Adaptive Force Research Articles

Development of the Japanese version of the 30-item Mystical Experience Questionnaire.

Psychedelics have garnered increased attention as potential therapeutic options for various mental illnesses. Previous studies reported that psychedelics cause psychoactive effects through mystical experiences induced by these substances, including an altered state of consciousness. While this phenomenon is commonly assessed by the Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ30), a Japanese version of the MEQ30 has not been available. The aim of this study was to develop the Japanese version of the MEQ30. We adhered to the "Principles of Good Practice for the Translation and Cultural Adaptation Process for Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO) Measures: Report of the ISPOR Task Force for Translation and Cultural Adaptation" in our translation process. Two Japanese psychiatrists independently performed forward translations, from which a unified version was derived through reconciliation. This version was subsequently back-translated into English and reviewed by the original authors for equivalency. The iterative revision process was carried out through ongoing discussions with the original authors until they approved the final back-translated version. The final, approved back-translated version of the MEQ30 is presented in the accompanying figure. Additionally, the authorized Japanese version of the MEQ30 is included in the Appendix A. In this study, we successfully developed a Japanese version of the MEQ30. This scale will facilitate the assessment of mystical experiences associated with psychedelic-assisted therapy among Japanese speakers. Further research is warranted to evaluate the reliability and validity of this newly translated scale.

Adaptive Tactile Force Control in a Parallel Gripper With Low Positioning Resolution

Adaptive Tactile Force Control in a Parallel Gripper With Low Positioning Resolution

Multifingered Robot Hand Compliant Manipulation Based on Vision-Based Demonstration and Adaptive Force Control.

Multifingered hand dexterous manipulation is quite challenging in the domain of robotics. One remaining issue is how to achieve compliant behaviors. In this work, we propose a human-in-the-loop learning-control approach for acquiring compliant grasping and manipulation skills of a multifinger robot hand. This approach takes the depth image of the human hand as input and generates the desired force commands for the robot. The markerless vision-based teleoperation system is used for the task demonstration, and an end-to-end neural network model (i.e., TeachNet) is trained to map the pose of the human hand to the joint angles of the robot hand in real-time. To endow the robot hand with compliant human-like behaviors, an adaptive force control strategy is designed to predict the desired force control commands based on the pose difference between the robot hand and the human hand during the demonstration. The force controller is derived from a computational model of the biomimetic control strategy in human motor learning, which allows adapting the control variables (impedance and feedforward force) online during the execution of the reference joint angles. The simultaneous adaptation of the impedance and feedforward profiles enables the robot to interact with the environment compliantly. Our approach has been verified in both simulation and real-world task scenarios based on a multifingered robot hand, that is, the Shadow Hand, and has shown more reliable performances than the current widely used position control mode for obtaining compliant grasping and manipulation behaviors.

Evidence of cancer-linked rodent zoonoses from biophysical genomic variations

As a mechanism to explore the role of environmental adaptation in establishing the optimal distribution of single nucleotide polymophisms (SNPs) within resident homeostatic populations, relationships between quantified environmental parameters and the frequencies of the variants are being explored. We have performed sequential double-blind scans on more than 30% of chromosome 3 in an attempt to discover possible relationships using simple mathematical functions that are indicative of “adaptive forces” on the variants due to specific quantified environmental agents. We have found an association of rs13071758 with rodent zoonotic diseases. This variant is within the FHIT gene, which spans the most fragile of the common fragile sites in human lymphoblasts. FHIT, which is highly sensitive to environmental carcinogens, is partially lost in most human cancers. This finding is consistent with other studies postulating an association between rodent zoonoses and cancer. We quantify the adaptive force on the T allele as 0.28 GEUs per unit of zoonotic rodent host richness.

