Implementation of Biopolymeric Nanomaterials to Reduce the Negative Impacts of Salinity on Tomato Quantity and Quality.

Sustainable waste reduction strategies and innovative waste reduction concepts, as well as their application in the creation of compounds and products with added value, can benefit the economy while reducing environmental pressures. This research aimed to use biopolymeric nanomaterials to reduce the negative effects of salinity on tomato yield and quality. Three types of biopolymers (cellulose, pectin, and starch) were synthesized and characterized using natural materials such as rice straw, orange peel, and potato peel. The polymer's ability to retain sodium ions was investigated. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to assess the potential of natural polymers (cellulose, starch, and pectin individually or in combination) to reduce the salinity side effects on tomato plants (Solanum Lycopersicon L.) cultivar (Super Strain B). Tomato seeds were germinated on soil bits for 20 days before planting five seedlings in each pot (20 cm diameter) with three replicates and filling each pot with sandy loam soil, with or without natural polymers at a rate of 2 g/Kg. The results revealed that all the polymers utilized had a superlative capability to hold sodium ions for both soluble and exchanged sodium. The use of various natural polymer hydrogels increased the number and fresh weight of tomato fruits. Data showed that using biopolymers hydrogels reduced salinity stress by rising the content of phenol, flavonoid, and antioxidant enzymes such as catalase and peroxidase. The use of natural biopolymers significantly improved total soluble solids, pH, and juice substance. Implementing biopolymeric materials could reduce environmental pressures while increasing farm income. Innovative waste reduction strategies, such as the creation of value-added products, will benefit the economy, and this work is a good start in that direction.

An Augmented Reality Based Human-Robot Interaction Interface Using Kalman Filter Sensor Fusion.

In this paper, the application of Augmented Reality (AR) for the control and adjustment of robots has been developed, with the aim of making interaction and adjustment of robots easier and more accurate from a remote location. A LeapMotion sensor based controller has been investigated to track the movement of the operator hands. The data from the controller allows gestures and the position of the hand palm's central point to be detected and tracked. A Kinect V2 camera is able to measure the corresponding motion velocities in x, y, z directions after our investigated post-processing algorithm is fulfilled. Unreal Engine 4 is used to create an AR environment for the user to monitor the control process immersively. Kalman filtering (KF) algorithm is employed to fuse the position signals from the LeapMotion sensor with the velocity signals from the Kinect camera sensor, respectively. The fused/optimal data are sent to teleoperate a Baxter robot in real-time by User Datagram Protocol (UDP). Several experiments have been conducted to test the validation of the proposed method.

GestureMoRo: an algorithm for autonomous mobile robot teleoperation based on gesture recognition.

Gestures are a common way people communicate. Gesture-based teleoperation control systems tend to be simple to operate and suitable for most people's daily use. This paper employed a LeapMotion sensor to develop a mobile robot control system based on gesture recognition, which mainly established connections through a client/server structure. The principles of gesture recognition in the system were studied and the relevant self-investigated algorithms-GestureMoRo, for the association between gestures and mobile robots were designed. Moreover, in order to avoid the unstably fluctuated movement of the mobile robot caused by palm shaking, the Gaussian filter algorithm was used to smooth and denoise the collected gesture data, which effectively improved the robustness and stability of the mobile robot's locomotion. Finally, the teleoperation control strategy of the gesture to the WATER2 mobile robot was realized, and the effectiveness and practicability of the designed system were verified through multiple experiments.

Strategies and sustainability in fast charging station deployment for electric vehicles.

This comprehensive review investigates the growing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) as a practical solution for environmental concerns associated with fossil fuel usage in mobility. The increasing demand for EVs underscores the critical importance of establishing efficient, fast-charging infrastructure, especially from the standpoint of the electrical power grid. The review systematically examines the planning strategies and considerations for deploying electric vehicle fast charging stations. It emphasizes their unique dual role as loads and storage units, intricately linked to diverse road and user constraints. Furthermore, the review underscores the significant opportunity surrounding these stations for the integration of distributed renewable energy sources. It thoroughly explores the challenges and opportunities intrinsic to the planning and localization process, providing insights into the complexities associated with these multifaceted stations. Renewable resources, including wind and solar energy, are investigated for their potential in powering these charging stations, with a simultaneous exploration of energy storage systems to minimize environmental impact and boost sustainability. In addition to analyzing planning approaches, the review evaluates existing simulation models and optimization tools employed in designing and operating fast charging stations. The review consolidates key findings and offers recommendations to researchers and grid authorities, addressing critical research gaps arising from the escalating demand for electric vehicle fast-charging infrastructure. This synthesis is a valuable resource for advancing understanding and implementing robust strategies in integrating EVs with the electrical power grid.

The adolescent glans penis: Functional and aesthetic issues following childhood hypospadias repair.

