On the learning control of a robot manipulator

This paper derives a learning control law to achieve trajectory following for a robot manipulator. The controller consists of two parts, a computed torque servo for the rigid body terms that can be modelled and a learning law for the unmodelled dynamics. An advantage of this method is that bounds can be assigned to the position and velocity tracking errors.     

Transport of the dicyanogold(i) anion

We have shown that dicyanogold(I), [Au(CN)(2)](-) is a common metabolite found in blood and urine samples of patients treated with different gold based drugs. Some patients have high levels of gold within their red blood cells (RBCs). Size exclusion and C18 reversed phase chromatography show that the majority of the gold in RBC lysates is bound to protein, but small molecules such as dicyanogold(I) and gold-glutathione complexes are also present. Dicyanogold incubation with red blood cells in vitro leads to a rapid and complete uptake of gold. This uptake is unaffected by DIDS, an inhibitor of the anion channel, but is blocked by the addition of external cyanide. Dicyanogold is also readily taken up by H9 cells, a continuous CD(4+) cell line. This uptake is significantly inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide, suggesting a requirement for sulfhydryl groups. Dicyanogold inhibits the replication of the AIDS virus, HIV, in a cell culture model.     

SmartCanvas: Context‐inferred Interpretation of Sketches for Preparatory Design Studies

In early or preparatory design stages, an architect or designer sketches out rough ideas, not only about the object or structure being considered, but its relation to its spatial context. This is an iterative process, where the sketches are not only the primary means for testing and refining ideas, but also for communicating among a design team and to clients. Hence, sketching is the preferred media for artists and designers during the early stages of design, albeit with a major drawback: sketches are 2D and effects such as view perturbations or object movement are not supported, thereby inhibiting the design process. We present an interactive system that allows for the creation of a 3D abstraction of a designed space, built primarily by sketching in 2D within the context of an anchoring design or photograph. The system is progressive in the sense that the interpretations are refined as the user continues sketching. As a key technical enabler, we reformulate the sketch interpretation process as a selection optimization from a set of context‐generated canvas planes in order to retrieve a regular arrangement of planes. We demonstrate our system (available at http:/geometry.cs.ucl.ac.uk/projects/2016/smartcanvas/ ) with a wide range of sketches and design studies.     

Audioptimization: goal-based acoustic design

The authors present a new inverse, interactive approach to acoustic design that applies optimization techniques to an acoustic simulation system. For a new building, the system may suggest optimal configurations that would not otherwise be considered; for a hall with modifiable components or for a renovation project, it may assist in optimizing an existing configuration. Our system allows the designer to constrain changes to the environment and specify acoustic performance goals as a function of time. The constraints include the specification of a range of allowable materials as well as geometric modifications for surfaces in the hall. The designer also specifies goals for acoustic performance in space and time via high-level acoustic qualities such as decay time and sound level. Using this information, the system performs a constrained optimization of surface material and geometric parameters for a subset of elements in the environment. The system operates at varying accuracy levels, offering trade-offs between time and quality. Visualization tools facilitate an intuitive assessment of the complex time-dependent nature of sound, and they provide a means to express desired performance. By using optimization routines within an interactive application, our system reveals complex acoustic properties and steers the design process toward the designer's goals     

Consulting psychology and the intelligence community: Toward a new support paradigm.

In 2004, Congress created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to enable the 16 independent government organizations that constitute the national intelligence mission to function as a single enterprise. The ODNI strategy to accomplish this transformation included the integration of personnel systems across these organizations. However, customary practices for obtaining and using personnel system and organizational consulting psychologists tend to undermine this goal by reinforcing existing fragmented and strategically misaligned human capital management systems. In this article, the authors describe and analyze the challenges confronting the organizational consulting field working in these settings and suggest ways in which the intelligence and consulting communities can collaborate to overcome these challenges and better serve the important mission of intelligence organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wound healing and the immune response in swine treated with a hemostatic bandage composed of salmon thrombin and fibrinogen

We investigated the inflammatory response in pigs exposed to salmon fibrinogen/thrombin dressings. Animals were exposed to the material in 3 ways: (a) thrombin and fibrinogen were injected intravenously, (b) dual full-thickness skin lesions were surgically created on the dorsal aspect of the swine and treated with the fibrinogen/thrombin bandage and a commercial bandage or (c) a fibrinogen/thrombin bandage was inserted through an abdominal incision into the peritoneal cavity. Blood was collected twice weekly and animals were sacrificed at 7, 10 or 28 days. Animals in the 28-day dermal lesion group were given an injection of salmon fibrinogen/thrombin at the 10 day point to simulate a second bandage application. The immune response manifested itself as induction of germinal centers in mesenteric lymph nodes and in the white pulp of the spleen. Examination of the histology of the skin and organs showed a cellular inflammatory response with granulation tissue and signs of edema that resolved by the 28-day stage. Antibodies reactive to salmon and human thrombin and fibrinogen were detected, but fibrinogen levels and coagulation processes were not affected. In conclusion, animals treated with salmon fibrinogen/thrombin bandages demonstrated a smooth recovery course in terms of both tissue healing and the immune response without adverse effects from the exposure to the fish proteins.     

Ozone production in electrostatic air cleaners with contaminatedelectrodes

Runaway ozone generation due to contamination of electrode surfaces is a limiting factor in the long-term effectiveness of electrostatic air cleaners. Modification of the form of the corona discharge, accompanied by a significant rise in current, is the cause of increased ozone levels. After one week of operation in filtered air containing Arizona Road Dust, ozone concentration in a laboratory air cleaner increases by 460%. In this case, there is slight contamination on the discharge wires, but the ozone increase is attributed exclusively to back corona on the collection plates. On the other hand, oxidized discharge wires are believed to contribute to an order of magnitude increase in ozone concentration in a commercial air cleaner, operated in room air for 7 weeks. Wire contamination alone can increase ozone generation. An insulating tape adhesive applied to a 0.254 mm diameter stainless steel wire causes a 10-fold increase in ozone concentration     

Interleukin-10 gene transfer inhibits murine mammary tumors and elevates nitric oxide

Transfection of cDNA for IL-10 into line 66.1 murine mammary tumor cells results in marked suppression of tumor growth and metastasis. Others have reported that nitric oxide has potent antitumor activity and IL-10 is known to regulate the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expressed in macrophages. We identified nitric oxide production in mammary tumors as indicated by electron paramagnetic resonance detection of nitric oxide-hemoglobin (NO-Hb). IL-10 expression resulted in elevated levels of NO-Hb in mammary tumors. Immunohistochemical examination of mammary tumors for iNOS protein revealed few positively staining cells in parental or control neo-transfected tumors but strong iNOS staining in all IL-10 transfected tumors, consistent with the NO-Hb data. To determine if mammary epithelial tumor cells themselves, express nitric oxide synthase activity, cultured tumor cells were treated with pro-inflammatory cytokines and nitrite accumulation was assessed in the conditioned medium. All IL-10 producing cell lines accumulated uM concentrations of nitrite in response to short term (24 hr) cytokine stimulation. Cells not expressing IL-10 (parental and neo-transfectants) accumulated no nitrite under similar culture conditions. After longer stimulation (48 hr), parental and 66-neo cells accumulated lower amounts of nitrite. IL-10 gene transfer is associated with increased iNOS protein expression and enzymatic activity detected both in vitro and in vivo. Our findings suggest that the antimetastatic and antitumor activity of IL-10 is related to enhanced production of nitric oxide.