Robotic Tankette for Intelligent BioEnergy Agriculture: Design, Development and Field Tests

In recent years, the use of robots in agriculture has been increasing mainly due to the high demand of productivity, precision and efficiency, which follow the climate change effects and world population growth. Unlike conventional agriculture, sugarcane farms are usually regions with dense vegetation, gigantic areas, and subjected to extreme weather conditions, such as intense heat, moisture and rain. TIBA - Tankette for Intelligent BioEnergy Agriculture - is the first result of an R&D project which strives to develop an autonomous mobile robotic system for carrying out a number of agricultural tasks in sugarcane fields. The proposed concept consists of a semi-autonomous, low-cost, dust and waterproof tankette-type vehicle, capable of infiltrating dense vegetation in plantation tunnels and carry several sensing systems, in order to perform mapping of hard-to-access areas and collecting samples. This paper presents an overview of the robot mechanical design, the embedded electronics and software architecture, and the construction of a first prototype. Preliminary results obtained in field tests validate the proposed conceptual design and bring about several challenges and potential applications for robot autonomous navigation, as well as to build a new prototype with additional functionality.Comment: 9 pages, 15 figure

High-fat diet-induced obesity rat model: a comparison between wistar and sprague-dawley rat

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Produtividade de melão fertirrigado em vertissolo.

Foram avaliados nove cultivares de melão (Cucumis melo ssp melo) fertirrigados em um Vertissolo, em Juazeiro, BA, quanto a produtividade e qualidade de fruto. Usou-se o delineamento experimental de blocos ao acaso, com quatro repetições e nove tratamentos (AF-682, AF-646, Rochedo, Gold Mine, Frevo, Trueno, RS-308095, Pávia e Super Market). Utilizou-se uma população de 18.518 plantas/ha. A adubação constou de 160 kg/ha de P2 O5, 150 kg/ha de N e 120 kg/ha de K2 O sob a forma de fosfato mono-amônico (MAP), uréia e cloreto de potássio, respectivamente, aplicados diariamente, via água de irrigação (fertirrigação). O nitrogênio, fósforo e o potássio e foram aplicados até 40, 35 e 50 dias após o transplantio, respectivamente. A produtividade comercial dos diferentes genótipos testados variou de 26,64 a 55,81 t/ha de frutos. As cultivares Trueno, Frevo, Gold Mine e Rochedo foram as que alcançaram os maiores rendimentos. O peso médio do fruto variou de 1,22 a 2,80 kg/fruto, enquadrando-se nos tipos 6 e 8, que são considerados para o mercado interno. Quanto ao oBrix, houve uma variação na ordem de 9,47 a 11,40, sendo que os valores mais altos foram apresentados pelas cultivares Rochedo (11,40o), AF-646 (11,35o) e AF-682 (11,05o), enquanto que os valores mais baixos foram observados nas cultivares Gold Mine (9,47o) e Super Market (9,65o)

Diagnosis methods for COVID-19: A systematic review

At the end of 2019, the coronavirus appeared and spread extremely rapidly, causing millions of infections and deaths worldwide, and becoming a global pandemic. For this reason, it became urgent and essential to find adequate tests for an accurate and fast diagnosis of this disease. In the present study, a systematic review was performed in order to provide an overview of the COVID-19 diagnosis methods and tests already available, as well as their evolution in recent months. For this purpose, the Science Direct, PubMed, and Scopus databases were used to collect the data and three authors independently screened the references, extracted the main information, and assessed the quality of the included studies. After the analysis of the collected data, 34 studies reporting new methods to diagnose COVID-19 were selected. Although RT-PCR is the gold-standard method for COVID-19 diagnosis, it cannot fulfill all the requirements of this pandemic, being limited by the need for highly specialized equipment and personnel to perform the assays, as well as the long time to get the test results. To fulfill the limitations of this method, other alternatives, including biological and imaging analysis methods, also became commonly reported. The comparison of the different diagnosis tests allowed to understand the importance and potential of combining different techniques, not only to improve diagnosis but also for a further understanding of the virus, the disease, and their implications in humans

Relationship between ground reaction forces during walking and physical activity in postmenopause women

