The temporal and spatial growth behaviour of protein crystals, subject to different cooling strategies in protein crystallisation was investigated. Although the impact of temperature and cooling rate on crystal growth...The temporal and spatial growth behaviour of protein crystals, subject to different cooling strategies in protein crystallisation was investigated. Although the impact of temperature and cooling rate on crystal growth of small molecules was well documented, much less has been reported on their impact on the crystallisation of proteins. In this paper, an experimental set-up is configured to carry out such a study which involves an automatic temperature controlled hot-stage crystalliser fitted with a real-time imaging system. Linbro parallel crystallisation experiments(24-well plate) were also conducted to find the suitable initial conditions to be used in the hot-stage crystallisation experiments, including the initial concentration of HEW lysozyme solutions, precipitate concentration and pH value. It was observed that fast cooling rates at the early stage led to precipitates while slow cooling rates produced crystal nuclei, and very slow cooling rates, much smaller than for small molecules are critical to the growth of the nuclei and the crystals to a desired shape. The interesting results provide valuable insight as well as experimental proof of the feasibility and effectiveness of cooling as a means for achieving controlled protein crystallisation, compared with the evaporation approach which was widely used to grow single large crystals for X-ray diffraction study. Since cooling rate control can be easily achieved and has good repeatability, it suggests that large-scale production of protein crystals can be effectively achieved by manipulating cooling rates.展开更多
The formation maintenance of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)based on proximity behavior is explored in this study.Individual decision-making is conducted according to the expected UAV formation structure and t...The formation maintenance of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)based on proximity behavior is explored in this study.Individual decision-making is conducted according to the expected UAV formation structure and the position,velocity,and attitude information of other UAVs in the azimuth area.This resolves problems wherein nodes are necessarily strongly connected and communication is strictly consistent under the traditional distributed formation control method.An adaptive distributed formation flight strategy is established for multiple UAVs by exploiting proximity behavior observations,which remedies the poor flexibility in distributed formation.This technique ensures consistent position and attitude among UAVs.In the proposed method,the azimuth area relative to the UAV itself is established to capture the state information of proximal UAVs.The dependency degree factor is introduced to state update equation based on proximity behavior.Finally,the formation position,speed,and attitude errors are used to form an adaptive dynamic adjustment strategy.Simulations are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the theoretical results,thus validating the effectiveness of the proposed method.展开更多
As there are increasing numbers of small farms in Germany, it is necessary for them, to keep the workload as small as possible by enhancing the use of automatism. Important as those energetic-technical capabilities an...As there are increasing numbers of small farms in Germany, it is necessary for them, to keep the workload as small as possible by enhancing the use of automatism. Important as those energetic-technical capabilities and features in a modem dairy farm are, the final decision when using automatic machinery depends on the animal itself and its behavior. As a result, all animal-physiological criteria, animal protection and animal welfare have to be taken into consideration. Therefore tests have been done to investigate dairy cattle behavior on suddenly occurring energy failures, fluctuations or postponements due to a load management. The experiments have been taken in four different stables. In each stable, 12 ＂focus cows＂ have been selected. Their daily stress response was measured by a heart rate monitor and faecal cortisol metabolites. Video observation showed modifications in behavior, escape or avoidance reactions; pedometers recorded the movement activity. These scientific experiments will demonstrate cattle behavior in situations driven by a power load management, but no statistically significant effects on the usual daily routine are being expected.展开更多
The software of behaviour-based algorithm~ was parted to several functional modules which represented different behaviours with different priorities. A basic algorithm with S-type arbiter and an improved algorithm wit...The software of behaviour-based algorithm~ was parted to several functional modules which represented different behaviours with different priorities. A basic algorithm with S-type arbiter and an improved algorithm with I-type arbiter were compared. The improved algorithm can reduce judging time and avoid some mistakes of the basic one. In mapping obstacles, the robot adjusted the spread angle according to different distances to obstacles in scaled vector field histogram （SVFH） algorithm, and then the robot turned more sharply in near obstacles than in far obstacles, which made the robot move more safely and smoothly in a cluttered room.展开更多
This paper presents a self-assembly control strategy for the swarm modular robots. Simulated and physical experiments are conducted based on the Sambot platform, which is a novel self-assembly modular robot having the...This paper presents a self-assembly control strategy for the swarm modular robots. Simulated and physical experiments are conducted based on the Sambot platform, which is a novel self-assembly modular robot having the characteristics of both the chain-type and the mobile self-reconfigurable robots. Multiple Sambots can autonomously move and connect with one another through self-assembly to form robotic organisms. The configuration connection state table is used to describe the configuration of the robotic structure. A directional self-assembly control model is proposed to perform the self-assembly experiments. The self-assembly process begins with one Sambot as the seed, and then the Docking Sambots use a behavior-based controller to achieve connection with the seed Sambot. The controller is independent of the target configuration. The seed and connected Sambots execute a configuration comparison algorithm to control the growth of the robotic structure. Furthermore, the simul- taneous self-assembly of multiple Sambots is discussed. For multiple configurations, self-assembly experiments are conducted in simulation platform and physical platform of Sambot. The experimental results verify the effectiveness and scalability of the self-assembly algorithms.展开更多
