Bioinspired Soft Actuation System Using Shape Memory Alloys

Soft robotics requires technologies that are capable of generating forces even though the bodies are composed of very light, flexible and soft elements. A soft actuation mechanism was developed in this work, taking inspiration from the arm of the Octopus vulgaris, specifically from the muscular hydrostat which represents its constitutive muscular structure. On the basis of the authors’ previous works on shape memory alloy (SMA) springs used as soft actuators, a specific arrangement of such SMA springs is presented, which is combined with a flexible braided sleeve featuring a conical shape and a motor-driven cable. This robot arm is able to perform tasks in water such as grasping, multi-bending gestures, shortening and elongation along its longitudinal axis. The whole structure of the arm is described in detail and experimental results on workspace, bending and grasping capabilities and generated forces are presented. Moreover, this paper demonstrates that it is possible to realize a self-contained octopus-like robotic arm with no rigid parts, highly adaptable and suitable to be mounted on underwater vehicles. Its softness allows interaction with all types of objects with very low risks of damage and limited safety issues, while at the same time producing relatively high forces when necessary

Bacterial Communities in the Embryo of Maize Landraces:Relation with Susceptibility to Fusarium Ear Rot

Locally adapted maize accessions (landraces) represent an untapped resource of nutritional and resistance traits for breeding, including the shaping of distinct microbiota. Our study focused on five different maize landraces and a reference commercial hybrid, showing different susceptibility to fusarium ear rot, and whether this trait could be related to particular compositions of the bacterial microbiota in the embryo, using different approaches. Our cultivation-independent approach utilized the metabarcoding of a portion of the 16S rRNA gene to study bacterial populations in these samples. Multivariate statistical analyses indicated that the microbiota of the embryos of the accessions grouped in two different clusters: one comprising three landraces and the hybrid, one including the remaining two landraces, which showed a lower susceptibility to fusarium ear rot in field. The main discriminant between these clusters was the frequency of Firmicutes, higher in the second cluster, and this abundance was confirmed by quantification through digital PCR. The cultivation-dependent approach allowed the isolation of 70 bacterial strains, mostly Firmicutes. In vivo assays allowed the identification of five candidate biocontrol strains against fusarium ear rot. Our data revealed novel insights into the role of the maize embryo microbiota and set the stage for further studies aimed at integrating this knowledge into plant breeding programs

Comparison among four maize varieties in conventional and low input cultivation

In this work we compared, using a randomized block design, four early maize (Zea mays L.) varieties: three traditional varieties (Millo Corvo, Scagliolo, Agostanello) and one modern hybrid (LG 25.38) grown in conventional vs low input farming. We recorded different agronomic parameters and we performed bromatological and ICP-MS analyses, and also quantified carotenoids, anthocyanins and mycotoxins. The analysis of agronomic parameters showed a general trend of better yields from conventional farming. Bromatological analysis did not show significant differences, we found more differences among varieties than between conventional and low input farming. Regarding minerals analysis, with the exception of the iron content, which was significantly higher from low input farming, we found high variability among the genotypes studied. The anthocyanins content, analyzed in the colored variety Millo Corvo, showed a statistically higher value in low imput farming. Finally, in both cultivation methods the level of fumonisins contamination was under the threshold limit. Taken together our data suggest that the effect of the genotypes was considerably higher than the effect of the cultivation method, hence it is the choice of the variety that will determine the nutritional value of the product harvested