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A novel robot skill learning method using dynamic movement primitive (DMP) and adaptive control is proposed. The existing DMP method learns actions from a single teaching trajectory, and its Gaussian basis function distribution mode is fixed, which is not suitable for multiple movement trajectories with different characteristics. Therefore, the Gaussian mixture model (GMM) and Gaussian mixture regression are introduced into DMP to enable the robot to learn skills from multi-teaching trajectory. Moreover, radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) is introduced into DMP to establish the RBF-DMP method, which is able to learn the central position and weight of Gaussian basis through gradient descent and improves the accuracy of skill modeling. Furthermore, an adaptive neural network controller is designed to control the learned actions of the manipulator in redemonstration. Finally, experiments on Franka Emika Panda manipulator prove the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Objective: This study aimed to examine and propagate the medication experience and group formula of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Master XIONG Jibo in diagnosing and treating arthralgia syndrome (AS) through data mining. Methods: Data of outpatient cases of Professor XIONG Jibo were collected from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2018, along with cases recorded in A Real Famous Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor: XIONG Jibo's Clinical Medical Record 1, which was published in December 2019. The five variables collected from the patients’ data were TCM diagnostic information, TCM and western medicine diagnoses, syndrome, treatment, and prescription. A database was established for the collected data with Excel. Using the Python environment, a customized modified natural language processing (NLP) model for the diagnosis and treatment of AS by Professor XIONG Jibo was established to preprocess the data and to analyze the word cloud. Frequency analysis, association rule analysis, cluster analysis, and visual analysis of AS cases were performed based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance Computing Platform (V3.0) and RStudio (V4.0.3). Results: A total of 610 medical records of Professor XIONG Jibo were collected from the case database. A total of 103 medical records were included after data screening criteria, which comprised 187 times (45 kinds) of prescriptions and 1 506 times (125 kinds) of Chinese herbs. The main related meridians were the liver, spleen, and kidney meridians. The properties of Chinese herbs used most were mainly warm, flat, and cold, while the flavors of herbs were mainly bitter, pungent, and sweet. The main patterns of AS included the damp heat, phlegm stasis, and neck arthralgia. The most commonly used herbs for AS were Chuanniuxi (Cyathulae Radix), Huangbo (Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex), Cangzhu (Atractylodis Rhizoma), Qinjiao (Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix), Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Huangqi (Astragali Radix), and Chuanxiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma). The most common effect of the herbs was “promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis”, followed by “supplementing deficiency (Qi supplementing, blood supplementing, and Yang supplementing)”, and “dispelling wind and dampness”. The data were analyzed with the support ≥ 15% and confidence = 100%, and after de-duplication, five second-order association rules, 39 third-order association rules, 39 fourth-order association rules, and two fifth-order association rules were identified. The top-ranking association rules of each were “Cangzhu (Atractylodis Rhizoma) → Huangbo (Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex)” “Cangzhu (Atractylodis Rhizoma) + Chuanniuxi (Cyathulae Radix) → Huangbo (Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex)” “Chuanniuxi (Cyathulae Radix) + Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix) + Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma) → Qinjiao (Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix)” and “Chuanniuxi (Cyathulae Radix) + Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix) +Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma) + Huangbo (Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex) → Qinjiao (Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix)”, respectively. Five clusters were obtained using cluster analysis of the top 30 herbs. The herbs were mainly drying dampness, supplementing Qi, and promoting blood circulation. The main prescriptions of AS were Ermiao San (二妙散), Gegen Jianghuang San (葛根姜黄散), and Huangqi Chongteng Yin (黄芪虫藤饮). The herbs of core prescription included Cangzhu (Atractylodis Rhizoma), Chuanniuxi (Cyathulae Radix), Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Huangbo (Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex), Mugua (Chaenomelis Fructus), Qinjiao (Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix), Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), and Yiyiren (Coicis Semen). Conclusion: Clearing heat and dampness, relieving collaterals and pain, and invigorating Qi and blood are the most commonly used therapies for the treatment of AS by Professor XIONG Jibo. Additionally, customized NLP model could improve the efficiency of data mining in TCM.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors have demonstrated promising therapeutic outcomes in recurrent/metastatic (R/M) Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC), prompting numerous clinical trials to investigate the safety and efficacy of this approach in neoadjuvant therapy. This systematic review aims to consolidate and analyze the findings from various clinical trials combining neoadjuvant immunotherapy for HNSCC, with the goal of identifying the most effective neoadjuvant immunotherapy regimen., Methods: The system conducted searches across electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library and Web of science from their inception to July 1, 2024. The primary focus was on evaluating efficacy (particularly pathological complete response (pCR), major pathological response (MPR), and overall response rate (ORR)) and safety (primarily assessed by grade 3-4 treatment-related adverse reactions)., Results: A total of 1943 patients from 32 studies were analyzed. Combining neoadjuvant immunotherapy with chemotherapy or radiotherapy demonstrated superiority over neoadjuvant immunotherapy alone in terms of the MPR rate, while showing no statistically significant difference in the pCR rate. Furthermore, the combination of neoadjuvant immunotherapy with chemotherapy or radiotherapy exhibited a lower CR rate compared to neoadjuvant immunotherapy with radiotherapy alone, but a higher PR rate and SD rate. Apart from the neoadjuvant immunotherapy group in isolation, there were no statistically significant differences in grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) and immune-related adverse events (irAEs) among the other three combination therapy groups., Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that patients with locally advanced HNSCC might benefit from neoadjuvant immunotherapy, particularly when used in conjunction with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Nonetheless, additional data is required to definitively confirm its efficacy., Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=553753, identifier CRD42024553753., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Liu, Li, Liu, Shi, Wang, Sui, Zhang and Wang.)

Replicating human somatosensory networks in robots is crucial for dexterous manipulation, ensuring the appropriate grasping force for objects of varying softness and textures. Despite advances in artificial haptic sensing for object recognition, accurately quantifying haptic perceptions to discern softness and texture remains challenging. Here, we report a methodology that uses a bimodal haptic sensor to capture multidimensional static and dynamic stimuli, allowing for the simultaneous quantification of softness and texture features. This method demonstrates synergistic measurements of elastic and frictional coefficients, thereby providing a universal strategy for acquiring the adaptive gripping force necessary for scarless, antislippage interaction with delicate objects. Equipped with this sensor, a robotic manipulator identifies porcine mucosal features with 98.44% accuracy and stably grasps visually indistinguishable mature white strawberries, enabling reliable tissue palpation and intelligent picking. The design concept and comprehensive guidelines presented would provide insights into haptic sensor development, promising benefits for robotics.