Kinematic Design of a 6-DOF Parallel Manipulator with Decoupled Translation and Rotation

A new three-limb, six-degree-of-freedom (DOF) parallel manipulator (PM), termed a selectively actuated PM (SA-PM), is proposed. The end-effector of the manipulator can produce 3-DOF spherical motion, 3-DOF translation, 3-DOF hybrid motion, or complete 6-DOF spatial motion, depending on the types of the actuation (rotary or linear) chosen for the actuators. The manipulator architecture completely decouples translation and rotation of the end-effector for individual control. The structure synthesis of SA-PM is achieved using the line geometry. Singularity analysis shows that the SA-PM is an isotropic translation PM when all the actuators are in linear mode. Because of the decoupled motion structure, a decomposition method is applied for both the displacement analysis and dimension optimization. With the index of maximal workspace satisfying given global conditioning requirements, the geometrical parameters are optimized. As a result, the translational workspace is a cube, and the orientation workspace is nearly unlimited.

The translation and sedimentation of accounting reforms. A comparison of the UK, Austrian and Italian experiences

Since the late 1980s, there has been a significant and progressive movement away from the traditional Public Administration (PA) systems, in favour of NPM-type accounting tools and ideas inspired by the private sector. More recently, a new focus on governance systems, under the banner Public Governance (PG), has emerged. In this paper it is argued that reforms are not isolated events, but are embedded in more global discourses of modernisation and influenced by the institutional pressures present in a certain field at certain points in time. Using extensive document analysis in three countries with different administrative regimes (the UK, Italy and Austria), we examine public sector accounting and budgeting reforms and the underlying discourses put forward in order to support the change. We investigate the extent to which the actual content of the reforms and the discourses they are embedded within are connected over time; that is, whether, and to what degree, the reform “talk” matches the “decisions”. The research shows that in both the UK and in Italy there is consistency between the debates and the decided changes, although the dominant discourse in each country differs, while in Austria changes are decided gradually, and only after they have been announced well in advance in the political debate. We find that in all three countries the new ideas and concepts layer and sediment above the existing ones, rather than replace them. Although all three countries underwent similar accounting and budgeting reforms and relied on similar institutional discourses, each made its own specific translation of the ideas and concepts and is characterised by a specific formation of sedimentations. In addition, the findings suggest that, at present in the three countries, the PG discourse is used to supplement, rather than supplant, other prevailing discourses.

Dynamic oscillation of translation and stress granule formation mark the cellular response to virus infection

Virus infection-induced global protein synthesis suppression is linked to assembly of stress granules (SGs), cytosolic aggregates of stalled translation preinitiation complexes. To study long-term stress responses, we developed an imaging approach for extended observation and analysis of SG dynamics during persistent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. In combination with type 1 interferon, HCV infection induces highly dynamic assembly/disassembly of cytoplasmic SGs, concomitant with phases of active and stalled translation, delayed cell division, and prolonged cell survival. Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), independent of viral replication, is sufficient to trigger these oscillations. Translation initiation factor eIF2a phosphorylation by protein kinase R mediates SG formation and translation arrest. This is antagonized by the upregulation of GADD34, the regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 1 dephosphorylating eIF2a. Stress response oscillation is a general mechanism to prevent long-lasting translation repression and a conserved host cell reaction to multiple RNA viruses, which HCV may exploit to establish persistence.

Anti-VP6 IgG antibodies against group A and group C rotaviruses in South India

In an epidemiological survey from South India, 936 serum samples were tested for IgG against recombinant baculovirus-expressed VP6 proteins from human group A and group C rotaviruses. The overall seroprevalence for group A was 100% and for group C was 25.32% (95% CI 22.64-28.21). The lowest seroprevalence for group C was in children aged

Laboratizing the border: The production, translation and anticipation of security technologies

