Evaluation of Human Pain Tolerance and Its Application to Designing Safety Robot Mechanisms for Human-Robot Coexistence

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoji Yamada ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Pain Tolerance ◽  
Tolerance Limit ◽  
Contact Forces ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Robot System ◽  
Speed Reduction ◽  
Emergency Stop ◽  
Contact Sensing ◽  
Fail Safe

This paper describes, with reference to related studies, a human-oriented design approach to developing a safe robot system for human-robot coexistence. First, a soft covering made of a visco-elastic material is designed to achieve both effective impact force attenuation and high contact sensitivity within a human pain tolerance limit. Second, a fail-safe robot system is constructed with contact sensing and subsequent emergency stop control capabilities, primarily by using a simple disturbance observer which plays an important role of checking the normal operation of a two-link DD-motor-driven manipulator. Actual human-robot collision experiments verified that the contact forces generated at the collisions were suppressed below the human pain tolerance limit. Moreover, an additional robot speed reduction mechanism was provided to show that the human reflexive motions to avoid a severe contact with the robot within a safeguarding space contribute to enhancing the efficiency of the system to the point of reducing the speed of the robot in a safe manner when the robot comes in contact with the human.

Dynamic Splints, Functionally-Customized With Nitinol, Can Reduce Joint Rigidity in Pediatric Subjects With Spasticity

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Garavaglia ◽  
Elena Beretta ◽  
Sandra Strazzer ◽  
Felice Sala ◽  
Morena Delle Fave ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Niti Alloy ◽  
Neuromuscular Diseases ◽  
Contact Forces ◽  
Muscle Rigidity ◽  
Cortical Function ◽  
Paretic Limb ◽  
Limb Posture ◽  
Joint Rigidity ◽  
Complex Phenomena

Neuromuscular diseases as a consequence of brain damage are complex phenomena involving disuse, immobility, brain tissue remodeling and cortical function remapping. They may have various causes and strike any part of the population. The vicious circle leading to a worsening of the patients’ conditions proceeds through muscle shortening by contractures, disruption of the normal reflex behavior and sensory problems, development of spasticity [1]. Physical rehabilitation alone or in association with surgery or pharmacological treatments can be useful in limiting those degenerations. Besides manual rehabilitation, splints and braces are prescribed to control the limb posture and obtain stretching of the muscles. The role of those orthoses is to maintain the paretic limb in a set ‘physiological’ position and let it relax into that posture, in an attempt to reduce muscle rigidity and contractures. However applying a fixed constraint to the limb and waiting for relaxation to take place, may cause discomfort, pain, skin rash, and sundry different complications [2]. Also, any residual voluntary movement is prevented by a fixed-angle splinting. In addition, all these negative characteristics limit tolerability and daily application times. This work presents a different way to promote limb repositioning, based on the application of NiTi-alloy-based dynamic splints, which favor mobility and any residual use of the affected limb. Furthermore it suggests that application of mild contact forces prolonged in time has the advantage of feeling less painful and uncomfortable for the patients, improving overall treatment tolerability.

scholarly journals On the Pathogenesis of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome: The Irritable Bowel or the Irritable Patient?

1990 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-38
Author(s):  
Stephen M Collins
Keyword(s):  
Irritable Bowel Syndrome ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Behavioural Problem ◽  
Pain Tolerance ◽  
Organic Disease ◽  
Gastrointestinal Dysfunction ◽  
Traditional Philosophy ◽  
Irritable Bowel ◽  
Experience Pain

The traditional perspective of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as a behavioural problem has tended to downplay the role of gastrointestinal dysfunction. Contrary to predictions based on the traditional philosophy, a recent study has shown that IBS patients have increased pain tolerance compared to healthy subjects. This profile of pain tolerance is similar to that seen in chronic organic disease of the gut (eg, Crohn's disease), raising the possibility that IBS patients may experience pain resulting from gastrointestinal dysfunction. The recent finding of increased airway responsiveness to inhaled methacholine in certain IBS patients provides an objective and quantifiable measurement of tissue dysfunction in that syndrome, and focuses attention on possible mechanisms underlying the altered responsiveness of hollow organs in patients with IBS; these mechanisms are discussed.

