Integrating a flexible anthropomorphic, robot hand into the control, system of a humanoid robot

This article presents the approaches taken to integrate a novel anthropomorphic robot hand into a humanoid robot. The requisites enabling such a robot hand to use everyday objects in an environment built for humans are presented. Starting from a design that resembles the human hand regarding size and movability of the mechatronical system, a low-level control system is shown providing reliable and stable controllers for single joint angles and torques, entire fingers and several coordinated fingers. Further on, the high-level control system connecting the low-level control system with the rest of the humanoid robot is presented. It provides grasp skills to the superior robot control system, coordinates movements of hand and arm and determines grasp patterns, depending on the object to grasp and the task to execute. Finally some preliminary results of the system, which is currently tested in simulations, will be presented.     

A 2 MV Van de Graaff accelerator as a tool for planetary and impact physics research

Investigating the dynamical and physical properties of cosmic dust can reveal a great deal of information about both the dust and its many sources. Over recent years, several spacecraft (e.g., Cassini, Stardust, Galileo, and Ulysses) have successfully characterised interstellar, interplanetary, and circumplanetary dust using a variety of techniques, including in situ analyses and sample return. Charge, mass, and velocity measurements of the dust are performed either directly (induced charge signals) or indirectly (mass and velocity from impact ionisation signals or crater morphology) and constrain the dynamical parameters of the dust grains. Dust compositional information may be obtained via either time-of-flight mass spectrometry of the impact plasma or direct sample return. The accurate and reliable interpretation of collected spacecraft data requires a comprehensive programme of terrestrial instrument calibration. This process involves accelerating suitable solar system analogue dust particles to hypervelocity speeds in the laboratory, an activity performed at the Max Planck Institut fu?r Kernphysik in Heidelberg, Germany. Here, a 2 MV Van de Graaff accelerator electrostatically accelerates charged micron and submicron-sized dust particles to speeds up to 80 km s(-1). Recent advances in dust production and processing have allowed solar system analogue dust particles (silicates and other minerals) to be coated with a thin conductive shell, enabling them to be charged and accelerated. Refinements and upgrades to the beam line instrumentation and electronics now allow for the reliable selection of particles at velocities of 1-80 km s(-1) and with diameters of between 0.05 μm and 5 μm. This ability to select particles for subsequent impact studies based on their charges, masses, or velocities is provided by a particle selection unit (PSU). The PSU contains a field programmable gate array, capable of monitoring in real time the particles' speeds and charges, and is controlled remotely by a custom, platform independent, software package. The new control instrumentation and electronics, together with the wide range of accelerable particle types, allow the controlled investigation of hypervelocity impact phenomena across a hitherto unobtainable range of impact parameters.     

Multipurpose modular experimental station for the DiProI beamline of Fermi@Elettra free electron laser

We present a compact modular apparatus with a flexible design that will be operated at the DiProI beamline of the Fermi@Elettra free electron laser (FEL) for performing static and time-resolved coherent diffraction imaging experiments, taking advantage of the full coherence and variable polarization of the short seeded FEL pulses. The apparatus has been assembled and the potential of the experimental setup is demonstrated by commissioning tests with coherent synchrotron radiation. This multipurpose experimental station will be open to general users after installation at the Fermi@Elettra free electron laser in 2011.     

Intramyocardial Inflammation after COVID-19 Vaccination: An Endomyocardial Biopsy-Proven Case Series

