Skeletal quality in Senegalese sole: characterization of fish resulting from environmental and nutritional trials

The Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) is characteristic from southern Europe and Mediterranean. It has recently been adapted for aquaculture production since it is well accepted by consumers and reaches high commercial values. After the initial description of the ontogenic events of skeletogenesis, systematic evaluation of the incidence of skeletal malformations by several groups revealed high levels of skeletal deformities reaching up to 90% of the population

2D PCA-Based localization for mobile robots in unstructured environments

In this paper a new PCA-based positioning sensor and localization system for mobile robots to operate in unstructured environments (e. g. industry, services, domestic ...) is proposed and experimentally validated. The inexpensive positioning system resorts to principal component analysis (PCA) of images acquired by a video camera installed onboard, looking upwards to the ceiling. This solution has the advantage of avoiding the need of selecting and extracting features. The principal components of the acquired images are compared with previously registered images, stored in a reduced onboard image database, and the position measured is fused with odometry data. The optimal estimates of position and slippage are provided by Kalman filters, with global stable error dynamics. The experimental validation reported in this work focuses on the results of a set of experiments carried out in a real environment, where the robot travels along a lawn-mower trajectory. A small position error estimate with bounded co-variance was always observed, for arbitrarily long experiments, and slippage was estimated accurately in real time

2D PCA-Based localization for mobile robots in unstructured environments

In this paper a new PCA-based positioning sensor and localization system for mobile robots to operate in unstructured environments (e. g. industry, services, domestic ...) is proposed and experimentally validated. The inexpensive positioning system resorts to principal component analysis (PCA) of images acquired by a video camera installed onboard, looking upwards to the ceiling. This solution has the advantage of avoiding the need of selecting and extracting features. The principal components of the acquired images are compared with previously registered images, stored in a reduced onboard image database, and the position measured is fused with odometry data. The optimal estimates of position and slippage are provided by Kalman filters, with global stable error dynamics. The experimental validation reported in this work focuses on the results of a set of experiments carried out in a real environment, where the robot travels along a lawn-mower trajectory. A small position error estimate with bounded co-variance was always observed, for arbitrarily long experiments, and slippage was estimated accurately in real time

How good are RGB cameras retrieving colors of natural scenes and paintings?—A study based on hyperspectral imaging

RGB digital cameras (RGB) compress the spectral information into a trichromatic system capable of approximately representing the actual colors of objects. Although RGB digital cameras follow the same compression philosophy as the human eye (OBS), the spectral sensitivity is different. To what extent they provide the same chromatic experiences is still an open question, especially with complex images. We addressed this question by comparing the actual colors derived from spectral imaging with those obtained with RGB cameras. The data from hyperspectral imaging of 50 natural scenes and 89 paintings was used to estimate the chromatic differences between OBS and RGB. The corresponding color errors were estimated and analyzed in the color spaces CIELAB (using the color difference formulas ΔE*ab and CIEDE2000), Jzazbz, and iCAM06. In CIELAB the most frequent error (using ΔE*ab) found was 5 for both paintings and natural scenes, a similarity that held for the other spaces tested. In addition, the distribution of errors across the color space shows that the errors are small in the achromatic region and increase with saturation. Overall, the results indicate that the chromatic errors estimated are close to the acceptance error and therefore RGB digital cameras are able to produce quite realistic colors of complex scenarios.This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UIDB/04650/2020

Radiation tests on commercial instrumentation amplifiers, analog switches & DAC's

A study of several commercial instrumentation amplifiers (INA110, INA111, INA114, INA116, INA118 & INA121) under neutron and vestigial gamma radiation was done. Some parameters (Gain, input offset voltage, input bias currents) were measured on-line and bandwidth, and slew rate were determined before and after radiation. The results of the testing of some voltage references REF102 and ADR290GR and the DG412 analog switch are shown. Finally, different digital-to-analog converters were tested under radiation. (6 refs)

Radiation tests on commercial instrumentation amplifiers, analog switches & DAC's

A study of several commercial instrumentation amplifiers (INA110, INA111, INA114, INA116, INA118 & INA121) under neutron and vestigial gamma radiation was done. Some parameters (Gain, input offset voltage, input bias currents) were measured on-line and bandwidth, and slew rate were determined before and after radiation. The results of the testing of some voltage references REF102 and ADR290GR and the DG412 analog switch are shown. Finally, different digital-to-analog converters were tested under radiation

Revisiting in vivo staining with alizarin red S - a valuable approach to analyse zebrafish skeletal mineralization during development and regeneration

Background The correct evaluation of mineralization is fundamental for the study of skeletal development, maintenance, and regeneration. Current methods to visualize mineralized tissue in zebrafish rely on: 1) fixed specimens; 2) radiographic and μCT techniques, that are ultimately limited in resolution; or 3) vital stains with fluorochromes that are indistinguishable from the signal of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labelled cells. Alizarin compounds, either in the form of alizarin red S (ARS) or alizarin complexone (ALC), have long been used to stain the mineralized skeleton in fixed specimens from all vertebrate groups. Recent works have used ARS vital staining in zebrafish and medaka, yet not based on consistent protocols. There is a fundamental concern on whether ARS vital staining, achieved by adding ARS to the water, can affect bone formation in juvenile and adult zebrafish, as ARS has been shown to inhibit skeletal growth and mineralization in mammals. Results Here we present a protocol for vital staining of mineralized structures in zebrafish with a low ARS concentration that does not affect bone mineralization, even after repetitive ARS staining events, as confirmed by careful imaging under fluorescent light. Early and late stages of bone development are equally unaffected by this vital staining protocol. From all tested concentrations, 0.01 % ARS yielded correct detection of bone calcium deposits without inducing additional stress to fish. Conclusions The proposed ARS vital staining protocol can be combined with GFP fluorescence associated with skeletal tissues and thus represents a powerful tool for in vivo monitoring of mineralized structures. We provide examples from wild type and transgenic GFP-expressing zebrafish, for endoskeletal development and dermal fin ray regeneration

The Optical Instrumentation of the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter

The purpose of this Note is to describe the optical assembly procedure called here Optical Instrumentation and the quality tests conducted on the assembled units. Altogether, 65 Barrel (or LB) modules were constructed - including one spare - together with 129 Extended Barrel (EB) modules (including one spare). The LB modules were mechanically assembled at JINR (Dubna, Russia) and transported to CERN, where the optical instrumentation was performed with personnel contributed by several Institutes. The modules composing one of the two Extended Barrels (known as EBA) were mechanically assembled in the USA, and instrumented in two US locations (ANL, U. of Michigan), while the modules of the other Extended barrel (EBC) were assembled in Spain and instrumented at IFAE (Barcelona). Each of the EB modules includes a subassembly known as ITC that contributes to the hermeticity of the calorimeter; all ITCs were assembled at UTA (Texas), and mounted onto the module mechanical structures at the EB mechanical assembly locations.The Tile Calorimeter, covering the central region of the ATLAS experiment up to pseudorapidities of ±1.7, is a sampling device built with scintillating tiles that alternate with iron plates. The light is collected in wave-length shifting (WLS) fibers and is read out with photomultipliers. In the characteristic geometry of this calorimeter the tiles lie in planes perpendicular to the beams, resulting in a very simple and modular mechanical and optical layout. This paper focuses on the procedures applied in the optical instrumentation of the calorimeter, which involved the assembly of about 460,000 scintillator tiles and 550,000 WLS fibers. The outcome is a hadronic calorimeter that meets the ATLAS performance requirements, as shown in this paper