External Attachment Research Articles

An integrated cable-driven parallel robot for space station servicing: Self-calibration and pose estimation

This paper presents an integrated cable-driven parallel robot designed for space station servicing. All components, including winches, sensors, controllers, and others, are integrated within its envelope, greatly simplifying the installation process of the robot. However, practical application of this integrated robot necessitates a rapid self-calibration method that relies solely on internal sensors. A self-calibration method utilizing the inertial measurement unit embedded in the robot is introduced to identify external attachment point coordinates. The entire calibration process takes less than 20 minutes, and the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed self-calibration method achieves higher accuracy compared to the existing method. Furthermore, the inertial measurement unit aids in estimating the robot's pose. An error-state Kalman filter is applied to fuse the inertial measurement unit outputs with cable length measurements, providing an optimal estimation of the robot's pose and velocity. In comparison to the existing forward kinematic algorithm, the proposed method exhibits superior estimation accuracy and numerical stability. Experimental results reveal a notable 50% performance improvement over the conventional method.

Miniaturized and untethered McKibben muscles based on photothermal-induced gas-liquid transformation

Pneumatic artificial muscles can move continuously under the power support of air pumps, and their flexibility also provides the possibility for applications in complex environments. However, in order to achieve operation in confined spaces, the miniaturization of artificial muscles becomes crucial. Since external attachment devices greatly hinder the miniaturization and use of artificial muscles, we propose a light-driven approach to get rid of these limitations. In this study, we report a miniaturized fiber-reinforced artificial muscle based on mold editing, capable of bending and axial elongation using gas-liquid conversion in visible light. The minimum volume of the artificial muscle prepared using this method was 15.7 mm3 (d = 2 mm, l = 5 mm), which was smaller than those of other fiber-reinforced pneumatic actuators. This research can promote the development of non-tethered pneumatic actuators for rescue and exploration, and create the possibility of miniaturization of actuators.

Tagging of age-0 flatfish with acoustic transmitters: comparison of internal implantation versus external attachment

Tagging of age-0 flatfish with acoustic transmitters: comparison of internal implantation versus external attachment

Diagnostic Accuracy of Smartphone Corneal Photography for Detection of Corneal Opacities in a Resource-Limited Setting: A Community-Based Study

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of smartphone corneal photography in detecting corneal opacities in a community-based setting. Methods: A case-control, diagnostic accuracy study was nested in a cluster-randomized trial of a corneal ulcer prevention intervention in Nepal. Smartphone corneal photography was performed annually on community members self-reporting a potential risk factor for a corneal infection. Corneal photographs were graded for the presence or absence of an opacity. All cases with an opacity on smartphone photography and an equal number of controls were invited for a comprehensive eye examination with a slit lamp biomicroscope at an eye hospital. A mobile team visited participants unable to come to the hospital, conducting a limited examination with a penlight. Results: Of 1332 study participants (666 cases and 666 controls), 1097 had a penlight examination (535 cases and 562 controls) and 191 had a slit lamp examination (120 cases and 71 controls). When penlight examination was considered the reference standard, smartphone diagnosis of a corneal opacity had a positive predictive value (PPV) of 47% (95% confidence interval 43%–52%) and negative predictive value (NPV) of 95% (93%–97%). When slit lamp examination was considered the reference standard, the overall PPV and NPV were 71% (62%–78%) and 80% (70%–88%), respectively. The NPV was greater for detection of opacities >1 mm, estimated at 95% (90%–98%). Conclusions: Corneal photography performed in a resource-limited community-based setting using a smartphone coupled to an external attachment had acceptable diagnostic accuracy for detection of corneal opacities large enough to be clinically meaningful.

