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With the increasing implementation of compliant mechanisms in high-precision and high-accuracy applications, the need to evaluate the positioning performance of the flexure hinges becomes evident. In this paper, the determination of the accuracy of planar flexures is addressed by analyzing and comparing the available criteria presented in literature, including a new criterion based on the pole of the displacements. For uniform flexures, an analytical formulation is developed for end-moment loads, whereas complex loading conditions, resulting in an inflection point, are analyzed and numerically evaluated. The accuracy criteria are also applied for analyzing the positioning performance of the cross-axis flexural pivot. Various relations among the different criteria are determined, and their limitations, such as the non-bijective correspondence with the deformed configurations, are discussed. The criteria are applied to the design of a high-accuracy cross-axis pivot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on the neuro-cognition of language have provided a strong case for systematic inter-individual variability in event-related potentials (ERPs) evoked during language processing. In the present study, we aimed at extending this evidence to the processing of morphologically complex words. We focused on German plural forms and tested two types of morphological violations: overapplications of regular plural morphemes ('regularizations') and of irregular plural morphemes ('irregularizations'). The group-level results showed a biphasic LAN-P600 response for regularizations, and a P600 for irregularizations. In line with previous reports, our analyses of inter-individual variability suggested that biphasic responses consisting of a negativity followed by a positivity are unlikely to exist at the individual level. Importantly, when analyzing the scalp distribution of ERPs elicited in participants supposed to show negativity-dominant responses, we found this to vary as a function of the type of morphological form: regularizations elicited a left-hemisphere response (LAN), while irregularizations a more widespread negativity (N400). Our results are consistent with dual-route accounts of morphological processing that distinguish between rule-based processing for regular inflection and memory retrieval for irregular inflection. At a more general level, our study shows that complementing group-level results with analyses of inter-individual variability can crucially contribute to a more detailed understanding of brain signatures of language. • Overapplications of regular plural forms elicited a LAN-P600 response at group-level. • Overapplications of irregular plural forms elicited a P600 response at group-level. • Some individuals showed a negativity-dominant, others a positivity-dominant response. • Negativity-dominant individuals showed a lateralized negativity with regularizations. • Analyses of inter-individual variability help to better understand ERP components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]