HortiBot: A System Design of a Robotic Tool Carrier for High-tech Plant Nursing

Danish organic outdoor gardeners today use 50-300 hours per hectare for manual weeding. Through automatic controlling of an existing commercial machine this often heavy and costconsuming weeding will be eliminated. At the same time, a fully-automatic registration of field activities will contribute to the efficient implementation of EU directive 178/2002 concerning traceability in the primary production and thereby enhance the food-safety in the production chain. A radio controlled slope mower is equipped with a new robotic accessory kit. This transforms it into a tool carrier (HortiBot) for high-tech plant nursing for e.g. organic grown vegetables. The HortiBot is capable of passing over several parcels with visible rows autonomously based on a new commercial row detection system from Eco-Dan a/s, Denmark. This paper presents the solutions chosen for the HortiBot with regard to hardware, mechanicalelectrical interfaces and software. Further, the principles from a Quality Function Deployment (QFD) analysis was used to carry out the solicitation, evaluation and selection of most qualified design parameters and specifications attained to a horticultural robotic tool carrier. The QFD analysis provided a specific measure to evaluate each selected parameter in terms of satisfying user requirements and operational performance aspects. Based on a combination of importance rating and competitive priority ratings important user requirements include easy adaptation to field conditions in terms of row distance and parcel size, profitability, minimum crop damage during operation, and reliability. Lesser importance was attributed to affection value, attractive look, the possibility of out of season usage, and the use of renewable energy

Identification of 34 Novel Proinflammatory Proteins in a Genome-Wide Macrophage Functional Screen

Signal transduction pathways activated by Toll-like Receptors and the IL-1 family of cytokines are fundamental to mounting an innate immune response and thus to clearing pathogens and promoting wound healing. Whilst mechanistic understanding of the regulation of innate signalling pathways has advanced considerably in recent years, there are still a number of critical controllers to be discovered. In order to characterise novel regulators of macrophage inflammation, we have carried out an extensive, cDNA-based forward genetic screen and identified 34 novel activators, based on their ability to induce the expression of cxcl2. Many are physiologically expressed in macrophages, although the majority of genes uncovered in our screen have not previously been linked to innate immunity. We show that expression of particular activators has profound but distinct impacts on LPS-induced inflammatory gene expression, including switch-type, amplifier and sensitiser behaviours. Furthermore, the novel genes identified here interact with the canonical inflammatory signalling network via specific mechanisms, as demonstrated by the use of dominant negative forms of IL1/TLR signalling mediators

The next Generation of Action Ecology: Novel Approaches towards Global Ecological Research

Advances in the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge over the last decade have dramatically reshaped the way that ecological research is conducted. The advent of large, technology-based resources such as iNaturalist, Genbank, or the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) allow ecologists to work at spatio-temporal scales previously unimaginable. This has generated a new approach in ecological research: one that relies on large datasets and rapid synthesis for theory testing and development, and findings that provide specific recommendations to policymakers and managers. This new approach has been termed action ecology, and here we aim to expand on earlier definitions to delineate its characteristics so as to distinguish it from related subfields in applied ecology and ecological management. Our new, more nuanced definition describes action ecology as ecological research that is (1) explicitly motivated by the need for immediate insights into current, pressing problems, (2) collaborative and transdisciplinary, incorporating sociological in addition to ecological considerations throughout all steps of the research, (3) technology-mediated, innovative, and aggregative (i.e., reliant on ‘big data\u27), and (4) designed and disseminated with the intention to inform policy and management. We provide tangible examples of existing work in the domain of action ecology, and offer suggestions for its implementation and future growth, with explicit recommendations for individuals, research institutions, and ecological societies

A Minimal Threshold of c-di-GMP Is Essential for Fruiting Body Formation and Sporulation in Myxococcus xanthus

