This paper presents an aerial manipulator consisting of a multirotor equipped with a robotic multi-link arm attached to the top of the multirotor body. This setup has strong potentialities for ...inspection of structures, since the arm is able to safely touching the structure surface with a sensor while flying, taking measurements from the underside for example in bridges. The paper presents the dynamic model of the system and the derivation of a nonlinear controller, which is tested in simulation. First flight experiments with prototype of the system are also presented.
Sex differences in behavioral and neural characteristics can be caused by cultural influences but also by sex-based differences in neurophysiological and sensorimotor features. Since signal-response ...systems influence decision-making, cooperative and collaborative behaviors, the anatomical or physiological bases for any sex-based difference in sensory mechanisms are important to explore. Here, we use uniform scaling and nonparametric representations of the human cochlea, the main organ of hearing that imprints its adult-like morphology within the petrosal bone from birth. We observe a sex-differentiated torsion along the 3D cochlear curve in samples of 94 adults and 22 juvenile skeletons from cross-cultural contexts. The cochlear sexual dimorphism measured in our study allows sex assessment from the human skeleton with a mean accuracy ranging from 0.91 to 0.93 throughout life. We conclude that the human cochlea is sex-typed from an early post-natal age. This, for the first time, allows nondestructive sex determination of juveniles' skeletal remains in which the biomolecules are too degraded for study but in which the petrosal is preserved, one of the most common bone within archaeological assemblages. Our observed sex-typed cochlear shape from birth is likely associated with complex evolutionary processes in modern humans for reasons not yet fully understood.
Three-dimensional imaging of teeth will increase its impact in clinical practice if reconstructions are metrically accurate. We hypothesized that, with cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) data, ...three-dimensional images of teeth can be reconstructed with the same accuracy and precision as with in vitro micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) data acquisition, the current reference standard. We used a sample of CBCT and micro-CT data taken of tooth germs. Volumes obtained with CBCT and micro-CT devices were statistically similar (n = 120, Passing-Bablok regression). Geometric deviations between CBCT and micro-CT three-dimensional surface reconstructions did not show any areas of important and systematic errors. Future investigations with the use of larger samples may also demonstrate that CBCT data will be helpful for a more in-depth study of other aspects of dental morphology—for example, assessing tooth development. With sufficient accuracy for clinical situations, potential future medical applications of such measurements with CBCT are envisaged.
Cannabis use has become a hot topic in several countries due to the debate about its legalization for medical purposes. However, data are limited regarding adverse events, safety and potential impact ...on reproductive health. Cannabis consumption during pregnancy has been associated with gestational disorders such as preterm birth, intrauterine growth restriction, low birth weight and increased risk of miscarriage, though the underlying biochemical mechanisms are still unknown. Given that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) is involved in several reproductive processes, we tested the hypothesis that the negative outcomes may result from the impact on the ECS homeostasis caused by the main psychoactive compound of cannabis, Δ
9
-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). We demonstrate that THC (10–40 µM) impairs placental endocannabinoid system by disrupting the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA) levels and the expression of AEA synthetic and degrading enzymes
N
-arachidonoylphosphatidylethanolamine-specific phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD) and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), respectively. Although, no alterations in cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 expression were observed. Thus, long-term local AEA levels are associated with a shift in the enzymatic profile to re-establish ECS homeostasis. In chronic cannabis users, high AEA levels in placenta may disturb the delicate balance of trophoblast cells turnover leading to alterations in normal placental development and foetal growth.
Microscopic information, such as the pair distribution and direct correlation functions, can be obtained from experimental data. From these correlation functions, thermodynamical quantities and the ...potential interaction function can be recovered. Derivations of Ornstein-Zernike equation and Hopfield Neural Network method are given first, as a theoretical background to follow the present work. From these two frameworks, structural information, such as the radial distribution (
g
(
r
)) and direct correlation (
C
(
r
)) functions, were retrieved from neutron scattering experimental data. The problem was solved considering simple initial conditions, which does not require any previous information about the system, making it clear the robustness of the Hopfield Neural Network method. The pair interaction potential was estimated in the Percus-Yevick (PY) and hypernetted chain (HNC) approximations and a poor agreement, compared with the Lennard-Jones 6-12 potential, was observed for both cases, suggesting the necessity of a more accurate closure relation to describe the system. In this sense, the Hopfield Neural Network together with experimental information provides an alternative approach to solve the Ornstein-Zernike equations, avoiding the limitations imposed by the closure relation.
