The effect of handle friction and inward or outward torque on maximum axial push force

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship among friction, applied torque, and axial push force on cylindrical handles. BACKGROUND: We have earlier demonstrated that participants can exert greater contact force and torque in an "inward" movement of the hand about the long axis of a gripped cylinder (wrist flexion/forearm supination) than they can in an "outward" hand movement. METHOD: Twelve healthy participants exerted anteriorly directed maximum push forces along the long axis of aluminum and rubber handles while applying deliberate inward or outward torques, no torque (straight), and an unspecified (preferred) torque. RESULTS: Axial push force was 12% greater for the rubber handle than for the aluminum handle. Participants exerted mean torques of 1.1, 0.3, 2.5, and -2.0 Nm and axial push forces of 94, 85, 75, and 65 N for the preferred, straight, inward, and outward trials, respectively. Left to decide for themselves, participants tended to apply inward torques, which were associated with increased axial push forces. CONCLUSION: Axial push force was limited by hand-handle coupling--not the whole body's push strength. Participants appeared to intuitively know that the application of an inward torque would improve their maximum axial push force. Axial push forces were least when a deliberate torque was requested, probably because high levels of torque exertions interfered with the push. APPLICATION: A low-friction handle decreases maximum axial push force. It should be anticipated that people will apply inward torque during maximum axial push.     

Companion Cognitive Systems: Design Goals and Lessons Learned So Far

The Companion cognitive architecture supports experiments in achieving human-level intelligence. This article describes seven key design goals of Companions, relating them to properties of human reasoning and learning, and to engineering concerns raised by attempting to build large-scale cognitive systems. We summarize our experiences with Companions in two domains: test taking and game playing.     

Comparison of the ageing behaviour of PM 2124 Al alloy and Al-SiCp metal-matrix composite

The ageing response of 2124 Al-SiC particulate metal-matrix composite (MMC) and unreinforced alloy has been examined using hardness measurements and Arrhenius analysis. The formation of phases during precipitation has been studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The MMC exhibits accelerated ageing compared to unreinforced alloy, due to enhanced S formation. The activation energy for diffusion is lower in the MMC than in the unreinforced alloy. DSC scans show Guinier-Preston B (GPB) zone nucleation to occur at a lower temperature in the MMC, whilst the total volume of GPB zones formed is smaller than in the unreinforced alloy. A model has been proposed to explain the GPB zone formation behaviour, in which ease of GPB zone nucleation varies within the MMC, as a function of ageing time and of position within the matrix. S formation is enhanced in the MMC because of improved diffusion and a large increase in density of heterogeneous nucleation sites compared to the unreinforced alloy.     

Recovery of chromium from tannery effluents using a redox–adsorption approach

Adsorption isotherms for sodium and trivalent chromium uptake from aqueous solutions onto Amberlite resin were prepared at 18°C. Adsorption of each cation followed the Langmuir model. The rate of uptake of each cation was found to be film diffusion controlled with sodium showing the most rapid uptake. In aqueous solutions containing both chromium and sodium as the only cationic species, it was found that with increasing initial concentration of sodium, the trivalent chromium uptake on the resin decreased substantially. To overcome this difficulty a four step redox–adsorption system has been developed for the removal of Cr³⁺ from tannery effluents. The first step comprises the oxidation of trivalent chromium to the hexavalent form using selected common oxidising agents. The liquid effluent is then passed through an Amberlite cation-exchange resin in step 2 where the sodium in the waste stream is completely removed. The anionic hexavalent form of chromium (Cr₂O) passes unaltered through the resin along with the waste stream. In the third stage the dichromate is reduced back to the trivalent cationic form which is subsequently removed from the waste stream by a second Amberlite ion-exchange bed in stage 4. Each step in this process is assessed in batch and flow mode using simulated and real tannery effluents.     

Microwatt shot-noise measurement

We report a simple scheme for sensitive measurements of optical-noise spectra. Optical noise is separated from electronic noise when the output of an analog spectrum analyzer is real-time squared and then lock-in detected. This method directly yields the desired mean-square noise voltage, i.e., the power spectrum of the optical noise on a linear scale. To demonstrate this technique, the mean-square shot noise of a laser beam is measured and found to vary linearly with the laser power from several milliwatts down to one microwatt, in excellent quantitative agreement with predictions.     

Surface energy-mediated fibronectin adsorption and osteoblast responses on nanostructured diamond

Nanostructured diamond have potential applications in many biomedical related fields and demonstrated extraordinary capacity to influence cellular responses. Studying the surface property of nanodiamond and its influence to protein adsorption and subsequent cellular responses along with the mechanism behind such capacity becomes more important. Here the role of surface energy associated with nanostructured diamond in modulating fibronectin and osteoblast(OB, bone forming cells) responses was investigated. Nanocrystalline diamond(NCD) and submicron crystalline diamond(SMCD) films with controllable surface energy were prepared by microwave-enhanced plasma chemical vapor deposition(MPCVD) techniques. Fibronectin adsorption on the diamond films with varied surface energy values was measured via the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) and the relationship between the surface energy and fibronectin adsorption was studied. The result indicated that fibronectin adsorption on nanostructured surfaces was closely related to both surface energy and material microstructures. The spreading and migration of OB aggregates(each containing 30–50 cells) on the NCD with varied surface energy values were also studied. The result indicates a correlation between the cell spreading and migration on nanodiamond and the surface energy of nanostructured surface.     

Tracking control for boundary controlled parabolic PDEs with varying parameters: Combining backstepping and differential flatness

The combination of backstepping-based state-feedback control and flatness-based trajectory planning and feedforward control is considered for the design of an exponentially stabilizing tracking controller for a linear diffusion-convection-reaction system with spatially and temporally varying parameters and nonlinear boundary input. For this, in a first step the backstepping transformation is utilized to determine a state-feedback controller, which transforms the original distributed-parameter system into an appropriately chosen exponentially stable distributed-parameter target system of a significantly simpler structure. In a second step, the flatness property of the target system is exploited in order to determine the feedforward controller, which allows us to realize the tracking of suitably prescribed trajectories for the system output. This results in a systematic procedure for the design of an exponentially stabilizing tracking controller for the considered general linear diffusion-convection-reaction system with varying parameters, whose applicability and tracking performance is evaluated in simulation studies.