Greenhouse Robot Navigation Using KLT Feature Tracking for Visual Odometry

A visual odometer was developed for an autonomous greenhouse sprayer to estimate vehicle translation and rotation relative to the world coordinate system during navigation. Digital images were taken from a CCD camera mounted on the robot. 7 x 7 pixel features were selected in the image using the KLT algorithm (Csetverikov, 2004). Features were tracked from image to image by finding the best 7 x 7 pixel match of the feature within a 25 x 25 pixel search box. By analyzing the movement of these features, vehicle rotation and translation were estimated. Five features were tracked with the odometer. Tests were run to verify the visual odometer’s accuracy during translation, rotation, and on various surfaces. The visual odometer ran at an average of 10 Hz during experimentation. Translation tests of the odometer in a lab environment gave an average error of 4.85 cm for a 30.5 cm forward translation and 12.4 cm average error for a 305 cm translation. Rotation tests of the odometer in a lab environment gave an average error of 1° for a 45° rotation and an 8° error for a 180° rotation about the vehicle z-axis. Tests completed on concrete, sand, and gravel demonstrated adaptability of the odometer on different ground surfaces that are common in greenhouses. The visual odometer was successfully integrated into a visual navigation system for intersection navigation of an autonomous greenhouse sprayer

Wagon-Based Silage Yield Mapping System

Rosana G. Moreira, Editor-in-Chief; Texas A&M UniversityThis is a paper from International Commission of Agricultural Engineering (CIGR, Commission Internationale du Genie Rural) E-Journal Volume 7 (2005): Wagon-Based Silage Yield Mapping System by W. S. Lee, J. K. Schueller, T. F. Burk

A week-end off: the first extensive number-theoretical computation on the ENIAC

The first extensive number-theoretical computation run on the ENIAC, is reconstructed. The problem, computing the exponent of 2 modulo a prime, was set up on the ENIAC during a week-end in July 1946 by the number-theorist D.H. Lehmer, with help from his wife Emma and John Mauchly. Important aspects of the ENIAC's design are presented-and the reconstruction of the implementation of the problem on the ENIAC is discussed in its salient points

The translucent molecular clouds toward hd 154368 .1. Extinction, abundances, and depletions

We report the results of a comprehensive analysis of a line of sight observed using the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), toward HD 154368, an 09.5 Iab star located about 800 pc away. The line of sight intersects translucent interstellar cloud material, having a color excess E(B - V) = 0.82 and known high molecular abundances from ground-based data. The HST observations consist of high-resolution spectra obtained with grating ECH-B at wavelengths longward of 1800 Angstrom, and moderate-resolution spectra from grating G160M at shorter wavelengths. We observed some 19 wavelength settings, covering the positions of numerous atomic and molecular transitions. We also incorporate IUE and ground-based data in the study, the latter coming from several observatories at visible and millimeter wavelengths. In this paper we report on the general goals and results of the study, with emphasis on the atomic abundances and depletions. We find that the column densities of most species are slightly higher, relative to the adopted total gas column density, than in some thinner clouds in which most of the absorption arises in a single dense component. Consequently the depletions of elements from the gas phase onto the dust are less than in ''typical'' diffuse clouds such as the one toward zeta Oph. Most of the gas toward HD 154368 resides in two main clouds, centered near -3.26 and -20.95 km s(-1) (heliocentric). Our profile analyses show that the depletions in these two clouds are similar. We discuss the possible relationship of this result to the ultraviolet extinction curve toward HD 154368, derived from IUE spectra

Development of a detector for bunch by bunch measurement and optimization of luminosity in the LHC

The front IR quadrupole absorbers (TAS) and the IR neutral particle absorbers (TAN) in the high luminosity insertions of the LHC each absorb approximately 1.8TeV of forward collision products on average per pp interaction ({approximately}235W at design luminosity 1034cm-2s-1). This secondary particle flux can be exploited to provide a useful storage ring operations tool for optimization of luminosity. Novel segmented, multi-gap, pressurized gas ionization chambers are proposed for sampling the energy deposited near the maxima of the hadronic/ electromagnetic showers in these absorbers. The system design choices have been strongly influenced by optimization of signal to noise ratio and by the very high radiation environment. The ionization chambers are instrumented with state of the art low noise, fast, pulse shaping electronics capable of resolving individual bunch crossings at 40 MHz. Data on each bunch are separately accumulated over multiple bunch crossings until the desired statistical accuracy is obtained. At design luminosity approximately 2x103 bunch crossings suffice for a 1% luminosity measurement

