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While in most industries, most processes are automated and human workers have either been replaced by robots or work alongside them, fewer changes have occurred in industries that use limp materials, like fabrics, clothes, and garments, than might be expected with today’s technological evolution. Integration of robots in these industries is a relatively demanding and challenging task, mostly because of the natural and mechanical properties of limp materials. In this review, information on sensors that have been used in fabric-handling applications is gathered, analyzed, and organized based on criteria such as their working principle and the task they are designed to support. Categorization and related works are presented in tables and figures so someone who is interested in developing automated fabric-handling applications can easily get useful information and ideas, at least regarding the necessary sensors for the most common handling tasks. Finally, we hope this work will inspire researchers to design new sensor concepts that could promote automation in the industry and boost the robotization of domestic chores involving with flexible materials.

In the apparel, medical and welfare, and nursing care industries, working with cloth items is highly dependent on manual work, so many people have hoped that such work could be automated. However, there are still no established ways for robots to handle cloth. In this paper, a method for acquiring developed shapes is proposed for the purpose of form recognition and classification operations of flat, limp materials. Experiments are performed to acquire developed shapes of materials by actively searching for contours of cloth using a sensor embedded in the finger of a robot.

Pick-up locations are optimized using genetic algorithm by minimizing the deformation of fabric part. For ease of manipulation of limp parts by robots, it is essential that they undergo the minimum possible deformation. This minimum deformation can be obtained by picking the limp parts at the optimal locations by minimizing the strain energy. The limp parts are modelled as supported Euler-Bernoulli beam subjected to uniformly distributed load undergoing small deformations. Analytical expressions for strain energy are derived for two support locations. The strain energy is computed from the finite element solution, and numerical computations are done in MATLAB. The pick-up locations corresponding to the two support locations obtained by genetic algorithm are compared with numerical solution. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

This paper summarizes a concluded 5-year funded research project (1994-1999) addressing the automated handling and manipulation of limp material, without distortion, deformation or damage. A series of prototype gripper systems (fixed-dimensioned and reconfigurable) were developed and integrated with Adept Series manipulators to demonstrate the gripper applicability to the textiles and apparel industry. A sensor-based control system based on the hierarchical control architecture paradigm (Valavanis and Saridis, Intelligent robotic systems: theory, design and applications, Kluwer, Amsterdam, 1992) controlled the operation of the integrated robotic gripper system. The research concluded with the conceptual and theoretical design of a reconfigurable robotic gripper system (RGS) followed by simulation-based design parameter validation, controlled by a fuzzy logic controller (for both position- and suction-based control). RGS simulation studies demonstrated the distortion-free manipulation of limp material panels of a variety of shapes and sizes.

This study aimed to discover an easy and precise prediction model for the acoustic properties of nanofiber nonwoven fabrics. For this purpose, a prediction model focusing on the two dominant parameters in the Limp frame model—bulk density and flow resistivity—was suggested. The propagation constant and characteristic impedance was generated from the effective density and effective volume modulus generated by the predictive model and treated as a one-dimensional transfer matrix. The sound absorption coefficient was then estimated using the transfer matrix approach. The trend of the normal Incident sound absorption coefficient measured and the sound absorption coefficient obtained from the predictive model were consistent. Thus, it is suggested that the predictive model for the proposed nanofiber nonwoven composite sheet is valid.