Novel conservative methods for adaptive force softening in collisionless and multispecies N-body simulations

ABSTRACT Modelling self-gravity of collisionless fluids (e.g. ensembles of dark matter, stars, black holes, dust, and planetary bodies) in simulations is challenging and requires some force softening. It is often desirable to allow softenings to evolve adaptively, in any high-dynamic range simulation, but this poses unique challenges of consistency, conservation, and accuracy, especially in multiphysics simulations where species with different ‘softening laws’ may interact. We therefore derive a generalized form of the energy-and-momentum conserving gravitational equations of motion, applicable to arbitrary rules used to determine the force softening, together with consistent associated time-step criteria, interaction terms between species with different softening laws, and arbitrary maximum/minimum softenings. We also derive new methods to maintain better accuracy and conservation when symmetrizing forces between particles. We review and extend previously discussed adaptive softening schemes based on the local neighbour particle density, and present several new schemes for scaling the softening with properties of the gravitational field, i.e. the potential or acceleration or tidal tensor. We show that the ‘tidal softening’ scheme not only represents a physically motivated, translation and Galilean invariant and equivalence-principle respecting (and therefore conservative) method but also imposes negligible time-step or other computational penalties, ensuring that pairwise two-body scattering is small compared to smooth background forces and can resolve outstanding challenges in properly capturing tidal disruption of substructures (minimizing artificial destruction) while also avoiding excessive N-body heating. We make all of this public in the GIZMO code.

Good Governance Analysis of the Role of the Reserve Army in Strengthening National Defense

Effective governance is a cornerstone of any modern nation's strength and security. This paper conducts a comprehensive analysis of the role of the reserve army in strengthening national defense, within the framework of good governance principles. The reserve army, a vital component of a country's defense strategy, represents a proactive and cost-efficient means of augmenting the regular armed forces during times of crisis. Through a lens of good governance, this study examines the organizational, strategic, and ethical dimensions of the reserve army's contribution to national defense.The analysis begins by exploring the concept of good governance, highlighting its significance in ensuring transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in defense policies. Drawing on case studies from various nations, the paper investigates how effective governance practices can positively influence the recruitment, training, and deployment of reserve forces. Special attention is given to mechanisms that promote equitable representation, inclusivity, and adherence to human rights standards within the reserve army framework.Furthermore, the study delves into the strategic alignment between the reserve army and the overall national defense strategy. It examines how coherent planning, integrated communication, and joint exercises between regular and reserve forces can enhance the overall preparedness and responsiveness of a nation's defense apparatus. The role of technology and innovation in optimizing the reserve army's effectiveness is also explored, emphasizing the importance of well-governed resource allocation and technological integration. In conclusion, this paper underscores the critical role of good governance in maximizing the potential of the reserve army to strengthen national defense. By aligning recruitment practices, strategic planning, and ethical considerations with principles of effective governance, a nation can build a resilient, adaptable, and citizen-oriented reserve force that significantly contributes to its overall security. The findings of this analysis provide valuable insights for policymakers, military planners, and scholars seeking to enhance the role of the reserve army within a framework of sound governance practices

Signs of rapid evolution in an invasive forest species: Drivers of the incipient neutral, adaptive and phenotypic divergence

Evolutionary forces such as genetic drift and natural selection operate during the process of biological invasion. More specifically, nonnative populations suffer genetic and demographic bottlenecks, and are exposed to new environmental, climatic and biotic filters. Thus, neutral and/or adaptive drivers may contribute to genetic differentiation of the introduced germplasm. We hypothesize that the gene pool of fire-adapted species that become invasive in fire-prone ecosystems may differ from that of originally planted and native one because of novel selective forces and founder effects. Genetic impoverishment due to genetic drift could also be buffered by demographic processes as the production of a large aerial seed bank by serotiny. We conducted genomic analyses of the world’s most planted tree Pinus radiata using Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, comparing introduced cohorts with and without fire exposure, and also with one population of the native range. Phenotypic traits of introduced cohorts were assessed for quantitative characters. In the introduced range we found lower expected heterozygosity and nucleotide diversity due to bottlenecks during introduction and commercial selection in orchards. We also detected decreased inbreeding, related to a serotinous seed bank that buffers bottlenecks. We found genomic regions under selection, both in the comparison between native and introduced range, and between introduced cohorts with and without exposure to fire. Within the introduced area, we observed possible fire-mediated diversifying selection for five quantitative traits. Our results show that both neutral and adaptive forces promote early divergence of the introduced species Pinus radiata. Also, fire acts as a rapid selection factor, prompting the incipient adaptive divergence of cohorts recruited after fires, facilitating invasion.

