A fundamental problem in robotics is the generation of motion for a task. How to translate a task to a set of movements is a non-trivial problem. The complexity of the task, the capabilities of the robot, and the desired performance, affect all aspects of the trajectory; the sequence of movements, the path, and the course of motion as a function of time.This thesis is about trajectory generation a

The endogenous reparative capacity of the adult human brain is low, and chronic neurodegenerative disorders of the central nervous system represent one of the greatest areas of unmet clinical need in the developing world. Novel therapeutic strategies to treat them include: (i) growth factor delivery to boost endogenous repair and (ii) replacement cell therapy, including replacing dopaminergic neur

Whilst life cycle assessment (LCA) boundaries are expanded to account for negative indirect consequences of bioenergy such as indirect land use change (ILUC), ecosystem services such as water purification sometimes delivered by perennial bioenergy crops are typically neglected in LCA studies. Consequential LCA was applied to evaluate the significance of nutrient interception and retention on the e

The long-term psychological effects resulting from carrier testing and prenatal diagnosis (PD) of haemophilia were evaluated by comparing mental symptomatology scores (Symptom Check List, SCL-90) for 50 carriers of haemophilia who had undergone PD about five years earlier, 55 carriers who had not undergone PD and 262 control women who were not carriers. All of the women had children. Carrier testi

For centuries antiquarians and archaeologists have tried to reconcile the terminology of ancient writers on architecture, such as Vitruvius, with the perceived realities of the material record. One particular issue of debate concerns the interpretation of different words for "brick" in Latin. In this paper it is argued that earlier attempts to settle this question are unsatisfactory and leave seve

Circadian rhythms are physiological and behavioural cycles generated by an endogenous biological clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus. The circadian system influences the majority of physiological processes, including sleep-wake homeostasis. Impaired sleep and alertness are common symptoms of neurodegenerative disorders, and circadian dysfunction might exacerbate the disease process. The pathophysio

Dasatinib (DAS) and interferon-α have antileukemic and immunostimulatory effects and induce deep responses in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). We assigned 40 newly diagnosed chronic-phase CML patients to receive DAS 100 mg o.d. followed by addition of pegylated interferon-α2b (PegIFN) after 3 months (M3). The starting dose of PegIFN was 15 μg/week and it increased to 25 μg/week at M6 until M15. The

Precise measurements of lifetimes in the picosecond range of excited states in the stable even-A Sn isotopes 112,114,116,122Sn have been performed using the Doppler shift attenuation technique. For the first excited 2+ states in 112Sn, 114Sn and 116Sn the E2 transition strengths deduced from the measured lifetimes are in disagreement with the previously adopted values. They indicate a shallow mini

Mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease is associated with progression to dementia (Parkinson's disease dementia) in a majority of patients. Determining structural imaging biomarkers associated with prodromal Parkinson's disease dementia may allow for the earlier identification of those at risk, and allow for targeted disease modifying therapies. One hundred and five non-demented subjects

We report here on the recent β-decay studies of the A = 9 isobar made at ISOLDE/CERN. Mirror beta transitions in the A=9 chain are compared and a large asymmetry factor is deduced for the transitions to high excitation energy in 9Be (11.8 MeV) arid 9B (12.2 MeV) fed in the β-decay of 9Li and 9C respectively. It is shown that the asymmetry is not due to experimental problems or differences in the m

Beta delayed charged particles from 14Be have been measured and give an upper limit on beta delayed alpha particles of B(βα)

Complex health systems make it difficult to ensure a continuity of care for older persons with multi-morbidity, and risk fragmented care. Fragmented care could affect the quality and safety of the care provided. Case management could provide an approach to counteract this unfavourable situation. Case management is practised by case managers and aims to improve the coordination of healthcare and soComplex health systems make it difficult to ensure a continuity of care for older persons with multi-morbidity, and risk fragmented care. Fragmented care could affect the quality and safety of the care provided. Case management could provide an approach to counteract this unfavourable situation. Case management is practised by case managers and aims to improve the coordination of healthcare and so

Genetic characterisation (SSU rRNA genotyping) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) imaging of individual tests were used in tandem to determine the modern species richness of the foraminiferal family Elphidiidae (Elphidium, Haynesina and related genera) across the Northeast Atlantic shelf biomes. Specimens were collected at 25 locations from the High Arctic to Iberia, and a total of 1013 indivi

Improving product durability and reparability can save natural resources and money for consumers but may not always be in the best interest of all manufacturers. With the emergence of the circular economy as an important policy objective in the European Union (EU), there is renewed interest in policies to promote durability and address planned obsolescence. Different legislative approaches are cur

A text in channel coding, decoding algorithms, and compression of data and speech, designed for both classroom and research use. There is a special emphasis on the algorithms employed in the field.

Background. HIV-infected mothers can transmit their infection to their children in utero or at delivery (vertical transmission). There have been cases of children who were reported as acquiring infection vertically and later clearing the infection. We report the frequency of this phenomenon in a European cohort study. Methods. In four centres of the European Collaborative Study of children born to

Degenerative changes in the forebrain cholinergic nuclei have been studied morphometrically in behaviourally characterized aged female Sprague-Dawley rats. In all regions analysed (medial septum, diagonal band of Broca, nucleus basalis, and striatum) the acetylcholinesterase-positive neurons were reduced in both size and number in the aged (24-months-old) rats as compared to the young (3-months-ol