55 research outputs found
An autonomous ground mobile unit for the precision physical weed control.
In this paper the design, the main characteristics and the automation systems of innovative
autonomous ground mobile units (GMU) for physical weed control (PWC) in maize are
described. The machine will be created within the activities of the European Project RHEA
(Robot fleets for Highly Effective Agriculture and forestry management), that aims to produce
different prototypes of autonomous terrestrial and aerial robot able to perform several
activities related to the general crop protection in different agricultural scenarios. The first
autonomous ground unit machine was designed in order to perform a mechanical and
thermal treatment removing weeds from the inter-row crop space and applying in-row
selective and precision flaming by means of two crossed LPG rod burners. By means of
some modifications of the tools it will be possible to realize also an autonomous unit for the
precision broadcast flaming application. In this case the design involves a replacement of the
mechanical tools working in the inter-row space with 50 cm wide burners able to perform
flaming at different intensities according to weed cover detected by the perception system of
the robot. The working width of both the PWC machines will be of 4.5 m, thus covering five
entire maize inter-row spaces of 0.75 m each and 2 half inter-row space of 0.375 m each.
The correct position of the tools (mechanical and thermal) will be guaranteed by an
automatic precision guidance system connected and supervised to an image based row
detection system. Each working elements will be provided by two crossed 0.25 m wide rod
burners, hitting one side of each crop row. The flame should hit the weeds growing in the âinrowâ
space (a 0.25 m wide strip of soil with the maize plant in the middle). Regarding the
control of the weed emerged in the âinter-rowâ space each working unit of the will be provided
with rigid tools (one central foot-goose and two side âLâ shaped sweeps). The mechanical
treatment will be performed, independently from the weed presence, as hoeing is a very
important agronomical practice. On the contrary, broadcast flaming in the inter-row space will
be performed after weed detection, using three different LPG pressures and doses according
to weed cover (no weed cover-no treatment, weed cover between 0 and 25%-flaming at 0.3
MPa, weed cover higher than 25%-flaming at 0.4 MPa). This very innovative application of
precision PWC in maize could represent not only a good opportunity for farmers in term of
herbicide use reduction, but also an environmental friendly and energy saving application of
flaming in organic farming
VGF peptides as novel biomarkers in Parkinsonâs disease
Parkinsonâs disease (PD) is characterized by a progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN). At disease onset, a diagnosis is often difficult. VGF peptides are abundant in the SN and peripheral circulation; hence, we investigate whether their plasma profile may reflect the brain dopamine reduction. Using antibodies against the VGF C-terminal portion, we analyzed the rat brain and human plasma, with immunohistochemistry and ELISA. Rats were unilaterally lesioned with 6-hyroxydopamine and sacrificed either 3 or 6 weeks later with or without levodopa treatment. Plasma samples were obtained from PD patients, either at the time of diagnosis (group 1, drug naĂŻve, n = 23) or upon dopamine replacement (group 2, 1â6 years, n = 24; group 3, > 6 years, n = 16), compared with age-matched control subjects (group 4, n = 21). Assessment of the olfactory function was carried out in group 2 using the âSniffinâ Sticksâ test. VGF immunoreactivity was present in GABAergic neurons and, on the lesioned side, it was reduced at 3 weeks and abolished at 6 weeks after lesion. Conversely, upon levopoda, VGF labeling was restored. In PD patients, VGF levels were reduced at the time of diagnosis (1504 ± 587 vs. 643 ± 348 pmol/mL, means ± S.E.M: control vs. naĂŻve; p < 0.05) but were comparable with the controls after long-term drug treatment (> 6 years). A linear correlation was demonstrated between VGF immunoreactivity and disease duration, levodopa equivalent dose and olfactory dysfunction. Plasma VGF levels may represent a useful biomarker, especially in the early stages of PD
Development of an algorithm for assessing canopy volumes with terrestrial LiDAR to implement precision spraying in vineyards
Received: February 13th, 2021 ; Accepted: November 28th, 2021 ; Published: December 3rd, 2021 ; Correspondence: [email protected] spraying is one of the techniques for the reduction of pesticides use and it
can help achieve the new European Green Deal standards. The aim of such technique is to apply
the right amount of pesticides according to the target characteristics. The precision spraying
implementation requires target volume assessment, which can be carried out by LiDAR sensors.