Towards the development of reliable and economical mHealth solutions: A methodology for accurate detection of Buruli ulcer for hard-to-reach communities

mHealth interventions have the potential to increase access to healthcare for the most hard-to-reach communities. For rural communities suffering disproportionately from skin-related NTDs, and Buruli ulcer, there is a need for low-cost, non-invasive and mobile tools for the early detection and management of disease. Dermoscopy is a noninvasive in-vivo technique that has been useful in improving the diagnostic accuracy of pigmented skin lesions based on anatomical features and morphological structures of lesions.ObjectivesUsing dermoscopy, this study develops the automated tools necessary for developing an effective mHealth intervention towards identifying BU lesions in the early stages. Methods: This imaging methodology relies on an external attachment, a dermoscope, which uses polarized light to cancel out skin surface reflections. In our initial studies we used a dermoscope with only crosspolarized white-light (DL100, 3Gen) but later we adopted a more advanced multispectral dermoscope (DLIIm, 3Gen). The latter employed additional monochromatic light at different wavelengths of the visible spectral range, specifically blue (470 nm), yellow (580 nm), and red (660 nm) color, to visualize pigmented structures of skin layers at different depths.ResultsResults obtained using a subset of 58 white-light images with confirmed diagnosis (16 lesions BU and 42 lesions non-BU) resulting in sensitivity of 100 and specificity of 88.10, with an overall accuracy of 94.05 at 95% CI. Performance obtained using a second dataset of 197 dermoscopic multispectral images (16 lesions BU and 181 lesions non-BU) resulted in sensitivity of 90.00% and specificity of 93.39% with a balanced accuracy of 91.69% (86.95% to 95.12% at 95% CI).ConclusionsThis system will continue to perform even as the technology evolves and newer dermoscopes are available. Subsequent studies involve the DL4 which provides more uniform and brighter illumination, higher lesion magnification, and wider field of view which, combined with the superb resolution of modern smartphones, can result in faster and more accurate lesion assessment. This is an important step for the development of mHealth tools for use by non-specialists in community settings for the early detection of Buruli ulcer, skin-NTDs, and other dermatologic conditions associated with disease, including wound healing and management of disease progression.

Clinical observation of a narrow alveolar ridge in the anterior area with a simple taper retention implant.

This study aims to determine the clinical effect of an external attachment implant, called JUST J1 MINI (hereafter referred to as J1 implant), with simple tonal retention on the narrow alveolar area of the anterior teeth (4.5-5.5 mm). A total of 27 J1 implants were implanted in 12 patients in the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University who were treated with narrow alveolar ridge implants. In the absence of any bone increment, all the implants were implanted with tonal retention external connection, and the survival rate of the implants was evaluated using Wheeler retention standard. The average observation period was 24 months. The amount of bone absorption at the edge of the implant, abutment abscission rate, and fracture/fracture and loosening of the implant were observed. The marginal bone uptake of the 27 J1 implants in 12 patients was (0.069±0.032) mm 6 months after implantation and (0.142±0.079) mm 24 months after implantation. No significant difference in marginal bone uptake was observed between the implants 6 months and 24 months after implantation. No loosening of the abutment was found, and implant retention rate was 100% during the observation period. The application of JUST J1 MINI to the narrow alveolar ridge in the anterior area can achieve a simple aesthetic effect within a short period under the condition of no bone increment.

Evaluation of six methods for external attachment of electronic tags to fish: assessment of tag retention, growth and fish welfare.

External attachment of electronic tags has been increasingly used in fish studies. Many researchers have used ad hoc attachment methods and provided little or no validation for the assumption that tagging itself does not bias animal behaviour or survival. The authors compared six previously published methods for externally attaching acoustic transmitters to fish in a tank holding experiment with black sea bass Centropristis striata (L.). They tracked tag retention, fish growth and external trauma (as a measure of fish welfare) for 60 days. For each of these metrics, the results showed a wide range of responses among tagging treatments. A simple attachment method using a spaghetti tag passed through the dorsal musculature of the fish and tied to the end cap of the transmitter emerged as the preferred option based on high retention, no impact on growth and relatively low detriment to fish welfare. Future field studies using external electronic tagging should consider tag‐related effects that could compromise results when selecting a method for tag attachment.

