Trajectory tracking and vibration suppression are essential objectives in a flexible joint manipulator control. The flexible joint manipulator is an under-actuated system, in which the number of control actions is less than the degree of freedom to be controlled. It is very challenging to control the underactuated nonlinear system with two degree of freedom. This paper presents a hierarchical sliding mode control (HSMC) for a rotary flexible joint manipulator (RFJM). Firstly, the rotary flexible joint manipulator is modeled by two subsystems. Secondly, the sliding surfaces for both subsystems are constructed. Finally, the control action is designed based on the Lyapunov function. Computer simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of

Groupwise non-rigid image alignment is a difficult non-linear optimization problem involving many parameters and often large datasets. Previous methods have explored various metrics and optimization strategies. Good results have been previously achieved with simple metrics, requiring complex optimization, often with many unintuitive parameters that require careful tuning for each dataset. In this chapter, the problem is restructured to use a simpler, iterative optimization algorithm, with very few free parameters. The warps are refined using an iterative Levenberg-Marquardt minimization to the mean, based on updating the locations of a small number of points and incorporating a stiffness constraint. This optimization approach is eff

Hypercholesterolemia is a predominant risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The World Health Organization (WHO), ) recommended reducing the intake of cholesterol and saturated fats. On the other hand, limited evidence is available on the benefits of vegetables in the diet to reduce these risk factors, so this research was conducted to compare the hypolipidemic effect between the extracts of two different types of Iraqi peppers, the fruit of the genus Capsicum traditionally known as red pepper extract (RPE), and Piper nigrum as black pepper extract (BPE), respectively, in different parameters and histology of the liver of the experimental animals. The red pepper was extracted by ethyl acetate, while the black pepp

The present study aimed to investigate the anatomy, histology, and immunohistochemistry of parathyroid gland in two Iraqi mammals (Weasel, Herpestes javanicus and Long-ear hedgehog, Hemiechinus auritus) as a comparative study. A total of (20) animal for each species were used in the present study. Animals collected were immediately anesthesia and dissected to get the parathyroid gland. Methods of Humason and Bancroft and Stevens were employed for histological techniques. Different stains were used (Hematoxylin- Eosin stain-(H & E), Periodic Acid Schiff stain-(PAS), Azan stain, and Methyl Blue stain-(MB)) for staining the histological sections. Anti-calcitonin, code140778 marker used for immune-histochemical study. Results of the present stu

As many expensive and invasive procedures are used for the diagnosis or follow-up of clinical conditions, the measurement of cell-free DNA is a promising, noninvasive method, which considers using blood, follicular fluid, or seminal fluid. This method is used to determine chromosomal abnormalities, genetic disorders, and indicators of some diseases such as polycystic ovary syndrome, pre-eclampsia, and some malignancies. Cell-free DNA, which are DNA fragments outside the nucleus, originates from an apoptotic process. However, to be used as a marker for the previously mentioned diseases is still under investigation. We discuss some aspects of using cell-free DNA measurements as an indicator or marker for pathological conditions.

Copper indium disulphide, CuInS2, is a promising absorber material for thin film photovoltaic which has recently attracted considerable attention due to its suitability to reach high efficiency solar cells by using low cost techniques. In this work CuInS2 thin films have been deposited by chemical spray pyrolysis onto glass substrates at ambient atmosphere, using different [Cu]/[In] ratio in the aqueous solutions at substrate temperature 3000C
and different annealing temperatures . Structural and optical properties of CIS films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, and optical spectroscopy. Sprayed CIS films are polycrystalline with a chalcopyrite structure with a preferential orientation along the 112 direction and no remains of oxides

Background: Prosthodontists estimated the parallelism of the occlusal plane to different anatomical landmarks, which was somewhat arbitrary and depended mainly on their vision. The aim of this research was to assess the degree of accuracy of prosthodontists in determining the parallelism of two lines. This research was aimed to assess which technique would be more accurate for the prosthodontist to distinguish parallelism; the comparison of the occlusal plane with the interpupillary line or with the inferior border of the earlobes. Materials and methods: Twenty eight prosthodontic specialists were included in this research. Illustrations of two lines with different tilts were presented to the participants to distinguish whether parallel or