Cell Mutagenic Autopolyploidy Enhances Salinity Stress Tolerance in Leguminous Crops.

Salinity stress affects plant growth and development by causing osmotic stress and nutrient imbalances through excess Na+, K+, and Cl- ion accumulations that induce toxic effects during germination, seedling development, vegetative growth, flowering, and fruit set. However, the effects of salt stress on growth and development processes, especially in polyploidized leguminous plants, remain unexplored and scantly reported compared to their diploid counterparts. This paper discusses the physiological and molecular response of legumes towards salinity stress-based osmotic and ionic imbalances in plant cells. A multigenic response involving various compatible solutes, osmolytes, ROS, polyamines, and antioxidant activity, together with genes encoding proteins involved in the signal transduction, regulation, and response mechanisms to this stress, were identified and discussed. This discussion reaffirms polyploidization as the driving force in plant evolution and adaptation to environmental stress constraints such as drought, feverish temperatures, and, in particular, salt stress. As a result, thorough physiological and molecular elucidation of the role of gene duplication through induced autopolyploidization and possible mechanisms regulating salinity stress tolerance in grain legumes must be further studied.

Gentle and fast all-atom model refinement to cryo-EM densities via a maximum likelihood approach.

Better detectors and automated data collection have generated a flood of high-resolution cryo-EM maps, which in turn has renewed interest in improving methods for determining structure models corresponding to these maps. However, automatically fitting atoms to densities becomes difficult as their resolution increases and the refinement potential has a vast number of local minima. In practice, the problem becomes even more complex when one also wants to achieve a balance between a good fit of atom positions to the map, while also establishing good stereochemistry or allowing protein secondary structure to change during fitting. Here, we present a solution to this challenge using a maximum likelihood approach by formulating the problem as identifying the structure most likely to have produced the observed density map. This allows us to derive new types of smooth refinement potential-based on relative entropy-in combination with a novel adaptive force scaling algorithm to allow balancing of force-field and density-based potentials. In a low-noise scenario, as expected from modern cryo-EM data, the relative-entropy based refinement potential outperforms alternatives, and the adaptive force scaling appears to aid all existing refinement potentials. The method is available as a component in the GROMACS molecular simulation toolkit.

Another Way to Confuse Motor Control: Manual Technique Supposed to Shorten Muscle Spindles Reduces the Muscular Holding Stability in the Sense of Adaptive Force in Male Soccer Players.

Sensorimotor control can be impaired by slacked muscle spindles. This was shown for reflex responses and, recently, also for muscular stability in the sense of Adaptive Force (AF). The slack in muscle spindles was generated by contracting the lengthened muscle followed by passive shortening. AF was suggested to specifically reflect sensorimotor control since it requires tension-length control in adaptation to an increasing load. This study investigated AF parameters in reaction to another, manually performed slack procedure in a preselected sample (n = 13). The AF of 11 elbow and 12 hip flexors was assessed by an objectified manual muscle test (MMT) using a handheld device. Maximal isometric AF was significantly reduced after manual spindle technique vs. regular MMT. Muscle lengthening started at 64.93 ± 12.46% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). During regular MMT, muscle length could be maintained stable until 92.53 ± 10.12% of MVIC. Hence, muscular stability measured by AF was impaired after spindle manipulation. Force oscillations arose at a significantly lower level for regular vs. spindle. This supports the assumption that they are a prerequisite for stable adaptation. Reduced muscular stability in reaction to slack procedures is considered physiological since sensory information is misled. It is proposed to use slack procedures to test the functionality of the neuromuscular system, which is relevant for clinical practice.

