A generalized global adaptive tracking control scheme for robot manipulators with bounded inputs

In this work, a generalized adaptive scheme for the global motion control of robot manipulators with constrained inputs is proposed. It gives rise to various families of bounded adaptive controllers defined through a general class of saturation functions. Compared with adaptive tracking control algorithms previously developed in a bounded input context, the proposed adaptive approach guarantees the motion control objective for any initial condition, avoiding discontinuities throughout the scheme, preventing the inputs to reach their natural saturation bounds, and permitting innovation on the saturating structure through its generalized form, giving a wide range of possibilities for performance improvement. Experimental results corroborate the efficiency of the proposed scheme. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Corrosion behavior of porous magnesium coated by plasma electrolytic oxidation in simulated body fluid

Porous magnesium has a great potential to be used as degradable bone scaffolds. In this study, porous magnesium with 35% percolating porosity has been successfully fabricated through powder metallurgy route utilizing space holders. The intrinsic mechanical properties of the porous magnesium were measured by nanoindentation testing and analyzed with the Oliver–Pharr method. Afterward, a ceramic coating on the surface of the porous magnesium was performed by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) treatment in a silicate‐based solution. The morphology and composition results of the PEO coatings indicated that it is possible to apply a homogenous and adhesive ceramic coating layer on all free surface of the porous magnesium through PEO method. The protective performance of the PEO coatings was evaluated using by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests in simulated body fluid. The results revealed the PEO coating significantly improves biocorrosion resistance of the porous magnesium. Therefore, it can be used as an effective method to control the degradation rate of porous magnesium implants in the human body.     

Tracking Hidden Binding Pockets Along the Molecular Recognition Path of l-Trp to Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase 1

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) catalyzes the oxidative cleavage of l -Tryptophan (l -Trp) to yield N-formyl-kynurenine in the first and rate limiting step of the kynurenine pathway. Bioactive metabolites, involved in the regulation of important immunological responses and neurological processes, are then produced by downstream enzymes along the pathway. Inhibitors of IDO1 are being designed and developed as therapeutic agents for immuno-oncology. In this work, we investigated the molecular recognition path of l -Trp to IDO1, integrating biophysical methods with supervised molecular dynamics (suMD) and mutagenesis experiments. Results allowed disclosing for the first time high and low dissociation constants of l -Trp to IDO1, and the presence of a metastable interaction site located at the upper part of a channel whose borders are defined by the EF-loop and the C-terminal part of the JK-loop. Collectively, our results provide new clues for the design of next-generation IDO1 ligands.     

Empowering cultural heritage professionals with tools for authoring and deploying personalised visitor experiences

User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction - This paper presents an authoring environment, which supports cultural heritage professionals in the process of creating and deploying a wide range of...