Robots with a gentle touch: advances in assistive robotics and prosthetics

As healthcare costs rise and an aging population makes an increased demand on services, so new techniques must be introduced to promote an individuals independence and provide these services. Robots can now be designed so they can alter their dynamic properties changing from stiff to flaccid, or from giving no resistance to movement, to damping any large and sudden movements. This has some strong implications in health care in particular for rehabilitation where a robot must work in conjunction with an individual, and might guiding or assist a persons arm movements, or might be commanded to perform some set of autonomous actions. This paper presents the state-of-the-art of rehabilitation robots with examples from prosthetics, aids for daily living and physiotherapy. In all these situations there is the potential for the interaction to be non-passive with a resulting potential for the human/machine/environment combination to become unstable. To understand this instability we must develop better models of the human motor system and fit these models with realistic parameters. This paper concludes with a discussion of this problem and overviews some human models that can be used to facilitate the design of the human/machine interfaces.

Towards a modular robotics standard for AGV design and programming

Across the world there are many bodies currently involved in researching into the design of autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs). One of the greatest problems at present however, is that much of the research work is being conducted in isolated groups, with the resulting AGVs sensor/control/command systems being almost completely nontransferable to other AGV designs. This paper describes a new modular method for robot design which when applied to AGVs overcomes the above problems. The method is explained here with respect to all forms of robotics but the examples have been specifically chosen to reflect typical AGV systems.

Magnetic compliant suspension concept for space robotics

This paper proposes a Dual-Magnet Magnetic Compliance Unit (DMCU) for use in medium sized space rover platforms to enhance terrain handling capabilities and speed of traversal. An explanation of magnetic compliance and how it can be applied to space robotics is shown, along with an initial mathematical model for this system. A design for the DMCU is proposed along with a 4-wheeled DMCU Testing Rig.

A micro-level simulation for the prediction of intention and behaviour

In this contribution we aim at anchoring Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) simulations in actual models of human psychology. More specifically, we apply unidirectional ABM to social psychological models using low level agents (i.e., intra-individual) to examine whether they generate better predictions, in comparison to standard statistical approaches, concerning the intentions of performing a behavior and the behavior. Moreover, this contribution tests to what extent the predictive validity of models of attitude such as the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) or Model of Goal-directed Behavior (MGB) depends on the assumption that peoples’ decisions and actions are purely rational. Simulations were therefore run by considering different deviations from rationality of the agents with a trembling hand method. Two data sets concerning respectively the consumption of soft drinks and physical activity were used. Three key findings emerged from the simulations. First, compared to standard statistical approach the agent-based simulation generally improves the prediction of behavior from intention. Second, the improvement in prediction is inversely proportional to the complexity of the underlying theoretical model. Finally, the introduction of varying degrees of deviation from rationality in agents’ behavior can lead to an improvement in the goodness of fit of the simulations. By demonstrating the potential of ABM as a complementary perspective to evaluating social psychological models, this contribution underlines the necessity of better defining agents in terms of psychological processes before examining higher levels such as the interactions between individuals.

Predicting the impact of the EU common agricultural policy reform in England: micro and macroeconomic aspects

In this article we investigate the effects of the European CAP reform on a selection of arable crops in England, both at a regional and national level. The results show that the CAP reform will push farmers to adjust to the new market conditions, which will cause a further restructuring of the English agricultural business sector. Our results show that, under the new market conditions, economically-small farms will increase their output by allocating more land to cereals, whereas economically-large farms will need to decrease land allocated to cereals to reduce production costs and achieve better returns.

Land administration in a micro-state: the role of land use planning

Land policy in micro-states and the land administration that underpins it is often devised within a legacy framework inherited from a colonial past. Independence has allowed self-determination of the future political direction yet the range, legal framework, institutional structure and administration systems tend to mirror those of ex-colonial powers. Do land policies, administration systems and processes developed to serve large heavily populated countries scale down to serve the requirements of micro-states? The evidence suggests not: many land administration systems in the Caribbean face difficulties due to poor records, unclear title, exploitation of state lands, incomplete or ongoing land reform programmes, irregular or illegal settlement and non-enforced planning regulations. Land matters are typically the responsibility of several government departments and agencies responsible for land titling and registration, cadastral surveying of property interests, physical planning, taxation and financial regulation. Although planning is regarded as a land administration function, organisational responsibility usually rests with local rather than central government in large countries, but in microstates local government may be politically weak, under-resourced or even non-existent. Using a case study approach this paper explores how planning functions are organised in the Caribbean state of St Vincent & the Grenadines in relation to land administration as a whole and compares the arrangement with other independent micro-states in the region.

Effects of oxidised low density lipoprotein on dendritic cells: a possible immunoregulatory component of the atherogenic micro-environment?

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between low density lipoprotein (LDL) and dendritic cell (DC) activation, based upon the hypothesis that reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated modification of proteins that may be present in local DC microenvironments could be important as mediators of this activation. Although LDL are known to be oxidised in vivo, and taken up by macrophages during atherogenesis; their effect on DC has not been explored previously. Methods: Human DCs were prepared from peripheral blood monocytes using GM-CSF and IL-4. Plasma LDLs were isolated by sequential gradient centrifugation, oxidised in CuSO4, and oxidation arrested to yield mild, moderate and highly oxidised LDL forms. DCs exposed to these LDLs were investigated using combined phenotypic, functional (autologous T cell activation), morphological and viability assays. Results: Highly-oxidised LDL increased DC HLA-DR, CD40 and CD86 expression, corroborated by increased DC-induced T cell proliferation. Both native and oxidised LDL induced prominent DC clustering. However, high concentrations of highly-oxidised LDL inhibited DC function, due to increased DC apoptosis. Conclusions: This study supports the hypothesis that oxidised LDL are capable of triggering the transition from sentinel to messenger DC. Furthermore, the DC clustering–activation–apoptosis sequence in the presence of different LDL forms is consistent with a regulatory DC role in immunopathogenesis of atheroma. A sequence of initial accumulation of DC, increasing LDL oxidation, and DC-induced T cell activation, may explain why local breach of tolerance can occur. Above a threshold level, however, supervening DC apoptosis limits this, contributing instead to the central plaque core.

Amphoteric nano-, micro-, and macrogels, membranes, and thin films

This review describes the state-of the-art of nano-, micro- and macrogels, membranes, micro- and nanocapsules, as well as multilayered thin films exhibiting amphoteric character. The synthetic strategies and physicochemical properties of amphoteric materials are outlined in light of the stimuli-responsive behavior and their potential application in nanotechnology, biotechnology and medicine.