INTRODUCTION: As children with childhood hypospadias repairs transition into adolescence, the function and appearance of the genitalia acquire greater importance. For some, the direction and shape of the urinary stream can be embarrassing if abnormal, and the appearance of the glans penis and meatus are a concern as they develop the capacity for self-awareness. OBJECTIVE: Herein, we address the surgical correction and outcomes of urine spraying with or without fistulae, and cosmesis over 12 years. We also analyze if any specific prior repairs were more related to their complaints i.e. cosmesis, spraying, and/or fistulae. STUDY DESIGN: We retrospectively reviewed hypospadias revisions by a single surgeon over 12 years. We included adolescents and young adults who complained of abnormal urinary stream and/or aesthetic complaints. Patients then evaluated the post op result as very good, good, acceptable, or unsatisfactory. RESULTS: Of 542 patients who underwent revisionary procedures, 90 (16.6%) presented with complaints of urinary spraying, and appearance of the glans penis and/or meatus (see figure). Of these, 19 (21.1%) presented with aesthetic complaints alone, 37 (41.1%) presented with aesthetic complaints and spraying, and 34 (37.7%) presented with aesthetic concerns, spraying, and were noted to have urethral fistula either during preoperative examination or during surgery. 3/90 patients (3.3%) developed wound infection and dehiscence (one had a tubularized incised plate repair, another a Thiersch-Duplay repair, and the primary repair of the third patient was unknown). CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents and young adults who underwent hypospadias repair during childhood can return with concerns regarding functional and aesthetic abnormalities of the glans penis. Glans sculpting and meatal contouring may be utilized to normalize the urinary stream and achieve a normal aesthetic appearance of the glans penis. Surgeons should follow these patients through adolescence and into adulthood, because complications from hypospadias repairs acquire greater significance later and young adults seek to normalize their phalluses.

Study on Magnetic Control Systems of Micro-Robots.

Magnetic control systems of micro-robots have recently blossomed as one of the most thrilling areas in the field of medical treatment. For the sake of learning how to apply relevant technologies in medical services, we systematically review pioneering works published in the past and divide magnetic control systems into three categories: stationary electromagnet control systems, permanent magnet control systems and mobile electromagnet control systems. Based on this, we ulteriorly analyze and illustrate their respective strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, aiming at surmounting the instability of magnetic control system, we utilize SolidWorks2020 software to partially modify the SAMM system to make its final overall thickness attain 111 mm, which is capable to control and observe the motion of the micro-robot under the microscope system in an even better fashion. Ultimately, we emphasize the challenges and open problems that urgently need to be settled, and summarize the direction of development in this field, which plays a momentous role in the wide and safe application of magnetic control systems of micro-robots in clinic.

An Enhanced Robot Massage System in Smart Homes Using Force Sensing and a Dynamic Movement Primitive.

With requirements to improve life quality, smart homes, and healthcare have gradually become a future lifestyle. In particular, service robots with human behavioral sensing for private or personal use in the home have attracted a lot of research attention thanks to their advantages in relieving high labor costs and the fatigue of human assistance. In this paper, a novel force-sensing- and robotic learning algorithm-based teaching interface for robot massaging has been proposed. For the teaching purposes, a human operator physically holds the end-effector of the robot to perform the demonstration. At this stage, the end position data are outputted and sent to be segmented via the Finite Difference (FD) method. A Dynamic Movement Primitive (DMP) is utilized to model and generalize the human-like movements. In order to learn from multiple demonstrations, Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) is used for the preprocessing of the data recorded on the robot platform, and a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) is employed for the evaluation of DMP to generate multiple patterns after the completion of the teaching process. After that, a Gaussian Mixture Regression (GMR) algorithm is applied to generate a synthesized trajectory to minimize position errors. Then a hybrid position/force controller is integrated to track the desired trajectory in the task space while considering the safety of human-robot interaction. The validation of our proposed method has been performed and proved by conducting massage tasks on a KUKA LBR iiwa robot platform.

Particle bombardment-mediated co-transformation of the Cht-2 gene in wheat and the associated changes in defense mechanisms in transgenic plants infected with Fusarium graminearum.

Fusarium graminearum is a major global pathogen of cereals and is considered the main causal agent of Fusarium head blight disease in wheat. Infection with Fusarium graminearum causes a significant reduction in crop yield and quality; therefore, it is very important to improve wheat pathogen resistance. In the present study, the plasmid pAHCht-2 harboring the rice chitinase (Cht-2) gene for pathogen resistance and the plasmid pAB6 containing the gus reporter and bar selectable marker genes were used for genetic transformation of immature embryo-derived calli of the Egyptian wheat cultivar Giza 164 using particle bombardment. Associated changes in defense mechanisms in the transgenic plants were investigated. The transgenic plants had significantly decreased total protein content, phenolic compounds and antioxidant enzyme activities (peroxidase and catalase), and significantly increased phenylalanine ammonia lyase and chitinase activities compared with non-transgenic plants under biotic stress conditions caused by F. graminearum infection. Our results show that activating a specific program of gene expression related to environmental stress conditions can reduce the cost of the stress on plant metabolism.

Effects of different combinations of benzyl adenine and indole acetic acid concentrations on in vitro plant regeneration in hexaploid wheat.

Development of a reliable in vitro plant regeneration procedure for hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a prerequisite for its improvement by genetic transformation. Here, we report the effects of two growth regulators, benzyl adenine (BA) and indole acetic acid (IAA) on callus induction and plant regeneration from scutellum cultures of two commercial bread wheat cultivars: Giza 164 and Sakha 69. Callus induction was obtained from isolated embryos cultured on modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium. After four weeks of callus induction, all calli were plated on MS basal medium for regeneration. Wheat genotype and callus induction medium played a dominant role in plantlet regeneration. 2.0 mg/L BA and 0.2 mg/L IAA were the best combinations for inducing callus and let to highest regeneration frequency (81.67%) across the cultivars. Overall, based on our medium conditions, Giza 164 displayed higher regeneration frequency (81.11%) than Sakha 69. These results will facilitate genetic transformation for the economic varieties Giza 164 and Sakha 69.