the absorber. By analyzing 1 : 2 internal resonance, it is proved that the internal resonance can be successfully created and the exchange of vibration energy is existent. Due to the inertial coupling, the damping enhancement effect is revealed. Via the inertial coupling, vibration energy of the flexible arm can be dissipated by not only the damping of the vibration absorber but also its own enhanced damping, thereby effectively decreasing vibration. Through numerical simulations and analyses, it is proven that this method is feasible in controlling nonlinear vibration of the flexible arm undergoing rigid motion.

A step toward 'plug and play' robotics with SoC technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Anders Stengaard; Falsig, Simon; Ugilt, Rolf

p, li { white-space: pre-wrap; } This article describe our progress toward simplifying and streamlining the low level systems integration of experimental robots, combining a System on Chip (SoC) approach with conventional modular approaches. The combined approach has increased flexibility, improved...... the embedded integration, and decreased the complexity of programming, compared to conventional modular approaches. We show the impact of the SoC approach in a simple demonstration and teaching model of a walking robot....

Fundamentals of IP and SoC security design, verification, and debug

CERN Document Server

Ray, Sandip; Sur-Kolay, Susmita

2017-01-01

This book is about security in embedded systems and it provides an authoritative reference to all aspects of security in system-on-chip (SoC) designs. The authors discuss issues ranging from security requirements in SoC designs, definition of architectures and design choices to enforce and validate security policies, and trade-offs and conflicts involving security, functionality, and debug requirements. Coverage also includes case studies from the “trenches” of current industrial practice in design, implementation, and validation of security-critical embedded systems. Provides an authoritative reference and summary of the current state-of-the-art in security for embedded systems, hardware IPs and SoC designs; Takes a "cross-cutting" view of security that interacts with different design and validation components such as architecture, implementation, verification, and debug, each enforcing unique trade-offs; Includes high-level overview, detailed analysis on implementation, and relevant case studies on desi...

Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS genes are silenced by DNA hypermethylation and histone deacetylation and regulate response to radiotherapy in cervical cancer cells.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moon-Hong Kim

Full Text Available Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS family is an important negative regulator of cytokine signaling and deregulation of SOCS has been involved in many types of cancer. All cervical cancer cell lines tested showed lower expression of SOCS1, SOCS3, and SOCS5 than normal tissue or cell lines. The immunohistochemistry result for SOCS proteins in human cervical tissue also confirmed that normal tissue expressed higher level of SOCS proteins than neighboring tumor. Similar to the regulation of SOCS in other types of cancer, DNA methylation contributed to SOCS1 downregulation in CaSki, ME-180, and HeLa cells. However, the expression of SOCS3 or SOCS5 was not recovered by the inhibition of DNA methylation. Histone deacetylation may be another regulatory mechanism involved in SOCS1 and SOCS3 expression, however, SOCS5 expression was neither affected by DNA methylation nor histone deacetylation. Ectopic expression of SOCS1 or SOCS3 conferred radioresistance to HeLa cells, which implied SOCS signaling regulates the response to radiation in cervical cancer. In this study, we have shown that SOCS expression repressed by, in part, epigenetically and altered SOCS1 and SOCS3 expression could contribute to the radiosensitive phenotype in cervical cancer.

Prediction of SOC content by Vis-NIR spectroscopy at European scale using a modified local PLS algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Nocita, M.; Stevens, A.; Toth, G.; van Wesemael, B.; Montanarella, L.

2012-12-01

under grassland, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 3.6 and 7.2 g C kg-1 respectively, while mineral soils under woodland and organic soils predictions were less accurate (RMSE of 11.9 and 51.1 g C kg-1). The RMSE was lower (except for organic soils) when sand content was used as covariate in the selection of the l-PLS predicting neighbours. The obtained results proved that: (i) Although the enormous spatial variability of European soils, the developed modified l-PLS algorithm was able to produce stable calibrations and accurate predictions. (ii) It is essential to invest in spectral libraries built according to sampling strategies, based on soil types, and a standardized laboratory protocol. (iii) Vis-NIR DRS spectroscopy is a powerful and cost effective tool to predict SOC content at regional/continental scales, and should be converted from a pure research discipline into a reference operational method decreasing the uncertainties of SOC monitoring and terrestrial ecosystems carbon fluxes at all scales.

A 0.7-V 17.4- μ W 3-lead wireless ECG SoC.

Science.gov (United States)

Khayatzadeh, Mahmood; Zhang, Xiaoyang; Tan, Jun; Liew, Wen-Sin; Lian, Yong

2013-10-01

This paper presents a fully integrated sub-1 V 3-lead wireless ECG System-on-Chip (SoC) for wireless body sensor network applications. The SoC includes a two-channel ECG front-end with a driven-right-leg circuit, an 8-bit SAR ADC, a custom-designed 16-bit microcontroller, two banks of 16 kb SRAM, and a MICS band transceiver. The microcontroller and SRAM blocks are able to operate at sub-/near-threshold regime for the best energy consumption. The proposed SoC has been implemented in a standard 0.13- μ m CMOS process. Measurement results show the microcontroller consumes only 2.62 pJ per instruction at 0.35 V . Both microcontroller and memory blocks are functional down to 0.25 V. The entire SoC is capable of working at single 0.7-V supply. At the best case, it consumes 17.4 μ W in heart rate detection mode and 74.8 μW in raw data acquisition mode under sampling rate of 500 Hz. This makes it one of the best ECG SoCs among state-of-the-art biomedical chips.

Mapping SOC (Soil Organic Carbon) using LiDAR-derived vegetation indices in a random forest regression model

Science.gov (United States)

Will, R. M.; Glenn, N. F.; Benner, S. G.; Pierce, J. L.; Spaete, L.; Li, A.

2015-12-01

Quantifying SOC (Soil Organic Carbon) storage in complex terrain is challenging due to high spatial variability. Generally, the challenge is met by transforming point data to the entire landscape using surrogate, spatially-distributed, variables like elevation or precipitation. In many ecosystems, remotely sensed information on above-ground vegetation (e.g. NDVI) is a good predictor of below-ground carbon stocks. In this project, we are attempting to improve this predictive method by incorporating LiDAR-derived vegetation indices. LiDAR provides a mechanism for improved characterization of aboveground vegetation by providing structural parameters such as vegetation height and biomass. In this study, a random forest model is used to predict SOC using a suite of LiDAR-derived vegetation indices as predictor variables. The Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed (RCEW) is an ideal location for a study of this type since it encompasses a strong elevation/precipitation gradient that supports lower biomass sagebrush ecosystems at low elevations and forests with more biomass at higher elevations. Sagebrush ecosystems composed of Wyoming, Low and Mountain Sagebrush have SOC values ranging from .4 to 1% (top 30 cm), while higher biomass ecosystems composed of aspen, juniper and fir have SOC values approaching 4% (top 30 cm). Large differences in SOC have been observed between canopy and interspace locations and high resolution vegetation information is likely to explain plot scale variability in SOC. Mapping of the SOC reservoir will help identify underlying controls on SOC distribution and provide insight into which processes are most important in determining SOC in semi-arid mountainous regions. In addition, airborne LiDAR has the potential to characterize vegetation communities at a high resolution and could be a tool for improving estimates of SOC at larger scales.

Suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) limits NFkappaB signaling by decreasing p65 stability within the cell nucleus.

Science.gov (United States)

Strebovsky, Julia; Walker, Patrick; Lang, Roland; Dalpke, Alexander H

2011-03-01

Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins are inhibitors of cytoplasmic Janus kinases (Jak) and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathways. Previously the authors surprisingly observed that SOCS1 translocated into the nucleus, which was because of the presence of a nuclear localization sequence. This report now hypothesizes that SOCS1 mediates specific functions within the nuclear compartment because it is instantly transported into the nucleus, as shown by photoactivation and live cell imaging in human HEK293 cells. The NFκB component p65 is identified as an interaction partner for SOCS1 but not for other members of the SOCS family. SOCS1 bound to p65 only within the nucleus. By means of its SOCS box domain, SOCS1 operated as a ubiquitin ligase, leading to polyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of nuclear p65. Thus, SOCS1 limited prolonged p65 signaling and terminated expression of NFκB inducible genes. Using mutants that lack either nuclear translocation or a functional SOCS box, this report identifies genes that are regulated in a manner dependent on the nuclear availability of SOCS1. Data show that beyond its receptor-proximal function in Jak/STAT signaling, SOCS1 also regulates the duration of NFκB signaling within the cell nucleus, thus exerting a heretofore unrecognized function.

DMPD: Regulation of innate immunity by suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)proteins. [Dynamic Macrophage Pathway CSML Database

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available 18406369 Regulation of innate immunity by suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)proteins...svg) (.html) (.csml) Show Regulation of innate immunity by suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)proteins. ...PubmedID 18406369 Title Regulation of innate immunity by suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)proteins

A Bayesian Belief Network framework to predict SOC stock change: the Veneto region (Italy) case study

Science.gov (United States)

Dal Ferro, Nicola; Quinn, Claire Helen; Morari, Francesco

2017-04-01

A key challenge for soil scientists is predicting agricultural management scenarios that combine crop productions with high standards of environmental quality. In this context, reversing the soil organic carbon (SOC) decline in croplands is required for maintaining soil fertility and contributing to mitigate GHGs emissions. Bayesian belief networks (BBN) are probabilistic models able to accommodate uncertainty and variability in the predictions of the impacts of management and environmental changes. By linking multiple qualitative and quantitative variables in a cause-and-effect relationships, BBNs can be used as a decision support system at different spatial scales to find best management strategies in the agroecosystems. In this work we built a BBN to model SOC dynamics (0-30 cm layer) in the low-lying plain of Veneto region, north-eastern Italy, and define best practices leading to SOC accumulation and GHGs (CO2-equivalent) emissions reduction. Regional pedo-climatic, land use and management information were combined with experimental and modelled data on soil C dynamics as natural and anthropic key drivers affecting SOC stock change. Moreover, utility nodes were introduced to determine optimal decisions for mitigating GHGs emissions from croplands considering also three different IPCC climate scenarios. The network was finally validated with real field data in terms of SOC stock change. Results showed that the BBN was able to model real SOC stock changes, since validation slightly overestimated SOC reduction (+5%) at the expenses of its accumulation. At regional level, probability distributions showed 50% of SOC loss, while only 17% of accumulation. However, the greatest losses (34%) were associated with low reduction rates (100-500 kg C ha-1 y-1), followed by 33% of stabilized conditions (-100 < SOC < 100 kg ha-1 y-1). Land use management (especially tillage operations and soil cover) played a primary role to affect SOC stock change, while climate conditions

SOCS2 deletion protects against hepatic steatosis but worsens insulin resistance in high-fat-diet-fed mice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zadjali, Fahad; Santana-Farre, Ruyman; Vesterlund, Mattias

2012-01-01

in the development of diet-induced hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance. SOCS2-knockout (SOCS2(-/-)) mice and wild-type littermates were fed for 4 mo with control or high-fat diet, followed by assessment of insulin sensitivity, hepatic lipid content, and expression of inflammatory cytokines. SOCS2(-/-) mice...

SOCS5 is expressed in primary B and T lymphoid cells but is dispensable for lymphocyte production and function

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brender, Christine; Columbus, Ruth; Metcalf, Donald

2004-01-01

the importance of SOCS5 in T helper cell responses. Unexpectedly, SOCS5-deficient CD4 T cells showed no abnormalities in Th1/Th2 differentiation and Socs5(-/-) mice showed normal resistance to infection with Leishmania major. Therefore, although SOCS5 is expressed in primary B and T cells, it appears...

Biological evidence that SOCS-2 can act either as an enhancer or suppressor of growth hormone signaling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Greenhalgh, Christopher J; Metcalf, Donald; Thaus, Anne L

2002-01-01

Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-2 is a member of a family of intracellular proteins implicated in the negative regulation of cytokine signaling. The generation of SOCS-2-deficient mice, which grow to one and a half times the size of their wild-type littermates, suggests that SOCS-2 may at...

Advanced Technology for Ultra-Low Power System-on-Chip (SoC)

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-01

was proposed for lower power applications with Ioff=10pA/μm and VDD=0.5V. In this project, the optimized structure shows great potential in both Lg...AFRL-RY-WP-TR-2017-0115 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY FOR ULTRA-LOW POWER SYSTEM-ON-CHIP (SoC) Jason Woo, Weicong Li, and Peng Lu University of California...September 2015 – 31 March 2017 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY FOR ULTRA-LOW POWER SYSTEM-ON- CHIP (SoC) 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA8650-15-1-7574 5b

DMPD: Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) 2, a protein with multiple functions. [Dynamic Macrophage Pathway CSML Database

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available 17070092 Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) 2, a protein with multiple function...Epub 2006 Oct 27. (.png) (.svg) (.html) (.csml) Show Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) 2, a protein with multiple function...SOCS) 2, a protein with multiple functions. Authors Rico-Bautista E, Flores-Morales A, Fernandez-Perez L. Pu

SoC Design Approach Using Convertibility Verification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Basu Samik

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Compositional design of systems on chip from preverified components helps to achieve shorter design cycles and time to market. However, the design process is affected by the issue of protocol mismatches, where two components fail to communicate with each other due to protocol differences. Convertibility verification, which involves the automatic generation of a converter to facilitate communication between two mismatched components, is a collection of techniques to address protocol mismatches. We present an approach to convertibility verification using module checking. We use Kripke structures to represent protocols and the temporal logic to describe desired system behavior. A tableau-based converter generation algorithm is presented which is shown to be sound and complete. We have developed a prototype implementation of the proposed algorithm and have used it to verify that it can handle many classical protocol mismatch problems along with SoC problems. The initial idea for -based convertibility verification was presented at SLA++P '07 as presented in the work by Roopak Sinha et al. 2008.

NTP Radioisotopes SOC Ltd

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Letule, T.

2017-01-01

NTP Radioisotopes SOC Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA). Supplies around 20% of the world's medical radioisotopes used. NTP is a pioneer in the introduction and growth of nuclear medicine as in South Africa. Nuclear medicine is the medical specialty that involves the use of radioactive isotopes in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Nuclear medicine contributes to enhancing the lives of the society. There is a compelling need for nuclear medicine to be promoted and utilized in the rest of Africa, due to the increasing prevalence of cancer. Cancer is rapidly becoming a public health crisis in low-income and middle-income countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, patients often present with advanced disease

Increased linear bone growth by GH in the absence of SOCS2 is independent of IGF-1.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobie, Ross; Ahmed, Syed F; Staines, Katherine A; Pass, Chloe; Jasim, Seema; MacRae, Vicky E; Farquharson, Colin

2015-11-01

Growth hormone (GH) signaling is essential for postnatal linear bone growth, but the relative importance of GHs actions on the liver and/or growth plate cartilage remains unclear. The importance of liver derived insulin like-growth factor-1 (IGF-1) for endochondral growth has recently been challenged. Here, we investigate linear growth in Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling-2 (SOCS2) knockout mice, which have enhanced growth despite normal systemic GH/IGF-1 levels. Wild-type embryonic ex vivo metatarsals failed to exhibit increased linear growth in response to GH, but displayed increased Socs2 transcript levels (P growth over a 12 day period. Despite this increase, IGF-1 transcript and protein levels were not increased in response to GH. In accordance with these data, IGF-1 levels were unchanged in GH-challenged postnatal Socs2(-/-) conditioned medium despite metatarsals showing enhanced linear growth. Growth-plate Igf1 mRNA levels were not elevated in juvenile Socs2(-/-) mice. GH did however elevate IGF-binding protein 3 levels in conditioned medium from GH challenged metatarsals and this was more apparent in Socs2(-/-) metatarsals. GH did not enhance the growth of Socs2(-/-) metatarsals when the IGF receptor was inhibited, suggesting that IGF receptor mediated mechanisms are required. IGF-2 may be responsible as IGF-2 promoted metatarsal growth and Igf2 expression was elevated in Socs2(-/-) (but not WT) metatarsals in response to GH. These studies emphasise the critical importance of SOCS2 in regulating GHs ability to promote bone growth. Also, GH appears to act directly on the metatarsals of Socs2(-/-) mice, promoting growth via a mechanism that is independent of IGF-1. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Cellular Physiology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Topical use of a silymarin-based preparation to prevent radiodermatitis. Results of a prospective study in breast cancer patients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker-Schiebe, Martina; Hoffmann, Wolfgang [Klinikum Braunschweig (Germany). Klinik fuer Radioonkologie und Strahlentherapie; Mengs, Ulrich; Schaefer, Margitta [Rottapharm/Madaus, Koeln (Germany). Research and Development; Bulitta, Michael [CRM Biometrics GmbH, Rheinbach (Germany)

2011-08-15

More than 80% of patients with breast cancer undergoing postsurgical radiotherapy (RT) will develop radiodermatitis and approximately 10% of these patients show grade 3 lesions. Side effects may reduce the patient's compliance and can be limiting factors to follow RT protocols. Therefore, there is a high need for more effective prophylactic treatments. In this study, a silymarin-based cream (Leviaderm {sup registered}) was tested in comparison to our standard of care (SOC) at the involved site. A total of 101 patients were evaluated after breast-conserving surgery followed by RT with 50.4 Gy plus boost 9-16 Gy. Of these, 51 patients were treated with the silymarin-based cream. In addition, 50 patients were documented receiving a panthenol-containing cream interventionally, if local skin lesions occurred. The acute skin reactions were classified according to the RTOG and VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) scores. The median time to toxicity was prolonged significantly with silymarin-based cream (45 vs. 29 days (SOC), p < 0.0001). Only 9.8% of patients using silymarin-based cream showed grade 2 toxicity in week 5 of RT in comparison to 52% with SOC. At the end of RT, 23.5% of patients in the silymarin-based study group developed no skin reactions vs. 2% with SOC, while grade 3 toxicity occurred only in 2% in the silymarin-based arm compared to 28% (SOC). Silymarin-based cream Leviaderm {sup registered} may be a promising and effective treatment for the prevention of acute skin lesions caused by RT of breast cancer patients. To confirm the results of this nonrandomized, observational trial, this component should be tested in larger multicenter studies in this setting. (orig.)

Angiography-based C-arm CT for the assessment of extrahepatic shunting before radioembolization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heusner, Till Alexander; Hahn, S.; Forsting, M.; Antoch, G.; Hamami, M.E.; Poeppel, T.; Bockisch, A.; Ertle, J.; Hilgard, P.

2010-01-01

Purpose: to retrospectively assess the accuracy of angiography-based C-arm CT for the detection of extrahepatic shunting before SIRT. Materials and methods: 30 patients (mean age: 64 ± 12 years) with hypervascularized hepatic tumors underwent hepatic angiography, coil embolization of gastrointestinal collaterals and 99mTc-macroaggregated albumin (MAA) SPECT/CT before SIRT. Before MAA injection via a microcatheter from the intended treatment position, an angiography and angiography-based C-arm CT (XperCT trademark, Philips Healthcare) were acquired. Angiographies and XperCT trademark were performed from 48 microcatheter positions followed by MAA injections and MAA-SPECT/CT. MAA-SPECT/CT served as the reference standard for determining the accuracy of hepatic arteriography and C-arm CT for the detection of extrahepatic shunting. Results: MAA-SPECT/CT revealed extrahepatic shunting in 5 patients (17%). Hepatic arteriography yielded a true negative in 22 (73%), a false negative in 5 (17%), and an unclear result in 3 patients (10%). C-arm CT yielded a true positive in 3 (10%), true negative in 24 (80%), false positive in 1 (3%), and false negative in 2 patients (7%). The specificity and the NPV of hepatic arteriography for the detection of extrahepatic shunting were 88% and 81%, respectively. For C-arm CT the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy for the detection of extrahepatic shunting were 60%, 96%, 75%, 92%, and 90%, respectively. Conclusion: C-arm CT offers additional information to angiography when assessing SIRT patients for extrahepatic shunting. More accurate detection of extrahepatic shunting may optimize the workflow in SIRT preparations by avoiding unnecessary repeat angiographies. (orig.)

SOCS3 promoter hypermethylation is a favorable prognosticator and a novel indicator for G-CIMP-positive GBM patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Ying; Wang, Zheng; Bao, Zhaoshi; Yan, Wei; You, Gan; Wang, Yinyan; Hu, Huimin; Zhang, Wei; Zhang, Quangeng; Jiang, Tao

2014-01-01

Hypermethylation of the suppressor of cytokine signaling 3(SOCS3) promoter has been reported to predict a poor prognosis in several cancers including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). We explored the function of SOCS3 promoter hypermethylation in GBM cohorts, including analysis of the CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP), when a large number of gene loci are simultaneously hypermethylated. A whole genome promoter methylation profile was performed in a cohort of 33 GBM samples, with 13 long-term survivors (LTS; overall survival ≥ 18 months) and 20 short-term survivors (STS; overall survival ≤ 9 months). The SOCS3 promoter methylation status was compared between the two groups. In addition, we investigated the relationship of SOCS3 promoter methylation and G-CIMP status. Interestingly, in our present study, we found that SOCS3 promoter methylation was statistically significantly higher in the 13 LTS than that in the 20 STS. Furthermore, high SOCS3 promoter methylation detected via pyro-sequencing predicted a better prognosis in an independent cohort containing 62 GBM patients. This correlation was validated by the dataset from the Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA) and the Chinese Cancer Genome Atlas(CGGA). In addition, we found that hypermethylation of the SOCS3 promoter was tightly associated with the G-CIMP-positive GBM patients. Using a total of 359 clinical samples, we demonstrate that SOCS3 promoter hypermethylation status has a favorable prognostic value in GBM patients because of whole genome methylation status. Particularly, the hypermethylation of the SOCS3 promoter indicates positive G-CIMP status.

SOCS3 promoter hypermethylation is a favorable prognosticator and a novel indicator for G-CIMP-positive GBM patients.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ying Feng

Full Text Available Hypermethylation of the suppressor of cytokine signaling 3(SOCS3 promoter has been reported to predict a poor prognosis in several cancers including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM. We explored the function of SOCS3 promoter hypermethylation in GBM cohorts, including analysis of the CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP, when a large number of gene loci are simultaneously hypermethylated.A whole genome promoter methylation profile was performed in a cohort of 33 GBM samples, with 13 long-term survivors (LTS; overall survival ≥ 18 months and 20 short-term survivors (STS; overall survival ≤ 9 months. The SOCS3 promoter methylation status was compared between the two groups. In addition, we investigated the relationship of SOCS3 promoter methylation and G-CIMP status.Interestingly, in our present study, we found that SOCS3 promoter methylation was statistically significantly higher in the 13 LTS than that in the 20 STS. Furthermore, high SOCS3 promoter methylation detected via pyro-sequencing predicted a better prognosis in an independent cohort containing 62 GBM patients. This correlation was validated by the dataset from the Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA and the Chinese Cancer Genome Atlas(CGGA. In addition, we found that hypermethylation of the SOCS3 promoter was tightly associated with the G-CIMP-positive GBM patients.Using a total of 359 clinical samples, we demonstrate that SOCS3 promoter hypermethylation status has a favorable prognostic value in GBM patients because of whole genome methylation status. Particularly, the hypermethylation of the SOCS3 promoter indicates positive G-CIMP status.

Correct-by-construction approaches for SoC design

CERN Document Server

Sinha, Roopak; Basu, Samik

2013-01-01

This book describes an approach for designing Systems-on-Chip such that the system meets precise mathematical requirements. The methodologies presented enable embedded systems designers to reuse intellectual property (IP) blocks from existing designs in an efficient, reliable manner, automatically generating correct SoCs from multiple, possibly mismatching, components.

Detecting small-scale spatial differences and temporal dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks: a comparison between automatic chamber-derived C budgets and repeated soil inventories

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, Mathias; Jurisch, Nicole; Garcia Alba, Juana; Albiac Borraz, Elisa; Schmidt, Marten; Huth, Vytas; Rogasik, Helmut; Rieckh, Helene; Verch, Gernot; Sommer, Michael; Augustin, Jürgen

2017-04-01

of the study period. AC-based ΔSOC values corresponded well with the tendencies and magnitude of the results observed in the repeated soil inventory. The period of maximum plant growth was identified as being most important for the development of spatial differences in annual ΔSOC. Hence, we were able to confirm that AC-based C budgets are able to reveal small-scale spatial and short-term temporal dynamics of ΔSOC.

Mapping SOC in a river catchment by integrating laboratory spectra wavelength with remote sensing spectra

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peng, Yi; Xiong, Xiong; Knadel, Maria

There is potential to use soil ·-proximal and remote sensing derived spectra concomitantly to develop soil organic carbon (SOC) models. Yet mixing spectral data from different sources and technologies to improve soil models is still in its infancy. The objective of this study was to incorporate...... soil spectral features indicative of SOC from laboratory visible near-infrared reflectance (vis-NlR) spectra and incorporate them with remote sensing (RS) images to improve predictions of top SOC in the Skjem river catchment, Denmark. The secondary objective was to improve prediction results...

ETHERBONE - a network layer for the wishbone SoC bus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kreider, M.; Terpstra, W.; Lewis, J.; Serrano, J.; Wlostowski, T.

2012-01-01

Today, there are several System on a Chip (SoC) bus systems. Typically, these buses are confined on-chip and rely on higher level components to communicate with the outside world. Taking these systems a step further, we see the possibility of extending the reach of the SoC bus to remote FPGAs or processors. This leads to the idea of the EtherBone (EB) core, which connects a Wishbone (WB) Ver. 4 Bus via a Gigabit Ethernet based network link to remote peripheral devices. EB acts as a transparent interconnect module towards attached WB Bus devices. Address information and data from one or more WB bus cycles is preceded with a descriptive header and encapsulated in a UDP/IP packet. Because of this standard compliance, EB is able to traverse Wide Area Networks and is therefore not bound to a geographic location. Due to the low level nature of the WB bus, EB provides a sound basis for remote hardware tools like a JTAG debugger, In-System-Programmer (ISP), boundary scan interface or logic analyser module. EB was developed in the scope of the White-Rabbit Timing Project (WR) at CERN and GSI/FAIR, which employs GigaBit Ethernet technology to communicate with memory mapped slave devices. WR will make use of EB as means to issue commands to its timing nodes and control connected accelerator hardware. (authors)

Molecular Cloning, Characterization, and Expression of MiSOC1: A Homolog of the Flowering Gene SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1 from Mango (Mangifera indica L)

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Wei, Junya; Liu, Debing; Liu, Guoyin; Tang, Jie; Chen, Yeyuan

2016-01-01

MADS-box transcription factor plays a crucial role in plant development, especially controlling the formation and development of floral organs. Mango (Mangifera indica L) is an economically important fruit crop, but its molecular control of flowering is largely unknown. To better understand the molecular basis of flowering regulation in mango, we isolated and characterized the MiSOC1, a putative mango orthologs for the Arabidopsis SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1/AGAMOUS-LIKE 20 (SOC1/AGL20) with homology-based cloning and RACE. The full-length cDNA (GenBank accession No.: KP404094) is 945 bp in length including a 74 bp long 5′ UTR and a 189 bp long 3′ UTR and the open reading frame was 733 bps, encoding 223 amino acids with molecular weight 25.6 kD. Both sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis all indicated that deduced protein contained a conservative MADS-box and semi-conservative K domain and belonged to the SOC1/TM3 subfamily of the MADS-box family. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to investigate the expression profiles of MiSOC1 gene in different tissues/organs including root, stem, leaves, flower bud, and flower. The result indicated MiSOC1 was widely expressed at different levels in both vegetative and reproductive tissues/organs with the highest expression level in the stems’ leaves and inflorescences, low expression in roots and flowers. The expression of MiSOC1 in different flower developmental stages was different while same tissue –specific pattern among different varieties. In addition, MiSOC1 gene expression was affect by ethephon while high concentration ethephon inhibit the expression of MiSOC1. Overexpression of MiSOC1 resulted in early flowering in Arabidopsis. In conclusion, these results suggest that MiSOC1 may act as induce flower function in mango. PMID:27965680

Molecular Cloning, Characterization, and Expression of MiSOC1: A Homolog of the Flowering Gene SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1 from Mango (Mangifera indica L).

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Junya; Liu, Debing; Liu, Guoyin; Tang, Jie; Chen, Yeyuan

2016-01-01

MADS-box transcription factor plays a crucial role in plant development, especially controlling the formation and development of floral organs. Mango ( Mangifera indica L) is an economically important fruit crop, but its molecular control of flowering is largely unknown. To better understand the molecular basis of flowering regulation in mango, we isolated and characterized the MiSOC1, a putative mango orthologs for the Arabidopsis SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1/AGAMOUS-LIKE 20 (SOC1/AGL20) with homology-based cloning and RACE. The full-length cDNA (GenBank accession No.: KP404094) is 945 bp in length including a 74 bp long 5' UTR and a 189 bp long 3' UTR and the open reading frame was 733 bps, encoding 223 amino acids with molecular weight 25.6 kD. Both sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis all indicated that deduced protein contained a conservative MADS-box and semi-conservative K domain and belonged to the SOC1/TM3 subfamily of the MADS-box family. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to investigate the expression profiles of MiSOC1 gene in different tissues/organs including root, stem, leaves, flower bud, and flower. The result indicated MiSOC1 was widely expressed at different levels in both vegetative and reproductive tissues/organs with the highest expression level in the stems' leaves and inflorescences, low expression in roots and flowers. The expression of MiSOC1 in different flower developmental stages was different while same tissue -specific pattern among different varieties. In addition, MiSOC1 gene expression was affect by ethephon while high concentration ethephon inhibit the expression of MiSOC1. Overexpression of MiSOC1 resulted in early flowering in Arabidopsis . In conclusion, these results suggest that MiSOC1 may act as induce flower function in mango.

SOCS2 mediates the cross talk between androgen and growth hormone signaling in prostate cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iglesias Gato, Diego; Chuan, Yin Choy; Wikström, Pernilla

2014-01-01

) as mediator of the cross talk between androgens and GH signals in the prostate and its potential role as tumor suppressor in prostate cancer (PCa). We observed that SOCS2 protein levels assayed by immunohistochemistry are elevated in hormone therapy-naive localized prostatic adenocarcinoma in comparison...... of transcription 5 protein (STAT5) and androgen receptor-dependent transcription. Consequentially, SOCS2 inhibits GH activation of Janus kinase 2, Src and STAT5 as well as both cell invasion and cell proliferation in vitro. In vivo, SOCS2 limits proliferation and production of IGF-1 in the prostate in response......Anabolic signals such as androgens and the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor 1 (GH/IGF-1) axis play an essential role in the normal development of the prostate but also in its malignant transformation. In this study, we investigated the role of suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2...

Rock-Eval analysis of French forest soils: the influence of depth, soil and vegetation types on SOC thermal stability and bulk chemistry

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Soucemarianadin, Laure; Cécillon, Lauric; Baudin, François; Cecchini, Sébastien; Chenu, Claire; Mériguet, Jacques; Nicolas, Manuel; Savignac, Florence; Barré, Pierre

2017-04-01

50 CO2 oxidation with, for instance, entic Podzols and dystric Cambisols containing relatively more thermally stable SOC in the deepest layer than hypereutric/calcaric Cambisols. Moreover, soils in deciduous plots contained a higher proportion of thermally stable SOC than soils in coniferous plots. This study shows that RE6 analysis constitutes a fast and cost effective way to qualitatively estimate SOM turnover and to discuss its ecosystem drivers. It offers promising prospects towards a quantitative estimation of SOC turnover and the development of RE6-based indicators related to the size of the different SOC kinetic pools.

Growth hormone preferentially induces the rapid, transient expression of SOCS-3, a novel inhibitor of cytokine receptor signaling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Adams, T E; Hansen, J A; Starr, R

1998-01-01

Four members (SOCS-1, SOCS-2, SOCS-3, and CIS) of a family of cytokine-inducible, negative regulators of cytokine receptor signaling have recently been identified. To address whether any of these genes are induced in response to growth hormone (GH), serum-starved 3T3-F442A fibroblasts were incuba...

Common variants in SOCS7 gene predict obesity, disturbances in lipid metabolism and insulin resistance.

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Tellechea, M L; Steinhardt, A Penas; Rodriguez, G; Taverna, M J; Poskus, E; Frechtel, G

2013-05-01

Specific Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling (SOCS) members, such as SOCS7, may play a role in the development of insulin resistance (IR) owing to their ability to inhibit insulin signaling pathways. The objective was to explore the association between common variants and related haplotypes in SOCS7 gene and metabolic traits related to obesity, lipid metabolism and IR. 780 unrelated men were included in a cross-sectional study. We selected three tagged SNPs that capture 100% of SNPs with minor allele frequency ≥ 0.10. Analyses were done separately for each SNP and followed up by haplotype analysis. rs8074124C was associated with both obesity (p = 0.005) and abdominal obesity (p = 0.002) and allele C carriers showed, in comparison with TT carriers, lower BMI (p = 0.001) and waist circumference (p = 0.001). rs8074124CC- carriers showed lower fasting insulin (p = 0.017) and HOMA-IR (p = 0.018) than allele T carriers. rs12051836C was associated with hypertriglyceridemia (p = 0.009) and hypertriglyceridemic waist (p = 0.006). rs12051836CC- carriers showed lower fasting insulin (p = 0.043) and HOMA-IR (p = 0.042). Haplotype-based association analysis (rs8074124 and rs12051836 in that order) showed associations with lipid and obesity -related phenotypes, consistent with single locus analysis. Haplotype analysis also revealed association between haplotype CT and both decreased HDL-C (p = 0.026) and HDL-C (p = 0.014) as a continuous variable. We found, for the first time, significant associations between SOCS7 common variants and related haplotypes and obesity, IR and lipid metabolism disorders. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling (SOCS 5 utilises distinct domains for regulation of JAK1 and interaction with the adaptor protein Shc-1.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edmond M Linossi

Full Text Available Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling (SOCS5 is thought to act as a tumour suppressor through negative regulation of JAK/STAT and epidermal growth factor (EGF signaling. However, the mechanism/s by which SOCS5 acts on these two distinct pathways is unclear. We show for the first time that SOCS5 can interact directly with JAK via a unique, conserved region in its N-terminus, which we have termed the JAK interaction region (JIR. Co-expression of SOCS5 was able to specifically reduce JAK1 and JAK2 (but not JAK3 or TYK2 autophosphorylation and this function required both the conserved JIR and additional sequences within the long SOCS5 N-terminal region. We further demonstrate that SOCS5 can directly inhibit JAK1 kinase activity, although its mechanism of action appears distinct from that of SOCS1 and SOCS3. In addition, we identify phosphoTyr317 in Shc-1 as a high-affinity substrate for the SOCS5-SH2 domain and suggest that SOCS5 may negatively regulate EGF and growth factor-driven Shc-1 signaling by binding to this site. These findings suggest that different domains in SOCS5 contribute to two distinct mechanisms for regulation of cytokine and growth factor signaling.

Effects of different soil types in natural Mediterranean areas on soil organic carbon (SOC)

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Requejo Silva, Ana; Lozano García, Beatriz; Parras Alcántara, Luis

2017-04-01

Effects of different soil types in natural Mediterranean areas on soil organic carbon (SOC) Ana Requejo1, Beatriz Lozano-García1, Luis Parras Alcántara1 1 Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, Faculty of Science, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence - ceiA3, University of Córdoba, Spain. The carbon content of the atmosphere can be influenced by soils, since they can store carbon or emit large quantities of CO2. C sequestration into soils is one of the most important ecosystems services because of its role in climate regulation (IPPC, 2007). Thereof, agriculture and forestry are the only activities that can contribute to C sequestration through photosynthesis and its carbon incorporation into carbohydrates (Parras Alcántara et al., 2013). Dehesa is a multifunctional agro-sylvo-pastoral system and typical landscape of southern and central Spain and southern Portugal. It is an anthropogenic system dedicated to the combined production of black iberian pigs, a variety of foods, fuel, coal, and cork. Besides, it acts as well in the production of endangered species as wildlife habitat and as sustainable hunting areas. These dehesa areas are defined by a relationship between productivity and conservation of forest oaks, providing environmental benefits such as carbon capture and storage. The area focused in this study is the Cardeña-Montoro Nature Reserve, located within the Sierra Morena (Córdoba, South Spain). The most representative soils in Cardeña-Montoro Nature Reserve are Cambisols, Regosols, Leptosols and Fluvisols according to IUSS Working Group WRB (2006). They are characterized by a low fertility, poor physical conditions and marginal capacity for agricultural use, along with low organic matter content due to climate conditions (semiarid Mediterranean climate) and soil texture (sandy). Several studies have shown that land use affects the SOC concentration (Lozano-García et al., 2016; Khaledian et al., 2016). Based on this

Muscle ion transporters and antioxidative proteins have different adaptive potential in arm than in leg skeletal muscle with exercise training

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mohr, Magni; Nielsen, Tobias Schmidt; Weihe, Pál

2017-01-01

for 15 weeks, and pre- and postintervention biopsies were obtained from deltoideus and vastus lateralis muscle. Before training, monocarboxylate transporter 4 (MCT4), Na(+)/K(+) pump α2, and superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) expressions were lower (P ... occurred exclusively in vastus lateralis muscle. The increased (P MCT4 and SOD2 in deltoid muscle after HIS and vastus lateralis muscle after SOC were similar. In conclusion, arm musculature displays lower basal ROS, La(-), K(+) handling capability but higher Na(+)-dependent H...

Longevity of contributions to SOC stocks from roots and aboveground plant litter below a Miscanthus plantation

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Robertson, Andrew; Smith, Pete; Davies, Christian; Bottoms, Emily; McNamara, Niall

2013-04-01

Miscanthus is a lignocellulosic crop that uses the Hatch-Slack (C4) photosynthetic pathway as opposed to most C3 vegetation native to the UK. Miscanthus can be grown for a number of practical end-uses but recently interest has increased in its viability as a bioenergy crop; both providing a renewable source of energy and helping to limit climate change by improving the carbon (C) budgets associated with energy generation. Recent studies have shown that Miscanthus plantations may increase stocks of soil organic carbon (SOC), however the longevity and origin of this 'new' SOC must be assessed. Consequently, we combined an input manipulation experiment with physio-chemical soil fractionation to quantify new SOC and CO2 emissions from Miscanthus roots, decomposing plant litter and soil individually. Further, fractionation of SOC from the top 30 cm gave insight into the longevity of that SOC. In January 2009 twenty-five 2 m2 plots were set up in a three-year old 11 hectare Miscanthus plantation in Lincolnshire, UK; with five replicates of five treatments. These treatments varied plant input to the soil by way of controlled exclusion techniques. Treatments excluded roots only ("No Roots"), surface litter only ("No Litter"), both roots and surface litter ("No Roots or Litter") or had double the litter amount added to the soil surface ("Double Litter"). A fifth treatment was a control with undisturbed roots and an average amount of litter added. Monthly measurements of CO2 emissions were taken at the soil surface from each treatment between March 2009 and March 2013, and soil C from the top 30 cm was monitored in all plots over the same period. Miscanthus-derived SOC was determined using the isotopic discrimination between C4 plant matter and C3 soil, and soil fractionation was then used to establish the longevity of that Miscanthus-derived SOC. Ongoing results for CO2 emissions indicate a strong seasonal variation; litter decomposition forms a large portion of the CO2

CyARM: Haptic Sensing Device for Spatial Localization on Basis of Exploration by Arms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junichi Akita

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We introduce a new type of perception aid device based on user's exploration action, which is named as CyARM (acronym of “Cyber Arm”. The user holds this device in her/his arm, the extension of the arm is controlled by tension in wires, which are attached to her/his body according to the distance to the object. This user interface has unique characteristics that give users the illusion of an imaginary arm that extends to existing objects. The implementations of CyARM and our two experiments to investigate the efficiency and effectiveness of CyARM are described. The results show that we could confirm that CyARM can be used to recognize the presence of an object in front of the user and to measure the relative distance to the object.

How do octopuses use their arms?

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Mather, J A

1998-09-01

A taxonomy of the movement patterns of the 8 flexible arms of octopuses is constructed. Components consist of movements of the arm itself, the ventral suckers and their stalks, as well as the relative position of arms and the skin web between them. Within 1 arm, combinations of components result in a variety of behaviors. At the level of all arms, 1 group of behaviors is described as postures, on the basis of the spread of all arms and the web to make a 2-dimensional surface whose position differs in the 3rd dimension. Another group of arm behaviors is actions, more or less coordinated and involving several to all arms. Arm control appears to be based on radial symmetry, relative equipotentiality of all arms, relative independence of each arm, and separability of components within the arm. The types and coordination of arm behaviors are discussed with relationship to biomechanical limits, muscle structures, and neuronal programming.

Suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2) deletion protects against multiple low dose streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetes in adult male mice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alkharusi, Amira; Mirecki-Garrido, Mercedes; Ma, Zuheng

2016-01-01

Background: Diabetes type 1 is characterized by the failure of beta cells to produce insulin. Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins are important regulators of the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathway. Previous studies have shown that GH can...... prevent the development of type I diabetes in mice and that SOCS2 deficiency mimics a state of increased GH sensitivity. Methodology: The elevated sensitivity of SOCS2-/- mice to GH and possibly to PRL was the rationale to analyze the effects of multiple low dose streptozotocin (MLDSTZ)-induced diabetes...... in SOCS2-/- mice. Results: We show that 6-month-old SOCS2-/- mice, but not 2-month-old mice, were less sensitive to MLDSTZ-induced diabetes, compared to controls. MLDSTZ treatment induced glucose intolerance in both SOCS2+/+ and SOCS2-/- mice, as shown by glucose tolerance tests, with SOCS2+/+ mice...

The mechanisms behind the formation of a strong Sense of Coherence (SOC): The role of migration and integration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slootjes, J.; Keuzenkamp, Saskia; Saharso, S.