基金Supported by the China One Thousand Talent Scheme,the National Natural Science Foundation of China under its Major Research Scheme of Meso-scale Mechanism and Control in Multi-phase Reaction Processes(91434126)the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province(2014A030313228)+1 种基金benefited from early work funded by UK Engineering and Physical Science Research Council(EP/H008012/1EP/H008853/1)
文摘The temporal and spatial growth behaviour of protein crystals, subject to different cooling strategies in protein crystallisation was investigated. Although the impact of temperature and cooling rate on crystal growth of small molecules was well documented, much less has been reported on their impact on the crystallisation of proteins. In this paper, an experimental set-up is configured to carry out such a study which involves an automatic temperature controlled hot-stage crystalliser fitted with a real-time imaging system. Linbro parallel crystallisation experiments(24-well plate) were also conducted to find the suitable initial conditions to be used in the hot-stage crystallisation experiments, including the initial concentration of HEW lysozyme solutions, precipitate concentration and pH value. It was observed that fast cooling rates at the early stage led to precipitates while slow cooling rates produced crystal nuclei, and very slow cooling rates, much smaller than for small molecules are critical to the growth of the nuclei and the crystals to a desired shape. The interesting results provide valuable insight as well as experimental proof of the feasibility and effectiveness of cooling as a means for achieving controlled protein crystallisation, compared with the evaporation approach which was widely used to grow single large crystals for X-ray diffraction study. Since cooling rate control can be easily achieved and has good repeatability, it suggests that large-scale production of protein crystals can be effectively achieved by manipulating cooling rates.
文摘The formation maintenance of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)based on proximity behavior is explored in this study.Individual decision-making is conducted according to the expected UAV formation structure and the position,velocity,and attitude information of other UAVs in the azimuth area.This resolves problems wherein nodes are necessarily strongly connected and communication is strictly consistent under the traditional distributed formation control method.An adaptive distributed formation flight strategy is established for multiple UAVs by exploiting proximity behavior observations,which remedies the poor flexibility in distributed formation.This technique ensures consistent position and attitude among UAVs.In the proposed method,the azimuth area relative to the UAV itself is established to capture the state information of proximal UAVs.The dependency degree factor is introduced to state update equation based on proximity behavior.Finally,the formation position,speed,and attitude errors are used to form an adaptive dynamic adjustment strategy.Simulations are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the theoretical results,thus validating the effectiveness of the proposed method.
文摘As there are increasing numbers of small farms in Germany, it is necessary for them, to keep the workload as small as possible by enhancing the use of automatism. Important as those energetic-technical capabilities and features in a modem dairy farm are, the final decision when using automatic machinery depends on the animal itself and its behavior. As a result, all animal-physiological criteria, animal protection and animal welfare have to be taken into consideration. Therefore tests have been done to investigate dairy cattle behavior on suddenly occurring energy failures, fluctuations or postponements due to a load management. The experiments have been taken in four different stables. In each stable, 12 ＂focus cows＂ have been selected. Their daily stress response was measured by a heart rate monitor and faecal cortisol metabolites. Video observation showed modifications in behavior, escape or avoidance reactions; pedometers recorded the movement activity. These scientific experiments will demonstrate cattle behavior in situations driven by a power load management, but no statistically significant effects on the usual daily routine are being expected.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.60975059)Leading Academic Discipline Project of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission,China(No.J513032)Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission,China(No.09YZ343)
文摘The software of behaviour-based algorithm~ was parted to several functional modules which represented different behaviours with different priorities. A basic algorithm with S-type arbiter and an improved algorithm with I-type arbiter were compared. The improved algorithm can reduce judging time and avoid some mistakes of the basic one. In mapping obstacles, the robot adjusted the spread angle according to different distances to obstacles in scaled vector field histogram （SVFH） algorithm, and then the robot turned more sharply in near obstacles than in far obstacles, which made the robot move more safely and smoothly in a cluttered room.
基金supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China ("863" Program) (Grant Nos. 2009AA043901 and 2012AA041402)National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61175079)+1 种基金Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. YWF-11-02-215)Beijing Technological New Star Project (Grant No. 2008A018)
文摘This paper presents a self-assembly control strategy for the swarm modular robots. Simulated and physical experiments are conducted based on the Sambot platform, which is a novel self-assembly modular robot having the characteristics of both the chain-type and the mobile self-reconfigurable robots. Multiple Sambots can autonomously move and connect with one another through self-assembly to form robotic organisms. The configuration connection state table is used to describe the configuration of the robotic structure. A directional self-assembly control model is proposed to perform the self-assembly experiments. The self-assembly process begins with one Sambot as the seed, and then the Docking Sambots use a behavior-based controller to achieve connection with the seed Sambot. The controller is independent of the target configuration. The seed and connected Sambots execute a configuration comparison algorithm to control the growth of the robotic structure. Furthermore, the simul- taneous self-assembly of multiple Sambots is discussed. For multiple configurations, self-assembly experiments are conducted in simulation platform and physical platform of Sambot. The experimental results verify the effectiveness and scalability of the self-assembly algorithms.
