Safety in robotic installations

The rapid growth of the robotic industry has made it imperative to consider more seriously the safety aspects of robotic installations. Some work has been initiated recently in this area; a standard proposed by the Robotic Industries Association is a step in the right direction. This paper is based on an investigation of the state of the art in robotic safety, and contains an analysis of the sources of accidents, and the accident-prone operational phases of robotic installations. It forms the groundwork (literature survey) of a research project at the University of Windsor to develop a hardware/software-based safety system. It is suggested that both the robot manufacturer and the user should regard robotic safety as an important consideration.     

Impact of different layers on performance of OLED

Microsystem Technologies - This paper explores how different layers in an organic light emitting diode (OLED) impacts its performance. Here, different layers of OLED similar to hole/electron...     

Silane-functionalized Al2O3-modified polyurethane powder coatings: Nonisothermal degradation kinetics and mechanistic insights

This work reports on nonisothermal degradation kinetics of polyurethane (PU)-based powder coatings containing 1, 3, and 5%wt% vinyltrimethoxysilane functionalized Al₂O₃ (V-Al₂O₃) nanoparticles. Thermogravimetric analysis of PU/V-Al₂O₃ powder coatings with different V-Al₂O₃ contents has been performed at different heating rates. Variation of activation energy (E_a) of PU/V-Al₂O₃ powder coatings was modeled as a function of partial mass loss by using Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose, Ozawa–Wall–Flynn and modified Coats–Redfern isoconversional approaches. The results revealed hindered decomposition process of PU/V-Al₂O₃ nanocomposite powder coatings, featured by an increase in activation energy of degradation from ∼158 for blank PU to 225, 183, and 229 kJ/mol for nanocomposites filled with 1, 3, and 5 wt% of V-Al₂O₃, respectively. Likewise, pre-exponential factor values increased for samples containing V-Al₂O₃ nanoparticles compared to that of blank sample. Sestak–Berggren kinetic model appropriately captured thermal degradation behavior of PU/V-Al₂O₃ nanocomposites than that of nth order decomposition kinetic reaction models.     

Association of keratoconus with granular corneal dystrophy

A 23-year-old woman presented with a history of reduced vision and foreign body sensation in both her eyes. Ocular examination revealed the simultaneous presence of bilateral keratoconus and granular corneal dystrophy. To our knowledge, bilateral concurrent occurrence of keratoconus and typical granular corneal dystrophy has not been reported previously. In such a case, penetrating keratoplasty performed for keratoconus may also carry the risk of recurrence of the granular dystrophy.     

DNA binding and unwinding by self-assembled supramolecular hetero-bimetallacycles

Two new tetracationic hetero-bimetallacycles were prepared from a bis-pyridine amide ligand and metal (Pd and Pt) acceptors. We found that both self-assembled hetero-bimetallacycles bind and unwind supercoiled DNA as established by photophysical and gel electrophoresis analyses, respectively.     

Cuprous oxide nanoparticles in epoxy network: Cure reaction,morphology, and thermal stability

Nanosized cuprous oxide filler particles (nCOP) with octahedral morphology were synthesized through hydrazine reduction method and were used to develop a novel nanocomposites based on epoxy resin. The morphology of epoxy–nCOP nanocomposites were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis showed that the cure reaction rate of epoxy was found to increase with the addition of the nCOP and a plausible cure reaction mechanism was suggested. The activation energy required for the cure reaction reduced by 22% and 13% at the initial (E₁) and final stage (E₂) of the cure, respectively, by the incorporation of 3 phr nCOP. It was also shown that the kinetically controlled parts of reaction could be expressed well by Kamal's phenomenological model while end of curing process could not be completely expressed by this model as there it was diffusion controlled. The influence of nCOP on glass transition temperature (T_g), mechanical properties, and thermal stability of epoxy matrix was also investigated and the results showed that better characteristics were observed in presence of 3 phr nCOP loading. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:2293–2306, 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

