Concept study of a Digital Twin of a Precision Agricultural Robot

When designing a digital twin, different properties are needed to be implemented so that the physical twin can be able to interact with the environment and fulfil the tasks that the physical asset was developed for. The methodology proposed in this thesis is of highly relevance when designing a digital twin solution, being simple to adapt to different necessities and with a clear architecture to utilize or to adjust to digital assets in different applications. The digital twin developed in the case study, on which this thesis is based, is the foundation of the development and creation of an innovative table grape harvesting robot. The main objective of this research is to review and identify potential methodologies that can be used in the design stage of a digital twin and to validate how the processes in the methodologies can support the system to fulfill the objectives of the project. The system involves the interactions between the robot, the environment, and the agronomical tasks that the robot needs to perform. This thesis creates the methodologies that will assist different stakeholders in easily identifying the processes that streamline the testing procedure of different algorithms in the digital twin, saving time and resources by doing the development in the digital twin and not in the physical object. The thesis assessed the challenges of limited testing time and transporting equipment and personnel difficulties to a fixed location, in this case, a vineyard located in Italy, defined later as the physical asset. It is of highly importance to incorporate the research structure to the digital twin development team early in the project's timeline. Based on the literature and discussion between stakeholders, the basic architecture was created, and from there, the cases defined in this thesis will allow the users and clients to test in a seamless way their products in the digital twin. The process gave the option to the users to select and use from a basic environment to a more complex and challenging one. The purpose of the thesis was to present and document certain architecture and methodologies used in the research and present them as a base for future developments in the area. This method can be used for projects when physical assets need to be created and tested, when time periods for testing are part of the challenges of the project, and the availability to allocate and integrate resources is complex. The main results and conclusion of this thesis is the methodology proposed, on how a simple processes and methodologies can be easily adapted to the necessities of any digital twin solution, and how the architecture proposed can have the ability to modify different cases for specific objectives. And finally, how it is possible to use, prepper and export the information needed to train the Machine learning (ML) algorithms, and to add noise specific to allow the evolution of the algorithms. The methodology proposed in this thesis can increase the quality and usability of any digital twin by proving how it can be successfully implemented during the planning developing process of a project. Furthermore, the methodology demonstrate that it can be easily adapted to the necessities of any digital twin solution and streamlined the progress in the future use of digital twins in any area. In the case study, the methodology helped all different stakeholders to utilize the digital twin to develop, test, and improve different algorithms from different locations through Europe without the need to build the physical robot, or being in one particular place, and without the restrictions of seasonal harvesting periods

Usando la cultura autóctone en la creación de identidades de marca de corporaciones transnacionales en países en vía de desarrollo

This case study describes the use of cultural elements in the creation of brand identities of three transnational corporations from developing countries: Bourbon Coffee, of Rwanda; Natura, of Brazil; and Xcaret, of Mexico. By relying on consumer culture theory and the country-of-origin concept as theoretical frameworks, a qualitative content analysis was conducted on the companies’ strategic communication contents to understand how they chose to design the symbolic aspects of their brands.Este estudo de caso descreve o uso de elementos culturais na criação de identidades de marca de três corporações transnacionais em países em vias de desenvolvimento: Bourbon Coffee, de Ruanda; Natura, do Brasil; e Xcaret, do México. Com base na teoria da cultura do consumo e no conceito de país de origem como marcos teóricos, foi realizada uma análise qualitativa de conteúdo da comunicação estratégica das corporações selecionadas, com o propósito de entender como desenharam os aspectos simbólicos de suas marcas.Este estudio de caso describe el uso de elementos culturales en la creación de identidades de marca de tres corporaciones transnacionales en países en vía de desarrollo: Bourbon Coffee, de Rwanda; Natura, de Brasil; y Xcaret, de México. Basándose en la teoría de la cultura del consumo y el concepto de país de origen como marcos teóricos, un análisis cualitativo de contenido fue realizado en la comunicación estratégica de las corporaciones seleccionadas, con el propósito de entender cómo diseñaron los aspectos simbólicos de sus marcas

Exploration of Human Serum Albumin Binding Sites by Docking and Molecular Dynamics Flexible LigandProtein Interactions

Five-nanosecond molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed on human serum albumin (HSA) to study the conformational features of its primary ligand binding sites (I and II). Additionally, 11 HSA snapshots were extracted every 0.5 ns to explore the binding affinity (Kd) of 94 known HSA binding drugs using a blind docking procedure. MD simulations indicate that there is considerable flexibility for the protein, including the known sites I and II. Movements at HSA sites I and II were evidenced by structural analyses and docking simulations. The latter enabled the study and analysis of the HSA–ligand interactions of warfarin and ketoprofen (ligands binding to sites I and II, respectively) in greater detail. Our results indicate that the free energy values by docking (Kd observed) depend upon the conformations of both HSA and the ligand. The 94 HSA–ligand binding Kd values, obtained by the docking procedure, were subjected to a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) study by multiple regression analysis. The best correlation between the observed and QSAR theoretical (Kd predicted) data was displayed at 2.5 ns. This study provides evidence that HSA binding sites I and II interact specifically with a variety of compounds through conformational adjustments of the protein structure in conjunction with ligand conformational adaptation to these sites. These results serve to explain the high ligandpromiscuity of HSA

