Robotics Irrigation – A Key to Agricultural Revolution

Agricultural robots are machine programmed to do agricultural task and farm assignment. Despite the large diffusion of robotic and automated solutions that took place during the last decades in most production processes, the agricultural sector benefited only marginally from automated solutions. Most of the farming is now done with machines but they are not automated, hence there is a need of another revolution in agriculture and that is robotics and automation revolution.Agricultural robots can be classified into several groups: harvesting or picking, planting, weeding, pest control, maintenance or irrigation. Out of these, irrigation robots have been researched and implemented very less but are of a great importance to increase the production of a crop. Different type of crops has different types of irrigation requirements and should be dealt accordingly. This can be efficiently done if robotics is integrated in irrigation. Hereby, in this paper, we are proposing efficient ways of irrigation by robots, their advantages and future perspectives. Our approach is to utilize available information technologies and the proposed framework in the form of more intelligent machines to reduce and target energy inputs in more effective ways than in the past

Strategy Formulation for Performance Improvement of Indian Corrugated Industry: An Application of SWOT Analysis and QSPM Matrix

Strategy formulation and implementation is one of the most important tasks that managers in every organization need to perform. This process has emerged with a range of approaches that enjoyed different levels of support and recognition over time. But, somehow in Indian unorganized SMEs, it has not been applied effectively. The aim of the present study is to develop an appropriate strategy for Indian corrugated firms. To reach this object, the study suggests SWOT analysis along with QSPM and SPACE matrix. Vast literature survey was done to explore different factors for SWOT Analysis and then the weight and importance of each factor was defined by using Focus Group approach. Based on the inputs given by experts during focus group session, EFE and IFE matrixes were developed. The result of SPACE matrix showed that aggressive strategies are required to pursue. The QSPM after analysis resulted in to selection of “Development of R&D Department” strategy with score of 4.06. This proposed strategy is very much beneficial for corrugated industry as the whole possibility of success is based on customization aiming more space in minimum dimensions at best quality and price

Expression of TNF-α and Related Signaling Molecules in the Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

We examined the role of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and its related signaling intermediates leading to apoptosis/proliferation in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of RA patients. The constitutive expression of mRNA for TNF-α receptors (TNFR-I and TNFR-II) and the adapter molecules, such as the TNF receptor-associated death domain protein (TRADD), Fas-associated death domain protein (FADD), receptor interacting protein (RIP), and TNF receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF-2) were analyzed by reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) in PBMCs from control and RA cases. PBMCs of RA patients showed a significant increase in TNF-α and TNFR-I expression as compared with that from control subjects along with significantly increased constitutive expression of TRADD, RIP, and TRAF-2 mRNA. There was a decrease in expression of FADD in RA patients, but the difference was not significant as compared to controls. These data suggested enhanced signaling by the TNFR-I-TRADD-RIP-TRAF-2 pathway and suppressed signaling by the TNFR-I-TRADD-FADD pathway in PBMCs of RA patients. However, the regulatory mechanisms for TNF-α induced signaling may not be explained only by these pathways

Unilateral absence of pulmonary artery: a radiographically occult cause of life-threatening hemoptysis

Unilateral absence or agenesis of pulmonary artery (UAPA) is a rare congenital abnormality with an estimated prevelance of 1 in 2,00,000 adults. The entity occurs commonly in association with other congenital heart diseases like septal defects or patent ductus arteriosus. The condition usually runs a benign clinical course with patients usually presenting clinically in adulthood with history of recurrent respiratory tract infections. Two such patients presented with recurrent respiratory tract infections, breathlessness and hemoptysis. The chest radiograph of first patient was reported as normal in the referring hospital, while that of second patient showed volume loss in left lung. CT Pulmonary Angiography (CTPA) was then performed which demonstrated the absence of right and left pulmonary arteries respectively in the first and second patients. Pulmonary artery branches were reformed distally by multiple collaterals arising from systemic arteries. The entire spectrum, including embryology, imaging features and management of UAPA are discussed. UAPA remains a potential cause for life-threatening hemoptysis, due to extensive collateralization associated with the condition. It is important for radiologists to be aware of this uncommon entity in order to suspect it on a routine chest radiograph, diagnose it and map associated collaterals on CTPA and also embolize the bleeding collaterals

An observational study of the healing time, associated factors, and complications during non-operative management of patients with blunt abdominal trauma

Background: Non-operative management (NOM) has shown success in the management of cases of blunt abdominal trauma (BAT), especially in hemodynamically stable patients, even if there is a higher grade of injury.Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the healing rate with NOM and associated risk factors of non-healing in patients with BAT.Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 20 hemodynamically stable patients of BAT who were treated in a tertiary care hospital by NOM. Clinical monitoring and biochemical investigations were done. The patients were followed-up for three months. The outcome measures were the average time of healing and complications. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The mean age of the patients was 24.5 years with 18 (90%) males and 2(10%) females. Nine patients (45%) had isolated liver injury, 8 (40%) had isolated splenic injury, 1 (5%) had isolated left renal injury, 1 (5%) had combined liver and splenic injury and 1 (5%) had combined liver and right renal injury. At 3 months of follow-up, 16 (80%) cases showed complete healing, 3(15%) showed incomplete healing and 1 (5%) patient with grade 4 splenic injury had failure of NOM. On performing univariate regression analysis, grade 3/4 was an independent risk factor of non-healing with an odds ratio of 5.667.Conclusion: In conclusion, NOM appears to be a safe and effective management protocol for patients with BAT, provided regular follow-ups and monitoring are done

Co-culture models of endothelial cells, macrophages, and vascular smooth muscle cells for the study of the natural history of atherosclerosis

