A time-frequency analysis method for radar scattering

A time-frequency analysis method to study electromagnetic scattering is presented and demonstrated using canonical objects. The time-frequency analysis method utilizes the Bargmann transform to formulate the signal representation in phase space. The use of the Bargmann transform leads to an attractive parametric signal representation in terms of complex polynomials, and elliptical filters can be constructed to crop or extract selected areas of the phase plane. The signal representation and filtering operations are demonstrated using scattering responses from spheres and thin wires, and the prominent scattering features are identified and extracted     

A bio-inspired predictive sensory-motor coordination scheme for robot reaching and preshaping

This paper presents a sensory-motor coordination scheme for a robot hand-arm-head system that provides the robot with the capability to reach an object while pre-shaping the fingers to the required grasp configuration and while predicting the tactile image that will be perceived after grasping. A model for sensory-motor coordination derived from studies in humans inspired the development of this scheme. A peculiar feature of this model is the prediction of the tactile image. The implementation of the proposed scheme is based on a neuro-fuzzy module that, after a learning phase, starting from visual data, calculates the position and orientation of the hand for reaching, selects the best-suited hand configuration, and predicts the tactile feedback. The implementation of the scheme on a humanoid robot allowed experimental validation of its effectiveness in robotics and provided perspectives on applications of sensory predictions in robot motor control.     

Protein kinase C modulates estrogen receptors in differentiated osteoblastic cells in vitro

Ventriculo-peritoneal shunts (VPS) are the most frequent operative procedures used to treat hydrocephalic children. Abdominal complications of VPS are now a rare event; however, their frequency varies from 5% to 47% according to reports. Anything that causes an obstruction or impediment of the VP derivation system will lead to intracranial hypertension, which requires immediate surgery. From 1985 to 1995 at the Division of Pediatric Surgery of the Federico II University of Naples, ten laparoscopies were performed in ten children with VPS complications. Cerebrospinal fluid pseudocysts were found in four infants. There was one case of abdominal wall perforation by the tip of the catheter at the umbilical level, two bowel obstructions, and one catheter was lost in the abdominal cavity. Finally, two children had malfunctioning of the peritoneal limb of the catheter. The laparoscopic technique was curative in all ten cases, thus avoiding a conventional laparotomy and the consequent risk of adhesions, which could cause further complications.     

Involvement of CD14 and complement receptors CR3 and CR4 in nuclear factor-kappaB activation and TNF production induced by lipopolysaccharide and group B streptococcal cell walls

This study was undertaken to evaluate the role of CD14 and complement receptors type 3 (CR3) and 4 (CR4) in mediating TNF release and NF-kappaB activation induced by LPS and cell wall preparations from group B streptococci type III (GBS). LPS and GBS caused TNF secretion from human monocytes in a CD14-dependent manner, and soluble CD14, LPS binding protein, or their combination potentiated both LPS- and GBS-induced activities. Blocking of either CD14 or CD18, the common beta-subunit of CR3 and CR4, decreased GBS-induced TNF release, while LPS-mediated TNF production was inhibited by anti-CD14 mAb only. Chinese hamster ovary cell transfectants (CHO) that express human CD14 (CHO/CD14) responded to both LPS and GBS with NF-kappaB translocation, which was inhibited by anti-CD14 mAb and enhanced by LPS binding protein. While LPS showed fast kinetics of NF-kappaB activation in CHO/CD14 cells, a slower NF-kappaB response was induced by GBS. LPS also activated NF-kappaB in CHO cells transfected with either human CR3 or CR4 cDNA, although responses were delayed and weaker than those of CHO/CD14 cells. In contrast to LPS, GBS failed to induce NF-kappaB in CHO/CR3 or CHO/CR4 cells. Both C3H/OuJ (Lps[n]) and C3H/HeJ (Lps[d]) mouse peritoneal macrophages responded to GBS with TNF production and NF-kappaB translocation, whereas LPS was active only in C3H/OuJ macrophages. Thus, LPS and GBS differentially involve CD14 and CR3 or CR4 for signaling NF-kappaB activation in CHO cells and TNF release in human monocytes, and engage a different set of receptors and/or intracellular signaling pathways in mouse macrophages.     

Parenting at risk: New perspectives, new approaches.

In this lead paper for this special section, we advance the perspective that new insights into parenting at risk can be gained by focusing on the dynamic emotional processes that occur during parent–child exchanges, with special emphasis on parental emotions as experienced and their regulation of emotion and underlying cognitions, as well as the role of developmentally rooted cognitions in shaping these associations. We discuss the very few but germinal studies that embody this perspective and introduce work in this section that examines emotion dynamics during parenting in real time. We believe this perspective will move us beyond static conceptualizations of parenting at risk, broadens our understanding of parenting as a process, and accelerates our ability to identify the essential targets of intervention when parenting is at risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chip Form Monitoring through Advanced Processing of Cutting Force Sensor Signals

This paper draws on the activities of the CIRP Collaborative Work on “Round Robin on Chip Form Monitoring” carried out within the Scientific-Technical Committee Cutting (STC-C). This collaborative work involved the following main round robin activities: (a) generation, detection, storage and exchange of cutting force sensor signals obtained at different Laboratories during sensor-based monitoring of machining processes with variable cutting conditions yielding diverse chip forms, and (b) cutting force signal (CFS) characterization and feature extraction through advanced processing methodologies, both aimed at comparing chip form monitoring results achieved on the basis of innovative analysis paradigms.