A note of caution regarding anthropomorphism in HCI agents

Universal usability is an important component of HCI, particularly as companies promote their products in increasingly global markets to users with diverse cultural backgrounds. Successful anthropomorphic agents must have appropriate computer etiquette and nonverbal communication patterns. Because there are differences in etiquette, tone, formality, and colloquialisms across different user populations, it is unlikely that a generic anthropomorphic agent would be universally appealing. Additionally, because anthropomorphic characters are depicted as capable of human reasoning and possessing human motivations, users may ascribe undue trust in these agents. Trust is a complex construct that exerts an important role in a user’s interactions with an interface or system. Feelings and perceptions about an anthropomorphic agent may impact the construction of a mental model about a system, which may lead to inappropriate calibrations of automation trust that is based on an emotional connection with the anthropomorphic agent rather than on actual system performance.     

Hybrid SSA-ARIMA-ANN Model for Forecasting Daily Rainfall

Rainfall, which is one of the most important hydrologic processes, is influenced by many meteorological factors like climatic change, atmospheric temperature, and atmospheric pressure. Even though there are several stochastic and data driven hydrologic models, accurate forecasting of rainfall, especially smaller time step rainfall forecasting, still remains a challenging task. Effective modelling of rainfall is puzzling due to its inherent erratic nature. This calls for an efficient model for accurately forecasting daily rainfall. Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) is a time series analysis tool, which is found to be a very successful data pre-processing algorithm. SSA decomposes a given time series into a finite number of simpler and decipherable components. This study proposes integration of Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA), Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) into a hybrid model (SSA-ARIMA-ANN), which can yield reliable daily rainfall forecasts in a river catchment. In the present study, spatially averaged daily rainfall data over Koyna catchment, Maharashtra has been used. In this study SSA is proposed as a data pre-processing tool to separate stationary and non-stationary components from the rainfall data. Correlogram and Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin (KPSS) test has been used to validate the stationary and non-stationary components. In the developed hybrid model, the stationary components of rainfall data are modelled using ARIMA method and non-stationary components are modelled using ANN. The study of statistical performance of the model shows that the hybrid SSA-ARIMA-ANN model could forecast the daily rainfall of the catchment with reliable accuracy.

     

SREBP-1c Deficiency Affects Hippocampal Micromorphometry and Hippocampus-Dependent Memory Ability in Mice

Changes in structural and functional neuroplasticity have been implicated in various neurological disorders. Sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1c is a critical regulatory molecule of lipid homeostasis in the brain. Recently, our findings have shown the potential involvement of SREBP-1c deficiency in the alteration of novel modulatory molecules in the hippocampus and occurrence of schizophrenia-like behaviors in mice. However, the possible underlying mechanisms, related to neuronal plasticity in the hippocampus, are yet to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated the hippocampus-dependent memory function and neuronal architecture of hippocampal neurons in SREBP-1c knockout (KO) mice. During the passive avoidance test, SREBP-1c KO mice showed memory impairment. Based on Golgi staining, the dendritic complexity, length, and branch points were significantly decreased in the apical cornu ammonis (CA) 1, CA3, and dentate gyrus (DG) subregions of the hippocampi of SREBP-1c KO mice, compared with those of wild-type (WT) mice. Additionally, significant decreases in the dendritic diameters were detected in the CA3 and DG subregions, and spine density was also significantly decreased in the apical CA3 subregion of the hippocampi of KO mice, compared with that of WT mice. Alterations in the proportions of stubby and thin-shaped dendritic spines were observed in the apical subcompartments of CA1 and CA3 in the hippocampi of KO mice. Furthermore, the corresponding differential decreases in the levels of SREBP-1 expression in the hippocampal subregions (particularly, a significant decrease in the level in the CA3) were detected by immunofluorescence. This study suggests that the contributions of SREBP-1c to the structural plasticity of the mouse hippocampus may have underlain the behavioral alterations. These findings offer insights into the critical role of SREBP-1c in hippocampal functioning in mice.