2017-01-01

Considering how much we know about the impact of the Sense of Coherence (SOC) on different health-related outcomes, we know surprisingly little about how a strong SOC actually develops. In this study we examine the mechanisms behind the formation of a strong SOC and study the role of migration,

LCM-seq reveals the crucial role of LsSOC1 in heat-promoted bolting of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zijing; Zhao, Wensheng; Ge, Danfeng; Han, Yingyan; Ning, Kang; Luo, Chen; Wang, Shenglin; Liu, Renyi; Zhang, Xiaolan; Wang, Qian

2018-05-17

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most economically important vegetables. The floral transition in lettuce is accelerated under high temperatures, which can significantly decrease yields. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the floral tranition in lettuce is poorly known. Using laser capture microdissection coupled with RNA sequencing, we isolated shoot apical meristem cells from the bolting-sensitive lettuce line S39 at four critical stages of development. Subsequently, we screened specifically for the flowering-related gene LsSOC1 during the floral transition through comparative transcriptomic analysis. Molecular biology, developmental biology, and biochemical tools were combined to investigate the biological function of LsSOC1 in lettuce. LsSOC1 knockdown by RNA interference resulted in a significant delay in the timing of bolting and insensitivity to high temperature, which indicated that LsSOC1 functions as an activator during heat-promoted bolting in lettuce. We determined that two heat-shock transcription factors, HsfA1e and HsfA4c, bound to the promoter of LsSOC1 to confirm that LsSOC1 played an important role in heat-promoted bolting. This study indicates that LsSOC1 plays a crucial role in the heat-promoted bolting process in lettuce. Further investigation of LsSOC1 may be useful for clarification of the bolting mechanism in lettuce. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Detecting small-scale spatial heterogeneity and temporal dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks: a comparison between automatic chamber-derived C budgets and repeated soil inventories

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, Mathias; Jurisch, Nicole; Garcia Alba, Juana; Albiac Borraz, Elisa; Schmidt, Marten; Huth, Vytas; Rogasik, Helmut; Rieckh, Helene; Verch, Gernot; Sommer, Michael; Augustin, Jürgen

2017-03-01

Carbon (C) sequestration in soils plays a key role in the global C cycle. It is therefore crucial to adequately monitor dynamics in soil organic carbon (ΔSOC) stocks when aiming to reveal underlying processes and potential drivers. However, small-scale spatial (10-30 m) and temporal changes in SOC stocks, particularly pronounced in arable lands, are hard to assess. The main reasons for this are limitations of the well-established methods. On the one hand, repeated soil inventories, often used in long-term field trials, reveal spatial patterns and trends in ΔSOC but require a longer observation period and a sufficient number of repetitions. On the other hand, eddy covariance measurements of C fluxes towards a complete C budget of the soil-plant-atmosphere system may help to obtain temporal ΔSOC patterns but lack small-scale spatial resolution. To overcome these limitations, this study presents a reliable method to detect both short-term temporal dynamics as well as small-scale spatial differences of ΔSOC using measurements of the net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) as a proxy. To estimate the NECB, a combination of automatic chamber (AC) measurements of CO2 exchange and empirically modeled aboveground biomass development (NPPshoot) were used. To verify our method, results were compared with ΔSOC observed by soil resampling. Soil resampling and AC measurements were performed from 2010 to 2014 at a colluvial depression located in the hummocky ground moraine landscape of northeastern Germany. The measurement site is characterized by a variable groundwater level (GWL) and pronounced small-scale spatial heterogeneity regarding SOC and nitrogen (Nt) stocks. Tendencies and magnitude of ΔSOC values derived by AC measurements and repeated soil inventories corresponded well. The period of maximum plant growth was identified as being most important for the development of spatial differences in annual ΔSOC. Hence, we were able to confirm that AC-based C budgets are able

Research on the man in the loop control system of the robot arm based on gesture control

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Lifeng; Peng, Jinbao

2017-03-01

The Man in the loop control system of the robot arm based on gesture control research complex real-world environment, which requires the operator to continuously control and adjust the remote manipulator, as the background, completes the specific mission human in the loop entire system as the research object. This paper puts forward a kind of robot arm control system of Man in the loop based on gesture control, by robot arm control system based on gesture control and Virtual reality scene feedback to enhance immersion and integration of operator, to make operator really become a part of the whole control loop. This paper expounds how to construct a man in the loop control system of the robot arm based on gesture control. The system is a complex system of human computer cooperative control, but also people in the loop control problem areas. The new system solves the problems that the traditional method has no immersion feeling and the operation lever is unnatural, the adjustment time is long, and the data glove mode wears uncomfortable and the price is expensive.

A hybrid BMI-based exoskeleton for paresis: EMG control for assisting arm movements.

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Kawase, Toshihiro; Sakurada, Takeshi; Koike, Yasuharu; Kansaku, Kenji

2017-02-01

Brain-machine interface (BMI) technologies have succeeded in controlling robotic exoskeletons, enabling some paralyzed people to control their own arms and hands. We have developed an exoskeleton asynchronously controlled by EEG signals. In this study, to enable real-time control of the exoskeleton for paresis, we developed a hybrid system with EEG and EMG signals, and the EMG signals were used to estimate its joint angles. Eleven able-bodied subjects and two patients with upper cervical spinal cord injuries (SCIs) performed hand and arm movements, and the angles of the metacarpophalangeal (MP) joint of the index finger, wrist, and elbow were estimated from EMG signals using a formula that we derived to calculate joint angles from EMG signals, based on a musculoskeletal model. The formula was exploited to control the elbow of the exoskeleton after automatic adjustments. Four able-bodied subjects and a patient with upper cervical SCI wore an exoskeleton controlled using EMG signals and were required to perform hand and arm movements to carry and release a ball. Estimated angles of the MP joints of index fingers, wrists, and elbows were correlated well with the measured angles in 11 able-bodied subjects (correlation coefficients were 0.81  ±  0.09, 0.85  ±  0.09, and 0.76  ±  0.13, respectively) and the patients (e.g. 0.91  ±  0.01 in the elbow of a patient). Four able-bodied subjects successfully positioned their arms to adequate angles by extending their elbows and a joint of the exoskeleton, with root-mean-square errors  exoskeleton, successfully carried a ball to a goal in all 10 trials. A BMI-based exoskeleton for paralyzed arms and hands using real-time control was realized by designing a new method to estimate joint angles based on EMG signals, and these may be useful for practical rehabilitation and the support of daily actions.

A hybrid BMI-based exoskeleton for paresis: EMG control for assisting arm movements

Science.gov (United States)

Kawase, Toshihiro; Sakurada, Takeshi; Koike, Yasuharu; Kansaku, Kenji

2017-02-01

Objective. Brain-machine interface (BMI) technologies have succeeded in controlling robotic exoskeletons, enabling some paralyzed people to control their own arms and hands. We have developed an exoskeleton asynchronously controlled by EEG signals. In this study, to enable real-time control of the exoskeleton for paresis, we developed a hybrid system with EEG and EMG signals, and the EMG signals were used to estimate its joint angles. Approach. Eleven able-bodied subjects and two patients with upper cervical spinal cord injuries (SCIs) performed hand and arm movements, and the angles of the metacarpophalangeal (MP) joint of the index finger, wrist, and elbow were estimated from EMG signals using a formula that we derived to calculate joint angles from EMG signals, based on a musculoskeletal model. The formula was exploited to control the elbow of the exoskeleton after automatic adjustments. Four able-bodied subjects and a patient with upper cervical SCI wore an exoskeleton controlled using EMG signals and were required to perform hand and arm movements to carry and release a ball. Main results. Estimated angles of the MP joints of index fingers, wrists, and elbows were correlated well with the measured angles in 11 able-bodied subjects (correlation coefficients were 0.81  ±  0.09, 0.85  ±  0.09, and 0.76  ±  0.13, respectively) and the patients (e.g. 0.91  ±  0.01 in the elbow of a patient). Four able-bodied subjects successfully positioned their arms to adequate angles by extending their elbows and a joint of the exoskeleton, with root-mean-square errors  exoskeleton, successfully carried a ball to a goal in all 10 trials. Significance. A BMI-based exoskeleton for paralyzed arms and hands using real-time control was realized by designing a new method to estimate joint angles based on EMG signals, and these may be useful for practical rehabilitation and the support of daily actions.

Cardiac-Specific SOCS3 Deletion Prevents In Vivo Myocardial Ischemia Reperfusion Injury through Sustained Activation of Cardioprotective Signaling Molecules.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takanobu Nagata

Full Text Available Myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI adversely affects cardiac performance and the prognosis of patients with acute myocardial infarction. Although myocardial signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT 3 is potently cardioprotective during IRI, the inhibitory mechanism responsible for its activation is largely unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the role of the myocardial suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS-3, an intrinsic negative feedback regulator of the Janus kinase (JAK-STAT signaling pathway, in the development of myocardial IRI. Myocardial IRI was induced in mice by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery for 1 h, followed by different reperfusion times. One hour after reperfusion, the rapid expression of JAK-STAT-activating cytokines was observed. We precisely evaluated the phosphorylation of cardioprotective signaling molecules and the expression of SOCS3 during IRI and then induced myocardial IRI in wild-type and cardiac-specific SOCS3 knockout mice (SOCS3-CKO. The activation of STAT3, AKT, and ERK1/2 rapidly peaked and promptly decreased during IRI. This decrease correlated with the induction of SOCS3 expression up to 24 h after IRI in wild-type mice. The infarct size 24 h after reperfusion was significantly reduced in SOCS3-CKO compared with wild-type mice. In SOCS3-CKO mice, STAT3, AKT, and ERK1/2 phosphorylation was sustained, myocardial apoptosis was prevented, and the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1 was augmented. Cardiac-specific SOCS3 deletion led to the sustained activation of cardioprotective signaling molecules including and prevented myocardial apoptosis and injury during IRI. Our findings suggest that SOCS3 may represent a key factor that exacerbates the development of myocardial IRI.

Plant growth controls short-term changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks of croplands - new insights from the CarboZALF experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, Mathias; Jurisch, Nicole; Garcia Alba, Joana; Albiac Borraz, Elisa; Schmidt, Marten; Verch, Gernot; Sommer, Michael; Augustin, Jürgen

2016-04-01

The long-term influence of crop rotations, climate conditions or soil type on soil organic carbon stock (SOC) patterns and gaseous C emissions of agricultural landscapes is widely recognized. However, the question of short-term seasonal changes in SOC within these areas remains unclear. A main reason for this is the detection problem of temporal and spatial variability in gaseous C exchange and thus, changes in SOC stocks (ΔSOC) in a high resolution. This study introduces dynamic C balances as a method to obtain seasonal changes in SOC stocks. Dynamic C balances were calculated by a combination of automatic chamber CO2 exchange measurements and empirical biomass models. Measurements were performed for three consecutive years at a colluvial depression (Colluvic Regosol) in the hummocky ground moraine landscape of NE Germany (CarboZALF experimental site). The investigated crop rotation was maize, winter fodder rye, maize, winter fodder rye, and sudangrass. The site is characterized by a gradient in ground water level (GWL) and related spatial heterogeneity in soil properties, such as SOC as well as soil nitrogen (Nt) stocks. Modelled dynamic C balances reveal that up to 79% of the standard deviation of estimated annual ΔSOC between single chambers emerged during the main period of crop growth (three months in summer). No significant changes in ΔSOC were detected outside the growing season. Instead, differences between chambers remain constant despite ΔSOC dynamics. Environmental variables (Nt stocks of Ap horizon and GWL), affecting plant-mediated C sequestration, explained up to 95% of temporal and spatial variability in CO2 exchange and ΔSOC. Thus, plant activities were the major catalyst for small scale differences in annual ΔSOC of croplands.

Research on SEU hardening of heterogeneous Dual-Core SoC

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Kun; Hu, Keliu; Deng, Jun; Zhang, Tao

2017-08-01

The implementation of Single-Event Upsets (SEU) hardening has various schemes. However, some of them require a lot of human, material and financial resources. This paper proposes an easy scheme on SEU hardening for Heterogeneous Dual-core SoC (HD SoC) which contains three techniques. First, the automatic Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR) technique is adopted to harden the register heaps of the processor and the instruction-fetching module. Second, Hamming codes are used to harden the random access memory (RAM). Last, a software signature technique is applied to check the programs which are running on CPU. The scheme need not to consume additional resources, and has little influence on the performance of CPU. These technologies are very mature, easy to implement and needs low cost. According to the simulation result, the scheme can satisfy the basic demand of SEU-hardening.

ARM Mentor Selection Process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sisterson, D. L. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2015-10-01

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program was created in 1989 with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop several highly instrumented ground stations to study cloud formation processes and their influence on radiative transfer. In 2003, the ARM Program became a national scientific user facility, known as the ARM Climate Research Facility. This scientific infrastructure provides for fixed sites, mobile facilities, an aerial facility, and a data archive available for use by scientists worldwide through the ARM Climate Research Facility—a scientific user facility. The ARM Climate Research Facility currently operates more than 300 instrument systems that provide ground-based observations of the atmospheric column. To keep ARM at the forefront of climate observations, the ARM infrastructure depends heavily on instrument scientists and engineers, also known as lead mentors. Lead mentors must have an excellent understanding of in situ and remote-sensing instrumentation theory and operation and have comprehensive knowledge of critical scale-dependent atmospheric processes. They must also possess the technical and analytical skills to develop new data retrievals that provide innovative approaches for creating research-quality data sets. The ARM Climate Research Facility is seeking the best overall qualified candidate who can fulfill lead mentor requirements in a timely manner.

Suppressor of cytokine signaling 4 (SOCS4 protects against severe cytokine storm and enhances viral clearance during influenza infection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lukasz Kedzierski

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS proteins are key regulators of innate and adaptive immunity. There is no described biological role for SOCS4, despite broad expression in the hematopoietic system. We demonstrate that mice lacking functional SOCS4 protein rapidly succumb to infection with a pathogenic H1N1 influenza virus (PR8 and are hypersusceptible to infection with the less virulent H3N2 (X31 strain. In SOCS4-deficient animals, this led to substantially greater weight loss, dysregulated pro-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine production in the lungs and delayed viral clearance. This was associated with impaired trafficking of influenza-specific CD8 T cells to the site of infection and linked to defects in T cell receptor activation. These results demonstrate that SOCS4 is a critical regulator of anti-viral immunity.

SOCS3 inhibits the pathological effects of IL-22 in non-melanoma skin tumor-derived keratinocytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Madonna, Stefania; Scarponi, Claudia; Morelli, Martina; Sestito, Rosanna; Scognamiglio, Pasqualina Liana; Marasco, Daniela; Albanesi, Cristina

2017-04-11

Basal cell carcinomas (BCC) and squamous-cell carcinomas (SCC) are common malignancies in humans, caused by neoplastic transformation of keratinocytes of the basal or suprabasal layers of epidermis, respectively. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are frequently found in BCC and SCC, and functionally promote epithelial carcinogenesis. TILs secreting IL-22, in particular, participate to BCC and SCC growth by inducing keratinocyte proliferation and migration, as well as the expression of inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and pro-angiogenic genes.In this study, we identified SOCS3 as a valid candidate to be manipulated for suppressing tumorigenic functions in BCC and SCC. We found that SOCS3 and SOCS1 expression was reduced in vivo, in tumor lesions of BCC and SCC, as compared to other skin inflammatory conditions such as psoriasis, despite the high number of IL-22-secreting TILs. Moreover, IL-22 was not able to induce in vitro the transcriptional expression of SOCS3 in BCC-or SCC-derived keratinocytes, contrarily to healthy cells. Aimed at rescuing SOCS3 activity in these tumor contexts, a SOCS3-derived peptide, named KIR-ESS, was synthesized, and its ability in suppressing IL-22-induced responses was evaluated in healthy and transformed keratinocytes. We found that KIR-ESS peptide efficiently suppressed the IL-22 molecular signaling in keratinocytes, by acting on STAT3 and Erk1/2 cascade, as well as on the expression of STAT3-dependent downstream genes. Interestingly, after treatment with peptide, both healthy and transformed keratinocytes could no longer aberrantly proliferate and migrate in response to IL-22. Finally, treatment of athymic nude mice bearing SCC xenografts with KIR-ESS peptide concomitantly reduced tumor growth and activated STAT3 levels. As a whole, these data provides the rationale for the use in BCC and SCC skin tumors of SOCS3 mimetics, being able to inhibit the deleterious effects of IL-22 in these contexts.

Transport-distance specific SOC distribution: Does it skew erosion induced C fluxes?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hu, Yaxian; Berbe, Asmerat Asefaw; Fogel, Marilyn L.

2016-01-01

Abstract The net effect of soil erosion by water, as a sink or source of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), is determined by the spatial (re-)distribution and stability of eroded soil organic carbon (SOC), and the dynamic replacement of eroded C by the production of new photosynthate. The depositi......Abstract The net effect of soil erosion by water, as a sink or source of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), is determined by the spatial (re-)distribution and stability of eroded soil organic carbon (SOC), and the dynamic replacement of eroded C by the production of new photosynthate...... the actual movement of eroded soil fractions along hillslopes, let alone the re-distribution pattern of SOC fractions. Eroding sandy soils and sediment were sampled after a series of rainfall events along a slope on a freshly seeded cropland in Jutland, Denmark. All the soil samples were fractionated...... into five settling classes using a settling tube apparatus. The spatial distribution of soil settling classes shows a coarsening effect immediately below the eroding slope, followed by a fining trend at the slope tail. These findings support the validity of the conceptual model proposed by Starr et al...

Design of a Bidirectional Energy Storage System for a Vanadium Redox Flow Battery in a Microgrid with SOC Estimation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qingwu Gong

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This paper used a Vanadium Redox flow Battery (VRB as the storage battery and designed a two-stage topology of a VRB energy storage system in which a phase-shifted full bridge dc-dc converter and three-phase inverter were used, considering the low terminal voltage of the VRB. Following this, a model of the VRB was simplified, according to the operational characteristics of the VRB in this designed topology of a VRB energy storage system (ESS. By using the simplified equivalent model of the VRB, the control parameters of the ESS were designed. For effectively estimating the state of charge (SOC of the VRB, a traditional method for providing the SOC estimation was simplified, and a simple and effective SOC estimation method was proposed in this paper. Finally, to illustrate the proper design of the VRB ESS and the proposed SOC estimation method, a corresponding simulation was designed by Simulink. The test results have demonstrated that this proposed SOC estimation method is feasible and effective for indicating the SOC of a VRB and the proper design of this VRB ESS is very reasonable for VRB applications.

High organic inputs explain shallow and deep SOC storage in a long-term agroforestry system - combining experimental and modeling approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Cardinael, Rémi; Guenet, Bertrand; Chevallier, Tiphaine; Dupraz, Christian; Cozzi, Thomas; Chenu, Claire

2018-01-01

Agroforestry is an increasingly popular farming system enabling agricultural diversification and providing several ecosystem services. In agroforestry systems, soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks are generally increased, but it is difficult to disentangle the different factors responsible for this storage. Organic carbon (OC) inputs to the soil may be larger, but SOC decomposition rates may be modified owing to microclimate, physical protection, or priming effect from roots, especially at depth. We used an 18-year-old silvoarable system associating hybrid walnut trees (Juglans regia × nigra) and durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum) and an adjacent agricultural control plot to quantify all OC inputs to the soil - leaf litter, tree fine root senescence, crop residues, and tree row herbaceous vegetation - and measured SOC stocks down to 2 m of depth at varying distances from the trees. We then proposed a model that simulates SOC dynamics in agroforestry accounting for both the whole soil profile and the lateral spatial heterogeneity. The model was calibrated to the control plot only. Measured OC inputs to soil were increased by about 40 % (+ 1.11 t C ha-1 yr-1) down to 2 m of depth in the agroforestry plot compared to the control, resulting in an additional SOC stock of 6.3 t C ha-1 down to 1 m of depth. However, most of the SOC storage occurred in the first 30 cm of soil and in the tree rows. The model was strongly validated, properly describing the measured SOC stocks and distribution with depth in agroforestry tree rows and alleys. It showed that the increased inputs of fresh biomass to soil explained the observed additional SOC storage in the agroforestry plot. Moreover, only a priming effect variant of the model was able to capture the depth distribution of SOC stocks, suggesting the priming effect as a possible mechanism driving deep SOC dynamics. This result questions the potential of soils to store large amounts of carbon, especially at depth. Deep

Soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation in rice paddies under long-term agro-ecosystem experiments in southern China - VI. Changes in microbial community structure and respiratory activity

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, D.; Liu, X.; Liu, Y.; Li, L.; Pan, G.; Crowley, D.; Tippkötter, R.

2011-02-01

Biological stabilization within accumulated soil organic carbon (SOC) has not been well understood, while its role in physical and chemical protection as well as of chemical recalcitrance had been addressed in Chinese rice paddies. In this study, topsoil samples were collected and respiratory activity measured in situ following rice harvest under different fertilization treatments of three long-term experimental sites across southern China in 2009. The SOC contents, microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) and nitrogen (SMBN) were analysed using chemical digestion and microbial community structure assessment via clony dilute plate counting methods. While SOC contents were consistently higher under compound chemical fertilization (Comp-Fert) or combined organic and inorganic fertilization (Comb-Fert) compared to N fertilization only (N-Fert), there was significantly higher fungal-bacterial ratio under Comb-Fert than under N-Fert and Comp-Fert. When subtracting the background effect under no fertilization treatment (Non-Fert), the increase both in SMBC and SMBN under fertilization treatment was found very significantly correlated to the increase in SOC over controls across the sites. Also, the ratio of culturable fungal to bacterial population numbers (F/B ratio) was well correlated with soil organic carbon contents in all samples across the sites studied. SOC accumulation favoured a build-up the microbial community with increasing fungal dominance in the rice paddies under fertilization treatments. While soil respiration rates were high under Comb-Fert as a result of enhanced microbial community build-up, the specific soil respiratory activity based on microbial biomass carbon was found in a significantly negatively correlation with the SOC contents for overall samples. Thus, a fungal-dominated microbial community seemed to slow SOC turnover, thereby favouring SOC accumulation under Comp-Fert or under Comb-Fert in the rice paddies. Therefore, the biological stabilization

Unequal-Arms Michelson Interferometers

Science.gov (United States)

Tinto, Massimo; Armstrong, J. W.

2000-01-01

Michelson interferometers allow phase measurements many orders of magnitude below the phase stability of the laser light injected into their two almost equal-length arms. If, however, the two arms are unequal, the laser fluctuations can not be removed by simply recombining the two beams. This is because the laser jitters experience different time delays in the two arms, and therefore can not cancel at the photo detector. We present here a method for achieving exact laser noise cancellation, even in an unequal-arm interferometer. The method presented in this paper requires a separate readout of the relative phase in each arm, made by interfering the returning beam in each arm with a fraction of the outgoing beam. By linearly combining the two data sets with themselves, after they have been properly time shifted, we show that it is possible to construct a new data set that is free of laser fluctuations. An application of this technique to future planned space-based laser interferometer detector3 of gravitational radiation is discussed.

Kepler: A Search for Terrestrial Planets - SOC 9.3 DR25 Pipeline Parameter Configuration Reports

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Jennifer R.

2017-01-01

This document describes the manner in which the pipeline and algorithm parameters for the Kepler Science Operations Center (SOC) science data processing pipeline were managed. This document is intended for scientists and software developers who wish to better understand the software design for the final Kepler codebase (SOC 9.3) and the effect of the software parameters on the Data Release (DR) 25 archival products.

ARM Processor Based Embedded System for Remote Data Acquisition

OpenAIRE

Raj Kumar Tiwari; Santosh Kumar Agrahari

2014-01-01

The embedded systems are widely used for the data acquisition. The data acquired may be used for monitoring various activity of the system or it can be used to control the parts of the system. Accessing various signals with remote location has greater advantage for multisite operation or unmanned systems. The remote data acquisition used in this paper is based on ARM processor. The Cortex M3 processor used in this system has in-built Ethernet controller which facilitate to acquire the remote ...

A Comparison of FDM Structural Layouts and Implementation of an Open-Source Arm-Based System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pollard David

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM is a manufacturing process to build components in a layer-by-layer approach through extrusion of polymers from a movable nozzle, allowing for significantly higher degrees of complexity over machined parts. Current FDM systems typically use actuation provided through a gantry or delta structural layout, operating through depositing successive planar layers in a 2.5D process; it has been shown in numerous studies the bonding between layers has significantly lower strength than the homogeneous material or in-plane properties - an issue which can be mitigated through the deposition of curved layers. This paper compares four differing structural layouts of FDM systems (gantry, delta, Stewart Platform, and arm-based to identify the key advantages of an arm-based method as the increased workspace and manipulability enabling “Additive Finalisation” of components, and suitability for curved layer FDM. Details are then presented of the open-source implementation and evaluation of a 6 degree-of-freedom arm-based FDM printer at the University of Bristol.

Computational model of 18650 lithium-ion battery with coupled strain rate and SOC dependencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Jun; Liu, Binghe; Wang, Xinyi; Hu, Dayong

2016-01-01

Highlights: • An anisotropic model to describe mechanical behaviors of LIB is established. • SOC dependency is included in the mechanical model of the jellyroll. • Dynamic effect is considered in the model for LIB. - Abstract: Highly nonlinear structures and constituent materials and hazardous experiment situations have resulted in a pressing need for a numerical mechanical model for lithium-ion battery (LIB). However, such a model is still not well established. In this paper, an anisotropic homogeneous model describing the jellyroll and the battery shell is established and validated through compression, indentation, and bending tests at quasi-static loadings. In this model, state-of-charge (SOC) dependency of the LIB is further included through an analogy with the strain-rate effect. Moreover, with consideration of the inertia and strain-rate effects, the anisotropic homogeneous model is extended into the dynamic regime and proven capable of predicting the dynamic response of the LIB using the drop-weight test. The established model may help to predict extreme cases with high SOCs and crashing speeds with an over 135% improved accuracy compared to traditional models. The established coupled strain rate and SOC dependencies of the numerical mechanical model for the LIB aims to provide a solid step toward unraveling and quantifying the complicated problems for research on LIB mechanical integrity.

SoCRocket: A Virtual Platform for SoC Design

Science.gov (United States)

Fossati, Luca; Schuster, Thomas; Meyer, Rolf; Berekovic, Mladen

2013-08-01

how SoCRocket was used to optimize the design of a LEON3-based SoC targeted to the execution of an implementation of the CCSDS standard n.123 for the lossless compression of hyperspectral images.

A microprocessor from AVR to embedded SoC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Geum Seoh

2005-01-01

This book was divided into two parts. The first part consists of ten chapter, which are basic knowledge, code vision AVR compiler, analysis on code vision, introduction and characteristic of AVR, I/O ports, interrupt and timer/counter, LCD, serial communication, analog comparator and stepping Motor and digital control of DC Motor. In the second part, it introduces Embedded Soc including application field, its characteristic, general description, functional description, designs with Quartus II.

Passivity-Based Control of Rotational and Translational Timoshenko Arms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minoru Sasaki

2012-01-01

Full Text Available It is shown that the alternate passivity-based control schemes can be designed which explicitly exploit the passivity properties of the Timoshenko model. This approach has the advantage over the conventional methods in the respect that it allows one to deal directly with the system's partial differential equations without resorting to approximations. Numerical results for the tracking control of a translational and rotational flexible Timoshenko arm are presented and compared. They verify that the proposed control schemes are effective at controlling flexible dynamical systems.

SpaceWire- Based Control System Architecture for the Lightweight Advanced Robotic Arm Demonstrator [LARAD

Science.gov (United States)

Rucinski, Marek; Coates, Adam; Montano, Giuseppe; Allouis, Elie; Jameux, David

2015-09-01

The Lightweight Advanced Robotic Arm Demonstrator (LARAD) is a state-of-the-art, two-meter long robotic arm for planetary surface exploration currently being developed by a UK consortium led by Airbus Defence and Space Ltd under contract to the UK Space Agency (CREST-2 programme). LARAD has a modular design, which allows for experimentation with different electronics and control software. The control system architecture includes the on-board computer, control software and firmware, and the communication infrastructure (e.g. data links, switches) connecting on-board computer(s), sensors, actuators and the end-effector. The purpose of the control system is to operate the arm according to pre-defined performance requirements, monitoring its behaviour in real-time and performing safing/recovery actions in case of faults. This paper reports on the results of a recent study about the feasibility of the development and integration of a novel control system architecture for LARAD fully based on the SpaceWire protocol. The current control system architecture is based on the combination of two communication protocols, Ethernet and CAN. The new SpaceWire-based control system will allow for improved monitoring and telecommanding performance thanks to higher communication data rate, allowing for the adoption of advanced control schemes, potentially based on multiple vision sensors, and for the handling of sophisticated end-effectors that require fine control, such as science payloads or robotic hands.

Passive detection of nuclear-armed SLCMs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sagdeev, R.Z.; Prilutsky, O.F.; Frolov, V.A.

1992-01-01

Effective procedures have been developed, using national technical measures (photoreconnaissance satellites, radiointercept stations, etc.), for verification of reductions in land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, such as marine-based ballistic missiles, and strategic bombers. However, there is agreement on procedures for verifying limitations of numbers of long-range nuclear-armed cruise missiles. The difficulties in developing such procedures are sometimes regarded (by opponents of nuclear disarmament) as a reason why cruise missiles based on ships and submarines ought not to be limited by future arms-reduction treaties. This paper considers the detectability of nuclear-armed cruise missiles through the penetrating radiation emitted spontaneously from their warheads

Offering self-administered oral HIV testing to truck drivers in Kenya to increase testing: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelvin, Elizabeth A; George, Gavin; Mwai, Eva; Nyaga, Eston; Mantell, Joanne E; Romo, Matthew L; Odhiambo, Jacob O; Starbuck, Lila; Govender, Kaymarlin

2018-01-01

We conducted a randomized controlled trial among 305 truck drivers from two North Star Alliance roadside wellness clinics in Kenya to see if offering HIV testing choices would increase HIV testing uptake. Participants were randomized to be offered (1) a provider-administered rapid blood (finger-prick) HIV test (i.e., standard of care [SOC]) or (2) a Choice between SOC or a self-administered oral rapid HIV test with provider supervision in the clinic. Participants in the Choice arm who refused HIV testing in the clinic were offered a test kit for home use with phone-based posttest counseling. We compared HIV test uptake using the Mantel Haenszel odds ratio (OR) adjusting for clinic. Those in the Choice arm had higher odds of HIV test uptake than those in the SOC arm (OR = 1.5), but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.189). When adding the option to take an HIV test kit for home use, the Choice arm had significantly greater odds of testing uptake (OR = 2.8, p = 0.002). Of those in the Choice arm who tested, 26.9% selected the SOC test, 64.6% chose supervised self-testing in the clinic, and 8.5% took a test kit for home use. Participants varied in the HIV test they selected when given choices. Importantly, when participants who refused HIV testing in the clinic were offered a test kit for home use, an additional 8.5% tested. Offering truck drivers a variety of HIV testing choices may increase HIV testing uptake in this key population.

Space Operations Center system analysis. Volume 3, book 2: SOC system definition report, revision A

Science.gov (United States)

1982-01-01

The Space Operations Center (SOC) orbital space station program operations are described. A work breakdown structure for the general purpose support equipment, construction and transportation support, and resupply and logistics support systems is given. The basis for the design of each element is presented, and a mass estimate for each element supplied. The SOC build-up operation, construction, flight support, and satellite servicing operations are described. Detailed programmatics and cost analysis are presented.

Cache Performance Optimization for SoC Vedio Applications

OpenAIRE

Lei Li; Wei Zhang; HuiYao An; Xing Zhang; HuaiQi Zhu

2014-01-01

Chip Multiprocessors (CMPs) are adopted by industry to deal with the speed limit of the single-processor. But memory access has become the bottleneck of the performance, especially in multimedia applications. In this paper, a set of management policies is proposed to improve the cache performance for a SoC platform of video application. By analyzing the behavior of Vedio Engine, the memory-friendly writeback and efficient prefetch policies are adopted. The experiment platform is simulated by ...

Structural basis for c-KIT inhibition by the suppressor of cytokine signaling 6 (SOCS6) ubiquitin ligase

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zadjali, Fahad; Pike, Ashley C W; Vesterlund, Mattias

2011-01-01

to substrate residue position pY+6 and envelopes the c-KIT phosphopeptide with a large BG loop insertion that contributes significantly to substrate interaction. We demonstrate that SOCS6 has ubiquitin ligase activity toward c-KIT and regulates c-KIT protein turnover in cells. Our data support a role of SOCS6...

ORCHIDEE-SOM: modeling soil organic carbon (SOC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) dynamics along vertical soil profiles in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Camino-Serrano, Marta; Guenet, Bertrand; Luyssaert, Sebastiaan; Ciais, Philippe; Bastrikov, Vladislav; De Vos, Bruno; Gielen, Bert; Gleixner, Gerd; Jornet-Puig, Albert; Kaiser, Klaus; Kothawala, Dolly; Lauerwald, Ronny; Peñuelas, Josep; Schrumpf, Marion; Vicca, Sara; Vuichard, Nicolas; Walmsley, David; Janssens, Ivan A.

2018-03-01

Current land surface models (LSMs) typically represent soils in a very simplistic way, assuming soil organic carbon (SOC) as a bulk, and thus impeding a correct representation of deep soil carbon dynamics. Moreover, LSMs generally neglect the production and export of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from soils to rivers, leading to overestimations of the potential carbon sequestration on land. This common oversimplified processing of SOC in LSMs is partly responsible for the large uncertainty in the predictions of the soil carbon response to climate change. In this study, we present a new soil carbon module called ORCHIDEE-SOM, embedded within the land surface model ORCHIDEE, which is able to reproduce the DOC and SOC dynamics in a vertically discretized soil to 2 m. The model includes processes of biological production and consumption of SOC and DOC, DOC adsorption on and desorption from soil minerals, diffusion of SOC and DOC, and DOC transport with water through and out of the soils to rivers. We evaluated ORCHIDEE-SOM against observations of DOC concentrations and SOC stocks from four European sites with different vegetation covers: a coniferous forest, a deciduous forest, a grassland, and a cropland. The model was able to reproduce the SOC stocks along their vertical profiles at the four sites and the DOC concentrations within the range of measurements, with the exception of the DOC concentrations in the upper soil horizon at the coniferous forest. However, the model was not able to fully capture the temporal dynamics of DOC concentrations. Further model improvements should focus on a plant- and depth-dependent parameterization of the new input model parameters, such as the turnover times of DOC and the microbial carbon use efficiency. We suggest that this new soil module, when parameterized for global simulations, will improve the representation of the global carbon cycle in LSMs, thus helping to constrain the predictions of the future SOC response to global

Two-Armed, Mobile, Sensate Research Robot

Science.gov (United States)

Engelberger, J. F.; Roberts, W. Nelson; Ryan, David J.; Silverthorne, Andrew

2004-01-01

The Anthropomorphic Robotic Testbed (ART) is an experimental prototype of a partly anthropomorphic, humanoid-size, mobile robot. The basic ART design concept provides for a combination of two-armed coordination, tactility, stereoscopic vision, mobility with navigation and avoidance of obstacles, and natural-language communication, so that the ART could emulate humans in many activities. The ART could be developed into a variety of highly capable robotic assistants for general or specific applications. There is especially great potential for the development of ART-based robots as substitutes for live-in health-care aides for home-bound persons who are aged, infirm, or physically handicapped; these robots could greatly reduce the cost of home health care and extend the term of independent living. The ART is a fully autonomous and untethered system. It includes a mobile base on which is mounted an extensible torso topped by a head, shoulders, and two arms. All subsystems of the ART are powered by a rechargeable, removable battery pack. The mobile base is a differentially- driven, nonholonomic vehicle capable of a speed >1 m/s and can handle a payload >100 kg. The base can be controlled manually, in forward/backward and/or simultaneous rotational motion, by use of a joystick. Alternatively, the motion of the base can be controlled autonomously by an onboard navigational computer. By retraction or extension of the torso, the head height of the ART can be adjusted from 5 ft (1.5 m) to 6 1/2 ft (2 m), so that the arms can reach either the floor or high shelves, or some ceilings. The arms are symmetrical. Each arm (including the wrist) has a total of six rotary axes like those of the human shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints. The arms are actuated by electric motors in combination with brakes and gas-spring assists on the shoulder and elbow joints. The arms are operated under closed-loop digital control. A receptacle for an end effector is mounted on the tip of the wrist and

[Characteristics of Soil Respiration along Eroded Sloping Land with Different SOC Background on the Hilly Loess Plateau].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Gai; Xu, Ming-xiang; Zhang, Ya-feng; Wang, Chao-hua; Fan, Hui-min; Wang, Shan-shan

2015-09-01

This study aimed to characterize soil respiration along eroded sloping land at erosion and deposition area under different soil organic carbon(SOC) levels, and linked the relationship between soil respiration and soil temperature, soil moisture, SOC and slope position. Experiments were carried out in the plots of S type slopes include five different soil organic carbon levels in the Loess Hilly Region. The S type slopes were divided into control area at the top of the slope, erosion area at the middle of the slope and deposition area at the toe of the slope. We found that soil temperature had a greater impact on soil respiration in the deposition area, whereas soil moisture had a greater impact on soil respiration in the erosion area compared among control area, erosion area and deposition area. In addition, SOC was the most important factor affecting soil respiration, which can explain soil respiration variation 54. 72%, followed by soil moisture, slope position and soil temperature, which explain soil respiration variation 18. 86% , 16. 13% and 10. 29%, respectively. Soil respiration response to erosion showed obvious on-site and off-site effects along the eroded sloping land. Soil respiration in the erosion area was reduced by 21. 14% compared with control area, and soil respiration in the deposition area was increased by 21. 93% compared with control area. Erosion effect on source and sink of carbon emission was correlated with SOC content of the eroded sloping land. When SOC content was higher than 6. 82 g.kg-1, the slope. erosion tended to be a carbon sequestration process, and when SOC content was lower than 3.03 g.kg-1, the slope erosion tended to be a process of the carbon emission source. The model could reflect the relationship between soil respiration and independent variables of soil organic carbon content, soil temperature and moisture.

The design of multi-channel pulse amplitude analyzer based on ARM micro controller

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Hai; Li Xiang; Liu Caixue

2010-01-01

It introduces the design of multi-channel pulse amplitude analyzer based on embedded ARM micro-controller. The embedded and real-time system μC/OS-II builds up the real-time and stability of the system and advances the integration. (authors)

IL-6 modulates hepatocyte proliferation via induction of HGF/p21cip1: Regulation by SOCS3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Rui; Jaruga, Barbara; Kulkarni, Shailin; Sun Haoyu; Gao Bin

2005-01-01

The precise role of IL-6 in liver regeneration and hepatocyte proliferation is controversial and the role of SOCS3 in liver regeneration remains unknown. Here we show that in vitro treatment with IL-6 inhibited primary mouse hepatocyte proliferation. IL-6 induced p21 cip1 protein expression in primary mouse hepatocytes. Disruption of the p21 cip1 gene abolished the inhibitory effect of IL-6 on cell proliferation. Co-culture with nonparenchymal liver cells diminished IL-6 inhibition of hepatocyte proliferation, which was likely due to IL-6 stimulation of nonparenchymal cells to produce HGF. Finally, IL-6 induced higher levels of p21 cip1 protein expression and a slightly stronger inhibition of cell proliferation in SOCS3 +/- mouse hepatocytes compared to wild-type hepatocytes, while liver regeneration was enhanced and prolonged in SOCS3 +/- mice. Our findings suggest that IL-6 directly inhibits hepatocyte proliferation via a p21 cip1 -dependent mechanism and indirectly enhances hepatocyte proliferation via stimulating nonparenchymal cells to produce HGF. SOCS3 negatively regulates liver regeneration

Analysis of Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 2 Gene (SOCS2 Polymorphism in Different Dog Breeds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina Miluchová

2011-05-01

Full Text Available SOCS2 is a negative regulator of growth hormone signaling. The deletion of SOCS2 in mice results in a 30-50% increase in post-natal growth. The aim of the paper was to identify of suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 gene (SOCS2 polymorphism in different dog breeds. The material involved 77 dogs from 14 different breeds. Canine genomic DNA was isolated from saliva by modified method with using DNAzol® (Molecular Research Center and linear polyacrylamide (LPA carrier and from blood by using NucleospinBlood (Macherey-Nagel and used in order to estimate SOCS2 genotypes by PCR-RFLP method. The PCR products were digested with TaqI restriction enzyme. The T allele was distributed among large dog breeds (Czech pointer, Golden retriever, Rottweiler with an allele frequency ranging from 0.2857 to 1.00. In the population of Czech pointer we detected all genotypes. There were detected homozygote genotype GG with frequency 0.5476, heterozygote genotype GT with frequency 0.3333 and homozygote genotype TT with frequency 0.1191. Results point out that frequency of G allele was high and was represented 0.7143. Frequency of T allele was 0.2857. In Rottweiler was detected homozygote genotype TT. Genotypes GG and GT has not been observed. In Golden retriever we detected only heterozygote genotype GT.

Land use changing SOC pool: A field investigation from four catchments on the Loess Plateau in China

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Shengli; Wang, Rui; Hu, Yaxian

2017-04-01

The Loess Plateau in China has long been known for severe erosion, a degraded ecosystem and heavy sediment delivery to the Yellow River. Apart from, the highly erodible loess soil and the hilly geomorphology, intensive cultivation has been caused such most destructive human activities. This made the Loess Plateau once the least fertile region in China with extreme poverty. To restore soil fertility and ecosystem sustainability, a national-level project was launched in 1990s to encourage land use changes via afforestation or conversion of cropland back to grassland or woodland. After nearly three decades of land use conversion, the SOC pool in the soil can be expected to have substantially changed. However, climate conditions, geomorphic types and soil properties were spatially distinctive across the Loess Plateau. Their individual as well interactive impacts on changes of soil carbon pool during land use conversions must thus be properly accounted for. In this study, four watersheds distributed over the Loess Plateau were investigated. The four watersheds mainly consisted of three geomorphic types: wide gully, loess ridge, and round knoll. On each geomorphic feature, three land use types prevailed: cropland, grassland and woodland. In total, 695 soil samples were taken from the top 20 cm of the four watersheds during 2010 and 2011. Our results show: 1) Degrees of erosion hugely differed among the four watersheds, with Catchment A (hilly) having three times more erosion modulus than the least eroded Catchment D (gully) (12000 vs. 1800 Mg per km2 per year). 2) The increasing SOC content from 4 mg g-1 at Catchment A to 8.1 mg g-1 at Catchment D agreed well with their decreasing erosion, suggesting that geomorphology induced erosion history was the predominant factor to set the general level of watershed-scale SOC reservoir. 3) Within each watershed, grassland and woodland consistently had at least 34% more SOC than cropland, demonstrating the influence of land use

Training the Unimpaired Arm Improves the Motion of the Impaired Arm and the Sitting Balance in Chronic Stroke Survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

De Luca, Alice; Giannoni, Psiche; Vernetti, Honore; Capra, Cristina; Lentino, Carmelo; Checchia, Giovanni Antonio; Casadio, Maura

2017-07-01

Robot-assisted rehabilitation of stroke survivors mainly focuses on the impaired side of the body while the role of the unimpaired side in the recovery after stroke is still controversial. The goal of this study is to investigate the influence on sitting balance and paretic arm functions of a training protocol based on movements of the unimpaired arm. Sixteen chronic stroke survivors underwent nineteen training sessions, in which they performed active movements with the unimpaired arm supported by a passive exoskeleton. Performance of the trunk and upper limbs was evaluated before treatment, after treatment and at six months follow up with clinical scales and an instrumented evaluation. A reaching test executed with the exoskeleton was used to assess changes in performance of both arms. The treatment based on the unimpaired arm's movements executed with a correct body posture led to benefits in control of the trunk and of both the trained and the untrained arm. The amount of impaired arm improvement in the Fugl-Meyer score was comparable to the outcome of robotic treatments focused directly on this arm. Our results highlight the importance of taking into account all body schema in the rehabilitation robotic program, instead of focusing only on the impaired side of the body.

