Pursuing a target by wheel-legged mobile robot using NMPC while optimizing obstacles passing.

In this paper, trajectory tracking control as the pursuit of a specific target by wheel-legged mobile robots (WLMRs) in an environment with the presence of obstacles is presented. These types of robots are designed to navigate different paths such as slippery trajectories, paths with obstacles, and other challenging paths. In addition, the robot can move its legs in different surface conditions and operate more flexibly with the help of wheels attached to the legs.

In PD, Non-Invasive Trans-Spinal Magnetic Stimulation Enhances the Effect of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Axial Motor Symptoms: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Axial symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) often respond poorly to pharmacological treatment. We evaluated whether combining repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and repetitive spinal magnetic stimulation (rSMS) is more effective than rTMS alone in improving axial and other motor disabilities in PD.

Methods: A total of 42 PD patients with axial symptoms were randomly allocated to 2 experimental intervention groups: Group I received active rTMS + active rSMS (2000 pulses; 20 Hz; 80% resting motor threshold for each motor area "M1" + 1500 pulses rSMS 10 Hz, at 50% of maximal stimulator output).

Short-Term Therapeutic Effect of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulations of Sleep Disorders in Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial (Pilot Study).

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of rTMS in treating sleep disorders in PD. It included 24 patients with PD who had sleep disorders. Group allocations (active or sham with a ratio of 2:1) were placed in serially numbered closed envelopes.

Adaptive robust control with slipping parameters estimation based on intelligent learning for wheeled mobile robot.

The widespread use of wheeled mobile robots (WMRs) in many fields has created new challenges. A critical issue is wheel slip, which, if not accurately determined and controlled, causes instability and deviation from the robot's path. In this paper, an intelligent approach for estimating the longitudinal and lateral slip of wheels is proposed that can effectively compensate for the negative effects of slippage.

Examining Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Outcomes of a Culturally Adapted Evidence-Based Postpartum Depression Preventive Intervention for Women in Doha, Qatar: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Postpartum depression and anxiety are the 2 most common perinatal mental health disorders, with prevalence rates higher among women living in the Middle East than in most Western countries. The negative outcomes associated with postpartum depression and anxiety are profound and include less responsive parenting and compromised infant and young child development. Although interventions exist to prevent postpartum depression and anxiety, to date, there have been no studies that have attempted to prevent postpartum depression or anxiety among Arabic-speaking women in the Middle East, including Qatar.

Intelligent time-delay reduction of nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) for wheeled mobile robots in the presence of obstacles.

The speed of solving and processing factors that are beneficial in reaching the desired target is one of the problematic aspects of controlling robots that has been neglected by the majority of researchers. Therefore, it is essential to look into the factors that influence calculation speed and goal achievement, and there should be some solutions to control robots in a lower time without sacrificing accuracy. The speed of processing and operations in wheeled mobile robots (WMRs), as well as the speed of a nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC), are examined in this article.

Effects of Rapid Maxillary Expansion on Upper Airway Volume in Growing Children: A Three-Dimensional Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Study.

Rapid maxillary expansion (RME) is a common orthodontic procedure that widens the maxillary arch to treat moderate to mild overcrowding and transverse skeletal and dental abnormalities. Orthodontic equipment applies lateral tension on posterior maxilla teeth or palate mucosa to the mid-palatal suture. The maxilla may grow transversely when force is applied at right angles to the mid-palatal suture, which is usually inactive in children and adolescents.

Tailoring and optimization of a honey-based nanoemulgel loaded with an itraconazole-thyme oil nanoemulsion for oral candidiasis.

The use of essential oil-based nanoemulsions (NEs) has been the subject of extensive research on a variety of conditions affecting the oral cavity. NEs are delivery methods that improve the solubility and distribution of lipid medicines to the intended areas. Because of their antibacterial and antifungal properties, itraconazole and thyme oil-based self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (ItZ-ThO-SNEDDS) were created to protect oral health against oral microorganisms.

Path planning in three dimensional live environment with randomly moving obstacles for viscoelastic bio-particle.