Improved multi-objective grasshopper optimization algorithm and application in capacity configuration of urban rail hybrid energy storage systems

Aiming at addressing problems of poor diversity and ergodicity of initial population, slow convergence speed, and susceptibility to local optima in conventional multi-objective grasshopper optimization algorithm (MOGOA), an improved MOGOA is proposed in this paper. The proposed algorithm is based on Sobol sequence, adaptive social force, cosine parameter c, as well as Levy flight mechanism (SACLMOGOA), where Sobol sequence is adopted to initialize the population, thereby improving the diversity and ergodicity of the initial population. The adaptive social force is proposed to enhance the global exploration ability in the early stage of iteration and the local development ability in the late stage of iteration. A cosine type parameter c is used to ensure sufficient exploration time and rapid convergence of the algorithm during position update process and Levy flight is used to guide some grasshoppers to mutate, enhancing the ability to escape from the local optima and improving the performance and efficiency of the algorithm. The proposed algorithm is tested with ZDT and DTLZ series benchmark test functions to validate its effectiveness, and it is also compared with conventional MOGOA, multi-objective particle swarm optimization, multi-objective gray Wolf, and multi-objective jellyfish algorithms. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms other algorithms in terms of inverse generational distance (IGD), spread (SP), maximum spread (MS), run time and Wilcoxon rank sum test. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm is successfully applied to the capacity configuration of the urban rail hybrid energy storage systems (HESS) of Changsha Metro Line 1 in China, reducing the traction network voltage fluctuations by 3.3 % and 2.2 % compared to no HESS capacity configuration optimization, and by 14 % and 5.7 % compared to no HESS during train starting and breaking, respectively. While achieving the goal of energy-saving and voltage stabilization, the cost of the hybrid energy storage systems is minimized as well. All of these have demonstrated SACLMOGOA is an effective tool for solving complex multi-objective optimization problems in engineering.

Reparameterization of Non-Bonded Parameters for Copper Ions in Plastocyanin: An Adaptive Force Matching Study.

Molecular mechanics rely on existing experimental and theoretical inputs to confidently calculate the trajectories of molecular systems. These calculations, however, are often hindered by missing force field parameters. A notable subject of this problem is metal centers of proteins. This study parameterized, through an adaptive force matching (AFM) workflow, the copper cofactor of plastocyanin in its two oxidation states. New 12-6 Lennard-Jones (LJ) parameters and atomic partial charges were generated to complete the non-bonded description of the copper site. Our models show uniform distorted tetrahedral structures for reduced plastocyanin, Cu(I), and oxidized plastocyanin, Cu(II). These structures align with the QM/MM MD results and existing crystallography studies. TD-DFT calculations, meanwhile, showed that conformations with elongated axial Cu-SMet and shortened equatorial Cu-SCys bonds retain the experimental UV-Vis profile of blue copper (BC) proteins, thus signifying the importance of Cu-S interactions on BC proteins' unique spectroscopic properties.

Mechanism of pin thread and flat features affecting material thermal flow behaviors and mixing in Al-Cu dissimilar friction stir welding

Three different features of pin models in Al-Cu dissimilar friction stir welding processes are established to analyse the effects of threads and flats on the two-phase material thermal flow behaviors. Based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), a simulation methodology that calculates pins with complex morphologies through an adaptive force boundary is proposed. The pin characteristics are gradually optimized from “conical contour” to “conical-thread” and then to “thread-flats”. For dissimilar Al-Cu materials, the physical properties are weighted by the volume fractions of two-phase materials in the mixing zone. To build a dynamic adaptive contact model that varies with the material flow state, the interfacial friction shear stress is calculated by using the relative slip between the tool and material. The linkage effects between the “thread + flats” on the dissimilar Al/Cu welding mechanisms are systematically analysed. The enhancing mechanisms of the thread and flats on the material flow are different. The thread mainly reinforces the longitudinal migration of the Al/Cu materials, which is perpendicular to the horizontal plane. The flats effectively expand the plastic flow range and material mixing zone on the horizontal plane. These flow expanding effects are observed on the Z = 1 mm plane since the radial range of material flow enlarges from 2 mm to 3 mm under the action of the flats, while the horizontal flow range undergoes little change with the thread. The coupled mechanism of the “thread + flats” shows 0.06 s periodic strengthening, and the fluctuation threshold of the material flow velocity is wider, significantly improving the upwards stirring of the bottom material. The enhanced horizontal flow and vertical migration are beneficial to the uniform dispersion of the second-phase material (Cu) and local material softening for the formation of Al-Cu heterogeneous joints. Moreover, the accuracy of the model is verified by comparing the simulated and experimental TMAZ boundaries.