High organic inputs explain shallow and deep SOC storage in a long-term agroforestry system – combining experimental and modeling approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Cardinael

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Agroforestry is an increasingly popular farming system enabling agricultural diversification and providing several ecosystem services. In agroforestry systems, soil organic carbon (SOC stocks are generally increased, but it is difficult to disentangle the different factors responsible for this storage. Organic carbon (OC inputs to the soil may be larger, but SOC decomposition rates may be modified owing to microclimate, physical protection, or priming effect from roots, especially at depth. We used an 18-year-old silvoarable system associating hybrid walnut trees (Juglans regia  ×  nigra and durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum and an adjacent agricultural control plot to quantify all OC inputs to the soil – leaf litter, tree fine root senescence, crop residues, and tree row herbaceous vegetation – and measured SOC stocks down to 2 m of depth at varying distances from the trees. We then proposed a model that simulates SOC dynamics in agroforestry accounting for both the whole soil profile and the lateral spatial heterogeneity. The model was calibrated to the control plot only. Measured OC inputs to soil were increased by about 40 % (+ 1.11 t C ha−1 yr−1 down to 2 m of depth in the agroforestry plot compared to the control, resulting in an additional SOC stock of 6.3 t C ha−1 down to 1 m of depth. However, most of the SOC storage occurred in the first 30 cm of soil and in the tree rows. The model was strongly validated, properly describing the measured SOC stocks and distribution with depth in agroforestry tree rows and alleys. It showed that the increased inputs of fresh biomass to soil explained the observed additional SOC storage in the agroforestry plot. Moreover, only a priming effect variant of the model was able to capture the depth distribution of SOC stocks, suggesting the priming effect as a possible mechanism driving deep SOC dynamics. This result questions the potential of soils to

Daily Socs1 rhythms alter with aging differentially in peripheral clocks in male Wistar rats: therapeutic effects of melatonin.

Science.gov (United States)

Vinod, Ch; Jagota, Anita

2017-06-01

Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in synchronization with the peripheral clocks regulates the temporal oscillations leading to overt rhythms. Aging leads to attenuation of such circadian regulation, accompanied by increased inflammatory mediators prevalently the cytokines. Suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) family of proteins such as SOCS 1, 3 and cytokine-inducible SH2-containing protein (CIS) negatively regulate the cytokine signaling pathway. The role of SOCS1 in aging and circadian system is obscure. We therefore studied the daily rhythms of rSocs1 mRNA expression at Zeitgeber time (ZT) -0, 6, 12 and 18 in peripheral clocks such as liver, kidney, intestine and heart of 3, 12 and 24 months (m) old male Wistar rats. Interestingly the peripheral clocks studied displayed a rhythmic rSocs1 gene expression in 3 months. In 12 months group, 12 h phase advance in liver and 12 h phase delay in kidney and heart was observed with abolition of rhythms in intestine. Aging (24 months group) resulted in a phase advance by 6 h in liver and heart with abolition of rhythms in intestine in 24 months group. Kidney was also significantly affected upon aging with significant decrease in the rSocs1 levels and abolition of rhythms. The decrease in melatonin levels with aging is associated with decreased immunity and increased oxidative stress. The exogenous administration of melatonin has been linked to play a role in re-synchronization of circadian rhythms, reducing oxidative stress and enhancing immune properties. We therefore had studied the effect of exogenous melatonin upon age induced changes in daily rSocs1 gene expression patterns. Melatonin treatment partially restored the rhythms and daily pulse (ratio of maximum:minimum levels) in liver and intestine in 12 months group. Melatonin administration resulted in a significant increase in mean 24 h rSocs1 expression in intestine and heart of 24 months group compared to that of 3 months. The melatonin administration

Parametric Dense Stereovision Implementation on a System-on Chip (SoC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pablo Montejo

2012-02-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a novel hardware implementation of a dense recovery of stereovision 3D measurements. Traditionally 3D stereo systems have imposed the maximum number of stereo correspondences, introducing a large restriction on artificial vision algorithms. The proposed system-on-chip (SoC provides great performance and efficiency, with a scalable architecture available for many different situations, addressing real time processing of stereo image flow. Using double buffering techniques properly combined with pipelined processing, the use of reconfigurable hardware achieves a parametrisable SoC which gives the designer the opportunity to decide its right dimension and features. The proposed architecture does not need any external memory because the processing is done as image flow arrives. Our SoC provides 3D data directly without the storage of whole stereo images. Our goal is to obtain high processing speed while maintaining the accuracy of 3D data using minimum resources. Configurable parameters may be controlled by later/parallel stages of the vision algorithm executed on an embedded processor. Considering hardware FPGA clock of 100 MHz, image flows up to 50 frames per second (fps of dense stereo maps of more than 30,000 depth points could be obtained considering 2 Mpix images, with a minimum initial latency. The implementation of computer vision algorithms on reconfigurable hardware, explicitly low level processing, opens up the prospect of its use in autonomous systems, and they can act as a coprocessor to reconstruct 3D images with high density information in real time.

Parametric dense stereovision implementation on a system-on chip (SoC).

Science.gov (United States)

Gardel, Alfredo; Montejo, Pablo; García, Jorge; Bravo, Ignacio; Lázaro, José L

2012-01-01

This paper proposes a novel hardware implementation of a dense recovery of stereovision 3D measurements. Traditionally 3D stereo systems have imposed the maximum number of stereo correspondences, introducing a large restriction on artificial vision algorithms. The proposed system-on-chip (SoC) provides great performance and efficiency, with a scalable architecture available for many different situations, addressing real time processing of stereo image flow. Using double buffering techniques properly combined with pipelined processing, the use of reconfigurable hardware achieves a parametrisable SoC which gives the designer the opportunity to decide its right dimension and features. The proposed architecture does not need any external memory because the processing is done as image flow arrives. Our SoC provides 3D data directly without the storage of whole stereo images. Our goal is to obtain high processing speed while maintaining the accuracy of 3D data using minimum resources. Configurable parameters may be controlled by later/parallel stages of the vision algorithm executed on an embedded processor. Considering hardware FPGA clock of 100 MHz, image flows up to 50 frames per second (fps) of dense stereo maps of more than 30,000 depth points could be obtained considering 2 Mpix images, with a minimum initial latency. The implementation of computer vision algorithms on reconfigurable hardware, explicitly low level processing, opens up the prospect of its use in autonomous systems, and they can act as a coprocessor to reconstruct 3D images with high density information in real time.

0.45 v and 18 μA/MHz MCU SOC with Advanced Adaptive Dynamic Voltage Control (ADVC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Uzi Zangi

2018-05-01

Full Text Available An ultra-low-power MicroController Unit System-on-Chip (MCU SOC is described with integrated DC to DC power management and Adaptive Dynamic Voltage Control (ADVC mechanism. The SOC, designed and fabricated in a 40 nm ULP standard CMOS technology, includes the complete Synopsys ARC EM5D core MCU, featuring a full set of DSP instructions and minimizing energy consumption at a wide range of frequencies: 312 K–80 MHz. A number of unique low voltage digital libraries, comprising of approximately 300 logic cells and sequential elements, were used for the MCU SOC design. On-die silicon sensors were utilized to continuously change the operating voltage to optimize power/performance for a given frequency and environmental conditions, and also to resolve yield and life time problems, while operating at low voltages. A First Fail (FFail mechanism, which can be digitally and linearly controlled with up to 8 bits, detects the failing SOC voltage at a given frequency. The core operates between 0.45–1.1 V volts with a direct battery connection for an input voltage of 1.6–3.6 V. Measurement results show that the peak energy efficiency is 18μW/MHz. A comparison to state-of-the-art commercial SOCs is presented, showing a 3–5× improved current/DMIPS (Dhrystone Million Instructions per second compared to the next best chip.

Increasing SoC Dependability via Known Good Tile NoC Testing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kerkhoff, Hans G.; Kuiken, O.J.; Zhang, X.

2008-01-01

Advanced CMOS technology possibilities, power, communication and flexibility issues as well as the design gap are directing System-on-Chip (SoC) platforms towards Network-on-Chip (NoC) interconnected identical processing tiles (PT) such as the Montium processor [1]. It is broadly acknowledged that

Functional SOCS1 polymorphisms are associated with variation in obesity in whites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gylvin, T; Ek, J; Nolsøe, R.

2009-01-01

. A total of more than 8100 individuals were genotyped. RESULTS: Eight variations were identified in the 5' untranslated region (UTR) region. Two of these had allele frequencies below 1% and were not further examined. The six other variants were analysed in groups of T1D families (n = 1461 subjects) and T2D...... of both the rs33977706 and the rs243330 (-1656G > A) variants to obesity were found (p = 0.047 and p = 0.015) respectively. The rs33977706 affected both binding of a nuclear protein to and the transcriptional activity of the SOCS1 promoter, indicating a relationship between this polymorphism and gene...... regulation. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: This study demonstrates that functional variations in the SOCS1 promoter may associate with alterations in BMI in the general white population....

EMG-Based Continuous and Simultaneous Estimation of Arm Kinematics in Able-Bodied Individuals and Stroke Survivors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jie Liu

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Among the potential biological signals for human-machine interactions (brain, nerve, and muscle signals, electromyography (EMG widely used in clinical setting can be obtained non-invasively as motor commands to control movements. The aim of this study was to develop a model for continuous and simultaneous decoding of multi-joint dynamic arm movements based on multi-channel surface EMG signals crossing the joints, leading to application of myoelectrically controlled exoskeleton robots for upper-limb rehabilitation. Twenty subjects were recruited for this study including 10 stroke subjects and 10 able-bodied subjects. The subjects performed free arm reaching movements in the horizontal plane with an exoskeleton robot. The shoulder, elbow and wrist movements and surface EMG signals from six muscles crossing the three joints were recorded. A non-linear autoregressive exogenous (NARX model was developed to continuously decode the shoulder, elbow and wrist movements based solely on the EMG signals. The shoulder, elbow and wrist movements were decoded accurately based only on the EMG inputs in all the subjects, with the variance accounted for (VAF > 98% for all three joints. The proposed approach is capable of simultaneously and continuously decoding multi-joint movements of the human arm by taking into account the non-linear mappings between the muscle EMGs and joint movements, which may provide less effortful control of robotic exoskeletons for rehabilitation training of individuals with neurological disorders and arm impairment.

Real-Time Control System for Improved Precision and Throughput in an Ultrafast Carbon Fiber Placement Robot Using a SoC FPGA Extended Processing Platform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilberto Ochoa-Ruiz

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We present an architecture for accelerating the processing and execution of control commands in an ultrafast fiber placement robot. The system consists of a robotic arm designed by Coriolis Composites whose purpose is to move along a surface, on which composite fibers are deposed, via an independently controlled head. In first system implementation, the control commands were sent via Profibus by a PLC, limiting the reaction time and thus the precision of the fiber placement and the maximum throughput. Therefore, a custom real-time solution was imperative in order to ameliorate the performance and to meet the stringent requirements of the target industry (avionics, aeronautical systems. The solution presented in this paper is based on the use of a SoC FPGA processing platform running a real-time operating system (FreeRTOS, which has enabled an improved comamnd retrieval mechanism. The system’s placement precision was improved by a factor of 20 (from 1 mm to 0.05 mm, while the maximum achievable throughput was 1 m/s, compared to the average 30 cm/s provided by the original solution, enabling fabricating more complex and larger pieces in a significant fraction of the time.

Arming shoes of the fifteenth century

OpenAIRE

Volken Marquita

2017-01-01

Military footwear for the fifteenth century includes arming shoes worn under sabatons. Written sources suggest arming shoes and footwear used for fighting were ordinary shoes adapted for the purpose. Archaeological footwear was examined for signs of such modifications. Medieval shoe technology is presented, showing the range of footwear and its uses and gait biomechanics. Based on experiences from re-enactors wearing armours, medieval shoe styles are discussed for appropriateness as arming sh...

Proprioceptive Interaction between the Two Arms in a Single-Arm Pointing Task.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazuyoshi Kigawa

Full Text Available Proprioceptive signals coming from both arms are used to determine the perceived position of one arm in a two-arm matching task. Here, we examined whether the perceived position of one arm is affected by proprioceptive signals from the other arm in a one-arm pointing task in which participants specified the perceived position of an unseen reference arm with an indicator paddle. Both arms were hidden from the participant's view throughout the study. In Experiment 1, with both arms placed in front of the body, the participants received 70-80 Hz vibration to the elbow flexors of the reference arm (= right arm to induce the illusion of elbow extension. This extension illusion was compared with that when the left arm elbow flexors were vibrated or not. The degree of the vibration-induced extension illusion of the right arm was reduced in the presence of left arm vibration. In Experiment 2, we found that this kinesthetic interaction between the two arms did not occur when the left arm was vibrated in an abducted position. In Experiment 3, the vibration-induced extension illusion of one arm was fully developed when this arm was placed at an abducted position, indicating that the brain receives increased proprioceptive input from a vibrated arm even if the arm was abducted. Our results suggest that proprioceptive interaction between the two arms occurs in a one-arm pointing task when the two arms are aligned with one another. The position sense of one arm measured using a pointer appears to include the influences of incoming information from the other arm when both arms were placed in front of the body and parallel to one another.

Controlled synthesis of multi-arm star polyether-polycarbonate polyols based on propylene oxide and CO2.

Science.gov (United States)

Hilf, Jeannette; Schulze, Patricia; Seiwert, Jan; Frey, Holger

2014-01-01

Multi-arm star copolymers based on a hyperbranched poly(propylene oxide) polyether-polyol (hbPPO) as a core and poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) arms are synthesized in two steps from propylene oxide (PO), a small amount of glycidol and CO2 . The PPC arms are prepared via carbon dioxide (CO2 )/PO copolymerization, using hbPPO as a multifunctional macroinitiator and the (R,R)-(salcy)CoOBzF5 catalyst. Star copolymers with 14 and 28 PPC arms, respectively, and controlled molecular weights in the range of 2700-8800 g mol(-1) are prepared (Mw /Mn = 1.23-1.61). Thermal analysis reveals lowered glass transition temperatures in the range of -8 to 10 °C for the PPC star polymers compared with linear PPC, which is due to the influence of the flexible polyether core. Successful conversion of the terminal hydroxyl groups with phenylisocyanate demonstrates the potential of the polycarbonate polyols for polyurethane synthesis. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Matrine suppresses airway inflammation by downregulating SOCS3 expression via inhibition of NF-κB signaling in airway epithelial cells and asthmatic mice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Daqing [Department of Respiration, Xi’an Children’s Hospital, Xi’an 710003 (China); Wang, Jing [Department of Neonatology, Xi’an Children’s Hospital, Xi’an 710003 (China); Yang, Niandi [Outpatient Department, School of Aerospace Engineering, Air Force Engineering University, Xi’an 710038 (China); Ma, Haixin, E-mail: drhaixinma@163.com [Department of Quality Control, Xi’an Children’s Hospital, Xi’an 710003 (China)

2016-08-12

Matrine has been demonstrated to attenuate allergic airway inflammation. Elevated suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) was correlated with the severity of asthma. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of matrine on SOCS3 expression in airway inflammation. In this study, we found that matrine significantly inhibited OVA-induced AHR, inflammatory cell infiltration, goblet cell differentiation, and mucous production in a dose-dependent manner in mice. Matrine also abrogated the level of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13, but enhanced interferon (IFN)-γ expression, both in BALF and in lung homogenates. Furthermore, matrine impeded TNF-α-induced the expression of IL-6 and adhesion molecules in airway epithelial cells (BEAS-2B and MLE-12). Additionally, we found that matrine inhibited SOCS3 expression, both in asthmatic mice and TNF-α-stimulated epithelial cells via suppression of the NF-κB signaling pathway by using pcDNA3.1-SOCS3 plasmid, SOCS3 siRNA, or nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) inhibitor PDTC. Conclusions: Matrine suppresses airway inflammation by downregulating SOCS3 expression via inhibition of NF-κB signaling in airway epithelial cells and asthmatic mice. - Highlights: • Matrine attenuates asthmatic symptoms and regulates Th1/Th2 balance in vivo. • Matrine suppresses inflammation responses in vitro. • Matrine decreases SOCS3 expression both in vivo and in vitro. • Matrine inhibits SOCS3 expression by suppressing NF-κB signaling.

Modeling of SOC-700 Hyperspectral Imagery with the CAMEO-SIM Code

Science.gov (United States)

2007-10-26

Yannick, 2001, “SOC-700 and HS-Analysis 2 User’s Manual”, Surface Optics, San Diego [2] Cohen, Michael F. and Wallace, John R., 1993, “ Radiosity ...and Realistic Image Synthesis”, Academic Press, San Francisco [3] Sillion, Francois X. and Puech, Claude, 1994, “ Radiosity and Global Illumination

Methylation of SOCS3 is inversely associated with metabolic syndrome in an epigenome-wide association study of obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Omar; Cerjak, Diana; Kent, Jack W; James, Roland; Blangero, John; Carless, Melanie A; Zhang, Yi

2016-09-01

Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, mediate the interaction between gene and environment and may play an important role in the obesity epidemic. We assessed the relationship between DNA methylation and obesity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) at 485,000 CpG sites across the genome in family members (8-90 y of age) using a discovery cohort (192 individuals) and a validation cohort (1,052 individuals) of Northern European ancestry. After Bonferroni-correction (P α=0.05 = 1.31 × 10 -7 ) for genome-wide significance, we identified 3 loci, cg18181703 (SOCS3), cg04502490 (ZNF771), and cg02988947 (LIMD2), where methylation status was associated with body mass index percentile (BMI%), a clinical index for obesity in children, adolescents, and adults. These sites were also associated with multiple metabolic syndrome (MetS) traits, including central obesity, fat depots, insulin responsiveness, and plasma lipids. The SOCS3 methylation locus was also associated with the clinical definition of MetS. In the validation cohort, SOCS3 methylation status was found to be inversely associated with BMI% (P = 1.75 × 10 -6 ), waist to height ratio (P = 4.18 × 10 -7 ), triglycerides (P = 4.01 × 10 -4 ), and MetS (P = 4.01 × 10 -7 ), and positively correlated with HDL-c (P = 4.57 × 10 -8 ). Functional analysis in a sub cohort (333 individuals) demonstrated SOCS3 methylation and gene expression in PBMCs were inversely correlated (P = 2.93 × 10 -4 ) and expression of SOCS3 was positively correlated with status of MetS (P = 0.012). We conclude that epigenetic modulation of SOCS3, a gene involved in leptin and insulin signaling, may play an important role in obesity and MetS.

A configurable and low-power mixed signal SoC for portable ECG monitoring applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hyejung; Kim, Sunyoung; Van Helleputte, Nick; Artes, Antonio; Konijnenburg, Mario; Huisken, Jos; Van Hoof, Chris; Yazicioglu, Refet Firat

2014-04-01

This paper describes a mixed-signal ECG System-on-Chip (SoC) that is capable of implementing configurable functionality with low-power consumption for portable ECG monitoring applications. A low-voltage and high performance analog front-end extracts 3-channel ECG signals and single channel electrode-tissue-impedance (ETI) measurement with high signal quality. This can be used to evaluate the quality of the ECG measurement and to filter motion artifacts. A custom digital signal processor consisting of 4-way SIMD processor provides the configurability and advanced functionality like motion artifact removal and R peak detection. A built-in 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is capable of adaptive sampling achieving a compression ratio of up to 7, and loop buffer integration reduces the power consumption for on-chip memory access. The SoC is implemented in 0.18 μm CMOS process and consumes 32 μ W from a 1.2 V while heart beat detection application is running, and integrated in a wireless ECG monitoring system with Bluetooth protocol. Thanks to the ECG SoC, the overall system power consumption can be reduced significantly.

Ray tracing reconstruction investigation for C-arm tomosynthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Malalla, Nuhad A. Y.; Chen, Ying

2016-04-01

C-arm tomosynthesis is a three dimensional imaging technique. Both x-ray source and the detector are mounted on a C-arm wheeled structure to provide wide variety of movement around the object. In this paper, C-arm tomosynthesis was introduced to provide three dimensional information over a limited view angle (less than 180o) to reduce radiation exposure and examination time. Reconstruction algorithms based on ray tracing method such as ray tracing back projection (BP), simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART) and maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) were developed for C-arm tomosynthesis. C-arm tomosynthesis projection images of simulated spherical object were simulated with a virtual geometric configuration with a total view angle of 40 degrees. This study demonstrated the sharpness of in-plane reconstructed structure and effectiveness of removing out-of-plane blur for each reconstruction algorithms. Results showed the ability of ray tracing based reconstruction algorithms to provide three dimensional information with limited angle C-arm tomosynthesis.

Metal–organic frameworks to satisfy gas upgrading demands: fine-tuning the soc-MOF platform for the operative removal of H2S

KAUST Repository

Belmabkhout, Youssef; Pillai, Renjith S.; Alezi, Dalal; Shekhah, Osama; Bhatt, Prashant; Chen, Zhijie; Adil, Karim; Vaesen, Sebastien; De Weireld, Guy; Pang, Maolin; Suetin, Mikhail; Cairns, Amy; Solovyeva, Vera; Shkurenko, Aleksander; El Tall, Omar; Maurin, Guillaume; Eddaoudi, Mohamed

2017-01-01

-framework counter ions (NO3-, Cl- and Br-). In3+-, Fe3+-, Ga3+-and the newly isolated Al(III)-based isostructural soc-MOF were extensively studied and evaluated for the separation-based production of high-quality fuels (i.e., CH4, C3H8 and n-C4H10) and olefins

Robotic arm

Science.gov (United States)

Kwech, Horst

1989-04-18

A robotic arm positionable within a nuclear vessel by access through a small diameter opening and having a mounting tube supported within the vessel and mounting a plurality of arm sections for movement lengthwise of the mounting tube as well as for movement out of a window provided in the wall of the mounting tube. An end effector, such as a grinding head or welding element, at an operating end of the robotic arm, can be located and operated within the nuclear vessel through movement derived from six different axes of motion provided by mounting and drive connections between arm sections of the robotic arm. The movements are achieved by operation of remotely-controllable servo motors, all of which are mounted at a control end of the robotic arm to be outside the nuclear vessel.

Organization of octopus arm movements: a model system for studying the control of flexible arms.

Science.gov (United States)

Gutfreund, Y; Flash, T; Yarom, Y; Fiorito, G; Segev, I; Hochner, B

1996-11-15

Octopus arm movements provide an extreme example of controlled movements of a flexible arm with virtually unlimited degrees of freedom. This study aims to identify general principles in the organization of these movements. Video records of the movements of Octopus vulgaris performing the task of reaching toward a target were studied. The octopus extends its arm toward the target by a wave-like propagation of a bend that travels from the base of the arm toward the tip. Similar bend propagation is seen in other octopus arm movements, such as locomotion and searching. The kinematics (position and velocity) of the midpoint of the bend in three-dimensional space were extracted using the direct linear transformation algorithm. This showed that the bend tends to move within a single linear plane in a simple, slightly curved path connecting the center of the animal's body with the target location. Approximately 70% of the reaching movements demonstrated a stereotyped tangential velocity profile. An invariant profile was observed when movements were normalized for velocity and distance. Two arms, extended together in the same behavioral context, demonstrated identical velocity profiles. The stereotyped features of the movements were also observed in spontaneous arm extensions (not toward an external target). The simple and stereotypic appearance of the bend trajectory suggests that the position of the bend in space and time is the controlled variable. We propose that this strategy reduces the immense redundancy of the octopus arm movements and hence simplifies motor control.

Defining and comparing learning actions in two simulation modalities: students training on a latex arm and each other's arms.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravik, Monika; Havnes, Anton; Bjørk, Ida Torunn

2017-12-01

To explore, describe and compare learning actions that nursing students used during peripheral vein cannulation training on a latex arm or each other's arms in a clinical skills centre. Simulation-based training is thought to enhance learning and transfer of learning from simulation to the clinical setting and is commonly recommended in nursing education. What students actually are doing during simulation-based training is, however, less explored. The analysis of learning actions used during simulation-based training could contribute to development and improvement of simulation as a learning strategy in nursing education. A qualitative explorative and descriptive research design, involving content analysis of video recordings, was used. Video-supported observation of nine nursing students practicing vein cannulation was conducted in a clinical skills centre in late 2012. The students engaged in various learning actions. Students training on a latex arm used a considerably higher number of learning actions relative to those training on each other's arms. In both groups, students' learning actions consisted mainly of seeking and giving support. The teacher provided students training on each other's arms with detailed feedback regarding insertion of the cannula into the vein, while those training on a latex arm received sparse feedback from the teacher and fellow students. The teacher played an important role in facilitating nursing students' practical skill learning during simulation. The provision of support from both teachers and students should be emphasised to ensure that nursing students' learning needs are met. This study suggest that student nurses may be differently and inadequately prepared in peripheral vein cannulation in two simulation modalities used in the academic setting; training on a latex arm and on each other's arms. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Robotic arm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwech, H.

1989-01-01

A robotic arm positionable within a nuclear vessel by access through a small diameter opening and having a mounting tube supported within the vessel and mounting a plurality of arm sections for movement lengthwise of the mounting tube as well as for movement out of a window provided in the wall of the mounting tube is disclosed. An end effector, such as a grinding head or welding element, at an operating end of the robotic arm, can be located and operated within the nuclear vessel through movement derived from six different axes of motion provided by mounting and drive connections between arm sections of the robotic arm. The movements are achieved by operation of remotely-controllable servo motors, all of which are mounted at a control end of the robotic arm to be outside the nuclear vessel. 23 figs

Performance benefits of telerobotics and teleoperation - enhancements for an arm-based tank waste retrieval system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horschel, D.S.; Gibbons, P.W.; Draper, J.V.

1995-06-01

This report evaluates telerobotic and teleoperational arm-based retrieval systems that require advanced robotic controls. These systems will be deployed in waste retrieval activities in Hanford's Single Shell Tanks (SSTs). The report assumes that arm-based, retrieval systems will combine a teleoperational arm and control system enhanced by a number of advanced and telerobotic controls. The report describes many possible enhancements, spanning the full range of the control spectrum with the potential for technical maturation. The enhancements considered present a variety of choices and factors including: the enhancements to be included in the actual control system, safety, detailed task analyses, human factors, cost-benefit ratios, and availability and maturity of technology. Because the actual system will be designed by an offsite vendor, the procurement specifications must have the flexibility to allow bidders to propose a broad range of ideas, yet build in enough restrictions to filter out infeasible and undesirable approaches. At the same time they must allow selection of a technically promising proposal. Based on a preliminary analysis of the waste retrieval task, and considering factors such as operator limitations and the current state of robotics technology, the authors recommend a set of enhancements that will (1) allow the system to complete its waste retrieval mission, and (2) enable future upgrades in response to changing mission needs and technological advances

Performance benefits of telerobotics and teleoperation - enhancements for an arm-based tank waste retrieval system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Horschel, D.S. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Gibbons, P.W. [Westinghouse Hanford Co., Richland, WA (United States); Draper, J.V. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)] [and others

1995-06-01

This report evaluates telerobotic and teleoperational arm-based retrieval systems that require advanced robotic controls. These systems will be deployed in waste retrieval activities in Hanford`s Single Shell Tanks (SSTs). The report assumes that arm-based, retrieval systems will combine a teleoperational arm and control system enhanced by a number of advanced and telerobotic controls. The report describes many possible enhancements, spanning the full range of the control spectrum with the potential for technical maturation. The enhancements considered present a variety of choices and factors including: the enhancements to be included in the actual control system, safety, detailed task analyses, human factors, cost-benefit ratios, and availability and maturity of technology. Because the actual system will be designed by an offsite vendor, the procurement specifications must have the flexibility to allow bidders to propose a broad range of ideas, yet build in enough restrictions to filter out infeasible and undesirable approaches. At the same time they must allow selection of a technically promising proposal. Based on a preliminary analysis of the waste retrieval task, and considering factors such as operator limitations and the current state of robotics technology, the authors recommend a set of enhancements that will (1) allow the system to complete its waste retrieval mission, and (2) enable future upgrades in response to changing mission needs and technological advances.

Pengaruh Variasi Jumlah Tembakan Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields (Nspefs Terhadap Ekspresi Gen Socs3 pada Sel Kanker Serviks Hela S3

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina Kurnia Rohmah

2017-12-01

Abstract Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields (NsPEFs is bioelectric that was developed by electroporation technology. NsPEFs use high intensity in short time exposure (1 – 300 nanosecond. NsPEFs have biological effect and was developed in cancer therapy. In cervical cancer, viral protein of HPV depresses some tumor suppressors like Socs3 gene. This research aims to investigate the effect of short variation in Socs3 gene expression. HeLa S3 cells were cultured in α-MEM with FBS 10%. NsPEFs as much as 20 kV/cm and 80 nano seconds was exposure over HeLa S3 cell in 4 mm cuvette. Wave of NsPEFs was detected by high voltage probe in oscilloscope. NsPEFs was exposure at 0 (control, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 shots. Socs3 gene expression was analyzed using real time PCR and RT-PCR. Quantitative data was analyzed by Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Anova, and HSD Tuker (p<0.05. This research show that NsPEFs is significantly increase Socs3 gene expression (p=0.000. The optimal shot 20 and 30 shots increase Socs3 gene expression subsequently = 2.779 and = 3.105 times. This expression decrease in higher than 30 shots of NsPEFs exposure.   Keywords: NsPEFs, shot, expression, Socs3

An overview of online implementable SOC estimation methods for Lithium-ion batteries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jinhao, Meng; Ricco, Mattia; Guangzhao, Luo

2017-01-01

With the popularity of Electrical Vehicles (EVs), Lithium-ion battery industry is also developing rapidly. To ensure the battery safety usage and reduce the average lifecycle cost, accurate State Of Charge (SOC) tracking algorithms for real-time implementation are required in different applications...

Strategic arms limitation

Science.gov (United States)

Allen Greb, G.; Johnson, Gerald W.

1983-10-01

Following World War II, American scientists and politicians proposed in the Baruch plan a radical solution to the problem of nuclear weapons: to eliminate them forever under the auspices of an international nuclear development authority. The Soviets, who as yet did not possess the bomb, rejected this plan. Another approach suggested by Secretary of War Henry Stimson to negotiate directly with the Soviet Union was not accepted by the American leadership. These initial arms limitation failures both reflected and exacerbated the hostile political relationship of the superpowers in the 1950s and 1960s. Since 1969, the more modest focus of the Soviet-American arms control process has been on limiting the numbers and sizes of both defensive and offensive strategic systems. The format for this effort has been the Strategic Arms Limitatins Talks (Salt) and more recently the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START). Both sides came to these negotiations convinced that nuclear arsenals had grown so large that some for of mutual restraint was needed. Although the SALT/START process has been slow and ponderous, it has produced several concrete the agreements and collateral benefits. The 1972 ABM Treaty restricts the deployment of ballistic missile defense systems, the 1972 Interim Agreement places a quantitative freeze on each side's land based and sea based strategic launchers, and the as yet unratified 1979 SALT II Treaty sets numerical limits on all offensive strategic systems and sublimits on MIRVed systems. Collateral benefits include improved verification procedures, working definitions and counting rules, and permanent bureaucratic apparatus which enhance stability and increase the chances for achieving additional agreements.

Modified compensation algorithm of lever-arm effect and flexural deformation for polar shipborne transfer alignment based on improved adaptive Kalman filter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Tongda; Cheng, Jianhua; Guan, Dongxue; Kang, Yingyao; Zhang, Wei

2017-01-01

Due to the lever-arm effect and flexural deformation in the practical application of transfer alignment (TA), the TA performance is decreased. The existing polar TA algorithm only compensates a fixed lever-arm without considering the dynamic lever-arm caused by flexural deformation; traditional non-polar TA algorithms also have some limitations. Thus, the performance of existing compensation algorithms is unsatisfactory. In this paper, a modified compensation algorithm of the lever-arm effect and flexural deformation is proposed to promote the accuracy and speed of the polar TA. On the basis of a dynamic lever-arm model and a noise compensation method for flexural deformation, polar TA equations are derived in grid frames. Based on the velocity-plus-attitude matching method, the filter models of polar TA are designed. An adaptive Kalman filter (AKF) is improved to promote the robustness and accuracy of the system, and then applied to the estimation of the misalignment angles. Simulation and experiment results have demonstrated that the modified compensation algorithm based on the improved AKF for polar TA can effectively compensate the lever-arm effect and flexural deformation, and then improve the accuracy and speed of TA in the polar region. (paper)

[Design of extracorporeal apparatus of capsule endoscopy based on ARM+FPGA].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shenghua; Zhang, Sijie; Wang, Yue; Wang, Zhenxing

2011-10-01

Considering that the patients would bear the annoyance of fixed posture for long time when they are examined with gastrointestinal wireless endoscopy, even though portable devices have been developed, the treatments still depend on PC so much, we proposed an embedded solution based on ARM + FPGA. It used embedded ARM9 S3C2440 as processor core, collected images from digestive tract through capsule endoscopy which can be swallowed down there, and wirelessly transferred these images to the receiving system, then used video decoder chip SAA7114H for analog of NTSC video image decode. And under FPGA's logic controlling, effective digital video signal was transferred to S3C2440 for further treatment. Finally within the embedded Linux environment, we programmed the visual user interfaces using the QT/Embedded, realizing the offline record of the real-time video images of digestive tract portable and preferences. It can make patients move more freely and even without PC when examining. In addition, the method greatly improves the efficiency of the doctor, and is more intelligent and with more humane nature.

Primary design of Si cooling arm structure in ICF cryogenic target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yong; Yi Yong; Tang Changhuan; Zhang Jicheng

2013-01-01

According to the requirement of the cryogenic target system to the Si cooling arm structure, the Si cooling arm was primarily designed based on the USA National Ignition Facility (NIF) target. A new three-dimensional model of Si cooling arm was developed by SolidWorks software, and the simulation and analysis of Si cooling arm in aspect of mechanical property, thermal response and assembly were made based on the model. A law about the effect of the arm length of Si cooling arm and the width and the length of bifurcation on Si cooling arm was achieved. The research may provide the theoretical foundation and reference for the further improvement of cryogenic target. (authors)

Arming shoes of the fifteenth century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Volken Marquita

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Military footwear for the fifteenth century includes arming shoes worn under sabatons. Written sources suggest arming shoes and footwear used for fighting were ordinary shoes adapted for the purpose. Archaeological footwear was examined for signs of such modifications. Medieval shoe technology is presented, showing the range of footwear and its uses and gait biomechanics. Based on experiences from re-enactors wearing armours, medieval shoe styles are discussed for appropriateness as arming shoes. The question of why medieval military footwear shows no purposed development is addressed.

Robust coordinated control of a dual-arm space robot

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Lingling; Kayastha, Sharmila; Katupitiya, Jay

2017-09-01

Dual-arm space robots are more capable of implementing complex space tasks compared with single arm space robots. However, the dynamic coupling between the arms and the base will have a serious impact on the spacecraft attitude and the hand motion of each arm. Instead of considering one arm as the mission arm and the other as the balance arm, in this work two arms of the space robot perform as mission arms aimed at accomplishing secure capture of a floating target. The paper investigates coordinated control of the base's attitude and the arms' motion in the task space in the presence of system uncertainties. Two types of controllers, i.e. a Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) and a nonlinear Model Predictive Controller (MPC) are verified and compared with a conventional Computed-Torque Controller (CTC) through numerical simulations in terms of control accuracy and system robustness. Both controllers eliminate the need to linearly parameterize the dynamic equations. The MPC has been shown to achieve performance with higher accuracy than CTC and SMC in the absence of system uncertainties under the condition that they consume comparable energy. When the system uncertainties are included, SMC and CTC present advantageous robustness than MPC. Specifically, in a case where system inertia increases, SMC delivers higher accuracy than CTC and costs the least amount of energy.

Neck and arm pain syndromes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

de las Peñas, César Fernández; Cleland, Joshua; Huijbregts, Peter

approaches.It uniquely addresses the expanding role of the various health care professions which require increased knowledge and skills in screening for contra-indications and recognizing the need for medical-surgical referral. Neck and Arm Pain Syndromes also stresses the integration of experiential......The first of its kind, Neck and Arm Pain Syndromes is a comprehensive evidence- and clinical-based book, covering research-based diagnosis, prognosis and management of neuromusculoskeletal pathologies and dysfunctions of the upper quadrant, including joint, muscle, myofascial and neural tissue...... of the most commonly seen pain syndromes in clinical practice over 800 illustrations demonstrating examination procedures and techniques....

Simple model of the arms race

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zane, L.I.

1982-01-01

A simple model of a two-party arms race is developed based on the principle that the race will continue so long as either side can unleash an effective first strike against the other side. The model is used to examine how secrecy, the ABM, MIRV-ing, and an MX system affect the arms race

The spiral arms of the Milky Way: The relative location of each different arm tracer within a typical spiral arm width

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vallée, Jacques P., E-mail: jacques.vallee@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca [National Research Council Canada, National Science Infrastructure portfolio, Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics, 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, B.C., V9E 2E7 (Canada)

2014-07-01

From the Sun's location in the Galactic disk, different arm tracers (CO, H I, hot dust, etc.) have been employed to locate a tangent to each spiral arm. Using all various and different observed spiral arm tracers (as published elsewhere), we embark on a new goal, namely the statistical analysis of these published data (data mining) to statistically compute the mean location of each spiral arm tracer. We show for a typical arm cross-cut, a separation of 400 pc between the mid-arm and the dust lane (at the inner edge of the arm, toward the Galactic center). Are some arms major and others minor? Separating arms into two sets, as suggested by some, we find the same arm widths between the two sets. Our interpretation is that we live in a multiple (four-arm) spiral (logarithmic) pattern (around a pitch angle of 12°) for the stars and gas in the Milky Way, with a sizable interarm separation (around 3 kpc) at the Sun's location and the same arm width for each arm (near 400 pc from mid-arm to dust lane).

The spiral arms of the Milky Way: The relative location of each different arm tracer within a typical spiral arm width

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vallée, Jacques P.

2014-01-01

From the Sun's location in the Galactic disk, different arm tracers (CO, H I, hot dust, etc.) have been employed to locate a tangent to each spiral arm. Using all various and different observed spiral arm tracers (as published elsewhere), we embark on a new goal, namely the statistical analysis of these published data (data mining) to statistically compute the mean location of each spiral arm tracer. We show for a typical arm cross-cut, a separation of 400 pc between the mid-arm and the dust lane (at the inner edge of the arm, toward the Galactic center). Are some arms major and others minor? Separating arms into two sets, as suggested by some, we find the same arm widths between the two sets. Our interpretation is that we live in a multiple (four-arm) spiral (logarithmic) pattern (around a pitch angle of 12°) for the stars and gas in the Milky Way, with a sizable interarm separation (around 3 kpc) at the Sun's location and the same arm width for each arm (near 400 pc from mid-arm to dust lane).

Hard real-time multibody simulations using ARM-based embedded systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pastorino, Roland, E-mail: roland.pastorino@kuleuven.be, E-mail: rpastorino@udc.es; Cosco, Francesco, E-mail: francesco.cosco@kuleuven.be; Naets, Frank, E-mail: frank.naets@kuleuven.be; Desmet, Wim, E-mail: wim.desmet@kuleuven.be [KU Leuven, PMA division, Department of Mechanical Engineering (Belgium); Cuadrado, Javier, E-mail: javicuad@cdf.udc.es [Universidad de La Coruña, Laboratorio de Ingeniería Mecánica (Spain)

2016-05-15

The real-time simulation of multibody models on embedded systems is of particular interest for controllers and observers such as model predictive controllers and state observers, which rely on a dynamic model of the process and are customarily executed in electronic control units. This work first identifies the software techniques and tools required to easily write efficient code for multibody models to be simulated on ARM-based embedded systems. Automatic Programming and Source Code Translation are the two techniques that were chosen to generate source code for multibody models in different programming languages. Automatic Programming is used to generate procedural code in an intermediate representation from an object-oriented library and Source Code Translation is used to translate the intermediate representation automatically to an interpreted language or to a compiled language for efficiency purposes. An implementation of these techniques is proposed. It is based on a Python template engine and AST tree walkers for Source Code Generation and on a model-driven translator for the Source Code Translation. The code is translated from a metalanguage to any of the following four programming languages: Python-Numpy, Matlab, C++-Armadillo, C++-Eigen. Two examples of multibody models were simulated: a four-bar linkage with multiple loops and a 3D vehicle steering system. The code for these examples has been generated and executed on two ARM-based single-board computers. Using compiled languages, both models could be simulated faster than real-time despite the low resources and performance of these embedded systems. Finally, the real-time performance of both models was evaluated when executed in hard real-time on Xenomai for both embedded systems. This work shows through measurements that Automatic Programming and Source Code Translation are valuable techniques to develop real-time multibody models to be used in embedded observers and controllers.