Smartphone-based Anterior Segment Imaging: A Comparative Diagnostic Accuracy Study of a Potential Tool for Blindness Prevalence Surveys

ABSTRACT Purpose To determine if smartphone photography could be a useful adjunct to blindness prevalence surveys by providing an accurate diagnosis of corneal opacity. Methods A total of 174 patients with infectious keratitis who had undergone corneal culturing over the past 5 years were enrolled in a diagnostic accuracy study at an eye hospital in South India. Both eyes had an ophthalmologist-performed slit lamp examination, followed by anterior segment photography with a handheld digital single lens reflex (SLR) camera and a smartphone camera coupled to an external attachment that provided magnification and illumination. The diagnostic accuracy of photography was assessed relative to slit lamp examination. Results In total, 90 of 174 enrolled participants had a corneal opacity in the cultured eye and no opacity in the contralateral eye, and did not have a penetrating keratoplasty or missing photographs. Relative to slit lamp examination, the sensitivity of corneal opacity diagnosis was 68% (95%CI 58–77%) using the smartphone’s default settings and 59% (95%CI 49–69%) using the SLR, and the specificity was 97% (95%CI 93–100%) for the smartphone and 97% (95%CI 92–100%) for the SLR. The sensitivity of smartphone-based corneal opacity diagnosis was higher for larger scars (81% for opacities 2 mm in diameter or larger), more visually significant scars (100% for eyes with visual acuity worse than 20/400), and more recent scars (85% for eyes cultured in the past 12 months). Conclusion The diagnostic performance of a smartphone coupled to an external attachment, while somewhat variable, demonstrated high specificity and high sensitivity for all but the smallest opacities.

Biopolymer Cooperation for Sustainable High‐Performance Oxidase‐Based Biosensing with the Simplest Possible Readout of Substrate Conversion

AbstractFor sustainable high‐quality biosensor preparation, the biopolymers zein and gelatin are placed on Pt electrodes as base‐ and top‐coats, respectively, through simple drop‐and‐dry addition. The gelatin top‐coat of the biocompatible sandwich supports covalent external attachment of glucose oxidase (GOx), ensuring easy access of substrate to enzyme, while the lower, selectively permeable zein base‐coat protects electro‐oxidative detection of enzymically‐produced hydrogen peroxide from interferents. The functional cooperativity between gelatin‐GOx immobilization and molecular filtering by zein produced signal linearity up to 1 mm glucose, a sub‐µm practical detection limit, a rapid response time, a long shelf‐life, and excellent glucose analytical quality testing even with serum samples with intentionally elevated levels of interferents. This demonstrates for the first time the exceptional power of the cooperative action of two natural polymers in the ecofriendly improvement of a biosensor. The excellent performance of the novel biosensor design is confirmed here using GOx as a model, however, its application to other enzymes, antibodies, and DNA is feasible, offering economical biosensing while utilizing green functional materials. Moreover, the successful establishment of the cooperative dual biopolymer functionality on mass‐fabricated commercial screen‐printed electrode platforms verify the essential suitability of this methodology for portable clinical and personal health care monitoring.

The influence of organizational death on work priorities and the moderating role of attachment internal working models.

Downturns in the global economy have caused even large organizations to cease to operate; a phenomenon often dubbed “organizational death”. Two studies focused on individual coping strategies in times of organizational death and the possible moderating role of attachment as a personality factor. Experiment 1 (N = 162) explored the effects of the saliency of organizational death on work priorities, and the moderating role of dispositional attachment orientation. Experiment 2 (N = 119) examined the interaction between dispositional attachment and the recall of an attachment event on work priorities. Participants reported their work priorities after being primed to imagine that their organization must either shut down or undergo an organizational crisis (or were assigned to a neutral control group), and completed the Experiences in Close Relationships scale to determine their attachment orientation. In Experiment 2, participants were also asked to recall a secure/insecure event after organizational death (or organizational crisis) priming to test the impact of external attachment event recall saliency and its interaction with dispositional attachment on work priorities. Dispositional avoidance (but not anxiety) moderated the effects of the organizational priming condition on work priorities. Recall of an attachment event interacted with dispositional avoidance (but not anxiety) on work priorities after organizational death priming. The saliency of organizational death mitigated the moderating role of individual differences on the effects of both dispositional orientation and priming of an attachment event on work priorities. Thus, a significant event that undermines one of the pillars of security in adulthood may lessen individual differences in work priorities following this exposure.

