Extended rotation-free shell triangles with transverse shear deformation effects

The paper extends recent work of the authors to include transverse shear effects on rotation-free triangular element for plates (O?ate and Zárate in Int J Numer Methods Eng 83(2):196–227, 2010). Two new shell triangular elements are presented, the EBST+ and the EBST+1. Transverse shear deformation effects are important for thick shells, as well when the shell is laminated or formed by composite material. The ingredients for the element formulation are: a Hu-Washizu type mixed functional and linear interpolation for the displacement field. In both elements presented a finite volume approach is used for computing the bending moments and the curvatures over a patch of elements. The nodal translational degrees of freedom of the original enhanced basic shell triangle (EBST) are extended with the two shear deformation angles via two different approaches. The first one uses a linear interpolation of the rotation angles inside the element (EBST+) and the second one assumes a constant field for the rotation angles (EBST+1). For the thin shell case the shear angles vanish and the new elements reproduce the good behaviour of the original thin EBST element. As a consequence the elements can reproduce the solutions for thick to thin shells situations without exhibiting shear locking. The numerical solution for the thick shell case can be found iteratively starting from the deflection values for the Kirchhoff theory using the original thin EBST element. Examples of the good performance of the new rotation-free shell triangles are given.     

A systematic graph-based method for the kinematic synthesis of non-anthropomorphic wearable robots for the lower limbs

The choice of non-anthropomorphic kinematic solutions for wearable robots is motivated both by the necessity of improving the ergonomics of physical Human-Robot Interaction and by the chance of exploiting the intrinsic dynamical properties of the robotic structure so to improve its performances. Under these aspects, this new class of robotic solutions is potentially advantageous over the one of anthropomorphic robotic orthoses. However, the process of kinematic synthesis of non-anthropomorphic wearable robots can be too complex to be solved uniquely by relying on conventional synthesis methods, due to the large number of open design parameters. A systematic approach can be useful for this purpose, since it allows to obtain the complete list of independent kinematic solutions with desired properties. In this perspective, this paper presents a method, which allows to generalize the problem of kinematic synthesis of a non-anthropomorphic wearable robot for the assistance of a specified set of contiguous body segments. The methodology also includes two novel tests, specifically devised to solve the problem of enumeration of kinematic structures of wearable robots: the HR-isomorphism and the HR-degeneracy tests. This method has been implemented to derive the atlas of independent kinematic solutions suitable to be used for the kinematic design of a planar wearable robot for the lower limbs.     

Carbon nanotube-based nanocarriers: the importance of keeping it clean

Nanotechnology-introduced materials have promising applications as nanocarriers for drugs, peptides, proteins and nucleic acids. Several studies showed that the geometry (shape and size) and chemical properties of nanoparticles affect the kinetics and pathways of cellular uptake and their intracellular trafficking and signaling. Accurate physico-chemical characterization of nanoparticles customarily precedes their use in cell biology and in vivo experiments. However, a fact that is easily overlooked is that nanomaterials decorated with organic matter or resuspended in aqueous buffers can be theoretically contaminated by fungal and bacterial microorganisms. While investigating the effects of extensively characterized PEGylated carbon nanotubes (PNTs) on T lymphocyte activation, we demonstrated bacterial contamination of PNTs, which correlated with low reproducibility and artifacts in cell signaling assays. Contamination and artifacts were easily eliminated by preparing the materials in sterile conditions. We propose that simple sterile preparation procedures should be adopted and sterility evaluation of nanoparticles should be customarily performed, prior to assessing nanoparticle intracellular internalization, trafficking and their effects on cells and entire organisms.     

The variable sample size variable dimension T2 control chart

In this paper, we describe the development of the variable dimension and variable sample size T² control chart (VSSVDT²), which is an enhancement of the variable dimension T² chart (VDT²). In the VDT² control chart, the number of variables that are measured to compute the T² statistic is made variable. Some of the variables are easy or inexpensive to measure and are always monitored. The variables that are more difficult or expensive to measure are measured only when the T² value from the previous sample exceeds a specified threshold. The VDT² control chart performs well for moderate and large shifts in the mean vector. However, its performance for small shifts is poor. To improve the chart’s performance in detecting such shifts, we propose the application of the variable sample size technique to the VDT² control chart, resulting in the VSSVDT² control chart. To promote the use of the VSSVDT² chart, a user-friendly software has been developed, which the final user can use to find the best parameters of the VSSVDT² chart for a particular process.     

Computing Open-Loop Optimal Control of the q-Profile in Ramp-Up Tokamak Plasmas Using the Minimal-Surface Theory

The q-profile control problem in the ramp-up phase of plasma discharges is consid- ered in this work. The magnetic diffusion partial differential equation (PDE) models the dynamics of the poloidal magnetic flux profile, which is used in this work to formulate a PDE-constrained op- timization problem under a quasi-static assumption. The minimum surface theory and constrained numeric optimization are then applied to achieve suboptimal solutions. Since the transient dy- namics is pre-given by the minimum surface theory, then this method can dramatically accelerate the solution process. In order to be robust under external uncertainties in real implementations, PID (proportional-integral-derivative) controllers are used to force the actuators to follow the computational input trajectories. It has the potential to implement in real-time for long time discharges by combining this method with the magnetic equilibrium update.     

Influence of the pH on the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide under hydrothermal conditions

Here we describe the important role played by the pH on the morphology and structure of the reduced graphite oxide (rGO) samples obtained by hydrothermal treatment of the previously prepared GO. The nature of the resulting samples has been studied on the basis of a complete battery of experimental techniques.     

Morphological evidence for uncontrolled proteolytic activity during the ovulatory process in indomethacin-treated rats

The ovulatory process in cyclic rats was studied after prostanoid synthesis was blocked using indomethacin. Animals were injected at 12:00 h in pro-oestrus with 1.0 mg indomethacin or vehicle (olive oil) and killed at 18:30 h in pro-oestrus, at 02:00, 09:00 and 19:00 h in oestrus and at 09:00 h in metoestrus. Additional rats injected with 0.5 or 4.0 mg indomethacin were killed at 09:00 h in oestrus. No differences in either morphology or serum LH concentrations were found between vehicle or indomethacin-treated rats at 18:30 h in pro-oestrus. However, from 02:00 h in oestrus onward, the process of follicle rupture was altered considerably in indomethacin-treated rats, irrespective of the dose. Early vascular changes, observed in control rats at the apex of the follicle, were absent in indomethacin-treated rats. In some follicles, disruption of the theca layers, invasion of the perifollicular tissue by granulosa cells and follicular fluid, and release of the oocyte to the ovarian interstitium were observed at 02:00 h in oestrus. A small number of follicles ruptured at the ovarian surface. Furthermore, invasion of interstitial tissue, rupture of blood vessel walls, production of emboli of granulosa cells and follicular fluid, and inflammatory reactions were observed in oestrus and metoestrus. The results of the present study demonstrate uncontrolled proteolytic activity, and indicate that abnormal follicle rupture (but not inhibition of follicle rupture) is responsible for ovulation failure in indomethacin-treated rats.