Biomedical subjects

Ian D Walker

Publications and source records attributed to Ian D Walker.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Phage display antibodies to allelic determinants of canine blood cells.

Techniques were developed to select useful allele-specific antibodies directed to canine red blood cell alloantigens from a phage display library in which antibody single chain variable fragments (scFv) were expressed on filamentous bacteriophage. First, techniques were developed to detect specific antigens displayed on red blood cells using flow cytometry. Next, techniques permitting the efficient selection of red blood cell binders from a large phage library were developed. Finally, the amplified library was depleted using the red blood cells of one animal and the remainder enriched using cells from a genetically different animal. A high frequency of clones derived from this population bound antigen(s) of the second animal but not the first. Sequence analysis of these clones revealed that at least 11 clonally distinct isolates were present within the selected population. The procedure used to obtain these reagents is simple and inexpensive and the techniques developed should find applications in canine transfusion medicine and parentage assignment.

Alleles↗

PubMed2003

Kinematics and the implementation of an elephant's trunk manipulator and other continuum style robots.

Traditionally, robot manipulators have been a simple arrangement of a small number of serially connected links and actuated joints. Though these manipulators prove to be very effective for many tasks, they are not without their limitations, due mainly to their lack of maneuverability or total degrees of freedom. Continuum style (i.e., continuous "back-bone") robots, on the other hand, exhibit a wide range of maneuverability, and can have a large number of degrees of freedom. The motion of continuum style robots is generated through the bending of the robot over a given section; unlike traditional robots where the motion occurs in discrete locations, i.e., joints. The motion of continuum manipulators is often compared to that of biological manipulators such as trunks and tentacles. These continuum style robots can achieve motions that could only be obtainable by a conventionally designed robot with many more degrees of freedom. In this paper we present a detailed formulation and explanation of a novel kinematic model for continuum style robots. The design, construction, and implementation of our continuum style robot called the elephant trunk manipulator is presented. Experimental results are then provided to verify the legitimacy of our model when applied to our physical manipulator. We also provide a set of obstacle avoidance experiments that help to exhibit the practical implementation of both our manipulator and our kinematic model.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Manipulability, force, and compliance analysis for planar continuum manipulators.

Continuum manipulators, inspired by the natural capabilities of elephant trunks and octopus tentacles, may find niche applications in areas like human-robot interaction, multiarm manipulation, and unknown environment exploration. However, their true capabilities will remain largely inaccessible without proper analytical tools to evaluate their unique properties. Ellipsoids have long served as one of the foremost analytical tools available to the robotics researcher, and the purpose of this paper is to first formulate, and then to examine, three types of ellipsoids for continuum robots: manipulability, force, and compliance.

Algorithms↗

PubMed1997

The immunoreactive 116 kDa surface protein of Mycoplasma pneumoniae is encoded in an operon.

Sera from 10 patients infected with Mycoplasma pneumoniae were used in Western blot analysis of Triton-X-114-soluble protein preparations of M. pneumoniae. All 10 sera were reactive with a protein antigen of 116 kDa. Sera from another 17 patients were used in Western blot analysis of whole-cell M. pneumoniae proteins; 15 of these sera were reactive with the 116 kDa protein. Trypsin digestion of whole M. pneumoniae cells demonstrated the surface location of this protein. Sequencing of DNA which contained the gene for this protein identified an ORF of 3093 bp encoding a protein with a predicted molecular mass of 116013 Da. The ORF for the 116 kDa protein had 99.8% nucleotide identity with the M. pneumoniae gene G07_orf1030 and 61% nucleotide identity with the Mycoplasma genitalium ORF MG075 of unassigned function. An ORF which was identified 5' to the 116 kDa protein ORF coded for a 16 kDa protein and had 99.8% nucleotide identity with the M. pneumoniae gene G07_orf135 and 58.4% nucleotide identity with the ORF MG074 of M. genitalium. Analysis of mRNA detected a 3.7 kb transcript with a single initiation site 5' to the ORF encoding the 16 kDa protein. The coding sequences for both the 16 kDa protein and the 116 kDa protein were present in this transcript, indicating that they were part of an operon and suggesting a possible functional relationship.

Amino Acid Sequence↗