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Aim To obtain concurrent radicular measurements in the mesiobuccal (MB) and mesiolingual (ML) canals of mandibular first molars using scanned data of micro-computed tomography (μCT) with novel software. Methodology The scanned data from 37 mandibular first molar mesial roots were reconstructed and analysed with custom-developed software (Kappa2). For each canal, three-dimensional (3D) surface models were re-sliced at 0.1-mm intervals perpendicular to the central axis. Dentine thicknesses, canal widths and 3D curvatures were measured automatically on each slice. Measurements were analysed statistically with anova for differences at each direction and at different levels of both canals. Results Lateral dentine thicknesses were significantly higher than mesial and distal thicknesses, at all the levels of both canals (P

Aim Autotransplantation is a viable treatment option for a missing tooth when there is a suitable donor, especially in adolescents with remaining facial growth. This report presents the aesthetic restoration of a missing maxillary lateral incisor through orthodontic treatment and autotransplantation of a mesiodens using a CBCT-fabricated rapid-prototyping model. Summary A 14-year-old male patient with a congenitally missing maxillary lateral incisor was referred from the Department of Orthodontics. The teeth were moved orthodontically to regain space for the missing lateral incisor and to close the space of the mesiodens after transplantation. A replica of the donor tooth was fabricated from a cone-beam computed tomography scan through a rapid-prototyping machine before autotransplantation surgery. The model was used to create a socket for the graft tooth, thereby shortening the extra-oral time and minimizing the damage to the root surface. After transplantation and orthodontic tooth movement, the mesiodens was finally restored with an aesthetic laminate restoration. Over 3 years, the aesthetics remained excellent, and the transplant functioned normally without any signs or symptoms of root resorption. Key learning point Missing anterior teeth may be replaced through a combination of orthodontics, autotransplantation with a rapid-prototyping model and prosthodontic restoration, in growing patients.

Some of manufacturing tasks, such as sawing, often require continuous impulsive motion. In the case of sawing, such impulsive motions can be observed between the teeth of the saw and the object. The amount of the external impulse exerted on the object has been treated as an important control parameter. At the same time, the internal impulses experienced at the joints should be taken into account to avoid serious damage or injury at the joints of robot. The purpose of this paper is to improve the efficacy of sawing by using dual arms. For this, we suggest an external impulse model, and introduce a new concept of effective mass that accounts for the hardness of the object to corroborate the effectiveness of the proposed chip model employed in the derivation of the external impulse model. Closed-form internal impulse models are also proposed for both single and dual arms. Based on these models, the paper proposes a new measure for internal impulse. A normalized impulse ellipsoid reflecting the velocity direction is employed to visualize the impact geometry. Finally, we identify the optimal sawing region, wherein there is a maximum amount of external impulse and a minimal amount of the internal impulse. Simulation and experimentation demonstrate that the dual arm exhibits a better sawing performance than a single arm, in terms of external and internal impulses.

A magnetically levitated six-degree-of-freedom fine motion wrist design based on the prototype magic wrist described by R.H. Hollis et al. (1991) is introduced. Its use for automated assembly, where delicate accommodating motion and precise positioning is required, is discussed. The new wrist is smaller than the prototypes and has several improved features. Parts positioning and assembly strategies are discussed in general, with emphasis on the classic peg-in-hole problem. Results from insertion of a round peg into a close-fitting chamfered hole using the wrist programmed to emulate a remote center compliance are reported. It is found that higher insertion speeds can be maintained with much lower insertion forces and risks of wedging or jamming. >

An unified compliant control algorithm to regulate the force by dual arms is proposed, where two arms are treated as one arm in a kinematic viewpoint. The force error calculated from the information of two force/torque sensors attached to the end of each arm is transferred to minimum actuator coordinates, and then distributed it to total system actuator coordinates. The position adjustment at the total actuator coordinates is computed based on the effective compliance matrix with respect to the total actuator coordinates, which is obtained by coordinate transformation between the task coordinates and the total actuator coordinates. An experiment is carried out for dual arms with asymmetric kinematic structure to control an interaction force between manipulators and the environment. The performances of the proposed control algorithm are experimentally compared to that of dual arms employing a master/slave scheme. The proposed compliant control algorithm not only outperforms other algorithms, but also can be treated as an unified approach in the sense that it can be applied to arbitrary dual arm systems with general kinematic structures.

