This letter introduces the humanoid robot HRP-5P, which stands for Humanoid Robotics Platform-5 Prototype. We have been developing the HRP series humanoid robots since 2000, and HRP-5P is the latest ...version of the HRP series as of 2018. It is developed as a prototype for our next generation humanoid robotics platform, aiming to realize the use of practical humanoid robots in place of humans within large-scale assembly industries such as construction sites, aircraft facilities, and shipyards. To realize it, electrically actuated high-power joints with wide movable range have been newly designed. Also, the arm configuration has also been redesigned to improve the physical ability of working on actual sites. The mechanism and the electrical systems are presented with its basic specification in this letter.
Twenty-three years have passed since Honda unveiled its P2 robot in 1996. Even though extensive research has been conducted since then, humanoid robots have not been commercialized for practical ...applications. It is important to carefully select target applications to commercialize humanoid robots as soon as possible and solve social issues, such as labor shortages in industries and elderly care. This article consists of two parts. First, we discuss what we consider to be the most promising application of the commercialization of humanoid robots, based on our experience in their development. Several candidate applications are evaluated on four criteria, and we conclude that large-scale manufacturing is the most promising one.
Drugs with I(Kr)-blocking action cause secondary long-QT syndrome. Several cases have been associated with mutations of genes coding cardiac ion channels, but their frequency among patients affected ...by drug-induced long-QT syndrome (dLQTS) and the resultant molecular effects remain unknown.
Genetic testing was carried out for long-QT syndrome-related genes in 20 subjects with dLQTS and 176 subjects with congenital long-QT syndrome (cLQTS); electrophysiological characteristics of dLQTS-associated mutations were analyzed using a heterologous expression system with Chinese hamster ovary cells together with a computer simulation model. The positive mutation rate in dLQTS was similar to cLQTS (dLQTS versus cLQTS, 8 of 20 40% versus 91 of 176 52% subjects, P=0.32). The incidence of mutations was higher in patients with torsades de pointes induced by nonantiarrhythmic drugs than by antiarrhythmic drugs (antiarrhythmic versus others, 3 of 14 21% versus 5 of 6 83% subjects, P<0.05). When reconstituted in Chinese hamster ovary cells, KCNQ1 and KCNH2 mutant channels showed complex gating defects without dominant negative effects or a relatively mild decreased current density. Drug sensitivity for mutant channels was similar to that of the wild-type channel. With the Luo-Rudy simulation model of action potentials, action potential durations of most mutant channels were between those of wild-type and cLQTS.
dLQTS had a similar positive mutation rate compared with cLQTS, whereas the functional changes of these mutations identified in dLQTS were mild. When I(Kr)-blocking agents produce excessive QT prolongation (dLQTS), the underlying genetic background of the dLQTS subject should also be taken into consideration, as would be the case with cLQTS; dLQTS can be regarded as a latent form of long-QT syndrome.
In order to accurately reach a target position while executing a task which imposes occlusion or constraints of the posture, a humanoid robot requires an adaptive locomotion system, which can ...comprehensively integrate localization, environmental mapping, global locomotion planning and local error correction. In this paper, we propose a method of constructing a perception based locomotion system for a humanoid robot. The major contribution of this paper is solving a problem of the locomotion error caused by the task constraints, by locally compensating footsteps and assessing the need for global footstep re-planning online based on environmental measurements. The proposed system provides an accurate and dense ground point cloud, called HeightField, using plane estimation and space interpolation, and obstacle point cloud for frequent collision avoidance by accumulating laser scans. This environmental perception enables a humanoid robot to plan footsteps globally even in the situation where the sight of the robot is limited and compensate footsteps while estimating landing state during locomotion online with the localization result. We evaluated the practicality of the proposed system by applying it to our humanoid robot carrying a heavy object in a construction site and confirmed that the proposed system contributed to improved locomotion abilities of a humanoid robot engaging in heavy-duty or dangerous tasks.