Genetic variants of GBA1 can cause the lysosomal storage disorder Gaucher disease and are among the highest genetic risk factors for Parkinson's disease (PD). GBA1 encodes the lysosomal enzyme beta‐glucocerebrosidase (GCase), which orchestrates the degradation of glucosylceramide (GluCer) in the lysosome. Recent studies have shown that GluCer accelerates α‐synuclein aggregation, exposing GCase deficiency as a major risk factor in PD pathology and as a promising target for treatment. This study investigates the interaction of GCase and three disease‐associated variants (p.E326K, p.N370S, p.L444P) with their transporter, the lysosomal integral membrane protein 2 (LIMP‐2). Overexpression of LIMP‐2 in HEK 293T cells boosts lysosomal abundance of wt, E326K, and N370S GCase and increases/rescues enzymatic activity of the wt and E326K variant. Using a novel purification approach, co‐purification of untagged wt, E326K, and N370S GCase in complex with His‐tagged LIMP‐2 from cell supernatant of HEK 293F cells is achieved, confirming functional binding and trafficking for these variants. Furthermore, a single helix in the LIMP‐2 ectodomain is exploited to design a lysosome‐targeted peptide that enhances lysosomal GCase activity in PD patient‐derived and control fibroblasts. These findings reveal LIMP‐2 as an allosteric activator of GCase, suggesting a possible therapeutic potential of targeting this interaction. This study explores the interaction of the lysosomal β‐glucocerebrosidase with its transporter LIMP‐2. LIMP‐2 overexpression boosts lysosomal transport and activity of wild type β‐glucocerebrosidase and the Parkinson's disease‐associated E326K variant. This interaction is then exploited to purify β‐glucocerebrosidase in complex with LIMP‐2 and to design a lysosome‐targeted, LIMP‐2‐derived peptide that increases lysosomal β‐glucocerebrosidase activity in control and patient‐derived fibroblasts.

Plants, being immobile, are constantly exposed to various biotic and abiotic stresses, leading to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which disrupt cellular homeostasis and cause oxidative damage. To combat this, plants have evolved various enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant mechanisms. This study investigates the enzymatic activities of key antioxidants in Polygala vulgaris L ., a species within the Polygalaceae known for its medicinal properties. The enzymatic activities of), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and phenol oxidase (PO) were measured. Additionally, the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker for oxidative stress, was determined. The methanol extract of P. vulgaris L . was analyzed using GC-MS to identify bioactive compounds, and molecular docking studies were conducted to assess the interactions and binding energies of these compounds with the lysosomal integral membrane protein-2 (LIMP 2). LIMP 2 interaction of the extract suggested that it may trigger Parkison’s disease and at the same time protect the organism from enterovirus invasion. Results indicated significant antioxidant activity in P. vulgaris L. , with potential implications for its use in mitigating oxidative stress-related cellular damage. The study provides a comprehensive overview of the antioxidant defense mechanisms in P. vulgaris L . and underscores its potential for future pharmacological applications.

Although the sound absorption coefficients of conventional and nanofiber nonwoven fabrics (NF-NWFs) have been the subject of many previous studies, few studies have considered the estimation of transmission loss. Reported herein is an experimental and theoretical study into estimating the transmission loss of NF-NWFs using four estimation models, i.e., the Rayleigh, Miki, and Komatsu models, and the simplified limp frame model (SLFM), with the model results compared against the experimental data. The transmission loss of the NF-NWF was determined from the propagation constant, and characteristic impedance was calculated using the estimation model and the transfer matrix method. The validity of each estimation method was examined by comparing its estimated values with the experimental values measured using a four-microphone impedance measurement tube. The proposed SLFM is more suitable for estimating the transmission loss of NF-NWFs than the conventional Rayleigh, Miki, and Komatsu models.

O aproveitamento de resíduos da indústria na fabricação de tijolos de solo-cimento é uma alternativa ambientalmente sustentável e possibilita a valorização destes resíduos, em vez de simplesmente lançá-los na natureza. Neste trabalho, analisou-se a influência da incorporação de cinza de bagaço de cana, pó de serra e PET nas características físicas e mecânicas de tijolos de solo-cimento. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que a incorporação dos resíduos (cinza de bagaço de cana e pó de serra) ao tijolo de solo-cimento manteve as propriedades mecânicas gerais, possibilitando a produção de tijolos prensados mais eficiente na relação custo-benefício, constituindo-se, portanto, numa excelente alternativa para o aproveitamento destes materiais.