Hard real-time multibody simulations using ARM-based embedded systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pastorino, Roland; Cosco, Francesco; Naets, Frank; Desmet, Wim; Cuadrado, Javier

2016-01-01

The real-time simulation of multibody models on embedded systems is of particular interest for controllers and observers such as model predictive controllers and state observers, which rely on a dynamic model of the process and are customarily executed in electronic control units. This work first identifies the software techniques and tools required to easily write efficient code for multibody models to be simulated on ARM-based embedded systems. Automatic Programming and Source Code Translation are the two techniques that were chosen to generate source code for multibody models in different programming languages. Automatic Programming is used to generate procedural code in an intermediate representation from an object-oriented library and Source Code Translation is used to translate the intermediate representation automatically to an interpreted language or to a compiled language for efficiency purposes. An implementation of these techniques is proposed. It is based on a Python template engine and AST tree walkers for Source Code Generation and on a model-driven translator for the Source Code Translation. The code is translated from a metalanguage to any of the following four programming languages: Python-Numpy, Matlab, C++-Armadillo, C++-Eigen. Two examples of multibody models were simulated: a four-bar linkage with multiple loops and a 3D vehicle steering system. The code for these examples has been generated and executed on two ARM-based single-board computers. Using compiled languages, both models could be simulated faster than real-time despite the low resources and performance of these embedded systems. Finally, the real-time performance of both models was evaluated when executed in hard real-time on Xenomai for both embedded systems. This work shows through measurements that Automatic Programming and Source Code Translation are valuable techniques to develop real-time multibody models to be used in embedded observers and controllers.

Multi-arm multilateral haptics-based immersive tele-robotic system (HITS) for improvised explosive device disposal

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, David; Lacheray, Hervé; Lai, Gilbert; Haddadi, Amir

2014-06-01

This paper presents the latest advancements of the Haptics-based Immersive Tele-robotic System (HITS) project, a next generation Improvised Explosive Device (IED) disposal (IEDD) robotic interface containing an immersive telepresence environment for a remotely-controlled three-articulated-robotic-arm system. While the haptic feedback enhances the operator's perception of the remote environment, a third teleoperated dexterous arm, equipped with multiple vision sensors and cameras, provides stereo vision with proper visual cues, and a 3D photo-realistic model of the potential IED. This decentralized system combines various capabilities including stable and scaled motion, singularity avoidance, cross-coupled hybrid control, active collision detection and avoidance, compliance control and constrained motion to provide a safe and intuitive control environment for the operators. Experimental results and validation of the current system are presented through various essential IEDD tasks. This project demonstrates that a two-armed anthropomorphic Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) robot interface can achieve complex neutralization techniques against realistic IEDs without the operator approaching at any time.

Poly(glycolide multi-arm star polymers: Improved solubility via limited arm length

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florian K. Wolf

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Due to the low solubility of poly(glycolic acid (PGA, its use is generally limited to the synthesis of random copolyesters with other hydroxy acids, such as lactic acid, or to applications that permit direct processing from the polymer melt. Insolubility is generally observed for PGA when the degree of polymerization exceeds 20. Here we present a strategy that allows the preparation of PGA-based multi-arm structures which significantly exceed the molecular weight of processable oligomeric linear PGA (<1000 g/mol. This was achieved by the use of a multifunctional hyperbranched polyglycerol (PG macroinitiator and the tin(II-2-ethylhexanoate catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of glycolide in the melt. With this strategy it is possible to combine high molecular weight with good molecular weight control (up to 16,000 g/mol, PDI = 1.4–1.7, resulting in PGA multi-arm star block copolymers containing more than 90 wt % GA. The successful linkage of PGA arms and PG core via this core first/grafting from strategy was confirmed by detailed NMR and SEC characterization. Various PG/glycolide ratios were employed to vary the length of the PGA arms. Besides fluorinated solvents, the materials were soluble in DMF and DMSO up to an average arm length of 12 glycolic acid units. Reduction in the Tg and the melting temperature compared to the homopolymer PGA should lead to simplified processing conditions. The findings contribute to broadening the range of biomedical applications of PGA.

Picking Robot Arm Trajectory Planning Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Zhiyong

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The picking robot arm is scheduled to complete picking tasks in the working space, to overcome the shaking vibration to improve the picking stability, its movement should follow specific consistence trajectory points. Usually we should give definite multiple feature picking points, map their inverse kinematics to the joint space, establish motion equation for the corresponding point in the joint space, then follow these equations motion for the interpolation on the joint so that we can meet the movement requirements. Trajectory planning is decisive significance for accuracy and stability of controlling robot arm. The key issue that picking arm complete picking task will be come true by trajectory planning, namely, robot arm track the desired trajectory. which based on kinematics and statics picking analysis in a joint space according to the requirements of picking tasks, and obtain the position and orientation for picking robot arm, study and calculate the theory of trajectory parameters timely.

SOCS proteins in regulation of receptor tyrosine kinase signaling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kazi, Julhash U.; Kabir, Nuzhat N.; Flores Morales, Amilcar

2014-01-01

Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are a family of cell surface receptors that play critical roles in signal transduction from extracellular stimuli. Many in this family of kinases are overexpressed or mutated in human malignancies and thus became an attractive drug target for cancer treatment....... The signaling mediated by RTKs must be tightly regulated by interacting proteins including protein-tyrosine phosphatases and ubiquitin ligases. The suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) family proteins are well-known negative regulators of cytokine receptors signaling consisting of eight structurally similar...

Gender-Based Violence and Armed Conflict: A Community-Informed Socioecological Conceptual Model From Northeastern Uganda

Science.gov (United States)

Mootz, Jennifer J.; Stabb, Sally D.; Mollen, Debra

2017-01-01

The high prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV) in armed conflict has been documented in various national contexts, but less is known about the complex pathways that constitute the relation between the two. Employing a community-based collaborative approach, we constructed a community-informed socioecological conceptual model from a feminist perspective, detailing how armed conflict relates to GBV in a conflict-affected rural community in Northeastern Uganda. The research questions were as follows: (1) How does the community conceptualize GBV? and (2) How does armed conflict relate to GBV? Nine focus group discussions divided by gender, age, and profession and six key informant interviews were conducted. Participants’ ages ranged from 9 to 80 years (n =34 girls/women, n = 43 boys/men). Grounded theory was used in analysis. Participants conceptualized eight forms of and 22 interactive variables that contributed to GBV. Armed conflict affected physical violence/quarreling, sexual violence, early marriage, and land grabbing via a direct pathway and four indirect pathways initiated through looting of resources, militarization of the community, death of a parent(s) or husband, and sexual violence. The findings suggest that community, organizational, and policy-level interventions, which include attention to intersecting vulnerabilities for exposure to GBV in conflict-affected settings, should be prioritized. While tertiary psychological interventions with women and girls affected by GBV in these areas should not be eliminated, we suggest that policy makers and members of community and organizational efforts make systemic and structural changes. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ’s website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index PMID:29563663

Gender-Based Violence and Armed Conflict: A Community-Informed Socioecological Conceptual Model From Northeastern Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Mootz, Jennifer J; Stabb, Sally D; Mollen, Debra

2017-01-01

The high prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV) in armed conflict has been documented in various national contexts, but less is known about the complex pathways that constitute the relation between the two. Employing a community-based collaborative approach, we constructed a community-informed socioecological conceptual model from a feminist perspective, detailing how armed conflict relates to GBV in a conflict-affected rural community in Northeastern Uganda. The research questions were as follows: (1) How does the community conceptualize GBV? and (2) How does armed conflict relate to GBV? Nine focus group discussions divided by gender, age, and profession and six key informant interviews were conducted. Participants' ages ranged from 9 to 80 years ( n =34 girls/women, n = 43 boys/men). Grounded theory was used in analysis. Participants conceptualized eight forms of and 22 interactive variables that contributed to GBV. Armed conflict affected physical violence/quarreling, sexual violence, early marriage, and land grabbing via a direct pathway and four indirect pathways initiated through looting of resources, militarization of the community, death of a parent(s) or husband, and sexual violence. The findings suggest that community, organizational, and policy-level interventions, which include attention to intersecting vulnerabilities for exposure to GBV in conflict-affected settings, should be prioritized. While tertiary psychological interventions with women and girls affected by GBV in these areas should not be eliminated, we suggest that policy makers and members of community and organizational efforts make systemic and structural changes. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ 's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index.

IL-8 induces miR-424-5p expression and modulates SOCS2/STAT5 signaling pathway in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Hsuan-Yu; Jiang, Shih-Sheng; Hsiao, Jenn-Ren; Hsiao, Michael; Hsu, Yuan-Ming; Wu, Guan-Hsun; Chang, Wei-Min; Chang, Jang-Yang; Jin, Shiow-Lian Catherine; Shiah, Shine-Gwo

2016-06-01

Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins are negative feedback regulators of the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathway. Dysregulation of SOCS protein expression in cancers can be one of the mechanisms that maintain STAT activation, but this mechanism is still poorly understood in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Here, we report that SOCS2 protein is significantly downregulated in OSCC patients and its levels are inversely correlated with miR-424-5p expression. We identified the SOCS2 protein, which modulates STAT5 activity, as a direct target of miR-424-5p. The miR-424-5p-induced STAT5 phosphorylation, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) expression, and cell migration and invasion were blocked by SOCS2 restoration, suggesting that miR-424-5p exhibits its oncogenic activity through negatively regulating SOCS2 levels. Furthermore, miR-424-5p expression could be induced by the cytokine IL-8 primarily through enhancing STAT5 transcriptional activity rather than NF-κB signaling. Antagomir-mediated inactivation of miR-424-5p prevented the IL-8-induced cell migration and invasion, indicating that miR-424-5p is required for IL-8-induced cellular invasiveness. Taken together, these data indicate that STAT5-dependent expression of miR-424-5p plays an important role in mediating IL-8/STAT5/SOCS2 feedback loop, and scavenging miR-424-5p function using antagomir may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of OSCC. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

LOSS OF JAK2 REGULATION VIA VHL-SOCS1 E3 UBIQUITIN HETEROCOMPLEX UNDERLIES CHUVASH POLYCYTHEMIA

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Ryan C.; Sufan, Roxana I.; Zhou, Bing; Heir, Pardeep; Bunda, Severa; Sybingco, Stephanie S.; Greer, Samantha N.; Roche, Olga; Heathcote, Samuel A.; Chow, Vinca W.K.; Boba, Lukasz M.; Richmond, Terri D.; Hickey, Michele M.; Barber, Dwayne L.; Cheresh, David A.; Simon, M. Celeste; Irwin, Meredith S.; Kim, William Y.; Ohh, Michael

2011-01-01

SUMMARY Chuvash polycythemia (CP) is a rare congenital form of polycythemia caused by homozygous R200W and H191D mutations in the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene whose gene product is the principal negative regulator of hypoxia-inducible factor. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying some of the hallmark features of CP such as hypersensitivity to erythropoietin are unclear. Here, we show that VHL directly binds suppressor of cytokine signalling 1 (SOCS1) to form a heterodimeric E3 ligase that targets phosphorylated (p)JAK2 for ubiquitin-mediated destruction. In contrast, CP-associated VHL mutants have altered affinity for SOCS1 and fail to engage and degrade pJAK2. Systemic administration of a highly selective JAK2 inhibitor, TG101209, reverses the disease phenotype in vhlR200W/R200W knock-in mice, a model that faithfully recapitulates human CP. These results reveal VHL as a SOCS1-cooperative negative regulator of JAK2 and provide compelling biochemical and preclinical evidence for JAK2- targeted therapy in CP patients. PMID:21685897

Design of a VME bus controller based on ARM7 with embedded system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yanyu; Qiao Weimin; Guo Yuhui; Li Xiaoqiang; Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing

2005-01-01

This paper introduces the solution of a VME-like bus Controller briefly. Samsung's S3C4510B 16/32-bit RISC microcontroller with ARM7 core is a high-performance microcontroller support Ethernet-based systems. The authors use S3C4510B, VIC-068A and CPLD devices built a high speed data route from VME-like Bus to network, the fast link between background computer data-base and front-end target module is achieved over network. (authors)

A multi-chip data acquisition system based on a heterogeneous system-on-chip platform

CERN Document Server

Fiergolski, Adrian

2017-01-01

The Control and Readout Inner tracking BOard (CaRIBOu) is a versatile readout system targeting a multitude of detector prototypes. It profits from the heterogeneous platform of the Zynq System-on-Chip (SoC) and integrates in a monolithic device front-end FPGA resources with a back-end software running on a hard-core ARM-based processor. The user-friendly Linux terminal with the pre-installed DAQ software is combined with the efficiency and throughput of a system fully implemented in the FPGA fabric. The paper presents the design of the SoC-based DAQ system and its building blocks. It also shows examples of the achieved functionality for the CLICpix2 readout ASIC.

Concise Arm and Hand Rehabilitation Approach in Stroke (CARAS: A practical and evidence-based framework for clinical rehabilitation management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johan A. Franck

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The volume of information on new treatment techniques supporting the restoration of arm-hand function (AHF and arm-hand skill performance (ASHP in stroke survivors overwhelms therapists in everyday clinical practice when choosing the appropriate therapy. The Concise Arm and Hand Rehabilitation Approach in Stroke (CARAS is designed for paramedical staff to structure and implement training of AHF and AHSP in stroke survivors. The CARAS is based on four constructs: (a stratification according to the severity of arm–hand impairment (using the Utrecht Arm/Hand -Test [UAT], (b the individual’s rehabilitation goals and concomitant potential rehabilitation outcomes, (c principles of self-efficacy, and (d possibilities to systematically incorporate (new technology and new evidence-based training elements swiftly. The framework encompasses three programs aimed at treating either the severely (UAT 0-1, moderately (UAT 2-3, or mildly (UAT 4-7 impaired arm-hand. Program themes are: taking care of the limb and prevention of complications (Program 1, task-oriented gross motor grip performance (Program 2, and functional AHSP training (Program 3. Each program is preceded and followed by an assessment. Training modularity facilitates rapid interchange/adaptation of sub-elements. Proof-of-principle in clinical rehabilitation has been established. The CARAS facilitates rapid structured design and provision of state-of-the-art AHF and ASHP treatment in stroke patients.

Evolution of robotic arms.

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Michael E

2007-01-01

The foundation of surgical robotics is in the development of the robotic arm. This is a thorough review of the literature on the nature and development of this device with emphasis on surgical applications. We have reviewed the published literature and classified robotic arms by their application: show, industrial application, medical application, etc. There is a definite trend in the manufacture of robotic arms toward more dextrous devices, more degrees-of-freedom, and capabilities beyond the human arm. da Vinci designed the first sophisticated robotic arm in 1495 with four degrees-of-freedom and an analog on-board controller supplying power and programmability. von Kemplen's chess-playing automaton left arm was quite sophisticated. Unimate introduced the first industrial robotic arm in 1961, it has subsequently evolved into the PUMA arm. In 1963 the Rancho arm was designed; Minsky's Tentacle arm appeared in 1968, Scheinman's Stanford arm in 1969, and MIT's Silver arm in 1974. Aird became the first cyborg human with a robotic arm in 1993. In 2000 Miguel Nicolalis redefined possible man-machine capacity in his work on cerebral implantation in owl-monkeys directly interfacing with robotic arms both locally and at a distance. The robotic arm is the end-effector of robotic systems and currently is the hallmark feature of the da Vinci Surgical System making its entrance into surgical application. But, despite the potential advantages of this computer-controlled master-slave system, robotic arms have definite limitations. Ongoing work in robotics has many potential solutions to the drawbacks of current robotic surgical systems.

Design of embedded hardware platform in intelligent γ-spectrometry instrument based on ARM9

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong Tianqi; Fang Fang

2008-01-01

This paper described the design of embedded hardware platform based on ARM9 S3C2410A, emphases are focused on analyzing the methods of design the circuits of memory, LCD and keyboard ports. It presented a new solution of hardware platform in intelligent portable instrument for γ measurement. (authors)

Rapid Development of System-on-Chip (SoC for Network-Enabled Visible Light Communications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trio Adiono

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Visible Light Communication (VLC is an emerging optical communication technology with rapid development nowadays. VLC is considered as a compliment and successor of radio-frequency (RF wireless communication. There are various typical implementations of VLC in which one of them is for exchanging data TCP/IP packets, thus the user can browse the internet as in established Wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi technology. Briefly, we can call it by Light fidelity (Li-Fi. This paper described the design and implementation of System-on-Chip (SoC subsystem for Li-Fi application where the implemented SoC consists of hardware (H/W and software (S/W. In the H/W aspect, Physical Layer (PHY is made by using UART communication with Ethernet connection to communicate with Host/Device personal-computer (PC. In the S/W aspect, Xillinux operating system (OS is used. The H/W- as well as S/W-SoC, are realized in FPGA Zybo Zynq-7000 EPP development board. The functional test result shows (without optical channel or Zybo-to-Zybo only that the implemented SoC is working as expected. It is able to exchange TCP/IP packets between two PCs. Moreover, Ethernet connection has bandwidth up to 83.6 Mbps and PHY layer baud rate has bandwidth up to 921600 bps.

The effects of virtual reality-based bilateral arm training on hemiplegic children's upper limb motor skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Do, Ji-Hye; Yoo, Eun-Young; Jung, Min-Ye; Park, Hae Yean

2016-01-01

Hemiplegic cerebral palsy is a neurological symptom appearing on the unilateral arm and leg of the body that causes affected upper/lower limb muscle weakening and dysesthesia and accompanies tetany and difficulties in postural control due to abnormal muscle tone, and difficulties in body coordination. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of virtual reality-based bilateral arm training on the motor skills of children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, in terms of their upper limb motor skills on the affected side, as well as their bilateral coordination ability. The research subjects were three children who were diagnosed with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. The research followed an ABA design, which was a single-subject experimental design. The procedure consisted of a total of 20 sessions, including four during the baseline period (A1), 12 during the intervention period (B), and four during the baseline regression period (A2), For the independent variable bilateral arm training based on virtual reality, Nintendo Wii game was played for 30 minutes in each of the 12 sessions. For the dependent variables of upper limb motor skills on the affected side and bilateral coordination ability, a Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) was carried out for each session and the Pediatric Motor Activity Log (PMAL) was measured before and after the intervention, as well as after the baseline regression period. To test bilateral coordination ability, shooting baskets in basketball with both hands and moving large light boxes were carried out under operational definitions, with the number of shots and time needed to move boxes measured. The results were presented using visual graphs and bar graphs. The study's results indicated that after virtual reality-based bilateral arm training, improvement occurred in upper limb motor skills on the affected sides, and in bilateral coordination ability, for all of the research subjects. Measurements of the effects of sustained therapy after

Hand Gesture Based Wireless Robotic Arm Control for Agricultural Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kannan Megalingam, Rajesh; Bandhyopadhyay, Shiva; Vamsy Vivek, Gedela; Juned Rahi, Muhammad

2017-08-01

One of the major challenges in agriculture is harvesting. It is very hard and sometimes even unsafe for workers to go to each plant and pluck fruits. Robotic systems are increasingly combined with new technologies to automate or semi automate labour intensive work, such as e.g. grape harvesting. In this work we propose a semi-automatic method for aid in harvesting fruits and hence increase productivity per man hour. A robotic arm fixed to a rover roams in the in orchard and the user can control it remotely using the hand glove fixed with various sensors. These sensors can position the robotic arm remotely to harvest the fruits. In this paper we discuss the design of hand glove fixed with various sensors, design of 4 DoF robotic arm and the wireless control interface. In addition the setup of the system and the testing and evaluation under lab conditions are also presented in this paper.

Monolithic distributed power management for systems-on-chip (SoC); Gestion monolithique distribuee de puissance pour les systemes sur puce (SOC)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abedinpour, S. [Motorola, Semiconductor Products Sector, Tempe (United States); Bakkaloglu, B. [Texas Instruments, Broadband Communications Group, Dallas, Texas (United States); Kiaei, S. [Arizona State Univ., Connection one Research Center, Tempe (United States)

2004-08-01

With increasing drive towards higher level of integration, lower cost, and longer battery life in wireless applications, there is a need for efficient monolithic DC-DC power converters. This tutorial paper summarizes the topology tradeoffs that are involved in the implementation of monolithic distributed power management in the future generations of SoCs for portable wireless applications. These circuits have a broad range of requirements including high power density, high energy efficiency, low noise, small size, and low cost. The advantages and disadvantages of each of the competing topologies, namely low-dropout linear, switched capacitor, and switched-mode DC-DC converters are examined in light of these requirements. (authors)

Effects of land use change and management on SOC and soil quality in Mediterranean rangelands areas

Science.gov (United States)

Parras-Alcántara, Luis; Lozano-García, Beatriz; Requejo, Ana; Zornoza, Raúl

2017-04-01

INTRODUCTION Rangelands in the Iberian Peninsula occupy more than 90,000 km2. These rangelands were created from the former Mediterranean oak forests, mainly composed of holm oak and cork oak (Quercus ilex rotundifolia and Quercus suber), by clear-cutting shrubs, removing selected trees and cultivating. These man-made landscapes are called 'dehesas' in Spain and 'montados' in Portugal. Between 1955 and 1981, more than 5,000 km2 of dehesas was converted from pastureland to cultivated land. This process has been accelerated since 1986 owing to subsidies from the European Common Agricultural Policy (Parras-Alcántara et al., 2015a). The role that natural rangelands play in the global carbon cycle is extremely important, accounting for 10-30% of the world's total soil organic carbon (SOC), in addition, SOC concentration is closely related to soil quality and vegetation productivity (Brevik, 2012). Therefore, to study the land use and management changes is important, particularly in Mediterranean soils, as they are characterized by low organic carbon content, furthermore, the continuous use of ploughing for grain production is the principal cause of soil degradation. Therefore, land use decisions and management systems can increase or decrease SOC content and stock (Corral-Fernández et al., 2013; Parras-Alcántara et al., 2014, 2015a and 2015b; Parras-Alcántara and Lozano-García, 2014) MATERIAL AND METHODS A field study was conducted to determine the land use change (Mediterranean evergreen oak woodland to olive grove and cereal, all of them managed under conventional tillage and under conservationist practices) effects on SOC stocks and the soil quality (Stratification Ratio) in Los Pedroches valley, southern Spain. RESULTS Results for the present study indicate that management practices had little effect on SOC storage in dehesas. The stratification ratio was >2 both under conventional tillage and under organic farming, so, soils under dehesa had high quality

Suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (Socs2 deletion protects bone health of mice with DSS-induced inflammatory bowel disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ross Dobie

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD often present with poor bone health. The development of targeted therapies for this bone loss requires a fuller understanding of the underlying cellular mechanisms. Although bone loss in IBD is multifactorial, the altered sensitivity and secretion of growth hormone (GH and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1 in IBD is understood to be a critical contributing mechanism. The expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2, a well-established negative regulator of GH signaling, is stimulated by proinflammatory cytokines. Therefore, it is likely that SOCS2 expression represents a critical mediator through which proinflammatory cytokines inhibit GH/IGF-1 signaling and decrease bone quality in IBD. Using the dextran sodium sulfate (DSS model of colitis, we reveal that endogenously elevated GH function in the Socs2−/− mouse protects the skeleton from osteopenia. Micro-computed tomography assessment of DSS-treated wild-type (WT mice revealed a worsened trabecular architecture compared to control mice. Specifically, DSS-treated WT mice had significantly decreased bone volume, trabecular thickness and trabecular number, and a resulting increase in trabecular separation. In comparison, the trabecular bone of Socs2-deficient mice was partially protected from the adverse effects of DSS. The reduction in a number of parameters, including bone volume, was less, and no changes were observed in trabecular thickness or separation. This protected phenotype was unlikely to be a consequence of improved mucosal health in the DSS-treated Socs2−/− mice but rather a result of unregulated GH signaling directly on bone. These studies indicate that the absence of SOCS2 is protective against bone loss typical of IBD. This study also provides an improved understanding of the relative effects of GH/IGF-1 signaling on bone health in experimental colitis, information that is essential before these drugs are

ARM-based control system for terry rapier loom

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Weimin; Gu, Yeqing; Wu, Zhenyu; Wang, Fan

2007-12-01

In this paper, a novel ARM-based mechatronics control technique applied in terry rapier loom was presented. Electronic weft selection, electronic fluff, electronic let-off and take-up motions system, which consists of position and speedcontrolled servomechanisms, were studied. The control system configuration, operation principle, and mathematical models of electronic drives system were analyzed. The synchronism among all mechanical motions and an improved intelligent control algorithm for the warp let-off tension control was discussed. The result indict that, by applying electronic and embedded control techniques and the individual servomechanisms, the electronic weft selection, electronic let-off device and electronic take-up device in HGA732T terry rapier loom have greatly simplified the initial complicated mechanism, kept the warp tension constant from full to empty beam, set the variable weft density, eliminated the start mark effectively, promoted its flexibility, reliability and properties, and improved the fabric quality.

Ship cabin leakage alarm based on ARM SCM

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, Liyan

2018-03-01

If there is a leakage in the cabin of a sailing ship, it is a major accident that threatens the personnel and property of the ship. If we can’t take timely measures, there will be a devastating disaster. In order to judge the leakage of the cabin, it is necessary to set up a leakage alarm system, so as to achieve the purpose of detecting and alarming the leakage of the cabin, and avoid the occurrence of accidents. This paper discusses the design of ship cabin leakage alarm system based on ARM SCM. In order to ensure the stability and precision of the product, the hardware design of the alarm system is carried out, such as circuit design, software design, the programming of SCM, the software programming of upper computer, etc. It is hoped that it can be of reference value to interested readers.

Closed-Loop Hybrid Gaze Brain-Machine Interface Based Robotic Arm Control with Augmented Reality Feedback

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong Zeng

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Brain-machine interface (BMI can be used to control the robotic arm to assist paralysis people for performing activities of daily living. However, it is still a complex task for the BMI users to control the process of objects grasping and lifting with the robotic arm. It is hard to achieve high efficiency and accuracy even after extensive trainings. One important reason is lacking of sufficient feedback information for the user to perform the closed-loop control. In this study, we proposed a method of augmented reality (AR guiding assistance to provide the enhanced visual feedback to the user for a closed-loop control with a hybrid Gaze-BMI, which combines the electroencephalography (EEG signals based BMI and the eye tracking for an intuitive and effective control of the robotic arm. Experiments for the objects manipulation tasks while avoiding the obstacle in the workspace are designed to evaluate the performance of our method for controlling the robotic arm. According to the experimental results obtained from eight subjects, the advantages of the proposed closed-loop system (with AR feedback over the open-loop system (with visual inspection only have been verified. The number of trigger commands used for controlling the robotic arm to grasp and lift the objects with AR feedback has reduced significantly and the height gaps of the gripper in the lifting process have decreased more than 50% compared to those trials with normal visual inspection only. The results reveal that the hybrid Gaze-BMI user can benefit from the information provided by the AR interface, improving the efficiency and reducing the cognitive load during the grasping and lifting processes.

Closed-Loop Hybrid Gaze Brain-Machine Interface Based Robotic Arm Control with Augmented Reality Feedback

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Hong; Wang, Yanxin; Wu, Changcheng; Song, Aiguo; Liu, Jia; Ji, Peng; Xu, Baoguo; Zhu, Lifeng; Li, Huijun; Wen, Pengcheng

2017-01-01

Brain-machine interface (BMI) can be used to control the robotic arm to assist paralysis people for performing activities of daily living. However, it is still a complex task for the BMI users to control the process of objects grasping and lifting with the robotic arm. It is hard to achieve high efficiency and accuracy even after extensive trainings. One important reason is lacking of sufficient feedback information for the user to perform the closed-loop control. In this study, we proposed a method of augmented reality (AR) guiding assistance to provide the enhanced visual feedback to the user for a closed-loop control with a hybrid Gaze-BMI, which combines the electroencephalography (EEG) signals based BMI and the eye tracking for an intuitive and effective control of the robotic arm. Experiments for the objects manipulation tasks while avoiding the obstacle in the workspace are designed to evaluate the performance of our method for controlling the robotic arm. According to the experimental results obtained from eight subjects, the advantages of the proposed closed-loop system (with AR feedback) over the open-loop system (with visual inspection only) have been verified. The number of trigger commands used for controlling the robotic arm to grasp and lift the objects with AR feedback has reduced significantly and the height gaps of the gripper in the lifting process have decreased more than 50% compared to those trials with normal visual inspection only. The results reveal that the hybrid Gaze-BMI user can benefit from the information provided by the AR interface, improving the efficiency and reducing the cognitive load during the grasping and lifting processes. PMID:29163123

Performance Evaluation of FIR Filter After Implementation on Different FPGA and SOC and Its Utilization in Communication and Network

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pandey, Bishwajeet; Das, Bhagwan; Kaur, Amanpreet

2017-01-01

that will energy efficient as well as faster than traditional design. Three different FPGA and SOC are taken under consideration and our design is implemented on these four ICs and we find the most energy efficient architecture and also find the architecture that will deliver highest performance among these four...... FPGA then we conclude that Zynq 7000 All programmable SOC is power hungry architecture and Kintex ultrascale architecture is the most energy efficient architecture that dissipates 20.86% less power than Zynq 700 All programmable SOC. For performance evaluation, we have taken benchmark C code of FIR...... provide by Xilinx. We transform that C code into HDL using Vivado HLS 2016.2 before power analysis on Vivado 2016.2. Ultrascale FPGA is generally used for packet processing in 100G networking and heterogeneous wireless infrastructure....

Surgical Simulations Based on Limited Quantitative Data: Understanding How Musculoskeletal Models Can Be Used to Predict Moment Arms and Guide Experimental Design.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer A Nichols

Full Text Available The utility of biomechanical models and simulations to examine clinical problems is currently limited by the need for extensive amounts of experimental data describing how a given procedure or disease affects the musculoskeletal system. Methods capable of predicting how individual biomechanical parameters are altered by surgery are necessary for the efficient development of surgical simulations. In this study, we evaluate to what extent models based on limited amounts of quantitative data can be used to predict how surgery influences muscle moment arms, a critical parameter that defines how muscle force is transformed into joint torque. We specifically examine proximal row carpectomy and scaphoid-excision four-corner fusion, two common surgeries to treat wrist osteoarthritis. Using models of these surgeries, which are based on limited data and many assumptions, we perform simulations to formulate a hypothesis regarding how these wrist surgeries influence muscle moment arms. Importantly, the hypothesis is based on analysis of only the primary wrist muscles. We then test the simulation-based hypothesis using a cadaveric experiment that measures moment arms of both the primary wrist and extrinsic thumb muscles. The measured moment arms of the primary wrist muscles are used to verify the hypothesis, while those of the extrinsic thumb muscles are used as cross-validation to test whether the hypothesis is generalizable. The moment arms estimated by the models and measured in the cadaveric experiment both indicate that a critical difference between the surgeries is how they alter radial-ulnar deviation versus flexion-extension moment arms at the wrist. Thus, our results demonstrate that models based on limited quantitative data can provide novel insights. This work also highlights that synergistically utilizing simulation and experimental methods can aid the design of experiments and make it possible to test the predictive limits of current computer

Dual Arm Work Module Development and Appplications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Noakes, M.W.

1999-04-25

The dual arm work module (DAWM) was developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) by the Robotics Technology Development Program (RTDP) as a development test bed to study issues related to dual arm manipulation, including platform cotilguration, controls, automation, operations, and tooling. The original platform was based on two Schilling Titan II manipulators mounted to a 5-degree-of- freedom (DOF) base fabricated by RedZone Robotics, Inc. The 5-DOF articulation provided a center torso rotation, linear actuation to change the separation between the arms, and arm base rotation joints to provide "elbows up," elbows down," or "elbows out" orientation. A series of tests were conducted on operations, tooling, and task space scene analysis (TSSA)-driven robotics for overhead transporter- mounted and crane hook-deployed scenarios. A concept was developed for DAWM deployment from a large remote work vehicle, but the project was redirected to support dismantlement of the Chicago Pile #5 (CP-5) reactor at Argonne National Laboratory in fiscal year (FY) 1997. Support of CP-5 required a change in focus of the dual arm technology from that of a development test bed to a system focussed for a specific end user. ORNL teamed with the Idaho National Environmental ,Engineering Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, and the Savannah River Technology Center to deliver a crane-deployed derivative of the DAWM, designated the dual arm work platform (DAWP). RTDP staff supported DAWP at CP-5 for one FY; Argonne staff continued operation through to dismantlement of the reactor internals. Lessons learned from this interaction were extensive. Beginning in FY 1999, dual arm development activities are again being pursued in the context of those lessons learned. This paper describes the progression of philosophy of the DAWM from initial test bed to lessons learned through interaction at CP-5 and to the present investigation of telerobotic assist of teleoperation and TSSA- driven robotics.

A Comparison of Image Quality and Radiation Exposure Between the Mini C-Arm and the Standard C-Arm.

Science.gov (United States)

van Rappard, Juliaan R M; Hummel, Willy A; de Jong, Tijmen; Mouës, Chantal M

2018-04-01

The use of intraoperative fluoroscopy has become mandatory in osseous hand surgery. Due to its overall practicality, the mini C-arm has gained popularity among hand surgeons over the standard C-arm. This study compares image quality and radiation exposure for patient and staff between the mini C-arm and the standard C-arm, both with flat panel technology. An observer-based subjective image quality study was performed using a contrast detail (CD) phantom. Five independent observers were asked to determine the smallest circles discernable to them. The results were plotted in a graph, forming a CD curve. From each curve, an image quality figure (IQF) was derived. A lower IQF equates to a better image quality. The patients' entrance skin dose was measured, and to obtain more information about the staff exposure dose, a perspex hand phantom was used. The scatter radiation was measured at various distances and angles relative to a central point on the detector. The IQF was significantly lower for the mini C-arm resulting in a better image quality. The patients' entrance dose was 10 times higher for the mini C-arm as compared with the standard C-arm, and the scatter radiation threefold. Due to its improved image quality and overall practicality, the mini C-arm is recommended for hand surgical procedures. To ensure that the surgeons' radiation exposure is not exceeding the safety limits, monitoring radiation exposure using mini C-arms with flat panel technology during surgery should be done in a future clinical study.

Analyst Tools and Quality Control Software for the ARM Data System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moore, S.T.

2004-12-14

ATK Mission Research develops analyst tools and automated quality control software in order to assist the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Quality Office with their data inspection tasks. We have developed a web-based data analysis and visualization tool, called NCVweb, that allows for easy viewing of ARM NetCDF files. NCVweb, along with our library of sharable Interactive Data Language procedures and functions, allows even novice ARM researchers to be productive with ARM data with only minimal effort. We also contribute to the ARM Data Quality Office by analyzing ARM data streams, developing new quality control metrics, new diagnostic plots, and integrating this information into DQ HandS - the Data Quality Health and Status web-based explorer. We have developed several ways to detect outliers in ARM data streams and have written software to run in an automated fashion to flag these outliers.

Isolated effects of peripheral arm and central body cooling on arm performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Giesbrecht, G G; Wu, M P; White, M D; Johnston, C E; Bristow, G K

1995-10-01

Whole body cooling impairs manual arm performance. The independent contributions of local (peripheral) and/or whole body (central) cooling are not known. Therefore, a protocol was developed in which the arm and the rest of the body could be independently cooled. Biceps temperature (Tmus), at a depth of 20 mm, and esophageal temperature (Tes) were measured. Six subjects were immersed to the clavicles in a tank (body tank) of water under 3 conditions: 1) cold body-cold arm (CB-CA); 2) warm body-cold arm (WB-CA); and 3) cold body-warm arm (CB-WA). In the latter two conditions, subjects placed their dominant arm in a separate (arm) tank. Water temperature (Tw) in each tank was independently controlled. In conditions requiring cold body and/or cold arm, Tw in the appropriate tanks was 8 degrees C. In conditions requiring warm body and/or warm arm, Tw in the appropriate tanks was adjusted between 29 and 38 degrees C to maintain body/arm temperature at baseline values. A battery of 6 tests, requiring fine or gross motor movements, were performed immediately before immersion and after 15, 45, and 70 minutes of immersion. In CB-CA, Tes decreased from an average of 37.2 to 35.6 degrees C and Tmus decreased from 34.6 to 22.0 degrees C. In WB-CA, Tmus decreased to 18.1 degrees C (Tes = 37.1 degrees C), and in CB-WA, Tes decreased to 35.8 degrees C (Tmus = 34.5 degrees C). By the end of immersion, there were significant decrements (43-85%) in the performance of all tests in CB-CA and WB-CA (p body and/or the arm elicits large decrements in finger, hand and arm performance. The decrements are due almost entirely to the local effects of arm tissue cooling.

Calcineurin inhibitor-induced complement system activation via ERK1/2 signalling is inhibited by SOCS-3 in human renal tubule cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Loeschenberger, Beatrix; Niess, Lea; Würzner, Reinhard; Schwelberger, Hubert; Eder, Iris E; Puhr, Martin; Guenther, Julia; Troppmair, Jakob; Rudnicki, Michael; Neuwirt, Hannes

2018-02-01

One factor that significantly contributes to renal allograft loss is chronic calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) nephrotoxicity (CIN). Among other factors, the complement (C-) system has been proposed to be involved CIN development. Hence, we investigated the impact of CNIs on intracellular signalling and the effects on the C-system in human renal tubule cells. In a qPCR array, CNI treatment upregulated C-factors and downregulated SOCS-3 and the complement inhibitors CD46 and CD55. Additionally, ERK1/-2 was required for these regulations. Following knock-down and overexpression of SOCS-3, we found that SOCS-3 inhibits ERK1/-2 signalling. Finally, we assessed terminal complement complex formation, cell viability and apoptosis. Terminal complement complex formation was induced by CNIs. Cell viability was significantly decreased, whereas apoptosis was increased. Both effects were reversed under complement component-depleted conditions. In vivo, increased ERK1/-2 phosphorylation and SOCS-3 downregulation were observed at the time of transplantation in renal allograft patients who developed a progressive decline of renal function in the follow-up compared to stable patients. The progressive cohort also had lower total C3 levels, suggesting higher complement activity at baseline. In conclusion, our data suggest that SOCS-3 inhibits CNI-induced ERK1/-2 signalling, thereby blunting the negative control of C-system activation. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

DMA Controller for LEON3 SoC:s Using AMBA

OpenAIRE

Nilsson, Emelie

2013-01-01

A DMA Controller can offload a processor tremendously. A memory copy operation can be initiated by the processor and while the processor executes others tasks the memory copy can be fulfilled by the DMA Controller. An implementation of a DMA Controller for use in LEON3 SoC:s has been made during this master thesis. Problems that occurred while designing a controller of this type concerned AMBA buses, data transfers, alignment and interrupt handling. The DMA Controller supports AMBA and is att...

Overexpression of DOSOC1, an ortholog of Arabidopsis SOC1, promotes flowering in the orchid Dendrobium Chao Parya Smile.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Lihua; Wang, Yanwen; Yu, Hao

2013-04-01

SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1 (SOC1) encodes a MADS-box protein that plays an essential role in integrating multiple flowering signals to regulate the transition from vegetative to reproductive development in the model plant Arabidopsis. Although SOC1-like genes have been isolated in various angiosperms, its orthologs in Orchidaceae, one of the largest families of flowering plants, are so far unknown. To investigate the regulatory mechanisms of flowering time control in orchids, we isolated a SOC1-like gene, DOSOC1, from Dendrobium Chao Praya Smile. DOSOC1 was highly expressed in reproductive organs, including inflorescence apices, pedicels, floral buds and open flowers. Its expression significantly increased in whole plantlets during the transition from vegetative to reproductive development, which usually occurred after 8 weeks of culture in Dendrobium Chao Praya Smile. In the shoot apex at the floral transitional stage, DOSOC1 was particularly expressed in emerging floral meristems. Overexpression of DOSOC1 in wild-type Arabidopsis plants resulted in early flowering, which was coupled with the up-regulation of two other flowering promoters, AGAMOUS-LIKE 24 and LEAFY. In addition, overexpression of DOSOC1 was able partially to complement the late-flowering phenotype of Arabidopsis soc1-2 loss-of-function mutants. Furthermore, we successfully created seven 35S:DOSOC1 transgenic Dendrobium orchid lines, which consistently exhibited earlier flowering than wild-type orchids. Our results suggest that SOC1-like genes play an evolutionarily conserved role in promoting flowering in the Orchidaceae family, and that DOSOC1 isolated from Dendrobium Chao Praya Smile could serve as an important target for genetic manipulation of flowering time in orchids.

Assessment of LabSOCS as a tool for the calculation of self-attenuation coefficients in gamma spectrometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopes, J.; De Medeiros, M. P.; Garcez, R.; Filgueiras, R.; Thalhofer, J.; Da Silva, A. X. [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Programa de Engenharia Nuclear, Av. Horacio Macedo 2030, 21945-970 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Freitas R, W., E-mail: marqueslopez@yahoo.com.br [Instituto Militar de Engenharia, Secao de Engenharia Nuclear, Praca Gen. Tiburcio 80, 22290-270 Urca, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

2017-10-15

In spectrometry, the self-attenuation coefficients are fundamental to correct the efficiency of the detection of samples whose density is different from the radioactive standard. To facilitate the procedure of coefficient calculation, mathematical simulations have been widespread as a tool. In this paper, LabSOCS was used to calculate the self-attenuation coefficients for some geometries and the values found were compared to those obtained with MCNPX and experimental values. The percentage deviations found for the self-attenuation coefficient calculated by LabSOCS were below 1.6%, when compared to experimental values. In the extrapolation zone of the fitting curve of the experimental model, the deviations were below 1.9%. The results obtained show that the deviations increase proportionally to the amplitude between the density values of the radioactive standard and the sample. High percentage deviations were also obtained in simulations whose samples had high densities, complex geometries and low energy levels. However, the results indicate that LabSOCS is a tool which may be used in the calculation of self-attenuation coefficients. (Author)

Kinect-Based Sliding Mode Control for Lynxmotion Robotic Arm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ismail Ben Abdallah

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Recently, the technological development of manipulator robot increases very quickly and provides a positive impact to human life. The implementation of the manipulator robot technology offers more efficiency and high performance for several human’s tasks. In reality, efforts published in this context are focused on implementing control algorithms with already preprogrammed desired trajectories (passive robots case or trajectory generation based on feedback sensors (active robots case. However, gesture based control robot can be considered as another channel of system control which is not widely discussed. This paper focuses on a Kinect-based real-time interactive control system implementation. Based on LabVIEW integrated development environment (IDE, a developed human-machine-interface (HMI allows user to control in real time a Lynxmotion robotic arm. The Kinect software development kit (SDK provides a tool to keep track of human body skeleton and abstract it into 3-dimensional coordinates. Therefore, the Kinect sensor is integrated into our control system to detect the different user joints coordinates. The Lynxmotion dynamic has been implemented in a real-time sliding mode control algorithm. The experimental results are carried out to test the effectiveness of the system, and the results verify the tracking ability, stability, and robustness.

