Appearance measurement system using fuzzy logic

To objectively measure the paint appearance on a car body the same as that perceived by customers, this paper presents a novel method to model the paint appearance using fuzzy logic. Three popular parameters, orange peel, metal texture effect and gloss, are used as system input, overall appearance is defined as system output. This fuzzy logic model is fully based on human understanding and expertise The preliminary result shows that this model can well mimic human behavior to reflect the correlation between overall appearance and individual properties of the paint surface

Optimization of sensor locations for measurement of flue gas flow in industrial ducts and stacks using neural networks

This paper presents a novel application of neural network modeling in the optimization of sensor locations for the measurement of flue gas flow in industrial ducts and stacks. The proposed neural network model has been validated with an experiment based upon a case-study power plant. The results have shown that the optimized sensor location can be easily determined with this model. The industry can directly benefit from the improvement of measurement accuracy of the flue gas flow in the optimized sensor location and the reduction of manual measurement operation with Pitot tube

A robot-based burr measurement system for the automotive industry

Burrs are often difficult to detect and measure because of their intrinsic variability in shape and dimension. No automotive standard had been established about their acceptable dimensions and measurement techniques for sheet steel products. For the automotive industry, even burrs of the size of 100 μm are perceived as damaging because of their dramatic impact upon panel corrosion resistance and assembly performance. It is critical to measure burrs during panel manufacture in order to control the process. The characterization of the typical burr produced has been carried out employing 3D measurements with a surface profilometer and a SEM. This analysis has shown a typical triangular burr shape and some characteristic dimensions. A contact method and two laser-triangulation systems have been developed. The instrument accuracy was analyzed, based upon a full factorial experimentation over a set of typical panels edges

Introduction to the Special Issue

[Without Abstract] Introduction to International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, Volume 53, Issue 2 (Jun 2015)- Special Issue: Processing instruction: New insights after twenty years of theory, research and application. Guest Editors: Alessandro Benati and James F. Lee

Engineered Sleeping Beauty Transposon as Efficient System to Optimize Chimp Adenoviral Production

Sleeping Beauty (SB) is the first DNA transposon employed for efficient transposition in vertebrate cells, opening new applications for genetic engineering and gene therapies. A transposon-based gene delivery system holds the favourable features of non-viral vectors and an attractive safety profile. Here, we employed SB to engineer HEK293 cells for optimizing the production of a chimpanzee Adenovector (chAd) belonging to the Human Mastadenovirus C species. To date, chAd vectors are employed in several clinical settings for infectious diseases, last but not least COVID-19. A robust, efficient and quick viral vector production could advance the clinical application of chAd vectors. To this aim, we firstly swapped the hAd5 E1 with chAd-C E1 gene by using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. We demonstrated that in the absence of human Ad5 E1, chimp Ad-C E1 gene did not support HEK293 survival. To improve chAd-C vector production, we engineered HEK293 cells to stably express the chAd-C precursor terminal protein (ch.pTP), which plays a crucial role in chimpanzee Adenoviral DNA replication. The results indicate that exogenous ch.pTP expression significantly ameliorate the packaging and amplification of recombinant chAd-C vectors thus, the engineered HEK293ch.pTP cells could represent a superior packaging cell line for the production of these vectors

Nitrogen fertilization associated with cold storage and its impacts on the maintenance of peach quality.

Nitrogen, which is considered the most important nutrient for peach trees, may interfere in both quantitative production characteristics and quality of fruits. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of the combination of doses of N fertilization and different periods of cold storage on physico-chemical and phytochemical characteristics of peaches in post-harvest. The experiment had a randomized complete block design in a 4x3 factorial scheme, i. e., four doses of fertilization (0, 60, 120 and 180 Kg N ha-1) and three periods of storage (on the harvest day, on both the 15th and the 30th storage days at 1±1ºC, each followed by a day of simulated commercialization at 20±1ºC). The following aspects were evaluated in fruits yielded by peach trees of the genotype Cascata 1067: fruit color, soluble solid content, titratable acidity, pulp firmness, mass loss, total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. Different periods of cold storage and doses of N fertilization were found to affect epidermis luminosity, pulp firmness and titratable acidity of fruits. Peaches may be stored at low temperatures for 15+1 days. After that, loss of fruit firmness increases. N fertilization affects neither the soluble solid content nor the epidermis color of peaches, but both parameters are influenced by storage. Values of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity decrease when there is N increment in the soil and when longer storage is carried out. Results suggest that peach composition may be affected by cultural practices, such as N fertilization, in harvest and after storage

Raleio mecânico de flores e frutos de diferentes genótipos de pessegueiros.

