Robotica: a Mathematica package for robot analysis

Robotica is a computer aided design package for robotic manipulators developed in the Coordinated Science Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It encapsulates over 30 functions into a Mathematica package allowing efficient symbolic and numeric calculation of kinematic and dynamic equations for multi-degree-of-freedom manipulators. An X-Windows front end that utilizes the interprocess communication features of Mathematica 2.1 has also been created for ease of use. This paper describes the most important features of the package and how they are used     

Bilateral control of teleoperators with time delay

A control law for teleoperators is presented which overcomes the instability caused by time delay. By using passivity and scattering theory, a criterion is developed which shows why existing bilateral control systems are unstable for certain environments, and why the proposed bilateral control law is stable for any environment and any time delay. The control law has been implemented on a single-axis force-reflecting hand controller, and preliminary results are shown. To keep the presentation clear, a single-degree-of-freedom (DOF) linear time-invariant (LTI) teleoperator system is discussed. Nevertheless, results can be extended, without loss of generality, to an n-DOF nonlinear teleoperation system     

Wear Mechanisms of Glass-Infiltrated Alumina Sliding Against Alumina in Water

Glass-infiltrated alumina is now commonly used as a core material in dental restorations. If the veneer layer, which covers the core, is broken or damaged through use, a direct contact between the core and the opposing restorative material or human enamel can occur. The wear behavior in simulated contacts with human enamel has already been studied. In the present work, we have investigated the wear mechanisms of glass-infiltrated alumina in contact with a high-purity alumina as an opposing ceramic restoration. Wear tests were performed in a pin-on-disk tribometer under conditions that roughly resemble those in the oral environment. The wear rates of the alumina balls and the glass-infiltrated disks sliding in water increased linearly with load. No wear transition (i.e., a sudden increase in wear) was observed as either the load or the sliding distance was increased. Examination of the wear debris in the SEM suggested the presence of wear particles that are often attributed to the formation of hydrated aluminum oxide through tribochemical reactions between water and alumina. While tribochemical wear was the dominating wear mechanism for the alumina balls, microfracture and delamination governed the wear behavior of the glass-infiltrated alumina disks. Examination of the surface layers formed on the disk wear tracks confirmed the presence of amorphous hydrated alumina on the wear track. It is suggested that these reaction products smear on the wear track filling the pores produced by microfracture and delamination. The high wear resistance of glass-infiltrated alumina is attributed to the presence of hydrated alumina in the third body layer that accommodates the interfacial shear stresses and the high strength due to strong bonding between the glass phase and alumina grains. Based on the observed wear resistance of glass-infiltrated alumina in the present study, this material should be evaluated for applications in addition to dental restorations.     

The development of a new integral control model based on the analysis of three complex systems in Serbia

The aim of this paper is to analyse the results of research carried out in the railway, mining, and electric power systems in Serbia and form a new integral control model. The three methodological procedures are applied. First, analytical-synthetic methodological approach breaks down complex technical system into three parts: bio-cybernetic system, “operator”; technical system, “technology”; and additional system, “working environment.” Second, network planning method is used to analyse time, according to the critical path method. Third, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process determines the key research factors. General results of research are new integral control model, and new research areas and activities. The most prominent factors are: in “bio-cybernetic system”—operator’s arm reach, body postures and movement sequences, operator’s work, occurrence of stress, and occurrence of fatigue; in “technical system”—location and dimension of control desk, display panel, video display terminal, symbols on video display terminal, colours in control centres, and suitability of the keyboards; and in “supporting system”—illumination in control centres and relative humidity. Based on the analysis of factors and synthesis of results, the following recommendation are proposed: new control desk design; new display panel design; new design of the main and local lighting; new illumination and contrast characteristics, and environmental impact assessment. For research on a variety of complex technical systems, new integral control model can be applied, with corresponding extensions.     

基于深度强化学习的居民实时自治最优能量管理策略

随着居民分布式资源的普及,如何考虑用户多类型设备的运行特性,满足实时自治能量管理需求以达到用户侧经济性最优成为亟待解决的课题。传统基于模型的最优化方法在模型精准构建和应对多重不确定性等方面存在局限性,为此提出一种无模型的基于深度强化学习的实时自治能量管理优化方法。首先,对用户设备进行分类,采用统一的三元组描述其运行特性,并确定相应的能量管理动作;接着,采用长短期记忆神经网络提取环境状态中多源时序数据的未来走势;进而,基于近端策略优化算法,赋能在多维连续-离散混合的动作空间中高效学习最优能量管理策略,在最小化用电成本的同时提升策略对不确定性的适应性;最后,通过实际情境对比现有方法的优化决策效果,验证所提方法的有效性。     

Feedback passivation of switched nonlinear systems using storage-like functions

This paper addresses the issues of passivity and feedback passivation of switched nonlinear systems via multiple storage functions. The concept of storage-like functions for switched systems is presented. A sufficient condition for passivity of switched nonlinear systems is given via multiple storage functions under some switching signal. Then, the result is extended to find conditions under which a switched system is feedback equivalent to a passive switched system. Furthermore, passivity of switched cascade systems is investigated.     

