Limited Visibility and Uncertainty Aware Motion Planning for Automated Driving

Adverse weather conditions and occlusions in urban environments result in impaired perception. The uncertainties are handled in different modules of an automated vehicle, ranging from sensor level over situation prediction until motion planning. This paper focuses on motion planning given an uncertain environment model with occlusions. We present a method to remain collision free for the worst-case evolution of the given scene. We define criteria that measure the available margins to a collision while considering visibility and interactions, and consequently integrate conditions that apply these criteria into an optimization-based motion planner. We show the generality of our method by validating it in several distinct urban scenarios

Mineralogical, petrological, and geochemical characteristics of Senkaya Chrysoprase, Turkey

Senkaya chrysoprase is a gemstone and can be found near the Turnali village located in the west-northwest of Senkaya (Erzurum) county in the uplifted Kirdag of Northeast Anatolia of Turkey. Chrysoprase only found in Senkaya County and known with the same name commercially in Turkey is a light-dark green and cryptocrystalline structure gemstone encountered in the Orukyayla Melange. Samples were collected from the field for defining mineralogical-petrographical, XRD, XRF, ICP-MS, optical cathodoluminescence microscopy (OCLM), FTIR-Raman and stable isotopic properties of Senkaya chrysoprase. According to mineralogical and petrographic examination, Senkaya chrysoprase has generally heterogeneous color distribution in macroscale and has 5 Mohs mineral hardness. Microquartz filling (10%-15%) was seen in the microexamination with serpentine as main component with partly massive opal type silica. The XRF analyses indicate that many samples had high SiO2 values (91.45-94.38 wt%). As a result of trace elements, rare earth elements, Au-Pt group analyses using ICP-MS, Ni (167-387 ppm) and Co (12.57-74.78 ppm) values are quite remarkable. In the OCLM studies, few metallic minerals which could produce CL and could spread CL in different colors due to some trace activator elements were observed. Oxygen isotopic (delta O-18(V-SMOW)) values obtained from three chrysoprase samples are 24.8 parts per thousand, 27.7 parts per thousand and 30.63 parts per thousand, respectively and mean formation temperature is 96-99 degrees C

Aromatic Plants: use and nutraceutical properties

In the last years it has progressively been observed a substantial increase in the use of aromatic herbs and essential oils. Mediterranean area represents a particular environment in which many constraint factors (high light, temperature, drought, salinity, air pollution, etc.) induce a wide range of secondary metabolites in plants. These compounds can be useful utilized by humans for different applications: antibiotics, antimycotic, animal nutrition, cosmetics, food additives, biorepellents, etc. This paper reviews the literature on recent agro-industrial applications of Mediterranean plant species and medicinal plants used for the treatment of infectious diseases. The review includes accounts of extracts, essential oils and other active principles isolated from plants that have been used by folk medicine as antimicrobial agents. The name and part of the studied plants, spectrum of activity, type of active compounds and methods used are discussed and their mechanisms of action as well