Seismic performance improvement of RC buildings with external steel frames

In this study, in order to improve the seismic performance of existing reinforced concrete (RC) framed structures, various external attachment of corner steel frame configurations was considered as a user-friendly retrofitting method. The external steel frame is designed to contribute to the lateral stiffness and load carrying capacity of the existing RC structure. A six story building was taken into account. Four different external corner steel frame configurations were suggested in order to strengthen the building. The 3D models of the building with suggested retrofitting steel frames were developed within ABAQUS environment using solid finite elements and analyzed under horizontal loadings nonlinearly. Horizontal top displacement vs loading curves were obtained to determine the overall performance of the building. Contributions of steel and RC frames to the carried loads were computed individually. Load/capacity ratios for the ground floor columns were presented. In the study, 3D rendered images of the building with the suggested retrofits are created to better visualize the real effect of the retrofit on the final appearance of the facade of the building. The analysis results have shown that the proposed external steel frame retrofit configurations increased the lateral load carrying capacity and lateral stiffness and can be used to improve the seismic performance of RC framed buildings.

A Weft Knit Data Glove

Rehabilitation of stroke survivors can be expedited by employing an exoskeleton. The exercises are designed such that both hands move in synergy. In this regard, often, motion capture data from the healthy hand is used to derive control behavior for the exoskeleton. Therefore, data gloves can provide a low-cost solution for the motion capture of the joints in the hand. However, current data gloves are bulky, inaccurate, or inconsistent. These disadvantages are inherited because the conventional design of a glove involves an external attachment that degrades overtime and causes inaccuracies. This article presents a weft knit data glove whose sensors and support structure are manufactured in the same fabrication process, thus removing the need for an external attachment. The glove is made by knitting multifilament conductive yarn and an elastomeric yarn using WholeGarment technology. Furthermore, we present a detailed electromechanical model of the sensors alongside its experimental validation. In addition, the reliability of the glove is verified experimentally. Finally, machine learning algorithms are implemented for classifying the posture of hand on the basis of sensor data histograms.

Fin‐spines attachment, a novel external attachment method for the ultrasonic transmitters on hard fin‐spines fish (Sparidae)

The purpose of this study was to develop a novel method for the external attachment of ultrasonic transmitters on hard fin-spines fish (Sparidae). Acanthopagrus latus, one of the main stocking Sparidae fishes in the northern South China Sea, was employed to conduct the 40-day tank experiment by using dummy ultrasonic transmitters. The experiment consisted of 3 treatment groups, i.e., drilling on dorsal fin-spine (DD) group, drilling on anal fin-spine (DA) group, and control (C) group, with each group having 3 replicates and 30 fish per replicate. The feasibilities of DD and DA for the external attachment of ultrasonic transmitters were tested and evaluated using parameters: the specific growth rate, survival rate, and tag retention rate of each group. And the tagging procedures for the external attachment of hard fin-spines fish were also proposed. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the specific growth rate of fish between groups. Both the survival rates of DD group (96.67%) and DA group (94.44%) were less (but not significant) than C group (97.78%), while the tag retention rate of DA group (100%) was higher (but not significant) than DD group (98.89%). These results demonstrate that drilling on dorsal or anal fin-spines is feasible as an external attachment method of ultrasonic transmitters on Sparidae fishes. In addition, considering the friction between the tagged transmitters and rocks at the bottom of natural waters, which possibly affect the fish behaviors such as swimming, feeding, etc., or lead to tag loss, so drilling on the dorsal fin-spine is preferred for rocky-bottom Sparidae fishes like A. latus as small as 14 cm body length.

Identification of the neuropeptide precursor genes potentially involved in the larval settlement in the Echiuran worm Urechis unicinctus