Myocarditis in response to COVID-19 vaccination has been reported since early 2021. In particular, young male individuals have been identified to exhibit an increased risk of myocardial inflammation following the administration of mRNA-based vaccines. Even though the first epidemiological analyses and numerous case reports investigated potential relationships, endomyocardial biopsy (EMB)-proven cases are limited. Here, we present a comprehensive histopathological analysis of EMBs from 15 patients with reduced ejection fraction (LVEF = 30 (14–39)%) and the clinical suspicion of myocarditis following vaccination with Comirnaty^® (Pfizer-BioNTech) (n = 11), Vaxzevria^® (AstraZenica) (n = 2) and Janssen^® (Johnson & Johnson) (n = 2). Immunohistochemical EMB analyses reveal myocardial inflammation in 14 of 15 patients, with the histopathological diagnosis of active myocarditis according the Dallas criteria (n = 2), severe giant cell myocarditis (n = 2) and inflammatory cardiomyopathy (n = 10). Importantly, infectious causes have been excluded in all patients. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has been detected sparsely on cardiomyocytes of nine patients, and differential analysis of inflammatory markers such as CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells suggests that the inflammatory response triggered by the vaccine may be of autoimmunological origin. Although a definitive causal relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and the occurrence of myocardial inflammation cannot be demonstrated in this study, data suggest a temporal connection. The expression of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein within the heart and the dominance of CD4⁺ lymphocytic infiltrates indicate an autoimmunological response to the vaccination.     

Targeting CD10 on B-Cell Leukemia Using the Universal CAR T-Cell Platform (UniCAR)

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-expressing T-cells are without a doubt a breakthrough therapy for hematological malignancies. Despite their success, clinical experience has revealed several challenges, which include relapse after targeting single antigens such as CD19 in the case of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), and the occurrence of side effects that could be severe in some cases. Therefore, it became clear that improved safety approaches, and targeting multiple antigens, should be considered to further improve CAR T-cell therapy for B-ALL. In this paper, we address both issues by investigating the use of CD10 as a therapeutic target for B-ALL with our switchable UniCAR system. The UniCAR platform is a modular platform that depends on the presence of two elements to function. These include UniCAR T-cells and the target modules (TMs), which cross-link the T-cells to their respective targets on tumor cells. The TMs function as keys that control the switchability of UniCAR T-cells. Here, we demonstrate that UniCAR T-cells, armed with anti-CD10 TM, can efficiently kill B-ALL cell lines, as well as patient-derived B-ALL blasts, thereby highlighting the exciting possibility for using CD10 as an emerging therapeutic target for B-cell malignancies.     

Metallchelate ungesättigter 1,2-Dithioäther

Metal Chelates of Unsaturated 1,2-Dithioethers The dialkyl- and diaralkyldithioethers of ethylenebisthiol (edt) and xylenedithiol form cationic 1:2 chelates with the d⁸-metal ions Ag^I and Cu^I, which have been isolated and characterized. Pd^II- and Pt^II-halides yield neutral mixed ligand complexes of the type Me (L L) X₂ (L L = dithioether, X = halogen). The dibenzyldithioether of edt is cleaved oxidatively by Cu^II and yields dibenzyldisulfide, Cu^I and an unidentified product.     

Short communication: Validation of somatic cell score–associated loci identified in a genome-wide association study in German Holstein cattle

Recently, we identified 6 genomic loci affecting daughter yield deviations (DYD) for somatic cell score (SCS) in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) performed with German Holstein bulls. In the current study, we tested if these loci were associated with SCS in cows using their own performance data. The study was performed with 1,412 German Holstein cows, of which 483 were daughters of 71 bulls that had been used in the GWAS. We tested 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) representing 6 genomic regions that were associated with DYD for SCS in bulls. All tested SNP were significant in cows. Seven of them, located on Bos taurus autosomes (BTA) 6, 13, and 19, had the same direction of effect as those previously reported in the bull population. The most significant associations were detected on BTA6 and BTA19, accounting for 1.8% of the total genetic variance. The major allele of the 2 SNP on BTA6 and the minor allele of the 2 SNP on BTA19 were favorable for lower SCS. The differences between the homozygous genotype classes were up to 15,000 cells/mL. The verification of SNP associated with SCS in this study provides further evidence for the functional role of the linked genomic regions for immune response and contributes to identification of causative mutations. In particular, SNP with minor frequency of the favorable allele possess high potential to reduce SCS in German Holstein cattle by selection.