Computer simulation and design of a three degree-of-freedom shoulder module

An in-depth kinematic analysis of a three degree of freedom fully-parallel robotic shoulder module is presented. The major goal of the analysis is to determine appropriate link dimensions which will provide a maximized workspace along with desirable input to output velocity and torque amplification. First order kinematic influence coefficients which describe the output velocity properties in terms of actuator motions provide a means to determine suitable geometric dimensions for the device. Through the use of computer simulation, optimal or near optimal link dimensions based on predetermined design criteria are provided for two different structural designs of the mechanism. The first uses three rotational inputs to control the output motion. The second design involves the use of four inputs, actuating any three inputs for a given position of the output link. Alternative actuator placements are examined to determine the most effective approach to control the output motion

Forever young: Childhoods, fairy tales and philosophy

Fairy tales play a substantial role in the shaping of childhoods. Developed into stories and played out in picture books, films and tales, they are powerful instruments that influence conceptions and treatments of the child and childhoods. This article argues that traditional fairy tales and contemporary stories derived from them use complex means to mould the ways that children live and experience their childhoods. This argument is illustrated through representations of childhoods and children in a selection of stories and an analysis of the ways they act on and produce the child subjects and childhoods they convey. The selected stories are examined through different philosophical lenses, utilizing Foucault, Lyotard and Rousseau. By problematizing these selected stories, the article analyses what lies beneath the surface of the obvious meanings of the text and enticing pictures in stories, as published or performed. Finally, this article argues for a careful recognition of the complexities of stories used in early childhood settings and their powerful and multifaceted influences on children and childhoods

Pion and proton showers in the CALICE scintillator-steel analogue hadron calorimeter

Showers produced by positive hadrons in the highly granular CALICE scintillator-steel analogue hadron calorimeter were studied. The experimental data were collected at CERN and FNAL for single particles with initial momenta from 10 to 80 GeV/c. The calorimeter response and resolution and spatial characteristics of shower development for proton- and pion-induced showers for test beam data and simulations using Geant4 version 9.6 are compared.Comment: 26 pages, 16 figures, JINST style, changes in the author list, typos corrected, new section added, figures regrouped. Accepted for publication in JINS

The Time Structure of Hadronic Showers in highly granular Calorimeters with Tungsten and Steel Absorbers

The intrinsic time structure of hadronic showers influences the timing capability and the required integration time of hadronic calorimeters in particle physics experiments, and depends on the active medium and on the absorber of the calorimeter. With the CALICE T3B experiment, a setup of 15 small plastic scintillator tiles read out with Silicon Photomultipliers, the time structure of showers is measured on a statistical basis with high spatial and temporal resolution in sampling calorimeters with tungsten and steel absorbers. The results are compared to GEANT4 (version 9.4 patch 03) simulations with different hadronic physics models. These comparisons demonstrate the importance of using high precision treatment of low-energy neutrons for tungsten absorbers, while an overall good agreement between data and simulations for all considered models is observed for steel.Comment: 24 pages including author list, 9 figures, published in JINS

Shower development of particles with momenta from 15 GeV to 150 GeV in the CALICE scintillator-tungsten hadronic calorimeter

We present a study of showers initiated by electrons, pions, kaons, and protons with momenta from 15 GeV to 150 GeV in the highly granular CALICE scintillator-tungsten analogue hadronic calorimeter. The data were recorded at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron in 2011. The analysis includes measurements of the calorimeter response to each particle type as well as measurements of the energy resolution and studies of the longitudinal and radial shower development for selected particles. The results are compared to Geant4 simulations (version 9.6.p02). In the study of the energy resolution we include previously published data with beam momenta from 1 GeV to 10 GeV recorded at the CERN Proton Synchrotron in 2010.Comment: 35 pages, 21 figures, 8 table

Diet and Selection of Major Prey Species by Lake Michigan Salmonines, 1973–1982

To elucidate prey preferences, we quantified stomach contents of 1,231 salmonines collected from inshore (21 m or shallower) southeastern Lake Michigan during 1973–1982. Predators ate 12 species of fish. Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus made up 48–79% by weight of the diet of brown trout Salmo trutta, chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch, lake trout Salvelinus namaycush, and rainbow trout Salmo gairdneri. Alewives eaten ranged from 23 to 245 mm total length; 46% were 150–200 mm. Rainbow smelt Osmerus mordax eaten were 21–245 mm long and made up 4–11% of the salmoninesˈ prey. There were significant direct linear relationships between lengths of alewives and rainbow smelt eaten and lengths of the five predators. Alewives are currently declining in Lake Michigan. If their population collapses, there should be a shift to alternative prey species. We have seen no such shift through 1982, although more recent data of other investigators show a decline in the importance of alewife in salmonine diets. Diets of the midwater‐feeding chinook and coho salmon were heavily dominated by the pelagic alewife, whereas brown and lake trout diets were more diverse. This suggests that trout should have better survival and growth than salmon, because trout would be able to utilize the more benthic yellow perch, Perca flavescens, rainbow smelt, and, to some degree, bloater Coregonus hoyi. The latter species are becoming more abundant with the decline in alewife. Under the current salmonine stocking regime, alewives will continue to supply a lower and variable portion of the salmonine diet, and predatory pressure on alewife should lead to increases in endemic prey speciesˈ populations.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141728/1/tafs0677.pd