Different temporal bases for body and arm movements in volleyball serve reception

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benerink, N. H.; Bootsma, R. J.; Zaal, F. T. J. M.

2015-01-01

In many sports, successfully intercepting a ball requires players to move both their body and their arms. Yet, studies of interception typically focus on one or the other. We performed an analysis of the moments of first foot and arm movements of elite-level volleyball players during serve

Sample size determinations for group-based randomized clinical trials with different levels of data hierarchy between experimental and control arms.

Science.gov (United States)

Heo, Moonseong; Litwin, Alain H; Blackstock, Oni; Kim, Namhee; Arnsten, Julia H

2017-02-01

We derived sample size formulae for detecting main effects in group-based randomized clinical trials with different levels of data hierarchy between experimental and control arms. Such designs are necessary when experimental interventions need to be administered to groups of subjects whereas control conditions need to be administered to individual subjects. This type of trial, often referred to as a partially nested or partially clustered design, has been implemented for management of chronic diseases such as diabetes and is beginning to emerge more commonly in wider clinical settings. Depending on the research setting, the level of hierarchy of data structure for the experimental arm can be three or two, whereas that for the control arm is two or one. Such different levels of data hierarchy assume correlation structures of outcomes that are different between arms, regardless of whether research settings require two or three level data structure for the experimental arm. Therefore, the different correlations should be taken into account for statistical modeling and for sample size determinations. To this end, we considered mixed-effects linear models with different correlation structures between experimental and control arms to theoretically derive and empirically validate the sample size formulae with simulation studies.

Neighborhood-resources for the development of a strong SOC and the importance of understanding why and how resources work: a grounded theory approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Maass, Ruca; Lindström, Bengt; Lillefjell, Monica

2017-09-12

Providing individuals with psychosocial resources such as sense of coherence (SOC) seems a beneficial strategy for health promotion in the neighborhood. In order to become a supporting theory for health promotion, Salutogenesis should renew its focus on resources for health, and explore how the development of a strong SOC can be facilitated. Relevant issues were explored using a Grounded Theory- approach. Three focus-group-sessions and three in-depth interviews were conducted with strategically sampled participants. The transcripts of the focus groups were initially analyzed line-by-line to ensure that insights emerged from the data. We then applied focused and systemic analyses to achieve axial coding, and to include insights into how social interactions during focus groups may reveal social processes in real-life-neighborhoods. The data from the in-depth interviews were used to validate and fill emerging categories, as well as to ensure data-saturation. Findings indicate the importance of repeated experiences with resources and every-day-challenges to develop a strong SOC. Active engagement with resources is a favorable condition for significant experiences, which enhance the internalization of resources. Core experiences are characterized by a re-organization of resources. Participation in intellectual meaning-making through equal power dialogue seems to broaden perspectives and promote the strengthening of SOC. A strong SOC can also be described as a deeper understanding of how and why resources work, which allows for a more flexible use of resources, including replacing missing resources. A new understanding of SOC as an intuitive understanding of how, why and under which circumstances resources work, as well as a new focus on everyday life and repeated experiences might facilitate new approaches to a purposeful strengthening of SOC through the planning and implementation of public measures.

The fate of SOC during the processes of water erosion and subsequent deposition: a field study.

Science.gov (United States)

van Hemelryck, H.; Govers, G.; van Oost, K.; Merckx, R.

2009-04-01

Globally soils are the largest terrestrial pool of carbon (C). A relatively small increase or decrease in soil carbon content due to changes in land use or management practices could therefore result in a significant net exchange of C between the soil C reservoir and the atmosphere. As such, the geomorphic processes of water and tillage erosion have been identified to significantly impact on this large pool of soil organic carbon (SOC). Soil erosion, transport and deposition not only result in redistribution of sediments and associated carbon within a landscape, but also affect the exchange of C between the pedosphere and the atmosphere. The direction and magnitude of an erosion-induced change in the global C balance is however a topic of much debate as opposing processes interact: i) At eroding sites a net uptake of C could be the result of reduced respiration rates and continued inputs of newly produced carbon. ii) Colluvial deposition of eroded sediment and SOC leads to the burial of the original topsoil and this may constrain the decomposition of its containing SOC. iii) Eroded sediment could be transported to distal depositional environments or fluvial systems where it will either be conserved or become rapidly mineralized. iv) Increased emission of CO2 due to erosion may result from the disruptive energy of erosive forces causing the breakdown of aggregates and exposing previously protected SOC to microbial decomposition. The above-mentioned processes show a large spatial and temporal variability and assessing their impact requires an integrated modeling approach. However uncertainties about the basic processes that accompany SOC displacement are still large. This study focuses on one of these large information gaps: the fate of eroded and subsequently deposited SOC. A preceding experimental study (Van Hemelryck et al., 2008) was used to identify controlling factors (erosional intensity, changes in soil structure,…). However this experimental research

Have Third-World Arms Industries Reduced Arms Imports?

OpenAIRE

Looney, R.E.

1989-01-01

Current Research on Peace and Violence, no. 1, 1989. Refereed Journal Article In 1945 only Argentina, Brazil, India and South Africa in the Third World possessed domestic arms industries which produced weapons systems other than small arms and ammunition (SIPRI, 1987, 76).

Measurement Capabilities of the DOE ARM Aerial Facility

Science.gov (United States)

Schmid, B.; Tomlinson, J. M.; Hubbe, J.; Comstock, J. M.; Kluzek, C. D.; Chand, D.; Pekour, M. S.

2012-12-01

The Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is a climate research user facility operating stationary ground sites in three important climatic regimes that provide long-term measurements of climate relevant properties. ARM also operates mobile ground- and ship-based facilities to conduct shorter field campaigns (6-12 months) to investigate understudied climate regimes around the globe. Finally, airborne observations by ARM's Aerial Facility (AAF) enhance the surface-based ARM measurements by providing high-resolution in situ measurements for process understanding, retrieval algorithm development, and model evaluation that is not possible using ground-based techniques. AAF started out in 2007 as a "virtual hangar" with no dedicated aircraft and only a small number of instruments owned by ARM. In this mode, AAF successfully carried out several missions contracting with organizations and investigators who provided their research aircraft and instrumentation. In 2009, the Battelle owned G-1 aircraft was included in the ARM facility. The G-1 is a large twin turboprop aircraft, capable of measurements up to altitudes of 7.5 km and a range of 2,800 kilometers. Furthermore the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided funding for the procurement of seventeen new instruments to be used aboard the G-1 and other AAF virtual-hangar aircraft. AAF now executes missions in the virtual- and real-hangar mode producing freely available datasets for studying aerosol, cloud, and radiative processes in the atmosphere. AAF is also heavily engaged in the maturation and testing of newly developed airborne sensors to help foster the next generation of airborne instruments. In the presentation we will showcase science applications based on measurements from recent field campaigns such as CARES, CALWATER and TCAP.

An artificial flexible robot arm based on pneumatic muscle actuators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renn Jyh-Chyang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to develop a novel human-friendly artificial flexible robot arm using four parallel-connected pneumatic muscle actuators (PMAs. The PMA is a flexible silicone rubber actuator which has some behaviors nearest to the real biological muscle including translational and rotational motions. An inverse kinematic model for the motion control is also developed. Finally, from experiment results, it is proved that not only the axial contraction control of a single PMA but also the attitude control of the whole pneumatic flexible robot arm using PID controller are satisfactory.

Evaluation of arm-leg coordination in flat breaststroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Chollet, D; Seifert, L; Leblanc, H; Boulesteix, L; Carter, M

2004-10-01

This study proposes a new method to evaluate arm-leg coordination in flat breaststroke. Five arm and leg stroke phases were defined with a velocity-video system. Five time gaps quantified the time between arm and leg actions during three paces of a race (200 m, 100 m and 50 m) in 16 top level swimmers. Based on these time gaps, effective glide, effective propulsion, effective leg insweep and effective recovery were used to identify the different stroke phases of the body. A faster pace corresponded to increased stroke rate, decreased stroke length, increased propulsive phases, shorter glide phases, and a shorter T1 time gap, which measured the effective body glide. The top level swimmers showed short time gaps (T2, T3, T4, measuring the timing of arm-leg recoveries), which reflected the continuity in arm and leg actions. The measurement of these time gaps thus provides a pertinent evaluation of swimmers' skill in adapting their arm-leg coordination to biomechanical constraints.

Design of an ARM-based Automatic Rice-Selling Machine for Cafeterias

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiliang Kang

2016-02-01

Full Text Available To address the problems of low selling efficiency, poor sanitation conditions, labor-intensive requirement, and quick rice cooling speed in manual rice selling in cafeterias, especially in colleges and secondary schools, this paper presented an Advanced RISC Machines (ARM microprocessor-based rice-selling machine for cafeterias. The machines consisted of a funnel-shaped rice bin, a thermal insulation box, and a conveying and scattering mechanism. Moreover, this machine exerts fuzzy control over stepper motor rpm, and the motor drives the conveyor belt with a scraper to scatter rice, deliver it, and keep it warm. Apart from an external 4*4 keyboard, a point of sale (POS machine, an ARM process and a pressure sensor, the machine is also equipped with card swiping and weighting mechanisms to achieve functions of card swiping payment and precise measurement, respectively. In addition, detection of the right amount of rice and the alarm function are achieved using an ultrasonic sensor and a beeper, respectively. The presence of the rice container on the rice outlet is detected by an optoelectronic switch. Results show that this rice-selling machine achieves precise measurement, quick card swiping, fast rice selling, stable operation, and good rice heat preservation. Therefore, the mechanical design enables the machine to achieve its goals.

Arm Pain

Science.gov (United States)

... be a sign of a heart attack. Seek emergency treatment if you have: Arm, shoulder or back ... http://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/arm-pain/basics/definition/SYM-20050870 . Mayo Clinic Footer Legal Conditions and ...

Self-directed arm therapy at home after stroke with a sensor-based virtual reality training system.

Science.gov (United States)

Wittmann, Frieder; Held, Jeremia P; Lambercy, Olivier; Starkey, Michelle L; Curt, Armin; Höver, Raphael; Gassert, Roger; Luft, Andreas R; Gonzenbach, Roman R

2016-08-11

The effect of rehabilitative training after stroke is dose-dependent. Out-patient rehabilitation training is often limited by transport logistics, financial resources and a lack of motivation/compliance. We studied the feasibility of an unsupervised arm therapy for self-directed rehabilitation therapy in patients' homes. An open-label, single group study involving eleven patients with hemiparesis due to stroke (27 ± 31.5 months post-stroke) was conducted. The patients trained with an inertial measurement unit (IMU)-based virtual reality system (ArmeoSenso) in their homes for six weeks. The self-selected dose of training with ArmeoSenso was the principal outcome measure whereas the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of the upper extremity (FMA-UE), the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) and IMU-derived kinematic metrics were used to assess arm function, training intensity and trunk movement. Repeated measures one-way ANOVAs were used to assess differences in training duration and clinical scores over time. All subjects were able to use the system independently in their homes and no safety issues were reported. Patients trained on 26.5 ± 11.5 days out of 42 days for a duration of 137 ± 120 min per week. The weekly training duration did not change over the course of six weeks (p = 0.146). The arm function of these patients improved significantly by 4.1 points (p = 0.003) in the FMA-UE. Changes in the WMFT were not significant (p = 0.552). ArmeoSenso based metrics showed an improvement in arm function, a high number of reaching movements (387 per session), and minimal compensatory movements of the trunk while training. Self-directed home therapy with an IMU-based home therapy system is safe and can provide a high dose of rehabilitative therapy. The assessments integrated into the system allow daily therapy monitoring, difficulty adaptation and detection of maladaptive motor patterns such as trunk movements during reaching. Unique identifier: NCT02098135 .

A Unified Approach for Reporting ARM Measurement Uncertainties Technical Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Campos, E [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Sisterson, Douglas [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2016-12-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility is observationally based, and quantifying the uncertainty of its measurements is critically important. With over 300 widely differing instruments providing over 2,500 datastreams, concise expression of measurement uncertainty is quite challenging. The ARM Facility currently provides data and supporting metadata (information about the data or data quality) to its users through a number of sources. Because the continued success of the ARM Facility depends on the known quality of its measurements, the Facility relies on instrument mentors and the ARM Data Quality Office (DQO) to ensure, assess, and report measurement quality. Therefore, an easily accessible, well-articulated estimate of ARM measurement uncertainty is needed. Note that some of the instrument observations require mathematical algorithms (retrievals) to convert a measured engineering variable into a useful geophysical measurement. While those types of retrieval measurements are identified, this study does not address particular methods for retrieval uncertainty. As well, the ARM Facility also provides engineered data products, or value-added products (VAPs), based on multiple instrument measurements. This study does not include uncertainty estimates for those data products. We propose here that a total measurement uncertainty should be calculated as a function of the instrument uncertainty (calibration factors), the field uncertainty (environmental factors), and the retrieval uncertainty (algorithm factors). The study will not expand on methods for computing these uncertainties. Instead, it will focus on the practical identification, characterization, and inventory of the measurement uncertainties already available in the ARM community through the ARM instrument mentors and their ARM instrument handbooks. As a result, this study will address the first steps towards reporting ARM measurement uncertainty

A 10-bit 200-kS/s SAR ADC IP core for a touch screen SoC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tong Xingyuan; Yang Yintang; Zhu Zhangming; Sheng Wenfang

2010-01-01

Based on a 5 MSBs (most-significant-bits)-plus-5 LSBs (least-significant-bits) C-R hybrid D/A conversion and low-offset pseudo-differential comparison approach, with capacitor array axially symmetric layout topology and resistor string low gradient mismatch placement method, an 8-channel 10-bit 200-kS/s SAR ADC (successive-approximation-register analog-to-digital converter) IP core for a touch screen SoC (system-on-chip) is implemented in a 0.18 μm 1P5M CMOS logic process. Design considerations for the touch screen SAR ADC are included. With a 1.8 V power supply, the DNL (differential non-linearity) and INL (integral non-linearity) of this converter are measured to be about 0.32 LSB and 0.81 LSB respectively. With an input frequency of 91 kHz at 200-kS/s sampling rate, the spurious-free dynamic range and effective-number-of-bits are measured to be 63.2 dB and 9.15 bits respectively, and the power is about 136 μW. This converter occupies an area of about 0.08 mm 2 . The design results show that it is very suitable for touch screen SoC applications. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

A study of the free vibration of suspension rod based on four-stage arm mechanism by using computer simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melnychuk S.V.

2016-08-01

Full Text Available We analyze the current state of the prospects and problems of using computer technology to determine the operating parameters of movement of the vehicle. Scientific works related to the study of the properties of the vehicle smooth ride are studied. The following example shows that the modern researches of smooth ride do not pay enough attention to issues associated with the processes that occur in the suspension rod of a vehicle. Scientific works related to the choice of the optimal and simple CAD system for conducting computer simulation tests are overviewed. We developed an animating model of experimental car in SOLIDWORKS environment with the staff suspension rod and the suspension rod based on four-stage arm mechanism, which allows a wide range of tests of components of the vehicle. Methodology and hardware-software complex for testing a car are developed. A test of a vehicle of category N1 is conducted. A computer simulation of the motion of the smooth ride of the car with suspension rod based on four-stage arm mechanism is conducted. The comparative analysis of suspension rod performance based on four-stage arm mechanism is conducted.

Innovative Design of Plastic Bottle Recycling Box Based on ARM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuedong Xiong

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Aiming at the problems of on-site plastic bottles recycling and the reuse of waste, the automatic recycling system was developed on the basis of ARM. As the main controller, ARM not only controls the mechanical system of the collector to recover and break plastic bottles, but also communicates with and rewards the user by the automatic reward system through the wireless network. The experimental prototype test results show: post treated fragments of plastic bottles are small, which are convenient to transport and take advantage of; the operation of recovery is easy, and the interface of man-machine interaction is friendly which is easy to expand functions.

Key Technologies of Phone Storage Forensics Based on ARM Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jianghan; Che, Shengbing

2018-03-01

Smart phones are mainly running Android, IOS and Windows Phone three mobile platform operating systems. The android smart phone has the best market shares and its processor chips are almost ARM software architecture. The chips memory address mapping mechanism of ARM software architecture is different with x86 software architecture. To forensics to android mart phone, we need to understand three key technologies: memory data acquisition, the conversion mechanism from virtual address to the physical address, and find the system’s key data. This article presents a viable solution which does not rely on the operating system API for a complete solution to these three issues.

Assessing SOC labile fractions through respiration test, density-size fractionation and thermal analysis - A comparison of methods

Science.gov (United States)

Soucemarianadin, Laure; Cécillon, Lauric; Chenu, Claire; Baudin, François; Nicolas, Manuel; Savignac, Florence; Barré, Pierre

2017-04-01

Soil organic matter (SOM) is the biggest terrestrial carbon reservoir, storing 3 to 4 times more carbon than the atmosphere. However, despite its major importance for climate regulation SOM dynamics remains insufficiently understood. For instance, there is still no widely accepted method to assess SOM lability. Soil respiration tests and particulate organic matter (POM) obtained by different fractionation schemes have been used for decades and are now considered as classical estimates of very labile and labile soil organic carbon (SOC), respectively. But the pertinence of these methods to characterize SOM turnover can be questioned. Moreover, they are very time-consuming and their reproducibility might be an issue. Alternate ways of determining the labile SOC component are thus well-needed. Thermal analyses have been used to characterize SOM among which Rock-Eval 6 (RE6) analysis of soil has shown promising results in the determination of SOM biogeochemical stability (Gregorich et al., 2015; Barré et al., 2016). Using a large set of samples of French forest soils representing contrasted pedoclimatic conditions, including deep samples (up to 1 m depth), we compared different techniques used for SOM lability assessment. We explored whether results from soil respiration test (10-week laboratory incubations), SOM size-density fractionation and RE6 thermal analysis were comparable and how they were correlated. A set of 222 (respiration test and RE6), 103 (SOM fractionation and RE6) and 93 (respiration test, SOM fractionation and RE6) forest soils samples were respectively analyzed and compared. The comparison of the three methods (n = 93) using a principal component analysis separated samples from the surface (0-10 cm) and deep (40-80 cm) layers, highlighting a clear effect of depth on the short-term persistence of SOC. A correlation analysis demonstrated that, for these samples, the two classical methods of labile SOC determination (respiration and SOM fractionation

Low-cost ARM Cortex-M0 Based TRNG for IoT Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marek Laban

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The Internet of Things (IoT is one of perspective electronic sectors. In the near future a lot of common devices from a refrigerator to a door lock will be connected to the internet. Protection of the IoT devices should not be neglected. The device security is composed of many safety levels, where every countermeasure increases its robustness. The paper describes an implementation of a True Random Number Generator (TRNG used in many cryptographic algorithms and protocols. It is based on a modern low-cost and low-power STM32F050 ARM-M0 microcontroller, suitable especially for IoT applications. The main motivation for developing of such generator was its absence in lower members of microcontroller families. Integrated TRNG uses common features of the microcontroller, which may be portable across ARM-M0 architecture. A source of randomness is instability of internal RC oscillator, which is acquired using another faster clock and one timer. The paper follows a previous research, but using the modern microcontroller with proposed on-line embedded tests which are designed in order to be simple and effective.

Digital holography based on multiwavelength spatial-bandwidth-extended capturing-technique using a reference arm (Multi-SPECTRA).

Science.gov (United States)

Tahara, Tatsuki; Kaku, Toru; Arai, Yasuhiko

2014-12-01

Single-shot digital holography based on multiwavelength spatial-bandwidth-extended capturing-technique using a reference arm (Multi-SPECTRA) is proposed. Both amplitude and quantitative phase distributions of waves containing multiple wavelengths are simultaneously recorded with a single reference arm in a single monochromatic image. Then, multiple wavelength information is separately extracted in the spatial frequency domain. The crosstalk between the object waves with different wavelengths is avoided and the number of wavelengths recorded with both a single-shot exposure and no crosstalk can be increased, by a large spatial carrier that causes the aliasing, and/or by use of a grating. The validity of Multi-SPECTRA is quantitatively, numerically, and experimentally confirmed.

E-CMIRC - towards a model for the integration of services between SOCs and CSIRTs

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Jacobs, P

2015-07-01

Full Text Available , including governments. While the focus of a SOC is on the monitoring of technical security controls and critical assets, and the response to attacks and threats, CSIRTs’ main focus is on response and incident management. One postulation is that a CSIRT...

An Overview and Comparison of Online Implementable SOC Estimation Methods for Lithium-ion Battery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meng, Jinhao; Ricco, Mattia; Luo, Guangzhao

2018-01-01

With the popularity of Electrical Vehicles (EVs), Lithium-ion battery industry is developing rapidly. To ensure the battery safe usage and to reduce its average lifecycle cost, an accurate State of Charge (SOC) tracking algorithms for real-time implementation are required for different applications...

SOCS3 Expression Correlates with Severity of Inflammation, Expression of Proinflammatory Cytokines, and Activation of STAT3 and p38 MAPK in LPS-Induced Inflammation In Vivo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Antônio Chaves de Souza

2013-01-01

Full Text Available SOCS3 is an inducible endogenous negative regulator of JAK/STAT pathway, which is relevant in inflammatory conditions. We used a model of LPS-induced periodontal disease in rats to correlate SOCS3 expression with the inflammatory status. In vitro we used a murine macrophage cell line to assess the physical interaction between SOCS3 and STAT3 by coimmunoprecipitation. 30 ug of LPS from Escherichia coli were injected in the gingival tissues on the palatal aspect of first molars of the animals 3x/week for up to 4 weeks. Control animals were injected with the vehicle (PBS. The rats were sacrificed at 7, 15, and 30 days. Inflammation and gene expression were assessed by stereometric analysis, immunohistochemistry, RT-qPCR, and western blot. LPS injections increased inflammation, paralleled by an upregulation of SOCS3, of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α and increased phosphorylation of STAT3 and p38 MAPK. SOCS3 expression accompanied the severity of inflammation and the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, as well as the activation status of STAT3 and p38 MAPK. LPS stimulation in a macrophage cell line in vitro induced transient STAT3 activation, which was inversely correlated with a dynamic physical interaction with SOCS3, suggesting that this may be a mechanism for SOCS3 regulatory function.

Electromechanical and robot-assisted arm training for improving activities of daily living, arm function, and arm muscle strength after stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehrholz, Jan; Pohl, Marcus; Platz, Thomas; Kugler, Joachim; Elsner, Bernhard

2015-11-07

Electromechanical and robot-assisted arm training devices are used in rehabilitation, and may help to improve arm function after stroke. To assess the effectiveness of electromechanical and robot-assisted arm training for improving activities of daily living, arm function, and arm muscle strength in people after stroke. We also assessed the acceptability and safety of the therapy. We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group's Trials Register (last searched February 2015), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (the Cochrane Library 2015, Issue 3), MEDLINE (1950 to March 2015), EMBASE (1980 to March 2015), CINAHL (1982 to March 2015), AMED (1985 to March 2015), SPORTDiscus (1949 to March 2015), PEDro (searched April 2015), Compendex (1972 to March 2015), and Inspec (1969 to March 2015). We also handsearched relevant conference proceedings, searched trials and research registers, checked reference lists, and contacted trialists, experts, and researchers in our field, as well as manufacturers of commercial devices. Randomised controlled trials comparing electromechanical and robot-assisted arm training for recovery of arm function with other rehabilitation or placebo interventions, or no treatment, for people after stroke. Two review authors independently selected trials for inclusion, assessed trial quality and risk of bias, and extracted data. We contacted trialists for additional information. We analysed the results as standardised mean differences (SMDs) for continuous variables and risk differences (RDs) for dichotomous variables. We included 34 trials (involving 1160 participants) in this update of our review. Electromechanical and robot-assisted arm training improved activities of daily living scores (SMD 0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.11 to 0.64, P = 0.005, I² = 62%), arm function (SMD 0.35, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.51, P arm muscle strength (SMD 0.36, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.70, P = 0.04, I² = 72%), but the quality of the evidence was low to very low

First experience with particle-in-cell plasma physics code on ARM-based HPC systems

Science.gov (United States)

Sáez, Xavier; Soba, Alejandro; Sánchez, Edilberto; Mantsinen, Mervi; Mateo, Sergi; Cela, José M.; Castejón, Francisco

2015-09-01

In this work, we will explore the feasibility of porting a Particle-in-cell code (EUTERPE) to an ARM multi-core platform from the Mont-Blanc project. The used prototype is based on a system-on-chip Samsung Exynos 5 with an integrated GPU. It is the first prototype that could be used for High-Performance Computing (HPC), since it supports double precision and parallel programming languages.

Evaluation of imaging quality for flat-panel detector based low dose C-arm CT system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seo, Chang-Woo; Cha, Bo Kyung; Jeon, Sungchae; Huh, Young

2015-01-01

The image quality associated with the extent of the angle of gantry rotation, the number of projection views, and the dose of X-ray radiation was investigated in flat-panel detector (FPD) based C-arm cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) system for medical applications. A prototype CBCT system for the projection acquisition used the X-ray tube (A-132, Varian inc.) having rhenium-tungsten molybdenum target and flat panel a-Si X-ray detector (PaxScan 4030CB, Varian inc.) having a 397 x 298 mm active area with 388 μm pixel pitch and 1024 x 768 pixels in 2 by 2 binning mode. The performance comparison of X-ray imaging quality was carried out using the Feldkamp, Davis, and Kress (FDK) reconstruction algorithm between different conditions of projection acquisition. In this work, head-and-dental (75 kVp/20 mA) and chest (90 kVp/25 mA) phantoms were used to evaluate the image quality. The 361 (30 fps x 12 s) projection data during 360 deg. gantry rotation with 1 deg. interval for the 3D reconstruction were acquired. Parke weighting function were applied to handle redundant data and improve the reconstructed image quality in a mobile C-arm system with limited rotation angles. The reconstructed 3D images were investigated for comparison of qualitative image quality in terms of scan protocols (projection views, rotation angles and exposure dose). Furthermore, the performance evaluation in image quality will be investigated regarding X-ray dose and limited projection data for a FPD based mobile C-arm CBCT system. (authors)

Position Based Visual Servoing control of a Wheelchair Mounter Robotic Arm using Parallel Tracking and Mapping of task objects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessandro Palla

2017-05-01

Full Text Available In the last few years power wheelchairs have been becoming the only device able to provide autonomy and independence to people with motor skill impairments. In particular, many power wheelchairs feature robotic arms for gesture emulation, like the interaction with objects. However, complex robotic arms often require a joystic to be controlled; this feature make the arm hard to be controlled by impaired users. Paradoxically, if the user were able to proficiently control such devices, he would not need them. For that reason, this paper presents a highly autonomous robotic arm, designed in order to minimize the effort necessary for the control of the arm. In order to do that, the arm feature an easy to use human - machine interface and is controlled by Computer Vison algorithm, implementing a Position Based Visual Servoing (PBVS control. It was realized by extracting features by the camera and fusing them with the distance from the target, obtained by a proximity sensor. The Parallel Tracking and Mapping (PTAM algorithm was used to find the 3D position of the task object in the camera reference system. The visual servoing algorithm was implemented in an embedded platform, in real time. Each part of the control loop was developed in Robotic Operative System (ROS Environment, which allows to implement the previous algorithms as different nodes. Theoretical analysis, simulations and in system measurements proved the effectiveness of the proposed solution.

Study on New Smart Transformer Terminal Unit Based on ARM and GPRS Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Na Wu

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Distribution transformer is one of the most important power equipments in distribution network, whose running state exercises a great influence on the stability of the network. Transformer Terminal Unit (TTU is an effective device to monitor the running state of transformers in the distribution automation system. In this paper, we study a new smart TTU which uses ARM7 series chip as processor, equipped with ATT7022B based electric meter module and GPRS module for remote data transmission control. We focus on the corresponding hardware, software design and the measurement principle of harmonics of TTU. The new TTU can measure the electric parameters of the distribution transformer precisely. Taking advantage of the powerful ARM processor, it can analyze harmonic of the power line effectively. Due to the always-on-line feature of GPRS, TTU can achieve reliable communication with the remote terminal and the master station. Compared with other similar units, the new unit outperforms in terms of real-time, precision and reliability, which can fully meet with the high-speed development of distribution automation system.

ARM Airborne Carbon Measurements (ARM-ACME) and ARM-ACME 2.5 Final Campaign Reports

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Biraud, S. C. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Tom, M. S. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Sweeney, C. [NOAA Earth Systems Research Lab., Boulder, CO (United States)

2016-01-01

We report on a 5-year multi-institution and multi-agency airborne study of atmospheric composition and carbon cycling at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) site, with scientific objectives that are central to the carbon-cycle and radiative-forcing goals of the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the North American Carbon Program (NACP). The goal of these measurements is to improve understanding of 1) the carbon exchange of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) SGP region; 2) how CO₂ and associated water and energy fluxes influence radiative-forcing, convective processes, and CO₂ concentrations over the ARM SGP region, and 3) how greenhouse gases are transported on continental scales.

Current Sharing Analysis of Arm Prototype for ITER PF Converter Bridge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Jinchao; Song Zhiquan; Xu Liuwei; Fu Peng; Guo Bin; Li Sen; Dong Lin; Wang Min

2014-01-01

A bridge arm prototype of ITER poloidal field (PF) converter modules has been designed and fabricated. Non-cophase counter parallel connection is chosen as the arm structure of the prototype. Among all factors affecting current sharing, arm structure is the main one. During the design of the arm prototype, a novel method based on inductance matrixes is employed to improve the current sharing of the bridge arm. The test results on the prototype show that the current sharing performance of the arm prototype is much better than relevant design requirement, and that the matrix method is very effective to analyze and solve the current sharing problems of thyristor converters

ATLAS software stack on ARM64

CERN Document Server

Smith, Joshua Wyatt; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

The ATLAS experiment explores new hardware and software platforms that, in the future, may be more suited to its data intensive workloads. One such alternative hardware platform is the ARM architecture, which is designed to be extremely power efficient and is found in most smartphones and tablets. CERN openlab recently installed a small cluster of ARM 64-bit evaluation prototype servers. Each server is based on a single-socket ARM 64-bit system on a chip, with 32 Cortex-A57 cores. In total, each server has 128 GB RAM connected with four fast memory channels. This paper reports on the port of the ATLAS software stack onto these new prototype ARM64 servers. This included building the "external" packages that the ATLAS software relies on. Patches were needed to introduce this new architecture into the build as well as patches that correct for platform specific code that caused failures on non-x86 architectures. These patches were applied such that porting to further platforms will need no or only very little adj...

Powered manipulator control arm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Mouee, Theodore; Vertut, Jean; Marchal, Paul; Germon, J.C.; Petit, Michel

1975-01-01

A remote operated control arm for powered manipulators is described. It includes an assembly allowing several movements with position sensors for each movement. The number of possible arm movements equals the number of possible manipulator movements. The control systems may be interrupted as required. One part of the arm is fitted with a system to lock it with respect to another part of the arm without affecting the other movements, so long as the positions of the manipulator and the arm have not been brought into complete coincidence. With this system the locking can be ended when complete concordance is achieved [fr

A Low Power, Parallel Wearable Multi-Sensor System for Human Activity Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yuecheng; Jia, Wenyan; Yu, Tianjian; Luan, Bo; Mao, Zhi-Hong; Zhang, Hong; Sun, Mingui

2015-04-01

In this paper, the design of a low power heterogeneous wearable multi-sensor system, built with Zynq System-on-Chip (SoC), for human activity evaluation is presented. The powerful data processing capability and flexibility of this SoC represent significant improvements over our previous ARM based system designs. The new system captures and compresses multiple color images and sensor data simultaneously. Several strategies are adopted to minimize power consumption. Our wearable system provides a new tool for the evaluation of human activity, including diet, physical activity and lifestyle.

Functional network analysis of genes differentially expressed during xylogenesis in soc1ful woody Arabidopsis plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Davin, Nicolas; Edger, Patrick P; Hefer, Charles A; Mizrachi, Eshchar; Schuetz, Mathias; Smets, Erik; Myburg, Alexander A; Douglas, Carl J; Schranz, Michael E; Lens, Frederic

2016-06-01

Many plant genes are known to be involved in the development of cambium and wood, but how the expression and functional interaction of these genes determine the unique biology of wood remains largely unknown. We used the soc1ful loss of function mutant - the woodiest genotype known in the otherwise herbaceous model plant Arabidopsis - to investigate the expression and interactions of genes involved in secondary growth (wood formation). Detailed anatomical observations of the stem in combination with mRNA sequencing were used to assess transcriptome remodeling during xylogenesis in wild-type and woody soc1ful plants. To interpret the transcriptome changes, we constructed functional gene association networks of differentially expressed genes using the STRING database. This analysis revealed functionally enriched gene association hubs that are differentially expressed in herbaceous and woody tissues. In particular, we observed the differential expression of genes related to mechanical stress and jasmonate biosynthesis/signaling during wood formation in soc1ful plants that may be an effect of greater tension within woody tissues. Our results suggest that habit shifts from herbaceous to woody life forms observed in many angiosperm lineages could have evolved convergently by genetic changes that modulate the gene expression and interaction network, and thereby redeploy the conserved wood developmental program. © 2016 The Authors. The Plant Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

ARM Airborne Carbon Measurements VI (ARM-ACME VI) Field Campaign Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Biraud, Sebastien [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2017-05-01

From October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2016, AAF deployed a Cessna 206 aircraft over the Southern Great Plains, collecting observations of trace gas mixing ratios over the ARM/SGP Central Facility. The aircraft payload included two Atmospheric Observing Systems (AOS Inc.) analyzers for continuous measurements of CO2, and a 12-flask sampler for analysis of carbon cycle gases (CO2, CO, CH4, N2O, 13CO2). The aircraft payload also includes solar/infrared radiation measurements. This research (supported by DOE ARM and TES programs) builds upon previous ARM-ACME missions. The goal of these measurements is to improve understanding of: (a) the carbon exchange of the ARM region; (b) how CO2 and associated water and energy fluxes influence radiative forcing, convective processes, and CO2 concentrations over the ARM region, and (c) how greenhouse gases are transported on continental scales.

Unequal arm space-borne gravitational wave detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larson, Shane L.; Hellings, Ronald W.; Hiscock, William A.

2002-01-01

Unlike ground-based interferometric gravitational wave detectors, large space-based systems will not be rigid structures. When the end stations of the laser interferometer are freely flying spacecraft, the armlengths will change due to variations in the spacecraft positions along their orbital trajectories, so the precise equality of the arms that is required in a laboratory interferometer to cancel laser phase noise is not possible. However, using a method discovered by Tinto and Armstrong, a signal can be constructed in which laser phase noise exactly cancels out, even in an unequal arm interferometer. We examine the case where the ratio of the armlengths is a variable parameter, and compute the averaged gravitational wave transfer function as a function of that parameter. Example sensitivity curve calculations are presented for the expected design parameters of the proposed LISA interferometer, comparing it to a similar instrument with one arm shortened by a factor of 100, showing how the ratio of the armlengths will affect the overall sensitivity of the instrument

A Unified Approach for Reporting ARM Measurement Uncertainties Technical Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Campos, E [Argonne National Laboratory; Sisterson, DL [Argonne National Laboratory

2015-10-01

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility is observationally based, and quantifying the uncertainty of its measurements is critically important. With over 300 widely differing instruments providing over 2,500 datastreams, concise expression of measurement uncertainty is quite challenging. The ARM Facility currently provides data and supporting metadata (information about the data or data quality) to its users through a number of sources. Because the continued success of the ARM Facility depends on the known quality of its measurements, the Facility relies on instrument mentors and the ARM Data Quality Office (DQO) to ensure, assess, and report measurement quality. Therefore, an easily-accessible, well-articulated estimate of ARM measurement uncertainty is needed.

The arms race control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemo, J.

2010-01-01

Written in 1961, this paper presents the content of a book entitled 'The arms race control' where the author outlined the difference between disarmament and arms control, described the economic and moral role of arms race, the importance of force balance for international security. He wandered whether arms control could ensure this balance and whether nuclear balance meant force balance. Force balance then appears to be a precarious and unsteady component of international security. He commented the challenges of disarmament, recalled some arguments for a nuclear disarmament. Then he discussed what would be an arms control with or without disarmament (either nuclear or conventional)

Level of Agreement Between Forearm and Upper Arm Blood Pressure Measurements in Patients With Large Arm Circumference.

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Sheri; Aguas, Marita; Colegrove, Pat; Foisy, Nancy; Jondahl, Bonnie; Anastas, Zoe

2017-02-01

The purpose of the study was to determine if forearm blood pressures (BPs) measured in three different locations agree with the recommended upper arm location for noninvasive BP measurement. A method-comparison design was used. In a convenience sample of postanesthesia care unit patients with large upper arm circumference, BP's were obtained in three different forearm locations (lower forearm, middle forearm, and upper forearm) and compared to upper arm BP using an automated BP measuring device. The level of agreement (bias ± precision) between each forearm location and the upper arm BP was calculated using standard formulas. Acceptable levels of agreement based on expert opinion were set a priori at bias and precision values of less than ±5 mm Hg (bias) and ±8 mm Hg (precision). Forty-eight postanesthesia patients participated in the study. Bias and precision values were found to exceed the acceptable level of agreement for all but one of the systolic and diastolic BP comparisons in the three forearm BP locations. Fifty-six percent of all patients studied had one or more BP difference of at least 10 mm Hg in each of the three forearm locations, with 10% having one or more differences of at least 20 mm Hg. The differences in forearm BP measurements observed in this study indicate that the clinical practice of using a forearm BP with a regular-sized BP cuff in place of a larger sized BP cuff placed on the upper arm in postanesthesia care unit patients with large arm circumferences is inappropriate. The BPs obtained at the forearm location are not equivalent to the BPs obtained at the upper arm location. Copyright © 2015 American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bilateral movements increase sustained extensor force in the paretic arm.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Nyeonju; Cauraugh, James H

2018-04-01

Muscle weakness in the extensors poststroke is a common motor impairment. Unfortunately, research is unclear on whether bilateral movements increase extensor force production in the paretic arm. This study investigated sustained force production while stroke individuals maximally extended their wrist and fingers on their paretic arm. Specifically, we determined isometric force production in three conditions: (a) unilateral paretic arm, (b) unilateral nonparetic arm, and (c) bilateral (both arms executing the same movement simultaneously). Seventeen chronic stroke patients produced isometric sustained force by executing wrist and fingers extension in unilateral and bilateral contraction conditions. Mean force, force variability (coefficient of variation), and signal-to-noise ratio were calculated for each contraction condition. Analysis of two-way (Arm × Type of Condition: 2 × 2; Paretic or Nonparetic Arm × Unilateral or Bilateral Conditions) within-subjects ANOVAs revealed that the bilateral condition increased sustained force in the paretic arm, but reduced sustained force in the nonparetic arm. Further, although the paretic arm exhibited more force variability and less signal-to-noise ratio than the nonparetic arm during a unilateral condition, there were no differences when participants simultaneously executed isometric contractions with both arms. Our unique findings indicate that bilateral contractions transiently increased extensor force in the paretic arm. Implications for Rehabilitation Bilateral movements increased isometric wrsit extensor force in paretic arms and redcued force in nonparetic arms versus unilateral movements. Both paretic and nonparetic arms produced similar force variability and signal-to-noise ratio during bilateral movements. Increased sustained force in the paretic arm during the bilateral condition indicates that rehabilitation protocols based on bilateral movements may be beneficial for functional recovery.

Affine pairings on ARM

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Acar, T.; Lauter, K.; Naehrig, M.; Shumow, D.; Abdalla, M.; Lange, T.

2013-01-01

We report on relative performance numbers for affine and projective pairings on a dual-core Cortex A9 ARM processor. Using a fast inversion in the base field and doing inversion in extension fields by using the norm map to reduce to inversions in smaller fields, we find a very low ratio of

The globalization of the arms industry: The next proliferation challenge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bitzinger, R.A.

1994-12-31

The globalization of the arms industry entails a significant shift away from traditional, single-country patterns of weapons production toward internationalization of the development, production, and marketing of arms. While wholly indigenous armaments production may be on the decline, multinational arms production - through collaboration on individual weapon systems and increasingly via interfirm linkages across the international arms industry - appears actually to be expanding. In several instances, in fact, multinational armaments production is increasingly supplementing or even supplanting indigenous or autonomous weapons production or arms imports. The emergence of an increasingly transnational defense technology and industrial base is fundamentally affecting the shape and content of much of the global arms trade. This changing defense market, in turn, will have a profound impact on a number of national security issues concerning the Western industrialized nations. 3 figs., 2 tabs.