Flooding through the lens of mobile phone activity

Natural disasters affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide every year. Emergency response efforts depend upon the availability of timely information, such as information concerning the movements of affected populations. The analysis of aggregated and anonymized Call Detail Records (CDR) captured from the mobile phone infrastructure provides new possibilities to characterize human behavior during critical events. In this work, we investigate the viability of using CDR data combined with other sources of information to characterize the floods that occurred in Tabasco, Mexico in 2009. An impact map has been reconstructed using Landsat-7 images to identify the floods. Within this frame, the underlying communication activity signals in the CDR data have been analyzed and compared against rainfall levels extracted from data of the NASA-TRMM project. The variations in the number of active phones connected to each cell tower reveal abnormal activity patterns in the most affected locations during and after the floods that could be used as signatures of the floods - both in terms of infrastructure impact assessment and population information awareness. The representativeness of the analysis has been assessed using census data and civil protection records. While a more extensive validation is required, these early results suggest high potential in using cell tower activity information to improve early warning and emergency management mechanisms.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Global Humanitarian Technologies Conference (GHTC) 201

Análisis de tendencia de temperatura y precipitación para el departamento de Caldas (Colombia), mediante wavelets

Climate change, understood as an alteration of the climate, due or not to human activity, added to climate variability, is a primary area of study at this time. This study was carried out with the objective of generating information on trends of the temperature and precipitation variables for the department of Caldas, Colombia, using the wavelets analysis technique. For this purpose, the Ideam stations, located in the territory, were selected for the periods 1971-2010, in the case of precipitation; and for the period 1981-2010, for temperature. The stations record data daily, which was transformed into monthly data, their trend was calculated by multi resolution analysis (MRA), selecting the Daubechies wavelet (dB5) with six levels of degradation. The analysis shows slow and increasing trends in precipitation for the fifteen stations analyzed. A similar result was obtained for minimum temperature. While, for maximum temperature, slow decreasing trends were recorded in one station. For comprehensive climate change management plans, it is recommended to monitor these trends, if possible with longer historical series, to identify signs of change and possible effects on the regional climate.El cambio climático, entendido como una alteración del clima, debida o no a la actividad humana, sumada a la variabilidad climática, es un área de estudio primordial en estos momentos. Este estudio se hizo con el objetivo de generar información de tendencias de las variables temperatura y precipitación para el departamento de Caldas, Colombia, mediante la técnica de análisis wavelets. Para tal fin, se seleccionaron las estaciones del Ideam, ubicadas en el territorio, para los periodos 1971-2010, en el caso de precipitación; y para el periodo 1981-2010, en temperatura. Las estaciones registran datos diariamente, los cuales fueron transformados en datos mensuales, cuya tendencia se calculó mediante el análisis multirresolución (MRA), seleccionando la wavelet Daubechies (dB5) con seis niveles de descomposición. Los análisis evidencian tendencias lentas y crecientes en precipitación para las quince estaciones analizadas. Resultado similar se obtuvo para temperatura mínima. Mientras que, para temperatura máxima, se registraron tendencias lentas decrecientes, en una estación. Para los planes integrales de gestión de cambio climático, se recomienda el seguimiento a estas tendencias, en lo posible con series históricas de mayor longitud, para identificar señales de cambio y posibles efectos en el clima regional

Manual de MARBI (modelo anatómico reproductivo inanimado bovino) : prototipo para prácticas de palpación e inseminación artificial en bovinos de los aprendices SENA

Manual que contiene instrucciones para utilizar el prototipo “vaca maniquí” desarrollado por el Semillero de Ganadería del Occidente Antioqueño “SEGO” en prácticas de reproducción sexual para bovinos dentro de los ambientes de formación previos a la práctica real como medio de aprendizaje sin poner en riesgo a los animales.Manual that contains instructions to use the prototype "cow dummy" developed by the Livestock Nursery of the Antioquia West "SEGO" in sexual reproduction practices for bovines within the training environments prior to the actual practice as a means of learning without putting at risk to the animals.MARBI (Modelo Anatómico Reproductivo Bovino Inanimado) -- Prototipo anatómico del tracto reproductivo bovino -- Simulador animatrónico rectal -- Silueta de soporte con cajón de acrílico -- ¿Cómo funciona MARBI? -- Uso del prototipo para prácticas de palpación -- Uso del prototipo para prácticas de inseminación artificial -- Montaje de la pistola -- MARBI y el proceso de inseminación.Primera ediciónna19 página