Corrigendum to “KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody (ANCA)–Associated Vasculitis.” Kidney International 2024;105(3S):S71–S116

DOI of original article: 10.1016/j.kint.2023.10.008 The KDIGO Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of ANCA-Associated Vasculitis Work Group has issued amendments to guideline Figures 6–8 and 13 and Practice Points 9.3.1.9 and 9.3.3.1. The revised figures and text passages, along with a brief summary of the accompanying changes, are presented below. The article has been corrected online to reflect these corrections. The Work Group has streamlined the treatment algorithm (Figure 6, pages S85 and S97) and cross-referenced Practice Point 9.3.1.9 in the caption as to when plasma exchange can be considered: For clarity, a previous statement in the Cyclosphosphamide preferred column of Figure 7 (pages S86 and S98) suggesting a combination regimen consisting of rituximab and 2 intravenous pulses of cyclosphosphamide has been moved to the caption as a footnote. The text accompanying the 3rd and 4th bullets in the Intravenous cyclophosphamide column and the entire listing in the Oral cyclophosphamide column of Figure 8 (pages S86 and S98) have been reworded for added clarifications. For Figure 13 (pages S88 and S103), for the sake of clarity, parentheses were added to define the level of low baseline IgG. A small change to the Practice Point 9.3.1.9 (pages S87 and S99) has been implemented as underlined below: Practice Point 9.3.1.9: Consider plasma exchange for patients with SCr &gt;3.4 mg/dl (&gt;300 mmol/l), patients requiring dialysis or with rapidly increasing SCr, and patients with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage who have hypoxemia.has been revised to: Practice Point 9.3.1.9: Consider plasma exchange for patients with SCr &gt;3.4 mg/dl (&gt;300 mmol/l), patients requiring dialysis or with rapidly increasing SCr, or patients with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage who have hypoxemia.The underlined phrase “(life- or organ-threatening)” is now removed for Practice Point 9.3.3.1 (pages S89 and S103) as it imparts no added information value: Practice Point 9.3.3.1: Patients with relapsing disease (life- or organ-threatening) should be reinduced (Recommendation 9.3.1.1.), preferably with rituximab.has been revised to: Practice Point 9.3.3.1: Patients with relapsing disease should be reinduced (Recommendation 9.3.1.1.), preferably with rituximab.The authors would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused.</p

Systemic Measures and Legislative and Organizational Frameworks Aimed at Preventing or Mitigating Drug Shortages in 28 European and Western Asian Countries

Drug shortages have been identified as a public health problem in an increasing number of countries. This can negatively impact on the quality and efficiency of patient care, as well as contribute to increases in the cost of treatment and the workload of health care providers. Shortages also raise ethical and political issues. The scientific evidence on drug shortages is still scarce, but many lessons can be drawn from cross-country analyses. The objective of this study was to characterize, compare, and evaluate the current systemic measures and legislative and organizational frameworks aimed at preventing or mitigating drug shortages within health care systems across a range of European and Western Asian countries. The study design was retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive, and observational. Information was gathered through a survey distributed among senior personnel from ministries of health, state medicines agencies, local health authorities, other health or pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement authorities, health insurance companies and academic institutions, with knowledge of the pharmaceutical markets in the 28 countries studied. Our study found that formal definitions of drug shortages currently exist in only a few countries. The characteristics of drug shortages, including their assortment, duration, frequency, and dynamics, were found to be variable and sometimes difficult to assess. Numerous information hubs were identified. Providing public access to information on drug shortages to the maximum possible extent is a prerequisite for performing more advanced studies on the problem and identifying solutions. Imposing public service obligations, providing the formal possibility to prescribe unlicensed medicines, and temporary bans on parallel exports are widespread measures. A positive finding of our study was the identification of numerous bottom-up initiatives and organizational frameworks aimed at preventing or mitigating drug shortages. The experiences and lessons drawn from these initiatives should be carefully evaluated, monitored, and presented to a wider international audience for careful appraisal. To be able to find solutions to the problem of drug shortages, there is an urgent need to develop a set of agreed definitions for drug shortages, as well as methodologies for their evaluation and monitoring. This is being progressed