scholarly journals Testing Whether Suicide Capability Has a Dynamic Propensity: The Role of Affect and Arousal on Momentary Fluctuations in Suicide Capability

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyne C. Law ◽  
Michael D. Anestis
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Pain Threshold ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Pain Tolerance ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Core Components ◽  
Main Effects

To prevent suicidal behaviors, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms and processes that enable an individual to act on suicidal thoughts. Suicide capability, which involves an increased pain tolerance and fearlessness of death, is a critical factor that enables an individual to endure the physical pain necessary to make a lethal suicide attempt. Extant research has largely conceptualized suicide capability as developing linearly in response to painful and provocative experiences, but the emerging literature on the temporal dynamics of suicide has been challenging the notion of linearity in suicide risk. Few studies have directly measured and compared changes in suicide capability in response to rumination on different affective states. We sought to experimentally test if rumination in the context of low vs. high arousal emotions will prompt distinct changes in two core components of suicide capability: pain tolerance and fearlessness of death on two undergraduate student samples. In both studies, participants provided measures of subjective emotional state as well as pain threshold, tolerance, and persistence before and after completing experimental manipulations which included both emotion and rumination induction procedures. In the second study, measures of fearlessness about death and physiological arousal (heart rate) were added to the experimental procedures. We found significant decreases in pain threshold, tolerance, and persistence following the experimental manipulations but found no main effects of rumination or suicide risk. These findings suggest that suicide capability can fluctuate but these changes may occur through a different mechanism and/or differ between individuals at varying levels of suicide risk.

scholarly journals Characterization of Anaerobic Biofilms Growing on Carbon Felt Bioanodes Exposed to Air

Catalysts ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1341
Author(s):  
Raúl M. Alonso ◽  
Guillermo Pelaz ◽  
María Isabel San-Martín ◽  
Antonio Morán ◽  
Adrián Escapa
Keyword(s):  
Normal Operation ◽  
Carbon Felt ◽  
Dissolved Oxygen Concentration ◽  
Oxygen Penetration ◽  
Long Period ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Catalytic Capacity ◽  
Felt Electrodes

The role of oxygen in anodic biofilms is still a matter of debate. In this study, we tried to elucidate the structure and performance of an electrogenic biofilm that develops on air-exposed, carbon felt electrodes, commonly used in bioelectrochemical systems. By simultaneously recording the current density produced by the bioanode and dissolved oxygen concentration, both inside and in the vicinity of the biofilm, it was possible to demonstrate the influence of a protective aerobic layer present in the biofilm (mainly formed by Pseudomonas genus bacteria) that prevents electrogenic bacteria (such as Geobacter sp.) from hazardous exposure to oxygen during its normal operation. Once this protective barrier was deactivated for a long period of time, the catalytic capacity of the biofilm was severely affected. In addition, our results highlighted the importance of the material’s porous structure for oxygen penetration in the electrode.

THE ROLE OF INFORMATION SHARING IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT: THE SECURESCM APPROACH

2011 ◽  
Vol 08 (03) ◽  
pp. 455-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
ERNESTO DAMIANI ◽  
FULVIO FRATI ◽  
ROMARIC TCHOKPON
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Secure Computation ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Role Of Information ◽  
Share Information

Information sharing plays a role of paramount importance in modern supply chain environments. In fact, the elements that compose the chain need to share information about sensitive aspects of their business in order to build more accurate and profitable supply plans. In this paper, we describe how the increasing of information released increases the overall economic results of the whole chain, and how this information can be protected, exploiting secure computation techniques, to reduce the risk of data disclosure and prevent quasi-altruistic or selfish behaviors without interfering with the chain's normal operation, and in particular with the minimization of the cost function.

scholarly journals Role of 5-HT7 receptors in the immune system in health and disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Quintero-Villegas ◽  
Sergio Iván Valdés-Ferrer
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Immune Response ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Blood Platelets ◽  
Pain Tolerance ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Health And Disease