BackgroundIn marine invertebrate life cycles, which often consist of planktonic larval and benthonic adult stages, settlement of the free-swimming larva to the sea floor in response to environmental cues is a key life cycle transition. Settlement is regulated by a specialized sensory–neurosecretory system, the larval apical organ. The neuroendocrine mechanisms through which the apical organ transduces environmental cues into behavioral responses during settlement are not fully understood yet.ResultsIn this study, a total of 54 neuropeptide precursors (pNPs) were identified in the Urechis unicinctus larva and adult transcriptome databases using local BLAST and NpSearch prediction, of which 10 pNPs belonging to the ancient eumetazoa, 24 pNPs belonging to the ancient bilaterian, 3 pNPs belonging to the ancient protostome, 9 pNPs exclusive in lophotrochozoa, 3 pNPs exclusive in annelid, and 5 pNPs only found in U. unicinctus. Furthermore, four pNPs (MIP, FRWamide, FxFamide and FILamide) which may be associated with the settlement and metamorphosis of U. unicinctus larvae were analysed by qRT-PCR. Whole-mount in situ hybridization results showed that all the four pNPs were expressed in the region of the apical organ of the larva, and the positive signals were also detected in the ciliary band and abdomen chaetae. We speculated that these pNPs may regulate the movement of larval cilia and chaeta by sensing external attachment signals.ConclusionsThis study represents the first comprehensive identification of neuropeptides in Echiura, and would contribute to a complete understanding on the roles of various neuropeptides in larval settlement of most marine benthonic invertebrates.

Bionic ear prosthesis: the coming future

Objective. To develop the bionic ear prosthesis design and a method for its manufacture based on intellectual and medical 3D technologies.
 Materials and methods. Taking into account the analysis of data from domestic and foreign literature, a bionic ear prosthesis and a device for its manufacture have been developed. During the implementation of the project, digital equipment and software were used.
 The developed design of a bionic ear prosthesis consists of several components, including an auricle prosthesis and a sound processor inserted into it. This provides the functionality of remote control, configuration and wireless charging. The system is based on the principle of bone conduction. The auricle prosthesis is an external attachment device with high aesthetic characteristics, made of biocompatible materials using modern digital technologies. Built-in hearing aid, includes a microphone; a sound processor based on a digital signal component with built-in analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters; Bluetooth radio channel module for communication with the settings control device (Android smartphone); and an emitter of sound vibrations.
 Results. The expected positive effect is to increase the effectiveness of treatment, rehabilitation and socialization of deaf and hard of hearing patients by reducing the volume of surgical intervention; prevention of postoperative complications; the use of a rational aesthetic design of the auricle epithesis made of biologically compatible materials, with an inclinated highly functional electronic hearing aid integrated with the patient's auditory environment.
 Conclusions. The combination of these factors can provide a significant reduction in the terms of medical and social rehabilitation of patients of different ages. In addition to the above, a significant advantage of the developed design of a bionic prosthesis and the method of its manufacture is ease of use and economic availability.

Adult Sockeye Salmon Gastrically Tagged Near Spawning Grounds Exhibit Lower Survival Rates throughout the Spawning Period than Externally Tagged Conspecifics

AbstractTelemetry is a common tool for studying the behavior and fate of migrating adult Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp., yet few field studies have compared behavior and fate associated with different tagging techniques. In this study, adult Harrison River (British Columbia) Sockeye Salmon O. nerka were captured in their natal river near spawning areas, radio‐tagged by gastric insertion or external attachment in the dorsum, and released. Tagging occurred on 5 d spread over 3–8 weeks prior to spawning, thus encompassing fish in varying stages of maturity and freshwater residency. Tagged individuals were monitored over the spawning season by using fixed receiver stations and mobile tracking. The probability of fish moving upstream or downstream of the tagging site within 35 h of tagging was a function of tagging date but not tag type. Tag type significantly influenced fate, with almost twice as many externally tagged fish (41.6%; 42 of 101) surviving to reach spawning areas compared to gastrically tagged fish (22.4%; 21 of 94). The number of active externally tagged fish in the Harrison River system was consistently greater than the number of active gastrically tagged fish that received tags on the same date for four of the five tagging dates. External tag attachment may be a better approach than gastric insertion for studies that tag adult salmon near or on spawning areas.

