3,124 research outputs found
Analysis of Gait Kinematics in Smart Walker-Assisted Locomotion in Immersive Virtual Reality Scenario
No full textThe decline in neuromusculoskeletal capabilities of older adults can affect motor control, independence, and locomotion. Because the elderly population is increasing worldwide, assisting independent mobility and improving rehabilitation therapies has become a priority. The combination of rehabilitation robotic devices and virtual reality (VR) tools can be used in gait training to improve clinical outcomes, motivation, and treatment adherence. Nevertheless, VR tools may be associated with cybersickness and changes in gait kinematics. This paper analyzes the gait parameters of fourteen elderly participants across three experimental tasks: free walking (FW), smart walker-assisted gait (AW), and smart walker-assisted gait combined with VR assistance (VRAW). The kinematic parameters of both lower limbs were captured by a 3D wearable motion capture system. This research aims at assessing the kinematic adaptations when using a smart walker and how the integration between this robotic device and the VR tool can influence such adaptations. Additionally, cybersickness symptoms were investigated using a questionnaire for virtual rehabilitation systems after the VRAW task. The experimental data indicate significant differences between FW and both AW and VRAW. Specifically, there was an overall reduction in sagittal motion of 16%, 25%, and 38% in the hip, knee, and ankle, respectively, for both AW and VRAW compared to FW. However, no significant differences between the AW and VRAW kinematic parameters and no adverse symptoms related to VR were identified. These results indicate that VR technology can be used in walker-assisted gait rehabilitation without compromising kinematic performance and presenting potential benefits related to motivation and treatment adherence
High-temperature tribological properties of hard anodised EN AW-5754 aluminium alloy
No full textThe present work deals with the high-temperature tribological characterization of hard anodised EN AW-5754 plates. Wear tests in ball-on-plate configuration were conducted in dry sliding conditions. A constant load of 5 N was applied and a 2 Hz frequency was chosen for linear reciprocating motion according to ASTM G133 standard. AISI 52100 (UNI EN 100Cr6) steel balls with 6 mm in diameter were used as counterbodies. Controlled temperatures equal to 23 (i.e., room temperature), 80 and 160 °C were selected to investigate their influence on tribological properties. To monitor possible changes in the wear mechanisms occurring in time, tests intervals of 10, 20, 30 and 40 minutes were selected. A 3-D optical non-contact profilometer was used to determine the worn volume from the anodised plates. Similarly, the steel balls were weighted using a precision balance to calculate their mass loss. Results suggest that the temperature influences the predominant wear mechanism
Influence of temperature and sliding speed on the subsurface microstructure evolution of EN AW-6060 under sticking friction conditions
No full textThis article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in AIP Conference Proceedings 1896, 140012 (2017) and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5008168.The microstructure evolution of the friction boundary layer of the aluminum alloy EN AW-6060 was investigated. Sticking friction tests at different temperatures and sliding speeds were carried out. A severe deformation below the friction surface was observed by means of LOM and EBSD mapping. Thus, the thickness variation and the grain structure of the high deformation zone could be described. Fibrous structure was observed at 300 °C and 400 °C, while equiaxed grains with high misorientation angle (>15°) were generated at higher temperatures. Additionally, abnormal grain growth and coarse grains were detected at high sliding speeds (10 mm/s, 42 mm/s) at 450°C and 500 °C respectively
High-temperature tribological properties of hard anodised EN AW-5754 aluminium alloy
No full textIl presente lavoro riguarda lo studio del comportamento tribologico alle alte temperature di una lega di alluminio
EN AW-5754 sottoposta ad ossidazione anodica. I test tribologici sono stati condotti in modalità ball-on-plate
in condizioni non lubrificate. La lega, sotto forma di piastrine, è stata opportunamente anodizzata mentre sfere
di acciaio UNI EN 100Cr6 con diametro di 6 mm sono state utilizzate come controparte. È stato applicato un
carico costante pari a 5 N ed è stata scelta una frequenza di 2 Hz per il moto alternativo lineare secondo lo
standard ASTM G133. Per valutare l’effetto della temperatura sono state scelte temperature controllate pari a
23 (cioè temperatura ambiente), 80 e 160 °C. Inoltre, al fine di monitorare eventuali cambiamenti nei
meccanismi di usura nel corso delle prove, sono stati scelti intervalli di prova di 10, 20, 30 e 40 minuti. Per la
quantificazione dell’usura sono stati utilizzati rispettivamente un profilometro ottico per le piastrine, e una
bilancia analitica di precisione per misurare la perdita di peso delle sfere. I risultati suggeriscono che il
meccanismo di usura predominante è funzione della temperatura di prova.The present work deals with the high-temperature tribological characterization of hard anodised EN AW-5754
plates. Wear tests in ball-on-plate configuration were conducted in dry sliding conditions. A constant load of 5
N was applied and a 2 Hz frequency was chosen for linear reciprocating motion according to ASTM G133
standard. AISI 52100 (UNI EN 100Cr6) steel balls with 6 mm in diameter were used as counterbodies.
