Tip of the tongue selectivity and motor learning in the palatal area

This study assessed the ability of the tongue tip to accurately select intraoral targets embedded in an upper palatal tongue-computer interface, using 18 able-bodied volunteers. Four performance measures, based on modifications to Fitts's Law, were determined for three different tongue-computer interface layouts. The layouts differed with respect to number and location of the targets in the palatal interface. Assessment of intraoral target selection speed and accuracy revealed that performance was indeed dependent on the location and distance between the targets. Performances were faster and more accurate for targets located farther away from the base of the tongue in comparison to posterior and medial targets. A regression model was built, which predicted intraoral target selection time based on target location and movement amplitude better than the predicted by using a standard Fitts's Law model. A 30% improvement in the speed and accuracy over three daily practice sessions of 30 min emphasizes the remarkable motor learning abilities of the tongue musculature and provides further evidence that the tongue is useful for operating computer-interface technologies.     

Der Enzyklopädist der Technischen Mechanik des 19. Jahrhunderts – Zum 200. Geburtstag von Julius Weisbach (1806–1871)

Encyclopaedist of 19th century applied mechanics – Commemorating Julius Weisbach's 200th birthday. With his two‐volume “Lehrbuch der Ingenieur‐ und Maschinen‐Mechanik” (Textbook of engineering and machine mechanics) (1845–1887), his handbook “Der Ingenieur” (The Engineer) und the journal “Der Civilingenieur” (The Civil Engineer), Julius Weisbach (1806–1871) created an image of applied mechanics reflecting the state of the industrial revolution in Germany in content and form. For the first time, he subjected the whole ‘artefact world’ of the contemporary engineer to a simple and comprehensible analysis based on applied mechanics. With his encyclopaedic publication system Weisbach succeeded in providing a valid representation of the historical/logical middle of the discipline formation period of applied mechanics (1825–1900).     

��Note on ��Flows induced by a plate moving normal to stagnation-point flow�� by P. D. Weidman and M. A. Sprague (Acta Mech. 219, 219�C229, 2011)��

In a recent paper of Weidman and Sprague (Acta Mech., 2011), the unsteady flows generated by an impermeable infinite flat plate advancing with constant velocity V toward, or receding from an orthogonal (plane or axisymmetric) stagnation-point flow, have been investigated by an exact similarity reduction of the Navier?CStokes equations. It has been shown that in the co-moving reference frame of the plate, the induced flow appears as a steady flow, with an additional term R f??? in the governing equation of the similar stream function f (??). The Reynolds number R involved in this additional term is proportional to the plate velocity V. The present paper shows, however, that with the aid of a simple transformation, the additional term R f??? can be removed from the governing equation, its effect being transferred in the boundary condition for f (??). As a consequence, the unsteady flow problems of Weidman and Sprague reduce to the classical steady stagnation-point flow problems for permeable surfaces with a uniform lateral suction or injection of the fluid, so that the transpiration parameter f (0) coincides with R for the plane and with R/2 for the axisymmetric flow, respectively. The main benefit of this approach is that all the results of the latter well-investigated problems can simply be transcribed for the problems formulated by Weidman and Sprague (Acta Mech, 2011).     

Shorter strings containing all k-element permutations

We consider the problem of finding short strings that contain all permutations of order k over an alphabet of size n, with k?n. We show constructively that k(n−2)+3 is an upper bound on the length of shortest such strings, for n?k?10. Consequently, for n?10, the shortest strings that contain all permutations of order n have length at most n²−2n+3. These two new upper bounds improve with one unit the previous known upper bounds.     

Cascaded Kalman and particle filters for photogrammetry based gyroscope drift and robot attitude estimation

Based on a cascaded Kalman–Particle Filtering, gyroscope drift and robot attitude estimation method is proposed in this paper. Due to noisy and erroneous measurements of MEMS gyroscope, it is combined with Photogrammetry based vision navigation scenario. Quaternions kinematics and robot angular velocity dynamics with augmented drift dynamics of gyroscope are employed as system state space model. Nonlinear attitude kinematics, drift and robot angular movement dynamics each in 3 dimensions result in a nonlinear high dimensional system. To reduce the complexity, we propose a decomposition of system to cascaded subsystems and then design separate cascaded observers. This design leads to an easier tuning and more precise debugging from the perspective of programming and such a setting is well suited for a cooperative modular system with noticeably reduced computation time. Kalman Filtering (KF) is employed for the linear and Gaussian subsystem consisting of angular velocity and drift dynamics together with gyroscope measurement. The estimated angular velocity is utilized as input of the second Particle Filtering (PF) based observer in two scenarios of stochastic and deterministic inputs. Simulation results are provided to show the efficiency of the proposed method. Moreover, the experimental results based on data from a 3D MEMS IMU and a 3D camera system are used to demonstrate the efficiency of the method.     

Adaptive Immune Responses in a Multiple Sclerosis Patient with Acute Varicella-Zoster Virus Reactivation during Treatment with Fingolimod

Fingolimod, an oral sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator, is approved for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The interference with S1P signaling leads to retention particularly of chemokine receptor-7 (CCR7) expressing T cells in lymph nodes. The immunological basis of varicella zoster virus (VZV) infections during fingolimod treatment is unclear. Here, we studied the dynamics of systemic and intrathecal immune responses associated with symptomatic VZV reactivation including cessation of fingolimod and initiation of antiviral therapy. Key features in peripheral blood were an about two-fold increase of VZV-specific IgG at diagnosis of VZV reactivation as compared to the previous months, a relative enrichment of effector CD4+ T cells (36% versus mean 12% in controls), and an accelerated reconstitution of absolute lymphocytes counts including a normalized CD4+/CD8+ ratio and reappearance of CCR7+ T cells. In cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) the lymphocytic pleocytosis and CD4+/CD8+ ratios at diagnosis of reactivation and after nine days of fingolimod discontinuation remained unchanged. During this time CCR7+ T cells were not observed in CSF. Further research into fingolimod-associated VZV reactivation and immune reconstitution is mandatory to prevent morbidity and mortality associated with this potentially life-threatening condition.