A robust navigation system for robotic wheelchairs

A landmark based navigation system for robotic wheelchairs is developed. The proposed navigation system is robust in the localization procedure which is the major problem in robotic navigation systems. Every landmark is composed of a segment of metallic path and a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag. The odometry information is used for localization, which is corrected on-line every time the robotic wheelchair is over a landmark. A topological map is generated using such landmarks to compute the shortest path. A technique to generate the topological map for this navigation system and an obstacle avoidance strategy are also developed.     

Bra band size measurements derived from three-dimensional scans are not accurate in women with large,ptotic breasts

This study investigated differences in standard measurements used to determine bra size, under-bust chest circumference (UBCC) and over-bust chest circumference (OBCC), measured from a three-dimensional scan (hand-held scanner) compared to the direct measurement in 111 women (age 21–56 years; right breast volume 57–1672 mL; bra size 10A–18G). Bland–Altman plots of UBCC measurements showed a large positive bias and wide limits of agreement (12 cm; ?4.6 to 28 cm), which increased as band size increased but decreased when the breasts were digitally removed from the scan prior to the UBCC measurement. The difference in UBCC measurements determined from scans compared to direct measurement had a strong positive correlation with breast volume and breast ptotis. The OBCC measurements showed a small positive bias (2.4 cm; ?3.4 to 8.4), consistent across the range of bra sizes. Bra band size measurements determined from three-dimensional scans can be inaccurate in women with large, ptotic breasts.

Practitioner Summary: We investigated potential errors in anthropometric data derived from three-dimensional scans used for bra design and fit. Bra band size measurements taken from three-dimensional scans were over-estimated in women with large breasts, whereas bra cup size measurements were accurate to within one-cup size across the entire range of bra sizes.     

Interface agents as social models for female students: The effects of agent visual presence and appearance on female students’ attitudes and beliefs

The current work investigates the use of interface agents as anthropomorphic social models to influence young women’s negative beliefs and low self-efficacy regarding engineering. Experiment 1 focused on the impact of agent model visual presence vs. voice alone for changing the women’s beliefs. Based on literature on human social models we hypothesized that the visual presence of the interface agent would result in more positive attitudes toward engineering and greater self-efficacy than the presence of a human voice alone. Experiment 2 focused on the impact of model appearance-related characteristics for changing the women’s beliefs. Previous work with human social models suggests that people are more persuaded by models that are similar to them. Therefore, models that were young, female, and “cool” were predicted to be more effective in influencing young women’s attitudes. In accordance with our hypothesis, results revealed that participants who interacted with the visible agents reported significantly greater utility for engineering, greater self-efficacy, and greater interest in engineering-related fields than those who interacted with a human voice. In addition, the agent models that were similar to the young women tended to be the most effective for positively influencing the women’s stereotypes and self-efficacy.     

Optimization of biofuels production via a water–energy–food nexus framework

Biofuels have emerged as an attractive renewable alternative to satisfy the global energy demands. The large-scale production of biofuels requires the installation of biorefining systems that involve strategic decisions for the logistics and operation in the production of biofuels such as location, feedstock type(s), production capacities and interactions with the surrounding environment. This work proposes an optimization framework for the design of a biorefining system while accounting for the interactions with the surrounding watershed using a material flow analysis technique through the design of an efficient supply chain for the production and distribution of feedstocks, grains and biofuels considering the water and land requirements. The proposed model deals with the uncertainty involved in the project (e.g., prices of feedstocks and products, biofuel demands and precipitation in the watershed). A mixed-integer linear programming model is proposed to simultaneously consider the economic and environmental objectives. A case study located in Mexico is solved for a set of scenarios with the purpose of illustrating the capabilities of the proposed optimization approach. The results show strong trade-offs between the considered objectives and the impact of uncertainties.     

Simultaneous multicolor imaging of five different lymphatic basins using quantum dots

Quantum dots can be used to perform multicolor images with high fluorescent intensity and are of a nanosize suitable for lymphatic imaging via direct interstitial injection. Here simultaneous multicolor in vivo wavelength-resolved spectral fluorescence lymphangiography is shown using five quantum dots with similar physical sizes but different emission spectra. This allows noninvasive and simultaneous visualization of five separate lymphatic flows draining and may have implications for predicting the route of cancer metastasis into the lymph nodes.     