Controlled temperatures equal to 23 (i.e., room temperature), 80 and 160 °C were selected to investigate their
influence on tribological properties. To monitor possible changes in the wear mechanisms occurring in time,
tests intervals of 10, 20, 30 and 40 minutes were selected. A 3-D optical non-contact profilometer was used to
determine the worn volume from the anodised plates. Similarly, the steel balls were weighted using a precision
balance to calculate their mass loss. Results suggest that the temperature influences the predominant wear
mechanism
Reduced protein turnover mediates functional deficits in transgenic mice expressing the 25 kDa C-terminal fragment of TDP-43
No full textAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD-TDP) are two neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the accumulation of TDP-43. TDP-43 is proteolitically cleaved to generate two major C-terminal fragments of 35 and 25 kDa. The latter, known as TDP-25, is a consistent feature of FTLD-TDP and ALS; however, little is known about its role in disease pathogenesis. We have previously developed transgenic mice overexpressing low levels of TDP-25 (TgTDP-25(+/0)), which at 6 months of age show mild cognitive impairments and no motor deficits. To better understand the role of TDP-25 in the pathogenesis of ALS and FTLD-TDP, we generated TDP-25 homozygous mice (TgTDP-25(+/+)), thereby further increasing TDP-25 expression. We found a gene-dosage effect on cognitive and motor function at 15 months of age, as the TgTDP-25(+/+) showed more severe spatial and working memory deficits as well as worse motor performance than TgTDP-25(+/0) mice. These behavioral deficits were associated with increased soluble levels of TDP-25 in the nucleus and cytosol. Notably, high TDP-25 levelswere also linked to reduced autophagy induction and proteasome function, two events that have been associated with both ALS and FTLD-TDP. In summary, we present strong in vivo evidence that high levels of TDP-25 are sufficient to cause behavioral deficits and reduce function of two of the major protein turnover systems: autophagy and proteasome. These mice represent a new tool to study the role of TDP-25 in the pathogenesis of ALS and FTLD-TDP
Author-Suggested, Weighted Citation Index: A Novel Approach for Determining the Contribution of Individual Researchers
No full textA novel scientometric index, named ‘author-suggested, weighted citation index’ (Aw-index) is proposed to indicate the scientific contribution of any individual researcher. For calculation of the Aw-index, it is suggested that during the submission of a scholarly article, the corresponding author would provide a statement, agreed upon by all the authors, containing weightage factors against each author of the article. The author who contributed more to the article would secure a higher weightage factor. The summation of the weightage factors of all the authors of an article should be unity. The citation points a researcher receives from a scholarly publication is the product of his/her weightage factor for that article and the total number of citations of the article. The Aw-index of any individual researcher is the summation of the citation points he/she receives for all his/her publications as an author. The Aw-index provides the opportunity to the group of authors of a multi-authored article to determine the quantum of partial citations to be attributed to each of them. Through an illustrative example, a comparison of the proposed index with the major scientometric indexes is presented to highlight the advantages of the Aw-index
Ecology of A.carbonarius and ochratoxin A production in vine fruits and control in the production chain
No full textThis study examined black aspergilli, especially A. carbonarius and A. niger and
ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination of grapes, during drying and industrial processing
of dried vine fruits. This was complemented by studies on potential control using
preservatives and physical factors such as modified atmospheres. Fungal population
kinetics were determined in relation to grapes at harvest, and during drying at three
different altitudes (sea level: 0-200 m; medium level: 250-500 m; high level: >500 m)
in two seasons. At pre-harvest, A. niger aggregate species were the predominant
fungal species while A. carbonarius was occasionally isolated, in both years studied.
Both altitude and bunch position affected black aspergilli population dynamics.