Such technique requires complex and time-consuming procedures of canopy characteristics
computing through post-processing points cloud reconstruction. The present work aimed to
develop and test an algorithm through the use of a tractor-coupled with terrestrial LiDAR and
GNSS technology in order to simplify the process. With the aim to evaluate the algorithm the
LiDAR-based volume was correlated with two manual measurements of canopy volume (Tree
Row Volume and Point Net Cloud). The results showed good correlations between manual and
LiDAR measures both for total canopy volumes (R
2 = 0.67 and 0.56) and for partial canopy
volume (R
2 = 0.74). In conclusion, although the LiDAR-based algorithm works in automatic
mode, the canopy volumes approximation seems acceptable to estimate the canopy volumes, with
the advantages of a swifter procedure and less laborious post-processing computations
Recommended from our members
Mitochondrial translation is required for sustained killing by cytotoxic T cells.
T cell receptor activation of naĂŻve CD8+ T lymphocytes initiates their maturation into effector cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), which can kill cancer and virally infected cells. Although CTLs show an increased reliance on glycolysis upon acquisition of effector function, we found an essential requirement for mitochondria in target cellâkilling. Acute mitochondrial depletion in USP30 (ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase 30)âdeficient CTLs markedly diminished killing capacity, although motility, signaling, and secretion were all intact. Unexpectedly, the mitochondrial requirement was linked to mitochondrial translation, inhibition of which impaired CTL killing. Impaired mitochondrial translation triggered attenuated cytosolic translation, precluded replenishment of secreted killing effectors, and reduced the capacity of CTLs to carry out sustained killing. Thus, mitochondria emerge as a previously unappreciated homeostatic regulator of protein translation required for serial CTL killing
Teaching precision farming and entrepreneurship for European students: Sparkle online course
Within the framework of the European project named âSPARKLEâ, an online course was created after studying educational needs on precision agriculture (PA), state of the art of technologies and a prospective study of the commercial sector. Five educational and research institutions, high-tech farms and enterprises specializing in technology transfer created the syllabus of the course and the platform contents. The course was designed to provide 30 h of student dedication, via online presentations, documents and videos for each topic. A free pilot course started in April 2020 and 385 students from Italy, Portugal, Greece & Spain enrolled. To trace performance and acquisition of competences, questionnaires were completed by students for each topic and a final overall test. Studentsâ opinions about the course were also registered using anonymous polls, and results evaluated, to be able to enhance the Sparkle course for subsequent editions. Students also took part in a business model competition, to solve real challenges proposed by farms, related to the use of these technologies
Physical mechanical consolidation and protection of Miocenic limestone used on Mediterranean historical monuments: the case study of Pietra Cantone (southern Sardinia, Italy)
The present work aims to study the consolidating and protective chemical treatments of the Pietra Cantone, a Miocenic (lower Tortonian) limestone widely used in important monuments and historical buildings of Cagliari (southern Sardinia, Italy). Similar limestones of the same geological period have also been used in several important monuments of Mediterranean area, i.e., Malta and Gozo Islands, Matera (central Basilicata, Italy), Lecce (southern Puglia, Italy) and Balearic Islands (Spain). The Pietra Cantone limestone shows problems of chemicalâphysical decay, due to their petrophysical and compositional char- acteristics: high porosity (on average 28â36 vol%), low cemented muddy-carbonate matrix, presence of phyllosil- icates and sindepositional sea salts (\3%). So, after placed in the monument, this stone is easily alterable by weath- ering chemical processes (e.g., carbonate dissolution and sulfation) and also by cyclic mechanisms of crystalliza- tion/solubilization of salts and hydration/dehydration of hygroscopic phases of the clay component. To define the mineralogical-petrographic features (composition, texture) of limestone, the clay and salt crystalline phases, the optical microscope in polarized light and diffraction anal- ysis were used. To define the petrophysical characteristics (i.e., shape and size distribution of porosity, surface area(SBET), matrix microstructures, rock composition) and interactions of chemical treatments with rock, SEMâEDS analysis and N2 porosimetry with BET and BJH methods were used. To evaluate the efficacy of Na/K-silicates, ethyl silicate consolidants and protective nano-molecular silane monomer water repellent, the mechanical strengths (uni- axial compressive strength, point load and flexural resis- tance), water/helium open porosity, water absorption and vapour permeability data determined before and after the chemical treatments of the Pietra Cantone samples from monument were compared
- âŠ