The menopause triggers an increase in fat mass and visceral fat mass anda reduction in muscle mass of the lower limbs, limiting mobility and functionalautonomy of women (Stergiou et al. 2002). The ground reaction forces (GRF)show the magnitude and duration of the charge applied when the foot is in contactwith the ground (Saad et al. 2011). The study of this association be-comes relevantto prevent musculoskeletal injury and promoting a healthy lifestyle in this type ofwoman.The objective of this study has been the analysis of GRF components vertical andantero-posterior during walking in postmenopausal women, according to the levelsof physical activity. The sample studied included 53 postmenopausal women agedbetween 48 and 69 year. The GRF data was collected using a force platformKistler 9281B, and adopting the 3 steps protocol (Bus et al. 2005).The physical activity was measured using an Actigraph GT1M accelerometer andthe assessment was done in 4 days, including 2 weekend days. The association ofvariables was studied using the R Pearson correlation coefficient, and step-wiseregression models were developed. A statistical level of significance equal to 5%was adopted.The time of moderate-vigorous physical activity (TMVPA) revealed one predictor(p 0.05) independent of the minimum force peak during the support phase (Fz2)(ß= -0.29). The braking peak (ß = -0.32) and the impulse until Fy1 (ß = -0.36) explains8.7% and 10.9% of variation of the latter (EPE=0.02 N.s/kg). The maximumvertical peak during the loading phase of walking cycle (Fz1) (ß=0.34) is influencedin 11,1% by the ageing. The time of menopause (TM) has influence theFz1 loading rate (ß=0.28) and the rating Fz2/Fz1 (ß=-0.31).The results suggest that the TMVPA, age and TM, influence the behavior ofground support, causing differences in the accommodation of the external load 2during the walking cycle, and therefore should be considered in the prevention ofmusculoskeletal disorde

Relação das forças reativas do apoio durante o caminhar e a atividade física em mulheres pós-menopáusicas

A pós-menopausa é um estado inevitável da vida da mulher que se estende desde a instalação da amenorreia permanente. Nesta fase é importante a prática de atividade física para contrariar os efeitos negativos da menopausa. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar o comportamento de algumas variáveis da força reativa do apoio, em função dos níveis de atividade física em mulheres pós-menopáusicas. A amostra incluiu 53 mulheres pósmenopáusicas, que foram avaliadas em termos de composição corporal/antropometria, atividade física e componentes biomecânicas do apoio. Os resultados sugerem que a TAFMV, a idade e o TM influenciam as FRA em mulheres pós-menopáusicas, devendo ser consideradas na prevenção de lesões músculo-esqueléticas e na prescrição de programas de exercício orientados para esta população

Atlantic mammal traits: a dataset of morphological traits of mammals in the atlantic forest of south America

Measures of traits are the basis of functional biological diversity. Numerous works consider mean species-level measures of traits while ignoring individual variance within species. However, there is a large amount of variation within species and it is increasingly apparent that it is important to consider trait variation not only between species, but also within species. Mammals are an interesting group for investigating trait-based approaches because they play diverse and important ecological functions (e.g., pollination, seed dispersal, predation, grazing) that are correlated with functional traits. Here we compile a data set comprising morphological and life history information of 279 mammal species from 39,850 individuals of 388 populations ranging from −5.83 to −29.75 decimal degrees of latitude and −34.82 to −56.73 decimal degrees of longitude in the Atlantic forest of South America. We present trait information from 16,840 individuals of 181 species of non-volant mammals (Rodentia, Didelphimorphia, Carnivora, Primates, Cingulata, Artiodactyla, Pilosa, Lagomorpha, Perissodactyla) and from 23,010 individuals of 98 species of volant mammals (Chiroptera). The traits reported include body mass, age, sex, reproductive stage, as well as the geographic coordinates of sampling for all taxa. Moreover, we gathered information on forearm length for bats and body length and tail length for rodents and marsupials. No copyright restrictions are associated with the use of this data set. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data.Fil: Gonçalves, Fernando. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Bovendorp, Ricardo S.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Beca, Gabrielle. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Bello, Carolina. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Costa Pereira, Raul. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Muylaert, Renata L.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Rodarte, Raisa R.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Villar, Nacho. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Souza, Rafael. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Graipel, Maurício E.. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Cherem, Jorge J.. Caipora Cooperativa, Florianopolis; BrasilFil: Faria, Deborah. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz; BrasilFil: Baumgarten, Julio. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz; BrasilFil: Alvarez, Martín R.. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz; BrasilFil: Vieira, Emerson M.. Universidade do Brasília; BrasilFil: Cáceres, Nilton. Universidade Federal de Santa María. Santa María; BrasilFil: Pardini, Renata. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Leite, Yuri L. R.. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Costa, Leonora Pires. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Mello, Marco Aurelio Ribeiro. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Fischer, Erich. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Passos, Fernando C.. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Varzinczak, Luiz H.. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Prevedello, Jayme A.. Universidade do Estado de Rio do Janeiro; BrasilFil: Cruz-Neto, Ariovaldo P.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Carvalho, Fernando. Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense; BrasilFil: Reis Percequillo, Alexandre. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Paviolo, Agustin Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; ArgentinaFil: Duarte, José M. B.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; Brasil. Fundación Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Bernard, Enrico. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; BrasilFil: Agostini, Ilaria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; ArgentinaFil: Lamattina, Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentina. Ministerio de Salud de la Nación; ArgentinaFil: Vanderhoeven, Ezequiel Andres. Ministerio de Salud de la Nación; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentin