No abstract

No abstract

Bio-inspired legged robots have the potential to traverse uneven terrains in a very efficient way. The effectiveness of the robot gait depends on the joint symmetry of the robot; variations in joint symmetries can result in different types of gaits suitable for different scenarios. In the literature, symmetric and asymmetric gaits have been synthesized for legged robots; however, no relation between the gait effectiveness and joint symmetry has been studied. In this research work, the effect of joint symmetry on the robot gait is studied. To test the suggested algorithm, spider-like robot morphology was created in a simulator. The simulation environment was set to a flat surface where the robots could be tested. The simulations were performed on the PyroSim software platform, a physics engine built on top of the Open Dynamics Engine. The quadrupedal robot was created with eight joints, and it is controlled using an artificial neural network. The artificial neural network was optimized using a genetic algorithm. Different robot symmetries were tested, i.e., diagonal joint symmetry, diagonal joint reverse symmetry, adjacent joint symmetry, adjacent joint reverse symmetry and random joint symmetry or joint asymmetry. The robot controllers for each joint symmetry were evolved for a set number of generations and the robot controllers were evaluated using a fitness function that we designed. Our results showed that symmetry in joint movement could help in generating optimal gaits for our test terrain, and joint symmetry produced gaits that were already present in nature. Moreover, our results also showed that certain joint symmetries tended to perform better than others in terms of stability, speed, and distance traveled.

No abstract

Aim: To assess the sleep deprivation and quantity related incidence in students of medicine. Study design: Descriptive cross sectional study. Place and duration study: Psychiatry Department, Balochistan Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Quetta from 1st October 2020 to 31st March 2021 at the Methodology: One hundred thirty-five students, both males and females, took part in this research. After obtaining written agreement, the detailed demographics of study participants such as age, body mass index, gender, marital status, socioeconomic and 18-30 years were recorded. Athens scale for insomnia was used for the estimation of how frequently people experienced insomnia. Results: The mean age was 23.04±11.33 years and mean BMI 21.43±21.45 kg/m2. There were 81(60%) males and 54(40%) females. One hundred and one (74.8%) patients had middle socio-economic status and 31 (25.2%) had upper class. Majority of the patients 135 (85.2%) were unmarried. The use of the AIS scale revealed that 59 (43.7%) of the patients had insomnia, among these majority were 39 (28.9%) females. Practical Implication: The report is not accessible at the time of this writing. The outcomes of this study will allow insomnia specialists to develop evidence-based recommendations for the prevention and treatment of insomnia in students who are at risk of developing the condition in the first place. This analysis serves as a baseline for investigators. Conclusion: Incidence of insomnia amongst medical students was significantly increased as a result of the stress of overachievement and late-night study sessions to achieve good grades and significantly higher as one's age increased. Furthermore, it is possible to reduce it to the entire sleeping period (8-12 hours) at night. Keywords: AIS scale, Insomnia, Medical students, Demographic