Adaptive and iterative learning control to simultaneously control end-effector force and direction by normal vectors learning

AbstractIt is very challenging for robots to perform grinding and polishing tasks on surfaces with unknown geometry. Most existing methods solve this problem by modeling the relationship between the force sensing information and surface normal vectors by analyzing the forces on special end tools such as spherical tools and cylindrical tools and simplified friction model. In this paper, we propose a normal vectors learning method to simultaneously control end-effector force and direction on unknown surfaces. First, the relation that mapping the force sensing information to the surface normal vectors is learned from the demonstrated data on the known plane using locally weighted regression. Next, the learned relation is used to estimate surface normal vectors on the unknown surface. To improve the force control precision on the unknown geometry surface, the adaptive force control is developed. To improve the direction control precision due to friction, the iterative learning control is developed. The proposed method is verified by comparative simulations and experiments using the Franka robot. Results show that the end-effector can be controlled perpendicular to the surface with a certain force.

Ukraine’s third wave of military reform 2016–2022 – building a military able to defend Ukraine against the Russian invasion

ABSTRACT This article explores an important and often overlooked element of Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against the Russian invasion in February 2022 – the adoption of a modified western transformational model of military reform – which has focused on mass and building a western style NATO interoperable and trained military. This article argues that Ukraine’s military reform since 2016, in particular the focus on Command and Control, the development of an NCO Corps and Special Forces as well as clear procurement priorities have created the enabling conditions for the development of a flexible and adaptable military force, able to limit Russia’s battlefield success and bring the fight to the enemy. Despite this progress, however, a recurring problem facing the Ukrainian military, that is likely to continue in the future, is how to balance the ongoing requirement for mass against the urgent need for military modernisation.

RESEARCH ON THE REALIZATION PATH OF INCLUSIVE EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURE UNDER THE APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

In recent years, with the rapid development of science and technology, artificial intelligence has permeated human production and life. The technology revolution led by AI has become an important driving force to promote industrial transformation and upgrading, and has had a profound impact on the employment of social labor force. This study analyzes the different effects of the development and application of AI on employment and its influence mechanism through literature survey method and inductive analysis method, and finds that AI not only has a significant impact on employment, but also has significant industrial, regional, and gender differences, which profoundly affects China’s labor market and the employment structure of the workforce. In view of this, this study is committed to exploring effective paths to expand the positive effects of AI on the labor market and employment structure, guiding the construction of an inclusive and adaptive social labor force employment structure, forming a development situation in which the scientific and technological revolution and industrial change complement each other, and truly realizing the high-quality development of science and technology-enabled industries for the benefit of mankind.

Automated simulation-based membrane protein refinement into cryo-EM data

The resolution revolution has increasingly enabled single-particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) reconstructions of previously inaccessible systems, including membrane proteins—a category that constitutes a disproportionate share of drug targets. We present a protocol for using density-guided molecular dynamics simulations to automatically refine atomistic models into membrane protein cryo-EM maps. Using adaptive force density-guided simulations as implemented in the GROMACS molecular dynamics package, we show how automated model refinement of a membrane protein is achieved without the need to manually tune the fitting force ad hoc. We also present selection criteria to choose the best-fit model that balances stereochemistry and goodness of fit. The proposed protocol was used to refine models into a new cryo-EM density of the membrane protein maltoporin, either in a lipid bilayer or detergent micelle, and we found that results do not substantially differ from fitting in solution. Fitted structures satisfied classical model-quality metrics and improved the quality and the model-to-map correlation of the x-ray starting structure. Additionally, the density-guided fitting in combination with generalized orientation-dependent all-atom potential was used to correct the pixel-size estimation of the experimental cryo-EM density map. This work demonstrates the applicability of a straightforward automated approach to fitting membrane protein cryo-EM densities. Such computational approaches promise to facilitate rapid refinement of proteins under different conditions or with various ligands present, including targets in the highly relevant superfamily of membrane proteins.