In this paper, a fuzzy force control algorithm is suggested for commercialized industrial robots equipped with the position servo drives, where control rules of the proposed fuzzy controller are changed according to the magnitude of environmental stiffness in such a way that good force response is maintained regardless of changes of environmental stiffness. Specifically, some fuzzy control rules are designed for several representative environmental stiffness values, and then a control action for a given arbitrary environmental stiffness value is decided by a fuzzy interpolation method. To show the validity of the proposed fuzzy controller, several experimental results are illustrated, where a 5-axis articulated robot manipulator equipped with the wrist force/torque sensor system and our prototype dual robot controller are employed. >

In this work, a parallel-type gripping and micro-positioning mechanism is proposed. This device has a parallelogrammatic platform which can be flexibly folded. Therefore, this mechanism not only can be used to grasp an object having irregular shape or large volume, but also can be utilized as a micro-positioning device after grasping the object. Configuration parameter for configuration control of the proposed gripping mechanism is defined. Grasping force and isotropic characteristic of the mechanism are considered as design indices for optimal design of the gripping mechanism. The proposed mechanism is expected to be used as an adaptable gripping and micro-positioning device by attaching it at the end-point of a robot.

A biologically inspired, novel concept for an actively adjustable frequency modulator is presented. The idea of frequency modulation stems from the human body. The human body is known to be able to modulate the spring-like impedance property in a feedforward fashion using antagonistically fighting muscles. Therefore, the motion frequency of the system can be also modulated by employing the information on the inertial property and the spring-like impedance property of the human body. Based on this concept, a methodology for the motion frequency modulation via redundant actuation is investigated. A five-bar finger mechanism driven by redundant actuators is given as an illustrative example. It is shown that the motion frequency as well as the amplitude of oscillation can be actively adjustable during the motion, and that the equilibrium position about which the vibration occurs can also be arbitrarily changed during the motion. Furthermore, using the frequency modulation capability, a point-to-point motion is accomplished by a progressive movement of equilibrium posture, which is termed a virtual trajectory. To show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms, several simulation results are illustrated.

A new parallel gripping mechanism is proposed in this work. This device has a parallelogramic platform which can be flexibly folded. Therefore, this mechanism not only can be used to grasp an object having irregular shape or large volume, but also can be utilized as micro-positioning device after grasping the object. Forward position analysis and platform kinematics are investigated to deal with motion tracking and force control. Pneumatic rotator is employed for actuation and a compact sized, 4/3 way proportional pressure valve is also developed to deal with feedback-based dynamic control. The pressure valve also allows indirect force control by measuring the offset pressure occurring due to contact between the grasped object and the parallel platform. In experimental work, performances of the motion tracking and indirect force control are shown satisfactory.

In a search for platelet-activating-factor (PAF) antagonists, two new lignan compounds were isolated from the Chinese crude drug shin-i, the flower buds of Magnolia fargesii. Their structures were elucidated as (2S,3R,4R)-tetrahydro-2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-4-(3, 4-dimethoxybenzoyl)-3-(hydroxymethyl)furan (magnone A, 1) and (2S,3R, 4R)-tetrahydro-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-4-(3, 4-dimethoxybenzoyl)-3-(hydroxymethyl)furan (magnone B, 2). Magnones A and B showed antagonistic activity against PAF in the [3H]PAF receptor binding assay with the IC50 values of 3.8 x 10(-5) M and 2.7 x 10(-5) M, respectively.

We have operated the 22.9-kV high temperature superconductor cable system installed at Icheon Substation of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), which consists of a conductor and a shield using YBCO-NiW wires. We prepared the same 5-m cable sample as the Icheon Substation in order to understand its ac loss characteristic. Especially, the contact resistance between copper current leads and YBCO wires was minimized through the increased soldering surface between them. Besides, four voltage leads are attached to both the conductor and the shield with an equal angle of 90°. Under ac transport current, which was supplied to the conductor and shield in opposite direction, losses of the 5-m sample were tested for various contact positions of voltage leads, frequencies, and transport periods. The result shows that the measured ac losses for various contact positions in the conductor and shield are the same. However, their loss exponents are very different. More details will be presented in this work.