Generally, the second messenger bis-(3’-5’)-cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP) regulates the switch between motile and sessile lifestyles in bacteria. Here, we show that c-di-GMP is an essential regulator of multicellular development in the social bacterium Myxococcus xanthus. In response to starvation, M. xanthus initiates a developmental program that culminates in formation of spore-filled fruiting bodies. We show that c-di-GMP accumulates at elevated levels during development and that this increase is essential for completion of development whereas excess c-di-GMP does not interfere with development. MXAN3735 (renamed DmxB) is identified as a diguanylate cyclase that only functions during development and is responsible for this increased c-di-GMP accumulation. DmxB synthesis is induced in response to starvation, thereby restricting DmxB activity to development. DmxB is essential for development and functions downstream of the Dif chemosensory system to stimulate exopolysaccharide accumulation by inducing transcription of a subset of the genes encoding proteins involved in exopolysaccharide synthesis. The developmental defects in the dmxB mutant are non-cell autonomous and rescued by co-development with a strain proficient in exopolysaccharide synthesis, suggesting reduced exopolysaccharide accumulation as the causative defect in this mutant. The NtrC-like transcriptional regulator EpsI/Nla24, which is required for exopolysaccharide accumulation, is identified as a c-diGMP receptor, and thus a putative target for DmxB generated c-di-GMP. Because DmxB can be—at least partially—functionally replaced by a heterologous diguanylate cyclase, these results altogether suggest a model in which a minimum threshold level of c-di-GMP is essential for the successful completion of multicellular development in M. xanthus

Administration of broadly neutralizing anti-HIV-1 antibodies at ART initiation maintains long-term CD8+ T cell immunity

In simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV)-infected non-human primates, broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) against the virus appear to stimulate T cell immunity. To determine whether this phenomenon also occurs in humans we measured HIV-1-specific cellular immunity longitudinally in individuals with HIV-1 starting antiviral therapy (ART) with or without adjunctive bNAb 3BNC117 treatment. Using the activation-induced marker (AIM) assay and interferon-γ release, we observe that frequencies of Pol- and Gag-specific CD8+ T cells, as well as Gag-induced interferon-γ responses, are significantly higher among individuals that received adjunctive 3BNC117 compared to ART-alone at 3 and 12 months after starting ART. The observed changes in cellular immunity were directly correlated to pre-treatment 3BNC117-sensitivity. Notably, increased HIV-1-specific immunity is associated with partial or complete ART-free virologic control during treatment interruption for up to 4 years. Our findings suggest that bNAb treatment at the time of ART initiation maintains HIV-1-specific CD8+ T cell responses that are associated with ART-free virologic control

Consensus for experimental design in electromyography (CEDE) project:Checklist for reporting and critically appraising studies using EMG (CEDE-Check)

The diversity in electromyography (EMG) techniques and their reporting present significant challenges across multiple disciplines in research and clinical practice, where EMG is commonly used. To address these challenges and augment the reproducibility and interpretation of studies using EMG, the Consensus for Experimental Design in Electromyography (CEDE) project has developed a checklist (CEDE-Check) to assist researchers to thoroughly report their EMG methodologies. Development involved a multi-stage Delphi process with seventeen EMG experts from various disciplines. After two rounds, consensus was achieved. The final CEDE-Check consists of forty items that address four critical areas that demand precise reporting when EMG is employed: the task investigated, electrode placement, recording electrode characteristics, and acquisition and pre-processing of EMG signals. This checklist aims to guide researchers to accurately report and critically appraise EMG studies, thereby promoting a standardised critical evaluation, and greater scientific rigor in research that uses EMG signals. This approach not only aims to facilitate interpretation of study results and comparisons between studies, but it is also expected to contribute to advancing research quality and facilitate clinical and other practical applications of knowledge generated through the use of EMG.</p

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

Charge separation relative to the reaction plane in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}= 2.76 TeV

Measurements of charge dependent azimuthal correlations with the ALICE detector at the LHC are reported for Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV. Two- and three-particle charge-dependent azimuthal correlations in the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta| < 0.8$ are presented as a function of the collision centrality, particle separation in pseudo-rapidity, and transverse momentum. A clear signal compatible with a charge-dependent separation relative to the reaction plane is observed, which shows little or no collision energy dependence when compared to measurements at RHIC energies. This provides a new insight for understanding the nature of the charge dependent azimuthal correlations observed at RHIC and LHC energies.Comment: 12 pages, 3 captioned figures, authors from page 2 to 6, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/286