This study presents a novel 4-DOF two-limb gripper mechanism with a simple design that offers high adaptability for different objects. The mechanism integrates a three-finger end effector and employs a 2-DOF driving system in both serial kinematic chains mounted on the base, addressing performance problems caused by moving actuators. First, the architecture of the gripper mechanism is described, and its mobility is verified. Next, the inverse and forward kinematic problems are solved, and the Jacobian matrix is derived to analyze the singularity conditions. The inverse and forward singularity surfaces are plotted. The workspace is investigated using a search method, and two indices, manipulability and dexterity, are studied. The proposed manipulator’s parameters are optimized for improved dexterity. The novel gripper mechanism has high potential for grasping different types of parts within a large workspace, making it a valuable addition to the field of robotics.

Cyperus rotundus L. is a globally distributed noxious weed that poses a significant challenge for control due to its fast and efficient propagation through the tuber, which is the primary reproductive organ. Gibberellic acid (GA3) has proved to be crucial for tuberization in tuberous plants. Therefore, understanding the relationship between GA3 and tuber development and propagation of C.roundus will provide valuable information for controlling this weed. This study shows that the content of GA3 decreases with tuber development, which corresponds to lower expression of bioactive GA3 synthesis genes (CrGA20ox, two CrGA3oxs) and two up-regulated GA3 catabolism genes (CrGA2oxs), indicating that GA3 is involved in tuber development. Simultaneously, the expressions of CrDELLAs and CrGID1 decline with tuber growth and GA3 decreasing, and Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assays confirm that the GA3 signaling is DELLA-dependent. Furthermore, exogenous application of GA3 markedly reduces the number and the width of tuber, and represses the growth of tuber chain, further confirming the negative impact that GA3 has on tuber development and propagation. Taken together, these results demonstrate that GA3 is involved in tuber development and regulated by the DELLA-dependent pathway in C. rotundus, and plays a negative role in tuber development and propagation.

Placental trophoblastic cells play important roles in placental development and fetal health. However, the mechanism of trophoblastic cell fusion is still not entirely clear. The level of Tspan5 in the embryo culture medium was detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Fusion of BeWo cells was observed by immunofluorescence. Cell fusion-related factors and EMT-related factors were identified by qRT-PCR and western blotting. Notch protein repressor DAPT was used to verify the role of Tspan5 in BeWo cells. The expression of Tspan5 was significantly increased in embryo culture medium. The fusion of BeWo cells was observed after treatment with forskolin (FSK). Cell fusion-related factors (i.e. β-hCG and syncytin 1/2) and Tspan5 were significantly increased after FSK treatment. In addition, FSK treatment promoted EMT-related protein expression in BeWo cells. Knockdown of Tspan5 inhibited cell fusion and EMT-related protein levels. Notch-1 and Jagged-1 protein levels were significantly upregulated, and the EMT process was activated by overexpression of Tspan5 in FSK-treated BeWo cells. Interestingly, blocking the Notch pathway by the repressor DAPT had the opposite results. These results indicated that Tspan5 could promote the EMT process by activating the Notch pathway, thereby causing cell fusion. These findings contribute to a better understanding of trophoblast cell syncytialization and embryonic development. Tspan5 may be used as a therapeutic target for normal placental development.

Activating relevant responses is a key function of automatic processes in De Neys's model; however, what determines the order or magnitude of such activation is ambiguous. Focusing on recently developed sequential sampling models of choice, we argue that proactive control shapes response generation but does not cleanly fit into De Neys's automatic-deliberative distinction, highlighting the need for further model development.

Toyotamaphimeia is an extinct crocodylian lineage whose name is derived from a mythological Japanese princess. Here, we re-examine the type specimens of a long-forgotten species: Tomistoma taiwanicus from the Pleistocene of Tainan (Taiwan) and revise its taxonomic status to Toyotamaphimeia taiwanicus n. comb., leading to the first recognized species of Toyotamaphimeia outside Japan. Our phylogenetic analyses also support this taxonomic assignment and, more interestingly, further suggest an East Asian lineage. In addition, Toyotamaphimeia taiwanicus n. comb. represents a tropical species, resolving a long-standing puzzle of why Toyotamaphimeia only inhabited a much higher latitudinal area (Japan). Given the large body size of Toyotamaphimeia taiwanicus n. comb. (~7 m) and the fact that it is geologically older than Toyotamaphimeia machikanensis from Japan, we propose a novel evolutionary scenario: the genus Toyotamaphimeia originated in Taiwan and evolved to a large body size with gigantothermic physiology, which resulted in migration out of Taiwan and dispersal farther north to Japan. Our taxonomic identification shows the presence of an extinct endemic crocodylian species from the Pleistocene of Taiwan with large-scale paleogeographic implications. This study, with our recent progress in vertebrate paleontology in Taiwan, should provoke more in-depth paleontological research on the Pleistocene extinction.