Noninvasive Electroencephalogram Based Control of a Robotic Arm for Reach and Grasp Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Jianjun; Zhang, Shuying; Bekyo, Angeliki; Olsoe, Jaron; Baxter, Bryan; He, Bin

2016-01-01

Brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies aim to provide a bridge between the human brain and external devices. Prior research using non-invasive BCI to control virtual objects, such as computer cursors and virtual helicopters, and real-world objects, such as wheelchairs and quadcopters, has demonstrated the promise of BCI technologies. However, controlling a robotic arm to complete reach-and-grasp tasks efficiently using non-invasive BCI has yet to be shown. In this study, we found that a group of 13 human subjects could willingly modulate brain activity to control a robotic arm with high accuracy for performing tasks requiring multiple degrees of freedom by combination of two sequential low dimensional controls. Subjects were able to effectively control reaching of the robotic arm through modulation of their brain rhythms within the span of only a few training sessions and maintained the ability to control the robotic arm over multiple months. Our results demonstrate the viability of human operation of prosthetic limbs using non-invasive BCI technology. PMID:27966546

Trajectory control of an articulated robot with a parallel drive arm based on splines under tension

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Seung-Jong

Today's industrial robots controlled by mini/micro computers are basically simple positioning devices. The positioning accuracy depends on the mathematical description of the robot configuration to place the end-effector at the desired position and orientation within the workspace and on following the specified path which requires the trajectory planner. In addition, the consideration of joint velocity, acceleration, and jerk trajectories are essential for trajectory planning of industrial robots to obtain smooth operation. The newly designed 6 DOF articulated robot with a parallel drive arm mechanism which permits the joint actuators to be placed in the same horizontal line to reduce the arm inertia and to increase load capacity and stiffness is selected. First, the forward kinematic and inverse kinematic problems are examined. The forward kinematic equations are successfully derived based on Denavit-Hartenberg notation with independent joint angle constraints. The inverse kinematic problems are solved using the arm-wrist partitioned approach with independent joint angle constraints. Three types of curve fitting methods used in trajectory planning, i.e., certain degree polynomial functions, cubic spline functions, and cubic spline functions under tension, are compared to select the best possible method to satisfy both smooth joint trajectories and positioning accuracy for a robot trajectory planner. Cubic spline functions under tension is the method selected for the new trajectory planner. This method is implemented for a 6 DOF articulated robot with a parallel drive arm mechanism to improve the smoothness of the joint trajectories and the positioning accuracy of the manipulator. Also, this approach is compared with existing trajectory planners, 4-3-4 polynomials and cubic spline functions, via circular arc motion simulations. The new trajectory planner using cubic spline functions under tension is implemented into the microprocessor based robot controller and

Information booklet on personal protective equipment: arm and hand protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

Fire, heat, cold, electro-magnetic and ionising radiation, electricity, chemicals, impacts, cuts, abrasion, etc. are the common hazards for arms and hands at work. The gloves chosen for protection of the arm and hand should cover those parts adequately and the material of the gloves should be capable of offering protection against the specific hazard involved. Criteria for choosing arm and hand protection equipment will be based on their shape and part of the arm and hand protected. Guide lines for choosing such personal protection equipment for nuclear facilities are given. (M.K.V.). 3 annexures, 1 appendix

Processing ARM VAP data on an AWS cluster

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, T.; Macduff, M.; Shippert, T.

2017-12-01

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Management Facility (DMF) manages over 18,000 processes and 1.3 TB of data each day. This includes many Value Added Products (VAPs) that make use of multiple instruments to produce the derived products that are scientifically relevant. A thermodynamic and cloud profile VAP is being developed to provide input to the ARM Large-eddy simulation (LES) ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) project (https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/vaps/lasso-122) . This algorithm is CPU intensive and the processing requirements exceeded the available DMF computing capacity. Amazon Web Service (AWS) along with CfnCluster was investigated to see how it would perform. This cluster environment is cost effective and scales dynamically based on demand. We were able to take advantage of autoscaling which allowed the cluster to grow and shrink based on the size of the processing queue. We also were able to take advantage of the Amazon Web Services spot market to further reduce the cost. Our test was very successful and found that cloud resources can be used to efficiently and effectively process time series data. This poster will present the resources and methodology used to successfully run the algorithm.

Neurosurgical robotic arm drilling navigation system.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chung-Chih; Lin, Hsin-Cheng; Lee, Wen-Yo; Lee, Shih-Tseng; Wu, Chieh-Tsai

2017-09-01

The aim of this work was to develop a neurosurgical robotic arm drilling navigation system that provides assistance throughout the complete bone drilling process. The system comprised neurosurgical robotic arm navigation combining robotic and surgical navigation, 3D medical imaging based surgical planning that could identify lesion location and plan the surgical path on 3D images, and automatic bone drilling control that would stop drilling when the bone was to be drilled-through. Three kinds of experiment were designed. The average positioning error deduced from 3D images of the robotic arm was 0.502 ± 0.069 mm. The correlation between automatically and manually planned paths was 0.975. The average distance error between automatically planned paths and risky zones was 0.279 ± 0.401 mm. The drilling auto-stopping algorithm had 0.00% unstopped cases (26.32% in control group 1) and 70.53% non-drilled-through cases (8.42% and 4.21% in control groups 1 and 2). The system may be useful for neurosurgical robotic arm drilling navigation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Transient receptor potential ion channel Trpm7 regulates exocrine pancreatic epithelial proliferation by Mg2+-sensitive Socs3a signaling in development and cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nelson S. Yee

2011-03-01

Genetic analysis of pancreatic development has provided new insights into the mechanisms underlying the formation of exocrine pancreatic neoplasia. Zebrafish sweetbread (swd mutants develop hypoplastic acini and dysmorphic ducts in the exocrine pancreas, with impeded progression of cell division cycle and of epithelial growth. Positional cloning and allelic complementation have revealed that the swd mutations affect the transient receptor potential melastatin-subfamily member 7 (trpm7 gene, which encodes a divalent cation-permeable channel with kinase activity. Supplementary Mg2+ partially rescued the exocrine pancreatic defects of the trpm7 mutants by improving cell-cycle progression and growth and repressing the suppressor of cytokine signaling 3a (socs3a gene. The role of Socs3a in Trpm7-mediated signaling is supported by the findings that socs3a mRNA level is elevated in the trpm7 mutants, and antisense inhibition of socs3a expression improved their exocrine pancreatic growth. TRPM7 is generally overexpressed in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma. TRPM7-deficient cells are impaired in proliferation and arrested in the G0-G1 phases of the cell division cycle. Supplementary Mg2+ rescued the proliferative defect of the TRPM7-deficient cells. Results of this study indicate that Trpm7 regulates exocrine pancreatic development via the Mg2+-sensitive Socs3a pathway, and suggest that aberrant TRPM7-mediated signaling contributes to pancreatic carcinogenesis.

Algorithm & SoC design for automotive vision systems for smart safe driving system

CERN Document Server

Shin, Hyunchul

2014-01-01

An emerging trend in the automobile industry is its convergence with information technology (IT). Indeed, it has been estimated that almost 90% of new automobile technologies involve IT in some form. Smart driving technologies that improve safety as well as green fuel technologies are quite representative of the convergence between IT and automobiles. The smart driving technologies include three key elements: sensing of driving environments, detection of objects and potential hazards, and the generation of driving control signals including warning signals. Although radar-based systems are primarily used for sensing the driving environments, the camera has gained importance in advanced driver assistance systems(ADAS). This book covers system-on-a-chip (SoC) designs—including both algorithms and hardware—related with image sensing and object detection by using the camera for smart driving systems. It introduces a variety of algorithms such as lens correction, super resolution, image enhancement, and object ...

An Optimized Spline-Based Registration of a 3D CT to a Set of C-Arm Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2006-01-01

Full Text Available We have developed an algorithm for the rigid-body registration of a CT volume to a set of C-arm images. The algorithm uses a gradient-based iterative minimization of a least-squares measure of dissimilarity between the C-arm images and projections of the CT volume. To compute projections, we use a novel method for fast integration of the volume along rays. To improve robustness and speed, we take advantage of a coarse-to-fine processing of the volume/image pyramids. To compute the projections of the volume, the gradient of the dissimilarity measure, and the multiresolution data pyramids, we use a continuous image/volume model based on cubic B-splines, which ensures a high interpolation accuracy and a gradient of the dissimilarity measure that is well defined everywhere. We show the performance of our algorithm on a human spine phantom, where the true alignment is determined using a set of fiducial markers.

EU Armed Forces' Use of Social Media in Areas of Deployment

OpenAIRE

Hellman, Maria; Olsson, Eva-Karin; Wagnsson, Charlotte

2016-01-01

The advent of social media can be seen both as a risk and an opportunity by armed forces. Previous research has primarily examined whether or not the use of social media endangers or strengthens armed forces’ strategic narrative. We examine armed forces’ perceptions of risks and opportunities on a broad basis, with a particular focus on areas of deployment. The article is based on a survey of perceptions of social media amongst the armed forces of EU member states, thus adding to previous res...

Natural Resource Extraction, Armed Violence, and Environmental Degradation.

Science.gov (United States)

Downey, Liam; Bonds, Eric; Clark, Katherine

2010-12-01

The goal of this article is to demonstrate that environmental sociologists cannot fully explain the relationship between humans and the natural world without theorizing a link between natural resource extraction, armed violence, and environmental degradation. The authors begin by arguing that armed violence is one of several overlapping mechanisms that provide powerful actors with the means to (a) prevail over others in conflicts over natural resources and (b) ensure that natural resources critical to industrial production and state power continue to be extracted and sold in sufficient quantities to promote capital accumulation, state power, and ecological unequal exchange. The authors then identify 10 minerals that are critical to the functioning of the U.S. economy and/or military and demonstrate that the extraction of these minerals often involves the use of armed violence. They further demonstrate that armed violence is associated with the activities of the world's three largest mining companies, with African mines that receive World Bank funding, and with petroleum and rainforest timber extraction. The authors conclude that the natural resource base on which industrial societies stand is constructed in large part through the use and threatened use of armed violence. As a result, armed violence plays a critical role in fostering environmental degradation and ecological unequal exchange.

Armed conflict and child health.

Science.gov (United States)

Rieder, Michael; Choonara, Imti

2012-01-01

Armed conflict has a major impact on child health throughout the world. One in six children worldwide lives in an area of armed conflict and civilians are more likely to die than soldiers as a result of the conflict. In stark contrast to the effect on children, the international arms trade results in huge profits for the large corporations involved in producing arms, weapons and munitions. Armed conflict is not inevitable but is an important health issue that should be prevented.

Hybrid unscented particle filter based state-of-charge determination for lead-acid batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, Yanqing

2014-01-01

Accurate prediction of cell SOC (state of charge) is important for the safety and functional capabilities of the battery energy storage application system. This paper presents a hybrid UPF (unscented particle filter) based SOC determination combined model for batteries. To simulate the entire dynamic electrical characteristics of batteries, a novel combined state space model, which takes current as a control input and let SOC and two constructed parameters as state variables, is advanced to represent cell behavior. Besides that, an improved UPF method is used to evaluate cell SOC. Taking lead-acid batteries for example, we apply the established model for test. Results show that the evolved combined state space cell model simulates battery dynamics robustly with high accuracy and the prediction value based on the improved UPF method converges to the real SOC very quickly within the error of±2%. - Highlights: • This paper introduces a hybrid UPF based SOC determination model for batteries. • The evolved model takes SOC and two constructed parameters as state variables. • The combined state space cell model simulates battery dynamics robustly. • NLMS based method is employed to lessen search space and fasten convergence process. • Novel model converges to the real SOC robustly and quickly with fewer particles

State of charge estimation for lithium-ion pouch batteries based on stress measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dai, Haifeng; Yu, Chenchen; Wei, Xuezhe; Sun, Zechang

2017-01-01

State of charge (SOC) estimation is one of the important tasks of battery management system (BMS). Being different from other researches, a novel method of SOC estimation for pouch lithium-ion battery cells based on stress measurement is proposed. With a comprehensive experimental study, we find that, the stress of the battery during charge/discharge is composed of the static stress and the dynamic stress. The static stress, which is the measured stress in equilibrium state, corresponds to SOC, this phenomenon facilitates the design of our stress-based SOC estimation. The dynamic stress, on the other hand, is influenced by multiple factors including charge accumulation or depletion, current and historical operation, thus a multiple regression model of the dynamic stress is established. Based on the relationship between static stress and SOC, as well as the dynamic stress modeling, the SOC estimation method is founded. Experimental results show that the stress-based method performs well with a good accuracy, and this method offers a novel perspective for SOC estimation. - Highlights: • A State of Charge estimator based on stress measurement is proposed. • The stress during charge and discharge is investigated with comprehensive experiments. • Effects of SOC, current, and operation history on battery stress are well studied. • A multiple regression model of the dynamic stress is established.

Hello to Arms

Science.gov (United States)

2005-01-01

This image highlights the hidden spiral arms (blue) that were discovered around the nearby galaxy NGC 4625 by the ultraviolet eyes of NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer. The image is composed of ultraviolet and visible-light data, from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer and the California Institute of Technology's Digitized Sky Survey, respectively. Near-ultraviolet light is colored green; far-ultraviolet light is colored blue; and optical light is colored red. As the image demonstrates, the lengthy spiral arms are nearly invisible when viewed in optical light while bright in ultraviolet. This is because they are bustling with hot, newborn stars that radiate primarily ultraviolet light. The youthful arms are also very long, stretching out to a distance four times the size of the galaxy's core. They are part of the largest ultraviolet galactic disk discovered so far. Located 31 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, NGC 4625 is the closest galaxy ever seen with such a young halo of arms. It is slightly smaller than our Milky Way, both in size and mass. However, the fact that this galaxy's disk is forming stars very actively suggests that it might evolve into a more massive and mature galaxy resembling our own. The armless companion galaxy seen below NGC 4625 is called NGC 4618. Astronomers do not know why it lacks arms but speculate that it may have triggered the development of arms in NGC 4625.

Visual Display of 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA Expression with a Mobile Application.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Chao-Yu; Kuo, Wei-Ting; Chiu, Chien-Yuan; Lin, Wen-Chang

2017-01-01

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in human cancers. In previous studies, we have demonstrated that both 5p-arm and 3p-arm of mature miRNAs could be expressed from the same precursor and we further interrogated the 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA expression with a comprehensive arm feature annotation list. To assist biologists to visualize the differential 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA expression patterns, we utilized a user-friendly mobile App to display. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) miRNA-Seq expression information. We have collected over 4,500 miRNA-Seq datasets from 15 TCGA cancer types and further processed them with the 5p-arm and 3p-arm annotation analysis pipeline. In order to be displayed with the RNA-Seq Viewer App, annotated 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA expression information and miRNA gene loci information were converted into SQLite tables. In this distinct application, for any given miRNA gene, 5p-arm miRNA is illustrated on the top of chromosome ideogram and 3p-arm miRNA is illustrated on the bottom of chromosome ideogram. Users can then easily interrogate the differentially 5p-arm/3p-arm expressed miRNAs with their mobile devices. This study demonstrates the feasibility and utility of RNA-Seq Viewer App in addition to mRNA-Seq data visualization.

Visual Display of 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA Expression with a Mobile Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chao-Yu Pan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available MicroRNAs (miRNAs play important roles in human cancers. In previous studies, we have demonstrated that both 5p-arm and 3p-arm of mature miRNAs could be expressed from the same precursor and we further interrogated the 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA expression with a comprehensive arm feature annotation list. To assist biologists to visualize the differential 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA expression patterns, we utilized a user-friendly mobile App to display. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA miRNA-Seq expression information. We have collected over 4,500 miRNA-Seq datasets from 15 TCGA cancer types and further processed them with the 5p-arm and 3p-arm annotation analysis pipeline. In order to be displayed with the RNA-Seq Viewer App, annotated 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA expression information and miRNA gene loci information were converted into SQLite tables. In this distinct application, for any given miRNA gene, 5p-arm miRNA is illustrated on the top of chromosome ideogram and 3p-arm miRNA is illustrated on the bottom of chromosome ideogram. Users can then easily interrogate the differentially 5p-arm/3p-arm expressed miRNAs with their mobile devices. This study demonstrates the feasibility and utility of RNA-Seq Viewer App in addition to mRNA-Seq data visualization.

Sensory-Feedback Exoskeletal Arm Controller

Science.gov (United States)

An, Bin; Massie, Thomas H.; Vayner, Vladimir

2004-01-01

An electromechanical exoskeletal arm apparatus has been designed for use in controlling a remote robotic manipulator arm. The apparatus, called a force-feedback exoskeleton arm master (F-EAM) is comfortable to wear and easy to don and doff. It provides control signals from the wearer s arm to a robot arm or a computer simulator (e.g., a virtual-reality system); it also provides force and torque feedback from sensors on the robot arm or from the computer simulator to the wearer s arm. The F-EAM enables the wearer to make the robot arm gently touch objects and finely manipulate them without exerting excessive forces. The F-EAM features a lightweight design in which the motors and gear heads that generate force and torque feedback are made smaller than they ordinarily would be: this is achieved by driving the motors to power levels greater than would ordinarily be used in order to obtain higher torques, and by providing active liquid cooling of the motors to prevent overheating at the high drive levels. The F-EAM (see figure) includes an assembly that resembles a backpack and is worn like a backpack, plus an exoskeletal arm mechanism. The FEAM has five degrees of freedom (DOFs) that correspond to those of the human arm: 1. The first DOF is that of the side-to-side rotation of the upper arm about the shoulder (rotation about axis 1). The reflected torque for this DOF is provided by motor 1 via drum 1 and a planar four-bar linkage. 2. The second DOF is that of the up-and-down rotation of the arm about the shoulder. The reflected torque for this DOF is provided by motor 2 via drum 2. 3. The third DOF is that of twisting of the upper arm about its longitudinal axis. This DOF is implemented in a cable remote-center mechanism (CRCM). The reflected torque for this DOF is provided by motor 3, which drives the upper-arm cuff and the mechanism below it. A bladder inflatable by gas or liquid is placed between the cuff and the wearer s upper arm to compensate for misalignment

Prostate implant reconstruction from C-arm images with motion-compensated tomosynthesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dehghan, Ehsan; Moradi, Mehdi; Wen, Xu; French, Danny; Lobo, Julio; Morris, W. James; Salcudean, Septimiu E.; Fichtinger, Gabor

2011-01-01

Purpose: Accurate localization of prostate implants from several C-arm images is necessary for ultrasound-fluoroscopy fusion and intraoperative dosimetry. The authors propose a computational motion compensation method for tomosynthesis-based reconstruction that enables 3D localization of prostate implants from C-arm images despite C-arm oscillation and sagging. Methods: Five C-arm images are captured by rotating the C-arm around its primary axis, while measuring its rotation angle using a protractor or the C-arm joint encoder. The C-arm images are processed to obtain binary seed-only images from which a volume of interest is reconstructed. The motion compensation algorithm, iteratively, compensates for 2D translational motion of the C-arm by maximizing the number of voxels that project on a seed projection in all of the images. This obviates the need for C-arm full pose tracking traditionally implemented using radio-opaque fiducials or external trackers. The proposed reconstruction method is tested in simulations, in a phantom study and on ten patient data sets. Results: In a phantom implanted with 136 dummy seeds, the seed detection rate was 100% with a localization error of 0.86 ± 0.44 mm (Mean ± STD) compared to CT. For patient data sets, a detection rate of 99.5% was achieved in approximately 1 min per patient. The reconstruction results for patient data sets were compared against an available matching-based reconstruction method and showed relative localization difference of 0.5 ± 0.4 mm. Conclusions: The motion compensation method can successfully compensate for large C-arm motion without using radio-opaque fiducial or external trackers. Considering the efficacy of the algorithm, its successful reconstruction rate and low computational burden, the algorithm is feasible for clinical use.

Prostate implant reconstruction from C-arm images with motion-compensated tomosynthesis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dehghan, Ehsan; Moradi, Mehdi; Wen, Xu; French, Danny; Lobo, Julio; Morris, W. James; Salcudean, Septimiu E.; Fichtinger, Gabor [School of Computing, Queen' s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L-3N6 (Canada); Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T-1Z4 (Canada); Vancouver Cancer Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z-1E6 (Canada); Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T-1Z4 (Canada); School of Computing, Queen' s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L-3N6 (Canada)

2011-10-15

Purpose: Accurate localization of prostate implants from several C-arm images is necessary for ultrasound-fluoroscopy fusion and intraoperative dosimetry. The authors propose a computational motion compensation method for tomosynthesis-based reconstruction that enables 3D localization of prostate implants from C-arm images despite C-arm oscillation and sagging. Methods: Five C-arm images are captured by rotating the C-arm around its primary axis, while measuring its rotation angle using a protractor or the C-arm joint encoder. The C-arm images are processed to obtain binary seed-only images from which a volume of interest is reconstructed. The motion compensation algorithm, iteratively, compensates for 2D translational motion of the C-arm by maximizing the number of voxels that project on a seed projection in all of the images. This obviates the need for C-arm full pose tracking traditionally implemented using radio-opaque fiducials or external trackers. The proposed reconstruction method is tested in simulations, in a phantom study and on ten patient data sets. Results: In a phantom implanted with 136 dummy seeds, the seed detection rate was 100% with a localization error of 0.86 {+-} 0.44 mm (Mean {+-} STD) compared to CT. For patient data sets, a detection rate of 99.5% was achieved in approximately 1 min per patient. The reconstruction results for patient data sets were compared against an available matching-based reconstruction method and showed relative localization difference of 0.5 {+-} 0.4 mm. Conclusions: The motion compensation method can successfully compensate for large C-arm motion without using radio-opaque fiducial or external trackers. Considering the efficacy of the algorithm, its successful reconstruction rate and low computational burden, the algorithm is feasible for clinical use.

Measurement of the complete core plasma flow across the LOC-SOC transition at ASDEX Upgrade

Science.gov (United States)

Lebschy, A.; McDermott, R. M.; Angioni, C.; Geiger, B.; Prisiazhniuk, D.; Cavedon, M.; Conway, G. D.; Dux, R.; Dunne, M. G.; Kappatou, A.; Pütterich, T.; Stroth, U.; Viezzer, E.; the ASDEX Upgrade Team

2018-02-01

A newly installed core charge exchange recombination spectroscopy (CXRS) diagnostic at ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) enables the evaluation of the core poloidal rotation (upol ) through the inboard-outboard asymmetry of the toroidal rotation with an accuracy of 0.5 to 1 km s-1 . Using this technique, the total plasma flow has been measured in Ohmic L-mode plasmas across the transition from the linear to saturated ohmic confinement (LOC-SOC) regimes. The core poloidal rotation of the plasma around mid-radius is found to be always in the ion diamagnetic direction, in disagreement with neoclassical (NC) predictions. The edge rotation is found to be electron-directed and consistent with NC codes. This measurement provides as well the missing ingredient to evaluate the core E×B velocity (uE×B ) from data only, which can then be compared to measurements of the perpendicular velocity of the turbulent fluctuations (u\\perp ) to gain information on the turbulent phase velocity (vph ). The non neoclassical upol from CXRS leads to good agreement between uE×B and u\\perp indicating that vph is small and at similar values as found with gyrokinetic simulations. Moreover, the data shows a shift of vph in the ion-diamagnetic direction at the edge after the transition from LOC to SOC consistent with a change in the dominant turbulence regime. The upgrade of the core CXRS system provides as well a deeper insight into the intrinsic rotation. This paper shows that the reversal of the core toroidal rotation occurs clearly after the LOC-SOC transition and concomitant with the peaking of the electron density.

Optimization on robot arm machining by using genetic algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Tung-Kuan; Chen, Chiu-Hung; Tsai, Shang-En

2007-12-01

In this study, an optimization problem on the robot arm machining is formulated and solved by using genetic algorithms (GAs). The proposed approach adopts direct kinematics model and utilizes GA's global search ability to find the optimum solution. The direct kinematics equations of the robot arm are formulated and can be used to compute the end-effector coordinates. Based on these, the objective of optimum machining along a set of points can be evolutionarily evaluated with the distance between machining points and end-effector positions. Besides, a 3D CAD application, CATIA, is used to build up the 3D models of the robot arm, work-pieces and their components. A simulated experiment in CATIA is used to verify the computation results first and a practical control on the robot arm through the RS232 port is also performed. From the results, this approach is proved to be robust and can be suitable for most machining needs when robot arms are adopted as the machining tools.

Multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals in spatial rock–paper–scissors games

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Luo-Luo, E-mail: jiangluoluo@gmail.com [College of Physics and Electronic Information Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035 (China); College of Physics and Technology, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, Guangxi 541004 (China); Wang, Wen-Xu [School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States); Department of Physics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Lai, Ying-Cheng [School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States); Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States); Ni, Xuan [School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States)

2012-07-09

We study the formation of multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals in spatial rock–paper–scissors games with mobile individuals. We discover a set of seed distributions of species, which is able to produce multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals with a finite number of arms and pairs based on stochastic processes. The joint spiral waves are also predicted by a theoretical model based on partial differential equations associated with specific initial conditions. The spatial entropy of patterns is introduced to differentiate the multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals. For the given mobility, the spatial entropy of multi-armed spirals is higher than that of single armed spirals. The stability of the waves is explored with respect to individual mobility. Particularly, we find that both two armed spirals and one pair antispirals transform to the single armed spirals. Furthermore, multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals are relatively stable for intermediate mobility. The joint spirals with lower numbers of arms and pairs are relatively more stable than those with higher numbers of arms and pairs. In addition, comparing to large amount of previous work, we employ the no flux boundary conditions which enables quantitative studies of pattern formation and stability in the system of stochastic interactions in the absence of excitable media. -- Highlights: ► Multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals are observed. ► Patterns are predicted by computer simulations and partial differential equations. ► The spatial entropy of patterns is introduced. ► Patterns are relatively stable for intermediate mobility. ► The joint spirals with lower numbers of arms and pairs are relatively more stable.

Multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals in spatial rock–paper–scissors games

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Luo-Luo; Wang, Wen-Xu; Lai, Ying-Cheng; Ni, Xuan

2012-01-01

We study the formation of multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals in spatial rock–paper–scissors games with mobile individuals. We discover a set of seed distributions of species, which is able to produce multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals with a finite number of arms and pairs based on stochastic processes. The joint spiral waves are also predicted by a theoretical model based on partial differential equations associated with specific initial conditions. The spatial entropy of patterns is introduced to differentiate the multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals. For the given mobility, the spatial entropy of multi-armed spirals is higher than that of single armed spirals. The stability of the waves is explored with respect to individual mobility. Particularly, we find that both two armed spirals and one pair antispirals transform to the single armed spirals. Furthermore, multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals are relatively stable for intermediate mobility. The joint spirals with lower numbers of arms and pairs are relatively more stable than those with higher numbers of arms and pairs. In addition, comparing to large amount of previous work, we employ the no flux boundary conditions which enables quantitative studies of pattern formation and stability in the system of stochastic interactions in the absence of excitable media. -- Highlights: ► Multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals are observed. ► Patterns are predicted by computer simulations and partial differential equations. ► The spatial entropy of patterns is introduced. ► Patterns are relatively stable for intermediate mobility. ► The joint spirals with lower numbers of arms and pairs are relatively more stable.

Armed conflict and child health

OpenAIRE

Rieder, Michael; Choonara, Imti

2012-01-01

Armed conflict has a major impact on child health\\ud throughout the world. One in six children worldwide lives\\ud in an area of armed conflict and civilians are more likely\\ud to die than soldiers as a result of the conflict. In stark\\ud contrast to the effect on children, the international arms\\ud trade results in huge profits for the large corporations\\ud involved in producing arms, weapons and munitions.\\ud Armed conflict is not inevitable but is an important\\ud health issue that should be...

Use of 'sense of coherence (SOC)' scale to measure resilience in Eritrea: interrogating both the data and the scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Almedom, Astier M; Tesfamichael, Berhe; Saeed Mohammed, Zein; Mascie-Taylor, C G N; Alemu, Zemui

2007-01-01

An adapted 'sense of coherence' scale short form (SOC-13) was administered in nine languages of Eritrea with a total of 265 participants (162 women and 103 men) in order to assess 'resilience' in quantitative terms. Statistical analysis yielded significant differences in SOC scores between the displaced and non-displaced: mean=54.84 (SD=6.48) in internally displaced person (IDP) camps, compared with mean=48.94 (SD=11.99) in urban and rural settlements (t=3.831, purban (non-displaced) residents. Those in rural but traditionally mobile (pastoralist or transhumant) communities scored more or less the same as the urban non-displaced - i.e. significantly higher than those in IDP camps (purban and pastoralist/transhumant groups are similar, while women in IDP camps are lower scoring (RR=0.268, p<0.001), Hamboka women being worst affected due to their experience of serial displacement. These findings are interpreted and discussed in the light of qualitative information gleaned from the study participants' interrogation of the content of the SOC scale; and in the wider context of historical, socio-political and cultural characteristics of Eritrea. The study's implications for humanitarian and public health policy are considered.

ARM-based visual processing system for prosthetic vision.

Science.gov (United States)

Matteucci, Paul B; Byrnes-Preston, Philip; Chen, Spencer C; Lovell, Nigel H; Suaning, Gregg J

2011-01-01

A growing number of prosthetic devices have been shown to provide visual perception to the profoundly blind through electrical neural stimulation. These first-generation devices offer promising outcomes to those affected by degenerative disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa. Although prosthetic approaches vary in their placement of the stimulating array (visual cortex, optic-nerve, epi-retinal surface, sub-retinal surface, supra-choroidal space, etc.), most of the solutions incorporate an externally-worn device to acquire and process video to provide the implant with instructions on how to deliver electrical stimulation to the patient, in order to elicit phosphenized vision. With the significant increase in availability and performance of low power-consumption smart phone and personal device processors, the authors investigated the use of a commercially available ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) device as an externally-worn processing unit for a prosthetic neural stimulator for the retina. A 400 MHz Samsung S3C2440A ARM920T single-board computer was programmed to extract 98 values from a 1.3 Megapixel OV9650 CMOS camera using impulse, regional averaging and Gaussian sampling algorithms. Power consumption and speed of video processing were compared to results obtained to similar reported devices. The results show that by using code optimization, the system is capable of driving a 98 channel implantable device for the restoration of visual percepts to the blind.

Energy efficient HPC on embedded SoCs : optimization techniques for mali GPU

OpenAIRE

Grasso, Ivan; Radojkovic, Petar; Rajovic, Nikola; Gelado Fernandez, Isaac; Ramírez Bellido, Alejandro

2014-01-01

A lot of effort from academia and industry has been invested in exploring the suitability of low-power embedded technologies for HPC. Although state-of-the-art embedded systems-on-chip (SoCs) inherently contain GPUs that could be used for HPC, their performance and energy capabilities have never been evaluated. Two reasons contribute to the above. Primarily, embedded GPUs until now, have not supported 64-bit floating point arithmetic - a requirement for HPC. Secondly, embedded GPUs did not pr...

An improved PNGV modeling and SOC estimation for lithium iron phosphate batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Peng

2017-11-01

Because lithium iron phosphate battery has many advantages, it has been used more and more widely in the field of electric vehicle. The lithium iron phosphate battery, presents the improved PNGV model, and the batteries charge discharge characteristics and pulse charge discharge experiments, identification of parameters of the battery model by interpolation and least square fitting method, to achieve a more accurate modeling of lithium iron phosphate battery, and the extended Calman filter algorithm (EKF) is completed state nuclear power battery (SOC) estimate.

Mechanical characterization of the Varian Exact-arm and R-arm support systems for eight aS500 electronic portal imaging devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grattan, Mark W. D.; McGarry, Conor K.

2010-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this study is to compare the positioning accuracy at different gantry angles of two electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) support arm systems by using EPID difference images as a measure for displacement. This work presents a comparison of the mechanical performance of eight Varian aS500 (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) EPIDs, mounted using either the Varian Exact-arm or R-arm. Methods: The mechanical performance of the two arm systems was compared by investigating the variation in sensitivity with gantry angle, both before and after the EPID position was adjusted after gantry rotation. Positional errors were investigated by subtracting images from a reference image taken at gantry 0 deg., and the amplitude of the peaks and troughs at the field edges for longitudinal (radial) and lateral (transverse) profiles across the resulting image was related to the distance of displacement. Calibration curves based on a pixel-by-pixel shift were generated for each EPID and the Varian hand pendant accuracy was compared to the calibration data. Results: The response of the EPIDs was found to change with gantry rotation, with the largest difference at 180 deg. The Exact-arm was found to correct well for any displacement, while the R-arm tended to overcorrect following repositioning using the hand pendant. The calibration curves were consistent within each set of matched linacs, and the hand pendant accuracy was similar for both arm systems, although generally in different directions. With respect to gantry rotation effects, the mechanical performance of the Exact-arm systems was found to be much better than that of the R-arm systems. At gantry positions 90 deg., 270 deg., and 180 deg. the average misalignment in the longitudinal direction was +4.2±0.2, +1.8±1.6, and +7.4±0.5 mm for the R-arms, and +2.9±0.2, +2.1±0.8, and +4.9±0.7 mm for the Exact-arms. In the lateral direction the average positional errors were +2.1±0.4, -4.7±0.4, and -2.5�

First experience with particle-in-cell plasma physics code on ARM-based HPC systems

OpenAIRE

Sáez, Xavier; Soba, Alejandro; Sánchez, Edilberto; Mantsinen, Mervi; Mateo, Sergio; Cela, José M.; Castejón, Francisco

2015-01-01

In this work, we will explore the feasibility of porting a Particle-in-cell code (EUTERPE) to an ARM multi-core platform from the Mont-Blanc project. The used prototype is based on a system-on-chip Samsung Exynos 5 with an integrated GPU. It is the first prototype that could be used for High-Performance Computing (HPC), since it supports double precision and parallel programming languages. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Com- munity's Seventh...

Systems Approach to Arms Control Verification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allen, K; Neimeyer, I; Listner, C; Stein, G; Chen, C; Dreicer, M

2015-05-15

Using the decades of experience of developing concepts and technologies for verifying bilateral and multilateral arms control agreements, a broad conceptual systems approach is being developed that takes into account varying levels of information and risk. The IAEA has already demonstrated the applicability of a systems approach by implementing safeguards at the State level, with acquisition path analysis as the key element. In order to test whether such an approach could also be implemented for arms control verification, an exercise was conducted in November 2014 at the JRC ITU Ispra. Based on the scenario of a hypothetical treaty between two model nuclear weapons states aimed at capping their nuclear arsenals at existing levels, the goal of this exercise was to explore how to use acquisition path analysis in an arms control context. Our contribution will present the scenario, objectives and results of this exercise, and attempt to define future workshops aimed at further developing verification measures that will deter or detect treaty violations.

Low Power Implementation of Non Power-of-Two FFTs on Coarse-Grain Reconfigurable Architectures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhang, Q.; Wolkotte, P.T.; Smit, Gerardus Johannes Maria; Rivaton, Arnaud; Quevremont, Jérôme

2005-01-01

The DRM standard for digital radio broadcast in the AM band requires integrated devices for radio receivers at very low power. A System on Chip (SoC) call DiMITRI was developed based on a dual ARM9 RISC core architecture. Analyses showed that most computation power is used in the Coded Orthogonal

Enhancing Lay Counselor Capacity to Improve Patient Outcomes with Multimedia Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Robbins, Reuben N; Mellins, Claude A; Leu, Cheng-Shiun; Rowe, Jessica; Warne, Patricia; Abrams, Elaine J; Witte, Susan; Stein, Dan J; Remien, Robert H

2015-06-01

Multimedia technologies offer powerful tools to increase capacity of health workers to deliver standardized, effective, and engaging antiretroviral medication adherence counseling. Masivukeni-is an innovative multimedia-based, computer-driven, lay counselor-delivered intervention designed to help people living with HIV in resource-limited settings achieve optimal adherence. This pilot study examined medication adherence and key psychosocial outcomes among 55 non-adherent South African HIV+ patients, on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at least 6 months, who were randomized to receive either Masivukeni or standard of care (SOC) counseling for ART non-adherence. At baseline, there were no significant differences between the SOC and Masivukeni groups on any outcome variables. At post-intervention (approximately 5-6 weeks after baseline), -clinic-based pill count adherence data available for 20 participants (10 per intervention arm) showed a 10 % improvement for-participants and a decrease of 8 % for SOC participants. Masivukeni participants reported significantly more positive attitudes towards disclosure and medication social support, less social rejection, and better clinic-patient relationships than did SOC participants. Masivukeni shows promise to promote optimal adherence and provides preliminary evidence that multimedia, computer-based technology can help lay counselors offer better adherence counseling than standard approaches.

Enhancing Lay Counselor Capacity to Improve Patient Outcomes with Multimedia Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Robbins, Reuben N.; Mellins, Claude A.; Leu, Cheng-Shiun; Rowe, Jessica; Warne, Patricia; Abrams, Elaine J.; Witte, Susan; Stein, Dan J.; Remien, Robert H.

2015-01-01

Multimedia technologies offer powerful tools to increase capacity of health workers to deliver standardized, effective, and engaging antiretroviral medication adherence counseling. Masivukeni is an innovative multimedia-based, computer-driven, lay counselor-delivered intervention designed to help people living with HIV in resource-limited settings achieve optimal adherence. This pilot study examined medication adherence and key psychosocial outcomes among 55 non-adherent South African HIV+ patients, on ART for at least 6 months, who were randomized to receive either Masivukeni or standard of care (SOC) counseling for ART non-adherence. At baseline, there were no significant differences between the SOC and Masivukeni groups on any outcome variables. At post-intervention (approximately 5–6 weeks after baseline), clinic-based pill count adherence data available for 20 participants (10 per intervention arm) showed a 10% improvement for Masivukeni participants and a decrease of 8% for SOC participants. Masivukeni participants reported significantly more positive attitudes towards disclosure and medication social support, less social rejection, and better clinic-patient relationships than did SOC participants. Masivukeni shows promise to promote optimal adherence and provides preliminary evidence that multimedia, computer-based technology can help lay counselors offer better adherence counseling than standard approaches. PMID:25566763

Effects of age, sex and arm on the precision of arm position sense—left-arm superiority in healthy right-handers

OpenAIRE

Schmidt, Lena; Depper, Lena; Kerkhoff, Georg

2013-01-01

Position sense is an important proprioceptive ability. Disorders of arm position sense (APS) often occur after unilateral stroke, and are associated with a negative functional outcome. In the present study we assessed horizontal APS by measuring angular deviations from a visually defined target separately for each arm in a large group of healthy subjects. We analyzed the accuracy and instability of horizontal APS as a function of age, sex and arm. Subjects were required to specify verbally th...

Performance of arm locking in LISA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKenzie, Kirk; Spero, Robert E.; Shaddock, Daniel A.

2009-01-01

For the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) to reach its design sensitivity, the coupling of the free-running laser frequency noise to the signal readout must be reduced by more than 14 orders of magnitude. One technique employed to reduce the laser frequency noise will be arm locking, where the laser frequency is locked to the LISA arm length. In this paper we detail an implementation of arm locking. We investigate orbital effects (changing arm lengths and Doppler frequencies), the impact of errors in the Doppler knowledge that can cause pulling of the laser frequency, and the noise limit of arm locking. Laser frequency pulling is examined in two regimes: at lock acquisition and in steady state. The noise performance of arm locking is calculated with the inclusion of the dominant expected noise sources: ultrastable oscillator (clock) noise, spacecraft motion, and shot noise. We find that clock noise and spacecraft motion limit the performance of dual arm locking in the LISA science band. Studying these issues reveals that although dual arm locking [A. Sutton and D. A. Shaddock, Phys. Rev. D 78, 082001 (2008)] has advantages over single (or common) arm locking in terms of allowing high gain, it has disadvantages in both laser frequency pulling and noise performance. We address this by proposing a modification to the dual arm-locking sensor, a hybrid of common and dual arm-locking sensors. This modified dual arm-locking sensor has the laser frequency pulling characteristics and low-frequency noise coupling of common arm locking, but retains the control system advantages of dual arm locking. We present a detailed design of an arm-locking controller and perform an analysis of the expected performance when used with and without laser prestabilization. We observe that the sensor phase changes beneficially near unity-gain frequencies of the arm-locking controller, allowing a factor of 10 more gain than previously believed, without degrading stability. With a time

Design of a multi-arm randomized clinical trial with no control arm.

Science.gov (United States)

Magaret, Amalia; Angus, Derek C; Adhikari, Neill K J; Banura, Patrick; Kissoon, Niranjan; Lawler, James V; Jacob, Shevin T

2016-01-01

Clinical trial designs that include multiple treatments are currently limited to those that perform pairwise comparisons of each investigational treatment to a single control. However, there are settings, such as the recent Ebola outbreak, in which no treatment has been demonstrated to be effective; and therefore, no standard of care exists which would serve as an appropriate control. For illustrative purposes, we focused on the care of patients presenting in austere settings with critically ill 'sepsis-like' syndromes. Our approach involves a novel algorithm for comparing mortality among arms without requiring a single fixed control. The algorithm allows poorly-performing arms to be dropped during interim analyses. Consequently, the study may be completed earlier than planned. We used simulation to determine operating characteristics for the trial and to estimate the required sample size. We present a potential study design targeting a minimal effect size of a 23% relative reduction in mortality between any pair of arms. Using estimated power and spurious significance rates from the simulated scenarios, we show that such a trial would require 2550 participants. Over a range of scenarios, our study has 80 to 99% power to select the optimal treatment. Using a fixed control design, if the control arm is least efficacious, 640 subjects would be enrolled into the least efficacious arm, while our algorithm would enroll between 170 and 430. This simulation method can be easily extended to other settings or other binary outcomes. Early dropping of arms is efficient and ethical when conducting clinical trials with multiple arms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Kinematic feedback control laws for generating natural arm movements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Donghyun; Jang, Cheongjae; Park, Frank C

2014-01-01

We propose a stochastic optimal feedback control law for generating natural robot arm motions. Our approach, inspired by the minimum variance principle of Harris and Wolpert (1998 Nature 394 780–4) and the optimal feedback control principles put forth by Todorov and Jordan (2002 Nature Neurosci. 5 1226–35) for explaining human movements, differs in two crucial respects: (i) the endpoint variance is minimized in joint space rather than Cartesian hand space, and (ii) we ignore the dynamics and instead consider only the second-order differential kinematics. The feedback control law generating the motions can be straightforwardly obtained by backward integration of a set of ordinary differential equations; these equations are obtained exactly, without any linear–quadratic approximations. The only parameters to be determined a priori are the variance scale factors, and for both the two-DOF planar arm and the seven-DOF spatial arm, a table of values is constructed based on the given initial and final arm configurations; these values are determined via an optimal fitting procedure, and consistent with existing findings about neuromuscular motor noise levels of human arm muscles. Experiments conducted with a two-link planar arm and a seven-DOF spatial arm verify that the trajectories generated by our feedback control law closely resemble human arm motions, in the sense of producing nearly straight-line hand trajectories, having bell-shaped velocity profiles, and satisfying Fitts Law. (paper)

Brain-Machine Interface Enables Bimanual Arm Movements in Monkeys

Science.gov (United States)

Ifft, Peter J.; Shokur, Solaiman; Li, Zheng; Lebedev, Mikhail A.; Nicolelis, Miguel A. L.

