Activity

The whole sensor has been tested with a maximum load equal to 15N, by showing a sensitivity equal to 0.018V/N. Moreover, a complete and detailed characterization for the single taxel and the whole pad is reported to show the potentialities of the sensor also in terms of response time, repeatability, hysteresis and signal to noise ratio.The output model of a rotating accelerometer gravity gradiometer (RAGG) established by the inertial dynamics method cannot reflect the change of signal frequency, and calibration sensitivity and self-gradient compensation effect for the RAGG is a very important stage in the development process that cannot be omitted. In this study, a model based on the outputs of accelerometers on the disc of RGAA is established to calculate the gravity gradient corresponding to the distance, through the study of the RAGG output influenced by a surrounding mass in the frequency domain. Taking particle, sphere, and cuboid as examples, the input-output models of gravity gradiometer are established based on the center gradient and four accelerometers, respectively. Simulation results show that, if the scale factors of the four accelerometers on the disk are the same, the output signal of the RAGG only contains (4k+2)ω (ω is the spin frequency of disc for RAGG) harmonic components, and its amplitude is related to the orientation of the surrounding mass. Based on the results of numerical simulation of the three models, if the surrounding mass is close to the RAGG, the input-output models of gravity gradiometer are more accurate based on the four accelerometers. Finally, some advantages and disadvantages of cuboid and sphere are compared and some suggestions related to calibration and self-gradient compensation are given.The Tactile Internet will require ultra-low latencies for combining machines and humans in systems where humans are in the control loop. Real-time and perceptual coding in these systems commonly require content-specific approaches. We present a generic approach based on deliberately reduced number accuracy and evaluate the trade-off between savings achieved and errors introduced with real-world data for kinesthetic movement and tele-surgery. Our combination of bitplane-level accuracy adaptability with perceptual threshold-based limits allows for great flexibility in broad application scenarios. Combining the attainable savings with the relatively small introduced errors enables the optimal selection of a working point for the method in actual implementations.Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia in clinical practice. Currently, catheter ablation for pulmonary-vein isolation is a well-established treatment for maintaining sinus rhythm when antiarrhythmic drugs do not succeed. Unfortunately, arrhythmia recurrence after catheter ablation remains common, with estimated rates of up to 45%. A better understanding of factors leading to atrial-fibrillation recurrence is needed. Hence, the aim of this study is to characterize changes in the atrial propagation pattern following pulmonary-vein isolation, and investigate the relation between such characteristics and atrial-fibrillation recurrence. Fifty patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation who had undergone catheter ablation were included in this study. Time-segment and vectorcardiogram-loop-morphology analyses were applied to characterize P waves extracted from 1 min long 12-lead electrocardiogram segments before and after the procedure, respectively. Results showed that P-wave vectorcardiogram loops were significantly less round and more planar, P waves and PR intervals were significantly shorter, and heart rate was significantly higher after the procedure. Differences were larger for patients who did not have arrhythmia recurrences at 2 years of follow-up; for these patients, the pre- and postprocedure P waves could be identified with 84% accuracy.Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. In particular, neuroinflammation, mediated by microglia cells but also through CD8+ T-cells, actively contributes to disease pathology. Leukotrienes are involved in neuroinflammation and in the pathological hallmarks of AD. check details In consequence, leukotriene signaling-more specifically, the leukotriene receptors-has been recognized as a potential drug target to ameliorate AD pathology. Here, we analyzed the effects of the leukotriene receptor antagonist montelukast (MTK) on hippocampal gene expression in 5xFAD mice, a commonly used transgenic AD mouse model. We identified glial activation and neuroinflammation as the main pathways modulated by MTK. The treatment increased the number of Tmem119+ microglia and downregulated genes related to AD-associated microglia and to lipid droplet-accumulating microglia, suggesting that the MTK treatment targets and modulates microglia phenotypes in the disease model compared to the vehicle. MTK treatment further reduced infiltration of CD8+T-cells into the brain parenchyma. Finally, MTK treatment resulted in improved cognitive functions. In summary, we provide a proof of concept for MTK to be a potential drug candidate for AD and provide novel modes of action via modulation of microglia and CD8+ T-cells. Of note, 5xFAD females showed a more severe pathology, and in consequence, MTK treatment had a more pronounced effect in the females compared to the males. The effects on neuroinflammation, i.e., microglia and CD8+ T-cells, as well as the effects on cognitive outcome, were dose-dependent, therefore arguing for the use of higher doses of MTK in AD clinical trials compared to the approved asthma dose.This work describes the development of a vision-based tactile sensor system that utilizes the image-based information of the tactile sensor in conjunction with input loads at various motions to train the neural network for the estimation of tactile contact position, area, and force distribution. The current study also addresses pragmatic aspects, such as choice of the thickness and materials for the tactile fingertips and surface tendency, etc. The overall vision-based tactile sensor equipment interacts with an actuating motion controller, force gauge, and control PC (personal computer) with a LabVIEW software on it. The image acquisition was carried out using a compact stereo camera setup mounted inside the elastic body to observe and measure the amount of deformation by the motion and input load. The vision-based tactile sensor test bench was employed to collect the output contact position, angle, and force distribution caused by various randomly considered input loads for motion in X, Y, Z directions and RxRy rotational motion.