Design is a highly nonlinear chaotic dynamic process with many possible solutions, which requires enormous knowledge for designers. This paper investigates how environment-based design (EBD) methodology can help designers use only necessary knowledge for their creativity based on three methods: information search, knowledge acquisition and knowledge application. The methods are applied in an aircraft pylon design, which is evaluated by two aerospace design specialists. The paper discussed the different roles of EBD for novice and expert designers in regard to overcoming emotion and knowledge barriers to achieving designer creativity.

This paper explores the value of the visual features of assistive products for a positive psychological impact on users. The research focuses on upper limb prosthetic devices and their aesthetic impact on the user. Within the presented study, these products are identified not only as assistive products but also as fashion accessories. A case study is presented that applies an understanding of human behaviour, motivation, and perception of semantic cues within the cultural context of a given society to deliver a more socially acceptable child's upper limb prosthetic.

A novel couple-constrained parallel wrist with three measuring force flexible fingers is designed for grabbing heavy objects and measuring grabbed forces. Its prototype is developed, its dynamics model is established, and its grabbing forces are measured. First, using the extended formulas of the skew-symmetric matrix, the kinematic formulas are derived for solving the Jacobian/Hessian matrices and the general velocity/acceleration of the moving links in the couple-constrained parallel wrist. Second, a dynamics model is established for solving the dynamic actuation forces, the couple-constrained forces, and the torque in the couple-constrained parallel wrist. Third, the theoretical solutions of the kinematics/dynamics of the couple-constrained parallel wrist are verified using a simulation mechanism. Finally, the grabbing forces of the three flexible fingers are measured and analyzed.

We describe an outbreak of echovirus 18 infection involving 10 patients in our neonatal intensive care unit (an attack rate of 33%). The mean age at the onset of illness was 26.8 days. Eighty percent were preterm infants. All were discharged home without sequelae. There were no differences in gestation age, birth weight, delivery mode, use of antibiotics, and parenteral nutrition between the enterovirus (EV) group and non-EV group, but the rate of breastfeeding was significantly higher in the EV group. Separation care and reinforcement of hand-washing seemed to be effective in preventing further spread of the virus. Visiting policy, hygiene practice, and handling of expressed breastmilk should be reinforced.

This paper presents a low-cost, accurate indoor positioning system that integrates image acquisition and processing and data-driven modeling algorithms for robotics research and education. Multiple overhead cameras are used to obtain normalized image coordinates of ArUco markers, and a new procedure is developed to convert them to the camera coordinate frame. Various data-driven models are proposed to establish a mapping relationship between the camera and the world coordinates. One hundred fifty data pairs in the camera and world coordinates are generated by measuring the ArUco marker at different locations and then used to train and test the data-driven models. With the model, the world coordinate values of the ArUco marker and its robot carrier can be determined in real time. Through comparison, it is found that a straightforward polynomial regression outperforms the other methods and achieves a positioning accuracy of about 1.5 cm. Experiments are also carried out to evaluate its feasibility for use in robot control. The developed system (both hardware and algorithms) is shared as an open source and is anticipated to contribute to robotic studies and education in resource-limited environments and underdeveloped regions.

The sedimentation of two spherical solid objects in a viscous fluid has been extensively investigated and well understood. However, a pair of flat disks (in three dimensions) settling in the fluid shows more complex hydrodynamic behaviour. The present work aims to improve the understanding of this phenomenon by performing direct numerical simulation and physical experiments. The present results show that the sedimentation processes are significantly influenced by disk shape, characterized by a dimensionless moment of inertia I*, and Reynolds number Re of the leading disk. For the flatter disks with smaller I*, steady falling with enduring contact transits to periodic swinging with intermittent contacts as Re increases. The disks with larger I* tend to fall in a drafting-kissing-tumbling mode at low Re and to remain separated at high Re. Based on I* and Re, a phase diagram is created to classify the two-disk falling into ten distinctive patterns. The planar motion or three-dimensional motion of the disks is determined primarily by Re. Turbulent disturbance flows at a high Re contribute to the chaotic three-dimensional rotation of the disks. The chance for the two disks to contact is increased when I* and Re are reduced.