CTLA4-Linked Autoimmunity in the Pathogenesis of Endometriosis and Related Infertility: A Systematic Review

Several studies, although with conflicting results, have sought to determine the concentration of soluble CTLA4 antigens in peripheral blood plasma and peritoneal fluid in patients with endometriosis-related infertility. A systematic review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) through a search of the following databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health, The Cochrane Library, Health Technology Assessment Database and Web of Science, and Clinical Trials research register. We included observational or prospective human and animal studies with any features related to endometriosis and/or infertility studies involving CTLA4-related pathogenesis published in English. The results of studies in which the size and characteristics of the observed groups were not stated were excluded. From the initial pool of 73 publications identified and screened, we finally included 5 articles to summarize the most recent knowledge about CTLA4-linked autoimmunity in the pathogenesis of endometriosis and related infertility. Evidence from clinical studies shows that CTLA4-based autoimmunity is involved in the maintenance of chronic inflammation in the peritoneal environment, with pre-clinical evidence of anti-CTLA antibodies as a potential novel target therapy for endometriosis. However, CTLA4 gene analyses do not support findings of CTLA4-linked autoimmunity as a primary determinant of the pathogenesis of endometriosis. These findings underlie the role of complex interactions within the family of immune checkpoint molecules involved. Further studies are needed to investigate the clinical relevance of anti-CTLA target therapy, taking into account the potential adverse events and repercussions of novel immunologic therapy modalities. However, with the general scarcity of studies investigating this topic, the clinical importance of CTLA4 autoimmunity still remains unclear.     

Reorganization of the Brain Extracellular Matrix in Hippocampal Sclerosis

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is an important regulator of excitability and synaptic plasticity, especially in its highly condensed form, the perineuronal nets (PNN). In patients with drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE), hippocampal sclerosis type 1 (HS1) is the most common histopathological finding. This study aimed to evaluate the ECM profile of HS1 in surgically treated drug-resistant patients with MTLE in correlation to clinical findings. Hippocampal sections were immunohistochemically stained for aggrecan, neurocan, versican, chondroitin-sulfate (CS56), fibronectin, Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA), a nuclear neuronal marker (NeuN), parvalbumin (PV), and glial-fibrillary-acidic-protein (GFAP). In HS1, besides the reduced number of neurons and astrogliosis, we found a significantly changed expression pattern of versican, neurocan, aggrecan, WFA-specific glycosylation, and a reduced number of PNNs. Patients with a lower number of epileptic episodes had a less intense diffuse WFA staining in Cornu Ammonis (CA) fields. Our findings suggest that PNN reduction, changed ECM protein, and glycosylation expression pattern in HS1 might be involved in the pathogenesis and persistence of drug-resistant MTLE by contributing to the increase of CA pyramidal neurons’ excitability. This research corroborates the validity of ECM molecules and their modulators as a potential target for the development of new therapeutic approaches to drug-resistant epilepsy.     

Gait Generation and Stabilization for Nearly Passive Dynamic Walking Using Auto‐distributed Impulses

We propose a state feedback control design via linearization for flexible walking on flat ground. First, we generate nearly passive limit cycles, being stable or not, using impulsive toe‐off actuations. The term ‘nearly passive’ means that the dynamics is completely passive almost everywhere except at the toe‐off moment. A feature of our gait generation method is that walking gaits are characterized only by amounts of supplied energy, and we observe that other variables, including input torques, are auto‐balanced via our method. After gait generation, we design a feedback controller considering robustness and input saturation. As a result, each limit cycle can be matched with its respective controller classified only by energy levels. We have verified that walking speeds monotonically increase by adding more energy, and the ankle joint plays a significant role in compass‐gait walking. Finally, instead of applying impulsive torques, we discuss a practical issue regarding realistic control inputs that ensure stable gait transitions as energy levels are elevated.     

Semantic integration of enterprise information systems using meta-metadata ontology

This paper proposes a non-domain-specific metadata ontology as a core component in a semantic model-based document management system (DMS), a potential contender towards the enterprise information systems of the next generation. What we developed is the core semantic component of an ontology-driven DMS, providing a robust semantic base for describing documents’ metadata. We also enabled semantic services such as automated semantic translation of metadata from one domain to another. The core semantic base consists of three semantic layers, each one serving a different view of documents’ metadata. The core semantic component’s base layer represents a non-domain-specific metadata ontology founded on ebRIM specification. The main purpose of this ontology is to serve as a meta-metadata ontology for other domain-specific metadata ontologies. The base semantic layer provides a generic metadata view. For the sake of enabling domain-specific views of documents’ metadata, we implemented two domain-specific metadata ontologies, semantically layered on top of ebRIM, serving domain-specific views of the metadata. In order to enable semantic translation of metadata from one domain to another, we established model-to-model mappings between these semantic layers by introducing SWRL rules. Having the semantic translation of metadata automated not only allows for effortless switching between different metadata views, but also opens the door for automating the process of documents long-term archiving. For the case study, we chose judicial domain as a promising ground for improving the efficiency of the judiciary by introducing the semantics in this field.