A Smartphone-assisted Paper-based Analytical Device for Fluorescence Assay of Hg2+

Rapid, efficiency and portable detection systems in low-resource settings with limited laboratory equipment and technical expertise are urgently needed. Herein, an integrated platform composed of a paper-based analytical device and a smartphone detection system for Hg2+ onsite testing was developed. Nitrogen-doped carbon dots(N-CDs) were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method using citric acid as the carbon source and ethanediamine as the nitrogen source, which gave out bright blue fluorescence under the excitation at 350 nm UV light and the absolute fluorescence quantum yield was 17.1%. The fluorescence of the prepared N-CDs can be effectively quenched by Hg2+. In addition, an external attachment of smartphone for illumination and external light interference was designed to trace the fluorescence signals, and a software application of Android system with simple operation program was developed to perform snapshot and image processing. The smartphone-assisted detection system was combined with the N-CDs decorated paper chip to achieve the sensitive detection of Hg2+ in water samples. This integrated method for reliable sensing of Hg2+ shows a good linear detection range of 10–800 µmol/L(R2=0.9595) with detection limit of 1.07×10−8 mol/L.

Assessment of inspiration and expiration time using infrared thermal imaging modality

Breathing is one of the important vital signs assessed by healthcare practitioner for patient monitoring and disease management. There are several methods used to evaluate breathing activities such as respiratory inductive plethysmography, impedance pneumography, bioacoustics method, spirometry and manual assessment. Most of these devices require external attachment on patient such as belt, electrodes and sensor which could be inconvenient if used over a long period of time. Infrared Thermal Imaging (ITI) is a contactless device that detects temperature changes which can be used to assess breathing since hot air particles are being released to surrounding through nose which create temperature variance during breathing. Majority of studies conducted on breathing function were focused on respiratory rate. Therefore, this study assessed the timing of inspiration (TI) and expiration (TE) in three different breathing patterns which are normal, prolonged expiration and rapid breathing by using Infrared Thermal Imaging (ITI). A total of thirty-three subjects were required to simulate various breathing patterns by using a video-guided method. The assessment of TI and TE was recorded using ITI and Respiratory Inductive Plethysmograph (RIP) simultaneously. Results obtained from the ITI images show consistent deflections on the plotted graph which reflect the transition point of inspiration and expiration. This transition point allowed us to measure the TI and TE between ITI and RIP. Our analysis shows that there are no significant differences of the reading obtained between ITI and RIP in TI and TE. Correlation analysis also shows that there was positive correlation between measurement obtained by ITI and RIP. These findings suggest that ITI technique could be used as an alternative method to assess breathing dynamics.

Why implantation of bio-loggers may improve our understanding of how animals cope within their natural environment.

Bio-loggers are miniaturized autonomous devices that record quantitative data on the state of free-ranging animals (e.g. behavior, position and physiology) and their natural environment. This is especially relevant for species where direct visual observation is difficult or impossible. Today, ongoing technical development allows the monitoring of numerous parameters in an increasing range of species over extended periods. However, the external attachment of devices might affect various aspects of animal performance (energetics, thermoregulation, foraging as well as social and reproductive behavior), which ultimately affect fitness. External attachment might also increase entanglement risk and the conspicuousness of animals, leaving them more vulnerable to predation. By contrast, implantation of devices can mitigate many of these undesirable effects and might be preferable, especially for long-term studies, provided that the many challenges associated with surgical procedures can be mastered. Implantation may then allow us to gather data that would be impossible to obtain otherwise and thereby may provide new and ecologically relevant insights into the life of wild animals. Here, we: (i) discuss the pros and cons of attachment methods; (ii) highlight recent field studies that used implanted bio-loggers to address eco-physiological questions in a wide range of species; and (iii) discuss logger implantation in light of ethical considerations.

Frailty and social support of the elderly in contexts of social vulnerability

Objective: to analyze the relationship between of frailty and the family social relationships of the elderly in a context of social vulnerability. Methods: a cross-sectional study with elderly people enrolled in five Reference Centers for Social Assistance. Sample for convenience composed of 247 elderly. For data collection, a sociodemographic questionnaire, Edmonton Frailty Scale, Genogram and Eco-maps were used. Social vulnerability characterized according to Social Vulnerability Index. Results: of the respondents, 41.7% did not present frailty, 21.5% were apparently vulnerable and 36.8% frail. There was no significant difference between frailty and family relationship. There was significant difference between frailty and external attachment (p=0.010), indicating that elderly individuals with frailty at some level had a limited external link. Conclusion: elderly people who have a close relationship with family members, did not present frailty, while the majority of the elderly who do not have external ties, presented some level of frailty.