Significant capabilities of atomic force microscopy (AFM) such as operating in various environments and scales made it a useful device in different operations. According to AFM abilities and applications, in this work, the path through the live environment with fixed and moving obstacles that are distributed all over the space randomly has been provided. The optimized path has been discovered in this article based on the applications mentioned above.

Outpatient clinic-wide psychological screening for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes in Qatar: An initiative for integrative healthcare in the Gulf region.

Objective: To identify culturally appropriate psychological screening measures for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes in Qatar, determine rates of depressive and anxiety symptoms in a clinical sample, and examine associations between screening measures, demographic variables, medical characteristics, and diabetes treatment outcomes, specifically HbA1c.

Methods: A total of 150 participants with type 1 diabetes aged 10-17 were recruited. Participants were Arabic or English speaking and of Qatari and non-Qatari nationality.

Studying and simulation of ellipsoidal contact models for application in AFM nano manipulation.

Four contact models including Hertz, Jamari, Jeng-Wang and Weng-Tang-Zhou-Zhu were considered. To verify the results of contact mechanics, the indentation depth has been compared with spherical geometry. According to the obtained results, by comparing the spherical and elliptical geometries, the indentation depth for spherical geometry is higher than for the ellipsoidal geometry, due to the existence of eccentricity in elliptical contact models which does not exist in spherical geometry.

The effect of liquid medium on vibration and control of the AFM piezoelectric microcantilever.

This article investigates the vibration motion and control of the piezoelectric microcantilever (MC) of the atomic force microscope in the amplitude mode in a liquid environment for both free and forced vibrations. The modeled MC includes two electrode layers, a piezoelectric layer, and the geometric discontinuities as a result of these layers and the change in the MC cross section at the probe-MC contact point is modeled. The equations of motion are derived using Hamilton's principle and then discretized with the aid of the finite element method.

Path planning of the viscoelastic micro biological particle to minimize path length and particle's deformation using genetic algorithm.

Manipulation of biological particles including pulling, and holding-and-indenting them, using the atomic force microscope (AFM) has attracted enormous interests. High deformability and vulnerability of biological particles, especially cells, make moving toward the target point inside complex biological environments with the least invasion the most critical factor. In this article, the optimal path of the particle movement is determined by considering the mechanical and morphological properties of the biological cell.

The head and neck cancer (HN-5) cell line properties extraction by AFM.

This work incorporates experimental methods based on Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) in order to extract the physical and mechanical characteristics of the head and neck cancer (HN-5) cell line such as cell topography, modulus of elasticity and viscoelastic properties. The initial parameters to determine the mechanical properties are obtained by extracting information from cantilever's force-displacement curve and vertical and horizontal displacement. Next, the changes in elasticity modulus at different points in the cell are attained using the experimental results, followed by studying the differences of these properties at various spots of the cell.

Fabrication challenges and trends in biomedical applications of alginate electrospun nanofibers.

Alginate as a naturally-derived biomaterial with marine algae sources has gained much attention in both laboratorial and industrial applications due to its structural and chemical resemblance to extracellular matrix (ECM) as well as desirable properties like biocompatibility, biodegradability, processability and low cost. Electrospun alginate nanofibrous scaffolds have found wide applications in biomedical field such as tissue engineering, biomedicine and drug delivery systems. However, electrospinning of alginate is challenging due to the low solubility and high viscosity of high molecular weight alginate, high density of intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonding, polyelectrolyte nature of aqueous solution and lack of appropriate organic solvent.

Analysis of the atomic force microscopy vibration behavior using the Timoshenko theory by multi-scale method in the air environment.

This article deals with the modeling and simulation of the vibration behavior of piezoelectric micro-cantilever (MC) based on the Timoshenko theory and using multi-scale (MTS) method in the air environment. In this regard, the results are compared with the previous literature, such as the finite element method and the MTS method. The analysis of the piezoelectric MC vibrating behavior is investigated in a dynamical mode including non-contact and tapping modes.