AbstractIn mammalians, serotonin (5-HT) has critical roles in the central nervous system (CNS), including mood stability, pain tolerance, or sleep patterns. However, the vast majority of serotonin is produced by intestinal enterochromaffin cells of the gastrointestinal tract and circulating blood platelets, also acting outside of the CNS. Serotonin effects are mediated through its interaction with 5-HT receptors (5-HTRs), a superfamily with a repertoire of at least fourteen well-characterized members. 5-HT7 receptors are the last 5-HTR member to be identified, with well-defined functions in the nervous, gastrointestinal, and vascular systems. The effects of serotonin on the immune response are less well understood. Mast cells are known to produce serotonin, while T cells, dendritic cells, monocytes, macrophages and microglia express 5-HT7 receptor. Here, we review the known roles of 5-HT7 receptors in the immune system, as well as their potential therapeutic implication in inflammatory and immune-mediated disorders.

Testing of Statistical Procedures for Use in Optimization of Reactor Performance Under Aged Conditions

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dumitru Serghiuta ◽  
John Tholammakkil ◽  
Naj Hammouda ◽  
Anthony O’Hagan
Keyword(s):  
Reference Method ◽  
Tolerance Limit ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Simple Problem ◽  
Benchmark Problems ◽  
Benchmark Problem ◽  
The Real ◽  
Benchmark Tests ◽  
Starting Point

This paper discusses a framework for designing artificial test problems, evaluation criteria, and two of the benchmark tests developed under a research project initiated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to investigate the approaches for qualification of tolerance limit methods and algorithms proposed for application in optimization of CANDU reactor protection trip setpoints for aged conditions. A significant component of this investigation has been the development of a series of benchmark problems of gradually increased complexity, from simple “theoretical” problems up to complex problems closer to the real application. The first benchmark problem discussed in this paper is a simplified scalar problem which does not involve extremal, maximum or minimum, operations, typically encountered in the real applications. The second benchmark is a high dimensional, but still simple, problem for statistical inference of maximum channel power during normal operation. Bayesian algorithms have been developed for each benchmark problem to provide an independent way of constructing tolerance limits from the same data and allow assessing how well different methods make use of those data and, depending on the type of application, evaluating what the level of “conservatism” is. The Bayesian method is not, however, used as a reference method, or “gold” standard, but simply as an independent review method. The approach and the tests developed can be used as a starting point for developing a generic suite (generic in the sense of potentially applying whatever the proposed statistical method) of empirical studies, with clear criteria for passing those tests. Some lessons learned, in particular concerning the need to assure the completeness of the description of the application and the role of completeness of input information, are also discussed. It is concluded that a formal process, which should include extended and detailed benchmark tests, but targeted to the context of the particular application and aimed at identifying the domain of validity of the proposed tolerance limit method and algorithm, is needed and might provide the necessary confidence in the proposed statistical procedure.

Feedback Control to Prevent Damage by Rotor Rubbing After an Impact Load

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Ginzinger ◽  
Benjamin Heckmann ◽  
Heinz Ulbrich
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Feedback Control ◽  
Control Strategy ◽  
Impact Load ◽  
Operation Mode ◽  
Rotor System ◽  
Contact Forces ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Control Force ◽  
Auxiliary Bearing

A new approach to control a rubbing rotor by applying an active auxiliary bearing has been developed. The control force is applied indirectly using the auxiliary bearing, only in case of rotor rubbing. The auxiliary bearing is actuated using two unidirectional actuators. A three-phase control strategy has been developed which stabilizes the rotor system in case of an impact load and effectively avoids “backward whirling” which is very destructive. As soon as the load ceased the auxiliary bearing is separated from the rotor again and normal operation mode is continued. During the normal operation state, the feedback control does not interfere with the rotor system at all. A test rig has been developed to experimentally verify the control system. Various experiments show the success of the control strategy. In case of rubbing, the contact forces are reduced up to 95 percent. At the same time, the rotor deflection is decreased too. The activation and deactivation of the control system is operated fully automatically. A simulation framework for an elastic rotor including the non-smooth nonlinear dynamics of contacts is presented, which has been used to develop the feedback controller.

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