2014-01-01

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) are artificial systems that aim to restore sensation and movement to severely paralyzed patients. However, previous BMIs enabled only single arm functionality, and control of bimanual movements was a major challenge. Here, we developed and tested a bimanual BMI that enabled rhesus monkeys to control two avatar arms simultaneously. The bimanual BMI was based on the extracellular activity of 374–497 neurons recorded from several frontal and parietal cortical areas of both cerebral hemispheres. Cortical activity was transformed into movements of the two arms with a decoding algorithm called a 5th order unscented Kalman filter (UKF). The UKF is well-suited for BMI decoding because it accounts for both characteristics of reaching movements and their representation by cortical neurons. The UKF was trained either during a manual task performed with two joysticks or by having the monkeys passively observe the movements of avatar arms. Most cortical neurons changed their modulation patterns when both arms were engaged simultaneously. Representing the two arms jointly in a single UKF decoder resulted in improved decoding performance compared with using separate decoders for each arm. As the animals’ performance in bimanual BMI control improved over time, we observed widespread plasticity in frontal and parietal cortical areas. Neuronal representation of the avatar and reach targets was enhanced with learning, whereas pairwise correlations between neurons initially increased and then decreased. These results suggest that cortical networks may assimilate the two avatar arms through BMI control. PMID:24197735

Study on the Orion spiral arm structure by the statistical modelling method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basharina, T.S.; Pavlovskaya, E.D.; Filippova, A.A.

1980-01-01

A method of investigation of the spiral structure based on the statistical modelling methods is suggested. This method is used for the study of the Orion spiral arm. The maxima of density and the widths of the Orion arm in the direction of the areas considered for the longitude interval 55 deg - 187 deg are defined under the assumption of normal distribution of stars across the arm. The Sun is shown to be at the inner edge of the arm [ru

Nonspecific Arm Pain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Moradi

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Nonspecific activity-related arm pain is characterized by an absence of objective physical findings and symptoms that do not correspond with objective pathophysiology. Arm pain without strict diagnosis is often related to activity, work-related activity in particular, and is often seen in patients with physically demanding work. Psychological factors such as catastrophic thinking, symptoms of depression, and heightened illness concern determine a substantial percentage of the disability associated with puzzling hand and arm pains. Ergonomic modifications can help to control symptoms, but optimal health may require collaborative management incorporating psychosocial and psychological elements of illness.

Nonspecific Arm Pain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Moradi

2013-12-01

Full Text Available   Nonspecific activity-related arm pain is characterized by an absence of objective physical findings and symptoms that do not correspond with objective pathophysiology. Arm pain without strict diagnosis is often related to activity, work-related activity in particular, and is often seen in patients with physically demanding work. Psychological factors such as catastrophic thinking, symptoms of depression, and heightened illness concern determine a substantial percentage of the disability associated with puzzling hand and arm pains. Ergonomic modifications can help to control symptoms, but optimal health may require collaborative management incorporating psychosocial and psychological elements of illness.

Effects of age, sex and arm on the precision of arm position sense-left-arm superiority in healthy right-handers.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Lena; Depper, Lena; Kerkhoff, Georg

2013-01-01

Position sense is an important proprioceptive ability. Disorders of arm position sense (APS) often occur after unilateral stroke, and are associated with a negative functional outcome. In the present study we assessed horizontal APS by measuring angular deviations from a visually defined target separately for each arm in a large group of healthy subjects. We analyzed the accuracy and instability of horizontal APS as a function of age, sex and arm. Subjects were required to specify verbally the position of their unseen arm on a 0-90° circuit by comparing the current position with the target position indicated by a LED lamp, while the arm was passively moved by the examiner. Eighty-seven healthy subjects participated in the study, ranging from 20 to 77 years, subdivided into three age groups. The results revealed that APS was not a function of age or sex, but was significantly better in the non-dominant (left) arm in absolute errors (AE) but not in constant errors (CE) across all age groups of right-handed healthy subjects. This indicates a right-hemisphere superiority for left APS in right-handers and neatly fits to the more frequent and more severe left-sided body-related deficits in patients with unilateral stroke (i.e. impaired APS in left spatial neglect, somatoparaphrenia) or in individuals with abnormalities of the right cerebral hemisphere. These clinical issues will be discussed.

Arms control and disarmament

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acton, P.

1992-01-01

Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty commits each party to work towards nuclear disarmament and to negotiations to stop the nuclear arms race. All parties to the Treaty are included and a wide range of arms control and disarmament issues are covered. However the main focus at Treaty review conferences has been on nuclear disarmament by the nuclear weapon states which are party to the Treaty. This has led to bilateral United States - Soviet Union negotiations resulting in the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty in December 1987 and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) in July followed by unilateral arms control measures in September and October 1991. (UK)

Design and analysis on robotic arm for serving hazard container

Science.gov (United States)

Razali, Zol Bahri; Kader, Mohamed Mydin M. Abdul; Yi, Khoo Zern; Daud, Mohd Hisam

2017-09-01

This paper presents about design, analyses development and fabrication of robotic arm for sorting multi-material. The major problem that urges the initiation of the project is the fact that manufacturing industry is growing at relatively faster rate. Most of the company produce high load robotic arm. Less company creates light weight, and affordable robotic arm. As the result, light weight and affordable robot is developing to cover this issue. Plastic material was used to construct the body of the robotic arm, and an optical sensor was implemented to provide basic recognition of object to be carried. The robotic arm used five servomotors for overall operation; four for its joints, and one for the gripping mechanism. The gripper was designed and fabricated using Perspex due to the light weight and high strength of the material. The operation of the robotic arm was governed by Basic Stamp programming sequence and the device was expected to differentiate material and other objects based on reflective theory, and perform subsequent operations afterwards. The SolidWorks was used to model the detail design of the robotic arm, and to simulate the motion of the device.

Approche complète de développement des IPs pour les SoCs A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

CoFluent and Quartus II tools have helped us to get the different models. ... Key words : IPs – SoC - Design and Reuse – UML – System C ... nouvelles techniques de conception doivent- .... obtenir un prototype fabriqué et testé. ..... Information Technology and Control, ... A new logic circuit design methodology with UMLl.

COBE AND THE GALACTIC INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM: GEOMETRY OF THE SPIRAL ARMS FROM FIR COOLING LINES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steiman-Cameron, Thomas Y.; Wolfire, Mark; Hollenbach, David

2010-01-01

We present a new model for the spiral structure of the Milky Way based upon the essentially all-sky intensity maps of the [C II] 158 μm and [N II] 205 μm lines of the interstellar medium (ISM) obtained by the FIRAS instrument of the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), with ancillary data from the Balloon-borne Infrared Carbon Explorer, and Infrared Space Observatory. These lines are important coolants of the ISM and strong tracers of the spiral structure. The model provides the volume emissivity of these species as a function of position within the Galaxy. Two-, three-, and four-arm models are examined, using a number of spiral functional forms. Two-arm models are found to be inconsistent with the COBE/FIRAS data. A three-arm model can be constructed that reproduces the [C II] and [N II] intensity profiles along the Galactic plane. This model, however, is discounted by historical observations of the Perseus and Cygnus ( O uter ) arms. A four-arm model, with arms defined by logarithmic spiral forms, reproduce the observations extremely well. Models of the Milky Way's spiral geometry proposed from ∼1980 to the present are examined in light of the COBE data and compared with the model presented herein. The preponderance of the evidence supports the existence of four well-defined logarithmic spiral arms in the gaseous component of the ISM. We note that essentially all two-arm models proposed since the mid-1980s are based upon observations of older evolved stars. We address the question of why studies based upon observations of stellar densities yield two-arm models while models based upon observations of more traditional tracers of spiral arms, i.e., enhanced gas and dust densities, star formation, and young stellar populations, yield four-arm models.

Early secreted antigen ESAT-6 of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis promotes apoptosis of macrophages via targeting the microRNA155-SOCS1 interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shaojun; Li, Fake; Jia, Shuangrong; Zhang, Kejun; Jiang, Wenbing; Shang, Ya; Chang, Kai; Deng, Shaoli; Chen, Ming

2015-01-01

The early secreted antigenic target 6-kDa protein (ESAT-6) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) not only acts as a key player for virulence but also exhibits a strong immunotherapeutic potential against Mtb. However, little is known about the molecular basis for its potential in immunotherapy. The present study was designed to unravel the role of miRNA-155 in ESAT-6-mediated enhancement of host immunity and apoptosis in macrophages. Lentivirus-mediated miR-155 sponge and miR-155 and SOCS1 overexpression vectors were developed in macrophages. TLR2- or p65-specific siRNA knockdown was employed to silence TLR2 or p65. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting analyses were performed to determine mRNA and protein expression levels, respectively. Macrophage apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. ESAT-6 significantly increased miR-155 expression, which was dependent on TLR2/NF-κB activation in macrophages. Induced expression of miRNA-155 was required for the ESAT-6-mediated protective immune response and macrophage apoptosis. ESAT-6 promoted macrophage apoptosis by targeting the miR-155-SOCS1 pathway. The differential expression levels of TLR2, BIC, and SOCS1 were involved in regulating the immune response in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with active tuberculosis (TB) and latent TB (LTB). ESAT-6 promotes apoptosis of macrophages via targeting the miRNA155-SOCS1 interaction. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Early Secreted Antigen ESAT-6 of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Promotes Apoptosis of Macrophages via Targeting the MicroRNA155-SOCS1 Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaojun Yang

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Background: The early secreted antigenic target 6-kDa protein (ESAT-6 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb not only acts as a key player for virulence but also exhibits a strong immunotherapeutic potential against Mtb. However, little is known about the molecular basis for its potential in immunotherapy. The present study was designed to unravel the role of miRNA-155 in ESAT-6-mediated enhancement of host immunity and apoptosis in macrophages. Methods: Lentivirus-mediated miR-155 sponge and miR-155 and SOCS1 overexpression vectors were developed in macrophages. TLR2- or p65-specific siRNA knockdown was employed to silence TLR2 or p65. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting analyses were performed to determine mRNA and protein expression levels, respectively. Macrophage apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. Results: ESAT-6 significantly increased miR-155 expression, which was dependent on TLR2/NF-κB activation in macrophages. Induced expression of miRNA-155 was required for the ESAT-6-mediated protective immune response and macrophage apoptosis. ESAT-6 promoted macrophage apoptosis by targeting the miR-155-SOCS1 pathway. The differential expression levels of TLR2, BIC, and SOCS1 were involved in regulating the immune response in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with active tuberculosis (TB and latent TB (LTB. Conclusion: ESAT-6 promotes apoptosis of macrophages via targeting the miRNA155-SOCS1 interaction.

Clock generators for SOC processors circuits and architectures

CERN Document Server

Fahim, Amr

2004-01-01

This book explores the design of fully-integrated frequency synthesizers suitable for system-on-a-chip (SOC) processors. The text takes a more global design perspective in jointly examining the design space at the circuit level as well as at the architectural level. The comprehensive coverage includes summary chapters on circuit theory as well as feedback control theory relevant to the operation of phase locked loops (PLLs). On the circuit level, the discussion includes low-voltage analog design in deep submicron digital CMOS processes, effects of supply noise, substrate noise, as well device noise. On the architectural level, the discussion includes PLL analysis using continuous-time as well as discrete-time models, linear and nonlinear effects of PLL performance, and detailed analysis of locking behavior. The book provides numerous real world applications, as well as practical rules-of-thumb for modern designers to use at the system, architectural, as well as the circuit level.

Angiotensin II (AngII) induces the expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-3 in rat hypothalamus - a mechanism for desensitization of AngII signaling.

Science.gov (United States)

Torsoni, Márcio A; Carvalheira, José B; Calegari, Vivian C; Bezerra, Rosangela M N; Saad, Mário J A; Gontijo, José A; Velloso, Lício A

2004-04-01

Angiotensin II exerts a potent dypsogenic stimulus on the hypothalamus, which contributes to its centrally mediated participation in the control of water balance and blood pressure. Repetitive intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injections of angiotensin II lead to a loss of effect characterized as physiological desensitization to the peptide's action. In the present study, we demonstrate that angiotensin II induces the expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-3 via angiotensin receptor 1 (AT1) and JAK-2, mostly located at the median preoptic lateral and anterodorsal preoptic nuclei. SOCS-3 produces an inhibitory effect upon the signal transduction pathways of several cytokines and hormones that employ members of the JAK/STAT families as intermediaries. The partial inhibition of SOCS-3 translation by antisense oligonucleotide was sufficient to significantly reduce the refractoriness of repetitive i.c.v. angiotensin II injections, as evaluated by water ingestion. Thus, by acting through AT1 on the hypothalamus, angiotensin II induces the expression of SOCS-3 which, in turn, blocks further activation of the pathway and consequently leads to desensitization to angiotensin II stimuli concerning its dypsogenic effect.

An ESL Approach for Energy Consumption Analysis of Cache Memories in SoC Platforms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abel G. Silva-Filho

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The design of complex circuits as SoCs presents two great challenges to designers. One is the speeding up of system functionality modeling and the second is the implementation of the system in an architecture that meets performance and power consumption requirements. Thus, developing new high-level specification mechanisms for the reduction of the design effort with automatic architecture exploration is a necessity. This paper proposes an Electronic-System-Level (ESL approach for system modeling and cache energy consumption analysis of SoCs called PCacheEnergyAnalyzer. It uses as entry a high-level UML-2.0 profile model of the system and it generates a simulation model of a multicore platform that can be analyzed for cache tuning. PCacheEnergyAnalyzer performs static/dynamic energy consumption analysis of caches on platforms that may have different processors. Architecture exploration is achieved by letting designers choose different processors for platform generation and different mechanisms for cache optimization. PCacheEnergyAnalyzer has been validated with several applications of Mibench, Mediabench, and PowerStone benchmarks, and results show that it provides analysis with reduced simulation effort.

Insulin resistance, adipokine profile and hepatic expression of SOCS-3 gene in chronic hepatitis C.

Science.gov (United States)

Wójcik, Kamila; Jabłonowska, Elżbieta; Omulecka, Aleksandra; Piekarska, Anna

2014-08-14

To analyze adipokine concentrations, insulin resistance and hepatic expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS-3) in patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 with normal body weight, glucose and lipid profile. The study group consisted of 31 patients with chronic hepatitis C and 9 healthy subjects. Total levels of adiponectin, leptin, resistin, visfatin, omentin, osteopontin and insulin were measured using an ELISA kit. The hepatic expression of SOCS-3 was determined by the use of the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction method. Homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values were significantly higher in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients without metabolic disorders compared to healthy controls (2.24 vs 0.59, P = 0.0003). Hepatic steatosis was observed in 32.2% of patients with HCV infection and was found in patients with increased HOMA-IR index (2.81 vs 1.99, P = 0.05) and reduced adiponectin level (5.96 vs 8.37, P = 0.04). Inflammatory activity (G ≥ 2) was related to increased osteopontin concentration (34.04 vs 23.35, P = 0.03). Advanced liver fibrosis (S ≥ 2) was associated with increased levels of omentin and osteopontin (436.94 vs 360.09, P = 0.03 and 32.84 vs 20.29, P = 0.03) and reduced resistin concentration (1.40 vs 1.74, P = 0.047). No correlations were reported between adipokine profile, HOMA-IR values and hepatic expression of the SOCS-3 gene. We speculated that no relationship between adipokines and HOMA-IR values may indicate that HCV can induce insulin resistance itself. Some adipokines appear to be biochemical markers of steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis in patients with chronic HCV infection. © 2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.

Reassignment of Drosophila willistoni Genome Scaffolds to Chromosome II Arms.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, Carolina; Delprat, Alejandra; Ruiz, Alfredo; Valente, Vera L S

2015-10-04

Drosophila willistoni is a geographically widespread Neotropical species. The genome of strain Gd-H4-1 from Guadeloupe Island (Caribbean) was sequenced in 2007 as part of the 12 Drosophila Genomes Project. The assembled scaffolds were joined based on conserved linkage and assigned to polytene chromosomes based on a handful of genetic and physical markers. This paucity of markers was particularly striking in the metacentric chromosome II, comprised two similarly sized arms, IIL and IIR, traditionally considered homologous to Muller elements C and B, respectively. In this paper we present the cytological mapping of 22 new gene markers to increase the number of markers mapped by in situ hybridization and to test the assignment of scaffolds to the polytene chromosome II arms. For this purpose, we generated, by polymerase chain reaction amplification, one or two gene probes from each scaffold assigned to the chromosome II arms and mapped these probes to the Gd-H4-1 strain's polytene chromosomes by nonfluorescent in situ hybridization. Our findings show that chromosome arms IIL and IIR correspond to Muller elements B and C, respectively, directly contrasting the current homology assignments in D. willistoni and constituting a major reassignment of the scaffolds to chromosome II arms. Copyright © 2015 Garcia et al.

The effect of differential training-based occupational therapy on hand and arm function in patients after stroke: Results of the pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Repšaitė, Viktorija; Vainoras, Alfonsas; Berškienė, Kristina; Baltaduonienė, Daiva; Daunoravičienė, Algė; Sendžikaitė, Ernesta

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of differential training-based occupational therapy on the recovery of arm function and to compare these data with the results obtained after conventional occupational therapy. A total of 27 patients who had suffered a cerebral infarction in the left brain hemisphere were recruited for the study. There were 9 men (33.33%) and 18 women (66.67%). All the patients had paresis of the right arm. The patients were divided into 2 groups: the control group comprised 15 patients who were given conventional occupational therapy (5 times per week) and the study group consisted of 12 patients who underwent conventional occupational therapy (3 times per week) along with occupational therapy based on differential training (2 times per week). In the control group, the mean performance time of only 2 tasks, i.e., flip cards and fold towel, improved significantly (Poccupational therapy sessions, but the patients who underwent conventional occupational therapy along with differential training-based occupational therapy recovered their arm function more effectively than their counterparts after conventional occupational therapy. Copyright © 2015 Polish Neurological Society. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.

Model-based sensorimotor integration for multi-joint control: development of a virtual arm model.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, D; Lan, N; Loeb, G E; Gordon, J

2008-06-01

An integrated, sensorimotor virtual arm (VA) model has been developed and validated for simulation studies of control of human arm movements. Realistic anatomical features of shoulder, elbow and forearm joints were captured with a graphic modeling environment, SIMM. The model included 15 musculotendon elements acting at the shoulder, elbow and forearm. Muscle actions on joints were evaluated by SIMM generated moment arms that were matched to experimentally measured profiles. The Virtual Muscle (VM) model contained appropriate admixture of slow and fast twitch fibers with realistic physiological properties for force production. A realistic spindle model was embedded in each VM with inputs of fascicle length, gamma static (gamma(stat)) and dynamic (gamma(dyn)) controls and outputs of primary (I(a)) and secondary (II) afferents. A piecewise linear model of Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO) represented the ensemble sampling (I(b)) of the total muscle force at the tendon. All model components were integrated into a Simulink block using a special software tool. The complete VA model was validated with open-loop simulation at discrete hand positions within the full range of alpha and gamma drives to extrafusal and intrafusal muscle fibers. The model behaviors were consistent with a wide variety of physiological phenomena. Spindle afferents were effectively modulated by fusimotor drives and hand positions of the arm. These simulations validated the VA model as a computational tool for studying arm movement control. The VA model is available to researchers at website http://pt.usc.edu/cel .

SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS A 10-bit 200-kS/s SAR ADC IP core for a touch screen SoC

Science.gov (United States)

Xingyuan, Tong; Yintang, Yang; Zhangming, Zhu; Wenfang, Sheng

2010-10-01

Based on a 5 MSBs (most-significant-bits)-plus-5 LSBs (least-significant-bits) C-R hybrid D/A conversion and low-offset pseudo-differential comparison approach, with capacitor array axially symmetric layout topology and resistor string low gradient mismatch placement method, an 8-channel 10-bit 200-kS/s SAR ADC (successive-approximation-register analog-to-digital converter) IP core for a touch screen SoC (system-on-chip) is implemented in a 0.18 μm 1P5M CMOS logic process. Design considerations for the touch screen SAR ADC are included. With a 1.8 V power supply, the DNL (differential non-linearity) and INL (integral non-linearity) of this converter are measured to be about 0.32 LSB and 0.81 LSB respectively. With an input frequency of 91 kHz at 200-kS/s sampling rate, the spurious-free dynamic range and effective-number-of-bits are measured to be 63.2 dB and 9.15 bits respectively, and the power is about 136 μW. This converter occupies an area of about 0.08 mm2. The design results show that it is very suitable for touch screen SoC applications.

The effects of a home-based arm ergometry exercise programme on physical fitness, fatigue and activity in polio survivors: protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murray Deirdre

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Many Polio survivors have reduced mobility, pain and fatigue, which make access to conventional forms of aerobic exercise difficult. Inactivity leads to increased risk of health problems, many of which are prevalent among Polio survivors. Aerobic exercise programmes in Polio survivors should utilise stable muscle groups and should be designed to minimise exacerbation of pain and fatigue. A home-based arm ergometry aerobic exercise programme may represent an affordable and accessible exercise modality, incorporating exercise prescription principles in this group. Methods/design This is a prospective, single blinded, randomised controlled trial. There are two arms; exercise intervention using arm ergometers and control. Polio survivors meeting eligibility criteria will be recruited and randomly allocated to intervention or control groups. Participants allocated to the intervention group will receive a small arm ergometer and a polar heart rate monitor. They will carry out a home-based moderate intensity (50-70% HRMax aerobic exercise programme for eight weeks, following instruction by the treating physiotherapist. Assessments will occur at baseline and after eight weeks and will include tests of physical fitness, activity, energy cost of walking, fatigue and quality of life. Clinically feasible assessment tools including the Six Minute Arm Test, the Physical Activity Scale for People with Physical Disabilities questionnaire, the Physiological Cost Index, Fatigue Severity Scale and the SF-36v2 will be utilised. Discussion The efficacy of a home-based arm ergometry programme in Polio survivors will be examined. No previous trial has examined such a programme using a wide range of outcome measures pertinent to Polio survivors. This study will provide new information on the impact of arm ergometry on physical fitness, activity, body composition, fatigue, pain, muscle strength, and health related quality of life. Also, the study

Understanding the conventional arms trade

Science.gov (United States)

Stohl, Rachel

2017-11-01

The global conventional arms trade is worth tens of billions of dollars every year and is engaged in by every country in the world. Yet, it is often difficult to control the legal trade in conventional arms and there is a thriving illicit market, willing to arm unscrupulous regimes and nefarious non-state actors. This chapter examines the international conventional arms trade, the range of tools that have been used to control it, and challenges to these international regimes.

Community Readiness Within Systems of Care: The Validity and Reliability of the System of Care Readiness and Implementation Measurement Scale (SOC-RIMS).

Science.gov (United States)

Rosas, Scott R; Behar, Lenore B; Hydaker, William M

2016-01-01

Establishing a system of care requires communities to identify ways to successfully implement strategies and support positive outcomes for children and their families. Such community transformation is complex and communities vary in terms of their readiness for implementing sustainable community interventions. Assessing community readiness and guiding implementation, specifically for the funded communities implementing a system of care, requires a well-designed tool with sound psychometric properties. This scale development study used the results of a previously published concept mapping study to create, administer, and assess the psychometric characteristics of the System of Care Readiness and Implementation Measurement Scale (SOC-RIMS). The results indicate the SOC-RIMS possesses excellent internal consistency characteristics, measures clearly discernible dimensions of community readiness, and demonstrates the target constructs exist within a broad network of content. The SOC-RIMS can be a useful part of a comprehensive assessment in communities where system of care practices, principles, and philosophies are implemented and evaluated.

Macrobend optical sensing for pose measurement in soft robot arms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sareh, Sina; Noh, Yohan; Liu, Hongbin; Althoefer, Kaspar; Li, Min; Ranzani, Tommaso

2015-01-01

This paper introduces a pose-sensing system for soft robot arms integrating a set of macrobend stretch sensors. The macrobend sensory design in this study consists of optical fibres and is based on the notion that bending an optical fibre modulates the intensity of the light transmitted through the fibre. This sensing method is capable of measuring bending, elongation and compression in soft continuum robots and is also applicable to wearable sensing technologies, e.g. pose sensing in the wrist joint of a human hand. In our arrangement, applied to a cylindrical soft robot arm, the optical fibres for macrobend sensing originate from the base, extend to the tip of the arm, and then loop back to the base. The connectors that link the fibres to the necessary opto-electronics are all placed at the base of the arm, resulting in a simplified overall design. The ability of this custom macrobend stretch sensor to flexibly adapt its configuration allows preserving the inherent softness and compliance of the robot which it is installed on. The macrobend sensing system is immune to electrical noise and magnetic fields, is safe (because no electricity is needed at the sensing site), and is suitable for modular implementation in multi-link soft continuum robotic arms. The measurable light outputs of the proposed stretch sensor vary due to bend-induced light attenuation (macrobend loss), which is a function of the fibre bend radius as well as the number of repeated turns. The experimental study conducted as part of this research revealed that the chosen bend radius has a far greater impact on the measured light intensity values than the number of turns (if greater than five). Taking into account that the bend radius is the only significantly influencing design parameter, the macrobend stretch sensors were developed to create a practical solution to the pose sensing in soft continuum robot arms. Henceforward, the proposed sensing design was benchmarked against an electromagnetic

A Biomechanical Model of Single-joint Arm Movement Control Based on the Equilibrium Point Hypothesis

OpenAIRE

Masataka, SUZUKI; Yoshihiko, YAMAZAKI; Yumiko, TANIGUCHI; Department of Psychology, Kinjo Gakuin University; Department of Health and Physical Education, Nagoya Institute of Technology; College of Human Life and Environment, Kinjo Gakuin University

2003-01-01

SUZUKI,M., YAMAZAKI,Y. and TANIGUCHI,Y., A Biomechanical Model of Single-joint Arm Movement Control Based on the Equilibrium Point Hypothesis. Adv. Exerc. Sports Physiol., Vol.9, No.1 pp.7-25, 2003. According to the equilibrium point hypothesis of motor control, control action of muscles is not explicitly computed, but rather arises as a consequence of interaction among moving equilibrium point, reflex feedback and muscle mechanical properties. This approach is attractive as it obviates the n...

Digital approach for the design of statistical analog data acquisition on SoCs

OpenAIRE

Adao Antonio de Souza Junior

2005-01-01

With the current demand for mixed-signal SoCs, an increasing number of designers are looking for ADC architectures that can be easily implemented over digital substrates. Since ADC performance is strongly dependent upon physical and electrical features, it gets more difficult for them to benefit from more recent technologies, where these features are more variable. This way, analog signal acquisition is not allowed to follow an evolutionary trend compatible with Moore’s Law. In fact, such tre...

Comments on "Precise model measurements versus theoretical prediction of barrier insertion loss in presence of the ground" [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 73, 44–54 (1983)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Karsten Bo

1983-01-01

Some of the theoretical curves in the article by J. Nicolas et al. [J. Acoust. soc. Am. 73, 44–54 (1983)] appear to be erroneous.......Some of the theoretical curves in the article by J. Nicolas et al. [J. Acoust. soc. Am. 73, 44–54 (1983)] appear to be erroneous....

The design of remote intelligent terminal based on ARM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Bin; Liu Zixin

2014-01-01

This paper introduces the function and principle of the remote intelligent terminal. It was designed on SmartARM 2200, uses uC/OS-II operating system and MiniGUI. And then,it gives a method to realize it. Introduces the work flow of remote intelligent terminal, and the function module of the system are analyzed in detail, and then the terminal of the principle has carried on the preliminary study. (authors)

Student measurement of blood pressure using a simulator arm compared with a live subject's arm.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jennifer J; Sobieraj, Diana M; Kuti, Effie L

2010-06-15

To compare accuracy of blood pressure measurements using a live subject and a simulator arm, and to determine students' preferences regarding measurement. This was a crossover study comparing blood pressure measurements from a live subject and a simulator arm. Students completed an anonymous survey instrument defining opinions on ease of measurement. Fifty-seven students completed blood pressure measurements on live subjects while 72 students completed blood pressure measurements using the simulator arm. There were no significant systematic differences between the 2 measurement techniques. Systolic blood pressure measurements from a live subject arm were less likely to be within 4 mm Hg compared with measurements of a simulator arm. Diastolic blood pressure measurements were not significantly different between the 2 techniques. Accuracy of student measurement of blood pressure using a simulator arm was similar to the accuracy with a live subject. There was no difference in students' preferences regarding measurement techniques.

Synthesis of Mikto-Arm Star Peptide Conjugates.

Science.gov (United States)

Koo, Jin Mo; Su, Hao; Lin, Yi-An; Cui, Honggang

2018-01-01

Mikto-arm star peptide conjugates are an emerging class of self-assembling peptide-based structural units that contain three or more auxiliary segments of different chemical compositions and/or functionalities. This group of molecules exhibit interesting self-assembly behavior in solution due to their chemically asymmetric topology. Here we describe the detailed procedure for synthesis of an ABC Mikto-arm star peptide conjugate in which two immiscible entities (a saturated hydrocarbon and a hydrophobic and lipophobic fluorocarbon) are conjugated onto a short β-sheet forming peptide sequence, GNNQQNY, derived from the Sup35 prion, through a lysine junction. Automated and manual Fmoc-solid phase synthesis techniques are used to synthesize the Mikto-arm star peptide conjugates, followed by HPLC purification. We envision that this set of protocols can afford a versatile platform to synthesize a new class of peptidic building units for diverse applications.

Reduced expression of TAC1, PENK and SOCS2 in Hcrtr-2 mutated narcoleptic dog brain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mignot Emmanuel

2007-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Narcolepsy causes dramatic behavioral alterations in both humans and dogs, with excessive sleepiness and cataplexy triggered by emotional stimuli. Deficiencies in the hypocretin system are well established as the origin of the condition; both from studies in humans who lack the hypocretin ligand (HCRT and in dogs with a mutation in hypocretin receptor 2 (HCRTR2. However, little is known about molecular alterations downstream of the hypocretin signals. Results By using microarray technology we have screened the expression of 29760 genes in the brains of Doberman dogs with a heritable form of narcolepsy (homozygous for the canarc-1 [HCRTR-2-2] mutation, and their unaffected heterozygous siblings. We identified two neuropeptide precursor molecules, Tachykinin precursor 1 (TAC1 and Proenkephalin (PENK, that together with Suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2, showed reduced expression in narcoleptic brains. The difference was particularly pronounced in the amygdala, where mRNA levels of PENK were 6.2 fold lower in narcoleptic dogs than in heterozygous siblings, and TAC1 and SOCS2 showed 4.4 fold and 2.8 fold decrease in expression, respectively. The results obtained from microarray experiments were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR. Interestingly, it was previously shown that a single dose of amphetamine-like stimulants able to increase wakefulness in the dogs, also produce an increase in the expression of both TAC1 and PENK in mice. Conclusion These results suggest that TAC1, PENK and SOCS2 might be intimately connected with the excessive daytime sleepiness not only in dogs, but also in other species, possibly including humans.

Borehole tool outrigger arm displacement control mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, A.G.

1985-01-01

As the outrigger arms of a borehole logging tool are flexed inwardly and outwardly according to the diameter of the borehole opening through which they pass, the corresponding axial displacements of the ends of the arms are controlled to determine the axial positions of the arms relative to the tool. Specifically, as the arm ends move, they are caused to rotate by a cam mechanism. The stiffness of the arms causes the arm ends to rotate in unison, and the exact positions of the arms on the tool are then controlled by the differential movements of the arm ends in the cams

Optimal arm posture control and tendon traction forces of a coupled tendon-driven manipulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Shugen

1997-01-01

In this study, the optimum arm posture of a coupled tendon-driven multijoint manipulator arm (or CT Arm) at maximum payload output was derived and the corresponding tendon traction forces were also analyzed, during management of a heavy payload by the manipulator in a gravity environment. The CT Arm is special tendon traction transmission mechanism in which a pair of tendons used to drive a joint is pulled from base actuators via pulleys mounted on the base-side joints. This mechanism enables optimal utilization of the coupled drive function of tendon traction forces and thus enables the lightweight manipulator to exhibit large payload capability. The properties of the CT Arm mechanism are elucidated by the proposed optimal posture control scheme. Computer simulation was also executed to verify the validity of the proposed control scheme. (author)

Nonparetic arm force does not overinhibit the paretic arm in chronic poststroke hemiparesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Dimyan, Michael A; Perez, Monica A; Auh, Sungyoung; Tarula, Erick; Wilson, Matthew; Cohen, Leonardo G

2014-05-01

To determine whether nonparetic arm force overinhibits the paretic arm in patients with chronic unilateral poststroke hemiparesis. Case-control neurophysiological and behavioral study of patients with chronic stroke. Research institution. Eighty-six referred patients were screened to enroll 9 participants (N=9) with a >6 month history of 1 unilateral ischemic infarct that resulted in arm hemiparesis with residual ability to produce 1Nm of wrist flexion torque and without contraindication to transcranial magnetic stimulation. Eight age- and handedness-matched healthy volunteers without neurologic diagnosis were studied for comparison. Not applicable. Change in interhemispheric inhibition targeting the ipsilesional primary motor cortex (M1) during nonparetic arm force. We hypothesized that interhemispheric inhibition would increase more in healthy controls than in patients with hemiparesis. Healthy age-matched controls had significantly greater increases in inhibition from their active to resting M1 than patients with stroke from their active contralesional to resting ipsilesional M1 in the same scenario (20%±7% vs -1%±4%, F1,12=6.61, P=.025). Patients with greater increases in contralesional to ipsilesional inhibition were better performers on the 9-hole peg test of paretic arm function. Our findings reveal that producing force with the nonparetic arm does not necessarily overinhibit the paretic arm. Though our study is limited in generalizability by the small sample size, we found that greater active contralesional to resting ipsilesional M1 inhibition was related with better recovery in this subset of patients with chronic poststroke. Copyright © 2014 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Study for lung sound acquisition module based on ARM and Linux].

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Qiang; Li, Wenfeng; Zhang, Xixue; Li, Junmin; Liu, Longqing

2011-07-01

A acquisition module with ARM and Linux as a core was developed. This paper presents the hardware configuration and the software design. It is shown that the module can extract human lung sound reliably and effectively.

Armed guards on vessels : insurance and liability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mišo Mudrić

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The Paper examines the insurance and liability issues resulting from the use of armed guards on board vessels. The study begins with an overview of the available data on key economic fi gures representing the projected overall annual costs of modern piracy. The focus is then shifted to the issue of public versus private security, where possible dangers of private-based security options are discussed in general. After explaining why the Somalia region deserves a closer attention when compared to other pirate-infested waters, a brief summary of the international effort to combat piracy threat is presented, followed by a structured overview of the use of private maritime security options in the maritime sector in general. One security option is the use of armed guards on board vessels. This option is explored both from the political (the acceptance by stakeholders and legal standpoint (legal issues arising from the use of armed guards. An important remedy for the shipping companies/ operators threatened by the piracy hazard is the existence of affordable and effective (specialized marine insurance. A study of available piracy insurance policies is presented, followed by an analysis of case law and other legal issues arising from piracy attacks, which could prove important when considering the legal implications of armed guards employment. Finally, a simplifi ed economic analysis of available security options is presented, followed by the final assessment of benefi ts derived from the use of armed guards.

3D Embedded Reconfigurable SoC for Expediting Magnetometric Space Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Dekoulis, George

2016-07-01

This paper describes the development of a state-of-the-art three-dimensional embedded reconfigurable System-on-Chip (SoC) for accelerating the design of future magnetometric space missions. This involves measurements of planetary magnetic fields or measurements of heliospheric physics events' signatures superimposed on the aggregate measurements of the stronger planetary fields. The functionality of the embedded core is fully customizable, therefore, its operation is independent of the magnetic sensor being used. Standard calibration procedures still apply for setting the magnetometer measurements to the desired initial state and removing any seriatim interference inferred by the adjacent environment. The system acts as a pathfinder for future high-resolution heliospheric space missions.

Study of Reversible Logic Synthesis with Application in SOC: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Chinmay; Pahuja, Hitesh; Dadhwal, Mandeep; Singh, Balwinder

2017-08-01

The prime concern in today’s SOC designs is the power dissipation which increases with technology scaling. The reversible logic possesses very high potential in reducing power dissipation in these designs. It finds its application in latest research fields such as DNA computing, quantum computing, ultra-low power CMOS design and nanotechnology. The reversible circuits can be easily designed using the conventional CMOS technology at a cost of a garbage output which maintains the reversibility. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the developments that have occurred till date in this concept and how the new reversible logic gates are used to design the logic functions.

Protein Interaction Screening for the Ankyrin Repeats and Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling (SOCS) Box (ASB) Family Identify Asb11 as a Novel Endoplasmic Reticulum Resident Ubiquitin Ligase

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andresen, Christina Aaen; Smedegaard, Stine; Sylvestersen, Kathrine Beck

2014-01-01

The Ankyrin and SOCS (Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling) box (ASB) family of proteins function as the substrate recognition subunit in a subset of Elongin-Cullin-SOCS (ECS) E3 ubiquitin ligases. Despite counting with 18 members in humans, the identity of the physiological targets of the Asb protei...

Observation of self-organized criticality (SOC) behavior during edge biasing experiment on TEXTOR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Y.H.; Jachmich, S.; Weynants, R.R. [Ecole Royale Militaire/Koninklijke Militaire School, Laboratory for Plasma Physics, Euratom-Belgian State Association, Brussels, Belgium, Partner in the Trilateral Euregio Cluster (Belgium)

2004-07-01

The self-organized criticality (SOC) behavior of the edge plasma transport has been investigated using the fluctuation data measured in the plasma edge and the scrape-off layer of TEXTOR tokamak before and during the edge electrode biasing experiments. In the 'non-shear' discharge phase before biasing, both the potential and density fluctuations clearly exhibit some of the characteristics associated with SOC: (1) existence of f{sup -1} power-law dependence in the frequency spectrum, (2) slowly decaying long tails in the autocorrelation function, (3) values of Hurst parameters larger than 0.5 at all the detected radial locations, (4) non-Gaussian probability density function of fluctuations and (5) radial propagation of avalanche-like events in the edge plasma area. During the biasing phase, with the generation of an edge radial electric field E{sub r} and hence a sheared E{sub r} x B flow, the local turbulence is found to be well de-correlated by the E{sub r} x B velocity shear, consistent with theoretical predictions. Nevertheless, it is concomitantly found that the Hurst parameters are substantially enhanced in the negative flow shear region and in the scrape-off layer as well, which is contrary to theoretical expectation. Implication of these observations to our understanding of plasma transport mechanisms is discussed. (authors)

Detachment of Tertiary Dendrite Arms during Controlled Directional Solidification in Aluminum - 7 wt Percent Silicon Alloys: Observations from Ground-based and Microgravity Processed Samples

Science.gov (United States)

Grugel, Richard N.; Erdman, Robert; Van Hoose, James R.; Tewari, Surendra; Poirier, David

2012-01-01

Electron Back Scattered Diffraction results from cross-sections of directionally solidified aluminum 7wt% silicon alloys unexpectedly revealed tertiary dendrite arms that were detached and mis-oriented from their parent arm. More surprisingly, the same phenomenon was observed in a sample similarly processed in the quiescent microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in support of the joint US-European MICAST investigation. The work presented here includes a brief introduction to MICAST and the directional solidification facilities, and their capabilities, available aboard the ISS. Results from the ground-based and microgravity processed samples are compared and possible mechanisms for the observed tertiary arm detachment are suggested.

Cost-effectiveness of gammaCore (non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation) for acute treatment of episodic cluster headache.

Science.gov (United States)

Mwamburi, Mkaya; Liebler, Eric J; Tenaglia, Andrew T

2017-11-01

Cluster headache is a debilitating disease characterized by excruciatingly painful attacks that affects 0.15% to 0.4% of the US population. Episodic cluster headache manifests as circadian and circannual seasonal bouts of attacks, each lasting 15 to 180 minutes, with periods of remission. In chronic cluster headache, the attacks occur throughout the year with no periods of remission. While existing treatments are effective for some patients, many patients continue to suffer. There are only 2 FDA-approved medications for episodic cluster headache in the United States, while others, such as high-flow oxygen, are used off-label. Episodic cluster headache is associated with comorbidities and affects work, productivity, and daily functioning. The economic burden of episodic cluster headache is considerable, costing more than twice that of nonheadache patients. gammaCore adjunct to standard of care (SoC) was found to have superior efficacy in treatment of acute episodic cluster headaches compared with sham-gammaCore used with SoC in ACT1 and ACT2 trials. However, the economic impact has not been characterized for this indication. We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of gammaCore adjunct to SoC compared with SoC alone for the treatment of acute pain associated with episodic cluster headache attacks. The model structure was based on treatment of acute attacks with 3 outcomes: failures, nonresponders, and responders. The time horizon of the model is 1 year using a payer perspective with uncertainty incorporated. Parameter inputs were derived from primary data from the randomized controlled trials for gammaCore. The mean annual costs associated with the gammaCore-plus-SoC arm was $9510, and mean costs for the SoC-alone arm was $10,040. The mean quality-adjusted life years for gammaCore-plus-SoC arm were 0.83, and for the SoC-alone arm, they were 0.74. The gammaCore-plus-SoC arm was dominant over SoC alone. All 1-way and multiway sensitivity analyses were cost

ARM Cloud Radar Simulator Package for Global Climate Models Value-Added Product

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Yuying [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Xie, Shaocheng [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2017-05-01

It has been challenging to directly compare U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility ground-based cloud radar measurements with climate model output because of limitations or features of the observing processes and the spatial gap between model and the single-point measurements. To facilitate the use of ARM radar data in numerical models, an ARM cloud radar simulator was developed to converts model data into pseudo-ARM cloud radar observations that mimic the instrument view of a narrow atmospheric column (as compared to a large global climate model [GCM] grid-cell), thus allowing meaningful comparison between model output and ARM cloud observations. The ARM cloud radar simulator value-added product (VAP) was developed based on the CloudSat simulator contained in the community satellite simulator package, the Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP) Observation Simulator Package (COSP) (Bodas-Salcedo et al., 2011), which has been widely used in climate model evaluation with satellite data (Klein et al., 2013, Zhang et al., 2010). The essential part of the CloudSat simulator is the QuickBeam radar simulator that is used to produce CloudSat-like radar reflectivity, but is capable of simulating reflectivity for other radars (Marchand et al., 2009; Haynes et al., 2007). Adapting QuickBeam to the ARM cloud radar simulator within COSP required two primary changes: one was to set the frequency to 35 GHz for the ARM Ka-band cloud radar, as opposed to 94 GHz used for the CloudSat W-band radar, and the second was to invert the view from the ground to space so as to attenuate the beam correctly. In addition, the ARM cloud radar simulator uses a finer vertical resolution (100 m compared to 500 m for CloudSat) to resolve the more detailed structure of clouds captured by the ARM radars. The ARM simulator has been developed following the COSP workflow (Figure 1) and using the capabilities available in COSP

Nature of galaxy spiral arms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Efremov, Yu.N.