Background This work aims to present a fast, affordable, and reproducible three-cell co-culture system that could represent the different cellular mechanisms of atherosclerosis, extending from atherogenesis to pathological intimal thickening. Methods and results We built four culture models: (i) Culture model #1 (representing normal arterial intima), where human coronary artery endothelial cells were added on top of Matrigel-coated collagen type I matrix, (ii) Culture model #2 (representing atherogenesis), which demonstrated the subendothelial accumulation and oxidative modification of low-density lipoproteins (LDL), (iii) Culture model #3 (representing intimal xanthomas), which demonstrated the monocyte adhesion to the endothelial cell monolayer, transmigration into the subendothelial space, and transformation to lipid-laden macrophages, (iv) Culture model #4 (representing pathological intimal thickening), which incorporated multiple layers of human coronary artery smooth muscle cells within the matrix. Coupling this model with different shear stress conditions revealed the effect of low shear stress on the oxidative modification of LDL and the upregulation of pro-inflammatory molecules and matrix-degrading enzymes. Using electron microscopy, immunofluorescence confocal microscopy, protein and mRNA quantification assays, we showed that the behaviors exhibited by the endothelial cells, macrophages and vascular smooth muscle cells in these models were very similar to those exhibited by these cell types in nascent and intermediate atherosclerotic plaques in humans. The preparation time of the cultures was 24 hours. Conclusion We present three-cell co-culture models of human atherosclerosis. These models have the potential to allow cost- and time-effective investigations of the mechanobiology of atherosclerosis and new anti-atherosclerotic drug therapies

Detection and Assessment of Human Cytomegalo Virus, Epstein -Barr Virus -1 and Herpes Simplex Virus in Patients with Chronic Periodontitis of Varying Pocket Depths

Introduction: Recent microbiological research suggests an important role of herpes viruses in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease. Understanding the role of viruses in periodontal disease will lead to better prevention and treatment of the disease. Thus, the present study was undertaken to detect and assess the presence of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), Epstein -Barr virus -1 (EBV-1) and herpes simplex virus (HST) in chronic periodontitis patients and also to determine the correlation between clinical parameters and presence of herpes viruses. Methodology: 30 patients with chronic periodontitis participated in the study. Subgingival plaque samples were obtained from one deep and one shallow site of each patient. DNA extractions were done from these samples and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was carried out to detect the viral DNA. Statistical analysis of the results was done using Z - test of proportion. Results: The detection frequency of HSV-1 was found to be highest in deep (73.33%) as well as shallow (53.33%) sites among all the viruses followed by EBV-1, HSV-2 and HCMV. The detection frequency of all the four viruses was found to be higher in deep sites as compared to shallow sites and the results were found to be statistically highly significant in case of EBV-1 and HSV-2. Statistically highly significant differences were found when comparisons were made between plaque index and presence of viruses in deep (both viral detected and undetected) sites but not in relation to shallow sites. There were no statistically significant differences between gingival index and the presence of viruses in both deep as well as shallow sites, except for HCMV, where the results were found to be significant. Conclusion: Detection frequency of herpes viruses mainly HSV-1 and EBV-1 was higher in deep sites as compared to shallow sites

Autonomous Exploration by Cooperative Robots

Imagine being lost in a desert with a bunch of friends, all of a sudden. Survival will be difficult. You will have mirages, distrust among friends and no means to leave landmarks on the sand. Unable to locate yourself, you will have no means to contact people with maps. The best you can do in such a situation is to stay together in the vicinity of each other and look for food and water. By staying together, you can see more and decrease faulty data; thereby increasing your survival probability. Robots when left to explore the moon encounter the same issues. They do not have a Geo-Positioning System to locate them nor do they have a map. They have faulty sensor readings and might find it difficult to contact a human operator on earth all the time to solve issues on the moon. Since everything looks the same, there are no landmarks to memorise. As they walk around, their battery will also get exhausted. The more we equip the robot outside earth, chances of faults do not decrease, they increase. Therefore, there is a need to make primitive robots capable of autonomous exploration. We prefer sending more than one robot, inspired by the success of the collective strength of insects in harsh environments. This thesis aims at engineering collective behaviour for a group of robots in such resource-less environments like the moon. We expect this collective behaviour to perform searching in time-critical events like earthquake-stricken areas. The thesis is designed to be implemented on legged robots called Zebros. Using communication, they will collectively perform activities such that they appear as one body of tightly coupled autonomous units. We design three distinct algorithms for such missions. Emergent behaviour is expected from the robots running these algorithms. The swarm should collectively choose the best among the possible options without disintegrating into subgroups. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf3ToRk7YHY&feature=youtu.be)Electrical Engineer | Embedded System

On Nearest Neighbor Indexing of Nonlinear Trajectories

In recent years, the problem of indexing mobile objects has assumed great importance because of its relevance to a wide variety of applications. Most previous results in this area have proposed indexing schemes for objects with linear trajectories in one or two dimensions. In this paper, we present methods for indexing objects with nonlinear trajectories. Specifically, we identify a useful condition called the convex hull property and show that any trajectory satisfying this condition can be indexed by storing a careful representation of these objects in a traditional index structure. Since a wide variety of relevant nonlinear trajectories satisfy this condition, our result significantly expands the class of trajectories for which nearest neighbor indexing schemes can be devised. We also show that even though many non-linear trajectories do not satisfy the convex hull condition, an approximate representation can often be found which satisfies it. We discuss examples of techniques which can be utilized to find representations that satisfy the convex hull property. We present empirical results to demonstrate the e#ectiveness of our indexing method