Nonlinear modeling of FES-supported standing-up in paraplegia for selection of feedback sensors.

This paper presents analysis of the standing-up manoeuvre in paraplegia considering the body supportive forces as a potential feedback source in functional electrical stimulation (FES)-assisted standing-up. The analysis investigates the significance of arm, feet, and seat reaction signals to the human body center-of-mass (COM) trajectory reconstruction. The standing-up behavior of eight paraplegic subjects was analyzed, measuring the motion kinematics and reaction forces to provide the data for modeling. Two nonlinear empirical modeling methods are implemented--Gaussian process (GP) priors and multilayer perceptron artificial neural networks (ANN)--and their performance in vertical and horizontal COM component reconstruction is compared. As the input, ten sensory configurations that incorporated different number of sensors were evaluated trading off the modeling performance for variables chosen and ease-of-use in everyday application. For the purpose of evaluation, the root-mean-square difference was calculated between the model output and the kinematics-based COM trajectory. Results show that the force feedback in COM assessment in FES assisted standing-up is comparable alternative to the kinematics measurement systems. It was demonstrated that the GP provided better modeling performance, at higher computational cost. Moreover, on the basis of averaged results, the use of a sensory system incorporating a six-dimensional handle force sensor and an instrumented foot insole is recommended. The configuration is practical for realization and with the GP model achieves an average accuracy of COM estimation 16+/-1.8 mm in horizontal and 39+/-3.7 mm in vertical direction. Some other configurations analyzed in the study exhibit better modeling accuracy, but are less practical for everyday usage.     

The impacts of technology on growth: Studies of agriculture and steel

Since earliest times, the human species has applied diverse types of technology. Only recently, with the application of technology on a global scale, aided by external energy, have problems of growth caused by the human transformation of earth appeared. The evidence of vigorous technological growth is ubiquitous, but this articles focuses on its driving power and energetic density as they affect agricultural fertilisers and steel production. Empirical time line patterns of development suggest two elementary growth models for projecting historical data to help answer the question of whether the unrestricted growth of consumption can be mitigated by technological development. The two examples suggest that this is not the case. The findings reveal that the increasing automation of agriculture has actually decreased overall output. The article concludes that technological applications reduce the efficiency of the system, and that technology alone cannot solve a problem that is caused by sheer quantity.     

A Concise Guide to Complex Hadamard Matrices

Complex Hadamard matrices, consisting of unimodular entries with arbitrary phases, play an important role in the theory of quantum information. We review basic properties of complex Hadamard matrices and present a catalogue of inequivalent cases known for the dimensions N = 2,..., 16. In particular, we explicitly write down some families of complex Hadamard matrices for N = 12,14 and 16, which we could not find in the existing literature.     

The application of a milling map in the mechanochemical synthesis of ceramic oxides

We have evaluated the use of a milling map in the mechanochemical synthesis of ceramic oxides. In order to do this we constructed a milling map for NaNbO₃, mechanochemically synthesized from a powder mixture of Na₂CO₃ and Nb₂O₅. Based on the milling map, we determined the critical or minimum cumulative kinetic energy for the formation of NaNbO₃. In addition, we made a comparison between several oxide systems by constructing the milling map on the basis of the experimental data found in the literature. It is shown that a milling map is essential for a comparison of the results of mechanochemical synthesis when different planetary mills and milling conditions are used.     

The Mechanochemical Synthesis of NaNbO3 Using Different Ball-Impact Energies

We studied the mechanochemical synthesis of NaNbO₃ from a starting-powder mixture of sodium carbonate and Nb₂O₅ using ball-impact energies of 15 and 370 mJ/hit. Based on the results of a quantitative phase analysis we propose a mechanism for the mechanochemical synthesis of NaNbO₃. During milling a condition is established, where the amounts of perovskite, X-ray diffraction -amorphous phase and residual carbonate in the mixture do not change with increasing milling time. Similarly, the NaNbO₃ crystallite size and the quantity of microstrains reach final values that are independent of the applied ball-impact energy.     

Elasto-Plastic Springback of Beams Subjected to Repeated Bending/Unbending Histories

This contribution investigated repeated elastoplastic pure plane bending/unbending process of beams made of material with an elastic-linear hardening rheological model. The attention is focused on beams with cross sections which have at least one axis of symmetry and are initially straight or have constant radius of curvature. Elastoplastic deflection states of beams after repeated bending/unbending process are determined using the large displacement theory. Experiments were conducted to verify the theory for beams made of aluminium alloy AA 5050-H38 with rectangular cross sections. It is shown that maximal relative difference between experimental and theoretical results in the case of a largely curved beams after repeated bending/unbending process is 1.27%.     