Modeling and simulation of contact parameters of elliptical and cubic nanoparticles to be used in nanomanipulation based on atomic force microscope.

Regarding the contact mechanics of smooth nanoparticles, two new geometries, specifically elliptical and cubic are chosen for nanoparticles. The results of elliptical contact simulation show that the JKR theory induces a greater indentation depth in both contact geometries since it includes the adhesion forces. Moreover, the Jamari theory shows a lesser indentation depth because it assumes larger contact area.

Developing viscoelastic contact models and selecting suitable creep function for spherical biological cells.

In most contact theories, the most popular of which are the three models of Hertz, Derjaguin, Muller and Toporov (DMT) and Johnson, Kendall and Roberts (JKR), biological cells were considered as an elastic material which is not a proper assumption. The elastic assumption in the case of biological cells could lead to neglecting the loading history as a result of which the stresses and strains applied to the material would not be studied accurately. In this paper, developing the three mentioned elastic models into viscoelastic models, simulating and comparing them with empirical data obtained through the indentation test of the MCF-7 cancer cell showed that the viscoelastic state presents a better prediction of biological cell behavior compared to that of an elastic state.

Neural network sliding mode controller of atomic force microscope-based manipulation with different cantilever probes.

Development of nanotechnology has given rise to various applications, including the nano-manipulation process within small-size environments. The implementation of such processes requires the use of tools and proper equipment and understanding of various factors influencing it. One such tool is the atomic force microscope (AFM) and its probe, used for imaging surfaces and manipulation tools.

Simulation of 3D nanomanipulation for rough spherical elastic and viscoelastic particles in a liquid medium; experimentally determination of cell's roughness parameters and Hamaker constant's correction.

Due to the softness and vulnerability of biological cells, in manipulation operations, it is not possible to insert excessive force to move these cells. Also, cells in their living environment face with many dynamic factors; therefore, in order to prevent their destruction and death, consideration the environmental conditions, the theoretical studies that underlie the laboratory research should be closer to the actual results. So, in this article by simultaneous consideration of cell's viscoelasticity and asperities on its surface, as well as the correction of the viscoelastic constant in the liquid medium, the effects of the number of asperities on the contact area between cell and substrate on the manipulation process are investigated and by considering different mediums effects, cell's roughness and developed Hamaker for viscoelastic state, more accurate results of simulations are obtained.

Comparing disciplinary methods used by mothers in Palestine and Qatar.

This paper explores child disciplinary methods used by parents in Qatar and Palestine. In this study ICAST-P, an internationally recognized tool, was used with mothers reporting on one of their children up to their 12th birthday. It questions about disciplinary methods: nonviolent; physical: moderate and severe; and psychological methods that had been used in the previous year on the index child in the family.

Experimental determination of folding factor of benign breast cancer cell (MCF10A) and its effect on contact models and 3D manipulation of biological particles.

Plasma membrane of most cells is not smooth. The surfaces of both small and large micropermeable cells are folded and corrugated which makes mammalian cells to have a larger membrane surface than the supposed ideal mode, that is, the smooth sphere of the same volume. Since cancer is an anthropic disease, cancer cells tend to have a larger membrane area than normal cells.

3D investigation of dynamic behavior and sensitivity analysis of the parameters of spherical biological particles in the first phase of AFM-based manipulations with the consideration of humidity effect.

The imaging and manipulation tools being the same in an AFM has necessitated the modeling and simulation of the AFM-based manipulation processes. In earlier studies, the dynamic behavior of biological particles in the course of manipulation has been modeled and simulated two-dimensionally. Now, with the advancements made in the modeling techniques, a 3D model of the manipulation of biological particles is more accurate than its 2D counterpart.

Noncalssical multiscale modeling of ssDNA manipulation using a CNT-nanocarrier based on AFM.

Nanocarriers are useful tools in biological and medical research fields. In nanomanipulation, a nondestructive and successful process can be achieved by using nanocarriers. In this paper, a nonclassical multiscale approach has been presented for modeling a single strand DNA (ssDNA) manipulation based on AFM.