Objectives: Influenza vaccination is encouraged for all healthcare workers (HCWs) to reduce the risk of acquiring the infection and onward transmission to colleagues and patients during the influenza season. Thus, vaccination was introduced at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) in 2007 and has been offered to all HCWs at no cost. The HCW influenza vaccination program is conducted annually in October and biannually during years with vaccine mismatch. However, influenza vaccine uptake remained low among HCWs. We sought to determine the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on influenza vaccine uptake among HCWs. Methods: At SGH, 2 methods of vaccine delivery are offered: centralized (1-month drop-in system during office hours) and decentralized (administered by vaccination teams in offices or ward staff in inpatient locations). In the 4-year study period between 2018 and 2021, 6 influenza vaccination exercise campaigns were conducted during 8 influenza seasons. During each exercise, ~9,000 HCWs were eligible for vaccination. Results: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine uptake in the Southern Hemisphere was 77.6% (6,964 of 8,977) in 2018 and 84.2% (7,296 of 8,670) in 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, vaccine uptake in the Southern Hemisphere increased by 10% to 94.1% (8,361 of 8,889). In the Northern Hemisphere, vaccine uptake was 79.2% (7,114 of 8,977) in 2018, and this increased by 17.9% to 97.1% (8,926 of 9,194) during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. During the 2021 Southern Hemisphere influenza season, no vaccination program was conducted because the risk of influenza was considered low due to the closure of international borders and the implementation of public health measures. In addition, priority was given to COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Conclusions: Increased uptake of the influenza vaccination was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anxiety created by the respiratory disease pandemic and debate surrounding vaccines likely contributed to increased awareness and uptake in influenza vaccine among HCWs.

A single-shot measurement of electron emittance was experimentally accomplished using a focused transfer line with a dipole. The betatron phase of electrons based on laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) is energy dependent owing to the coupling of the longitudinal acceleration field and the transverse focusing (defocusing) field in the bubble. The phase space presents slice information after phase compensation relative to the center energy. Fitting the transverse size of the electron beam at different energy slices in the energy spectrum measured 0.27 mm mrad in the experiment. The diagnosis of slice emittance facilitates local electron quality manipulation, which is important for the development of LWFA-based free electron lasers. The quasi-3D particle-in-cell simulations matched the experimental results and analysis well.

This article reports the results of a study investigating the impact of family orientation, the number of years spent working, and their interaction on childbearing age among women who have recently completed their childbearing.

We find that a traditional family orientation and a higher number of working years contribute to delaying the childbearing age. People with a traditional family orientation can delay childbearing because they want to make elaborate material preparations for raising their children. Women who have worked many years are more aware of gender inequality in the domestic sphere (having been exposed to gender equality in the workplace). This is especially the case for women with a modern family orientation. However, this does not necessarily lead people with a modern family orientation to delay childbearing. They may advance their childbearing in an effort to escape an oppressive domestic environment in their families of origin.

In this work, a confined-doped fiber with the core/inner-cladding diameter of 40/250 μm and a relative doping ratio of 0.75 is fabricated through a modified chemical vapor deposition method combined with the chelate gas deposition technique, and subsequently applied in a tandem-pumped fiber amplifier for high-power operation and transverse mode instability (TMI) mitigation. Notably, the impacts of the seed laser power and mode purity are preliminarily investigated through comparative experiments. It is found that the TMI threshold could be significantly affected by the seed laser mode purity. The possible mechanism behind this phenomenon is proposed and revealed through comprehensive comparative experiments and theoretical analysis. Finally, a maximum output power of 7.49 kW is obtained with the beam quality factor of approximately 1.83, which is the highest output power ever reported in a forward tandem-pumped confined-doped fiber amplifier. This work could provide a good reference and practical solution to improve the TMI threshold and realize high-power high-brightness fiber lasers.