O raleio em pessegueiro tem como objetivo retirar o número excessivo de frutos da planta e eliminar aqueles danificados e/ou doentes, mas sem prejudicar a produtividade do pomar. Na produção de pêssegos, o raleio é realizado de forma manual para retirada dos frutos em excesso, necessitando ser executado em um curto período de tempo e com mão de obra especializada, o que eleva os custos de produção. Nesse sentido, o raleio mecânico pode ser uma alternativa ao raleio manual de frutos. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a eficiência do raleio mecânico de flores e frutos de pessegueiros com dois tipos de equipamentos. Foram realizados testes com os equipamentos derriçadeira e Carpa Electro®, mantendo-se o raleio manual como testemunha. No primeiro experimento, foi testado, nos anos de 2016 e 2017, o raleio mecânico de flores em seleções avançadas de pessegueiros. O segundo experimento foi realizado no ano de 2017, em pomar comercial da cultivar Maciel, testando-se os raleios mecânicos de flores e de frutos. Nos dois ensaios avaliou-se: porcentagem de derrubada de flores ou frutos, número de frutos por planta, massa média dos frutos, produção por planta e tempo de execução do raleio. Conforme os resultados, o raleio mecânico com os dois equipamentos pode ser alternativa ao raleio manual de frutos no cultivo de pessegueiros. Os equipamentos testados podem ser utilizados para o raleio mecânico de pessegueiro, pois auxiliam na derrubada de flores e frutos e reduzem o tempo de realização dessa operação.bitstream/item/224624/1/Boletim-339.pd

Zoneamento das condições atuais e futuras de frio para o controle natural da endodormência em clones de Moscato Branco e cvs Vitis labrusca no sul do Brasil.

Como uma planta de clima temperado, a videira necessita de um acúmulo de horas frio (HF, T<7,2°C) para superar o estado de endodormência e ter uma brotação regular, o que é variável entre genótipos. Confrontando essa demanda com as previsões de mudanças climáticas e diminuição de frio, o presente trabalho objetivou contabilizar e delimitar o zoneamento atual e futuro para o cultivo de diferentes clones de Moscato Branco (Vitis vinifera) e cultivares Vitis labrusca

Online measurement of fluence and position for protontherapy beams

Tumour therapy with proton beams has been used for several decades in many centres with very good results in terms of local control and overall survival. Typical pathologies treated with this technique are located in head and neck, eye, prostate and in general at big depths or close to critical organs. The Experimental Physics Department of the University of Turin and the local Section of INFN, in collaboration with INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud Catania and Centre de Protontherapie de Orsay Paris, have developed detector systems that allow the measurement of beam position and fluence, obtained in real time during beam delivery. The centre in Catania (CATANA: Centro di AdroTerapia ed Applicazioni Nucleari Avanzate) has been treating patients with eye pathologies since spring 2002 using a superconducting cyclotron accelerating protons up to 62 MeV. This kind of treatments need high-resolution monitor systems and for this reason we have developed a 256-strip segmented ionisation chamber, each strip being 400 μm wide, with a total sensitive area 13 × 13 cm2. The Centre de Protontherapie de Orsay (CPO) has been operational since 1991 and features a synchrocyclotron used for eye and head and neck tumours with proton beams up to 200 MeV. The monitor system has to work on a large surface and for this purpose we have designed a pixel-segmented ionisation chamber, each pixel being 5×5 mm2, for a total active area of 16 × 16 cm2. The results obtained with two prototypes of the pixel and strip chambers demonstrate that the detectors allow the measurement of fluence and centre of gravity as requested by clinical specifications

Nitrogen fertilization and genotypes of peaches in high-density.

Entre os fatores que afetam a produtividade dos pessegueiros, está a nutrição adequada das plantas, sendo o nitrogênio (N) um dos nutrientes primordiais para a cultura. Deste modo, o objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da adubação nitrogenada de manutenção nos teores foliares de macronutrientes, no crescimento das plantas e na produção de diferentes genótipos de pessegueiros cultivados em alta densidade de plantio, buscando-se recomendar a concentração mais adequada. O experimento foi conduzido entre 2016 e 2018, com seleções avançadas de pessegueiros "Cascata 1513" e "Cascata 1067", e com concentrações de adubação nitrogenada (0; 60; 120 e 180 kg ha-1 de N). Avaliaram-se: massa de poda, diâmetro de tronco, número de frutos por planta, massa dos frutos, produção por planta e teor de macronutrientes nas folhas. O incremento das concentrações de N aumenta o teor do N nas folhas. Para as condições deste experimento, a máxima produção por planta foi obtida para a maior dose de 180 kg ha de N