Overall, they were increased during drying. However, both black aspergilli groups
were mostly isolated, at low and medium altitudes (<500 m). OTA contamination
was influenced by bunch position, although altitude did not significantly influenced
amounts. The fungal biodiversity was decreased during sun-drying of sultanas. The
widest diversity of species occurred at the sea level. However, A. niger aggregate,
were dominant during drying. Time of drying and altitude significantly influenced
fungal loads of black aspergilli. In contrast, OTA production (ca 0.001 - 0.0025 μg g
-
1
) was not significantly influenced by altitude and drying time. Shannon Index of
Biodiversity (H), for pre-harvest and pos-harvest studies, was determined for the first
time.
A. niger aggregate (ca 5.0 Log10 CFUs g
-1
) was predominant during industrial
processing, while A. carbonarius was only isolated at low levels (1.5-2.0 Log10 CFUs
g
-1
). Heat treatment (up to 90
o
C) appeared to be the key-procedure for the
elimination of fungal populations. In the contrary, SO2 treatment did not statistically
alter fungal population dynamics. OTA contamination was not significantly affected
by industrial processing.
In vitro studies conducted on both White Grape Juice Medium (WGJM) and in
sultanas with strains of A. carbonarius originated from Cretan sultanas and compared with a strain isolated from Italian wine grapes. They examined the impact of sodium
metabisulphite (NaMBS), elevated CO2 (up to 50%) concentrations and aw levels, on
black aspergilli spore germination, growth and OTA production. Moreover, fungal
interactions in vitro and in situ were also investigated.
In general, spore germination occurred over a wide range of sodium metabisulphite
concentrations, although germ tube extension was significantly controlled. At ≥ 750
mg L
-1
NaMBS, no spore germination was observed while both mycelial growth and
OTA production were completely inhibited. Medium concentrations of NaMBS (≤
250 mg L
-1
) enabled optimum spore germination, growth and OTA production (x
0.965 aw). The efficacy of controlled atmospheres x aw showed that there was very
little inhibitory effect on spore germination. However, both germ tube extension and
fungal growth were inhibited by 50% CO2. After 10 days, growth was not as
effectively controlled. Aw had a bigger effect on OTA production than modified
atmospheres. In situ experiments on sultanas confirmed these results. Competition
and dominance of A. carbonarius over other fungal species showed that aw and
temperature influenced Indices of Dominance and OTA production. In vitro and in
situ, OTA production by A. carbonarius was significantly influenced by the fungal
competitor used
Influence of Process Parameters on the Quality of Aluminium Alloy EN AW 7075 Using Selective Laser Melting (SLM)
No full textAbstractSelective laser melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing process, forming the desired geometry by selective layer fusion of powder material. Unlike conventional manufacturing processes, highly complex parts can be manufactured with high accuracy and little post processing. Currently, different steel, aluminium, titanium and nickel-based alloys have been successfully processed; however, high strength aluminium alloy EN AW 7075 has not been processed with satisfying quality. The main focus of the investigation is to develop the SLM process for the wide used aluminium alloy EN AW 7075. Before process development, the gas-atomized powder material was characterized in terms of statistical distribution: size and shape. A wide range of process parameters were selected to optimize the process in terms of optimum volume density. The investigations resulted in a relative density of over 99%. However, all laser-melted parts exhibit hot cracks which typically appear in aluminium alloy EN AW 7075 during the welding process. Furthermore the influence of processing parameters on the chemical composition of the selected alloy was determined
Zhedanov's Algebra AW(3) and the Double Affine Hecke Algebra in the Rank One Case. II. The Spherical Subalgebra
No full textThis paper builds on the previous paper by the author, where a relationship between Zhedanov's algebra AW(3) and the double affine Hecke algebra (DAHA) corresponding to the Askey-Wilson polynomials was established. It is shown here that the spherical subalgebra of this DAHA is isomorphic to AW(3) with an additional relation that the Casimir operator equals an explicit constant. A similar result with q-shifted parameters holds for the antispherical subalgebra. Some theorems on centralizers and centers for the algebras under consideration will finally be proved as corollaries of the characterization of the spherical and antispherical subalgebra
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Extensions and amplifications of a traffic model of Aw and Rascle
No full textIn a recent paper [1] Aw and Rascle introduced a new model of traffic on a uni-directional highway. Here the author studies an extension of this model, one which accounts for drivers attempting to travel at their maximum allowable speed. The author looks at a Lagrangian reformulation of this problem; a formulation that leads to an effective computational algorithm for solving the resulting system. He also investigates approximation scheme introduced by Dafermos [5] for scalar conservation laws and demonstrates that this Dafermos scheme works well on this 2 x 2 system
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