Vertical distribution of zooplankton in a shallow peatland pond: the limiting role of dissolved oxygen

We investigated the diel vertical distribution patterns of microcrustacean zooplankton (Cladocera, Copepoda) in a shallow pond (max. depth: 70 cm) of the Öreg-turján peatland (Ócsa, Central Hungary) during three 24-h periods in July (19–20th), August (17–18th) and September (11–12th) 2011. Environmental variables showed remarkable vertical stratification. Oxygen concentration was close to zero in the entire water column from night until sunrise, while the lower strata (from 20 cm below the surface) were close to anoxic during all three diel cycles. It proved to be the main determinant of the vertical distribution of microcrustaceans. Accordingly, the highest proportion of individuals was present in the surface layer. Chlorophyll-a concentration and phytoplankton biomass were inversely distributed compared to zooplankton. Microcrustaceans (mainly Daphnia curvirostris) migrated to the middle layer only in August, which could be explained by a trade-off between food resources, dissolved oxygen (DO) and competition with littoral zooplankters. The diurnal density patterns of microcrustaceans suggested horizontal migration into the aquatic macrophytes during night, which could be a strategy to avoid Chaoborus predation. Our results show that strong vertical gradients of abiotic and biotic factors occur even in such shallow waterbodies. Among them, DO can maintain constant vertical aggregation of zooplankters by limiting their occurrence to the surface layers

JNK3 Maintains Expression of the Insulin Receptor Substrate 2 (IRS2) in Insulin-Secreting Cells: Functional Consequences for Insulin Signaling

We have recently shown that silencing of the brain/islet specific c-Jun N-terminal Kinase3 (JNK3) isoform enhances both basal and cytokine-induced beta-cell apoptosis, whereas silencing of JNK1 or JNK2 has opposite effects. While it is known that JNK1 or JNK2 may promote apoptosis by inhibiting the activity of the pro-survival Akt pathway, the effect of JNK3 on Akt has not been documented. This study aims to determine the involvement of individual JNKs and specifically JNK3 in the regulation of the Akt signaling pathway in insulin-secreting cells. JNK3 silencing strongly decreases Insulin Receptor Substrate 2 (IRS2) protein expression, and blocks Akt2 but not Akt1 activation by insulin, while the silencing of JNK1 or JNK2 activates both Akt1 and Akt2. Concomitantly, the silencing of JNK1 or JNK2, but not of JNK3, potently phosphorylates the glycogen synthase kinase3 (GSK3β). JNK3 silencing also decreases the activity of the transcription factor Forkhead BoxO3A (FoxO3A) that is known to control IRS2 expression, in addition to increasing c-Jun levels that are known to inhibit insulin gene expression. In conclusion, we propose that JNK1/2 on one hand and JNK3 on the other hand, have opposite effects on insulin-signaling in insulin-secreting cells; JNK3 protects beta-cells from apoptosis and dysfunction mainly through maintenance of a normal IRS2 to Akt2 signaling pathway. It seems that JNK3 mediates its effects mainly at the transcriptional level, while JNK1 or JNK2 appear to mediate their pro-apoptotic effect in the cytoplasm

High-Throughput NMR Assessment of the Tertiary Structure of Food Allergens

In vitro component-resolved diagnosis of food allergy requires purified allergens that have to meet high standards of quality. These include the authentication of their conformation, which is relevant for the recognition by specific IgE antibodies from allergic patients. Therefore, highly sensitive and reliable screening methods for the analysis of proteins/allergens are required to assess their structural integrity. In the present study one-dimensional 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1D 1H-NMR) analysis was adopted for the assessment of overall structural and dynamic properties and authentication of a set of relevant food allergens, including non-specific lipid transfer proteins from apple, peach and hazelnut, 7/8S seed storage globulins from hazelnut and peanut, 11S seed storage globulins from hazelnut and peanut, caseins from cows' and goats' milk and tropomyosin from shrimp.Two sets of 1D 1H-NMR experiments, using 700 MHz and 600 MHz instruments at 298 K were carried out to determine the presence and the extent of tertiary structure. Structural similarity among members of the individual allergen families was also assessed and changes under thermal stress investigated. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) results were compared with structural information available either from the literature, Protein Data Bank entries, or derived from molecular models.1D (1)H-NMR analysis of food allergens allowed their classification into molecules with rigid, extended and ordered tertiary structures, molecules without a rigid tertiary structure and molecules which displayed both features. Differences in thermal stability were also detected. In summary, 1D (1)H-NMR gives insights into molecular fold of proteins and offers an independent method for assessing structural properties of proteins