Electronic Drum Control Module

Práce se zabývá konstrukcí řídicí jednotky pro elektronický bicí nástroj, jejíž funkcí je snímání úderů hráče a produkce odpovídajícího zvukového výstupu. Nejprve je prezentována konstrukce zjednodušené verze zařízení zaměřená na metody snímání bicí soupravy, bez schopnosti generovat zvuk. Na základě toho jsou stanoveny požadované parametry finálního zařízení. Dále je popsána volba komponent a návrh desek plošných spojů s cílem dosáhnout maximální polyfonie a přijatelné latence zvukového generátoru. V další části práce je navrhován obslužný firmware a dostatečně výkonný algoritmus mixování zvuků. Je taktéž popsán postup oživení sestrojeného zařízení a postup testování skutečně dosažených parametrů.This paper deals with development and construction of an electronic drum module. The purpose of the device is to capture signals from an electronic drumkit and to produce sound accordingly. Firstly, a protoype with no sound output is constructed to demonstrate an ability to capture input signals. Based on its function, parameters for a final device are determined. Then, electronic component selection and design of printed circuit boards is described with an aim to maximalize polyphony and minimize latency of the sound generator. After that, firmware with software mixing algorithm is designed. Lastly, testing and measurement of real device parameters is performed.

Quadrocopter Navigation and Control

Práce se zabývá autonomní navigací kvadrokoptéry ve venkovním prostředí na platformě AR.Drone. Úkolem je samostatný přesun po zadané trase a autonomní přistání na plošině umístěné v cílovém bodě. Práce popisuje platformu AR.Drone včetně dostupných vývojových nástrojů a postup rozšíření senzorů kvadrokoptéry o GPS a magnetický kompas. Dále je představena navržená navigační architektura, jsou popsány role jejích klíčových částí a řízení v jednotlivých fázích letu. Přistání v cíli je řízeno podle kamer umístěných na kvadrokoptéře s vyhledáváním na základě výrazné barvy. Práce se také zabývá detekcí překážek z přijímaného videa pomocí výpočtu optického toku, potlačováním pohybů kvadrokoptéry a vyhýbáním se významným změnám v obraze. Řídicí program je implementován včetně pomocné aplikace pro ladění ze záznamu a úspěšně otestován v reálném prostředí.This paper focuses on autonomous navigation of AR.Drone quadrocopter in outdoor environment. The goal is to follow a specified route and land autonomously on a platform placed at the destination. Firstly, the AR.Drone platform, its development kit and sensor extension with GPS and a magnetic compass are described. Then, the navigation architecture of a control program is presented describing important blocks and its' individual tactics. Localization of the landing platform is based on its color. The video is also used to detect nearby obstacles using optical flow calculation suppressing the quadrocopter movements and to avoid the greater changes in the image. The control program implementation is then tested in real environment and the results are presented.

Potential of smoke-water and one of its active compounds (karrikinolide, KAR1) on the phytochemical and antioxidant activity of Eucomis autumnalis

CITATION: Aremu, A. O., et al. 2019. Potential of smoke-water and one of its active compounds (karrikinolide, KAR1) on the phytochemical and antioxidant activity of Eucomis autumnalis. Antioxidants, 8(12):611-626, doi:10.3390/antiox8120611The original publication is available at https://www.mdpi.com/journal/antioxidantsEucomis autumnalis (Mill.) Chitt. subspecies autumnalis is a popular African plant that is susceptible to population decline because the bulbs are widely utilized for diverse medicinal purposes. As a result, approaches to ensure the sustainability of the plants are essential. In the current study, the influence of smoke-water (SW) and karrikinolide (KAR1 isolated from SW extract) on the phytochemicals and antioxidant activity of in vitro and greenhouse-acclimatized Eucomis autumnalis subspecies autumnalis were evaluated. Leaf explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with SW (1:500, 1:1000 and 1:1500 v/v dilutions) or KAR1 (10−7, 10−8 and 10−9 M) and grown for ten weeks. In vitro regenerants were subsequently acclimatized in the greenhouse for four months. Bioactive phytochemicals in different treatments were analyzed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC-MS/MS), while antioxidant potential was evaluated using two chemical tests namely: DPPH and the β-carotene model. Smoke-water and KAR1 generally influenced the quantity and types of phytochemicals in in vitro regenerants and acclimatized plants. In addition to eucomic acid, 15 phenolic acids and flavonoids were quantified; however, some were specific to either the in vitro regenerants or greenhouse-acclimatized plants. The majority of the phenolic acids and flavonoids were generally higher in in vitro regenerants than in acclimatized plants. Evidence from the chemical tests indicated an increase in antioxidant activity of SW and KAR1-treated regenerants and acclimatized plants. Overall, these findings unravel the value of SW and KAR1 as potential elicitors for bioactive phytochemicals with therapeutic activity in plants facilitated via in vitro culture systems. In addition, it affords an efficient means to ensure the sustainability of the investigated plant. Nevertheless, further studies focusing on the use of other types of antioxidant test systems (including in vivo model) and the carry-over effect of the application of SW and KAR1 for a longer duration will be pertinent. In addition, the safety of the resultant plant extracts and their pharmacological efficacy in clinical relevance systems is required.National Research Foundationhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/8/12/611/htmPublisher's versio

