Merritthein0570

Soft continuum robots are getting more popular in areas such as minimally invasive surgery, search and rescue, and inspection due to their inherent compliance and flexibility. However, most of the conventional continuum robots still lack the ability to significantly change size and length. Growth as a means of robotic locomotion is a novel actuation method that can be used to overcome this disadvantage. In this study, we introduce a growing pneumatic soft robot made up of pressurized thin-walled tubings that can move in three-dimensional space with an extension ratio only limited by manufacturing capabilities. Besides the ability to grow from the tip, this design provides active steering by controlling the speed of each tubing separately, controllable stiffness that can be changed during motion, and capability to carry a tool channel. We present models to estimate tip force and position and experimentally verify the force model and robot kinematics. Open-loop speed controller has an overall root mean square error of 2.69% for speeds between 20 and 300 mm/s. The position controller based on the kinematic model has a mean positioning error of 13.9 mm at 100 mm and 22.6 mm at 200 mm longitudinal distance. Robot can produce a tip force of 20.1 N at 150 kPa tubing pressure and reach a maximum speed of 1490 mm/s at 100 kPa. We also demonstrate the navigation capabilities of the robot both in open field and in constrained environments.In budding yeast, macroautophagy/autophagy is required for cells to enter into the meiotic divisions. Our recent publication showed that autophagy is also required for meiotic exit. Inhibition of autophagy as cells enter into the meiotic divisions results in additional rounds of spindle formation, spindle elongation, and aberrant chromosome segregation leading to cell death. Under these conditions, the meiosis II-specific cyclin Clb3 is absent, and two substrates of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) persist into the additional divisions instead of being degraded after meiosis II. We found that the translational repressor Rim4 is a substrate of autophagy, which could explain these observations through its known role in repressing synthesis of Clb3 and the meiosis-specific co-activator of the APC/C, Ama1. Rapamycin mTOR inhibitor Combined, these results provide new mechanistic insight into the control of meiotic exit through timed autophagic degradation of a master regulator of gene expression.Background The changing technological environment is reflected in regular updates made to the everyday technology (ET) use questionnaire (ETUQ). Newly added ETs may not present comparable challenges across countries and diagnoses.Aims To identify whether country context, or dementia diagnosis, impact ETs' challenge level.Material and methods 315 older adults from three countries were included; Sweden (n = 73), United States (n = 114), England (n = 128), and had a confirmed diagnosis of mild dementia (n = 99) or no known cognitive impairment (n = 216). Differential Items Functioning (DIF) analysis was performed on 88 ETs included in the ETUQ by country and diagnosis. The impact of DIF was evaluated in a Differential Test Functioning (DTF) analysis.Results Nine items (10.2%) in the ETUQ showed statistically significant DIF between countries; five of which were public space ETs and none of which were information and communication technologies (ICTs). Three ICT items, and no others, showed significant DIF by diagnosis. The items' DIF was shown to have no impact upon person measures of ability to use ET in the DTF.Conclusions and significance The utility of the ETUQ in occupational therapy practice and research internationally is highlighted through the stability of the challenge hierarchy and lack of impact on person measures.CONTEXT The optimal treatment of lower pole stones (LPS) between 1-2cm represents a point of debate among the urologists. PURPOSE The aim of the current systematic review and meta-analysis is to provide an answer on which is the most appropriate approach for the management of the LPS with a maximal dimension ≤2cm. MATERIAL AND METHODS A systematic review was conducted on PubMed, SCOPUS, Cochrane and EMBASE. The PRISMA guidelines and the recommendations of the EAU Guidelines office were followed. Retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS), shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) and percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) were considered for comparison. Primary endpoint was the stone-free rate (SFR). RESULTS 15 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were eligible. PCNL and RIRS have higher SFRs in comparison to SWL and require less retreatment sessions. Operative time and complications seem to favor SWL in comparison to PCNL, but this takes place in the expense of multiple SWL sessions. RIRS seems to be the most efficient approach for the management of stones up to 1cm in the lower pole. CONCLUSION The pooled analysis of the eligible studies showed that the management of LPS should probably reside to PCNL or RIRS to achieve stone-free status over a short period and minimal number of sessions. For stones smaller than 10mm, RIRS is more efficient in comparison to SWL. The decision between the two approaches (PCNL or RIRS) should be individual, based on the anatomical parameters, the comorbidity and the preferences of each patient.Diseases caused by insect-transmitted viruses are the predominant constraint to wheat production worldwide. However, detailed knowledge of virus incidence and dynamics in China in recent years is very limited. Here, major wheat-growing regions of China were surveyed over 10 years for insect-transmitted viruses, and 2,143 samples were collected (in 2007 to 2015) and analyzed by molecular hybridization or multiplex reverse-transcription PCR for barley yellow dwarf viruses (BYDVs BYDV-GAV, -GPV, and -PAV) and wheat dwarf virus (WDV). In a 4-year survey (2016 to 2019), the incidence of eight insect-transmitted viruses (BYDVs, WDV, wheat yellow striate virus [WYSV], barley yellow striate mosaic virus [BYSMV], northern cereal mosaic virus [NCMV], and rice black-streaked dwarf virus [RBSDV]) was investigated, and BYDVs and WDV were widely distributed across China. BYDV-GAV (29.0% of the tested sample) was the most abundant, followed by BYDV-PAV (23.2%) from 2007 to 2015. From 2016 to 2019, however, BYDV-PAV had become the predominant species (39.