Effect of pore size and porosity on piezoelectric and acoustic properties of Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 ceramics

We studied the effect of porosity and pore morphology on the functional properties of Pb(Zr_0.53Ti_0.47)O₃ (PZT) ceramics for application in high frequency ultrasound transducers. By sintering a powder mixture of PZT and polymethylmetacrylate spherical particles (1.5 and 10?μm) at 1080°C, we prepared ceramics with ～30% porosity with interconnected micrometer sized pores and with predominantly ～8?μm spherical pores. The acoustic impedance was ～15?MRa for both samples, which was lower than for the dense PZT. The attenuation coefficient α (at 2.25?MHz) was higher for ceramics with ～8?μm pores (0.96?dB?mm^??1?MHz^??1), in comparison to the ceramic with smaller pores (0.56?dB?mm^??1?MHz^??1). The high α value enables the miniaturisation of the transducer, which is crucial for medical imaging probes. The dielectric and piezoelectric coefficients, polarisation, and strain response decreased with increased porosity and decreased pore/grain size. We suggest a possible role of pore/grain size on the switching behaviour.     

Low-Temperature Sintering of K0.5Na0.5NbO3 Ceramics

The objective of this work was to lower the sintering temperature of K_0.5Na_0.5NbO₃ (KNN) without reducing its piezoelectric properties. The KNN was sintered using 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mass% of (K, Na)-germanate. The influence of the novel sintering aid, based on alkaline germanate with a melting point near 700°C, on the sintering, density, and piezoelectric properties of KNN is presented. The alkaline-germanate-modified KNN ceramics reach up to 96% of theoretical density at sintering temperatures as low as 1000°C, which is approximately 100°C less than the sintering temperature of pure KNN. The relative dielectric permittivity (ɛ/ɛ₀) and losses (tanδ), measured at 10 kHz, the piezo d ₃₃ coefficient, the electromechanical coupling and mechanical quality factors ( k _p, k _t, Q _m) of KNN modified with 1 mass% of alkaline germanate are 397, 0.02, 120 pC/N, 0.40, 0.44, and 77, respectively. These values are comparable to the best values obtained for KNN ceramics sintered above 1100°C.     

A rigorous design method for binary cellular neural networks

In order to be able to take full advantage of the great application potential that lies in cellular neural networks (CNNs) we need to have successful design and learning techniques as well. In almost any analogic CNN algorithm that performs an image processing task, binary CNNs play an important role. We observed that all binary CNNs reported in the literature, except for a connected component detector, exhibit monotonic dynamics. In the paper we show that the local stability of a monotonic binary CNN represents sufficient condition for its functionality, i.e. convergence of all initial states to the prescribed global stable equilibria. Based on this finding, we propose a rigorous design method, which results in a set of design constraints in the form of linear inequalities. These are obtained from simple local rules similar to that in elementary cellular automata without having to worry about continuous dynamics of a CNN. In the end we utilize our method to design a new CNN template for detecting holes in a 2D object. © 1998 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.     

Seeding effects on the mechanochemical synthesis of 0.9Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.1PbTiO3

A systematic investigation of the seeding effects on the mechanochemical synthesis of lead magnesium niobate – lead titanate 0.9Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃–0.1PbTiO₃ (PMN–10PT), one of the most studied relaxor-ferroelectric material for electrocaloric applications, is reported. The perovskite crystallisation process was followed by X-ray diffraction using the Rietveld refinement method and transmission electron microscopy. Compared to the mixed-oxides case which requires 143 h of high-energy milling, the milling time needed to obtain a phase-pure PMN–10PT perovskite using PT seeds is reduced almost twice. The presence of PT seeds leads to faster transitions from the amorphous to pyrochlore and to perovskite phases compared to the mixed-oxides case. A sintering study demonstrates, for the first time, that a second, metastable, pyrochlore phase is taking part in the processes of perovskite formation. The PMN–10PT ceramic prepared from the PT-seeded powder exhibits electrocaloric properties comparable to reported values for PMN–10 PT prepared from oxides.