Cooperation and partner choice among Agta hunter-gatherer children: An evolutionary developmental perspective.

Examining development is essential for a full understanding of behaviour, including how individuals acquire traits and how adaptive evolutionary forces shape these processes. The present study explores the development of cooperative behaviour among the Agta, a Filipino hunter-gatherer population. A simple resource allocation game assessing both levels of cooperation (how much children shared) and patterns of partner choice (who they shared with) was played with 179 children between the ages of 3 and 18. Children were given five resources (candies) and for each was asked whether to keep it for themselves or share with someone else, and if so, who this was. Between-camp variation in children's cooperative behaviour was substantial, and the only strong predictor of children's cooperation was the average level of cooperation among adults in camp; that is, children were more cooperative in camps where adults were more cooperative. Neither age, sex, relatedness or parental levels of cooperation were strongly associated with the amount children shared. Children preferentially shared with close kin (especially siblings), although older children increasingly shared with less-related individuals. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding cross-cultural patterns of children's cooperation, and broader links with human cooperative childcare and life history evolution.

Research on Adaptive Distribution Control Strategy of Braking Force for Pure Electric Vehicles

The actual driving conditions of electric vehicles (EVs) are complex and changeable. Limited by road adhesion conditions, it is necessary to give priority to ensuring safety, taking into account the energy recovery ratio of the vehicle during braking to obtain better braking quality. In this work, an electric vehicle with an EHB (electro-hydraulic braking) system whose braking force adaptive distribution control strategy is studied. Firstly, the vehicle dynamics model, including seven degrees of freedom, tire, drive motor, main reducer, battery pack, and braking system, was constructed, which is attributed to the vehicle configuration and braking system scheme. Second, based on curve I and ECE regulations, the adaptive braking force distribution control strategy was formulated by taking the maximum regenerative braking torque as the inflection point, the synchronous adhesion coefficient as the desired point, and the battery SOC, road adhesion coefficient, and braking strength as the threshold. Finally, the vehicle dynamics simulation model was built on the Matlab/Simulink platform, and the simulation results verified the feasibility of the proposed braking force adaptive allocation control strategy. The research shows that the adaptive distribution control strategy can better adapt to the complex and variable driving conditions of the vehicle by combining the inflection point and the desired point. The braking energy recovery ratios of the vehicle under the NEDC and NYCC cycle conditions on a high adhesion road are 52.62% and 47.45%. The braking force distribution curve is close to curve I under the low adhesion extreme road.

Simulating a flexible water model as rigid: Best practices and lessons learned.

Two ways to create rigid versions of flexible models are explored. The rigid model can assume the Model's Geometry (MG) as if the molecule is not interacting with any other molecules or the ensemble averaged geometry (EG) under a particular thermodynamic condition. Although the MG model is more straightforward to create, it leads to relatively poor performance. The EG model behaves similarly to the corresponding flexible model (the FL model) and, in some cases, agrees even better with experiments. While the difference between the EG and the FL models is mostly a result of flexibility, the MG and EG models have different dipole moments as a result of an effective induction in the condensed phase. For the three water models studied, the property that shows the most difference is the temperature dependence of density. The MG version of the water model by adaptive force matching for ice and liquid does not possess a temperature of maximum density, which is attributed to a downshift of the putative liquid-liquid phase transition line, leading to the hypothesized second critical point of liquid water to manifest at negative pressure. A new three-phase coexistence method for determining the melting temperature of ice is also presented.