A Quantitative Infrared Imaging System for In Situ Characterization of Composite Materials in Fire Tests

A novel non-intrusive measurement system based on quantitative infrared imaging has been designed and developed specifically for the study of composite plates submitted to fire. The system consists of two synchronized infrared cameras that image both sides of the sample during a fire test, providing surface temperature maps spatially corregistered. Flame effects on measured temperature are minimized through selection of a spectral band with near negligible infrared absorption-emission (wavelength centre 9585 nm, full width at half maximum 135 nm), as well as software post-processing. An ad hoc experiment has shown that this procedure retrieves surface temperatures with an uncertainty of \(\pm 5\) K, compared to a systematic error larger than 60 K for a classic thermographic measurement. Surface emissivities of both sides of the sample are measured and included in the retrieval procedure. By adding a flash lamp, the system implements an adaptation of the classical Parker’s flash method to thermally thick samples, providing also a map of thermal diffusivities along the sample both before and after the burning. In the region most degraded by fire, the effective thermal diffusivity is reduced approximately one order of magnitude as compared to the pre-test value (from 5.9 × 10^?7 m² s^?1 to 0.5 × 10^?7 m² s^?1). Several composite samples have been analysed while exposed to fire in different conditions, showing that thermal diffusivity after the burning shows a strong correlation with the local maximum temperature reached during the test. More precisely, in the temperature range between \(\sim \)325 and 350\(^{\circ }\)C a drastic change in diffusivity seems to takes place, in a way that suggest a phase change.     

Biological evaluation of mechanically deboned chicken meat protein quality

Mechanically deboned chicken meat (MDCM) is a meat product obtained by crushing tissues after meat removal and is largely used in meat products. Protein quality of flour prepared from defatted MDCM and from fresh chicken breast meat (FCBM) was chemically and biologically evaluated by rat growth and nitrogen balance studies. Proximate chemical composition, on a dry basis, of MDCM and FCBM showed protein contents of 90.5% and 82.2%, lipid contents of 3.0% and 13.2% and ash contents of 6.1% and 4.2%, respectively. There was a relatively good balance of essential amino acids in both samples although lysine was in low concentration in MDCM being a limiting amino acid. Feeding of flour diets resulted in high protein efficiency ratio, a high net protein utilization and high nitrogen balance, thus showing a high biological value and also high true digestibility and, consistently, NPU for both samples is similar to casein.     

Effects of transdermal nicotine patches on abstinence-induced and cue-elicited craving in cigarette smokers.

The impact of a transdermal nicotine patch on smokers' craving for cigarettes and reactivity to smoking cues was investigated. Sixty-one smokers were assessed during 2 sessions separated by 6 hr. Cue reactivity to imaginal and in vivo smoking and nonsmoking stimuli was evaluated during both sessions. During the interval between sessions, participants were abstinent from cigarettes and wore either a nicotine transdermal (21 mg) or placebo patch. In both sessions, exposure to in vivo and imaginal smoking stimuli elicited cue-specific increases in craving, negative affect, vividness, heart rate, and skin conductance. The nicotine patch attenuated craving and other effects induced by abstinence from cigarettes but had no selective impact on craving or any other reaction elicited by smoking cues. These results are discussed in terms of models of craving and clinical implications of transdermal nicotine for craving reduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mesothelioma and Colorectal Cancer: Report of Four Cases with Synchronous and Metachronous Presentation

There is evidence that asbestos could play a role in the carcinogenesis of digestive cancers. The presence of asbestos fibres in histological samples from gastric, biliary, colon cancers has been reported, but the mechanism is still controversial. It has been hypothesised that asbestos reaches these sites, especially through contaminated water; however, some experimental studies have shown that the inhaled fibres are mobile, so they can migrate to many organs, directly or via blood and lymph flow. We report four unusual cases of colorectal cancers in patients with a long history of asbestos exposure who also developed synchronous or metachronous mesothelioma. We evaluated the roles of BRCA associated protein-1 (BAP1) and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) in colon cancer and mesothelioma to support the hypothesis that BAP-1 and CDKN2A are tumour suppressor genes involved in disease progression, recurrence, or death in both digestive cancers and mesothelioma. Potentially, these markers may be used as predictors of worse prognosis, but we also stress the importance of clinical surveillance of exposed patients because asbestos could induce cancer in any organ.     

Influence of Inflow Nonstationarity on the Multipurpose Optimal Operation of Hydropower Plants Using Nonlinear Programming

Water Resources Management - One of the greatest challenges in the electricity generation sector is to operate hydrothermal plants in view of the randomness of hydrological events and climate...