Background In the LQT2 form of long QT syndrome (LQTS), mutation sites are reported to correlate with clinical phenotypes in Caucasians, but the relationship in Asian patients remains unknown. The ...present study was designed to determine whether the location of KCNH2 mutations would influence the arrhythmic risk in LQT2 patients. Methods and Results In 118 genetically-confirmed LQT2 patients (69 families, 62 KCNH2 mutations), the ECG parameters, Schwartz scores, and the incidence of cardiac events, defined as syncope, aborted cardiac arrest, and sudden cardiac death, were evaluated. To examine the effect of mutation sites, the participants were divided accordingly: pore (n=56) and non-pore (n=62) groups. The corrected QTend interval was significantly greater in the pore than in the non-pore group (QTc; 522±63 ms vs 490±49 ms, p=0.002). In this study, the clinical course of each of the probands did not differ according to the mutation sites, whereas non-probands carrying the pore site mutation experienced their first cardiac events at significantly younger age than those with the non-pore site mutation (log-rank, p=0.0005). Conclusions In a Japanese LQT2 cohort, family members with the pore site mutation were at higher arrhythmic risk than those with the non-pore site mutation. (Circ J 2008; 72: 694 - 699)
Introduction: Patients with long QT syndrome (LQTS) become symptomatic in adolescence, but some become at age of ≥20 years. Since it remains unknown whether clinical features of symptomatic LQTS ...patients differ depending on the age of onset, we aimed to examine whether triggers for cardiac events are different depending on the age in genotyped and symptomatic LQTS patients.
Methods and Results: We identified 145 symptomatic LQTS patients, divided them into three groups according to the age of first onset of symptoms (young <20, intermediate 20–39, and older ≥40 years), and analyzed triggers of cardiac events (ventricular tachycardia, syncope, or cardiac arrest). The triggers were divided into three categories: (1) adrenergically mediated triggers: exercise, emotional stress, loud noise, and arousal; (2) vagally mediated triggers: rest/sleep; and (3) secondary triggers: drugs, hypokalemia, and atrioventricular (AV) block. In the young group, 78% of the cardiac events were initiated by adrenergically mediated triggers and 22% were vagally mediated, but none by secondary triggers. In contrast, the adrenergically mediated triggers were significantly lower in the intermediate group. The percentage of secondary triggers was significantly larger in the older group than in the other two groups (0% in young vs 23% in intermediate vs 72% in older; P < 0.0001). Concerning the subdivision of secondary triggers on the basis of genotype, hypokalemia was only observed in LQT1, drugs mainly in LQT2, and AV block only in LQT2.
Conclusion: Arrhythmic triggers in LQTS differ depending on the age of the patients, stressing the importance of age‐related therapy for genotyped LQTS patients.
QT prolongation, a risk factor for arrhythmias, can result from genetic variants in one (or more) of the genes governing cardiac repolarization as well as intake of drugs known to affect a cardiac K+ ...channel encoded by human ether-a-go-go–related gene (HERG). In this paper, we will report a case of drug-induced long QT syndrome associated with an H1-receptor antagonist, hydroxyzine, in which a mutation was identified in the HERG gene. After taking 75 mg of hydroxyzine for several days, a 34-year-old female began to experience repetitive syncope. The deleterious effect of hydroxyzine was suspected because QTc interval shortened from 630 to 464 ms after cessation of the drug. Later on, the patient was found to harbor an A614V-HERG mutation. By using the patch-clamp technique in the heterologous expression system, we examined the functional outcome of the A614V mutation and confirmed a dominant-negative effect on HERG expression. Hydroxyzine concentration-dependently inhibited both wild-type (WT) and WT/A614V-HERG K+ currents. Half-maximum block concentrations of WT and WT/A614V-HERG K+ currents were 0.62 and 0.52 μM, respectively. Thus, accidental combination of genetic mutation and intake of hydroxyzine appeared to have led to a severe phenotype, probably, syncope due to torsade de pointes.
Abstract In a 34-year-old man showing short QT interval (QTc 329 ms), we identified a novel C-terminal KCNH2 mutation, R1135H. Using a heterologous expression system with CHO cells, the mutant ...channels were found to display a significantly slow deactivation, which resulted in a gain-of-function for reconstituted ‘ IKr ’ channels. This mutation could modify clinical phenotypes for this patient.
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