This paper critically interrogates how borders are produced by scientists, engineers and security experts in advance of the actual deployment of technical devices they develop. This paper explores the prior stages of translation and decision-making as a socio-technical device is conceived and developed. Drawing on in-depth interviews, observations and ethnographic research of the EU-funded Handhold project (consisting of nine teams in five countries), it explores how assumptions about the way security technologies will and should perform at the border shape the way that scientists, engineers, and security experts develop a portable, integrated device to detect CBRNE threats at borders. In disaggregating the moments of sovereign decision making across multiple sites and times, this paper questions the supposed linearity of how science comes out of and feeds back into the world of border security. An interrogation of competing assumptions and understandings of security threats and needs, of competing logics of innovation and pragmatism, of the demands of differentiated temporalities in detection and interrogation, and of the presumed capacities, behaviours, and needs of phantasmic competitors and end-users reveals a complex, circulating and co-constitutive process of device development that laboratises the border itself. We trace how sovereign decisions are enacted as assemblages in the antecedent register of device development itself through the everyday decisions of researchers in the laboratory, and the material components of the Handhold device itself.

Ab initio diffusional potential energy surface for CO chemisorption on Pd{110} at high coverage:Coupled translation and rotation

The ground state potential energy surface for CO chemisorption across Pd{110} has been calculated using density functional theory with gradient corrections at monolayer coverage. The most stable site corresponds well with the experimental adsorption heat, and it is found that the strength of binding to sites is in the following order: pseudo-short-bridge>atop>long-bridge>hollow. Pathways and transition states for CO surface diffusion, involving a correlation between translation and orientation, are proposed and discussed. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.

Formal and informal translation and interpretation for immigrants and asylum seekers

As of 2011 there were over 50,000 migrants, who speak a language other than English or Irish at home, residing in Northern Ireland. Many of these individuals do not possess adequate levels of English language proficiency in order to access services. Research funded by the Northern Ireland Inclusion and Diversity Service was conducted to determine the home-school connections of culturally and linguistically diverse families in Northern Ireland. It revealed that there are a wide variety of ways that translation and interpretation services are offered for families not fluent in English within the school settings. Drawing upon the findings from the research in Northern Ireland, this presentation provides an overview of the types of translation and interpretation taking place in Northern Ireland; the advantages and disadvantages of each; and recommendations for agencies utilizing both formal and informal translation and interpretation. The presentation also includes references to work in this area in other contexts, as well as specific guidelines for agencies using both formal and informal translation and interpretation. These guidelines help ensure that the translations are conducted in a professional manner for all agencies providing services.

Adiponectin is produced by lymphocytes and is a negative regulator of granulopoiesis

Lymphocytes have long been established to play an important role in the regulation of hematopoiesis and produce many cytokines that act on hematopoietic progenitor cells. Previous studies by our group have shown that normal, unstimulated lymphocytes produce a protein that inhibits normal bone marrow GM colony formation. Adiponectin is an adipokine that has been demonstrated to act as a negative regulator of hematopoiesis and immune function. This study aimed to determine if the inhibitory molecule that we described previously was adiponectin. Here, we show transcription, translation, and secretion of adiponectin from lymphocytes and demonstrate that its receptors, AdipoR1 and AdipoR2, are expressed by bone marrow MNCs. We show that although the adiponectin expression is low in lymphocytes, it is sufficient to induce a significant inhibitory effect on GM precursors (CFU-GM) and activate the AMPK pathway in these cells. The regulation of adiponectin production by lymphocytes and its detailed function in suppressing GM colony formation need to be elucidated now. Our findings suggest a functional role for adiponectin as a negative regulator of granulopoiesis. J. Leukoc. Biol. 88: 807-811; 2010.

Opening eyes to opera: the process of translation for blind and partially-sighted audiences

In today’s rapidly developing digital age and increasingly socially-aware society, the notion of media accessibility is evolving in response to shifting audience expectations. Performing arts and media, such as opera, are called upon to include all audiences, and related audiovisual translation methods are progressing in this direction. These comprise audio description and touch tours for the blind and partially-sighted, two relatively new translation modalities which are consumer-oriented and require an original research design for the analysis of the translation processes involved. This research design follows two fundamental principles: (1) audience reception studies should be an integral part of the investigation into the translation process; and (2) the translation process is regarded as a network. Therefore, this paper explores the unique translation processes of audio description and touch tours within the context of live opera from the perspective of actor-network theory and by providing an overview of a reception project. Through discussion of the methodology and findings, this paper addresses the question of the impact of audience reception on the translation process.