Usos de razón, técnica y cambio en la crítica de la metafísica. Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno, Herbert Marcuse y Andrew Feenberg

The project’s central question is about conceptual changes in three terms of social and political philosophical discourse during the nineteenth century and up to the mid-twentieth century: ‘reason’, ‘technique’, ‘change’. During this period, due to transformations in the same theory and in the perception of philosophical problems, there was a semantic shift in the scope of those terms. From an archaeological perspective we can explore a non-modern record of ‘reason’, ‘technique’, ‘change’, which authors such as Marx-Nietzsche, Wittgenstein-Heidegger begin. From a genealogical view, the research is oriented to register the variations in those concepts, in authors who share the same postmetaphysical and postidealist bases. In Max Horkheimer’s critical theory of science and society, in Theodor W. Adorno´s negative critique, in Herbert Marcuse- Andrew Feenberg’s critical theory of technology, there are concepts from the nineteenth-century philosophy of suspicion. Naturally, these concepts make their new appearance reformulated and placed in new cognitive fields. In this period of research we have managed: to compare the meaning of uses as it appears in Wittgenstein´s Tractatus with the meaning of uses as it becomes ostensible in the Philosophical Investigation; to understand the notion of technique and art in Marcuse´s analyses of social rationality; to interpret the concept of change in Aristotle and its effect on a social theory. Aristotle is a thinker who is assumed in the project since his knowledge is necessary for Heidegger’s theory of modern technique and Feenberg´s critical theory of technology; to analyze the uses of technique in Horkheimer, Adorno and Feenberg, and to explain “the negative dialectic” of Theodor W. Adorno as it unfolds in his Aesthetic Theory, and the conceptual changes of technique and reason that are registered.La pregunta eje del proyecto apunta a los cambios conceptuales en tres términos del discurso filosófico social y político durante el siglo XIX hasta mitad del siglo XX: ‘razón’, ‘técnica’, ‘cambio’. Durante ese período, por transformaciones en la misma teoría y en la percepción de los problemas filosóficos, hubo un giro semántico en el alcance de aquellos. Desde una mirada arqueológica podemos relevar un registro no moderno de ‘razón’, ‘técnica’, ‘cambio’ que comienzan a emplear autores como Marx-Nietzsche, Wittgenstein-Heidegger. Desde una mirada genealógica, la pesquisa se orienta a registrar las variaciones en aquellos conceptos en autores que comparten un mismo suelo posmetafísico y posidealista. En la Teoría Crítica de la Ciencia y la Sociedad de Max Horkheimer, en la Crítica Negativa de Theodor W. Adorno, en la Teoría Vrítica de la Tecnología de Herbert Marcuse y Andrew Feenberg hay conceptos de aquella decimonónica filosofía de la sospecha. Claro que esos conceptos hacen su nueva aparición, reformulados y colocados en nuevos campos cognitivos. En este período de investigación hemos logrado: comparar el significado de usos tal como aparece en el Tractatus de Wittgenstein con el significado de usos tal como se vuelve ostensible en las Investigaciones Filosóficas; comprender la noción de técnica y arte en los análisis marcuseanos de racionalidad social; interpretar el concepto de cambio en Aristóteles y su efecto en una teoría social. Aristóteles es un pensador que está supuesto en el proyecto ya que su conocimiento es necesario para la teoría de Heidegger sobre la técnica moderna y la teoría crítica de la tecnología de Feenberg. También se han logrado analizar los usos de técnica en Horkheimer, Adorno y Feenberg y explicitar “la dialéctica negativa” de Theodor W. Adorno tal como se despliega en su Teoría estética, y los cambios conceptuales que se registran de técnica y razón

Epidemiological assessment of predictors of caries increment in 7-10- year-olds: a 2-year cohort study

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this 2-year cohort study (2003 to 2005) was to investigate how caries experience, at initial lesions (early or non-cavited lesions) and cavited stages, predicts caries increment in permanent teeth in 7-10- year-olds. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The random sample of 765 children attending public schools in the city of Piracicaba, SP, Brazil, was divided into two groups: 423 children aged 7-8 years and 342 children aged 9-10 years. All subjects were examined by a calibrated examiner, using dental mirror and ball-ended probes, after tooth brushing and air-drying in an outdoor setting, based on the World Health Organization criteria. Active caries with intact surfaces were also recorded as initial lesion (IL). Univariate analysis was used for statistical analysis (Odds Ratios and Chi-square). RESULTS: The association between the DMFT (decayed, missing and filled teeth) increment and the presence of IL was significant only for 9-10-year-old children. The children with DMFT>;0 at baseline were more prone to have DMFT increment, with the highest risk for caries increment occurring in children aged 7-8 years. CONCLUSIONS: The predictors of caries increment were the presence (at baseline) of caries experience in permanent teeth for both age groups (7-8; 9-10-year-olds) and the presence of the IL (at baseline) for 9-10-year-olds