1984-01-01

The nature of galaxy spiral arms is discussed in a popular form. Two approaches in the theory of spiral arms are considered; they are related to the problem of differential galaxy rotation and the spiral structure wave theory. The example of Galaxy M31 is considered to compare the structural peculiarity of its spiral arms with the wave theory predictions. The situation in the central and south-eastern part of arm S4 in Galaxy M31 noted to be completely explained by the wave theory and modern concepts on the origin of massive stars

Arms races between and within species.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawkins, R; Krebs, J R

1979-09-21

An adaptation in one lineage (e.g. predators) may change the selection pressure on another lineage (e.g. prey), giving rise to a counter-adaptation. If this occurs reciprocally, an unstable runaway escalation or 'arms race' may result. We discuss various factors which might give one side an advantage in an arms race. For example, a lineage under strong selection may out-evolve a weakly selected one (' the life-dinner principle'). We then classify arms races in two independent ways. They may be symmetric or asymmetric, and they may be interspecific or intraspecific. Our example of an asymmetric interspecific arms race is that between brood parasites and their hosts. The arms race concept may help to reduce the mystery of why cuckoo hosts are so good at detecting cuckoo eggs, but so bad at detecting cuckoo nestlings. The evolutionary contest between queen and worker ants over relative parental investment is a good example of an intraspecific asymmetric arms race. Such cases raise special problems because the participants share the same gene pool. Interspecific symmetric arms races are unlikely to be important, because competitors tend to diverge rather than escalate competitive adaptations. Intraspecific symmetric arms races, exemplified by adaptations for male-male competition, may underlie Cope's Rule and even the extinction of lineages. Finally we consider ways in which arms races can end. One lineage may drive the other to extinction; one may reach an optimum, thereby preventing the other from doing so; a particularly interesting possibility, exemplified by flower-bee coevolution, is that both sides may reach a mutual local optimum; lastly, arms races may have no stable and but may cycle continuously. We do not wish necessarily to suggest that all, or even most, evolutionary change results from arms races, but we do suggest that the arms race concept may help to resolve three long-standing questions in evolutionary theory.

Design and Implementation of Pointer-Type Multi Meters Intelligent Recognition Device Based on ARM Platform

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Yang; Luo, Wang; Fan, Qiang; Peng, Qiwei; Cai, Yiting; Yao, Yiyang; Xu, Changfu

2018-01-01

This paper adopts a low power consumption ARM Hisilicon mobile processing platform and OV4689 camera, combined with a new skeleton extraction based on distance transform algorithm and the improved Hough algorithm for multi meters real-time reading. The design and implementation of the device were completed. Experimental results shows that The average error of measurement was 0.005MPa, and the average reading time was 5s. The device had good stability and high accuracy which meets the needs of practical application.

JPRS Report Arms Control

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1993-01-01

Table of Contents: (1) COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES - (A) GENERAL Flaws in U.S.-Russian SSD Agreement Viewed, Khariton - Espionage Not Crucial in Soviet Nuclear Arms Development, Further on Espionage Role in Nuclear Arms Projects...

Positioning the laparoscopic camera with industrial robot arm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Capolei, Marie Claire; Wu, Haiyan; Andersen, Nils Axel

2017-01-01

This paper introduces a solution for the movement control of the laparoscopic camera employing a teleoperated robotic assistant. The project propose an autonomous robotic solution based on an industrial manipulator, provided with a modular software which is applicable to large scale. The robot arm...... industrial robot arm is designated to accomplish this manipulation task. The software is implemented in ROS in order to facilitate future extensions. The experimental results shows a manipulator capable of moving fast and smoothly the surgical tool around a remote center of motion....

High precision detector robot arm system

Science.gov (United States)

Shu, Deming; Chu, Yong

2017-01-31

A method and high precision robot arm system are provided, for example, for X-ray nanodiffraction with an X-ray nanoprobe. The robot arm system includes duo-vertical-stages and a kinematic linkage system. A two-dimensional (2D) vertical plane ultra-precision robot arm supporting an X-ray detector provides positioning and manipulating of the X-ray detector. A vertical support for the 2D vertical plane robot arm includes spaced apart rails respectively engaging a first bearing structure and a second bearing structure carried by the 2D vertical plane robot arm.

Science Plan for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-02-01

The purpose of this Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Science Plan is to articulate the scientific issues driving the ARM Program, and to relate them to DOE's programmatic objectives for ARM, based on the experience and scientific progress gained over the past five years. ARM programmatic objectives are to: (1) Relate observed radiative fluxes and radiances in the atmosphere, spectrally resolved and as a function of position and time, to the temperature and composition of the atmosphere, specifically including water vapor and clouds, and to surface properties, and sample sufficient variety of situations so as to span a wide range of climatologically relevant possibilities; (2) develop and test parameterizations that can be used to accurately predict the radiative properties and to model the radiative interactions involving water vapor and clouds within the atmosphere, with the objective of incorporating these parameterizations into general circulation models. The primary observational methods remote sending and other observations at the surface, particularly remote sensing of clouds, water vapor and aerosols

Algorithms for Unequal-Arm Michelson Interferometers

Science.gov (United States)

Giampieri, Giacomo; Hellings, Ronald W.; Tinto, Massimo; Bender, Peter L.; Faller, James E.

1994-01-01

A method of data acquisition and data analysis is described in which the performance of Michelson-type interferometers with unequal arms can be made nearly the same as interferometers with equal arms. The method requires a separate readout of the relative phase in each arm, made by interfering the returning beam in each arm with a fraction of the outgoing beam.

Accuracy of x-ray image-based 3D localization from two C-arm views: a comparison between an ideal system and a real device

Science.gov (United States)

Brost, Alexander; Strobel, Norbert; Yatziv, Liron; Gilson, Wesley; Meyer, Bernhard; Hornegger, Joachim; Lewin, Jonathan; Wacker, Frank

2009-02-01

arm X-ray imaging devices are commonly used for minimally invasive cardiovascular or other interventional procedures. Calibrated state-of-the-art systems can, however, not only be used for 2D imaging but also for three-dimensional reconstruction either using tomographic techniques or even stereotactic approaches. To evaluate the accuracy of X-ray object localization from two views, a simulation study assuming an ideal imaging geometry was carried out first. This was backed up with a phantom experiment involving a real C-arm angiography system. Both studies were based on a phantom comprising five point objects. These point objects were projected onto a flat-panel detector under different C-arm view positions. The resulting 2D positions were perturbed by adding Gaussian noise to simulate 2D point localization errors. In the next step, 3D point positions were triangulated from two views. A 3D error was computed by taking differences between the reconstructed 3D positions using the perturbed 2D positions and the initial 3D positions of the five points. This experiment was repeated for various C-arm angulations involving angular differences ranging from 15° to 165°. The smallest 3D reconstruction error was achieved, as expected, by views that were 90° degrees apart. In this case, the simulation study yielded a 3D error of 0.82 mm +/- 0.24 mm (mean +/- standard deviation) for 2D noise with a standard deviation of 1.232 mm (4 detector pixels). The experimental result for this view configuration obtained on an AXIOM Artis C-arm (Siemens AG, Healthcare Sector, Forchheim, Germany) system was 0.98 mm +/- 0.29 mm, respectively. These results show that state-of-the-art C-arm systems can localize instruments with millimeter accuracy, and that they can accomplish this almost as well as an idealized theoretical counterpart. High stereotactic localization accuracy, good patient access, and CT-like 3D imaging capabilities render state-of-the-art C-arm systems ideal devices for X

Kinematics and control of redundant robotic arm based on dielectric elastomer actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Branz, Francesco; Antonello, Andrea; Carron, Andrea; Carli, Ruggero; Francesconi, Alessandro

2015-04-01

Soft robotics is a promising field and its application to space mechanisms could represent a breakthrough in space technologies by enabling new operative scenarios (e.g. soft manipulators, capture systems). Dielectric Elastomers Actuators have been under deep study for a number of years and have shown several advantages that could be of key importance for space applications. Among such advantages the most notable are high conversion efficiency, distributed actuation, self-sensing capability, multi-degree-of-freedom design, light weight and low cost. The big potentialities of double cone actuators have been proven in terms of good performances (i.e. stroke and force/torque), ease of manufacturing and durability. In this work the kinematic, dynamic and control design of a two-joint redundant robotic arm is presented. Two double cone actuators are assembled in series to form a two-link design. Each joint has two degrees of freedom (one rotational and one translational) for a total of four. The arm is designed to move in a 2-D environment (i.e. the horizontal plane) with 4 DoF, consequently having two degrees of redundancy. The redundancy is exploited in order to minimize the joint loads. The kinematic design with redundant Jacobian inversion is presented. The selected control algorithm is described along with the results of a number of dynamic simulations that have been executed for performance verification. Finally, an experimental setup is presented based on a flexible structure that counteracts gravity during testing in order to better emulate future zero-gravity applications.

FY1995 development of artificial arm 'SMART ARM' by spherical ultrasonic motor; 1995 nendo kyumen choonpa motor wo mochiita jinko gishu smart arm no kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

The project has an intention of development of new type artificial arm by spherical ultrasonic motor. We have succeeded in developing new type of spherical ultrasonic motor with three DOF. And we have succeeded in applying the motor to an artificial arm. This arm have advantages of small size, low weight torque comparing with conventional ones. We demonstrated them the new arm behaved well and it had good controlabilty. (NEDO)

Octopus-inspired multi-arm robotic swimming.

Science.gov (United States)

Sfakiotakis, M; Kazakidi, A; Tsakiris, D P

2015-05-13

The outstanding locomotor and manipulation characteristics of the octopus have recently inspired the development, by our group, of multi-functional robotic swimmers, featuring both manipulation and locomotion capabilities, which could be of significant engineering interest in underwater applications. During its little-studied arm-swimming behavior, as opposed to the better known jetting via the siphon, the animal appears to generate considerable propulsive thrust and rapid acceleration, predominantly employing movements of its arms. In this work, we capture the fundamental characteristics of the corresponding complex pattern of arm motion by a sculling profile, involving a fast power stroke and a slow recovery stroke. We investigate the propulsive capabilities of a multi-arm robotic system under various swimming gaits, namely patterns of arm coordination, which achieve the generation of forward, as well as backward, propulsion and turning. A lumped-element model of the robotic swimmer, which considers arm compliance and the interaction with the aquatic environment, was used to study the characteristics of these gaits, the effect of various kinematic parameters on propulsion, and the generation of complex trajectories. This investigation focuses on relatively high-stiffness arms. Experiments employing a compliant-body robotic prototype swimmer with eight compliant arms, all made of polyurethane, inside a water tank, successfully demonstrated this novel mode of underwater propulsion. Speeds of up to 0.26 body lengths per second (approximately 100 mm s(-1)), and propulsive forces of up to 3.5 N were achieved, with a non-dimensional cost of transport of 1.42 with all eight arms and of 0.9 with only two active arms. The experiments confirmed the computational results and verified the multi-arm maneuverability and simultaneous object grasping capability of such systems.

Adaptive online state-of-charge determination based on neuro-controller and neural network

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shen Yanqing, E-mail: network_hawk@126.co [Department of Automation, Chongqing Industry Polytechnic College, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing 400050 (China)

2010-05-15

This paper presents a novel approach using adaptive artificial neural network based model and neuro-controller for online cell State of Charge (SOC) determination. Taking cell SOC as model's predictive control input unit, radial basis function neural network, which can adjust its structure to prediction error with recursive least square algorithm, is used to simulate battery system. Besides that, neuro-controller based on Back-Propagation Neural Network (BPNN) and modified PID controller is used to decide the control input of battery system, i.e., cell SOC. Finally this algorithm is applied for the SOC determination of lead-acid batteries, and results of lab tests on physical cells, compared with model prediction, are presented. Results show that the ANN based battery system model adaptively simulates battery system with great accuracy, and the predicted SOC simultaneously converges to the real value quickly within the error of +-1 as time goes on.

Influence of Battery Parametric Uncertainties on the State-of-Charge Estimation of Lithium Titanate Oxide-Based Batteries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stroe, Ana-Irina; Meng, Jinhao; Stroe, Daniel-Ioan

2018-01-01

to describe the battery dynamics. The SOC estimation method proposed in this paper is based on an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and nonlinear battery model which was parameterized using extended laboratory tests performed on several 13 Ah lithium titanate oxide (LTO)-based lithium-ion batteries. The developed......State of charge (SOC) is one of the most important parameters in battery management systems, as it indicates the available battery capacity at every moment. There are numerous battery model-based methods used for SOC estimation, the accuracy of which depends on the accuracy of the model considered...... a sensitivity analysis it was showed that the SOC and voltage estimation error are only slightly dependent on the variation of the battery model parameters with the SOC....

Stereotypical reaching movements of the octopus involve both bend propagation and arm elongation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanassy, S; Botvinnik, A; Flash, T; Hochner, B

2015-05-13

The bend propagation involved in the stereotypical reaching movement of the octopus arm has been extensively studied. While these studies have analyzed the kinematics of bend propagation along the arm during its extension, possible length changes have been ignored. Here, the elongation profiles of the reaching movements of Octopus vulgaris were assessed using three-dimensional reconstructions. The analysis revealed that, in addition to bend propagation, arm extension movements involve elongation of the proximal part of the arm, i.e., the section from the base of the arm to the propagating bend. The elongations are quite substantial and highly variable, ranging from an average strain along the arm of -0.12 (i.e. shortening) up to 1.8 at the end of the movement (0.57 ± 0.41, n = 64 movements, four animals). Less variability was discovered in an additional set of experiments on reaching movements (0.64 ± 0.28, n = 30 movements, two animals), where target and octopus positions were kept more stationary. Visual observation and subsequent kinematic analysis suggest that the reaching movements can be broadly segregated into two groups. The first group involves bend propagation beginning at the base of the arm and propagating towards the arm tip. In the second, the bend is formed or present more distally and reaching is achieved mainly by elongation and straightening of the segment proximal to the bend. Only in the second type of movements is elongation significantly positively correlated with the distance of the bend from the target. We suggest that reaching towards a target is generated by a combination of both propagation of a bend along the arm and arm elongation. These two motor primitives may be combined to create a broad spectrum of reaching movements. The dynamical model, which recapitulates the biomechanics of the octopus muscular hydrostatic arm, suggests that achieving the observed elongation requires an extremely low ratio of longitudinal to transverse muscle

Arm Motion Recognition and Exercise Coaching System for Remote Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong Zeng

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Arm motion recognition and its related applications have become a promising human computer interaction modal due to the rapid integration of numerical sensors in modern mobile-phones. We implement a mobile-phone-based arm motion recognition and exercise coaching system that can help people carrying mobile-phones to do body exercising anywhere at any time, especially for the persons that have very limited spare time and are constantly traveling across cities. We first design improved k-means algorithm to cluster the collecting 3-axis acceleration and gyroscope data of person actions into basic motions. A learning method based on Hidden Markov Model is then designed to classify and recognize continuous arm motions of both learners and coaches, which also measures the action similarities between the persons. We implement the system on MIUI 2S mobile-phone and evaluate the system performance and its accuracy of recognition.

SOCS3 deficiency in leptin receptor-expressing cells mitigates the development of pregnancy-induced metabolic changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thais T. Zampieri

2015-03-01

Conclusions: Our study identified the increased hypothalamic expression of SOCS3 as a key mechanism responsible for triggering pregnancy-induced leptin resistance and metabolic adaptations. These findings not only help to explain a common phenomenon of the mammalian physiology, but it may also aid in the development of approaches to prevent and treat gestational metabolic imbalances.

Experimental Test Rig for Optimal Control of Flexible Space Robotic Arms

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-01

the test bed design. A single link arm with a torsional, helical spring at the base was finalized to investigate the effects of coupling due to...test bed design. A single link arm with a torsional, helical spring at the base was finalized to investigate the effects of coupling due to movement...Source: [4]. A challenge with space systems is that it costs a lot of money to put a satellite or spacecraft into space. Estimates to send one kilogram

Synthesis and self-assembly of four-armed star copolymer based on poly(ethylene brassylate) hydrophobic block as potential drug carries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Jiucun, E-mail: chenjc@swu.edu.cn; Li, Junzhi; Liu, Jianhua; Weng, Bo; Xu, Liqun [Southwest University, Institute for Clean Energy & Advanced Materials (China)

2016-05-15

A novel well-defined four-armed star poly(ethylene brassylate)-b-poly(poly(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate) (s-PEB-b-P(PEGMA)) was synthesized and self-assembled via the combination of ring-opening polymerization and reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT) in this work. It proceeded firstly with the synthesis of hydrophobic four-armed star homopolymer of ethylene brassylate (EB) via ROP with organic catalyst, followed by the esterification reaction of s-PEB with chain transfer agent. Afterward, RAFT polymerization of PEGMA monomer was initialed using PEB-based macro-RAFT agent, resulting in the target amphiphilic four-armed star copolymer. The obtained s-PEB-b-P(PEGMA) can assemble into micelles with PEB segments as core and P(PEGMA) segments as shell in aqueous solution. The self-assembly behavior was studied by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscope. The micelles of s-PEB-b-P(PEGMA) exhibited higher loading capacity of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). The investigation of DOX release from the micelles demonstrated that the release rate of the hydrophobic drug could be effectively controlled.Graphical Abstract.

Optimal Control of Holding Motion by Nonprehensile Two-Cooperative-Arm Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Changan Jiang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Recently, more researchers have focused on nursing-care assistant robot and placed their hope on it to solve the shortage problem of the caregivers in hospital or nursing home. In this paper, a nonprehensile two-cooperative-arm robot is considered to realize holding motion to keep a two-rigid-link object (regarded as a care-receiver stable on the robot arms. By applying Newton-Euler equations of motion, dynamic model of the object is obtained. In this model, for describing interaction behavior between object and robot arms in the normal direction, a viscoelastic model is employed to represent the normal forces. Considering existence of friction between object and robot arms, LuGre dynamic model is applied to describe the friction. Based on the obtained model, an optimal regulator is designed to control the holding motion of two-cooperative-arm robot. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, simulation results are shown.

Virtual Reality Aided Positioning of Mobile C-Arms for Image-Guided Surgery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhenzhou Shao

2014-06-01

Full Text Available For the image-guided surgery, the positioning of mobile C-arms is a key technique to take X-ray images in a desired pose for the confirmation of current surgical outcome. Unfortunately, surgeons and patient often suffer the radiation exposure due to the repeated imaging when the X-ray image is of poor quality or not captured at a good projection view. In this paper, a virtual reality (VR aided positioning method for the mobile C-arm is proposed by the alignment of 3D surface model of region of interest and preoperative anatomy, so that a reference pose of the mobile C-arm with respect to the inside anatomy can be figured out from outside view. It allows a one-time imaging from the outside view to greatly reduce the additional radiation exposure. To control the mobile C-arm to the desired pose, the mobile C-arm is modeled as a robotic arm with a movable base. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the accuracy of appearance model and precision of mobile C-arm positioning. The appearance model was reconstructed with the average error of 2.16 mm. One-time imaging of mobile C-arm was achieved, and new modeling of mobile C-arm with 8 DoFs enlarges the working space in the operating room.

Security and arms control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolodziej, E.A.; Morgan, P.M.

1989-01-01

This book attempts to clarify and define selected current issues and problems related to security and arms control from an international perspective. The chapters are organized under the following headings. Conflict and the international system, Nuclear deterrence, Conventional warfare, Subconventional conflict, Arms control and crisis management

Version of the galaxy spiral structure model with opposite-directed arms and inter-arm links

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dolidze, M V [AN Gruzinskoj SSR, Abastumani. Abastumanskaya Astrofizicheskaya Observatoriya

1963-05-01

An attempt is made to explain some peculiarities of the local spiral structure and large-scale distribution of HII regions in the Galaxy by coexistence of the trailing and leading arm systems of different power and development. The existence of opposite-directed arms and inter-arm links in the circular zone (5-15 kpc) is analysed from the point of view of different Galaxy models.

The development of a general purpose ARM-based processing unit for the ATLAS TileCal sROD

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, M. A.; Reed, R.; Mellado, B.

2015-01-01

After Phase-II upgrades in 2022, the data output from the LHC ATLAS Tile Calorimeter will increase significantly. ARM processors are common in mobile devices due to their low cost, low energy consumption and high performance. It is proposed that a cost-effective, high data throughput Processing Unit (PU) can be developed by using several consumer ARM processors in a cluster configuration to allow aggregated processing performance and data throughput while maintaining minimal software design difficulty for the end-user. This PU could be used for a variety of high-level functions on the high-throughput raw data such as spectral analysis and histograms to detect possible issues in the detector at a low level. High-throughput I/O interfaces are not typical in consumer ARM System on Chips but high data throughput capabilities are feasible via the novel use of PCI-Express as the I/O interface to the ARM processors. An overview of the PU is given and the results for performance and throughput testing of four different ARM Cortex System on Chips are presented.

The development of a general purpose ARM-based processing unit for the ATLAS TileCal sROD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cox, M A; Reed, R; Mellado, B

2015-01-01

After Phase-II upgrades in 2022, the data output from the LHC ATLAS Tile Calorimeter will increase significantly. ARM processors are common in mobile devices due to their low cost, low energy consumption and high performance. It is proposed that a cost-effective, high data throughput Processing Unit (PU) can be developed by using several consumer ARM processors in a cluster configuration to allow aggregated processing performance and data throughput while maintaining minimal software design difficulty for the end-user. This PU could be used for a variety of high-level functions on the high-throughput raw data such as spectral analysis and histograms to detect possible issues in the detector at a low level. High-throughput I/O interfaces are not typical in consumer ARM System on Chips but high data throughput capabilities are feasible via the novel use of PCI-Express as the I/O interface to the ARM processors. An overview of the PU is given and the results for performance and throughput testing of four different ARM Cortex System on Chips are presented

Spiral-arm instability: giant clump formation via fragmentation of a galactic spiral arm

Science.gov (United States)

Inoue, Shigeki; Yoshida, Naoki

2018-03-01

Fragmentation of a spiral arm is thought to drive the formation of giant clumps in galaxies. Using linear perturbation analysis for self-gravitating spiral arms, we derive an instability parameter and define the conditions for clump formation. We extend our analysis to multicomponent systems that consist of gas and stars in an external potential. We then perform numerical simulations of isolated disc galaxies with isothermal gas, and compare the results with the prediction of our analytic model. Our model describes accurately the evolution of the spiral arms in our simulations, even when spiral arms dynamically interact with one another. We show that most of the giant clumps formed in the simulated disc galaxies satisfy the instability condition. The clump masses predicted by our model are in agreement with the simulation results, but the growth time-scale of unstable perturbations is overestimated by a factor of a few. We also apply our instability analysis to derive scaling relations of clump properties. The expected scaling relation between the clump size, velocity dispersion, and circular velocity is slightly different from that given by the Toomre instability analyses, but neither is inconsistent with currently available observations. We argue that the spiral-arm instability is a viable formation mechanism of giant clumps in gas-rich disc galaxies.

Sensor-based whole-arm obstacle avoidance utilizing ASIC technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wintenberg, A.L.; Ericson, M.N.; Babcock, S.M.; Armstrong, G.A.; Britton, C.L. Jr.; Butler, P.L.; Hamel, W.R.; Newport, D.F.

1993-01-01

Operation of manipulator systems in poorly defined work environments often presents a significant hazard to both the robotic assembly and the environment. In applications relating to the Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (ER ampersand WM) Program, many of the environments are considered hazardous, both, in the structure and composition of the environment Use of a sensing system that provides information to the manipulator control unit regarding obstacles in close proximity will provide protection against collisions. In this paper, a hierarchical design and implementation of a whole-arm obstacle avoidance system is presented. The system is based on capacitive sensors configured as bracelets for proximity sensing. Each bracelet contains a number of sensor nodes and a processor for sensor node control and readout, and communications with a higher level host, common to all bracelets. The host controls the entire sensing network and communicates proximity information to the manipulator controller. The overall architecture of this system is discussed with detail on the individual system modules. Details of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed to implement the sensor node electronics are presented. Justifications for the general measurement methods and associated implementation are discussed. Additionally, the current state of development including measured dam is presented

Increasing cognitive load attenuates right arm swing in healthy human walking

Science.gov (United States)

Killeen, Tim; Easthope, Christopher S.; Filli, Linard; Lőrincz, Lilla; Schrafl-Altermatt, Miriam; Brugger, Peter; Linnebank, Michael; Curt, Armin; Zörner, Björn; Bolliger, Marc

2017-01-01

Human arm swing looks and feels highly automated, yet it is increasingly apparent that higher centres, including the cortex, are involved in many aspects of locomotor control. The addition of a cognitive task increases arm swing asymmetry during walking, but the characteristics and mechanism of this asymmetry are unclear. We hypothesized that this effect is lateralized and a Stroop word-colour naming task-primarily involving left hemisphere structures-would reduce right arm swing only. We recorded gait in 83 healthy subjects aged 18-80 walking normally on a treadmill and while performing a congruent and incongruent Stroop task. The primary measure of arm swing asymmetry-an index based on both three-dimensional wrist trajectories in which positive values indicate proportionally smaller movements on the right-increased significantly under dual-task conditions in those aged 40-59 and further still in the over-60s, driven by reduced right arm flexion. Right arm swing attenuation appears to be the norm in humans performing a locomotor-cognitive dual-task, confirming a prominent role of the brain in locomotor behaviour. Women under 60 are surprisingly resistant to this effect, revealing unexpected gender differences atop the hierarchical chain of locomotor control.

Debugging systems-on-chip communication-centric and abstraction-based techniques

CERN Document Server

Vermeulen, Bart

2014-01-01

This book describes an approach and supporting infrastructure to facilitate debugging the silicon implementation of a System-on-Chip (SOC), allowing its associated product to be introduced into the market more quickly.  Readers learn step-by-step the key requirements for debugging a modern, silicon SOC implementation, nine factors that complicate this debugging task, and a new debug approach that addresses these requirements and complicating factors.  The authors’ novel communication-centric, scan-based, abstraction-based, run/stop-based (CSAR) debug approach is discussed in detail, showing how it helps to meet debug requirements and address the nine, previously identified factors that complicate debugging silicon implementations of SOCs. The authors also derive the debug infrastructure requirements to support debugging of a silicon implementation of an SOC with their CSAR debug approach. This debug infrastructure consists of a generic on-chip debug architecture, a configurable automated design-for-debug ...

A 6.45 μW Self-Powered SoC With Integrated Energy-Harvesting Power Management and ULP Asymmetric Radios for Portable Biomedical Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Abhishek; Klinefelter, Alicia; Yahya, Farah B; Chen, Xing; Gonzalez-Guerrero, Luisa Patricia; Lukas, Christopher J; Kamakshi, Divya Akella; Boley, James; Craig, Kyle; Faisal, Muhammad; Oh, Seunghyun; Roberts, Nathan E; Shakhsheer, Yousef; Shrivastava, Aatmesh; Vasudevan, Dilip P; Wentzloff, David D; Calhoun, Benton H

2015-12-01

This paper presents a batteryless system-on-chip (SoC) that operates off energy harvested from indoor solar cells and/or thermoelectric generators (TEGs) on the body. Fabricated in a commercial 0.13 μW process, this SoC sensing platform consists of an integrated energy harvesting and power management unit (EH-PMU) with maximum power point tracking, multiple sensing modalities, programmable core and a low power microcontroller with several hardware accelerators to enable energy-efficient digital signal processing, ultra-low-power (ULP) asymmetric radios for wireless transmission, and a 100 nW wake-up radio. The EH-PMU achieves a peak end-to-end efficiency of 75% delivering power to a 100 μA load. In an example motion detection application, the SoC reads data from an accelerometer through SPI, processes it, and sends it over the radio. The SPI and digital processing consume only 2.27 μW, while the integrated radio consumes 4.18 μW when transmitting at 187.5 kbps for a total of 6.45 μW.

Research on Miniature Calibre Rail-Guns for the Mechanical Arm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronggang Cao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Rail-gun should not only be used to military applications, but also can be developed as applications in the civilian aspects of the market. With the development of the electromagnetic launch technology, based on the similarity theory, using the existing rail-gun model to guide the construction of more economical miniature calibre rail-guns, and apply it in some machinery and equipment, this idea will open up a wider rail-gun application space. This article will focus on the feasibility of application of miniature calibre rail-guns in the mechanical arm. This paper designs the schematic diagram, then theoretical analyzes force conditions of the armature in the mechanical arm, calculates the possible range of the current amplitude and so on. The existing rail-gun model can be used to guides design the circuit diagram of the miniature calibre rail-gun. Based on the similarity theory and many simulation experiments, designed the experimental parameters of a miniature rail-gun and analyzed the current, Lorentz force, velocity, and location of the existing rail-gun and miniature rail-gun. The results show that the rail-gun launching technology applied to robot arms is feasibility. The application of miniature calibre rail-guns in the mechanical arm will benefit to the further development of rail-guns.

Manual input device for controlling a robot arm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, P.J.; Siva, K.V.

1990-01-01

A six-axis input device, eg joystick, is supported by a mechanism which enables the joystick to be aligned with any desired orientation, eg parallel to the tool. The mechanism can then be locked to provide a rigid support of the joystick. The mechanism may include three pivotal joints whose axes are perpendicular, each incorporating a clutch. The clutches may be electromagnetic or mechanical and may be operable jointly or independently. The robot arm comprises a base rotatable about a vertical axis, an upper arm, a forearm and a tool or grip rotatable about three perpendicular axes relative to the forearm. (author)

The Impact of Strong Cathodic Polarization on SOC Electrolyte Materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kreka, Kosova; Hansen, Karin Vels; Jacobsen, Torben

2016-01-01

One of the most promising reversible energy conversion/storage technologies is that of Solid Oxide Fuel/Electrolysis Cells (SOFC/SOEC, collectively termed SOC). Long term durability is typically required for such devises to become economically feasible, hence considerable amount of work has...... of impurities at the grain boundaries, electrode poisoning, delamination or cracks of the electrolyte etc., have been observed in cells operated at such conditions, lowering the lifetime of the cell1,2. High polarizations are observed at the electrolyte/cathode interface of an electrolysis cell operated at high...... current density. In case of a cell voltage above 1.6 V, p-type and n-type electronic conductivity are often observed at the anode and cathode respectively3. Hence, a considerable part of the current is lost as leakage through the electrolyte, thus lowering the efficiency of the cell considerably....

Tc-99m-Human Serum Albumin Transit Time as a Measure of Arm Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toyserkani, Navid M; Hvidsten, Svend; Tabatabaeifar, Siavosh

2017-01-01

34-68 years, with unilateral arm lymphedema following breast cancer treatment underwent bilateral lymphoscintigraphy using intradermal injection in both hands of technetium-99m-labeled human serum albumin and sequential 5 min imaging for 5 hours. The mean transit time (MTT) in the arms was calculated...... based on time activity curves generated from injection site and arm regions. Visual lymphedema scoring was performed based on dermal backflow and lymph node presence. Excess arm volume was calculated from circumference measurements. RESULTS: The MTT (mean ± SD) was significantly longer in the lymphedema...

Hypomethylation of inflammatory genes (COX2, EGR1, and SOCS3) and increased urinary 8-nitroguanine in arsenic-exposed newborns and children

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Phookphan, Preeyaphan; Navasumrit, Panida [Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, Chulabhorn Research Institute, Laksi, Bangkok (Thailand); Post-graduate Program in Environmental Toxicology, Chulabhorn Graduate Institute, Laksi, Bangkok (Thailand); Center of Excellence on Environmental Health, Toxicology (EHT), Office of the Higher Education Commission, Ministry of Education (Thailand); Waraprasit, Somchamai; Promvijit, Jeerawan; Chaisatra, Krittinee; Ngaotepprutaram, Thitirat [Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, Chulabhorn Research Institute, Laksi, Bangkok (Thailand); Ruchirawat, Mathuros, E-mail: mathuros@cri.or.th [Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, Chulabhorn Research Institute, Laksi, Bangkok (Thailand); Center of Excellence on Environmental Health, Toxicology (EHT), Office of the Higher Education Commission, Ministry of Education (Thailand)

2017-02-01

Early-life exposure to arsenic increases risk of developing a variety of non-malignant and malignant diseases. Arsenic-induced carcinogenesis may be mediated through epigenetic mechanisms and pathways leading to inflammation. Our previous study reported that prenatal arsenic exposure leads to increased mRNA expression of several genes related to inflammation, including COX2, EGR1, and SOCS3. This study aimed to investigate the effects of arsenic exposure on promoter DNA methylation and mRNA expression of these inflammatory genes (COX2, EGR1, and SOCS3), as well as the generation of 8-nitroguanine, which is a mutagenic DNA lesion involved in inflammation-related carcinogenesis. Prenatally arsenic-exposed newborns had promoter hypomethylation of COX2, EGR1, and SOCS3 in cord blood lymphocytes (p < 0.01). A follow-up study in these prenatally arsenic-exposed children showed a significant hypomethylation of these genes in salivary DNA (p < 0.01). In vitro experiments confirmed that arsenite treatment at short-term high doses (10–100 μM) and long-term low doses (0.5–1 μM) in human lymphoblasts (RPMI 1788) caused promoter hypomethylation of these genes, which was in concordance with an increase in their mRNA expression. Additionally, the level of urinary 8-nitroguanine was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in exposed newborns and children, by 1.4- and 1.8-fold, respectively. Arsenic accumulation in toenails was negatively correlated with hypomethylation of these genes and positively correlated with levels of 8-nitroguanine. These results indicated that early-life exposure to arsenic causes hypomethylation of COX2, EGR1, and SOCS3, increases mRNA expression of these genes, and increases 8-nitroguanine formation. These effects may be linked to mechanisms of arsenic-induced inflammation and cancer development later in life. - Highlight: • Early-life arsenic exposure caused promoter hypomethylation of COX2, EGR1 and SOCS3. • Hypomethylation of these genes is

Hypomethylation of inflammatory genes (COX2, EGR1, and SOCS3) and increased urinary 8-nitroguanine in arsenic-exposed newborns and children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phookphan, Preeyaphan; Navasumrit, Panida; Waraprasit, Somchamai; Promvijit, Jeerawan; Chaisatra, Krittinee; Ngaotepprutaram, Thitirat; Ruchirawat, Mathuros

2017-01-01

Early-life exposure to arsenic increases risk of developing a variety of non-malignant and malignant diseases. Arsenic-induced carcinogenesis may be mediated through epigenetic mechanisms and pathways leading to inflammation. Our previous study reported that prenatal arsenic exposure leads to increased mRNA expression of several genes related to inflammation, including COX2, EGR1, and SOCS3. This study aimed to investigate the effects of arsenic exposure on promoter DNA methylation and mRNA expression of these inflammatory genes (COX2, EGR1, and SOCS3), as well as the generation of 8-nitroguanine, which is a mutagenic DNA lesion involved in inflammation-related carcinogenesis. Prenatally arsenic-exposed newborns had promoter hypomethylation of COX2, EGR1, and SOCS3 in cord blood lymphocytes (p < 0.01). A follow-up study in these prenatally arsenic-exposed children showed a significant hypomethylation of these genes in salivary DNA (p < 0.01). In vitro experiments confirmed that arsenite treatment at short-term high doses (10–100 μM) and long-term low doses (0.5–1 μM) in human lymphoblasts (RPMI 1788) caused promoter hypomethylation of these genes, which was in concordance with an increase in their mRNA expression. Additionally, the level of urinary 8-nitroguanine was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in exposed newborns and children, by 1.4- and 1.8-fold, respectively. Arsenic accumulation in toenails was negatively correlated with hypomethylation of these genes and positively correlated with levels of 8-nitroguanine. These results indicated that early-life exposure to arsenic causes hypomethylation of COX2, EGR1, and SOCS3, increases mRNA expression of these genes, and increases 8-nitroguanine formation. These effects may be linked to mechanisms of arsenic-induced inflammation and cancer development later in life. - Highlight: • Early-life arsenic exposure caused promoter hypomethylation of COX2, EGR1 and SOCS3. • Hypomethylation of these genes is

Swivel arm perimeter for visual field testing in different body positions.

Science.gov (United States)

Flammer, J; Hendrickson, P; Lietz, A; Stümpfig, D

1993-01-01

To investigate the influence of body position on visual field results, a 'swivel arm perimeter' was built, based on a modified Octopus 1-2-3. Here, the measuring unit was detected from the control unit and mounted on a swivel arm, allowing its movement in all directions. The first results obtained with this device have indicated that its development was worthwhile.

Sensor-based whole-arm obstacle avoidance for unstructured environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wintenberg, AL.; Butler, P.L.; Babcock, S.M.; Ericson, M.N.; Britton, C.L. Jr.; Hamel, W.R.

1992-01-01

Whole-arm obstacle avoidance is needed for a variety of robotic applications in the Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (ER ampersand WM) Program. Typical industrial applications of robotics involve well-defined work spaces, allowing a predetermined knowledge of collision-free paths for manipulator motion. In the unstructured or poorly defined hazardous environments of the ER ampersand WM program, the potential for significant problems resulting from collisions between manipulators and the environment in which they are utilized is great. A sensing system under development, which will provide protection against such collisions, is described in this paper

Egr2 enhances insulin resistance via JAK2/STAT3/SOCS-1 pathway in HepG2 cells treated with palmitate.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Lin; Ye, Xinhua; Yao, Qing; Lu, Aijiao; Zhao, Zhen; Ding, Yang; Meng, Chuchen; Yu, Wenlong; Du, Yunfeng; Cheng, JinLuo

2018-05-01

Insulin resistance is generally responsible for the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Early growth response proteins-2 (Egr2) has been reported to be able to increase the expression of the suppressors of cytokine signaling-1 (SOCS-1), and impair insulin signaling pathway through suppression of insulin receptor substrates (IRS), including IRS-1 and IRS-2. However, whether Egr2 is directly involved in the development of insulin resistance, and how its potential contributions to insulin resistance still remain unknown. Here, our present investigation found that the expression levels of Egr2 were up-regulated when insulin resistance occurs, and knockdown of Egr2 abolished the effect of insulin resistance in HepG2 cells induced with palmitate (PA). Importantly, inhibition of Egr2 decreased the expression of SOCS-1 as well as reduced phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT3. And, our data indicated that silencing of Egr2 accelerated hepatic glucose uptake and reversed the impaired lipid metabolism upon insulin resistance. In summary, the present study confirms that Egr2 could deteriorate insulin resistance via the pathway of JAK2/STAT3/SOCS-1 and may shed light on resolving insulin resistance and further the pathogenesis of T2DM. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Unified Approach for Reporting ARM Measurement Uncertainties Technical Report: Updated in 2016

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sisterson, Douglas [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2017-01-15

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility is observationally based, and quantifying the uncertainty of its measurements is critically important. With over 300 widely differing instruments providing over 2,500 datastreams, concise expression of measurement uncertainty is quite challenging. ARM currently provides data and supporting metadata (information about the data or data quality) to its users through several sources. Because the continued success of the ARM Facility depends on the known quality of its measurements, ARM relies on Instrument Mentors and the ARM Data Quality Office to ensure, assess, and report measurement quality. Therefore, an easily accessible, well-articulated estimate of ARM measurement uncertainty is needed. This report is a continuation of the work presented by Campos and Sisterson (2015) and provides additional uncertainty information from instruments not available in their report. As before, a total measurement uncertainty has been calculated as a function of the instrument uncertainty (calibration factors), the field uncertainty (environmental factors), and the retrieval uncertainty (algorithm factors). This study will not expand on methods for computing these uncertainties. As before, it will focus on the practical identification, characterization, and inventory of the measurement uncertainties already available to the ARM community through the ARM Instrument Mentors and their ARM instrument handbooks. This study continues the first steps towards reporting ARM measurement uncertainty as: (1) identifying how the uncertainty of individual ARM measurements is currently expressed, (2) identifying a consistent approach to measurement uncertainty, and then (3) reclassifying ARM instrument measurement uncertainties in a common framework.

Coordinating a Service Supply Chain under Arms Offset Program’s Intervention by Performance-Based Contracting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi-Kuei Lin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates a support service supply chain for coordinating with a local third-party logistics provider by arms offset program’s intervention and develops a performance-based contracting framework for the coordinating problem, which remains scarce in the literatures. The performance-based contracting framework evaluates payments and profits for the support service by a game-theoretical approach with principal-agent model. We prove that the proposed framework is an effective tool in acquiring the balance between maximum profit and minimum payment for both parties in the coordinating problem without moral hazard issue. A numerical study consolidates the formulated schemes as contracting preference for both parties’ decision with a higher profit margin at a lower customer’s payment.

Hardware design of HIRFL-CSR EVMEbus controller based on ARM920T

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jing Lan; Qian Weimin; Xu Yang; Ji Peng; Liu Caihong; Ma Yunhai

2006-01-01

The HIRFL-CSR EVMEbus controller is developed in IMP. The controller is based on AT91RM9200 (ARM9) microprocessor, which is in 0.8 mm BGA package. The controller runs LINUX OS, and can connect with standard VGA display, keyboard, and mouse. There are 10 M/100 M Ethernet, USB, RS-232, RS-485 and CANBUS interfaces on the board. Itr supports storage devices SD Card and CF Card. The backboard interface logic is programmed in VHDL and is programmed into an in-system configurable FPGA device. The bus can drive high current up to 64 mA. It is not only compliant to VME specification, but also has flexibility of the programmable signal definition. Being a key module in HIRFL-CSR control system, the controller can be used as a local controller and also a remote gateway controller. (authors)

A low-noise measurement system for scanning thermal microscopy resistive nanoprobes based on a transformer ratio-arm bridge