Soil application of volatile compounds emitted by Alternaria alternata enhance yield of pepper plants cultured under greenhouse conditions

Póster presentado en el 2nd World Congress on the use of Biostimulants in Agriculture, celebrado en Florencia del 16 al 19 de noviembre de 2015.Peer Reviewe

Characterization of Biostimulant Mode of Action Using Novel Multi-Trait High-Throughput Screening of Arabidopsis Germination and Rosette Growth

Environmental stresses have a significant effect on agricultural crop productivity worldwide. Exposure of seeds to abiotic stresses, such as salinity among others, results in lower seed viability, reduced germination, and poor seedling establishment. Alternative agronomic practices, e.g., the use of plant biostimulants, have attracted considerable interest from the scientific community and commercial enterprises. Biostimulants, i.e., products of biological origin (including bacteria, fungi, seaweeds, higher plants, or animals) have significant potential for (i) improving physiological processes in plants and (ii) stimulating germination, growth and stress tolerance. However, biostimulants are diverse, and can range from single compounds to complex matrices with different groups of bioactive components that have only been partly characterized. Due to the complex mixtures of biologically active compounds present in biostimulants, efficient methods for characterizing their potential mode of action are needed. In this study, we report the development of a novel complex approach to biological activity testing, based on multi-trait high-throughput screening (MTHTS) of Arabidopsis characteristics. These include the in vitro germination rate, early seedling establishment capacity, growth capacity under stress and stress response. The method is suitable for identifying new biostimulants and characterizing their mode of action. Representatives of compatible solutes such as amino acids and polyamines known to be present in many of the biostimulant irrespective of their origin, i.e., well-established biostimulants that enhance stress tolerance and crop productivity, were used for the assay optimization and validation. The selected compounds were applied through seed priming over a broad concentration range and the effect was investigated simultaneously under control, moderate stress and severe salt stress conditions. The new MTHTS approach represents a powerful tool in the field of biostimulant research and development and offers direct classification of the biostimulants mode of action into three categories: (1) plant growth promotors/inhibitors, (2) stress alleviators, and (3) combined action

Volatile compounds emitted by the plant pathogen Alternaria alternata promote photosynthesis, growth and accumulation of high levels of starch in Arabidopsis through pPGI dependent and independent cytokinin biosynthetic processes

Póster presentado en el XXI Reunión de la Sociedad Española de Fisiología Vegetal y el XIV Congreso Hispano-Luso Fisiología Vegetal, celebrado en Toledo del 14 al 17 de junio de 2015.Peer Reviewe

Soil application of volatile compounds emitted by the plant pathogen Alternaria alternata enhance yield of pepper plants cultured under greenhouse conditions

Póster presentado en la International Conference "Plant Biotechnology: Green for Good III", celebrada en Olomouc (República Checa) del 15 al 18 de junio de 2015.Peer Reviewe

Volatile compounds emitted by Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and fungi promote growth and starch accumulation through cytokinin regulated processes

Póster presentado en el Fresh & glycoprotein symposium, celebrado en Japón en septiembre de 2015.It is known that volatile emissions from some beneficial rhizobacteria promote growth in plants. Here we show that volatile compounds emitted by the plant pathogen Alternaria alternata promote growth and the accumulation of exceptionally high levels of starch in leaves. Analyses of the volatile exometabolome of this species allowed us to identify several volatile compounds that promote plant growth and drastic metabolic changes. In Arabidopsis,this phenomenon (initially designated as MIVOISAP, for Microbial VOIatiles Induced Starch Accumulation Process) was accompanied by enhanced photosynthetic capacity, likely as a consequence of increased levels of plastidic type of cytokinins (CK). The magnitude of the phenomenon was low in mutants impaired in photoreceptors, CK receptors, plastidial NADP-thioredoxin reductase C(NTRC) and plastidic phosphoglucose isomerase. The overall data showed that (a) production of volatiles promoting plant growth is not restricted to beneficial rhizobacterial species, and (b) Arabidopsis MIVOISAP involves complex photocontrolled processes where in photoreceptors, NTRC－mediated changes in redox status of plastidial target proteins, CK production and signaling play important roles.Peer Reviewe

Volatile compounds emitted by the plant pathogen Alternaria alternata enhance photosynthesis and promote growth of Arabidopsis by increasing cytokinin production

Póster presentado en el Fresh & glycoprotein symposium, celebrado en Japón en septiembre de 2015.Peer Reviewe

Volatile compounds emitted by a wide range of rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere microorganisms promote growth through cytokinin regulated processes

Trabajo presentado en la International Conference "Plant Biotechnology: Green for Good III", celebrada en Olomouc (República Checa) del 15 al 18 de junio de 2015.Peer Reviewe