We report a new global double many-body expansion potential energy surface for the ground state of the CNO(2A′) manifold, calculated by the explicit correlation multireference configuration ...interaction method. The functional form was accurately fitted to 3701 ab initio points with a root mean squared deviation of 0.99 kcal mol–1. All stationary points reported in previous forms are systematically described and improved, in addition to three new ones and a characterization of an isomerization transition state between the CNO and NCO minima. The novel proposed form gives a realistic description of both short-range and long-range interactions and hence is commended for dynamics studies.
There is a trend to reduce the space allowance per animal in cattle feedlot, despite its potential negative impact on animal welfare. Aiming to evaluate the effects of space allowance per animal in ...outdoor feedlots on beef cattle welfare, a total of 1350 Nellore bulls (450 pure and 900 crossbred) were confined for 12 weeks using three space allowances: 6 (SA6), 12 (SA12) and 24 (SA24) m2/animal (n = 450 per treatment). Bulls were housed in three pens per treatment (n = 150 per pen). The first 6 weeks in the feedlot were defined as 'dry' and the last as 'rainy' period, according to the accumulated precipitation. Animal-based (body cleanliness, health indicators and maintenance behaviour) and environmental-based indicators (mud depth and air dust concentration) were assessed weekly during the feedlot period. Most of the health indicators (nasal and ocular discharge, hoof and locomotion alterations, diarrhoea, bloated rumen and breathing difficulty) were assessed in a subset of 15 animals randomly selected from each pen. Coughs and sneezes were counted in each pen. Maintenance behaviours (number of animals lying and attending the feed bunk) were recorded with scan sampling and instantaneous recording at 20-min intervals. Postmortem assessments were carried out in all animals by recording the frequencies of macroscopic signs of bronchitis, pulmonary emphysema, nephritis and urinary cyst and by measuring the weight and cortical and medullar areas of adrenal glands (n = 30 per pen). Compared with SA12 and SA24, SA6 showed a greater number of sneezes per minute during the dry period and a greater percentage of animals with locomotion alterations during the rainy period. Coughing, diarrhoea and nasal discharge affected a larger number of animals in the SA6 relative to the other two groups. During the rainy period, there was a lower percentage of animals with nasal and ocular discharge, and a greater percentage of animals with abnormal hoof and lying. A lower percentage of animals in SA6 and SA12 (but not SA24) attended the feed bunk during the rainy relative to the dry period. A mud depth score of 0 (no mud) was most frequent in SA24 pens, followed by SA12 and then SA6. Adrenal gland weight and cortical area were lower in SA24 animals compared with those in SA6 and SA12. The results show that decreasing the space allowance for beef cattle in outdoor feedlots degrades the feedlot environment and impoverishes animal welfare.
Different countries, especially Brazil, that have faced recurrent dengue epidemics for decades and chikungunya epidemics since 2014, have had to restructure their health services to combat a triple ...epidemic of arboviruses - Zika, dengue and Chikungunya - transmitted by the same vector, mainly Aedes aegypti, in 2015-2016. Several efforts have been made to better understand these three arboviruses. Spatial analysis plays an important role in the knowledge of disease dynamics. The knowledge of the patterns of spatial diffusion of these three arboviruses during an epidemic can contribute to the planning of surveillance actions and control of these diseases. This study aimed to identify the spatial diffusion processes of these viruses in the context of the triple epidemic in 2015-2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Two study designs were used: cross-sectional and ecological. Sequential Kernel maps, nearest-neighbour ratios calculated cumulatively over time, Moran global autocorrelation correlograms, and local autocorrelation changes over time were used to identify spatial diffusion patterns. The results suggested an expansion diffusion pattern for the three arboviruses during 2015-2016 in Rio de Janeiro. These findings can be considered for more effective control measures and for new studies on the dynamics of these three arboviruses.
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